after my 4 hour nap

i have a somewhat new found strength although i have been up since what would be 3:50am in khon kaen. the jet lag stinks but i will hopefully stay awake and get to sleep at the right time tonight. but back to what all of you really care about. i got on the plane out of knoxville with my day pack and backpacker. the first flight to chicago i had the very first seat on the plane which meant not only did i have absolutlely no leg room but i also had no space to put either the guitar or the backpack. i got out my journal and blanket before they put my other things in a storage closet and then from there i really dont remember anything except the plane landing. i woke up with the tires hitting the runway in chicago. from there we (chris and I) had a few hours to walk around. it was enough time to find food, find a pencil to write in my journal with and, meet another traveller who was on her way to shenzen. we jumped on our next flight which would be the most painful. the dreaded 11 and a half hour flight to tokyo. i managed to watch all of the interesting looking movies within the first half of the flight and then broke out the ipod for most of the rest of the trip. i spent the last two hours of the trip writing in my journal making simple notes i would like to remember. The girl who was oin her way to Shenzen offered to let me look at her english to chinese dictionary and from that i copied some what i hope will be helpfull phrases for when i get there later next month. but we finally reached the tokyo airport and from there our friend going to shenzen(allison) had to go a separate way. we exchanged emails and she said she would write me telling if there was anything good to do in shenzen. we cleared through the japanese security checkpoints and from there i had to get the ticket for my last flight which i had failed to get for unknown reasons back in knoxville. i was able to aquire it in about 10 minutes and from that point our flight was delayed about 50 minutes. which still gave us a little over 2 hours to enjoy the little of japan we would see. i bought a simple keychain and pin at a gift shop just to say i had gotten somthing from the land of the rising sun. i went back to the bench which we had been holding and from there i completely sacked right up untill the time when we were supposed to leave. i got on the plane and was able to sleep for another 2 or so hours which was ehaven after how long i been without it. after waking up i watched a movie or two. i stopped watching when i realized that it was lightning outside my window. i spent the last 45 minutes of the flight watching the lightning and writing in my journal about it. we arrived in bangkok and cleared customs very quickly. walking out of the security area was mr. zierer who continually reminds us to call him bill. he was easy to pick out in a bright yellow homer simpson shirt. we left the exit area and went to a kind of in amll food stand where i got checken sandwich and after that we simply sat and talked for a short time. after we had eaten and explored the small convenience shop next to the stand the time being after midnight. the only thing to do was rack out in the check in area of the airport. wait wait back up and let me say that the buns with teriaky chicken in them that i bought at the little store were about a nickel a piece and were sooo good. i went back 3 times. ok back on track. the entrance area to the airport is on the 5th floor so we headed upstairs where was found two benches and where chris and mr. zier..... bill laid down and went to sleep. i couldnt sleep since i was simply wired and hungry still. so i went back downstairs to get some more to eat and after i had eat about 3 more buns. i travelled back upstairs to play gutiar and fall asleep. we woke up early. which had to have been around 4-5. and took a shuttle bus to a bus station where we would catch another bus into town. we waited on the shuttle bus for about 30 minutes abd we waited at the actual bus staion for at least another 40. oh and let me also say that the airport in bangkok is the worst place for peaple trying to hustle you. no matter wht time of day. there are always nywhere from 5-15 people trying to get you to ride in their taxi. we finally got on one of the buses and made it into town. from there we had to take a short taxi ride to get to the main bus station which runs the distance buses. we were able to get a cheap ticket to khon kaen without even waiting. we walked in and there just so happend to be a bus leaving that would take us to khon kaen for what bill said would be cheap. so we bought tickets and jumped on the bus right as it was about to pull out of the station. this bus trip however would take us another 6 hours. the bus made a few stops along the way to let other passengers on. early on the trip we got complementary bottles of water and a bun that had this pink kind of jelly in it. it was very good but the jelly had the consistency of a mashed sweet potato so although it was tasty the felling your mouth got you a little bit. i was able to sleep for most of the rest of the rest of the trip. we got off the bus and made a immediate bathroom break and from there was able to meet one of the local roatary members. from there we had to get on what can only be described as buses. they are isusu pickup trucks that had had covered benches put in the back. the trucks all have numbers painted on them and depending on the number thatshows which route it will take throughout khon kaen. the number we had to take to get to the university where we were staying was 8. it was a short trip and while we were on the bus/truck local schools were being let out so it was interesting to see the children in uniforms. unlike america where some schools where uniforms and some do not. all schools here have their own uniforms, and all of the school children wore them to perfect specification. we got on the campus of the university and our bus began to take a different route so we had to get out and walk about a mile to our apartment. we made the short walk on the side of the busy roads which are mainly occupied by scooters and motorcycles. there is a water purification machine outside our hotel where it costs 1 baht to fill a 1 liter bottle. so imagine if you will paying a third of a penny to get 1 nalgene bottle full of water. yeah i was suprised too. after getting the key to my room and taking a shower. we watched some discovery channel which is awesome since it is 1 of only 3 channels we have in english. i slept for two hours and then chris and bill woke me to go out to check the street venders. but before i give my explanation of them i got some good pictures of what it looked like. ok nvr mind pictures arent working right now if i can i will make a post with just pictures and the description for each one. ok for now it is about 7:40am and i have been writing this and playing ont he internet for about 3 hours. i will write again tonight if i can. mr. zie...... bill's friend loaned us a laptop that works in all of our rooms. and untill further notice i have it so i think updates will come quite often. we are goign to explore town today probably look through the shops and such. ohh and we are goign to a large fuit market where im gonna buy some fresh green mangos. the green ones are kinda sours but really really good. alright well i will check in later and as fez greens uncle once wrote to him in a birthday email..... may the force be with you, the truth is out there, and..... save the cheerleader save the world.... dont forget to comment....