Anantara Resort & Spa Khao Lak

... and install playground gyms for the children in their "schools." I spent the morning working hard sanding down rough plywood and painting the playground gym. The work was super easy and I felt like I got a lot accomplished in the short amount of time I was there. After our work shift I asked Steve to take me to a finished playground so I could see the fruits of previous volunteers labor. The colors are really fun and bright and it's great to ...

We arrived on shore on a high, arranged to meet everyone at a nightclub (yes those things we have not visited in a year) and ended up having to stand them up due to Ems' sudden post-diving onset of a horrid cold. Luckily our hotel was very comfy and did goo chicken soup and it was bed by 8 for us. Next day a quick walk on the beach with memorials to families that died in the tsunami before heading south.

... threw a temper tantrum. have you ever seen a man in his mid 40's splashing in the water screaming "its my camera, i will go diving with my camera, give me my ****ing camera!" (please add french accent). well it was his property and he is a grown man so i swam over to him with his camera and told him that i was now refusing to take him diving and i was in no way responsible for his well being, please stay away from my other divers and do not create an unsafe ...

... that the world has changed when my boat arrives back at the pier in 4 days. that the days of bush and his cronies are over and that something resembling competent governance returns to washington. on a side note though....while watching movies set in the future how will we know its the future? the hollywood reasoning was if there was a black president then everyone would know its in the distant future......now what?

... falling asleep during his trial, I let my lets sizzle until suddenly I looked down and they were reddish but white alnog the sides. ha. I swam in the greenish water. It is not clear, blue or sparkling. The sand holds clusters of broken shellbeds. Turbulent plumes of sand are stirred with the beating of the high tide breaking over sudden drops righ before shore. I could be home but for the warm water. it's nice but i think i won't mind the invigorating chill so ...

... lache pas, fais virevolter ses ailes, tourne et tourne autour de nous pendant plus d'une demi-heure. Elle ou sa copine, plus petite, plus fine, qui arbore une longue queue. Les plongeurs sont tous en extase, il faut dire qu'il y a tres peu d'endroit dans le monde ou l'on peut observer les mantas. Allez on remonte dans le bleu, de toute facon on voit la surface il y a bien 35 metres de visibilité. Au pallier on n'est pas tout seul, un gros banc de poissons-licorne s'amuse.....

... feeling was relief at having survived it, and I was certainly proud of myself for having risen to the challenge, but I wouldn't say it was fun and I was cross that it wasn't really what any of us had anticipated. Hey ho. We were on flat ground now, albeit a rocky and "nearly" dry river bed, and it was apparently only another 45 minutes to the waterfall - the goal of our trek. Phew! So what happened next? It all happened in slow motion ...

... laugh some more. I just smile like a stupid Farang. Several kind people have suggested I not eat so much or that I go on a diet. Hahaha, after seeing some of my photos I can see why. But it is all in good fun, and I have never found anyone here deliberately out to cause me any harm. My mustache is very challenging in the heat here. Itchy and scratchy! But I persist... Might even keep it. When I first ...

... on to Sukhothai. At Si Satchanalai we saw lots of ancient Wats. It was very interesting but I was getting a bit of Wat and Budda overload by the end. At Sukhothai we hired bicycles and Piak (our Explore guide) lead us around the Old City. It was great fun as there was hardly any traffic and it had cooled down by then. We found a good spot to watch what turned out to be a spectacular sunset ...

... the stiffness of the bus ride. Sometimes my sense of logic worries me. I got up early. Let me just repeat that. I got up early. I met up with my fellow riders, Colin from England who has wisely relocated to Thailand, Lucien from Germany and his Chinese wife Ma Xin who got married in Nepal recently. I cannot remember when I was last on a bike. I was having slight problems with the whole steering thing to begin with and my curves were rather ...