Australia

Australia was very different from the rest of our trip in that we spent most of our time with friends and family. This was a nice change after two months on our own. Australia was one of the countries that I had picked. Darren lived in Australia for a year about 15 years ago but I had never been there and always wanted to go.

It was almost Christmas and every hotel was booked up. Fortunately for us, Darren's relatives live in Surfer's Paradise in the Gold Coast. I got to meet them for the first time and Darren got to see them for the first time in 15 years. It was so nice to spend Christmas with family rather than with a bunch of strangers in a guest house.

Although Darren's aunts originally came from Ireland, they settled into Australia pretty quickly and easily. They immigrated to Oz in the 70's and got jobs the very next day working as seamstresses for a man who was selling surf apparel on the beach. That company is known today as Billabong and now has 677 stores worldwide and made 1.79 billion dollars in revenue last year.

We thought Australia would be an easy country to travel around since it was English speaking and modern. What we found was that it was like a really expensive version of the United States except with funny accents. With all of the McDonald's and shopping malls, it didn't feel like we were in a foreign country at all. Darren's recollection of Australia 15 years ago was much different than it is today. He said it had become much more commercialized and incredibly expensive. Back then, he was able to travel around Australia for months without spending a thing. Plus, it's a huge country and all of the major attractions such as Ayers Rock and the Great Barrier Reef are days apart from each other. We didn't want to make the same mistakes we had made in some of the other countries we visited with trying to see everything so we realized we'd have to choose one or the other. Both would take 3 days by bus and another 3 days back. We chose to drive from Surfers Paradise to Townsville to see the Reef and fly back down to Sydney so that we could meet our friends, Anthony and Leanna, for New Years Eve. After many phone calls we found a company that actually still had spots available for a reef trip on the 30th. We'd have to leave on the 27th and drive with few stops. We looked into camper vans but everything was sold out. After hours of searching for rental cars we finally found what seemed to be the last car available in the country but with a very high price. I didn't want to be in Australia and not get to see one of the great wonders of the world so we booked the car. Then when we tried to find accommodation in Sydney for New Years, everything was sold out or required a 7-10 night minimum. Even the hostels were charging $150 a night! Leanna told us that Sydney University rents dorm rooms to non-students but when we looked into it we found they were charging $140 a night with a minimum stay as well. We could only find accommodation outside of Sydney for the 1st so we'd miss New Years Eve but at least we'd still get to see Anthony and Leanna while in Australia.

On Christmas day Darren and I had our picture taken with Santa. In Australia, Santa rides in a boat instead of a sleigh and he's guided by kangaroo riding surfboards instead of flying reindeer! There was a cyclone up north over Christmas so the surf was really dangerous in Surfers Paradise. Just a handful of some very experienced surfers were in the water so we didn't attempt to go surfing but we did get to try stand up paddle boarding. Darren's cousin took us on Boxing Day (we don't celebrate Boxing Day in America so this was my first!). I was instantly hooked and am now obsessed with this sport.

We set out for Townsville on the 27th and drove until it got dark. We spent all of our money on the car and had none left for hotels. Plus we didn't have much time to stop if we wanted to make it there in time for the reef trip. Australia is very accommodating to drivers and has rest stops everywhere. Some even have bathrooms and picnic tables. And they're free. My favorite thing was the "free driver reviver." It encourages drivers to pull over and rest if they're tired by giving out free cups of coffee and cookies. What a brilliant idea!

We pulled in at a rest stop but we had no tent or sleeping bags so we had to sleep in the back of our hatchback economy car. It was really hot so we opened the windows a bit but then all of the mosquitoes came in and were feasting on us. Needless to say, it was not the best nights sleep. For some reason Darren is tastier to mosquitoes than I am and he was covered with bites.

Early the following morning we were back on the road driving through the Australian outback. We came across a small town post office with just one little counter manned by two sweet ladies. We shipped home some of our winter gear we didn't need anymore, some souvenirs and gifts we had picked up along the way, and Darren's raincoat. He said he hadn't used the raincoat since we were in Nepal and since the Gold Coast boasts 300 days of sunshine per year, he didn't need it anymore. Not three hours later we found ourselves driving right into the cyclone we had been hearing about. Darren was exasperated over shipping the rain coat home and I had to pull over because I couldn't even see the road. I am known for attracting earthquakes but this was my first ever tropical cyclone. We waited on the side of the road until the rain slowed up a bit and then Darren took the wheel. It was coming down so hard the car was shaking back and forth. We pulled over at a gas station and waited nearly two hours but it hardly slowed up. We tried driving some more and made it to Airlie Beach. To my dismay, I discovered that there is no beach in Airlie Beach. It's a charming and lively port town on the waterfront but it's name is deceiving. We could find no campsites and the cyclone was getting dangerous. Despite signs prohibiting camping over night, we had no choice but to pull in on a quiet side street and sleep in the back of the car again. There were no mosquitoes but this time we got soaked.

The skies were finally clearing the next day. As we drove through the bush we witnessed the aftermath of the storm. Several cars had skidded off the road and overturned and there were dead kangaroos all over the road.

We made it to Townsville by that afternoon. We stopped at the dive shop where we had booked our Great Barrier Reef trip for the next day. They told us to check back with them in a couple of hours. They said the trip might be cancelled due to the weather and rough seas. We had driven for two days, went straight through a cyclone in an overpriced rental car which we slept in for two nights, all to see the reef and now there was a possibility it would be cancelled. We tried to remain calm and optimistic and looked for a place to stay.

Townsville was a ghost town. In Australia, all of the businesses pretty much shut down for two weeks during Christmas time and New Years. If the trip was cancelled we didn't know what we'd do.
We found a hostel that was incredibly overpriced considering it looked exactly like a prison complete with cinder block walls and views through the bars from one cell block to another. But it was better than sleeping in the car. We had grown a great appreciation for simple comforts like pillows and brushing our teeth with tap water-things most people in developed countries take for granted.

We went back to the dive shop a couple hours later and learned that all trips to the Great Barrier Reef were cancelled until January 2nd. Our flight to Sydney was leaving on January 1st. If I had to pick the most disappointing part of our trip, the cancelled trip to the Great Barrier Reef would be it. We had driven all that way and spent all that money for nothing. We were devastated but it was a minor upset compared to all of the things that could possibly go wrong while traveling around the world so we decided to try and make the most of our time in Townsville.

The information center in town told us that if we couldn't see the Reef we could go to the local aquarium, Reef HQ. They said it was the next best thing. So we paid $21 each to visit the aquarium and felt it was a big waste of time and money. It didn't even come close to an actual visit to the reef and in my opinion the Phuket Aquarium (see Thailand post) was far better. All it did was make us more depressed about our cancelled trip. I will say that while the coral tank was completely lacking in labels or interpretation, they seemed to dump all of their money in a nice exhibit upstairs with interactive technology and flat screen video signage. If the fish in the displays get switched to different locations or die, then all they have to do is change the information on the monitor rather than printing and installing a new sign. This is really smart and could definitely make their coral and other exhibits on the first floor more informative and interesting.

Rather than visiting the aquarium, I'd recommend going across the hall to the free Cultural Center. The museum's focus was all about the history, struggles and traditions of the Aborigines. I found it both interesting and alarming at how similar their stories are to those of the Native Americans and the Maoris in New Zealand. What struck me the most was how mixed or "half-caste" aboriginal children were taken away from their parents to be raised in institutions. In addition to the cultural museum there was an art gallery featuring some very nice works of art by Aboriginal artists.

Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch at Kissing Point. It's located at the very end of The Strand (This is the road that runs parallel to the beach in Townsville). At Kissing Point there is a giant salt water rock pool that they built in the ocean. It protects people from stingers, jelly fish, and sharks. It was much more creative and attractive than a traditional shark net.




Then we drove up to Castle Hill which is just a few meters shy of being classified as a mountain. At the top there are views of the beach, Magnetic Island and all of Townsville.





We also visited the Queens Gardens. Townsville has three separate gardens which together form Townsville Botanic Gardens. In addition to Queens Gardens are Anderson Gardens in Mundingburra and the Palmetum in Annandale. Initiated in 1870, Queens Gardens is the oldest Botanic Garden in Townsville and is heritage listed.

Afterwards we tried to find an Internet cafe so we could check our email and make our plans for Sydney. We couldn't find an Internet cafe all week so we had to come up with creative ways to get free WiFi.

Travel tip: If you sit in the parking lot of McDonald's you can pick up their WiFi signal. No password is needed. No purchase necessary. We never once resorted to eating at McDonald's during our travels but they are very handy when you need to use the restroom or check your email.

On New Years Eve we took a ferry from Townsville to Magnetic Island. It was a scenic boat ride that took about 35 minutes. It cost $175 for the car ferry so we left the car and rode as passengers for 56 AUD for two. Of course all of the rooms on the island were booked up for New Years so we'd have to get the last ferry back to Townsville or sleep on the beach. An all day bus pass cost 7.50 AUD and we were able to ride from one end of the island to the other and stop at all of the beaches in between. Magnetic Island has more than 22 secluded beaches and bays and a national park. With 320 days of sunshine per year it is the sunniest spot on the Queensland Coast. The island earned it's name because of the apparent "magnetic" effect it had on the compass of Captain Cook's ship as he passed the island when sailing up the east coast of Australia in 1770.

After a long relaxing day on Magnetic Island we took the ferry back to Townsville. It was the quietest place I've ever been to on New Years Eve. We strolled into a pub and some locals began chatting with us. They wanted to know what we were doing in quiet little Townsville on New Years Eve. We told them how we couldn't get to Sydney for New Years and how difficult we were finding it to go anywhere or do anything because of the expense. They told us that most Australians actually travel overseas on vacation because it's cheaper than traveling within Australia. They said that they fly to Thailand or South Africa every year because international flights are even cheaper than domestic flights. This explained why we saw so many Australians in Thailand. Then they told us about a concert and fireworks at Reid Park. This wound up being a fantastic tip. We found Reid Park and a huge open air concert was going on. There was also a massive fireworks display at midnight. The best part was that since it was summertime in Australia we were comfortable outside in t-shirts rather than freezing in the snow in New York.

On New Years Day we flew back to Sydney. I say "back" because we had a four hour layover in Sydney when we flew from Thailand to the Gold Coast. In hindsight, this was poor planning. Or lack of planning which has been our style throughout most of our trip. Sometimes it works and sometimes it really doesn't. Especially when things need to be booked in advance during major holidays! So we were back in Sydney again. We spent several hours taking wrong trains before we found our hotel so our first day there was pretty much over.

The next day we met Anthony and Leanna at Circular Quay. Having no phone, this required careful coordination and a lot of emailing from McDonald's. They asked us how we didn't lose each other while traveling with no phone. We demonstrated for them a travel tip given to us by our friends Jan and Woody.

Travel Tip #2: Create your own personal bird call. When you can't find your partner or spouse, call out something like, "WHOOOP WHOOOP!!" All they have to do is follow the sound and you will be reunited again.

It was great to see familiar faces again. We had missed seeing our friends in India and I was worried that the same thing would happen again. Anthony is from England and was my coworker and roommate when I was in New Zealand last year (see new Zealand blogs). Leanna is Australian and I met her when she came from London to help out in our office in New York last summer. They were in Australia visiting Leanna's family for Christmas. Now here we all were, an American, an Englishman, an Irishman, and an Australian. All we needed was a punchline.

We took the ferry to Manly and walked around the beaches and shops. We also explored some amazing cliff walks before heading back on the ferry and getting drinks by the opera house at sunset. Afterwards we walked around The Rocks and found a pub. Anthony liked this area the best. I think this was because it's Sydney's historic old town with charming cobblestone lane ways and historic buildings that reminded him of England. The rocky sandstone ledge known as "The Rocks" is where members of the First Fleet stepped ashore on January 26, 1788 and British settlement of Australia was first established.

The next day we met Anthony and Leanna at Circular Quay again and then we all went to the Royal Botanic Gardens for a picnic. The Botanic Gardens are free and located on Sydney Harbor and have great views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge. One place of interest in the park is Mrs. Macquarie's Chair. It's an exposed sandstone rock cut into the shape of a bench, on a peninsula in Sydney Harbour, hand carved by convicts from sandstone in 1810 for Governor Macquarie's wife Elizabeth. The peninsula itself is named Mrs. Macquarie's Point and is located at the end of Mrs. Macquaries Road.

Our stroll through the gardens led us to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The exhibits were a mix of contemporary, classical, and Aboriginal art. At that time there was a special exhibit on Picasso. It was not his work that was on display but rather photographs of him and his family and videos of Picasso himself at work in his studio.

Afterwards we walked through the city center to take in all the sights and then finally finished our little day tour at Darling Harbor.

The following day we packed up and moved again to a serviced apartment in Bondi just walking distance from the world famous Bondi Beach.

By this point in the trip, the new flip flops (or thongs as they call them in Australia) I had purchased in September just before we left for our trip had become completely worn down. I racked up so much mileage that I wore a hole straight through to the bottom so that my toe was touching the ground. With no shortage of surf shops in Bondi, a replacement pair was not hard to find.

The next day we bought two round-trip bus tickets to Circular Quay for 14 Australian dollars. Then we paid 22 AUD for two ferry tickets to the Taronga Zoo. When we got there we learned that admission was $44.50 each! Even with the two 15% off coupons we had, it still cost $75 for admission to the zoo. I can't imagine how Australian families can mange to afford to do fun things with their kids with prices like that. It's not like it was an overly impressive zoo either but with what they were charging you would think it would be like Disney Land. There wasn't anything realistic about the animal habitats. They were basic enclosures that said nothing about the animals natural environment. Although, we did get lucky with our timing because it was the animals themselves that made the experience enjoyable. We saw what looked like a gang fight between some angry chimpanzees. They were screeching, beating their chests, and chasing each other for more than twenty minutes. It was really exciting. We also were there just in time for the giraffes to be fed and got to see the baby elephants taking their baths.

We had planned to stay in Australia for 3 weeks or more. Even though we stayed with relatives for almost a week, the expense of just about everything had put us way over budget. So we had to cut our trip short at 2 1/2 weeks. That night, we booked flights to New Zealand for January 7th.

The day we left Australia we found ourselves in airport limbo yet again. We had to check out of the apartment at 10 am but our shuttle to the airport wasn't until 3 pm. We had to carry our packs around with us for 5 hours because the serviced apartment was not like a hotel where there would be luggage storage. A good use of our time would have been to book outbound tickets leaving New Zealand but instead we found a park and watched a cricket match. When we were checking in at the airport at 4 pm they asked to see our outbound tickets. We had none. We had wanted to stay in New Zealand for three weeks or more and had no definitive schedule or plans. Apparently, the New Zealand Government requires proof of a plane ticket out of their country in order for you to be allowed in. I had been to New Zealand less than a year ago and they never asked to see my outbound ticket but apparently things had changed. We had to run to the nearest Internet kiosk carrying 25 pound backpacks through a crowded airport. They wanted $10 for just 20 minutes of Internet. I refused on principle so we ran carrying our packs like we were in that TV show "The Amazing Race" to find the free Internet kiosks at the food court. All three kiosks were being used by Facebook addicts but just as I was about to tackle someone for their computer, they got up and we booked the fastest flights in history. Darren was able to connect to the food court WiFi and download the tickets onto his iPod. The woman at the check-in counter said she needed to see a paper ticket but it's 2012 and we live in a paperless society. Get with the program.
When we ran back to check in again, we got a different agent who reluctantly accepted our electronic ticket and checked us in for our flight.

Travel Tip #3: If you are traveling to New Zealand, you must have a paper ticket showing your outbound trip or you will be running like a lunatic through an airport trying to buy a plane ticket.

Thailand

It was December 12th, 2011. I woke up choking in the dark. I couldn't breathe and Darren was frantically searching for my inhaler. I was delirious with fever and thought we were still in India. Darren snapped me out of it. We left India weeks ago. We were in Vietnam and now we'd been in Thailand for about 4 days already. This was the longest we had stayed put in over six weeks. In fact we hadn't stayed in one place for more than three nights in a row since we were in Turkey in October. When we finally stopped moving Darren got sick. Darren only gets sick once a year and the illness lasts a total of three hours. I wasn't as fortunate as my husband to be born with a super-human immune system so the next day I fell ill with malaria, or dengue fever, or maybe it was just a bad cold. Whatever it was, I was too sick to go anywhere so we had no choice but to stay put. Its times like these that I want to go home but then I remember we dont have a home anymore. We gave up our apartment and everything we own is in storage so we keep moving like gypsies.

Darren kept paying our host, Bim, for two more nights every two days until two nights turned into two weeks. We were staying at a really nice, clean, family run hotel with just 8 rooms called Jinta Andaman on what we're convinced was the quietest street in Phuket, Thailand. Bim gave us a good deal on the room. She liked us and was really thrilled that Bim rhymed with Kim. Aside from that, it was Christmas time and most hotels were all booked up. We were lucky to have a room anywhere on the island.

I was hacking and wheezing and just when Darren decided he was going to take me to a hospital, my fever broke. Until I was completely better we followed a schedule of sleeping in the room, then walking to the beach and sleeping on the beach all day, then going back to the room again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. When I finally woke from hibernation, my skin looked unnaturally brown and my hair had turned blonde despite the shelter of a large umbrella every day. Darren was resentful of this since he was still the same shade of white as the day we arrived.

Now that I was well again, I was getting restless so we rented a motorbike for just 200 baht a day (about 6 USD) and rode around the entire island.

We rode on our motorbike from beach to beach. The beaches there are gorgeous with white sand that's like powder. The Andaman Sea has crystal clear warm water and is abundant with sea life. For 20-50 baht (roughly 1 US dollar) we would buy ice cold coconuts. They would give us a spoon and a straw so we could drink the coconut water and then eat the meat. This was a great bargain as coconut water is really popular in the US and costs about $4 for 8 ounces.

When we ran out of fuel there was no need to find a gas station. Many of the locals sold gasoline on the side of the road. All we had to do was pull over and a three year old would come running up to our bike with a funnel and a whiskey bottle filled with gasoline. Cost=40 baht.

At that time of the year Phuket was overrun with Russian tourists seeking their annual one or two weeks of warm weather and sunshine. So much so that many of the signs and menus in the restaurants were written in both Thai and Russian. This is a disadvantage for those of us who cant read or speak Thai or Russian. For example, we wound up unknowingly purchasing salt flavored toothpaste. Trust me when I tell you it is NOT good.

There was construction going on all over. The men worked all day and all night. They were still rebuilding after the tsunami that devastated the island on December 26, 2004. The buildings were going up so fast that one was nearly started and completed in the short time we were there. We were happy to see this and also to be able to contribute by visiting Phuket. Tourism is their main industry. Bim told us that business came to a stand still after the tsunami hit. No one wanted to come to Thailand after that but gradually the tourists have started coming back. Seeing the construction everywhere made us feel hopeful and optimistic for the Thai people.

Another booming industry in Thailand is massage. Every other shop is a massage parlor. The scantily clad young women would sit outside giggling and flirting with your husband even when you were holding his hand. They would try to coax people in with "you likeee masaaaaage? Hehehe" We heard this all day long and it made me cringe every time.

There were single middle aged white men everywhere with underaged Thai girls fighting for their attention. The only thing they had in common was their desperation. Prostitution was rampant there. There were so many young girls selling themselves and there was also a fairly large amount of transvestites mixed in with the competition. We saw a few unsuspecting young men enjoying their company but were too drunk to realize what they were getting themselves into.

Little girls would wander the streets selling handicrafts and flowers. Darren became enchanted by one adorable little girl in a red dress wandering alone. She was about 3 or 4 years old and she was selling roses. She deviated from her work when she spotted a fish tank and became mesmerized by the fish. He wondered what would happen to her. Would she wind up selling herself like so many of the other girls there?

The Thai also adore karaoke. One night, Thai Elvis was serenading us outside our hotel. If you're in Phuket he his hard to miss. He is booked up every night of the week and has a really flashy van that takes him to all his gigs. He sings karaoke Elvis tunes and goes by the name Mr. Delvis!

If you're into boxing, it also won't be hard to find a Thai boxing match. Thai boxing is as much a part of their culture as massage so you should try to see a spar or a fight if you can.

We rode to Chalong Temple which was more like a courtyard with several separate structures, each more magnificent and ornate than the next. They were filled with statues of Buddha in all different poses.

When in Phuket, it would be hard to miss the "Big Buddha". No matter where you go he can be seen. He sits at the top of a very high hill looking down over the island. We rode up the hill to pay him a visit. He was still under construction but he was mostly finished. Admission was free but they did ask for donations to help with the building project. They also gave me a skirt and shawl to cover up in the temple. Darren visited the monks and they gave him a bracelet and a good luck blessing.

On our way back down the hill we stopped to go on an elephant ride. Our elephant's name was Beyonce. Our guide would steer her by sitting on her neck and putting his feet on her ears and using them like a steering wheel. I was a little bit apprehensive about riding the elephant. I wanted to make sure she was treated well and felt unsure about climbing on her back. Our guide seemed to really care for her though and I could tell they had a bond. The guide got down from his cockpit and asked for my camera to take some pictures of us. Beyonce took advantage of this moment to try to grab a banana from a tree that was located on the side of a cliff. I had taken over the guide's position on Beyonce's neck and was starting to fall off as Beyonce was teetering ungracefully on the egde. Her feet were slipping and Darren and I were panicked as she started to slip over the edge. Then I thought maybe this was an act that she and the guide were performing for us. Surely he had it under control. Then he started yelling, "Oh my god! Oh my god! Beyonce No!" My faith in his control of the situation vanished. Beyonce bent the entire tree down to the ground and it snapped back as we flew back in the opposite direction. She had her banana and our guide grabbed her by the ear and pulled her back from the edge. We returned safely to elephant camp headquarters and I played with a baby elephant. They had him chained up in order to get tourists to buy bananas for him and pay to have their pictures taken with him. We were not happy about this but unfortunately it's pretty common in Thailand. People would walk with baby elephants on a leash through the streets of Phuket charging 50 baht to feed him bananas. Elephants used to be considered Gods in Thailand but it didn't appear to be that way anymore.

Seashells have sort of been a running theme of my past few posts. We collected them in South Africa and then gave them away as gifts to new friends in Nepal and India. When we found out the Phuket Seashell Museum was nearby we were very interested in seeing what it was all about.

It really exceeded my expectations in that it had a surprisingly large and well organized collection of shells that were immaculately displayed according to species, then size and color. The collection consisted over of over 2,000 species including one of the rarerest golden pearls, the only left-handed Noble Volute, giant clams, and fossils dating back 380 million years.

While the displays were very organized and well categorized, Darren and I both found it to get a bit tedious. Most of the visitors got bored and left before going through the whole museum. I would have liked to have seen some information about how shells are formed and their anatomy. The exhibit was a bit too scientific and dry and I think they could have touched on some interesting history about shells such as their use as tools, instruments, or currency. However, if you have even the slightest interest in shells, you will be very impressed. I had never seen in person most of the species of shells they had and it was a beautifully displayed collection.

Then we visited the Phuket Aquarium, located on the water at scenic Cape Panwa. It was a little aquarium with a big message about protecting coral reefs and endangered species. It had a clever interactive coral display with the names of many different types of coral. When the visitor pushed the button next to the name, a red light would go on next to all of the corresponding types of coral. It was simple and much more effective to see it illustrated in real life than on a computer screen.

There was also a Deep Sea exhibit which had on display some dead but well preserved fish which still have yet to be categorized. Some of the fish looked more like aliens to me than fish. Creepy but very cool.

Scuba diving and tourism are major industries in Thailand so there was a lot of focus on protecting the reef and local fish by using safe diving practices. It also had a message to tourists about not polluting the waters. I liked that their topics were relevant to their community. They also had a display about tsunamis. It explained what they were, how they were caused, and what measures were being taken to keep people safe in case there are future events. They had a display of photographs of the tsunami and it's aftermath that hit Phuket in 2004. I easily identified the very beach where we were staying. By the looks of the destruction it was no wonder they were still rebuilding 7 years later.

The aquarium was established as part of the Phuket Marine Biological Center, a research and monitoring station within the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. Outside there was a nature trail that connected the aquarium with the spectacular Cape Panwa shore and the research facilities of the Phuket Marine Biological Center. There was a hatchery where they bred and raised creatures from the ocean like seahorses and cuttlefish. Visitors could climb aboard their 38 meter long research ship and talk to the crew as well as visit the sea turtle pool where we viewed turtles recovering from injuries and watched adorable baby turtles in their nursery.

They also have a reference collection of over 100,000 specimens and an endangered species museum where you can learn about whales and dolphins.

I mentioned earlier that Darren had been blessed with good luck by a monk. I didn't sit with the monks to receive a blessing and none of Darren's luck seemed to be rubbing off on me. We had gotten into the habit of washing our clothes in the sink every night since laundromats can be non-existent in some countries. Our balcony even had a handy clothes rack so we'd hang the clothes to dry overnight. Phuket,for some reason, would get extremely windy at night and despite the high balcony wall, somehow my clothes (and not Darren's) would fly away. I'd look over the wall and see my underwear scattered in the trees. Some would never be recovered.

Travel tip: If you find yourself in Thailand with disappearing undergarments you can go to an outdoor street market and buy new ones. There will be no sizes on any of them and you will have to sift through a pile of loose miscellaneous styled and sized underwear but for 30 baht your new underwear with cartoon characters will be a real bargain.

Another day we were walking down the street and a woman approached us with scratch-off cards. It was a promotion for a tourism company. I won a tote-bag and Darren won a week long dream vacation for four at a five star beach front resort in Phuket. Of course it couldn't be used for the week we were there which would have been handy because airfare was not included. They required 45 days advance notice and the trip had to be booked within two years from that day. We had already traveled all over the world and didn't have plans of taking yet another big trip within the two year required time period but we could give it to immediate family. So that's what we did.

If you visit Phuket, Thailand make sure you visit the Big Buddha and get a good luck blessing from the monks. I have, however, been getting a lot of use out of my new tote bag.