Pinch me please

I feel like I'm living inside a postcard.

We've all seen those postcards with teal waters, palm trees, and white sand. Well today I saw all that my own eyes. I keep doing double takes because I feel like this isn't something
that actually exists. I always thought the pictures were tweaked just a bit with photoshop to make those waters a little bluer, and the sand just a little whiter. Nope, it's all real. And it's beautiful!

This afternoon I went to Nai Harn Beach, about a six minute drive away. The hotel has a shuttle bus that takes people there. Well it's more like a truck with wooden seats in the back. I was the only one in it today! They aren't kidding when they say it's low season here in Phuket. There aren't too many tourists around this time of year. Hence, I rode solo in the back, gazing as we passed shop after shop, palm tree after palm tree!

I get to Nai Harn, and my mouth drops. Ahhhh tropical paradise!! I've never seen a beach like this in my life.Like I said, a postcard: teal waters, hills covered in palm trees, and white sand.
I dropped all my stuff and ran through the sand and jumped in the Andaman sea! Only thing is, I underestimated the strength of the waves. I nearly fell over. I really need to stop being so clutzy. Once I got my balance back, I spent half an hour jumping over the big waves coming in.

Of course, just my luck is started to rain. It was weird because the raindrops were cold but it was still 30 degrees out. Thankfully, the rain only lasted about 5 or 10 minutes and it wasn't too hard. Apparently, that's quite common and that rainy season isn't usually that rainy. Hooray! The weather here is gorgeous. Warm all day, but with a cool breeze coming off the sea every once in a while. Humidity takes some getting used to, but I'll take that over cold Canadian winters anyday.

After it stopped raining, I sat and stared at the sea sitting on my towel in the sand. I started to think about the tsunami. It was strange to think something so beautiful could cause so much destruction. I wondered who was here on this beach that day, and if anyone died at on this very spot. You could easily forget the tsunami looking around as everything looks like it never happened.

Just before the shuttle came to pick me up, I decided to have a traditional Thai massage. The massage parlours are everywhere. I had a 45 minute full-body massage (including butt!haha) for the equivalent of about seven Canadian dollars. People pay 10 times
that at home! Now I have decided I'm getting on here every week! Thai massage is pretty intense, I'm not going to lie, but you feel great after. They sure do know how to work their hands! And use their body weight. At one point,the lady had almost all her body weight on my back. It hurt until my back cracked. Ahhhhh I needed that!

This evening rather than spending the night at the hotel, I took a taxi to Phuket town, the downtown so to speak on the island. It's filled with all sorts of restaurants, stores, and all sorts of western conveniences like a big movie theatre, McDonalds, and a drugstore. The thing that struck me the most was the traffic! Motorcycles and scooters are EVERYWHERE. Some parked, others zipping around on both sides of the road. Parents even drive with their kids sitting in the front of them. Then add in the tuk-tuks (sort of like big red wagons) and
taxis and you've got some good wholesome chaos! I like it though. It gets my heart pumping!

So I wandered around for a while and then I got waved down. "Taxi? Taxi?" says this guy in a bright yellow shirt a good foot shorter than me. I was in no rush, and I was just going to wander around anywhere, so I humoured him while he took out a map and showed me where I could go. We agreed on a cheap price and he took me to a couple markets to look around. His name was Tiger! (Rawrrr! Love it!) He didn't speak very much English at all, but he somehow knew the lyrics to the Backstreet Boys music playing in his car. (this is the second country I have been in where a taxi driver knows the Backstreet Boys! It happened in RWanda too...weird.) The shopping here is awesome. I'm in trouble. Shirts are about five bucks or less. I got three bottles of nail polist for two dollars. A headband for one. Okay I'm going to have to limit how much cash I bring to markets from now on!
Thankfully, I was so tired that after a while I just got too tired to shop anymore. There are so many stores it's just overwhelming!

On the way back to the hotel with Tiger, I saw a sign saying "Best House mansion this way." Hey, that's where I'm moving to tomorrow!! Staying in this hotel the first few days, but I'm excited to move into my new home. It will be my apartment for the next two months, courtesy of my new employer. I'm meeting my boss tomorrow morning here at the hotel. He's taking me to the office and then we'll talk about my new apartment and my company car. I'm a little nervous because I don't really know what to expect. But I'm excited too!

I think the only thing I'm really freaked out about is drivng the car.
They drive like maniacs here!! Plus they drive on the left which is going to thorougly
confuse me. Even sitting in the passenger seat is nervewracking. On several occassions, I thought the car was going to hit someoneon a motorcycle because they just weave in and out as they please. It appears the only real rules of the road are a. drive on the left b. Do whatever the heck you want.

Tonight my plans are to go for a dip in the pool and lay in my hammock and read my book. I want to be rested for my first day on the job. I'm actually excited to go to work. It will make all this feel more real!