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2005-2008

When I returned to Thailand from my last big journey, Nee was at the airport waiting for me.  We returned Udon Thani and I took up my teaching job at Rajabhat University in Udon Thani.  My friend Clem had accepted a job at Thammasat University in Bangkok so I took over his apartment and we set up housekeeping.  Nee opened a beauty shop and her son Top lived with us. 

In November of 2005 we were married in a village ceremony in Ban Yang Um (Nee's village).  And I happily settled into domesticity.  After a while, we decided to buy property in Udon and build a house.  Click here for details

In March of 2007 we went to America.  Nee was very excited.  We arrived in LA and spent a few days with my friend Avram.  We went to Disneyland and the beach in Santa Monica.  We visited the La Brea Tar Pits and went to a game show taping.  We visited my Aunt and Uncle.

Then we hit the road in a rental car.  We headed for Las Vegas and there we were married for official purposes.  This avoided the hassle of registering our marriage in Thailand which can be bureaucratically difficult.   After Vegas we saw Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon and lots of nothing.  Nee was amazed at the open spaces with so few people.

In Dallas we visited my dad and Joy.  My cousins Ruth and Aynn and my Aunt Jean flew in to visit.  I showed Nee around Dallas and we visited my oldest friends David and Carol.  Then we stopped off for a night with my cousin John in Little Rock and spent another night with my niece Alli and her husband Dave.

After a few days of luxury accommodations with my sister and John we turned west.  Driving through a spring blizzard we stopped in Limon, Colorado for the night.  The next day we visited Buffalo Bill's grave and then stayed the night in Glenwood Springs.  We enjoyed our swim in the large thermal pool and had a great dinner.

West by way of Idaho we headed for Corvallis.  I visited friends and family.  I spent one day with my son Brentley and a day with my daughter Heather.  My ex-wife Diana had graciously agreed to store my stuff and since we were building a home in Udon, I decided to ship the goods to Udon.  We stayed at Diana's house while I sorted and packed my stuff.  This would prove to be a big mistake.  Nee became very upset during our visit.  Apparently, in Thailand, it is very unusual for divorced people to be on good terms. 

After leaving Oregon we travelled south along the Pacific Coast Highway.  We took the usual souvenir photos at the Golden Gate.  And, after a few days with Avram we returned to Udon.

About two months after we returned, Nee left me.  She said she was jealous of my first wife.  I kept hoping she would return but after several months I gave up and made plans to hit the road again.  At the end of the school term in March, I sold most of my stuff, put a dab in storage, dusted off my back pack and bought my airline tickets.

Who knows what adventures await me.

15-21May21004 Europe at last!  I know, Europe officially begins somewhere west of Ekaterinaburg in Russia but the real European culture doesn't really start until Finland. 

The night bus made several stops so passengers could stock up on cheap vodka and cigarettes.  Speaking of cigarettes.  I'm quitting.  I've been planning this since before I left Thailand.  In Hong Kong I bought a supply of nicotine patches and have them ready to go.

After a relatively easy border crossing...Russians checked our passports three times, Finnish once, I arrived at the Helsinki Train station at 10 minutes till 5.  Fortunately the station opened at 5 and I could get out of the cold.  Coffee was available at 6.

I have friends in Helsinki.  I met Lassi and Osmo when I was traveling in Cambodia and Vietnam.  They said to visit when I came to Finland.  Well...here I am.  I was supposed to call Lassi when I arrived but I didn't really believe he meant 5 in the morning.  Besides, there were no coin operated pay phones so I had to wait until the kiosk opened to buy a phone card.

Lassi turned on his phone around 7:30 and came down to the station to pick me up.  We bought a Helsinki transit pass and a sim card for one of his spare cell phones then found our way to Osmo's office.  Osmo was kind enough to give shelter to an old traveler and Lassi invited me over to use his internet connection.

Osmo toured me around the main points of Helsinki which included a really good sandwich at the seaside market. 

One day we took the bus to Porvoo, one time capital of Finland and site of many historical wooden buildings.  I became obsessed with finding the Outboard Motor Museum and even though it was closed, it made a great picture.  Lassi and a friend rode their motorcycles up and we all had lunch.  I had some really good salmon soup.  The weather was cool but sunny.

The next day I woke to rain.  I met Osmo for lunch and had sautéed reindeer on mashed potatoes at a restaurant specializing in foods from Lapland.  Then I bought my ticket for the ferry to Stockholm.

Now I'm trying to decide whether to take a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia or to a nearby island.  If it rains, I may do nothing but read a book.

It was really good to see Osmo and Lassi.  I enjoyed traveling with them and I enjoyed hearing about their travel adventures.  It is very nice to see familiar faces when you travel.  I hope they will come visit me in Thailand or America. 

My Finnish Crime Spree

Now that I'm safely out of Finland, I can reveal the details of my criminal career in Finland.  In only one week I racked up a substantial list of infractions.  There are three main categories:  street crimes, ecological crimes, and shopping crimes.

As I was walking out of the store with a large box of cornflakes, Osmo told me that it was a crime not to place them in a bag.  Ignorance of the law is no excuse but I would have had to buy a special bag just to hold the cornflakes.  A true shopping crime.

As a despoiler of the ecosystem, I must confess to putting coffee grounds in with the paper trash.  Coffee grounds are clearly bio-mass and I'm sorry for my carelessness.

My street crimes are the worst.  I crossed against a "don't walk" light and knowingly walked in a bike lane.  Fortunately I escaped detection.

I guess things are a little more structured in Europe.

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