Eye of Modok

Ellie and Blysse got very attached to “Spotty”, a hermit crab they found on the beach. Ellie cried her eyes out when we finally let him/her go. This was taken during a relatively rain free moment. You can get a glimpse of Kata Beach and see that it is a pretty small and private beach, one of the reasons it is popular for families.

Blysse and Ellie on Kata beach, Phuket, Thailand

Back in Beijing after a wonderful family trip to Thailand. Remarkably, now that we are in Beijing, we are experiencing very hot weather, whereas in Thailand it was quite cool and comfortable. As I’ve always considered a good tan a worthy indicator of the quality of the holiday, I had to resist the feelings of dismay as the clouds persisted throughout the day. Then, by evening they sky would clear up to a fluffy overcast sky.

Blysse, Ellie and me on Kata beach, Phuket, Thailand

Alas, it is the rainy season in Thailand, and as one of the key points of the trip was to take a look at a site for an ecospa in Khao Yai National Park just outside of Bangkok, including the feasibility of using a waterfall on the property to produce electricity, we needed to go during the rainy season. All is well indeed, and it looks like the ecospa project has the green light. Now we just need detailed plans.

Our waterfall in Khao Yai, Thailand

BTW, if you are going to Phuket, I recommend the Sugar Palm Resort. Kata beach is quiet and good for families, but still fairly close to other beaches with more action.

China’s National Population and Family Planning Commission has loosened its stance on the national family planning policy, commonly known in the West as the “one child policy”. A common misconception about the family planning policy is that it only allows all couples throughout China to have one child. In fact, the one child policy is limited to urban areas. Parents in rural areas may have two children, as they are expected to support the parents in old age.

Local governments have always implemented their own policies, and many of them have allowed parents from single child families to have up to two children, so the official stance is actually merely reflecting what has been in actual practice for quite some time. Ethnic minority parents are also allowed two children in most provinces. I have several acquaintances in Beijing who have “purchased” the right to another child, by paying “social compensation fees” - an option obviously only available to the relatively well off.

Unaffected by the loosening of the policy are parents in Henan Province. With a population over 97 million, Henan is the most populous province in China.

The national family planning policy is credited with delaying China’s reaching the 1.4 billion people mark by four years.