giving fall and winter a miss

For the first time in over three months, I'm back in an English-speaking country. While some might call that an over-generous description of the Australian use of the language, I'm still reveling in the temperate climate and easy-to-read signs. Yesterday, I wrapped up my last day in Bangkok with a trip to the Royal Museum of Thailand, which was a good way of closing the book on the country that had been hosting me for the better part of two weeks.

What a piece of junk.

Correcting an error that egregiously suggested Thailand covered an area of only 513,115.027 sq./km.

After leaving the museum, I returned to my hostel for the last time. Grabbing my luggage, I took an Australian family up on their generous offer to join them in their coach to the airport. After a quick ride out of town, we all arrived at the airport with more than enough time to check in and grab a quick snack. I killed some time chatting, and trying to get the airport wifi to work, but before long they were boarding our flight and it was time to leave Asia behind. The flight was the least remarkable of my journey thus far. With no in-flight entertainment to distract me, I spent the most of the 9 hours asleep.

Fish and flowers.

Arriving in Melbourne, I was a little worried about getting through Customs with some of the various organic souvenirs I've picked up along the way. Australia and New Zealand are famous for their strict Customs, island nations and all. They go so far as to have a COPS style television program that busts tourists trying to bring apples into the country. So I was very relived when I was waved through, and on to my airport shuttle. I could not be happier with the weather. The cool spring air was a welcome relief after months spent in the deserts and jungles of the world.

I've just checked into my hostel, and I'm anxious to explore, so that's going to have to be all for now. We'll see how it goes.