I hate traveling. At least the traveling part of it. And it doesn't get much worse than 24 hours of flights, and countless additional hours waiting on the ground. Thailand truly is about as far away from Indiana as one can get. But that's a good thing, in my book.

It feels pretty natural to be back. In fact, it feels as if I never left. As an added bonus, the weather is beautiful. It is 31C, which is around 90F, but there is a cool breeze. I have literally been transported from the middle of winter, to the beginning of summer. To bad the "cool" season is about to end.

My first act upon arrival was to check out the Bangkok International Film Festival. The timing of this worked out really well, since I have nothing to do this week, so I can watch lots of movies. I ran into Ernest, star of Ernest's Whirrled. It's always strange to just run into somebody you know in a city of 15 million people, but it was good to see a familiar face. We went to see Midnight Cowboy, a strange way to kick off my return to Thailand.

I managed to put on some weight eating American food, so I have put myself on the Thai food diet. I have already visited my favorite noodle soup vendor, an Isaan restaurant, and the Fried Rice Nazi. Isaan food, from Northeast Thailand (a.k.a. Isaan), is my favorite. It's super spicy meat, heavily seasoned, and with lots of onions. It's always served with a plate of cabbage, leaves and branches, which I'm not sure if you can eat, and a strange green vegetables, sort of like giant crunchy green beans. You can also get khaow niaow or sticky rice, with it. All rice in Asia is sticky, but sticky rice comes in a little bamboo canister, and is one big clump that you eat with your hands. The meat was so spicy my throat burned and my nose ran. But, the vital third criterion for truly spicy food, watering eyes, was not satisfied. The tom yum goong (a.k.a. rocket fuel soup) I will have for dinner will probably do that.

The Fried Rice Nazi is an interesting character. Set among the carnival-like atmosphere of Victory Monument, she is unique among Thai vendors in that she shouts at everyone passing by to eat at her place. Normally, I find that sort of behavior incredibly irritating, since it's usually aimed at me, but her customers are all Thais, who seem annoyed with her. Once you are seated, she shouts out the menu, then shouts out your order to the terrified cooks, who in turn shout back when your rice is done. It's a very efficient operation.