AN ACTIVE WEEKEND

Tim and I managed to have a very full weekend, despite a slow start on Friday.  I'll write a quick update this morning (I need to jump in the shower and get ready for school) and then post a more detailed account (with photos) later today or tomorrow.

Our short "holiday" actually began Thursday afternoon.  After our class let out at four, several of us gathered at Pop Thai Restaurant for an early dinner before the evening class.  Michael bought Tim a couple of beers so she was a little tipsy before returning to the school!  Gary from Las Vegas was teaching the class; Adrian and I sat in and much hilarity ensued partly because of Tim's tipsiness and partly because of Gary's teaching "style."  Afterwards, Tim, Jiab, Nadee, Joe, and I spent several hours having a picnic of sorts in front of the school.  Tim was a little worse for the wear and she spent much of Friday sleeping and I was just generally lazy.  We missed quite a night-on-the-town with the other TEFL students as our laziness stretched into the evening.

We made up for it on Saturday, however, as we joined "the gang" in Patong and spent the afternoon going on an elephant trek (the second half of which I got to "drive" the elephant), playing with gibbons, having dinner at Los Amigos Cantina, and returning to Patong for a night partying on Bangla Road.  Following a middle-of-night breakfast at an open-air market, Tim and I returned home just after six a.m. and went right to bed.  Later that day (Sunday), Jiab called saying she was coming to pick us up — she had a second day on her car rental and wanted to take Adrian and us sightseeing.  We spent a nice afternoon driving down Laem Panwa and checking out the Kao-Khad View Tower (marvelous views overlooking much of southeastern Phuket).  We wrapped up the day with a dinner at a new prawn BBQ-style restaurant that recently opened between Big C and Central Festival.  It wasn't as great as other people made it out to be but it was okay.

I'll write a more detailed account of parts of our weekend later...