Dear Sarah, Jess and Julie,

That's right ladies. You guessed it. You are looking at the smiling face of a certified Open Water SCUBA Diver. And those guns he's flashing can only mean one thing: TRIGGERFISH!

But let me start with boats. Because, you know how I love rocking on the high seas. And by rocking...I clearly mean ripping out my regulator and feeding the fish from my insides. Gross. Sorry for that image. Anyway, I boarded my first boat on my way to Koh Tao (Turtle Island) 8 days ago. Since then, I have spent every single day on a boat. Proof:

But thankfully, a little elf slipped some anti-nausea medicine into my stocking and I have championed my way from from Chumphon-Koh Tao-Koh Phangan-Koh Samui-Mu Koh Angthong-back to Koh Samui- back to Koh Phangan-Surat Thani. Throw in 3 more boat trips for the SCUBA certification, and you can start to understand why I am so proud of my ability to keep my pad thai down.

Of course, the island hopping has been well worth it. The diving in Koh Tao is not only some of the cheapest in the world, but also incredibly stunning with huge colorful coral formations, stingrays, moray eels, angelfish, pufferfish, clownfish and on and on. But the underwater highlight has been the 6 or 7 Triggerfish that I have seen which always remind me of the three of you.

To the south, Koh Samui offered us:

The arrival of two more friends (Ashlee and Jane)

Easy access to Mu Ko Angthong, a protected group of limestone islands.

And Beach Bungalows 5 meters from the surf

Now back on Koh Phangan for 4 days, we are taking it easy in every way we can (as if any of this has been stressful, right?) beach bumming, motorbiking, and cards have been a great way to spend time with friends and maximize our island-life experience.

And while I decided to cut travel scrabble from my bag at the last minute, have no fear...Justin and I negotiated a fair price for a Thai knock off. Relaxing: 78 pts.

"I got a peaceful easy feeling and I know you won't let me down
'cause I'm already standing on the ground."
-The Eagles