Chongfah Resort Khao Lak Phangnga

... astonishing coming from the west and its nice to see but this also can be pushed to a level that is maddening. as an example, the world famous thai sex industry is mostly populated by girls who are trying to make money for mom and dad and the parents are fully aware of this decision and though admittedly not a preferable situation, are ok with it and live with it because the results speak for themselves. Thais and their families can be maddening (just ask anyone married to ...

... head out for our hike up to mountain peak lookout. A fairly hot, long walk up, up, upwards but stopping along the way to learn about nature and the area in general from our fabulous guide Kim who is a world of information. At about the 3/4 mark we come across a well used, sturdy jungle vine and Kim demonstrates his monkey skills before we all gave it a go. Swinging out over a very large drop we each made out we were Tarzan. I did it the first time fine BUT then ...

... 6 people to throw overboard. I didn't like that at first, but then I lightened up and floated. Until my body got crushed between the raft and a rock, which I didn't like, but Matt and I had made up by the end. We went 5 KM in total, hitting rocks, splashing, paddling, running into other rafts, going down bumps, having fun. Liz had always wanted to go river rafting, and I remembered liking it before, so I'm glad that I did! They ...

... place we decided to start heading back towards Phuket. I can't begin to describe how glad I was able to see this place. Luke was the inspiration for this entire journey. Had he had the opportunity, I think that touring the globe is exactly the type of thing he would do. A hut in Thailand stands today as a monument to his compassion but his adventurous spirit still lives within all those who were touched by him.

... scooters (Nhuy)still didn't want one for herself, and headed for Klong Muang beach and surrounding areas. We arrived at Klong Muang by about 1:30pm and a rather heavy thunderstorm had started to roll-in from the N/W so we headed for shelter and a bite to eat at the only real place open outside of town, The Irish Pub of all places :-)on the esplanade. Another word of warning... The worst food any of us have had while on our entire ...

... with the taxi driver to which he agrees and laughs. Rob and I do a sneaky and have lunch by ourselves at the Coffee Shop. What a treat! I discover a Thai Set Menu - apparently they have new set menu daily. It looks good for THB400 and includes entree, 2 mains, rice and dessert. We order one to share and the food is delicious although a bit dumbed down, but yummy Thai food. The entree is a clear spicy soup with loads of coriander flavour ...

... the shoreline. Indonesia lost the most, being closest to the epicenter of the quake. Their casualties totaled 122,232 dead and 113,937 missing. Thailand lost 5,394 dead, and 2993 missing and resumed dead. (2,448 of these were forgone tourists, from 37 different countries. As we visited the museum, we saw a guest book, where visitors can sign in. We signed in our names and recorded our county of origin. We perused the book of 20 pages. We found ...

Visiting the limetone islands and the Muslim fishing village outside of Phang Nga was one of the best things I've done on my whole trip. We did the half day tour and overnight stay for about 750 baht, or $25. The half day tour took us out in a longtail boat through a mangrove swamp, through limestone caves, and past dozens of limestone islands that varied in size from just sticking out of the water to mountain height. We also visited "James Bond ...

... per ritardati perche' tanti madrelingua inglese non hanno decisamente l' idea che esistano altre lingue e pensano che qualcuno che non parla bene l' inglese abbia qualche forte limite mentale. La cosa e' ''comprensibile'' soprattutto dal momento che qui si trovano tanti tanti svedesi e tedeschi che studiano benissimo l' inglese a scuola e lo parlano quasi perfettamente. In questo contesto ci inseriamo noi con il nostro bisogno di un interlocutore che parli relativamente ...

So I spent 3 days (and 4 nights) in Phuket, the last one (yesterday) in Kata beach which one of the most touristic ones. The beach was nice but I have one thing to say: when I see middle aged men with shorts, polo shirts, sunglasses and a hat acting like playboys I know it's time to split! Yup, (that much) mass tourism is not for me. So ...