Footnote to Zoo and Acquarium Pics

I have a few moments to add some commentary to the zoo and acquarium photos. First of all the guy is Lothar, a very nice German fellow that was here at the same hotel (Lai-Thai Guest House) in Chiang Mai, after having visited a few islands off of the coast of Thailand, where now I would like to go when I return from my Elephant camp (Elephant Nature Park) for 2 weeks where they do rescue and rehab work with the elephants. I will be helping take care of them and maybe learning some "mahout" (elephant driver) skills. So Lothar and I kept each other company for a few days and explored the city a little bit and today he left for Germany (boohoo). It's nice to have someone to explore with and makes me miss having a companion... sometimes! Only problem with Lothar is he doesn't eat fish so in Thai cooking that can put a little crimp on your culinary explorations! But we visted a bunch of roadside foodstands, Anthony Bourdain style! Today and tomorrow are the mega celebrations of the Chinese New Year so most places are closed, but it's beautiful walking along the Ping River and just strolling under the trees. I'm feeling a little blue today, Lothar left, I left Piero and Clarissa behind and I miss them and who knows when I'll see them again and Eugenio seems so far away, I miss Daddy and Merryl and my family and friends. I was thinking about returning to Baja and what I'm going to do there and just doing some serious soul-searching.