ok.  i haven't blogged in almost 2 months, i'm sorry.  i've kind of been avoiding it because i didn't have much internet access in Laos and after a few weeks i was not looking foreward to recounting everything that happened so i just put it off.  well, i'm just going to skip almost everything.  here's the quick version:

  the rest of laos was incredible.  had a wonderful time traveling all over the north and north-west.  the country is indescribably pristine and unspoiled, compared to the rest of south east asia.

  after laos i went to san diego for a week to interview for graduate school at the scripps research institute (TSRI).  the interview went well, i got accepted, and am now planning to move to san diego sometime this summer which means my travels must come to an end by ~june/july.

  back in thailand.  spent a week relaxing on a truly utopian island called koh mak in the gulf of thailand and then headed back to bangkok.  i have spent the past ~10 days getting everything (visas, plane tickets, etc) ready for my trip to india.  it's all ready now.  i'm flying into dehli tomorrow afternoon.  i will try my best to update this blog on a regular basis from india.  it's gonna be weird, wish me luck!  :p