Thai Hot (and Humid)

People asked me, “Why Thailand and Cambodia?” and my response was, “I haven’t been there yet.” It really is as simple as that. The list is definitely shortening in my quest to see the entire world. I knew I wanted to see Angkor Wat but I didn’t want to travel literally half way around the world just to see that. After our Russia trip and forking over $1200 per person for a one way plane ticket out (which was $1200 more than I planned to spend that year), money was definitely tight. Also having the opportunity to visit Dominican Republic with friends in a family style was great but I remember thanking the Lord that I had the family to stay with and drive around with because I was down to $0 in my travel fund.

It’s now November, 2011, and I’m itching to find some place to go to in 2012. The deals are rolling daily but many are places I’ve already been. Finally the deal comes through for Friendly Planet’s Taste of Thailand. It’s a 9 day trip leaving from Los Angeles. They also offer two different extensions. One to Cambodia (Angkor Wat) and one to Phuket. Well, I wanted to see them both and as I usually tell people, I seldom go back to a country just because I want to save my money for some place I’ve not been.

I call Friendly Planet and ask them if it’s possible to do both extensions and she says yes. The trip would be 15 days just for the tour. Flying from Florida, I knew I would try to get a Delta Buddy Pass and stop in to see the one and only Nana in Atlanta, spend the night and then head to Los Angeles a day early, spend the night and be ready for the trip departing on Sunday, May 6th. I reached out to Delta’s angel Anna and she was happy to let me use one of her passes. $330.00 later, I have my ticket for Tampa to Atlanta (see the family) and then Atlanta to LAX. My trip would be a total of 17 days traveling with a rolling red duffle bag and my new carryon luggage that expanded as needed. (The last small carryon I used was purchased in Australia to help carry back souvenirs in 2000 and it’s been around the world and back with me. It definitely put in its time. My dear friends Marton and Kate gave me a fabulous gift before moving away to Boston – they gave me a luggage tag that had a picture of me, Marton and the boys at his wedding. I was ready to go.

I would have booked the trip and gone on my own because I knew it would be a long trip. Our company was going through a merger that should have been finished at the beginning of 2012 but was then delayed to mid-2012. In my world, I know I’m a hard worker but I refuse to put life on hold for a merger that I have absolutely no say in. My friends, on the other hand, are in higher positions in the company and it was going to be a task to get them to come.

You know how you have a mom and a dad and when you want something, you always go to the one who you know will give you the answer you are looking for. Naturally, I called dad, Tony Salvarezza and said, “Taste of Thailand, 9 days, you coming?” I explained that I was going to do the extensions but that he and momma (Mariela) didn’t have to. They could just go for the 9 days. He wanted to go but needed to speak with the Mrs. first. Smart man.

Then my friend Marla says that she was always wanting to go to Thailand and that her classes finish on April 30th and this would be a perfect graduation present for her.  I was thrilled that she was interested so we talked about it and she also agreed to do the entire 15 days. It was settled! We called from my office on our break and booked the trip. When we hung up, Marla says, “We are going to have more fun than a drunken monkey!” Marla is from Waynesville, North Carolina and has a fabulous accent but more importantly, she comes up with these quips quick and out of nowhere that make you spit your drink across the room.

Next, Tony and Mariela book their 9 days and the agent tells them that they can extend their trip up to 90 days before we leave when we have to make our final payment.

Marla is so excited that she calls her bud Kristie who lives up in Asheville and tells her all about it. Kristie thinks the trip sounds great and asks if she can come. Marla tells me that she manages a wine bar. Sounds like my kind of people! The more the merrier. She calls Friendly Planet and they add her to our room. My only comment was, “I’ve been looking on line for decent trips and saving up my money for a couple months now. The only thing I ask is if we get to a room in any of our travels and there is a cot, I’m not sleeping on it.” (I fondly remember the army cot they brought me when we were in Jerusalem…not!)

So the easy part is done. Trip paid for, money being saved, but it was still six months away. Every time someone saw me in the elevator or on the street in passing, they would ask, “Where have you been recently?” or “What trip is next?” I would excitedly reply that we were going to Thailand, Cambodia and Phuket. After three or four months, people were like, “I thought you already went.” I’m sure when I finally left, they were just happy I was gone so I would shut up about it.

Friday, May 4th, I planned on flying up in the mid-morning flight so I didn’t have to get up so early to head to Atlanta. The day before, talking with my big brother Jeff ( Delta employee) and his wife Jenile, they tell me that flight doesn’t look as open as the 7:00 am flight. Ugh. Okay, so my girlfriend Iesha (long suffering Iesha) comes and gets me super early and off we go to the airport. No problem getting on the flight.

When I land, Jenile drove out to get me and Jeff (who works near the airport) came and we all went to lunch. It was early but we were all hungry. The restaurant was like a Chipolte or Moe’s where you told them what topping you wanted on your Mexican food. It was empty except for us and the family from hell in front of us. The wife was on the phone and the husband was ordering and the kids were screaming. When it was her turn to order, she screamed at her husband that she wasn’t ready yet which made the kids scream even louder. I asked Jeff, “I wonder if Birth Control is a topping?” and we both laughed.

After lunch, back at the ranch, Nana is off with her daughter Langre (Vovo) getting her “hair did” so I just have to wait patiently for her to come home. Also, waiting on the kids to get out of school. At 3:00, the house filled up with the family, the cousins and my Nana (who’s hair looked smashing!). Nana and I sat and talked while she ate her lunch and she always says the same thing to me. “Have a wonderful trip, be safe, but more importantly, remember who you are!” a.k.a. “behave yourself”.

It was wonderful visiting with her and seeing all the kids. I got to see my wooks Dana briefly before she went to work but I’ll take what I can get. Then I had the dumb idea to have the family go see The Avengers which was just released that Friday. Jenile bought the tickets online and we left an hour ahead of time but arriving at the theater, none of us were really prepared. Lines snaking in and out, kids running everywhere, none of us had eaten dinner. I jumped in line to get some popcorn and candy and we miraculously were able to get seats together. The movie was hilarious but the kid sitting on his father’s lap next to me who couldn’t have been more than five years old had me cracking up. He knew every character and his commentary during the movie was spot on. He explained that he watches the cartoons. Oh, okay.

After the movie, I get home, pack and get ready to get up super early to head to LAX. Again the mid-day non-stop flight to LAX was looking full so they suggested I go on either the 7:00 or the 8:30 am. 7:00 wasn’t going to happen but we shot for the 8:30. My Dana wanted to take me to the airport so bless her heart, she got to the house at 5:30 and off we went.

When I got to the airport, I was informed that the 7:00 flight was cancelled so anyone who was flying on that flight is now on my flight at 8:30. (Hello Stand by!) I was 24th on the list for standby and there were 15 seats available. Just as I was about to give up and start rerouting myself across the country, the gate agent told me to hang in for a bit. Ten minutes before the flight is supposed to leave, they start calling the stand by passengers. I’m moving slowly up the list but the left over seats are dwindling fast. The agent then announces, “I will call your name once. If you are not at this podium, I will move on.” He starts calling names and I felt bad thinking of tripping anyone who might go past but realized that wasn’t very Christian. Down to two seats and he’s calling names and people aren’t going. Finally he says my name and I literally dove at him. I got the absolute last seat on the plane. When I sat down, my hands were shaking like leaves. By the time the drink cart came around, I (with no shame whatsoever) ordered two mini-bottles of red wine and it was only 9:30 am.

Arrived in LAX and it was colder than I thought it would be. Took the shuttle to the hotel and waited for Tony and Mariela to arrive on their direct flight from Tampa. Marla and Kristie were coming in on two separate flights within 10 minutes of each other but later that night. When Tony and Mariela arrived, I was in the lobby bar (yes, another wine). We checked in, got changed and headed out to see what we could get into with the short time we had. There was a tour we ended up getting that left at 2:30 and got back at 8:00 pm. The guide took us to Rodeo Drive, The Grove (Farmer’s Market), Sunset Blvd, Kodak Theater (now the Dolby Theater) and the Walk of Fame in front of the Chinese Theater, caught the Hollywood sign out in the distance, then headed to Santa Monica where we cruised the beach until we stopped at Venice Beach and were able to watch the sunset while kids were doing tricks on their skateboards in this skate park.

Headed back, got ready for bed and waited on Marla and Kristie. I was so tired when they arrived that I just introduced myself to Kristie, hugged Marla and head for bed. (Not before Marla had me in stitches talking about how her new hair cut made her look like Sandy Duncan.) The next morning, we agreed we would sleep in. At 8:30, our room was wide awake. Tony called Marla’s room and said, “Good morning, this is Mark with your wake up call. Your friends are waiting for you.” Then we went across the hallway to their room and knocked. With one eye open, and her cute blond hair in every direction, Marla opens the door. We didn’t realize that they went to get something to eat after arriving and were up late catching up and talking. Oopsie!

Sunday, May 6th, we decided to just have breakfast and relax at the hotel for the morning and head to the airport for our very long flight to Bangkok which includes crossing the international date line and losing May 7th altogether. We all meet officially and get checked in for the 14.5 hour flight to Taipei and then the 3.5 hour flight to Bangkok. We all wrestled with sleep on the plane (except Mariela of course who can sleep anywhere). On the plane we hear others talking about the Friendly Planet tour and so we tell them we are also on that tour. Julia, this super model that was on our trip, comes walking down the aisle and stops to tell us that we are going to have to do a Girls Night Out. Sounds fun to me.

Arrived in Taipei, changed planes and then off to Bangkok. We arrived at about 1:00 am on Tuesday May 8th. We look around to identify the others who might be with our group. The poor guy with the crutches and the air boot on his leg was there.  The Spanish guy with the porn mustache.  There was a fun older lady with a tube top on the plane who was with us. And there were a handful of others which brought our total to 31 on the tour.

Tuesday, May 8th, everyone is exhausted. We get our luggage; meet our lovely guide Patty who escorts us to the bus which can only be described as a gay party bus on crack. Fluorescent lighting in pink and blue down the middle which matched the curtains and the ceiling was hideous which unfortunately matched the seats. I climb on, head to the back where seats are available and immediately managed to gash my big toe on the foot rest (nice metal ends without any kind of cover or protection). They handed us a cold wet wipe which was nice since at 1:00 am it was about 90 degrees outside. Yikes. I wiped my face and hands and then held it on my bleeding toe hoping I didn’t need to go and get a tetanus shot now.  The good news was I didn’t mess up my pedicure.

We arrive at our hotel (The Rembrandt Hotel) and it’s really beautiful. Because our bus is so big, we have to come in the back and walk about a block to get to the lobby. (I think it’s because the bus was so hideous, they didn’t want to see us come in the front.) Checked in, get our keys, grab our luggage and off we go to the 6th floor with everyone. Arrive in our room and it smells like a chain smoker lived there. They had three single beds set up but my allergies are already a mess and Marla is allergic to smoke so we called the front desk and they immediately came and got us and moved us to the 8th floor (non-smoking). There was a king sized bed and they rolled in a single bed. Ear plugs and Breath-rights were handed to all and we crashed for a couple hours.

Woke up later that morning and head down for breakfast and I always find it interesting that I eat so little for breakfast at home but when I’m traveling, I eat like its my last meal.  I grabbed an omelet full of ham, cheese and mushrooms, grabbed some buttered toast but then being brave, went to the Thai soup/noodle bar. The lady had me point out what I wanted and I had no idea what I wanted. I went safe and then threw some spices in. Back at the table, I start eating the soup and sweat is running down my face. It was fabulous but spicy. Tummy full, headed to the lobby to meet with Patty.

Patty gave us two options when she first picked us up.  One, we could sleep in and do our own thing and meet her at 2:30 pm for the afternoon tour scheduled or we could meet her at 10:30 am and she would take us on the Sky Train that runs over Bangkok and get us familiar with the city so we could run around on our own as we had time. We opted for the Sky Train. We had gotten Thai Bahts (their dollar) at the airport and broke them down to small bills at the hotel but now we needed 15 TBH or about 50 cents (coins only) to get our train ticket. After 20 minutes of screwing around, we finally all got our tickets and off we went. It was easy just like New York or Paris metro. We rode a couple stops, changed trains and then rode back.

After, Patty took us to the Terminal 21 Mall which is about 6 levels and each level has a different location theme. Getting to the food court area, it was a San Francisco theme with a trolley suspended from the ceiling and a golden gate bridge spanning the food court. Kristie and Marla began their “Tour of Thai Bathrooms” as they had to stop. I wasn’t sure where Patty and the group were going so I kept close watch on them and kept turning around to check the bathroom exit so the girls wouldn’t get lost. Patty suggested places to eat and then left us on our own. I headed back to the bathroom and the girls came out. I figured I would go too. I get to the stall and there is a panel hanging on the side of the toilet with all these buttons and numbers. I figure out that it’s set up to be a seat warmer, bidet with wash and dry settings, etc. Twenty minutes later, I left the bathroom and found Kristie and Marla.  We all split up and I of course, find the shoe floor. Slight overload for me since I only had 45 minutes. But sitting in the middle of the rack screaming my name was this fabulous red shoe with black pipe trimming it and with a four inch heel. How much? 590 THB. My brain starts adding, multiplying, carry the 1 . . . $19 USD! I’ll take them! This is how I was in Thailand for less than 24 hours and bought a pair of red shoes.

Back to the hotel, we get ready for the afternoon tour which involves Julia and I shopping for beverages for the bus. We end up buying a bottle of wine each. They also had whiskey called Hong Thong and a pre-mixed Jack and Coke but we passed. The bus takes us down to the River City Shopping Complex before boarding our canal boat. I find a shop selling silk scarves and start working on the price. I found a beautiful one for Nana and a couple of others. Patty grabs us since we are the last and we run for the boat. The canal boat takes us on the Chao Phraya River that has all of these canals branching off from it. You can see the housing and the different water levels from their flooding. Their houses are built on stilts but still were affected.

Our first stop was the Royal Barge Museum where they held the King’s beautiful canoe barges used for various ceremonies and state occasions. We toured up and down the canal and then headed for the Wat Arun temple (Temple of Dawn) which has a 79 meter pagoda and it’s built in Khmer style. The Thai are very serious about their temples so we would have to check with Patty if we needed to wear long pants or shirt with capped sleeves or they wouldn’t let you in the temple or maybe not let you climb the temple. I wore Capri pants every day and capped sleeve shirts because I didn’t want to chance not being allowed to see the whole site. The stone steps leading up the temple face were very steep and you almost had to climb with hands and feet to get up the stairs. The view from the top was worth it though. I ran all over the temple grounds snapping pictures, zooming in on the amazing carvings or the yellow draped Buddha’s. Loved it. My first post card sent home was of this temple.

Back on our boat and we head for dinner at the Supatra River House Restaurant. Located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, this beautiful two-storey traditional Thai house is the former home of Khunying Supatra Singholaga, a leading advocate of women’s rights in Thailand.  The servers kept bringing beautiful plates of food and covered the table until we had no room. Marla reminded Patty that she was vegetarian and so were Julia and her husband Roger. The staff reacted quickly and brought vegetarian meals out to each of them which were delicious. I stuffed myself – I found I loved the Thai food more than I thought. Sun sets and we board a ferry boat to cross the river where our bus is waiting to bring us back to the hotel.

On the way to the hotel, we decided we would try a Thai massage. In the lobby, Mariela wants to go to the room for a second and us girls decide to go too and we thought we would meet back up in the lobby. Get down there and no Tony or Mariela. We call the room, go to the room. Nothing. So we decide to just go across the street to the Lean on Tree Thai Massage Salon. I had gone over earlier and requested massages for five and they were going to call someone in to accommodate us. When we arrive, they are turning people away because the schedule is full but the lady remembers me and sets Marla and I up for our Thai massage and Kristie for a foot massage. As we walk through the dark, peaceful room, I see Mariela sitting in the dang chair getting a foot massage. Almost killed her. (smile) I heard Tony grunting in one of the curtained off rooms as they worked on him. Tony thought we were supposed to meet there so it didn’t matter since they fit us all in. Running with five in our group made planning a bit hairy. They hand me some pajamas which was new to me. I always got down to my undergarments for massages so how are they going to apply the oil?? Before I know it, the woman is walking on me, flipping me around like a pancake and tying me into a pretzel trying to crack my back. I was slightly worried but at the end, I felt fabulous, especially after the long plane ride and more importantly, it was only $8.00 for one hour. Might have to try that again…

We grabbed a drink in the lobby bar and these two guys (Jeremy and Jim) come up to us and say, “Are you with the Friendly Tours?” We said yes and they explained that they were also but we literally saw them at the airport and they showed back up three days later to get on the bus to the next stop. They saw a slightly different view of Bangkok. They told us about the trani-shows, women playing ping pong without paddles and odd smoking tricks. They skipped most of the tours but they had a great vacation – their way. I’ll pass on that.

Wednesday, May 9th, breakfast (more hot soup!) and then on the bus heading to Wat Trimitr which houses the 700 year old Golden Buddha, the largest in the world weighing approximately 5 tons. Nice way to start the day. After we went to Wat Po, which is from the 17th Century and the oldest temple in Bangkok. More importantly, it houses the gold overlaid Reclining Buddha (that sounds funny). One of the largest in the world and his feet were inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Trying to get a shot of this guy was difficult to say the least.  (Here’s a picture of me being a reclining Buddha.)

There was an optional tour in the afternoon that would take you to the Grand Palace which served as the home of the King, the court and government. Some of us decided to take this tour while the others wanted to go to a place called MBK for shopping. I’m not a big mall person so I took the optional tour and so did Mariela and Tony. We had lunch at an Au Bon (like Panara Bread) because it was air-conditioned! Then we went through some of the shops and I found a beautiful blue blouse which Patty helped me barter down to all of $5.00. I also found this cool tube top dress and some white cotton pants with a dragon down the leg. Off to the tour.

The palace was beautiful but the highlight was going to the Wat Phra Kaew which was built to house the large Buddha carved from a solid piece of green jadite (jasper). It was so hot walking around the palace grounds and the humidity was at least 150%. I was drenched in my clothes. After we left the palace grounds, back on the bus, I couldn’t take the sweat anymore so I grabbed my new little tube top dress and went to the back of the bus. I peeled off my shirt and pants and went to pull the dress over my head and realized it was a pants jumper. So I scooted into the legs and pulled the dress up and walked back down the aisle to my seat. Patty saw me walking with a change of clothes on and said, “Oh! We have a new passenger!”

We went to a market where I found some chicken panang off the street. The lady put some white rice in a bowl and poured the panang over it. I jumped in immediately and it was delicious. I even shared with others in the group that were interested. Then Patty takes us through China Town. I’m a big fan of food and markets but I always get turned off with China Towns. The smells are terrible, the visuals aren’t any better and it’s just over crowded always. As we walked through the stalls with pig faces displayed like masks, some items we could not identify and the fish hanging by hooks. We weren’t sure just how fresh the fish was until a guy chopped the tail of a fish off, hung it on a hook and the fish’s mouth was still moving trying to breathe. Gross! A couple on the trip with us, Ron and Jodi were on their honeymoon. One look at Jodi’s face and I knew that she wasn’t going to feel well. After that, we walked through the Flower Market which was really pretty but by then I was sweating my butt off in my new dress/jumpsuit.

Back at the hotel, going in for $8.00 Thai Massage #2. I got a different woman this time and she was adamant about cracking my back. The more adamant she was, the more I stiffened up. So at one point, she sat me up like a doll, from behind me, she threw one leg around me, grabbed my shoulders and twisted me like an ice tray. Thankfully my back cracked or I would be afraid of what she was going to do next.

After that, us girls decided to head out to find dinner. We went to this place called Koi. Beautiful place with a DJ. We must have gotten there in time for Ladies Night drink specials but we still ordered a bottle of wine instead. All of these young girls came flooding in the place, had a drink or two and then bailed as fast as they came in. We went back and found Mariela and Tony and returned to Koi. Kristie and I decided to go dance and once I was up, there was no sitting down. The DJ was playing all kinds of fun songs and the staff were dancing with me. I came out only long enough to grab a glass of wine from my group and ask where my camera was. No one saw it. Someone mentioned I probably left it in the room but on vacation, my camera is my right hand and I don’t leave without it. But, a few wines in me, music calling, I went back to dance. Finally one of the girls came in and said they were closing and we had to go. When I get outside and realize my camera isn’t there, I storm back to the room to check and it’s not there either. So I fly back to Koi and when I walk in the bar, they all cheered because I was back. I told the manager that I couldn’t find my camera and he went looking for it and found it at our table outside underneath. THANK YOU!!!! I was so happy and relieved. Then the DJ played a bachata and I danced with one of the guys, we all took a group picture and the manager gave me his card and told me I had to come back.

Back at the hotel, happy with my camera, we celebrated with more wine. Yikes! We ended up talking to a bunch of people in town from all over the world for a Rotary Club Convention. We were even invited to Kenya by one lady. I talked to this nice Indian man for a bit at the bar and finally we went to bed. (The next day, the Indian guy kept calling my room looking for me and leaving messages about having dinner. No more drinking….)

Thursday, May 10th – It’s a free day for us and we actually get to sleep in which helps when severely hung over. Blah. We get up just in time for breakfast and then the five of us head on the Sky Train to the famous MBK. It was like a five story flea market. Crazy. Walked around inside shopping, checking out the shoes but ended up buying more scarves. One of the girls had thrown her flip flops away because they must have gotten wet and smelled pretty bad.  It wouldn’t have been as bad except the new sandals were bought during the first day while we were still getting a grip on the exchange rate and she ended up overpaying way too much for them. She cursed them for the rest of the trip.

Grabbed a coffee/hot chocolate and then decided to head back to the Terminal 21 Mall with the fancy bathrooms. I went immediately to the shoe floor and took my time looking in each and every shop. I would find a beautiful shoe but they wouldn’t have my size and I would tell them, “That’s God’s way of telling me I shouldn’t be buying that shoe.” I still managed to come out with three more pairs.

Tony, Mariela and I grabbed dinner at a restaurant on the way back. The wine was so expensive but I couldn’t drink the Chang or Singha beer. Don’t like beer. The curry was wonderful though. Tony ordered shrimp fried rice and it came in a halved pineapple. We also ordered chicken wings as an appetizer and those showed up at the end – translation?

Finally, with a full belly, I decide I want a hot oil Thai Massage. Lean on Tree, here I come! I get a third woman who recognizes me and seems very excited that I came back. I head upstairs and they have the traditional massage table so I figure this will be more normal for me. Within five minutes, the woman was up on the table, straddling me, tying me into a pretzel. Oh well, there was oil and I did feel fabulous afterwards. I’m going to miss those prices.

Friday, May 11th – We had to say goodbye to Bangkok for now and we boarded the bus to head to Ayutthaya which is north. Founded by King U-Thong in 1350 (hee hee), it was a capital of Siam  (Thailand’s name before). We stopped first at the Summer Palace of King Rama IV – Bang Po. Beautiful grounds with flowers and small canals running through it and small decorative bridges. I was dying from the heat so I bought a bamboo umbrella with hand painted birds on it. I didn’t even barter but when I told Patty how much I had paid, she was surprised as it was cheaper than in Bangkok. We walked through the grounds and Julia had this multi-colored umbrella and was skipping ahead of her husband Roger while he followed her with the camera. It was like a professional photo shoot.  We came across a monitor lizard just swimming through the middle of the lake.  The best part of the grounds was the shrubs shaped like animals. In one area, they had a herd of elephant bushes. We went to the gift shop/restaurant, grabbed a shake and sucked up the a/c for a bit. 

We went to Wat Yai Chaimongkol, a temple best known for its enormous plaster statue of the Reclining Buddha.  The people were placing gold flakes on the white plaster.

The bus then took us to Wat Chai Watanaram which was a monastery commissioned by King Prassathhong in 1630 in honor of his mother. It looks just like Angkor Wat so some think the king had it build to commemorate his victory over Cambodia. Unfortunately, recently there was heavy flooding in this area and the temple was closed off while they assess the water damage. I was able to run down to the river and get a great picture of the entire temple. We walked around the perimeter briefly and then back on the bus heading to our hotel. We get to the Kantary Hotel and its set up like apartments. They give us our keys and us girls head up to our floor. There is a king sized bed in one room and two single beds in the other. I said to Marla, “You’ve suffered with my snoring enough and as a present for graduating with a 4.0 (she had just received word of her grade), you can have this king sized bed to yourself and Kristie and I will take the other room.

Marla had brought laundry sheets and there was a washing machine in our room so we all grabbed our sweaty smelly dirty temple clothes and threw them in and then strung them around the room to dry. We decided to have a snack in our hotel at the restaurant and I had the Hawaiian pizza because I had to give my system a break from the spicy Thai food. After that, we changed into our swimsuits and hit the rooftop pool just in time for sunset. A bartender took our drink orders and it was funny when he returned with a tray full of Chang beer, everyone in the pool flocked to him like Koi fish wanting to be fed. Oddly enough, in spite of the maddening heat, I chose to relax in the hot tub with my wine. We really got to know some of the others on the tour and we had a pretty good group. Forcing ourselves out of the pool we went back downstairs to dinner in the restaurant and then headed to bed.

Saturday, May 12th – checked out of the hotel and we were now heading to Kanchanaburi or more famously known as River Kwai. We stopped at the cemetery first that held the Australian, British and Dutch POWs who died while building the Death Railway through Thailand for the Japanese. After walking through the cemetery, we went to the museum which showed how the camps looked and about the building of the bridge and talked about the more than 8,000 POWs who died during the construction.

After that we headed towards the historic bridge over the River Kwai. Before coming to the bridge, there were all kinds of shops and one shop had a guy holding a young leopard. Julia and Mariela got to hold it and take pictures. My allergies had gotten to me enough so I didn’t touch it. Then I walked up to the bridge and crossed over remembering what happened there. I had rented the movie so I would understand the history better. When I got to the other side of the bridge, there was a Thai man playing a violin. I stopped and listened to him for a bit. He played an Argentine tango song and I started trying to dance Tango (Luis, you would have been proud). He loved it. I gave him a tip and he started showing me all the markings on the bridge from bullet holes to where a bomb exploded to dates on steel rails. We said goodbye and as I walked away, he started playing Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”. I flipped around surprised and we both laughed.

Then the best part of the day. We went to the Elephant Camp and they had so many elephants walking around including babies. First we loaded up into a truck that took us upstream on the river and we got our life jackets and boarded bamboo rafts. The five of us and Mark (the dentist) got on one raft and the young boy with well defined biceps (cougar alert) was directing us through the current with a paddle. I took my sandals off and stuck my feet in the water. I wanted to dive in as it was so cool and refreshing from the god-awful heat. The sun didn’t let up the entire trip and it was supposed to be the rainy season. The mountains and the river scenery were beautiful. It was a nice long ride and relaxing. At the end, they let us off and there is a stand selling drinks. Kristie decides to buy us each a giant cold beer. Not a beer drinker but it hit the spot. I got about half way through mine and then handed it to Gaston (the 19 year old on the trip) who downed it before his mother saw him. Contributing to a minor. Back in the truck and heading back to the elephant camp.

Patty had us gather to watch the show and they had the elephants dancing, swinging hula hoops, playing soccer, basketball and throwing darts. They were so smart. You could buy small bananas and feed them. The guide had two people from another tour come out and lay down in front of the elephants and they put a blanket over them and the elephant would spank them with their trunk. Their guide spoke Russian so when I said my few words I knew in Russian, he was surprised and asked if I wanted to let the elephant step on me.  Well, you know I had to. I laughed the whole time. But it was even funnier when Tony went out because they made him lay on his back and when the baby elephant would drop his trunk right on Tony’s shorts, all the men in the crowd groaned and then laughed. After that, we all took turns being picked up in the trunk of the elephant for a photo. We all got “elephant rash” since their hair was really scratchy. Finally, we went by twos and got to ride the elephant all around the park with their individual caretakers. I rode with this lady traveling by herself (Diane from DC) and our guide was nuts. He kept saying “OH MY GOD!!!!” so we taught him to say “OMG”. He told us that our elephant was a 40 year old girl. I said, “So am I.” The ride must have been 30 minutes or more. The final part takes you down a hill into the river and as the elephant is walking through the river, it draws up water in their trunk and blows it on us. I have to admit, it felt great. I told him to keep going and she did about four more times. So now, I’m soaked. When we get off, they hand us fresh cut pineapple. I sat down to eat it and when I got up, one of the guys starts laughing because there is the perfect impression of my rear on the wood swing seat. It was the best elephant ride/experience I’ve ever had.

We drove to the pier where we boarded motorized canoes that took us to our hotel on an island – River Kwai Resotel. Beautiful bungalows and the set up reminded me of Ecuador in the Amazon Forest. We checked into our rooms and we had a lovely room with three single beds. Changed into swimsuits and headed to the pool. After swimming a bit, we went to the rooms, changed and went to dinner which was a buffet. It was good but the food was more western. The funny part was the Thai one man band / Karaoke. He was singing country songs and Elvis and the Beatles with a guitar and sound machine. Patty couldn’t wait to get up and dance so we joined her. It was fun watching her loosen up.

The heat was really getting to me and I decided I was going to go swim. Some of the others came too but the pool was closed then. I sat on the edge in my sundress and put my legs in the water and it felt great. Then one of the other guys on the tour came flying around the corner, stripped naked and hopped in. Some went in with nothing. Others went in with their underwear/bras on (my choice) but it was cool and refreshing . . . and dark. One of the skinny dippers tried to swim up and grab my leg but I explained that his big glowing white butt gave him away in the moonlight. (Blue Moon!) The stars were really bright and we kept hearing some critters making noise which turned out to be a gecko mating call. I thought it was a frog for sure. Finally refreshed, I got out, dried off and went to bed.

Sunday, May 13th – We had decided the night before that we did NOT want to go to the Hellfire Pass Museum and the train ride. We were slightly over depressed from the cemetery and bridge / museum visit from the day before. So 17 of us, thank you Mark for organizing, hired two vans and two drivers to take us to the Erawan (three elephant) waterfall and the Tiger Temple. We get to the waterfall and after hiking a little ways in, we come upon the 2nd of 7 steps of the waterfall (going up) and there are tons of people swimming or sitting in the small falls and there are monkeys jumping around (stealing people’s food) and fighting. Julia told me that two monkeys were fighting and one fell out of the tree into the water. There were also tons of fish that were nibbling on people sitting in the water. We heard about the Thai foot baths that have the fish eating the dead skin but this was ridiculous.

We kept climbing until we came to the 3rd step and the waterfall there was beautiful. So we decided to jump in as it wasn’t crowded either. As I am climbing carefully into the water over the slippery roots and rocks, I start feeling something nibbling on me and I screamed. It was those damn cleaner fish. Then I realize the only way into the water is past them. Many screams later, I made it through and it was worth every bit because when we climbed up on that giant rock at the base of the waterfall, it was gorgeous scenery and the water was the perfect temperature. Marla and some others didn’t want to swim so they kept climbing up to other levels but they said that the one we were at was the best. We stayed there about an hour and then dried off, changed and went to grab lunch. I ate more spicy Thai food.

Off to the Tiger Temple. We were told to go in the afternoon because you can have interaction with the animals then. They feed the tigers and the late sun makes them lethargic (almost drugged looking) and you can hold them and pet them. I couldn’t see USA having anything close to this. The tigers were well taken care of and they told us there were 106 of them in the park. The original story was that an injured tiger walked into the temple and the monks took care of it so it went back into the jungle and told others so now they all come there. There was a sectioned off area where they let the tigers run and you can look down from the sides. There were three tigers playing, jumping in the water, tackling each other, crouching up behind and attacking. It was beautiful. There was another section where you could pay money and the trainer takes your camera and walks you by the hand around to different tigers and lets you sit with them and hold their head in your laps and pet them while they take your pictures. When I went, most of the tigers were sleeping but when Marla went they were just waking up and her pictures came out great. It was a great experience though and I’m so glad we decided to do these options on our own. The funniest part was when Mark said we should all plan a trip and go paddling down a river. Tony said, “Can I pay someone to paddle for me? I don’t paddle.” No part of Tony said he wanted to be an adventure traveler. Mariela was right there with him. I would but I hate to do that much work on my vacations!

Back to the island resort, we get cleaned up for dinner. The Karaoke guy is back. I ate but I wasn’t in the mood for dancing. I heard about a show that is put on in the back of the resort so I wandered back and sat down just as it started. The costumes and dancing were really nice and I enjoyed the little ones dancing in full costume. I walked around a bit by myself and then headed back to the pool to go swimming (with suit this time).

Monday, May 14th – We had a very long drive back to Bangkok. Half of those on the trip were heading home. Some were going to Phuket and then home. There were 8 of us that were heading to Cambodia. Personally, this was what I was looking forward to the most. Unfortunately, because others had earlier flights, Patty had to take all of us to the airport early. We said goodbye to those heading different ways and then Jodi told us that there was a sky lounge that Bangkok Air would let us sit in with snacks and free internet. We checked in for our flight and headed to the lounge and relaxed. I went and found a Starbucks for my dosage of hot chocolate and I bought a Thailand Mug and a Phuket Demitasse mug.

Time for our flight. We walk down the gate to a bus that takes us out to the runway and our prop plane is sitting waiting for us. It was only an hour and a half flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We landed about 5:00 pm, handed over our passport photos and $20 to get our visa stamp processed at the airport. Much better than sending passports away. Our guide Sam meets us and takes us in a nice little bus to our hotel. The hotel is beautiful and the people are so nice. Check in and we have three single beds and three robes and the bathroom has a claw foot giant white tub and stone containers full of bath soap and shampoo. Beautiful set up.

By now, my stomach had finally gotten to me with all the spicy food and eating so much more than normal. I wasn’t even hungry and was taking Imodium just to be safe.  We all changed and went down to the pool patio for dinner and drinks. A storm rolled in and we just watched it rain and it really brought down the temperature. I ended up ordering a margarita pizza even though I wasn’t hungry. I ate all the cheese off the top and that didn’t help anything. I decided to go back to the room and take advantage of the bath tub. The minute I walked in the door of my room I got sick. I wasn’t nauseous. I just ate too much.

So now that was over, the hot bath with my glass of wine I brought back was going to be very comforting. Filled the tub and placed the wine on the ledge. The bath soap didn’t make bubbles so I flipped the lever from the spout to the hand held shower head sitting in the cradle and put the nozzle in the water with the water on and that made bubbles. Everything was perfect. And then the power went out. The bathroom was pitch black. I was afraid to move for fear of knocking the wine over and breaking the glass. I firmly grabbed the side of the deep tub and slowly stepped out of it holding on for dear life in case I was going to slip. Reached and found the towel, dried off, wrapped it around me and opened the door to my room.

The staff were running up and down the hall way and the door across from me opened. A nice British middle-aged lady was in her nightgown and her phone had a flashlight so we used that to see each other and struck up a conversation. She decided she needed some time off so she’s traveling solo through Asia for a couple months. She has been renting a bicycle wherever she goes and uses that to get around. Very cool woman. We giggled as the staff would go by and try to not notice our attire. The funnier part was when three Chinese men passed us and went into the room next door. They looked super uncomfortable which just made us laugh. Finally, the power came back on and we said good night and back into the bath I went. The water had cooled off so I decided to run the hot water briefly except I forgot that I had flipped the lever to the handset in the cradle. It looked like a funny movie when the handset started flying around, shooting water everywhere with me trying to grab hold of it. And of course, I managed to save the glass of wine. I finished my bath listening to music on my phone, drinking the wine and settling my stomach down from all the food and drama.

Tuesday, May 15th – Sam asked us what time to meet in the lobby; 8:30 or 9:00, and we voted for 9:00. So naturally we were all together and ready by 9:15. I was going to exchange American dollars to Cambodian Riel which are 1 USD to 4,000 Riel. Bartering should be fun. Sam told us that Cambodians take American dollars so instead, I had the front desk break my money down to $1 increments.

Off we go on our tour. The first place we visited was called Angkor Thom which was one of the largest preindustrial cities in the world from about 1,000 A.D. and it was abandoned in the 15th century and left unfound until the late 19th century. It had 54 towers in the temple but only about 35 are left intact. The top of each tower has four giant, barely smiling faces, staring out in the directions of north, south, east and west. Sam told us that one of the directions was death and one of the other directions was wealth. I asked which one was which because I wanted a photo with wealth (more so than death).

Walking through the temple, I saw this handsome guy standing looking at a map. I snapped a picture when he wasn’t looking but then later I managed to start a conversation with him. Man he looked younger up close. (Cougar alert!) His name is Scott and he’s from Virginia. He just graduated high school and is backpacking through Asia and Europe for six months. (Man if I was 140 years younger…) He had this super cool miniature camera that he called his James Bond camera. It was waterproof and had different settings including fisheye and black and white and also can take pictures every 5 seconds. I took it and grabbed a couple of shots of him. It’s hard not having a display or view to look through but I hope they came out well. He was lost and so our wonderful guide Sam told him we were heading the same way and let him tag along and then directed him from there.

We loaded up on the bus. The driver handed us cold wet wipes and bottles of water and we headed back to the hotel to freshen up. (I have always been proud of my traveling skills and made sure to not pack too many clothes but unfortunately, when you are sweating your butt off within an hour and changing twice a day, our room started looking like a Chinese laundry blew up.) We had 45 minutes so we all jumped into our swimsuits, ran (literally) to the pool, ordered a mango shake/smoothie which was sinful and soaked in the pool. With 5 minutes left, we ran back, changed into dry clothes (not really knowing the point) and met Sam for our lunch and afternoon tour. They took us to this beautiful restaurant called Viroth’s that had a planned lunch menu. Again, they looked out for our vegetarian with some yummy options and brought the rest of us the scheduled lunch. They say it’s polite to leave some left on the plate. I’m not polite.

Well fed, we head to Ta Prohm temple which is more widely known as the Tomb Raider Temple. Used in the movie and made famous by Angelina Jolie’s over accentuated shape. Built in the 12th century, the founders decided to leave this section of temple as found. It’s completely overgrown by large jungle trees and huge vines that have pushed their way through the rock and it’s amazing that they rooted and grew so tall. At one time I posed in front of this ridiculously large tree sprawling over the ruins and when Sam was going to take my picture, I shoved my chest out as far as I could and asked, “Do I look like Angelina Jolie?” to everyone’s amusement including a Spanish couple who barely spoke English from Mexico.

Next – Angkor Wat. I was so excited. We parked and had to walk through this long garden area and finally come upon the temple. The sun is so bright that the temple is hard to photograph from this side. Unfortunately, behind us is a storm rolling in that won’t help taking pictures either. I wanted to just run through the temple to the other side but Sam had so many interesting things to tell us about the temple. Where we entered, there are steps leading up but the main entrance is very high off the ground and Sam told us it was because they would arrive on large elephants – you could picture them coming in and stepping off on this elevated platform.

We get to the middle of the temple where you can climb the large stone steps to visit the inner temple and the storm is quickly coming in. Lightning flashing and we just made the entrance to the stairs before they closed it. The clouds were so dark but it actually made for some great shots from the top. Still nervous because I didn’t get my “money shot” for my wall. Just coming out the other side of the temple and the rain comes down. I pulled out my umbrella but the temple was emptying fast and everyone was moving towards the other side where the parking lot and our bus was. On the walk to the bus, it was sad to see a mother begging holding a child in her lap whose head was twice the size it should be. She had another young child who was naked and running around playing in the dirty rain water.

Back on the bus, heading to the hotel, I ask Sam if it’s possible for me to come back the next day and get my photos. He promises that he will bring us all back. I was fully prepared to skip the next day’s tour but he told me to trust him. Get to the room, shower and clean up, the rains come through and cool the day off once again. We go to the patio and order some food. I decide to go into the gift shop for a bit. Kristie isn’t feeling well so she decides to go to the room and rest. Mariela, Tony, Marla and I decide to go to get a massage at a place called Heavenly Hands. It was $20 for the massage but still cheaper than the USA. When we get to the salon, it’s almost 10:30/11:00 and there are a bunch of masseuses sitting in the lobby waiting. The girls opt for a traditional Thai massage but Tony goes for the Four Hand Massage (which turned out to be Six Hands and he was on sensory overload). When they brought us to the room, there were cots down on the floor but it was definitely not Lean on Tree! What the heck?! Had the massage and it was relaxing enough. Still not a bad way to end the day.

Wednesday, May 16th – Sam was smart enough to tell us to meet him at 8:30 so we would be on the bus by 9:00 today. Kristie still wasn’t feeling well so she slept in and relaxed and was going to join us for the afternoon tour. We visited Preah Ko, Bakong and Lolei temples which were built in the 9th centurythat that were made from brick so they didn’t stand the test of time as well.  As we walked through the temples, there were all these children begging. “Pretty lady! One dollar!” If you didn’t respond they would use another language. I heard French, Chinese, Japanese and more. I bought some postcards I didn’t want just so I wasn’t giving them money for nothing. One little girl had postcards and I asked her to hold my umbrella so I could get my money out.  She was so cute.  The Cambodian government doesn’t want the children to use begging as a way to earn a living which I agree with.  At the Lolei temple, there was an early teen girl whose face was disfigured. We asked Sam if it was a land mine since the country used to be covered with them and there are many amputees in the country. Unfortunately, he told us a story that still makes me cry even now writing this. The parents were not making much money so they disfigured their young child and send her to the temple to beg. You can only ask “How?”

While walking through one of the temples, I was climbing up the stone stairs and asked Tony to take my picture. We had been handing the cameras back and forth to each other for over a week and a half now. This time was no different except when I thought Tony had it, he didn’t and he made such a gallant effort to save it by popping it up in the air with his hands like a juggler but finally it got away from him and landed on the stone. I knew it was an accident and wasn’t mad at him but it’s like watching my child fall. I scooped it up, walked around the corner of the temple, sat down fighting back the tears trying to get it to work. It wouldn’t. The auto focus was stuck because the lens was bent. I had just bought it – beautiful red Panasonic with 12X optical zoom and now it’s chipped and not working. So I accepted that fact, stuck it in my bag and took out my camera phone and started snapping photos. Tony has a fabulous camera but I want my own pictures.

We get on the bus and Tony asks if he can see it. He ends up getting the camera to turn on and take pictures but it won’t zoom. I’ll take it! We go on an ox-cart ride and I’m sitting with Sam. I’d forget the zoom didn’t work and when I would try it, the camera would shut off. I still got great shots. Along the way on the cart ride you would see houses with signs from different countries. Sam told us that families and organizations would donate water wells to these poor farmers for about $200. Everyone on the tour immediately made a note as it was something we were all interested in doing. Hands on helping people. There were also these plastic sheets hung up from clothes lines and they would stretch down into a box of water. Sam said that bugs would fly into the plastic and fall into the water where they would be collected as food. EWWWW!  I’ll pass.

Again we head back to the hotel to relax and freshen up before lunch. On the way, Tony asks to see my camera again and this time he has my zoom working again! Is there ANYTHING that that man can’t do? We were going to stay on the bus and some of us were going to skip the intermission and go to the Artisan Market that Diane had told us about. Unfortunately, the bus we were on had other plans. While Marla went to get Kristie to join us for the market, our A/C on the bus decided to quit. Sam decided to let us all rest and we would do the market after lunch. I changed into my swimsuit, went to the pool, ordered a mango shake and then a wine and just relaxed by the pool solo. A week and a half into the trip, tired and hot, we all started getting on each other’s nerves and I for one needed a break and the others appreciated it as well.

Changed to a clean and dry outfit and back on the bus heading to lunch. Sam took us to a place called Nest and the food there was fabulous too! The bathroom was beautiful and cool. The toilets had clear tanks with LCD lights that changed from red to blue to green. It was funny as each of us had to go in and check it out. Full and ready for the afternoon.

We stopped at the Artisan’s Market which was a one block area that had stone work, wood work, bamboo crafts, etc. You could go through each of the areas watching them do the work. The stone workshop was interesting because these are the people in charge of re-creating the statues that have been destroyed in the temples. At the end, you could go into a shop that had all of what we had seen for sale. I bought a bunch of colored bamboo drink coasters and some bath salts.

We went to a temple called Banteay Srei (Citadel of Women) which was supposed to be where the Khmer (Cambodian) classical architecture was born. While walking through the temple, I looked over and realized Tony wasn’t wearing any shoes. I asked him what happened and he pointed to Mariela who along the way blew out a flip flop and borrowed one shoe and then blew out the other so ended up with both of his shoes. (That’s a gentleman.)

We are driving back through the countryside and come upon yet another temple. Its nice but when Sam says to the group, “Would you want to watch the sunset here and see this temple or go to Angkor Wat again?” before he could finish his sentence I squealed “Angkor Wat! . . .or whatever the group wants to do.” Thankfully the group decided to go to Angkor Wat.

This time, the driver takes us to the parking lot area first. I was worried we would have to walk through the garden area and the entire temple again and wasn’t sure what the weather would do. We park and Sam and a handful of us that wanted to go back in get off the bus. As we walk along the moat that surrounds Angkor Wat, you see it come into sight and with the time of day, there is a perfect reflection in the water of the complex. I took one hundred pictures (yes, I published them all, I’m not sorry, I love it.). Then we walked down the long walkway leading up to the temple. There was some renovations going on so there was a green tarp over the front center of the temple. I joked with Sam since he’s such a wonderful guide, would he be able to get rid of that tarp. As we walked, he went down a side staircase and told me to follow him. He says, “Helene, look, your tarp is gone!” I looked and there were three palm trees perfectly hiding the tarp. Man he is good! There was a side building/temple in the courtyard and I decided to climb up those stairs and get a shot from there. There were two monks also watching the sunset over the temple but they seemed happy to share the view with me.

It just kept getting better and better. When I walked down the stairs and kept walking to the main temple, there was a pond which reflected the temple even more than the moat. 100 more pictures taken (all in an attempt to get the best shot for my wall). There were four children playing in the water. I asked one of them to take a picture with me which she was very happy to do. I reached in my backpack and pulled out a $1 USD and handed it to her, gave her a little hug and off she ran. Her three friends saw it and immediately came at me. Slowly I pulled out $1 and handed it to each of them and then I asked to take all of their picture with the temple. Each of them put their two fingers for the peace sign up. Universal.

It was such a great day and I was truly happy that we returned. Sam loaded us back on the bus and we returned to the hotel. My stomach was still not fabulous but I was also full from lunch still and the heat was getting to me. (Never complain about Florida heat again!) We sat inside the lobby bar and had dinner. I didn’t order anything but nibbled off the others who also couldn’t eat that much.

Marla, Kristie, Tony and Mariela were wanting to take Tuk Tuks into the downtown market but I was shopped out. They went and I decided to just have a wine and relax. I heard there was a rooftop bar so I went to check that out and then just go to the room. When I walked in, it was empty except for one bartender named Sokman. I thought he would want to clean up and go home but he was very happy to get me a wine and then offered to teach me to play Snooker. First I noticed that the pool table was unusually huge and the pool balls were red. Sokman cleaned the white board and wrote our names and then the points for the non-red different colored balls and started showing me how to play. The poor thing would literally set a shot up with a ball right in front of the pocket and then say “Good luck Helen” and I would blow it miserably. (Maybe it was because he kept calling me Helen…)  It took us almost an hour to finish the game. He friended me on Facebook and I will never forget my lesson. I walked down to the room and was shocked to see the girls were back. I guess the market wasn’t that great after all. They should have come with me.

Thursday, May 17th – We are not happy about saying goodbye to Cambodia or their people. Most of us are ready to go home. The 8 of us head back to Bangkok and Diane heads back to the USA. So now there are 7 of us; our group plus Ron and Jodi. We try to find a sky lounge but no good. So we end up eating at a pizza place (you would have thought we were in Italy with all the pizza we ate). We are templed out and looking forward to heading to Phuket for the last four relaxing days of our trip.

When we arrive in Phuket, it’s raining. The guide greets us, quickly throws our luggage in a different truck and off we go to our hotel. I was surprised at how touristy Phuket looked but oh well. We arrive at the Novotel Hotel sitting up on a hillside overlooking the Andaman Sea. The lobby is beautiful and so is the view. En route to the hotel, the guide tells us that we should take a taxi to a different beach and I asked her about diving which she said was not possible. She barely gave us any information and said that tours could be taken from the hotel (which naturally were overpriced even for US Dollar standards).

As we walk into the lobby, we are greeted by the site of a very large overweight Buddha belly looking French man who is slouched over dead asleep in the lobby chair. Nice. Then the staff rushes as us with a gross welcome drink and hands us a cold wet nap which we are juggling with our bags and now our drink. The guide tells us she needs a credit card on file and has her hand out. We were told originally that Thai people always smile and never lose their temper. So as politely as I could maintain, I said, “If you would give me a minute to put this stuff down I’ll get the card for you.” I put the glass down, the still not used towel, dug in my bag, found my credit card and handed it to her. It was like she couldn’t get rid of us fast enough.

We get our keys and they take us and our luggage farther up the hill to building 5 where we have to climb three flights of stairs still. The view is amazing but the room is odd. There is one king bed and a roll-a-way cot thin as a pancake. I called the front desk and asked them to bring an extra mattress. When the two guys showed up with the mattress, they looked at me as if to say, “We understand. We wouldn’t sleep on that either.” Once the additional mattress was in place, it was fine. There was an odd pass thru window from the room to the bathroom that we weren’t sure what that was about. When we looked at Tony and Mariela’s room, their toilet was at a 17 degree tilt so we joked that they needed a seat belt for their toilet. The rooms smelled funny but it was a beach resort and they did have a tsunami that devastated the island but not up this high. As we checked out later, the manager informed us that our building was scheduled to be renovated later this year. Thanks!

Unpacked, showered and got fixed up a bit. We were all exhausted and just decided to eat at the hotel, sleep in the next day and go from there. We went to the restaurant and they were having a Mexican buffet for $21.00. I wanted to stay with the Thai cuisine because I loved it. So I had my Chicken Panang mild (ha! – I sweated my rear off eating that stuff. I would eat a bite and then wipe the sweat off my brow and lip. Unfortunately, the very over starched white linen napkin scratched the heck out of my face.) Mariela had the buffet but didn’t love it. Marla said she doesn’t trust our French chef to do Mexican so she went with the Vegetarian lasagna which consisted of a noodle, 4” of spinach and an overdoes of powdered cheese layering the top. Turns out she doesn’t trust the chef to do Italian now either. Kristie ordered something Thai as well and liked it. Tony ordered the lobster which was about $30. We all got our food except Tony. We joked that they were down the hill looking for it in the sea. It was good when it came but too pricey for me. (Later we found them giving lobster away in the market place. Always the case.) We hit the bar for a drink but most of us couldn’t keep our eyes open and in spite of the fan they moved over to blow on us, we needed A/C so we called it a night and went to our rooms.

Friday, May 18th – It was nice to just sleep. None of us slept great but just not having to get up and get on a bus was nice. Woke up around 8:30 and I went for a walk before breakfast to explore. I walked down the hill to the rocks with the water crashing that I saw from my room. I was so disappointed to see all the trash everywhere. It was disgusting. You would think the hotel would make the effort to clean it up for their guests. Then I walked down the way a bit to the beach and there were Thai out there setting up the beach chairs and the vendor stands and I saw one guy picking up trash on the beach. I took some pictures but I laughed that my camera lens was fogging up so bad from going from the cool room to the humid beach. I walked back to the hotel and up the 200+ stairs. Man I missed flat Florida! I thought I would need CPR by level 3 of 5.

Met the girls for breakfast and it was good. Next it was putting on our swimsuits and settling into the pool. The view was great except Big Boy from the lobby was there chain smoking. Turns out he only wakes up long enough to smoke. He waddled like a weeble around the pool almost chasing us with his nasty cigarette. We almost went to the next level down but there were kids running amuck so we took the lesser of the two evils. At least Pierre (as we nicknamed him) would pass out occasionally.  At one point, this young couple showed up at the pool and “Pierre” approached them asking if they speak French.  When they responded that they did, he had a long conversaton with them.  Then he walked to his pool chair, got his sun tan lotion, walked back to the couple and proceeded to ask the man to apply lotion to his back.  He did and then after, the couple decided to leave.  As the man walked by, he gave me the universal “that was odd” look and I smiled.   As if “Pierre” wasn’t a sight in his yellow giant shorts, he stripped down to a pair of tight black shorts and just as we absorbed that view, he managed to drop down to a speedo which did it’s best to cover him but failed.

Tony ordered us strawberry and mango daiquiris and we just bobbed in the pool in the shaded areas looking out over the sea and beach below. It was nice just sitting and doing nothing. Finally we decided to get cleaned up and go into town to get lunch. It was about 2:00 pm. No schedule. We took the free shuttle to the Town Center. They had a mall and a bunch of restaurants. We pulled up to a place that had pizza, Thai food, everything. I had my Thai and the others ordered pizza. The wine was good.

I decided that I was done shopping for life and wanted to find “the secret beach” a friend told me about. I was in D.C. for the Army Navy game the previous December and met this guy Aaron standing watching the game with his friends inside (it was freezing out in the actual stadium so we all had the same idea). When I told him that I was going to Thailand, he was telling me about his time there recently. So he got my email and sent me directions to this private beach that he managed to find.

I had the email with his directions and was going to run off on my own but Kristie decided she wanted to go with me. We went out and found a Tuk Tuk and started negotiating a price to go to a place that we didn’t know where it was. We got him down to 500 baht. All I told him was head to the south of the island to the Yacht Club. Once we arrived there, he looked at us puzzled. I showed him the next set of directions and he said, “Get in.” He wasn’t going to let us walk looking for it. So he drove through the parking garage for the Yacht Club and then down a winding dirt road until he found a parking lot and a sign that said “Ao Sane”.  He agreed to wait for us while we went and checked it out. As we climb down the hill to the beach, there is one couple who are just leaving so we take a picture of them and they get one of us and then they leave.

Kristie and I literally had this beautiful beach to ourselves. There were two golden labs that were running on the beach playing and they would come play with us and then run off. Most of the animals you saw in Thailand were pitiful, skinny and looked like they had a few close calls with Tuk Tuks but these two were well fed, well groomed and well loved. They acted like the caretakers of the beach. There was a restaurant and some bungalows there but we didn’t see another person. We walked on the sand, played in the water and took a bunch of photos. There were crabs running all over the place in their cool shells. I grabbed my water bottle and Kristie took a picture of me filling it up with beach sand. It was perfect. We stayed for about 40 minutes and then went back to find our driver waiting patiently for us.

We get in the Tuk Tuk and mention it would be good to catch the sunset at the point so our driver takes off and madly drives us through the mountain coast to catch the sunset. We pull up and he throws it in park and we jump out running. He points and we follow. We come out to this scenic overlook with the sun setting and it’s absolutely gorgeous. As we are taking pictures, there is this rasta-Thai man with serious long dreads smoking a cigarette and talking on the phone. We asked him to take a picture of us and he did while he was smoking so the shot came out pretty cool with smoke coming up in front of us. He realized what he did and took another one without the cigarette. We thanked him and then ran back to our driver who had picked flowers and laid them in the seat. Awww! So now he’s driving us back to the market place where he picked us up. As we take off, these fluorescent lights come on and it looks like a disco Tuk Tuk. We both laughed. Mind you we only negotiated the one way trip to the secret beach so we didn’t know what the cost was going to be. As we drove, we looked through the laminated flyers for things to do in Phuket. One was a flyer for Katherine – Escort. She was in lingerie and pictures of her touching herself and the massage tables were set up really crazy. Nice.  When we get to the market, our driver tells us we owe him 1,000 baht. We give him 1,200 because he went above and beyond.

Now we are going to get a drink and we find this place called Hemmingway’s. We are sitting there watching the Thai locals coming in and out of the market. There was a scooter with two guys and a fluffed up poodle sitting on the handlebars. They stopped to let us take a picture. The dog posed. I loved seeing all the high heels on scooters. Good girls. Then this tall non-Thai man comes up and asks where we are from and we tell him USA and he says he is from New Zealand. We were making small talk and then he asks if we can break a 1,000 baht. I try but can’t so he thanks us and walks away with a woman. After our drink we start to walk back to the hotel and he comes up again and asks where we are going and can he come. He asks if we are lesbian swingers. I couldn’t keep from laughing. I said, “She’s cute but I like men thank you.” Then he continues to invite himself back to our hotel. We decline and I say, “Isn’t that your wife?” and point at the woman I saw earlier. He says, “No, that’s my brother’s wife and I don’t know where he is.” Nice.

Off we go and decide to walk the 20 minutes or so back to the hotel. The girls kept pestering us about coming to see a Ping Pong Show. There was an entire street dedicated to seediness which is not my cup of tea. I was disappointed to see the Thai woman so exploited. Mostly by the white men of the world (Aussie’s, Brits, Americans). You’d see an older white guy with some super young Thai girl hanging off of him. That’s how they make their money. Sad. Typical tourist party city. So we kept walking and even managed to climb the stairs up the hill to our place. We stopped and bought a bottle of wine and brought that back to share. Found Marla in Mariela and Tony’s room and they had the same idea and bought a bottle of white wine. As a group, we decided we would get up early the next day and go to the pier and get a ferry to the Phi Phi islands. Off to bed.

Saturday, May 19th – We got up early, had breakfast and grabbed a tuk tuk to the Pier. We negotiated the rate to something decent. The guy drove fast but we almost missed the ferry. When we arrived, we were met by a guy who offered us various tours. Just to take the ferry was cheap but if we took the tour for 1500 Baht, it would include lunch and snorkeling and the return trip to the hotel. Done. We ran to the ATM, bought our tickets and jumped on the overcrowded ferry. Barely any room to sit. Tony, Marla and Kristie climbed to the second level and stood most of the trip. Mariela and I found space down on the main deck. Marla decided to go for a walk and as she went to go down the steps, she slipped and her bottom bounced all the way down the stairs. The rest of the trip she kept saying, “Did you see that donkey kick me?!” Poor thing had a bruise on her thigh but she took an Aleve right away. Very prepared girl.

On the way to the Phi Phi Islands, they take us to the island where the movie The Beach with Leonardo DeCaprio was filmed. It was over-run with tourists and boats and we couldn’t get off even if we wanted. We kept going past these beautiful green covered mountains shooting up out of the turquoise blue water. We ended up at Phi Phi Island resort where they asked the ones with stickers to go to the right of the boat and the rest to go to the left. The madness that ensued was a joke. No organization at all. Those of us with stickers were moving to another smaller boat that would take us snorkeling. Once on the boat, they told us to come up, sign our name and get a mask and snorkel. That didn’t happen. People rushed the snorkels and masks. I finally pushed my way through, wrote my name, grabbed a mask and snorkel and ran for the back of the boat. The second they threw anchor, I was in the water. I snorkeled immediately away from the boat and found this beautiful reef with giant brain coral and large clams in all colors. The fish followed me like I was in an acquarium and I was going to feed them. There was no one around me. It was great. I could see the divers occassionally below me. I would swim down to touch the giant clams and they would close up. I finally snorkeled back to the boat which was mass chaos. People hitting you with their flippers. I dove down and swum underneath them and came up at the back of the boat. It was perfect. I was annoyed that I could have gone diving but our guide made no effort to help me with that. The snorkeling was great so I won’t complain. I didn’t have to spend any time with the equipment.

After that, the boat took us back to the island and we went to the Phi Phi hotel for lunch. There were us five and five Thai people. We ended up taking pictures of each other and laughing over a lazy susan – Chinese style lunch. They had chicken wings and spaghetti? I was starved from snorkeling so I ate it all.

We were able to tour the island on our own shopping. I found a spot where there was a couple sitting with their feet in a tank of water with the fish eating the dead skin. It just looks gross but they enjoyed it. I walked about ten minutes and then saw a clearing up ahead with blue water. It was a beautiful beach with hardly anyone on it. I put my feet in the water. A guy asked if I wanted to rent a paddleboard and I explained that I had about 10 minutes and he smiled.

Headed back to the boat for the ride home. I was so tired that the minute we got underway, I laid my head down and went to sleep. When we arrived, we had to find our shuttle to the hotel. There was a French couple waiting as well and we ended up chatting. When we got back to the hotel, the woman, Sofie, came up to my room and gave me her email, address and number in Paris and the note says that if I’m ever in Paris, I need to look her and her husband up. I told her the same goes for Florida.

We got cleaned up and headed back to the market. Our last night in Thailand and I wanted Thai food. We ended up at a wine bar (not terrible but no Thai). I decided to not eat and just grab a wine and eat something later. Kristie and Marla headed off to get a Japanese facial. Mariela, Tony and I walked around the mall a bit and then they joined me for my Thai food. We all but fell asleep at the table. We headed back to the hotel and packed up for the trip home. I was ready to go. 17 days was a long time to be gone.

Sunday, May 20th – The guide (I use the world loosely) picked us up and brought us to the airport. We were going to do the 1.5 hour flight to Bangkok, then the 3.5 hour flight to Taipei, then only 10 hours to Los Angeles (less time going back with the jet stream), and the 4.5 hours to Tampa.

On the Taipei to LA trip, I sat with a mother and her daughter from Lafayette but who are now living in Singapore. The girl Haley is seven and was very entertaining. When we all went to go to sleep, she was all crunched up so I said, “You can put your legs on me if you want.” She’s just a seven year old. How heavy can they be? HA! A few hours later, I lost feeling in my legs. I tried to move them around and not wake her but she looked so sweet sleeping.

We arrived in LA, I did the mad dash to Passport Control, grabbed my luggage, cleared customs and ran in 4” wedge heels two terminals away to the Delta Domestic terminal. I checked my one bag, got through security just in enough time to make the gate. The monitor indicated that there were only two seats left on the plane and I was listed second on standby. I was waiting patiently.  Marla was scheduled to fly at 1:45 am through Memphis but figured she would try to get on my flight. She paid the idiot at the counter who was super rude to her $50 to switch over to our flight. Now, I’m 2nd on standby and there is only 1 seat left according to the screen. Finally they announce that all standby passengers have been cleared and I jump on the plane. Whew!

Direct flight to Tampa. As I got on the plane, I didn’t make first class but I saw the flight attendant guy trying to serve drinks to those who did make first class. I asked if he wanted to go ahead of me and he thanked me. I said, “I learned to never prevent a bartender from serving drinks.” He laughed and then I scooted back to my seat. I had a nice guy from New Zealand sitting next to me and we chatted the whole time while others probably were trying to sleep. I got up to use the bathroom and the flight attendant from 1st class asked what I was drinking. I told him red wine. When I came out, he handed me a full glass of red wine and winked. It’s good to be social.

I landed at 5:30 am, booked a Super Shuttle and was the only one the driver was delivering. Got to my office, picked up my car and headed home. I couldn’t wait to do laundry with a washer AND a dryer and get into my own bed. It was a great trip and I checked two more countries off my list. Up to 47 now and still going. Hope you enjoyed the story. Khob-kun-Krub – thank you in Thai.