I left the hotel only one time today, go to the 7/11 half a block away to buy some 0% sugar Cola, some bread and a few meats. Got to have my late night snacks!
The rest of the day was complete relaxation and restfulness. I feel a bit guilty, but heck, sometimes you got to lay on your ass and take it easy :).
Some of the days highlights.
- Woke up 430am, wrote a blog (hotel room photos) did a bit of face-booking.
- Called home, mom was upset tried to cheer her up.
- Had a breakfast of 2 eggs, steak (kinda, Thais do weird things with beef), 2 pieces of toast, jam, butter, orange juice and hot tea, cost 200 baht ($7.54 CAD) minus my 50 baht ($5.65 CAD) discount coupon.
- Read some about the history of the Karen Burmese ethic group.
- Read the Bangkok Post.
- Had a long hot bath.
- Had a long hot bath.
- Wrote another long blog (travel stories).
- Talked with a Thai man about visiting a local darkroom/wet plate making shop. Will visit there tomorrow I think.
- Did a 2 hour traditional Thai massage, my second in 2 days. Cost 500 baht ($18.85 CAD) with a 120 ($4.53 CAD) baht tip.
- I had an all spicy Thai supper in the hotel restaurant. Tom Yum Goong (Tom Yum soup with shrimp), Som Tum (papaya salad), Moo Tod (fried pork) and Kaow Nee-ow (sticky rice) with a cola. The meal cost $470 baht with a 20 baht tip ($18.46 CAD), I ate like a king, mouth a bit on fire now. The boy who took the order smiled when he put it down in front of me. It was a very Thai very Issan (Northeast Thai province) type of meal.
It was a nice day, a relaxing day, a chill day. After the crying baby 12 hour thing, maybe well deserved.
The lady who gave me a massage was quite old. She might have been the oldest person to ever have given me a massage. Through the years I have probably had 50 or more Thai massages. I think this lady her name was GAOW (glass in Thai) might have been the oldest, about 65 years old. I felt a bit guilty having an older lady do the massage (she made some small gasping sounds at times) but she was quite happy in the end. The 120 baht tip is quite high, maybe the best she has gotten in a long, long time. She went over and told her friend (working nearby) in Thai how much she got then she told me her name and her number (number 7, all massage people have numbers). She must want me to ask for her again. Her massage was pretty good, all the parts where she used her body weight (she was a bit chubbier) were excellent, the back section was very good.
Khun Gaow (Mrs/Miss Gaow) was telling her friend earlier in the massage that she had an upset stomach, her friend gave her some medicine to take later. Working a difficult job like massage must be quite hard at her age. Farang (Westerners) have very big bodies, making the massage persons job that much more difficult. The masseuse often gets repetitive type hand injuries etc. The younger pretty women often get touched and fondled by some seedy customers. I have been told by some massage ladies that men will grab their breasts etc. I guess the most dangerous part of the job is when they move up from massaging the legs, to the hands. Often the women hold the customers hand/arm quite strongly to limit where it can go and what it can touch. Some guys take advantage of the situation, rather sickening!
Anyway Khun Gaow was happy today, her job might be her only source of income. She might be supporting other people as well. I will try asking for her again.
