this is not my beautiful house; how did i get here?

Finally made it to Phayao last night, where we'll be living. Our house is large and Thai and only sorta has a kitchen. Details, details. With a large yard, Constance will get to have her garden. We're three houses down from a large temple monastery thing. The town reminds of almost exactly of where we lived in the Domincan Republic, plus three 7-11s and a KFC.

There are mountains and a large beautiful lake, home to one of the seven underwater wonders of the world (who didn't memorize these when they were a kid). Chiang Rai, famous for being fabulous, is just an hour away.

Important update on beer sales: You're allowed to buy alcohol, oddly, between the hours of 11 am and 2 pm, then again after 5 pm. Breathe easier.

I'll post house pictures later.

Update II: The kitchen is in a separate house out back.. and until a few hours and 5,000 baht ago, was a bike shed. Same as it ever was.. Same as it ever was..

Update III: Underscoring my point about the protesters from yesterday..

Update IV: Raining, so no house pictures today. Instead, here's another fun one from Liberia (click for relevant post from, as you might've noticed, a blog I love):