Back to Haad Ton Sai

Ahhh...home. Or so it feels right now. It's the closest thing I have on this side of the world. I really liked it here the first time I was here, so I thought I would come back for the holidays. There is so much to do here, it is friendly, it is cheap, it is beautiful and we have friends here too.

We met Bruce and Smithy the first time we were in Haad Ton Sai. I saw them playing cards with board with matchsticks in it and knew immediately that we would get along. How could we not if they play cribbage. We weren't sure that they would be in Ton Sai when we got back, but we took the chance. They ended up getting back a couple of days after we did too.

We went climbing again and met some fellow Americans. We ended up hanging out with them again on Christmas Eve and shared a few beers and a few stories. They were nice people, but aren't most Californians?

Christmas was rainy, but it was still good. Lily and I got each other some nice little presents, some that we could carry around with us or were temporary (chocolates :)). We ate a delicious dinner of kabobs and potatoes and a nice order of bruschetta. Called home and said hi to the family. I missed the holidays with them for the first time and I really felt it.

New Years Eve was a huge party. We went to one of our favorite bars and met with the Brits and the Swedes, then we headed down to the beach were the real party was. There was a Thai Ska band that we all danced to. We met with Noeng, our climbing instructor. It was also his birthday, so he was completely gone that night. He just smiled and rubbed our heads. :) I drank a little too much and was hung over the next day, but hey, it's new years. Who wasn't hung over, right.

We have done a ton of other things out here too. We hiked up to a lagoon that is completely surrounded by cliffs (we had to rock climb down to it). We did a bunch more climbing. We saw monkeys, a spider the size of a baseball, an ant army and a cat fall out of a tree onto a tin roof. I have a hammock now, a beach mat, and fisherman pants. I think I fit in pretty well here.

Don't worry though, I am still coming home.