A swim with your favorite buffalo, why not!

Koh Samui, Thailand (second batch)

We are now on Koh Samui and have been here for a couple days. Samui is an island on the west side of southern Thailand and is absolutely stunning. Although it is a bit touristy on the upper west side in ways that I have not seen anywhere else in the world, it remains relatively calm and non-developed elsewhere on the island. We drove around the island on a scooter yesterday and visited some beaches. Got abolutely torched by the sun. We hiked out about a mile across the low tide flats and by the time we got out there we were as red as a lobsters, well I was anyway, Rie was smart enough to wear sunscrean. This put us into survival mode and we headed back to the shade of the shore as quickly as possible. I also rented a dirt bike and spent a day exploring the trails throughout the mountains on the island. Definitely one of the funnest excursions I did during our stay.

Pictures from Chiang Mai (first batch)

This is the first batch of photos from Thailand. I have been trying to get on my Blog but it is like driving with a blindfold. Everything is in Thai on the internet and so I can't read anything and have to try and load these without really knowing what I am doing. Thailand has been amazing. We spent the first few days in Chaing Mai which is is the northern part of Thailand and though it's a busy little city (2nd largest in Thailand) it has the feel of a small city. The people are just amazingly friendly and will invite you into their home for dinner. Rie and I hiked up the Doi Suthep mountain, which was the hardest hike I have ever experienced for such a short hike. In total, it was only 4 miles or so long but steep and slippery is an understatement. The Kaualau Trail in Hawaii doesn't even come close. The jungle is so dense here that you get the impression that if you were to stay in one place too long you would be over run by plants and fungai. Apparently there was a 5.something earthquake while Rie and I hiked but we didn't even feel it. I have more photos and will post them soon now that I know how to do this. sawadeekap, from Thailand, Eddy

Graduation BBQ

Above are some scenes from the graduation BBQ. What an amazing day this was, to share such a special occasion with close friends comes too rarely it seems.