Phuket to Phi Phi

Thai names take some getting used to.

Because of political problems, we flew direct from Bangkok to Phuket.

This is a common fruit that’s hard and whitish and with a seed.

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We took a break from Phuket, which is Thailan'd’s most touristy island, to go to its least touristy: Koh Yao Yai. We were the only white people there on the Muslim island, which is the way we like it.

We had a bungalow and a beach all to ourselves

 

Fish spas are fun, but unbelievably ticklish!

 

  At Big Buddha

Regretfully, we haven’t met that many Buddhists-or that many Thais for that matter. We did get to see some ceremonies at the temple.

 

Buddha’s tooth

Mushrooms in three stages

These Thai incense stations which I believe are to pay reverence to Buddha are everywhere
 

Typical gas station for the moped (just bottles)

 

My horse was real feisty and stubborn. She kept shaking, stopping abruptly, nudging the guy leading her, and avoiding stepping in water. She made me nervous.

We are now on Phi Phi Island after doing some gorgeous snorkeling, preparing to take a bus to Bangkok where we’ll hang out til we get our visa to …

China!

Pride goeth before a fall…

…To the tune of 15 pounds.

Pride is one of my greatest flaws, but I still never saw this one coming.

I have always taken pride in being able to eat everything in any quantity I wanted, putting the boys to shame, and staying skinny.  I loved the jealousy directed my way as I scarfed down an entire bag of chips and stayed as fit as could be. I relished telling people I ate more than my husband (who is a foot taller than me). I disdained the idea of reading the back of a box to find out caloric content. I thought this crazy-good metabolism would last me AT LEAST until pregnancy.

Well, those days appear to be over. I put on 10-15 pounds somewhat obliviously while traveling, thanks to eating out twice a day, and not always being able to have the healthiest diet anyway thanks to being in developing countries, and I finally realized I am not invincible.

I put my butt to work and I’ve lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks. It helps to be married to a personal trainer for sure. Jacob’s excited, beyond the obvious reasons like me lookin’ hot,

 

 

but also because he can develop weight loss techniques on me. He’s planning to come out with a weight loss product one of these days. I really like caloriecount.about.com. For example, if you type in milk under search, it shows the caloric amount as well as a graded rating as to its goodness for you:

http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/search2.php?search_type=foods&searchpro=milk&x=13&y=11

Now I have a new source of pride: staying fit as a skill that has to be developed. Dear sisters who count calories, watch what you eat, chew more slowly to savor less food, and exercise with purpose: Welcome me to your ranks. I am glad to join you.

One request though: if you have people over to your house, please don’t insist that they eat what you have made for them. It was a killer to be for example in India, and as part of their hospitality, be fed and fed and fed and not be able to say no because they’d take offense and continue dumping food on your plate or forcing it in your mouth. When we have our own house, I hope when people come over they can eat as little or as much as they’d like.

Oh and how’s Thailand?

Well the best part is definitely meeting up with Jefferson and Erica, friends from Utah. Last time we were in American Fork, we met up with them to go to the restaurant Texas Roadhouse. We talked about meeting up in Thailand but I didn’t know it would really happen! Pictures to come.