I've had little to report over the last few days. I've spent my time converting my massive CD collection into MP3's, which is a long drawn out process. Our new mp3 player and digital camera came in the mail at the same time, so I've been fumbling through the instruction manuals and doing silly little tests.

As mentioned in my earlier posts, we intend on visiting northern Thailand first and then heading south towards the beaches. We had hoped to visit Ko Phi Phi, Ao Nang, Ko Lanta and possibly head east towards Ko Samui or even Ko Chang before heading back to Bangkok. That was before the tsunami.

The morning of the tsunami we were startled by my mother-in-law, Louise, who busted into our cabin on their houseboat shouting, "THAILAND JUST HAD A HUGE EARTHQUAKE! YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR PLANS!!!"

Bolting up from a dead sleep, we were both shocked, confused, trembling... It was an aweful way to start the day, but hilarious in retrospect. Louise has an amazing flair for the dramatic, which is always so entertaining. Needless to say, we were glued to the TV for the rest of the day watching Fox news (ugh!).

After weeks of research, we are delighted to say that Thailand was the least affected area compared to Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. However, we are very dismayed that Ko Phi Phi was flattened by the waves. Pictures and reports indicate that only a few resorts are still standing, and there has been massive casualties and widespread destruction on the island.

On the other hand, we are happy to say that Ko Lanta and Ao Nang were relatively unaffected. Sure, a couple of resorts were hit hard, and I suspect there were some unfortunate casualties. But we've seen photos lately of the reparations and clean up efforts, and we are certain that things will be back to normal (aside from tourism) by the time we get down that way.

I think the Thai people really need every tourist dollar they can get right now to compensate for the massive loss in tourism that has resulted from the tragedy. If Ko Phi Phi is still in shambles when we arrive, we will most likely take a tour that visits Maya Beach (location for the movie "The Beach") and the neighboring islands.

There are two questions that keep coming up:

1) What about diseases? - The simple answer is that I'm not worried about it. We will be taking malaria pills, and we're updated on our vaccinations (typhoid, tetanus, hep A, measles, etc). We also don't plan on using the public water supply for anything other than showering, so contaminated water shouldn't be an issue. The media is doing the best job it can, I'm sure, but they're scaring the hell out of would-be travellers - which only adds to the problems facing the affected communities.

2) Are you seeing any killer discounts on hotels in the area? - Not really. The prices are already pretty killer (basic bungalows for as low as 400 baht = $10 US a night... or high price resorts for 2000 baht = $50 US a night). If things are back to normal, I doubt the prices would significantly drop much lower. Besides, if our dollars help the local economy recover, I'm willing to pay normal prices.

We have just over two weeks to go till we take off. I'm having a hard time focusing on anything OTHER than this trip. My work (at the local clubs) and my ordinary relationships are getting a back seat to my daily reading, self-taught Thai course, and incessant shopping. Just when I think I've bought the last piece of gear we might need (but don't already have), I find a new tip somewhere online that reads: BE SURE TO BRING *insert random item*. That's when I hop in the car, drive to the local store and plop down a few more dollars for a new gizmo or travel item.... and I thought I was going to pack light... yeah, right!