Off to the Continent!

Quiz: There's some movie with Russell Crowe as a robot named Sid and Denzel Washington. What is it?
Please tell me, cos I don't know.

Anyway, I'm back from Thailand! I had the most wonderful time, too. I haven't had such a great vacation in a while, to tell the truth. Yes, I do go away for weekends quite a bit and whatnot, but Thailand was different somehow. Katie and I drove up and stayed at a tatami-timesharer's house the night before (Fri), then caught our flight from Fukuoka to Taipei. The Taipei airport sucks, to put it simply. I'd rather be stuck in Detroit for a layover, I think. You have to leave security to exchange money, but you can buy things in yen there. Although at the worst exchange rate ever. I think my magazine cost twice as much as it should, and Katie's orange juice on our return layover cost about $4. Isn't Taiwan supposed to be cheaper than that? I mean, it's the airport, but, still... They did have signs all over the place, though, reminding visitors that Taiwan is still part of the PR of China.
It was cool to fly south over Kagoshima on our way to Taipei, though. I could see all the volcanoes.
When we got to Bangkok we took a bus to a park then caught a cab to the Hualampong train station to meet Katie's friends. It was strange. Her friends Chris and Brett reminded me of my own friends. They also brought along Chris' friend Shannon, a blackjack dealer in Tahoe. They stopped to meet us for a few days before continuing on their trip through Asia and Europe via the Trans... help me out here Nate...
Anyway, we spent a day in Ayutthaya (don't say the H in TH, PH combos) where we rented bikes and checked out the temple ruins before catching a train to the town near the national park we spent the next few days.
more later. I have to try to remember the interesting stuff, not the itinerary...