The Upside to Insomnia

The upside is to insomnia is that at least you are not sleeping through life. Of course, there are many downsides which I could list for hours and hours...





This is not a bad view to have from a window and a balcony, eh? Maybe it was an omen of good fortune because I then had lunch with the hot yogi after class today. Unfortunately, it's his last time teaching at Yoga Elements, should he find a teaching assistant job at the University of Washington. He got accepted for PhD candidacy in Comparative Literature, but you know, the money thing.

My Father is Vulgar

And that is precisely why I love him.

Since I can remember, anything I did something goofy, cheeky, or lightly naughty, he'd laugh and yell, "Aye, hoi!" Hoi means clam. Used this way though, it's slang, sort of like..."bearded clam."

MY FATHER HAS BEEN CALLING ME A POONTANG SINCE BIRTH!!!!

Khao Lak, Ko Lanta, and Wii

I went to Khao Lak and Koh Lanta for five days. When I returned, I spent a day at Mr. Lee's house - Mr. Lee is my friend from my eight-day tour in China's Yunnan province. These first pictures are from my plane's descent to Phuket International Airport - the nearest to Phang-Nga.







Khao Lak is in Phang-Nga province, north of Phuket and was hit particularly hard by the tsunami. Many Thais are still afraid to go, for fear of ghosts (attributed to the high death toll), and so business has not recovered as quickly as it has in Phuket. As I was staying in a five-star resort and spa (La Flora) that charged $85 dollars for a massage and facial combo, I felt I did my part to help out the local business. It's a shame because that area is beautiful.



From Khao Lak, I arranged for the Pimalai Resort & Spa on Ko Lanta to pick me up. Three and a half hours later, I was in Krabi province, at Pimalai's private dock. Pimalai also has a private floating jetty on the island that looks gorgeous in pictures, but as the rainy season is approaching and the water levels are high lately, the boat had to land at the main pier on Ko Lanta. A shame.



After five days of rest - perhaps too much rest, I somehow returned to Bangkok exhausted. Maybe I kayaked, slept, read, and was massaged too much.

Yesterday was May Day, Thailand's "Labor Day." Oh this holiday, I spent the entire day at Mr. Lee's house. This house makes my aunt and uncle's house here in Bangkok look like a shack. Picture this: 30-foot ceilings, a home theater with real movie screen and rows upon rows of leather recliners, a kitchen that every celebrity chef would die for, a home gym with dance room (mirrored walls and barre), pool table room with it's own bar (one of about four bars in the house), a pool, and outdoor kitchen, a boat, Lexusii and BMWs up the wazoo, gigantic flat-panel TVs everywhere, a sauna...and that's only what I saw and remembered. But most importantly, Mr. Lee has Wii.After hours of Wii boxing, I was sweating like a pig. Strangely enough, I'm a Wii idiot savant, while Mr. Lee has enough enthusiasm and style to make up for any lack of skill. Ha, I want Wii.