Never thumb wrestle a Thai masseuse

Never thumb wrestle a Thai masseuse.  You will lose every time ......and your hands will smell like someone else's back.  Laina and I had a traditional Thai massage in a hut on the beach this afternoon. There were moments of bliss intertwined with extreme pain, much like marriage. One hour filled with  popping and cracking.  I would have thought I was at a chiropractor except they did not claim to be magic.   (Just joking guys)

Laina says she feels energized after her massage, though she moves like Gumby now.

She has also made friends with the village rooster, Carl.  

Onward

Laina tells me that this is our eighth day on Samui island, but I'm pretty sure she's a liar. It feels like we just got here, though the color of our skin says differently.  Tomorrow we leave this paradise for Singapore.  Hopefully it will prove to be just as eventful as our previous destinations.  I will have to keep a watchful eye on Laina though, with her insatiable graffiti art habit. Apparently this is frowned upon there.

Have a coke and a smile

Busy few days

 First off, we are safe and having a blast. We haven't spent much time slowing down to reflect and update the blog lately, but it goes without saying we are enjoying our time here. We are most definitately still foreigners, but each day it seems we are more recognizable and accepted by the local village. A simple thank you or good morning in Thai language or proper bow goes a long way here( that and remembering to remove your shoes just about everywhere). Yesterday we spent all day island hopping on a 33 ft catamaran with a captain and first mate. We all became good friends so they extended our trip and we watched the sunset from a really remote and iconic deserted island. They were really very cool people. I had never been on a sail boat, let alone a serious catamaran like this one. It could really move and was completely quiet despite the sound of gusting wind. Our friends shaun and christina left back for Singapore today. 

 

Bungalow Bowens

I spent the better part of 4 hours on a scooter( yeah it was a scooter not something manlier) exploring the northeast coast of Samui island for a quieter more authentic place for Laina and our incoming friends to stay.  Though I enjoyed where we stayed on Chaweng beach, it kind of reminded me of a "Panama City for 30 year old Europeans." The island is unlike anything i have seen. Streets taper down into gravel then to dirt roads.  Just when you begin to get nervous and think about turning around, boom, there's the ocean accented with huge palm trees and perfect beaches.  I settled on a hidden place called thong son bay, partially because it was the only place available for all of us and partially because I thought the name sounded promising. I booked it just before dark and told Laina it was just ok, but we could move later if we wanted.  When we arrived this morning, we were more impressed to say the least.  We can see uninhabited islands along the horizon . The huts are simple but awesome. One room with a bed, and a bathroom and shower that share the same tile floor that angles towards a drain by the wall.  Each hut has its own porch with respective hammock and we even have a village rooster to protect us. Pretty nice for $40 a night. Laina says it reminds her of Natchez Trace with a beach view.

 

Don't get crabs in Thailand

When someone told me, "don't get crabs in Thailand", I mistook their meaning. But, they weren't wrong.  Don't order crabs for dinner in Thailand.  They were subpar at best.
 

                                               Laina seems much happier with her meal

Breakfast on the beach. The tree above us was dropping large walnut sized fruit on the man sitting next to us.  We tried not to laugh. We failed.

 Laina helps a local light a floating lantern on the beach. It was windy, so he had difficulty getting it to fly. Funny to watch. He thought so as well. 

Laina is famous

For those of you that have commented or speculated that Laina may be sticking out a bit here, you were correct. While we toured the grand palace the other day, a shy girl approached Laina and asked( or gestured since she spoke no English) if she could have her picture taken with her. A group of her friends took pictures and one by one each requested to do the same.  I couldn't stop laughing. The spectacle had caught the attention of a large group of people who's focus had now turned away from the hand carved jade Buddha circa 500BC to the tall American blonde. We went along with it.

We arrived at Koh Samui this morning.  It's an extreme change of pace.

Farewell Bangkok, you dirty girl

We walked to Pratunam market this morning. It's a wholesale clothing market. We decided we liked shopping in air conditioning, so we walked to the Siam center. This is a huge upscale mall.  We shopped for a while, then went in search of the city snake farm and research center. We missed the final cobra handling show, so we called it a day.  Tomorrow we fly south to Koh Samui to meet friends.  Its an island located off the eastern coast in the gulf of Thailand. Should be a good time.Laina outside of the Siam center.

Private bathrooms were far to expensive for Patrick.

He settles for the outdoor community facilities.

 

Siam Center at night

Lumpini Park

Initially we were dissuaded from going to this park by a local because of criminals he said.  But, since we vowed to try as many new things on this trip as possible and the further out of our comfort zone the better, I woke early to go running there.  Maybe the biggest surprise of the trip.  Lumpini looks exactly like a tropical version of New York's Central Park.  Extremely clean and completely absent of vagrants or anyone not exercising for that matter. Everyone from 18 to 80 was doing some sort of what seemed to be a daily routine of exercise.  Huge groups of 50-100 like dressed people doing Thai chi in unicent like something you might see on a Bruce Lee flick.  People ballroom dancing, practicing with swords and staffs, or just walking through the laberinth of roads around and over a series of lakes and canals. Best of all, adult sized playground equipment. No joke. Be honest with yourself, why did you really stop playing on the jungle gym? This was all going on before 7am. I felt borring and kind of silly just jogging around without having some awesome high kick or leg sweep to add in every so often.(I refrained) Swimming through the lake are 5foot monitor lizards. This might explain the lack of squirrels here. That or we have been eating them. Yoga with some fantastically cheesy music. Just missed the conclusion of the massive yoga session of no less than 200.

                            Monitor lizard walking next to me. No one seemed to mind them, but I'm pretty sure one of these things occasionally attacks Japan.  "I don't trust you either buddy."

Swimming lizard. That's a first for me.

 World's first recumbent bike
 

You know you want to try it.

 World's first elliptical.

The Gazelle

China town take it or leave it........ Leave it

Took a boat to Bangkok's china town district ( largest concentration of Chinese people in Thailand, which is significant). If you're in the market for used remote controls, fake sunglasses, or second hand  false teeth, then Chinatown is for you. Unfortunately it had already sucked us in before we realized it.  Lost in a maze of side streets, stumbling over people, and no clear view of the sky, needless to say we were a bit disoriented.  "An hour lost in Chinatown is still better than a week of certainty at work" says Laina. She's an optimist. Somehow, we found our way back to the pier.  I asked Laina if she needed some water. "Water? How about a beer." We crossed the river to the riverside market to look for a cantina.  The atmosphere was refreshing to say the least, but lacking in white folks.  Apparently, this was a local joint, but people paid no mind to us.  We came across a little restaurant/ hotel on the river. The sign said lunch from 11:00-2:00, dinner from 5:00-9:00. (The time..........2:50).  We enter anyway. The place is nice but empty.
Patrick: "I know you're closed but how about some drinks?"
Owner: "ok"
Patrick: ".....and food?"
Owner:"ok"
He says they have just opened.  Apparently struggling business beginnings are universal. They are happy to serve us what ever we want and the views of the river and palaces are beautiful.  The chef comes out to see if we are pleased with our food and says he will gladly cook more if we are not satisfied.  We talk about their hotel and plans for the future.  As we leave, they offer to drive us anywhere we wish for free.  Nice, nice people.  We board our boat and head back to the pool.
        Laina overlooking Chao Praya River

Boat ride back to hotel