New Years Eve 2009

New Years Eve 2009 was spent around Wan's family home in the north-east. We left Bangkok about 2am on Tuesday 29 December with the intention of avoiding the traffic jams seen last year. It worked - there was almost no traffic, even less than normal. It took 6 hours to drive to her home, which is midway between Chumphae in Khon Khaen and Phu Kradeung in Loei (normally it takes about 7 hours, although we didn't stop for food so much this time). Apart from relaxing and catching up with family and friends (Ann, Wan's sister, and her husband Simon were also there) we had a few day trips to: Nam Nao National Park in Petchabun, a local mountain, Phu Pa Man, and near Phu Luang in Loei. As always, a lot of good food and a few beers. New years eve involved a party with a lot of family attending, followed by some late night dancing at a street party. All good fun. The trip home on Sunday was not too bad. It took 9 hours, which was probably 1 or 2 hours less than it could have been because we took a back route to Saraburi, bypassing the busy Khorat to Saraburi road. Check out some photos.