ขี้เกียจเขียน

ขอโทษครับ ดังแต่ 2 ว้นที่แล้วแอนดี้ยุ่งมากๆ ตอนวันอาทิตย์ผมเจอเพี่อนของครอบครัว เขาใจดีมากๆ เขาพุทแค่ภาษาไทยแต่เข้าใจมากๆ เขาพาแอนดี้ไปเที่ยววัดระฆังและยิมมวยไทยครับ ที่วัดนั้นมีคนเยอะแต่ชอบมากเพราะว่าเสียงของระฆังสวยๆ ไม่ชอบยิมเลยครับ เมื่อวานผมมั่งรถบัสไปสีลมเพือหายิมอืน แอนดี้ชอบนั่งรถบัสเพรอะว่าเห็นที่เที่ยวเยอะๆ วันนี้แอนดี้ไป Fighting Spirit Gym ฝึกมวยครับ ชอบมากๆนะครับ มั่งรถบัสไปยิมนานมาก แอนดี้ถึงยิมสายนิดหน่อยแต่ไม่เป็นไร ตื่นเตินไปยิมพรุงนี้

The past few days have been insane. I can't really put into words some of the amazing/unplanned things that have happened on trip so far. On Sunday, a friend of family I am staying with joined me for lunch and then took me in a cab to see Wat Rakang, which means Temple of the Bells. It was so crowded with people and the sound of bells, that it almost reached sensory overload. However, like my previous trips, amounts the chaos, there was some semblance of underlying peace.

After that, my new friend D and the taxi driver took me to see a gym I wanted to train at. They let me train a bit when I got there and after the session, I realized that the gym was a bust. Not into it at all. Regardless, my new friend is awesome and I've seen her a times since, as she is older and generally concerned for my well-being in a motherly kind of way. At this point I should mention that she speaks very little English and our interactions are entirely in Thai. The weird thing is, is that this has forced me to actually think in Thai, since I can't translate in my head now at all, or I don't know what's happening. D is super patient when I don't understand and is all around an excellent accidental teacher. She has also introduced me to some of her friends as her 'son,' which causes some laughter from all parties. I also met another one of her friends, named J for the purposes of my writing, that is more or less completely fluent in English and learned simply by working with English speakers, have never taken a class or formal lesson. Amazing. I hope I can talk to her more about it.

Yesterday, I took the bus to Silom to find Fighting Spirit Gym and it was a cool experience. I got to see a lot of the city and found the gym with no problem, though I had to ask for directions a few times. It is actually located inside an old Chinese Cemetery, when is pretty insane when I really think about it. I'll take some photos tomorrow. I then took the bus home, after accidentally finding the right stop. All told, I spent less than one dollar to ride both ways. The night was finished with some host family-related activities and an accidental 9 hours of sleep.

Today was one for the ages. I woke up and ran and then hung out until leaving for the gym around 12:30 pm. Like most well-planned things, a wrench got thrown into the gears. However, this was a pretty amazing wrench. I saw D and J before getting on the bus, since they both work near the bus stop as food vendors. They gave me some food and beverages, and then D decided to introduce me to the owner of the building they vend in front of. He is a tycoon in some sort of rare metals business and invited me to see his personal shrine of Buddha statutes and ephemera of Thailand's history. It was completely insane. A collection that actually puts most museums and Buddhist temples to shame. He even pulled an employee who speaks English into our tour, so I could understand everything he was telling me. I 'waied' at most of the altars and then told him I was going to practice Muay Thai, when I think made him like me more. In fact, he invited me back tomorrow to meditate there as well as take photos of the collection. So stoked. Before I left, he showed me a security camera that apparently detects supernatural beings that protect his collection and building, which, honestly, I might believe myself, since the camera was moving in really weird ways. Finally, he told my friend D that if I ever need help in Thailand or come across any problems, to call him and he'll help me. At this point, I actually believe in the invisible protectors that his camera is finding, because I have so many people looking out for me here. It is awesome.

After this, D made sure I got on the bus safely and I ended up getting to the gym later than planned, but it wasn't a big deal. The gym ruled and the vibe is chill and great. The trainers were all really good and knew when to push and when to work on skill. I will be returning tomorrow, for sure. I gotta go to sleep now as writing the part in Thai was a bit time consuming. It post more about the gym and hopefully my next excursion to the secret shrine tomorrow.

Pictured below: A shot of Wat Rakang and the laundry detergent that I need to buy tomorrow. I cannot, for the life of me, read that font on it. It does not say 'USA' even though I keep thinking that.

P.s. - Thai Mom #1 is a wonderful cook and is going to teach me about gardening in Thailand soon.
P.p.s. - In Thailand there are no traffic laws and toilet paper is used everywhere except where one would think it is used.