Hey folks,
I'm home!!! After close to nine months of amazing experiences, I'm back in good ol' Vancouver, taking in the familiar sights and sounds and catching up with family and friends. But before I get to that, let me tell you about my experience in Bangkok...
So I finished in my last post by noting that I was getting sick. That got a lot worse unfortunately... by the end of the second day in which I explored the temples at Angkor Wat, I had a full-blown case of the flu and was lying in my hostel room bed with the chills, aches, a fever, and all the other nasty symptoms you might expect. The flu is tough enough when you're at home, and even tougher alone, but being alone and in a foreign environment made it one of the worst cases I have ever experienced. It lasted for a few days, including taking its toll on me while I made the rough eight hour bus ride into Bangkok from Siem Reap. Once I arrived in Bangkok, the bus dropped all the passengers on Koh San Road, not my first choice for a place to stay as it is known for its never-ending party atmosphere and many vendors and aggressive tuk-tuk drivers. But by the time I arrived, I was so tired I checked into the first hostel I saw and collapsed in exhaustion on the bed. It did take some time to fall asleep, however, as on Koh San Road they blast the music at full volume till 5AM and you can hear the revelry of drunk tourists till about the same time! The next day, it was merely a countdown till my airport shuttle at 9PM but I needed to fill the day somehow so I decided to head to the movie theatre to see The Hangover 2. After all, the movie is set in Bangkok so what better place to watch it? First, I had to get money out so I walked over to an exchange place and got in line. Within two minutes, a woman came up to me and tried to argue that she had been in line before me. Not in a rush, I allowed her to go in front of me despite this obvious lie she was telling me, but then she got on her cell phone and was holding up the line! So I simply pushed in front of her and handed the guy my money, taking advantage of my Israeli adopted behaviour and pushing my Canadian over-politeness to the background. With cash in hand, I hailed a tuk-tuk driver and told him where I wanted to go. He told me he could take me there for 100 Baht but with one stop on the way. I was familiar with this tourist trap and told him I wanted to go directly there. He kept persisting to make the quick stop till finally he said "Okay 100 Baht, we don't stop" and I got in. But sure enough, after 10 minutes of driving, the driver stopped in front of a suit shop and told me to go in for 10 minutes so he could get a coupon. I was quite angry now at this point, tired, still sick, and not happy to be taken advantage of by the locals. I argued with the driver and told him he had deceived me and either he took me to the theatre for 100 Baht or I was getting out and he would get nothing. He tried to change the price to 200 Baht without me going in the suit shop but I wasn't having it. When he saw I wasn't budging, he told me to get out and starting screaming obscenities at me, calling me names that I won't repeat again here. When I actually stepped out, he tried to take a swing at my face! Now I was really pissed off and so I turned around and booted his tuk-tuk in my rage, almost toppling it over in my fury. I then turned around and went to find a cab. The cab driver told me it would 200 Baht to go the theatre but I was so frustrated and angry at this point, I just told him to take me back to Koh San Road, paying 100 Baht for essentially a waste of a trip. When I got back, I was hungry and bought some Pad Thai, at least looking forward to some good food. But halfway through eating it, I realized that most of the chicken was still raw! This was the last straw for me, and my assurance that I hate Bangkok and really have no interest in ever spending time there again. I know part of that stems from not feeling well and being ready to head home, but my experiences in a simple 24 hour period further confirm that the big tourist cities are my least favourite in South East Asia and I prefer the smaller towns where I can experience culture and get some peace and quiet...
It was a brutal flight home, made worse by the fact that my leg was killing me from a scrape that had become infected and was spreading. I tried to sleep but had no luck and simply had to pass the time reading and getting lost in my own thoughts. But once home, it was such a relief to see my dad and my brother Zack waiting for me at the airport and we went out for lunch with my sister-in-law Shellie and my niece Nevada, a great way to celebrate my return. In the afternoon, I took a trip to the doctor and found out that the infection spreading on my leg is actually impatigo, a bacterial infection that is similar to minor flesh-eating disease! I am on a major set of antibiotics now and hopefully it will clear up within a week or two. Not the greatest souvenir to bring home but at least Zack has an amazing television and a good DVD collection for me to go through as I recover on his couch!
So that's about it for the blog. This will be my final post! It's back to routine pretty soon and a rather dull existence to write about, not that I'm complaining. It's a life that I love and I can't wait to start working at day-camp again, to start running down by Kits Beach, to start cooking new recipes and babysitting my niece, to start writing new songs again and playing guitar... Plus, things will be anything but dull in Vancouver for the next week or so, with the Canucks in the playoffs and starting things off with a 2-0 lead! So thank you all for reading and keep in touch!
Ciao,
Max
