"And the hits just keep on coming...." - Jan 31 (Phuket)

Well, Dan and I are in the 2nd to last leg of our journey here in Thailand (Japan is a mere 7 days away). As soon as we split from Arnie in Bangkok, I'm sure he'll be in econo mode for sure.

I'm looking forward to Bangkok (and looking at Phuket, I'm happy to be here - well, for the non-sleeze factor part anyway). I think Bangkok will be fun! We're planning to meet up with Sebastian and Kimiko from Chaing Mai to catch up on our travels, maybe some dinner, and possibly to do some final weekend shopping before we all split again.

Before we left on our trip, I really needed to get in some beach time, do a trek or two, but mainly just relax. Well, if there are 4 corners of Thailand, we hit every one except the most southern (near Malaysia) and hit almost every beach in the guide book Dan has.
As beaches go, almost everyone we went to was GREAT!!! But now, I'm finding that a month of lazing around is starting to make me go a little squirelly if not downright stir crazy. The guys would disagree with me for their situations, but I'm not feeling like I'm doing much and am looking forward to coming home soon and getting back to my life.
Then again, my life pretty much consists of work, the gym, more work, hang with my friends, and then...did I mention work?? Hmmmm....living to work vs. working to live??? As Robbins puts it, "What's the point of being the richest man in the graveyard if you were not able to enjoy life??" Robbins, you'se is a smart mutha-fucka!! Maybe I should reconsider planting my ass back on the beach ;)

Railay was fairly uneventful. We stayed at a place called the Viewpoint Resort which had an upfront view of Mangrove trees and a big muddy area that would fill in with the tide. It wasn't a bad place to stay, just that "Viewpoint" didn't really mean you had a viewpoint overlooking anything spectacular. Our apartment overlooked another building and a big ditch...MMMMmmmmm...nothing like the smell of a stinky ditch in the morning. I totally got my movie fix here. You name it, I watched it....I have no absolutely life. At least the guys got out and about. We each ended up doing our own things in Railay - not because we were pissed at each other or anything; just because we wanted to.

The trip from Railay to Phuket was mostly uneventful, though it did take most of the day. The driver of the minibus (a van) was a grumpy gus! And a freakin' maniac on the road!!! He would aim for scooters and would pull out into oncoming traffic, play 'chicken', to pass a slow driver. When we got to the first stop, Phuket airport, he started throwing bags off the top of the bus and yelled out "GET OUT!!! AIRPORT!!! GET OUT NOW!!!! MOOOOOOOOOVE!!!!".
Oh boy!!

We then took off and stopped near Phuket town (about a 10min ride) and he gave us a 20min break. I guess this must have been a mandatory break because it was like almost 2.5 hours into the trip and we were 15mins from our stop.
We started again, only to stop, when the driver got out, disappeared for a few mintues, and came back with his lunch from a different place. Huh? I didn't understand that. Why would you stop at one rest stop, tell people to get out, tell them to get back into the van, and go someplace else for your lunch. We're still 10mins from our stop!
That said, he ditched one guy in the middle of Phuket town and we got ditched in the outskirts of Kata beach - we had no clue where we were. What a jerk!

At least we got off the bus...this chick on the bus was starting to scare me. She kept hacking away like she was going to die or something...it was all I could do to sit on my side of the van.
Harvey: "Excuse me miss, could you cover your mouth when you cough?"
Bird Flu Lady: "No..I cough free to the world!!"
Harvey: "Oh ok. Would you mind not looking at and coughing on me then?"
Bird Flu Lady: "NO!! I cough in your eye brown man!!"

Oh God....

We're now on Kata beach, which is supposed to be a nice area (just a stones throw from Club Med Phuket). Patong (20 mins from Kata) is also supposed to be real 'seedy' as we ran into some guys Arnie knew from Ko Phi Phi; they told us it's nasty.
We can see a bit of that Sleeze factor here in Kata; not a lot, nut its here. Hookers on the streets, old, ugly Americans (I'm sure Canadians too), Europeans, etc.. with young, beautiful Thai women. The sex trade is alive and well in Phuket; it wasn't so apparent in the quieter beach areas we travelled to earlier but it's alive here.
We're going to Patong tonight to see whats what. A few days here and we leave on the 3rd to Bangkok and to finish the final leg of our trip in Thailand.

Harvey

Same Same...but Different....

Well, the boys and I are in Railay today (got here yesterday afternoon).

Ko Phi Phi was unbelievably busy! When we had arrived there, we had to hunt, and hunt, and hunt for accomdations. And then we hunted some more! Everything was full up, no matter where we looked, places were packed. Some of these Guesthouses also had tents to let out as well so the locals were doing everything they could to cater to the frugal traveller.
That said, things are fairly set in price around the island; actually price fixed. Internet, shopping for shirts, or shorts, CDs/DVDs, you name it - everybody had the same set price. This was the same case for Ko Tao by the way. The smaller islands such as these allow for the locals to get together and say "lets work together and set one price"..I think this makes it easier to keep prices higher and keep wages up for everyone working there. And this is fair enough...everyone needs to make money to survive, especially when the only industry on these islands is tourism.

Arnie is funny though; he's starting to lose the filter on his mouth. Actually it's kind of scary, his inner voice is now becoming his outer voice. We're sitting in this gelato place in Ko Phi Phi and Arnie see's a table where a couple is sitting. He notices they are under an A/C vent and says "I wish we could sit at that table" and the guy sitting there gets up and moves. Arnies like "Did I say that out loud?!?". Ummm..yeah dude...you just booted an old couple from their table...good job!

We're in Railay today and what a HUGE change from the island travelling we've been doing - all the places we called ahead of time for accomodations in Phuket were booked for the weekend; we decided to come here instead. The island living in Ko Tao and Ko Phi Phi was really busy; hitting Railay is like hitting the true beach living we had been doing when we were in Ko Phangan (Bottle Beach). Well, maybe not as chill as Bottle Beach (as there are a lot more amenities) but slower pace just the same. I still got my hot water and A/C in the room (with automatic toilet flush)...aaaaahhhhhh!!!
Railay is not so focused on diving; it's rock climbing here! Arnie went hiking today and Dan and I walked around a bit. We saw people rock climbing, saw some caves (looked like something out of 'Lord of the Rings'; green and gray and blue dirty rock which I'm sure lookes really spooky at night) and what looked like ultra ritzy resorts right next to the caves. We finally hit a small little beach near the mouth of what looked like a hallow cave carved into a side of a huge mountain of a hill; way kewl.

It's funny, the guys and I have turned to each other last week and asked what day it was...we all looked at each other, shrugged, and laughed our asses off! "Duh...what day of week is it George...duuuhhhh!!". We're so losing our survival skills.
The food here is so-so tasting, nothing spectacular as to what we've sampled so far. The best Tai food I've had so far was at the Lanta Long Beach Resort in Ko Lanta...by far, the best I think I've sampled. Top Ten Burger was good in Ko Phi Phi for western fair and Furang Pizza was excellent eats for Pizza in Ko Tao.
Yes, this on again/off again love affair with the EDGE is unfortunatley off again...ugh. Mr B., I'll be hitting the gym again when I get back and sure hope you're still up for the daily workouts. I'm also on Day 6 of the EDGE program so at the very least I'm making some headway there.

All in all, things are going good. I'm recovering from my injuries from Ko Phi Phi (more like scrapes from a wipeout but on coral); they aren't that bad but hurt everytime I move...owwwwwwWWWWWWWWWwwwwwwwwww!!!! At least we were able to make accomadations in Phuket now. Should be good.
We got a week left here in Thailand before Dan and I say goodbye to Arnie and we make our way to the cold chilliness of Japan.... I'm not ready for that...the weather has been great here and with the weather reports from home, I think I need to soak up as much sun as I can before the long flight home...

Harvey

"Mui tre-ouble-o"...Jan 27th

The last few days on Ko Phi Phi have not been without incident. Most good, some not so good.

Robyn and the gang (which the gang consisted of Robyn, her boyfriend, her sister and, soon-to-be brother in-law) and the guys met up a few nights ago; we hit an Irish pub in the middle of the tourist area. Seems like I keep finding Irish pubs, bands, and making friends wherever I go. Not a bad thing, just amusing 'cause THESE FUCKERS CAN DRINK!!!! We played a little pool, had a few laughs, and Jimmy (Robyn's boyfriend) got bugged by this guy from the UK because he didn't know who 'Laurel and Hardy' where. "I can't believe you don't know who 'Laurel and Hardy' are!!! It's like me asking if you know who Jesus is....gooo-lly!!". Apparently it was a big deal though I don't know what the fuss was about...like really, these were comedians in the 50's; who gives a crap!

The following day, we trekked over to Long Beach (at the southern tip of the island) and met up with Robyn and the gang again and received my first injury of the trip...a little gash by these freakin little barnacle.

Remember how I said I couldn't swim? Well, I still can't but everyone encouraged me to get my ass in the water and try snorkeling. It was kewl!
Arnie had bought this snorkel and mask in Ko Tao before we had left (Ko Tao is like supermodel island...gorgeous women everywhere...) and he let me use it to practice swimming and snorkeling - wwaaaaayyy kewl. Robyn helped me pull me along in the water until I was confident enough to go chasing after one of these little fish in the water....it was too fast; couldn't catch it.
Today, we went on a snorkeling trip around all of Ko Phi Phi and surrounding islands. It was good...I snorkeled where I felt comfortable (started off with a life vest though the guys kept making fun and asking for arm floaters for me with little fishies on them...jerks). That's when I got my second set of injuries. It was low tide around an island called Bamboo Island and I went swimming without the vest (a big step for me) and was doing fine. When I got closer to a reef between me and the beach (the reef being less than three feet from the top of the water), I started taking in water into the snorkel and mask; that's when I panicked and kick up some coral. OOOOWWWWWWW!!!!! That hurt!!
At least I got the wounds to prove that I'm no wuss! At least I'm making progress....
Ko Phi Phi, by the way, is also another supermodel island. Lovely women everywhere. There were these Spanish women on my boat that where just unbelievable. Dan would say "Are they in trouble Harv??" and I'd reply with a Spanish accent "Mui tre-ouble-o...". But then I'm a chicken and never approached....just leered as usual....leeeeeerrrrrrrrrinnggg.....

I mentioned during my last blog that walking around the island left me in a bit of a somber mood where I saw the houses (shacks really) where the locals were living and huge stretches of the north beach area that have been completely wiped out. The Thai government has now designated the north side of the beach to no longer be community planned area but to allow for resorts to be constructed (makes sense I guess as tourism is the sole industry for the islands...and it's busy here).
Dan and I went and hiked to the top of a mountain viewpoint to get a birds eye view of what the village looked like and how the Tsunami wave must of hit the beach below. Later, we visited the memorial for the victims. Like I said, it was a somber day as I had also found out that a fellow co-worker that I knew had passed away.
Victor Chang, though I didn't really know on a personal level, was someone I enjoyed working with (I managed a technical team in a call center where he would report to me - he worked hard and always had a good attitude), was a good guy, and I liked talking to him now and then. I'm sorry I didn't get to know him better but you know what it's like...you see someone at work or school, they're nice people, you enjoy talking to them but the conversations stay high-level and you just end up talking to them at work or at school. It's not a bad thing, it just is what it is.
Now not to be corny by dedicating this BLOG to Victor (I don't think that would be in good taste, not from an acquaintance), I will use this BLOG to pass on my wishes and condolences to his family and friends.

Tomorrow we leave Ko Phi Phi and I think (we're still mulling it over) we're going to head of to Phuket where we'll kayak and go see James Bond island and other sites. More to come later.

Harvey

Ko Phi Phi - Jan 25th

In Ko Phi Phi today. The boys and I had stayed in Ko Lanta for a few days at a place called 'Lanta Long Beach Resort'. It was nice - clean rooms for the most part, an outside bathroom with hotwater...that was interesting.

The resort, actually much of Ko Lanta, is very relaxed. The atmosphere is a bit of an older crowd - families, couples, and a few single people. Everyone pretty much kept to themselves here as the general feel is to just do your own thing and be left alone.

The common area was good (best Greek Salad I've ever had!!) but if staying here, be prepared for your order or bill to get messed up in some fashion. Almost everytime, Arnies order would get forgotten. No love for him from the kitchen. That and we got in trouble at lunch time for not paying a bill at breakfast - we found out then that the servers had given us someone elses bill and we had overpaid. All worked out though we did end up wagging our fingers (not the middle one) at the server who apologized profusely.

Koh Lanta wasn't hit as hard during the Tsunami as some of the other islands.
The bartender that we befriended (everyone is super nice here) mentioned that a 1 meter wave had washed in about 200 feet or so. There was a huge retention area near the internet cafe where we could see some of the aftermath (still here). For the most part, this retention area (about an acre in size) was the only evidence we could see of the damage...everything else seems to have returned to normal here. The bartender staff were all pretty kewl. They were practicing their fire throwing practice on these long ropes they would swing around and we were lucky enough to get a private showing. I got some video capture and will post once I'm back home (the net here is reeeeeeeaaaaaaalllly slow so trying to post pics is driving me bonkers). I'll update after I'm back in Van with links to my picture and video galleries.

We also met up with the Kamloops girls we met on Bottle Beach. We got together for dinner and hit a bar on the beach (a place called Nik's) where we got to see a Canadian band playing Irish music. Torontonians, living in Thailand pretending to be Thai, who want to be Irish. Go figure. It was kewl all the same though the lead singer kinda looked like Billy Idol/Joe Dirt all in one.

One thing I'll say for sure - if you ask for a taxi, expect anything!! A taxi can consist of ANY motorized vehicle. It could be a:
1. Taxi Cycle - just your basic scooter that someone else drives and you hold on for dear life.

2. Taxi Cycle with a sidecar - just your basic scooter with a jittery metal contaption welded to the scooter. You still hold on for dear life!

3. A Tuk-Tuk - a 3 wheeled scooter. If you take one of these in a busy city like Bangkok, you take your life in your own hands. You have been warned! Chaing-Mai not so bad but Bangkok...ohhhhh.....

4. A Pickup truck - a jitter old pickup truck with a bench, just a bench, that you sit on that spans across the length of the truck bed. You sit over the tire wells and again, hold on for dear life ('cause these guys fly down the streets, dirt roads, moutain ravines, you name it!)

5. A Pickup truck with a bench and backrest - just like the above except you get a backrest that sits above the truck bed. You feel a little better but I'd suggest that you HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE!!!!

6. A pickup truck with a cage - all of the above expect the entire bed is contained within a cage. Be careful not to crack your head.

7. A real live Taxi - with the added benefit of AC and no seatbelts. These guys are crazy when they drive, especially in Bangkok, so the theme of HOLDING ON FOR DEAR LIFE continues.

Where am I going with this? After we left Team Kamloops at 2/3am, we took a Taxi scooter with side-car back to our guesthouse...at night...on a manual scooter...at night....where there are realatively no rules of the road...other than the fact that the bigger the vehicle you drive, the better chance that you'll win on the road. I miss my car...

Ko Lanta was nice but, getting squirrely once again, we moved on to Ko Phi Phi.
OK, this place is hopping a bit more!!! A good mix of young people as well as the more mature crowd.

Though a good portion of the main tourist area has been and is continuing to be rebuilt (like nothing ever happened), there is some significant signs of the Tsunami damange still around.
There are areas here, starting from the dock, where we can see that a 12 meter wave (had to be) took out roofs and the like. There is a hotel being rebuilt were there was once a beach.
As we moved into the tourist area, things look like nothing ever happended until we moved to the outskirts of the area (we were hunting for accomodations and with this being high-season, almost all of the guesthouses we found were booked full).
It's like shanti town in some areas; a war zone. Tents, broken down buildings, areas of earth that are bare except for the fact that you can still see tile flooring on the ground were a building used to be. I felt a little sombre seeing this. Got some pics of the area with tents open in front of a guest house that they are now using for accomodation. With the cost of tourism being so cheap, I think it'll be sometime until they can recover. Then again, seeing how far they have come within a year, maybe I'm too pessimistic.
All this said, the Thai people have an amazingly good attitude and are happy to see us (no victim mentality). Very welcoming and friendly, as if nothing ever happened.

Once we found a place to stay (and it's a nice place...I'm recon for rooms remember - I'm so anal), it finally started to rain. It was funny, Arnie went in to the bathroom to take a shower and no sooner did Dan and I hear the water from the shower hit the tiled bathroom that we looked out the window and heard the torential downpour outside the hotel. Arnie was shocked when he came out and saw what was happening outside - it's been literally over 3 weeks since we've been here and it's only been sunshine and good weather...'knock on wood' that it continues!! I heard Vancouver hasn't been so lucky with the rain. That's because I put a hex on the city...mmmoooohahahahahahahahaha!!!!.

Oh, we met up with our neighbor Robyn here in Phi Phi. It was funny, we didn't here from her or her boyfriend via email on where they were staying but ran into them at a convience store. Robyn and I are like travellers...can't handle dirty rooms, don't want to go near a squat toilet, both shook our heads at the overnight boat from Koh Tao (ick!!), and are both the designated recon for rooms because we're the only high-maintenance ones in the group. Hahaha...she can travel with me anytime - "Resorts only Girl!!!".

We'll be here for a few days before we move on to Phuket and eventually Bangkok. I'm looking forward to the hiking and kayaking while we're here.

Harvey (in Ko Phi Phi).

P.S. Tim Tams are the best cookies on the planet!!! What??...I'm still on the EDGE! Try running with Arnie, he's hard to keep up with! Hobbits can really move!!
At least my running time is improving.

Jan 22nd - Koh Lanta

CAUTION: The rating on this BLOG has been upgraded to much anticipated PG-13 rating from the lovable, happy-go-lucky G rating. Though nothing stupid has been committed by yours truly (I still got roughly 3+ weeks to change that), comments mentioned are based on observations and final stupid everyday discussions between myself and my buds (now with an all new vulgar language feature).
The much antipicated R rating (for you perverts) will have to wait until the gang and I hit Pat Pong in Bangkok.

Since my last BLOG, I have not heard a peep from Death Threat Lady. As a point of fact, I haven't replied to her and am not planning to reply....but a sick side of me would like to see if she'd send me more crap. Please note, if you received an uncharacteristic email from me of an abusive nature, it wasn't me. I have a feeling that Death Threat Lady may have gotten my email password and started up a storm. I have since changed my password but do apologise if you have received something unbecoming.

We walked around town and made our way back to Sairee Beach when we walked by a place called "Mr. J's". Mr. J, much to the chagrin of Dan when I bugged him, looked like a perverted old Chinese guy who sold...you guessed it...home made profolactics. "Mr J's condoms....get them here!!"
I was imagining the conversation we could have had while he was spouting off his theories on sex:
Harvey: "you got gaurantee's on that? What if it breaks?"
Mr J: "dhis is bery good kwality...high end product...."

emm hmmm....yeah....

So what was Mr J's theories on sex? Here it is:
"For romance - you need girl. For very good romance - you need ladyboy. For free love - you need dog!"

YEAH OK Mr. J., I don't need any more hints. Enjoy eating your deer balls! Apparently eating the parts of other animals is supposed to help you grow your parts...no thanks..


That evening, in Koh Tao, the boys and I kicked around for the day waiting for our overnight boat to Surattani and eventual bus ride from there to Krabbi. So what did we do? What everyone does on the beach when there is nothing to do....we hit the bar!
As we're sitting there, minding our own business, a ruckus broke out on the beach. Topless water jousting! What the heck? It was like looking at the sun...you don't want to look and yet you do...and in amazement...you can't help but stare and pray to god that you don't go blind.

The local Dive Masters and Bartenders at Ban's Diving Resort are all young (what I observed) Europeans and Aussies between 20 to mid-30's; and every 3 days or so (according to the bar tender), they have naked boobie jousting. The way the jousting works is that two girls will stradle the shoulder of two guys and then the jousting starts...the girls try to unseat each other to go falling into the ocean.
That's it....but they go on and on and on.....

After the jousting, they all came up to the bar and started drinking....and drinking they did! Out of no action of our own...we got sucked in.
First was the "Floppy Milk". Floppy Milk consists of crushed Oreos (you need a good forehead for smashing those cookies to bits), Rum, Vodka, milk, and Kalhua....all mixed into another one of those freakin buckets.

So this, had to be Scottish (but what do I know about accents) guy, was hilarious. He'd dive into this buckets and come out covered in Floppy Milk. "MMMMMmmmmm...", he say. "Dhat is some Floppy milk!! It's VERY FLOPPY!!!!". And then his friends get into it...all diving into the bucket saying how Floppy it was. Can someone explain to me what Floppy means? I have no clue....they just went on and on about Floppy.
Well, the bucket didn't work for long because their noggins past the lip of the bucket. So out comes the garbage bag and the Floppy Milk goes gushing into the bag.
GAME ON.
Heads start going into the bag and come out covered with cookie bits and the rest of the Floppy Milk.

So where did we get sucked in? After the Floppy Milk, Mr. Scottish started buying rounds of Barcardi Breezers. "The B.B.C.", he called it. "The Barcardi Brezzer Challenge!!". It consisted of shooting the bottles...straw goes in to let in air, and you chug the Breezer. He bought for the entire bar...he started ordering cases (warm cases of Barcardi Breezers...yuck) and around the bar they went. It all ended shortly after a big grin came across his face and he pee'ed in his shorts. ICK!

That was gross...at least we got some drinks during the shinnanegans...had a good glow going on.

Anyway, that night, as we're waiting for our taxi (open air pickup) to the pier, everyone is in a good mood. And then Dan see's the overnight boat...and was he ever grumpy then. You had to see this boat...hot, smelly, mats on the floor of this boat, creepy crawlers everywhere (and I have a phobia of creepy crawlers but I kept my good mood), stinky
people, bad breath, terrible B.O., you name it.
Dan + alchohol + stinky boat + heat + stinky people = NOT HAPPY

We settled in for a fairly rocky boat ride into Surattani. Dan said he almost got sick as we would look out the window and see the moon racing towards the top of the window and disappear and then come racing back towards the bottom of the window and disappear....not a good boat ride.

**Tip for anyone travelling to Thailand: buy yourself a good sleeping bag liner/sleep sheet - this will save your ass! And a good head lamp to find stuff with when the lights go out. You can get both at MEC. Oh...and travel with a pharmacy of stuff because getting ill with a cold and possibly having tummy problems is pretty much going to happen.

We got on a bus from Surattani to Krabbi and found that Koh Lanta was just 2 hours away. After 14hrs of travelling, we said "why not?" and kept going. It also helped that the local tourist guide said that there was absolutely nothing to do in Krabbi so we just kept motoring on. That's where I am today - Koh Lanta.

This morning was good though. BACK ON THE EDGE BABY!!!!
Went for a good 20 minute run on the beach. It's super humid here and I was sweating like a pig. Arnie mentioned that there are certain temperatures and humidity that is not recommended for running...he said this was close. Good to know that then...I was worried about why I wanted to yack 10 mins into the run (I can handle running this long back home).
It was kewl....two little kids started running with me and egged me to keep running. First one kid dropped off...then the other though I tried egging him to keep going.
It wasn't long ago that I was like the first kid....I would stop running 2 mins into a run but now I can keep going. Cardio is getting strong!!
Well...maybe I haven't found the full EDGE. Years ago, my ex-girlfriend would eat Nutella (you know, the chocolate) with pancakes or eggo waffles or something. She'd even eat it straight out of the jar. I'd say "Hun...come on, straight out of the jar?? That's gross!" and she'd eat it happyily away while she ignored me (you have to picture it..chocolate on her face...it was cute but she was a messy eater). Anyway, I never tried Nutella. Never; until this trip of course. OH MY GOD....Nutella on crepes is soooooo good!! I never knew what I was missing...this stuff rocks!
You can get these crepes anywhere...from the local guesthouse where you may be staying to street vendors with portable hot plates...just like a hotdog vendor back home but for crepes. It's awesome!

The place here in Koh Lanta is really nice. If it was ever hit by the Tsunami...there is no evidence of it so far that I can see. We're right on a beach called Long Beach (a name not restricted for exclusive use on the west coast of N. America), the water is super blue, the sand is super white, the breeze is nice, and the vibe is ultra relaxed. Much like the other beaches we've visited so far and yet different at the same time.
There are resorts everywhere..all offering bungalows, common areas to eat and drink, fantastic views of beach and ocean, and the occasional one has a pool.
The place sorta reminds of North Beach Miami a bit. Now those were some good times!

Anyway...team Kamloops (the 3 girls we met up with on Bottle Beach) are supposed to be on Koh Lanta some place. We may or may not meet up with them...don't know. Regardless, Robyn (Arnie and my neighbor back home) is on Koh Pi Pi (I think I spelt this right) and we may be meeting up with her and her boyfriend in a few days.
Beyond that, we're just chilling on a new beach, new views, new people (bit of an older crowd here...married people, families, retired folks) so we'll chill for a few days before moving on.

Harvey

Jan 20th - Last day in Koh Tao

Well, the last couple of days in Koh Tao have been interesting.

Koh Tao is primarily a diving mecca...a small little island a few hours from Koh Phangan. If you're not diving (as I don't swim), there really isn't much to do other than read, chill on the beach, nerd out at internet cafes, or rent a scooter (which Dan did) and rocket around the island.

Arnie had an early morning yesterday to get his open water certificate (he got it) and was out the door by 7:30. This was good, his padding around the room woke me up and got my day started early...in fact it got me motivated to get back to working on the EDGE!
I went for a run and hit the local (and only) gym in the area called Monsoon gym. It being the only gym on the island (that I'm aware of) it's also the islands open air gym...at least, it's covered by a roof anyway. One thing I never considered when thinking about an open air gym is that equipment will rust...and rust big time too! It's ok....I got a good workout in and got back in time to the room to catch another installment of the 'A-Team' - Woohoo!! Out of all the places in the world I could go, leave it to me to find the A-Team.

Beyond that, this place is chill for the most part. Sairee beach is a mix of beach and places to shop, eat, or surf the net. There are other parts of the island that, according to Dan, are either remote with tonnes of beach and nothing in the vicinity as something to do, or the extreme opposite of no beach but tonnes of shopping and internet cafes. Guess we got the right mix of both while at Sairee.

I think I also found another woman in the world to piss off. So get this; there are these internet cafes all around the island. With transportation, internet, and it seems clothing and shopping, there is no negotiating on the island...prices seem to be fixed everywhere (and at Canadian prices....no real deals on clothes here that I can't buy back home).
Well, at internet cafes, the norm is that you must pay 2 baht a minute for internet (super cheap - no problem). When you first logon, you have to buy the first 10 minutes whether you use them or not (again, not a probelm). So where is my story going?
Well check it out: I walked into this internet cafe and sat down at a machine after saying "hi" to the lady that worked there. Nice enough.
Well, the internet connection worked for about 1 min...literally 1 min before it died....I couldn't even begin to write an email. So I told the lady and said I'd be back later when it was working.
She freaked...."you pay me 20 baht!!!". "Huh?", I said. I proceeded to explain that I would be more than happy to pay for the 1 minute of use, that I still wanted to use the service but the service wasn't working. I tried to tell her that charging me for 10 minutes of use for a service they weren't able to provide just wasn't fair...it's just bad service.
And that's where I guess I put my foot in my mouth...as usual, after 32years on this planet, I've found another way to piss off a woman in one of the worlds "supposedly...read below for more detail" most nicest and friendliest country.
"YOU NO PAY!!!", she sreamed. "You called my shop bad service! YOU GET OUT! YOUR NO COME BACK!!!"
Huh? So not only did I piss off a woman in one of the nicest countries but I got banned from a shop. I got banned from a shop in Thailand!! What the $%^%!!
I didn't argue, I just scratched my head and left.

But it gets better! So today Dan, Arnie, and I are off to Krabi and we needed to make our way into town; Dan needed to make a call back home (yellow phones are international phones and orange colored phones are for dailing within Thailand). We also checked the net while we were here...and what do I see? I can only assume an email from the the lady from the shop...with a death threat!! A freakin' death threat man! What happened to nice and kind?
And how did she know my email? It must have been from some logs on her server scanning what I was doing (don't know how that could work as it's supposed to be a connection to the hotmail server) or from that keylogger.exe that Arnie mentioned is installed around places (I changed all my passwords today just o be safe). Check out her email below:

From : wimonwan nimit <suputsara_3@hotmail.com>
Sent : January 18, 2006 10:39:58 PM
Subject : To bad man Hi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How are you bad man.?When you death.?Beacause I want sent beautiful flower to you.And black flower.You wait me for flower.
You know you veryๆๆๆๆๆๆๆๆๆๆๆๆๆๆ BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD .I come from shisu.
If you country have peoplev same you i thing your country not good. tell you. Have only 1 choice for you. You death better.

Woah...leave it to me to piss off a woman enough to have her want to murder me....hmmm....I wonder if she's the only one (gulp)...
So you might say "20 baht man, who gives a shit. It's like 80 cents". Well, to be honest, I wasn't thinking that way. It's funny, economies of scale are different but it wasn't about the money exchange when I tried to be logical, it was about me having a backbone and calling BS on getting taken advantage of; about not being treated fair. When I think about it now, I should lossen up...I make small things more important than they really are.
Thinking about the money, I should have just paid her. In the heat of a moment, I tend to get stuck and not back down. A really small thing and it ends up being more important to me than just giving in and say "ah well, you win").
At least the email from this lady shows me now that no amount of logic (or my perceived logic) would have worked and it was best to just walk out as I did. My claim to fame...a death threat for 80 cents...leave it to a Taurus...

On a lighter note...I haven't made any other enemies today, left the ladies alone here for the most part, and have recieved no death threats today...well, at least not any new threats from Dan or Arnie....but I'm trying to push some of their buttons...poke...."hey Dan, how many watches you got??"....poke...poke....hahaha...

Next update in a few days....hopefully without incident...jeez... BTW...I'll say this much for the weather here...we're all getting freakin' dark.

Harvey

...and then there were three - Jan 12th - Jan 17th

The last few days have been relatively quiet and uneventful. Dan and I reached Bottle Beach, chilled for the afternoon, and met up with Arnie in the evening.

The bungalow Arnie got was perfect - right on the beach facing the ocean, super warm day and night, and all we could hear every morning was the crashing of the waves. As a point of note, the Edge is turning into more of a sidewalk....I got some big time work to do to get back into the fitness kick when I get back....At least I got some good research done for our Japan trip....I can't wait to hit Tokyo!

Half the beach was from Vancouver! It was hilarious. The folks next to us (Mark and Kendra) in the bungalow were from downtown Vancouver, three girls we met from Kamloops (Meagan, Jen, and Jamie), and a couple from Victoria. We made fast friends and for the most part, hung out quite a bit. Cam and Danielle from Victoria were super kewl (we hung out all the time) and were like one of the gang from home. I hope we keep in touch once we're all back.
Cam has this great eating scale: 1 through 10; 10 being the most full and something like 8 being eating for sport. Well, I think I was at a 10 the entire time (ugh) especially because I kept eating these freakin' addictive Mars Bar fritters (deep fried Mars bar). Yup...the EDGE is more of a sidewalk alright....

It didn't take long for all that resting on the beach to change! The night of the 14th was the January Full Moon Party on Haadrin. As Dan put it, there was only one word to describe it: debacle. I don't think debacle means what he thinks it means but it sounds like a good word...I don't have my thesaurus on me today...

Anyway, there had to have been easily 5000 - 7000 people partying, sleeping, drinking, pee'ing, or doing something unbecoming on the beach.People were drinking freakin buckets, literally buckets, of alcohol....and Red Bull here is definitely not like the Red Bull back home! The buckets consisted of a full mickey of whisky, a can of coke, and a whole bottle of the ephedrin enriched Red Bull gone wrong. Lets just say I was up for most of the night.
Never did find out where the mushroom shakes were but who needed it after those buckets....ugh.... Ah well.

Bottle Beach was really nice to chill out for a few days though a bit secluded for me; I'm glad to be moving again. Today, we're in Koh Tao for 3 or 4 days. The boys are going to do some diving and I'm just going to explore the island and chill on the beach. We're staying at a place called Bans Resort on Saree Beach. This place is NICE!! Ahhh..Bottle Beach was nice but I'll be honest, I like western conviences...like a hot shower and a toilet that flushes...YIPPEE!!! I'm soooo happy.

Bans Resort is pretty kewl! It's right in the middle of this little area of bars/pubs, internet cafes, dive shops, pirate CD/DVD kiosks (I'd never be so low as to buy burnt stuff; I'd never do that), convience places, and the like. Lots of shopping that can get done.
Oh...and I'm in heaven. All around me are beautiful Blond haired, Blue-eyed women. For my friends that know me they know that I have a fetish for that gorgeous European look. These women are in so much trouble and they don't even know it! GROWL....TIGER PAW!!

After Koh Tao, we're discussing hitting Crabbi for a few days and then off to Phuket. Schedules open though; we got time to decide.

Harvey

The return to Gilligans Island - Jan 12th...

Gilligan: "Where are we going now Skipper?"
Skipper: "Koh Phangan, little buddy!", as Skipper hits Gilligan with his hat.

Dan and I just arrived in Koh Phangan. The last few days I spent recovering in Chaing Mai.
Dan and I had met up with fellow travellers from Sweden (some young guys tagging along with our group) and a few Aussie girls who were leaving the next day at a Reggae bar; the bar wasn't far from Libra Guesthouse. The bar closed by 1am and we headed over to a seedy little bar called Spicy; right in the heart of Chaing Mai. And this place was SEEEEE-DDYYY!!! Big, huge, ugly, Ji-normous 80 year old Americans on the hunt for short, young, petite, and beautiful Tai women. I thought I was big until I saw a few guys that looked like they ate 5 full grown Arnold Swartzenneger body-builder types...and that was probably just for appies! Shudder...

I didn't stick around long, still felt ill, and with all the cigarette smoke and Thai beer, it was good to get some sleep.
The next few days, I just took it easy while Dan travelled around visiting Temples and shopping up a storm; hanging out by a local hotel pool for me was a good call.

I was surprised to find that along with clothes and little bobbles, people could actually buy some serious weaponry at the night market (not that I did; "I'm a lov'a not a fight'a"). Tasers, swords, throwing stars, you name it.
Dan's been hilarious! We've played good cop/bad cop on a few sellers and got some shirts and stuff but he has more back-up watches for his back-up watches than I do. I finally have something on him for buying more than one item....
Dan: "Hey Harv, how come you got more than one camera?"
Harvey: "Shut up Dan!"

Dan: "Hey Harv, how come you got more than one TV?"
Harvey: "Shut up Dan!"

Dan: "Hey Harv, how come you got more than one computer?"
Harvey: "Shut up Dan!"

How's this Dan..."How come you got MORE THAN ONE WATCH?? HUH?!?!?!"....hahahahaha.....yes!! Finally!!!

He also bought these Oakley sunglasses that make him look like Morpheous from "The Matrix". We keep saying that line from the movie when Neo first meets him and asks: "Morpheous?"...and Dan replying...in a deep voice...."YYyyyyyyyeeeeesssssss!!!". And then we get into this whole rant of quoting the movie....at least we're keeping ourselves occupied...

We said our good-byes to our fellow trekkers, a few of them went on to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, others went home (with a few tears shed between their long term travelling companions), and a few others were staying around a few days until their travels took them on to Pai.

Dan and I made our way to Bangkok and are now in Koh Phangan after and early morning flight.
That said, we're at one of the very few Internet stations on the island and this will probably be my last update until after the full moon party in a few days.
The island is fairly mellow and the guide book we have pretty much states that unless we're either partying or diving, there isn't much to do other than sit on the beach and soak some rays (sounds really bad to me....). We're on an open plan now with the itinerary being mostly fulfilled on places we wanted to hit. The full moon party is where Arnie wanted to visit the most so Dan and I are going to go meet up with him now.

Next update in a few days (after all the drinking and debotchory is done I'm sure...I've heard so many stories of these buckets...literally buckets of alcohol....ugh...)

Gilligan

Chaing Mai - Jan 6th to Jan 9th

Jan 6th - Jan 9th
Feeling a little rough for wear today. I have just returned from a 2 day trek and it seems like half our tour group is either suffering from heat exhaustion or we may have accidently drank some bad water...ugh...I feel rough...

The night of the 6th, Dan and I had gotten settled at the Libra Guesthouse.

The Libra Guesthouse is recommended by Lonely Planet, Let's Go, and The Rough Guide to Thailand publications. Dan's friend stayed here and also recommended it. It's nice. The folks that run it are super nice and one of the fellow travellers we met mentioned that for the same cost of other guesthouses (they looked at 3 or 4 others), this was the cleanest and nicest they found. As I'm a bit of a clean freak, I would agree.

Web site:
http://www.libraguesthouse.com (for some reason, their site doesn't work but I'll mention it to them).

Telephone/fax:
+66 53 210 687 (from aboard)
053-210687 (call in Thailand)

Address:
28 Moon Muang Rd, Soi 9. Chiang Mai. Thailand. 50200

If you book at the Libra Guesthouse, be sure to make a reservation as the Guesthouse folks will pick you up from the airport. If you try to take a Taxi or a Tuk-Tuk, the drivers will lie to you and tell you that it's closed. This is because they get paid to take you to a Guesthouse that they are affiliated with. That or just be adamant about them taking you to the Guesthouse.

The night we arrived, Dan and I hit the market. There are two markets, a night market all week long and one huge Sunday market. Both are good (Dan and I picked up a couple of knock-off watches from a local vendor) but the Sunday market is a 2km stretch of road that get's shut down for a massive sale. I wasn't able to make the Sunday market (laid up with this heat stroke) but Dan mentioned that they had higher quality clothes and goods that were different than what was available at the daily night market.

It was funny, for the night we arrived, Dan and I played "Good Cop/Bad Cop" on negotiating for these watches we bought. Negotiating is expected and it was kewl to use a sales tactic that I almost never use back home...don't know why...I could save more if I just negotiated more back home. Oh well. Anyway, I used a tactic that I've seen my
dad use in the past. The stand up...slowly walk towards the door...come back...slowly walk towards the door...come back a bit...walk out the door....hang out outside.... In a span of 4 minutes, Dan and I knocked off 75% of his asking price...and we knew he was still doing good. It was funny, when I walked outside, I moved out of view, Dan stayed in view and made motions like we were talking about the deal when we were just shooting the shit and discussing dinner or
something. When we bought the watches, the guy was like "You hard deal...why did you leave?". Hahaha...he was smiling and having fun with us and asked where we were from. I think he was making note of dealing with Canadians in the future. You know, in perspective, it was the difference of about $60CDN..not a big deal but in relation to what prices are here, it's all ecomomies of scale. I did feel a bit guilty at first about negotiating but this is the game out here and the one these guys play real well. The small stuff I won't fret about but figure if someone is good with a price that we settle on, then I will be too.

The next day, Dan and I left for a two day/one night trek into the hills to visit a village. One of the guys that had picked us up from the airport was a self proclaimed "Lady-Boy" named Roonie. He was our trek guide and a funny sod to boot!We were treking with a total of 10 people (folks from Austrailia, UK, Canada, and the US); Roonie would turn to all the girls in the truck ride up, point to each in turn and say "I don't like you...I don't like you...I don't like you..., etc.. because you are prettier dhan Roooo-nie! Dhese men are to be my boooooy-friend!!". Hahaha, this guy was hilarious!!. If one guy would be talking to someone when Roonie was trying to say something, he'd threaten "Yoooou don't talk when Rooon-ie talk else I put my mooouu-th on your mooouu-th!!!".

The trek started off good. We fed elephants and went on a ride with them. Man, are these things furry and huge. Elephant hair are like needles...I was afraid to sit on it's neck as I want to have kids some day. And can they spit!! Dan was recording video on his camera and got a shot of me getting covered in elephant mucus..yuck!!



Mr. B., you'll be happy to hear that I'm keeping up with our "EDGE" workout. Everyday, except for today...I feel like crap, I've been able to workout. I got these stretchy bands and have been able to keep up with shoulders, chest, arms, etc... The trek was awesome for cardio; it was like doing the Grouse Grind! It took us 1.5 hours to reach a waterfall where we did some swimming. The falls were moderately powerful and it was like swimming under a pressure washer.

We hiked another 45mins the rest of the way to the village where we were to stay and were treated to a faboulous dinner by one of the villagers. I got to know the tour group better as dinner was being prepared - a good bunch of people from a mix of backgrounds...some had been travelling for a short time while others were on year long excursions. We all shared one room at the house we were staying at and slept on straw mats on the floor. It was chilly at night and I was
glad to have brought a sweater and extra sleeping sheet.Talk about rural living though...I haven't seen a squat toilet in
years. The girls would comment on how much they loved this...

Yesterday (day two of the hike), we continued our trek into a few more villages to give the local children toys and school supplies...but no kids... It was a Sunday and they where either in church or working with their parents in the fields.

The people that live in these villages were originally from Burma and came to Thailand because they were being oppressed by the military government out there. Roonie would say, as we would pass by signs and postings, that the locals were all pacifists. They came from a wide variety of backgrounds (Christian, Muslim, Bhuddist, etc..) and all
just wanted to be left alone to run their lives. I think tourism probably helps a bit for village needs but the villages themselves look generally self-sustaining; a lot of farming of rice and stuff here.

We made our way back down to a river to continue our final leg of the trek; a bamboo raft ride. Take it from a guy that can't swim and was put on the back of the raft to row us along; this was fun!!

Other than this heat exhaustion, this has been a good couple of days and I'd recommend both the trek as well as the Guesthouse. These guys at the Guesthouse here are ultrachill and a good bunch to stay with.

Dan and I are to fly out in a few days to Bangkok and will meet up with Arnie on Bottle Beach; near Koh Phangan. Next update in a few days (I'll also update this BLOG later with some pics).

Harvey

Finally in Thailand - Jan 3rd to Jan 6th

The trek from Vancouver to Bangkok took roughly 27/28hrs door to door (leaving the apartment to getting to the Guesthouse).
The travel time was a bit messed up mainly due to the fact that all three connecting flights (from Van to San Francisco; San Fran to Tokyo; Tokyo to Bangkok) were all delayed...ugh...Dan and I were wrecked when we arrived (early morning on the 5th; around 1am...good thing the Guesthouse was open 24hrs).
At least the food wasn't too bad on the flights...well, for airplane food anyway...

When we were leaving Bangkok airport, neither Dan nor I could find any bank machines. Luckily I had $60CDN on me to convert at the money exchangers for the cab ride to the Guesthouse.
I'll say this much; the Taxi companies are aggressive! There were like 5 booths for Taxis trying to sign people up. These are the limos themselves and charge roughly about 600 - 650BHT to get us to where we wanted to go. Dan and I grabbed the metered Taxi's by lining up outside in a queue and got to the Guesthouse for 250BHT (I think this was about $6-$10CDN; super cheap).
The Taxi driver was funny; big smile on his face and all he could say was 'Happy New Year'. "Happy New Year M'ita. Happy New Year Bangkok, yeah?!". We wished him well in return.
He'd smile at us too as Dan and I would say "WOOOAHH!!!" as we say 2 or 3 wrecked cars on the highway over. Posted limit is 60KPH and everyone drives at least 120KPH.

We got to the KT Guesthouse (http://www.ktguesthouse.com) and got separate rooms. After such a long trip, this place was a welcome site. Thanks for recommending this Roberta - this place is nice and I consider it a palace for how much I'm paying. So far I'm living like a king and I've hardly spent much on accommodation.

It's freakin' warm here too - 27 degrees Celsius when we landed and it's humid. No need for a jacket. It's supposed to be the dry season; glad we didn't come during our Summer 'cause I is cooking...

The guesthouse is a fair distance from Koh San Road. It's actually quite far; we'd need to take the subway and then a Taxi to get there. That's ok, we're in Bangkok several times and can figure out staying closer to hang with fellow back packers the next few times we're here.

One thing I learned about the Guesthouse and about travel information in general. Map directions are more like general guidelines than anything precise. Be prepared to hunt around. Dan and I spent a good hour looking for the subway which should have taken 15-20mins to walk to...that and we got lost coming back....all in fun though...

That said, the morning of the 5th, Dan and I took the subway and skytrain to Siam Square. We ended up in a ritzy part of town as when we got off the train, we walked straight into a mall and saw a Lamborghini for sale. I got some pics.



We walked around and started to make our way to the MBK mall (I think that is what it is called). Along the way, we ran into a helpful chap that directed us to some factory shops that make custom tailored suits (we're talking Armani, Gucci, Bulgari....I thought Bulgari only made watches and stuff but guess they're the Mitsubishi of flash); a place called 'Manhattan'. Vik/Kumar - this is high end stuff....like Super 100 - 140 fabric. Even got some top coats made out of Camel hair. I blew my entire travel wad at this place. It was the first place I've seen that had East-Indians working there; they were all Indian. I think it's because of this that I may have gotten a better price. I thought these guys were going to bust out the Indian sweets and Chai tea as we were all laughing and joking around. Dan got stuffed on pop and fruit instead as I shopped. At least I got a deal though...that or they were working me over; doesn't matter, I got some great gear and am going to look DEAD SEXY!! "I'm a model, know what I mean? 'Cause I shake my little tush on the catwalk..."...hahaha...I'm kidding of course...but what ever happen to 'Right Said Fred' after he wrote the Model song?? One hit wonder I guess. For those of you that know me, you know that I usually dress for comfort first and looks second. I might just change my game a bit once I get back home with all the new threads....then again.....

After the tailors, Dan and I went back to the MBK mall to get some more looking around and shopping done (it was Dan's turn now to shop...I think he actually parted with $10CDN...). It was sensory overload; Metrotown and Pacific Center combined with shops and stalls with clothing, electronics, bobbles, etc.. for sale. Almost dizzying! I was spun around. Tonnes of people too...from locals to tourists all looking at the deals and haggling...

Afterwards we went to go see Jim Thompsons house. Recall now, this is still during our first full day here - Jan 5th! Jim Thompson was an entrepreneur in the 30's - 60's and revitalized the silk industry. This place was kewl and I got some wicked snaps. This was a good call on Dan for coming here. After the mall, we were both feeling a little frazzled...at least I was, maybe I shouldn't talk for Dan. At the house, the pace changed dramatically. It was calm; right along a river and all we could hear were other people quietly chatting, walking around the gardens, or having a light snack at the concession area (which was an old covered patio which was once part of the house and it sat right next to a pond full of fish). This place was....Tranquil. Yes, I said tranquil...I've picked up a thesaurus once or twice before....



That said, the first day in Bangkok has been amazing. There is a cacophony of smells and colors from the sweet and bright to the putrid and gaudy. It's a mix of chaos and uniqueness all in one go.

Quotes of the day:
1. Don't trust a man that says "Trust me"! A Taxi driver doesn't really know where he is going if he keeps looking at a map and scratches his head repeatedly.
2. "We're not taking a Tuk-Tuk!!". I said this to Dan as we witnessed a collision; a Tuk-Tuk is essentially an open motorcycle. With the rules of the road (there are nor rules of the road), people are super aggressive in Bangkok and someone is at one time or another going to hit someone else. At least in a Taxi we'd be protected by a cage.

On the 6th...today, Dan and I took it easy in the morning as we were to fly to Chiang Mai in the afternoon. The flight was uneventful (Taxi is actually cheaper getting to the airport by 100BHT) but it was also delayed by an hour. That makes 4 flights in a row that were delayed...at least we're batting 100 on the flight times...

We got to the Libra Guesthouse...they actually picked us up and right away Dan and I felt good about this place. So far Chiang Mai is ultra-chill!! The guys that picked us up from the airport were nice enough...once was a he-she. When I got a key to our room, the he-she asked what room I was in. I wasn't paying attention when he said "I'll see you tonight". I said..."ok, sounds good"...he freaked... He went, "I thought you would go running back to Canada". I laughed and clarified I wasn't listening. "Dude, I don't play that way but if you want to hang and show us around town or something...whatever...". Dan got a hilarious pic of him posing with me when Dan and I came back to the restaurant area to grab some lunch...check out his blog for the pic.

Tomorrow we head off for a 2 day trek that includes rafting (that'll be good for me considering I can't swim...), an elephant ride, hiking around, and camping in the jungle. Tonight we're going to hit the night market and will be back in time on Sunday to check out the Sunday night market (this is where the towns folk shut down a 2KM stretch of road in the old city, where we are, to open up stalls and sell stuff...I have a feeling my already spent budget is going to hit rock bottom...and I'm on day 2....).

Harvey

Liftoff in 2 days!!

ALRIGHT!!!!  The countdown to liftoff is less than 2 days and counting….

This week has been great!  I worked for only a half day on Wednesday X-MAS week and just chilled the rest of the time.  I can’t remember the last time I got to sleep in past 7 or 8am so many days in a row.
Typically I’m out of bed super early for work; on the weekends I’m up anyway (must be an internal clock kicking me awake) and just want to get the day going.  Now, if there was someone in bed with me….then I guess I’d have an excuse not wanting to get up at all…but, since there’s no one there (yet), I’d rather get up and start my day.

So what did I do this week?  I got prepared for my trip.  I had bought an old 60 litre pack a few years ago and it came with a 25 litre day pack.  The day pack is ok but it’s more like a 2 hour pack – ie. the straps hurt if carrying any type of weight.  I decided to get a new pack from MEC (http://www.mec.ca/index.html) and have the 60/25 packs for normal travel.  I got some other travel stuff (like bug repellant, travel towels, etc..) but overall, I should be all set.

The itinerary so far is to land in Bangkok on Jan 4th 2006 (we arrive late at night) and settle in to get over the Jet lag and just wander around for a few days.  Dan and I leave for Chiang Mai on the 6th and don’t get back to Bangkok until Jan 11th.  That’s when we meet up with Arnie who would have been in Bangkok for a few days by then.

The rough plan is to head to Koh Samui from there.  We’re going to travel to the following places from there with the highlight possibly being the Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan until we finally get back to Bangkok for our trip out to Tokyo on Feb 6th:  Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao, Krabi, Railay, Koh Lanta, and Phuket.
Somewhere in these locations, there should be time for trekking, diving, snorkeling, laying around on the beach, kayaking, eating, sleeping, boozing, ????, and who knows what else…

I’m going to stock up on sooooo much knock off crap it won’t be funny.  Clothes, shoes, bags, you name it.  Some of the girls might give me a list of things to bring back – I’ll do my best.  I should also look into getting like a hundred freakin’ watches for the boys just so when we go out for a night in Van we got some Bling on the wrist…well, minus the expensive Bling part of course…..and not like these guys don’t already have Blings of their own but still….

Harvey