Hello from Koh Chang! It's such a trip to be back here and in some way feels like a homecoming. I've seen so many familiar faces and whiled away my time in familiar surroundings for the first time since I left home. Since I was here last, the water has become cooler and the bioluminescent plankton have headed off for warmer climes. Jah Bar was closed down in a big drug bust last month but the owners have simply opened up an exact replica with a new name just down the road. There's a new internet cafe, more people around, and prices have doubled for high season, but it still feels perfect. Being here with Chris, mattmatt and Jill has made the time here wonderful in a completely different way than those first 10 days here alone. Now I always have someone to dance, laugh and share my rum/Coke/Red Bull buckets with. Oh, and Chris has some fantastic music and mattmatt has a computer, so I've been adding to my staling music collection.

Chris and I each bought a visa and plane ticket for India, about $320. We leave on January 14 after a couple of days of preparation in Bangkok. We will fly into Madras (Chennai) in the south and will work our way across to Goa and then up and finally into Nepal probably sometime around April. We may not travel together the entire time, but starting together feels right to me and I couldn't ask for a better travel companion. Of all the places I wanted to go,I anticipate India being the biggest challenge of them all and am so excited and scared shitless to go someplace so completely different. I am hopeful however that a little amoebic dysentery will help make up for months of excess noodle and alcohol consumption here in Thailand.

A final note. Here are a few things I miss from home and wonder how long I will be able to live without. My bed and pillow. Sunday brunches. Dancing at really good parties. Getting dressed and having more than 5 outfit options. Driving. Reality TV. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. 92.7 Party. Fast internet access.