Wow - we have a story to tell you!

I only have a couple minutes, but the recap looks like this:

1) Mike and Lindsay change travel plans - come home early
2) M&L assume we didn't need to change our Vietnam visas - we are not even leaving the airport
3) M&L show up for flight and are told they cannot go
4) M&L have to buy NEW tickets for later in the dayy (only 2 hours later)
5) M&L get a taxi to drive to the Vietnam Embassy VERY fast
6) M&L get new visas
7) M&L race just as fast back to airport
8) M&L get on new plane

Total cost: $1000 and a LOT of anxiety!

Thank you God for making SO many provisions to allow us to change this flight aand still go home!

Another day of shopping - such a tough life!

(inside MBK - it is 6 stories tall inside)

Yes, as we said in the title, that is ALL we have done today (in addition to watching a movie IN the mall...)

We got to the hotel around 12:15am this morning - our plane was delayed an hour, and then the taxi driver got lost, and it was the last night of celebration for the King's birthday, clogging up all the roads - it was very frustrating!

After going out for dinner, we got back to bed around 2am. Waking up at 8:30, we got ready for the day, ate breakfast, and made a trip to the tailors for a fitting. Everything seemed to going well, so we told him to make a few alterations and we would come by around 7pm for another fitting.

We then left to go to the big mall in Bangkok, MBK. We caught a taxi driver who had a rigged meter, costing us about double what it should have to get there. Once there we started scouring the mall for jeans for Lindsay, shoes for both of us, and anything else we fancied. We came back with a few nice things, albeit they are all knock-offs and not the highest of quality.

After shopping for 4 hours we got tired, and went to a movie - "Couple's Retreat". It was OK, but it was neat being in their VIP theatre - everyone gets their own recliner, drinks, and blankets - such fun!

We had about 2 more hours of shopping once the movie was over until we needed to catch a taxi back to the tailor. We arrived about 7:30, quickly tried on our clothes, and had them mark out a few more alterations we wanted. Everything SEEMS to look quite nice, although we make no claims to the quality of fabric or sewing job that was done - we will simply hope for the best! We both look forward to getting home and going out on a hot date together and wearing our new duds.

Well, tonight is our last sleep in Thailand, so we must be off down Kaoh San Road for one last shopping spree!

Cheers!

A day at the zoo!

( This is a Gibbon Monkey - their arms are almost twice as long as their bodies.)

I know what you're thinking...with me, every day is like a day at the zoo, but seriously - we went to the Chiang Mai zoo and Aquarium.

We went with the English couple we mentioned before, and had a great time. To get into the zoo was 100Baht ($3), and the Aquarium was 420Baht ($14). The zoo was great - we spent all day there, and did so quite easily. We watched a seal show and another animal show, and got to see some pretty cool animals. The zoo itself seems to be quite nice, and the animals seem to be taken care of reasonably, but of course, you always would like to see them in their natural habitat more. Oh yah - Lindsay got kissed by the seal - we hope the photo turned out! Developing those things will sure be an adventure in itself. Reminds me of Forest Gump..."Film cameras are like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get!"

The Aquarium was ok. It was very nice, and well put together, but was too much money for what they had. The aquarium has the largest underwater tunnel in all of Asia. It actually has two tunnels - one for fresh water animals, and one for salt water. Each tunnel is about 65 meters long, and has a conveyor belt that escorts you through it. There were lots of neat animals there, and we even got to see a feeding show with the salt water animals. There were lots of sharks, and even one HUGE one, probably about 9 feet long.

By the end of the day, our feet were very sore - today we will be getting feet massages!

We then went back to our hotel about 6pm, played a game, relaxed, and went out to the night market to do some shopping and eat. This market seems to be far nicer, larger, and just better than any we have seen so far.

For dinner I wanted to go to a burger place, so we stopped at "Mike's Burgers", and indulged. Very good burgers - not just "Thailand good", but actually good. There were not enough fries, and there was too much ice in our cups, but it was a tastey meal.

The shopping at the market lasted for some 4 hours - that's a lot of walking, haggling, and frustration over finding shorts for me. They just don't have any that my large butt and small waist - it's quite frustrating! Lindsay was mostly the one buying things.

We have really be enjoying have tea and pastries together every morning. It is something that we would like to try to continue back home, but maybe once a week on Saturday or Sunday - all husbands would be wise to do something similar! I can't think of a girl that wouldn't want her husband to spend some quiet, quality time with them.

We have some time to kill here, so we might start to work on our Christmas letter. We didn't do one last year, and everyone will be getting it via email, but that is because we are too cheap and despirately care about the environment. He he...

Back from the bush

It seems funny that we would leave Prince George of all places to end up in Thailand sleeping in the bush - doesn't it???

We just got back from a 3 day trek out in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. The trip began with an "elephant trek", which was really just like going around a go-kart track with elephants...not as fun or as "authentic" as we would have liked. The elephants are pretty funny though.

Afterwards we walked through the bush, up a mountain side for a couple hours to a waterfall. The water was a little cold, so no one really swam, but it was nice to stop.

We then had another hour or so walk to our camp for the night. We slept in a large bungalo made for groups to sleep in. It was pretty fun, considering the cold outside (probably 10 degrees or so???) We just had a mat on the floor and a few blankets, so not quite as nice as our North Face sleeping bags back home.

We had a fire, ate dinner, and just talked for hours with all the other people there (2 Ausies, 2 New Zealanders, 2 Greenlanders, 2 English, 2 Dutch, and 1 Belgain. It was a good mix of people, with basically everyone really fluent in English.

Yesterday we woke up, ate, and went out on another 2 hour trek to a village on a steep slope for lunch. After lazing around for a few hours we hiked to another waterfall, and then camped a short distance from there (in another bungalo). One of the Thai guys there (who was drunk) started hitting on one of the lesbians in the group, and she told him off. He then scattered the fire all over the place and stormed off (it was quite something).

This morning we woke up, ate, and hiked back down a hill that was just as steep as the one we hiked up. At the bottom we ate lunch, then went to a river where we rode in bamboo rafts. It was fun.

Now we are back in Chiang Mai, and are heading out for French Cuisine (well, we'll see I guess) in an hour or so.

Back to my previous thoughts, the one guy from England gave both Lindsay and I chance to share a bit about Christianity and our faith - on his asking and questions...we're going to be with them for the next couple days, so we'll see if he wants to follow up that conversation.

We think we're going to go to the zoo tomorrow, and maybe a zipline tour in the treetops the next day. That is not confirmed as it is expensive, but we'll see.

Anyways, we're going to go get ready for dinner, so chat with you all later.

PS - Heather and Colleen, Lindsay wants you to please put her clothes back (as well as Christmas CD's). She would like to see that any shirts, pants, skirts, etc. that need to be ironed are too.

Cheers!

Thoughts of a weary traveller

If the past month has taught me anything, I would have to say one thing is that I love spending time with my wife. Lindsay is a joy to be around, and we have so much fun together.

Today we spent the day exploring the town of Sukhothai. There we so many neat ruins, and we took as many pictures as we thought would turn out. We rented bicycles for the day and just trotted around a few square kilometres of ruins. Lindsay said she felt like she was Anne from Road to Avonlee, and I was some boy she cuts off and falls in the river - I didn't watch the show, but I'm sure the sisters will know what this means :)

The other thing I have learned is that I have much to learn from God. On that note, here are a few things that have been on my heart and mind over the past month (in no particular order - just what is flowing from my heart and mind):

1) Christianity is not about guns, swords, bombs, and tricking and coercing people into following Jesus. True Christianity prays, listens, preaches, and loves people into deciding to follow.

2) God is bigger than my fears, anxieties, short comings, sins, and flaws.

3) I am a wickedly deceitful man at heart. Only by the grace of God can I change and show anything good.

4) Blinking Christmas lights fascinate me.

5) Lindsay and I have and had amazing grandparents. They loved us as unconditionally as humanly possible and had so much fun playing with us. We look forward to seeing our children revel in the love and joy of our parents one day.

6) I will know when I have grasped the grace and love of God when I stop seeing evangelism as "pushing my beliefs onto someone." When this time comes, I will see it as showing love because I will desperately yearn and long for them to come to know Jesus and will ache with pain every minute they do not.

7) I want to be like Dave Fields and Sandy Colero. These two men are men of God. They love him, love people, and seek to share all that they have with others. These men are men who understand grace.

8) I want to be the type of person who others are attracted to. I don't say this with vain conceit, but with the desire that people around me will see me as a source of encouragement and strength, giving to them and upholding them throughout their own times of trials and tribulations.

9) I have been blessed. I have nothing to look on with contempt. I have a wife who loves me; a family who has always spoken wisdom and insight into me; in-laws who have always loved me as their own blood; and a church family that wants to see me grow in Christ.

10) Our pastoral staff (and ALL pastoral staff, of all churches) need our support. Their job is to give. They have been called to give all that God has given them, unselfishly. They have to deal with politics, unhappy people, decent in the congregation, and still are called to preach to the lost and called. We need to love them with all our hearts, and seek to uphold them so that they may complete the task set before them without wavering and faulting. They are human and will make mistakes, but the grace of God allows us and them to overcome these failings and strive for the mark set by Jesus.

11) I haven't led anyone to Christ in almost 5 years. I haven't shared my faith with anyone in just as long. I am ashamed of this, yet know that there is great power that God has available to me to do these things and "make disciples of all nations."

12) Marriage is a blessing. Cherish it. It is the most important calling you have if you are married. If your marriage is in jeopardy, find someone who can lead you in finding resolution. If your marriage is struggling, so will your relationship with God, as marriage is the human example of how Christ loves the church (Christians).

There are so many things that are going through my mind, and I would love to share them with you. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to pray, read my Bible, and listen to sermons by Godly men and women.

If these thoughts sound like foolishness, that is ok. I don't expect all my thoughts to resonate with every person. I would love to talk to you about them, however, and maybe work on number 11 of my list above :)

This may be a bit of a different post, but I thought it would be worth sharing, as all of you are treasured parts of life.

Cheers!

Now in Sukhothai

The last couple days have involved what seems like endless amounts of traveling by boat, van, bus, and train...not to mention the bicycles we used in Ayutthaya yesterday and today!

After we left Bangkok we went to Ayutthaya. It is the old capital of Thailand, and has lots of ancient ruins. The city is actually an island, surrounded by a couple rivers all convening together. The ruins were pretty neat, and we spent the morning and last night on our bicycles riding around, checking things out and taking sweet photos on our awesome camera!

This afternoon we then caught a 6 hour bus ride up to Sukhothai. It is another city that has a lot of ruins, so that will consume tomorrow.

Cheers!

Back in Bangkok

Well, we're back! Only for a few hours, but we're back. Our train up to Authaya doesn't leave until 2:30pm today, so when we arrived at the train station at 6:15am we decided to spend the day in town.

The night train was once again a pleasure :) I quite like it because I can sleep, but Lindsay doesn't like it so much - she is bothered by all the noise.

Getting off the train had us in another predicament - our mosquito repellent exploded in our day bag, effectively covering everything - reservations, bible, sunglasses, magazines, books, everything - with a sticky mess of 27% deet. Both Lindsay and I were ready to blame the other for what happened, but we kept our tongues in cheek and tried to clean the mess.

On a similar note, my new sunglasses broke :o( I'm very sad about this, but we will find another pair somewhere - I'm sure I can hand out another $5 for a pair. Actually, why do they call it a "pair" of sunglasses? I know there are two lenses, but it is only one sunglass...like a pair of pants...who decided to call it this?

We think we might try to buy me a suit today. Suits here are not badly priced, generally around $250 for a custom, good quality, jacket, pants, shirt, and tie. I'm just going to check on Moore's site to see what their prices are, but this seems to be a very good deal. We have a list of a few reputable tailors, so we are going to check them out.

Cheers!

Sporting a hot new disposable camera!

Well, disposable cameras have become the hot new item in and around Thailand now! We purchased our first of probably 3 while here. It is going to be a real pain in the butt, but such is life. Our only hope is that the reps from Pentax get back to our email saying that we can trade in our broken one for a new one somewhere in Bangkok.

We have found that we are very good at wasting hours at a time on the scooter. We try to be good tourists and seek out the cultural experiences, but more often than not we end up on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, or one that seems to be trying to steal our lives away with huge potholes, washed out sections, and ruts that would make any on a BC logging road look small. Today was no exception - we were trying to find the stones that had the Kings of the past few hundred years inscriptions on it - we gave up after a few hours.

We are going back to the beaches we visited our first day here. This will be our last day of beach time as we are leaving to Malaysia now for a VISA run tonight (that in itself is and was an episode of madness!)

We were supposed to leave last night for Myanmar, but the guy who was taking us didn't want to go, so instead we are going to Malaysia today. We wish we would have some more beach time, but apparently Authaya (sp?) and Chang Mai are really nice this time of year. However, this probably means the mosquitoes will be out in full force. We are already nursing a few dozen bites between the two of us.

We will post when we are able to, but probably not for a couple days until we get to Authaya or Sukothai late tomorrow night or the following day.

Love you all!

Such bad news!

Our camera (or as they say in Thai, "camela") stopped working.

We assume that the "waterproofness" of the camera stopped working - we will be chatting with London Drugs about that! Actually, Dad Ray, can you stop in there, or call them, and ask them what the deal is? We just bought it a month ago, still have the receipt, and did not do anything that should have wrecked it or void the warranty - can you check with them about this please? If there is a 30 day warranty we will be pushing it - if you can talk to them ASAP, this might buy us another couple weeks until we return. Mom, if you read this, please ensure that Dad gets this?

We are debating what to do now. Even the cheapest digital cameras are still $150, and why do we want to then be stuck with a piece of garbage? I think we might buy a cheap film camera and then have the film scanned to digital - that would cost us only $30, and then we can toss the sucker when we get home (or keep it as our spare for the future :)

Anyways...

Today was a great day until the camera incident. We scootered around the south coast of the island, and eventually ended up in Haad Rin - this is where they have the very large beach parties here. The beaches are very nice all over the island - it's too bad we were too bothered by our camera to really enjoy them :(

We both wish we could be there to help out with school orders (he he) and to see the Christmas concerts. Lizann, make sure that someone video tapes your trio - we want to see it.

Lindsay also wants me to make note that she misses Dexter - I don't know why - he poops on peoples' floors whenever he can. She also said that she should say she misses Kadie so Colleen doesn't get mad, but she isn't convinced that Colleen reads the blog anyways, so probably no harm no fowl :o)

Anyways, I'm going to wrap this up as Lindsay is currently talking to her mom and dad on the MagicJack. Thanks everyone for keeping us up to date, and we apologize for the lack of video and photos in the future - we will be missing them too.

Cheers!

A Day of Beaches

Yesterday was one of my favourite days of our trip thus far. We began the day at Nira's Bakery, with yummy pastries. Then we began our tour of the beaches. Each one was different but beautiful. We even had a few of the beaches all to ourselves! We were following a self-guided tour in this book we picked up, and in total saw 5 or 6 beaches, each one more beautiful than the one we just left.

Around 1pm we went to this beach called Koh Ma, at the North West point of the island. It is a beach that actually has a sandbar connecting another island to Koh Phangan. I did some snorkelling (Mike didn't as he didn't want to get sick), and I saw this HUGE fish that had like some kind of long nose like a sword fish and it scared me - that's when I decided to head back in!

We also ate lunch there and watched the sunset. It was very beautiful, and we got some great photos.

Mike has already finished one book, and is almost finished a second! He always told me he liked reading as a kid, but hasn't read any books recently unless they were for classes. I have now finished reading two books, and will be looking for a third today.

When we got back to Thong Sala we did some clothes shopping. I have been trying to find a hat and some cute shorts, but have not been able to find what I want in my size yet. Mike got some really hot shirts and shorts.

We also went out to dinner and had an American Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner - it was VERY good! There was turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, vegetables, and for dessert a baked apple and ice-cream. I don't know what they did with the potatoes but they were yummy!

We have decided that when we get back we want to have our small group host a progressive dinner for the pastoral staff. There are a lot of people in our group, and a lot on the Westwood staff, so we will probably have to do it on two nights.

Mike has also been listening to audio sermons by John Piper. He has really been enjoying them. He has been listening to the start of the 3 or 4 year long series on Romans. If you want to download them (or any of his books) you can at www.desiringgod.org.

Why is no one commenting on our blog?! Maybe everyone is jealous and mad at us for being in such a beautiful place. He he he!

I am very happy that I finally found a helmet that fits me properly. All the other times we rented a scooter had to hold it on - my head is too small and they don't have children's helmets!

Sitting in a cute, clean, "French" bakery...

We hopped off the boat on Koh Phangan (pronounced "pan-yham") about 1.5 hours ago. We were supposed to be in a resort on the beach, however, they double-booked, leaving us with no room. They have, however, a hotel only steps from the resort (NOT on the beach though), where they upgraded us to a room with air conditioning...that's a nice upgrade!

We left our room after slowing/cooling down in the room watching the last bit of a movie, and strolled into the town of Thong Sala. We wanted to get some food, but there are so many rickety and risky-looking places along the way that we made it all the way back to the pier before we found this really neat little bakery. Lindsay is currently eating a pineapple lattice, and I'm taking advantage of their free internet.

We are here for 6 nights, although, in the middle of stay, we have to take an overnight boat to mainland Thailand, and then a bus into Myanmar to increase our travel visa...it's a ridiculous process, but it allows us to stay until our plane leaves :)

While we are here we will spending lots of time on the beaches, and we found a map book that has 4 different self-guided tours that you can do if you have a scooter. We might do those for a couple days as it should save us some money and give us some reprieve from the scorching sun.

PS - the hockey tickets are booked - awesome!

Last day in Koh Samui

Today we sat on the beach basically from 9-4 - it was nice, but a lot of sun. We have been trying to stay in the shade as much as possible (we have umbrellas), and drink as much water as we can (bottled water - EVERY place here has bottled water - we think all the locals drink it too).

Mike's stomach is doing much better, although he still has mild stomach and head pains. I don't think it's anything serious, but it does slow him down at times, allowing me to outsmart him and win many card games :)

While on the beach we had another massage - it was nice! We both got oil massages, which is basically what you would expect anywhere in Canada - they have to specify, however, what kind of massage you are getting - you pay a different price for oil, Thai, head and shoulder, foot, etc. massages. Our oil massages were 300 Baht each - that is about $10.

We have made contact with Tyler Crawford in Vancouver, who is graciously going to host us for a day when we return (Dec 12th). That night, coincidently, but not planned, is a Canucks game. And yes...Mike and Tyler are going :) I am going to stay at Tyler's house with his wife Rae and maybe watch a movie and go to bed early.

We also went to Pizza Hut tonight. You would think that being in Thailand would mean that we would be eating lots of the cheaper Thai food - this is wrong thinking. You can only have so many noodles, rice, curry, and fish and oyster sauce - Mike has actually been on a North American diet for a couple weeks now, only occassionally eating Thai food.

We are both SUPER excited for Christmas. I am going to get home and immediately set to work decorating the house and putting a job list together for Michael of all the decorating and lights that he will need to do. Heather, I hope you still have room for making some more Christmas baking! I am currently craving triple-decker squares.

In a couple minutes we will be back in our room drinking alcohol we purchased at 7-Eleven, eating chocolat, and watching TV and playing games for Massages. Mike currently owes me 7 minutes in massages - it was a 4 game back-and-forth battle last night for those 7 minutes!

We love you all!

Koh Samui

We are now on the island of Koh Samui. The weather here has been poor recently, but today was a very nice day from 11am onward.

Lindsay and I rented a scooter again and ripped around the island for the first half of the day. We were trying to find a beach...I know, you're thinking, "you're on an island the size of Prince George - how can you NOT find a beach?!?!" Trust me...it's harder than you think! None of the roads parallel the water, so you have to find back alleys to take you there, or go through a resort to get there.

On Saturday morning - around 5 am - I, Mike, woke up with an incredible migraine, and started puking. We went to the hospital, where I was hooked up on an IV for 30 hours being given electrolytes, antibiotics, and a whole slew of other drugs. It was not a fun day, but I feel OK now. Mom, can you phone Dr. Murray and book me in for an appointment the first day we're back? That would be Monday, December 14th...and yes...Lindsay and I would love to have you pick us up at the airport on Sunday at 10am!

We think I was dehydrated and had a stomach infection, but I think I also have a bug in me...this is ridiculous...

Lindsay's puking - FYI Courtney - we believe was because her first climb was very nerve wracking - the Thai guy was not giving her his utmost attention, making her very nervous.

I got new board shorts, am growing a beard, and have decided that ALL Asians have improved their driving by the time they get to Canada...yes...ALL...

Lindsay just had a pedicure, got new shorts, shirt, sarong, and is growing her nails - I am very proud of her! She plans on coming back with nicely manicured nails.

Cooking and Rock Climbing - not at the same time

The last few days (actually, maybe the last week???) has been quite cloudy, with an ever impending chance of rain at any moment. Because of this, our beach time has been cut short (hopefully we get a bit more sun yet, however, as our tans are, well...weak).

This cloudy but warm weather has given us the option of doing a few things better done with little to no sun - cooking, and rock climbing.

Cooking was a lot of fun. There were three of us - Lindsay and me, and one other girl, who is actually from Victoria! We learned how to make curry paste, a curry dish, spring rolls, stir fry, salad, dessert, and soup. Lindsay and I each chose different dishes to make, however, so we could cover as much ground as possible. There is rumor of Lindsay and I hosting a Thai night when we get back...

Today we went rock climbing for the morning - that was more than enough time! Our arms were very tired, Lindsay puked (yet still did two more climbs after), and Mike climbed a few very high cliffs. We tried uploading some photos and video, but our camera died while uploading photos - hopefully tomorrow...

We will be doing another island tour by speed boat tomorrow, so wish me luck!

A major change in plans...for the good!

Lindsay is pregnant, so we're coming home early.

Ha ha ha...not TOTALLY true...

The trip has been going great - Lindsay and I have been loving it! We have had the chance to do some amazing snorkeling, boat trips, food eating, and enjoy massages on the beach too!

We have decided, however, to cut our trip shorter than we originally anticipated, as we realize that a month long trip will be plenty of time to be away from home :)

Shortening our trip will also allow us to continue to do many of the activities above, which we have thoroughly enjoyed.

We will now be coming home December 13th, and are actually looking forward to getting home for Christmas - it turns out that we are both homebodies! (not to mention we both like the luxuries that money buys, and when you buy many of those luxuries your money can dwindle faster :-)

Anyways, we have been tossing this idea around for the past week (yes, the trip is only a couple weeks long), but we thought that it would be a better decision to come home earlier, and we are both comfortable and at peace with this decision.

We will be "living it up" for the next 3 weeks, which we plan on enjoying greatly - we should come home very relaxed!

Cheers!

NEWS FLASH - NEGOTIATIONS HAVE COMMENCED

After a long standoff between the lower intestine and the urethra, headway may have been made.

Although there are no official reports or confirmations, one spokesperson for both parties had the following to say, "We're confident that trade talks will lead to a resolution. For almost 2 weeks the lower intestine has tried to steal the exports of the urethra, and take a monopoly on all bodily excretion. We are pleased to say it seems to show weekness now in this stance, realizing that it is better suited to deal with raw solid exports, not liquid."

With this recent progress we hope that there will soon be a resolution, where the urethra will have full control of all liquid excrements, and the lower instestine the solid.

From Koh Lanta, Thailand, Michael Ray.

Lindsay appologizes for me...ha ha ha...

A day of loveliness

A great day!

We woke up around 8:30, got up, took our scooter out for a rip (Lindsay wants me to call it a "motorbike") got breakfast, explored, and got massages on the beach. Now to elaborate...

It was bright and sunny, and a great morning to cruise the island. Mike loved the scooter - he wants to get one, and I'm starting to feel more comfortable on them too.

We had an "American" breakfast, which is basically toast, eggs, and "sausage" (a hotdog), and "ham" (Spam).

We drove down to the bottom of the island and got very expensive massages from a resort down there (about 400 baht per person, or $13 for an hour). We can find them all over for about 200 baht, but we really wanted one, and it was a nice place...a VERY nice place :)

We then came back to our basecamp, where Mike relaxed inside, and I went to the beach huts to read, watch the chained monkey, sleep, and finish off 3/4 of a can of Pringles.

We then went out for dinner, and now we're going to go get our drinks, maybe by a tub of ice cream, and sit out in the beach bungalos.

Love you all!

We are finally out of the room!

Mike's stomach felt well enough today to get out, at least momentarily - I got REAL sick of the food at the place we were staying - I say that it is suspect and probably the reason Mike is sick again!

We rented a scooter...a little nerve racking, but Mike seems to be doing OK at it - I have to keep reminding him to slow down though.

We are just at an internet cafe in town for a couple minutes and thought to make a quick post - the video is from our snorkling trip.

Sitting in the room the past couple days we have watched quite a few movies - Poseidon, Baby's Day Out, Home Alone 3, The Island, Murder by Numbers. We are tired of watching movies, but it's hard to do anything else when you're stuck inside!

The weather is beautiful here, although it seems to POUR rain every night - I guess it is nice during the day, though, which will *hopefully* allow us to enjoy the next couple days.

We are definately jealous of Heather and Adam enjoying mommy's food - it would be a pleasant change in pace to have dinner with you all tonight :(

Has anyone started Christmas baking or decorating yet??? I know I would be already done the decorating if I was home :)

Missing chocolate cake and bread and butter

Hi everyone!

We are now on Koh Lanta - another island about 1 hour from Koh Phi Phi (East). It is less busy, and the weather has turned slightly cooler and more stormy. We are staying right on the beach, although this beach is rocky not sandy.

We sprung for an air conditioned room because, surpise, Mike is sick again - it's a good thing we have it with all the time we have spent inside! I'm not sure if it is the food or our pills making him sick. I must have a better immune system or something, maybe it's because I bite my nails!

Last night there was a huge storm with thunder, lightening, and piles of rain. We stayed inside our room and watched a movie.

We were hoping on renting a scooter today to go around the island on, but with the combination of the weather and Mike's health we are going to wait another day.

The pictures/video we posted are from Koh Phi Phi and our snorkling trip.

Heather and Courtney Mike has now started reading "A Prisoner of Birth" too! I'm almost finished. Miss you guys. You'll be gald to know that on this trip I'm actually keeping up on my journal.

What's the weather like in PG? Is our home being looked after? How is your suite coming Heath?

Please keep praying that Mike's stomach adjusts to Thailand - it might turn into a very long trip otherwise!

A Day Snorkling...with mixed results!

Firstly, we saw some amazing things and had a good time. No regrets.

It is just too bad that in order to spend a full day snorkling you need to spend a full day on the water...does anyone remember how motion-sick Mike can become??? Today was no exception - he is still trying to recover from Montizuma's Revenge at both ends, 3 hours later.

We forgot to bring our camera cord with us so we wont be able to post any photos tonight - maybe tomorrow.

Love you all!

Banana Pancakes

The search is over!

After days on end of searching for Banana Pancakes, Lindsay found them! They are kind of a deep-fried crape with banana slices folded up in it, and chocolate drizzled on top. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find such a thing...many "American" pancakes were ordered with bananas on top until we found the right mix!

Ko Phi Phi is where we are now, and it is beautiful. We are kind of in a jungle-village setting, which is really nice, but it is really hot - we have no AC from this point forward! That's what happens when you are on a budget.

Tomorrow we have booked an all day snorkling trip, from 10:30-6:30. I'm guessing that I am going to get sick (as I have no tolerance for bobbing up and down and side to side), but it should be fun.

Lindsay says that we had a wonderful hike...I'm still not too sure - the top was nice, as you can see from the photos - but it was a SWEATY hike up a steep hill. I'm sure I am going drop a few pounds while gone...

Thanks, everyone, for your comments - it is nice to hear from home! Oh, and Heather, Lindsay is halfway through the book.

While in Phuket I did end up going to the doctor. Apparently I'm bloated. I've been given a shot of some kind and some pills for antacid. I seem to be doing better, but still sore at times.

Last night I went for a walk to the Real Estate office in Phuket while Lindsay wrote in her journal. In that short walk there I was solicited by 3 prostitutes...apparently I am a "handsome man" and one girl was going to "give free massage for you!" Anyways, back to Real Estate, it's not a bad a setup. I've told Lindsay that once we find an extra $100k we will be buying a place here...anyone want to get in on that action and pool some money together?!?!?!

While in Phuket we paid to use beach chairs and an umbrella - totally worth it! Lindsay was very fond of this because it was like you had your own little servant boy to come setup your umbrella, move it as the sun moved, get us drinks and food, and even dust the sand off your chair when you got sand on it...Queen Lindsay was very pleased!

Loving Phuket!

After a day on the beach we do have mild sunburns - it is WAY too hot here!

We sprung for the umbrella chairs yesterday - and we will again today - because it is far too hot otherwise!

A couple quick things as our internet time is costly here:

1) Prostitutes - far too many, and even more nasty old white guys looking to pick them up

2) "Ladyboys" - yuck!

3) Smells - yes, they dump their dump into the sewer that permeates every sidewalk.

4) Cost - not as cheap here as Bangkok - money doesn't go as far

5) Beaches - yowsers! They are nice!

6) Food - awesome

7) Sun - very hot - very nice!

We don't have much to report after a day laying on the beach, so maybe tomorrow we'll have more to add.

Love you all!

Now in Phuket

So, we made it - it was a longish trip, but sleeping on the train was dandy!

It is gorgeous here, but it's almost too hot! We will have some photos on our next post, but we don't have much time left on our internet (it is expensive here!)

We are actually staying at Patong Beach, which is apparently THE tourist area to go to...certainly seems like it! It is very busy, and everything is more expensive here than what we have seen yet. The beach is beautiful, and the water is nice. We are going to try to go swimming this afternoon and see some sun.

We're trying to avoid going to the doctor about Mike's stomach as we don't want to spend our holiday there, so we have emailed good 'ol uncle Gary - MD - to see if he can help troubleshoot. Mom, Dad, can you check in with him if we don't hear back soon???

Love you all, and we'll post pictures soon.

PS - our room here is sweet! Much better than the gross closet we stayed in for the first 3 nights.

PPS - Lizann, it is about 32Baht to $1 CAD.

A lot has happened in such little time

Lindsay at the floating market:


Mike's thoughts on the floating market:

This is where we stayed on Friday night - that's right - it's on the river!

Lindsay at Erawan Falls in fall #5:


Erawan Falls - between #4 and #5:

So...lots went on in the last 36 hours! We went on a 2 hour bus (with AC, thankfully) to the floating market, to the SE of Bangkok - I can't remember the name of the place. It was really neat, but DEFINATELY only exists because of the tourists. Worth seeing.

After that we went to the Bridge Over the River Kwai (apparently there is a movie based on this???) and saw that. There was a war museum there too that we saw, and wow was it run down - it could have been an exhibit in its own museum! I guess that's what happens sometimes in Thailand. Not worth seeing.

From here we took another bus trip to the Tiger Temple - we highly DO NOT recommend seeing it. It was neat to see and pet the tigers, but that was about it and there was a couple hours that we were there. Of course to have a "special" photo with the tiger you have to pay 1000 Baht - that's like $33. The "non-special" photos we got turned out fine.

From here we went to the place on the river where we were staying. It was really cool - we had dinner on a restaurant on the river, took a 15 minute speed boat (Thai version) up the river to our "hotel" and stayed there. There is a picture above, and believe it or not, I think it was nicer than the place we stayed in Bangkok - which I say again was a whole.

Lindsay and I took it easy, played a game of San Juan, and went to bed around 8:30. It was really hard too, however, as a few of the other people there decided to have a party with our tour guides. We wanted to join them, but we have already spent enough money and couldn't justify spending a few hundred baht on drinks.

We woke up this morning at 6, packed up our stuff, ate breakfast, and took off for an hour long bus ride to Erawan Falls. It was amazing! Neither of us had ever seen anything quite like it. It would have been really cool to have a bit more time there (we had 3 hours), and to have time to pack a picnic, but alas, we were on a schedule and couldn't. GO THERE - it costs 200 Baht per person, but worth it.

We then went back to the guide outfit and ate lunch, and caught a bus to Nahkon Pathom, which is where we are now. We have a 4 hour wait before we catch our train to Surai Tani (sp???) It is an overnight train, afterwhich we catch a bus to Phuket.

Anyways, time to go, but we will report back later.

Cheers!

PS - Mike's stomache is in turmoil with what we assume is the Malaria pills. It is causing unbelievable cramps and pain...nothing else...just pain...

Have to make it quick!

Well, we have a 2 day tour up to the Tiger Temple and Floating market (near Erawen Falls) that we will be leaving for any second - we have arranged to be picked up.

We may or may not have internet for the next few days, so there is a good chance you won't hear anything about us for a few days until we can get to Phuket.

Last night we hung out with Mike and Kelly - a couple from Whistler - and had some amazing food at a restaurant near by. They are heading down to the beaches for a couple days and then into Cambodia, so we will probably miss them. Maybe our paths will cross down the road!

Anyways, got to go - this might be the last non-squat toilette I get to use for a while :)

A 45' golden Buddha...something else!

Last night we went to a festival at the Golden Mountain - I seriously think that half of Bangkok was there! My nose has never been so assaulted in my entire life - I imagine that sticking my head in a truck stop toilette might have been better in some instances.

Don't worry about people stealing from us - we play it as safe as possible, and try to use as much common sense as we can - you can't ask us to do more :)

Tomorrow we head to the floating market and a tiger tour and some waterfalls - the Erawen falls???? This will be the start of the travels for us - this is where we leave Bangkok and head out into the more rural places...we won't be sorry to leave! Seriously...it stinks bad!

We are fighting colds right now - don't worry - NOT FLU! Mostly congested and sneazing - we are taking some drugs now to try to beat this before we leave, but I don't think the pollution here is helping.

Cheers!

Bombing around Bangkok

So after breakfast - which, by the way was quite nice - we went out on the town. We walked through a sketchy alley, up a set of stairs, and into a restaurant/lounge that serves as a portal to Kao San Road (sorry for the spelling). We then started walking and were eventually approached by a Thai man who started talking to us. He was travelling from Chaing Mai in Bangkok and told us the "ropes". What a great guy to meet right off the bat!

We did a few touristy things around town - saw a few temples, a fish farm, etc. and then went to the TAT (Thailand Authority of Tourism) and booked our next 36 days travel and hotels etc. through them. We will be going all over the country and seeing all sorts of places. I do think it was more expensive than us doing it on our own, but we have more security and peace of mind.

Anyways, I haven't actually seen this video (the computer I'm at is not up to date), so I hope it's worth watching.

Cheers!

We're here!

So we made it after a very LONG couple of flights, layovers, and confusion with a taxi driver who didn't speak English...at all!

We haven't ventured beyond our "hotel" - I use the term loosly - but we will be in about 13 minutes when our internet runs out.

We have attached a couple of photos that we have taken so far.

We are doing well, albeit a little sick...note to self...don't take anti-malarials on an empty stomach - it may lead to throwing up.

Snow fall...gross...

Well, the first snowfall is upon us, and we couldn't be leaving soon enough...see you later Prince George.

Getting Ready

A little more than a week to go before we leave and we have already spent almost $5000! Our shots alone have cost us $1300. We should now be invincible. We got Twinrix (hep A&B), Japanese Encephalitis, Typhoid/Diphtheria and Tetnus. We have also purchased our Malaria pills and Ducerol. It's hard to believe that we need all this for a safe trip to SE Asia.

We are getting excited and a little nervous as the trip approaches. It's hard to believe it's almost here. Mike is extremely busy trying to get all his work tied up and I have been TOCing lots, but soon we will be relaxing on the Thai beaches.