Lets start with my flight. China Airlines has got to be the fanciest airline I have ever flown with. The seats reclined with footrests and every seat had its own little television with about 25 movies to chose from...and this was in coach. Imagine what first class would be like. I'm pretty sure the diameter of one seat in first class was equal to three in coach. But nonetheless, it was comfy. I arrived in Bangkok right in time and the taxi driver waited with his sign as promised. I was a little nervous getting into his car seeing there was no taxi sign on top, but hey, its Thailand, they do things differently here right? We drove through Bangkok, and the streets were empty. Now Bangkok is a pretty happening place. With a population of 13 million you'd think there would be other cars on the road. Well, come to find out, a coup took over the government. In America, that'd be a pretty big deal, but here, I guess it happens pretty frequently. The only vehicles in the street that night were large army tanks. I'm glad I didn't see any..large army tanks and little Thai men with big guns is not how I envisioned by vacation to begin. My apartment in Jomtien is a total dump. It's pretty much a hotel room, although the toliet was broken when I arrived, the shower is cold with a rusty floor, and the walls are thin. Hey, at least my air con works right? There is a nice little place to eat in the lobby though, and the staff is very nice. Thankfully, I'm being moved to the Jomtien beach condos in a couple weeks which has pool, gym, internet cafe, bar, and more importantly, a ping pong table. Today a girl from the dive shop took me on a tour of Jomtien and the neighboring city Pattaya. People come to Pattaya for a couple of reasons...the large beach, the cheap food, and the girls. A large part of Pattaya's economy is run by the sex industry. Pretty interesting. It seems alot like the red light district in Amsterdam except the girls are on the streets, not behind windows, and the government doesn't monitor prostitution...so STD central. There's also what are called ladyboys. And as Ben said "When there's an apple, there's a banana." Male prostitues dressed as women often roam the streets, and also put on caberet shows that are a main tourist attraction here. Everything is incredibly cheap here. 40 Baht equals $1. Today for breakfast I had 2 eggs and toast and it was 60 Baht, plus no one tips here. So $1.30 for breakfast. Amazing... I'm going out for a dive tomorrow and start classes on Saturday. Pretty excited to get in the water. More to come...