The Only Problem With Paradise

Things have been really great. The air temperature...perfect; the water temperature for frequent dips in the sea...also perfect. Our private stilted bungalow...fantastic. Views of sandy beaches, limestone cliffs, and another jagged island across the way...stunning. Our favorite restaurant on an adjacent beach, 3 minutes' walk away...spectacular food. It's rainy season...so there are relatively few tourists about, and deflated prices to match...and aside from our very first day here (and today) we've had unseasonably clear, sunny, blue skies.

In all, a week of sublime weather and scenery and food, being shirtless most of the time...can't ask for more.

Really the only complaint is that mosquitos harass us each morning and towards/after dusk which limits the amount of time spent hanging in the hammock on our bungalow porch. I guess a few itchy insects are a small price to pay for what is otherwise paradise, though. Also less than perfect is the fact that the Americans failed to beat England in the first World Cup match. Alas, we settle for a tie I guess.

We've read a handful of books, got some color (Rebecca, brown; me, more of an off-white), had a Thai massage (which, in my experience, is voluntarily paying to have a meaty Thai woman pummel you with her hands and feet and elbows, with some acrobatics that border on the intimate thrown in for good measure), and I've poked beached jellyfish with sticks (Rebecca says she outgrew this when she was five; me? well, I grew up 2000 miles from the sea so never did this when I was young and even if I had, I wouldn't give it up. no way! it's fun!), and spent a fair deal of time studying the movements of hermit crabs and spider crabs (though Rebecca tells me there must be more than 5000 types of crabs and that these are probably some other type, which is likely true - but regardless, I like watching them and sitting really still until they decide I'm okay and crawl out of their holes - why do they dig these? - and go about their business unfettered).

We're rested and recharged now, ready for the final phase of our trip.

In a few hours, we leave the island of Ko Phi Phi by ferry (provided it's running...after a week of sun, today it's storming...good timing!) back to the larger resort island of Phuket. There, we have a flight back to Kuala Lumpur (tomorrow), where we'll spend a night in the airport ahead of Saturday morning's flight to...China.

When we began this trip, China was not part of the plan; but then, neither was this stop in Thailand. A web of visa issues and discounted airline tickets dictated this course, and we're happy to follow.