Art By Tali Landsman

Christmas in Rawai, Phuket, Thailand We returned to Phuket. It was our last stop before our return to New Zealand. Restaurants and bars were decorated with Christmas trees and red balloons,  Working girls in bars, wore red miniskirts, red tops and red hats, Many places offered special Christmas menus. On the beach, smoothly shaved French and Italian guys Wore Santa Claus hats and red bathing suits,  Their shoulders decorated with tattoos of stars... It was Christmas Eve, And it was visibly celebrated for the tourists, in Rawai beach. We took it easy, since it was the end of our beach trip and we'd vowed to start taking more frequent beach trips, designed to do nothing but help us step out of our ego structures and to reconnect with our natural and neutral bodies. There is something very freeing about living in our bathing suits for a whole month....  Suddenly seeing ourselves naked in the mirror, does not feel so strange... We seemed to loosen up and let go of the silly inhibitions

We flew from Koh Samui to Phuket and took a taxi north, to Khao Lak. The drive along Thailand's Andaman coast took only about an hour and a half, with a taxi driver who drove so fast that the two cameo Buddhas hanging from his rearview mirror kept on banging into each other, making a clanking sound as he sped and took sharp turns. We did not know what to expect in Khao Lak... It was our first time in the area, and if there is something I learnt about Thailand, it is that places that used to be remote and isolated soon get "discovered," and in one year can become packed with tourists. Khao Lak is part of the mainland, north of Phuket island. It is better known as an embarkation point for those who wish to snorkel and dive in the Similan islands. The Similan islands are a collection of nine rocky islands in the Andaman sea. The Similan are not inhabited, and there is no development and no houses on those islands; they are designated as a marine park by the Thai government.

Koh Samui is the second biggest island in Thailand after Phuket, and it is perhaps the best known among the islands we have chosen to visit on our journey to the southern Thai beaches. Pictures of the island appear often in travel sections of newspapers and magazines. They depict azure waters, coconut trees and the tempting edges of infinity pools in luxury resorts. Samui has some of the globally most expensive resorts, with rooms costing over $1000 per night. It features health Spas offering juice fasts, weight loss programs and detoxes for every budget. There are also plenty of accommodation choices around the island for reasonable and even very cheap rates. There are two islands neighboring Koh Samui. The bigger one, which we can see across from our hotel room that overlooks the Gulf Of Thailand, is called Koh Pha Ngan, better known for its nickname, "Full Moon Party Island." They not only organize a rave party every full moon; there are also parties for the ne