Another Movie Day

Another Movie Day

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006--Bangkok

Last night when I left the cyber cafe, I passed a restaurant full of students. I am very near Chulalonghorn University, the most prestigious university in Thailand, and I am sure they were all from there. I figured it must have fairly good food at cheap prices to appeal so much to so many students. I went in to order. Someone had handwritten English translations of the menu, but not for all the words. I found green curry two times on the menu. So a student near me helped me by explaining that it was with vegetables only in one place and that there was a choice of meats (chicken, pork, beef, etc.) with it at the other place. I ordered green curry with chicken. It was good. But it wasn't very spicy. I ate bites of the two strips of red chile that were in it to help, but I could have used more peppers. It came with rice, and I ordered a lemon drink that turned out to be a Slushy-type drink. It was a nice meal to end the day. I returned to the room just before the rain started for the evening and watched The Terminal on either HBO or Star Movies.

I thought I got up at 7 a.m. this morning. I watched BBC news. Then I showered as they gave the business news during the next half hour. When I was dressed and ready to go out the door, I glanced at my watch and saw that it was 9:10--an hour later than I expected! I guess it had been 7:59 instead of 7:00 when I glanced at my watch upon awakening. I had to rush more at breakfast, since they stop serving at 10:00. But I sat with an interesting woman from San Francisco (but originally from Germany near Luxumborg). She has a travel agency that specializes in Middle Eastern and African travel. She's here for eye surgery--lens implants that will cost only about 40% of what it would cost her in the U.S. She took the number for my dentist, and planned to call for an appointment while she is here.

I stopped at the art gallery at Chulalonghorn University as I walked through there on my way to the cinema. There was an exhibit having its closing day. The artist herself was there and greeted me and talked to me about her work. He is a very elegant and sophisticated woman. Later, I learned from a friend of hers that her husband is a partner in one of the most pretigious law firms here in Bangkok. Anyway, her art is in a modern Chinese style. And she frames her work in homemade paper frames. Her art isn't that expensive and is well worth what she charges, I think. There are three price ranges--12 x 18 cm for 500 baht 35 cm x 35 cm for 4000 baht, and 35 cm x 45 cm for 5000 baht (about $125 U.S.). I would have bought one, but I didn't want the hassle of handling it while I travel. She took my e-mail address so that her son can send me the website address for her work. Her name is Chuan Chuen Yongvanich, so maybe it can be found through a Google search. Maybe I will write her later to tell her the style that I liked best and see if she would be willing to send one via mail to me if I wired her the money. They were busy taking down the exhibit today, so I didn't even think of asking about that while there.

I saw another film today. This was a new one that opened today. It's a Japanese film entitled Blue. It takes place in the upper grades of a high school. The main character has realized that she is a lesbian and is finding herself attracted to a particular student while realizing that it is difficult to continue interacting with her straight friends who are starting to go out with boys. It's slow-paced, and it is a long film at almost 2 hours. But it is a good film for someone who likes to think about what they are seeing.

I went back to Paragon Center today. I decided not to see the aquarium. It costs $13, and I am not sure I would get that much pleasure from it. I prefer zoos to aquariums. But I explored the food area this time with a wide range of restaurants and fast-food stalls. There is also a huge gourmet food store (which is nicer than Central Market or Whole Foods in Texas). It always frustrates me to find that people living somewhere like Bangkok have better selections of breads, types of meats, fruits, etc., than we have in our best supermarkets at home.

There was another film I wanted to see that was in a cinema much further out of town than where I am staying. But it was a nice day, so I decided to go there. It was about a 7-mile (12 km) walk to get there only to find out that the film had closed yesterday! There was a Ken Loach film showing that I could have seen, but I had read nothing about it and decided just to return to my part of town. At least now, I know not to try to go out there for a film again in the future; there is no easy way to get there. Even if I take the subway, I must walk about 1 mile further to get to the theater, and the only place to walk is beside an expressway and under a ramp through a rather bad looking district. That part of town is for cars rather than for pedestrians. It wasn't all a loss, however. All the walking must have burned off the calories I ate at breakfast this morning, and I got to see parts of the city I had read about but never passed through. Out that way, there are still some neighborhood canals; the ones here in the inner city have been paved over as roadways.

I took the subway back to my hotel area and am back at the same cyber cafe where I was last night. When I leave, it will be time for dinner again. I saw a place with barbecued duck this morning near here, so I may go there for dinner.