After much technical difficulty (I've already tried to post this twice) I think I'll finally be able to provide some pictures for the 3 people who are faithfully reading our blog.

Thailand was great. Hot weather, warm water, good food, and a great time with friends. Iven and Kashmira live in a pretty tough neighborhood, working with people who lead difficult lives. It was a privilege to be able to head off with them to the sunny beaches of Koh Maak island! We spent a week lazing about in hammocks, swimming, snorkeling, eating and reading. Not bad!

Fritz learns to cut a fresh coconut for drinking. You just have to watch out not to spend too much time under coconut trees, because when those suckers come down, somebody could get hurt. I'm really surprised we don't hear about more falling coconut deaths in the world.

Our beach bungalow, hammocks included.

Fritz and Iven in the back of a pickup truck taxi.



I'll post more pictures, and a narrative about the rest of the trip when I've got things a bit more organized.

Oh, the good life.

Well, I hate to brag, but we really like it here.

We are on the tiny island of Ko Maak, and it is stunning here. We've spent the last couple days lazing about in hammocks, swimming, snorkeling, reading and eating fantastic Thai food. Oh yeah, and an hour Thai massage is about $10. The only negative is the very real possibility of getting beaned by a falling coconut. Well, it wouldn't be a bad way to go!!

We are having a great time with Iven and Kashmira, and are learning more about their very difficult work in Bangkok's red light district. We're pretty excited just to hang out and encourage them and listen to their amazing stories about life here, as well as praying with them about their work. They are expecting a child in less than two months, so they are in for some big changes soon. They are good people, and it is a privilege to spend some time with them in such a place.

It's wednesday here now, and it looks like we'll be staying on the island until friday, maybe saturday, then returning to Bangkok for some shopping and big city life. We're looking forward to seeing Iven and Kashmira's real day-to-day life, as well as meeting some of their friends and neighbors.

On an unrelated note, I finally got permission to schedule my nursing board examinations! I've been waiting on a paperwork jam to clear up, and now it has! Yay. I am excited to get this over with and be a real nurse. I guess I'll have to start studying!

Love you all,
Shannon

From Thailand

I am writing from a little internet cafe on the island of Ko Maak, a ways Southeast of Bangkok. Sorry no pictures today, but we're using strange computers and no way to load our pix-- may not be able to until we get back to Bangkok on Saturday. Today is our third day in the country, and we've had a great time so far, although I've already gone one round with, um, travelers belly. It is hot and muggy (not unexpected, but a shock to a winter-conditioned body). We are staying at a fantastic collection of beach-side thatched huts next door to our good friends Iven & Kashmira.

I'll recap our last couple days:

Flight- we left thursday morning portland time, and had uneventful flights to Sea-Tac, then Seoul and on to Bangkok. We lost friday in the flight west, and landed early saturday morning in Bangkok. Our friend Iven picked us up from the airport and took us to our hotel for a few hours of sleep.

Day 1, Saturday: We got up, joined our friends for breakfast, and met up with some friends of Iven & Kashmira for a 3 hour van ride to a wedding on the coast. We didn't know anyone there to start with, but had a nice time and met lots very friendly and interesting people. Fritz took some beautiful photographs of the beach-front wedding. We stayed at the resort where the wedding was held overnight.

Day 2, Sunday: We hired a "Song Tao"(a pickup truck with benches along each side) for the 2 hour ride to our ferry terminal. Dusty and sort of wild, but fun. We caught the ferry, and headed to our island. We had a tough time finding a place to stay, as it is high tourist season, and didn't like the first place we checked out. We ended up at a sweet little family run place away from the main beaches, hiding out in the jungle that costs about $18 a night. We set up house and will probably stay there several days, though things are flexible at this point.

Day 3, today: Slept in, worked out, went for a swim, and headed into town. We found some dirt trails and went for an impromptu hike. Now we're checking in with the wider world on the internet, and will grab some lunch and some Thai massage in a bit.

I'm kind of hot and spaced out, so I'm not too poetic with the writing, but I'll get back to you all with more thoughts and hopefully some pictures later.

-Shannon