back from the land of smiles

I'm back, although sadly in a way, it does feel like I hardly left! It was a well-deserved break, but 4 days is too short nonetheless. Haha.

Still, I'm refreshed, relaxed and tanned...hallmarks of a fine holiday spent in the company of sunny skies, beautiful beaches, and good friends. I even managed to rack up a couple of dives too, while Bing did his OW certification. Racha Yai is not quite the kind of top notch see-something-new-at-every-dive as one would expect from diving at the Similans, but having one of my best buds around more than made up for it.

During the trip, we also paid a visit to the Simon Cabaret, which was really tacky-ladyboy-Thailand at its best. But man oh man, it's pretty hard to tell the difference these days. Some of those "ladyboys" are...umm...pretty hawt! SCARY!! They're everywhere in town too, so don't be too surprised if the 'chick' who grabs hold of you while strolling down Bangla Road turns out to be a "he"! Yikes!

And yes, chick-dodging in these places is a delicate art, which any guy has to master, lest he be impartial to being dragged to some "free show". Flash a smile, or speak forth a word from those lips, and you're only asking for more trouble.

On a slow Monday morning, I'm left reminiscing between work about Phuket and the land of smiles.

Oh yeah, it was a good one =)