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greetings all...
when i last wrote i had just bought a train ticket to head back to bangkok... leaving chiang mai the train was delayed due to a broken engine, it was very confusing, noticed most other travellers were getting kinda uptight by the not knowing and not understanding what was happening, many comments of 'noone speaks english'... we ended up leavig two hours late but arriveed in bangkok at same time with everyone safe and sound,... how much energy wasted with worry, how much uneccessary suffering these people caused themselves...
when i arrived back in bangkok i was touted by tuk-tuk driver... i asked how much and says 170B, i exclaim in thai 'too expensive, i give you 60B (which was the cost of a metered taxi... this gets a good chuckle from another driver standing there, i don't think they are used to too many tourists either knowing what the norms are, and definately not speaking thai... well, he guffaws and walks away, then i take a local bus for 8B, gotta love life...
back at guesthouse and the whole reception area is gone, torn down for renovations... they are also redoing a large private family
brother kyaw...
so genuinely happy to be using the internet, for free... truly a good person... he insisted on buying me breakfast the next day at his restaurant... thank-you brother... room, this family must be making a pretty penny... i stayed there anyways as the construction did not effect me, there is another guesthouse attached that took care of the reception for them...
while in bangkok i found a great vegetarian restaurant between my guesthouse and khaosan rd... large portions and reasonable prices, excellent food... i haven't eaten meat since my birthday... i will if i want to but i feel much better about everything when i am not...
i decided to head south to await my vipassana course in malaysia... felt a pull to go back to kho pha-ngan so i did... it's been rainy here but nice, they say it's just a minor monsoon passing through... days are mostly clear, still hot, then a couple of hours of rain inthe afternoon/evening... i've just been taking it easy, thinking about getting a tattoo, old school, with bamboo instead of a gun... we'll see... the young burmese man, kyaw, that i told you about last time i was here had a day of rest yesterday (they can take 2 days off per month without pay) so we met up in the afternoon to hang out... i offered to
beautiful...
this has to be one of the most intriguing and beautiful flowers i have encountered in this incredible existance we call life... take him to the coffe shop i go to so he could use the internet on my computer... when he goes to an internet cafe, which is almost never, it costs him a whole days salary for one hour on-line... he used my computer for two hours and was so happy, so happy... you could see his heart in his smile... i also bought him a gelato which he had never had before... we took some photos of him that he emailed back to his family in burma and one of a letter he wrote to his girlfriend since there is no burmese font on any of the computers here and his girlfriend does not speak english... was a very rewarding experience...
called it an early night after that, was in bed by 2100hrs... woke up in the morning and noticed the screen in my window was open, i'm sure i closed it before i went to sleep to keep the mossies out... looked at my door and it was unlocked, also sure i locked it the night before... i look areound and my daypack is missing, camera and computer still there, but no pack... in my pack is
waiter... oh waiter...
yes, he is working... my passport, travellers cheques, us cash, and all my thai money... i open the door and there it is, on the ground, obviously been routed through... my heart sinks... so i take look through it, can feel my heart beating in my ears... let me stop here and just tell you what i have deduced afterwards...
while i am sleeping, someone pulls a bench up under my window, opens the screen and crawls into my room... this is not 2m from where i am sleeping... they grab my bag, open the door and leave with the bag... they then stop about 3m from my door and go through the bag... unbelievably the have not taken my passport, travellers checks, bank card or camera though they have had their hands on all of them... but all my u.s. and thai money is gone and i had just gone to the bank machine the night before... a little over $500u.s. stolen... i feel so lucky... so easily they could have taken everything and who knows what may have happened if i had awoke and confronted them...
so i left the island and headed to hat yai in southern thailand on
the best little shop in bangkok...
right accross the street from my guesthouse... best coffee, sandwhiches, shakes and prices, they also do laundry... and the hearts and smiles of these two are priceless... the woman has travelled the world and has her photo albums out for all to enjoy, i especially like the photo of her at niagra falls ;-) my way to malaysia... the travel down here feels like a big scam as eveything is tour companies and private buses, it's hard to just go to the bus station and buy a ticket... anyways, once i arrived in hat yai i decided to stay in this large hotel, swimming pool, room service, television, the works... they showed me the room rates, 900B/night which is about $30cdn... i decided that for three days it was worth it, especially for my peace of mind after my island experience...
i pretty much spent the last three days sittin' in my room watching movies... and right across the street is a large shopping centre that has a kfc, mcdonalds, swansens, and a pizza hut... yes, i broke down and had pizza, twice... my whole time in hat yai has felt like a day at the spa, just pampering myself... well, the tattoo gun did not feel like pampering but getting another tattoo felt like doing something for me which, this may sound odd, i don't feel that i do very often (yes, i decided against the bamboo)... sorry, you'll have to wait to see the tattoo... so when i go to check
sun fish...
well, fish drying in the sun anyways... out of the hotel i get a big suprise about the price, other than the fact that there is a 10% surcharge and 7% government tax on everything... they only charged me 500B/night, i don't know why, i didn't ask... i kept saying i thought i owed more money and she just kept saying 'sign here please', ok...
so now it is time for me to head to malaysia... i decided to both sit and serve a course there so i begin on the 3rd of june and will finish on the 28th... i will not have any access to technology while i am there so this will be the last post for a while... i wish you all peace and love...
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Chris
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Happy Birthday!
I always love to hear what is happen to my travellin Brother! Happy b-day y'olde fart. We are all geminiz so you are always travellin with a buddy...lin mind and the rest of us in heart. So what was that plant, the cool pink-flowery type. Was is a carnivore? Keep having fun! Chris