We officially said goodbye to Thailand today. Fortunately, the flights seem to be going much faster than anticipated. Or, at least they were before we got to San Francisco. I’m so sick at this point I’m miserable. Can’t get comfortable, can’t sleep, and I can’t stop blowing my nose. My head is spinning and I just want to be home and get into my bed for a few days.

Read more…

I think the trip finally caught up with me. I’m feeling sick with bad sinuses, dizzyness, and aches-and-pains.

Read more…

Koh Samui Island

Only a few days left before we have to head home. One of the places Mom and I wanted to visit before our trip ends is the island Koh Samui. It is long-considered to be a “must go” destination in Thailand, and since it’s quite close to Su’s house we thought it would be a great opportunity to check it off our Thailand bucket list. Early this morning, my favorite uncle Na Kiiao, Joy, and another one of Su’s uncles picked us up very early to get in the queue for the ferry. The ferry ride takes about an hour, and my goodness was the view spectacular. It was a bit hazy at first due it being the crack of dawn, but even still it was some fantastic scenery. (And we get to add ferry to our list of transportation methods.)
Read more…

Today was without a doubt one of my favorite days of the trip. Mom needed a chill-out day, so Su and I decided to rent a scooter and take in Khanom native-style. The scooter, for a 24-hour rental, cost us a total of $9 USD plus another $30 for gas. We hopped on and made our way into Khanom proper. The “town” is about 1 mile long and lined with shops. They do have a KFC there and a few very nice jewelry stores, so it’s quite hip in its own way.

Read more…

This is, apparently, Su's favorite picture from the trip, so who am I to argue?

We officially started the day at Su’s house today. The plan was that we were all going to head over and help clean up. We figured the least we could do was help fix the mess we created by coming over to Thailand in the first place. The problem was, when we got there no one was letting Mom or I do anything to help! (As an aside, I really wish I could pull this off with all of my responsibilities back home. Just sayin’…)

Read more…

The Happy Bride and Groom

Well, here it is… the big day. Well, the second big day since Su and I already had an American wedding last year. But that doesn’t make it any less special. In fact, I have really been looking forward to this, to be able to participate in a very different ceremony from what I’ve seen and done in the U.S.
Read more…

One day until the much-anticipated Thailand wedding. Because of all of the last-minute preparations taking place there were no relatives to shlep us around and play tour guide, so originally it was planned for us to spend another day at the beach house doing nothing. Read more…

Nothing of particular interest happened today, but that’s not a bad thing. Read more…

Taking a little poetic/literary/visual license here. Mom technically took this picture before I woke up, so my sunrise didn't exactly look like this. But the picture is just too beautiful to NOT show. Kudos to Mom for waking up early enough to see this first-hand!

Woke up again to another beautiful sunrise. One could really get used to this, and it’s very easy to forget that there are bills to pay and stress to be had back in Reality Land. Read more…

What a way to start your day!

Today was a relaxing, hang out kind of day. Woke up at 7:30AM to a beautiful beach view. I decided to take my first swim in the Gulf of Thailand and was pleasantly surprised to find out that even this early the water was still in the 80-degree range. We can barely get that in New Jersey after 8 hours of blistering sun beating down on the ocean. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that the beach was completely deserted. Early morning notwithstanding, there is nobody here right now. Perhaps it’s the time of the year, or this particular day/week, but I have the entire beach to myself.

Read more…