Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

That is a big sigh of relief and relaxation, in case you didn't know.

All day today my friends and I have been walking the streets of Bangkok and smiling at people who smile back and say with real joy in their voices, "Sawat di ka," hello.

Everyone here is nice, and everyone laughs. And everyone sells you fruit. So far today I have had mango, star fruit and pineapple, not to mention ice cream.

I love Thailand. I might not go back to Mongolia at least until May. Do you think Peace Corps would mind? I wonder if I could talk a PC Thailand volunteer into trading places for a while...

Anyway the Thai travel agent we talked to this morning may think we are a little off. We were reluctant to book seats on a bus that will take us south to the islands overnight tomorrow. We wondered aloud if the seats would be comfortable for such a trip. When we explained that Mongolian buses are a tad bit crowded (at least double the number of people for seats) he shook his head and showed us a picture of a first class bus w/ inside toilet. We refrained from explaining the toilet situation in Mongolia and just booked the seats.

As for all of you experiencing snow days and such...it's 90 degrees and sunny here. =) I guess everything has its season though and from what I hear snow has been scant in the states this year. Mongolia too, though that hasn't stopped temperatures from dropping to 30 below zero. Did I mention it's 90 here?

So you could say this is the best idea I've ever had...to "fly south for the winter" in Mongolia and go to Thailand. I'm a genius.

=)