Tuesday 21 Dec 2010
Disembark the flying sardine can, get through Immigration to find my pack with its two 'attachments' has made it through unscathed. Get a taxi all the way to Phanat Nikhom by 6pm (now operating on Thai time) as per Franya's advice where Moo is up and lets me in to sleep for a few hours. Thank you Moo. There are now 4 dogs at the restaurant - 2 white & old & 2 young & yappy.  The restaurant is closed today in anticipation of the upcoming busy trade over Xmas & new year.  
Noiy & Bee arrive around 11am with Bee's father. They are all very kind and present me with gifts of a gorgeous sarong from Bee & sandals from Noiy. I am a little embarrassed as my gifts are only tokens (read no room in my bag!). After photos together, we head over to Baeng Saen for a fabulous lunch (not as good as Moo's & Wan's: grllled gai, som tum, crab khao pad etc  mmmmmmmmm (diet? wot diet?). Then we visit an aquarium @ the university. Noiy buys 4 tix, but is soon pulled up afterwards to pay the extra for the farang. This is the first time they realise foreigners pay more! Its a lovely relaxing visit, especially reminicsing about our aquarium visit in Sydney. From there we're off to the HUGE (& still growing) Chinese temple near Noiy's home, to marvel at the unlimited chinese imaginatve decorations.Surely its not time for dinner? Tom Yum goong & fresh boiled crab - yummy = by the beach. So relaxing & certainly a world away from where I'm headed in a few hours. We go back to Noiy's village where we meet her friend who has kindly offered to make the drive into Bankok, as Noiy feels a little nervous about driving at night to the city in her small car. The Mercedes does the trick & I'm soon deposited at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on my insistance. I want to change, freshen up and try repacking again as this time my pack must transit Nairobi. Of course the best laid plans of mice & men do go astray - my malaria medication was expensive on Austalia, so i bought enough to trial it and start the pre travel bit with full intentions of stocking up in Bangkok @ Boots. I realise too late that I have forgotten the vital step of actually getting to the pharmacy to make the purchase and wonder at my chances of getting Larium (mefloquine) in Africa.  I get my pack gladwrapped, to ensure the attachments don't go astray, check in & settle in for another 9 hour flight across the Indian Ocean to Kenya. Another late dinner, sleep then another early refreshment before landing @ 6am Kenyan time