14 March
We're feeling very cozy and at home in Nongkhai. We purchased our train tickets for Monday night to go to Bangkok in the overnight train. We went for second class sleeper seats and I'm excited to see if I can sleep on the train in the sleeper car.
Today, we have been online trying to help Joe apply for jobs in the Colorado and/ or Utah area. We did take a break and found an amazing J food stall I can't believe we almost missed because it sells cakes and donuts. We both had a huge meal, two donuts, mushroom buns, & a piece of chocolate cake for 155 baht total. I think the cute little woman who works there will definitely be sick of us before we leave this town.
Last night, I awoke to another huge thunder / lightning storm. It was the loudest and most heavy rain I have ever seen. Our guest house is looks onto the Mekong river, and I had visions of the river overflowing and sweeping away our bikes or possibly the guest house we're in! I can definitely see how flashfloods can occur in no time at all in this climate. The rain fell in an indescribeable amount for about an hour. Luckily when we woke up, everything was dry and intact. Again the storm definitely helped it cool down some.
Update: I lied! Its nearly 6pm and still 93 degrees outside!! (And we haven't had a/c since last month. Our budget is pretty frugal these days :)~
16 March am
We awoke to some great news this morning! Joe got a very good offer on his East Falls rehabbed home. He plans to accept the offer and will likely close beginning of May. It is such a relief to have that going for him. His very hard work is finally paying off. I am proud of him for being patient and achieving his goals with this house.
We have been laying low and applying for jobs for the last couple of days. Luckily we are in a very cozy guest house for a pretty cheap price (Ruan thai home for 300 baht/night) and are near two excellent veg/jay restaurants that we switch off going to. Of course there is also an abundance of fresh fruit to eat from street vendors so we are keeping our bellies full and trying to enjoy the peacefulness of this Thai town.
Yesterday we went to a sculpture park where there were humongous sculptures in the shape of various Buddhist figures. They were very cool and the park was an unexpected highlight considering the rest of the town is pretty plain.
Tonight we catch a train to Bangkok. Will arrive at 6 am tomorrow and find a guest house for our last night in Thailand. We will be busy finding bike boxes and packing up our stuff for the flight on Wednesday night.
18 March
We checked out of our Bangkok guest house (Pranee for 350 baht/night - across the street from mbk center) and are hanging out before heading to airport for 9:35pm flight to Mumbai-brussels-newark-pittsburgh. We arrive home Thursday evening.
Not looking forward to many hours of flying ahead.
We just met our first fellow American who is bike touring in Thailand. And super small world, he is from near Monroe ville!
Bangkok is just as crowded and trafficy as we left it. Its truly an urban jungle and I'm not at all a fan. The rest of Thailand is so much better.
See you all soon !!
19 March
We survived 36 hours of air travel and are safely home in Pittsburgh now. Stay tuned for a trip wrap up. Time for some rest and jet lag wars :)
