I'm safely home!

It was a long trip back, but I've made it and am recovering well. You'd be amazed how much easier it is to get public internet access when travelling that it is when at home. Anyway, I left Luang Prabang on the second to take an 11 hour bus ride to Vientiane, then the 12 hour train from Nong Khai (on the Thai side of the border) to Bangkok, spent all day walking around Bangkok (which I like much better since I avoided the trashy backpacker ghetto this time), slept at the airport, and flew home in about a 16 hour journey. The train ride was nice, but the light shines all night into the top bunk. I tried to duct tape the curtain hooks to the ceiling so that I could block out more of the light, but the curtain was too heavy for the tape :( A nice Thai guy travelling with his family gave me two bottles of water as they got off the train - that was really nice. After I got off the train and put my pack into left luggage, I was walking toward the shopping and financial district of Bangkok when I passed an older monk collecting food. He stopped me and handed me a little bag of fruit jellies and wouldn't accept one of my bottles of water in return. It was all in all a really nice send off for Asia. So I walked around looking at a bunch of clothes and stuff, went to see Narnia (I'm going to miss $2.50 movies and 75 cent popcorn) and dropped into a department store to buy new clothes that cost more than at the market, but I got to try them on!!! I felt disgusting from not showering the two days, so a new change of clothes sounded lovely. I cleaned myself up with a pack of babywipes and changed into fresh clothes at the airport, then discovered that the massage place offers showers for $4.50. Oh well. With my mat on the floor and my travel pillow under my head, I managed to catch a couple hours of sleep (along with several dozen other backpackers - that's a busy airport at all hours of the day and night!) I think the worst of the jetlag is over now. I'll be in Seattle until Jan 17th, then in Texas and off to Boston on the 23rd. I've enjoyed this whole blog thing, and maybe I'll even continue one after I get moved. I'll definitely post again in about a week to let you know where I post my pictures. Can't wait to see as many of you as I can while I'm around.