The Honeymoon is Over

No, Mackenzie and I haven’t had our first argument. We seem to be on the same page so much that we even ordered the exact same meal last night down to the drink and dessert. I say the honeymoon is over because we have left Ko Samui and will be leaving Thailand in a few hours. Our time in Phuket was plagued by rain and apathy. We watched Rush Hour 2 and Lawrence of Arabia on my laptop rather than visit the beach in the rain or walk the shops in town. Our hotel is a 10 minute walk from Patong Beach & town and is pretty nice, but not near as romantic/charming as Bophut. Mackenize was still tired so she took another nap and I went for a swim in the pool. In the late afternoon we went into town for dinner and ended up at McDonalds (we looked really hard for a good Italian joint but the food was pricey and didn’t look good). Since Phuket is the foreign tourist capital of Thailand everything is 30-50% more expensive here than other places. While out we visited the beach and walked the streets/shops. This is one of the areas that was hardest hit by the tsunami 2.5 years ago. It was nice to see how they’ve rebounded but a little eerie to think about the ocean rising to consume everything in sight. We hiked to a rock outcropping to get some good pictures and I will admit to feeling nervous every time a series of big waves came rolling in. We went to bed around 9:30pm as we had the alarm set for 6:30am to pack, eat breakfast, check-out, drive to the airport, and return our rental car. I took an early morning swim to get some exercise in and enjoy the coolest part of the day (still warm and sticky).
Thailand has treated us wonderfully. Getting a rental car was so liberating and allowed us to see parts of the country that we would never have otherwise. Mackenzie’s idea to go to Ko Samui was brilliant and led to the best place of the trip yet. The people in Bophut especially, but throughout all Thailand have been wonderfully kind and helpful. The language barrier has been difficult, especially in the non-tourist areas and with road signage, but there have been plenty of smiles and thank yous shared. I guess one benefit of not being able to read the signs was never knowing the speed limit. Sure there were lots of signs that said 80 on them while on the highway, but I never knew for sure and enjoyed the idea of cruising at twice the posted limit.
Right now I am sitting at the little airport in Phuket and exited about our journeys ahead. I will miss Thailand, especially our relaxing days on the beach, but look forward to seeing my old friends in Sri Lanka and seeing the sights of India. Our days in Vietnam and Cambodia will be a blur of tourist sights and traveling and then Mackenzie heads home leaving me without a flying companion, but with friends in each country. Hong Kong should be a good stopover for the next 24 hours, if only for the benefits of the Temple and Church services. From there I have no idea how available the internet will be so my blog might become more irregular. Things are great though and I haven’t been happier in a long time.