And the World's Your Oyster

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  Bangkok, Thailand
Saturday, December 1, 2007

Driving into Bangkok yesterday afternoon was what I imagine it would be like to be a pinball. Picture St-Catherine's street in Montreal. You know it, a row of parked cars on either side and one row of traffic going in each direction. Order, structure, rules, predictability. Bangkok's main streets are about the same width as St-Catherine's. Now, imagine six rows of traffic. The two centre rows aren't exactly sure whether they are east or west bound, alternating between the two directions frequently and without pattern. Amongst the cars, busses, taxis are hundreds of motorcycles weaving in and out between the cars and tuk-tuks doing U-turns in the middle in the hopes of catching a tourist or two. Finally, you can hear the clear, sharp blowing of a whistle from the traffic police who stands confidently and bravely in the middle of the road, issuing hand signals that seem to mean something to my cab driver. This was my first half hour in Bangkok.

My driver pointed at the hotel. It was accross the street. I suddenly imagined myself trying to cross all this chaos with my backpack and decided instead to beg him to let me off on the other side. He said, "Sure, U-turn!" And I braced myself and looked for the non-existant seat belt. Fortunately, he continued driving until there was a passage in which to turn. I paid him...not really knowing what I was doing...I think I may have offered my first born child.

I arrived without incident in my room. Put my things down and headed to the bar for a Heineken. The desire to sit still and try to get my hands to stop shaking became my first priority. Finally, the familiar began to emerge. Then Internet, a restaurant that wasn't on the street, some English spoken by a couple walking down the hall. My senses are overloaded and I find myself unsure of how I ended up here. It's exhilarating certainly, but I really don't know what to do next and I have another 24 hours to get through before my tour starts.

Eventually, I had a curry at the restaurant in the hotel and met another lone traveller who joined me. It was early, but I headed off to my room to work out the issues that I knew awaited me there.

Water. I have never spent so much time thinking about water. The more I thought about it, the more I needed it...perhaps the beer wasn't the best part of my plan. There were two plastic water bottles in the fridge in my room and a complementary glass bottle of water. Is it tap water poured into bottles? I have to wonder. Finally, I decide to go with the free water and have a little blind faith in the hotel. But if I wash my hands with tap water and then stick them in my eye to remove my contact lenses, will I get sick? This must be as tedious to read as it was to think through.

Decisions made, it was time for bed. Having read many reviews about this hotel having bed bugs (not as unusual as you'd like to think), I remembered that they are less likely to bite when the room is lit. And so, the truth is, I slept with the light on. Now, I haven't done that since I was a very small person, and I will admit it wasn't just because of the bed bugs. Perhaps it was the lounge singer over supper who performed every love ballad from the 80's. Perhaps it was the Tom Cruise movie on my television about the end of the world. Perhaps the bed bugs. Likely, just a general inability to relax and fully believe that everything will be OK. Whatever it was, I slept with the light on.

And that brings me to this morning. Breakfast was on the house and lovely and I met a tour guide from another group who answered many of my strange questions. Now, I wait to find out why my name is not on the list for my tour group and whether or not the hotel is going to kick my ass to the curb, excuse the language, Mom.

I suppose I've made it sound worse than it is. In the end, I look around at the people in this hotel and think that Canada doesn't have a clue what multiculturalism really is. It's in Bangkok! I also know that despite my discomfort with so much newness (that should really be a word), everything will be great.

Many thanks for all the emails I woke up to this morning. You have no idea how much your familiarity comforts me when I question how I got here in the first place. Glad to hear it will be a great year for skiing. Get out there and enjoy it! As always, missing you, Al