Day 12 - Thoughts

Some random thoughts today.

1. It's a miracle I have not gotten sick yet.  I have eaten almost nothing but street food while in the cities.  I have been on many airplanes with people coughing their lungs out.  My showers are shared with semi-homeless people.  I have survived using public toilets.  I have touched countless public surfaces on the subways, escalators, and elevators.  I have also learned to breathe 80% air, 20% exhaust fumes.  Through all this, I haven't felt bad even once.

2. Wearing long sleeves and long pants in this weather is miserable.  However, after reading about dengue fever, I think that would be pretty miserable too, so I'll just suffer in long sleeves.

3. The 100% DEET spray makes my skin feel like fire whenever sunlight hits it.  I don't know if this is normal or not, but again, I'm sure dengue fever is worse, so I'll put up with burning skin.

4. I took a shower last night in the dark because the light bulb was burned out.  I woke up this morning covered in tiny red bumps and wondered how something had eaten me inside my sack.  (I bought a silk sack to sleep in for places where the bed sheets look questionable.) I found out this morning that I wasn't the only one.  It turns out the showers are filled with fleas of some sort.  This hostel has great air conditioning, larger beds, bigger rooms, and less roommates, and is pretty clean everywhere, but has fleas.  Maybe the dirty hostel in Korea wasn't so bad.

5. There are a lot of American men in their 40s and 50s here in Bangkok with Thai women in their 20s and 30s.  Are these men who moved to Bangkok and are rich compared to the locals so the Thai women flocked to them?  Or are these women paid rentals?

6. There are a lot of stray dogs here.  They all look pretty cute even being dirty, but I'm sure the first one I touch will give me rabies, so I'm not going to play with them.

7. Thai people believe strongly in karma.  This means that your life is mostly predetermined by the actions you have already taken.  This is why no one wears seat belts and everyone drives crazy.  If you have been chosen to die today, safe driving isn't going to help you.  So drive as crazy as you want because if you've been a good person, you can't get in a wreck.