We arrived back in America at SFO February 28, 2007. Back to the Bay. Back to family. Back to reality? Not so much. Boy are we LUCKY! Maybe a touch Spoiled too! 'Back to Reality' for Mike and myself meant wine and laughter, taco feasts, soaking in Calistoga, catching up with the best of friends, the sights of Tahoe, snowboarding, and reminiscing about times that are sometimes forgotten. Work?...Not yet, possibly not till April (GASP!). Home?...not a set place yet, simply where the heart is with family and friends. Life has brought us back to America but not to reality quite yet. Thailand seems like it happened in a magical place where time stood still. Looking at the 3000+ pictures we took is amazing (Yes, I said 3000+!). Thailand was so wonderful. The experience has given ... read more

". . . Are Those That Are Unexpected." Laos took us completely by surprise. Our original plan was to jump the border before our Thai Visas expired, spend one night in Laos then come right back to Thailand and start heading south. It's now been about a week and we just crossed back to Thailand two days ago. What kept us there was a feeling that we were in a place that was truly special, and through our travels we have learned that this feeling is not to be ignored. Talking to different people on our trip we have heard the same sentiment over and over; enjoy it now because it won't be like this next time you're here. Granted this is true everywhere, change is inevitable. But it seems that countries like Thailand and Laos ... read more

Though it has only been a week since our last blog, it feels like much longer! We arrived in Chiang Mai in the afternoon on the 16th. Our mode of transportation was an overnight train departing from Bangkok at 10pm the previous night. We were a bit skeptical as to how spending 16hrs on a train would be, but we must admit, it was very pleasant. The train car we were on consisted of nearly forty beds stacked two high. Erin slept on the top bunk with me on the bottom. After a surprisingly sweet slumber we awoke to see the sun rising over some of the most beautiful landscape we had ever seen. Our time in Chiang Mai has been great; although not what Erin or I had anticipated on the train ride here. I ... read more

The most repeated quote from Koh Chang: "We could get use to this". This place is amazing! We left Trat for a ferry to Koh Chang what seems like a century ago. Time on this beautiful island seems to pass by without being recognized. We settled down in what we were told was the quitest and best part of the island, "Lonely Beach". An immediate confirmation of this came when we were the last ones on the taxi that took all other beach goers to their destinations. It took us all of 15 minutes before we were swimming in the clear ocean water. The temperature is great, somewhere around the mid-high 70's; warm enough to be comfortable and refreshing from the outside heat. That night we enjoyed the Bungalow's nightly BBQ while we drank Thai whisky ... read more

To say that the transition into our new lives in Bangkok went seamlessly would be a complete fabrication of the truth. We woke early on Wed. with grand plans for the day. Our hotel comes with a free breakfast buffet, so the plan was to get some food then hit the streets. Since we are traveling on a budget, the word "buffet" turned into "stuff your face so you don't have to spend money on food for the rest of the day". I (Mike) was fine with this; however, poor little Erin didn't handle the food-a-thon so well. Let's just say it made the day drag a bit. But don't worry, when we passed a Baskin-Robbins later Erin was able to man up. F.Y.I. In Thailand, Baskin-Robbins is a sit down eatery where there is a ... read more