Meredith leaving me, Dathan joining me, back to bangkok meeting up with my little English lass and heading north for adventure after surviving death.

My last night on the islands, Dathan (who Meredith and I met and got along with a few days earlier) met up with us for a big night out. He was going to stay and do a scuba class for a couple of days on the island and spend in total another couple weeks. I suggested he head north with me and extend his trip. He said "I make my best decisions after some drinks". So after some drinks he bought a bus ticket to join me the next day.

The next day I found myself waking up in a hammock on the beach, Meredith and Dathan had to break the screen to the room and broke a couple of chairs in the process since I had the key on me.

We said goodbye to Meredith when our bus finally pulled into bangkok. Meredith-you were great fun to travel with; always a smile and a laugh no matter what the situation.

I found myself asleep and worthless for the next 3-4 days, sick as a dog. I had night sweats when the air was on in our room and then would wake up colder than a slurpee on a snowy day.

I had terrible headaches, body aches and couldn't keep anything in my stomach. After a few days of this I went to the hospital where the doctor had me get some blood tests and told me to give a stool sample. I told him that I hadn't eaten for some time and had nothing in me. He told me to go and try. It's like sending a brother into battle without any preparation. Trying, my headache got worse and I had practiced going in a hole in the ground during this trip, but never in a small bag. I needed a new plan. I went to the cafeteria and ordered some real spicy food and some other things so I could make the doctor happy with my sample. In the end, I had a very high temp but nothing showed up being too serious.

Dathan and I ventured out of bangkok on a day trip to see a floating market, where you cruise around on a little boat through these little venice like roads and can buy foods, trinkets, or even a coke in a plastic bag.

Sarah, who was one of the two English girls that I met up with a couple of times in India came and met up with us in Bangkok. We spent our day on a river taxi, going around the city and taking in all the sights from the view of a boat. We tried to catch cat fish with our hands (very difficult), and we saw a wide variety of houses along the river, along with a variety of plants and gardens.

That night we headed on another overnight bus up to Chang Mai where we settled in, went on a temple walk and later on in the night met up with Michelle (the other english girl) and went out for a night where we found ourselves at a bar playing pool and connect four.

The next day in Chang Mai we spent by the pool of a hotel that we payed about $3 each for. I got my clothes cleaned and cannot tell you how happy I was to have this bag of clothes with one of the nicest smells I smelt in a long time.

This night, while Dathan ran up an impressive tab while drinking at least 40 gin and tonics (I didn't drink since I was recovering from being sick) I went out and bought a bunch of cooked bugs from a vendor in the street which we all ate. Grasshoppers, worms, and a large variety of others.

We headed north the following day to Pai, which is this little town on a small river. It is so laid back and chilled out. I will write more about Pai later.

I read a fantastic book that I would recommend to anyone. I started in in India. It is called "Shantaram" and is based off a true story. It is great at explaining the Indian culture from a westerners perspective.

"For this is what we do. Put one foot forward and then the other. Lift our eyes to the snarl and smile of the world once more. Think. Act. Feel. Add our little consequence to the tides of good and evil that flood and drain the world. Drag our shadowed crosses into the hope of another night. Push our brave hearts into the promise of a new day. With love: the passionate search for a truth other than our own. With longing: the pure, ineffable yearning to be saved. For so long as fate keeps waiting, we live on. God help us. God forgive us. We live on."

-taken from a part in "Shantaram"