Bangkok in My Nose

After eighteen hours in the air and four hours of layover, not to mention a two hour bus ride that ended prematurely when the driver said traffic was too bad to continue, and asked us to take the train the rest of the way, I made it to my hostel in Bangkok. I'm staying at Suk 11 off of Sukhumvit, which is sort of the international business part of town. There's a large Arabic-speaking community, an Indian community, and of course the Euro-American ex-pat community, consisting mostly of middle-aged men (I rarely see female ex-pats. Why is that?). Suk 11 is one of the more adorable hostels I've ever stayed in. The owners have let a virtual jungle grow throughout the place. There are tons of plants and vines hanging everywhere, and little gardens all over the place. On the roof there are more plants, and little tables perfect for writing in my journal or reading the books I brought to keep my mind working academically. The roof is also decorated with old rickshaws, some of which still have air in the tires.

I haven't really known what to do with myself since I've been here. Today I walked around and sweated. Pints of sweat, I'd say. It doesn't feel that hot, mostly just humid, but the sweat pours down my body. I don't know why Thai women don't sweat the way I do, but I feel gross and clumsy with my sweat-soaked shirt and pants. I finished a book today. I sat in parks and watched people, plants, and turtles. I saw a turtle in the queens park that had a giant catfish stuck on its back, sucking off its algae. The turtle seemed disgruntled by the presence of the fish.

I ate lunch at a small food stall. Pad Thai for 45 baht, which is just over a dollar. The dollar has lost so much value since I was here last, but food is still relatively inexpensive. When I was last in Bangkok there was one Starbucks in the Sukhumvit area, whereas now there are about eight. However, there is also an increasing number of street vendors who sell fresh coffee. Today I bought a super-sweet iced coffee from a street vendor for 18 baht, probably a tenth of the price of a Starbucks coffee.

Anyway, enough about me and my eating habits in Thailand. It's strange being in Bangkok alone for this long (only three days, but still), and I don't really know what to do keep myself awake until 10pm so that I can adjust to the time difference. Last night I promised myself I'd stay up until 9, but I crashed just after 8 and woke up at 5:30.

I don't have a way to hook up my camera to the computer yet (I'm at an internet cafe right now), but as soon as Luke and Kelly get here, which is tomorrow, hopefully I can post some pictures online. Hopefully I will be more articulate tomorrow too, and have some interesting things to relate.