Khon Kaen to Udun Thani tomorrow?

Hi again,
I' m getting closer to the Laotian border and I don't know whether I should be happy or otherwise. I have had a nice experience in Thailand, despite the problems with things like communication and the regular food that I'm used to. It is always hard to get coffee and you can forget 'teh tarik', or nasi lemak. I get a lot of tom yam, tho'.
This morning I went on a sightseeing tour of Khon Kaen with my "guide" the bellboy from the hotel . It is his day off. There is a huge lake here that has a track all around it which is perfect for jogging or cycling, and it is very well kept. It is about 5 km around the lake with a restaurant and the local museum nearby. While there, a motorcycle race was going on at a small circuit and Petronas was well represented. There was also no lack of monuments all over the place. With a bicycle it is much easier to move around, except for the hot sun.
My camera is now 'kaput', so, unless I get a new one there will be no more pictures. I actually dropped the camera before reaching Hat Yai but it was still functioning, now, I m afraid it's gone.
The route I have taken so far had been rather flat and the scenery although beautiful is rather boring because in Thailand it is paddy fields and more paddy fields, even along the highways. Outside of Bangkok, the traffic is not as heavy as we find on Malaysian highways. I have also been lucky, that, so farI had good weather except for some drizzle on the way here, otherwise it was hot,hot,hot.
In the hotel room, except for the few channels that has English news all the movies are in Thai. It is interesting to see Sean Connery,Charlston Heston, Sophia Loren and all the Hollywood stars speaking Thai. Let's hope we in Malaysia don't follow suit.
The petrol price in Thailand is much higher than back home. It is 44 baht per litre for the premium grade and a little less for the others, but parking is free at most places except at the complexes and private car parks. However outside of Bangkok I don't see any jams.
I must confess that I am terribly homesick and missing the things that I usually do, like gardening, the workout at home or the gym and most of all my buddies at 'Warung Rus' in PJ Old Town, especially the regulars like Datuk Johan, Cikgu Mat, Din, Datuk Jaafar, JJ, Sam, Lee, Stanley's loud voice, Wak Sudin, Hj Kamaruddin, Agos, Rosli, Mejor, Alam, Alias, Oad and others - too many to mention and of course, Kamariah's cooking. To you guys, you are always in my thoughts, salam and take care. I guess that's all for now.
Regards and take care.
Adnan