We sure know how to have a good time...

Well, you'll never be able to say that we don't know how to liven things up...Matt and I both managed to get food poisoning yesterday and today is a total waste as we try and recover (Richard, perhaps this accounts for the last post). What a honeymoon!! Owing to the lessons I learned from my mother, I pulled a "Lisa Burlingham" and immediately found the nicest hotel room available, there is nothing worse than being sick in a "rustic" hotel. So, mom and dad, you'll be happy to know that Matt and I have relocated to a comfortable bungalow on the beach complete with a standard bathroom, air conditioning, and the ever-important TV with BBC World Service on 24-7.

The sun did manage to show it's face a little this morning, but has again retreated behind the clouds. Forecast says Tuesday and Wednesday will be nice--and so hopefully will our spirits. For the moment, we're sticking to what we can buy at the local 7-11 (yes, they are even here)--Gatorade and Lays potato chips. I hate to admit that we came to Thailand and ate these things, but sometimes necessity dictates want.

A word on Koh Chang. It's an interesting spot. Originally visited by backpackers, the place is trying to upgrade its image making it virtually impossible to find an inexpensive place to stay. The main beach that we're staying on stretches for about a mile. The beach itself is lined with palm trees and restaurants that when the tide retreats in the evening (there's only one tide here) set up tables and chairs on the sand for the nights fun. A couple of the restaurants have "fire-shows". A couple of locals wrap clothes around sticks and ropes, dip them in kerosene, light them up and put on a show. It's a little too resort-y for me here, but the beach is lovely and it is relaxing.

The island itself is covered almost completely by rainforest. Our idea was to explore them today, but, being sick, it's not going to happen. Much of the forest is protected, but the popularity of the island is growing rapidly and with growth go the trees. Koh Chang seems to be a virtual construction site. From the people we've met, it seems the place has grown enormously in the last 3 years and with the tsunami wiping out the most popular beaches, many have chosen to relocate here.

Thailand in general, and Koh Chang in particular, have a serious trash problem. It just seems that there isn't the infrastructure to deal with it, particularly on a small island where the population doubles during the high season. Trash is everywhere, including on the beach, but the do have people hired to go around an clean it up. As with Lao, the people here are poor and the contrast between resort and local housing is astounding--shanty houses waterproofed with trash bags next to large, all inclusive resorts. It's hard to tell whether tourism is making things worse or better...

The other thing that is everywhere is prostitution. I knew that Thailand was a hub of trafficking, but everywhere western man can be seen with young Thai women. While I'm sure many of these relations are innocuous, it remains that many more are prostitution. It astounds Matt and me how open western men are about there actions--particularly when you can see the Thai people seething in anger that their daughters are being kidnapped to be sex-slaves.

I'll end on that note. Matt and I are off to recover some more...