1) RAILAY BEACH - A "traditional" Christmas Eve dinner of pizza and ice cream sundaes with Jennie and Andrew Wong of Australia, Lon and Martha Ficke of San Diego, Jim Tomonto of Denver, and Tim Wong of Australia.

2) RAILAY BEACH - What Christmas Day celebration would be complete without Christmas lights? We celebrated Christmas and exchanged gifts on the porch of Jim's bungalow. Rum and cokes was the drink of choice and raggae and Nordic music was our entertainment.

3) RAILAY BEACH - Jim "spiked" our Rum and Cokes with Red Bull.

4) RAILAY BEACH - Jim, Jonathon, and I take sips of our Rum and Cokes and Red Bull from a communal bucket. (Watch the backwash!)

5) RAILAY BEACH - Lon gave a gift that ALL travelers need -- TOILET PAPER!

6) RAILAY BEACH - On the night after Christmas, we danced to a live band and watched a "Fire Show." Thai men on Railay Beach entertain crowds by swinging around this huge baton that's lit on fire. It's an amazing site to see!

7) RAILAY BEACH - Dancing to live music with friends: Jonathon, Martha, Jennie, Lon, and Jim.

8) RAILAY BEACH - Good-bye Railay Beach. This is the sunrise on my last day there. The boats in the foreground are the long-tail boats that shuttle people and goods to and from the beach.

9) RANONG - I saw the "Harry Potter" movie while journeying through some of the smaller towns in the Thai peninsula. One problem however...this movie was completely dubbed in Thai language! I still understood most of the film from the actors' actions and expressions, however it was strange to see them
speaking in Thai!

10) RANONG - While walking through the small town of Ranong near the Burma boarder, I discovered a pre-New Year's celebration at the local phone company. (They held it on the Friday night before New Year's.) It was just like an American version of a "company picnic." The electric company provided a live band, food, and gifts for all of the workers and their families. They invited me to stay a while and enjoy the food with them. Unfortunately, it was so spicy that I had to leave after a while for some antacid.

11) "THE ISLAND" - Relaxing on the long-tail boat on my way to Liz and Thomas' island.

12) "THE ISLAND" - A Thai family enjoys foot-volleyball on the beach. This family ran the bungalows where I stayed.