Hatyai Rama Hotel Hat Yai

... on the beach. What I agree with other people on, about it being too touristy, is the high price for everything. Everything from food to accomodation is expensive and it is difficult to find a cheap beer or a cheap place to eat, unless you live out of a 7-11.<br> Anyways, I was much more active during the days in Ko Samui than the other islands. Whether it was shopping around the markets with my English ...

... on outside the closed confinement of this sweltering hot local bus where the oppression of angst has providence over the ever importance of the concept of Sanuk in the Thai Buddhist mind, a lone dark black buffalo with strangely shaped horns relaxing in a mud pool and looking at me with what seem warning eyes... a warning from Lord Buddha himself??? Near naked kids dressed only in their underwear playing in a river, pointing brownish little fingers at me excitedly...more ...

... stupid dogs that call it home and use our beach as their Evening Barking Theatre. I have to say this wasn't good for me as my nights were already pretty full, what with my chronic fidgeting and wonderfully geriatric habit of getting up every night to pee. The last thing I needed was to wake up several times a night to ludicrously monotonous barking, swearing under my breath for awhile before finally getting up, huffing and grunting out to the deck to throw ...

... rock climbing. I have told the guys that they needed to wear a helmet while riding in Thailand, but as most men, they did not believe me and before they know it, they got pulled over by the cops. I had my helmet, so no problems for me, but the guys had to pay the fine ! We spent the next day on Ralay island, 20 minutes off the coast from Ao Nang. To get there, you have to take a longtail boat that only leaves when full. The next day, we decided to get further ...

... the city area, and the outskirts of the city actually looks alot more developed then the inside the actual city! Crazy man, its like cleaner and everyone looks ...normal! In the city are its more chaotic and ppl looked more shabby I guess..We stumbled upon this few dudes who actually dyes ppl's clothes black. I mean like really black.. And we took some photos, and we also came across the train station, had a good time taking ...

... rice! The waitress kept loitering to fill our glasses and make sure we were enjoying our novel (and obviously western) dish! Most bizaare! We ate our dinner and beat a hasty retreat before we both fell on the floor in laughter. However, the interesting night didn't stop there. We'd taken some sleeping pills in oreder to get a good nights kip and i drooped off straight away, but i was woken at 2am by the peculiar sound of running water. I thought for a strange moment that Jo ...

... by going to a bar (and played guess who's the lady boy) and having some cocktails and then ended up in some bar with a live rock band, played pool and got some more food there as we were still hungry. For the first time in years I actually felt terrible the morning after our cocktail session and couldn't face eating let alone taking a bus to the pier. We wandered around town and found a great supermarket with a huge bakery section and something we both hadn't ...

So let's call this entry "Chicken Soup for the Adoptees/Immigrants Soul" or something cheesy like that... A question that or any traveler will get often is the perfectly unoffensive, "Where are you from?" After I reply, "America," there is a puzzled look, a pause, and then Mr. Taxi driver will say, "But you have an Asian face," as if the notion of being Asian *and* American was completely strange and bizarre and impossible. I then explain ...

... at least we saved on one nights accomodation! For such a small place, Hat Yai is really bustling. It's a small city with not a whole lot to do. Being in a city where we can walk everywhere instead of needing to take public transport everywhere, is a welcoming change from Malaysia. I think we'll be here for a few days - relax for a bit until we head to our next (unknown) destination. MJ

... transfer to the gateway of Krabi province, Krabi town. And unbeknownst to us, it wasn't a direct bus either. Two hours we ended up 150km off course in the bustling metropolis of Hat Yai, with three more hours to kill. As instructed by the travel agent, "you go lunch now". Deciding on a street eatery was a cunning plan in principle. In with the locals, have a stab at the menu, then hope for the best. The waitress ...