ne of the stops) and two characters get pretty mauled so we were concerned(haha)…He assured us that no mauling is on our schedule …Well he was correct with the no mauling but the no sharks was a bit of a fallacy. I believed him until I came face to face with my first shark in the water. Lucky for me, it seemed more scared of me than me of it…It wasn’t too big…maybe 3 feet….to compensate for my minor heart attack in the water, I ate shark for dinner last night! The Islands are so beautiful…there are huge rock formations that jet up out of the water up to 500′( I wanted to try rock climbing but Peter didn’t want us to …he said there were a few accidents last group…I heeded his advice and stayed on shore!).. Think of the James Bond movie “Goldfinger”

l met this woman from Canada, Emily…she’s 23…graduated from college at 15…she’s on a 4 1/2 month trip through Asia…She has taken 4 1/2 months every year for the last 4 to travel alone…She is quite brave for someone so young…she got mugged and pretty banged up in Vietnam…she told me her favorite place was Siem Reap in Cambodia, which is my next stop next Saturday…she gave me some great tips…traveling through Asia is unlike traveling anywhere else I’ve been…The people traveling are all on some kind of mission, whether it be the twentysomethings capturing one last adventure before settling down…the over fifty crowd recapturing the hippy days(or maybe they never left!)…or mid age people(like myself..ugh,midage!)taking stock of life and grabbing a bit of freedom without any responsibility…Regardless, the feel is very freeing…Everyone seems to just be in one mindset on different missions…it’s an odd phenom. I’m glad to have had a chance to experience it…

Peter took us to a bar the other night(called the “Rolling Stoned”)…It was very reminiscent of Hemingway’s REAL bar in Key West and is a great outdoor bar…very tropical…the band played mainly 70’s music…Thai bands are very funny…They are surprisingly good and their humor is hysterical…I think they’ve seen too many American Movies…Actually, I’ve noticed that the Thai humor is quite funny…They are a riot…

We leave for Lanta Island today…can’t wait…heard it was quite a nice Island…Phi Phi is OK but a bit too crowded…The other 2 Americans and I have suddenly become Canadian in Phi Phi and especially Lanta…Peter said it would be better…Emily, the Canadian gave me some Info on my new hometown, Victoria BC. (-:

The weather has gotten beautiful so the Islands are even prettier…This life of leisure is quite enticing…l recommend a good Thai vacation to anyone…the prices are cheap and the people are great…Emily from Canada has traveled on 2 1/2 grand for 4 1/2 months and has money left!!!!  The place I’m staying at is 18.00 and quite nice…no air conditioning(10.00 more) but you don’t need it…It’s plenty nice with sea breezes and a fan…The cold showers are still a bit of a shock…you’d think I’d be used to it…In Nepal, they were luke warm and then on the trek I had 1 very cold shower in thirty degree temp outside the whole time I was camping…

Well I’m off again for my daily Thai Massage.