Pictures from Thailand

Description of pictures:
1) The local children in the village (white karen group) sung us songs by the campfire
2) Phil and I in front of our jungle hut - the 2nd night's accomod.
3) the view of the countryside from our first night accomod. check out the rice fields in the background. if you look and see the shack in the far left of the photo - that was where i had my first bucket wash
4) riding around on elephants - we met an awesome couple from England on their honeymoon
5) Lighting up lanterns. The whole sky above Chiangmai was full of these lanterns.

So I'm writing this from Chiangrai. I was supposed to visit the Golden Triangle yesterday but never made it. Yesterday was my first day on doxycycline (anti malarials medication in preparation for Laos) and i think due to a combination factors, I ended up throwing up on myself on the bus ride from Chiangmai. It was a "lovely" experience and I felt sorry for all the people on the bus. Phil went on to visit the Golden Triangle but I checked into a hotel early and spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping and on the toilet. It was a very ROUGH day and I'm still feeling a bit dodgy right now. I think we're going to still try to make it to Laos today.

Getting sick offered some perspective though. It gave me a chance to just slow down and appreciate things like good health that I often take for granted. I don't ever recall feeling so weak when I had to psych myself up for about 5 minutes just to find the strength to go brush my teeth or turn off a light.

Oddly enough, it reminded me of what AIDS patients must feel like. A lot of times - antiretrovirals for them have a multitude of side effects, including nausea and diarrhea, and vomitting. I felt so "untouchable" yesterday. I totally appreciated it when Phil came back and gave me a back rub. I felt infinitely better. And yesterday reminded me of my previous convictions and desires to do something to help people living w/ HIV/AIDS. So that's my little random rant for today.

Anywho.... I took my doxycycline today and so far so good. Hope all of you are doing well. This is hopefully my last post from Thailand. Cheers.