Malaysia and beyond!

So there are some benefits to poor planning...because Thailand/Myanmar visas are only issued for 15 days, I had to come up with a way to get a 30 day visa since I extended my time here. Perfect excuse for an island trip!

http://wikitravel.org/en/Perhentian_Islands

I'll be headed to Perhentian Kecil after my convention in Bangkok next weekend. First, I'll take the train to the border (which I have to walk across) and then a bus to the small jetty town of Kuala Besut. From there, it's a highspeed ferry boat to the island where I will be "limited to scuba diving, snorkeling, sea-kayaking and sunbathing" according to Wikitravel. Perfect.
It would be a great opportunity to get SCUBA certified, as it's some of the best diving in the world, but I'll have to see how my funding situation is by that point. Staying an extra 6 weeks has definitely tightened up the old budget....
After 3 or 4 days on the island, I'll head by train to Kuala Lumpur to take a flight back to Chiang Mai. This is the famous "Jungle Railway" train that takes you straight through some incredible rainforest. Unfortunately it seems that the daytime trains aren't running right now, so I'll have to catch the scenery at night from my sleeper car.

Things at the center have calmed down considerably now that Caty returned a few days ago. It's nice to be relieved of the pressure of running the show and just settle into administrative tasks.
The kids will be ending school in the next few weeks, so we'll have plenty of opportunity to play around with the ones who stay here in Chiang Rai. The remaining ones are allowed to return home to their villages because it has been determined they have safe places and people to stay with.

The weather is heating up here, and along with the change in temperature comes all kinds of weird and wonderful critters. There are smushed frogs all over the road because they're out en force now, and at night the sky echoes with the chirping from cicadas. There are of course, the ever-present barking geckos all over our volunteer dorm, but hopefully they will help keep the mosquito population down.

Day to day life is just such a treat here. I'm totally "scooter-literate" now, and really enjoy the freedom of zooming around town with the wind in my hair. Always wearing a helmet of course. I FINALLY don't have the sudden and subconcious urge to veer right when I'm startled (Thailand is a left-hand side drive country) which is nice. Especially for any passengers I have on the back ; )

After a few weeks of solidly neglecting my physical fitness, I'm back on track with running and doing a bit of weights. I found out that I'm definately going back to Homer to work on the Kilkenny, and I need my muscles for all those scallops! I'm still planning on driving up to Alaska in June, so when I get back "home" to CA, I've got a lot of catch-up to do. I'm crossing my toes that an income tax refund is a possiblility...

Much love to everyone, I'm really being a toad about taking pictures. As in, I'm not doing it at all. But I'll try, I'll really try.

Angela