after the flights... Bangkok

i don't know if i was expecting anime... but Narita International Airport in Japan resembled (to my dismay) Lakeside Mall... all the way down to the Claire's Botique and FYI stores... i think i got my ear pierced at a Claire's Botique back in the old days. However, i did have tremendous salmon sashimi at a sushi stand right next to my gate. (as well as some warm sake... mmm) Tokyo to Bangkok was an uneventful sleep of a flight and i jetted right through the passport inspection to the #6 baggage claim where i picked up the samsonite and headed for the exit. i stepped through with nothing to declare and hit the lobby. crowds of people were gathered, mostly offering taxi service! i looked this way and that and then i saw my girl... Nora waved and with smiles whisked me up to the 3rd exit level to the "cheaper" taxis. as ralphie would say, she bargained like an arab trader for the best price to take us to our destination.

the fourteenth floor overlooks a courtyard and pool (pond) with a garden path on each side. mornings, drums and chants can be heard rising from the courtyard. a little further from the courtyard is a sala which is under construction. a sala is a place for pause, meditation, reflection... made me think of little Selah Jubilee (aaron's precious daughter also named for pause and reflection). the courtyard opens into a maze of food shops and stores all around... scooters and motorcycles cruise everywhere... (especially from the british side of the street) our first stop was a walk of about a mile and a half to a delicious outdoor restaurant. i was thankful for the breezes... as hunter s. thompson said "my blood is too thick, i've never been able to properly explain myself in this climate" or... as i said "i'm just a sweater!" a very large singha lager helped to squelch that... served over ice... i kinda like it like that. nora ordered her favorite: tom yum gai (a sort of chicken soup with lemon grass) we also had beef with garlic and chicken with asparagus... alloy mak mak!

we walked back along the klong (canal) a narrow path with bog-like water on one side and sparce residency on the other... it's best to stay alert with fast paced scooters and bicycles sharing the same narrow path. it was an amazingly voyeuristic glimpse at the city from their back porches... babies crying in tiny hammocks, dogs, old men fanning themselves, children playing, and everyone trying to sell pepsi cola (& coca cola).

the evening brought us an unexpected and wonderful honor... we were invited the home of one of nora's officemates... p'nui. (p is placed before someone's name out of respect if they are older than you) it was her nephew's birthday and the whole family was gathered... such amazing food was prepared: flat transparent noodles served with sprouts and a ground pork sauce, a huge steamed fish with a lime chili sauce, oysters in a brown sauce, a fish stew bursting with garlic! i once wrote in a poem : i never had a truly spectacular peach/ this whole fruit business is a pack of lies... well, the meal was followed up by the most delicious slices of mango ever to be eaten. i take back anything bad i've said about fruit. the family was delightful, especially her elderly aunt who true to form kept trying to feed us more.

i have seen and heard a good number of lizards here... the u.s. needs more lizards.

oh... and have i mentioned how incredible nora is? well, she's just the best and is quite handy so far with the language... she amazes me

the next day we would hit the roadside food stands...


vik