A Change of Venue

Dear Readers

You may noticed that the blog has a new title, 'Sawasdee'. The name will change to the word for 'hello', in the local language, for each country we visit.

We're now in Bangkok, Thailand. It's not really part of our general itinerary, to be in Thailand at this date, but several factors have brought us here for about one week, a 'pit stop' on our way to China.

For one, it's cheaper to fly from India to Bangkok and then from Bangkok to China. Don't know why, but that's the way it is. India, while super cheap to travel, has some cost prohibitive features, like air travel both in country and out.

Also, and this brings me to the second reason for our detour to Thailand, India slaps on huge taxes to inbound packages. We're expecting a package from home with a certain piece of electronics to replace the hunk-o-junk we brought with us. Had we stayed in India to receive it, we would have paid an whopping 18% - 36% import tax.

So, "Sawasdee Thailand!", it was!