No photos?

Will blogger allow me post text?  Seems I cant post photos.  :(

Certified!

I am a certified Open Water Diver.  I swam in the most amazing... swarm ... of yellow & white fish, & some zebra fish.  Saw beautiful corals.  But most importantly, taught my German assistant instructor Sabrina & Spanish instructor "Manu" "wicked awesome"  & "wicked pissah!"

The bow of the dive boat, King Kong II

Terrible Internet

Hi... having terrible internet connectivity issues.  Having a fantastic time though.  Will keep trying & try other sources of internet access.

I don't know what to make of that...

I went to the fancy schmancy rooftop (25th+ floor) restaurant for dinner.   It was a beautiful view for sure, & a romantic setting.

The lemongrass sea bass was appealing, so I ordered it.  The waiter informed me that it was "all 3, not 1."  Ok, sure.  Sea bass, beef & chicken.  Not to mention bread, Tom Yum soup and rice.  That was a LOT of food though.  It would have been nice to have just 1 protein.

Dinner arrived, & I was puzzled.  A platter with a THICK, very hot tile was placed in front of me.  The waiter took tongs and dropped large raw pieces of meat onto the tile. I got to cook it to my liking, I guess.  I was spot on with the sea bass.  Amazing!

In the states, I like spicy food.  I like Tom Yum soup.  This was from another dimension of super hot!  I shoveled in rice quickly to absorb the heat.  Wowza.

For dessert, I ordered green tea ice cream to continue helping my mouth cool.  I was treated to a gorgeous red rising moon that grew larger & more orange.

My dinner cooking.

The other dimension Tom Yum Soup.

The rooftop dining area.

Part of the view.

Grand Palace Tour

Selfies are ok, right?

It was only Helen & me on the tour.  She's from Melbourne, recently widowed & went to Phuket solo for her 72nd birthday.  She is headed home now.

Helen & our guide.

The guide is holding a lotus. She dipped it in holy water & gave us blessings for prosperity. 

Catholic school boys on a special trip, as schools are on break now.

Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace.

Walk about a bit

This is my 1 photo from Dubai, a pay phone.  Maxwell Smart Cone of Silence anyone?

In front of my hotel.  Buddas, with placards I

in English telling you that each one is for a different day of the week & why.  I like the 2nd especially!

Fountains in the pool.  My MerMoose concept would fit in PERFECTLY!  Do I smell a tattoo????  ;)

The Ride Over

Saying goodbye to Sue, and of course Buster was terribly difficult.  We both got teary.  It'll be far easier on me though, because I'll be vacationing.

I sat next to a really great guy, Joe, on the flight to Dubai.  He's from PA originally, but lived in AZ for a long time, too.  Some friends invited him on a vacation to Thailand several years back, and that was it. He now lives in the North East near Laos teaching English.  

He has some lovely ideas about starting a rubber tree farm/vocational school for kids.  

The scariest thing I saw on the flight was a flight attendant pushing a cart down the aisle toward me, and running swiftly in front of her was some large bug, a beetle I think.  It was about the size of a quarter and I nearly jumped on poor Joe.  It was just that I wasn't expecting it, see.  Now no one will ever eat airline food again, right?  It's a bug.  We'll be eating those and paying for it here, and maybe in the US soon.  (Google cricket protein bars.). But, did make me glad I had "bugged out."  Maybe it stayed away!

I watched The Book Theif on the flight to Dubai, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty on the flight to Bangkok.  Walter may now be one of my favorites.  What will it take to get Kristin Wigg to sing Ground Control to Major Tom to me?  And ther was a line in the movie that nearly had me falling put of my seat with laughter, a gem hidden in plain sight.  "Stay gold, Pony Boy!"  Took me back to freshman Mrs. Hew's English class at FFHS!

I was VERY FRUSTRATED in Dubai.  I switched my cell to global, and am getting NO reception.  I expect to have harsh words with Verizon soon.

Said goodbye to Joe in Bangkok at the luggage carousel.  We ended up by coincidence sitting with a person between us on the Dubai/Bangkok flight.

Bangkok itself, high 80's.  Humid.  I'm exhausted.  My room isn't ready.  I've waited an hour.  I was met by the hotel excursion representative who I would have paid to leave me alone, but I booked a half day temple tour tomorrow (so I did, I guess).  I shouldn't stay in the confines of my hotel.  I have another full day tour Friday that was previously booked.  All I want to do is go jump in the pool.