Thailand Travelogue: Continued

Yeah, tonsillectomy... hm. Not exactly a walk in the park. You're VERY uncomfortable for the first five days. You're dehydrated because it hurts like heck to swallow anything at all for the first three days. You force yourself to eat something soft by the fourth day because the doc said you should, only to find out that he actually knew what he was talking about; I think all the muscles in my mouth and throat had atrophied from disuse! Those first couple bites were a major workout and, even now that I've been getting some food down for a few days, I still have a limit on how much chewing I can do before I'm worn out! Good thing my stomach shrank or I would be perpetually hungry. Funny thing is that I could only tolerate super cold stuff the first couple days (e.g. popsicles, even an iced coffee) but suddenly by about the third day anything cold hurt too much. Weird, huh? Now I can have nothing but lukewarm, non-spicy, and not too chewy stuff (mm-mmm... yum!). I better have lost some weight for all this effort!

My mom and I, and sometimes my dad, have been doing some touring around Bangkok the last few days now that I am able to handle being out and about all day again. We've been seeing mostly old Bangkok lately which is a welcome change from the incredible traffic and smog of the rest of the city. Traveling by river taxi is fun! Traveling by the smaller long-tailed taxis is much faster but rather painful for the person sitting in front. That was me the first time, by the way. Every jolt across the wakes left by other boats made me think my innards were going to disconnect! Sunday we went to an island where they specialize in making pottery and got to see the process which is mesmerizing. I watched one fellow make a simple pot about ten times! They must have very strong hands to handle that heavy clay so easily.

Today, my mom and I ventured into Chinatown. That gave a newer definition to my recently redefined concept of walking in tight spaces with a bustling crowd! We walked down Sampaeng Lane (really more of an alley) and browsed around the different stalls for a while, which consisted mostly of beads, textiles, and nail clippers. Every so often a courier on a motorcycle or delivery trolley would rush by as everybody jumped out of the way. One fellow there really struck a chord with me. He was hopping around on a pair of crutches and one good leg, selling nail clippers, scissors, etcetera which dangled from his hat, shirt, belt, and pants. Instead of trying to look as pitiful as possible like most of the handicapped beggars I've seen, he had a smile on his face and sang whenever he wasn't selling something. I liked him a lot.

We also saw the Erawan Shrine before the evening was over. It was built right on a busy intersection in the middle of town because some astrologer told the people building a hotel that they had begun on a bad day according to the celestial bodies. In order not to bring upon themselves a curse they were required to set up this shrine on the corner as well as a spirit house within the hotel. The shrine is unique because not only are there the usual people offering prayer and incense but also some Thai dancers and a band of musicians. You can buy dances of different duration from the troop as your offering to the shrine. We watched a few of them. The person who bought the dance offering would kneel in front of the troop facing the shrine. The dancers knelt and sang a prayer before performing a traditional dance. The dancing was pretty but kind of weird too to have this Buddhist idol on a street corner for worship. Some of the people who bought the prayers were serious about their offering but a couple of them did it more for the photo opportunity than anything.

This Friday I fly back to Michigan. Then I have the weekend to recover from jet lag and move to my new apartment before school starts again on Monday. Sound like fun? You betcha. I can't believe my visit is almost over. It has been nice to spend so much time with my parents even if a third of it was spent in major discomfort.