These are pictures from the first day on Koh Phi Phi, or better known as where “The Beach” was filmed. When the ferry from Phuket manuevered into a small bay with a small beach, I wondered what we were doing there. After arriving on Phi Phi, someone told me that was “Maya Bay”, the beach Leonardo DiCaprio made famous. It looked a lot smaller than it did in the movie. Unfortunately, I didn’t include Maya Bay in this set of pictures. Next time…

The first day on Phi Phi was just spent on the beach and in the water. The water was calm and clear, the sun was out, and there were beers to be had (by others).

I’m still here in

It has been perfect beach weather for the last 3 days - not too hot, and a nice breeze. Two beach chairs and a little table were going for 100 baht.

The following two pictures are of the first sunset we saw in Phuket.

I think the two biggest attractions of Phuket are 1) the beach, and 2) the girls (or boys that look like girls). Can you tell who’s a boy and who’s a girl???

Not too hard to tell. She even lifted her dress a couple times and you could see the package was tucked away neatly.

Ras and I made it to Phuket safe and sound. It actually wasn’t too bad of a ride down south, especially with some Lorazepam the pharmicist gave me. Upon arriving at Kata beach (a smaller and quieter beach of Phuket), it rained all day. With the rain pouring down, we soon realized there wasn’t much to do but eat or drink until the weather cleared up.

The next day, we decided to pick up and move to the underbelly of Phuket - Patong Beach. So, this is the world-famous Phuket Beach. It was actually a little underwhelming. In different ways, it reminds of Bali. Of course, the lady boys here are much more prominent. It’s definitely NOT as seedy as Pattaya, though, which is nice.

Of course, there’s much more to say about Phuket, but that (and the pictures) will have to wait. It’s another day at the beach tomorrow.

After my dentist appointment yesterday, I went to the shopping center, "Siam Paragon."  I figured I’d browse, eat, and catch a movie.  I don’t know when this place opened, but it looks brand new.  The whole first floor of the mall was a gourmet food court and supermarket.  The area was modern, spacious, and a food-lover’s dream.  In the back of the building was the supermarket called, "Gourmet Market."  Upon seeing it, it looked like an upscale, trendy, natural food store… at least that’s what it seemed to me.  There were huge fruit displays, fresh juices (including grass), deli food, tons of free samples, and a surplus of staff everywhere (who, with their dated uniforms, looked like they should have been cashiering on the USS Enterprise).

As anyone who’s traveled with me knows, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to browse foreign supermarkets.  It’s so interesting to see what the staples of different countries are.  What do Thais like for a snack, compared to Indonesians, or Costa Ricans?  It’s also a great way to try out different foods and drinks. 

Anyway, I felt I had died and gone to supermarket heaven.  This store was B-U-tiful!  Just very aesthetically pleasing.  The aisles were wide, and every food item was immaculately stocked, with all the labels facing out.  I could imagine this supermarket being run like a tennis match.  Every time someone takes an item off the shelf, a store clerk scurries to pull the items from the back to the front of the shelf before anyone notices.  Look at the pictures for yourself.

For lunch, I had Japanese octopus balls and a grass jelly drink.  No dessert, but I’ve made a mental date with the gelato for a later time.

After lunch, I went upstairs to the movie theater.  I held back on watching any "guy" movies, just in case Raswan wanted to see them when he got here.  So, "Snakes on a Plane" and "Miami Vice" were out.  I almost spontaneously bought a ticket for a Thai movie.  I had no idea what it was about, but I knew there were English subtitles.  Instead, I decided to go for a safe bet and bought a 140 baht ($3.78 USD) ticket for "Lake House" with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.  It was a nice romantic movie about finding love, not being able to be with that other person, but deciding waiting for them.  I think we could all relate to that in some way.  My only question… if she was in the future, and he was in the past, why didn’t he ask for lottery numbers?  Duh!

On my way out of the mall, I went through Paragon department store.  Riding down the escalator, I notice there was some kind of event at one of the make-up counters.  There were cameras being shoved at some woman below.  A Thai star?  Maybe.  I had to get a closer look.  All the Thais were gazing from afar, afraid to step over the invisible party line.  I figured that if I just walked up and pointed one more camera at her, she wouldn’t notice.  Plus, if any of the waiters serving hors d’oeuvres question why I was at a private party, I’d just feign foreigner ignorance.  I was very stealthy and was in and out in less than a minute.

I continued on my way out of the building by taking one more escalator down.  This time, I was greeted by a really BIG party, with the words "ESTEE LAUDER" splattered everywhere.  Cool, an Esteee Lauder make-up party.  Again, I maneuvered myself up for some good photo opportunities - right next to the Big Boys with their Nikons and Canon SLRs.  The woman on stage introduced some make-up artist "all the way" from Australia.  His name was Brad *something* - a very forgettable last name.  He talked about the fall make-up line - mauves and violets (for you trend-setters out there!).  He also mentioned the clothes the models would be wearing - BLACK.  As he said, "Black is the new black!"  As well as taking photos of the people on stage, I tried to snap pictures of people that looked like Thai stars.  If they were being interviewed, having their picture taken, or were posing for cameras, I also took their picture.  I don’t even know who these people are.  Does anyone else?

They sat on the left side of the stage.

The covered the event from the front of the stage.

Afterward, I grabbed some more food from the Gourmet Market and made it home to have my dinner a la carte.  Coconut sticky rice with mangoes…. YUM!

I arrived at my dental appointment an hour late because my taxi driver didn’t know where he was going.  Still, he was a nice guy as he chit-chatted about Laotians visiting Bangkok from Nong Khai and how much money they had because they could afford to do that (yeah right, the Lao are rich).  He asked where I was from, where I was traveling, who with, for how long, etc.  He even questioned why I was even going to a dentist because my teeth looked fine.  Maybe I should wait until my teeth are black with rot???

The cleaning was pretty quick, in comparison with a very thorough session I’ve had in Oregon.  I didn’t even get a toothbrush or toothpaste afterward!  Next, the dentist came in and I had a consultation about my root canals.  She said the roots would need to be cleaned out first, and medicine put in, before they could perform the rest of the procedure.  I asked how long the whole process would take to finish, even though I had a sinking feeling I knew the answer anyway.  About 3 months.  Doh! 

"Umm, I’m only going to be in Thailand for a month, is it possible to start the procedure and finish at home?" 

"No, I don’t recommend that.  You should get it all done with one doctor so they can evaluate your progress."  (sigh) "OK."  I guess it’s good to know they’re not only trying to get money out of patients.

Plan B:  I’m going to replace my silver fillings with inlays and replace one crown.  I’ve made four more appointments to finish my procedures and will be able to leave Bangkok for an island a week from today.  (Sigh)  Now I’ve got to find some touristy things to do and fill up my week.