Bye Bye Bangkok

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The past few days in Bangkok have been relatively easy going. I spent one night with June, Kreston, and a couple of Krestons friends. We went out and shared some Thai dishes for dinner before going to the Bangkok night market to meet up with Deerli. I was planning on going the next day so I wanted to see her again before I left. We hung out in the beer gardens at the Night Market and watched several live performances. They were covering a lot of top 40's hits, including "My Humps" and "Don't Cha". Quite amusing and entertaining actually. Towards the end they had a guy singing some Thai songs, and whenever he sung well, or whenever one of the dancers danced well, a Thai guy would get up from the crowd and give him a beer. Apparently this is a common custom for when a guy on stage is performing well. So, as the night market closed we decided we'd go back to Khao San and see how things were shaping up there. We got there and hung out for a bit outside one of the clubs, I was pretty tired, so after saying some goodbyes I made my way back to my room. Unfortunately, all the previous nights of staying up late meant I struggled to fall asleep and ended up not waking up very early the next day at all. This lead to me deciding against going to Athuyatta that day. I still hold the theory that stuff happens for a reason. I called my airlines that day and made some adjustments for my trip. With this a new direction for my travels was created, and I've decided to go to Laos. So, that evening I went to one of the travel agencies and booked my ticket. Last evening was spent with my friend Lance, who I has been the most frequent and random encountered person by me while travelling. Once in Ko Phangan, once in Bangkok, once in Vietnam, again in Bangkok...and maybe once or twice in between. Anyway, he did some shopping and I checked out some prices. He told me a story about he almost got pulled into the classic gambling scam. A good story. Then, after parting ways (He was heading back to Canada) and discussing/reminiscing about what it is like to arrive and what it is like to leave, I headed back to my room. There I found a fresh-off the plane sweet who I chatted with for a while, answering questions and giving a few pointers. It's funny how these green guys are so obvious, I wonder if my jade is just as visible. Later I talked to a couple from Enland, and then spent the rest of the evening walking around Khao San bs'ing with random people. Oh, I also got a massage. It was actually a fairly good massage at a school I've been to before. Mildy unconfortable considering the 40 year old lady who was massaging me kept calling me cute in Thai, but mildy amusing as well because apparently my thai is good enough to keep up with some casual, simple, conversations. I played stupid and didn't speak or respond to any Thai, I just wasn't in the mood, but then, after hearing this, I had to some saying. The American guy beside me kept telling this tiny Thai girl to be really rough with his back. He was truely being a bit of an ass. Then he tells her that he wants his time to be extended by a half hour, but he doesn't realize that they're finished in 10 minutes. Anyway, this girl turns to the lady who's massing me and says in Thai "Gin Kee", which essentially means "Eat Shit". Haha, so, I turn to her and say "Im Layow", which means, "I'm full already." Hahah. I hope you find it funny too. Cause they didn't. The lady's face went white at the thought of another patron knowing she was insulting a customer. They got over it, and I bought the two ladies a couple of beers and we relaxed outside after they closed up shop.

Today I woke up at about 10:30 and packed up all my gear for the road. I checked out by 12 and had lunch with the Swedish guy I met the night before. After being in Bangkok for a while, sometimes you wonder what there is left to do (there's a lot, but I just wanted to use half an afternoon). I decided to head over to the nearby Tammasat University to see what it was all about. It's small, but right on the lake and fairly accessable. I ate lunch, and, I'll tell you something gross, I'm sorry Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, whoever else might actually care, but I did it anyway. I left my food for a minute, and when i got back, there was a pigeon hovering over it. The Thai guy who was sitting beside me didn't really have an answer to my question of "Did the Pigeon eat my food?" so...I ate it anyway. I hope he didn't have the flu.

While eating I noticed a group of foreingers sitting at one table. Assuming they were students I walked over and asked them about their time at the school. They were indeed students and they had answers to some of my questions. I sat and chatted for a few hours and we swapped a few stories and ideas before I decided to make my way back to Khao San so I could do this blog update and get some food before my bus leaves for Laos.

Bus leaves in about 2 hours. I think I'll grab a greek salad from the Israili place I'm sitting at, and then go grab my bag and go to the guesthouse where I get picked up at for my trip. I'll post another blog when I get a moment or two free in Laos. Until then....

Take Care

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