Eat, Surf, Sleep

Cherating Village is a very small place, with a concentration of guesthouses, souvenir shops and restaurants along the main pot-holed street. On a scale of charming, it ranks about 2.5 Hugh Grants out of 5. I have a "chalet" on the beach, which is a simple hut-type room that has a great view of the South China Sea. I'm not gonna lie, it brings me joy.

The sky was overcast all day and there was a 3 hour storm that lasted most of the afternoon. Fortunately for me, I got my first 2 hour surfing lesson after a luscious 2 hour nap when I arrived at 7 am (sleeping on the 8 hour bus rides is a pipe dream that I should just let go of). My instructor was a 19 year old who'd been surfing for 11 years and goes by the name of Mad Mat (I don't know how you derive that from his real name of Muhamed Daud Bin Muhamed, but that's just me). He was great, I'm learning how to talk like a Malay, replacing my beloved "eh's" with "lah's" at the end of every sentence. We were in a spot that had very big waves crashing on the rocks 20 feet away, but most of the smaller waves were doable, and do I did. I was able to get up to standing on most of the runs although I have this nasty habit of falling into the water as soon as I do. Tomorrow will be better I think. I slept for most of the afternoon during the aforementioned storm which was good because surfing is a very tiring exercise. I've got quite a few sore spots and rashes from the board, which is only fitting considering that injuring myself continues a proud tradition from this trip.

Ate at a very good restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet...fresh lychee juice makes me happy. I was watching America's Funniest Videos' on one of the 3 channels on the tv in my room. I don't know when crashing a car into a crowd got so funny.

Sleepless in Penang

I haven't been sleeping properly lately. Can't manage to fall asleep before 3 or 4 (I assure you that there's no night out precursor to justify said insomnia). My mind is racing with thoughts of what's next for me and the meaning of life. And by the meaning of life, I mean the fact that I'll be spending this weekend surfing in Cherating. Am I excited? In a word, Heckya. One final bake-off of my skin before I head back to Thailand and wrap things up.

I'll be home this time in 2 weeks. I'm rather excited by that prospect. I have these moments of thought that I'm an ideal candidate to pack it all up and live like a nomad for a few years. And then I think of my bed. My luscious aww inspiring kitty cat super stretch bed. I miss it so. Plus all my family and friends and so on and so forth...;).

I've been shopping lately. Lots of shopping. Can't stop a woman from shoppin! Things are not particularily cheap here (not compared to Thailand anyhow), but the quality of clothes are great and very fashionable. The mall Pooja (it's not Puja as I previously wrote) works in is full of the same stores in Canada and a few local chains that are filled with gorgeous finds. I'm trying to behave myself, but it feels too good not to. A long standing personal philosophy that will prevent me from becoming a Buddhist anytime soon.

I've been trying to wrap my head around how I will describe this trip when I get back to Canada. On the surface it's been an incredible experience and a perfect blend of adventure, self-sufficiency and family time. I'm very fortunate to have all this family who've welcomed me with open arms. I'm also lucky to be able to have had such great experiences with Claire and the other friends I've made along the way. This trip to Cherating will kind of be the first time I'm actually on my own, and I welcome it...have a feeling I'll meet lots of people along the way though...surfing classes are good like that :) At a deeper level, it's opened my eyes to all the experiences and lifestyles and opportunities in the world and the fact that we're all the same. For instance: Crazy in Love will set a dancefloor on fire in any city. Parents just want their children to be happy. Children just want their parents to let them make their own decisions. And my age group adamantly refuses to live a mediocre life as the majority of us embrace the fact that this moment is very fleeting and the absolute best thing you can do is whatever you want to do. And this is why I surf.

I would have never imagined this is the life that I get to lead 5 years ago. But now it's mine. And I love every minute of it.

Malaysia vs Canada

Here are the following similarities and differences I've noted between my homeland and my current location of presence.

1. SIMILAR: Bowling is a popular pasttime that is beloved by young and old for its stinky communal shoes and good clean fun type of atmosphere. Smack-talkery, gutterballs and after-strike dancing are also practiced here (all by me of course). Also similar, I still suck at bowling in Malaysia (I thought the change in longitude/lattitude might help me get an advantage. No such luck).

2. DIFFERENT: Hair stylists don't care to listen to you when you say you want 2 inches trimmed and your layers redone. Something barring the effective communication may be the fact that I only know how to say "Thank You" in Malay. She must have thought she was doing a damn good job with all those thank you's I was throwing out. It'll grow out soon I'm sure.

3. SIMILAR: McSteamy still beats out McDreamy by popular vote. CSI is on 24 hours a day. Fixing Dinner, License to Grill, and Family Restaurant are apparently the Canadian flagship programs that represent us to our global neighbours. Please note that Fixing Dinner in no way represents the creativity of most Canadian household cusine. Who the hell makes that many casseroles in a week?

4: DIFFERENT: Protests in the capital city will shut down the entire town and prevent tourists from wanting to enter. In Canada, the cops throw out some tear gas at the 30 protesters, grab a Timmies and call it a day. Here, a few people die (including a cop), hundreds are thrown in prison and my parents give me a call first thing in the morning to tell me not to go to Kuala Lumpur. Oh Whitney, we'll meet one day.

5. DIFFERENT: Snake Temples. Need I say more?

Editor's Note

I mistyped in the previous entry. Thank you in Thai isn't "Swadee Ka", it should be "Kaap kun kaa". Silly me.

I'm currently sandwiched between Sonia and Puja on the bed, as they furiously text message unknown hotties somewhere in the world. Kids today, I tell you. That's a pic of us on the beach last night.

Spent the day with my Aunt's family, 3 cousins that I met for the first time. They took me up to the dam which was a very lovely walk in the jungle and then we saw the Chinese pagoda which was very colourful and of course the key attraction, the 40 foot statue of the goddess was covered in scaffolding. Such is life. And I saw lots and lots of turtles who were trying to find their way to freedom from the scum filled little holding tank they are forced to live in- it's ironcially called the "redemption pond". Le sigh. Then we went to an aquarium where I learned that lobsters are cannibalistic (I saw one eating another, quite disturbing actually). Went out for dosa (or thosai as they say here) with all of em. It was nummy. It's a gorgeous full moon out tonight.

What else...Puja tells me to write "You're hanging out with the coolest and hottest people in Malaysia, that's all they need to know". Thank you for your profound contribution Puja.

Family Fun

Terima Kasih= Thank you
Makan= Eat

I've been learning some Malay, the above two words being of utmost importance as the maid doesn't understand English. I realize how hoighty-toighty that sounds, but every family home I visit has help of some sort. I'd like to take this moment to thank all the housekeepers who have helped me along my journey. Daniyavad, Swadee Ka, and Terima Kasih.

Day 2.5 of my Malaysian adventure. I'm staying on Penang island with relatives...it's my cousins family, and the kids range in age from 21-27, so I guess they are my second cousins, but I'm insisting that they call me "Auntie"... and the one that's a month younger than me tells me where to go. Oh, kids these days. My cousin (their father) sadly passed aways a couple of years ago, but it's very nice to see how well adjusted the family is, the 2 sons are looking after their famiy business and go jet-setting around the world (one is in China right now) and they live very comfortably in an area called Bayan Lepas. They're quite entertaining and get all my jokes. What's not to love!

I've been out and about frolicking with the kids, we stopped by Penang Road yesterday and I met my dad's youngest sister for the first time at her shop, that was nice, she looks exactly like my Vijay Uncle, a bit uncanny really.

Puja (the 27 year old) took me to her health club at a hotel yesterday and we spent a couple hours swimming in a lovely outdoor pool and talking about the trials and tribulations that we indo-malaysian/canadian girls face in this day and age. She used to take care of the family business when her father passed away and told me some great stories about how the lawyers/accountants tried to take advantage of her newbie-ness...I would not want to get on the girls bad-side in the boardroom. She's got a lot of sass...I can understand why my parents told me I'd get along with her.

Last night, Sonia (21), Manoj (23), and Puja took me to a shopping area and we had a great dinner at a place called Passion of Kerala, which specializes in Banana Leaf cuisine. I don't particularily know what that meant, but instead of bowls and plates, our food was poured on a banana leaf. And I had a very exquisite glass of mango lassi. And the best chicken I've had all trip (deep fried don't ya know!). Then we went to the beach and the water was very warm and pleasant on my barefeet. I'm savouring each moment as I know the first great snowstorm happened this week in tdot...note to family, please bring me a coat at the airport, all I have is a backpack full of tshirts and flipflops.

I've been taking pictures of all the crazy signs around the area...they are all quite humourous and I hope to set up a page of insane asian signage that will be featured on digg.com one of these days.

What else, what else...oh, I'm planning on going to Cherating Island on the east side of the malaysian peninsula, I understand the surfing is quite good there...it's a toss up between that or getting tickets to see Whitney, but I figure I'll let her work out the kinks first and let her wow me in Toronto (if she makes it there). Wanted to go to Bali, but dont' thihnk there's enough time for that. Oh well, next time. And I assure myself there shall be a next time!

I'll take Potpourri for $400, Alex

Here's a hodgepodge of randomness. Enjoy.

I'm in Hua Hin right now, waiting to catch an overnight-tomorrow afternoon bus to Penang, Malaysia. I have family who live there, my dad's youngest sister and some cousins that I've never met before. Pumped to have the inside opinion on good shopping and sites. I'd like to get to Kuala Lumpur as well, partly because it's a bustling urban centre and partly because Whitney Houston is performing her comeback concert there on December 1st (I believe she's calling the tour, "Seriously folks, Crack IS Whack!"). Not sure how many days I'll spend there, but I figure if I make it back to Pattaya by Early December, I'll be fine. I'll try to get to Singapore for a day or two. Such is the life of a quasi-backpacker.

I totally forgot my camera battery charger in Pattaya which means that a) I'll have to conserve on my pictures or 2. I'll have to buy another charger. We all know which one it's going to be.

This week has been delightfully uneventful, as I have been battling a cold for most of it. *Insert sympathy here*

The night I got back from Cambodia, I called home and my mom gave Ariya the phone. As soon as I said Hi, she started bawling for 10 solid minutes and saying she wanted to come to me. I have a lot of making up to do. Then I talked to Harleen. Then I saw pics from my friends of a crazy night out in the tdot. I felt a bit homesick after that. But the end of the trip is near and I can't focus on wishing time away...too much left to see. As Ferris Bueller would say "Life moves fast, if you don't slow down once in a while, you may miss it" mmm bow bow, chick chick chick chicka chicka.

On Tuesday night, I stumbled upon the real Pattaya when I ventured out of the mall I was shopping at (to peacemaking gifts for my neice). Walking Street is a pedestrian only promenade that is light up like the Vegas strip with all the "A-Go-Go" bars you can handle. The streets are lined with scantily clad girls waiting for customers, bar employees handing out fliers for "performances" and the same couple over and over- overweight European Man with 20-something Thai girl. I was on a mission to find a bootleg copy of Superbad, which I found and watched last night. Quite a brilliant film and I picked up a lot of things that I missed in the theatre due to the thunderous laughter. When Evan sang "These Eyes" I think I pee'd a little.

I went for a walk with my Aunt yesterday around the neighbourhood and the homes here are jaw droppingly gorgeous. Almost makes me want to find a job and work hard so that one day I can have one of these homes. Almost.

I got a pedicure today. And a good cup of coffee from starbucks. And uploaded songs to the mp3 player my Uncle is letting me borrow from him. It's days like these that test your ability to be satisfied if your biggest acheivement in the day is personal grooming. I have passed said test with flying colours.

Hmmmm, somber mood, not very creative, didn't want to get behind on the blog, blahness justified.

I *heart* Temples!

Cambodia, Kampuchea, Cambodge, Angelinaville. Whatever you call it, Cambodia has been quite the experience thus far. Where to start...

Something I won't be doing ever again #24: Feeling that I was a seasoned traveller by now, I booked a bus from Pattaya to Siem Reap for Thursday, which is the city closest to Angkor (home of about 100 ancient temples scattered around the area). It was supposed to take from 7 am until 5 pm to reach here, which was certainly doable. LIES ALL LIES! Take it from me, if your lonely Planet/Rough Guides/ Fodders/ Uncle Fred tells you not to take the bus directly from Thailand to Siem Reap, they're right. It took about 3 hours to get to the Cambodia border at Poi Pet, which was fine, particularily because I shared the van with this highly highly entertaining UHMERICAN from Flordah...story to come..., anyhow then we stopped off at a Äuthorised Agency to process our visas, where the processing charge was 2x the price of what the guide books stated. I was assured that the extra money was going to be worth it since we got to bypass the lineups at the border. A HOUSE BUILT ON LIES! We waited 3 hours to get over to the border so that other tour groups could cross with us and it ended up taking another hour to get over the border because of the long line of tourists. THEN, the 200 km trip from the border to Siem Reap took 7 hours instead of the 2 hours that I had dreamed about- it was the ghetto-est bus I've ever been on and the road was PURE pot holes the entire way, I'm lucky I wasn't feeling nauseous at any point. Then of course, the bus driver drops us off at HIS guesthouse,which had salivating front desk employees awaiting the exhausted travellers who will pay any price. The price turned out to be $3 a night, but out of principle, 5 of us jumped into a Tuk Tuk and headed to a better part of town to stay at a hostel I'd read about in Lonely Planet (I will never doubt you again beloved guide book!) I met some fun people on the bus who I've still been hanging out with, but let me tell you, it's a loooong looong way to spend a day. But I survived, and just finished booking a plane ticket to go back tomorrow, I just can't put my butt through that uncomfortableness again!

My American Friend Timothy: Think George Bush's accent, with a slight bit less twang

A true Conversation:

The restaurant we are stopped at is out of chicken, so Timothy orders a beef dish and I change my order to a vegetarian dish.

Timothy: You don't eat beef?

Me: No, I stay away for religious reasons.

T-bone: Yeah, I was in Thailand and I ordered this deeeluxe pizza, and the girls I was with asked "Ïs there Beef on that?'" and I said "Hell yeah there's beef on it". Then they said they wouldn't have a peice cause of Buddha er somethin, and I'm thinking- God, there's so many cows around here and so many hungry people WHY DON"T YOU JUST EAT EM? JUST EAT THE COWS! DON"T MAKE SENSE TO ME!

Me: *picking up my jaw from off the floor*

I've perfected his accent and will reenact said story for anyone who wants to listen.

The past few days have been temple-tastic, saw the sunrise at Angkor Wat this morning which was beautiful, although packed with oodles and oodles of tourists who kept talking loudly. And did a boat tour of the floating villages on Tongle Sap lake. I saw crocodiles in this holding pit and there was a little boy and girl with pythons around their necks for tourists to hold..yeah no thanks! I've been spending time with some friends I made from Chiang Mai and the bus, so it's been entertaining, although I don't really enjoy the city here, I feel a bit sick from all the fumes. I don't know how Brangelina does it when they come here.

Okay, i should go now.

Elephunk...and more

Now that I figured out how to upload pictures (all the Blogger navigation is written in Thai!), here's another goody...from my trip to the Elephant show on Monday...he's not eating me, but he did put me into his mouth to hold me up there...craziest 10 seconds of my life! loved it!

I was over at cousins' house tonight, Kaku and Ripu, who both are married to lovely ladies and have little kids who are wonderfully precocious 1.5 year olds. Great conversation and company. Ripu and family took me out for ice cream afterwards (very nummy cappuccino gelato) and we check out a Pattaya view point- it was quite nice seeing the city of extremes light up like a Christmas tree.

Heading to Cambodia in 7 hours, so I should get some sleep. I'm very excited to reach Siem Reap and visit Angkor, which is home to Angkor Wat (Wat = temple), the largest religious monument in the world, me thinks it's one of the 7 world wonders...if anyone can find me that official list, it would be super...it's come up a hundred times in conversation here...

Monkey Love

As described in the previous entry...

Peeling: It's not just for fruit anymore!

So the sun worshipping has caught up with me and I'm now witnessing my skin peeling from my shoulders and upper arms. I know, too much information, but in the essence of investigatory self-journalism, these are important events to chronicle. It's really gross. Okay, I'm done now.

I've been in Pattaya since Sunday night, enjoying a very laid back few days of doing not much...Saw Bourne Ultimatum, which was fabulous and sat on the beach for a few hours today reading my book (Lolita by Nabakov...wonderfully twisted mind he had). I did get up to some fun yesterday, I went to the Nongnooch Botancial Gardens, which was home to some beautiful flora and fauna that I photographed endlessly (orchids up close are quite incredible). AND I got my photo taken with a couple of crazy orangutans who were very touchy feely (the smaller one laid a big wet one on my cheek!). I've tried to upload the image...fingers crossed. And there was an elephant entertainment show where the beautiful creatures showcased the traditional habits of playing soccer, basketball, darts, and of course riding bicycles. I felt bad for them, but the handlers didn't have any of those metal poking rods I'd seen used on ellies before...plus they did a happy dance when they'd score a goal, so you gotta think they're having some fun. On my tour was a nice family from Kazakstan, and they were very not Borat-like at all (Blonde haired and blue eyed and no mention of the sexy-time whatsoever). This trip is definitely breaking down the stereotypes in my head!

I'm spending time in the shop, hanging out with Koi, my uncle's sister-in-law who's a hoot and a half...and the maid's baby, Sandhya, who's about 6 months old and smiles when she sees me...she's a button :)

Anyhoo, too ta loo!

Misty Watercoloured Memories...

It's funny how in the last four months since I left the working world, every day has the same feel..no Monday malaise, no Thursday energy surge, no Friday anticipation...just an even keel of "today". And this has been the case moreso while out of Canada (seriously, who parties that much on a Tuesday?). Anyhoo, right now I'm sitting in Hua Hin and while the weather is warm and pleasant, the overcast dusk sky makes me feel so very Sunday evening. So now I will take this opportunity to reminsce on some fond memories of my adventures and try to encapsulate this mellow Sunday night mood through my extensive prose. And here we go...

Joe and Amara "Marlboro" of Joe's Maboro Guest House in Chiang Mai. I don't think I ever wrote about this couple, but Claire and I will never forget them. When we first arrived in Bangkok we decided very quickly to head to Chiang Mai for the trekking adventures. I did a quick asiarooms/hostelworld/lonelyplanet search and came up with a few hostels that had so-so reviews, and then found Joe's. The named clicked wiht me because I remembered that my friend Tania had stayed there when she visited the year before. So I called to make the reservation, and Amara picked up the other end. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi, do you have a double room available for tonight?
Amara: Yeah, you want fan or A/C?
Me: Fan is fine.
Amara: yeah, I think so, weather getting cold anyway (note to reader: the temperature was hovering around 25 when we got there)
Me: Sure okay...say, can we also get someone to pick us up from the airport?
Amara: Yeah, you come and handsome man, VERY handsome man, he wait for you, he have long hair...VERY HANDSOME! *AMARA LAUGHTER*

A short sidebar: Amara's laughter is something like the sound of a car engine trying to start...an old car that's smoked 2 packs a day for 20 years that is...

Me: *laughter* okay, sounds good- see you tomorrow!

When we got to the airport, indeed Joe was waiting for us and he was a very cool and laid back guy. The room itself was a dark little prison cell and we thought that we'd likely stay for the night then find something after we came back from our trek. We'll I'm glad we avoided such high-maintenence tendancies. When we got back, they asked us how it went, if we needed anything, they told us to take a rest, and it was a really cool feeling of 'coming home' for both of us...quite parental of them. Whenever we'd be heading out, we'd get an invitation from J&A to sit down with them, have a drink and sample some of Joe's cooking (spicy squid soup anyone?) and the best part, to hear Amara's stories. Joe would always ask her "These girls just shower, why you tell them dirty jokes???". That woman was hilarious...she is in her 40's, married with 3 kids, wears heavy rouge on her cheeks and parties like a rockstar...typical conversation in the morning:

Me: Good morning Amara, have a fun night last night?

Amara: Yeah, I go to bubble dancebar, I go dance on stage, the falung (foreigners) ask me if I married, I say he not here, you no worry *AMARA LAUGHTER* . My friend they give me too much to drink so I dance *shakes about in a hokey-pokey style*.

Me: *Laughter, Laughter, Laughter*

So, if you should ever find yourself in Chiang Mai, look up Joe's. It's a bit of a hole, the other guests are quite questionable (older men travelling by themselves...instant giveaway), but make friends with those two and you'll have hilarious memories for life! Now that's worth $8 a night!!!

Ahhhh, well, I have to head back to Pattaya now, so that's about it. My weekend in Hua HIn was nice btw, went with my Uncle to the golf course yesterday, we talked a bit of business while he played a round and I drove the golf cart...haulin butt at 7 km/hour! The course was spectacular and the day was gorgeously warm with a nice wind. Good times indeed :)

One night in Bangkok

So after a satisfyingly lazy 2 days in Pattaya, I got myself to Bangkok on Thursday to see Claire before she left back for Canada on Friday. We'd been apart for 5 days, but for both of us it seemed like sooo much had happened. She had befriended a Scotsman named Seb in the airport (poor bloke lost his passport and she, being the wonderful "get 'er done" Claire, helped him in his frantic panic...call the embassy, file a police report, get an emergency passport, etc). Anyhoo, he came out with us to a rooftop patio, which was a lot of fun. There was a live band playing, a man and a woman who did a fantastic job performing all the great standards (Give me one reason, Iris, everything by the beatles, etc...). The woman's name was Earth and was only eager to tell us when we offered to buy her a drink "I'm 100% lesbian!"...haha...hoo boy. Seb left and Claire and I spent the next few hours talking until the magical twilight and had a fun time getting home down Khao San Road (Toronto seriously needs to get some street Pad Thai carts...street meat got nothing on this stuff!)

On Friday we went shopping and I dropped a GRAND on a new wardrobe. A 1000 bhat of course connverting to somewhere btw $30-$40 cdn. 3 new shirts, 3 new capris...how can you go wrong! love it! I decided to catch the bus to Huahin in the early afternoon so we said our goodbyes *single tear* and I reached here after an uneventful 3 hour bus ride...I've come to appreciate uneventful travelling on public transportation...you don't want events to happen in the Thai countryside...

We had a prayer for Diwali when I got here and it was great chatting for a few hours with everyone...getting used to this pace of life :)

Extreme City Indeed! And an important update...

I got a good chuckle when driving through Pattaya last night and seeing the welcome sign:

"Welcome to Pattaya: the extreme city"

God bless em for laying all the cards down upfront.

It's been great so far. Ashu's shop is right on Jomtien beach and I spent the late afternoon on the beach...I'm trying to stay out of the mid-day sun, on account of my tendancy to blacken like a cajun chicken. Anyhoo, I had walked by a bunch of Jet Ski rental guys and after some intense negotiation (I squeezed out 20 minutes for the price of 15 BOO YAH!) I got my first taste of being on a Jet Ski. I love that there's no stop lights in the sea. It was SUCH a rush, i love those bad boys!!!!

When I got back home, Uncle told me I had 10 minutes to get ready, as he'd got me a ticket to see the Tiffany's Show. What is that you ask? Well, I will tell you. It's an internationally acclaimed all trans-women dancing show that's packed with elaborate costumes, sets, and all the trans women you could ever hope for.  My favourite performance was the rendition of "Proud Mary" featuring "Tina Turner"...it was hilarious- he/she was rollin' down the river with reckless abandon!

When I got back, we went out for a very long dinner where I was quick to jump on stage for the Karaoke part of the evening. Hey Jude, I love Rock and Roll, and Play that Funky Music White Boy will never be the same again (I was hoping that there was a frog I could play, but to no avail).

I had a great conversation with my Uncle, we're very similar people in our outlook on life so it was a very animated and entertianing night. I guess I made sense about the things I was talking about to him because he offered me a job to work on the marketing for his tailoring businesses. As such, I've decided to extend my ticket until December 10th-ish. We've negotiated that I'll work on his marcom and still have time to travel more...I'm looking to get to Cambodia, Malaysia & Singapore, and Indonesia, which seem to be doable. Who's coming to meet me? :)

When Monkeys Attack

Alternate Title: Hey, I don't know where I'm going....Can you take me there?

Well, I'm in Bangkok now after a few days stopover in Krabi town. In Krabi, I climbed another mountain to reach the "Tiger Temple" (which houses NO tigers by the way! False advertising if I ever heard it!). It was 1236 steps (give or take) and there was tonnes of monkeys (playing in the water which was very cute), wheezing and many breaks to catch my breath along the way...the staircase was absolutely insane in parts, practically 90 degrees. The view from the top was stunning (Andaman Sea, tonnes of rockface mountains, etc...) and there was a giant Buddha statue, as well as a shrine to Ganesha, who is everywhere in Thailand (they love their elephants here). On the way down, I was chatting with a girl from Chicago (who thought she was hearing an English accent from me?) when a sly little monkey grabbed my camera that was hanging from my wrist and held on for dear life to get it from me. After a few screams (I swear the monkey and I were screaming the same way) I got him off the camera and had a red mark from the cord as a reminder of the bugger's force. I can laugh about the ridiculousness of the scene now (what's a monkey going to do with a camera??), but I was a bit shaky after that...damn dirty apes.

Today was another day on Pranang Beach which was great- It's fantastic how much enjoyment can be dervived from eating chicken on a stick while sitting on a beach with good company. The swimming was great, mmmm floating in salt water.....

I flew to Bangkok without a hotel booking, which was one way to go. Luckily I met this great girl from New Zealand (who had been on a few days of a bender by the looks of her) and she helped me find a place...although the cabbie didn't know how to get to this hostel, so that was a bit questionable. But like everything as of late, the universe has delivered and I've got a nice room for the night (and free internet! score!).

Tomorrow morning I'm getting on a bus to Pattaya to see my Uncle, which should be good shopping and beach time. Apparently it's the "Sex Tourist" capital of the world, so I'm prepared to be a bit sketched out by the comings and goings around me. Ahhh,maybe not...once you've seen 400 tranny hookers, you've seen em all....

Only 7 minutes left on this computer...

Here's a quick run down of the joys as of late:

Halloween Night: spent it on Ao Nang at this very cool Tiki beach bar...met a human buzz lightyear. Very entertaining.

Nov 1: Got an oil massage, and somewhere between the shop and my hostel, lost my watch. Devestated for the rest of the day. Spent the afternoon at a cooking school, learning all my favourites-curries of every colour, chicken coconut soup and papaya salad. The owner was hilarious and instructed us by saying "Bang Bang" or "Chop Chop".

Nov 2: Went to Phi Phi with Claire for the day, had a mai thai on the beach,met a fun guy from Vancouver named Jordanm, went to a restaurant shaped like a boat for dinner and met some more fun people from Norway, New Zealand. Went to sunset Yoga in a studio overlooking an infinity pool that overlooked the beach...breathtaking. Great Yoga class and awesome instructor (I could totally see myself doing that one day!)

Today, in Krabi. it's daaaaamn hot! loving it!