Hello Islands!

It was at exactly 6 PM that we finally cracked the tall beginning-to-get-warm beers.

"I thought it was never going to end," I sigh.

Betsy nods. "I know."

Two sips and we are drunk and giggling.

"Check out the cheetah on this label!" I point to my beer. "It looks like my puppet."

Betsy is a master designer, fashioner, and sewer of hand puppets. In a very sad and terrible moment at Burning Man, my last cow puppet with bunny ears, Hans, was lost somewhere in the desert. This new puppet has the same long bunny ears--but he is cheetah print with a gorgeous butterfly cape and big red star on his belly. All of Betsy's puppets are superheroes.

"Maybe my puppet's name is Leo--like the beer!"

"YES!" There is a short photo shoot to commemorate the naming of the puppet. Everything is ok. Now.

Everything was not ok an hour ago. The trip from Bangkok was long and unexpectedly arduous. The drive to the port town was stunning--with enormous limestone, something s jutting up all around us... we got there...and all we could find by way of transportation to these islands was a long saggy turquoise ghost night boat that made me want to cry.

"I can't spend the night on that thing. I just can't. There must be another boat."

Betsy spotted a "Travel Agency" across the street manned by one smiling Thai boy whose only three English words were: "I don't know."
"False advertising!...FUCK"
And while on principle I hate traveler's in foreign countries who complain that no one speaks English, I was quickly becoming one of them.

Traveling is like a gigantic scavenger hunt. The reality is often exhilarating...at moments...like this...when clues are too hidden...it really really sucks.

Suddenly I saw a flash of white skin and big huge backpack.

"Backpacker!!!" We dashed to him.

"Do you speak English?"

"Nooooooooo..." He laughed at us in a British accent. Bless you, I think. He's like an angel.

He teaches us a new word-- Rhua-- for boat. "See you at the full moon party!"

And we chant this new word to our tuk tuk driver frantically. Who started driving decidedly away from the water. I only forgave him for this when I realized that the ferry dock was at least an hour drive from the town...probably a 3 hour tuk tuk ride. But we didn't know that yet...and officially panicked. For now I was picturing us on the dark lonely night boat being attacked by cockroaches and robbed...

Somehow. We made it for the 7:30 ferry and we are cracking our second tall, even warmer and more delicious beers... this time, labeled with elephants and named Chang.

"Leo Chang! The elephant cheetah cougar puppet."

We get on the ferry. We sleep under a mosquito net.

We wake to delightfully cold showers. Drink crappy instant coffee. Have fresh sweet fruit for breakfast overlooking crystal clear turquoise water populated by strange beautiful islands in the distance. The sand is white. Bugs sing in the trees. And my straight hair curls in the humidity.

So we are here. Exactly where we want to be.