Bankgok, Thailand, 8th August 2008

Yes, it's pre-10am, unheard of for me, and I'm here, online, buzzing to tell you what's going on. I MISS INDIA! India and Nepal is where the Travellers are. This place is full of Holidaymakers. An entirely different breed. And there are a lot of people here who don't want to be here. You can see it in their faces and their body language. There are a lot of people here who don't like who they are and don't want to be in their bodies. All trying to Be Someone Else or Be Somewhere Else. It's a sad reality. And interesting to observe. The most self-assured people I've met were in the Hospital - don't panic, Mom, I'm fine! Here's what happened...

My last night in Kolkata, another place that I loved, was not what I had planned. My intention was to get an early night, get some sleep and get packed for our 8am departure to the airport the following morning. This is not what happened. What actually happened was that I got to bed around 5:30am for an hour before getting up to stuff my things into my rucksack and slither into the waiting taxi at 8:15. We made it to the airport just after 9am, checked in our bags, and I headed for a samoosa breakfast washed down with a lovely chai, hot and sweet. Lovely!

One thing to tell you about Kolkata, while I think of it, is that the traffic direction on a lot of roads changes at about 2pm every day. Best to avoid trying to catch a taxi at this time. Anyway, we had a good flight on Jet Airways and I watched a fantastic film which was, frustratingly, longer than the flight so I haven't seen the ending, called 'Jab We Met'. It was so enchanting and very funny that it warmed my heart and had me laughing out loud in several places. Anyone who has the opportunity to see this film, please do. By the way, Mumbai (Bollywood) makes more films than anywhere else in the world (including Hollywood). So we arrived in Bangkok and took an indulgent taxi to our hotel 'Star Dome Inn' in Rambutti Road which backs onto the famous backpacker strip of Koh San Road. Naturally, the taxi driver didn't know where the hotel was located (this happens a lot) and drove around for a bit while we all struggled to stay awake as none of us, myself, Kat and Mo, had had much sleep the night before. Eventually, around 4pm, we all fell out of the taxi, wearily shouldered our rucksacks and after a brief and heated exchange between Mo (the fiery Irish chick) and the receptionist, made our way up to our rooms and dumped our stuff. Rob had left us a welcome note with his room number so we went upstairs to say hello and agree a plan for the evening which was to meet in reception at 8pm. I retired to my room with my newly acquired eye-mask to catch some much-needed sleep for an hour or so.

I've heard many people say that Bangkok is an overwhelming assault to the senses and as soon as they arrive they want to leave. Immediately. Obviously these people hadn't just come from India. We remarked on how peaceful and quiet the city is. It's a positively tranquil oasis compared to the heaving, honking frenzy of Indian cities. So 8pm arrived and I reluctantly roused myself and pulled on some jeans to meet everyone. We went up the road to a welcoming-looking place where I ordered a soda and a chicken pad thai, easy. Bangkok is The Place for people-watching. So after catching up with the others, who had flown in a day earlier, and my disappointing pad thai (no flavour, crap chicken), we moved down to a roadside table so that Jan, Vince and Rob could polish off their 2lt bottle of red wine. I pulled up a comfy chair and ordered another soda.

It was better than theatre watching this lot. Very entertaining. Jan is like a magnet to street-hawkers and was priding herself on her bargaining skills after paying 100 Baht (about one pound forty) for a bangle and then, later, paying 50 Baht for another bangle. The woman is Hot. I played my 'looking on serenely while elegantly sipping my water' role and watched the world (and the lady-boys) go by. Then, when we moved on for dessert, I made my excuses and left. I would've gone straight to sleep if the bed wasn't vibrating with the drums of the band next door, but enjoyed simply being here and watched my thoughts for a time before slowing them down and tuning them out. I have a room to myself, ensuite, a double bed and the softest, most luscious pillows. Wonderful!

This brings us up to yesterday. I am still intending, by the way, to finish off my story about the road-trip across India from Nepal to Mumbai. I have notes. Yesterday I SLEPT. The entire day. I simply could NOT get out of bed. Even to do yoga. Which worried me into thinking that I might have a touch of Malaria. I've been taking a Homeopathic (China Arsenicum) malaria remedy as it's a bit of a hobby of mine, homeopathy, and I'm still building trust in the system. And you know, better to be safe than sorry. So I dragged myself downstairs in my pyjamas (I LOVE pyjamas) and found Jane (tour leader), who said I didn't look well, and explained that I wanted to go the hospital for a blood test, just in case. What followed was a comedy of Eastern idiosyncrasies involving a tuk-tuk driver, both helpless and helpful passers-by and a foolproof navigation system-in-action of 7-11 staff around the city. Some hours later we found ourselves (well actually we had more to do with it than simply finding ourselves there), at the promising looking hospital whereupon we were immediately ushered through to the nurses' station and questioned on symptoms. It was at this point that I started to doubt my tropical diseasedness but still couldn't explain the extended sleeping and, well, we were there now so I went with the flow.

Clearly there isn't enough hospitalised illness in Bangkok on a Thursday night as I had no fewer than 5 female nurses and a male nurse attend to me. One took my temperature, one took some blood, one took my blood pressure and the other two took it in turns to tell me the results. They were SO sweet! And really interested in where I was from (South Africa), when we'd arrived, where we'd come from and where we were going. No fever, by the way, and blood pressure normal. Wait half an hour (!) for the results, so we did. No malaria. But an interesting adventure costing 1 pound forty in tuk-tuk fare and just over 3 pounds for the investigation. And we still got back to the hotel in time for a night out. Result! Mum, I still haven't phoned Anong, due to the events, but will do today, I promise!

The others had gone to a Thai boxing match (which I'm kinda glad I missed) and Oskar had said he'd be up for some drinks. I, by this time, had concluded that my narcolepsy was due to a shortage of food and a bit of mild dehydration. I weighed myself at the hospital to discover that, for the first time in, well, a long time, I'm under 60kgs. Time for Food! So we collected Oskar and headed round to Koh San Road for the aforementioned assault on the senses and some refreshment. Both of which was consumed in happy quantities. Towards the end of the night, which was pretty early by my usual standards, Jane and Oskar got chatting to a lovely couple and started talking about the ping-pong show. The other couple decided to find one and go and Oskar decided to join them. I had, believe it or not, had enough excitement for one day (almost) and decided to leave the ping-pong delights for another night (probably tonight) so Jane and I made our way back towards the Star Dome Inn, stopping next door for a last drink.

Next door consists of a nightclub inside, where we didn't venture, entered via a courtyard containing - moth to a flame - a Swimming Pool. Well. Need I say more. One whispered word to Jane about my delight at seeing the pool and does she fancy a swim before I find myself elbowed gently into the pool. She really is a cheeky minx. So I jump and tumble about for a bit in the pool, much to the consternation of the drinkers and the hotel management (well, what the hell do they expect, putting an inviting bloody pool in their bar?!) before hoisting myself, dripping, off to my conveniently-next-door hotel.

So, today, I have made a pact with my body telling it that I'm very grateful for its endurance and response to unexpected demands for playful energy, and that I WILL reward it with tasty, wholesome food and the required amount of sleep, just as soon as we get to the riverside resort. It's hanging in. Time for breakfast so bye for now.