We shouldn't be allowed to have this much fun

Yes we are still on this planet - having a bit too much fun here and no time for the blog. Well since we last blogged we have been island hopping - seen alot of the south of Thailand.

Ko Samui was once the place to go but is now very overpopulated and still growing except for the sewer system - we were not impressed - quite disgusting. But we did meet some very nice people Deb and Lisa from London. We are hoping to meet up with them when we get there. We toured around the island which only takes about an hour and came across a mummified monk and the groping gardener. Really weird. We lit incense for the monk but really nothing can help him now. There was an old guy there who led us to the monk and then started massaging (groping) the girls arms. He didn't go near Bill just told him to sit down and wait. (all in hand motions) At first we thought maybe he was a healer as he focused on the meridian points on our arms and hands but really - I think he was probably just the gardener having a good time.

Ko Lanta - we met some really nice people from Canada and we all hung out for a week. Bill rented a motorcycle and somehow talked me into getting on. Big mistake - within 5 minutes or 5 kilometres (take your pick) we hit the dirt. Bill had road rash up his leg, his arm and hand. I fell on top of him and only hurt my knee but dammit it hurt. A nice Thai helped us back on the bike and escorted us to his work and got out the medical kit. Really nice of him. They all got a laugh out of it. Everyone was telling us not to use the front brake. Now they tell us!! The guy who rented the bike gave Bill a lesson after he saw the blood. A little too late buddy. It took alot of persuading to get me back on that thing. Anyway to show for it we now have what we call motorbike tattoos - scars!!

We met up with Mike and Marcia from Kamloops in Phuket. They are the reason the blog hasn't been updated - sorry but we just had too much fun.

Karun Beach in Phuket is a really nice place. We all agreed that we would go back. We cruised through Patong Beach just to see it - what a zoo.
We found a really cool market that sold everything from soup to nuts. Food everywhere. That is one thing about Thailand there is no shortage of food or people to cook it. I've heard that the Thai people don't cook for themselves but eat at these stands and socialize. That would explain all the food stands.

Ko Phi Phi - well we missed this one by about 20 years. It is a beautiful island with the water an absolutely brilliant color but again it is so overcrowded and commercialized. Coming into the island all we saw were boats taking the farangs where they wanted to go. We did find a nice spot to swim where the boats weren't allowed.

We had another lesson in booking ahead of time - we booked a room at a guest house and were informed when we got there that we were to stay in another guest house owned by the same people - except this one was in the ghetto. We've had a few experiences like this along the way.

We took a day trip to Hin Klang , a coral reef and to Bamboo island. Snorkelling was great. Bamboo island is gorgeous. We met a young family who live there in a tiny house - about the size of most of our sheds in the backyard. They offered us some fish and squid which Dad had just caught. It was quite good. We all made attempts to ask questions and to learn a little about them. There was a row of these homes on the beach which their family members lived in. There were about 8 longtail boats sitting in the water which we presumed were theirs for fishing - their livelihood. We all enjoyed the experience. Makes us take a really good look at ourselves. I mean really - how much do you need to be happy.

We took a sunset cruise where we did lots of snorkelling and saw "The BEACH". We took far too many sunset pictures but it was a fun day.

Part 2 to follow. Take care everyone.

---

---