Prik nam plaa? Or nam plaa prik? That is the question

4 out of 5 of our 2014 Rockin4Tabitha house build team are now in place - Dermot, Susan and Rory arrived yesterday around supper time and we spent an enjoyable evening out and about.  Given that we've been planning the build and the zircon hunting trip since I was in Melbourne in July, this gathering has been a long time coming!!!

We started with supper at a little place on Samsen Soi 2 - pak boong (morning glory), pad thai goong, chicken with cashew and a whole steamed snapper.  Arroy mak mak!  No pictures, as by the time I took out my camera, the meal was demolished.

Rory, Me, Susan and Dermot - 1st night in Bangkok

After supper, we wandered through Banglampoo and then on to Khao San.  I don't know if it's just me, but there is a definite lack of farang here right now.  Khao San was nowhere near as busy as it usually is - the heavy, frantic, noisy packs of drunken idiots aren't here.  The political issues must be scaring some of them off.  We wound up stopping for another Chang near Rambuttri, and then continuing on to Ad Here the 13th, the blues bar on Samsen Road.  The regular house band came on around 10pm and was fantastic as usual. 

The Banglampoo Band, Ad Here the 13th

Bathroom at a bar near Rambuttri - do I even want to know why you might need tongs in the toilet???

 We stayed for one set, and then headed back to our hotel for what I hoped was a good night's sleep. 

Not the case!  The combination of a few beers (much more than my intake over the last many months which have averaged one beer every week or every other week), jet-lag, and the niggling stress of having lost luggage resulted in a sleepless night for me.  I was wide awake at 3:45am and couldn't get back to sleep.  Ugh.  The only advantage/blessing to this horrible phenomenon is the fact that at 4:30am I was able to hear the reception phone ringing downstairs and hear a truck pull up outside - could it be that my bag had arrived?   I dressed quickly and snuck downstairs, trying to avoid making too much noise on the squeaky, rickety wooden stair.  And wonder of wonders, there is a man outside the gate pulling my bag out of the back!  Yeah!!  I woke up the sleeping staff member who unlocked the gate and quietly snuck back upstairs with my long-lost luggage.  It was like Christmas opening it up - clean clothes and toiletries!
I spent some time organizing and taking out the smaller carry-on bag I plan to take to Cambodia.  The larger bag got packed with the spoils from my trip to Fairtex Bangplee that morning - shiny new shin guards and hand wraps - and the other gear I don't need in Cambodia.  

Shiny new Fairtex shin guards!  First new ones in 7 years.

I spent the remainder of the night/morning reading and checking/responding to email.  It was a long wait until sunrise when I figured that the best thing I could do was go for a run.  6:30am and I was out on the road, headed to Sanam Luang on my regular 5 km loop. I didn't feel too bad actually, but I was wearing my heart rate monitor and was amazed at how high my HR was headed - a function of jet-lag I hope?  I wasn't moving that fast to have my HR reach 173 bpm!  But I have felt quite rev'd up for the last 24 hours, am likey dehydrated, and lacking in sleep.  I am hoping that tonight I am able to get a full, solid night of good sleep and back at 100% tomorrow. 

Aftermy run and breakfast, I met up with Dermot, Susan and Rory and we planned out the morning.  We wound up taking a river taxi down to Wat Pho where they planned to do all the regular touristy things - Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, etc. Given that I have done those stops a number of times, and that by this point in the morning I was quite light-headed and somewhat nauseated, I bowed out, left them to it, and walked back through the amulet market, stopping for pork and rice for lunch, and then back to the hotel.  I've been trying to nap all afternoon but alas, there are Muay Thai fights on Channel 3 and Channel 11 and I have been alternating between an attempted nap and watching the fights.  The Channel 3 fights were amazing - tough, fast.  None of the "feeling out" process that happens in the first 3 rounds at Lumpinee or Raja.  This was balls to the walls, bring it on right from the first bell.  Excellent fights to watch - one fantastic KO by elbow, and one nak muay who had the fastest inside leg kick I have ever seen.  This guy kicked three times, both inside and outside, faster than most people do 1 or 2.  Ouchie!  Impressive.  Channel 5, out near Chatuchak Market, has a fight card on tomorrow afternoon (free!) so since the gang want to go to Chatuchak, I might stop in there and catch a few fights as well. 

Tonight we are having a mineralogist gathering.  Actually, more specifically, a museum mineralogist gathering!!  Henrik, a transplanted Dane who is now working as the curator at the Oslo Museum, is here on holidays with his wife.  They are staying with friends somewhere off Sukumvit, but they are meeting us here, away from the main protest sites, for supper.  I find it quite amazing, and amusing, that the three of us are here in Bangkok together - we generally only see each other at conferences or visits to our respective museums.  I think I will take them to the Isaan restaurants near Raja stadium - something a bit different and off the beaten track.  :)  But one thing is certain - it's going to be an early night for me!!