Keep Left!

So I finally had my first experience driving on the left side of the road...while sitting on the right side of the car...and shifting gears with my left hand...and using a turn signal with my right had...and dodging Thais & tourists on motorbikes...and I think I was pretty darn good at it! That's right, after two days on the beach, Steve & I decided to get out and explore Ko Samui, so we rented a truck this morning with hopes of getting ourselves off the beaten path (and giving our red skin some rest).

Our highlight is probably our hike up to the the island's biggest waterfall. It has been extremely hot & humid, so swimming in the very cool pool at the base of the fall was a real treat. And we were especially happy when we learned the only other three people there have lived in Thailand for the past 25 years, so I'd say that's pretty successfully off the beaten tourist path.

On the crazy front, we attended our first (and last) Thai kickboxing tournament last night. The poster showed huge, mean looking pro fighter types, so it was a bit shocking to get into the arena to witness ten year old boys in the ring pummeling each other. The next fight featured boys we imagined were probably 13 - not much better. By the sixth & seventh fights the athletes were of age, but still it was a bit awkward to cheer - especially when the fighters were unevenly matched. We'll file that one under "When in Thailand..."

Steve, by the way, is great for my travel budget. I thought I was an okay negotiator, but I understand now that I've overpaid for everything! We eat delicious meals for about 80 cents, got our front row seats at the kickboxing match 2 for the price of 1, got the cheapest ferry tickets ever to head to over to Ko Tao tomorrow, and the savings keep coming. It's like how can I afford not to be travelling right now??

Music alert -- I love Steve's Martin Sexton CD called "Blacksheep." The title song is especially great -- go out and buy it now (Cara, Jason - this is especially for you two!).

Hope everyone's staying warm.
xoxo,
Mere