A parting bumper sticker gift from some overly zealous, or possibly hilariously ironic, Chicago-land driver on my way to the airport Monday; I would say yesterday, but I am still in transit and its actually Wednesday. For some of you, this will be a look into the future. It will be a little hot and muggy for you tomorrow, with some clouds and intermittent rain. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; take an umbrella.
Wow, that was a serious leg of travel. I left Chicago at 1 pm on Monday and landed in Tokyo at 4 pm on Tuesday, then flew to Bangkok by 10:30 Tuesday and now I am sitting in the Chaing Mai airport after my 8 am flight this morning as I wait for the last plane of the in journey at 12:50 to Mae Hong Son. I’ll be picked up there by a friend of Emmett’s and led to a motobike rental station for the last leg to Nai Soi. I’m tired from just writing all that.
My strategy was to stay awake the whole time to Japan and then crash on the way to Thailand. It worked I think, I am dealing well with the all time changing and back to the futuring.
This is a very different feeling trip overall. A huge part of it is that I’ll be seeing Roy, Jason, Morgan, Kozue and more which I am very excited for. Another big part is that I know so very little about Thailand so I don’t approach it with the same level of curiosity and inquiry as I do in Latin America; that’s not to say I am disinterested, just less so that in LA. I feel much more like a tourist here, and less as a participant in some sort of venture. Language might be part of it; I don’t understand a word here, not a one.
I had some sushi in Japan and some very delicious Pho in Thailand this morning for breakfast. That combined with some good espresso has me very charged for this final stretch. There is some sort of English judging that Roy and I will do, lots of laughing for sure, drinking of Singhas and eating of hot foods. All that combined with finally realizing our moto-bike riding ambitions; Emmett and I had once planned to ride from Holland to Belgium on moto-bikes to eat Belgian Waffles, but I think something distracted us. Not this time!
This is a big month on travel, the most I have ever done in any length of time. Here until the 17th, then to Arlington Race track outside Chicago on the 18th and then 4 planes down to Bariloche, Argentina for two weeks, followed by Buenos Aires and Rio before heading back to the states mid- August. I feel exponentially more comfortable traveling alone now than I did just a few weeks ago. Nicaragua was pretty tough at first, but as it went I became more and more comfortable. It feels very natural now, and by the end, well I guess I’ll have to wait and see.
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