6 Week Gap Year

3rd December (Sunday)
Feel a little dehydrated when woken at 6.30 by banging doors and only having had 3hrs sleep. Have bottle of water and reawaken at 9. Breakfast seems to work some magic and though I feel full, I now feel ready for the day. Check emails and try to upload some photos, but Snapfish is so slow could have delivered them personally and it would have been quicker so gave that up. The internet is supposed to have transformed our lives for the better. I ‘m beginning to think it needs to be classified right up there with automated telephone answering systems or overseas call centres. Think about that, if you’re in India and you phone a company in UK and they have an overseas call centre in India answering, shouldn’t that be a local call!
Go back to MBK shopping centre but it is even more crowded than yesterday so give it up as a bad job. I hate these crowdy scenes. It’s awful coz you can’t get to where you want to go because of the press of humanity which sort of has a life of it’s own and just sweeps you along and but sometimes that makes you do or see something perhaps you wouldn’t have normally. So in keeping with the tenet of this trip I do what I normally wouldn’t and go with the sweaty flow of bodies (that’s no joke either) Eventually got to the bowling centre SF bowling. It’s almost deserted. 30 lanes and done in style of Bed, everything’s white with orange or green or blue atmosphere lights about the place. DJ playing good music and very loudly. Got told off for trying to take photos, but still managed a couple! Decided not to bowl and find somewhere else to go bowling. Return to Chit Lom station and walk about to find the shopping centres. These are huge cathedrals of shopping commerce dedicated to the taking of your money as quickly and as painlessly as possible. They are also impressive in their design and the way escalators and stairs and lifts are designed. You are not able to travel directly up or down, you are always left with having to make a long walk to the next elevator or stairs so that you walk past more shops and temptation to spend. But I’m a bloke and we are immune to that sort of psychological shopping warfare.
Go to Dinner at a restaurant called Rosabieng, whose marketing hook is the fact that the bar is a converted Thai railway truck. Rosabieng is just up the Soi 11 from the hotel and I have a very good meal. Fried rice with chicken, pan roasted duck red curry ( no you’re right I don’t learn), Padd-ped-ped-yaang. and minced shrimp, pork and sweet corn in pastry shells. (Kra-thong-tong) The restaurant is in a good location and although it fronts on to the noisy Soi 11 it is in nice gardens with trees, palms and a very large pond with carp. There is a jazz band playing and they are every bit as good as the guys from last night at Zanzibar. Actually they’re better, because their guitarist can play and looks like he improvs too. Whilst sitting enjoying my dinner a couple behind me were having a very strange discussion. Trying not to listen, (yeah right) I could overhear that this was the first time they had met in person after corresponding and phoning. But it didn’t take the Thai girl long to spin the conversation round to the fact her brothers business was in trouble and he needed an injection of cash to keep it afloat. Couldn’t hear much after that because the band struck up and will always wonder whether he stumped for the brother and how much more she got out of him. Having finished my dinner and jug of beer (2 pints) I reckon I should go back to the hotel collect the laptop and come back to Rosabieng and write some blog with the musical background. Problem was having returned and ordered another jug of beer they told me they were shutting in 30 minutes! But it’s only 11pm. Walked up to Zanzibar but they were very quiet so returned to hotel to write a little more. As usual on the way back got asked if I wanted a taxi etc. and 4 girls greeted me with “Sawadee kah, You wan’ me tonight?” I don’t fink so! Went back to reception lobby and logged on and noticed that as time went on a number of girls came through the lobby, handed something to the security guy who wrote stuff down on a log book and then let her go to the lifts. I went and asked what was happening because obviously the girls were “working”. He told me the girls come in and hand over their ID cards and tell him which room they are visiting. He notes the details and keeps the card. When the girl returns, before he hands back her ID card he calls the room to ensure the guest is ok and nothing is missing from the room. Only when everything is confirmed as ok will the girl get her ID back. !!!!! Finish my beer and return to my room and decide to ignore packing until tomorrow. I don’t really want to go back to UK, the cold weather, wind, rain, grey skies and all the other depressing day to day bad manners and rudeness we put up with. Here in Thailand, Bali, Singapore and Australia, people have so much more respect for every one else. There isn’t the Me Me Me attitude that is so prevalent back home. People are genuinely interested in helping, or talking to you and crime is very low in all the countries I visited. And what more joyous event could you wish for every day than to wake up, throw back the curtains and gaze upon another warm, sunny, blue sky day.