Santiburi Resort Surat Thani

... or "mindfulness in breathing". It's an interesting experience to spend 10 straight days in deep concentration and introspection. I found it very peaceful and calming, although the pain was annoying i learned to live with it and simply follow my breath. Sometimes i found it difficult to focus on my breath due to the pain so i shifted my concentration to the pain and tried to meditate on it. This worked, although it isn't the most pleasent method i have ever used! I have meditated for years ...

... mis à conduire à contre-sens, zigzaguer entre les voitures et même griller quelques feux-rouges - Bienvenue à Bangkok! Nous faisons découvrir les joies de Khao San Road à nos invités et Rémi commence déjà à faire le tour des magasins à la recherche d'un I-Pod Touch. Hélas plus de stocks disponibles mais nous repasserons dans les environs dans deux semaines donc tout n'est pas encore perdu! Nos invités ont trouvé Bangkok plutôt "dépaysant", des chats ...

... view of some cool Jungle greenery. We met a Thai guy in a bar who had changed his name to "Ja" because he loved reggae music. I played his guitar for while which was nice. All the Thais here love pot tee-shirts and bob Marley. It's kind of funny. That is the main hippy influence here. It like a clothing shipment to a headshop in the states ran aground in Thailand and everyone wound up with a tee-shirt.

... rains, but with a guide it's still possible to get off the beaten track onto some of the animal tracks deep in the forest.. if you're brave or foolish enough to take on the leeches that is! They are now officially my least favourite parasite- I never realised how fast the little b*stards move in search of dinner!! My personal highlight of the park has been a 2 ...

... him take me to my hostel (after repeatedly telling him that I already had reservations and was not interested in a "better" hotel that he could get me a deal at). As a final kick in the side, when we arrived at my hostel (maybe 8km from the bus stop), the driver had no change and we had to drive around for another 20 minutes looking for someone to make change. I wasn't charged for this (since the ride had a fixed price) so I didn't really care ...

... streets away from me on Beech Road! Small world eh??? Apparently his ex wife still lives there and he hasnt been back since 1971. He doent miss Whitley at all - but then if you were a 60 or maybe 70 something married to a twentysomething Thai stunner, owning your own bar and living in Koh Samui, you wouldnt would you???? On Sunday we headed in to Chaweng for a night out at the islands liveliest resort. We did a bit of a bar crawl, indulging ...

... the little sucker drops off and the blood continues to flow, they can't stop it! Bloodied, moist and spent, we returned to our cabin. The shower, as mentioned, is uni-temperaturial, and that temperature is not entirely friendly. Somehow Julie is still playful but Steve aka "Pussy Boy" as he may be referred to by a real man, could be of better humor. Julie's attempt of shower nozzle fun as Steve prepares to ...

... quickly cos our guide Kiam was soo cool! He showed us crazy leaves that cause water to form big droplets that look like aliens, gliding lizards (he made them jump by shaking the trees), how to drink the water inside a bamboo shoot (first using a bamboo straw, and then by just hacking the whole thing down with his machete and pouring :o) ), how to make hats from banana leaves... :oD Oh. and he can spot wildlife hidden up in trees a mile off, he has eyes like a hawk! He ...

... cold bus ( i know surprising seeing its thailand) and arrived early in bangkok at around 5am. The whole day was spent bumming around the city, went shopping at MBK a massive shopping centre and waited until 5pm, when our bus left for Surat Thani. Surat Thani is a port which connects passangers from the mainland to the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phanghang, we arrived here after another restless night on a bus ...

... wanted to get off the things as soon as possible! The train tracks border, numerous houses and run through many back and front yards, impossibly close. Passing by the humpies reminded me of a caravan park - although less organised. Structures popped up wherever there was room, often in little groups. Families sitting down to their evening meal looked out from underneath their porch at the passing train. People waited beside the tracks, within touching distance, for the ...