The Journey Begins

Day EIGHT

Date - Sunday, 8 April 2012

0815 hrs

Good Morning WORLD! I had the best sleep since i got sick 10 days ago. Ok, the yoga yesterday did 2 things. It made my body sore like in the old days but it also kicked the virus in the butt once and for all. Nonetheless, in both ways, it made me feel sooooooo good. So today, i am gonna skip yoga class and head for Chatuchak Market after breakfast. What say you??

So i lasted only an hour in Chatuchak market. That was already inclusive of the 20 minutes i spent having ice cappuccino at this cool cafe where the deejay spinned chillout music. A perfect hangout after a hard night, not that i had one... He played songs from cafe del mar and made me feel like i was in potato head in Bali. The market proved to be too much for me. The day was bright and throngs of people started to pour in. I was very disciplined to stick to my decision of buying only 2 things, a coffee painting and a swiss army knife. Got the 2 and scrammed out of there! Got to the market at 10.00 hrs and by 11.30am, i was back in my room and guess what? A new roomate yet again.

I rented Star Trek and watched it in the TV room while waitng for my room to be cleaned. Beamed me up Scotty!! After the show, went back to my room and what dya know? The cleaning lady decided to give my room a miss! Of course i complained... Ah well, might as well have a nap. 2 hrs i was gone. Woke up, strolled down to Siam Paragon and catch A Cold Light Of Day. My god, Bruce Willis looked damn good at his age. I hope i grow old as gracefully as him. After the movie, i thought of going for a massage but got rained out instead.. And it didnt stop! Geez... You know, when bangkok gets wet, it floods!! After an hour, i made a run for it. Got to the hostel as wet as hell but happy. Had my dinner and now gonna go check out who my new roomate is and hit the sack.

You know like i said earlier, there is something about the Thai people and their king. When i was standing up in the cinema upon the start of the national anthem, i felt so moved, it nearly brought me tears... Its so touching lah the song. And among all the crowd i was in tday, have you ever been in a crowd and yet feel lonely? Its not great... But there it is, loneliness creeps in when is least expected... So run.

Good nite people. The lesson i learn today is that loneliness is a choice. You can run and find yr comfort from it. People, places, anything... Even to be alone cos being alone can sometimes allow you to escape from being lonely...

Day SEVEN

Date - Saturday, 7 April 2012

1300 hrs

HELLO WORLD!! Have you heard? AZMI IS BACK!! Woke up this morning with high spirits and such enthusiasm of having a yoga practice at yoga elements and Mark was such a fabulous ashtanga yoga teacher and it being an ashtanga class, i was in my element. Everyone in that Flow class was super and it WAS a strong class. Despite my being sick, Mark said i had a beautiful class. I heard my pants just crack! LOL!! Ok i shall skip the part where i accidentally stored my things in the female locker room and go straight to the part where the practice brought me bck to mysore where after the class everyone got out and had young coconut drink by the roadside. It was yummy!

Now i am back at the hostel and having my Tom Yum Kai, which would set me up for the day. Gonna go up later, put my clothes in the laundry and have a shower. Rent a video, laze out, have a nap and see whats next....

I have a new roomate to take over the girls that left. An indian boy from mumbai who lives in hong kong named Sahul. When i came in the room, he was already helping himself to my ipad charger. How nice. I left and went for a walk to see if the man with one limb was still there under the bridge but no luck. He was gone. So i walked 30 minutes all the way to patpong. I found myself shying away from all these bars where 20 years ago, i would be rushing towards them! I ended up at HappyBar. Just opposite patpong. Had my dinner and a beer and watch life goes by.

A good thing about looking like a thai is that you dont get hassled by peddlars and you are treated equally and you get to sit down by the streets and be left alone, with a peace of mind... After dinner, i decided to brave up and walk through the red light alley and see the action, pretending like a thai. I skipped the boys town cos this is the part where you dont want to look like a thai cos first, the thai working boys think you are a competition and the foreigners think you are available. But then again, who are you kidding, that was 20 years ago, when i was still young, pretty, slim and naive.... Er no, still i will skip it.

Walking thru the red light was interesting. The foreigners were hassled like hell while NO ONE approached me. Scores of girls were lined up or seated outside their bars like a lined up leather goods at next door patpong. I must tell you that these girls are really pretty and if i actually LIKE girls, this is such a horribly tempting meat market.

So i hurriedly went for the train passing by lots of bars where i saw a few comrades from singaporebut decided to give it a miss cos i know where that would take me if i said hello. No no, not going to party, gonna go to hostel and go to bed. Hehe.. So here i am, 2140 hrs, back at my hostel and getting ready for bed...

Bright lights big city. A city of temptation and full of possibilities. And yes, you will be surprised by wonders at corners of the city if you could manage to fork out the little courage to just take a stroll..

Day SIX

Date - Friday, 6 April 2012

0840 hrs

The night was spent tossing and turning cos of the rising fever. Dunno why but i started to burn up again this morning. After a few hrs, it went down. Maybe all is going off of my body. Now, after breakfast and my meds, i felt much better and the weather is kewlth , so i thought i make my way down to the river and take a boat to the royal palace. Happy Full Moon people!

The trip to the Grand Palace was a very very nice one. Paid for a day pass. But actually i only wanted to see the Grand Palace. The cloudy weather helped in keeping the temperature down and itwas windy, so itwas really nice. There were a million people at the palace, most of them from china. I dunno why, maybe its just me but people from this region have this stench that is so impossible to ignore. Hmm.. Maybe its just me. So i had to leave thepalace after jst 15 minutes. Had a walk around the vicinity of the palace and head up to the maharaj pier, where the boat took me back to the start, sathorn. I gave away my day pass to a couple, might as well since i am not gonna use it anymore.

I have been rather generous lately. Well, i have been emptying my pocket of coins to beggars thinking what the heck, a good deed is a good deed no matter how small it is. Ok me back at the hostel. Its 11.00hrs, having lunch and gonna go for my nap after this. Oh yeah, my meds first...

Woke up at 12.30 hrs. Oh darn, the cleaning lady is gonna come. Better get up. Got down, rented a dvd titled Limitless and snuggled like a potato couch in the TV room upstairs while waiting for my room to be cleaned, well more like just tidied up. The movie was such a trip up man! Geez, i felt high like i had just taken the same pill whatever Bradley Cooper took in that movie! Whoa, i better go check on my room. But you know what? I suddenly felt a whiff of good health! So i packed my bag and set out to find Yoga Elements. Finally found it but reception said today is a holiday so they only had classes till 3pm. Damn! So i booked for a class tomorrow morning at 10.00 hrs. And also on sunday. So here i am again with nothing to do. What to do, what to do? No price for guessing, i went for the movies. But ive watched every english movie that was showing so i went for Wrath of The Titans again. This time i had to pay double! Was it the holiday? No, i later found out i had just booked myself a ticket at the Royal Cinema Hall! WOW... and it was kewl, as usual, everybody stood up for the National Anthem, but it was a good sign that the movie is going to start next.

There is something endearing about the Thais and their King and it shows in the way respect was given towards the National Anthem, how touching the song was and how moving the video of it showing the kind hearted king Bumibhol regards and treats his kingdom with compassion. I felt kind of moved with all of this. I decided that Thais are the loveliest people and Arabs are the opposite ones. Thats to compare the 2 lah....

Alright everyone, i have arrived at the hostel. Its 2040 hrs and i am signing this off in 5 minutes. Really looking forward for my long awaited yoga practice tomorrow morning. Hope you are not missing your practice ok? Nanite... Muacks. Now where are my meds??

Day FIVE

Date - Thursday, 5 April 2012

0935 hrs

I woke up not knowing what day it was. After shower, i went down for breakfast of muffins and cappuccino and waited for my wizards signal to wire money via western union so that i can pay to the hospital and not get into trouble with the law. Otherwise its like claire danes in a bkk prison huh? Ok ok. Got the money, now on my way to the posh hospital. Wish me luck!!

Right, time is 1430hrs. Just got back from hospital. Not much ado there. Paid BHT5196 and scrammed from there. Took the train, which so far has been pleasant. People actually queue! Malaysia should learn lots from this city lone. Anyway, i gotta get my lunch, then to the hostel, take my meds and crash. Too hot to do anything. Wake up after my nap, gonna see the royal palace. Muacks...

Well i took a couple of hours nap, took a shower and plan to head to see the royal palace as tomorrow is full moon and i am sure its going to be packed. Truth be known, the boat ride is closed. So instead of going to the palace, i went to patpong to sink in old times. What to do, what to do? In the end i thought i go for a thai massage to drain this toxins away. I was careful to find a decent one and not one which may end end in a massage komplit! Across of the meridien hotel was where i went. My therapist seemed like a lilttle girl, lest that i know, she had powerful hands! Overall the massage was really good and the place was very professional. So i was happy. Then walked to tawana ramada, the hotel where i used to stay as a crew, to have my favorite pad thai in thailand! A beer to end the night and a walk thru patpong just to reminisce the old days. Wow i thot, 15 years, nothings change in patpong.

Now i am back at the hostel, gonna have my usual melon shake before bed... Nanite peeps..

PS, i am feeling much much better...

Day FOUR

Date - Wednesday, 4 April 2012

Time - 0935 hrs

Woke up with a bad diarrhea, fever, flu. This time i had blood in the flu discharge. My wizard called and with a stern voice, "Go to the doctor sayang, promise me!!". And so i did, its like he took a wand at me and said "Expecto Petronum!". And i amazingly got up and somehow found the strength to drag myself to the hospital.

The Bumrungrad International looked like The Conrad International. No less. I thought this is goingto cost me a bomb but a wizardress said it was ok. So, i registered, saw the doctor, diagnosed as having sinusitis, went to the cashier and WHAT??? USD300!!! I took my bag and fled the scene. I was so shock i walked 1 mile to the train station, went to siam paragon and watched Hunger Games!!! Then spoke to my wizard who wanted to set me up with gm of siam hotel, jason to stay with him. I said, my problem is not the hotel stay, it was the lack of money to pay for my meds lah. So i went back to the hostel, slept and not be bothered abt it....

Day THREE

Date - Tuesday, 3 April 2012

Was late in getting the train ticket, so only left the upper berth. Heard it was small, but i was sick and i only wanted to sleep. When the train finally arrived, i got on and met a man from ipoh who was going to meet his wife in chiang mai. I didnt buy any food on board, thinking there was going to be a canteen. Anyway no luck and the man from ipoh gave me one of his large bottles of water. Then we arrive at immigration. Just passport checks, no bag checks at all!! Weird. Anyway, bought food from the customs canteen, ate my medicine and fell asleep. 10 hours. Food were sold at each stop by vendors who came on board but i could buy them cos i didnt have any small change. My fever rising, flu getting worse, stomach growling. So hungry... The man from ipoh gave me his bread. Thank god...

22 hours later, train arrived at Hua Lamphong station. By this time, cold sweat broke out, i had to drag myself out of the train, my knees were shaking, my vision blurred. I was wondering if i could make it thru. I saw Black Canyon coffee.. Must sit down. Must eat something. After purchasing a local sim card, i sat down and rest at the coffee shop and plan.

Took a train to silom and a nice lady samaritan literally took me by the hand and put me in the right train to surasak station where my hostel is. She was an angel, i thought. She did looked like Kuan-yin.

Arrived at the hostel, my speech was already slurred, i couldnt see properly. My shoulders were hurt by my heavy backpack. The reception put me in the women's dorm where my roomates were 2 girls from chiang mai. They gave me some water. I took my meds, took a shower and slept till night time... Woke up, took my dinner and spoke to my wizard who asked me to see a doctor. I took my meds, and slept again. 10 hours...

Day TWO

Date - Monday, 2 April 2012

Time - 1030 hrs

I still cant get over the fact of how nice this hotel is! Nice shower, breakfast, beds, clean.. And get this, iPads provided for use at the chillout area! You MUST stay at this hotel - Ryokan@Muntri Street. Its walking distance to the main drag in Jalan Penang. I walked to 1 Avenue, which was suppose to be a main attraction Mall but yeah, whatever. So i went to Prangin Mall to catch Wrath of The Titans, which i thought was very good lah..

Ok its almost 11am. I think i have to set out soon to the ferry terminal and head to KTM for my tickets to bangkok later. Now this is gonna be rougher. But wish me luck guys! I'm gonna need lots!

PS: Missing my Eva.......

A

Day ONE

Date - 1 April 2012

Time - 0613hrs

I have been up watching Eva sleep so soundly next to me the whole night. Don't know why, despite a long and tedious day, I still couldn't sleep. Nonetheless, glad that I could at least made Eva feel cumfy. God I am gonna miss her. Its one of the hardest thing as this is going to be the longest I am going to leave her, ever.

Even with my playing games on my iPad didn't help with my trying to get a good night sleep, just too anxious of the whole journey. I ran through my itinerary about 3-4 times to make sure timings were read right and dates were confirmed correct as well.

Surya is coming to pick me up at 7.30am. That would give me about an hour to get ready. Well folks, this is it, gonna get things rolling!! Wish me luck!! LOVE YOU EVA!!! Ciao!!!