things that have shocked, scared, amazed, tired, or made my stomach all wonky since i have returned to the west...

-sooooooooooooooo many white people!-how groups of people who travel in large groups seem to drop in invidicual iq about 30 points (airport observation, mostly in new york)

-skin, when not protected by a tropical climate, needs lotion. lots of it.

-in restaurants in north america, one receives enough food to feed a thai family for a week. and then, when not finished, one asks for a box for the unfinished food and proceeds to order dessert

-driving is increasingly difficult when the rules are actually enforced

-just because it is on sale doesn't mean it is cheap

-cheese does a number on your stomach when you haven't eaten it in six months

-mom's brownies are better now. absence makes the heart grow fonder

-my mind is occupied with how to put my family in a box so they can come back with me

-i have seriously been considering how long i want to stay in thailand now. being here, i miss my family so much

-problems seem so small from here. you want to move to spain with my boyfriend? why not? i have free baileys and clothes that are fuzzy and fit.

-people here don't know how lucky they are to have all the comforts they have. to not even have to think that there might not be a toilet that works...now that's charm

-new england is possibly the mose beautiful place on earth, (well, that and phuket)

-did you know in autumn the leaves change colors? oh the things i was beginning to forget

-my mum will always smell the same. why can't they bottle that?

-my brother, six years my junior is now 6'2". compared to my 5'6", he is a monster. i enjoy hugging him

-knives are a useless piece of silverware. give me a spoon and a fork, i can do anything

-book stores make me happy

-everything works here! it's amazing! no broken anything! (except hearts and wallets...of course.)

-i think i will be ready to go back after my two week holiday here. but for now, it is making me smile so much it hurts

visions of the wat 

big big buddha, sticks his head through the trees 

a real wat (temple.) none of that "wat chalong" business, this place is for meditation and real live buddhists, not just the ones they want you to see in photos. on the left is where the monks meditate, and on the right where the nuns meditate. quite a peaceful environment a little bit out of town up a mountain 

spirit house: these little houses on sticks (not birdhouses) are found all over thailand, offering various objects to buddha. these may include the following: rotten fruit, fresh fruit, fruit no one likes, incense, bizarre half-finished bottles of fanta, wrappers from finished food and other objects. as far as offerings go, i think they could do a little better. nevertheless, beautiful to have these little houses pop up all over the place 

phuket town from the top of rang hill 

quang, the wicked librarian...good friend at school 

small blue sign reads: "english program by stamford." i am one quarter of stamford. 

my street, on my motorbike 

i caught the sucker (and set him free. oh the humanity) 

gecko hunting in the shower (as you can imagine, i was not impressed) 

smiles at shanti lodge 

cheeky mojitos 

peaceful sunset 

crazy thai man (tommy) 

caroline (to my left) and her friends visiting from england 

view of the west coast of the island 

rawai calmness 

tommy 

slightly senile

i do believe that airports can kill a human.

here i sit in bangkok international airport with air con so cold my nipples are now inverted. my flight is at 7am, it is now 136 am, so i sit here, in solitude, listening to a rather irritating french man speak rotten chinese quite loudly, and the 'tap tap tap' of typing on chic keyboards.

bangkok, even the airport, makes me sad. there is so much here that doesn't belong. i was just outside getting out of the damn aircon when i saw a pick up a la phuket backroads filled with fruit being dumped into this airport, though in rough shape, quite futuristic for the rustic thai.

people speaking thai, people speaking english. english people speaking thai, thai people speaking english. german people speaking german (can they do anything but?). thais chit chit chattering and farangs eating. shocking, i know.

well, 15 minutes for 75baht seems like a deal, however, being 20 baht for 60 minutes in the real world (please ignore the fact that i am calling phuket 'the real world.' it is 141am, and i am alone and cold.) i feel like i am being ripped off like, well...a farang.that's all for now.

i look forward to the cartoon like world of narita airport. japan entertains me.

bisous

heatah