Raising three teenage boys in Bangkok has several challenges for a parent, not the least is just getting everyone together in the same location for more than a few hours. Fortunately, my wife Katia through force of personality, organized a week every year post-Christmas for the family “vacation.” Family vacations were easy when the kids were small. Just load them up and you’re off to wherever. Mom and Dad are the centers of their universe and no questions asked. However, the teenage years are different as there are friends, girlfriends, and “important” social events to juggle. Where has the time gone? So, for five years, the compromise was a family event at the Silver Sand Hotel in Kho Samet. We’d all pile into a van in Bangkok for the two-hour trip to the coast, get dropped off at the docks in Rayong, and speed boat to the island of Kho Samet for several days. Not too close, not too far with all in agreement.
The Silver Sand “Resort” is an affordable hotel/restaurant on the beach that’s teenage-friendly with cold beer and great Thai food (my opinion). No clocks and no crowds kind of place. Several beach bars are close by to entertain night owls, yet it’s quiet enough to sleep. Turned out our son’s friends and their parents were in the same boat as us, as every year more and more would show up at the Silver Sand making the trip an annual event for several families. Eat, drink and eat some more all-day kind of thing with the occasional dip in the Gulf of Siam. Time together as a family is one of those things you really miss once their gone.
What Next? 
Leave a comment