Traveler

Hi,

Today was a busy, magical day on Koh Lanta. We kayaked, swam, carved fruit, got massaged, and dined with the sunset. More magic happened so stay tuned.

Now I know that email will reach me here on the island, but I've only heard from two of you with regards to the song. Here's the chorus: "When __ comes home, so good. She's the pride of the neighborhood. She's the raw flame, the live wire, she prays like a Roman with her eyes on fire..." Hint: If that doesn't bring it back, it was never there. (5)

This morning when we arrived at the dining room, our morning server, Aum, directed us to a table looking out on the ocean. It had a bowl of flowers, a special tablecloth, and the words 'Happy Wedding Anniversary' spelled out in sea shells. We were speechless. What a beautiful thing to do. That set the tone for the rest of the day.

We had a 9am appointment to go kayaking through the mangrove forest. Had no idea what we were getting into. It was kinda like the elephant thing. (Ha) A member of the hotel staff, Sure (pronounced Shu-ah) was to be our guide. We drove about 10 minutes to what they call Layana pier. This is where they keep the hotel watercraft. The actual walkway over the water is a scary set of planks, with a few holes for good measure. After putting on life vests, we climbed down to our Hobie Kayak. We were paddling on what is called a Klong. It looks like a big wide river, but it's ocean water. On both sides were Mangrove forests, dense with trees growing in the water. Their roots are actually deep down on the bottom, but at low tide, like today, you can see the roots. Inside the forest there are monkeys, fish, birds, and lots of crawling things. There are no resorts on the Klongs, and the eastern coast is all Mangrove.

Normally, guests go out in the kayaks for about 2 hours. That seemed a little long for us, especially considering that this was our first time. We paddled for what was a comfortable time, took some pictures, and told Sure that we were ready to head back to shore. We saw some houses by the boat dock that were all on stilts, over the water. Very quiet, interesting life style. Most of them were make of wood and thatch, with a few tin roofs.

We went from sitting on the water to swimming in it. The pool looked so refreshing after being in the sun that we took a morning swim. After a little more sun, it was time to change for lunch. We've made friends with most of the dining room staff, and Chef Claudio. We always seem to end up in a little conversation with him.

There was just enough time to relax a bit after lunch, before the 'Fruit Carving Class'. There was another couple at the table when we arrived. They had started on the first project, a carrot leaf. I'm not going to try and describe what we were supposed to do, but understand that mine didn't look like Chef Yui's. She made it look so easy. We worked on shallots, tomatoes, and a mango. We did OK with the onion, and tomato (made a flower). The mango 'flower' was a challenge that needs lots more explanation. We had to leave a few minutes early to get to our massage appointment across the compound.

As we walked in the door of the 'Linger Longer Spa', members of the always smiling staff whisked us away. We met our operators, changed, and just relaxed. It's interesting, after almost three years, to know the pattern of the Thai massage, and be able to sense the difference in styles and focus. Today's massage was very sensitive. Most of the time the transition from one thing to the next is a bit abrupt. Done with that, move on to this. Not so with Pen. She carefully moved her hands as if they were part of a dance. From her opening prayer, to the way she moved energy down my legs, I could tell she'd studied more than the basics. I went for an hour, and it was very relaxing. Lisa went for two hours, and after establishing what she wanted, had an OK time.

Before dinner we walked on the beach. The ocean was warmer than the pool today. We might have played longer but it started to sprinkle. While we waited for dinner the sky began the evening light show. Every time we'd look up it was different. Dinner was delicious. We saw Claudio before we ordered and asked him if he had any of the sweet rolls and muffins from breakfast. He checked and we put in an order for our dessert. As we were leaving we said good-bye to our evening servers.

Back in the room, relaxing, I heard a knock on the door. It was Pang, with an ice bucket, and a bottle of champagne. An anniversary gift. We respectfully declined, and since she insisted on replacing it with something, we asked for two ginger-ales, and some ice. We're gonna miss this place. We leave here at 12pm tomorrow, and should arrive home in Chiang Rai around 8:00 in the evening.

Have a Thrilling Thursday.

Peace,
Danny

"A good traveler has no fixed plans,
and is not intent on arriving."
~Lao Tzu (570-490 B.C.)

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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