Arrived In Bangkok

Well, I am finally getting around to writing that we got here fine and back in our regular Bangkok life again. Have we really been away for a year? We went to a restaurant tonight and the waiter recognized us!

I think we have been here a week but the days have been a little jumbled since we lost one coming over the dateline. When we first arrived it was so easy, we flew business class and what a difference that made in our jet lag and recovery. It cost us most of our saved up miles but wow, it was worth it. We got to the airport with little to no fatigue and got to our apartment, unpacked and settled in by midnight, fantastic! I think we were so confident and cavalier that we forgot to be a little cautious and gentle to our physical system upon entering a new zone of foreign flora and fauna. So our bodies were very good at reminding us to take heed! I beat Janet to the toilet by 12 hours at which time we were both experiencing Bangkok belly; fortunately it ran its course quickly and we are both fine now.

We are staying in a new apartment in the same building as last time. This time we see the city in the distance and have an area of green around us which is rare in this city. Nice cross ventilation and the monsoon is abating, thank god ‘cuz it is hot. So our life is similar to last year but now we are very comfortable moving around in the city and not so assaulted by the noise, crowds and general chaos of a big 2^nd/3^rd world city. With this familiarity, having seen all the must see’s of a first visit, we can now explore a deeper layer of Bangkok. We wander the streets with less timidity and explore where we would not have last time. We were wandering around on Sunday and started steering towards a patch of green we saw which is always attractive and found a really nice park. When we entered we saw joggers running on a track, basketball going, concrete checker board tables, weight and stationary machines, people picnicking, it was great the only oddity was that it was a graveyard. As far as the eye could see were above ground graves that looked like large loaves of bread with grass and weeds growing on top of them. Picture this with joggers talking on cell phones running on a track around them. We call it PLD; Park of the Living and Dead. What a wonderful way of integrating life and death in a user friendly kind of way. Not to mention a great way of sharing the precious commodity of open lush green space in the middle of Bangkok. I guess this is what I mean when I say we are venturing into new terrain which we might not have before! As we were leaving the area we saw another part of the graveyard that was not so well kept up and saw that people were living there amongst the graves. A small broken plastic toy leaning against a tombstone was quite a memorable image.

Today, we were back into scheduling dental procedures and setting up our new computer. We brought our little laptop but realized how much both of our lives are reliant on computers. We both want to write and send emails and sharing one machine is hard on the other person waiting for it. So, we thought if we could find a small computer that just did email and Word we would be happy. Bingo, the thought entered and the machine appeared. We found a 6” x 9” computer (2lbs) for $300 and for an extra $10 they installed Microsoft office/Outlook/ and Photoshop! What were we thinking, of course we would find the perfect computer, we are in Bangkok. So now we are both happy and have decided to take this little baby with us to India so that life and communication will be easier there too.

We are in the process of figuring out the surgery date for Janet’s implants. It was going to be Saturday, then it was Friday, now it’s ? we don’t know, the scheduling here is one to be in the moment with. We have opted to have the surgery done at the hospital and have Janet spend the night there. She will be having 14 implants done at once and does not want to be present for the experience, can’t blame her. This way she will be totally supported on all fronts, me..I’ll be fainting in the next room. They said I could have a bed too. So, stay tuned on as to when this all happens. For now we are eating as many good meals as we can because it’s going to be soft food for awhile (5-10 days) after the surgery. Luckily there is a lot of good Indian food here and now we know where to find it. We even discovered a takeout menu we can order from!

Hope all is well with everyone, feel free to write we love to hear from everyone. And stay tuned for the next adventures and the latest schedules.