Flooding at Home Last Week

Here are some photos of the flooding on our property last week.  We were very lucky since there were bad mudslides only a few miles away and about a dozen people were killed.

Visit to Koh Lanta

A couple weeks ago, we took a little day trip to the island of Koh Lanta which is just south of where we live in Krabi.  Koh Lanta is part of Krabi Province and probably the biggest tourist area.  There are actually two islands, Koh Lanta Noi the north island and Koh Lanta Yai the south island.  There is very little development and no accommodations  on the north island, but you have to pass through it to get to the south island which is much bigger and where all the resorts and beaches are located.  It takes about two hours to drive to the Koh Lanta Yai from our house which includes waiting for the two ferries that you need to take.  Once we arrived it was pretty much a sightseeing drive down the main road that runs the length of the island which is about 30 kilometers.  The lower half is less developed but well on it way; however, we still managed to enjoy the scenery and a typical Thai lunch at a roadside restaurant.  At the very end of the island, we found one of the prettiest beach where we took a brief walk and stuck our toes in the very warm water.  The picture above is from that beach which is appropriately called "Last Beach" or Hat Mai Phai.

Watching Field Hockey

Saturday we went to Newport News to watch Skidmore College play in the NCAA semi finals.  My old college roommate's daughter is a freshman on the team and has been a starter all season.  Her name is Kelly and she is #9 in the photo.  They played Bowdoin and unfortunately lost, but it was a lot of fun to watch and see my old roommate Larry and his wife Mary.  They live a small town in the Adirondacks in upstate New York and love skiing but also sail.  Hopefully, we can get them on our boat, either here in the US or in Thailand one day.

Today, we are headed back to the YMCA for a workout and then we'll start getting ready for a few days in Fredericksburg for Thanksgiving.  We're looking forward to seeing my brother Mike and his two dogs Pete and Liz.  Its the first time we will have actually seen the dogs in person and should be fun.

Starting to turn cold!

I think, no I know, winter is on the way!  Last night we had two heaters going and this morning it was 68F in the cabin.  That's fine but it was only about 40F outside and we know it will only get worse.  The forecast for the next few days shows highs of only the upper 50's, and after that who knows.  The good news is in about two months we will be back in Thailand and out of the cold.

In the meantime, we still haven't decided what to do with the boat while we are gone.  The choices are to leave it in the water here at the marina again or to pull it just before we leave and leave it on the hard for six months.  As with everything with a boat, there are trade-offs with both options.

Today, we are back on the boat after a trip to West Virginia last week to visit Dusty's sister Sandy and all the family up there.  We stayed at the lodge at Tygart Lake State Park which was very nice and not too far away.  The choices for lodging are pretty scarce in that part of the state so we felt lucky.  The area has been hit very hard by the recession and a lot of businesses that we in operation a year or so ago when were last up have now closed.  There is a lot of natural beauty but its a tough place to work and live.

Update time

Well as many of you already know, we have been back aboard "Whisper" since the 1st of September.  Unfortunately, its just Dusty and I sans Chewy and Poco.  We had to leave the birds in Thailand with our friends since the rules to bring the back into the U.S. are so stringent.  At a cost of about $1,000 per bird, we could have brought them back but they would have had to spend the first 30 days in quarantine in one of only three facilities ... Miami, New York or Los Angles, so we decided it was best for all that they stay behind.  We miss the terribly but they are in good hands and doing fine.

We are here through the holiday but will be going back to Krabi on January 18.  Right now it seems like a long time but I'm sure the time will fly.  Its hard to believe we already been here almost two months.

Wat Tham Seua

A couple weeks ago Dusty and I finally made it to the top of Wat Tham Seua, the famous Buddhist monastery and temple in Krabi. Most of the monastery is at the bottom of the mountain or karst as they are called here including the caves, temples, housing and administrative buildings. But at the top of the karst is a group of statues and shrines that are just magnificent, and to get there you have to climb 1,237 steep steps. Definitely not for the faint of heart or anyone out of shape. It took us about an hour and a half with plenty of stops for water and rest ... remember its still in the mid-80's to 90 every day and very humid. As you can see from these photos, the view from up there is pretty spectacular. In the first photo you are looking out toward Krabi Town and the ocean. You can see some of the resort islands including the famous Phi Phi Island in the distance. In the second photo, our house is about two miles away and if it wasn't for the karst on the right side in the second picture you would be able to see it, but it's hidden from view unfortunately. We are in that little valley you see behind the three Buddha statues.

A Fish Pedicure?

A couple days ago we went to a festival down in Krabi Town, and one of the businesses that had a booth was doing "fish pedicures". The way it works is you put your feet in this tank of fish for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, and the fish clean the dead skin and other junk off your feet. The fish are around an inch long and are a type of carp I think. They don't have teeth so there is no biting to worry about. They are suckers and they produce just a tingling sort of feeling. It was very relaxing and after 15 minutes my feet never felt so clean, even the calluses from my running were gone! I highly recommend it if you ever get a chance to get one. I saw on the internet where some specialty shops in the US have been doing it for a couple years and the going price was $35 for 15 minutes. We paid $1.85!