The following was written 7-18 in MBK Center, Bangkok.
8:30PM
I’m in the Baskin Robbins at MBK Center – the one I first sat at all that time ago.
I came here for the theatre, deciding to pay the 250 for a VIP ticket to Pirates 2.
They aren’t kidding when they say VIP, and it cost less that a cheap ticket in the States. A huge screen, excellent sound, and the seats! Reclining La-Z-Boys with blankets. It’s awesome. The only thing the Seattle Cinerama has on this is size.
The movie itself was decent (English with Thai subs, by the way). I didn’t think it compared with the first – until the end. They set it up for an exciting sequel, and what I missed most in this one was Barbosa. Oh, and the actor who plays Chtulhu: I like the guy, but he pretty much just recreated his performance from Underworld.
There’s a poster for Spiderman 3 here. He’s silver.
I’m in a dangerous position…
Bangkok. At night. Time to kill. And a surplus of Baht that I will soon have little use for.
6:05PM
The train came in at around 3PM. From the station I caught a motorcycle to the Barn Thai Guest house. That’s the last time I do that with my backpack – I about fell off the back of the motorcycle from the weight of the pack every time he accelerated.
We drove around for a good hour trying to find the place. Nobody who the driver stopped to ask had heard of it, until we found one guy who told us it exploded. At least that’s what I gathered from the broken English and sign language.
Boom.
So I chose another, but they were full. The third choice worked out, but they stuck me with a hidden “key deposit” fee of 200 Baht after I’d checked in.
Ah, Bangkok.
They’re playing Pirates 2 across the street on a couple of plasma screens. Not a cheap cam or anything, either. How long has that been out? It must have been since I left. Explains all the “you look like a pirate” comments I’ve been getting.
I’m only about a 5 minute walk from Khao San, so I explored that a bit today. Where else can you sit on the sidewalk, getting your hair dreaded, while listening to 50 Cent blast from a bar across the street?
It’s not as bad as it’s made out to be, really, but I’m glad I avoided it before. The whole district is getting on my nerves actually. Next time I’ll go back to the Suk 11.
I might go back to Khao San tomorrow and buy a fake press ID. They’re cheap, and you never know when that could come in handy.
The guest house looks to have a bag storage service. It’s 30 Baht, instead of the free I’m used to (everything is much more expensive here in Bangkok), but it’d be nice to not have to carry my pack around all day. I figure I could pick it up and head to the airport around midnight.
My Baht was running low when I arrived today. I probably could make it through with what I had, but decided to exchange a little more. I’m not running low on dollars, but trying to hang on to what I have so I don’t have a bunch to exchange on the other end.
I can’t wait to get out of Bangkok, though I’m not looking forward to the long plane ride, either. Wish I could go back North. Chiang Mai is about as much city as I can handle.
The following was written 7-17, waiting for the bus in Phitsanulok
8:23AM
I would like, sometime, to fill in the pieces. To record the events for myself and others. So much has happened on this trip, this journal representing only a very small part.
More so, I would like to write some sort of conclusion. Here, near the end of, I look back at all the people, bus rides, and blisters, and they all meant something. After all, they happened, didn’t they?
8:01PM
I’ve managed to acquire a towel. It took a deal of sign language, but it looks like a shower is on for tonight. Of course, I’ve already forgotten the Thai word for “towel” he taught me.
7:46AM
The sky opened up, thunder roared and lightning flashed last night, just as I had reached the safety of the floating restaurant. The storm kept me pinned on the boat for a couple of hours, but eventually died down enough for me to make a run for it without getting too wet. I made for a spot a few blocks away where earlier I had seen tuk-tuks waiting. Sure enough, one was there, and he overcharged me (as usual) for a ride back to the guest house.
I’m sitting in a cafe now, with my pack. Breakfast is a banana smoothie and waffle – though waffles here are always considered more of a dessert.
One night in Chiang Rai, there was a street vendor selling waffles. Plain – no syrup, toppings of any sort – but were they ever good. One of the best, I’d say. These aren’t that great. Taste more like microwaved Ego, really.
There are two little girls here in uniform, looking like they’re waiting to go to school. They’re both watching the Disney Channel, the commercials on which are in English, but Goofy, Mickey, and even Donald are dubbed in Thai. (I didn’t think Donald spoke even English.)
5:52PM
I’ve finished Black Elk Speaks, as told through John Neihardt by Nicholas Black Elk, which I also purchased in Chiang Mai. I enjoyed the book as a history of the Lakota people and an insight into Native American spirituality, through the eyes of a Shaman and Warrior. It’s strange that a book written in 1931 can seem so new, even today.
What struck me most was Black Elk’s vivid memory of his past. He’s able to recount so many details, and has so many tales to tell. Yet after his people are slaughtered at Wounded Knee, he has nothing else to say. As if living the way of the Wasichus ended his life – all a downward spiral of no significance from there on.
The following was written 7-14, in the Dream Cafe at Sukhothai
7:06pm
I sit here, at the Dream Café. A covered porch in front of an expensive guest house in the New City.
Dimly lit, all wooden, vines growing over the front. Crescent shapes cut in the support beams with dim lights inside. Delerium playing on the stereo – appropriate music to be played in the ruined city of Thailand’s first capital, representing their golden age.
I came for the dessert – 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream 1 scoop of chocolate, bathed in chocolate syrup – but will remember the drink.
“Stamina drink,” the menu said. Traditional medicine in the form of herbs and alcohol, steeped for months. Could I resist?
The taste reminded me why I dislike alcohol. A spicy, strong rum, that somehow seemed to defy gravity and sit right in my nostrils. A shock, and a cleaner, but luckily only a shot.
Will I fly? Or only levitate? Will I regain perfect sight?
Not yet.
Mosquitoes are fighting for their share.
Multiple herbal mixture formulas steeped in alcohol for several months, used in Thai medicine for protection from sickness and ailments.
Formula 5 Rejuvination: Nourishes eye sight, nervous system, relieves pain from bad circulation, regenerative cure for the pubis.