Memo 5, ketchup, oddz an enzz

Hello. I'm not going to bother with photos. Thai computers are slow. I would have to download Picasa. That takes about 10 minutes. Then I would have to download my photos. That takes more time BKK internet is twice the price as in other towns. I am sending photos on the 'small size' setting. Are they OK?
I made my getaway and got to Surin. The city is a provincial capital but doesn't warrant a map in the Lonely Planet. I wandered the town looking for a hotel, keeping in mind where the bus station was in case the town was booked. I found the New Hotel, and it was next to the train station. The train I would want was 7:50 A.M. Perfect! The hotel was also next to a round about which would become an elephant staging area for the weekend. There was a stand for folks to climb and mount elephants for rides around the neighborhhod. For evening rides some of the mahouts attached blinky red lights to the elephants tails so the wouldn't be rear ended by cars. There was a restaraunt next to the hotel and several foodstands with seating. It was a great place to hangout. Very few Thai in the countryside speak English. Sometimes the menus and street signs are in Thai language only.
My room was dreary but clean. There was one big cockroach in residence. With a sheet of paper I pushed it into the hallway. The first evening I watched War of the Worlds dubbed into Thai. In the rooms, the top two feet of the walls to the hallway were open. I could hear all my neighbors noises. One couple was making love at 5 A.M. They 'finished' at the same time. One guest played his TV WAY too loudly. Another guest was a farting machine.
One of the fun bits of the big show was a staged tug of war. A 6000 lb bull with massive tusks was harnessed to a long rope. Forty young men grabbed onto the rope. The bull hardly worked at pulling away. The announcer called for volunteers from the audience. About 25 more people came onto the field and grabbed onto the rope. The bull nearly raised onto his back feet. He had to pull hard, but it only took about 10 seconds and the whole bunch were flat on their faces in the grass.
I hoped to train to BKK and get a connecting sleeper train south. The train was full so I stayed one night at the Presidents Inn. They know me so well, I simply call and say American Douglas is coming. I will take tonights sleeper train to Trang. Its far south near the troubled provinces. There are many beaches and islands near Trang. It will be a new area for me to explore.
The PAD, Peoples Alliance for Democracy is staging another march to try to topple the government. It might be a good time to get out of town. More for Trang later.
Doahlah