Today is the last day for us in Thailand. We spent most of the day shopping at MBK (the big mall). We walked miles and miles! It is really overwhelming how much stuff and how many people there are in that space! It would be really fun to shop with the girls there! We ate a place Lydia had said she likes to go with her friends they call it Bar-B-Que, but not much like ours more like a grilled fondue. Grill in the centre surrounded by water, so the meat juices drip down into the water to make a broth. They bring a platter of raw meat and vegetables and you cook and eat. Chopsticks only, so a bit of a challenge, but kind of fun! I think Ian & Lindsay would really enjoy this! Tom is kind of itching for a steak when we get home.
Today we plan to spend some time by the pool and then go up to a hotel that has a revolving top to see out over the city. That will complete our holiday! See you all soon!

We are off the the big mall MBK where you can shop for the same things you get on the street only in air conditioning! We slept past the breakfast in our hotel this morning so Dad when in search of breakfast for us. I wanted banana pancake and wouldn't you know it there were none to be found. Where'd day go? Like Ava says! So we had fresh pineapple, and fried bananas and fried chichen. Quite a step from my first day or two here when ice in my drink freaked me out!! So far no serious repercussions!

This is the bigota or what ever you call it in the Emerald Buddha temple that is covered with gold leaf. What you can't see is the little tiles about 1" each that make up that structure!


This is lunch with Lydia yesterday as well as the cart it was cooked from. Duck noodle soup I guess. I was mildly spicy and after you finished eating it and sweating through it, you almost felt cool walking around in the heat.

A busy day in Bangkok! We had a great rest last night, best bed so far! We started of with Lydia our tour guide at 9:00 am. We walked to the sky train, and took it to the end of the line. It was wonderfully air conditioned and my glasses actually fogged up when I exited the train! Then we took a public boat to the Grand Palace and the temple with the Emerald Buddha. It is funny, I expected the Emerald Buddha to be quite large and the reclining Buddha to be small and it was the other way around! The temple that the Emerald Buddha is in is very ornate! 1" mosaic tiles covered with gold leaf really beautiful!! Then other buildings in the temple court covered with glass tiles of the same size beautiful! Hand painting on the walls, that we would think was wall paper! Amazing Grandma! Then off to the place and check out the thrones, one for the king and a bigger one for Buddha! Beautiful as well! From there we went to the flower market and then Lydia took us to one of her favorite places for lunch. Noodle stand on the street! Really Really good soup! Then we had sticky rice with coconut milk and custard! Really Really good too! Then off to the Teak Palace! This palace you can see in the rooms and look at all the ornate furniture, gifts, dishes etc that King Rama the 5th (I think) got as gives from other countries. This was very beautiful as well. Then of to the big mall, I keep getting the name of it wrong. It makes West Edmonton look like a mini mall! We walked back to our hotel and then we were whisked off for a final fitting at the tailors. Now hear at the Internet just a couple blocks from the hotel. Tomorrow will not be quite so busy as we have given up on tours and will just wander around on our own at a bit slower pace! Lydia was a beautiful girl and a wonderful guide, we really enjoyed our time with her. Well I think I have to make my way off the bed.

Last night we watched our last sunset at Kamala Beach. Then we did a little shopping, but I am limited as the suit cases will only hold so much. We said good bye to our tour guides and went for supper with Jeff & Celia. They will take us to the airport. This morning we got our stuff all together and we took another tour on the scooter. I am getting quite relaxed! Amazing Grandma! We are in Bangkok now and I think we should have stayed the rest of the days at Kamala. The pace here is very fast and it is not nearly as nice as Chaing Mae or Phuket. We are off on a tour tomorrow. Lydia our tour guide will take us by sky train and public boat, and then by taxi. When I left Phuket, I was feeling kind of sad about leaving, now I am in Bangkok I am ready to come home.

Today was a restful day kind of. We decided to take it easy today as we were quite tired I think from all the sun yesterday. We slept late and then the cleaning lady came, so we decided to get out of her way. Tom took me for a ride on Larry's scooter! I'm sure my children are either horrified or laughing! as they would know just how relaxed I was about that. Joyce Ritchie thought I looked uncomfortable on the elephant ride you should have seen me today! Jonathan I have a wonderful picture of Dad in a pink helmet on the scooter! Which I would post, but I don't want to start something incase he ever figures out how to post pictures! The neighbor upstairs lent us their helmets and the one that fit dad best was pink! At least we were wearing helmets! I think that's how you tell the tourists! I'm sure the locals all had a good laugh and the two tourist riding up and down the back streets on the scooter! We ran into (not litterily) our tour agent on his way to work, he was quite surprised. There are some very beautiful homes and lots to see on the regular streets and the speed is slower, although nobody really goes anyplace very fast around hear. The pictures and the video are lacking somewhat as I was in charge of the camera and back seat driving at the same time! I never indicated I was interested in being a biker chick!! We came down to pick up my dress but it is not ready so will have to do that tomorrow. We fly back to Bangkok on Tuesday, so will have one last day at the beach.

We got a new pet while we were on the island. It is really good at cleaning up the scraps leftover from lunch!

We took a tour to Rahya Beach today to snorkel. We were part of a group of about 20 - 25 people transported by speed boat to Rahya Island. It took about 30 mins and when we arrived we had 1 hour to swim or what ever and then off to snorkel for a hour. We were a little disappointed this morning, as we started very early and then there wasn't a inch of shade and we anticipated a lobsterfest!! by the end of the day. We went to the covered restaurant and had coffee and juice for an hour before we went snorkeling. They don't rush here, so it actually took an hour to have coffee and juice! Snorkeling was great, we saw many beautiful fish, it would have been great to have an underwater camera so we could look up what kind of fish we actually saw. After snorkeling on the other side of the island we returned to the first stop for a great lunch. And then we stayed in the water where it was nice and cool. We found an ice cream shop, not nearly as busy as the McKenzies which was a bit surprising because of the temperature,and they had wonderful coconut ice cream!
Then 30 min back to the pier and half an hour back to the condo. It turned out to be a very good day!
Tom is having a massage right now, we will see if they can fix his neck, so I'm on my own for a little bit. If I finish here before he is done, I'm off to find myself and pineapple pancake that they cook at the vendors beside the road. Not quite as good as deep fried bananas, but still pretty good! I could go shopping, but I don't know if I can get any more in the suitcase. I have to reorganize and then we will see if we buy a suitcase here or in Bangkok.

I love this sign! Wouldn't want to miss one of those on a dark night!!

Thought you might ejoy this. In the front you see watermelon on display at a corner market and behind you see what looks like watermelon juice and we are enjoying all the fresh fruit juices, but better not drink it because it is actually gasoline. Makes a nice display though!

Today we met Jeff & Celia, Uncle Bill's friends and they took us to Uncle Bill's condo unit. We have now moved out of the room at the hotel and into the condo. It has more room, but it is further from the beach. Jeff & Celia also took us for a drive down the island to see the scenery. They took us to a grocery store in a huge mall in Patong, we picked up a few things so we can actually cook breakfast at the condo and have some snacks, but we were quite taken with the grocery store. I think that was almost as exciting as some of the tours we have taken for a couple of old store owners. They had tables of chicken just chopped up and tossed on a bed of ice, and fish and shrimp and prawns all the same way. When you got produce you took it to a little station and they put a sticker on it so that it would scan at the till, and pastry the same thing! It was very much like a Walmart, but we were awed by the whole thing! and we didn't even go out into the mall, just the grocery part. Then they had an escalator for grocery carts. I got on with my cart and I'm hanging on for dear life so it doesn't run into Tom and Jeff in front of me as it is a steep incline. Jeff tells me to let go and the wheels are locked into the moving floor and it just sits there! Amazing Grandma!!

Today was another day of rest. My feet are so swollen from the heat, it is hard to tell the difference between the elephant and me. My toenails are red and his are white!
We just watched the most beautiful sunset. We have a favorite vendor on the beach that we go to each day. They make very good fruit shakes and spring rolls and they are very nice. Here nobody rushes you so we just enjoyed our meal and watched the sunset. Tonight I had fried noodles and chicken as well as the usual. They have the most interesting noodles, not what I had in mind. They must be a rice noodle and they are thick and almost have a jelly texture. I think I'll stick to rice from now on!
We have seen some really interesting things and I am making a list, but my book is at the hotel.
Elephant crossing sign instead of deer or whatever!
We see people on scooters all over the place. Jay I haven't seen one skateboarder here, but lots and lots of scooters! and no helmets! Sometimes 4 people on the scooter. If they have a small child they sandwich them between the two adults, child standing on the seat and off they go. I saw one with a stool in front of the driver with a small child sitting in it because he/she was too small to sit on the seat. The other morning we saw the off to school rush and there was a mother with 4 boys on the scooter off to school I think that's the maximum we have seen. And we think we need a mini van!!!
Brett we are seeing lots of construction here. I think they have as much difficulty working in the heat as you do in the cold! The other interesting thing is the safety, or the lack there of. The workers ride in the back of the truck, leaning against the tailgate with a ladder bouncing between them. We have seen people working with cement in their sandals and bare feet. What would Occupational Health and Safety have to say about that?
The pace is very nice, no one is in a hurry, I wish I could bottle that and bring it back with me.

Mike I thought you might enjoy this picture of an ice cream stand we saw in Chiang Mae. Only one flavor though! They had a Hagen Das store there, here in Kamala only nestles on a stick. Tom has all sorts of business ideas! The service industry is quite different here. They don't rush you in any way, sometimes it is actually difficult to get a bill so you can pay. They never ask if you would like a refill of coffee or if you need anything else, but they are outside their shops practically begging you to come in.

Sunburn? Just a little, the interesting thing is it does turn to tan after a day or two. We are all greased up with aloe vera gel, sun screen, no need to worry about us getting into a tight spot, we could slide right through! Today we are resting again, which means, a little time at the internet, no air con right now, just fans will try again later for air conditioning. Next we make our way down the beach. Banana pancake, then a fruit shake, then spring rolls, this allows us to enjoy the breeze from the ocean without having to sit in the sun, as each vendor has a covered area and we just move from vendor to vendor! Progressive brunch!

We booked a fishing trip today. This is the big one! Well not so big, but we still had a good time. We caught about 15 long tail tuna about 2-3 lbs. They cooked some for us for lunch right on the boat. We also got to snorkel. Dade, grandma and grandpa were swimming with the fish. I saw yellow and black striped ones, blue and green ones, grandpa saw and eel and I saw a big big oyster shell, like in the cartoons, only it didn't burp or lick it's lips! it just sat there no pearls either! I wish you could have seen them.
We brought back some fish for our tour guide couple so we are just checking in here and then will deliver the fish to them before they close at 10.pm
Jonathan the young guy holding the fish reminded me of you. He was quiet, with a big smile and he kept hosing water on the deck because it was hot on our feet! Looking after the customers! He was really thin like you too, actually most Thai people are, I think I might look for jeans for you in Bangkok, they would probably have the right size! but not likely fleece lined!

Last night we went to Phuket Fantasea! It was really neat! Kind of like a small Disneyland. Very clean, I had to use the bathroom and I was fortunate to have a real toilet! and the sink the water came out of the nose of a water buffalo, I sent dad to use the bathroom, just to see! The Prince of Kamala and his majic elephant are the stars here. Everything is about elephants. Matia I saw 14 real elephants and they did tricks! They stood on their hind legs, they did a bridge like when you play London Bridge, only one elephant stood on two stools and the other elephants filed underneath him. They stood with thier front feet on the next elephant. They had all sorts of stores with elephant toys etc and I looked for another elephant like Matia's but they didn't have any quite the same. They do a play that is the story of the life of the Prince of Kamala. They incorporate tribal dance, a little romance, a little majic, a little circus and make a 1.5 hr show with amazing costumes, pyrotechnics, illusion really well done, I'm not sure I got the entire story line, but we enjoyed it anyhow.
We booked the show through a local travel agent and he transported us there and then he and his wife picked us up, not usually part of the deal and it was a big deal for them to do that for us as it was crazy with people and buses and cars, very nice of them. We have had quite a good chat with them, her sister who shares a shop space with them and sells gifts, was swept into the water by the Sunami two years ago, she tells how she was trying to grab something, climbing, climbing. Not good! all with a big smile on her face, they are really incredible people!

This is the highest point in Thailand a little cooler than Kamala Beach
Tom made friends with the locals!
Kamala Beach in the evening when us fair skinned beach bumbs enjoy the sunsets and the quiet.

Last time I talked to you we were off to have a massage. Amber will love this 2 hours for $32.00! It is quite relaxing, but they didn't really deal with Tom's neck issue. I think you should also be aware that there is a plot to increase the business of massage in Thailand, every bed we have slept on is like a board! Tuk Tuks bounce you around like a ball and just negotiating the traffic, is a little stressful, to mention nothing of trying to figure out what you will get after you order you food! No wonder massage is cheap!
We have now arrived in Phuket! actually Kamala Beach is where we are staying. We have chosen to stay and brother Bill's room at the hotel as it is a quick 5 min to the beach and the condo is further away.
Yesterday was our first full day at the beach and out of respect for Valentine's Day, we have taken on the color RED! We thought we were hiding quite well under the umbrella and the trees, but it will be a day or two before we can return to lying in the sun. Thus we are seeking refuge in a fan cooled internet cafe!
We hear all is well on the home front! Thanks to all there!

Wednesday went to the day market saw some really interesting things!! They don't seem to bargan in the day time, set prices only. Stopped at Starbucks for a cool drink so things can be very much the same as Canada. Starbucks and crispy bugs mmmm!
Went to a traditional Thai cultural dinner. We chose to sit at a table rather than the floor. We might not have gotten up after 2 hours. I think there was some rude toe pointing!! The dancing was very beautiful and the food was good too. I love deep fried bananas! JL give that a try! Then we moved to an outdoor area and watched the hill tribe dances. If you were going to use music to wake the dead ancestors, that would be the stuff! There were children dancing and they were having alot of fun! reminded us of Ava Dance Dance!!
I haven't experienced a squatty potty yet and it is my goal to complete this trip with out doing so! The food is good, but we haven't been too adventuresome. We tried coconut pancakes at the day market, they were delicious! We looked for sticky rice and banana, but couldn't find any. We have tried different kinds of fruit. The strawberries look delicious, they are in season and the displays are amazing, but we haven't tried them for fear of what may come! We have had dried strawberries, Paul our guide said dried would be safe. We met a couple at the dinner last night that had a burger at Burger King in Bangkok and he was very sick, had to call the doctor and all sorts of fun!
The weather is great! No rain, warm, but enjoyable!
The traffic is really something! Once again glad to just walk, and even that gets a little frightening at the intersections!
Off to have a massage and shop some more!
Hope all are well!

Well Erin you will be proud, here I am blogging from the otherside of the world! You would laugh though, Dad and I had half a dozen Thia people trying to get our laptop on line at a wireless internet cafe. The sun was so bright we could hardly see the screen, and the signal was too week, but they were very kind to a couple of clueless Canadians!

So what have we done since Bangkok....

Saturday we flew to Chaing Mai arrived about 2 p.m. The airport was very busy and it was wonderful to have our guide Paul there to meet us as we are not the most street smart travelers. We arrived at the hotel, thought we would have a short nap and go off to see the flower festival. We woke up about 3 a.m. decided to sleep for a couple more hours and were ready bright and early for our trip to the elephant camp.

The driving in quite interesting, I'm glad we're not doing it, we argue about which way we should walk!

At the elephant camp, we watched the elephants take a bath (maybe that was rude) then they put on a show, everything from playing soccer to painting pictures! I thought often of Matia this day! We took an elephant ride for an hour very neat! Maybe before I get home I will have discovered how to add pictures to this blog!

Next stop was an orchid farm. They were huge, some of them as big and my hand, they use hydroponics but I thought they looked a little sad with the roots just hanging down, took away some of the beauty. There was a butterfly farm attached, but not many butterflys!

Off on our own to see the Sunday market, only on Sunday! and the flower festival over on Sunday! The floats were a little wilted, but even then they were very impressive, as good or better than the rose parade! Amazing! (we think of Dade everytime we say something is amazing and we use that term quite often Surprise!) The market was a little overwhelming, but the most popular booth of all was the bug booth! I wanted to pick some up for Ian, but I didn't know if they would keep! Crispy good! We took a tuck tuck back to the hotel and we got took took by about 40 bat! Live and learn!

Monday off to cooking school! about 15 of us, Americans, Autrailians, Canadians, it was fun to visit with other travellers! Dad and I have decided we are not so sure about Thia food, maybe a little to healthy for us, all those vegetables! and chili this and chili that. I used half the chilies and found that about right, but I like the sticky rice pudding with coconut milk the best, no chilies! Dad's head was burning from touching his skin after cooking with the chilis and my hands were still burning in the middle of the night. I think I might figure how to use that stuff on my feet in the winter, probably mix it with coconut oil! That is the part that dad liked they cook lots with coconut milk! Very good for you!

Thought we'd have a little nap then off to the night market, nope missed the market!

Tuesday off to the hill to see the highest point in Thialand and water falls, Karen hill tribe. The trip was much like travelling through the mountains in B.C. Nice and cool when we got out, about 10 degrees. Beautiful gardens at the Buddah bagota (Spelling) the bagota was beautiful granit work! Amazing!! Beautiful gardens at the Government Project where they are teaching them to grow things other than poppies/opium. Paul (our guide) brough sticky rice and bananas very yummy! for part of our picnic lunch!

Paul took us to a Chaing Mai tailor, Tom bought another suit, I don't know where he's going to go, but he'll look great!

When we returned we didn't dare have a nap as we really wanted to visit the night market. Had fun bartering and bought a few things.

Amber what are the cool sunglasses? I think I can get some cheap knock offs! Any requests?

Today we will try the day market, Dad has figured out the map now, so we don't have to wander around looking so lost.

I hope the day market has coffee shop near by. Shopping here is the same as Canada, if I find dad a good coffeeshop, we both enjoy it better! He sits and drinks coffee and I shop!

Amber, I should have Aaron here he could give me a hair cut too! My hair just goes crazy it looks like dry straw!