So folks have been asking what my travel plans are. I have some things that are planned, and some stretches of time that are unplanned, which I feel is a nice balance. Things change, too, so I will undoubtedly update this information as I go along. This is the snapshot of what my plans are at this particular moment....

November 20th - leave Chiang Mai heading south to Sukhothai (very old ruins)

Nov. 22/23 arrive in Phitsanoluk. Figure out how to find my friends who are taking a 6-week permaculture course at an orphanage outside of Phitsanoluk. Go hang out with said friends for a couple of days and admire the work they've been doing at the orphanage. Hope to meet some of the instructors, since this course is put on by the same organization that is putting on the natural building course I'll be taking in India.

Nov. 26 - Head south toward Bangkok to see the old capital in Ayuthaya, and maybe visit Wongsanit Ashram, a social/environmental activist center also just north of Bangkok.

End of November/ first week of December - travel east, not really with any itinerary in mind other than stay out of big cities and position myself to eventually cross out of Thailand for a little bit.

December 6 - enter Laos, since my 30-day entry permit will expire on the 6th. Spend a week or so in Laos. Maybe Vientienne? Plain of Jars? Luang Prabang? Don't know yet, but you'll hear about it when I do.

December 18th - return to Chiang Mai. Send some things back to the States.

December 19th - RETURN OF THE KING!!! Ooooooh, I'm so excited I could pee my pants!

December 22nd - Fly to Chennai (formerly Madras) on the eastern coast of southern India.

December 28th through January 25th - natural building course. Play with mud and bamboo and stuff. More info at www.kleiwerks.com. Anyone want me to build them a house? ;)

Feb 1 through Feb 12 - tentatively take a Vipassana meditation retreat in Bodhgaya in the state of Bihar, roughly northwest of Calcutta.

Early March - meet up with my cousin Laura who is currently residing in Baku, Azerbaikan on the west coast of the Caspian Sea. We plan to trek along a portion of the Silk Road.

Late March through May sometime? - Shack up in the south of France with my friend Sarah's buddies who are renovating a chateau. Play with rocks. Parler un peu. Eat cheese. Amuse myself with goat impersonations.

Sometime in May or early June - fly back to the States. Spend some time visiting family in New England.

Sometime in June - come home to the Bay Area. Pray for a job.