In Thailand!

And writing this from Melanie's computer after a FANTASTIC (and fantastically long) day. In essence, I've been up for 2 days as we traveled here, and then had the best first day in Thailand ever.

So, after our 16 hour bus-and-multiple-flight journey (which involved a cold but swanky bus with a not-so-nice transfer, a very nice EVA plane, a very crappy AirAsia one, and an almost-missed connection in between), we were thrilled to see Melanie, Marissa and their dad, who picked us up from the airport in Chiang Mai, and immediately began being the best hosts ever.

Seriously. After they took us to the best money-changing place in town, telling us the city's history as we drove along, they served us a scrumptious traditional northeast Thai dinner, and then Melanie, Marissa, Karina and I set out for Night Safari, a zoo/wildlife preserve which included a nice walk, two tram rides through animal enclosures, and a laser light show. It was a blast!

So now we're back, it's 10pm local time (11pm Kaohsiung), I've been up for two days (Karina's been up longer), and we're headed out early tomorrow morning for a day with the elephants. All that to say, I'm gonna go catch some long-overdue Zs, uninterrupted by cold bus air or flight attendants bearing food. Good night, Thailand!