Coup, Coup, Cachoo

So, how do you pick a place to visit? Me, I pick a country with polical unrest and tanks lining the city streets - yes, folks, while the Prime Minister was away New York at a UN meeting the military took advantage. It was done quite peacefully, with no guns fired and no hostility. I watched video on MSN this morning from the Associated Press and no one there is really concerned. The tourists they interviewed said, "Why should we be concerned when no one who lives here is?"

What's a girl to do? Well, I'm still proceeding with my trip as planned at this point. Unless there's some major happenings between now and then. I'm trying to give my Dad more grey hairs than ever.

... Where are we with planning? Well, I've been buying and selling things. I officially am without loveseat and chair for my living room. It's really liberating to divest myself of things - knowing that at some point again I will own pieces to sit upon. Since I bought them from The Wood Carte and got them at cost, I got back what I paid for them - so that's good.

I went to EMS and found a great deal on a North Face Outrider 75 bag... check it out!

There are so many nooks and crannies to poke things in. I'm taking it with me mostly empty and filling it up with fun when I get there. It has the best suspension system to that you can fill it up with a ton of weight and still be comfy in it. I'll be thrilled to use it and since I got such a great deal on it, I'll hope to be able to sell it at the used outdoor gear store up here in Burlington - if I don't think I'll travel again for some time. Stacey was telling me that she'd expect I'll be ready to go some place new when I return to the States. Stace - let's pace ourselves here!

The latest things I'm looking for are a good water filtration system (being sick for weeks is NOT appealing!), a first aid kit, and some good sandals suitable for hiking and keeping me relatively comfortable in the 80 degree weather that has been promised. I'll also need some rain gear (even though it's their dry season) and a huge memory card for my digital camera. Without my laptop to download things to I have to be prepared to keep all the photos I take with me until I return. I have decided that bringing a piece of equipment equivalent to ten years of income is just plain, well, stupid. My MAC will have to miss me!

My guide books are slated to arrive on Friday to Dad's house in New York and next Wednesday I get my shots updated. Yeah, nothing like getting poked to prevent Malaria and Hepatitis. Those are NOT souveniers I'd like to bring home with me.

I'm so excited to be going and I'm planning, planning, planning.

Here's a great website to look at:
Click!
It tells about the Festival of the Candles that I'm so excited to see in Bangkok when I arrive! Here are some pictures that I pulled from this site and another, too. The sites I've found with
information on the Festival vary, but it's a safe bet that between November 1st and 5th the city will be glowing with light from the boats and waterways. I know, we do things like this here too, but something is truly exotic about how other people's traditions work. I mean, yeah, fireworks are fun... but how many times have we seen those?


That's all for tonight - I'm headed to bed!