Email from Ariel

Got this email from Ariel this morning;
a wonderful inbox find:

kyra,
how are YOU? it's been too long since known what's happening in each
other lives, ie. "caught up", it's just "we need to catch up" has such a
horrible ring to it.
You know the only email I had of yours was the hotmail one which i'm not
sure if you use anymore so i searched for you name online and two
interesting things came up: one was your blog page, of which sadly i
read more now (two years post by the way) than when you were making it,
and the second one was an article you did for the Gazette refering to
some article i think. Anyway found the western address in the end.
How are things?
I'm in Northern THailand right now, CHaing Mai and shortly heading
across the border, east to Laos. Being outside of the western way of
thinking has really been making me think about life, ethics, school
towards job, everything really but in a whole new perspective.
Southern Thailand - the beaches are incrediably packed with Tourists who
are trying to escape their boring routine desk jobs for a couple of
weeks by "letting themself go". Bangkok wasn't very nice for that reason
cause most people we met were on their way or on their way back from the
beaches. SO Toti and i decided to go North and avoid that whole
hullabaloo. CHiang Mai is crazy, the thai people here are insanely
educated, there's book stores on every other corner carrying FIVE copies
of the same book i had to specifically order in Toronto. I wouldn't mind
living here actually, there's roof-top completely overgrown with plants
bars, where the only thing you can see above the skyline is temple ruins
and the stars. There's a rasta strip back alley with a serious of small
patioish bars holding live bands, bonfires, reggae beats and Bob Marley
murials run by dreads down to their bums Thai hippies. Nicely off the
beaten track. Just last year the prime minister (who graduated with BUsh
in Yale by the way), implement all these laws to "improve Thailand in
the international front" but inturn taking away their fun; the Marijuana
laws have skyrocketed towards the Thais (the police couldn't care less
about us tourists) making everyone shit scared to go near the stuff, and
instead of alcohol being served allnight everywhere by law has to close
at 1am. Every Thai i've met hates him for many other reasons too i'm
sure. So it's far less rough than it used to be. You could easily come
here ( maybe not the North ) from say Britain and not feel at all out of
your comfort zone.

I'm in the process of writing you a letter and i promise to actually
mail it to you this time.
hope everything's well at your end, tell me whatever's on your mind.

miss you, ( i think about you more than anyone over here you know, and
we don't even communicate for goodness sake )

ariel

Keep safe, Air. Hooray for you!