About Friends...

This will be a post without pictures. But it reminds me of my friends and recent emails. The only internet in the hotel is in the lobby, which is fine, but for the very bored employees listening in on our Skype calls and looking over our shoulders. So instead we are sitting below in the "library", which is a room below our lovely lobby that is full old books and magazines discarded by guests. Its nice, but there is NO breeze, or really air for that matter. We are dying down here.

We are in the most charming, full on resort on Koh Samui. Pools, palm trees, a lovely bar and great food -- nothing else we could have ever asked for after the crazy train ride through Malaysia and Thailand. Yesterday, I refused (and Jason quickly agreed) to move anywhere but from the pool, to the restaurant to our room. We were so spent.

But back to friends. My friend Lainie went to Vietnam last year and when I was talking to her about climate, she said she adored "jungle sweat" -- the kind where everyone is so hot, you have such little energy and overall time slows to the pace of the heat. Frankly, where you all sweat, Western or not. I understand now. Sitting here in this little open air box where the evening thundershower just ended raising 80% humidity to about 90% -- I understand. I am jungle sweat.

And for my friend Lauren and those of you waiting to hear my bug/rodent tally. So far -- 3 cockroaches and 0 rodents. In all fairness, the cockroaches were actually on the train, not in our lovely resort. But nonetheless, they were still cockroaches and needless to say, I never put my feet on the floor of the train. Not for 8 hours. :)

Want a brief synopsis of our journey?
In Kuala Lumpur we boarded the overnight train Padeng Besar (the Malaysian border). The train was fantastic. Old, no doubt, but a bit like camper with your parents in the 70s. We had our own private berth, where Jason slept on the top bunk and I on the bottom. At the border , we reboarded the same train, only with the sleeper cars removed and headed for Hat Yai (the first Thai stop). At Hat Yai, we boarded a hilariously local second class only train for Surat Thani. Ohh, if only I could describe it. There were old silly fans on the ceiling, and the windows all opened for air. I spent the first hour of the journey with my head out the window gasping for air! It was so great -- at every stop, local merchants would board the train at the front, selling food, water and magazines, walk through the train and exit just as the train was pulling away from the station. It was fantastic! We felt so local (and jungle hot)!

Anyway, we spent the night in Surat Thani, and hopped the first ferry to Koh Samui. By mid-day we were checked in, settled, in swimsuits and at the pool.

And speaking of friends, tomorrow we are headed out to Ang Thong National Park a la Adrian. Its going to be another great day!

So, I will sign off now and promise pictures tomorrow! :)