Monday, January 03, 2005
New Year's Day - 2005
We spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in the Gulf of Thailand. We took a 4 hour ferry from Surat Thani to the island of Ko Pha Ngan. The island is about 12.5 kilometers in diameter and very mountainous. From the pier, we caught a pick-up truck across the island, along a ruddy, dirt road over the mountains to the beach of Thong Nai Pan Yai.
We spent the afternoon reading our books on the white sand and enjoying the warm weather and rest from travelling. The beach is quite isolated from the rest of the island and has less than one hundred small bungalows and a few bars/restaurants. There were a few games of volleyball going, and a few people running along the beach. Mostly, people were relaxing on the beach, taking naps, and wading in the emerald green water.
That evening, Katrina and I walked down to a restaurant that was serving BBQ kabobs and mashed potatoes - Mmmm Mmmm. Many of the tourists took a boat taxi to another beach where they were having a large New Year's Eve bash and there were only a few people on the beach. While I was paying the tab, however, some guy came and offered to buy Katrina a drink and invited her to hang out with him and his friends. I never quite know how to respond to those situations (of which this is not the first). Part of me wants to punch the guy in the stomach, but mostly I just smile and feel VERY proud when Katrina puts her arm around me and we walk off. Maybe that stems from me being kind of nerdy when I was young. I NEVER got the girl, or made anyone jealous. Anyway, enough about Doug's psychological meditations...
Our New Year's was VERY romantic (if I do say so myself). After dinner we built a fire on the beach and looked at the millions of stars you never see from the city. The restaurant was playing great music and we had the best time talking about our accomplishments from this year and our plans for the next.
We have been in Thailand for almost 3 months and have only seen rain on ONE day. Unfortunately, that day happened to be New Year's Day. We spent the day reading, eating, walking, eating some more, and playing cards. We are like little 4th grade best friends who are never seen apart, and we love every second of it.
Katrina and I are very happy, and very excited for the new year. 2004 a very good year for both of us and we are very grateful to our family and friends who have supported us in everything we have done (even if they think we are crazy).
We spent the afternoon reading our books on the white sand and enjoying the warm weather and rest from travelling. The beach is quite isolated from the rest of the island and has less than one hundred small bungalows and a few bars/restaurants. There were a few games of volleyball going, and a few people running along the beach. Mostly, people were relaxing on the beach, taking naps, and wading in the emerald green water.
That evening, Katrina and I walked down to a restaurant that was serving BBQ kabobs and mashed potatoes - Mmmm Mmmm. Many of the tourists took a boat taxi to another beach where they were having a large New Year's Eve bash and there were only a few people on the beach. While I was paying the tab, however, some guy came and offered to buy Katrina a drink and invited her to hang out with him and his friends. I never quite know how to respond to those situations (of which this is not the first). Part of me wants to punch the guy in the stomach, but mostly I just smile and feel VERY proud when Katrina puts her arm around me and we walk off. Maybe that stems from me being kind of nerdy when I was young. I NEVER got the girl, or made anyone jealous. Anyway, enough about Doug's psychological meditations...
Our New Year's was VERY romantic (if I do say so myself). After dinner we built a fire on the beach and looked at the millions of stars you never see from the city. The restaurant was playing great music and we had the best time talking about our accomplishments from this year and our plans for the next.
We have been in Thailand for almost 3 months and have only seen rain on ONE day. Unfortunately, that day happened to be New Year's Day. We spent the day reading, eating, walking, eating some more, and playing cards. We are like little 4th grade best friends who are never seen apart, and we love every second of it.
Katrina and I are very happy, and very excited for the new year. 2004 a very good year for both of us and we are very grateful to our family and friends who have supported us in everything we have done (even if they think we are crazy).
# posted by Doug Spencer : 5:32 AM
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