S.E.Asia Travel log 11

Hola mi amigos, I once again come to you in this magical online world to keep you up to date of our journey. But, I would like to begin by wishing everyone well who is either in the New Orleans/Biloxi areas or has friends or family there. We have been keeping track of the disaster on the news here. I don't believe anyone receiving these emails is currently in New Orleans, but many of you probably have loved ones there.
We are currently in Chiang Mai, which is a small city in Northern Thailand. It is a great city and I recommend it to anyone who ever gets out this way. Yesterday we took a day long trek with a tour group up to a few of the local sites. We went to several water falls and a few local villages that apparently have not decided to move into the new Millineum, hell, many of them have not decided to move into the 1900's. The primary source of income for most the villages like this in the area is from tour groups coming to look at them while they sit around making blankets or necklaces. I guess it beats moving to the big city and being a garbage man, or a nurse. We also were taken to the highest point in Thailand. I should point out that were driven to within 50 meters of the top. There is no way I was going to walk to the highest point. I don't want to walk to the highest point in Mississippi, and that can probably be reached by climbing a ladder onto my house. ANYWAY, back to the point, the problem with the highest point in Thailand is, it is on top of a mountain, but it is surrounded by trees. You would think they would clear a space so you could look out over the rest of Thailand. I am beginning to suspect the guide realized he was running out of time so he just pulled over into the woods and said, "here we are. The highest point in Thailand." We could not look around to verify his statement. He did get us back to town on time, so kudo's to him.
We are flying back to Bangkok in a few hours, and my journey will be coming to an end in a few days. I am will back to the rat race with the rest of you. So, save me some cheese, and don't cure all the patients before I can get back and get a job.
See you all soon
Michael