wednesday. im in kochaniburi. the train ride was great! it was a 3 hour ride west from bangkok. apart from buying a ticket, everything is so informal. the train pulls up and stops with loud, sudden jerks. all the windows are down and its all wood floors and benches on the inside. the doors to the cars are always open, so you can hang off the side of the train while its moving if you want to. i saw someone loading boxes into the car through one of the passenger windows. during the ride some of the houses and the way people were dressed reminded me of being in rural oregon at my grandmother's house in Mt Angel. i stuck my head out the window and also spent time memorizing numbers in thai. near the end of the ride a woman came around and made a sales pitch to each foreigner about her inn. the guest house had a free bus ride from the terminal. we met a canadian couple and they were going to this place so we followed. we got in the back of a pickup truck with two benches in it. When we arrived the place was very tropical looking, and fairly run down. it reminded me of vietnam scenes in rambo the movie.

on one hand this place is just amazing. it feels like a tropical island resort. they are very laid back with paying for things. you just pick a room, drop your stuff in it, and start hanging out. there is a frige with pop and beer and you just take what you want and write down what you took in a little book. there is a little book for each room. the place is built right next to the river kwai. half the rooms are built on land, the other halfs are on big floating platoons like boathouses. erwin and i got a boathouse room - 100 baht. $2.40 a night. They have a kitchen with a decent selection. shakes made from your choice of fruit is 25 baht or $0.40 and a food dish (small portions) is 60-100 baht. i thought about the unemployed people in cold parts of the nation, the unmotivated or disillusioned ones at least. If they only knew that to some degree, its real to just hang out in the shade and drink singha beer all day for $10/day. not that that interest me, but i feel it gives me a power to know of such options.

one of the pontoons is flat with tables. just for eating, drinking, and talking to the other guests. i met a photographer from britian (no country travels more than the british) who had been in cambodia for the last two months. i met a couple from germany who were really into the island lifestyle and did it for months out of the year. there is a japanese girl traveling alone. an older german guy who had been here 5 years earlier. the british guy, dan, and I played pool with an italian couple that spoke little english. the italian personality is very intense. they were friendly and both very beautiful looking. because spanish is very close to italian i used the spanish i knew when they didnt understand the english equivalent. it was very cool. i have to say the languages is probably the most fun part of this trip. on the other hand ive been having 3rd grade english conversations for the past two days. when i ran into the canadian couple it was most enjoyable to hear a north american english accent and i was amazed at how much more i was saying to these people. i think im dumbing down my english too much for the non english speakers.

tomorrow i'm going on a one day trip into the jungle around here. im not sure what passes for a jungle but it does sound interesting. there is an 11 stage waterfall, we're going to ride on an elephant, and we're going to see (and pet!) tigers that are taken care of by monks.

showing american movies are a popular way for the bars in this little town to add entertainment value. one place plays bridge over the river kwai every night at 7pm.

i havent met a single other american on my trip. its interesting because every traveler you meet you expect to be a representative of sorts from that country. So im an embassador for the entire USA :). also english is the universal language so everyone has to work to try and talk to me and I have to do nothing. i feel a bit guilty about that. the iraq war comes up once a day or so and everyone has been friendly and concerned, no grandstanding about justice or anything.

erwin is looking for a 'big motor bike' to rent. they have hundreds of scooters for rent. im a bit leary to drive a motorbike but it'd be a great way to get places and im in a relatively small town.

ttyl