karma

Last week, I took a sick day when I was just really tired and not so sick. So what happens this week....you got it, I actually got sick. It's a kind of really weird sickness. My lymphnodes on my neck are really swollen, my throat is sore, slight fever, and a very runny nose. Sounds like a cold, right? Well, I've been taking every cold medicine offered here- Egyptian and foreign- for 5 days and nothing is helping. In fact, I feel worse. So it must be Swine Flu, right? No no, much more likely to be caused by the pollution. Yes, the pollution has been terrible lately. The kind where you can't see your hand in front of you. Ok, not that bad. It's very hazy outside and the air is hard to breathe. Can't believe my parents are coming in town this weekend. I warned them not to come. It's weird how I've been travelling a lot the past few years and it just seems very natural to look information about a country before I visit it. Obviously, they have not done an ounce of research and they don't listen to anything I've told them. So I'm still getting questions like "Should I bring an umbrella?" We are in the Sahara Desert. "You said to pay the taxi driver 15 pounds?" No, I said 80 pounds. "Can I wear jeans?" Why the hell would you wear jeans? It's 90 degrees here. We are in the Sahara Desert. "Should I bring sunscreen?" We are in the the Sahara Desert. "Can I bring a laptop?" What? "Do you have internet?" How do you think skype is working? "Well, I just really really don't want to get Mummy Tummy..." You will. Sorry, but if you are in Cairo for more than 3 days, you will get sick. Everyone does. That's why I said to stay only 3 days. Oh well, last time to do touristy stuff in Cairo. I hate toursity stuff here. It's the worst part of Egypt. Everyone harrasses you. They over charge you. They grab at you. The pyramids are the worst. You would think this would be my favorite part of being here, but not at all. I hate going there. There are a million tourists who are paying 100 times what they should be paying to ride a camel or have a guy take their picture while they put their finger on the pyramid. It's embarrassing. If they only knew that it should cost $10 to ride a camel and not $100. Poor shmucks. My favorite touristy place is the Khan. I love it. It's crazy, people are in your face, men are making cat-calls, people get in your face and grab at your arm to get you to come in their shop. What I love is to take visitors there and just watch their reactions. Nothing about it shocks me anymore. And I know how much things should be and I know how to say enough Arabic words to make them lower the prices a lot. And then I just walk away because I can get all of that stuff on Road 9 with no hassle. It's just fun to mess with them and make them think they are going to have an overpriced-sale. There was a bombing there last year, and it gets bombed a lot because it's such a touristy spot. I can't wait to take my parents there, I think they will crap their pants.

Book Reviews

Maybe because I took the day off (sick- cough cough) and I'm bored or maybe because I just inhaled 2 boxes of Nerds, Sudafed and 3 cups of coffee- I'm going to write another post. I've been reading a lot of books since I've been in Cairo for several reasons. The most obvious is because I don't have a tv, but also because I travel a lot. Travelling requires waiting around for a plane, train, bus, boat, taxi, etc. so it's good to have something to do to pass the time. I've also read a lot because most of my friends are avid readers here too- for the same reasons I mentioned. They are able to recommend good books since there's nothing worse than wasting your time reading a terrible book. So here are a few books I've read in the last couple months and would recommend. Don't worry, I won't ruin the ending or plot too much. I'm a big fan of Jon Krauker(spelling?). I would recommend all of his books that I've read- "Under the Banner of Heaven" and "Into thin air". He does a great job with investigating the story and giving the facts while also writing an intriguing story. You've probably heard of this book and/or the movie which I later watched and also loved. It's the story of a guy who gives all of his things away, burns his money and goes to the Alaskan wilderness. It's not ruining the story by letting you know that he dies- it says it on the back cover. When I first heard about this guy I thought what an idiot he must have been, but the book gives more detail into his life and why he did what he did.

Coming back from India, I was interested in their history. This book gives a good look at the modern history of India. I had no idea about any of it. Before you read this book, you should read "A Fine Balance". It is the "Kite Runner" of India. Amazing book but not a light read. Read that book and then read "In spite of the gods" which is a nonfiction account explaining the events that happen in "A Fine Balance".

These next 2 books are really long books. Both are about how "religion" ruins 2 families. I was surprised to find out that the author of "The Brothers K" is a christian because it is written as if the author is trying to make a point that organized religion is harmful. Really interesting. I liked the "Poisonwood Bible" more just because the plot went a little faster. I don't know anything about that author, but it does bring up important points to remember when people are missionaries to a foreign land. It's about a family from Georgia who goes to the Congo in Africa during the 60s as missionaries. I would assume the author hates missionaries, but maybe not. Definitely an interesting perspective on how people come into another culture and try to change it.

I just finished this book. I really liked it. It's competely shocking and hard to read while sitting on the beach eating ice cream. It's unbelievable what some people have gone through and difficult to imagine living in a war.

Stalking 101

"His debilitating disease validates how wonderful I am."

Forgot to mention my stalker. Everyone has had one. Maybe even more than one. For some odd reason, Egyptian men will randomly dial numbers until they hear a Western woman's voice. At which point they will continue to call every 5 minutes. The goal? No clue. So I had this guy calling every 5 minutes from 10pm to 2am or until I turned my phone off. He would just sit there and breath when I answered and screamed at him. Owen screamed at him. Then each of my guy friends would call him every 15 minutes starting at 7am and keep waking him up. Then he started texting me in Arabic. I had a friend translate these for me. The texts would say things about how beautiful my voice it- (I've only screamed profanities at him) and how he wants to see my eyes. Yeah, totally creepster. Every female that I know has had this happen at one point or another. The solution? Change your phone number. No, I'm going to be stubborn. I have less than 3 months left and I'm not changing my number. Turns out that a man from my work knows the highest ranking official with the police department. Apparently, this is a major problem that the police have to deal with. Their way of dealing with this, is to bring bring the stalker in for
"questioning". (AKA beating the hell outta the guy)

Also, I was followed home the other night, AGAIN. Conversation went like this:

creepy egyptian guy: Don't worry. (as I am shining my flashlight in his eyes)
me: too late
weirdo: Can I talk with you?
me: no
weirdo: Can I walk you home?
me: no
weirdo: what do you do? do you live here? (still following me)
me: ugh. (be nice, be nice) yes, i'm a teacher.
weirdo: are you married?
me: YES!! VERY MARRIED!!
weirdo: do you have kids?
me: (realizing this guy is probably about 17) No, I hate kids.
weirdo: I'm a student. (obviously wanting to practice his English)
me: okay, that's nice.
weirdo: I want to see you again.
me: NO!
weirdo: Is this your street?
me: er- maybe
weirdo: Can I walk you to your door?
me: NO!

Get a clue! If you want to practice your English, following me down the street at night is not the way to do so....Also a favorite pastime for Egyptian men- facebook. They seem to think it's some sort of dating website. So they will randomly write messages like "Wow! U look awesome! R U live in Cairo?" The best is when they tell you all their stats as if you are looking for a 38 Egyptian male who is 5'6'' and wanting to meet in person. This might seem flattering if there wasn't the 2 to 10 rule here. If you are a "2" in the states, then you are a "10" here. One of my guy friends came up with this theory, and it makes me laugh- but it's true! Sometimes it's like being a celebrity with the way people stare at you. Sometimes it's annoying, but most of the time I've gotten used to it and just walk with my head down and sunglasses on. No autographs, please.

update

Guess it's been awhile since I've had an update. I've been pretty busy lately. Since February- was that really the last post??- we've had Spring Break in Spain and Easter Break in Dahab. Spain was really great. My favorite part was being in Granada and Jaen. After Suzanne and Steph left, we met up with Owen's friends who invited us to their home for lunch which was an incredible traditional Spanish lunch with the entire family. We also went out with some of his other friends who took us to their favorite tapas bars. Free tapas with any drink you purchase is pretty much the greatest promotion ever. It happened that the night we went out, there was some sort of competition among the univsersity students. The guys dress up in jester outfits(not sure, that's just what they looked like with tights and everything) and sang songs on weird looking guitars and accoridons for the ladies. Apparently, it is tradition to pay these guys to seranade the girl you like. We were with one of Owen's former professors and he said that's how he got his wife to like him! So there are all these groups of guys wondering the streets singing in and out of the bars. Very entertaining. I wonder how they determine which group of guys wins....

Easter weekend was a very relaxing trip to Dahab. This was most likely the last trip ever to Dahab which is kinda sad. Great friends and good food. One night we went out for a Bedoin dinner. This is when you drive out in the middle of the desert and the Bedions (the people who live in the desert- kinda like the natives) cook you dinner and sing and dance. We also went to the best Thai restaurant in Egypt. Which makes me can't wait until next year when our "Dahab" will be somewhere in Thailand.

Back to Cairo for the last 12 weeks of school. Never a boring moment. One morning last week, we are heading to school and at the turn off for our school- which is in the middle of the desert- literally- the road is covered in water. Now remember that it only rains 3 days a year here and hasn't rained in the last 4 months. Why the road is flooded is anyone's guess. As we get through the flood waters, we pass 2 horse carts having a "chariots of fire" race down the road. The drivers are standing and screaming while whipping their horses to go as fast as possible. This is like a major road we are on...
The next day we are driving home from work. We are driving pretty slowly because there's lot of traffic and we notice a taxi driver behind us screaming at the driver in the car next to him. Next thing you know, he (taxi driver) has gotten out of his car and goes to the other car, opens the passenger door and starts punching the woman in the face! He starts choking her and punching her as the driver is screaming at him. We stop our car and Owen starts to get out as the taxi man gets back in his car. Both cars start driving away, and the taxi man pulls out a big stick (because we always carry this in our cars-right?) and drives after that car. We pull off onto another freeway so we didn't see the rest of the fight. It must have been some sort of domestic fight. Maybe that woman was his ex-wife or current wife or daughter- who knows? Crazy. Apparently, there are a lot of domestic fights that end in murder here. According to the papers, that seems to be how most murders occur. Like I said, never a dull moment.

What a girl needs

It's funny how life changes when you move to a 3rd world country. It's the little things that you take for granted in the States that you start to miss. But after 2 years, you really don't miss them at all. Here's a list of things I don't have here in Cairo. And I just don't need them.

TV- I don't miss this at all. Obviously, we don't have cable either. I feel like I wasted so much of my life sitting in front of the tv watching something mindless. If there's a show or movie that I want to watch, I just download it and watch it on the computer. I haven't seen an English commerical since last summer. (We have tvs on the treadmills at the gym- but the commericials are in Arabic.)

Voicemail- I really don't miss this at all. I hate checking voicemail. Everyone texts which makes things easier. No one has voicemail which is really weird. So when I have to call a parent from school, I can't leave a message. But I can text them. Which is weird.

A cellphone with internet- Ok, that is just ridiculous. Why do you need to have access to facebook from your phone? My phone's most advanced feature is the calculator. It's a great phone- the cheapest one available. And I only pay about $10/month for the minutes.

Fast food- Forget Taco Bell, there's not any fast food here. There is a McDonald's but it's not exactly fast and doesn't taste the same at all. We do have food delivery from any restaurant in town. But it will take a minimum of 45 minutes.

Car- I don't miss driving. It's nice to have one less thing to worry about. No filling up for gas, no insurance, no repairs, no tickets, no worries. I do ride to school with a friend who has a car which is much better than riding the teacher bus.

Microwave- Well, we have one now, but I didn't have one for an entire year. And guess what? I survived! I don't buy frozen food or anything that you really need a microwave for. I rarely use the microwave. Maybe only twice since I've been here.

Walmart/Target- There's no such thing as a store where you can buy everything on your shopping list. Even for groceries I have to stop at 3 different stores. And you aren't guranteed to find everything on your list. I figured this out the hard way when I first got here. But then you realize that you don't actually 'need' everything on your list. If I can't find scotch tape, oh well, life goes on.

Shopping- I'm going to include all my favorite stores like Gap, Banana, Bath and Body Works- none of those are here. The clothes in Cairo are cheap and Euro/Arab styles= not cute. I really think I save so much money here because I don't spend any on clothes, accessories, etc. That's how I afford to travel so much. Which is fine with me.

US Weekly/ Gossip Magazines- I'm so glad I don't know what the latest fashion is and the latest celeb gossip. Who cares? It's nice not feeling like my clothes are very outdated. When you see a widow on the street with 2 small children begging for food, it puts life into perspective.

Radio- I have no idea about the latest music. Itunes tells me what is popular, but I really doubt everyone is listening to a song that says something about brushing your teeth with gin. Please tell me it isn't so! Our radio station here (that we listen to in the car on the way to school) plays English songs. Any English song- so it could be Frank Sinatra or Jay Z. Very wide variety and songs that we haven't heard in years. But most of the time, we just listen to the ipod in the car. This is why I rock out to Miley Cyrus and I'm not embarrassed at all about it.

Oh, Punny....

Bunny was getting a little agressive and started terrorizing my roommate. After some research, it seems that she needed to get spay or neutered depending on what she is. Also, cats will try to reproduce with bunnies- which really grosses me out. So we found a vet who takes rabbits and took her over their last weekend. Conversation went as the following:

vet: Is it a girl or boy?

Owen: not sure

vet: how old is it?

Owen: not sure

vet: Where did you get it?

Owen: from an Egyptian

vet: You know Egyptians eat rabbits, right?

Owen: ummmm pleasedonteattherabbit

We called the next day, but she wasn't ready. The following day Owen went to pick her up and I'm assuming it's probably not living anymore. She was very sedated from the medicine and being really sweet. Owen hands me the Vaccine booklet with her shots and stuff. I notice an obvious spelling error.

Me: What is this?
Owen: Oh, yeah the vet asked what her name was and I said Bunny. He wrote Punny and I didn't have the heart to tell him that's wrong.

Best Valentine's Day ever.

Even though I didn't allow my class to have a party on Valentine's Day, we had an exchange at the end of the day. Tacky gifts are a teaching tradition. But Valentine's Day usually reveals the top gifts. Not to be disappointed, one of my kids gave me this lovely phone. What I love/loathe the most about it is the fact that he picked it out. So something about this reminds him of me. I obviously like hot pink, shiny phones....in the shape of giant lips. Yes, it's real. It is the epitamy of everything that is tacky in Egypt. We have decided that whoever has the next social gathering, we will replace it with their regular phone in secret. It is definitely the gift that needs to keep on giving.

This made Owen homesick. He might have cried a little when he saw this.


And this made me homesick. I cried a little too.

My friend, Jay, just had this on his facebook status:

Winter in Cairo= the greatest collection of outdated Cosby sweaters the world has ever witnessed.

This is so spot on that I had to share it.

Incredible India

They say that nothing prepares you for India. Not true. Living in the chaos that is Cairo for a year and 1/2 prepared us quite well. We stayed in a very nice part of New Delhi, but we walked each night about a kilometer or so to a shopping center(for lack of a better word) for dinner. The food was incredible. I know that everyone always jokes about Indian food and what it does to your stomach, but I didn't have any instestinal disturbances the entire 6 days. Also, we were all lucky to not get Delhi Belly. The first day we get there, we decide that we want to get into "real" Delhi and get a driver to take us to a few sights. The main 2 were the Red Fort and India Gate. Then we took a rickshaw down a street in Old Delhi. Pictures really wouldn't do this justice so I had to take a video of this. I'm not a very good videographer and I never use that function on my camera so I apologize for it.

The Taj Mahal is amazing as you would guess. We also went to Agra Fort which was also very pretty. The time went by really fast. I felt as though I was getting very comfortable with life in Delhi and can't wait to go back to see the rest of India. There will be a return trip very soon...possibly next fall? The one thing that can't be found in the pictures is the smell. It smells just awful pretty much everywhere. Urine and feces are the most distinct smells. Monkeys were all over the streets in Agra. I have read that the monkeys are a growing problem because they get into people's homes and bite people which passes on rabies and other diseases that kill them. It's really hard to pick out pictures to add on here. There are just so many. I'll post most of the pics on facebook just because this tends to take longer.

You know you're back in Egypt when....

As soon as you exit the baggage claim there are about 2,000 men begging you to take their taxi. They jump in your face and show you pictures of their cousin's hotel and claim that they have the best taxi in all of Egypt. The guys walked ahead of me and it was like the Red Sea closing after them. None of these touts went after them, but came full force on me. I was dodging them left and right. I actually had to stop and fake a guy out, turn and run around him like a football play. Next I had to duck under a guy's arm who was shoving a picture of something in my face. Maybe the pyramids? Saying "no thank you" , or "I live here", doesn't seem to do much for these guys. I couldn't take it anymore. I screamed IMSHEEE!! at the top of my voice. This basically means "f off" in arabic. They all jump back 2 feet with their arms up as if they've kicked a ball out of bounds and are not claiming it as their fault. Owen turns around and comes after me, grabbing my arm and pulling me through this madness. Apologizing profusely for leaving me. I left the men standing around mumbling stuff about imshee? They were pretty shocked that I knew that word and that I screamed it. On the ride home, we passed by a lady walking on the street wearing a black burka. Not unusual. However, on this burka was a large picture of a horse and in big gold letters "Arab Hores" on the back of the burka. I wish we had a camera ready, but we all had a good chuckle. As I came home, a guy came around with the gas bill. 30 cents for the month. No joke. Oh, Egypt. How I love/hate you!

gotta get my nails did

I went with Elizabeth to get pedicures the other day. My usual place was packed so we went to the salon across the street from me where no one speaks English. It's a really nice salon and you can get a spa pedicure for less than $6. So Elizabeth picks out a nail polish color and the lady shakes her head and clicks her tongue. (this means NO in Arabic) The lady picks an entirely different color for her. Ok, whatever. So it's my turn to pick a color... I pick the same color that Elizabeth has on her toes. Lady shakes her head and clicks her tongue. No. No?? What?? She picks an entirely different color for me. What is this? I can't pick my own nail polish color? So bizarre. As everything in Egypt is. We laugh all the way home and always go back to my regular place that gives the BEST foot massage in the world.

a bunny story

The other day I had Bunny running around on my bed. I had my laptop on my bed which Bunny sometimes jumps on or tries to eat the cord. I left the room to get my phone and came back to a screen on my computer that said "End karat browsing now?" with Bunny sitting on top of the lap top. True story.

an Egypt story

I promised to post more funny stories, so here goes:

Some of my friends were sitting at a restaurant in Dahab. The restaurants in Dahab are all Bedoin style so you sit on the floor with pillows and stuff right on the beach. Like Thailand. So they were having dinner and these kids run up to the table next to them. Usually, whenever you leave the table, they always clear all the condiments, sugar, etc. Here is why. The table had not been cleared yet so the kids run up and grab the bottle of sugar and start chugging it! They are pouring the sugar in their mouths straight from the bottle! The waiter comes out and starts chasing them down the beach. They said it was one of the funniest things that has happened to them in Egypt. Only in Egypt.

the guy who follows you home

Two of my friends were walking home one day from dinner. Wait, let me preface this story. Sexual harrassment can be a major headache in Cairo. Egyptian men for whatever reason like to harrass Western women aka Whiteys. For example, getting your ass grabbed by a random man on the street is not unusual. Last year I had a cop grab my boob at a soccer game which ended with Owen punching him in the face. Another story for another day. About 2 weeks ago, one of my girl friends ordered food (very typical) and the delivery guy asked to use the restroom. She said yes knowing that there aren't public restrooms in Egypt. He comes out of the bathroom, looks at her and says "You are beautiful. I want to f*ck you." Yes, that happened. And that doesn't surprise me. So let's begin the story.....
Two of my friends are walking home from dinner at night in the dark down a Cairo street. This guy on a bike starts following them and saying something that sounds like "fuuu". They keep walking faster and start complaining in English how annoying and gross Egyptian men are. This guy keeps up next to them. One friend turns and yells (in English) "YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE!" They keep walking. He continues to follow and begins to reach for them. They turn and one yells at him "F*CK YOU!! GET AWAY FROM US NOW!! WE WILL CALL THE COPS!!" Hoping this will cause a scene and deter him from approaching any further. They run down the street. He is still after them. They run into a jewelry store. Suddenly, one friend says...."I think I left my takeaway box at the restaurant." Yes, that was a waiter from the restaurant who followed them home for 15 minutes trying to return their takeaway box to them. They both feel ridiculously embarrassed. Later they call the restaurant to explain. The restaurant sends that same guy to deliver the food. At this point he is terrified to even come near the door of the flat. Things aren't always what they seem.

The Sheep Story

I used to think that only funny/embarrassing things happened to me. Turns out I was wrong. I want to write more funny stories on here because there's pretty much a funny story each week. I will begin with a story that happened last November during the Eid break. This story is completely true as far as I know. Nothing has been added just for the humor. Let me start and explain what this Eid was all about. It's the Eid-Al-Adha which is known as the Festival of Sacrifice. This means that everyone slits the necks of goats and other animals freely on the streets for days at a time. Luckily, I've been out of town during this both years. Hamdullah! (Praise be to God) But we did see a cow tied up outside a home in Luxor and then later we saw the blood covering the same house. They (Those A-rabs) really like to sacrifice their animals on top of their belongings such as cars and homes for good luck or whatever. Well, this is where the story starts..... There is a man named Dan. Let's just call him Dan to save his reputation. Dan is at home in Cairo during the Eid. He looks outside his apartment and sees below a few sheep tied to the building. After a few drinks, he decides that he is going to "rescue" one of these sheep. He goes downstairs and unties a sheep leading him up to his apartment. Not sure what happens next, but the sheep freaks out, comes untied, runs through his apartment, out the balcony doors, and plunges off the balcony to his death. Yes, the sheep is dead. Dan is freaking out. So he calls....one of our principals. Yes, his boss. He tells her what he has done and asks for advice. She tells him to talk to the boyab ('keeper of the building'- basically the security guard). The boyab is furious at what he has done and demands that he pays for a new sheep. Sure enough, a new sheep arrives in the back of a taxi cab. Taxis are not big here at all. The thought of a sheep in the back of a taxi is pretty funny. But that's not where the story ends....Owen has a connection to this story. When we were on our Nile Cruise he received a text from someone that said "There's a sheep in my backyard. What should I do?" And Owen thinking this was Tao texting him who is from New Zealand writes back "Shouldn't you know what to do with sheep. Just do what your people do with sheep." This is a dirty reference to Kiwis and the infamous reputation they have with their sheep. So the question is...did Owen encourage Dan to bring the sheep upstairs? I hope so because this story made me laugh aloud for a long time.

Resolutions...updated.

1. I lost a kilo last week!
2. Maybe....we'll see. Lacking motivation.
3. I've been cleaner now. However, I still leave a big mess for Hanan.
4. Yeah, not so much.
5. Going to India next weekend, Lebanon in Feb, and bought tickets to Spain for Spring Break...
6. Yes! I've only eaten out like 3 times last week.
7. Learned how to cook pizza.
8. I'm doing it.
9. Haven't even picked the guitar up.
10. I made a new friend! And I LOVE love love my friends here. It will be hard to leave in June...

New Year's Resolutions (because I have to)

1. Lose weight. Get in shape.
2. Run another marathon. Prague in May?
3. Try to keep things cleaner and not just wait for the maid to do it.
4. Learn and use more Arabic than just 'saba el khair, henna, shokran masalama' to the delivery guy.
5. Travel to at least 5 new countries. (I went to 15 countries last year so I'm sure this will be an easy goal)
6. Eat out less and cook more.
7. Learn to cook so I won't eat out as much.
8. Update the blog more. (done.)
9. Learn to play guitar.
10. Make new friends (and keep the old!)

Ooops!!

So I started to boil some eggs. Then my roommate came home. We ended up talking for awhile. Then some friends randomly came over. We talked for awhile. Everyone left. I heard a weird popping sound. Totally forgot about the eggs! Run to the kitchen and find that the eggs are boiled and cracked up. No water left in the pot. Ooops!

Has it really been that long???

Has it really been since October that I've written on this? Wow, time flies! Since then, I've been on a Nile Cruise, Malaysia, Singapore, and now Thailand. Sooo New Year's Resolution will be to update the blog at least once a week..... or maybe just have a trip because that's all you really care about, right? :) I didn't bring my laptop on this trip like a dummy so I haven't put the pics up yet because of that. Thailand is pretty much effing amazing. Everyone I know who has ever come to visit has always said that, but it's totally true. Believe everything you hear. We started our 3 week vacay in Kuala Lumpor, Malayasia. I've heard that it's a big, crowded, dirty city. Not true coming from Cairo. Everything was orderly and clean. China Town was really nice. Very tame compared to the Khan-alKahlil in Cairo. Not much to see there, so we flew to Singapore for a few job interviews. Looks like that's where I'll be in August 2010! Not sure yet which school, we're waiting on a school to run background checks and stuff before they can offer the contract! Hope it all works out! Absolutely loved Singapore! We hung out with a few of Owen's friends there. Had a little BBQ and social gatherings at the pool.... felt like anywhere in North America. Then flew over to a remote island off of Phuket. I have no idea what island it is and I couldn't find it on the map. We took a night boat in total darkness and landed on the beach. The locals came over and carried all of our stuff to the cabins. These pics are pretty amazing. We stayed basically in this jungle. Good thing the food was really good, because there was only 1 restaurant on the whole island. We met a really lovely Irish couple, Jane and Allen, and ended up having dinner and drinks with them each night. We had a great Christmas with them. After 5 days there, we took a boat, bus, and ferry over to Koh Phangan to meet up with 3 friends. We were only going to stay here for 5 days and then check out another island, but we like it so much we're gonna stay the entire time. The beaches are beautiful white sand beaches, the food is incredible, the people very friendly and the massages so cheap! We were here for the infamous Full Moon Party on Haad Rin Beach. It's bascially like Mardi Gras once a month....but it was also New Year's Eve so there were something like 20,000 people at this beach party. It was surprising how tame it was considering the large amount of people. The tide is very far out so that's what makes the beach so roomy and the moon is so bright you can see everything so well. Loved it. We were definitely some of the older people at the beach, but it was still so much fun. I don't have pics of this because I was told to leave my camera at home. Really wish I had pics, but I'm sure if you google full moon party and koh phangan then you'll get some great pics of what it was like. There were lots of fire performers, fireworks, and these things that you set on fire and they float away in the air. They looked like lanterns. It's supposed to represent all the bad things from the year before are burning away. We even saw a ladyboy which I was very excited about! A drunk guy with a santa hat was making out with the ladyboy totally unaware that was a not a cute Thai girl. We all had a good laugh at his expense. Most days are the same- sleep in, breakfast, watch Animal Planet or CNN, beach, reading, nap at the pool, thai massage, shopping or lunch in town or on the beach (we have scooters!), a beer or 2, maybe another nap, sunset and cocktails, dinner out on the beach, cards or games on the balcony. Tough life. It's hard to imagine it being cold everywhere else in the world. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and Happy New Year's!