Christa asked me tonight, "How many people do you know who have been in 3 countries in 3 days?" 

My response: excluding European friends not too many.  (As long as you’re speaking about consecutive days of course.) 

But we Johnsons have.  Oh, yes.

Two nights ago we were in the States.

Last night we were in Beijing (China).

Tonight, we are in Bangkok (Thailand).  (Oh, yeah, and I guess we forgot about our little pit-stop in Tokyo now didn’t we?) That’s going through Customs twice in China and once in Thailand.   That’s flying roughly 19 hours in less than a 36-hour period.  That’s drinking Starbucks in many time zones.

I feel like I am in a very twisted episode of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

  Or maybe I’m a fugue-state contestant on the Amazing Race.

Whatever the case, I’m feeling a bit loopy right about now.  Glad to be back in Asia, but feeling loopy nonetheless.  I’m fairly certain our last flight took place on an airline known as Sri Lankan airlines where the stewardesses wore saris and the final destination was a place called Columbo.

I’m also fairly certain when my wife went to the lavatory a young Indian gentlemen sat down with me for about 20 minutes on the plane in order to get my impressions on his own star-crossed love affair and the relevance of arranged marriages in a modern context.  I’m telling you the hospitality theme just isn’t letting up for me.  More on that once I’ve gotten some sleep.

I’m fairly certain we’ve got one more flight tomorrow (ugh) to Chiang Mai.  But at least it’s an easy one.  Only about 60 minutes in the air.

And then we get a break (for 10 days or so) before the vicious flight cycle starts all over again.  And to think we volunteered for this.  Yeah, loopy is the word.

Goodnight.  G-Day?  Afternoon…

Whatever…