Just our luck

Well, the doc says that most likely I just had a bad virus that my body is purging out although the whole-body rash thing seemed a mystery to him. The funny thing is that while I was checking in and having my vitals taken I was describing the rash to the nurse. I speculated to her that it may be alcohol-triggered since the first time I had a few brews the night before and last night when I had one about an hour later I had some mild rash re-occurances. Anyways, I said this all to the nurse and the old lady being checked in beside me (how did she speak such good english by the way...) interjected "oh no, thats not alcohol, just singha" (a thai beer). "My husband has that problem...everytime he drinks Singha he gets a rash". What this lady said was actually coinciding with the facts but I have yet to test the theory. Not sure I want to!
Anyways, the doc saying that I don't have some crazy bug-borne illness was a relief. However, there is rarely any respite for me lately for as soon as I cleared that hurdle another one arose. Our plan was to ride from here (Chaing Mai) to Chaing Khong and cross into Laos. On the border crossing we were going to get a riverboat to take us down to Luang Prabang because there is no direct road there. Unfortunately, the largest drought in 20 years has caused the Mekong to dry up and apparently the cargo boats are not running. So now we've got to reformulate our plans. I really haven't the slightest clue what to do, so I'll just have to tell you all about it later.
On the upside, I got my bicycle cleaned to the highest level since I left for only 400 baht and I signed up for a cooking class. Tomorrow I'll be learning how to make 6 different Thai dishes! You can check it out at thaicookeryschool.com. I'm taking course #3.
Okay, I'm off to go lounge around the pool while its hot and check out some temples once the sun dips a bit. Be back soon with the updated route I hope!