Germany

I was quite taken aback yesterday while sitting with Germany and Scotland when all of a sudden Germany said to me: "Can I ask you a favor? Could you please stop talking?" I was totally taken aback, of course. She had a point, I do natter on. But part of me also wanted to tell her to go to hell. I finished my beer and left.

Tragic scene at my latenight sidewalk spot with Jak&Co. Koong sobbing because her boyfriend had yelled at her and hit her just before. Not surprisingly, Jak says the guys an asshole. And Jak telling me of his own domestic issues, going home to his wife who never smiles anymore, wondering if she has a boyfriend now. He his heart as broken and his home life as a mess, but protests that despite all that, he's happy running his shop, hanging out with his pals and his family. Lives almost entirely outdoors. Sweet guy. A forty-year old who looks twenty-five. The envy of rich foreign women everywhere. Seriously. My jaw dropped when he told me he was forty. "I play a lot sports, I eat healthy food, drink lots water maybe? I don't know."

Serendipitously, a guy sat down with us last night and when I introduced myself, we realized that he has been friends with Ari for fifteen years. Wow. Weird world. We're going to hang out later.

Bangkok is such a zoo of a city. So much is visible. It's a city with a vibrant pulsing street life. I think perhaps then, being able to isolate yourself from the din and the noise and just the sheer presence of everyone else must be a status marker. Maybe like America. The suburbs. The mark of middle class succes is that you can pretend that everyone else doesn't exist. Jane Jacobs is winning the fight here vs. Van der Rohe. The ebb and flow of all kinds of activity is happening on the sidewalks. And the traffic! Lordy! It's like a school of vaguely confused fish who've had too much coffee. I had the good fortune to spend some time in the front seat of a local's vehicle yesterday. My heart was in my mouth and my seatbelt was on If there's traffic in your lane, you just get in the opposing direction lane for a while. Makes Bushwick look like the parking lot of an old-folks home. And Toyota makes their car seats significantly smaller here. Lots of ways that I don't fit here.

I'm going to leave Bangkok for a bit soon to see what these fabled islands are about. When I get back, Jak said he'll find someone who can teach me Thai cooking informally.

I can't remember I saw rain fall this hard. Heavy rainfall makes for lengthy blogging.


What else? Some new pix of Bangkok's finest on my photo gallery site. Righto. Off to resume my day. Miss you all.

T