Today was a relaxing on the beach day. We enjoyed Kata beach, playing in the brief, but often big, waves. The water is crstal clear and a greeny blue. The rest of the day we lounged on loungers and tried not to burn. In the evening we checked out snorkelling options around and had some dinner (gnochi and pizza). The whole area here is very nice, but full of tourists — too much so. There is no ‘thailand’ here. Hopefully will find a way to make some phone calls soon.

Originally written on November 27, 2004

We awoke feeling much better and certainly much better rested. We skipped the breakfast downstairs (where they were serving the pineapple) and decided to head for a fancy place. For breakfast we had: Hot Chocolate (the good kind, no powders) and orange juice to start, then some corn flakes and milk with banana, a fruit plate filled with pineapple (best pineapple ever! we were very brave, melon, and watermelon), croissant, toast, english muffin, and omelette with bacon and ham, and a butter and sugar crepe. And some tea. Oh, and heather ordered pancakes with cream and maple syrup as well. It was way too much but… and all for at a fancy place! After that meal we needed to sit and recover some more. We headed to the movies to watch Alexander in a comfy chair with AC. Movie bad to so-so, chairs and AC great! After dinner we pondered what to do next.

The storm was now gone (muifa) but travelling to the south last minute is hectic. We could take the train or bus. The bus was better although it required some craziness to get tickets — we had to travel far. The train was easier but took longer although we still had to get up early to make sure we got seats for the 11 to 16 hour trip. Finally, I decided to check out flying. A flight to Phuket cost was reasonable so we went for dinner and thought it all through. (dinner was some safeties: sheppards pie and a cheeseburger) After dinner we went and bought the tickets over the internet at about 10 pm and promptly went back to the hotel packed and fell asleep.

Originally written on November 26, 2004

Instead of watching kickboxing, Heather and I had several rounds vs some evil bacteria that probably came from a pineapple. It might all be over we hope, you never know. Combine that with what Muifa (the tropical storm) is doing and we are really unsure of whats going on (stay or go south?). Anyway, we aren’t dead yet. And aside from spending the last 24 hrs sipping gatorade and sleeping, nothing else has happened. Recovery.

Started our day with planning for going south, and trying to figure out the storm muifa. Then some shopping, and we went to a movie, “After the sunset.” Not a bad movie. Thai movie theaters play the national anthem before the movie and everyone stands. I like the idea personally. The seats where big with a lot of leg room. Way better than western cinema’s. And cheaper too. Then we went home and started vomiting.

Originally written on November 24, 2004

At 7:00 am our taxi picked us up from our guesthouse. We started our three hour journey to Siem Reap. We decided to pay the extra money for a taxi over the bus to save time both on the road and in line ups at the border. The first 45 minutes was as we expected, a paved road full of bicycles, motos, trucks, pedestrians, carts, cows, etc and our driver weaving in and out of each obstacle while honking the horn. This is the norm, and the expected, albeit a taxi goes much faster than the bus (ranges from 40 to 110 km/hr through these conditions). Fourty five minutes out of town the trip changed dramatically, the paved road ended, and was replaced with a super potholed dirt road with all of the obstacless of the first road. This is where the fun began! Add many swear words!

To be continued…

Today we got up early to watch the sun rise over the King’s baths (a lily pond) and spent the day visiting temples. See pictures for the sights we saw today.

Originally written on November 22, 2004

See photos.

Originally written on November 21, 2004

We purchased a three day pass to visit the temples. Words cannot really describe the place, so for these three days we will put pictures up of the temples that we visited.