I decided to settle my next two months worth of flying today by going to a travel agency. I found things on the internet and knew the low prices or what the common fare was. I located an agency that was open on a national holiday the day of the King’s Birthday. I spent about an hour getting clear of flight and prices, then when I was ready to pay for everything the agent told me I could not get my tickets till a few days from now. This was a problem for me because I would not be in Bangkok. So after all that work I had to walk away with nothing.
All that planning and arranging gone wasted. Why should I be surprised or even upset? This trip has not been about getting organized and planning left and right. It really has been so much more effortless than that. But it sure took more leaps of faith than anything else on my part. Faith? Faith in what? Trust? Trust in what? What do I call it? Whatever it is called, it definitely has been about gliding in a different universal current than the intellectual critical analytical one I’ve been raised to be on.
For lunch I found street food a vegetarian sushi stall. I got four pieces of sushi for 27BHT. Then I took the bus to the Royal Palace. The Palace was beautiful. I like all the colors and things that shined. I like the flower and the trees. It was petite and beautiful. I realized after feeling faint that I haven’t put any liquids into my body at all. I walked searching for the bus stop that people kept pointing me to and it was a far away bus stop because I walked for 40 minutes. I felt as if I was walking back to the hostel. I came across a fruit push cart and had two slices of melons to finally hydrate me. I think they saved the day, I was severely dehydrated.
Back at the hostel I headed straight up the roof to pick up my laundry and they dried in this humidity. I came across a guy and a girl who was drinking away. The girl was from London who was Indian but has yet to visit India. They smoked and drank. The guy who was from US handed me all his Laos money which came out to be about $15. US. He said it can’t be traded in for anything and can only be spent in Laos. I guess I will be going to Laos at some point.
I parted with the flirting friends of party for two and joined my new roommate Patricia from Lima for dinner. She is a pharmacist. A another Thai lady who was also a new roommate and was in Bangkok to do legal paperwork joined us for dinner. She went on and on about how she as a Thai person can’t stand Bangkok and how she can’t wait to get out etc… I don’t see how anyone could find 60 ways of reiterating the same point for an hour. It was 9pm and I was tired and I really didn’t have patience to politely sit and hear her whine.
One of the guys from Australia while in Cheng Mai for the weekend fell off a scooter and scrapped half of his face and body. He was swollen and looking terrible. Nothing was broken or fractured but it is going to take time for his skin and flesh to grow back. He pretty much spends the day in the room fully air conditioned to keep him from having to scratch his wounds.
I am not worried about getting to Ko Phi Phi at sun down. There is a reason to everything and some times I don’t understand most of it ahead of time. I am so happy about all the places I have been already. The things I have learned have been incredible. My body is in a space of peace and calm after so much healing from people’s kindness that I have come across. My heart is filled with gratitude. I feel very blessed and rich inside.
