Flying in

Wow, that was a whole lot of traveling. I let my house at 11AM Thursday morning and after 18 hours of flying, 2 hours layover in Tokyo, 2 hours on each end getting to and from airports, and a 14 hour time difference I finally arrived at my destination at 12:15 AM on Saturday.

Being the kind of guy that likes to wait until the day he's traveling to start packing, it'll be fun to see what I've left behind. One thing I know I forgot was my electric toothbrush charger. Now I'll have to move my own damn hand up and down like a shmo.

Since my flight was pretty uneventful, I'll just share with you my brilliant jet lag avoidance technique. Through the miracles of modern pharmacology I have adjusted myself to destination time from before even getting on the plane. Alternating sleeping and stay awake pills had me living on SE Asia time right away.

I made my way by taxi to Happyland Villa where I will be staying for the next few days at my Aunt and Uncle's place. It's a beautiful house in a suburb between Bangkok and the airport. My uncle Jayesh is an instructor at a the Asia Gemology Institute. My Aunt Deepa works with developmentally delayed kids at a local school. My cousin Pooja works for an NGO that promotes awareness of indigenous people's and human rights. My other cousin Dev just recently graduated high school and is shipping off to the University of British Columbia. Also at the house are Dadi, the grandmother, and a woman who looks after the house who has been with the family for 27 years.

I'm so excited about being here. I fell in love with the warm humid night that greeted me. I can't wait until I can start exploring in the morning.