Flip Side: Thailand to London in 24 Hours
The plane lands at 6 am. I’m exhausted and jet lagged, but I get on the tube, and go into the city. The morning light is amazing… And it is cold. Really cold. Especially compared to Thailand…
The plane lands at 6 am. I’m exhausted and jet lagged, but I get on the tube, and go into the city. The morning light is amazing… And it is cold. Really cold. Especially compared to Thailand…
Officially it’s ‘Bua Tong Waterfall’ but Orawun tells us all the locals call it ‘Sticky Waterfall’. It’s a really hot Chiang Mai day. Getting into the water is awesome. It’s cold, and clean, and surrounded by thick, lush jungle…
People party for days, get drunk, run around in the streets chasing each other with water guns, but it’s all good humored. There’s no sense of malice. People are respectful of each other…
The original Wat Chedi Luang was built six centuries ago, so it looks a bit battered and falling down. It has big elephants on it. It’s like a giant birthday cake after the kids grabbed fistfuls of it…
The house band kicks off the evening with some slick prog rock, and then segues into blues and R&B standards. I jump up on stage, first chance I get, and it’s great fun. Everyone is relaxed, and happy to jam out…
It’s full of bacteria” he spat. “Look, there’s rats shitting on the floor, and flies landing on the rat poop, and then the flies are landing on the meat!” He looked outraged. “You take two mouthfuls of that curry, and you’ll be shitting through a straw for a week…
Breakfast time in the guesthouse kitchen. “Hey man! What you doing today?” “Nothing as usual.” “Perfect day then… Those are prayer beads?” “Yes. I must calm my spirit. Prayer stops me from being consumed by my anger.” “You’re going through some shit?” “I am in exile.” “Oh. From your country?” “Yes. From my home.…
…Our mouths smell of whiskey and we are both breathing hard through our nostrils as we kiss, our sweaty faces sliding over each other. I see a monkey over Katherine’s shoulder. Two monkeys. Three. I pull away from the kiss. We are surrounded by monkeys. They are in a ring around us. They’re big,…
…My left knee jams under the accelerator grip, and the next thing I know, I’ve lost power, lost my balance and I’m toppling, slowly and gracelessly toward the ground. A group of monks are laughing at me uproariously. I pick myself up with Buddhist humility, and ride slowly and carefully out the temple gate… Flashback:…
It’s Loi Krathong all over Thailand right now. Central to the festival ritual is the making and floating of Krathong: little floral rafts that you place into the river or sea. Focus Gallery Cafe , here in Chiang Mai, ran a Krathong making workshop yesterday. Anna and I went along and made us a couple…
…There is welding equipment all over the place, and the artists are all clad in protective overalls and home made masks that protect their faces from sparks. Noi shows us around proudly. There are steel horses, elephants, monsters and mutants… My original Thai tourist visa has expired. To get a new visa, I need…
Tuk-tuk drivers make me feel inadequate. Here is a guy who, despite being a chronic alcoholic womaniser with five children, manages to operate a small business…