After two great weeks chillaxin' on Koh Samui we pack up and head out tomorrow morning. We were starting to feel like permanent residents at the Varinda Garden Resort. We will miss Chen, Mai, Yindee, Olive and of course, Ken and Tuta the dogs. This quirky little hotel has statues and sculptures tucked everywhere. Even today I was spotting new ones. The girls loved to have us wander and photograph items then send them on a scavenger hunt to find them. We absolutely love the restaurant at the resort. All the tables overlook the Gulf of Thailand and we have each easily eaten our weight in pineapple and spring rolls. My other favorite was the spicy lemon grass soup with chicken. If you have ever had the pleasure of having lunch with Anthony at Chipotle and watched him sweat and smile his way through a burrito, I look exactly the same way sipping my soup.

The nearby beach, Lamai, has got it all figured out. In addition to the usual vendors selling sarongs, ice cream and hair braiding services, they have tons of people selling donuts. The beach and a jelly donut; that is living!

Other than eating and hanging at the beach and pool we have enjoyed listening to the waves, watching the 100s of butterflies that are everywhere and getting Thai massages (six total and counting). The girls have done quite a bit of schoolwork. Nina earned a new nickname, "Niva" as she has turned into quite a little diva lately. One night we bought a bootleg copy of Les Mis in town. We had just seen the live show in London and we were all interested in the movie version. I have heard so many people say they were so moved by it. I can't say the same. We laughed so hard through our $3 copy. It was in English and sub-titled in English. Huh? Whoever wrote the subtitles was not very fluent. We tried to just enjoy and watch, but we couldn't stop reading and snickering. Jean Valjean stole a "lord" of bread. Later during the revolution, do you hear the song of "funky" men? Can hardly wait to pop in our $3 copy of Life of Pi!

Tomorrow we get back on a flight to Bangkok and another to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. These two flights put us over the 7,000 mile marker for flights on this trip. Add in our car mileage and we are nearing 17,000. Think we can sell the frequent flier miles from Bangkok Air on the Internet? We spend a week in Chiang Mai. We have planned a day hanging out with elephants, a Thai cooking class, a hike to a waterfall then swimming and a bike trip around the area.

We've got a couple of great festivals on our agenda in the next few weeks. Tomorrow is the start of the Flower Festival in Chiang Mai. Then the biggie, Chinese New Year the week after next. We will be in Hong Kong. Not quite China proper, but should be great nonetheless. I will let Nina tell you all about it another time. She has been reading up on the Year of the Snake. Speaking of festivals, I am reading a great book that someone left behind at the hotel. "The Naked Man Festival; and Other Excuses to Fly Around the World" by Brian Thacker. Brian is an Aussie and he spent 2003 traveling to the most outrageous festivals worldwide and participating in them if possible. Some of the best have been the UFO festival in Roswell, NM, a Voodoo Festival in Haiti, The Naked Man Festival in Japan and Mardi Gras in Sydney. I've gotten a kick reading about his stupid adventures. I told Anthony to read it when I'm done, "It's really funny even if he talks too much about drinking and pooping." AG - "Perfect. I'll love it!"

Will check in from our next destination.

Amy