Traveling across Asia for 40 days

"Tuk tuk. You need a tuk tuk" is chanted as we walked down the busy streets of Bangkok. People and noise are everywhere.

Tuk tuks are mini taxis with three wheels, and weave through the streets as if on an obstacle race. These dare devil drivers try to attract you in any way possible, and then deceive you. They offer to take you wherever you want for 10 baht (about 30 cents). Too good to be true. But what they don't tell you is the unexpected stops on the way. Tuk tuks have a deal with local shops. If they bring customers, then the owner will give the tuk tuk money for gas.

One of the tuk tuks favorite trick is to tell you the famous sites are closed for the day (it's the king's birthday or national Buddha day) so you will travel with them. They tried it on us, but we were wise to their ways (thanks to some travel book wisdom).

Rachel (my beautiful wife) and I are having a blast.

Our trip is as follows. We started in Tokyo, then to Bangkok, next to Chaing Mai, followed by a trek through the hillside for 3 days, and now back to Bangkok. Next we will travel along the southern coast of Thailand, then to Malaysia, Singapore, and to Indonesia. We have slept in nice hotels, shady hotels, village huts, trains, and traveled on bamboo raft, foot, taxi, elephant, airplane, train, and on a few occasions run like crazy to make our deadline.

Everything is amazing. When it is all over we will sleep for a week, and then start planning our next trip.