One more thing:
I forgot to write about the hike we took about a week ago. The first place we stayed after Bangkok was a resort in the mountains a few hours NW of Khon Kaen, and it was adjacent to a national park. We hiked for a couple of hours there and even though hiking with 31 people is a fiasco, it was so cool. There were "wild" banana trees and trees that actually look like camoflage. Everything is so green and wet. We played for a long time in a series of really cool waterfalls. I was standing about 20 feet above one of them on a steep and super slippery rock face, and my feet came out from under me. I just about took a very long ride, and would have taken Mariela with me, if it hadn't been for a root at my right foot. Anyway, it was really fun, and I hope I can post some pictures soon. I am hoping we can get a web page up to upload all the best of our photos, so if we do, I'll post that soon.