Brilliant or “Slightly Insane” Visa Run Plan?

This post is about an epicly (I think that's a word?) long day. Really – we even had a time change due to Daylight Savings!…

We decided to make the most out of the need to extend our visa for Thailand by just a week… we didn't want to do a trek from Koh Lanta to Krabi and have to pay 1900 Baht per person (that's about $160 USD / £130 GBP for the 3 of us) to not even stay for Songkran (yep, we opted out of the massive annual water fight, but that's another story).

Here we were annoyed that Leo wouldn't just smile lol

If we're going to need a stamp in the passport, why not make it interesting & fruitful? I thought I was all clever wrapping up this visa need with Leo's upcoming birthday - what better way to have a birthday abroad than at Legoland?! 

All seemed ambitious but possible. Our fellow worldschooling families described it as a “slightly insane plan”... It was only earlier on the day our flight was departing when we realized, in describing our plan to a neighbor, that we hadn't mapped out all of the details. Can of worms opened - in the matter of a couple of hours, we needed to sort:

• a place to stay in Krabi the night of our return, because the light bulb 💡 went off that we'd never make the car ferry ⛴ after our late flight 🛬

• checking in to both flights

  🛫

  🛬

  that were within the span of 24 hours

• completing passenger arrival forms for both Malaysia and Singapore (yep, this trip involved trekking to and back across 3 countries in a day)

• packing, which was somehow harder because we wanted to pack super light - only taking a backpack 🎒 with us (we ended up taking 2 - another for the added overnight stay, and it felt great traveling so lightly!)

• sustenance 🥜 for the drive and car ferry ride to the airport (we traveled by land, sea and air all within the span of a few hours)

You can imagine the insurgence of anxiety that this immediately caused but we were grateful for the neighbors keeping an eye on Leo for a bit while James and I started to breakdown and delegate the tasks. Poor James also wasn't feeling 100% during all of this so extra kudos for him being such a trooper through one of my nutty ideas. As we always do, we worked as a team to solve each challenge one-by-one and prepared for the trip's imminent reality. ❤️

Throughout the actual day, there were surely points when we felt like this was a crazy, bad, no-good idea. We learned that at the Singapore airport, you can only use the sleeping pods if you're there for at least 6 hours; our flight was delayed so we were there for about 5 hours. It felt like pulling an all-nighter (memories from many years ago in university) but with an overexcited kid chomping at the bit and expensive airport coffee instead of Nescafé. How he went to sleep for a few times here and there was surprising but such a relief, especially after he had a night terror literally as we were boarding the flight to Singapore. That's when my ‘mom guilt’ really set in – I felt terrible for subjecting my poor little guy to all this chaos – sleeping across chairs in the terminal. Some fellow travelers’ eyes and expressions on stints of our journey, like the shuttle bus from Singapore to Legoland Malaysia, were mirrors of our inner dialogues – ‘Are these people nuts?’ 😂  Others applauded our efforts and something clicked for me – I realized why people tell us we're brave for doing this stuff.

The 'Rain Vortex' indoor waterfall

Then there were lovely moments that made the trip 100% worth it - like Leo making insta-buddies waiting for the bus to Legoland and also in the build stations inside, his amazement and appreciation throughout the day, and seeing the world's tallest indoor waterfall at Singapore's Jewel Changi Airport. We also had a great time cycling around the Gardens by the Bay and chatting with our Grab drivers! 

(Fun fact: we visited all of the airport's terminals throughout the day as well!)

Funny unintended consequence: we saw the day's 🌅 sunrise and 🌄 sunset from Grab taxi rides… 

At the end of it all, Leo said he was so grateful and happy. We actually had an awesome day. It was a lovely way to celebrate his birthday (albeit a month early), and even in spite of the pouring rain, it all worked out as it should.

Ironically, we didn't get stamps in our passports for Malaysia or Singapore because everything was scanned and digital, but we did get a stamp to show we exited Thailand before our 60 days was up.

Poor James had another crazy journey ahead of him. We’ll see what he learned from that trip…

More Than Just Tech: Our Transformative Time with Mudita Foundation

Our family's #WorldschoolingQuest often takes us to unexpected places, teaching us lessons far beyond any textbook. Recently, that journey led us to Mae Sot, Thailand, and the incredible Mudita Foundation, a learning center providing vital education for Burmese refugee and migrant children. Stepping onto their grounds, we knew we were somewhere special, but we couldn't have predicted how profoundly the experience would shape us.

While our goal was to contribute in various ways, one major project was tackling the school's computer lab. It was equipped with 27 older PCs, struggling under the weight of outdated operating systems. Access to digital tools is crucial for modern education, and we wanted to help bridge that gap. Enter Google's free ChromeOS Flex. 💻


For those unfamiliar, ChromeOS Flex is designed specifically to revitalize older hardware. It's lightweight, cloud-centric, secure, and remarkably easy to install. Over several days, we carefully wiped the old systems and installed ChromeOS Flex on each of the 27 machines. Seeing the lab transform from sluggish relics to a fleet of snappy, functional computers ready for learning was incredibly rewarding. It felt like we weren't just installing software; we were unlocking potential.

Of course, technology in the field always comes with adventures! During one of our first tech lessons in the newly revamped lab, the power for the entire region suddenly cut out! 💡 After the initial groans (mostly from me!), it turned into an unexpectedly valuable lesson. We couldn't use the computers, so we gathered everyone and had an "unplugged" discussion about how computers work, the importance of saving work, and even brainstormed alternative ways to learn and communicate when technology fails. It was a funny, memorable reminder that adaptability is key, and learning happens with or without electricity!

Our contributions weren't limited to the computer lab. We had the immense joy of engaging students through other avenues as well. We led sessions on Design Thinking, US History, played chess and dove into Readers' Theatre. 🎭 📚 And perhaps most energetically, James led PE classes with all of the students.

Working alongside the dedicated staff and incredibly resilient students at Mudita was truly transformative for our whole family. Witnessing their eagerness to learn, their warmth despite facing immense challenges, and the strong sense of community fostered by the foundation was humbling and deeply inspiring. This experience was a powerful reminder that education is a beacon of hope, and connection transcends borders and backgrounds.

This journey wouldn't have been possible without the support of so many people, both near and far. Thank you to everyone who offered encouragement, resources, and well wishes. A huge thank you to the leadership, staff, and especially the students of the Mudita Foundation for welcoming our family with open arms and sharing their world with us. 🙏

As we reflect on our time there, we also want to acknowledge the ongoing challenges faced by communities connected to the families Mudita serves, particularly in light of recent events. Many have been impacted by the recent earthquake. If you feel moved to contribute to the relief efforts, you can find more information and donate via this link: https://gofund.me/1b399389 🌍

Our time in Mae Sot was more than just a volunteering stint; it was a profound exchange of knowledge, culture, and humanity. We left a part of our hearts there and carry invaluable lessons forward on our #WorldschoolingQuest.