Thailand

People here work LONG shifts. Like everyday, all day. At the places where i have rented rooms/bungalows. I wake up early and the same person that was working the desk the night before is still there. Seems like they put in 80 hours a week... easy. Also, its not uncommon to be served a drink by a kid. One of the bars on Phi Phi had a teenager mixing the drinks who also served as a fire baton twirler! Yesterday for lunch a child was my waiter. I tipped him well.
Overall I am finding the Thai people very happy and friendly.
Copyright laws do not apply here. It is not uncommon to see a shop that has nothing but pirated movies for sale.
Knock-off wrist watches and sunglasses are common here too. I saw a Rolex for 350 baht the other day in Phuket. It was advertised as a 'quality fake'. I might get one cause I am such a sophisticated chap!
As for the other tourists/farangs. I have yet to meet another American on my trip since arriving in Thailand. I have met many Canadians, Aussies and Brits. I hear many Europeans speaking French, German, etc. But not one American. Seems strange to me. I have heard that the United States has issued less passports to it's citizens on average then almost any other modern country. Possibly because the US is so large, there is so much to see in our own country. I think people from other countries tend to be more 'worldly' though. Like they are part of a world community.
I am not sure Americans feel that way. Just watch any of our national news channels. Most of the news focuses on US news only. But when I watch BBC news, its amazing how much of it is international. Would be interesting to see this broken down into percentages.
Many of the western restaurants play current or recently released movies on their tv's. Last night I went to one of these places. Ordered my nightly curry and watched 'You Don't Mess with the Zohan' which was actually much more enjoyable then I had thought it was going to be. The place was full of farangs. I shared my table with one - a french guy named Jon Paul - who works several months out of the year on a yacht sailing he world. He has been sailing and traveling for 10 years and has explored almost every corner of the planet except North America. I told him to make sure he goes to Portland when he does! :)
I haven't had any western food (besides breakfast) since I arrived but am tempted to get a European pizza tonight for dinner. Only so much Curry you can have.
I got my laundry done today as well. It was way overdue. Got a 'hot and spicy' chicken soup for lunch. It was easily one of the spiciest meals I have eaten. It made me cough a couple times and my nose was running by the time I was finished. I made the mistake of asking the guy to make it just chicken with NO PRAWNS... when i got it, of course there were lots of prawns. I cant escape them. I do manage to get them down if I eat them in small pieces with other stuff.
Tomorrow Avery is meeting me here in Krabi early. We will then catch an 11:30am bus to Khao Suk. A park north of hear 100 miles or so. Some of the pictures made it look amazing. Need to remember to recharge my camera battery tonight.