January-March was relatively uneventful – in a good way. We got to know more people in Dhaka, both Bangladeshis and other furriners like us, and we got to know some of our acquaintances better. We attended the Burns Supper of the Dhaka Caledonian Society, where Patrick was asked to escort the haggis into the hall, thanks to his kilt. We found ourselves both heading to the States for business trips at the end of March/beginning of April – how convenient! – and extended a bit to have a few days of family time together. 
In April we took a group trip (on the train!) to Srimangal in northeast Bangladesh, where the tea plantations are. We stayed in guest houses built originally by the Department for International Development in the UK as a project to promote tourism in the region. USAID also funds a program to maintain the rainforest, which is very difficult to do due to illegal logging. One of the most interesting things to see were the villages in the forests. Some small tribes still make their homes there – anyone remember the Ewoks from Return of the Jedi? Another hit was the “five-layer tea” served in a small café beside one of the tea plantations. In May we discovered Thailand. (Well, for ourselves, anyway.) Wow! In one of our best vacations ever (and we’ve had some great ones), we met weary travelers Larry & Scarlett in the Bangkok airport and flew to the paradise of Phuket. We spent a luxurious (or luga-jurious) week at the J.W. Marriott courtesy of Wilson Timeshare, Inc. and enjoyed every minute there. The resort is absolutely beautiful (voted the best Marriott in the world out of 4,000 hotels), the people are beautiful and amazingly friendly, and the food ... well, we can hardly describe it. The possibilities for fun were almost endless. Between cooking classes, Thai boxing lessons, spiritual tours and hour-long massages on the beach (I think Larry is still in pain), we were all thoroughly entertained between our lying about the pool times. Are you getting that this was a great vacation? We will meet anyone there anytime! Just before the trip, Jennifer had the good luck of attending a training session in Bangkok, so we explored a bit of Bangkok as well. But just enough to get us excited about going back sometime soon.
