On Fire!

I just got to Bangkok, not feeling so social, my body is hot and tired, but I planned not to pay for a hotel room. 9 hours left to fill up the hours until my flight in the morning, and I felt so unprepared. How could I let yoga go so carelessly? I feel my gut worse than I’ve felt it in years. I walked up to the Khao San street corner to embark on my endless eve. The streets were littered with trinkets, leather bags, hat shops, tattoo parlors, and tanned people, and a hot shower and a warm bed was more like a dream than the impending reality. Inevitably, I had to release the hopes from my thoughts because a calm evening was to be an impossible scenario for me. I just had to kill time. The first two shops I passed were sex shops, one selling toys and the other selling services. Indulgence and decadence hung like smog over the sidewalks, as I peered down the way only to see people stacked up on top of one another, waiting in line to be scammed, buying nonsense souvenirs, sucking down hand grenades, scanning the streets for the infamous Thai sexcapades. Hopefully, I meet some nice tourists for good conversation and drinks. So, I just sat down on the street curb instead, watched the sun go down. I bought a fresh papaya for 80 Baht (about $0.10), and observed the vendors and tourist exchange. It took me about an hour of sitting to figure out the obvious underground transactions occurring between strikingly beautiful Thai counter girls and the European tourists. At first, it seemed like they were also buying fruit, but later you see them walk behind the alleyway…
Lights and lanterns strung across the streets with backpackers and tourists hanging off the balconies, and people were having a grand ol’ time.
$1000 Baht:::
280 two vodka drinks
100 bottle water
80 Papaya
60 bathroom usage
100 frozen yogurt
…
I met two wonderful Swedish backpackers that bought me dinner and accompanied me for the rest of the night. What amazing blessings!
Thank you, Oscar and Lars, my travel soul mates from the opposite of the world, turned my night of lonely observation into enjoyable participation!

and off to the mainland... i go..