Sofitel Raja Orchid Khon Kaen

... we were in Vientiane) and that the warm, cloudy days continue, at least until we reach Bangkok. The road is flat to undulating at the moment, with not a lot to see either side of the road. Today we came across lots of roadside sellers hawking honey. They advertise the fact that the brown liquid in the old whiskey bottles is honey by hanging up the honeycomb next to them. They do this in Asia a lot, sell at the side of the road from ...

... when he was the Baptist campus minister at East Tennessee State University. It was through Scott and his wife Valerie that I started attending Central Baptist Church in Johnson City. This church and its ministry kept me rooted in the Tri-Cities area where I eventually met Laura. Our church family at Central was excited about us being the first from the church to visit the Paynes. (So, I know they are looking forward to this entry ...

... well into year number 4. The announcement is that I no longer think of myself as a traveler of the world and a sightseer extraordinaire. I now see myself as an expat who has no intention of taking up the yoke of everyday American life (sorry grandma). Of course this is my stated intention but I will be the first to say who knows what will happen 5 or 10 years down the road and maybe I will either have the urge to move back into American life or I may ...

... hee) The Buddhist ceremony was really interesting and the party that followed in the evening was... what can I say... bigger than Ben Hur. I will say that it was fascinating watching the caterers arrive and set up their cookers in the drive way and casually with no fuss cooking up a seafood feast for 350 people... same for the entertainment - A stage fit for Mick Jagger and erected with no ...

... of businesses humming along in the background. At first glance it was pretty obvious that Khon Kaen doesn't get too many westerners. Again so signs using roman numerals, so it took us a while to get our bearings. We stood on a lot of street corners trying to figure out the best way of finding where the guesthouses might be. It was really nice to have several passers by notice us, greet us with big smiles and ask us if we needed help. One lady ...

... part of the traditional wedding ceremony. We headed back to Khon Kaen and I was completely passing out from exhaustion in the car. When we got there, Priya stayed in the city to work out some issues she was having with her photos on the school computers - and I agreed to head back with the family so I could get some sleep. They had *very* limited English. I had **very** limited Thai. But isn't this what traveling is about? Anyway. We got to their house near the center of ...

... I walked to the internet place that I used last time I was here. They still had the same computers from 2 years ago and they were slow. I left soon after and went to the Kosa Mall. They actually had an internet cafe there with much faster computers and the cost was only 20 baht for an hour (student price). P called and said she was running late with her mom so I walked upstairs to the food court to eat. I started to eat and P called to say she would ...

... visite express de la region. C'est pas touristique du tout, mais il y a quand meme quelques endroits sympas a voir : le village des cobras, un lac et le marche de nuit du coin. Le village des cobras etait assez special. C'est un village ou tous les habitants elevent au moins 1 ou 2 cobras royals. Ils font des shows ou ils dansent avec les serpents, se battent avec eux, etc. Plutot impressionnant ! Le deuxieme soir, on a ete ...

... of internet usage I go to leave and the girl working there says it's 15 baht! I tried to give her an extra 20 baht, but she wouldn't take it. so I threw it on the table as I left. I felt bad, like I was ripping them off! I walked back to the hotel and my friends came to pick me up. We stopped in the shopping mall to get some fruit juice drinks to go and then drive over to a restaurant for lunch with our drinks ...