After my update last night, my Enlightenment Tour took me to the veranda of the hostel where I shot the shit with a guy from India for like an hour and got sort of drunk. I didn't intend to, really, but rum and coke is too easy to drink. The Indian asked me if I was an "expat" or a "sexpat" in this dizzying, kinetic city. I quickly answered that I wasn't interested in the sex and he said that was good. Look, but don't get involved.
I went to bed sort of worried about all of that, what with this being the sex capital of Southeast Asia or whatever. What, I thought, will become of me amid all this sin and sadness.
When I awoke, a little hungover and an hour early — it took me four hours to figure out that Bangkok is actually two hours behind Japan right now. I was in this huge weekend market, looking for the snakes, but I didn't find any snakes. Instead, there were very kind, thoroughly depressed squirrels. The market was nice, but not nearly as cheap as I thought it was going to be. I didn't buy anything except some hot, cheap green curry.
I took a nap in the park then went down to the Times Square of Bangkok sure to encounter herds of prostitutes there. Rather, I found ice cream — ice cream and one of the biggest malls I have ever been to in my whole life. I decided to see a movie too, a Thai movie keeping with the whole enlightenment theme. The movie was really good, but it got out late and I was all worried that I was going to miss the last train as I had to transfer at a place I hadn't transferred at. I got home safely and am avoiding drinking the rum and coke in favor of going to bed soon.
Globalism has had such an effect on countries like our dear Thailand. I don't think I'm ready to elaborate on this just yet, but maybe after I think it over a little more. I will say this: fat, ugly American men are free to find gorgeous, lively Thai women to hold their hands and flirt with them in public. Asshats, I say. The both of them.
No prostitution to speak of so far — only one man dressed as a woman. I guess if you aren't looking for it, you don't have to deal with it. We can all eat at Burger King and forget that there are children in slavery here.
I miss Yoko almost as much as I miss Tom.