I'm sitting here in Chiang Rai trying to upload all of Maeve's and my pictures to ImageStation. I wanted us to do it here because we're going to Laos (remember that it's pronounced without the 's') tomorrow or the next day where things are all-around sketchier and it would suck to lose all the pics.

Other sketchy things about Laos - there are no international banking facilities. So we're taking out wads of baht here (planning on an upper bound of 20 days in Laos before hitting an ATM in Vietnam) which we'll exchange for kip. Travel within Laos also seems "epic". Thailand is really developed. There are also 7-11s and Boots pharmacies. Before heading into the sketchiness I've got to get some more sunscreen. There is also a store with a lot of Adidas and Nike in it. I'm considering getting a new pair of runners. The ones I have now are rotting and falling apart. We're doing more trekking and I'm afraid that during the next trek they might actually FALL APART. That would be bad.

Maeve and I made friends! We got an email from our friends saying that they want to travel with us in Laos with us. So if they can haul ass to here then we'll wait until Saturday to go. Otherwise tomorrow is the day. Our friends, Dean (from Victoria) and Tamara (from California) have been teaching in Seoul. They're also about the first people we've met from N. America.

Since I've been travelling I've been reading A LOT. Like too much. So a couple of weeks ago for every novel that I buy I also buy a book from the "classics" section. For a while these books would just make me feel guilty as I would choose reading chick-brit-lit instead. I've read The Great Gatsby and Through the Looking Glass so far. I think I might get Anna Karenina. I tried to read it once in the past and couldn't do it so maybe now's the time. I've just discovered how enjoyable John Irving books are. They are not only good books, but they are long, they're in all the second-hand bookstores, and they are pulp novel size. All v. good for travelling.