Leaving Bangkok

Checking out of the guesthouse was weird. For a few days, it felt a bit like a home of some kind. It felt like I had come full circle, somehow. I’d also had two more conversations with two more sets of parents about their child’s expected transition to university. In some ways, talking to them about my experience (and I’ve had more opportunities here in CM so far as well, but I’ll get there) has contributed to the feeling of completing a cycle. It feels like I can let a lot of things go a bit.

Like I mentioned, I am a very stubborn person. So when I decided to go back to Ratchaprasong after I checked out, I was determined to wear my shorts. And it was really, really hot so I’m glad I did. Again, it was just very strange how normal everything seemed. The emphasis on buying and sales and Visa credit opportunities was rather surreal. (Also, I didn’t know for a long time that Visa was a credit card and not just a document you had to have for Immigration officials.) I was very excited because when I came out of one of the malls there were two camera crews on either side of the road. I was hoping that maybe someone important would be coming to give a speech or something, but it turned out that they were filming a commercial. I was disappointed!

After I took my pictures, I went into Siam Paragon, a huge mall near the Sky Train. And there I visited a ginormous bookstore. I could totally live in BKK because of this place. When I lived in Thailand before, my greatest sorrow was the lack of English books. (Seriously, I was starved for reading material. I remember those days with pain and anguish. If you look at my keychain now you will find that I have collected library cards from every town in which I had any sort of address since I returned to the States. It is usually the first thing I do whenever I move.) This bookstore (name of which I confess I cannot recall) had a HUGE collection of English books.

I am in love with this store. Even though I can’t remember its name. The prices weren’t too bad either! I found the book I had wanted to bring my friend T. In the States it was still only in hardcover, but they had paperback versions there so I bought one and then read it while I waited for her to get off work. (I love books.) We went to the mall and took sticker pictures (which were hugely popular when I was in high school. Now they are all commercialized and expensive, which made me sad) and it was fun to hang out with her.

The next day I just rested, waiting for T to get off work for dinner and for my evening flight. It was so nice to have a down day! I wish it hadn’t been so dark in the taxi to the airport because there were a lot of things I would have liked to take pictures of. Including a sticker on the window with pictures of what were not allowed in the taxi: water buffalo, knives or machine guns, sex, collie dogs, liquid, durian and cigarettes. I found this very amusing.

My flight was delayed an hour. That was very irritating, because I wanted to get to Chiang Mai! Sitting in airports can be such a pain. When we finally landed I told the man sitting next to me that Chiang Mai International Airport was my favorite airport in the whole world, because it meant I was home. I don’t think he understood.

It is good to be back. It is weird, though, because I've never actually lived in the house my parents are renting now. And they've lived in it for almost six years! Crazy.