The Songkran festival is just 4 days away, and we are spending the day getting ready--we need cheap Hawiian style shirts, plastic bags (to keep our wallets and other things dry), and although we've been trained away from carrying weapons for our entire lives, we will be packin', water guns that is. Today, we are going to the Airport Plaza Mall to see a movie and shop around. In the past week, mom has attended a Thai massage class at the Old Medicine School in Chiang Mai. She is very sore, but all of her hard work has paid off--she is now a certified Thai Massage Therapist, and she met many interesting foreign students in the program. Her graduation consisted of many blessings and a special bindi-type mark applied to her forehead with some very authentic sounding prayers and a special string on her wrist for luck, health, and prosperity. She didn't understand it, but she thinks they covered all the bases. Logan and I went to the zoo by ourselves and saw the aquarium. We met a tourist who was hit by a motorcycle--not hard to do here. We have a date with a monk on Monday, should be interesting. We are planning to ask him some very pointed questions. The monks here seem to be very hypocritical. Although they have taken a vow of poverty, we have seen them accepting rides, using cell phones, smoking, and shmoozing with women. Of course mom wants to ask how they feel about choice. I have to write a paper about the corruption in Thailand and religion (monks) are one of the branches of my research topic. This little monk does not see us coming.

Tips to staying alive in Bangkok:

1. Do not wear a red tee-shirt outside.

2. Do not gather in groups of more than 5 people.

3. ...just avoid Bangkok.

Thailand is used to peaceful demonstrations, and the Red-Shrits have become a bit aggressive. We're more used to this in the US, but we aren't being stupid.