Bangkok

Where to begin. I spent four incredible days on Koh Tao. The island is a smaller less commerciallized version of nearby Koh Samui (which is home to several hundred megaresorts). What did I do on Koh Tao. Nothing, absolutely nothing. And it was the best nothing a human could find. During the days I would meander along the beaches or take hikes up and down the few small mountain roads that slithered from one end of the island to the next. I ate all sorts of different food, from Thai curry to pizza, and still found time to read another book (Freakonomics).

The hostel that I stayed at Mr. J's was owned by a guy named, oddly enough, Mr. J! Mr. J is a charactor to be sure. He has written his own vegetarian Bible and has pages from it posted around the shop. A sample from one page: Romantic sex gets baby girl. Happy sex gets baby boy. Sexy sex gets lady boy. And: If you are a bad rat you will come back as a cockroach or a tiger. As a student of religion I found his theology facsinating. Not all of it made sense but of course I had to buy a couple of the smaller lamenated versions for myself.

Steph, John, Tom, (The British currently living in Vietnam) and I decided to travel to Bangkok together. Them to travel back to Saigon, me to take stock on what the last week of my trip will look like. I also ran into some of my friends from China yesterday. They are on the way to the group of islands where I just was, and it is probable, though not certain that I will head back south in a few days to join them down there (on an island about an hour from Koh Tao). Today and tomorrow tho I will be experiencing all that Bangkok has to offer me.

Rough plan for the rest of the trip: Be in Bangkok till the 20th. Head back down the coast from the 21st to the 24th. Fly home late on the 25th. Money is a bit tight and I have had to change my flight plans on a couple of occasions but hopefully this will all work out. Love you all and thanks for reading.
C. Johnson