Blogs from South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 883

I'm sorry, well maybe I'm not... that you haven't heard from me in quite some time. I had my reasons. I've been spending 10 days at a buddhist meditation retreat at Suan Mokkh in the south of thailand. It was very difficult, challenging and developing. Many of you may not know anything what's a retreat like, so i'll start from the beginning. This is an international retreat, set in beatiful environment, with some 70 people from allover the world. You have to be silent except from when problems occur, then to speak to the personell or the monks. You hold the buddhist precepts, sleep on a thin mat on concrete with a wodden pillow, go upp 4 am in morning, go to sleep 9.30 in the evening. Eat max two meals a day and only after ... read more

Patong Beach - Phuket 10th-15th Nov. 2005 I didn't think that I would be seeing my brother and his family quite so soon. I already said my goodbyes. Bruce, Cathy and the kids had a trip booked to Bali in November. For the second time now in 3 years they cancelled their trip because of bombings. They are clearly not meant to go to Bali. So they changed their travel destination to Phuket. It just so happened that I also would be in southern Thailand at a similar time. Holiday Inn For 5 days I was a very regular visitor to the Holiday Inn where Bruce & Cathy were staying. So much so that the hotel staff really thought I was staying there. I sometimes just left temporarily wearing one thing and came back half and ... read more

{backdating to pretend I'm keeping up on this} Ko Phi Phi is the quintessential island paradise. White sand beaches, swaying palms, beautiful limestone cliffs dropping off into waters so clear you can see 30 ft to the bottom, while dangling your legs off the side of a boat and cruising by islands straight out of "The Beach". It is not, however, a hidden paradise, but rather (one of) the most touristy places I've ever been. Sandwich and 'pancake' shops far outnumber thai restaurants, and it's definately impossible to "eat local" as I've been trying to do. Everything and everyone on the island revolves around the tourist trade, and it's more common to hear Dutch, German, French, English, or any other western language, however random, than Thai. It still is beautiful though, despite the scenery being marred ... read more

Lester, Dave and Doc were tasty characters alright. Although quite easily reeled in, they were as slippery as they come and always prepared to put up a fight. Yep, the highlight of our travels to Hat Rai Ley was catching our dinner on what was a very successful fishing trip. I wasn't expecting much more than maybe a welly boot or a burst car tyre but I should've learned by this point that Thailand just doesn't disappoint and our haul of a monkfish, a barracuda and a red snapper was a catch to be proud of. Later that night, the restaurant took care of all the yucky bits and we feasted upon our dearly departed friends having prayed to God that they suffered a painless death during the Last Rites which I duly administered. We enjoyed ... read more

...or how are you? (to those of you who don't speak Thai!!). Thanks again for your happy (and often crazy) messages. Please keep them coming as they really do cheer me up whenever I'm feeling a little low. I was going to add an entry a few days ago but I wanted to wait until I had lots of photos before updating it. Unfortunately, after tinkering with my camera and being a bit girly, I accidentally managed to wipe all of the photos and video clips I had taken which means that everything prior to yesterday is gone. Boo Hoo!! So all I can show you are some photos of Koh Lanta, in Krabi and Kata Beach, Phuket which is where I am today. My third stop after leaving Cambodia was Patong in Phuket (aka ladyboy ... read more