Another sweaty four miles this morning, trying to burn off yesterdays cheeseburger spring rolls. It’s now my favorite Thai dish, designed to dip in ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise. Unique foods like this are why I travel the world. Any dish that I can find that does not require utensils is big in my cook book. However, I was surprised to find out that in Thailand they do not typically use chopsticks. Spring rolls are particularly hard to handle between two wooden sticks.

We met some fellow Hoosiers at the pool yesterday here in Phuket. We actually lounged next to them all day long without a word spoken. It wasn’t until my cousin showed up for Happy Hour in an I.U. T-shirt that the ice was broken.The comment, “You would look better in Black & Gold,” told us immediately he was a Purdue grad, feeling cocky about their success in the NCAA tournament. Fortunately, his wife was a fellow I.U. under-grad like my cousin and I, while he had a Masters from the Business School.

Since it’s Friday morning in this Time Zone, the Thursday night tournament session was actually early this morning and Purdue beat Tennessee in overtime to advance to the Elite 8 for the first time in 18 years. As we sit poolside next to him again today, I can feel his Boiler pride. He’s on a work Visa and they now live in Singapore but are originally from Columbus, Indiana. Meeting them is another “small world” travel phenomenon. We did find some additional commonality in the Cubs Opening Day victory over the Texas Rangers that took place in the middle of the night here.

Diet Coke does not exist in Thailand, but even if it did Marriott would’t serve it. I’m often forced to drink Pepsi Max at this resort. We did however also buy some Coca-Cola – No Sugar at the local grocery. None of these options are as good as a Diet Coke, so I am suffering a bit here in paradise. We also keep a supply of bananas and Oreos in our full kitchen, along with some dinner leftovers of fried rice and pasta. I’m sure I’ll be up a few pounds when I step on the home scale. I will say though that I haven’t sweated this much in a long time. Maybe that will help in the “Battle of the Bulge.”

I continue to marvel at the magnificence of this resort, with all the comforts of home. However, once you wander into some of the nearby rural areas you’re suddenly in “third world” poverty. The loop that I run around the lagoon has some homeless camps, restaurant shanties with tarp covered roofs, and there’s rubbish scattered everywhere, even around the make-shift shrines. The area hotels all have security guards and gates in front, separating those that have from those that don’t. I remain impressed by how hard-working and service-oriented the Thai people truly are, and the friendly hospitality that they exude.

I’m grossly over-tipping out of both ignorance and guilt. I’ve found that there’s a 10% service charge built in to most checks, but still continue to add 20%. This means I’m even supplementing that tax, hoping in my small way to breathe some life into the local Thai economy. There remains some guilt on miscalculating conversion rates on all those .65 cent tips early in the trip. Then I remember that wealth is not all about bahts or dollars here in Thailand, it’s about having a turquoise ocean in your backyard. We ended another perfect afternoon with a Thai massage and a priceless sunset over the Indian Ocean.