Tying Up Loose Ends in Bangkok

Sunday, July 4, 2010--Bangkok

Today is my 60th day of travel since leaving Texas. That also makes it the mid-point for my travels for this year, since I now have a ticket to return home on Sept. 2 which is another 60 days from today.

I met a Danish family at breakfast this morning. He is Danish, his wife is Filipino, and they have a son. They live in Arhus where he is a brick mason. I approached them to see if they wanted the novel I finished yesterday, and they did. We ended up talking for a long time. They are hear for a typical European vacation--doing nothing but sitting by the river here and then sitting on a beach at Langkawi Island (Malaysia) when they leave here.

I finally managed to buy my air ticket around noon. I had been trying for 3 days. I wanted to use a U.S. credit card which I had not brought with me. Normally, I do not use it when traveling, because there is a high (2%) fee added to any international transaction. But buying a ticket from United would be processed as a domestic transaction, and I would have gotten a 3% rebate as a travel expense with this card. For some reason, it never went right. I had to change to another card that will only give me a 1% rebate. Anyway, I will be returning to Texas on Sept. 2 on United Airlines. Unfortunately, that means that I will have to face the poor food served by United. But I do have confirmed seating in United Plus which gives me more leg room. Until I leave, I have decided just to travel here in Thailand and in Laos. It will be at a slow, leisurely pace. I'll do lots of reading. And I won't see lots of tourist sights. Instead, I will be staying in small places that are seldom visited by tourists to a great extent.

Spent about 3 1/2 hours in the afternoon at the Silom Sauna, a local sauna I have visited everytime I have been here for the past few years. It is a neighborhood place that caters to those who live nearby. It is a walk of about an hour from my hotel, but I like the fact that it is must a normal place for normal people.

Monday, July 5, 2010--Bangkok

There was a big crowd at the hotel today. Earlier, I had worried about how it was doing. There was a fire here about 4 years ago, and it has never recovered the popularity it had before that. The manager told me, however, that they have enough conventions scheduled to keep going. Due to the crowds, the breakfast buffet was bigger and nicer--similar to what they used to serve when they had it in the big ballroom before the fire.

The manager is always so nice to me. She actually remembered me from last year and remembered that I like French Toast on their breakfast buffet. This trip, she has been giving me a free newspaper each morning. Normally, they have them at the counter for sale rather than giving them away free.

I walked to the train station as soon as I finished breakfast. It is only 15 minutes from my hotel, and I wanted to get a ticket for the train I will take tomorrow when I start my exploration of eastern/northeastern Thailand. From there, I walked to the river and caught a boat to the last stop. Then I took a bus to get me to the Center for the Blind where they teach them to give massage. I got there late due to the side trip to buy the train ticket. But there was still one masseur available. I had a nice, long massage.

It began raining just before my massage ended. The newspapers have been full of stories telling that the monsoons have been delayed this year. Well, the rain today was of a monsoon quality, so they may have arrived now. I had my newspaper with me, so I just stayed under cover and read it for about an hour before the rains stopped. Then I reversed my route taking the bus, then the boat for the 1 1/2- to 2-hour trip back to my hotel.

When I leave here, I will have dinner than go to the room to pack everything for my travel day tomorrow. Hope I will enjoy the places I have chosen for my travel plan.