Protest this

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As Christmas approaches, I have never felt more out of the loop. Here on the beach in southern Thailand, the temperature exceeds 90 every day and afternoons are spent in the water or looking for shade. Rudolph is supplanted by longboats and mopeds and Santa would have to shave, lose some weight, and buy some cargo shorts. But to everyone back home pulling the coats and scarves ever tighter, let me assure you that my tan looks great.

The rest of Bhutan was really very spectacular. We spent just over a week traveling via the main road in Bhutan with our guide and driver at an average of 30 km/h. Having someone show you around does take some of the adventure out of traveling, but it was kind of nice just to be purely tourists for a while. Our guide, Ugyen, was a really nice guy, totally enamored with American culture, and knew more about NBA basketball than I did. We visited some very old temples and fortresses, built mostly in the 16-17th centuries, and spent some time in some beautiful valleys. All in all, it was a fantastic place to visit and we were sad to leave.

Fortunately, the extra week in Bhutan allowed the situation in Thailand to cool down. By the time we were ready for our flight into Bangkok, the airport was running normally and we did not have any problems. We spent three days in Bangkok, doing the usual - massages, tailored clothing, Wat exploration - and we both agreed that that was long enough. Being in Bhutan for a month did lead to some feelings of culture shock in the overwhelmingly crowded, noisy, and polluted Thai capital.

We spent three days at an island off of the coast of southern Thailand, Koh Phi Phi. It sounds like it could be the name of a tropical fraternity, and the atmosphere there is consistant with that. It was more built-up than would be ideal, but we still had a fun time with some swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and seafood. We also spent one morning on a poorly advised jungle hike, with myself as expedition leader. I was trying to find this waterfall that I faintly remembered visiting five years ago (but it could have been somewhere else). There were no maps and the locals were no more help than offering us a taxi boat to some beach we didn't want to go to. After some time of aimlessly hiking into denser jungle with no signs of a destination of any kind, I was firmly informed that we would not be taking any more jungle hikes. I consider it a success that we made it out without being eaten by a tiger. It's all about perspective.

Now we are spending the last days of vacation at a different beach on Koh Lanta. It is really nice and perfect for doing nothing more than reading and playing frisbee in the water. We head back up to Bangkok in a couple days, then Noor returns to the frozen midwest and I onto Cambodia. Happy holidays!

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Comments

[Gaye]

: )
Hi Ben, thanks for the updates and thank you for the continued laughter and giggles that permeate my being when reading your comments. I look forward to seeing and hearing more.

[Mark]

very envious
Ben, Couldn't be more envious of your travels. Thanks again for keeping us all posted! However, it's unacceptable that you're as groomed as you appear and was hoping for much, much more facial hair by this time. While you're mostly making us proud, I speak for many in reminding you that you're sort-of letting some of us down as well. It's never too late... Thanks for the updates, bud. Mark

[Lynn Mozena]

Happy New Year
Hi Ben! Try not to get arrested in Cambodia, I hear they're tough on Americans in those prisons!