Thai Travel

[pslamont]

Greetings from Chiana Mai, Thailand. I have spent an incredible week in Koh Jum, an island off the southern area of Thailand (town Krabi). It is everything dreams are made of and at a price you can affoed!! Wow...

I walked a lovely white sand beach, swam in the Andaman sea, rode Long Tail boats, ate and ate and ate.... my new favorite munchie is a watermelon shake.. wow.... WE lounged, had massage, collected shells and explored most every inch of the island. I have found a piece of property for sale on the beachfront so we shall see!!!

Communication here reminds me we are in a third world nation. You can not book two legs of a flight from one airport, so you fly from Krabi to Bangkok and then see if you can get a flight to Chiang Mai (which we could not), so you go to the train station and see if you can get an overnight sleeper car (which we could not.. booked up two days) so you go to the train station, who says they are full but there is a way (of course) so some sneaky little guy drivves you all over Bangkok killing time, then takes you to this international transportation building and bribes someone on the sidewalt to go buy you tickets on a tour bus at twice the normal price.... but even then it was only $30, 8 hours of sleep in a recliner and Viola... in Chiang Mai.

We were very lucky to have a two story home waiting for us here, available for our use the next few months. Can not complain at all. Today I try to see the dental clinic, shop at Tesco (like walmart) for supplies to take to the mountain village, exchange more money from American dollars to Baht and head out on the next leg of our adventure to a tiny mountain village. There my friend Theo Lupien will marry in a large village ceremony. We don't exactly understand what will happen but we know it takes either a full day or three days depending on how you look at it. I can 't wait and intend to just go with the flow.

We went to the open air market today. Wanna buy a pigs head? Ewwww..... things are culturally very different. Still, it is a colorful experience and I am enjoying it immensely.

Hope those of you who participate in Scuba Sunday's have fun at the beach. I hope to wind up my trip with a week back on that island the end of February and then will come home, that is if Hubby survives without me. Speaking of which, has anyone heard from Bob? I have not so hope he is okay.

Cheer to you all.

Pam Lamont


Just another day in P A R A D I S E !!