leaving on a jet plane

I love to travel. In fact, the only reason I work is so that I can afford to travel. Last night I was told I suffer from wander-lust. Yes, it is true. This is why I have 4 trips in 3 months. I leave on Monday for Thailand.

It has been two years since I've been in Thailand. I can't wait to go back! I know the minute I get off the plane, it will feel like I had never left. After living there for two years, I still think of Bangkok as home. I've been practicing my Thai (mostly in my head) in an effort to be prepared. I have a friend who is joining me there on Thursday. I almost feel a little bit sorry for her. She's pretty much going to be dragged all around while I show her everything that is exciting to me, but probably won't so much be to her.You know... "and this is where I used to buy my fruit, and this is where I would work-out, and this is where I saw a funny looking dog..." That sort of thing.
Mostly I can't wait to go back to all my favorite restaurants and bars. I don't have much of an agenda while I'm in Bangkok, but the plans I have made (in my head) all revolve around drinking and eating. The food there is so good. And so cheap. I've budgeted $10 a day for food, but I'm pretty sure that is overestimating. Now while I was living in Thailand, it didn't seem cheap to pay 200 baht for a meal. But now that I'm using US dollars, I think I can afford $5 for a meal that would easily cost $10 stateside.

I'll be gone for three weeks. One week in Thailand, a few days in Cambodia, and the last week in Vietnam. I'm looking forward to Vietnam. I didn't make it there two years ago due to SARS. When I get back with my fantastic tan, it will be due to the fact that I am spending several days just laying out on a Vietnamese beach. (I really do like to write blogs to make people jealous...)

Hopefully, I'll be able to post a few blogs of my adventures in SE Asia while I'm there. If not, perhaps I should put a few blogs in the queue so that I won't get yelled at by suburban jesus while I'm gone. Then I can easily post without wasting my time actually writing. Because at 50 cents an hour, I'm pretty sure I can afford internet access. It's the hour of time I'm not sure I can afford.