thailand : virtual

smellie!!!

oooooooou are you in for one good email!!! i got back from asia today!

when i got home at three o'clock in the afternoon, i popped a mosquito bite that had swollen into a blister as big as a spherical pound coin, all shiny and yellow.  a lot like that one i had in weber, you remember?  after i had oozed it and cut off all the loose skin and put a new plaster on it, i climbed into jeans and slippers and a big jumper, cos ain't it cold in england!!!

thailand was beautiful.  i think you'd have loved it.  bangkok was busy busy busy, nightmarkets and lights and sights.  we went to the highest outdoor restaurant in the world, on the 64th floor, overlooking the city, just beth and me.  she had a martini and i had jasmine tea and we watched the sun go down.

there's a nasty side to thailand, though.  about a quarter of the female population from about 16 - early 30's are involved in prostitution.  its horrible - you see all these smarmy white business men with skinny thai girls on their arms, tons of them.  and there's this huge drug problem, about 2 or 3 million people are addicted to yaabaa, a heroin laced tablet which gives them this crazy energy buzz.

otherwize, the people are lovely. you can just smile at some thai stranger, and they will smile back.  sometimes, if you talk to them, you become almost really good friends, and they shake your hand and hug you when you try to go, ask you when you'll be back.

hua hin is getting bigger and bigger.  i had clothes made there, this time, for cheap. school stuff.  its weird, too much attention on yourself.  hua hin was special for rotis, this time - thai pancakes with fruit or chocolate or sometimes savoury stuff - like egg and bacon - all crispy and drizzled with butter and condensed milk.

the department store there is fantastic. cheap and extremely cool stationary. i bought a pen which said 'be bear. be creative. be inspired'.  we spent some money there, it goes sooo far! fun fun fun.

koh samui was beautiful.  you would have gotten bored, though, because all we did was laze around, swim, walk down to the village on the beach.  we stayed on a quiet beach but visited the busybusy one, with lots of shops and stuff, and restaurants, once.

the pool bar waiter fell madly in love with beth and i.  we visited him when we could, so had to, of course, buy several expensive cocktails.  we went night swimming in the pool, after everyone else had gone in and it was all dark and beautiful, and had cocktails and chatted to our waiter, who was all shy and bashful, and nice, and when we went he said, all disappointed, 'no more?'

it was gutting to leave koh samui, by the tiny thatched hut airport to go to singapore.  singapore was completely alien after the little beach island we had just been on. busy and clean and so well or ganised its shocking. you get fined for everything. chewing gum is against the law. drugs get death penalty. its crazy! really really like a robot city. and english is the main language because there are so many other cultures they couldn't decide the best, so they chose english. its strange.

a waiter fell in love with me there too.  he was yummy.

so now i'm back home! feeling like home is in thailand, and this is all wrong!!! but its cool to be back in some ways.



how are you, huh? what are you doing with these hols?? i love your emails, they make my days. please send me one.


tons of love,
fran x