Thailand is the furthest I have ever been from home and like no other place I have been in my life.  The whole time I was there, I kept asking myself, “Is this what I expected Thailand to be like?”  The truth is, I didn’t know what to expect and the coastline kept surprising me with unique experiences from beauty and awe to shock and amazement.  Luckily, I had a friend along, Playmate Cara Zaveleta, for this leg of the trip to share this exotic adventure with.  And an adventure it was!Our adventure began in Phuket.  We stayed at a beautiful hotel called Bursari and although we didn’t really film from the hotel much it was beautiful and worth talking about.  As soon as I arrived they are asked to have a seat in the outdoor lobby and treated me to a glass of tropical punch a few minutes later they presented me with the biggest bouquet of orchids I have ever seen and escorted me to my room.  The room was very nice with an outdoor Jacuzzi tub filled with rose petals.

The next morning we took a tuk tuk (local taxi) to a beach to watch a snake charmer.  This guy was crazy!!!  These were giant cobra snakes and various other varietals of snakes that were very poisonous!!  We watched him taunt them, dance with them, hold them, etc.  He is a very brave guy and needless to say he has been bitten many times and needed urgent medical care.  It was an exciting feat to watch but not nearly as exciting as what I was about to do…parasailing.  I wasn’t nervous to go parasailing.  I had been before.  I went once in Mexico years ago and once in Monte Carlo with Holly and Kendra on Girls Next Door.  And although I have a fear of heights I’m trying to get over overall I have had very positive parasailing experiences but little did I know, my luck was about to change.  I call it a misunderstanding perhaps due to the language barrier but something went horribly wrong.  I was supposed to start in the water and land in the water but for some reason I didn’t.  When I asked my producer what was going on she wasn’t really sure.  Then before I knew it the boat started going and I was running and then flying through the air.  At first it was fun and although I felt incredibly nervous I liked the adrenaline and the view truly is unbeatable.  Suddenly, I was being flagged down by one of the instructors on the beach to pull down on the ropes of the sail.  Like I said, I have been parasailing before and never have I had to control the sail myself before.  Before I knew it I was plummeting towards the beach with tourists and sunbathers fleeing for their lives at my rapid descend.  The only thing I knew to do was a bit of advice I took from the one time I went sky diving.  He told me that nearly all injuries happen during landing so to protect yourself start running the second you hit the ground.  As I was falling to the earth this was the only words of wisdom I could think of so before I even hit the ground I started running in air which, luckily for me, absorbed most of the impact.  I ran until the force of the boat pulled me down and dragged me until it came to a stop.  I popped up, and minus a few scratches and bruises, I was fine.  It didn’t hit me until later how serious this could have been.

I wanted to get a real taste of Thai culture while I was there so here are some of the other things I did while I was in Thailand..I got a Thai massage that was out of this world, incredible.  So relaxing yet invigorating.  It is a combination of relaxation and stretching and they have used this method of massage for years on their family and friends.  I took a Thai cooking lesson and learned to make Pad Thai, chicken Satay and my favorite, garlic beef.  And of course, I took a Thai boxing lesson, which was a lot of fun and great exercise, but I don’t think I will be in a boxing ring anytime soon.

After my attempt at parasailing I was a little gun shy about heights…but we were staying the night at a beautiful resort on Raleigh Beach, which offers a unique experience of rock climbing.  I started with a small climb to test my skills and once I realized how much fun it was (and relatively safe) I was excited to scale a bigger wall.  It was so fun and very liberating.  It is amazing how accomplishing something like that can make you feel so good about yourself.  It is always such a rewarding experience when I go beyond my comfort zone and challenge myself.

And last but certainly not least, the very coolest think I got to do while in Thailand was to ride the elephants.  They are magnificent creatures and to be able to spend the afternoon with them, observe their behaviors and individual personalities as well as be able to touch them and be transported by them really gave me the ultimate perspective of how powerful and intelligent these spectacular creatures are.  What a day and what a trip!!!

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