well, it’s the 18th and i arrived in bangkok. Take all the car and human traffic in midtown Manhattan at lunch hour and multiply it by 10 or lenox avenue in harlem (which is more like it). need i say more? if you don’t have any idea what i mean…no one speaks english, lots of fake designer goods for sale, everyone’s got a scam, a mcdonalds and a dirty chinese food joint on every corner. oh yeah, there’s a lot of wats (churches) too. soon as i got here, i booked my ticket out to vietnam for the next morning. i’m at the patpong night market right now and about to check out the “shows.” i’m sure that will require a followup v-mail. i hired a guide for the night so he is taking me to see all the good stuff!!!! take care and i’ll write again soon. i’m staying at the royal hotel, famous for the lobby massacre of 1992 during the pro-democracy demonstrations. i think i could still see the blood stains. oh yeah, in australia i was told i looked like an aborigine and then a cuban. in malaysia, everyone thought i was malaysian and kept talking to me in malay. i only knew how to say goodbye (salamat jalan) and hello (salamat pagee), but nothing else. i think from the size of my silver dollar eyes they finally figured out i was a tourist. also, lots of locals everywhere i go pity me for traveling alone or they look at me like i’m a dirty harlot. to avoid stoning, i’ve started making up elaborate tales of my husband and children (six total). i sometimes say that he abuses me, which really gets me better deals on t-shirts (just kidding). anyway, i’ll keep in touch. by the way, children should be barred from flights or at least packed away underneath with the pets and baggage. ciao, vicki