Hi, I am back in Bangkok after about 10 days on the Thai beaches. I just put shoes on for the first time in about 2 weeks...kind of a weird feeling, you know what I mean? I am not much of a beach person, but it's hard not to have fun in southern Thailand. I first went to Ko Phi Phi, which is a beautiful island in the Andaman Sea. I stayed at the Rock Backpacker, which wasn't the nicest place I stayed, but was probably the most fun. Phi Phi was just one big party. It started every night at the Rock, continued to the Sunflower Bar, then ended at Hippies or Reggae Bar. I never stayed up until the sunrise...so I didn't party as much as some.

For my last night on the islands, I did a camping tour to Maya Bay, on Ko Phi Phi Leh. Maya Bay is where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. You are not supposed to be able to stay there, but some tour operator paid enough bhat to the right people...The camping was amazing. We had the whole beautiful beach to ourselves. There were only about 15 people there. One of the best things I have done so far (even though I got eaten alive by mosquitoes.

After Maya Bay, I had to get off Phi Phi so I didn't end up like all the people I met: "I just came to Phi Phi for 3 days...and that was like 2 months ago...or something like that." I headed to Railay Beach. which is on the mainland, but you can only reach it by longtail boat. Of course it was really windy and every wave came crashing over the front of the boat, completely soaking my bag and everything in it. I still had things that were damp after 5 days. And yes, I have a waterproof pack cover that was nicely stored in my pack.

Railay was beautiful, but there were too many couples holding hands and having their romantic beach vacations (I know...disgusting). I only really went there to go rock climbing anyway. I climbed twice and had a blast. I have not climbed in over a year, but I climbed very well, so I was really happy.

Anyway, I am back in Bangkok now after taking a night bus that was surprisingly not bad at all. Yesterday I met my brother's friend Sujarinee who is a professor in Bangkok. She introduced me to 5 of her students to go around Bangkok with, which was great. Thanks Sujarinee (hope you are feeling well).

Tonight I fly to Zhuhai, China (near Hong Kong) to visit my friend Kaitlan. After a few days there, it is back to Bangkok and then to northern Thailand. Hope all is well back home!

One last thing, I have to plug my friend Damian's website. Damian and his girlfriend Yuki are a big reason I am out here now. I met them while traveling in China in July 2006. If you are looking for general budget travel advice, or want to read more about where I have been or will be going, visit:

www.damoandyuki.com

He is a much better writer than me anyway...