This will be my last entry before we take off for a few days. Tomorrow we catch at train to a city in North Central Thailand called Phitsanulok. There is a nearby temple district called Sukhothai that is filled with ruins and old temples. We plan on spending two nights in Phitsanulok and then catch another train south to Bangkok.

We will immediately jump on a plane and fly to Krabi (on the west coast). We will catch a cab to Ao Nang and hang out on the beach for a night or two. After that, we will proceed to island hop in the areas affected by December's tsunami. We are looking forward to getting some time to chill in this area. Tourism is slow right now, and we want to find a place to chill, read some books, and get some good snorkeling time.

There are a couple of things I wanted to include, but I failed to mention before.

First: Asian toilets and latrines...

While on the mountain, I got to use an Asian latrine. It's kinda like an Asian toilet, but worse. A foot deep hole in the ground is covered by a thin piece of ply wood. The hole is only about six inches by six inches, so your aim has to be good.

I'm starting to get the hang of the Asian toilet. You are expected to carry your own toilet paper (in your backpack) or buy some from a vending machine. Some bathrooms have toilet paper, and some bathrooms actually have a person selling TP outside. You never know what you're gonna get when you go into a public bathroom, so it's best to come prepared.... sorry, no pictures for this one...

Second: The Bidet Experiment

In most of the bungalows and bathrooms we see these little water sprayers that look like the dishwashing sprayers found in most American kitchens (the kind that retracts into the counter top... that's used to spray food off of your dishes).
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I was very puzzled about these things for a few days. At the same time, we noticed that alot of the bungalows and hotels were really stingy with their toilet paper. We would ask for TP, and they would only give us one roll. We couldn't figure it out until it dawned on us that the handy little sprayers are bidets (pronounced: bi-day). Europeans use these things to remove the majority of the "refuse" from their bums before wiping. It helps to conserve TP and it also kinda freshens you up.

A long (LOOONG) time ago, I had a conversation with a French student about bidets. He asked if we used them, and he reacted with disgust when I told him "hell no!". He thought we were so gross. It always puzzled me, until now.

I was getting really curious about these bidets, so I did a little experiment. I measured how many squares of TP I needed when A) using a bidet, and B) not using one.

At first, the bidet was awkward.

Should I tuck my "boys" out of the way and spray from the front?

Or should I reach around and shoot from the back?

I opted for the back and gave it a whirl. It was a particularly sobering experience, because the water was cold as ice! After a few healthy squirts, I measured just a few squares of TP to get the job done. I also felt much cleaner when I walked out of the bathroom.

Without the bidet, well... you use alot more TP.... and you still feel kinda grungey.

And after a bad night of spicy Thai curry... well... the bidet is your best friend!

Now, I'm gonna feel totally retarded if someone comes along and says, "NO MAN, you're supposed to use the sprayers to shoot the geckos off the walls when they get too close!"... But hopefully I'm right.

Now that it's all said and done, I realize: Americans ARE gross. We need a Bidet Revolution in the US to clean the dirty backside of America!

Third: Tuk-tuks

I include this here just so you can see these cool little taxis in Thailand. They're a major contributor to the noise and smog of the major cities, but they're also a terrific way to get around for less than a US dollar. Here I am getting ready to ride in style:
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