I've heard variations of this story before... Baht does sound like Bucks if you say it fast... Is it mean? Or, well... no comment....

Yesterday I almost floated all the way to Vietnam. Well... talked about it. A guy at my hotel has an air mattress & kept inviting me to float down the river... he claims he's done it before... I finally said ok if this other girl comes too... & she said ok if we take the hotel's boat instead.

A snake came by my room to say "hello" today. I was in the bathroom when it popped its head in about an inch underneath the front door. It was pretty cute so I watched to see what it would do. And it saw me. And it came in. And kept coming in... it was about 3ft long!!! Less than an inch wide but about 3ft long!!! Now I'm in an utter panic... I know I can't scream -- I have the only key to the room... I can't climb through the bathroom window -- it's too small. With no one to save me & no way out, I know it's just me against the snake. I do a mental run down of every item in the bathroom... settled upon blinding it with shampoo & finishing it off with my hairbrush if it made any sudden moves... but I'll first try to wait it out. But it keeps going further in my room... but not far enough that I can run safely out the front door... this might have been really dumb but I started lunging at it... & it worked!! I don't think I scared it so much as annoyed it... it decided to say "goodbye" & slide back out the door.

The hotel staff told me there are some dangerous snakes in the area & then conducted an all out manhunt for the thing & even cut down some of the plants near my door. Last night I shoved a towel in that crack.

As I get closer to the 2 month mark here in Thailand, I think I can safely share some of my impressions of the place... & I got a little too into all the statistics in Microsoft Encarta...

The biggie is that this is NOT a 3rd-world country. I was truly shocked. It is officially classified as an "Upper-Middle Income Developing Economy". (I didn't know the categories had gotten so specific...)

Bike riding is just not my thing. Don’t like it. Never have. First, it’s exercise. Golf & hiking are the only two acceptable forms. Second, what’s the point? Put me in a car. I’ll drive thank you. But…I don’t have a car anymore. And while drivers here are cheap, that’s still outside my budget. So I’ve actually ridden a bicycle a few times so far. The first time was great… it was hot, I was ‘glowing’ but the scenery was fantastic, the whole place incredibly tranquil & I was havin’ a blast trying to find some ancient temples… I remember thinking that it was the perfect day. So perfect, I went back the next day.

Now I’m thinking that I might like bike riding….maybe I’ve grown into it or something. Oh how wrong I am!! Yesterday exploring my new town, thoroughly enjoying the ride, I accidentally got on a HIGHWAY!! That’s pretty hard to do considering there’s not that many highways here! Luckily I fairly quickly see a U-turn sign so I cross the highway into the FAST LANE… picture me pedaling as fast as my little legs will go while buses & trucks fly by & stare… & stare…& then put their head out & stare some more… well, the turn off was like a regular highway – exit off the slow lane….should have thought about that one! Hanging my head down, I sit in the highway median until I muster enough courage to run the bike across the other side so I can at least head back to town.

I’m at this minority run hotel, further away from the action than I’d like to be but it’s on the river & cheap ($4.75)… it’s far enough away from things that they have free mountain bike rentals. Mountain bikes because the road there hasn’t been paved in 40yrs. So if I’m going to keep staying there, I’ve got to get back on this stupid bike. I really don’t know how I did it… I really don’t… but I ended up on that god damn highway again! At least this time I found the exit for the U-turn… & the ramp was right next to this spectacular view of the river… the view so gorgeous I must have spaced I was riding & instead of turning with the exit ramp… I flew right off it!!! I HATE BIKES!!! I once did the same exact thing when I was little!... I’m going to see how much I can bargain on a moped & I need to get a few more bandaids…

"It's an extremely strong message in Burmese and in all Southeast Asian culture," said Liz Hilton, who supports an activist group that launched the "Panties for Peace" drive earlier this week.

The group, Lanna Action for Burma, says the country's superstitious generals, especially junta leader Gen. Than Shwe, also believe that contact with women's underwear saps them of power.

To widespread international condemnation, the military in Myanmar, also known as Burma, crushed mass anti-regime demonstrations recently and continues to hunt down and imprison those who took part.

Hilton said women in Thailand, Australia, Singapore, England and other European countries have started sending or delivering their underwear to Myanmar missions following informal coordination among activist organizations and individuals.

"You can post, deliver or fling your panties at the closest Burmese Embassy any day from today. Send early, send often!" the Lanna Action for Burma Web site urges.

"So far we have had no response from Burmese officials," Hilton said.

When it comes to bugs I'm a complete girly girl... I see a bug & scream... I can't even touch a dead one. IF I kill one, I have to get someone, I've even asked strangers, to dispose of the carcass...Deciding to go ahead with this trip required me to really come to grips with bugs... I knew I'd have way more bugs than I could normally handle. And I was right on. I've had a fearless cockroach stand guard in my hotel's bathroom. Another time I was doing the girly thing, standing on my bed waiting for a HUGE betel to leave when I realized he was going to go hide in my suitcase!!! I found the nerve to get off my bed & race him to my suitcase... I'm now trying to remember to keep it closed. And two hotels have had ant problems... but I still stayed in the places multiple nights. And one hotel had bed bugs... but I did check out the next day....

So I'm getting better with bugs... at least I'm impressed with MY tolerance level...but then the other day.....I went to my favorite breakfast place only to find a dish ready to be served with grasshoppers, larvae & god only knows what kinds of other bugs...I did eat there but I only picked at my food... the same griddle they used to cook my food must have been used to cook all that grossness. Well... I told this to a Hawaiian surfer dude while walking around a market... sure enough they had a bug vendor & this guy had to be gross & try the larvae & then when he had a grasshopper.... well, I threw up a little & decided to pass on his offer to buy me dinner...

Can't believe I've been gone a month already.... don't know why - maybe because I've been traveling like a traveler, not a tourist, which would be a good thing - but it doesn't seem like it's been that long.

What Do I Do During the Day?
Well...whatever.  And a whole lot of nothing... I did kick it in a hammock a few days... Wasted a day getting wasted with some expats. Sat in a restaurant talking to someone so long we had breakfast, lunch & dinner there! And I've got loads of mosquito bites from evenings spent chatting with other travelers on hotel porches. But mostly I walk. And get lost. And try to escape the tourists for awhile & actually talk to some Thais. Today, to write this, I sat in the most beautiful park with orchids, koi ponds & water fountains...& ok, I admit, I did feel a bit closer to the old men who sit in central park & feed the birds all day.

Ok... I thought that title would get a few people's attention :)