Update December 5, from Pattaya

After spending two hours yesterday and another half hour today at a Travel Agency, I have now completed the planning for this adventure. On December 12, I will fly up to Khon Kaen, then work north to Udon Thani, Nong khai and then across the border to Vientiane, Laos. After four days there, its on to Luang Prabang, Laos, then over to Chiang Mai in Thailand. The last two destinations will be via air. It will be travel with a small group, and using a van. Because of Visa issues, I had to be careful of the days away from Thailand. When a Canadian arrives in Thailand by air, they receive a free 30 day Visa at the airport. If one arrives by land, ie bus or car, the Visa is only for 15 days. One must stay out of Thailand for a minimum of four days before returning. This is a new law, and prevents people from running across the border, and then returning to Thailand the same day. This short trip Visa business was quite lucrative for some people doing the trips, but people were staying here in Thailand for months, and just crossing the border, sometimes for less than an hour. The weather is in the 30s, and, some days the rain is very heavy. Some times, just showers. Have met a few people here at the hotel...all Canadians, mostly from Alberta. I am just relaxing, doing some walking, several kilometers each day, and enjoying the walks by the sea side. I will probably not have much new to post until I move north; I do not have any contacts here, except for the folks at the orphanage, where I will be some days. This is a long weekend in Thailand...today is the King's birthday...88, and also Fathers Day. On my above itinerary, I will be returning to Bangkok on December 31 via the express rail car....about 12 hours. By Next posting, I hope to have some photos to post....if I can figure out how to transfer them from storage to my website. Thats it for today;