Final thoughts from Thailand in 2548

My final day in Thailand is coming to an end. My bags are packed, albeit bursting open from the volume of snacks and sweets I am bringing home. I have said many goodbyes. I have eaten my last big meal. Before I go, here are a few things I am going to miss when I am back in England:

1. Freshly-made warm soya milk in the morning.


2. Motorcycle journeys during rush hour.


3. The variety of smells from the food stalls lining every street.


4. Green buses (but not air-con buses!).


5. Iced green tea from Seven Eleven.


6. Jack fruit, mango and rose apples.


7. Taking a shower four times per day.


8. Seeing a som tam seller on every corner and checking my stomach to see if there is room for more.


9. Saying, "sap bor".


10. Laying in bed and listening to the sound of geckos outside the window.

That is just a small selection. I could stay up all night recalling all of the interesting and exciting things that have occured in the last three weeks, but I think that this is enough to capture the simplicity of things that I find so appealing. Thank you and goodbye to all my friends and family in Thailand.

Feasting out the final few days

The second day of my Uttaradit trip involved an awesome som tam feast with my top Uttaradit students. I also managed to meet a couple of the farang volunteers, some of the Thai teachers and plenty of students. Later in the afternoon we went to the best Pad Thai restaurant in Uttaradit. This continued my feeling that Uttaradit is the best place to eat in Thailand. I'm not sure why it is so good, maybe it is cause I am nearing the end of my trip and I am savouring every mouthful of food before I leave.

I eventually returned to Bangkok late on Friday night, leaving me a few days to meet a few people. Yesterday I went to a vegetarian restaurant which was really good — it is called Koko and is near Siam Centre Point for those that are interested. I had never noticed it before because the sign is written in Thai, but it is definitely worth checking out.

As I finished doing a bit of shopping (actually quite a lot of shopping for a British guy), I exited the large shopping centre and found that the whole street had stopped. I was a bit confused as to what was going on. I was up high on an overpass, and I could see that the road had been cleared and all the traffic stopped in all other directions. The crowds were not moving either, no one was allowed near the road or over it. I looked down the road and it was like this for as far as I could see in both directions. My friend wasn't reacting to this at all. She just calmly told me that it was the Crown Princess going somewhere. Sure enough, a few minutes later there were a string of Mercedes streaming past, one of which was carrying the Crown Princess. I was trying to imagine the logistics of this everytime the royal family wanted to go anywhere. I guess it is not that easy for them to just pop down to Seven Eleven to buy an iced tea! I thought it was quite a special moment witnessing this event. It shows the care and attention that everyone has for the royal family, and the diligence of those planning such events.

Another special thing that happened yesterday was that it rained — just for about 10 minutes. It also rained this morning for a little longer and it actually felt refreshingly cool walking around this morning — until about 10am by which time it was pretty hot again. Today I visited the Isaan girls and had dinner at a great Isaan restaurant at Lad Kra Bang. I am trying to eat som tam everyday at the moment — it is so good. Returning to the city I then had Japanese food for dinner. Tomorrow is the last full day I have so I am going to eat like crazy! I have bought so many sweets and snacks to bring back to England, I am going to have to sort out my case soon and maybe throw out my gay t-shirts to make some room.

Big breakfasts in Uttaradit

After arriving back in Bangkok in the little hours, I got a few hours sleep before catching up with some friends and catching up on eating. Just wandering around Bangkok I wanted to stop at every other food stall to buy something. By the end of the day my stomach was jam packed, but I still managed dinner with the family before getting a lift to the bus station and catching a bus to Uttaradit. As you might have gathered by now, I have had some rather bizarre experiences on buses. This one, however, was the most relaxing and enjoyable — the seats were super comfortable, the air-con was not too fierce and I slept the whole way (except for the usual 2am dinner/breakfast). Arriving in the early morning, Phung's parents picked us up and took me home for a little more sleep and a shower. After we went to the local market to buy some things for breakfast — it is great wandering around markets, one of my favourite activities, it is enough to make even the fullest stomach hungry again. Returning home and Mum had also prepared plenty of food. Breakfast turned out to be the biggest morning feast of this holiday (and maybe this life). It included: sticky rice, mango salad, yam kanoon, pumpkin curry, nam prik, steamed vegetables, boiled eggs, mango, jack-fruit, rose apples, oranges, papaya, kanom tien, and a whole load of other sweet things whose name I cannot remember! After this I needed another sleep.

I woke up to the sound of coconuts being prepared — I had slept for an hour and it was already time to eat again. I could definitely spend a long time here! After eating a few fresh coconuts we headed into town to see a few of the Uttaradit sights, and then it was lunchtime. I was starting to think that maybe heaven existed! But hang on, it gets better. We visited a couple of temples in the afternoon, and then we had a bit of time free. Phung suggested jokingly that we go have a massage. I had always been a bit cautious of getting a massage in Thailand and had never found the courage to do it before, but I knew this time I would be safe. So I went and got my first ever massage in Thailand. It was really good, although it was physically quite exhausting. Phung found it highly amusing to watch me in some of the rather odd positions as the massage woman stretched and twisted my body. I can highly recommend it though.

Afterwards it was time to go home, shower, and of course, eat again. With less than a week left in Thailand, I was making the most of all this great food. Surely I will starve in England next week?

Amazing Thailand: Koh Tao

After spending most of the day travelling, Phung, her friends and myself boarded the bus at 9pm destined for Chumphon. We arrived there at 5am and had to wait 2 hours for the highspeed catamaran to take us to Koh Tao. We boarded the boat as it was starting to get light, and as we departed it was perfect timing to watch the sun rise over the mountains. A couple of hours later we arrived on Koh Tao (literally translated as Turtle Island because it is shaped like a turtle) — many say that this is the most beautiful island in Thailand and it is definitely the most impressive place I have ever been. One of Phung's friends, Pe, was our leader and he had already booked us a bungalow at New Heaven. It is located on the edge of a bay in the south of the island. The accomodation was perfect: halfway up a hill overlooking the bay and clear blue sea. A short walk down some steps and we were on our own private beach, with its own palapa built out from the rocks. A perfect spot for meditation… or sleeping!

The majority of the day I spent swimming, catching up on sleep, and exploring the local area. Its not easy walking around in the blistering heat as the roads are all steep inclines. I noticed that I was no longer special as a farang on this island, and actually the Thais were the special ones — Phung and friends were getting plenty of attention. Thais don't usually come here, and I soon realised why. The prices were still cheap for farang, but having adjusted to being an Isaan (up-country) boy the last couple of weeks, I found it all a bit western. I couldn't believe it the first time we had lunch, the menus were all in English — no Thai — and everything was at least five times more than the rest of Thailand. Farang probably wouldn't notice because it is still cheap, but I was used to much better food out in the country. My biggest shock was going to the internet shop for an hour and getting out 20 baht to pay, and the woman said 120 baht — I nearly fell over! Afterwards I realised that this was probably the first real tourist place I had been to in Thailand and maybe it is the same in all the best tourist spots — I spend all my time in the countryside so I am not familiar with this type of living at all!

In the evening we ate at the restaurant, overlooking the sea which was very beautiful as the sun went down. The we planned activities for the following day…

We woke up early, had a quick breakfast, and donned our swimming shorts. We were picked up by a truck that took us down to the pier. A boat was waiting for us to take us out for the day. The owner of the bungalows had packed us up a picnic (and even I got a special veggie dish), along with life jackets and snorkels. We set off around the island, applying heavy amounts of suncream as the sun was already intent on blackening our skin (something the Thais are not keen on). It was a waste of time though as shortly after it was time for a swim and a snorkel. At this first site there wasn't much to see, so we moved on to the next place. Here the variety of fish was amazing, and you could get really close to swams of them just by holding some pineapple in the water. Back in the boat we were all cowarding under towels, umbrellas and lifejackets to avoid the sun. The Thais find it very funny that farang like to get tanned — they consider it dirty to have black skin as it means you work out in the fields. My usual Thai gossip is about how fat the foreigners are, but here it changed to how black the foreigners are.

After stopping for lunch, our next mooring was at a very unique place — the only place in the world where there are three islands connected by sandy beaches — named Koh Nang Yuen. Two of the islands are small, rocky mountains, so myself and Pe decided to walk up to the top of the smallest. It was well worth it — probably the most spectacular view of my life so far. I have got a few photos to prove it. After this it was time to board the boat back for Koh Tao and relax after a very hot day. The evening was spent singing songs on our private beach and chilling out in the palapa.

The following day we were to depart from Koh Tao in the early afternoon and begin the heavy journey back to the big smoke. We did a bit more lounging around in the morning and spent loads of time posing for photographs. Then we had our last lunch overlooking the sea before heading off.

It is a beautiful place Koh Tao, but it doesn't feel like Thailand. The scenery is amazing, the sea and beaches are perfect, but these things are quite superficial. I realised that the reason I like Thailand is because of the people and the culture.

Summer English Camp

A crazy five days were had at the summer camp for first year students of Uttaradit Ratchaphat University. There were plenty of farang volunteers which was quite weird to start with because I hadn't spoken 'real' English for a while. The Volunthai crew were Michael (our leader), Dan (from Canada), Renee, Anna (both from Netherlands) and myself. Another group of volunteers, three British guys (Dan, Ian and Adam), joined us to ensure that the students only spoke the Queen's English rather than one of the dialects from a lesser known country in the Americas. There were a few farang and Thai teachers also making up the numbers. Then came the students, all sixty of them, of which there were less than 10 boys — and even they were ladyboys.

Each of days were quite varied. We were supposed to get up at 6am for exercise, then breakfast at 7.30am. The morning activities were usually some games or task that required a tiny bit of Engilish. Some of the students spoke quite good English, but for others it was as easy to speak Thai. It was also a shock to meet so many farang that spoke Thai, in fact I felt the odd one out not being able to speak enough Thai. I think this was why the camp was so successful — the students were there to speak English, but also the farang wanted to speak Thai, so it was a great atmosphere for everyone to learn something.

Lunchtime was at 12pm and then every afternoon we went out on a trip. We visited the beach at Cha-am (twice!), including a ride on a banana boat for some of the braver girls. Another afternoon we went to the royal palace of Kng Rama 6, and another we went to some gardens that were part of a royal project. Dinner back at the camp at 6pm, followed by activities in the main hall the rest of the evening. One night was a newspaper fashion contest. At the start of the week us volunteers had been assigned a group to work with which I had named "The Gecko" and later I established a group chant:

"Team gecko, team gecko, team gecko,

let's go eat some mosquito!"

The evening of the fashion contest, the group had to nominate a model. I thought this was going to be a difficult task because there were plenty of pretty girls, but it wasn't at all — they picked me! For the next hour I had various items of cloithing made out of newspaper attached to my body (including a grass skirt and bikini). The result was quite impressive, as were the other groups — it is amazing what you can do with newspaper. However, when it came to walking the cat-walk I think the gay training I have had recently (and all that moisturiser) really paid off. I was crowned Miss Newspaper 2005, and the group won a huge box of biscuits which was much more important.

By the end of the week I had built-up a good relationship with all my group and especially the girls from house six: Min, Pang, Tao, and Shi (you all need to practice your English!). The volunteers were great fun too. Hope to see you all again sometime.

On the final day we all went our separate ways, but a few of us went with the students to the floating market. Dan and myself got on a boat with a group of girls and caused some fun trying to sell ourselves to other boats — the word for foreigner (farang) is the same word as a type of Thai fruit. We had plenty of offers! After this I had to find my way back to Bangkok with Dan. It had been a tiring week, but it had gone so quickly and it would have been nice to spend more time with our new friends from Uttaradit.

In the heart of the northeast

The next morning I got up at 6am to find everyone else up — out in the countryside it is usual to get up before sunrise. After breakfast and showering, the daughter of the family I was staying with decided to go for a trip to visit their aunt and uncle who I had met the previous year. I thought we were going for a short trip, but as we boarded our third bus/songthaew I was starting to realise the mistake I had made. It was an especially hot day, and after lunch, I made a further mistake of agreeing to walk around during the hotest part of the day. We visited a very pretty temple and some beautiful gardens, but when we returned to the house after the walk I was soaking from sweat. Luckily the aunt told me to take a shower which was really great! You wouldn't realise how amazing a cold shower can be!

On the way home to Ban Yang Noi we took the air-con bus. I had got one of these buses on the same route yesterday and it cost me 20 baht (travelling as a lone farang). Today, the exact same journey cost 20 baht for two people. Farang got cheaper overnight!

The final day in Ubon we got up a little earlier and left in the cooler part of the day for Wat Pah Pong. It was no easy task going to this forest temple on public transport (compared to last year when I did the 60 kilos on a moped). After paying our respects to Luang Puu Chah we headed back to the city where we had lunch before taking yet another bus home.

A few hours later I had to board the bus destined for Bangkok, and once again I was quite sad to leave this village in Ubon. It is one of the most homely places for me in Thailand — it is so simple and so natural. On the overnight bus, as usual, all the Thais got the blankets out to keep warm from the air-con. Being British I usually refrain from blankets and take pleasure in telling the Thais that it is no where near as cold as England. However, on this journey the brand new bus was ice-cold, and within 15 minutes I too was shivering under a blanket! It was so cold I couldn't sleep. I eventually got to sleep in the early hours, and then shortly after we stopped for breakfast — at 2am! To think I had paid extra for what are called VIP buses — and a reminder of how cold it is in England! The bus then arrived at 4am in Bangkok and I was so pleased that the warm air still greeted me at this ungodly hour. I got some real sleep until 9am, when I got a call from Michael that we were to meet in an hour to leave for the summer camp at Hua Hin. I just had time to shower and forget my clean underwear before heading off!

Speaking Isaan

Sometimes it is best to accept that you are going to get charged higher prices as a farang. It doesn't bother me to pay extra, but I don't like being ripped off! Ubon bus station, I found out later, is well known for this amongst locals. I got off the bus at Ubon at 11am and instantly I had a swarm of taxi drivers around me trying to find out where I wanted to go. It didn't help that I wasn't quite sure myself, and the leader of the group took advantage of this. I thought it would be best to head down to the nearest market and then I could find some friendly locals to help me. I told the head guy that I wanted to go to the market and he said this was very far away and would cost a lot of money. I asked about a few other places and eventually settled for the nearest market which apparently was still 20 minutes away, and so we settled on a price of 50 baht. The head guy got me a driver and sent us on our way. I could tell something was up as the driver wasn't very friendly, and sure enough a few minutes later the driver told me we had arrived. We had not even been in the car 5 minutes. I told him this wasn't the right place, it was a tiny market down some back alley! The driver didn't have much to say and remained quiet. I told him what I thought of him and his leader! Even with my limited Thai, I managed quite well to get mad for the first time in Thai. It was a useful experience in itself. Anyway, once I got out into the market it wasn't so bad. I got some lunch and wander around buying lots of fruit. The locals found me quite interesting as they obviously don't get foreigners around here. I got a much cheaper tuk-tuk back to the bus station and jumped straight on a bus to the small village 30 kilometres out of Ubon.

When I arrived at the village, several people said hello to me; either they knew I was coming or they remembered me from last year. At the house I said hello to the Mother and headed straight for the shower. For the next few hours I practiced more Thai, mixed with a lot of Isaan words. I visited Aunt and Grandma, getting completely confused about what they were saying. When the children got home from school we went for a trip around the village and said hello to more people, and then we returned home for a lovely dinner of rice and fruit.

Travelling by bus

Unlike the UK, travelling by bus is quicker than by train, and therefore it is more expensive. You might wonder why you would go by bus when you can enjoy the views if travelling by train on a much cheaper fare. I think the reason is that travelling by bus is part of the Thai education system that encourages the cultivation of fearlessness — travelling by bus is an experience that is bound to frighten even the most care-free individuals.

The long distance air-con buses are the fastest vehicle on the road, even when over-packed with passengers. As I boarded the bus at 4.30am this morning and saw the young eager driver edging to get going, I knew I was in for a special treat. Luckily for me I was only 2 seats from the front so I would be able to watch all the action. I slept for a couple of hours until the feeling of bones being rattled by the bus traversing the pot holes became too intense to sleep. The further northeast you go, the worse the roads get. The roads become more like a series of potholes; most drivers slow down to avoid them, but the bus drivers just glide (?) straight over them. To maintain this high speed compared to the other vehicles on the road, there needs to be a lot of overtaking. Bus drivers are either very skilled at overtaking or they are just plain crazy. The bus spends as much time on the opposite side of the road as it does in its lane. The general lack of discipline in Thai driving works to the advantage of the buses which just weave in and out of the oncoming traffic. Any mistakes (or near misses) are accepted and other drivers are very good at nearly driving off the road to avoid the bus.

Another bus I travelled in we had several very near misses within the first 10 minutes of being on the bus. The driver was obviously a little concerned, so he stopped and bought some flowers that he placed around the Buddha image in his bus. He took off again at high-speed, safe in the knowledge that this simple offering will ensure a safe journey. Sure enough, we arrived in one piece.

The countryside life

The lazy farang woke up late again this morning and found that everyone had gone to work except father. Luckily I had been left some sweet sticky rice for breakfast so I could relax and plan my day. I decided to head to the school first and meet some of the teachers. The school is only a 15 minute walk from the house, and the weather was not too hot yet, so I was looking forward to a nice walk. However, most Thai people cannot understand that a farang would want to walk anyway. Walking as far as the end of the road is quite rare. Father asked me to take the bicycle, but I said I would walk. So he decided he should take me by car. As I was trying to explain that I liked walking he had already got the car ready. I feel so lazy going to the school by car! Especially as I am eating so much, I need as much exercise as possible. :)

At school I met a few of the teachers from last year and one teacher asked me to join her for lunch at her house, with her daughter. It was not even 11am and we were already preparing to eat lunch! I enjoyed some delicious vegetarian 'pad thai' that was prepared for me and then a table full of desserts! I had sticky rice — my second of the day — and mango which was really good. By the time I had finished I was really full, so we sat around talking and I learnt a little Thai from the teacher's daughter.

In the afternoon we went for a drive in the countryside to visit some temples. First one was in some caves, where just one old monk lived. He was quite a character, telling stories about someone coming to steal money from the temple last night, and how he could sense that there was someone around. We met a guy that wanted to take me on a temple tour, but I politely declined! Next stop was another temple, which was in a small village. A typical wat baan! I knew this was going to be amusing when I saw the large speakers in the sala which are obviously used for playing music late in the night (I wonder if they show movies at this temple). As we approached the sala and went to wai the monk dressed in dark red robes (?!?), I also spotted a room next door where there was a large television. I could see that inside there was nice comfortable sofas on which monks were sitting watching daytime television. Quite a different life compared to The Forest Hermitage in England!

Next stop was at one of the family's houses where they grow lots of mangos and bananas. It was really pretty and I enjoyed walking around before taking a nap. In Thailand it is quite acceptable to just take a nap at anytime, just find a chair or table to lie on and get some rest. In fact it seems to be expected that you need to take a nap. Something quite alien to us English who rarely sleep during the day. Later on we had some food (tom yam hed aroi mahk mahk) before returning home. I visited my friends at the vegetarian restaurant again, where I tried a little bit of the dish of the day. By this time I really didn't want any food but politeness got the better of me! Once again the main activity of the day was eating, and once again I promise that tomorrow I will try to eat a little less — these t-shirts are getting even tighter!

Bus journeys

Yesterday I finally made the journey to Chaiyaphum after a bit of confusion the previous day. I got down to bus station fairly early in the morning and bought a ticket for the next bus. I had a half hour to wait, so I went and sat down in front of the bay from which the bus would be leaving from. The time passed fairly quickly just people watching, but no bus arrived. I was very calm about this and not really worried. I asked someone a few minutes before it was due to leave and they said I was in the right place. So I waited a bit longer. Luckily a few minutes later someone asked me what I was waiting for, so I told them where I was going and they told me where the bus was. Not actually in its correct bay, but 20 bays away! I rushed over to the bus, and managed to get on just before it was leaving. I was just sitting down feeling a little relieved but not too flustered when I caught sight of another bus that was parked next to ours which was heading for my destination and was now leaving. I suddenly had this really worrying feeling because this bus I had just got on had no place names in English on the side, and I didn't have time to read the Thai. I tried to read the Thai in the window on my bus and it was not the destination I wanted! I was just starting to relax and get used to the fact that I didn't know what province I was going to end up in when the ticket man came around. I said to him, 'rot may pai chaiyaphum mai krub', meaning 'bus go chaiyaphum does it?'. The two words he said next were the best thing I heard all day: 'krub pom'. I was so pleased to hear those words that confirmed I was actually going to Chaiyaphum!

The bus journey itself got even more eventful as I was chatting with the passengers most of the journey. That is 5 hours of talking in Thai. I estimate I probably understood about 10 minutes of it. I was in a good mood and getting offered drinks and snacks. This woman even opened this huge bag of snacks which I am sure she bought as a gift to take home. She offered this snack, which looked like crisps, to me and asked what it was (always a good idea). I couldn't understand what she said but it definitely wasn't fried pork, so I thought it must be vegetarian. I pulled out a decent size crisp and confidently bit into it. How wrong could I have been?!? It tasted fowl, and definitely wasn't vegetarian. Being polite I finished what I had begun. Then I took a look at the packet: Fried fish. Mental note, be more careful in future!

On arriving I headed down to the market and had some fun buying up loads of fruit and sweets. Then I got a motorcycle and told him to drive, as I couldn't remember the name of any of the roads in Chaiyaphum. I directed him to the vegetarian restaurant where I went in and gave the owners some fruit. They brought me out loads of vegetarian food which I gladly ate after eating only snacks on the bus. When I finished I walked back to the house of the family were I stayed last year, and where I would be staying once more. They had also been to the market and bought up lots of food, so I sat through another meal!

To be continued… :)

Uncertainty

Life is unpredictable in Thailand. Combine this with my lack of communication skills in Thai, and everything becomes uncertain. I have this special skill of agreeing to things even if I don't understand. In taxis this isn't usually a problem, but if you are trying to organise what you are going to do for the day then it can make things quite interesting. When I am speaking Thai, I am so pleased if I can understand a little bit of what is said, that I don't worry so much about the whole conversation. Therefore, I might just pick up that I am going to Chaiyaphum tomorrow, but not the time or meeting place. You might gather this leads to quite a bit of uncertainty!

However, uncertainty is not such a bad thing. It means you have to be ready for anything, be able to change your plans at the drop of a hat, and be on your feet at all times. The Thai people are masters at this, and people in England are probably the worst! We are a stubborn nation who like to stick to our plans and not make positive changes in our lives. Things change very slowly in England (jing jing). It is not so easy to get things done. In Thailand it seems that anything is possible, not so many restrictions, uncertainty is common, and change is acceptable. Some might argue that the comfort of living is better in England, but somehow the people of Thailand come across as being more comfortable with their lives. My feeling towards this is that Thai people appear happier possibly because they are better at coping with the uncertainty of life, and are more accepting of change. If you are always alert and ready for anything then how can you be disappointed? You just deal with it.

The result of this is that I might be going to Chaiyaphum tomorrow — but anything could happen!

The beginnings of a gay wardrobe

Yesterdays taxi journeys were a significant improvement on previous days. Only a few near misses, and no very near misses! The technique seems to be to get the taxi driver talking, and their driving style improves. This is quite difficult with my limited Thai, but the trick is to pick a topic that they can talk about that you can just agree with — without having to understand what they are saying. Here are my suggestions:

1. English football — Generally all Thais know more about English football than I do, but the trick here is to mention a team (starting with a big team like Chelsea) and then the taxi driver will automatically start saying the names of some famous players in that team. It doesn't usually matter if you have never heard of that player, just agree with enthusiasm and say 'dee dee' a few times to mean that he is a good player. Now once you have exhausted one team, just move on to another. Just sit back and watch your taxi driver relax, he will get you to your destination quicker and without incident. The next trick is to switch to a lesser known team, and then when your driver doesn't know, start reeling off a list of random names of players. No doubt he will agree with you that these are great players too!


2. English taxi prices — One of the favourite questions asked by the driver is how much taxis cost in England. They are amazed at the price of things in England, and this conversation can be continued on the price of other things. Be careful on this topic as your driver might expect a big tip.


3. Temples (for advanced passengers only!) — If you manage to get on to this topic with the right driver then you can get him talking the whole journey. The conversation starter is to ask about any photos of monks in the taxi — there are always some. With the right words you can ask where the monk comes from and then you are away. Yesterday, I had a 45 minute ride across Bangkok and the driver didnt stop talking about monks the whole way. I just kept agreeing! He drove superbly!

Back to yesterdays activities, I went to the Chatuchak weekend market. For those of you that have never heard of it, I think it must be the biggest market in the world. I get lost after being there for five minutes. However, I did manage to buy a few t-shirts as I didn't bring too much with me. The only problem was that, Thais being a little smaller than Westerners, the sizes are a bit small. I bought a load of t-shirts anyway, and now I am thinking they are a bit tight. Well, they fit ok, but only the way gay guys wear them! This is much more acceptable in Thailand though, so I should be ok.

Right, I've got to fly. It is nearly time for the next meal. :)

Ant's taxi journeys: Part II

Maybe I am getting more taxis than usual, but I am sure that I am attracting the unsafe drivers. I got in a taxi this evening and within one minute of being in the car, we were millimetres away from an accident. I am beginning to think that motorcycles might be a safer form of transport — I shall report on my progress tomorrow.

This morning I woke up very late, and had to rush to get ready to go out with Grandma. We went for lunch first (a Chinese restaurant called Yee Lao) and then to Wat Ratchabophit. After meeting one of the monks, Tahn Tou, we headed out of town to the massage doctor. He was quite a character and kept speaking to me in Thai. After a few minutes he would ask if I understood. I said, "a little", which was clearly an over-exageration, and then he would continue.

On the way back to Bangkok we visited the memorial of Phanthai Norasing, a soldier famous for being executed because he crashed the King's boat. Nice temples around there — Samut Sakhon.

Back in Bangkok I went to meet Te and Bow (the countryside girl!). We walked around Wat Sutayt and then went for more food. Then we finished the evening off with a quick walk down Khao San road, which allowed me to laugh at the farang and check out the dek nao. Bow taught me some funky northern words that I will be trying out on the Thais in England to see if they are up to date!

I got a haircut

After managing a good 3 hours sleep on Wednesday, I woke up at 5.30am and packed the final things into my bag. A taxi was waiting for me at 6.15am to take me to Coventry bus station, before boarding a bus destined for Heathrow (Taxi time: 10 mins; Taxi cost: 8 pounds; this will be relevant later!). I was a bit worried I was going to arrive at the airport late as there was some snow around London, but my luck was running high and I was actually early. This left me loads of space time at the airport with which I could practice 'shopping without spending money' — a skill which should be taught at primary school. Thai airways were running on Thai time as we didn't board until take-off time.

Once I got onto the plane it started to sink in that I was off to Thailand again. I picked up a Thai paper as I boarded, which later the airhostesses took to mean I spoke fluent Thai. As usual I really wanted to sit next to someone Thai, but as usual I had to sit next to a farang. After he had explained the chemical properties of concrete for an hour I was well ready for some sleep. I managed to throw some unexciting veggie food down into my willing stomach before drifting off.

Soon after there was more food and drink flowing around, a film or two to keep us entertained, and a further explanation of how to turn soil into concrete using an acrylic compound. Sleep followed.

It was nice flying into Bangkok in the morning; the light from a busy city beginning to wake up. Once on the ground I found that my mobile worked, my cash card worked and I was able to top up with both money and phone credit. I walked up to departures, out into the street, and jumped in a taxi. Within a few minutes I remembered why Mum had told me to get travel insurance — driving in Bangkok is an experience even for the most lucid of passengers. Only 45 minutes and I arrived at my Thai family's house. It only cost 2 pounds, and I would have paid that much to talk to the driver as he was a bit of a character. One of my favourite conversations with taxi drivers is how much taxis cost in England — I think they have this idea that taxi drivers are rich people in our country.

At home I had kanom krok waiting for me — one of my favourite breakfasts. It was good to meet Natee's family again and be made so welcome once more. I took a nap and then had a wash before thinking what I was going to do today. I called up a few people and found Matt was ready to finish school for the day. So I got a taxi down to his place and we went to eat some lunch. Oh, and I also got an iced tea on the way — marvelous. We ate, drank and talked for a few hours, and then I wandered around the street for a while. I walked past a hairdressers, and I couldn't resist. Previously I had been a bit concerned about going in Thai hairdressers, as usually they usually seem to produce 'gay' haircuts. This one looked ok though, there was only one guy in there and he didn't look too gay, so I took my chance. I walked in, said hello and sat down. Out came a ladyboy smiling and gesticulating to see if I wanted a haircut or a massage. I think she/he was a bit disappointed I was after the former. Anyway, she/he got her way cause they washed my hair first. This is the first time I have had my hair washed in the hairdresser too — another dodgy sign. Anyway, I actually got quite a good haircut. A considerable difference to when I let big sis do it last month. ;)

After this I got a taxi home. It took me ages to find a taxi cause I was standing in all the wrong places, and also cause it was rush hour by this time. I was thinking of getting a motorcycle, but then I saw an accident, and remembering my lack of travel insurance, I decided to stick it out for a taxi. When I finally got one, we did one intersection and had to wait 15 minutes for traffic lights. At the next intersection the driver had lost any ounce of mindfulness he had by hitting a kerb (and kurbs are often a foot high in Bangkok) which gave him a puncture. Actually we were lucky we didn't hit any oncoming cars. I could see it all before it happened and just wanted to help him with the steering wheel, but it wasn't his day. I paid the fare on the meter and then had the task of finding another cab. It was a bit easier this time and this driver was a bit more diligent, getting me home in nearly no time.

After another sleep, the best part of the day arrived: dinner time. Gaeng som — another of my favourites — was ready and waiting along with lots of other yummy dishes. As usualy I did justice to each of the dishes, and also to my stomach. It has been a long day and now my bed is calling me. :)

Where is my passport?

I don't remember who, but someone once said, "preparation is everything" — no doubt he was a geek. Well due to the last few weeks being mayhem, I now have less than 20 hours to prepare myself and get to Heathrow airport for my flight to Thailand. This being my third trip, I guess I shouldn't be so worried — for me it is a lot less worrying than travelling to London. The good news is that I have located both my passport and my flight tickets, so I feel I am halfway there already! Just got to say a few goodbyes… To all those in this country, make the most of this cold weather and drink plenty of tea for me. All you Warwick people: enjoy the rest of term and see you when I get back or next term. All of you in Thailand: sawasdee krub and get the mango in, cause here I come!

Now, how does one find their way to Heathrow airport?