There was a temporary break in the rain last evening and we actually sat outside in the courtyard by the pool having a drink and listening to the women play Thai music. No stars visible, of course. In fact, we have seen neither the sun nor the stars since arriving in Phuket. The waves make a loud crashing sound as they land on the small sandy beach below the court yard and the music is pleasant. It is consistently warm in spite of the weather. There are not many people out at 7:00 pm.

We took the small golf cart size car back to our villa for our dinner. The appetizers were shrimp that were wonderful. The meal was seafood and rice with wonderful dishes added. The chef carves vegetables as sculptures on the dishes for added beauty. Yesterday, Lita took a mini cooking class from her and afterwords she showed us how she uses a knife to carve carrots into flowers of all shape plus other vegetables. Very unique skill.

When I first turned on the hot water here I thought of Seattle trial lawyer Jan Eric Peterson because there is no thermostat and the water comes out scalding hot. I think of Jan because he was the lawyer for a child burned with hot water and, as a result of his efforts, the government adopted regulations requiring all hot water heaters to have a thermostat which keeps the hot water at a temperature which will not burn users. When we travel we see the lack of any safety considerations which the U.S. provides. For example, this hotel has many steps at an abnormally sharp angle and no hand rails anywhere. The U.s. has safety rules primarily because of civil litigation which resulted in changes for the safety of people.

We leave this morning for Bangkok where we spend the night. Then a horrible odyssey from Bangkok to Hong Kong. Hong Kong to San Francisco and San Francisco to Seattle all in one trip with plane changes. If the luggage makes it through that maze to Seattle I’ll be surprised.