spruced by marlene

My soft leather espadrilles from Lika Mimika. Wearing them on tropical evenings comes very close to being barefoot.

„Let’s go away one more time.“

I can’t remember who said it first. Probably me. We were sitting on the couch at Christmas, stuffed, happy and thrilled about what the new year would bring. And because so much of what was coming was going to bring huge changes, we suddenly had this idea of escaping to a beach somewhere – before beach holidays would become all about building sand castles.

Where could we expect to get bikini weather in March? Thailand. James hunkered down with the laptop for a while and when he came back with pictures of the Koyao Island Resort, I simply said: Book it! Now! Sure, I could’ve considered that I’d be seven months pregnant when travelling. A few of my girlfirends who have had children were in fact a little surprised that I’d dare to take two six-hour flights. But I just went with my gut feeling (pun absolutely intended). I’m lucky that I’ve had an unproblematic pregnancy and I simply trusted that I’d be fine until it was time to give birth. Which doesn’t mean I can recommend long-haul flights to everyone heavily pregnant. But if you’re thinking about it, I can tell you that flying was absolutely fine for me – thank you, compression stockings and magnesium pills! And I have not regretted coming on this holiday for even a second.

It was my first time in Thailand, so I’ve seen too little for the in-depth travel report, but I’d come back to Koh Yao Noi again any time. It’s a small island between Phuket and Krabi that’s still comparatively undeveloped. There aren’t many hotels, only a tiny town and a handful of restaurants (bizarrely, the nicest one is an Italian who serves what must be the best pizza this side of Napoli and where the yoga crowd drink their beers at night). It only takes half an hour on scooter to go around the island – or 45 minutes in a two-seater with a pregnant girl as your passenger. We didn’t do a lot of trips, but we did go snorkeling and one day I’ll tell Junior that his mama swam with angel fish when he was still on my belly. Hopefully he’ll find that as cool as I do.

Mostly we did absolutely nothing. The resort has around 20 huts, most of them with a direct view of the sea (!) and an outdoor shower (!!). You can’t lock the hut, which concerned me for about five minutes, until I met the super-relaxed staff, found myself a hammock and promptly forgot what day of the week it was. We woke up every moring from the crazy chirping of the birds, went to sleep at night to the whirring of the ceiling fan, ate silly amounts of tom kha gai and sticky rice with mango and watched the hotel’s own lizzard make his daily rounds under the palm trees.

And I’ve loved every moment of it.

Sleep, eat, swim, nap, swim, eat, swim, sleep. Repeat.

This what our days have looked like since we arrived on Koh Yao Noi. This has been incredibly easy to get used to. Much as I could get used to waking up to the above view every morning, which is what I see when I open the terrace doors. And the fact that I can get by for a week with roughly three pieces of clothing – a light dress, leather sandals, a beach bag.

It’s been a pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming kind of holiday so far. I think I’ll have another nap now.

Aaaand… we’re off to Thailand!

My first time there and I’m stupidly excited about seeing a new part of the world. Here are a few of the things I’m taking with me.

| Leather espadrilles from Lika Mimika. When heels don’t feel comfortable anymore, go for luxe flats, that’s my (new) motto.
| Kaftan from Rodebjer. I’m not really sure why I’m bringing anything else on the trip. This tent of a garment is so comfortable and airy, I’ll want to wear it every day.
| Hamam towels from Ottomania. They don’t take up a lot of room in the suitcase and work as a beach cover-up as well.
| Assorted coconut bangles. Because when else am I going to wear these? One that James brought back for me once from Fiji. I can’t remember where the other one came from.
| Pool sliders from Ancient Greek Sandals. Thanks for the tip, Jessie!
| Sunnies from Céline. Old, still golden.
| Bal D’Afrique from Byredo. The scent of summer.
| Passport holder from & Other Stories. Using this somehow makes flying feel that little bit more glamourous.
| Bikini from Princesse TamTam. Buying swimwear when six months pregnant (or in any situation) – not as horryfying as you expect when you let the women at Blush Berlin help you. Easiest bikini buy of my life.
| „Swimming Studies“ by Leanne Shapton. I’ve picked up the horrible habit of reading on my iPhone before going to sleep. Time to focus on printed letters again.
| Dress from the Isabel Marant x H&M collection. Maybe my friend was being kind the other day when she said that this dress actually looks better on a pregnant person than a non-pregnant one. I believe her anyway.

See you on Koh Yao Noi.