of lotsa water and sandy beaches

Ahhh another early morning. At this rate, I'm going to need a vacation from my vacation when I get home! lol We were up at 4 and out the door at 5am this morning to catch our plane to Bangkok. Luckily, Dad and I didn't have anyone beside us on the flight so I was able to stretch out a little and catch some zzz's.

When we arrived at BKK, we had almost three hours before check-in for our flight to Phuket opened up... What to do..? SLEEP! lol We found a couple chairs in a quiet area (if there is such a thing) and I fell asleep again. The sad thing is, at this rate, I'm going to have to retire my blanket soon.. It's been so many places, so many countries with me but now it's starting to get a little tattered looking. That's kinda a sad thought for me so I'll move on to happier things!

I'm in PHUKET! Even more exciting, I'm in Phuket during the water festival! You should have seen the streets on the way from the airport to our hostel. They were just lined with people armed with buckets and baby powder. Yes, Phuket has taken it one step further and has been putting dabs of baby powder on people's cheeks for good luck. It hasn't happened to me yet but I'm sure somewhere along the way it will... :P Dad and I bought little waterproof pouches at the night market last night so I tucked my camera into it and vowed to protect it with my life lol.

After Dad and I checked into the Pineapple GuestHouse (nothing really special but suffices for the night and is close to the beach), we wandered around Karon before heading down to the beach. Good thing we changed into our swim suits in our room because we got doused over and over with full buckets of sun-warmed water. Honestly, this festival is really fun but sometimes creepy old white men come up and pour water down your front... You can't tell me that it's completely innocent. Yuck. So I've been turning around and letting them pour it over my head and down my back. That seems more kosher.

About five minutes walk from our hostel, I set foot on a BEAUTIFUL sandy beach. The sun was just setting and the whole sky was shades of pink and purple and orange. It was stunning. Dad and I ran to the surf and let our toes sink into the wet sand as the waves rolled by our ankles. Wow. Just incredible. This is SO much better than White Rock! lol I feel so blessed to be here and am so thankful that Dad decided to come travel with me.

Tomorrow morning is a slightly less early morning. Only slightly. We have to get up at 6 so we can leave by 7 to make the ferry headed for Ko Phi Phi Island. So many people have recommended that we skip right over Phuket and head for Phi Phi and then Krabi or Koh Lanta. Krabi is where they filmed The Beach, that horror movie from a couple years ago with Leonardo DiCaprio. Anyways, we're hoping it will be just as beautiful--though a lot less violent--as the movie lol.

I've been disappointed with the internet here in Thailand. I thought it would be a lot better because usually the Asian countries are so up on the technologies but I really think I had better internet in Bangladesh. For reals. Anyways, the point of that comment is that I don't know what the wi-fi will be like on Phi Phi but I'll still try my best to blog and put up pictures so you can see what we're up to over here!

9 days til home. Can it really be...? Elliot posted a blog today about how she's contemplating life right now and wishing she could be back in Bangladesh because life was so much simpler there. I really couldn't agree more! That's part of the reason why we are headed for the jungles of remote Phi Phi in efforts to get away from the commercial Phuket area. But moreso, I miss feeling a strong sense of purpose like what I had in Bangladesh. I don't want to slip back into a comfortable materialistic lifestyle. I miss Bangladesh, the people, the language, the sense of family. I guess what I have to realize is that the more I go through life, the bigger my family will get. It's not a bad thing--it's something to be revered and rejoiced upon. I have a big enough heart to go around I think.
ami tomake bhalobashi