10 August 2006 11:13 PM Bangkok Time

So my idea of a daily blog has fallen a bit flat. No internet access though much of our trek in the Indian Himalaya, a broken palm pilot, and no doubt laziness. I took some notes up through about 5 days of trekking, which I'll append below. I'll fill in as we go!

Currently Bella and I are on our flight from Delhi to Bangkok. The flight is full of Indians, few Thais, handful of white backpackers. Bella is asleep on my lap as I type, my right elbow propped on her shoulder, arching around her head to the keyboard. Out the window is the familiar patchwork of fields you might see anywhere, but the plots are smaller and irregular. In the distance out the left window, to the North, a half dozen snow capped peaks mark the Himalaya.

I am hot, the stale air from the overhead vent blows minimal relief. I smell of mildew. We hand washed all our clothes in Delhi, but they had only an hour to dry outside before the monsoon rumbled to life. A Bollywood ganster spoof plays on the screen. "I want to be a big Don like you, Tony!" "Shut up, Tiny."

I am quietly excited for Bangkok. There will be more parity between Bella and I. In Leh and Delhi, Bella's appearance and her basic knowledge of Hindi made India a bit sheltered for me. More so when with Sheila, who is fluent in Hindi and has internalized the gestures and mannerisms of the locals.

When we arrive in Bangkok, we will track down the local office of our scuba agency and make arrangements to head down to Koh Tao.