Just a quick update!

We are trying to write all our emails and web updates from Dave's Palm Pilot. Then we need to find a telephone line to dial up and send everything out. That has proven quite difficult (as explained on the web page). Today we had our first mishap with that. Dave's batteries died and when I changed them, I left the batteries out to long, so the PDA wouldn't turn on with the new batteries. We had to do a reset. We have been doing backups, but our last one was about a week ago. So we lost a weel's worth of stuff (mainly our Quicken info) and the last emails that people sent as well as some drafted emails and webpage updates that I wrote on the train yesterday. That teaches us to do more backups!

We are currently in Lampang. It's a city 75 km south of Chiang Mai in the northern part of Thailand. We took a 10 hour train ride yesterday from Ayuthaya (north of Bangkok). Ayuthaya is an old capital of Thailand (Siam). There were a lot of old ruins there. We rented bikes on Thursday and rode around town. Riding the bikes was fun, but I wasn't really impressed with the city. It was dirty and crowded. We never found a good restaurant in the town. Even in the indoor sit-down restaurants, the food tasted like fast food. Our experience made us question a little more what our travel plans should be. Most people like us who have tons of time to travel around SE Asia, go from one significant town to the next (big or small) and do whatever there is to do in that town. Well after riding around for 4 hours in 85 degree weather, we decided we saw enough ruins. The biking was fun but we were just not interested in seeing ore ruins or wats (Buddhist temples). What we want to do is hike, raft, ride an elephant, go to Chiang Mai. So we decided to head up north quicker than we originally planned.

We could tell instantly that Lampang was a much nicer, cleaner city. We both felt more comfortably. When we were looking for a guest house, we stumbled upon this really nice one right on the river. We are splurging a little and spending 300 baht ($7.50 USD) a night for a room with a private bath. (Although in Kanchanaburi, we stayed at a place for 80 baht a night ($2 USD) which was kinda more like camping in a shed. So we'll break even!) It's made from teak and is really beautifully crafted. The owners (I think) are a married couple, the man is Thai and the woman is European of some sort. She speaks Thai, English, French, and Italian. You can see the European influence clearly - little things. For example, we have a European toilet with toilet paper! (Some other guest houses provide tp, too, but it's usually emptied quickly by backpackers stocking up.) Towels and water are provided. The family has pet dogs that are clean and healthy. Most dogs in SE Asia are "wild" and run around the streets. They usually are afraid of people. The lawn and rooms are well maintained. Almost all the other places we've stayed, the bed and floors would be clean, but the place would just look old and worn down. It really just needs some dusting and a coat of paint. That type of maintenance doesn't seem to be a priority here.

We have had one mishap this morning. Dave had diarrhea all last night and after breakfast it felt like he had a fever. He was achy and cold. I found a store and bought a thermometer. He had a 102.5 fever. So we went to the hospital. Again, we worried that maybe he had malaria. (The doctors back home have scared us!) After seeing the doctor, he said he thinks it might be food poisoning. He got some meds and is now sleeping. (Visit and meds - 473 baht (~$12 USD)) We might take it easy and hang out in Lampang for the next few days until he is feeling better. What's weird is that we've been eating the same things...we always share whatever we order. But he probably ate more of something than me. If it doesn't clear up by Monday, the doctor said to come back.

We were hoping to go to an elephant conservation park near Lampang where we can see them get trained and rehabilitated. We can also go on elephant rides! There is also a place here that specializes in Northern Thai massage (which is suppose to be a little softer than traditional Thai massage.) We haven't had a massage yet, so maybe this will be a good introduction.

We then want to head to Chiang Mai. We were hoping to then head west and do some hiking, rafting and then come back to Chiang Mai for New Year's, but since we are staying a little longer in Lampang, who knows. We have to be out of Thailand by Jan. 8. We can get another 30 day visa by going out of the country and then back in even on the same day. We were going to go to Laos for a bit, but it costs about $30 USD to get a 2 week visa for Laos, so we might travel around there a bit. We don't know about plans after that. Maybe Vietnam?? We definately want to go to southern Thailand and hang out on some beaches. The ocean water is calling Dave's name! It's suppose to be clearer come March so we were going to wait. But we might just go early anyway. We also want to make it to Malaysia and Bali.

We've met a few Thai people and we ask them where their favorite place to travel in Thailand is. They all say Chiang Mai. So we might stay there for a while. While in Chiang Mai, we are hoping to take a cooking class. I guess a bunch are offered.

Have a wonderful Christmas! Know that we are doing good and having a wonderful time! The Thai people are so wonderful and friendly!!