There's no time now for the two-hour daily fitness routine we enjoyed in Langkawi, and the postage-sized marina swimming pool is warm as a bathtub and taste like an acid solution. But we're going to weekly yoga classes and, since our slip is way down near the end of the dock, we get some exercise just getting ashore.

No sooner had we secured the lines at Yacht Haven Marina than the first workers showed up to offer their services. Labor is cheap in Thailand and there's a cottage industry of marine businesses catering to the many visiting and resident yachts. That's why we're here. The day after our arrival men were cleaning and polishing the deck, for less than $20 per person per day. The labor estimate to replace our salon cushions is a quarter of what it would cost in the States.

We're now busy managing several projects at once, such as having the delaminated headliners (ceiling panels) and worn-out salon cushions replaced, varnishing inside and out, and having a new freezer compressor installed. As I write, three skinny young men are in our tiny forward cabin sanding the woodwork, while two more are busy in the cockpit. While I sit here decadently keeping cool with a/c ...

Burger has his own list of projects, such as troubleshooting an air leak in the diesel engine fuel system, replacing generator capacitors, doing some electrical rewiring, and his favorite job, refurbishing the toilets. I'm managing our finances (thank goodness for Quicken and Turbotax!), researching travel plans, and doing the usual "pink jobs" such as laundry and cleaning. Hopefully everything will be done in the next month and we can get back to cruising and land travel before the rainy season.

Photo: Thai worker busy in our cockpit