Don't worry, I've made friends but I've also had time to do cockamamie things like this :)

I don't know why or how this idea came to me but I know at least one person (hi mom!) who will appreciate it--if you'd like to try too, sing these words to the tune of 'Raindrops on Roses' from the Sound of Music (and also incidentally, my childhood):

Little black doggies who snuggle up for sunsets
Hamocks to swing in made from colorful nets
Scuba tanks that bump the boat with a cling
These are a few of my favorite things

Crystal clear waters and green sunny hill tops
Palm trees on beaches and smiles at small food shops
Breathing out bubbles that float up in rings
These are a few of my favorite things

Sea drops on long tails and bright colored fishes
Hot spicey curries and other yummy dishes
Little silver sting rays with light on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

When the skeeters bite
When the sun burns
When the motos are loud
I think of a few of my favorite things and that makes me miss Koh Tao



Not bad eh? It's been a lovely stay in Koh Tao (apart from bites and burns--I wasn't joking). Yesterday I spent a couple blissful hours splashing around in Hinwong Bay--one of the best snorkling sights around--with another american I'd met earlier (this is kinda cool and I think I may have sat on that very rock, no joke http://www.shopart.com/thailand/rockybay.html). I perched on a submerged rock and had fish swimming all around me and through my legs not caring one way or the other what I was up to. I swam thorugh a huge school (100's upon 100's) of tiny (maybe 3 inches?) silver fish and watched them frantically scramble out of the way--they were so cute, all changing direction together as if they were saying "Monster!!! Go left! No right! No leeeft! Ah!" poor guys. I floated on top of the water which was calm as glass and let the tide carry me a bit before swimming back in. All in all a pretty glorious afternoon. I've met tons of nice people here and enjoyed the underwater wonders but it's time to move on.

Next stop: Wat Suan Mokkhaphalaram (or just Wat Suan Mokkh for short) an old Buddist monastery in a wooded area near Chaiya outside of Surat Thani on the south side of the gulf. There I will be participating in a 10 day silent meditation (more information found here: http://www.tribe-yoga.com/Meditation.html) which should be throughly challenging no doubt. That means no new blog entries or emails or phone calls or facebook messages until the 10th or 11th of August at which time, unable to contain myself, I most likely will spill approximately 10 days worth of thoughts in one big word garble. I hope not. Better would be that by the 3rd or 4th day silence is easy (got that song reference anyone? if so, cheers to you) and I come out feeling calm and refreshed and ready to take on the world or at least the unremitting pandemoniun that I expect to encounter in India. Certainly being deprived of contact with loved ones like you all will be the hardest part, but know that you will be in my thoughts (or rather just a little outside them if I can manage to meditate properly). Cheerio for now!