disaster adjustment and recovery

One thing about being an old person is you take longer to adjust to sudden changes, and so my first day in Thailand was a bit of a daze, half-wondering how I got here and what I wanted to do here for a week. Naturally one thing I'll need to do is have a massage, after some market research to avoid the obvious pitfalls. I was amused on the phone last night when the pension fund warned me against getting AIDS.

Yesterday I set off to explore, and got only as far as two shopping centers, where I had several meals. Great food but they believe in eating small portions and often, possibly because of the heat. I also bought dinner provisions for the kitchen. Swam in the full size outdoor pool which is like a jungle scene from Apocalypse Now. Hoping to get further afield today.

Solo tourism has a lot going for it, you can do whatever you feel like - no need to negotiate, ever!

I have two great books about the country, not travel guides but rather contemplations on the culture, by Brits who moved here. Reading them gives much more depth and fun to the process of walking around. For instance, one reason why Bangkokians or perhaps Bangcockers are so impressively well organized, and the street stalls are so portable yet compactly designed - in the days of old Siam they lived, traded, and dined from little boats, where space was at a premium and they developed stowage into an art.

Similarly, the hairs-breadth weaving of motor cyclists can be traced back to boating skills. It seems that Thai traffic and rivers both obey the laws of fluid dynamics.

I caught my first glimpse of the olympics on TV yesterday, I think someone was running faster than everyone else.

Okay, time to get up for breakfast now at 6. I might manage a second breakfast at 10 using the cellmate's voucher.

PS - a motorbike taxi driver taking some time out: