***Day 4 in Thailand***

I wake up and can hardly walk because of pain in my back. We get dressed and go to the breakfast buffet. When we get back it is time to pack, but everything we hung out to dry is still wet, so we wrap it all in plastic bags. I wear one of my bathing suits under my clothes because I am out of underwear. We meet in the lobby at 8:30. A man with a handcart takes our luggage and we follow him down the road to the main pier. We board a large boat with people sitting on top. But I guess we paid more since we get to sit inside with AC. People here are very good at making sure tourist get to the right place. Each person gets a sticker whose color tells the people in charge where to direct them. A little way from shore we stop and drift. As I begin to wonder, another boat pulls along side and we exchange some passengers. Michele remarks that she will never forget the gross pictures of what smoking does to your lungs (posted near the hotel). I reflect that many of the people that wear bikinis here have figures no better than mine. But we all came to look at the scenery, so who cares? Also, that there are a lot more Europeans here than in Seoul.
We sail back to Phuket. We are met by our tour guide Jenny, who did not go to the island. She takes us to an upscale gift shop. One whole floor is dedicated to jewelry. There is lots to see and no photos are allowed. On the second floor one section has shelves of silk on bolts. I buy 3 or four pieces because of their two-toned nature. Michele buys a black silk purse and Chris gets 2 silk ties. Then our tour guide takes us to lunch at a Thai buffet place. The food choices are staggering. I order a fruit drink, but there is no umbrella in it. We finish up with ice cream with little specks of veggies in it. MMM! We visit the bathrooms downstairs and see the pond nearby.
Next on our tour is the elephant safari. Chris and I sit on one elephant, and Michele on another. The 'chair' feels precarious and I worry as the elephant walks downhill into a stream. It keeps stopping to beat pineapple tops against rocks and trees before eating them. We aren't going far, but it seems to take a long time. Nearby, we see a monkey show. Three trained monkeys ride a bike, shake hands and pick coconuts. After that is the baby elephant show. They dance, play soccer, and give massages (elephant very carefully taps on my back with his foot). Then we enjoy an oxcart ride and a rubber tree tapping demonstration.
We leave the safari grounds and go to a cashew factory. The cashews are hulled by hand using a mechanical device. We have the option to buy many flavors of cashews and cashew juice. It tastes pretty good! Our guide then takes us to anothergift shop where each of us is followed by a 'personal shopping assistant'. Mine helps me select two pieces of silk and some sarong-type fabric. I asked them if they had any quilting stores, but they said no.
Finally we go to our hotel, the Hilton Arcadia! What a place! From the "Welcome" lobby we have to take a shuttle bus to the more secluded one. We are given cool washcloths and fruit drinks (still no umbrella). I have never been so happy to see a washcloth, and the coolness is very refreshing. Our guide helps us check in and we walk to our room. It is amazing! Well decorated with a small patio. The bathroom is beautiful as well, and the washcloths are arranged to form an elephant. We are provided a tub, shower, hairdryer, ironing board and iron, slippers, bathrobes, alarm clock, coffee, tea, radio, Tv, etc. We are supposed to meet our guide for supper in an hour, so Michele and I quickly slip off to the pool. It makes a lazy circle around and through the building and landscaping, near a waterfall, and a waterslide. Soon we have to leave the pool to shower and dress. I still have no clean underwear and have to go to supper without. Michele wears fabric from the last store as a skirt. We hang all our wet stuff on the patio to dry.
Our guide takes us to a Thai barbeque place. The items on the buffet are raw and have to be cooked at your table. Hot coals are brought and a rounded grill is placed on top. Food falls off of it into a water moat where it presumably boils. Something I have put on my plate has tiny green peppers in it. As soon as I bite into one, I immediately remove it from my mouth. My mouth burns and soon my hand does, too. I take mouthful after mouthful of my fruit shake to dull the pain. I order a second shake, too. The relief is only temporary and STILL no paper umbrella. I swear not to eat anything I can't identify ever again.
After we get back to the hotel (resort), I want to walk the extraordinarily beautiful gounds, but am too tired and my back hurts. So we go to bed.