First stop, Nong Khai

I made it to Nong Khai! The train ride was a little scary just because i didn't know how it worked. It all worked out though. It was a hot and long ride. My 12 hour journey turned into 14 hours. I guess we went slowly somewhere. I didn't sleep horrible... better than the first two nights I was in Bangkok. At first i thought that being in the second class was horrible ( I was boiling and didn't know where the bathroom was) but after thinking about it more, I realized that it was just fine. Some person associated with the train would come and make up your bed for you with new sheets and a heavy blanket. And in the morning he would take everything away as well. It was a pretty ride - what I saw this morning. Oh, so i couldn't fine the toilet the first night... but i was very dehydrated so it wasn't the worst thing. i did find the shower though... so I just peed down the hole in the shower. I know... not the best thing to do... but it worked. This morning I ventured a little farther and found the squat toilet.

I have figured out that I am happy to be on this adventure and I'm not ready to come home yet... its is just lonely not having someone who really knows me to be around.

I was picked up at the train station by Rick who works for T2T. He road his motorcycle while I followed in a Tuk-tuk. I am staying in the Green Dorm and have two roommates Sev and Debbie. Sev is from Holland and is 26. She has been here for a week. Debbie, 29, from England, has been here for two weeks. I have been told that next week things will get crazy because lots of people are coming. I'm happy with it being just the three of us in the house for the time being. I had some time to settle in, take a shower, organize myself, and talk to the girls before Nick (a young Thai man would also works for T2T) came to give me a walking tour of Nong Khai. Nong Khai really isn't all that big. I guess it has all the amenities of Bangkok but on a much smaller scale. So there are banks... stores... hospitals... oh, 20 temples... but it only has two main streets. The main way to travel in town is by bicycling so I now have a bike for the month that has shitty brakes and is butt ugly - but it will work. I also rode on a motorcycle today to get to T2T's headquarters. I am at an Internet cafe where it is cheaper to be on the Internet. 30 baht for an hour, whereas I was paying 40 baht for 50 minutes in Bangkok. This afternoon I am going on a cycling tour of the town. Oh, I saw Laos today... it is just right across the river.

I think i had a lot more to write about... but for the life of me I can't remember. Let's see if i can post some pictures with this blog entry. I just tried to up load some pics to my picture site... but i don't know what i am doing wrong... so one picture is all you get. I'm alive and well in Nong Khai!