Yay to sun, sand and beer!

Ahhhh....Like the wise words of my fellow traveler, Ian, I have been hit over the head with the relaxation hammer. It has all sunk in that I'm in Thailand after my beautiful day laying on the beach and swimming. We've finally made it to one of my favorite islands in Thailand, Ko Phi Phi. You may have read about it in my last blog. This is the place that got devastated by the tsunami and Tanya and I volunteered for a few days in the cleanup process. Well, I'm back and this place looks awesome. You can still see some of the devastation, but life is back to normal and they are building up the guesthouses, bars, restaurants and shops very quickly. It's absolutely gorgeous here and words can not describe.

We stayed in Bangkok for the day when we first arrived. I got the boys to have a girlie day with me and we got massages, waxings, haircuts and pedicures. It was all very fun and relaxing and a great way to start my unexpected holiday. That night we caught the very fun and really old train down to Surattani. I swear I thought the train would derail at any time and actually kept waking up thinking we did derail. It was so old and we had the fan cooled compartment, so all windows open and very refreshing. The train actually had a "party" car and had dance music and blinking lights, so that was good for a nightcap. We arrived in Surratani at 6am and then took a 4 hour bus ride to Phuket. We finally made it to Patong Beach, which is not really girl friendly. However, the boys did have a fun time and I had lots of sleeping early. Patong is full of old men in speedos picking up young Thai women or men for that matter. It's amazing what these girls will do. Last time I was in Patong I was with another girl, but I saw first hand what these guys go through. Girls just walk up and grab whatever part of the body they want to and it's usually in the mid-region. Like I said, not a very girl friendly environment. I convinced the boys that we had to get out and go to Phi Phi ASAP and I think they were ready to go also. So, now we reside here and do nothing but relax all day, oh and eat and drink.

Tonight is a Thai holiday called, "Loi Krathong" and it should be really cool to see. It's a lantern festival and they set lit lanterns out to the sea. I'm not sure what it means, but hopefully I'll find out tonight. I'm just happy to be laying on the beach again on a beautiful island paradise. We'll probably not want to leave anytime soon! I have a nice sunburn and my stress is all gone. Yay!!!