Island fun

I just want to recap the last few days of my vacation, starting with my first full day here, February 27th. I spent that day reading "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and listening to the soothing, beach perfect tunes of Bebel Gilberto courtesy of my new ipod (thanks Mom!)on Klong Prao beach, just an 8 minute walk from my bungalow, which, unfortunately, becomes infested with mosquitoes less than an hour after I open my eyes in the morning. Oh well. It's still cute and rustic otherwise, with high ceilings,and a pretty sunken bathroom with a western style toilet and shower and pretty blue-green tiles around the sink. When beach boredom began to sink in, I left the beach, went back to the bungalow, changed my clothes and browsed around for a place to get a facial and came upon Bodiwork Spa Academy and made an appointment for a 60-minute Revital Facial for 6:30pm. The facial was soothing, and after getting over my first 10 minutes of feeling guilty about laying down and doing nothing, I really enjoyed the hot steam and honey treatment and the feeling of someone else's touch on my skin. After my facial I satisfied my desire for western food at Invito Italian Restaurant on White Sand beach, located just 10 minutes south of Klong Prao beach. I ordered one of the house signature dishes, Ravioli Alla Marinara, big pieces of surprisingly dark ravioli topped with shrimp, asparagus, smoked norwegian salmon and a sauce of melted butter. Although the meal tasted delicious, it was too light to fully satisfy my hunger.

February 28th was spent shopping for summer wear on White Sand beach where I found some good deals on tops, jewelry, and pants. I picked the wrong time of day to do it, however, as the sun was at its highest. I sweat buckets as I tried on the clothes, making it less than enjoyable. After a couple of hours, it was back to Klong Prao where I booked a trip to swim with dolphins and see a dolphin show for March 1st. I took a rest before going to dinner. I went first to Spices of India on White Sand Beach where the waiter spoke about two words of English and screwed up my order. I ordered Saag Paneer and he gave me Aloo Saag. I ate the appetizer and left that place for a different Indian restaurant which was slightly better than the first. I got my saag paneer, but still, I've had better Indian food. After my meal I thought I'd treat myself to a drink, so it was off to Honey Bar next to Invito Italian Restaurant for a pina colada and several games of Connect Four with one of the waitresses and with the long-haired, 44-year old Oy, one of the greeters coaching my moves. I headed home after about an hour of that and went to sleep.

I awoke early the next morning and head via minibus to the city of Laem Sing, in Chantaburi province, to swim with dolphins. We arrived at Oasis Seaworld, the six of us. Well, what words can I use to really describe this?! I am so glad that i got the opportunity to get so close to these adorable, gentle creatures. I got to touch the dolphins. I got to feed the dolphins, I got to kiss the dolphins. I got to watch them spin around and dance. And, best of all, I got to hold onto the dorsal fin of two of the dolphins and swim with them. One of the dolphins was really fast and I got quite a ride with him. At one one point I lost my grip on the fin. When I tapped the water with my hand, the dolphin resurfaced and I grabbed hold again. The trainer threw fish into the water, making him swim faster with me on board. When I was in the water with the dolphins, I didn't feel like a human anymore. I experienced just a little bit what it must feel like to be one of these water dwelling mammals.