Saturday night we walked out of our hotel to a seemingly horrible live cover of The Cranberries "Zombie". But it was an all kids band so horrible quickly became adorable. Next up was "Don't Worry Be Happy" which really is the perfect song for our journey and we've been singing it ever since. 

Khao Lak was practically erased by the 2004 tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 14 countries. They have rebuilt and survived and are now equipped with a warning system and several evacuation buildings, like the one below, all over town. I know, fantastic photography skills here.

Ryan was telling me about a top ten article from a travel agent recounting stories of the worst nationalities to deal with for travel and why. Americans were near the end of the list but mostly because our heavy tipping excuses much of our bad behavior. But according to this person, the worst part of American travelers is that our expectations are high and when something doesn't go according to plan or meets those expectations, we then expect our money back. The very first American I meet here, from PA, tells me how his girl got "food poisoning" from a restaurant in Bangkok and he went back the next day to demand his money back... And he was appalled that they asked to see a doctor's note and said he needed to speak with the owner. Ughhhhh GTFO.

Second American we met was from Abington, PA and he was awesome but that might have something to do with he's lived in Sweden for the last 30 years.  Rick and Hellen from Stockholm overheard our accents at dinner and we're so surprised to hear Americans in this area of Thailand, they had to ask about us. They're in their early 60s and he's a land surveyor and she's been a flight attendant for 30 years, which is how they met in the Virgin Islands. But before that, she was a total badass who traveled through Canada, the US and Mexico and back via Greyhound bus! Since this is an election year he was concerned over our absentee ballots and we were off and running on political discussions. They are so appalled at our gun control situation and we couldn't agree more. They were lovely, offered us a place to stay in Sweden and we ended up closing the restaurant with them as we giggled over the statues that came with our bill. 

Sunday is for fishing. Quiet, easy fishing. We went north of Bang Niang to the White Sandy Beach which is quite white, covered in coral and so untouched. Two local men were our guides and they knew what they were doing with this longboat. The motor and rudder were separate poles that he held in opposite hand and foot. At times he was spread across the back of the boat, steering with his fingertips and between his big and second toe. We caught coral grouper and some kind of snapper. The only conversation between us was as follows:

Him: Australian?

Us: USA America

Him: Obama!!!! (Thumbs up)

Us: Obama!!! (Shaking heads)

Him: ISIS (beheading and gun shots hand motions)

Us: ???

Him: (Thumbs down) 

Until the end when he said "Bar. Be. Que!" And so we went in search of a restaurant that could cook our catch. 

Our favorite noodle lady did us a solid, understood what we wanted and cooked up some of our fresh catch for dinner. She's the best and it was SO GOOD!!