Cracker Barrel in a Trailer Park

I'm back in FL for the holidays, and after a concert last night in Orlando, Terri and I desperately searched Tampa for our first meal at 1 PM. Knowing my huge appetite in situations like this, along with my quest for southern food, we set our sights on Cracker Barrel.

After receiving misguided directions, we finally found the place. Yup. It's situated literally in the largest Trailer Park I've ever seen in my life, about halfway between Tampa and Plant City. Only in the south do they put the nicest restaurant within a 20 mile radius in the middle of a trailer park. Yes indeed, I'm back in the south. Chicken Fried Chicken, mashed tators, biscuits, hash brown casserole, and mac n cheese. If only Uncle Jethro was out back gigging frogs, it would have been a true southern lunch...

Happy New Year!

Thoughts on Thailand Disaster

Most of you all know I made it back from Thailand a few weeks ago, but I've received a few phone calls and emails of concern. I left Thailand on Dec. 13 for Tokyo. Thanks for asking...

However, among the places you're seeing on TV (Phuket, Patong, Phi Phi Island, Kata Beach, Kao Lok), Terri and I were at ALL of them. We spent 2 1/2 weeks on the southern Thai Beaches, and for me it's quite eerie to watch and hear the stories emerge from the disaster. I can actually recognize some of the places you keep seeing in the video footage that they show over and over...

Initially, when I heard a tsunami came in, like many, I didn't realize it was a big deal. Just a couple of waves, right? Apparently not. From what I'm seeing, the waves came in for 90 minutes, and the "lucky" people clung on to whatever they could for many hours keeping above water.

Although Sri Lanka and Indonesia appears to have suffered much more loss than Thailand, it's those areas I just visited 2 weeks ago that makes me think. Not only were we there, but an article I read on CNN.com stated the specific resort we stayed at on Phi Phi Island (PP Charlie Resort) was completely washed away. For five nights in the islands, we stayed in small bungalows near the water. USAToday.com actually had a picture of the resort right next to ours on Phi Phi, and all the bungalows were piled up in the ocean like they were made of toothpicks. Quite a hair-raising feeling. It kind of makes me wonder about the people who served us breakfast on the beach, begged to tote our luggage around like we were rich, or whisked us off in longtail boats for snorkeling or cliff-jumping. I can remember some of them by name, and I'm certain they would have been working their jobs at 8 AM when it hit.

Obviously, both local Thai's and tourists are suffering in ways we can't imagine in our country. Yes, 9-11 was an unforgettable tragedy for us here. But what's scary is that in raw numbers of total deaths, this tsunami (50,000 and climbing) has already surpassed 10 times more disastrous than both 9-11 and Pearl Harbor combined. In addition, there are so many people there that depend on tourism as a means of life. Seemingly, everyone in the southern islands depend on tourists for income, Thailand's #1 Product. Not only will they be affected directly and immediately, but Southeast Asia as a whole will feel the impact for years.

If you read my travel journals, you might remember how I complained how the locals constantly are trying to sell you something you don't want, take you in their scary taxi, or feed you some crazy fish on-a-stick. These are the people that live on shacks near the water, their children play on the beach all day while they work, and they certainly are far below the poverty level by our standards. Despite this, like many underdeveloped nations, the Thais collectively maintained a happiness and wealth amongst material "poorness" that was refreshing to see.

I'm anxious to share all of my photos on webshots.com. Starting next Monday, I'll be working at a rehab in FL until February. Once my computer is up and running in about 6 weeks, I'll be able to get them all online so you can view at once. I've seen them all at the photo store, and I think you'll find them interesting. If you have a few spare bucks, please head over to: https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp If you feel compelled, you can make a tax-deductable donation for direct international disaster assistance. I think it's a pretty good idea.

Day 39-End of Trip!

After a short walk around Akihabara for some shopping, it was off to to the subway for the 2 hour commute to the airport. With a basic understanding of the subway system this time, it was 100% less stressful. The subway literally has 22 lines, all intersecting in a maze-like manner. When you look at the map, it looks like someone took 22 different colored markers and just scribbled all over the paper. It's wild. But after the first day, it actually starts to make sense. Despite what we were told prior to arrival, all the stations are marked in English; otherwise, I'd still be stuck in some station begging for loose change or a bilingual guide.

Flight back was fine and restful, and here I am home.

Upon arrival, Terri and I basically collapsed. It was a solid, full day of sleep. The time change was somewhat of an issue, but all-out fatigue set in. We took almost zero time to just do nothing, which is hard to do on a trip of this magnitude. It's hard to waste a day when you've come so far. Anyway, we're both glad and sad the trip is over, with hopefully many more to come...

Day 38-Tour of Tokyo

Depite our problems with basically every single tour we did in Thailand, we gave it one last shot today. For once, it was a great idea. The guide was fluent in English, our transport was a plush bus instead of the BACK OF A PICKUP, and we couldn't have seen the places better ourselves.

We hit Tokyo Tower (a taller exact replica of Eiffel Tower), Meiji Shrine, Imperial Palace Gardens, and a full driving tour of the city. Following the half-day tour, we decided it was time for some real sushi.

Although Terri doesn't eat the raw stuff, we headed to the fish market area. Waiting nearly an hour in the cold, we finally got inside the seemingly popular place. It seated only 10 people around the bar, and there was barely enough room for that. It was definitely the freshest and best sushi I've ever had. They even forced a few things down me that I normally would never have eaten (a piece of sushi containing HUGE Orange Salmon Eggs), but I refused to be defeated by these sushi chefs. Their faces showed quiet delight at watching me struggle... Like many people, when the chefs asked where we were from, all I had to say was, "Seattle." This was followed immediately by ICHIROOOOOO!!!" They still love this ball player, and equally love Starbucks. We suprisingly had 2 Starubucks within a 2 minute walk of us in Bangkok, but in Tokyo..... There must be over 50 of them. We saw them all over the place. Much like Seattle.

The rest of the night was spent in the Roppongi area and just walking around. Tokyo is a great city, quite like New York in many ways. It's much cleaner, however, and the people so respectful of each other and even us. So many people would stop us for many reasons. Some just wanted to help us get around, even though we usually had figured it out. Many wanted to know what we were doing, and many others just wanted to practice their English. I was impressed with their culture, and it was a hundred times more disciplined than what you see here. Not that it's good or bad, but definitely different. Even at McDonald's. they frantically take your order, get your food, and bow to you in thanks.

Day 37-First Day in Tokyo

The best night of sleep in the last 5 weeks for sure! Real beds, feather pillows, down comforters!

Today was a busy day exploring as much as we could. We hit the Sony headquarters, which had 6 floors of demos of all their up and coming products. Very impressive. The Edo-Tokyo Museum was nice as well, as they provided an English interpreter free of charge to give us a personal tour. For some reason, we didn't have the 2 armed guards with us like the Princess of Jordan who was ahead of us the whole time. I can't figure out why.

Heading to Tokyo Station around rush hour, we saw a collection of large people in the main lobby. Around a 30 foot Christmas Tree (from WA State we were told), a symphony, conductor, and 3 opera singers were just starting a Christmas performance. It was a charity show for refugees around the world, and their voices were quite suprising. As most of you could probably guess, opera isn't exactly my idea of a fun night out. But this one Japanese girl in particular couldn't have been more than 20 years old and had a voice that was out of this world. They did mostly Christmas tunes in Japanese, then to opera in Italian. It was by far the moment I will take from Japan and probably never forget.

After this, we headed to the district of Shibuya, which literally has the busiest crosswalk in the world. It is hilarious. All of the traffic lights turn red at once, and then I'm willing to bet over a thousand people flood the street in all directions. We crossed several times, just going randomly to experience the mayhem. No particular direction. Once I just stood in the middle and watched everyone running around, wondering what makes time so precious here to engage people into running in all directions. Certainly interesting.

Day 36-Arrival to Tokyo

After catching another early flight out of BKK, we arrived at Narita Airport after a 5 hour flight. Funny thing, on my ticket it says I'm flying to Tokyo. In reality, you land about 60 miles away and it takes 2 hours by train to get to Tokyo. It should be noted that the first 2 things I saw after coming out of immigration was a Starbucks and a jersey of Ichiro. Am I in Seattle?

Perhaps the single worst part of the trip occurred at this time. Carrying my 50 pound pack, along with 2 other heavy bags full of junk I've seemed to pick up along with way, we zig-zagged around the Tokyo Subway Stations in desperate search for the hotel. Terri had a proportional amount of stuff for her small frame, and the people on the trains were looking at us like we were from Mars. Hiking through the Thai junlges with leeches attached to my ankles was nothing compared to the hell that is involved with being lost in Tokyo with 100 pounds of luggage on your back...

As for the local Japanese... The culture was an immediate difference from Thailand. Black and white... Thai's have a laissez-faire attitude about everything, and basically nothing is important enough do complete it in a hurry. Japanese--they can't do things fast enough. People are literally RUNNING through the subway, and I don't just mean a few people. People of all ages in all directions are running like the police are chasing them. The guy at the hotel completed our check-in like he was on a timer, and if it took longer than 20 seconds, electrodes attached to him would zap intensely. You see it on the movies, but it's really crazy to step out of the subway station and see hundreds of people running around like a tornado is coming.

The other obvious difference with Japan is the economy. We had expected the worst, and actually, things aren't as expensive as you may think. An expensive guesthouse in Thailand ran us about $15 per night. The one we stayed at in Tokyo was $75 per night, and it was the most inexpensive one available. It actually was quite pleasant, especially with flush toilets (the toilet paper can actually go into the water!), and a shower head that would blow you away-- even by US standards. The food here also isn't as bad as I've been told. We easily found traditional Japanese meals for $8-$12 in restaurants. My one big sushi meal cost me $20, which even in the US is very easy to eclipse. I imagine the people who talk about Japan being so expensive are on expense accounts and eating in fancy hotel restaurants. Otherwise, Tokyo can be done without breaking the bank.

The next interesting thing is the way people dress. It's like a fashion show all over the place. All men wear black suits. Period. Nothing else. All the women are dressed like they're going out for a night on the town. So naturally, as Terri and I dressed like we were ready for the Thai Jungle in our "safari-wear," my 6'2 frame stood out in the crowd.

We spent the night plodding through Shinjuku, a lively area full of restaurants, bars, and Pachinko Bars. Pachinko, from what I can tell, is a casino game that resembles a cross between pinball and a slot machine. The Japanese hang out in there, smoke like chimneys, and watch little steel balls hopelessly fall into holes. I couldn't quite get it enough to throw my cash away.

Day 35-Hollywood in Bangkok

Last day in Bangkok. We started the day heading up the Chao Phraya River to check out the Royal Barges Museum. Very cool boats, detailed in gold, hundreds of feet long, in ancient Thai Tradition.

After stopping at the Golden Buddha Temple, we hit the subway and headed to Siam Shopping Area. This was one of the more memorable moments of the trip: the movie The Incredibles. I have several friends who are movie freaks, and just for this experience alone, they should come to Bangkok. A VIP Gold Class Movie Ticket will run you 600 Baht ($15). It's insane. You are first brought into their club room, a bar room worthy of any fancy hotel. You get free sodas and appetizers here. About 10 minutes before movie time, you`re brought into your own theater. There`s about 20 leather loveseat couches in the theater (which is full-size) and no seats. The couch is as plush as it gets, has a built in heater, and comes with remote controls for recline and a full on massage system. It was ridiculous.

A waitress then brought us our popcorn and 2 whiskey-cokes, just as the previews start. Also included is a goody bag with fleece blanket, pillow, and a pair of socks. By far, the craziest movie theater I`ve ever seen, all first class. Perhaps there is not enough people willing to pay a high price for this in the US, but I wanted to see another movie immediately. The whole experience was A rate. Off to Tokyo tomorrow..... Only 3 more days left.

Day 34-Shopping and Eating in Bangkok

Having booked the airfares months in advance, I just wasn't clued-in enough to realize how early a 6 AM flight is. Yup, wake-up call at 4, at the airport by 5. This is the last leg of the Thailand portion of the trip, and we were in our Bangkok guesthouse by 8.

We dragged ourselves out into the heat (about 10 degrees cooler, but still feels like 85), and went to the weekend market. Simply put, it's huge. With everything you could imagine. From cheap things you'd never want, to REALLY good and strange foods, to full-on pet shops jammed into the middle of the very "sardine" packed stalls. They had rabbits, dogs, squirrels tied up with yarn, snakes, and freaky rodents of all shapes and sizes. Mom, guess what'll be in your stocking this year?! The rest of the day was spent shopping and grabbing those last minute items we or our friends can't live without.

Chuck, my Dad's businnes contact, again took us to dinner at what he described as "the best Thai restaurant." I think he is right. For only 3 of us, we ordered 2 appetizers and about 8 entrees, along with sticky rice (with coconut milk) and mango for dessert. This guy's mission is to make me pop, I'm sure. But the food was to his description, and VERY good.

Day 33-Another Day in Samui Paradise

Today was perhaps the laziest, do-nothing day of the trip. It was great. Breakfast lying down again in the beach bungalow, with the elephant roaring down the way. I'm digging the "lie-down" meals, and I think it's something US restaurants should adopt.

Now, I've received feedback that I'm complaining about Thai culture perhaps too much, but this is something that just needs to be said: I have literally gone the last month with repeatedly banging my head into everything. All doorways, restaurants, hotel roofs, and the number one culprit: bathrooms. I know Thais are constucting things for themselves, but not kidding, I drew blood on my skull today. OK, I'm done ranting. For the past 2 weeks, Terri has been taping our luggage tags to all the bathroom doorways, and for the most part, I'm good. But if Santa is listening, I'd like a CT Scan for Christmas to make sure I've got enough neurons left to go back to work. If not, that's OK too. In that case, please include winning Lotto tickets in my stocking. Cookies will be out for ya.

After catching a tuk-tuk to find some scenic spots on the island, the rest of the day was spent napping, getting massages on the beach, and enjoying a dinner on the beach at night. The food here is very good, there's a million places on the water to choose from (tables literally feet from the water), and a dinner for 2 (with drinks), will run around $6 or $7 US. And this is on the high range of places we've been in Thailand. Going out to eat back home will be tough...

Day 32-Lounging in Ko Samui

Today we got breakfast at the hotel. They've built nice little bungalow huts only feet from the water, and you eat by lying down on your side with pillows to support. Just like eating on the couch--I'm used to this already! There's also live Thai music being played in another hut, and the food was fantastic. Wow, resort vacations can be nice, and I'm glad we saved this treat for the end.

After finishing our final bites, we heard an elephant roar from down the beach. Investigating, it appears our hotel has a 3 year-old pet elephant. Despite it's 1 ton size, it was still quite small (relatively speaking). We were allowed to feed him and then take short rides bareback down the beach on him. I must say this is the first time I've stayed at any hotel with it's own playpal elephant.

The rest of the day was spent lounging, getting massages, swimming in the pool, and catching dinner and a Thai Dance show at the resort. There were only 5 couples in attendance, each with their own bamboo hut to watch the show and eat really good seafood.

December appears to be a great time to visit. Evening entertainment was a walk down the strip of bars and restaurants, only to allow ourselves to be dragged into Christy's Cabaret. If you don't know (I didn't), Cabaret here means "Drag Show," with more transvestites dressed up in feathers then you've ever seen in your life. Some of them, shall we say, were surgically enhanced in a manner that I wish to remove the visual from long-term memory. It was actually quite funny, and although we were there for only a beer, the friendliness and aggressive hospitality of our hosts (hostesses?) soon had me running for the door.

Day 31-Transport to Ko Samui

Today was another long travel day. Shaking off last night's whiskey, we threw our packs together and waited on the side of the road for the bus. After an hour, it arrived at 8, and we were off to Surat Thani to the next bus station.

Two nights prior, our guesthouse owner, Toy, told us of rival gangs of boys getting into fights recently. Unfortunately, only 30 minutes down the road, we saw something horrible. The police had about 20 kids (all around 12-16 years old), all lying face down on the pavement in the middle of the highway. As our bus went "offroad" to negotiate around the mess, it was clear to me at least 2 of these kids were not lying face down and rested in a very awkward position. Upon a further look, it was much worse--something I wish I can forget soon. No more details, but it was quite sad, as some of the Thai women on the bus were going ballistic. We passed oncoming ambulances about 15 minutes later, but much too late. Different world here, but then again, maybe not.

After 2 hours on the bus, we changed to yet another bus for another hour and half ride, finally getting to the ferry pier. 2 hours later through choppy waves, we landed on Ko Samui, a great Island off the East Coast of Southern Thailand. It's gorgeous here--coconut trees everywhere, azure-blue water, and a strong breeze. 7 hours after we first waited for the bus, we finally checked into the hotel.

Per my buddy Ramon's suggestion, the Muang Kulay Pan Resort is 5 Star compared to everywhere else we stayed. Light years ahead, redeeming hope that I may leave this country in comfort. The bathroom is literally bigger than some of our entire rooms on this trip, and the room itself is ultra-modern and very clean with both hot water and flush toilet. It's like something out of a fancy hotel magazine. Doing a 40 day trip, it's not realistic or affordable to stay in places like this every night. As a matter of fact, most of the towns we've visited don't even have a place half this nice. But on Ko Samui, about $50 a night buys you something that could easily be $300+ in the US.

As the room is only paces from a nice pool and the beach, we dined on some spicy Thai for lunch and then got a massage ($5 per hour is the rate here). Again, this lady had me clenching in pain, and it really does ride the line between moderate pain and a good massage. The massage bungalow is only feet from the waves coming in, and I'm sure to be back tomorrow...

Evening entertainment was walking down the strip and snacking on some McDonald's. It was perhaps the best McDonald's I've ever had. Terri agrees, the fries are about the same, and it's not as fattening here and quite tasty. Mmmmm, cheeseburgers.......

Day 30-Khao Sok Cave Tour

Today was a rather exciting day. Feeling we might need proper guidance to enjoy the jungle, we booked a full-day trip through the park. Our guesthouse seemed pretty reliable and very friendly, so we went with them. $35 for the day, which in Thailand, is a sizable sum of money. For that amount, we thought we'd get a pretty good tour.

However, when our transport arrived, it was quite evident this would be a "bare bones" operation. It was a regular size pickup, with 5 adults piled in back like schoolkids. None looked too happy and all secretly worried just how long this trip would be. Luckily, the cab of the truck was left empty for Terri and I, and we quickly hopped in.

Our guide Bow drove wildly for over an hour to Chan Liaw Lake, a massive man-made lake created by a dam built 20 years ago. It's undeniably the highlight of Kao Sok Park, with limestone cliffs/islands rising out of the water--some over 3000 feet tall. After meeting our disturbed fellow travellers in the back (from Ohio and Germany), we hopped onto a longtail boat and viewed the morning mist over the lake for another hour ride. Stopping for looks at lizards, monkeys, and plenty of birds, we finally arrived at camp (bamboo huts built onto the water). We were told to swim (ummm, no thanks, are there leeches?), and were served a really tasty lunch.

Embarking on the focal point of the journey, we took another longtail boat for 15 minutes into truly the middle of nowhere. After hiking for another hour through some pretty cool jungle, we arrived at the mouth of a cave. This is where the real fun began. We had a total of 2 flashlights for 7 people, and it was VERY dark. A river actually flows through the cave, and at first, water was only ankle deep here and there. Going against the river, we saw thousands of bats (sometimes arm's reach overhead), crabs, HUGE catfish swimming by your legs, tropical frogs, spiders as big as your face, and plenty of other critters I hope I don't see again. The further we went in, the narrower the cave walls became and the deeper the river got. There were also plenty of internal waterfalls in the cave and at times the water's sound was deafening.

Finally, we got to the point where water was 10-15 feet deep and we had to swim (pulling on a rope) through a subterranean gorge. Ummm, did I sign up for this? It was insane. Later, our guide said a few people have actually died doing this trip. Lovely. Despite the high fear-factor, the cave was really gorgeous. Stalactites and stalagmites, quartz deposits, and very cool rock formations when we could see them. Right along with the constant smell of bat dung and sound of rushing water and critter sounds.... We actually really enjoyed this portion, as again, NOWHERE in the USA would any lawyer tolerate an operation like this.

After finally surviving the cave, it was another hour trek back to the boat, 15 minute ride to the hut for fruit, then another hour longtail boat back to the car. Apparently signing up for the "true" rainforest/jungle experience, it started POURING rain on the one hour boatride back. Being a true Seattlite, I was the only one with my raincoat. It barely mattered though, after swimming in caves for an hour...

Now the real fun portion of the trip. Feeling lucky to get the cab of the truck for the way in, AND wearing a raincoat, I felt obligated to get into the back of our 1st class transport truck back. All the while, looking at the other tourists crawling into their covered pickup trucks seen so commonly throughout Thailand. Terri crawled into the front, and it was a bumpy hour of hell for me. Full-on rain in the back of a crappy pickup with a couple of Germans, going 60 mph on a less than adequate highway. Ready to come to Thailand?

Now's a good time to tell you about the driving here. The driver sits on the right, and you drive on the left side of the road. Fine, I can deal with that. However, all traffic laws and painted lines on the road are PURELY "suggestion only." If there's any rule I can find to traffic, it's that motorcycles and mopeds yield for everyone. And they seem to be littered all over the roads like mosquitoes. The middle of the road (right over the line) is open to anyone who wants it. Blind curves? No matter. Giant Coconut truck coming straight at you? No matter, just keep going down the middle of the road. Pedestrian crossing the street? They better move or it's all over for them... The hour drive in the rain, then dark, was much more terrifying than the jungle or cave. Anyway, a local system of flashes and beeps of the horn tells potential head-on collisions where you're going, and luckily, I'm still in one piece.

Again, being the only people staying at Pantaroot Lodge, we were cooked a wonderful green curry dinner and desperately drank our rice whiskey with Toy, the lodge owner. Nice guy with interesting stories of the jungle...

Day 29-Waterfall Jungle Hike with Leeches

Catching a 7:30 AM bus, we arrived around noon at Khao Sok National Park, a huge area truly in the middle of jungle. This place houses wild monkeys, tigers, clouded leopards, elephants, bears, and lots of other wildlife.

Getting off the bus, we were greeted with "rock star" status. This has been happening lots on our trip, as the second we are in the open, we're mobbed by about 10 people tring to get us to stay at their hotel. It can be quite frustrating, especially when they're grabbing arms and asking ridiculous amounts of cash. Anyway, we checked into our reserved bungalow, Pantaroot Lodge. Thank God we booked ahead for nearly every night prior to leaving Seattle, as we'd have gotten "taken to the cleaners" almost daily and it's quite a hassle dealing with these people.

Our bungalow was rated in Lonely Planet as the most upscale in the whole area. It was actually nice, but yup, no flushing toilet, no hot water, and our back porch looming right at the edge of jungle. Actually, not bad.

After a yummy lunch, we made our way to the park around 2 PM. Despite a Frenchman telling us it was too late and to turn back, we rebuffed his advice and headed toward Sip-Et Chen Waterfall. I hike all the time in the Northwest. How tough can this be? Well, it was almost ugly. About halfway, we realized we forgot both food and our flashlights. Again considering a premature return, we foraged ahead. The terrain at first seemed easy, then it was all-out jungle with Tarzan vines hanging, bamboo forests, roots covering what trail there was, and the trail altogether disappearing at times. In addition, there were 6 river crossings, which made it difficult to navigate. That's when a local teenage couple in FLIP-FLOPS cruised past as (and we were going fast)... They knew enough English to get out the word "Leech." I'd read there were leeches in the jungle, tried to be careful, but to no avail. I had about 5 sliver sized little guys around my ankle, and I was bleeding so bad I had to throw away the sock. Lovely. Terri enjoyed it about as much as I did. Well, perhaps less. These little bloodsucking fiends are quite resilient, as they latch onto your shoes or pantlegs, somersault their way to your body, inject an anticoagulant into your skin, and you bleed like crazy. It takes about 20 minutes for a little opening to stop bleeding. It required a sharp rock to scrape them off, as we had no tobacco to get them to fall simply fall off.

So as you can see, this hike is real fun so far! We finally got to the highly disappointing waterfall, something that would be considered less than a trickle in WA State. Turning around nearly immediately, we discarded a few more leeches and headed back. Darkness was imminent. Going back, we had real trouble finding the trail at the river crossings. Great. Luckily, a German couple that knew the area well built cairns (rocks piled on top of each other) to flag the trail for us at tough spots. If it wasn't for that, we'd still probably be snuggled up against some carnivorous plant, with a spotted leopard eyeing his next meal...

Just as darkness hit, we made it out. Only 5 miles, but it felt like 10. Oh, and we had more leeches to remove when we got back too. It's impossible to feel the tenacious little beasts when they're slurping on your leg.

After a quick dinner, an apparent low complete blood count left me ill. I was asleep by 8:30.

Day 28-Phuket Town on the King's Birthday

Today was another early rise, an all out assault on the yummy buffet breakfast, and a 9 o'clock cruise back to the mainland. We checked into our $8 a night guesthouse in the town of Phuket, and lunch was at a great little cafe in a swanky hotel (which obviously I wasn't staying at). Spicy Tuna sandwich (regular tuna fish with Thai herbs and chili's--it was AWESOME), and since it's the King's Birthday (apparently a big deal here), there was nothing open.

Being the savvy tourists we are, we found the ultimate Thai experience for this 90 degree day. BOWLING! It was pretty standard bowling, except they have incense burning everywhere instead of cigarette smoke, and the pins are all painted as saffron-robed monks and golden-hued Buddhas. Just kidding, it was standard fare, all the way down to the neon colors and rock music blaring. A great way to escape the heat.

With sore thumbs, we returned back to the lovely room, only to discover we've been invaded by microscopic ants. They were only successful in capturing some cookies, so I spent the good portion of 15 minutes using my Alaskan Bear techinques and tying up the rest of our food and hanging it from the closet hanger-rod. Hopefully these ants are less advanced then my defensive tactics. After a catnap and another good dinner of pizza and Thai Food, we're off to make last minute preparation for tomorrow's travel. Note to self: Unless you want Oscar Meyer Weiner Pizza, NEVER (I repeat, NEVER) order sausage pizza in Thailand. My pizza definitely should NOT spell M-E-Y-E-R. Just 2 weeks left... Off to the jungle...

Day 27-Lounging in Phi Phi

Today started with yet another glorious buffet breakfast, followed by an early snorkeling cruise. We hit 3 beaches, including the famous Maya Beach from the movie aptly entitled, yup, "The Beach." The snorkeling was suprisingly good, with Terri spotting 4 sharks to my zero. However, I did spot a moray eel, lionfish, trumpetfish, 2 mating squid (HUGE), and a blue/black sea-snake.

The rest of the day was spent lounging in the cabana, resting on the beach, and snacking on Thai Food. A pretty lazy day. No other real notes of interest, other than the transvestite volleyball player worthy of the Thai Olympic Volleyball Team. He/She was spiking on everyone, despite the lack of heigth. Maybe it was the high heels...

Day 26-Cliff Jumping in Phi Phi

Let me reiterate, it is WONDERFUL to wake up in an Air Conditioned room. I'm glad we're here for 3 nights. In addition, PP Charlie's Hotel comes with the best complimentary breakfast buffet I've ever had. It was loaded with Thai food (Phad Thai, Fried rice with crab), American food (eggs, bacon, taters), Euro food, pastries, made to order omelets, and fresh tropical fruit. I ate far beyond capacity.

Terri's been sick for a few days with seasickness, so I explored much of the day on my own. Phi Phi Island is small enough that there's no roads, so I walked back into the jungle where the locals live and it was quite interesting. I even got to play with someone's pet monkey, all the while wishing I had accepted the rabies shot offered to me at the Travel Doc clinic before I left.

With a little encouragement, I got Terri out to join on the snorkel/cliff-jumping tour this afternoon. She did most of the snorkeling, I did all the cliff jumping. Laced up in my loaned pink tennis shoes and mittens for rock-climbing to the top, I looked 100% out of my element. Should I let it go, or can I ask why they give the white farang the pink tennies and make me wear mittens to climb? Well, it was more than I bargained for. Luckily I'm left with no major injuries, despite a slightly sprained wrist and swallowing a gallon of seawater. I was brave enough to jump 5 times from a 50 foot cliff, but it scared the crap out of me, and no way was I courageous enough to go off the 80 foot one. My guide jumped from 60 feet out of a tree, but I could only imagine the headlines if I attempted: "Farang Fish Food, Nemo's on the Reef Full."

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The snorkeling was quite nice, as we were not far from port. Plenty of color down under, along with a moray eel, lots of lionfish, parrotfish, angelfish, sweetlip clams, and some very cool red and purple coral. A very good Thai dinner followed, coupled with the nightly rainstorm. Off to bed, and hopeful for some sun tomorrow.

Day 25-Phi Phi Island

After a short night's sleep, we got up early to catch our next boat. Today's destination: Phi Phi Islands. Our tourist agent sold us tickets a few days earlier, assuring us the boat was nice, air-conditioned, and a pleasant 2 hour ride. In all REALITY, it was non-air conditioned, packed twice to the "suggested" capacity, and moderately uncomfortable at best.

We finally did find some seats down below, and although Terri nearly tossed her cookies, we made it safely. Ko Phi Phi immediately showed why it's touted so highly. The water is turquoise-blue, the islands rise high out of the water, covered in jungle, and it really is beautiful. If you've ever seen "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio, it was filmed here.

One of our few splurges on the trip, our bungalow is air conditioned, very clean, and easily the nicest room I've seen yet. Still quite cheap, $50 per night (which in some towns in Thailand will get you a 5 Star Room). The food seems quite Western so far, but I have spotted a few good Thai places for tomorrow. After some lounging, a little beach time, and a full belly, it's on for a couple more days of paradise here...

Day 24-Similan Islands, Part Two

OK, is it really December, and I'm waking up to 80 degree weather and a 7:30 AM dive? Yup, life can be good.

I should note that the Similan Islands have vibrant reefs, plentiful sealife, and each trip has potential for submarine magic. It happened on Dive #1 today. Barely shaking the cobwebs out of my eyes, we dipped down to about 110 feet and allowed the current to push us into the path of an 8 foot Leopard Shark, large octopus, and very large sea turtle gnawing on soft reef. I'm not joking, all in a 30 second time frame. It was top of the list as far my "dive moments."

We did 2 more dives today, following stingrays, lionfish, scorpionfish, moray eels, an octopus changing color from black to beige after we chased it, and about a thousand other fish I couldn't identify. I've had the chance to dive in some unique places, but this ranks very high on the list for the overall amount of sealife. From my eyes, perhaps only Kealakekua Bay on Big Island comes close.

The ride back was torture. The speedboat failed again, this time it was unfortunately NOT a shark. The boat captain's emergency "technical" attempts of simply starting, stopping, starting and stopping (times 100) the engine got us nowhere. Stranded with no land in sight in any direction, we waited for another boat to pick us up. After we finally returned, waited another 45 minutes for our bags to come, we "enjoyed" a 2 hour bus-ride on dark windy curves, back to the hostel.

A quick cheeseburger, need to shower, and more adventure tomorrow... Hopefully no more sharks or bad engines...