the ant can't move a rubber tree plant...

to leave phuket was really very sad. though i believe i've already mentioned that... the pain of leaving was slightly assuaged when on our cab ride to the airport our driver stopped for me so i could finally take a couple of photos of the rubber trees on phuket. i'd been a bit obsessed (suzanne is obsessed with animals...me with rubber trees). phuket also obliged us with an amazing sunset as we lifted off for bangkok yet again.

the 13th of april is the beginning of the buddhist new year celebration called songkran. in thailand this means a crazy huge water fight mixed with this grayish talc. the day begins with people meeting together with their families blessing their grandparents with water and smudging this talc on their cheeks. once they leave their families it continues to expand exponentially. at the marriott this mostly meant kids and staff with water guns, people on the side of streets throwing water at cars, sniper squirt guns in the market, but in bangkok near koh sahn road we evidently missed a drunken brawl...but we saw the evidence the morning after we had to wade through a gloppy mess of grayish talc covering the street. we were told that if we hung around for much longer we would be sucked right into the whole mess...so we got out of dodge.

unfortunately saturday brought the end of our thailand trip. just as we arrived at the ariport the heavens opened up in a torrential downpour...cats and dogs, buckets, whatever cliche you want, but either the sky was weeping as we left or we got out just before the rainy season began. jessica and i also had a long layover in singapore so we added another stamp to our passports and were able to go into town a see a bit...it was very very clean. : )

i've read a few books in the last couple weeks...all of which i've liked...i forget how much i like reading just to read...kite runner, red tent, memoirs of a geisha, twain's adam and eve's diaries, a little thoreau, and sue bender's plain and simple...but i've been moved by reading lolita in tehran. i'm in awe of her ability to write a memoir about literature that qualifies as literature itself and i now have a whole new list of novels to read or re-read.

tonight i anticlimatically write from the comfort of my own couch after a very long trip back that unfortunately didn't include really any sleep for me. the trip didn't yield any huge bursts of light for me (i know that i can't expect enlightenment on my schedule no made how much try), yet it did yield a few small flashes of light (nod to thoreau) and was overall really wonderful--just what i needed. i've appreciated hearing from those of you who have taken the time to read. i'll talk to you all soon.