I can't exactly remember where I left-off in my last journal entry, so allow me to try and catch-up now...

I am currently in a minivan, travelling back to Bangkok with 10 other people... I said minivan right?! See photo below (coming in a few weeks)

Spending the last 5 or 6 days in Koh Chang has been fun and interesting in many ways. The island is absolutely beautiful... mostly due to the fact that it is a national rain forest, and building is restricted. It was also low season, so the number of tourists was drastically reduced.

Myself, Anna and Martha spent the first few days at a really nice resort type hotel called Ban Pu. It was right on the beach (as all the accommodations are on the island), had beautiful big rooms, a pool that none of us used, and staff that didn't know their ass from their elbows (perhaps a bit harsh, but hey, I'm from Jersey)

Apparently they were full on Friday and Saturday night, so we had to find accommodations elsewhere for our last two nights on the island... I say "we" meaning Anna and Martha had to... it is so nice travelling with two "planners"... and they spoil me...

So they find us a much cheaper place to stay just north of where Ban Pu was, which turned-out to be very nice also... Friday around noon we grab all of our stuff and carry it up the beach to the new place...

We drop our stuff in our rooms, and decide to go for a walk on the beach... as soon as we get to the water though, a group of four Thai girls ask me to join them in a game of cards. Initially unsure, I remember that I have had such great experiences meeting people, so I decide to join them...

Interesting side note, all Thai people have nicknames...

So I sit down to play some cards with Lacker (her father is a carpenter (that's not a bad joke, it is the truth)), Ni, Oil (pronounced oy) and An (Oil and An are twins). They are very nice, and since they all work at the Duty Free Shop at the Bangkok Airport, they have a pretty good understanding of English... and Ni was quite good at Japanese as well...

So we play cards for an hour or so, and then decide to check-out one of the waterfalls on the island. We take a taxi/pick-up truck to the entrance of the falls, and then walk for fifteen minutes to see the falls. It is nice, but the falls in Ithaca are better. We walk around taking a few pictures, but notice that the sky is growing very dark in the distance... Not a minute later we are caught in the middle of very heavy rain and try to make a break back to the entrance... of course, all the other tourists there are also heading back the same path, so the journey is slow and we all get completely drenched... oh well...

We jump back in a taxi/pick-up truck, but the ride sucks because we are soaking wet in the back of a pick-up speeding down the road. Now wet and cold, the girls decide it would be a good idea to go swimming in the ocean (the ocean is about 75 degrees)...

Once back at the beach, we quickly begin frolicking in the ocean... feel great! Before I know it though, one of the twins has been swept out by the undertoe (reported to be very strong at this beach). She begins flailing her arms and I see her sister swimming towards her to help... Feeling like I must be watching this on TV, because this kind of stuff does not happen to me, I find myself swimming frantically towards the distressed girl. I grab her arms and wrap them around my neck and swim/walk slowly back towards shallow water. As I am carrying her though, I turn to see her sister who is now in even deeper water, and whose head is now face down... FREAKING OUT, I throw the first girl off my back, hoping she can make it from there on her own, and swim after her sister. Her head bobs up now and again, so I know she is still breathing, but she looks exhausted from struggling, and is having difficulty breathing. I finally reach her and throw her arms around my neck, now hoping that I am not in too deep myself... As the waves pass us, I cannot reach the bottom, but in between the swells, I can just dig my toes in the sand... slowly we walk/swim to shore... Once in shallow water, I let her down, but her legs are so weak she can barely stand... I remember thinking how scarey it was to see her so weak... I had no idea she was in so much trouble...

Must continue the rest of this journal tomorrow, the internet shop is closing and Pesch is kicking me out...

Now it is Monday, May 21st, and I'm am back in the internet shop to finish this entry...

As the girls sit together on the shore, they have looks of horror on their faces, speaking to one another in Thai. I sit quietly in disbelief that my lazy ass wascapable of swimming... Once they calm down a bit, they turn and thank me for saving their lives... I say my standard, "No problem", but suddenly I begin to understand the severity of the situation... Up until that point, I was still convinced this was just a TV show... after all, this kind of stuff doesn't happen to me... But these sisters think I saved their lives... wow, now that I think of it, there was really no one else on the beach at the time... it was really lucky that I was there... what would have happened had I refused the offer to play cards just three hours earlier? I had trouble walking when I got to the shore too though... how much longer could I have lasted until I was too exhausted? Still feels like something I saw on TV... glad it's over and no one was hurt!

Completely drained, everyone heads back to their rooms to rest and clean-up for dinner... of course there will be much drinking tonight!

After an ok dinner, we walk down the beach to a small bar where mostly Thai locals hang-out... myself, Anna and Martha are minorities and I love it. We were told that this bar had a band that played old Thai country songs and a few American classics, so of course I was very excited to experience that, but what they didn't tell us was that apparently the band's opening act was Runaway Bride staring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts...oh brother...

But since Lacker works in the liquor department of the Duty Free Shop at the airport, we are treated to a Thai Rum called Sang Som and coke... life is good, despite the fact that the movie blows...

Finally, the credits roll, and the band starts to warm-up... we keep drinking and settle in for some Thai tunes... The band is pretty bad overall, and they really don't know many of the words to the American songs they sing, but I am having such an enjoyable time, I don't really care what they sound like... Before I know it we are closing the place, and walk back to the hotel about 2:30am... what a long, extraordinary day.

The next morning, I wake up early to say good-bye to Lacker, Ni, Oil and An who are leaving to go back to Bangkok, then my 10:30am massage arrives. The massage is so good, I tell her to return at 6:00pm... this was the best and cheapest massage I have had in Thailand so far, and I wanted one more before leaving the island... the massage costs about $4.50 for one hour.

After the massage, I hit the sack again and sleep until 4:00pm. Well, just enough time to get something to eat and relax before my next massage... life is good. The 6:00 massage does not disappoint, and I feel good about leaving the island first thing the next morning. Well, that's 10 massages at this point, and I think it is safe to say that I won't be making it to 20... oh well... I'm am still pretty happy with 10!

The next morning, Sunday the 20th, we had to get up very early for the long trip back to Bangkok... the day was long and extremely dull... I was very happy to be back at the Shanti Lodge! I took a quick shower, ate, drank a couple of beers, and went to bed...

I'll try to write again before leaving Thailand...