Letter to Rachel - Bangkok Gaze

Dear Rachel,

Sitting on the sprinter train at 16:57 on Monday, April 30. The sun is scorching the distant hills and the late afternoon light shines heavily through the scratchy old rail car windows. My seat, a second class air con, has a broken seat adjuster and I used a piece of black cloth tape to secure the beverage tray. I congratulated myself for 1) bringing the tape along in my bag, and 2) having the scissors to cut the tape. The refreshments lady sold to me a “big” bottle of Chang beer for $5, and although that is quite a sum I somehow managed to save $60 on my electricity bill when checking out of my apt this morning. I was expecting to pay 2000 baht, but the total was only 280. I questioned their math, but the manager waved it off, so I gave her a 100 baht tip to show my appreciation for her faulty calculation. Perhaps it is Karma at work, as I was shorted 600 baht when paying my first month's rent back in February (forgot to collect my change!) I was a tiny bit concerned about receiving the full amount of the 12,100 baht deposit, but everything went well and I am now roaming around with a lot of baht in my pocket. Having become a resident of Chiang Mai these past few months, I stopped wearing a money belt because I felt comfortably safe. Having lost 8-10 pounds, I find the belt is now easier to wear.

My fitness is pretty high at the moment, and I surprised myself by walking 2 1/2 miles this morning to the Backstreet Book Shop off Tae Phae Gate with 35 (feeling more like 45) pounds on my back so that I could buy Kerouac's Lonesome Traveler. I figured once in Bali I may not have access to good books, so I have 3 presently weighing me down (Orwell and the philosophy essays your father gave to me). After buying the book I walked another mile in high heat until finding a tuk tuk driver to get me to the rail station for 80 baht. I was hoping to take a red truck for 50 baht but the one's I flagged told me they were not going in that direction. By the time I found the tuk tuk I was tired and hot, so gladly paid the 80 baht. As the driver weaved through the sooty traffic I was reminded of my first day in the city, riding a tuk tuk to Tae Phae Gate, a lost and lonely traveler.

I must have quite a positive glow at the moment. A few days ago a guy standing behind me at the Tops cashier counter told me I had the look of a handsome Irishman (is there such a thing?), and the following day I was walking to my apartment after a satisfying workout (14 sets of exercises!) and I noticed 2 girls 40 meters ahead, one with a beautifully cut and colored skirt. As I gazed at the skirt I noticed the other girl say something to her friend and they both turned cautiously towards me. When they saw I was gazing at them they turned to look at a nearby pot of flowers. As I passed, the girl with the skirt turned toward me and gave me a flirting smile with inviting eyes, and I could not help but to smile back - as I continued to walk I was reminded what it felt like to be 20 years old....

Made it to Bangkok after an 18 hour train ride. The 5 dollar bottle of Chang did me in because I drank a smaller can of Chang just before (I told the lady I wanted it in 2 hours, she brought it a few minutes later) and I had the unpleasant feeling of motion sickness while being drunk during the night - each time I nodded off I would jolt awake with a feeling of nausea, so I had a few fitful hours. There was a couple in the seat ahead of mine, with a baby in the mother's lap. The baby cried once, for less than a minute, during the entire journey - I wonder if all Thai's are born with the heart of a golden Buddha?

I am sitting in my hotel, 7th floor corner room with an open view of interminable buildings, blue sky, and the occasional roof top sun bather. When I departed the train I was fearing the weight of the pack after sitting cramped all that time, but I managed well enough and navigated my way to the hotel - walking to the Hua Lamphong subway stop, buying a self serve ticket to Lumpini, remembering to keep the token so that I could exit the subway gate. After exiting the station I visualized the instructions I had written for myself the night before, and began walking down the morning street, the sidewalks wide and with just enough people so that I did not feel self-conscious. When I saw the overpass and the green turn off sign after walking 600 meters I knew the hotel was just around the corner. I walked down the narrow soi, passing a group of 10-12 motorcycle taxi drivers whistling Dixie while sitting on their bikes, and I told myself I did an amazing job after a night of little sleep. I continued walking, looking left, right, forward and backward but saw no sign of the hotel. I backtracked, passed the smiling drivers, and turned back onto Rama IV Road and walked a bit with some confusion descending.

I stepped into a Tesco Lotus and asked the counter girl the whereabouts of the hotel, and she pointed me to another woman, who pointed me to another, and soon all three were giggling and pointing me in no certain direction. Exiting the store I knew I had counted my congratulatory chicken before it was hatched. I was getting the sticky, paranoid sensation of being lost in Bangkok once again. I passed a security guard sitting in his small shack and stopped to ask directions. He pointed me back the way I had come so I turned around and soon passed the motorcycle taxi drivers again, still lazing in the shade, and turned back into the soi. A woman shading her face with a newspaper was walking nearby and she looked western so I decided to ask if she knew the way to the hotel. When I spoke I saw that she was Asian and had no desire to speak with me because she continued walking without turning to face me. I apologized, thinking perhaps she took me for a man on the prowl. I turned around, feeling self conscious, hot, the pack on my back feeling heavier. I passed the motorbike boys again, who no doubt were amused by the farang wandering back and forth in the heat of the morning. Back on Rama IV I decided to walk in the direction of the subway station and when I reached the corner of the next soi a taxi man in helmet and black goggles asked where I was going. I told him I was looking for the Lumpini Hotel, and he pointed me down the soi. After walking 30 meters I saw the hotel sign and walked into the pleasant, cool lobby, checked in, and was upgraded to a deluxe corner room with the above mentioned view.

After settling in I checked the internet connection and when logging into my email discovered a message from The Dome in Chiang Mai. The manager had written

Dear Mr. James

I’m The Dome staff, today you moving out and I make mistake about your electricity I calculate your electricity wrong it short 1,064 baht. Please came to pay these amount at the front desk. If you don’t come to pay my boss will deduct this amount for my salary.

Please *payment within 1/5/2012

Best regards,

The Dome

So the 280 baht electrical bill was a mistake after all. I have no problem with paying the bill, but I remembered the 600 baht which the hotel still owes me, and how they showed little interest in correcting the mistake which I had made. The situation now being reversed, the fair thing to do, in my reasoning, is to pay the bill, minus the 600 baht which they owe me. I am under no obligation to pay the remaining amount because I have a signed receipt which states the electric charges were 280 baht (along with my questioning if that amount was a mistake, and being waved off). I sent a reply that I would be happy to pay the bill, explained about being shorted 600 baht when I had checked in a few months ago, and that I intended to pay the difference. They responded with

We are very sorry about your electricity bill. The amount of electriccity bill inform you it is wrong amount. The cost of electricity is short 1,659 baht(Electricity meter on 26/9/2012 is 4963, 30/4/2012 is 5240 = 277 unit multiply 7 baht/unit=1939 already paid 280 baht the balance is 1,659 baht)deduct 600 baht, The remaining balance you have to pay = 1,059 baht.
please payment by transfer money to bank account as below.

I knew the manager was padding the bill so that she could collect the full amount, and I responded that the amount must be a mistake because it was double the amount of the last bill. I offered a compromise of a 500 baht transfer into their bank, on condition that I could locate the bank in this massive city, and figure a way to get the money into their account before leaving in the early morning of May 4. So my plan is to find the bank and transfer 500 baht, which I consider to be a good thing to do, knowing that if the hotel were in my shoes their likely action would be to tell me “tough luck, Joe” ...

....I wrote the above last night. Before going to bed I made use of the Eastern version of The Book which magically appears in dusty hotel night stand drawers - The Teaching of Buddha. I have been looking for a book like this for a long while. The Urbana Library has many 2nd party texts explaining the meaning of the Buddha's Dharma, but I could not locate the original writings. I am tempted to take the book, leaving a 50 baht note in the drawer as a replacement, but I don't know if Buddha would approve.

I walked to Lumpini this morning and did a round of exercises in the stifling, humid air. It is hotter than Chiang Mai, which is hard to believe. I returned in time for the free hotel breakfast, which I expected to be stale white bread stacked next to a toaster, along with generic corn flakes and coffee. I was pleasantly surprised to find an elegant restaurant with a full spread breakfast buffet. The sets of exercises made my appetite ravenous and I put on my plate an omelet (which had a bit of ham in it, oops), a fried egg, cubed, fried potatoes, fresh cut pineapple and watermelon, a saucer of strawberry yogurt, stir fried veggies, and a glass of pineapple juice. Everything was delicious, so I am looking forward to tomorrow's fare as well.

After the earlier than usual meal I took a long nap and woke at the unfortunate hour of noon. I knew I had to go looking for The Dome's Bangkok branch bank, and the internet directed me to a street about 1 mile away. Knowing Bangkok maps and the reality of its streets, it was not going to be a walk in the park, especially under the early afternoon sun.

I set out and within minutes could feel the sweat beading on my forehead. I forgot to bring a water bottle, but could buy one along the way if needed. When I came to the end of the street where the bank was supposed to be, I was not surprised to find any sign of a bank. The busy street curved left and I followed it, knowing I was on my way to getting lost. I planned to jump into a cab at some point with the directive “Lumpini Park, stat!” I walked along like a lost pup and miraculously came across a string of banks, all within the same building - Kasikorn, Siam Commercial, Krungthai. I held out hope that The Dome's bank would soon appear, and there it was - Bangkok Bank! Very fortunate, as I was wandering around hopelessly, a few minutes from turning back defeated. I walked into the air conditioned lobby, let out a pleasant sigh, and was soon seated at a banker's desk with interpreter, and as I told my unusual story I pulled out a piece of paper on which was written the The Dome's bank account number, and the banker asked “money transfer to Dome?” I nodded and handed them a 500 baht note . “30 baht fee ok?” I nodded again. The transfer now complete, I walked out feeling better about everything, hoping The Dome manager would also feel some relief. As I walked down the crowded, sweaty street I realized I was never given a receipt.

I am in my room, it is 4:00 pm, and I look through the large dusty windows and across the wilderness of Bangkok. Soon I will be going back to Lumpini for another workout, this time running loops. This morning as I exercised I saw a group of ravens flying about, at first I thought them to be crows, but when I got a closer look I saw they were larger, with long, black beaks - a beautiful bird.

There is a night bazaar across the street from my hotel with many food vendors. After yesterday's run I walked back to the hotel soaked in sweat and a murky dusk light, famished, feeling the glow of fitness and health. I walked along a side soi filled with food stalls which were lit with hanging lanterns and bare bulbs, the smell of smokey charcoal and fried fish and prepared chili's permeating my senses. Believe it or not I got the courage to buy something - a vegetarian noodle dish with mushrooms. During my 3 month stay in Chiang Mai, I could not summon the will to buy from a food stall, other than fruit, fearing I would be given a meat dish. I guess the options of ordering room service at a cost of $10, or a packaged meal from 7/11, forced me to take the plunge, and it was worth it - the meal was excellent. I plan to go back after tonight's run and order two servings.

Soon I will be flying to Bali, and will once again be a lost and lonely traveler, perhaps not such a bad thing after all....

Returned from the evening run at Lumpini. The park is a jewel, reminding me of Central Park in NYC. It is filled with runners and walkers, people gazing into space on wooden benches, Tai Chi groups moving gracefully to music. At 6:00pm the loud speakers, which are hung throughout the park, play the Thai Royal song, or something of that sort, and everyone stops where they are, standing at attention, with arms at sides, reflecting on whatever they care to. Yesterday I was oblivious to the custom, and as I walked about noticed that the world around me had become motionless. I decided to do the same, so stopped and stood, listening to the tinny song trumpet into the orange shadowed sky. Today I was ready for it, I had finished my run 5 minutes prior, and was walking away from a stall vendor with a cold water bottle in my hand. As I poured it over my head I noticed a woman next to me standing at attention. I looked about and noticed the peculiar stillness. An older gentleman appeared to be praying with his head bowed, while most stood with arms straight and eyes level. I quietly stood straight, feeling the ticklish bliss of the cold water drops falling across my face. When the music stopped life started rolling again and I began to look forward to walking down the dark sois where the food vendors were set up. When I arrived I found the fruit stall, tonight she had fresh mango and watermelon, and while she cut the fruit with a large knife I petted a toy dog which was standing on the platform of an adjacent cart. I could not find the noodle cart, so I settled on a hodge podge of rice, salad, and a whole smoked fish (sorry).

When I returned to my room I ravaged the meal in the delicious comfort of the air conditioned room. Later I checked my email and found another message from The Dome, it said

Dear Mr. James
Thank you for your kindness. We accept payment of 500 baht
And apologize for any inconvenience.

Thank you & best regards,
The Dome

I was now at ease - it is a rare occurrance where through no wrong doing of my own I was caught in an event which required caution, kindness, and a firm grasp of fairness. I can now leave Chiang Mai behind, and prepare for the next destination : Bali.

Hope all is well with you!

Love, Jim