That’s the Thai word for cheapskate, which I have become after a year of earning only $1,000 a month. But Thai New Years is coming up next month, and I get a week off, and I have to get out of Thailand! I can think of few things more annoying than being soaked in water for a week every time I stepped outside my apartment.

So I just dropped $250 for a ticket to Luang Prabang, Laos. Ouch, that’s a quarter of my salary! But, I’ll regret not traveling every chance I get, once I’m back home earning the big bucks. They actually celebrate Songkran there too, but it is more laid back, since Laos is more laid back than Thailand, and is perhaps the most laid back place on Earth.