...my friend Dan, that is. On Monday Dan and his lovely fiancee will touch down in Prathet Thai where they will spend several days being dragged about Khon Kaen and Kalasin provinces. We may even stop at the Buddha on the hill pictured above. The poor couple don't know what they are in for. Dan will be subject to my long-winded pontifications on all things Thailand related as well as summaries to several books I have recently read on the development of human societies. His fiancee, Etsuko will be paraded through the local shops and markets by my wife where she will be pressured into purchasing anything she is unfortunate enough to glance at twice (and I am not talking about pushy vendors - they don't exist up here, my wife will do the shopping and hawking simultaneously). After two nights the miserable couple will undoubtedly regret their decision to come, but will realize that they are completely reliant on us for transportation, accommodation and communication, and therefore doggedly endure two more days of righteous rants and shopping sprees before they are allowed to return to the safety of their residence in Japan. Ha! I will now have the undivided attention of bored adults rather than bored schoolchildren.