I didn't explain my life story to anyone today!

Garfield, my trustworthy pal!

My parents are awesome. Look at this sign they made me!! Garfield! It's been 4 days since I got back, but I'm still not fully adjusted. It's like the bed is TOO comfy and everything is so clean! The main problem is the jetlag. I've never had such difficulties before! But the past few days, these nap attacks hit me at 3pm... brutal! But I only gave in once and slept til 9 ...at which point my Mom told me to get up for dinner. lol.

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday! We went out for Dim Sum and even though I had Dim Sum EVERY DAY (sometimes twice a day!) in Hong Kong, it was still enjoyable. Portion sizes in Canada are I dunno, double those in Hong Kong? So are the prices...LOL. I baked my Mom a jello cheesecake. One of the replacement children, Alan, and my Dad's cousin, Jessie, helped out. Thanks Michelle, Jello cheesecake rocks! But doh, I cut the cake out of the springform too early, and the jello was all leaking out the sides...but shh, don't tell!

My Mom, me, and the tasty tasty lemon cheesecake...

Let's go for a whirlwind recap:

Hong Kong was super... stepping off the plane, my grandma and aunt didn't recognize me because I was so tanned. LOL, in Hong Kong, they like people to be "whiter". Seeing relatives was a breath of fresh air...I started to think of home + Canada + all you loyal readers of this blog. There was much shopping to be done and SO SO much food. Innumerable dinners with all my relatives, it was great to see my cousins! Man, we're all growing up! Crazy! Disneyland Hong Kong is nifty. I think the castle is 10x smaller than the one at DisneyWorld, and the park is doable in a day.

Dog meat restaurant...not uncommon in Guang Zhou...I didn't try it, of course!

I went back to Guang Zhou, a province in Southern China, and visited the village where my maternal grandparents are from. Wow, there's a boulevard that looks something like Les Champs Elysees right next door now! It's been 15 years since I visited, and the last time I was there, I banged up my eyebrow. One of the villagers that helped carry me to the hospital recognized me! And he gave me 4 live fish as a present! Wow... ok, this is horrible: Two of them died in the car...we had dinner before we went home...


Last few days in Thailand were covered in the last post...here are the anticipated pics!

Me, biking on Koh Tao...and of course, the tattoo. :)

Mommy, Daddy! Guess what?!?

I got a tattoo!!! LOL, ya, a real one...crazy! I'm going to call my parents about it in a few hours... currently, I am waiting in the departure area of the breezy Koh Samui Airport. It is 7:45 in the morning. Blast! I'd post a pic, but you can't on these free terminals. But what more can you ask for? Free food, free internet, free buzz (hey, from the cappuccino!!), direct flight to Hong Kong...Bangkok Airways is awesome!

So...getting a tattoo actually didn't hurt that much. Sort of felt like a dentist drilling...on my back. But the pain settled in about an hour after they were done? Sort of like a bad burn. Chilled out on the shaded Patio of a lovely resort after that...and enjoyed a Coco Kiss, a nice stiff blended cocktail to celebrate my last day in Thailand.

I can't believe it is finally over...it was a like a dream! I can't help but be corny at this moment. Today's sunrise was magnificent (my first in Thailand...the only other time I was up this early was during the Full Moon Party...and it was cloudy that day!) . Perfect blend of blues and pinks, with tall, leafy palms silhouetted against the horizon. And lucky me, I was saved from walking to the main road by an Italian guy!! Contrary to popular belief, money CAN'T buy everything in Thailand! The taxis (if you don't pre-order them...) don't start until 7am! Silly me, I forgot that the 3 hour flight to Hong Kong was "international" and only left an hour before departure for my taxi reservation... thankfully, this motorcyclist came along and swept me off my feet! Horray! Because trekking with 30kgs of crap is not cool. LOL, and I got lucky with the immigration official too!! I actually overstayed my visa for a day. Apparently, I can't count! Went for the visa run a day too early, and the fine is supposed to be 200B/day. But he wrote it off! Score!

What have I been up to the last two weeks? Just chilling out on Koh Pha Ngan...sun, sand, beach...you can't ask for more! I also went diving one last time, with awesome visibility at Sail Rock. Actually, it was really cool (nerd alert...)... there was a huge thermocline and you could feel the big difference in water temperature...and this made the difference between 30m to 2m visibility!! And in spots, you could see the "heat" making your vision wavy like a mirage! Cool! Ok, geek glee is over.

Horray! The plane is about to board. See you soon at home!! Or at least I'll be on MSN more...I think. :)