"Further South"

After Ko Chang we caught a bus south along the coast and through a series of events (like missing the bus we had planned to take) actually wound up in Phuket. Entering the city left all of the riders a bit shaken. The road dips in and out of coastline and just north of Phuket the trees disappear, flourescent tubes mounted on poles replace old street lamps, and all one can see for many miles is red bulldozed earth and buildings constructed from salvaged rubbish. The current drought that is affecting most of Thailand makes matters even worse. Some people threw-up and we were all silent until a little Thai boy shouting his English alphabet all out of order, "J, K, L, W!" reminded us to laugh. I have to agree with him that the order is truly arbitrary, and I appreciate his English/life lesson. the quiet after destruction and then rebuilding and growth. laughter.