Dane and Kahni

We took the ferry from Koh Samui to Surat Thani and then to Pooh's hometown of Phangnga, where he picked us up. We were so glad to see him. He had brought his niece and little daughter with him and they all took us to our hotel in Phuket. He insisted, worried that the mini bus would not drop us off right at the door, as the Marriott is set off the main road quite a ways. Our hotel room was perfect on the second try...we got a beautifully remodeled room on the top floor overlooking the royal suite and the gorgeous Andaman Sea. Even better than the last time, a bit closer to the sound of those hypnotic, rhythmic waves, crashing over and over again, massaging the mind and soothing the soul. I felt that ... read more

In search of the perfect longtail boat driver...that's how we found Ed. Once we decided when we wanted to start (early as possible) and where we wanted to stop, we came back to his office which is a blue hammock tied to a coffee shop right on the beach, in sight of his longboat. Ed is one of those amazing Bob Marley incarnations that we are fortunate enough to find now and again. Always a fun time sharing the planet with those guys. As agreed, the next morning at 7a.m., we found him bailing out his boat and tidying up. To provide the shade he had promised, he simply borrowed a canopy from the boat next to his who was not using it at the time. Very neighborly. And just like that, long before the heat ... read more

Kanchanaburi In the interest of saving time and still seeing as much as possible close to Bangkok, we signed up with a mini tour (8 people) to take us to Kanchanaburi, made famous by the 1957 movie, "Bridge on the River Kwai". I was not prepared for the beautifully maintained cemetery grounds, or the poignant words inscribed on the headstones. There, in simple eloquence, parents, wives, siblings, children and other relatives spoke last sentences to soldiers who lost their lives in unspeakable conditions, as slave laborers on the Death Railway. The Thais have enormous respect and appreciation for these soldiers, and it's obvious by how well they maintain all the displays. There are books written on this subject, so I won't go into any detail, but it's very interesting and very emotional. The river was much ... read more

My best tip would be to make sure you have a great travel agent like ours who will book you a flight on Singapore Airlines. You will be treated like royalty. The attendants are amazing and stunning in their jewel-like uniforms with impeccable manners. You can order special food ahead of your flight, like "Vegetarian, no MSG" and they will come beforehand and make sure you like the FOUR meals you are going to be served! Second "in flight" tip is to walk around whenever you get the chance, or you may find your feet have swollen and you can't get your shoes on the next day. Which is fine, because you will have a great excuse to take naps and keep your feet up at the pool all day. Third, once you have arrived, DON'T ... read more

Only two days left, and we are wondering why we didn't arrange to stay longer. Our list of "must sees" now turns into "hope we have time". I am anxious because I haven't even experienced all of the resort, we have only eaten at two of the twelve restaurants, and I still can't get around without the map! We squeezed in our last activities: intro to Thai language, dancing, and origami, which I flunked, but excelled in Yogilates, Ab torture & stretch, and finished well on a wonderful sunset bicycle ride. We bought a last bunch of bananas for Yum Yum, but how do you say goodbye to an elephant? When it came down to deciding where we wanted to go, we chose to try for "Krabi" and we would have to go through Phang Nga, ... read more