Travel days are time sinks. But despite the hurry-up-and-wait, they can yield some interesting experiences. On the trek from Kowloon to Bangkok's Sukhumvit Road, I met a Thai national flight attendant with Cathay, and also one of the global flotsam and jetsam that wash about Thailand (this one had been travelling for 6 years, yet he seemed petrified at the notion of using the SkyTrain system). He anxiously asked me how one knows when Bangkok's air is polluted. I said: every time you breathe in.
Back in Bangkok and happy to see familiar sights: the crowded, fluorescent-lit streets, the Art Deco Atlanta Hotel, and... Ben Johnson from work! I had not expected to see him, but it was a welcome sight. We caught up over breakfast in "Ah!", the Atlanta's cute restaurant, and walked to Erawan shrine. The Shrine is open air and surrounded by the perfumes smoke of incense.
Wandered through Lumpini Park for its cool breeze and its lake. It made Bangkok outdoors seem bearable for a moment. Had my old jetlag-recovery standby of fried chicken and papaya salad at MBK Shopping Centre.
The highlight of the day though was dinner with Ben at "Cabbages and Condoms", a social enterprise that uses the profits from it's restaurant to provide sex education in Thailand. Meal consisted of Masuman chicken curry, shrimp deepfried with garlic, and a coconut tapioca dessert that was sweet, crunchy and creamy (name forgotten). Instead of an after dinner mint, we each received a condom.
Ben shown here, contemplative, at Erawan Shrine!
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