INCOMMUNICADO

No, I'm not talking about the Marillion song but the fact that I will be away from the computer for the next several days, until Saturday to be exact.

Tim and I are leaving for the north tomorrow evening.  We're taking one of the "VIP" coach busses to Bangkok — a 12-hour journey — where we will obtain the Affidavit of Eligibility to Marry at the U.S. Embassy.  We then need to get that form translated into Thai before travelling to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for "legalization" (which officially takes three days).  Instead of staying in Bangkok, we will spend two nights in Ayutthaya.  I figured this would be our last chance to travel in this area for quite some time so I suggested we could spend some time with Miaow (Tim's daughter) and Noo-Dang (granddaughter).  We've booked two rooms (for the astounding price of 350 baht/USD $9.24 per night) in a guesthouse close to the two main temples.  Tim and Miaow can spend some quality time together and I can walk around looking at some of the nearby historical sites.  We will return to Bangkok on Friday, (hopefully) pick up our legalized marriage forms, and catch the overnight bus back to Bangkok.

With the proper documents in-hand, we can go to the local Amphur office (Phuket Town, in our case) to officially register our marriage.  Although there is no ceremony involved, we plan to have Lek and Jum accompany us (perhaps we'll ask Franz and Pen, as well), and have some photographs taken.  We may do this as early as next Monday (August 7) in advance of the Queen's birthday when all government offices will once again take an extended holiday.