i took a big sigh but then said ouch!
What a difference a day makes. Saturday in Bangkok is like a whole ‘nother place. Those of you who know me will be completely suprised that I was up before the sun at 5:40 am, practiced yoga, ate breakfast, read the Bangkok Post, and was on the skytrain by 8 am. At that hour on a weekend morning there was hardly a car in sight which meant crossing the street was not an epic. phew. Since I’ve decided to leave for Nepal on Monday my Bangkok time all of the sudden felt short and I was motivated to cram in Temple of the Dawn and Wat Pho today. I was so beaten down yesterday that I could only muster the energy to go a couple of skytrain stops down to Siam Square where there are ultra slick shopping centers. I’ve actually never seen anything like the Gourmet Market in the basement of Siam Paragon. It made Whole Foods Market look like a miniature wal-mart. The shelves were so perfect I am sure they have staff lurking at every towering aisle in case someone buys something so they can front it immediately. Thats grocery store speak for pulling the next item up to the very front of the shelf. I snapped this pic in the ladies room cause it looked like something out of Woody Allen’s sleeper.
Ok, back to Wat Pho… After almost 300 pictures today I felt the need for some self-indulgence (the fried bananas at temple of the dawn didn’t count) and headed to the far end of Wat Pho for a thai massage. I should have quit while I was ahead. There are literally 50 or so Thais, mostly young girls, in two buildings working on people side-by-side but by the luck of the draw I ended up with an older woman who at first glance I could tell was gonna hurt me. She didn’t speak any english and I am pretty sure she also didn’t speak the universal language of wincing in pain. OHMYGOD. After a few choice thai words directed at the stubborn knot in my left trapezious she decided she was gonna get that thing if it was the last think she did… with her elbow and all her weight. I am still feeling a bit wonky in my upper back after that one. Serves me right for being such a massage-glutton.
This little kitty was just too perfectly ignoring the beautiful lotus blossom in front of her at Wat Pho so I have now entered the land of calendar photos for cat lovers. sue me.
Other highlights of the day - I noticed an english woman almost to the end of a big fat book and traded her the Tipping Point for it. It doesn’t matter what book it is and to impress upon you just how much I mean that, I actually grabbed Danielle Steele from the guesthouse bookshelf but it turned out to be in German. After devouring the half blood prince in 3 days I was left with the only other english book I could find - a collection of science fiction short stories about Christmas edited by Isaac Asimov. Not as bad as it sounds.
More tomorrow - my last day in Bangkok.
