Last day in Chiang Rai...

Some big changes: After discussing it with my publisher in India, Mohan Nair, we both came to the conclusion that we need to postpone the book tour around India until the cooler months. We had intended to begin the country-wide tour on June 1st but, as you might suspect, the temperatures in India in June are pretty brutal. (For example, New Delhi was 108 degrees about a week ago.) On top of that, Mohan's distributors want the books to be in the bookstores for a full three months prior to beginning any publicity tour. Since I was planning to return to California by late June, I wouldn't be able to give the tour the time that it certainly deserved. Consequently, Mohan and I are planning to meet at the massive Frankfurt Book Fair in early October, and then to fly together to New Delhi to finally begin the 2-month tour. By that time, the new editions will be fully distributed throughout India, South Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Maldives, Nepal and other southeast Asia countries. These new editions will also be sold in Australia and New Zealand, and I hope to be able to promote the books throughout those two countries early next year. By October, of course, the weather in India will be much more pleasant.
I walked down to the Chiang Rai Night Market near the bus station last night. Unlike the street market in Luang Prabang where they, quite literally, spread their products out on the sidewalk, most of the sellers here have fixed stalls where they can display their wares. This market also has an open central square where you can order food and drink and be entertained by some local singers and dancers. If you're willing to spend the time, you can get some amazing bargains. We're about five miles due south of the exact center of the infamous "Golden Triangle"...the meeting point of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos which, historically, was at the very heart of the opium trade. I'm taking the early bus to Chiang Mai tomorrow morning. "Plan-A" is to hang around there for 3-4 days before eventually drifting south to Bangkok. Now that I don't have to return to India by June 1st, I'm considering other places to visit before returning to California. Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are three possibilities that I'm considering, but who knows how things will eventually play out? Stay tuned for further adventures! More later....