Mandy and Paloma's Travel Curse Continues .. and some Bangkok observations

Okay, so my close friends know that Paloma and I are cursed for traveling together. The first chaos was when she accidentally abandoned me in Peru. She thought I was arriving one day after I arrived, so I get there, alone, where's Paloma?? etc etc. The longer version of the story is much more interesting, but you get the idea. Next, we tried to go to China together, and after already paying for the trip, she finds out she doesn't have time off. So this time, third time is a charm, right? She's due here at 650am tomorrow. She's a flight attendant with Iberia so gets cheapy stand-bys, but spoke to Thai just last week and they assured her it would be no problem.

So an hour ago I get a text: "News: Iberia and Thai terminated their agreement LAST WEEK."

WHAT?!?!?!?!??! That means no flight for Paloma.

Somehow, magic of magic, after she was already in the airport trying to check in, she managed to get on a Lufthansa flight via Frankfurt and will still get here tomorrow, just 6 hours later. But how do airlines do that and not tell people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

We are cursed, I tell you, cursed!!!!!

Now aside from that, let me share my latest Thai observations. First, Rayong, where I was last week at the beach, must be a haven for middle-aged men, because EVERY man I saw had a Thai wife or girlfriend. Hmmm...??? And mysteriously, they were almost all German.

Now, I am back in Bangkok, and I am staying just a few blocks off the dreaded/infamous/backpacker haunt of Khao San Road. And yes, it does indeed live up to all the stereotypes and images you have in your head or may have read about. Here are a few: hippies getting dreadlock perms, where literally, a dude sits there and twists and teases your hair until it turns into dreadlocks. Gross. Let's see what else, white girls getting fake braidy hair extensions, frat boys chasing after cute Thai women (they hope they are women), street sellers selling EVERYTHING, hilltribe women wearing traditional dress trying to sell little wodden frog-noise-maker-thingies, tuk tuk drivers trying to "take you for a ride,"scantily clad skinny Thai girls trying to entice you in to their clubs, oh, and my favourite ... you know how some bad-ass people have tribal tatoos running the entire length of their arms? You have to be pretty tough to endure that much pain right? So now, they sell fake tatoo sleeves. It's like a spandex long sleeve, without the t-shirt, that you wear, to look badass with your fake tribal tatoo. Where do people come up with this stuff?

Seriously, even if this is not your scene (as it is not mine) you HAVE to come here and have a look at the madness, just to see it. Even though I've seen it a few times, it's like a train wreck, you know you should look away, but you just have to keep turning your head. I know when I walk down there I am going to say "why why why" but I have to keep going back! Oh the humanity.

And tomorrow, travel gods willing, I will drag Paloma's jetlagged bootie over there with me.

:)