Uganda 7: March 11, 2004

They say you can't go home again. Well, that's not true if home ever has been Thailand. After a brief, nine-month absence, Liz and I returned to Bangkok for a reunion with friends and former co-workers. The timing was perfect. We had been gone long enough that people missed us (Liz) and were excited to see us but not too long so that people had forgotten us (me) or moved away.

Getting to Asia from Uganda is not the easiest travel pattern in the world, though we made it in about 16 hours after a refueling stop in Nairobi and a change of planes in Dubai. We flew Emirates, an excellent airline, though our flight from Dubai to Bangkok was packed with Burmese hajjis returning home from Mecca, the men clad in longis (sarongs) and the women covered by chadors. They were nice enough folks but had not taken many previous plane trips as evidenced by continual indoor expectoration and creative bathroom usage.

Liz was a particularly big hit as everyone from her tailor to the Starbucks baristas to the Regent hotel doorman goggled at her weight loss. I refer to her as a more concentrated version of Liz. Anyway, we both ate as though there was no tomorrow as we visited old favorites and new recommendations (all now included in my updated Bangkok dining guide). We've been pleasantly surprised by the variety of dining options in Kampala, but Bangkok is a different world altogether, with an endless array of choices. Living up to our reputation as culinary badasses, Liz and I laughed off the avian flu epidemic and ate chicken. Yes, Mom and Dad N, we ate chicken. Now, if I can just get rid of this hacking cough and fever.

We spent a couple days on the Gulf of Thailand in Pranburi (20 km south of Hua Hin for those cartographically inclined) lounging about in a villa on the beach gorging on seafood and fresh sea air. In the evenings, we watched as dozens of squid boats slipped out to sea using multi-colored fluorescent lights to lure future calamari into their nets. We went to sleep to the sounds of the waves outside our window. We then spent the next week ensconced at the Bangkok Four Seasons, which served as a base for Liz's shopping excursions and my visits to my old friends at the Embassy. We also spent a day with Liz's old Telecom Asia colleagues including her beloved driver, Khun Pin, who sadly is suffering from throat cancer. I managed to slip up to Chiang Mai one afternoon to see some friends and enjoy Khao Soi -- northern style curry noodles.

Happily, we found that we could still speak some Thai after not using it for so long. We were never particularly strong, but it was nice to see that we hadn't lost much at all. In fact, in some ways I think my speaking improved, perhaps because I felt no pressure to use Thai as part of a job.

I enjoyed revisiting some of my old haunts, particularly running in Lumpini park, where I once again encountered an old friend -- the giant monitor lizard. For two years I ran in that park but had never brought a camera to document my encounters. Not this time and I am finally pleased to attach to this e-mail incontrovertible evidence of the Lumpini Lizard.

Of course, all good things must end, and we left the land of air-conditioned malls, drinkable water, and edible street food to return to Uganda. Another 16 easy hours (no hajjis), and we were home again.