February 14, 2001

Hello friends!

It's foggy and hot here in Bangkok this morning. Jason and I arrived at midnight last night after 28 hours of travel time. We were more than a little exhausted! Thankfully there were no problems with the flights--and even more thankfully, we managed to get exit rows on all three flights so we always had lots of leg room!

The city is much as I remembered it. One big change is a new transport system that was only under construction when I was here two years ago is now complete and quite impressive. From the street, you climb up two flights of stairs to a giant road-sized walkway that hangs over the road below. It's wide and clean and no venders are allowed so it's very open. At points along this walkway are train stations where you can buy tickets on the light rail. The light rail is on a platform yet another row of stairs above the walkway. And above all of this is an express highway system! So at places the road has four or more tiers above it -- it's quite a sight!

Thank you to everyone who showed up at the going away party in Louisville or gave me a call. It was great to see and hear from you! It's odd, but sometimes a life-event like this is needed to re-establish old friendships. I hope to use my time on this trip to catch up with many of you whom I haven't seen in a while. And of course, please write me! I can't garuntee a timely response, but I love hearing from you.

Stan

Into the mountains of Nepal