Ko Samet...I think that is Thai for John has finally chilled out....

Just wanted to do another quick update. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Bangkok and are now on the tranquil shores of Ko Samet in the Gulf of Thailand. We are in a beach front bungalo, and we went upscale... paying 13$ a night. It is brilliant and I may actually be relaxed for the first time in my life... but seeing as I have never truly been relaxed in my life being the charming stressball I am, I am not sure what 'relaxed' feels like... but I am working on it.

Bangkok, like I said, was great. We did not see as many sights as we wanted, but saw the major ones. Reason being, we were there over the weekend which meant late nights out and about soaking up the local flavour... aka an adult beverage or two. It was a perfect balance to all the heavy touring and hiking we had been doing. Time to release.

We left bangkok and took a three hour bus ride (for 5.50), to Ban Phe, where we caught a ferry to Ko Samet. The water is perfect, it is rainy season, so it rains on and off throughout the day, but there is more than enough nice weather. Yesterday when we arrived, we dumped our stuff, walked out our front door and dove right into the ocean (of course I was so excited that I ran in with all my $ in my pockets). We swam for a couple of hours and then walked down the beach and played a pick-up game of v-ball, ate dinner by the ocean and then enjoyed the chilled out nightlife.

Woke up this morning to the sound of rain falling on our bungalow roof, and just layed in bed and read for a bit... so nice. No alarms, no touring... the big decision being whether or not to go for a swim or take a nap... both alluring, both with their advantages.

You are forced to relax here and it is exactly what we all needed before we fly home and are assaulted by jet lag and reverse culture shock. We are here (doing pretty much nothing) until Friday morning, then it is back to Bangkok for the night to catch our flight out in the morning. I am in Beijing for 2 nights and then home!...in 6 days...it is hard to believe really.

Sorry for the lack of pics, but I can't use my computer here and so I will update my blogs when I return home and am unemployed for a bit...ahhh a vacation from my vacation...