Saturday: Georgetown is a very pretty area of the island of Penang in Malaysia. A tropical island, it is usually hot and humid and nice 365 days of the year with maybe a thunderstorm for an hour or two. We were treated to rain cats and dogs style for the day. Rain pelted the gorgeous coastline dotted with fancy high rise resorts, which we were told are always filled with beach goers. Not that day! We were thankfully given rain ponchos in red, blue, green and yellow which made us look like giant condoms walking about the spice gardens in the torrential rain. It was quite an interesting and wet walk and we made our way to the outdoor cooking demonstration, which, while it had a roof, was drippy and the rain was very loud. We had a demonstration on how to make Malaysian chicken and naan and quickly gobbled it up, before rushing back to our dry buses, having had a soggy but yet not unenjoyable time.others in the group on other tours got to have tea or play with giant snakes, so we all had fun, but it was too bad about the weather as the town looked charming.

Sunday: Hi ho hi ho, it's off to fun I go...if only I didn't have to wear a bathing suit..

Before I go off to my bath, a few quick notes on Regent. There is bit of a class system in the hotels. We were lucky to have grabbed the wonderfully located and priced G suites. However, we were put up in the rather mediocre Hilton in Bangkok while others who, of course, paid more for the same suite on a different floor were put up in the luxurious Shangri La or Peninsula. Also, the more expensive suites have Hermes versus L'Occitane toiletries. This suits me just fine as they have my favorites and my dear sugar cube bath pellet ...no longer sold in the states...which I am scrounging from non bath takers. What an unexpected windfall!

Such a fun day in Phuket (Sunday) and sadly we are leaving my new favorite country, Thailand. We even topped it off (Peggy, Ken S., Doug and I with a trivia win). Eugene, Gail, Mark, Cheron, Doug and I piled into a van that Eugene had arranged and we went off to see the Big Buddha which is a very big Buddha and then we went off to the beach, about 1/2 hour away. We rented some chairs, slathered on sun tan lotion and frolicked in the water as warm as bath water. There wasn't a bit of humidity in the air and we all took turns in the water, eating, and watching our valuables. The waves and undertow were quite rough, but we were there from about 10:30 til 3 and it was great. The only negative was having to actually strip down to a bathing suit in front of people who know me and to watch my hair grow worse and worse as the day wore on.

This was the second day of a big bus tour we bagged and i don't regret it one bit. How can you come to Thailand and not see and experience the beautiful beaches? Others said that they had a good day though not only watching rubber being collected but watching rubber actually being made. They also had a boat trip through an area somewhat similar to Halong bay in Vietnam. Others did retail damage looking for Jim Thompson outlets. If you stayed on the ship or by ship, there were lots of vendors both in and out ready to separate you from your money.

We also had the neighborhood party where we all grabbed a glass and chatted up our hall neighbors, then the usual meet for drinks and canapés in the Observation Lounge, followed by the usual feed your face in one of the restaurants and then topping that off by watching the Liars Club, whereby 4 staff members made up stories about the definitions regarding an esoteric word and you have to figure out who is telling the truth about the correct definition. Always good fun.

We received a note on our beds yesterday preparing us to lower our expectations regarding ports on the Indian Sea. We were warned that 1) tour guides may have very strong accents and may speak quickly. We have been directed to politely mention to speak more slowly or to repeat a comment. 2) "venues may not be so grand or as prepared, but still will be interesting as their history and significance is described. We encourage you to appreciate the local people with a good heart keen to share their local culture and history." 3) coaches may not be the newest, most comfortable, or have the strongest A/C but are the best available. 4) bathrooms- not up to western standards and not as many.

So, we will put on our big girl or boy Depends, bring both canes, prepare to sweat our asses off, and no complaining. I'm sure it will make for some great stories! Only two sea days to rest up for the next leg and no more! If the going gets too rough...I see a sea day in the making. Lol