Aree Beach Resort Surat Thani

... that is surrounding the lake is still very dense and full of wildlife. Every now and again a big pointy bit of land sticks up and it is incredible to think it was valley floor once beneath us. After a look around we were taken to a bamboo raft, very basic bungalows with a matress only (which is as hard as the floor)and the toilets were situated on land (scuzzy squat and trots), no power and the kids had a rat in their room, but it was the most spectacular place to stay ...

... had a comfortable sleep at our hotel in Surat Thani. Although the Thai Rungraun Hotel is situated downtown in the middle of everything, it was still reasonably quiet (at least in our room on the fourth floor.) The only thing I remember hearing was the occasional car with a stereo system so loud that planes flying by could likely hear it as well. The fan cooled room was also amply cool this time of year and spending money on air conditioning would've been a ...

... contracted malaria to hospitals... Now it just means mountain, a more neutral name. I am grateful that leeches don't seem to cause much harm, just profuse bleeding and blood circulation (something I can tend to use). I had four that ended up attaching to me without me really knowing at first. Not as bad as mosquito or ant or other bites I have gotten along the way... just a bit annoying to get the blood to stop ...

... way to get where we were going was to pay her X amount of Baht and take another mini-bus. NO, NO, NO! She had nothing other than a cell phone in which she would dial a number, talk for 45 seconds, hang up and tell us "No trains". I told her that I didn't believe that there were not any trains available when starting at 1:00 in the afternoon; a train heading to Bangkok left every 45 minutes to an hour and a half from that station - I looked it up the ...

... early hours to pick us up. As we were going to into Thailand we had to go through immigration twice (once to leave Malaysia and once to enter Thailand). At the first service stop the driver took everyones passports and disappeared. My eyes did not move from the office he had disappeared into, I had visions of him doing a runner to sell them on the black market. Thankfully he returned with them, handed them back out and drove us to Malaysia's immigration to have them stamped to say ...

... you do not diss his majesty under any circumstances. (wasnt some english tourist sent to prison for like 10 years cos he got drunk and mooned a statue of the king or something?) 2. their queen. see number 1 - shes almost as important and as advertised as he is. 3. **** **** **** music. the music here is the worst music ive heard since leaving home. and they like it loud and cheesy and with lots of bass and its rubbish!\ 4. mobile phones. more than any country ive ...

... bus terminal on the Surat Thani map - it was much too far to walk. Reluctantly I went back and bought a ticket from the tour agency. STUPID ME! I shouldn't have given up!!! This was probably my biggest mistake thus far. It was about 3 and the bus wasn't leaving till 6 so they said I could use the internet for 20 baht for 3 hours which was a steal, although it was REALLY slow.  At 6:20 I got up and asked where the bus was and was told "don't worry, it coming, I ...

... im ****** about this and say no. after 20 minuets the guys comes back and says " just tell them that you already paid and get on the bus" i say cool and jump on this bus. there are a total of 11 seats on this bus, but we manage to fit 13 people with everyones backpacks into this clown car .. mind you its also a tree hour ride (not a three hour tour) - so what ever, after that ride we stop somewhere outside of Krabi. We are then told its 150 ...

... The food was delicious! There was always white rice, lettuce, cucumbers and tea served, but then there was two other main dishes and a dessert that was different everyday. Also I forgot to mention that everything that was served was vegetarian and the tofu (one of my favorite foods) was served in abundance! I was always completely satisfied after eating, putting me in a positive mood for more sweeping. After meditation hall 2 was free from all debris and dust, I would have ...

He Says: I've had a few "first day at work" days, like most of us, but nothing can beat my first day as a teacher. I have never been so nervous or terrified in my life! And of what? Of kids, little kids. I walked into the class not knowing what was expected of me. "its ok, don't worry! Its conversational English, just talk with them' I was told. Cool. Excellent. Sweet. How do you have a conversation with kids who cant speak English!! Ahhh!! I had been with ...