Just thought it would be worth mentioning the little things that make this experience exceptional -
everyone smiles and putting your hands together like a prayer & bowing your head is a form of respect & thanks. "korb koon ka" is thany you.
cars & roads are british-style driving/opposite (wheel is on our passenger side, etc),the islands have only had a few dozen cars total to each of them.
every restaurant we eat at (including those in bangkok) has geckos crawling on walls, all cook stoves are run by propane tanks in mostly open-air kitchens, vegetarian in thai is "mang sa-wi-rat", the fruit & vegetables in the tropics are incomparable (watermelon is scrumptious), the best food is also the cheapest - all the cooks in the kitchens are thai mothers so ordering traditional cuisine at tiny local restaurants is the best.
flowers and plants are amazing (its tropical climate) they make the most garbage-filled area look lush.
thai floors are the cleanest in the world - at every temple, restaurant, home & most stores you take your shoes off at the door & enter in socks or barefoot - and without hesitation, as every floor has certainly been cleaner than those at my own house.
homes are built of primarily corrugated tin or wood/concrete is quite new.
2009 is the year of the lady, blue & yellow - so if you want luck this year, buy her sapphires & gold. (no kidding, daniel & i already purchased ours - happy new year!)
