Overwhelmed and Not Sure of My Place In The World

.
It has been quite confronting, going from the paradise that was Thailand to the hustle and bustle of London town. My past two entries have been written through squinted, jetlagged eyes, and I guess I am still yet to adjust to the time difference, let alone the enormous change my life has taken over the past week.

Last time I wrote a decent entry I was leaving Krabi, heading to Bangkok. After finding that Krabi was quiet, and that it was pouring with tropical-style monsoonal rain, I decided to take my chances, go to the Krabi Airport early and try and get and early flight out to Bangkok. It would mean that I would have about seven hours to spare in Bangkok, but atleast I would be in an airport, with shops, and a place to put my bags.

Well, like any other plan of mine, things went wayward and the craziness began the minute I arrived at Krabi Airport. I was lucky enough to get on the early flight, after patiently waiting with a girl, Leslie. Leslie, from Nashville Tennessee, was fuming mad because she had booked her flight but they had failed to actually put her on it. Leslie and I arrived in Bangkok out of pure luck, and I guess the very fact of us meeting in the first place was by chance. But like many other travelling stories, chance meetings can often lead you on a completely new path of your journey.

After getting into chaotic Bangkok, Leslie asked me if I wanted to use up the seven hours I had to wait by going into Bangkok with her, dumping my bags in her hotel room and grabbing a meal. I agreed and we both excitedly jumped into a cab and headed into the bizarre city that is Bangkok. We eventually found a hotel, but not before we made a pact that we wouldnt go to Bangkok without checking out Kao San Road, the infamous district of Bangkok. We agreed that doing it alone was not a good idea, and seeing there were two of us, it would be much safer.

The night ended up being the most bizarre night of my life. I was swept up in a world like no other. It is hard to explain here in writing, and only those who have walked down Kao San Road know that this is an experience like no other. I saw worms, cicadas and all kinds of insects being eaten, seedy Bangkok bars overcrowded with cheap Thai women and equally cheap thai beer, the bright neon lights and the constant "boom boom" of techno music. We dodged rats the size of domestic cats, and got harrassed to go and see "Ping Pong Ladies". We took a crazy tuk-tuk ride around, and got to see the "real Bangkok" - the seedy industry that is the Thai sex industry. We managed to avoid going into a Ping Pong place, because we felt that this was taking a step too far into a world we werent very sure about.


All I can say is that the "real" Bangkok is very different from the Bangkok that I caught a glimpse of only a few days before. Before I could only see poverty. That night, I got to see a culture much more bizarre - an experience I dont think I will forget in a very long time.

After hours of the seediness that in Bangkok, I had a shower in Leslie's hotel room, said goodbye to my new friend Leslie, and caught a cab back to the airport. My lungs were burning, having sucked in the horridly polluted air only for those few hours, and my mind was spinning from what I had just experienced.

The flight to Dubai was tough because I couldnt sleep, but the connecting flight from Dubai was fantastic. It was an empty plane (one of those new 777 Boeings - fantastic!) and I had a whole row of seats to myself. Here, I managed to sleep away the events of the night before, even if it was sleep that was broken.

So here I am in London, not quite sure where my place is here, and not sure where I will end up. I think that this may be the experience that I have been looking for. Too overwhelmed at the moment to understand anything, whether it be why I have done this, and what lie ahead, I know that it will be a tough few months. I miss my family already, but know that every experience that I am having is making me grow up so much. I miss Charlotte like someone missing their right arm, and I long to give her a big hug and see her smile. But again, I know that one day I will be back there telling her all of these wonderful stories.

The interviews went well and the response from the recruiters was absolutely crazy! What I thought would only be a meeting with one girl ended up being a meeting with four people, queued up to meet with me because they all have potential jobs for me. Apparently I am "the talk of the town" at Badenoch and Clark at the moment. They even asked me yet again if I wanted to come and work for them. I told them that perhaps in a couple of months, when I have settled down here in the Uk. The response has been very comforting, particularly at a time when I am desperately seeking some kind of stability.

But you know that? I wouldnt change this for the world.

xoxox

k


Anyone for fried worms?














Or does friend grasshopper take your fancy?