STREET EATS BBQ chicken, fishballs on sticks, sticky rice in plastic takeaway bags, fresh cut mangoes, papaya, and watermelon, momos, fried cashews, corn on the cob or in a cup with sugar, butter and evaporated milk, pad thai, banana pancakes, iced coffee, Thai style tea, springrolls and soup - you name it and you can get it - for cheap - from a street vendor in Thailand! It appears to me that Thais are snackers - munching throughout the day on takeaway food a...

MY ADDICTION News Flash. I continue to be a willing victim to my massage addiction. I've had Ayurvedic and Thai massages by both sighted and blind masseurs, reflexology foot massages, a facial massage involving frozen cucumbers, Tok Sen (using a wooden mallet and stick to tap along the body's energy lines), and oil massages. Many of them. All wonderful. All leave me wanting MORE. There have only been 2 duds. My worst was at the sidewalk massage stalls set ...

BIG LOVE Meet my new friend Poojon. He's 8 years old and weighs 1500 kg! He's a growing boy - he eats about 300 lbs of rice, bananas, grass, molasses every day! I met Poojon, an Asian elephant, in Chiang Mai He lives with 34 other adopted and elephants born at Patara Elephant Farm/Sanctuary. Patara is owned by a Thai couple and the goal is care and sustainability of the loval elephant population. The elephants have a good life on the farm- no logging du...

Life on Lanta I'm planted again- this time on Koh Lanta - an island that just clicks with me. My home for the last 4 weeks has been the Kantiang Beach area at the south end of Koh Lanta. I rented a house for a month - palatial by Thai standards - with not a stick of furniture or even a kitchen of any sort - just big empty spaces. It's been upgraded to appeal to long term renters - with 2 bedrooms kitted out with Western beds (not sleeping mats), a night table...

Diving in The Similan Islands! Well I'm a little tardy in writing about another first I had last month - but I should be forgiven as I'm on holiday and very busy diving! So - in November, I experienced a liveaboard dive boat trip for 4 days and 3 nites in the Similan Islands - the goal was Richelieu Rock -out in the middle of the Andaman Sea. You won't be able to find it on my blog map - the technology isn't cooperating -so find a map, search north of Phuket u...