tan is fading...

while my tan fades, i think i should write down some highlights of the trip while they are still fresh in my mind. so here they are in no particular order:

- Railey Beach, Krabi
- Snorkeling in and around the Phi Phi Islands.
- Getting comfortable crossing the street in Chang Mai, and Bangkok for that matter
- Enjoying Jackie's magic tricks at his outdoor converted VW bus bar in Chang Mai.
- The overnight train to Chang Mai.
- Lounging in my hammock on Pha-ngan napping, reading, and watching the waves and the pick-up volley ball game between the local Thais working at the resorts and the (mostly male) western travellers staying on the beach.
- Margaret Atwood's "The Blind Assassin" which held my interest and attention for 4 different cities and which i was sad to finish.
- Ordering, eating and finishing spicy papaya sala and having the Thai waitress, without fail, say with eyebrows raised, "spicy?"
- Using a tuk tuk on my own and negotiating the price.
- Hoping onto (into?)a swangtaou bus/taxi with confidence.
- The Thai cooking class (i promise a thai dinner party soon, but i need a little break from thai food...).
- Seeing the stars from Ao Thong Nan Pai on Koh Pha-ngan.
- Ordering and eating then BBQ snapper on Ao Thong Nan Pai
- Rathana's Kitchen in Chang Mai (restaurant).
- Old hill-tribe villager showing us magic tricks with the full moon behind him.
- Taking the Chao Praya river water taxi and the canal water taxi in Bangkok.
- Learning what a Gecko sounds like and then being able to say - "hear that? That's a Gecko." First they make a noise that sounds like they're clearing their throats like they are about to make a speech, and then Ge - cko!.... Ge - cko! ... Ge - cko!
- drinking coffee on the lovely grounds of Edible Jazz cafe while butterflies hover by.
- Ang Thong Marine National Park -- kayacking under the rock cliffs, seeing the Emerald Pool of water completely surrounded by towering cliffs, and then hiking up to the magnificent viewpoint - worth the price of admission, but getting there was also fantastic and self- satisfying!
-The interesting, varied, inspiring people that I met: Sara and Astrid, the German girls (actually women would be more like it) who i first met on the over night train to C.M. and then again in Pai; Til, the wierd German guy studying Thai in C.M.; Dean, English guy i met on the bus to Pai (who in addition to traveling for over a year all over southeast asia, had spent about 3 weeks meditating at Doi Suthep temple and was on his way for another 10 days); Rob, another Brit who I met at Jackie's bar; Zoe & Damien, English couple who I met only briefly on the bus from Pai to CM had spent 3 months in India and were on thier way to Laos; Usha & Jeff, English couple ( Indian and Irish) who I trekked with; Amelie, like the movie, French girl traveling alone, studying English in Australia also on the trek; Goong, Anissa, and Yao in Pai who were gracious and generous and allowed me to just hang out at the cafe which is essentially their home.

- and finally...
Getting the idea, the inspiration, self-confidence, and knowledge to start planning my next trip...