thai massages and seafoods

Craig did a great job telling about our last trip days

What I would add is the difference between western style massages and thai traditional massages. The secret to the swedish massage is mainly the long stroke; the thai massager emphasises the press-and-release in rhythmic progress. the press can be with so many things, strong fingers, the palm of the hand, the elbow, the lateral and medial epicondyle (the little bumps just above the elbow... or on your feet a little polished finger sized paddle of wood. so they don't need any oil and you lie on a sheet they give you on soft sand and totally relax while they gaze off in the distance and giggle to their friends and sort of walk all over you at the same time. there is a lot of putting both hands on you and leaning verrryyy firmly...

as far as the sea creatures and sea foods... amazing that on single sidestreets in Thailand all these restaurants just appear. you are on the doorstep of some important daytime business, maybe a bank or travel agency, who knows; but as soon as the iron shutters are pulled down, I guess, the area is swept, the tables go up, the charcoal barbecues get lit, the rain awnings are up, the coolers are filled, and business happens. There is so much sealife swimming in tubs... there are lots of unusually colored beings and mollusks. it's almost like being in an aquarium.... then they grill it or wok it or whatever they do. we tried to do it slowly, moving from stall to stal... we had one really tasty flat scalloppy thing, a flat glossy yellow bivalve shell almost a perfect round circle as big as my hand... and inside was the clam plus a little tasty highly seasoned ground pork, maybe as bit as a thumb; then 3 dishes of tasty green and yellow dipping sauces. we also had clear beanthread noodles with brown sauce..