Why Chiang Mai? Well, I'll get to that in a minute. But first, a few thoughts on the road up here. Looking at a map on would think the trip from Melaka to Chiang Mai wouldn't take that long, nor that it was very far. You'd be really, really wrong. (Photos of the journey of the Isthmus of Kra can be found here.)

I calculated it's about 1600 miles from Melaka to Chiang Mai. That is a hell of a lot of ground to cover in 48 hours. But I did it and it was fun.

No, I didn't hang out for long, just a few hours, in Kuala Lumpur. Having spent the last three months in Singapore big cities aren't my thing. KL, as they call it, did nothing to dissuade me from my initial impression that Malaysia is a lot like Mexico, as KL resembles Mexico City in a sense, many parts very modern, but many parts quite, well, not the opposite of modern, just not as advanced.

Likewise, no Bangkok: Too big, too sprawling! Bangkok really is a massive city. Absolutely surreal at night. The traffic from the South Bus station to the North bus station at 1000pm at night was absolute gridlock. Aside from the elephant I saw walking around with a dude atop it, carrying something. Good thing I don't do drugs, as I would have had to have blamed that sight on them. Alas, it was real.

So, now, why am I in Chiang Mai? Well, they offer a CELTA course here. It's a month long course and will pretty much allow me to teach anywhere in the world for a decent wage. So the idea is to take the course, pass it, then move on. If I arrive somewhere in the next several months I like then I can take a job as an English teacher (I've done it before--just that having a CELTA certificate makes it much easier), make a little cash, get to know the place better and then move on when the urge strikes. I am the total nomad.

And that is pretty much where I am and what I am doing today. The course doesn't start for a week so I'll be hanging out here in Chiang Mai, hitting some of the Hill tribes and other goodies. Expect lots of blogging, although Thai internet access leaves much to be desired.

Oh yeah, and the photo attached to this post really is my backyard. Or at least the view I wake up to every morning. Hard to beat, eh?