We got into Thailand late last night, grabbed a taxi to Kosan Road (backpackers take-off point). It used to be a rugged street filled with vendors and hawkers. Now it's turned into a suburban strip mall, complete with wide sidewalks and even a McDonalds. Yes, a McDonalds.

Fortunately, we won't stay long here. Because it takes 24 hours to get a Burma (Myanmar) visa here in Bangkok, we'll have to wait until we swing through Chaing Mai. We decided to go to Laos first, by taking the night train up to the Thai/Laos border. The train is about 10-12 hours, but we have a second-class sleeper compartment to relax in. Hopefully we'll get some sleep that way.

I have another posting on my laptop about our flight and our original plan. I'll try to post that one here soon -- so you know what we were SUPPOSED to be doing at this time. Who says plans ever work out anyway? So what if we're taking Plan B? It was originally Plan A, so I guess that makes it alright.

A fresh hair cut and manicure here in Bangkok got this trip started in style. I'm not sure what the 5+ women in salon though when we rolled in off the street. It seemed like they had a little fun with it. Why I chose red nailpolish is beyond me, however.

That's it for this dispatch. We're just wasting some time in the city before we head to the train station.

Feel free to send us an SMS while we're traveling. It's FREE for you to send.