Rebuilding Thailand's dream island

For the first few weeks after the 26 December tsunami, the Thai island of Phi Phi was eerily quiet.

Yes I'm still going. :)

News from Koh Phi Phi

"March 28
New Earthquake 8.2 magnitutde

People on the island of Koh Phi Phi are already warned and on the mountain for safety.

Today we received news on the new earthquake off the coast of sumatra. We were alerted by a call to Hi Phi Phi from Japan. We have already established contact with the team on the ground, and were informed that the people on the island were aware of the situation and staying on the mountain for safety and shelter.

Keep up the spirit - the Hi Phi Phi team"

www.hiphiphi.com

This earthquake serves as a very sobering reminder as to why I am making this trip. If the first tsunami hadn't hit back in December, this travel blog would most likely be about a motorcycle tour of Italy.

I have been excited for the adventure of the trip more because I know that my interactions with the kids are going to be uplifting. But if this terrible thing hadn't happened to them, I wouldn't be going. I never would have given this area much thought for a trip. Not right now anyway. So yes, I'm still excited to go, but I also was just thrust back into the somber mindset which determined this decision back in January.

Another quake hits region

Quake strikes off Indonesia coast.

Cozy dinner with friends

Several of my friends and I went to dinner at Cozy Noodles & Rice last night for more Thai food practice, temporary farewells, and wishes to ward off vicious cobra attacks. Photos are here.

The travel route

Koh Phi Phi

Photos of the area I'm staying in.

6 days, 22 hours!

Ticking off the time...

I was reading about my personal hero Ameilia Earhart earlier. There was a quote that really struck me.

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward."

And there you have it.

8 days, 23 hours, 40 minutes. :)

Lots of film!

My film order just got here!



Did you know that Chris Dye rocks harder than a porcelain bathtub? Yes indeedy.

France is closed. Please go home.

On the related topic of travel-
I just got a note from my mother, recently returned from Paris. I gather that they have closed the city down. They did it in. So if you had plans, please direct them elsewhere.

Two Texas women in Paris, unsupervised for a week.

Que pensaient-ils, y'all?

Elated!

Oh man. If I ever get another cat, or fish, or kid, I'm going to have to name him Oscar.

I just got off the phone with Best Travel Store and Oscar, my new best friend, was able to fix the name problems on my ticket. So now everything matches. Passport, reservation, ticket, all of it.

WHEW!

And I got a very nice note from one of the gals at the child care center on Koh Phi Phi yesterday saying they were looking forward to my arrival.

With the photographs that we sold at the gallery on Sunday and all of these little ducks lining up so neatly, I could go right now if I didn't have to work.

Now I just relax and count down the days.

Of which there are 16 left. Tick...tick...tick...

Wahoo! Passport is in hand!

Art for art!

This entire trip is being funded by art! I'm so excited about that fact. Art to go and do art with the kids!

There were enough photographs sold up until today to cover my plane ticket and immunizations. Today I sold enough photographs at the gallery to cover my lodging while I'm there. 3 framed, 1 print. (Loving Rebecca and Ramin so much right now too!) Thank you guys!

Dave took me to Siam Noodle and Rice last night to try out some of the various Thai dishes. What a good sport. I'm sure there are more fun things to do than listen to someone prattle on and on about a trip they're going to take.

I've always been a lazy Thai food consumer, usually sticking to Pad Thai with fried tofu. Of what we ordered, the Um Ka Gai (sp?) was the overall favorite. It's a soup made of chicken cooked in coconut milk and lemon grass. We were not down with the woody things that taste like Pine Sol. Nuh uh. Yuck. What is that?

My curry and tofu dish was almost too hot to eat and his noodles were a little less hot with a surprising punch of chili paste that we weren't expecting. I like hot foods, but cripes, it's going to be 100 degrees while I'm there. I'm more a "flavor" kind of diner and less of a "spicy/hot". Looks like I'll need to do a little more research on what to order. Mellow, light... that's good. Not so much with the chilies. Yikes.

I am just in love with these kids. This photo was posted on the HiPhiPhi.com website, which is where I will be going to volunteer. Their sweet smirks remind me of faces that Sophie makes. Too adorable. They just melt my heart. I can't wait to go!

Tsunami Photos

I received a very nice note from this sweet lady named Kerry earlier today. She was kind enough to share her blog of tsunami pictures with me. Turns out that she and her daughter were in Phuket when the waves hit and they're looking for an orphanage to make a direct donation to. Good people. :)

Probably one of the most useful things I've found on the 'net so far, the Chanchao's Thai Travel Menu. I plan to keep a copy on me at all times. :)

22 days and 95 minutes left!

My marriage certificate is in Houston, Texas.

My passport is in Chicago, Illinois.

My airplane ticket for Bangkok, Thailand is issued in the last name of my ex-husband because that is what is on my driver's license and credit card.

My passport was issued under my maiden name because the guy at the passport office insisted that I would have better luck if I went that route since I did not have a copy of my marriage certificate and only had my birth certificate. It did not matter that I had the ex's last name on my driver's license and obviously would have had to provide some proof of the last name at the time I obtained it.


Now I have a passport in a name that does not match the name on my ticket.

The airline wants $300 to re-issue my ticket under the correct last name. But I had to have the ticket first to get my passport expedited. I tried to get the passport to match but...well, the whole marriage certificate thing. I keep asking them if it really makes that big of a difference. My last name is hyphenated on my ticket as First Maiden-Married. My passport is just First Maiden. Everyone I talk to gives me a different answer. Which tells me that *if* I get through customs on the way there, maybe I won't get back because it's up to the person inspecting my papers whether or not I get through the gate.

What a mess.

I spoke to Oscar at Best Travel Store yesterday, the travel agency who booked my flight. He's going to try to pull it off so that I won't be charged. Oy vey.

Cripes. Stupid mess.


On a postive note, lots of people at work have donated art and sports supplies for me to take to the kids. Every time I look at the collection I grin ear-to-ear thinking about them playing. I got a note from one of the folks the other day at the place in Koh Phi Phi, where it looks like I may end up (I'm still not sure where I'm going) and he said that they're really excited as well.

So now the three places I may end up are Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, or even Bangkok.

28 days, 24 minutes to go.

Uh oh.

First mild bump in the road. There's a problem with my passport application. I don't have a copy of my marriage certificate, so they can't make the connection between the maiden name on my birth certificate and my current (ex-husband's) last name. I provided a copy of my ComEd bill to match the address and last name I'm requesting the document to be in. The guy at the Passport office said it all depends on how picky the person who reviews my application feels like being.

Crap. I'll know in 7-8 days if it goes through. If not, then I'll be in a mad dash to produce a copy of my marriage certificate. Cripe. I should just get on that now, to be proactive.

On a related note, it certainly pays to get this stuff done early. Unfortunately I didn't really have the option since I didn't even know I was going up until 3 weeks ago. What would have been a $56 expense quickly turned into a $135 love peck to our warm and fuzzy Uncle Sam, who I guarantee will *not* call me in the morning.

Expedited Schmexpidited.

Tomorrow, tomorrow I go get my passport tomorrow!
Here's a helpful little link to the US Department of State Passport site.

I just got off the phone with my very funny ex-husband, Spencer, who swears that he will not leave me rotting in a Thai prison and that I should absolutely feel free to put his name down as my emergency contact. Not sure how confident I am in that. What a dork. I may not have had the good sense to know I was too young to get married, but at least I married a good guy. He says he's going to bake cookies for the kids. I don't think I can take stuff like that over. I'll have to look into it. Either way it's a nice thought.

For a first time application, I'll have to take my birth certificate, which I got a couple of weeks ago from Austin, my driver's license, and a couple of photos that fall within their specs. I'll probably just take them on site. They provide passport processing in the Glenview Post Office down the road from my work, so I'll head over at lunch either tomorrow or Thursday. The cost is $55 plus $30 for processing and another $60 to expedite my application so that I can get it back within 2 weeks.

One month from today!!!

THIRTY ONE DAYS LEFT!