Don't count your chickens before they hatch

A note about paradise. Apparently I need to do a broader survey of things before I start declaring a winner for that title. A few days ago we arrived at Hat Nopparat Thara. I told Bet that I had claimed the previous two beaches "were paradise, but..." and she interupted with "here we are." The previous beach was a better beach for body surfing, but this beach is even more scenic with limestone cliffs off to the sides and many little limestone islands off the coast. We've done some kayaking and some lazing around. Lauren left us this morning for Malaysia and Bet and I will take the overnight train back to Bangkok tomorrow. From Bangkok we're planning using our last week to head west to Kanchanaburi and Songklaburi near the Burmese border. We can't really believe that our trip is almost over. We've seen so much and had a wonderful time, but it only feels as though we've been here for two weeks, not five. There is a chance I'll stay a bit longer to see Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. If I do there is also a chance that I'll run into Lauren again in Thailand as we both fly out of Bangkok and could imagine a few more days on the beach in our future.