...and we had a friend in our shower.  I will have underwater photos soon.

I am listening to Triple J (largest national FM radio station) and they start playing They Might Be Giants "Your racist friend".  Not only is it cool that they are playing a band that is far from mainstream, but the song was released in 1990.  You would never hear that song or almost any song from the 1990's in the middle of the day on mainstream radio in the US.

Exhibit A

So the obvious big political news lately is Healthcare reform.

My opinion on the matter is pretty simple.
People want better healthcare, but expect it to be fixed for free.  I don't know the details so I won't say how it will be better, but I checked out a website for a group called conservatives for patients rights.  Jim DeMint (senator from S. Carolina) was quoted in a conversation with the group and it has been in the news.  His quote makes him sound as if he is against this reform because it could break Obama.  People are saying he is looking past any benefits of the reform and trying to get a political victory.

Anyways, back on track, the website has several articles talking about how this reform is going to cost so much and jack up taxes.  I didn't see anything that talked about how this plan wouldn't help out the american people.

It sums up a lot of politics, one side wants to spend as little as possible, and one side wants things to be done the best.

So obviously there is going to be a lot to write about and I might provide a long dialog about our trip at some point, but I think for now I am just going to post photos with captions.  I am going to start with the photos from my camera.  Most of these are taken by me, but I will try to note when the photos were taken by Emily.


This was the Grand Palace in Bangkok.  Spectacular buildings.  The roof tiles are all ceramic and that is why the colors are so bright.

 
The first photo is of one very small bit of the massive mural that surrounds the wall around the Grand Palace.  The building with the blue roof is the Temple of the Jade Buddha.


Statues in the Grand Palace and the a model of Angkor Wat that was in the Grand Palace.


Emily striking a pose and the Royal Grounds next to the Grand Palace.


Us clean and us when we were back in our hotel.  Because it was Thai New Year, the streets (after 12 or so) were full of people with water guns and clay.  They squirt you with water and rub clay on your face.  When I post Em's photos you will get a better idea of what it looked like.


3 kids in a 'bunker' with water guns and buckets.  The lady in the hat is about to get it.  During our canal trip we passed this house.


We got the wettest during the canal trip because there were people lined along the canal and we were sitting ducks.  The second photo is of our boat and some sort of lock or something.


Two photos from Wat Arun (another temple)


More photos from Wat Arun


The steps up to the top of Wat Arun were very very steep.  Emily in our 1st class train cabin on the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.  We ride in style


Me eating dinner on the train.  It was surprising tasty.  The sleeper form of our cabin (it was a transformer).


Emily and I on a tuk tuk from the train station to our hotel in Chiang Mai.  One of the many amazing meals we had in Thailand.


Wat Chedi Luang was right across the street from our hotel (which we loved).  I tried to get a picture with all of the petals falling, but it still turned out to be a good photo.


Two more photos from Chedi Luang


Pictures from temples.


Us getting ready to eat at the night bazaar.  We did not eat the cuisine in the second photo though.


A photo from the markets before our cooking class in Chiang Mai.  Iron Chef Emily.


Emily having a great time at our cooking class.  A picture from the butterfly/orchid farm.


Emily at the orchid farm and gratuitous flower pictures.


More gratuitous flower shots.


Us on our trek through the hills around Chiang Mai.


Elephant herding skills, check!  Lao Airlines flight to Luang Prabang, Laos.


Our 'wet' bathroom took a bit to get used to, but not bad after that.  An enclosed shower is still better.  Our first night after some crankiness (due to fatigue and hunger) and confusion, we ended up at a BBQ place where they had hot coals and you cook your own food.  It was a lot of fun but it was hot outside already, and the hot coals on the table made me a sweaty mess.


Cool looking bug, and our favorite crepe stand.  yum!


Animal photos on our way to the waterfall.


Us in front of the waterfall and a view from the top of the waterfall (after a very steep hike)


Another view from the top and Emily playing in the shallow pools on top of the waterfall.


Emily on the way down from the top of the waterfall.  The left side of the waterfall had a nice trail with stairs.  We went up the other side.  oops.  A very colorful caterpillar. 


Bug macro photo and Emily in front of the smaller waterfalls further down stream.


The smaller waterfalls made some great swimming pools.  A view of Luang Prabang from the top of a big hill.


Sunset from the hill.  A guy painting in one of the temples.


Me cruising along the Mekong River.  Pak Ou caves.


The caves


Emily posing on the steps up to one of the caves on the dock getting back on the boat.


A village along the Mekong.  A dragon spitting out dragons!


Very scenic bus trip from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, Laos.  The scenery made up for the length of the trip (10 hours)


Another scenic view during the bus trip and Emily giving her best Charlie's Angels pose in front of a temple in Vientiane.


Danger around every corner!  Pha That Luang (big golden stupa)


Night traffic in Hanoi, Vietnam.  Emily at the floating pagoda in Hanoi.


Vietnamese flag and a guy fishing in one of the lakes around Hanoi.


Interesting boat travel around Hanoi.  Rowing with feet and what I like to call the basket boat.  The basket boat is propelled with a single oar/rudder thing.


More fishing in Hanoi and Emily in front of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

Like I said these are just my photos.  At one point I lost my charger and so there is a gap in photos around Vientiane and start of Hanoi.  Then I bought a new one.  So when I post Emily's photos there will be many many more.