Rawai Beach, Phuket

Rod and Mark emailed me several times where to meet, how to get in touch, what to expext, etc. However, not one for details, all I wrote down was Leo’s phone number (that’s Mark Leo, hereafter Leo) and the address where I thought that Rod said to meet - well, I got everything wrong. Apparently, you have to dial 08 before the cell phone number to get the call to go through (and mind you this is from my cell phone, so, if you haven’t already, buy AT&T stock since the call to Leo is going to cost $400).

So after getting off of the plane from Bangkok, I grabbed a cab to Rawai Beach, where Leo’s house is. The cab took me down and dropped me off in the middle of the Rawai and I had no idea where to find Rod. So I thought it best to find an internet cafe, which was proving to be harder than expected. Now here I am with a backpack loaded with my crap, a smaller backpack with my personal belongngs and I have no idea where I am headed. But, wait, what’s this in front of me?! Yes it’s a scooter rental store - so for 200 baht (like $8 bucks) I can rent a scooter and find an internet cafe! Now I am in luck! So, I hopped on the scooter, drove around and then I saw a sign for a Muay Thai boxing gym - where Leo is working. After talking to the manager, Larry, I realized that finding Leo might be a chore. Larry told me that there are 12 boxing gyms in Rawai, so I soon gave up that thought. But driving on I finally saw an internet cafe. That’s when, after reading Rod’s email, that I had to dial 08 before the cell phone number...and lo and behold, I got Leo on the other line. He promptly me me and we met up with Rod...a few beers later and here I am, wrting this lovely bit while Rod - who, mind you looks like a typical whitey after a few days in the tropics...yeah! red face! - tries to find a plane ride back to Bangkok. OK, that’s as up to the minute as I will get - we’re headed to a Muay Thai fight tonight.

PEACE