Taking it easy in amazing Thailand

hey :) thanks for following along! We survived the plane ride to Phuket (although at one point when we were landing it got really really rough! That's what you get for flying budget like Air Asia). We finally made it to the Valero guest house a while after we arrived, because our minivan was full of other travellers heading to their hotels. So far I am incredibly impressed with Patong, not far from Phuket. Our hotel is a little far from the main centre, but it's nice that it's not so loud. The room is really nice - ceramic tile, king size bed, air conditioning...i think we are paying $6 each per night. Not long after arriving, we met a few people drinking outside the hotel so we joined them. Next thing you know we're on our way to a nightclub called "hollywood" partying with some Thais and some other people we met on the plane to Phuket. Many hours and many drinks later, we made it back (we went to and from the hotel with our new friends and their scooters). Jason and I were both feeling pretty rough this morning...I don't think we started getting ready to head out for the day until about 2 this afternoon. Yup, we're on holidays... From there, we had some food (my first Thai meal. yummy!) and Jason rented a scooter so we toured around for the day. We went down to the beautiful patong beach where I had a thai massage on the beach. I think it was something like $8 for a whole hour. Oh yeah, life is pretty tough right now ;) We are back at the hotel to clean up and then we will likely head out again later at some point, although I would really like to take it a little easier tonight so that we can be semi-productive tomorrow! Thailand is a really nice country, and very appealing to tourists for a number of reasons - exotic, beautiful, inexpensive, and with what seems to be a high population of English-speaking Thais. However, there is a definite subtle sexual tone here, where the gender lines are a little blurry and sometimes you wonder if friendliness on the part of a Thai chick is genuine or a little friendly for a reason. So, a learning experience for sure! But overall, incredible. I am really having a great time!

M :)