April 16th, 2008 - Came down for breakfast and Noi introduced me to the other American staying at the Bupatara, Cathleen. Cathleen is from Long Island (Huntington) but lives in Prague and is a teacher. She was wicked nice in our short chat but vowed to meet up for dinner and drinks after her day of Trekking.

As I’ve always done, I took my first day in a new place to walk around and get oriented with where I am and where everything else is. Kat and I walked around the south end of town in the morning while we were looking for some silver factory but were unsuccessful in finding it. At lunch we parted ways for the afternoon.

I ended up walking the entire moat which surrounds the city. I saw a whole bunch of temples, the 3 kings monument, the Crystal and Marble Buddhas and some random markets. I also had a couple of cool interactions with the locals.

As I was walking around I stumbled upon the Thai airways office which I went in to check prices on flights to my next destination, the Islands! When I walked out holding my camera these 2 security guards called me over and said “Don’t forget to take my picture.” I laughed and said “your picture?” and he responded with “International Security guard, not just airline security gaurd.” I laughed but obliged and the guys got close and let out a big smile. Its one of my favorite pictures that I’ve taken so far. I hope it looks good when I get home. *insert pictures*

Kat, Cathleen and I met back at the lounge and Kat and I booked a trek and a trip to the elephant rehab farm for the following two days. Again based on recommendations from Gary and Beck.

The three of us then walked to the famous Night Bazaar and were not impressed at all. It was crowded and seemingly more full of tourist junk than any other market. I guess thats the loss of culture that PW and I talked about in Cambodia. Kind of sad.

I used the time after dinner and the bar to type of some of these posts and also to look at my pictures with Cathleen since there were decent computers at the Bupatara. It was the first time I saw them and they are ok. About 15% of them looked good, but I’ll have a better idea when I get home.

Early night, 7am trek.