Royal Embassy Resort & Spa Kathu

... This should be interesting.<br><br>I found out today that Pat has found a placement for me! This placement is near Ayutthaya which is about 1.5 hours north on Bangkok. Ayutthaya a really neat city with significant Thai history and many ancient temples and sculptures .<br><br>Known Details: contract is from Nov. to March, full time teaching position but with few hours (so time to prep and do lesson plans while at school), ages 12-14, high level of English, 30 students ...

... above us and so much wildlife ranging from frogs, turtles, monkeys, eagles and even a snake! We also went on our own little hike though the forest as I was desperate to get at least one picture of a butterfly. They are the size of your hand here and the most amazing vibrant colours but they just teased me and refused to land longer than a few seconds, so i failed miserably at this task! I was sad to leave this lovely place ...

... the beach, lying on the white sand and staring with bewilderment at the sight before us. Soon our hunger got the best of us and we had lunch at a restaurant on the beach. Next, we found a tourist agency and booked a sunset tour for that evening, starting at 2:30 p.m. <br><br>On the way to the dock we met a group of Canadian girls that would be joining us on the tour. They were exchanged students studying in Singapore and were on holiday in Thailand for a week. We ended up hanging ...

... jumping in'. <br><br>The next day was spent looking for booking agents who could get us a good deal for elephant trekking, as it was something that we were both keen on doing. After coming across an amazing price, and Neil's business like bartering skills, we ended up booking a day trip to the James Bond Islands, elephant trekking and an overnight trip to Ko Phi Phi. We started our trips with the James Bond tour, which comprised of a speed boat ...

... the communal washrooms left a lot to be desired in the cleanliness area. After dropping off our bags in the room we quickly walked to one of our favorite restaurants in Phuket town called "The Cook" and ordered the noodles in black sauce dish for 35B - it was as good as we remembered. We spent the evening watching The Sopranoes on the laptop and surfing the internet at the local café (20B per hour). We forgot that the On On Hotel does not have electrical outlets in ...

... to an even more secluded speck of football and bug spray and kittens wrestling little crabs on the brittle concrete lobby floor. This is a land where dinner is twice the price of the hotel, and that dinner -- a giant, deep-fried, as-yet unidentified fish, a side of jasmine rice, and a tall Chang lager -- sets you back less than $10 (exceeding the previously held record cost of ration by nearly three times). This is a land that swallows one of your sandals from ...

... Beach was about 45 minutes. They are located on the far north-east side of the island. The sail-boat leaves the harbour for a 2 hour trip out to the 'old woman' island. The trip is very smooth and peaceful and the crew kept feeding us chicken-wings, fruit, cheese and crackers, chocolate, and pop the entire way there and back. You definately don't go hungry on this trip. After reaching the island, we sail slowly around the island stopping at several ...

Finally on the beaches of Phuket.....It's still really hot. We haven't had a day under 95. Been busy on the various beaches of Karon, Kata and of course, Patong. Also doing snorkeling on various islands, Phi Phi and Kai. Both are magnificent.

... most of the students on Kendal's course are staying here and not in the school itself (which is only a 5-10 minute walk away) has easily persuaded her to stay in this slightly more expensive but better site! So we've been eating at the studenty local steak house for much of our time here and spending much of the day-time hours in Kendal's room avoiding the sheering heat. Finding BBC World News was a delight and bumping into the voice of ...

... We've spent the first few days just lounging around the area and relaxing. Good times. At about 10% of the cost, I'm sharing a room with an Ozzie about 10 minutes from the beach. <br><br>Just a quick update that I've arrived - no pics for now as I left my USB cable in my room (I hope). I'm off to meet the kids near the beach and eat tons of spicy Thai seafood! I AM IN MY HAPPY PLACE!