Aghhh! I had no idea that SCUBA was so freaking awesome! I expected it to be, but geez, this is just too fantastic. When last I wrote, Marilyn and I were sadly leaving Bottle Beach, and I missed it terribly for about 3 hours until we arrived at Big Blue Diving on Sai Ree beach here on Koh Tao. First, I must note that Koh Tao is a teeny little island whose biggest attraction is SCUBA. Every person I’ve met here is connected with the dive business in some wa...

It is with a sad and heavy heart that Marilyn and I say goodbye after 5 days to our dear Bottle Beach on Koh Phangan island in Southern Thailand. But we can't stay sad for too long because we are just moving one island over. :) After spending approximately 48 hours in transit from Chiang Mai to the islands (one of the last legs of which was a vomit-worthy boat ride) we finally ended up being dropped off on the far side of Koh Phangan to grab a last little 15 ...

At this very moment Marilyn and I are both online after having finally gotten off of a 14 hour train ride from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. Marilyn’s first night train wasn’t as diverting as we’d hoped, in her words, she turned to me at 3am this morning and said drearily “Natalie, this is TERRIBLE.” To explain, we had not been able to get a sleeper car, so we were in 2nd class instead. Not so bad since the chairs recline a ton, but when th...

I am so behind on blogging it's not even funny. And this week has been so packed its going to take me ages to catch up. I might just do some speed typing. :)First, to comment on Bangkok. Its big. We saw all manner of Wats and famous sites as well as just hanging out by the pool and getting massages and eating wonderful (spicy) Thai foods and had a great time. But I have to say, getting from one end of the city to the other was an adventure no matter what mann...

Well I have to say this has been quite a jump. The last time I wrote I was in Panajachel, Guatemala, and now I'm in Bangkok! To rapidly catch everything up, I stayed at my Dad's place in Gig Harbor for three weeks in December before catching a flight to Thailand with my sister. During those three weeks I managed to work at my bookstore in Gig Harbor, which I adore, decorate my old room with Christmas lights, talk to Pajaro back in Pana on the phone severa...