Welp, tomorrow I fly out to Thailand. The flight will take about 24 hours, so I've packed a number of crappy sci-fi novels and protein bars to ensure my brain survives the trip. I also got a travel guide to Thailand so I should be an expert on the country by the time I land. It even has helpful short Thai phrases I can annoyingly practice on the plane.
I kind of envision this little trip as one of those made-for-tv movie about the laid-back American ne'er-do-well who goes to the really sanctimonious Asian country and has all sorts of hilarious misadventures as he solves the theft of the Pink Panther diamond from the King's treasury before the crowning ceremony of the dastardly power-hungry duke. I'm sure its going to be a lot like that.
I'm also going to go see the Jedi while I'm there. I understand the Buddhist temples in Thailand are totally awesome.
First though, I am going to Bangkok for two weeks where I will help a lab set up some scientific equipment the U of Illinois sent them. While in Bangkok I'll have to find an expat bar or something where I can go watch the Superbowl. Maybe the hotel I'm staying it will play it, I guess I don't know how popular the Superbowl is outside of the US of A. I guess most countries don't like how violent the unofficial national sport of the USA is.
After watching the Superbowl in Bangkok, I'll be going up to Chiang Mai, Thailand to build a new visible-infrared laser-induced fluorescence small-molecule detection instrument for a lab up there. It ought to be pretty interesting trying to build a new instrument in a foreign country, and when I say "interesting" I mean very likely "frustrating." Ah well, maybe I should stop complaining and just learn how to speak Thai already.
See you folks on the flipside (of the Earth).
