"We're crossing a giant island on the crappiest road in the world!"

It's been a while, and I do have my reasons. This past week Suzanne and I went travelling in the Central part of Thailand with Peter, the coolest man I have met in my life. He's a Rotarian friend of Suzanne's from her city in Oregon and he has a Thai wife and two Thai kids who live in Bangkok/Pak Chong. We set off last Saturday in the morning to Korat, got picked up by Peter, his wife Julie and the kids Poy [19 year old girl] and Spy [14 year old boy - PSYCHO! (translation to Thai: ba jing jing)]. We spent the rest of the evening buying movies for 3 dollars to watch for the rest of the week and going out for dinner.

The whole week, Spy, Poy, Suzanne and I sat in the trunk of the pickup truck while it whizzed down the highway at 110 km an hour. Completely exhilarating. On Sunday we went to Kao Yai National Park - one of the few reserved parks left in Thailand. We spent the day swimming in waterfalls [that Suzanne got kicked out of], trying to take pictures of monkeys sitting on the side of the road as Peter flew up the side of the mountain, abrubtly stopping so that a giant lizard could pass in front of the truck and standing up in the trunk, leaning over the cab so the wind blew threw our hair and we could see the sunlight gleaming through the trees. It was absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to go back. Sunday night we went on a mad hunt around Tesco Lotus while Peter and Julie picked up some things for the house in Pak Chong. Poy even bought some crazy jelly popsicle things, Thai things never cease to amaze me. We returned home that night with a trunk full of boxes and groceries and four teenagers perched on top, singing while we offroaded through the dirt trails to the house.

Monday was horseback riding day. I've never ridden a horse in my life, but I think I did pretty well. By the end of the day I could trot, canter and gallop all on my own :) We went on a walk with our horses around the dirt roads in the area at the end and my horse "Snow" FINALLY decided to not be lazy and quite stopping randomly. I took everyone out to Swensens that night and got Starbucks, before another adventure at Tesco Lotus - this time with Suzanne, Poy and I searching the aisles for makeup and nailpolish for a "girl's night" while Spy and his friend ran around with shopping carts.

On Tuesday after accidentally backing into a ditch and going through a quite extensive process of getting the truck OUT of the ditch, we were on our way to Bangkok, stopping at Chok Chai farm on the way. Chok Chai farm is like heaven on earth - the best icecream I have ever had. When we arrived in Bangkok 3 hours later Suzanne's Dad's friend Steve picked us up to take us out for dinner at an Indian restaurant. I've never had Indian food before, and it was DELICIOUS! I ate much more than I should have and had a great time talking with him and his cousin who has relatives who live in Burlington! I can't believe someone else has actually been to Burlington, it's quiet exciting.

Wednesday we went shopping in Bangkok and 18 discs of Sex and the City and a lot of wandering later we went out for Japanese food.

Thursday we were up bright and early at 5:30 am [I didn't sleep at all, I stayed up and watched my Japanese drama and Sex and the City - I have horrible sleeping habits in Thailand] to head to Ko Samed, a beautiful island in the gulf of Thailand, just off the coast of Rayong. It was a 2 hour drive there so we packed and were on the road right away. I had to act as the map person [for the first time in my life - Thailand has a lot of firsts] and we actually got to the right spot without getting lost! YAY EMMA! We arrived in Rayong at a fishing dock, payed for a motorboat to the island and set off. The motorboat ride itself was amazing, and the water that sprayed up over the sides was not ice cold like it is in Canada - it was warm!
The boat pulled up into a little bay with crystal blue waters, white sand and beautiful beach bungalows rising up in the hills. The trees were as green as ever, the water was as warm as a pool and there was a breakfast buffet waiting for us at the resort.

For the rest of the day we lounged on the beach, played chicken in the water with Poy and Spy, went snorkelling over a coral reef so full of life that I couldn't pick a single fish to watch and sat in the rocky tide looking over the bay. It was a day to remember. To finish it off, I got an hour long foot massage and I talked to the masseust for the whole time - in Thai. It was just one of those "feel good" days.
Unfortunately at one point in the morning I had fallen asleep on the beach with my back and legs exposed to the scalding sun - I now have a horribly painful sunburn. We took an offroading truck to the other side of the island - backpacker paradise; this is the Thailand I like the best.

We bustled across the dirt roads [occasionally getting hit in the face with tree branches, and nearly falling off the truck] looking at the "not - so - posh" side of the island [ie. it didn't cost $200 dollars a night]. Restaurants, bars and the beach were alive with people, quite unlike the peacefully quiet resort we had just left. But I liked this side better. A ferry ride across the gulf at sunset and a 2 hour drive back to Bangkok later we went out for dinner with Peter's friend, and an Emma so sunburnt she couldn't walk. They took me to get some cream for the burn [the skin had risen by then], which added another hospital trip to my adventure in Thailand. I wonder what will bring me there next.

Friday morning Suzanne and I were up bright and early for a very uncomfortable 13 hour busride home, on a supposed "VIP" bus that picked up illegal passengers while the driver and stewardess pocketed the money. By the time we arrived home at 9:30, I hadn't eaten anything all day except for a donut at 7 that morning and half of a sour mango. On our way out for food we biked by the end of Tony's birthday party at a small bar by the 7 Eleven. Our plan for fried rice and nam nueng ended up with a buffet of party food, punch, socializing with Thai friends of Tony's and wishing him a Happy Birthday.