Part 4- return of the Tuk Tuk arrival of the near-present tense
06/02/08
My main reason for returning to chiang mai is to meet up with a mate of mine from Brisbane. I've transferred some money to his bank account so that he can withdraw it for me and end my short-term monetary stress. We met up last night at the night bazaar and forwarded ourselves to the nearest drinking establishment for what should have been a marathon session. Unfortunately it was not to be- after half a can of beer my stomach launched into the all too familiar gurlging routine and I started to feel hot rushes across my face and back. I ordered a small meal to hopefully quell the beast... We had a good waffle and catch up for all of half an hour before I had to run to the bathroom for one of the most agonising spews of my life. My stomach muscles had not come near recovering from their last all-day assault. I got Kurt to withdraw as much cash as he could (not as much as I had hoped!) and I sadly said goodbye. It was so fucking dissappointing to have this fuck up on me- the only real familiar contact scheduled for my whole trip and I end up escaping to my lonely hotel room to vomit my guts up all night. I have absolutely no idea what is causing this shit but I have resolved not to take any stomach-quelling meds this time and just let it run it's course. I managed to get a fair bit of fluid down this afternoon and eat some bannanas so I'm not overly concerned for my life, but I still feel like absolute shit, physically and emotionally.
I know I am just feeling sorry for myself at the moment but I am really missing home right now. Bed-bound and alone in a hotel room is an opportunistic time for all those things i've been ignoring to rear their heads- where and when did I expect to undergo this profound personal and spiritual growth? Buhddist temples might be pretty but they are only functionally any good if you are a monk... empty hotel rooms do not make such good sanctuary. I miss my family, I miss hayley and I miss my dog I even miss my friends in spite of how little I see some of them...at least from Australia I know that I can if I try hard enough.
I managed to reason with my stomach earlier that if it would let me leave the house to get some movies it might get distracted enough to feel better for a while. The walking felt really good until I hit the main streets where car-fumes and open drain smell sent my guts into a fit- for a moment I almost turned around but I realised I needed more water and some plain food too. I even managed to get my movies but the distraction was not as efficient as I thought it might be. On the bright side- green tea and lemonade seems to be neutral enough for my stomach and provides some much needed sugar. Bed is calling me now- and to finish my shitty book- tomorrow I hope I awake feeling a little less sorry for myself but I think maybe I will try and call a few people just to let them know I love them.
