Loy Krathow

it was like a big night time parade but on the river instead of the street. There we're these boats all decorated and lit up with blasting music and people speaking in Thai (one float was in English - Thailand Tourism). There we're fireworks. Some people are still setting them off now, but the drunken singing has at least stopped or maybe just paused.

This would have been a good night for me to have some energy, patience, tolerance and a camera. That's right I still don't have one. I don't wanna be responsible for one more thing. I don't want to be that annoying lone tourist that keeps asking people to take pictures of me. Do I have to make it that apparent that I'm traveling alone?

The pants I bought from the street vendor look like a short fat man's martial arts uniform. Make that a bow-legged short fat man. Paired with the one clean tank top that I have, it looks really interesting. I bought one of the common style dresses to sleep in, but it looks like I should do it the other way around and wear that tomorrow instead.

I found a spa by accident after I'd given up looking. I almost passed right by it but managed to glance at the word wax on the sign. Since I was in such a funk, I treated myself to a whole package. I felt much better after spending that 50 bucks...that is, until discovering that I paid an additional $676 in taxes on my last check. That is going to change some of my plans.

Sooooo...Ko Samui meditation retreat is looking better and better. God knows I only feel lost in the city anyway. I'm surrounded by partygoers of every nationality and they all annoy me equally. The neighborhood with all the hot night spots is less than a half mile away. I wish it was further. I can't sleep with all the noise outside. There are no crickets and toads singing here. It sounds kinda like Oakland, complete with the blasting music from passing cars. I would go around to the live blues lounge I passed earlier but I feel so ridiculous in these Sumo wrestler board shorts. They really do look funny.

Hey I just got another mosquito bite. Damn it! And the drunken Thai singers are back at it on the street out front. Great. You know, I'm trying to just go with it, but I think the difference between Chaiya and here is just too drastic. I intentionally picked a guest house off the beaten path. You can't reach it by car - only walking or motorbike because it's down a narrow alley on both sides. I could see the river parade from the roof and hear the hundreds of people cheering while a man spoke in Thai on a PA system. That's as close to the excitement as I could stand to be. Make that 2 new mosquito bites. No 3. I don't feel like wearing DEET to bed again, and these pants are only helping the mosquitos to hide from the fan.

Ok scratch what I was just saying. I thought to myself that perhaps a more relevant question was 'what exactly was biting me?' My skin began to crawl at the thought so I jumped up and put my DEET on - lol. I checked the bed for bugs earlier. The mattress is coated with vinyl so we're safe there. My room isn't exactly well insulated so they could be coming in a number of ways. There are also tiny little flies that bite as well. They suck.

And what's up with the whitening lotion? Do Thais think dark skin is unattractive? Every lotion on the shelf is double UV protection and whitening. I felt odd buying it, but that's all they had in English. I tried getting some lotion with Thai writing on it a couple of weeks ago but it turned out to be shower gel.

I'm homesick. I'm tired of the bugs eating me. I'm tired of lugging my backpack around. I'm tired of trains, buses and taxis. I'm tired of sleeping in a different bed every week or every few days. I'm going to try to find a guest house that feels more like a home and just stay there for the rest of the trip. I'm getting out of Bangkok for sure. I need to go somewhere I can wear these crazy pants outside.
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