Koh Lanta, Thailand

Left: our favorite seat at the bar

Right: typical sunset we would watch everyday

Lauren and I got great advice from her scuba instructor, Tim. He recommended Koh Lanta because it's how the "old Phuket" was, before it got commercialized. When we got on the boat to the island, we were bombarded with a dozen locals trying to get us to stay at their bungalow. It was intense. Lauren had a good feeling about Emerald Bungalows, so we went with them. They try to rope you in by saying you'll have a free ride to their bungalows from the ferry and you can decide then, but make sure you choose a place you'd be remotely interested in because it takes a lot to go somewhere, look around and leave to do it all over again. Thanks to Lauren's good hunch, we fell in LOVE with these bungalows and the people. We made instant friends at Ting Tong (means crazy) bar. They gave us all sorts of tips about the island and (my favorite) they would always share their food with us! We loved it so much, we stayed an extra day. :D

(from left to right: Toffee, Lauren, Pauline, Jackie, Meow)

my skype id: fraisegrl2

My colleague, John Riordan, has been on me for 2 years now about skype. He's said how easy, inexpensive and magical it is. I fought it because "I couldn't be bothered" - and most others feel the same way. Don't knock it until you try it!

It's a great way to keep in touch with others. You can send random text messages for dirt cheap, so it makes it easier to stay in touch. The only problem is I need the phone number - which is only in my cell phone that I'm not using on my travels. Please email (pauline.tran@gmail.com) me your cell if you want a friendly text from Vietnam!

I was really proud when Mama Dellinger could use it! On her very own! It was the CUTEST thing in the entire world when Mama and Papa Dellinger set up skype in their living room, hooked it up to the TV and had a real microphone set up! I hope they can use it more often to communicate with Lauren from across the country. :D

It actually works really well on the iPhone, too!