Our intrepid traveler checks in from back in the USofA, since Internet connectivity is hard to come by in Phuket (not surprisingly).

Phuket is a beautiful place - hot and steamy with nice beaches and rich Germans scattered about here and there. Its primary appeal, however, is fiscal: this place is dirt cheap.

Highlight of the trip to Phuket was playing with the baby elephant on the beach: it was like an enormous puppy. I was looking everywhere for a log that he could fetch.

Two days of meetings with customers who couldn't understand me, which worked out fine since I couldn't understand them. I wowed them with my superficial understanding of airline operations and some carefully chosen gestures during my presentation.

The trip home was a bit of a grind:
- one hour cab ride from Le Meridien resort to Phuket International Airport
- 2 hour wait at Phuket airport
- 45 minute flight on Thai Airways from Phuket to Bangkok
- One hour layover in Bangkok
- 6.5 hour JAL flight from Bangkok to Tokyo
- 6 (that's right - six) hour layover in Tokyo
- 12 hour AA flight from Tokyo to Dallas

This trip's movie count: 10. Book count: 3.

Glad to be home in the land of unlimited refills. Keep 'em coming.

Looking forward to the cabin trip...bring it on.