Phukaew - pronounced Fuh-ka-yu

Koh Lanta, Thailand - The cabinas/restaurant place we're staying is called Phukaew, and I swear that's what the maid said to me yesterday under her breath, when I asked for an extra towel.

Next door to Phukaew, there's a little place called Bliss Bar. We watched the
sunset from Bliss last night while listening to "chill out" music. We first
heard this type of music last year in Guatemala and hadn't experienced it again until yesterday. Chill out seems to mostly consist of soft, eerie instrumentals accompanied by repetitious, mostly English, vocals. Oddly different but very soothing.

Just after the sun dipped below the horizon, a small school of fish jumped in
unison. That, along with the music, completely chilled me out. There were
five other patrons enjoying cocktails at Bliss, as the staff openly shared a
cohiba-sized joint. When it came time to pay, our waiter calculated the two
drink bill for several minutes and then charged us three times too much.
When I corrected him, he said simply "Sorry, I lidda bit stoned".

Such is life on Koh Lanta.

The following year both Phukaew and The Bliss Bar were completely destroyed by the Tsunami. There were no fatalities and I understand they're up and running again.