tumbled into Bangkok

wah... i m like a jungle bunny here in bustling Bangkokkkkk! it's scary actually. this morning i took a walk out from my (terribly overrated and horribly ugly and expensive) hotel BANGKOK CITY INN (don't go there!) randomly towards the main shopping stretch and even at 8am, people were jostling in the narrow sidewalks buying fake goods! can't believe the spirit of entreprise and the great consumerism here. i forget what it's like in singapore - except in singapore we really don't have people buying fake Pradas at 8am. the streets were also packed with itinerant hawkers selling all sorts of unhealthy deep fried stuff that i could only watch but cannot taste cos i'm still recovering from a sore throat from last week's vitriol-induced illness. i finally got onto the light rail and headed towards the central pier and hopped onto a a VERY slow boat to Phra Athit Road where UNICEF's regional and thai office is strategically located along the Chao Praya river. I got there, met a thai colleague who brought me shopping for POLYFOAM CORE (yes... we don't even have these in timor) but K did remind me that it's a good thing too cos the foam core is really unenvironmentally friendly.
after a brief shower (rain i mean!) and a very light lunch, i went to shop! or i thought i would. what did i pick up? hmm... pills for my incessant phelgm and chesty cough. bleh... everything looked so expensive and glossy and loud. I really forget what sleepy timor does to one. now i understand why when i once brought my parents out for a movie back in singapore, they asked me why the sound was so loud and i laughed! now i have a buzz in my ears from all the traffic noise blended with arcade effects, and promotional ads that run nonstop in these malls.
all afternoon i wanedered aimlessly in the malls, searching for a fine pair of leather sandals that would suit my feet - something low and yet classy. nope couldn't find a pair that was like that OR everything was too big! i was even prepared to splurge on a pair of Clarks if there was a good pair. oh well. too bad.
i really have not walked so much in a long while - i have forgotten what atheleticism in a city is. luckily i wore my comfy sandals - also no nonsense but already looking rather well worn. it's refreshing to get out of dili once in a while - reminds you of how reality for different people can really b extremely unsimilar. while i am glad to have a break out of dili and from hearing depressing reports everyday of fights, stone throwing and stabbings, i kinda miss the ocean waves that pound ceaselessly as i fall asleep to its rhythms. one day away, and i already miss Timor - yikes - have i really become a jungle bunny????