I feel like I’m settling into the job more, and now have a clearer picture of what life as a tour leader is really like.  Basically its totally exhausting, sometimes frustrating, and drives me crazy at times but it is also a ton of fun.   I really like not having an office, cubicle, computer, or telephone as part of the job.  But working 24 hours a day 7 days a week for 30 days in a row, is a bit insane.

I’ve already gotten to know so many cool people from around the world and have basically made friends with a lot of our local operators as well.  I get to lay on the beach, go snorkeling, horseback riding, kayaking, get tons of thai and reflexology massages, eat amazing food, and never have to clean or make a bed (in fact I’ve forgotten how.  When I stayed at Jen’s apartment a few weeks ago I tried to make the bed and sweep the floor, but couldn’t really remember how to.)

  Some days I feel like I have the best job in the world, and then others I just really want to curl up in bed and sleep, relax, read a book, or watch a movie.  I really have come to love certain places in Thailand and Malaysia.  So all in all I think that this is a pretty good job for me. 

To start off this blog I think I’ll probably have to tell you what a sniff kiss is.  Basically it’s a Thai form of affection, where someone leans close to their loved one, putting their nose close to their head/hair/shoulder and then takes a big loud whiff.  Sniffing them.

The other day as I was walking down the sidewalk, a man was walking in the opposite direction.  As we were about to pass each other, he leans over like he’s about to whisper a secret in my ear.  Then he did a rather loud sniff kiss to me.  And just continued on walking.  It was totally bizarre and strange.  I stood there for a few minutes wondering if I was going crazy, or had just imagined it, but then I remembered about theThai craze- the sniff kiss.  It’s certainly not the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, but it was sure bizarre.  Ahh- the adventures of living in a foreign country with a totally different culture!

On a different note, I think that I am becoming addicted to Thai massage and reflexology.  I usually have about 2 massages a week (sometimes more), but I had decided to save some money, so it had been about 10 days since my last massage.  (Shocking, I know!)  I was starting to feel sick, really tired, and had no appetite.  I figured I was just tired from the 2 back to back tours, but then today I dragged my butt out of bed and had a 2 hour long Thai massage (for less than $10, gotta love it).  And I felt completly better afterwards.  I think my body was going through massage-withdrawl or something.  (Well, maybe not.  But I think that I’ll need to get bi-weekly massages from now on!) 

I’m back in Bangkok and am having the final dinner with my group.  They have been really fun, cool, and interesting people to hang out with.  Most of the pax are doing extended travelling (at least 4 months, 1 guy is going for 18 months).  So it’s been fun to hear all of their stories about wild and crazy adventures around the world. 

Things went very smoothly (except in Nahkon Si Thammarat where it’s nearly impossible to find someone who speaks English.  That was a really trying day for me.  I told the hotel receptionist, bell boy, and driver that we wanted to go to the bus station.  Of course they all nod their heads, saying “yes, I understand.”  Then when all 9 of us and all of our huge backpacks are loaded into the truck and driving down the road it becomes aparent he has no idea where to go.  He brought us to a van rental place instead, and then one of the wheels went flat and we had to get a new one.  I was freaking out because the only bus was leaving at 11:00am, and we were going to miss it.  We ended up getting to the bus station right at 11:00 and it turns out the bus wasn’t leaving until 11:30, so we were totally fine.)  The only other crazy thing was all of us being attacked by blood sucking leeches on our waterfall trek.  (I’m supposed to remain calm and cool the whole time.  Which was quite a challenge when I took off my shoe and saw that 2 huge leeches were stuck on my foot.  But I didn’t scream and jump around like I normally would, so that’s a major victory for me.) 

I have a week of vacation now, but am feeling quite lazy and thinking that I might just hang out in BKK, recuperate, and spend time with Jen. (Yeah!  I have a friend in Thailand now!)