Quite a while ago, I planted the idea with Vanessa that she should come to Thailand for some dental work she's been putting off. A few months later, having secured a week off from work, V was actually here! The visit was much too short as far as I'm concerned, but it was great to have her here. (I'll try and work on some pictures later...)

We got a recommendation from a friend on a good dentist in Phuket: Ruadee at Dent Smile. Within a few hours of arrival a very jet-lagged Vanessa found herself in the chair, well on her way toward a couple of crowns. Disoriented? Maybe. On a day off from dentistry, we went on a snorkeling trip to the Kai Islands. The coral wasn't much to look at, but there were tons of fish, greatly encouraged by the fact that the guides were feeding them. We stopped at one snorkel spot, and two tiny little islands with gorgeous sandy beaches and row upon row of beach chairs. We got a little sunburned. After several appointments, we finally finished up both our teeth. I had a few fillings, and V had more than a few. We had a big night out to celebrate. An Irish Pub, a cranky lesbian bartender, some very strange eyes, a live Thai-pop-cover music joint, and late-night noodles added up to an interesting night on Phuket town.

The next day we fled for the P&T Kata Guesthouse (always great to be back there) off Kata Beach, and two days of beach umbrellas and fun in the waves. I had no idea V was such a big body-surfing enthusiast - good times, and sand everywhere. Too soon it was time to head for the airport. We headed in for aloe massage treatments ("OK... he not real man"), then a quick pack-job and she was gone.

Labels: dentist, Phuket, Thailand

Ron and Pat's Thai tour is finally underway! They rolled into Phuket last weekend, and we all spent a couple of days in Kata lounging under our beach umbrellas, enjoying the very nice pool at their hotel, and drinking decorative fruity drinks. The guys were burning up the backgammon board, and only getting slightly sunburned in the process.

Rolling directly from there into little Kuraburi must have been a little bit of a shock, but everyone seems to be adapting well. We got to hang out with the NATR crew before they took off for a fun/work retreat, and it was good for Ron and Pat to meet all the crazy kids Trevor's been working with. We were also happy to treat them to some real Thai food - considerably cheaper than Phuket options, and a lot yummier.

On Wednesday we went with Andaman Discoveries into the village of Ban Talae Nok. Trevor has been out there a lot as the program has been developing, and it was really great for him to watch the community members warming up and getting more involved with visitors, as well as seeing us have such a great time. We drove along the beach and were given a run-down on the tsunami damage, and the rebuilding process. Back at the new community center, we got to meet some members of the soap-making committee, and make our own soap strings. It was neat to see how the ladies have been able to come together and make some supplemental income for the village. Our tour guide, Tui, did a great job of translating back and forth so that we could ask questions and joke around with them.

The villagers who participate in the homestay program rotate, so each home has a chance to play host and the money is more evenly distributed. A woman named Maria cooked us a tasty fish/veggie/rice lunch at her house, and then she and a couple of the ladies helped fit Pat and Tui and I out in headscarves. It was a hot day, and the extra headcovering made it that much hotter! I suppose the ladies must get used to it, though. After lunch we learned how to make roti - a kind of traditional fried bread/pancake. We weren't super-smooth like our instructor, but it was fun. We finished the day off with a row in the mangroves before saying goodbye and driving off into the sunset.

Thursday we went out "fishing" with Bau, a fisherman friend of ours. We only did a little bit of fishing (he said the water wasn't very good for fishing - in terms of tide changes or clarity) but we did get in some primo beach and snorkeling time on a lovely little island. A quick tropical shower on the way in left us completely drenched, and Bau's mom considerately offered us some hot coffee and biscuits to help warm up.

Friday we followed up some fantastic Dim Sum breakfast with a bit more beach time closer to Kuraburi. Very lazy, with books and backgammon. Back in Kuraburi Pat and I both had lovely Thai massages (!) followed by Som Tam dinner with Jeab. Today we did a fairly rough hike up to some gorgeous rock pools on the river. Ron and Pat were troopers on the hike in... Ron came out as the grand champion with 9 leaches! Yay Ron! We were all in agreement that the destination more than made up for any hardships along the way, and we spent a pleasant couple of hours swimming, resting, and sliding around on the rocks before hiking back out.

Tomorrow morning we're off to the Surin Islands for some more great snorkeling, and then we'll be at Koh Phra Tong for yet more beach time. So far team Kostanich has been up for the Thailand challenge, but can they handle another week of sand and sun? I'm guessing yes.

Labels: hiking, Kuraburi, Phuket, sustainable tourism, Thailand

It's always difficult to tell how much media coverage anything is getting back home, but we're assuming that yesterday's military takeover of the Thai government didn't completely escape notice in the US of A. For the record: we're completely fine, and no one here seems remotely worried about it. We've only been here a couple months, and won't even pretend we understand Thai politics, but I'll have a go at the nutshell version of what's going on.

Thaksin - the current (now previous, I guess) prime minister - has been steadily losing public support for quite some time. All the usual complaints about corruption are joined by accusations that he's not capable of / interested in any kind of real resolution for the "unrest" in Thailand's southernmost three provinces, among other things. Protests and massive public outcry for his resignation went unheeded, and the military stepped in to show him the door. None of the Thais we've talked to seem overly upset, dismayed, or even surprised by the turn of events, despite international grumbling about the state of democracy in the country. The major international news sources seem to have done a pretty good job of covering the particulars.

There is one important element in the equation that's really difficult to understand from afar: the Royal Factor. The Thai public (everyone from rural farmers to educated professionals) are extremely devoted to the King. As far as I know, his actual, official power is quite limited, but he commands a remarkable level of respect from politicians and public alike. While he doesn't seem to have much in the way of direct political aspiration, what he says pretty much goes. For those of us from a very anti-monarchy country like the US, there's a sort of built-in resistance to the idea of royals as a good thing, but Thailand's King seems to be exactly what a monarch in a perfect world should be: fair, altruistic, and totally devoted to his country. He really cares about his people and has founded innumerable programs and public works to make life better. He's earned the respect he gets. A mark of the King's continuing popularity can be seen in every store and on most of the Thai population - yellow polo shirts bearing the King's insignia are THE thing to wear right now, in all sectors of society, and yellow "long live the King" bracelets modeled on the Livestrongs are also extremely popular. A version of the "King shirt" in blue - the "Queen shirt" - is also seen everywhere, and is equally supportive of the royal family.

The Thai political rumor-mill foretold that Thaksin's marginally King-critical remarks would hasten his exit, and it looks like that may have been a factor. He's been accused of being disrespectful to King and Country, and that doesn't fly here. Conversely, the King's purported support of the coup (he's supposedly quite close to those responsible for the takeover) will have a major impact on public support for the new leadership.

So. Political turmoil and turnover aside, we're at the brink of some major decision-making here ourselves. I have two job offers on the table thus-far, in a province we weren't even looking at very seriously. We've been focusing on Phuket a lot, mostly because we got very excited about the outdoor recreation possibilities here (surfing, snorkeling, etc) and the ease of living. A couple of possibilities down in Songkhla province have piqued our interest, however, and brought us back around to much more of a Thai immersion experience. We spent a couple of days in the area interviewing, and while we wouldn't exactly be able to go snorkel after work, there are a good number of opportunities for beaches, jungles, islands, mountains and waterfalls within a few hours' public transport or drive. We're intrigued. Which leaves Trevor in a bit of a quandary: the area isn't exactly tourism/conservation central, so it might be a lot more difficult for him to find something in these desired areas. Some possibilities might be for him to take a volunteer position he's been excited about up in Khuraburi (small town on the northern portion of Thailand's Andaman coast, which would put us 10 hours via bus apart for a few months) or take up teaching himself (an idea he's been toying with for a while). Or we might be sucked in by Phuket yet. Employers are waiting on decisions, so we'll have to make up our minds quite soon. Like, by Friday.

With the government more or less suspended, schools are shut down for the day, nixing our plans for resume drop-offs (getting a teaching job here involves some good-old-fashioned pavement pounding) and giving us a lovely sunny day with little choice but to head to the beach. Darn. We had a great afternoon of swimming and volleyball yesterday (no net? No problem!) and hoping for surf today.

Labels: coup, Phuket, Thai King, Thailand, Thaksin

Well, here we are, in the one and only place in Thailand we intended not to see..."oh of course we won't go to Phuket, that is exactly opposite of what we are looking for on our journey." Hmmm, what close-minded stubborn vagabonds we once were. Not that we are sold on Phuket yet, but it is very nice and could deliver the cake we want while also granting us the luxury to eat it.

I got here about a week and a half ago - got bored in Ban Phe and had researched that there is consistent surf this time of year in Kata (southwest side of Phuket Island). Showed up early morning at the door of Phuketsurf.com where the owner Newt hooked me up quickly. When I asked about a recommendation for budget accommodation, she asked me if 200 Baht (<$6) would do. This was well below my desired cost, so I asked if I could see the room (always wise when budget traveling in these parts of the globe). She put me on the back of her motorbike and a couple minutes later I was observing a room cleaner that most any Em & I had stayed in thus far, plus all the basic amenities. She then told me about the BBQ her restaurant does Tuesday (that night) and Friday nights. This is basically a gathering place for surfers to get their all you can eat protein fix plus listen to good tunes while surf flicks are playing on the screen (and it just so happens to be across the street from the hotel she referred me to). Her and her sister Ying's surf shop is right on the south end of Kata beach, adjoining a very tasty Thai restaurant, and basically where I spent my first week (when not in the water). The surf community here is super friendly. Because it is not an international surf destination, the vibe is far from agro and very kind. I spent my first few days hanging out with a Thai boxing duo training in Pattaya. Boris (from Germany) had surfed a bunch in France & Spain and talked his boxing partner, Art (from northern Thailand) to visit Kata with him to learn to surf. Great guy and due to his boxing endurance, Art could paddle most all day - impressive. In the water, there are typically a small group of local Thai surfers, local expats, then visiting European surfers who were happily surprised to find that there is some surf here. There was a large group here from Malaysia who come up a few times during the southwest monsoon season to bask in Thailand waves...then surf their east coast during the northeast monsoon (November - February). The waves here are better after storms and thus the swell has gotten smaller and smaller the last six days as it has been sunny and hot. With small and friendly waves (and warm turquoise waters), I have finally started to figure this tough sport out (and people know I have spent lots of time trying) and been improving my success rate at dropping in from about 1 in 25 when I arrived to a still an unboastable 1 in 3. But catching way more waves. Even more importantly, it is just great to be back amongst a community that thrives on sharing outdoor experiences and a deep love for mother nature's rawness. I have also met somebody not only from Seattle, but from North Bend, and who spent many of his younger years working at the ski hill. This was before my time in the office so we didn't know each other. Vince is a passionate snowboarder, been learning surfing this last year here, and also happens to be teaching English here on Phuket. So, basically a fantastic resource for us plus a fun guy to be in the water with (although he keeps wanting to talk snow and I'm telling him I'm away from that for a bit!) So with this great community, it has been easy to ignore the materialistic/consumption center of Phuket's tourism. Sure it is here, but with it comes Thai people who speak English and we can actually have a conversation with. While I am learning Thai, it is tough to learn too much about somebody in the way they direct you to the bathroom. There are also some nice luxuries easily available here but once you go inland a couple kilometers, you are amongst typical Thai village living. Em arrived a couple days ago and is also enjoying the scene. We are not totally sold on Phuket yet as we have some good contacts/leads in other parts of Thailand that we are going to further investigate these next couple weeks. These range from the cush experience described here on Phuket to encouraging community based tourism amongst small Andaman coast villages and some things in between. It is still early on the leads but things do happen surprisingly quick here. We are feeling some of that stress and know that soon we will be making a decision that will affect the next year of our lives, if not a lot longer. But we also know they are all great opportunitites and all will have many benefits!

On this note, we have made a leap back into contemporary communications and bought a cell phone yesterday! The first privileged call recipient was my brother on a satellite phone in Alaska. He is continuously amazed at the size of trout they pull in up there (31 inches not being uncommon) and was stoked to hear that his brother is surfing. This phone is primarily for our work endeavors but we would love to hear friends and families voices if they feel like calling. Our number is 09 7237241, and the country code for Thailand is 66.

We will keep people posted as these next couple weeks will be exciting not only for finding work projects but will include some tropical fun as soon this early retirment may be put on pause!

Labels: Phuket, surfing, Thailand