Thailand revisited

We're back and it took me one whole day to get sick but don't worry after about scaring Julie to death on the bus I bounced back like a champ.  Before heading forward first lets reflect on a few moments the past few weeks:

This is Prom Thep Cape (Map) on our first sunset in Thailand.  Our plane landed at 3 AM that morning.  You read that right, I've never seen an airport so busy at during the wee hours of the morning.  We had decided to rent a scooter (the preferred means of transport in Phuket) but didn't make it out of the parking lot before it was determined we had no business on a scooter.  This proved to be crucial as I later saw a woman bandaged (think mummy) and I can see our path would have been similar to hers.  There is a restaurant on the side of the hill and we ate fresh seafood as the sunset.

This is the Big Buddha.  This photo was taken from the back of an elephant and was not accomplished on the first attempt.

Thank God Julie was sitting in the more stable position.  Riding on a bench on an elephant going up and down hills gets a bit precarious. 

The coastline is quite mountainous and beaches can be few and far between in some areas.  The terrain was amazing, the nearly naked Europeans ... ehh.

This  was just before sunrise outside the beach motel we briefly held down in Rawai (Link).  The sunrises between two islands to the right and left of center in the picture.  We would later take one of the boats you can see in the fore ground to the island just right of center. Our first week was at Coconut Paradise.  The first night they put us in a Villa.  The first day they offered to let us stay in the villa if we wanted to pay the difference so we moved to the beach motel.  The third day they moved us to another villa for free.

Julie was often the most clothed person on the beach.  I was not far from second.

This is Wat Chalong.  Wat must mean temple.  As with many places in Thailand (including the reception desk at our hotel in Patong where we stayed during week 2) you have to take your shoes off before entering.  The craftsmanship is amazing so is the attention to detail given how hot it is all year.

This is a tuk-tuk.  We didn't ride in many but that is the bus equivalent.

Our second to last day we went to Raya (or Racha) Island (Map).   This was Julie's favorite beach.  The water was incredible and as with most of the beaches we visited it was in a cove.  Phuket lies between the Malaca Strait and the Adaman Sea and in many places the water is too rough for swimming.  This beach was perfect.

During our second week in Thailand we rented a car.  I got to drive on the left for the first time and Julie realized just how well people drive in China.  The roads are narrow and it often seems that the road builders just got bored and threw in some more curves.  The most amazing part was the ability of those on scooters to fill every inch of open space on a road.

We have made it back and spent a great night in Beijing for Valentines day.  We are planning to visit Tianjin and the water park at the Water Cube before school starts back.  We'll be back in touch before long.

Hope all is well,
Ryan