Thantip Villa Hotel Patong

... was still sights of devastation even after 5 years. In fact we saw the day before some signs/plaques with text of memories of lost ones. And if you look at the height of the water as it reach the rocks near the beach...you canīt imagine the devastation ever.( on you-tube is still a small movie of the Tsunami hitting Patong beach.) We later spoke to a local who survived the Tsunami and told us about that day. The water rose up to 4 meters high..but after the disaster ...

... through this halo of impenetrable fog and perhaps achieve something close to clarity in the end. Three ... Two ... One ... HERE WE GO ... Bus ride to Phuket. I grimace as I recall it to mind. We booked it on February fourteenth - happy belated Valentine's Day to all you soppy romantics out there! - in Kanchanaburi, from our hotel; perhaps an impetuous decision and done for reasons of ease - we had no idea what lunacy lay in wait just out ...

... instead hunt out for a waterfall in a national park that seemed interesting. I paid 200 baht to get into the national park - if I was thai, it would have cost only 20 baht. My big waterfall that I drove 30 minutes to get to turned out to be about 15 feet high, and had a flow slightly higher than that of my bathroom shower. I took a nature trail into the jungle rainforest, realized I didn't like sweating that much, and turned around. I retired that night beat and confused. Bangkok's ...

... some boxing training so this made for an interesting match up. The bell rang and right off the bat i hit him with a big side kick. I have considerable reach over him so i used it to my advantage. We agreed before the match that at the beginning of the 3rd round I would take Justin down, hit him with a few shots, then he would turn me over and feed a number of hard punches to the canvas beside my head. The crowd loved it! Back to business. I ...

... after the first wave. Apparently a lot of people were still alive then but trapped under all the debris and so couldnt escape the following waves, so were sitting ducks and drowned. It mustve been so scary. The stories are so sad-people were walking along the beaches and streets after it was over, turning over dead bodies to see if they were their relatives and friends who were missing - horrific stuff. While we were in ...

... many limestone towers that rise out of the Andaman sea. That said, it is an impressive site and I took a number of photos that should soon be posted. The remainder of the afternoon was spent returning to Phuket by boat and bus. (To make the bus journey especially cheesy and touristy the operators actually played The Man with a Golden Gun on the video monitor). I spent that night in Patong, though I stayed away from thriving nightlife ...

... onto the boat for afternoon tea and afterwards I notrice we are being followed by eagles. I go to the back of the boat where the kids are throwing food at the eagles. They are having a ball but I freak a litlle when I realise that they're handling RAW CHICKEN! I get the Aquium and start squirting although I realise how futile it is. The boat anchors for a swim break. The kids really enjoyed this part of the day. Everyone was allowed to ...

... He was listening to a mixed CD as we drove the hour long trip to the airport. Every time a new song came on he would ask me either "Do you know this song?" or "do you like this song?" I recognized every single one from spending too much time in Thai bars. He was singing along with them so when one came on that I had heard far too often (Beautiful Girls), I started singing too. He giggled and joined in. After awhile of his club music, a Brad Paisley song came on ...

... boy! There are lots of prostitutes and ladyboys, it may sound very sleazy but its quite funny and surreal. There are loads of people selling all sorts of stuff on the streets, be it lighters, cigarrettes, hats etc. But I finally gave in on a fresh flower necklace! We met a Canadian and a mexican on the second night and some Thai guy who knew all the words to every Oasis song! Rob was very chuffed with this bar as it plaed Stone Roses when he walked in!

... everyone and we took the bus into Phuket to see a Wat there. We spent the day walking around the Wat and a market. We then took the bus back into Patong and relaxed for a while. Carrie, Dana, and Myself met up later that night and we went to this cool Irish Pub called Scruffy Murphys, then to this really awesome night club called Banana Disco. Awesome music, awesome DJ. Basically partied it up all night, dancing and drinking (remembering the next morning why I don't ...