some little things i've been carrying around in my head:

- they show movies in the resorts at night as a draw to get people into the restaurants. A few nights ago, they showed 'the Beach.' On the beach. And all these people went to see this movie about experiencing life and backpacking. And they saw no irony whatsoever in the fact that they were all sitting in an air-conditioned restaurant on the beach in Thailand watching a movie about the beach in Thailand. so weird.

- I splurged last night... I'm in a big city in the middle of the country, and i paid the extra 200 baht for a room with a hot shower... my ongoing weakness. There was an electrical box attached to the shower head, and I took the shower SO gingerly, thinking off all the stories I've heard about radios and hairdryers in bathtubs. ELECTRICITY AND WATER! BAD! I truly expected to be electrified at any moment... but consoled myself with the thought that it wasn't a bad way to go.

The sticker on the shower/water heater: "Shower of Happiness"

Not arguing at all.

- Name of my cigarette brand here: "stairway to heaven" and i think that's so funny.... STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN??? What's next?, asked my Canadian friend... "nail in coffin" brand cigarettes? At least they call it like it is: Stairway to Heaven cigarettes by the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly (don't people usually try to disguise the fact that they have a monopoly on something?)

-Oh, and finally: people LOVE my nose here. It's hilarious. I have a *special* nose. It's kind of... beaky. noble. large. Something like that. But people stop me in stores to tell me how beautiful it is.

Tonight, I'm taking the night train back to Bangkok... I fucking LOVE the night train. You just sit there, hanging out, watching the world go by until about 9pm, and then these porters come around and pull beds OUT OF THE CEILINGS! And there are pillows and sheets and little curtains for privacy.

And you can walk around the train... go to the kitchen car for a snack, or to another car for a drink.

All together now: good times, good times.

Exactly. on y va. Tomorrow: coldplay in Bangkok. Right on.

3:38 p.m. - 2003-07-28