Wow! Let's just say, "It's about friggin' time!" I can't pin-point the exact reason I haven't finalized our Asia breakdown, other than the harsh bitch slap back into reality of being gone for over a month, returning to of course "all hell breaking loose". I swear, you would think the world was going to come to an end when pallet after pallet of seasonal goods are delivered and the under-thanked, over-brutilized rep is on vacation and god forbid...whose gonna merchandise my garden decor? It's almost as if they couldn't fathom wiping their own arse, even when I had been fully available on vacation to answer emails on procedure and protocol, I mean I prefer front to back...doesn't everybody? I also like when the roll of TP is bottom loaded and the paper falls under the roll ... read more

We had plans for awhile to get on our Temple clothes, head out early and tour the islands' Wats. We had to take my mom to the airport early, so we figured this would be a great day to wear our only long pants and short-sleeved shirts and beat the crowds. There is about 20 Wats on Samui, so we picked a few and started off before the real heat of the day forced us to flee to the ocean. It was beautiful! Cool ocean breezes, amazing architecture, and simply pure peace and quite before the rest of the island had woken, we had made offerings half way around the island. We had seen just a few tourists at one Wat...2 guys wearing shorts, but they did take their shoes off at least. When we were ... read more

The day starts with our own trading, we have Baht, they have a freshness from their homes and their aching hands and their fruitfull land. The exchange is brief, but worthy to both. My sensory is on overload with the sights and smells that are not from home. I doubt they are re-telling the stories though, maybe an exchange of chuckles with the vendor a few stalls over. A dip in the Sea, a fresh lunch, plenty of pages read from an American novelist, another trip to the market for the catch of the day from the fisherman and his son, and the morning glory stalks his daughter grew from seed only to be scorched in a pan of delicate sesame oil as night falls. To be cherished on a deck adorned with again, hand made ... read more

I was born in 1979, so transportation in my lifetime has consisted mainly of combustion-engine powered mechanical conveniences. Now, I've done my time on bicycles and skates, skiis and boats, planes and three wheelers, but I've never been put in a position where the only method of transportation was animal. I've only riden a horse once, and the power you can feel in the beast beneath you, and the trust you must have in it actually allowing you to sit on it, well, it was exciting and frightening at the same time, like when you were learning to ride a bike and you were going down a hill that was a little to steep and you were going a little too fast but you couldn't jump off and as much as you thought you had control ... read more

Today, Heidi and I had an enormous breakfast-- eggs over easy, fried potatoes, waffles, sausage, piles of bacon, salad topped with cheese, croissants, dragon fruit, pineapple, mango, cantaoupe, pinepple juice, coffee, and no papaya ( we stiill haven't developed a taste for it ) This was all you can eat, and it was in vast contrast to the meager breakfasts we'd been having, which consisted mainly of bananas, a pot of coffee split between the two of us, and maybe a bowl of cornflakes if there was any milk left. Just the morning before the great buffet, we'd both had a 6 ounce ( or milileter or something tiny ) cup of cappuccino, a small sandwich, and a few potato chips for breakfast. Now, we had seen the conglameration of guests at the breakfast buffet ... read more