red shirts, red skies and making ties

Wow what a week! I will start with the red shirt update. Thailand is heading towards civil war if they don`t get this under control. Over the weekend 36 people have died and over 140 injured. In the past two months the numbers are 65 deaths and 1669 injured and increasing daily! Not good at all. We feel sorry for all people involved. So much corruption, in both the government and military with the lower paid poorer working class out there battling in the streets. North Americans complain about our home politics, maybe take a look to see behind the doors of the world and a different perspective on real crisis may become apparent. This week was to be the start of the school year and they have postponed that date for a few days (and counting) while the embassies are closing, even the families of U.S. embassies are encouraged to go home. Forty-five countries now have high level travel warnings for Thailand. We hope that there is resolution on this very volatile situation soon and to see a cease to the street battles so that this country can return to it`s claim to fame as "the land of smiles". We on the other hand are safe and far away from Bangkok with all its protesting. We are spending most of our time enjoying what the sleepy southern tip of Phuket island has to offer. This includes a few beach days with our buddy Dave, (extra large ex-cop from Australia) his girlfriend, and Herwig (retired ex-cop from Austria). I have to say that for the first time I was out in some big waves, Dave`s Thai girlfriend New, who isn`t much of a swimmer is out there and even trying to surf, so I had to try the big waves (no peer pressure), I even had fun and didn`t get washed away! We have been bringing the beach dogs rawhide bones (Denise would be so proud) and Lulu, this lady we met has been bringing dog food. She gave the food to one dog by our beach chair, so then the dog who we've named Lizzy, decided to hang out and spend the day with Steve and I. Poor thing she got dragged by a vehicle, not too sure about letting a sleeping dog lye as there seems to be a pattern with the pooches sleeping under vehicles and being drug off. Here people need to do a look see under their rig before driving away. Now onto more pleasant things, I totally enjoyed my seaside massage. It started out with a lady massaging me, then part way through she was preoccupied with trying to deal with her two young children, then I felt another set of hands on me and they were strong while rubbing me with the amount of pressure I like, for awhile I had two of them working on me. Wow talk about treatment. After the hour session, as always it is hard to get up and walk away. Should be doing this more often but some days it is difficult to fit it all into our not too busy schedule. Went to the movies this week and saw Iron Man 2, a great action packed film with awesome music and special effects. It wasn`t shown in the first class cinema with the phat lazy boy recliners so we had to downgrade to the almost as good lounge sofas. Wish we had this kind of theater comfort back home. As in the last time at the theater after the previews and just before the show was to begin we all stood while they had their movie clip anthem tribute to his majesty the King and his wife. Perhaps a little patriotism can go a long as the olympics recently demonstrated.
Proud to be Canadian.