Spa Trip... er, Day... er, Week.

Hi Everyone!

I've made it back to the civilization on the other side of the island. After taking another long boat across some highly jostling waters. I made it safely back to the land of cars, motorbikes, and merchants trying to sell you everything from clothes to guesthouse stays. It was nice to escape for a week and see nothing but azure waters, palm trees, coconuts, and amazing vistas after short hikes. My hammock, sadly, was not actually mine and had to stay. :(

Here is my trusty long boat that I took to The Sanctuary. The Resort and Spa are beyond belief - everything you'd think of if you turned a huge chunk of land over to the Swiss Family Robinson and asked them to have-at-it. My bungalow was set up on a hill behind the main lounge/restaurant and had a balcony that overlooked the ocean. (This is my view!) The waves lapping on the shore made the sountrack for an amazing week long stay. I met so many great people there and it was hard to go this morning... but I had company on my trip to Had Rin, so it was a proper send off. Garret treated us all to Falafel for lunch and called it the last supper, although I assured him I was going to be around tomorrow. Having Greek food in Thailand prepared by Thais is really a weird thing for me. It's no different than having Thai food prepared by Americans in Vermont, I realize, but the novelty is still there.

This is the restaurant lounge... lights draped in wicker with low tables, traditional triangular mats, and the greatest vegetarian fare. Banana shakes rock!

The stay, in brief highlights:

• Finding bat poop on my mosquito net before bed... and Clotide (the French woman next door) coming over to clean it for me. She insisted I watch the stars from the flat rock behind her bungalow while she did this - and yes, I did.
• The morning hike up to the view point where I could see the next four bays. On the way down we collected these little red seeds with black spots. They're supposed to keep a "good eye" on you... I figured extra luck is always good to have.
• Facial - complete with foot and shoulder massage. I think I could bathe in Jasmine every day.
• Going to the Bamboo Restaurant with Jo, Bernie, Alex, and Clotide - it was an amazing feast of fish!
• I'm tanned now - and three Thai women have approached me, speaking only Thai, and couldn't understand that I didn't understand. HA.
• Reading five, yes five, books. I can't remember the last time I let myself have time to read and I really love it. Yes, I will read more at home.
• Playing too much Jenga.
• The BIG, scary spider that also loved my hammock - I almost sat on him, but instead flung him for a ride.
• The craziest thunderstorms...! I didn't know that the islands had different monsoon seasons depending on the sides they're on. Well... we had a lot of rain and it was beautiful, with magical streaks of lightening and booming skies. While I like a good storm as much as the next adventurer, there is something decidedly more, well, terrifying about seeing them from a bamboo hut with a thatched roof.
• My glorious bathroom under the bungalow that was like a big, melon colored womb with rock walls and a real, western toilet. They even gave us toilet paper!

This is a picture of Bernie feeding Alex at our feast of fish! I had Barbecued Baracuda fish with brown rice and vegetables.

I'm in a new town and here for a day - leaving tomorrow night at 5pm to travel back to Bangkok. It's cheaper to take a ferry much further south and then a train up to Bangkok than to connect via ferry at a more nothern point on the mainland. Odd. I'll be going via air-conditioned train this time and arriving early the next morning. At least I get a bed, and don't have to worry about paying for lodging that night.

I want to convey how truly novel all of this is to me... trucks passing by filled with coconuts, the phrase "same same" that non-english speakers use when trying to sell you something that is, in fact, NOT what you wanted, and the sayings and funny phraseology from other travellers I meet. I'm having the time of my life.

I met some great people this week... Jo (Aussie), Sophie and Susie (Brits), Theresa and Bernie and Alex(Austrians). Clotide (French), Monica and Garret (from Seattle!), Frank (Dubai), Andrea (from LA), and Kob (from Northern Thailand - she worked at The Sanctuary and was amazing!).

The feelings of being lonesome are fading and I'm exctied about the next stop. I'll be in Cambodia on Thursday! YAY! Another stamp in the passport!

Love to all - Janice

**7:16pm, Internet Cafe, Thong Salah, Koh Phangnan, Thailand