arriving in thailand felt like coming home.  the air was hot and humid and i instantly felt the need for shorts and flip-flops.  i spent the first couple of days getting settled and buying some necessary beach supplies.   Bankok is a big,  beautiful and modern city, at least in  comparison to what i was used to in china and nepal.  there was, however, a ton of traffic which i could do with out.  the main "to0urist road", ko san, was full of shops selling all sorts of little trinkets, clothes and cheap cd's.  i tried to spend as little time there as possible.

one night a friend and i went to view some tai boxing.  it was inside a stadium, and that night mostly filled with tourists.  the early matches weren't much to go on about.  the boxers were mostly very small and very young.  it got more interesting toward the end and we each picked one of the boxers to win to make it more interesting.   after the first round, and the local gamblers got as sense of what was happening, the betting and yelling began.  from then on each punch, kick or tackle was met with cheers or groans, obviously depending on whom you placed you money.  it got pretty entertaining at times.   in all, it was a cool experience.  only one guy had to be carried off, due to his broken ribs.  you could actually hear them crack!! ouch!!

i had to decide whether to head north and see some mountains, or just spend two weeks at the beach, before i picked up a friend.  while sipping a beer on ko san road, i bumped into a couple of friends i met in tibet, who had been biking around the world for the last year and a half.   they, with very little coercion, convinced me to spend time at the beach. 

i went to ko chang island, which i was told had beautiful beaches and was very quiet.  i was not disappointed!  the beaches were wonderful.  facing west the sunsets were amazing.  i spent most of my days reading and swimming and the nights at a great little place on the beach called nui's.  he had a little hut, with no electricity, but a stereo run by a car battery (my source of tunes for two years in paraguay) and his "momma" in the kitchen cooking up some mean tai and seafood.   it was great to just hang out there, drink a beer or rum and coke, chat with other travelers and stare out over the ocean.

the weather was beautiful the whole time and the water was clear and calm.  swimming was incredible!  it was the first thing i did every morning and i usually managed to get a good long one in every afternoon.  at night you can see the phosphorescent in the water as you walk or take a swim.  they are small organisms that light up when they are disturbed.   very cool!

the bungalows i stayed in at first were rustic but pleasant.  i made a move to some other bungalows later on which kicked ass!  the front of the bungalow faced across a small inlet and some palm tress and  growth on the other side.  the sun set right behind them.  the kicker was that the whole front of the bungalow opened up.  so, you could just sit there or lie in bed and look out over the water, watch the sunset, whatever.   no one else could see in due to the angle.   it was amazing.

for christmas, i cut a small branch off a spruce tree and installed it as the christmas tree for myself and my funny english friend.  she had received a package of gifts from her mother so we had presents under our beautiful tree.   most of her presents were traditional sweets for christmas time in london and she was good enough to share.  yummy!

it was tough to leave the island and again have to worry about the time or even what day it was, but i knew that it wouldn't be long until i was at the beach again.