Can I Buy You a Beer From 7-11?

After a couple of days of air conditioning, a big comfortable bed, a television, and fast and free internet at Eli's brother, Richy's, apartment, I went back to the main back packer street of Khao San Rd. to enjoy my last couple of days in Thailand. Tim, who I met at the Full Moon Party and travelled with for a couple weeks, is back in Bangkok too, so we got a room together. He was one of the twelve other solo travellers who all buddied up during that week, and now that I think about it, I can't believe that was almost six weeks ago. So, it's only proper that we leave Thailand with a big bang, and I'm really happy that I get to close out the country with one of my favorite guys I've met in Thailand.

It's funny being back in Bangkok. When I first got here on January 29th I hated it. I was some poor shmuck with a big backpack on, being tugged left and right by Thai guys trying to get me into their taxis, Indian guys asking me if I wanted to try on a suit, annoying Thai women yelling "you want massaaaage?", and a creeper asking me if I wanted to check out a ping-pong show (take a wild guess what a ping-pong show is). But after being in Thailand for 12 weeks, you learn that it's part of travelling here and you get accustomed to it. You learn how to playfully deflect the annoying hawkers in your face all the time by telling the Indian guy that it's 150 degrees outside, what the fuck am I gonna do with a suit, asking the massage ladies how much they would pay if instead I gave them a massage, and telling the creeper that I'll only go to the ping-pong show if he was performing.

Tim and I ran into a guy we knew from a few islands back and hung out with him and his couple of friends for the night. Depending on where you are, sometimes a really fun way of spending the night is getting a dirt cheap beer at 7-11 (there's a million of them here), sitting on the curb outside, and enjoying the hustle and bustle go by, making cracks at everything and everyone. And if the street is filled with clubs and expensive bars, it's the absolute cheapest way to enjoy the evening. One of the English guys with us called to a pretty blonde girl walking passed. He introduced himself as did she, and in the most sincere way he asked her, "Can I buy you a beer from 7-11?" The four of us couldn't control the laughter that followed.

I saw a guy wearing a Boston Red Sox hat. I asked him if he was from Boston. He playfully responded with, "I don't wear this hat for nothing." So I gave him a high five and said, "Fuck the Patriots." But, we were all joking, and he was actually a really cool guy. He and his girlfriend just recently got finished taking bicycles and riding all the way from Bangkok down through Malaysia into Singapore. Pretty cool.

My flight takes off tomorrow at 4 p.m., arriving in Hong Kong whenever. I wait an hour then get on a plane to Sydney, arriving the next day. I'll try to write something tomorrow before I leave, as I hope to have a good story from my last night in Bangkok.