I think I got six hours of sleep last night. I feel like a new woman! I wasn't so happy when I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, but such is life sometimes. It gave me a couple extra hours to take care of my Chiang Mai travel arrangements. I found a boutique hotel just across the road from the train station there for $23 a night through a hotwire-type hotel discount service. I'm determined to step up and out of the backpacker guest houses for the rest of this trip since I'm cutting it short by a week.
I also found a boutique hotel in Bangkok for my last couple of nights before I leave and they accept paypal so I went ahead and prepaid. All I have left to do now besides enjoying myself is book my return train ticket to Bangkok and figure out the public transit system that will get me to the airport.
There's a big massage school in Chiang Mai. I plan to go there every day and sign up as a test client - and I do mean EVERY DAY. There's a cooking school too, but I don't feel like taking any classes if I'll only be there for a week. There are some hill tribe treks and this jungle tour that consists of swinging from cables hundreds of feet in the air in a harness. That sounds fun! I'll have to check it out. There are also plenty of temples there too.
I'm at my favorite perch in Bangkok - the raised bench at the metro entrance outside the train station. The homeless guy with crutches and a bandaged leg is always here. If I keep this up, we'll start talking to each other soon. Just kidding - I don't think he speaks any English. Next time I should at least pick a country that uses the same alphabet. I don't know what any of the damn signs say! As far as I know all these billboards could say "kill the americans". There are all these tiny shops everywhere but I can't tell what the hell they're selling. Perhaps there is a laundromat but I don't know how to read the sign.
It's a relatively calm day because of the king's sister's funeral. Many people are dressed in mourning. The buses are free today too. Many stores are closed, so the streets are probably as quiet as they ever get. By the way, If you're the only one exiting the bus at a certain stop, you better hurry up and get your ass off as soon as they open the door because the driver won't actually make a complete stop. I've gotten pretty good at mounting and exiting a moving bus with my backpack on.
Ok, now for my 'what is that' moment. At the Taiwan airport, I walked into a bathroom stall and instead of a toilet there was what appeared to be a urinal built unto the floor instead of the wall. These squating toilets are very common all over. The further away you get from downtown, the more likely you are to see only that kind. They also do not use toilet paper. There are small shower heads beside the toilets for you to rinse your private parts with. It is frowned upon to use your left hand for touching food because that is the butt-washing hand. I like the butt-shower idea, but I come equipped with my own TP at all times. All trains have squat toilets, which is a good balancing exercise. It's especially challenging when you stumble to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
I'm starting to like this place - just in time for me to leave. I know a few Thai sayings, Kapoon Ka or thank you is the most useful. The people seem to appreciate your willingness to at least thank them in their own language. Sawadee Ka is both hello and goodbye. The Ka is some sort of expression of respect. Leaving it off is appropriate for talking to a young person, but it will get you an evil glare from an elder. I'm speaking from experience.
Overall the biggest annoyance by far is the myriad of biting insects. I'm always well covered with DEETn and somewhere in the back of my mind I get the feeling that it probably causes cancer or something. I just have to take that chance. My legs and feet already look like I had a bad bout of chicken pox.
After getting my clothes back from the laundry woman, I confirmed for certain that I have dropped at least one dress size, maybe two. Today I'm using a hankie tied around the belt loops to keep my pants up. I'm not sure what's going to happen once I start weight training again. I'm hoping I'll get some of the definition that has eluded me for so long. I'm looking forward to stepping on the scale and getting my body fat measured. I'm curious to find out exactly what's been happening with my body. I'm also wondering how I'll feel when I start running again. That ought to be really interesting - and painful.
I won't be blogging for the next 24 hours because the train has no outlets for recharging my blackberry. That should give me a chance to read the book Alex lent me. I should probably mention that it's all beat up and warped from the times I got caught out in the rain. Sorry Alex. I should also try to do some journalling, which I've been neglecting in favor of blogging instead. Until next time...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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