"Hey Wind Catch"(Tosses Caution)!

After the first week when we arrived in Phuket. Dad and I went for a beer and a coke at a bar. Not realizing that this bar was made specifically for "bar fun". The women who work at this bar are interesting they are hookers, to put it bluntly. I made friends with one of them funny thing is her name is Pal. She spent some of the evening teaching me some thai. Then she asked about my holiday and how long I was staying in Phuket. I told her two months, so she invited me to her birthday party. I missed her birthday I had gotten a really bad cold and didn't feel like partying. It wasn't till the second time I went to visit her that I learned what all her job was. We played pool and talked she was the first really nice person I have met that wasn't interested in my money (seeing how I was female and she only deals with male clients). I one the pool game, and she gave me her phone number and said if I ever wanted to hang out to give her a call. The industry she's in has always made me sad. Its just a job to her, nothing more. She was really interested in the fact I had a boyfriend, this concept seemed strange to her. I know hanging out with her is wrong and that I shouldn't, but I can't help wanting to talk to her.I wish I had the words to show her Gods love, with a grace that wouldn't make me seem preachy. Words that would reach into her heart, and show her that she's more then a pay check.I know it seems crazy. Who knew the first friend I made in Thailand would be a hooker.

I fed a dog some of my lunch. A soy dog is not to be touched they are dangerous and have rabies. These warnings didn't go through my head as two puppies laid sleeping under a bench to get out of the heat. They were sandy, and dirty, and the most adorable things you've ever seen. they wagged they're tales and sat at my feet. Had little barks and little wet noises.

Riding a motorcycle in Phuket is very much frowned upon. Everything is backwards people drive like they all have an emergency to get to. people cut you off. Don't use signal lights. Drive down the wrong side of the road. Three or four people pile on one scooter. dogs and small children are held in one hand while the other drives. people pass you when your waiting at a red light, And I have never had so much fun riding a bike in my life!

Don't ride a bike, Don't touch the dogs, and especially don't play pool with hookers!

I Am The Tight Rope Walker

A pipe in the wall must have broke. When our maid came for the first time, she found a bunch of water downstairs. I didn't realize that all the water was coming from my shower! Dad then started asking me a bunch of questions about the shower. Getting mad at me, I thought this was unfair so I told him he does not have the right to be angry with me... this was not a wise choice he started telling me how he was going to send me home because I didn't respect him enough. He told me that my bedroom was a mess! Just for clarification I make my bed everyday, and put my clothes away in my closet. The huge mess he was talking about was my makeup and toothbrush on the counter by the sink! after some heated debate dad told me to clean up the mess down stairs with a mop. The maid was already down there cleaning it up, so I helped her. No real damage to anything, well that can be seen. After a while my dad came into my room and wanted to give me a hug because he realized he overreacted. I told him I didn't want his hug. I didn't want to hear his sorry. A sorry that didn't mean any thing I know that some day I will fall through the ice again and it won't be my fault, yet I will be the one getting targeted. I understood we had a problem, the floor was flooding but going around pointing fingers and making assumptions were not going to fix the problem. I feel like a tight rope walker around my father, any false move and I could fall. My mom has always been the safety net that I depend on, without her I don't feel entirely safe. Dad gave me a real apology later, one that seemed more about him then just the current situation. Since then we have been getting along fine. I still spend a lot of time in my room reading, mostly the bible I have read up to first chronicles. I try to get up early to either go for a walk or go swimming depending on how hot it is outside. I have a cold so Dad and I haven't planned any scuba diving yet (your not suppose to go with a plug nose). Its been very cloudy the last couple of days not to warm. When I ride my scooter I actually get a bit cold.

Your Not Going To Want To Miss This Im Wearing A SPEEDO!

Today I rented a scooter to get around the island. Dad called up our favorite tour guide Mike for a bike ride. We went up and down the island face. around curves and busy streets. We then stopped at this bar where for donation you can feed elephants bananas! They're trunks grip them out of your hands. The elephants skin is so rough like petting a car tire. they hit leaves on their skin really hard to soften it before they put the leaves in their mouthes. I then want up cement stairs where two little apes hung around. Now I've gone to the zoo where the monkeys generally stay clear of you, and they are in a glass box. not here the monkeys are in a cage like a chained fence. "They used to roam free but since they put up the power poles they had to cage them" says Mike. so this one little ape swings his way right up to me. and sticks his hand out to hold mine he is so cute! black and fuzzy. A soy dog then jumps up in front of me and barks at the little ape and snaps at him. The little ape starts to cry. I felt so bad the little guy was scared out of his mind and he reaches out for my hand. after a while hanging with Charlie the ape I went to find Mike and Dad. They were sitting at the bar and they were talking with the young drunk man who is to be known as Thomas. A short man with a raspy voice. He teaches yoga across the street and his students are whistling for him to come over. He tell the bar tender to pretend to write something down so his students will shut up. Then goes on to say how much he hates yoga, but how it needs to be done. He then says "you're sure you don't want to come over? I'll be wearing a speedo!". We all think he's joking till fifteen minutes later Mike says "he wasn't kidding he's actually wearing a speedo"!

A Little Piece of Jamaica

Today I am a certified open water diver! I did fairly good seeing as I didn't study half as much as my dad. I got and 88% or something like that. We then went driving to find some t-shirts for dad so he wouldn't have to do laundry as much, and seeing as t-shirts are like three bucks not really a problem. We then went to the view point which is a reggae restaurant, Bob Marley was playing in the background and everything was Jamaican Colors. The view point is built out of an old tree out of the mountain. We tried to watch the sunset but too many clouds were there. A young drunk man came up to dad and I and started talking about how he was a yoga instructor and how we should come check it out.

One Small Step

"If ya see this sagnal" as Tod put his hand to his forehead."It maens shark"! Tod our scuba instructor from Texas reminded us of all the signals of open water diving. As we made our descend we saw large schools of black and yellow fish. and coral that looked like giant flat appartment buildings. They were orange and brown in color. I posed for an underwater picture as my Dad tried to get his balance. Tod thinks the reason my dad floats so much is that he has good lungs, I guess he never should have stopped smoking. We practiced a few emergency procedures under the water, like what signal and what to do if your low on air. How to remove and clear your mask when under the water. Then we began to swim it was fun all the sounds are so loud and clear that is something I never new before it's not that the sounds are distorted or far off, every sound is just louder. A trailer or traitor fish swam out It was a little bigger than a football it swam up to Tod and bit his fin. Fish mostly only attack when they are trying to defend something.

We went back on the boat and had a great thai lunch rice and seafood and fresh fruit. They also had pop which were in old glass pop bottles which is the norm in Thailand. Then we got on our gear again and hopped into the water for another scuba lesson. I didn't get to see a turtle or an octapus but I saw lots of star fish blue in color. you feel as if your on the moon the way things are new and how weightless you feel.

Never Bite The Hand That Feeds You

I went on a long tail boat. Mike our new friend took us to snorkel. We saw huge corral like nothing I've ever seen before! The second you start swimming you see fish. And they were the kinda fish you saw on finding Nemo. Bright in color and a bunch of odd shapes. Sharp spikey black things with shiny blue and orange ball in the middle of it. I saw one gelly fish it was bright orange, about the size of a penny. I was very tempted to touch it, but I didn't. The sun was so warm that the only way you could cool yourself down was to dive down where the water was cooler.

Mike then showed us something really cool. He took a plastic bottle which he had filled with bread. He opened and let a little of the bread come out and swarms of fish came and gobbled it up! So many fish that they swam all around you and you could touch them. I got bit a couple times but not really enough to break the skin. It was so worth it. I guess fish never heard the saying never bite the hand that feeds you. Thats probably because your not suppose to feed them.

We then drank from a coconut for the first time. It was okay not as good as I was expecting. You could then take a spoon and carve out the inside and eat the coconut which is a lot better than the dry coconut we have at home, its slimy and good.

I'm Suppose To Do What With The HOSE!

Last night I went for supper with Mike and Cindy. They're very nice. Mike ordered our meal in thai. We had white wine and soft crab, and a number of other small dishes. I played in my pool and read my bible for a while. Small geckos crawl on the wall. I am getting excited for scuba diving this week. Cindy says the snorkeling/scuba diving around here is fantastic! I also would like to do some kite boarding it looks like fun. Ride and elephant is on my list of things I would like to do. I also wouldn't mind taking guitar lessons which might happen some time next week. I have not seen a monkey yet. Mike told me about a restaurant where two apes come up and pick at your hair and clothes while you eat. As long as they don't throw poop at me I think it would be cool. I found out that the jeans I packed in my bag have not been used since I came to Phuket, the weather has been way to hot. The heat or maybe the water is causing my blonde hair to curl like crazy. I also learned that if you use toilet paper the toilets back up. The toilets have little hoses beside them so you can "clean yourself". This is awkward to think about and even more awkward to do. It kinda grosses me out to think about other people using it for the same function.

Who Knew The Ocean Was So Empty

I went to the ocean. More specifically Rawai beach. Phuket has a lot of british visitiors so I hear a lot of accents. Thai people walk by you trying to sell blankets and fruit while you sit on the beach. The sand here is like nothing I've ever experienced before, it's soft and warm. The waves crash into the shore. I went snorkaling and the water was empty no seaweed no rocks. The odd fish would swim by but it was so close in color to the sand you didn't really notice them. the water was very salty and would burn my eyes if I hadn't been wearing goggles. I would dive down and find very tiny sea shells that were smaller than a dime. Next week I'm starting my diving lessons I am really excited about this! They say that we know more about the moon then our own oceans. I burnt my skin a bit I guess the sun block I have isn't waterproof. The Thai people are very nice and the put their palms together and bow their heads to show you respect. Mike warned us not to do this back because we're tourists and we'll probably screw it up. Dad says next week that we will rent skooters to get around on.

You Come Today? Good Good!

Today we woke up and went for breakfast in the restaurant, they have a huge fruit buffet. I packed up my stuff and we headed to the airport. When we made it to Phuket, Mike a big bald guy met us at the gate. He is a mutual friend of my father's. He drove us from the airport to our villa in Soy Korny. Some of the stuff I packed exploded in my bag so I had to clean it all up. Mike then drove us to rent our jeep. A old white jeep with the steering wheel on the right side of it. The roads are crazy! Mostly because the rules we have in Canada don't really apply here, like signaling or lane changing, or right of way. I hope next week I can rent a skooter they look like a lot of fun to ride on. We then drove (very carefully) to the local mall to pick up a few things for the villa, shampoo, cereal, toilet paper.

We went for a drive on the wrong side of the road for a while so we both could get used to it. Dad then spotted a nice mexican restaurant and with out telling me made a really sharp left turn and scared me. We met the restaurant owner Terry. A nice man from the states. He talked with my dad for a while about football and hockey (the best two sports in the world ha ha). I was distracted by a small toad that hopped across the floor and a little lizard that crawled on the wall. A soy dog (street dog) walked towards the restaurant, Terry yells out "I know you like my restaurant, but I don't like you"! Soy dogs are slow and may have rabies so you can't pet them. After we were done our food we headed home, or what was to be home for the next two months.

Adventure For Two Please

I am sitting in a lounge in the Bangkok airport drinking free hot chocolate and eating small sandwiches. I was wearing my bright red hat, as I went through the airport. I miss my best friend Tilly. She has always been there for me. I miss chatting with her and making up silly stories. I wish her and David were here to share this adventure with me. I am so excited to get to Phuket and see the ocean and the villa. I know my dads with me but its not the same as having a good friend to joke around with you.

Wish Fish

Today I took a boat tour. It was through some of the canals in Bangkok. It was windy and wet. We fed hundreds of fish bread as we went along in a bright colored boat. Our tour guide Tommi said that some people believed that if you fed the fish they would grant you a wish. Later after looking at all the houses and temples along the water, we switched boats and were given food to eat.

That evening we got into a bright pink taxi cab, where we met a really nice man who chatted with us about thai culture,as we drove to a thai boxing match. It was very interesting the ages of the boys must have been from eight to fourteen. They would where either bright pink or blue shorts. they would knee each other in the stomach and punch each other in the face. Two knock outs. people on each side would yell knee, knee. Just like we would yell boo at a riders game but it was for every hit. The roof was made out of tin and thai people would ask if you wanted a beer every five minutes or so. We sat between people from all over the world.

After we walked through the night market, where dad bought me a green bag, with elephants on it. I kept telling him I didn't need the bag but he bought it any ways.

Yuck Tuk Tuk

Today I went to Siam Paragon and MBK, two huge malls. Went driving in a tuck tuck. Drank lots of guava juice. I'm not sure what is getting to me but I'm starting to feel sick, barely have eaten any food, the hot smug, and probably motion sickness from the busy Bangkok. The Tuck Tuck that we got into today tricked us because he said he would takes us for a drive until MBK opened, the thing was he had planned to drive us to his sponsor (the place where he gets more gas if he brings customers there). Dad didn't like that he had this secret agenda so we hopped out. It sucks because the tuck tucks are actually really fun to ride in. :(

Up a floor, down a floor.

I felt so lost today. Things were crammed together including the people. I had a banana shake and found many cool nick nacks. we went to MBK which is one of the largest malls I've ever been to, then again I grew up in a small town of 500. things crammed together from the floor to the roof. Dominoes Pizza in Bangkok looks so gross, large shrimp and slimy cheese. I do not know how this is appealing to anyone. I looked for post cards, to send to my friends back home but didn't find any. my legs and feet are sore from walking. Dad has booked us massages for this evening I'm excited!

Chasing The Sun

Dad and I find it very difficult to sleep aboard the plane. Everything is tightly put together. I try and see out the window, and all I can see is dark clouds beneath me. The room has a slight sanitized smell. The pouch in front of me has a few magazines, they have animation in it which makes it look like its for children. The expensive jewelry in it makes me think not. and dull green slippers. I listen to fireflies on my ipod and David comes to my mind, i miss him. We fly to catch up with the sun. We are flying over Japan. The lights look like white and copper sparkles that have hit the ground. We have flown over Nagaoka, Matsumoto, and Takayama. Oh No! I think somone just vomited!