Leaving Thailand Tomorrow

Tuesday, June 30, 2009--Bangkok (Continued)

Before going out, I did laundry in my room. I had intended to take it out, but there were only 3 shirts, one pair of shorts, and a pair of socks that needed washing. I decided I might as well do them myself.

I explored the shopping/entertainment district to see if there were any new films to see. Unfortunately, there aren't. I have already seen everything showing here among the films I would enjoy--either at home in San Antonio or when I was here two weeks ago.

I went back to the dentist at 17:00, still worrying about whether my partial plate would be okay. It was laying on the tray and looked fine. And it had been polished so that it sparkled! The dentist inserted it in my mouth and had me test it. The fit was tighter than it had been, but that may be better. The two artificial teeth which had been replaced both needed grinding down to fit my bite. The dentist worked a few minutes on each, testing often to make sure she got it right. When she was finished with that, she then cut grooves into the teeth explaining that there were necessary to ensure that I could chew the food properly. The small tooth had been shaped differently from the previous one so that the inside of it fit up against my gum without a gap. The dentist explained that I would get less food under the plate that way. What a relief to have it back and to have it fit. But the best news was the price. There was my original visit to explain the problem and have the impressions made. Then it was sent to the laboratory which removed the old teeth and inserted the new ones. And, finally, there was the visit today to refit the plate and grind the teeth to fit my bite. All of that cost a grand total of $36.87!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009--Bangkok

I've been dreaming and thinking a lot about Arne lately. I especially think of him each morning as I have the buffet breakfast here at the hotel. He would have loved it so much.

I spent quite a bit of time in my room and at the cyber cafe today doing research related to my visit to India. I read and highlighted parts of my guidebooks. I searched websites for hotels that sounded good in the guidebooks. I wrote e-mails asking about rates. It's hard to believe that I will be in India on Friday night. It seems so much sooner than when I have been there in the past.

I met a local man about my age on the sidewalk this afternoon. I knew he would be working up to trying to make money off me, but we had a good conversation going and I was happy just to enjoy it. We sat on the steps of a hotel and talked about Thai and U.S. politics, about tourism, etc. He is the second person on this trip to tell me that all of Asia (including Thailand and Malaysia) would have gone communist if the U.S. had not fought in Vietnam. Eventually, he tried to interest me in letting him take me to some export shops which make clothing and jewelry. I excused myself saying that I had no interest in such things, and he was good about not pushing me further.

I spent the afternoon at the Silom Sauna, a place I go at least once on each visit to Thailand. It is a local sauna with a small swimming pool, hot and cold dipping pools, a steam room, a dry sauna, exercise equipment, etc. It is maybe 3 km from my hotel, but it is an easy walk. All the men there are local. Upon arrival, one pays the fee ($5.10) and is given a locker with a key. After changing, one enters the sauna area and is assigned a sitting spot. The waitress brings two drinks (unsweetened iced tea and a very sweet red iced drink), a bowl of lentil soup, a bowl of gelitin cubes in a sweet syrup, and a plate of fresh fruit slices with a bowl of sugar-chili powder mixture for dipping the fruit. I enjoyed my snacks and then continued with drinking tea the rest of the time I was there. Most of the men were older. Almost all were overweight. It felt nice to have a flatter belly than almost everyone else there. Some of the men are quite interesting. One gentleman had a strange "beard" which consisted of several strands of hair about 7 inches (17.5 cm) growing from a mole on his chin! Only one person spoke to me the entire time I was there--an Indian man who said that he was born in Thailand and that he studied in the U.S. for 7 years when he was younger.

I meant to stop at a supermarket on my way home from the sauna to buy some snacks for my trip to India. Somehow, I passed it without noticing it. So I will have to return tomorrow to buy some nuts and whatever else I decide to take with me.