Highlights:
1. 3 hour spa package (body scrub, massage, facial) for $76
2. A full sized bed in my new hotel with cable TV and swimming pool
3. Amazing fruit bought off the street (and didn't get sick)
Weather: really hot and humid (mid-90s), sunny, except for the massive downpour we just got at 10pm
I woke up a bunch of times overnight, convinced that I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Truth is, there were no mosquitoes in my room. But I did get woken up quite early by my neighbors taking a shower, and the walls are so thin it sounded like they were taking a shower in MY room! So after only 5.5 hours of sleep, I decided to get up and find something to eat.
The problem with sudden and intense heat/humidity is that you completely lose your appetite. I'm walking around, and things smell yummy, but whole fried red snapper and fish sauce doesn't register as breakfast. I know, I know, you're thinking I had sushi for breakfast in Japan, but that doesn't seem so weird because it's my heritage, and it also wasn't 90 degrees. I got some freshly squeezed orange juice (though they look more like limes and taste like clementines) and continued wandering. The city looks very different in the daytime, and all those drunk farangs are still in bed with a hangover so it's quiet and peaceful in the morning, with Thais just opening up their stands and stores. When I travel, I find that early morning is a great time to watch everyday people start their days.
The first order of business was to find a new hotel. The cold shower I had to take last night was not as bad as I thought, but not something I want to continue. And since I shower at night and go to bed with my hair still damp and the A/C on, it's a great way to get sick. It sucks to have a cold when you're in the tropics. Sweat and snot running down your face... get the picture?
I felt like I went to a million places, but I had to upgrade to a 800Baht hotel with elevator (I was a sucker for their claim of recent renovations and swimming pool) but the room was a disappointment compared to the lovely photos they had in the lobby. I have to decide if I want to stay there until I leave for HK or move again tomorrow.
Second order of business was to see if I can schedule my 3 hour spa package at the Pai Spa, the only teak building left in the Banglamphu district. It's over 140 years old, and was recently renovated with traditional architectural elements and it looked the cleanest and most luxurious in the neighborhood. An oh, it smelled soooo good, of Jasmine flowers.
I signed up for the 60 min body scrub/60 min Thai and deep tissue massage/60 min facial package. 3 hours seems like a LONG time, and it WAS a long time, especially because they give you lots of tea to drink. I had to take a bathroom break between the scrub and massage. Though it's totally not backpacker of me to take in such a luxurious activity, it's a great way to launch into your vacation and a nice break from the oppressive sun and heat. I was rather cold at the end of the session, even though the therapist turned up the thermostat for me a few times.
The scrub was supposed to revitalize and hydrate my skin, the deep tissue massage to work out the soreness from carrying such heavy bags, and the the facial to brighten and hydrate my skin. It wasn't the most luxurious services I had, but what a bargain at $76! I can't complain, and I felt great afterwards. Then I went for a really crappy mani/pedi and regretted I did it, even though it was only $7.
I went back to a really cute store that was near the crappy guest house and bought a really big bag, which I will use as bag #2 to bring to HK with me. Once I unload the gift for Tammie, I will have more room for other things. The stuff at this little store, named Liberia for reasons I will never understand, is super cute and very inexpensive. A HUGE quilted bag (water resistant interior, pockets on both sides) was only $10. Much better than the questionable quality stuff they sell on the street, and I'm more likely to use it again (despite the humongous bow on the side).
The evening ended with me going to a sidewalk cafe looking place to get dinner and people watch. I only ate fruit today, so I really need some real food. Dinner was a simple chicken with ginger stir fry and a side of rice, and it was actually quite good. There was another single diner sitting next to me, and it turned out that David is from Slovakia and is also traveling alone. He just got in, and is leaving for Vietnam tomorrow. He has 4 weeks to travel the country, and said that if time was money, I am a millionaire! I have never met someone from Slovakia before, and I told him so -- he responded that he has never met a Japanese girl from the US before. Now before you all get excited, we just chatted for a few minutes before he left to go about his night, and he made sure to mention that he is GAY so that even if we run into each other in Vietnam, there won't be a romantic reunion. Sitting on the other side of David was a couple who turned out to be from Buenos Aires. I figured they were Spanish speakers because their Lonely Planet said "Thailandia" and they were excited to hear that I was in BA just 7 months ago. They laughed when I spoke in Spanish (hopefully because it was a surprise to hear Spanish, not because of my disasterous butchering of their language) and told them that I got stuck on Fernet and Coke from my 9 days there.
Tomorrow:
1. See if I can get into a cooking class!
2. Book my flight to Hong Kong.
3. Get in touch with Sam/Noppadol, Tiffer's friend who went to Kellstadt in Chicago. I bought a gift for his children, so I need his address to mail it. I can't meet up with them, because they will offer to take me out for a meal and they will pay.
4. Get to MBK shopping center to buy a cheap mobile phone. I can switch SIM cards and use it in all the countries I'm visiting.
