The Expat Hotel Patong

... south part of Phuket. We were heading for Rawaai...a place Blondy´s parents visited for the last 4 years or so. Well we found Rawaai...did not find the place the parents stayed...but we found out later that it was not Rawaai but some other place....Stupid back-packers!!<br>Anyway..the south east of Phuket was the first hit by the Tsunami back in 2004. We scooter-ed threw a little village called the Gypsy Village but now named the Tsunami-village. Yes unfortunately ...

... things. Rules are kind of thrown out the window, and I appreciate that. Maybe it was just this last year of studying constantly and trying to work in the "real world," but I am ready to take it easy for awhile. Speaking of taking it easy, on Friday I rode with a few classmates to a house they were living in down near the southern end of the island. A few people had taken the course 3 years earlier and just never left, so I got to ...

... like a football (soccer) match! I have had some previous muay thai training and Justin had 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 ...

... kelly and for her to read the riot act of do's + dont's!.we kissed and hugged and was a little tearful,meanwhile the nark of a coachdriver was gobbing off,he needed to go.uneventful trip to the lovely scunthorpe were the train was to take me to man airport. had a little time to kill so ...

... 3 bananas no less... which they throughly enjoyed. Then there was lunch in an open air restaurant with a banana tree in the middle and feel free to go and pick your own banana for dessert, no charge. We are still waiting for a computer and connection to add photos...off to Punket tonight and we hope to get a kayaking trip lined up, some laundry and photos. Those skeptics out there ...

... their own canoe, swim out to an island, jump off the boat etc. We discovered that Henry has a talent for staying ON a canoe when the kids played the "surfboard" game. He was the immovable sumo! Dinner time! Tom Yum soup, massaman curry, rice, pineapple salad, noodles, and more yummy food. I was impressed with the food on board - the best meals in Phuket so far. Then time to get together with our guide and make a "loy kratong" which is a ...

A Climber's Haven Since we didn't have to catch our boat ride until 3:30 in the afternoon, we had the day to enjoy Phi Phi a little more. We took our time getting started and left our bags with the sweet couple at our amazing guesthouse. We meandered through the alleys and browsed the stalls of clothes, trinkets and DVDs. The sun had finally decided to emerge, so Tim and I headed for the beach where we could get some picture perfect shots of ...

... open the door, fearing for their safety. Looking back on that day, it seems like a wise choice not to unlock that deadbolt considering my state of mind. I used the neighbors phone to call for a ride and then descended on Amanda's house, looking for a place to rest after such an abysmal day. Amada was only seventeen but her father was an understanding sort of guy who let me sleep there on occasion. That's what I needed now. Just somewhere I ...

... here by itself). Three of us set out on the 14hr journey via: taxi - boat - taxi - coach - boat - coach - minibus - taxi to Patong which is fairly close to where we had to meet in a couple of day. These journies are done on a "Joint Ticket" - but hte beauty is that at every transition you seem to hand in a ticket in exchange for 2 more tickets and the odd sticker. By the end of the journey you've got a wallet full of the things and look like a ...

... I'm actually in Patong, which is where everyone stays, it's really touristy! So we get here, basically tell the driver to drop us off in the middle of Patong, where most of the guesthouses are centrally located. I walk around with these British folks, and we all start looking for a place to stay. First guesthouse, booked up, 2nd, 1 room, 3rd, booked up, 4th; 2 rooms over priced. Geez, the high season isn't suppose to start until December, so the guide book says. Anyways ...