My Fourth of July Visitor tonight..... Warning: Not for the faint of heart!

Hoo-hoo-hoo! Alrighty then, Minotaurus you are! Care to change your avatar instead of the piece-o-

cake? LOL!

 
Funny story...when I was in Thailand I befriended a couple on holiday from Israel. They had

a gecko that took up residence in their hut (we were in the islands.) Ironically, they never heard the gecko...until they started having sex. While they were in the midst of doing the deed, that little gecko would start belting out his call... "Geck---oooo, geck---ooo!"

Totally cracked me up! This little scenario played out every time...for a week! It became a joke whenever we'd meet. "So, did you hear from the gecko today?" smileys/smile.gif

 
Ah yes. Our last trip to Thailand was a week in Koh Lak. Our good friends built

a beautiful little resort they named Baan Soraya after their little daughter. He is Dutch and she, Lek, is Thai. Sadly, the resort was destroyed in the tsunami. He almost died, Lek and Soraya were in an inland grocery shopping so were safe. His family from the Netherlands were visiting for the holidays as they always did and his sister and another guest were killed as were 3 of his employees. He and Lek went to the Netherlands to live after that. Very sad.

http://khaolak-holiday.com/hc_hotels_before/baansoraya.htm

 
Where is Koh Lak? Very sad story about your friends, but all too common in that area. I

have a friend who was in Sri Lanka when the tsunami hit. He was in the second story and when the 2nd wave hit, it filled his bedroom with water. He fought for air and had a small pocket near the ceiling. Somehow between the 2nd and the 3rd wave, he managed to break free & ran. Spent 24 hours in a coconut tree, watching bodies and debris float by. When he was finally rescued, he helped with the relief efforts for a few days, then left, ending up in Nepal and a buddhist retreat. I joked, "You headed for high ground?"

"I never thought about it but subconsciously? Yes."

He ended going back to help the family who owned the guest house rebuild (he was a tech guy who cashed out and surfed around the world & had the means to help them.)

To this day, he still has nightmares and wakes in the middle of the night--climbing on the blinds across his windows (they've been replaced several times.)

It's astonishing to hear his story.

When I went to Thailand the last time, I was there 18 months after the tsunami and I was on Koh Phi Phi to see how the relief efforts were coming along. I wrote about it on my blog. Let me know if you want a link.

 
My apologies Traca. I confused Koh Phangan with Koh Phan nga and

you clearly said the Gulf of Thailand. Koh Lak and Phang nga is on the other side, on the Andaman Sea. Sorry, I linked a map that maybe will show it. It's north of Phuket and just south of Phang nga. I would love to read what you wrote about it when you have a chance.

Edit to say:
I had zoomed in on the map to give a better look of the specific area but it didn't hold that view in the link. Drats!

2nd edit:
I changed it again. Really don't know what happened on the last one but it was worthless. Traca, please note the URL on this one. See the sawadee.com? Brilliant, yes? For those that may not understand. Sawadee ca in Thai is a greeting. Like saying...Hello. So, sawadee.com. Brilliant! The land of a million smiles!

http://phangnga.sawadee.com/?gclid=CIfG3ozs36ICFQTXnAodS25JLQ

 
Oh man, I need to go to bed or something. Phan nga is not an island so no Koh

needed. I have been home and spent much of the day arguing with AC people. On the bright side, the Shrimp Newburg was wonderful. I'll take that.

 
 
That was a really fun read Traca. Such a great country

and the people are unbelievable. I love flying on Thai Airways more than anything but I must remind myself that after getting off of Saudi Arabian airplanes just about anything would have felt like Eden. I wish I had taken a proper cooking class in all of my many trips to Thailand. I looked into the class at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel but it was awfully expensive. Instead, I seemed to talk myself into many kitchens at the various places we stayed which has it’s pluses I suppose. Chang Mai is amazing. The amount of talented artists and the variety of art is amazing. Did you get to the Umbrella making area? Amazing. As I was planning our first trip to Thailand someone gave me a copy of Lonely Planet. It was the best thing that ever happened for me. I learned such great, sensible advise about how to experience as much as possible, safely. Like, don’t miss out on the wonderful street vendor food worrying about getting sick. If the meat has already been cooked and ready to serve just have them put it back on the coals for a few seconds to kill anything that maybe a fly has brought to it. Or, don’t buy the fruit already pealed and cut up for you. It’s most likely been washed in the water you don’t want to drink. Just smile and ask them nicely to cut the fruit for you and watch that they don’t rinse it off. Wonderful book! Thanks for bringing back such great memories Traca and the only question I really have is, OK, so you had a shower. Did it have hot water? LOL

 
Yes, everywhere I stayed had hot water. I'll never forget the place I stayed at in

Ko Phi Phi. Teak interior, extra large shower (like I've experienced in Italy) and this one had orchids growing out of the wall. Felt more like a four star hotel than some of the four stars I've stayed in! $15/night. Heaven.

The guest house I stayed in in Chiang Mai had a bathroom across the hall. I don't remember hot water being an issue (either that or it was so hot, lukewarm water felt good.)

If you're looking to cook Thai food, I can't recommend the cookbook Hot Sour Salty Sweet enough. I've cooked several dishes from it and my cookbook group has covered it as well.

Also, not sure where you live but Kasma's classes in Oakland, CA are legendary. (See link below.) She does week long intensive Thai classes that sell out months in advance, and culinary trips to Thailand too. A friend of mine went on her month long trip to Thailand and RAVES about it.

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/cooking.html

 
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