CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO DIGITALNOMAD HOMEPAGE

Click here to go to Travel Notes Table of Contents

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.

13-15Jul1004  I found an urban campground right across the river from the old town of Riga.  I'm happy to report the rain has slacked off although the clouds are still threatening.

I had a wonderful day exploring the city.  The Occupation museum was very good.  I picked a corner near the park and put my bike on the sidewalk under a tree.  There was a college student selling flowers and I was amazed by the number of people meeting up and exchanging flowers.  Later I found out that this corner by the clock is one of the most famous meeting places in Riga.

Lassi was right.  The Latvian women are spectacular.  Long legs.  Stylish clothes.  It was not a wasted afternoon.

The next day I visited the castle in Cesis.  Built in the 1200s by the Knights of the Sword it was finally destroyed by Ivan the Terrible.  I was given a hard hat and a candle to tour the west tower.  Good thing too because the spiral stone staircase was really dark.  

One of the guides, Edgars, talked with me quite awhile about what's going on in Latvia and told me some great stories about the old castle.  I watched a team of archaeologists working in one corner of the courtyard.  Edgar said this is where 300 survivors of the seige went to blow themselves up rather than become torture victims of Ivan's troops.

The roadsigns in Latvia are even more rare than Lithuania.  And the Latvian detour with loose stones was an exciting adventure on the motorcycle.

Click here to go to Travel Notes Table of Contents

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO DIGITALNOMAD HOMEPAGE