It'll Be The Highlight Of Your Holiday!!

Well I guess you could say that I’m not exactly in the condition I anticipated for writing my first blog post, but I guess that’s the nature of being away from home. After spending 24+ hrs with awful food poisoning, I’m on the rebound. Thanks are due to my companions—one medical expert, one very maternal, and one comedian/hunter and gatherer. (Kate, Lauren, and Dad)

Business Class, baby!!

So here’s how it went down:

Day one:

-Rule #1 is established: no more than three people talking at a time.

-Flight from DTW to NRT (Narita/Tokyo)

-Business Class:)

-The sun never went down

-Rule #2 is established: if you are going to wake up Lauren after the hot towel, don’t wake her up at all

-We flew over the Hudson Bay and Russia (Rosie: 1, Sarah Palin: 0)

And in true Jones style, we didn’t stay together for long. Kate and Lauren made it on the flight to Bangkok and Dad and I stayed the night in Narita. Turns out my version of MIKE JONES is actually a celebrity—everyone seems to know him at the crew hotel and we ran into a friend at dinner. Even met a guy from Saline—small world, eh?

Cabbages and Condoms:P

Day two: Dad and I head down to Bangkok on Thai Airways while Lauren and Kate pamper themselves and hit up the famous Chatuchak Market. Apparently Kate is an expert bargainer and showed Lauren the real way to do it. We met up in time for dinner at our favorite (?) restaurant Cabbages and Condoms. So Cabbages and Condoms was all about sex education and family planning, and their proceeds go to educational programs. Awesome. However, would not recommend going with father. Posing with a life-size Santa made out of red white and black condoms while dad takes a pic was a little… wrong. The place was crazy (and pretty overkill) - condom lampshades, condom flowers on the table, condom party favors with the check, and a condom Tiger Woods that said “Hope you used ‘em Tiger.” That was my favorite part.

Afterwards we had our first (AND LAST) Dr. Fish- a big thing in Thailand where you dip your feet in fish tanks and let the fish eat your dead skin. Worst was when a big one bit.

IT WAS VERY STRANGE.

Note: Our favorite SkyTrain stop? Na Na. Pronounced very soothingly and reminded us of the sister we left stateside. Naaaaa Naaaa

Day Three: We learn what a “Boutique Airline” means: a two-engine Bangkok Airways plane that’s painted like the pet shop in Old Town. It was… quaint.

Landed in Koh Samui late morning and headed out looking for our hotel “Buddy Oriental.”

Found Buddy and we’ve been beach bums since!

Day 4-7: Well… sort of. The weather hasn’t been the best, but we’ve found fun things to do. Most are related to spa treatmentsJ Kate and Lauren got me a scrub/massage that was very relaxing. Except for the massage lady laughing at me more than once. My skin is now what they might say, ver soff!

I was excited to start picking up on Thai culture, but the island is mostly foreigners.

We decided there are three kinds of people here (not to generalize but…)

1. Euros

2. Roided-up Aussies

3. Neanderthals

**All of which have many tattoos.

Needless to say, excited to meet some Thai locals.

Other things we thought were funny:

-       D L and K went to an Irish Pub in Thailand. Dad ordered Indian, Lauren ordered Italian, and Kate had Mexican. (I was on bed rest).

-       The Irish pub didn’t carry Guinness

-        Kate melted a whole stick of deodorant on herself with one application

-       European swimsuit choices (many discreet pictures taken)

-       Gasoline sold in little bottles

“You can’t tell me a roided-up Aussie never had one too many drinks and was stumbling home and drank a bottle of gasoline” –Dad

-       Lauren noticing that the rather depressing “elephant-trekking” site was in-fact, the Irish Hills of Thailand

-       Lady-Boy cabarets are NOT high quality entertainment, but certainly entertaining in themselves. (Seems like plastic surgery is readily available here…)

-   And much more that the internet cannot hold

My favorite moment of the trip was  definitely lighting “happy balloons” (I really don’t think they’re called that) on the beach outside of the swing bar. (The swing bar had actually swings!! How fun.) I had wanted to see these lanterns so badly- hopefully I’ll be able to see a festival of them- and had no idea they would be as readily available as a beach vendor. It was so cool to watch the three lanterns float into the sky. Laur cried, thus making us all.

Right now we are at the cutest little airport ever waiting for Bangkok Airways to take us back to the city. In about 8 hours I have to say my goodbyes and am definitely dreading that. Already miss my people back home, especially Mom. PTL for skype and gchat- that will make my time away much more bearable. I’ll try to keep current with posts as well as pictures on my picasa site (which isn't up yet).

Love to America

Rosie