I’m glad to be out of Kathmandu. No more dodging cars every time I walk down the street, or being mobbed by Tiger Balm/hashish guys. Unfortunatly, it’s a bit more humid here. So much so I’ve already soaked one shirt in sweat while looking for a room. Khao San Road seems dead, probably due to SARS, but nobody would bargain with me. So I’m paying $10 for an AC room with shared bath. Ouch.

After three-and-a-half months in two of the world’s poorest countries, coming back to Bangkok is like coming back to the twenty-first century. There are skyscrapers, huge lit-up billboards, McDonald’s, Mercedes Benz dealerships. Even the vendors packing the sidewalks have tables and racks for their wares, instead of just throwing a blanket on the ground.