The Girl in the Big Mango

True Friendship

(With none of that Sissy girly Crap!!!)

Are you tired of those girls ‘friendship’ poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality?

Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship.

You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card- just the stone cold truth of our friendship.

1. When you’re sad — I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you that way.

2. When you’re blue — I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you then call you a wanker.

3. When you smile — I will know you finally got a root.

4. When you’re scared — I will  take the piss out of you about it every chance I get.

5. When you’re worried — I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit your fucking whining.

6. When you’re confused — I will use little words and talk real slow..

7. When you’re sick — Stay the fuck away from me until you are well again.   I don’t want to catch whatever you have.

8. When you fall — I will point and piss myself laughing at your clumsy arse.

This is my oath….. I pledge it to the end. ‘Why?’ you may ask? ‘Because you are my friend’.

Friendship is like peeing your pants: everyone can see it, but only you can feel the true warmth.

Send this to ‘all  6′ of your friends, then get depressed because you can only think of four!!! (don’t send it back to me…i really don’t give a shit!!!)

And remember….when life hands you  lemons, get some tequila and salt and call me and we’ll get shit faced together.

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Once upon a time, I went up to Chiang Rai with my friends.

We got there late evening, so once another friend came to pick us up, we went over the check the night market out and got something to eat. Not very eventful as they were closing the market already. So…… off for a good night’s sleep.

Next morning, we started early and went to Wat Rong Khung - the famous white temple. Very very beautiful.

No drunks allowed.

No pets as well. I told one of my mates to wait for the rest of us here as she was not allowed inside, and she called me a bitch!!

We then went inside the temple.

The place is very well maintained, clean, and beautiful. Well worth a trip up there just to see this place.

After the temple, we made our way to Mae Sai. On the way, there’s this cute little coffee shop that’s worth a stop too. It’s called Parabola.

Then, we continued our journey to Mae Sai. Got there and went to get a temp pass to cross the border.

And here we were… on the Burmese side. We spent a lot of time here checking out the market.

I wasn’t too mad about the stuff there, as quality might be a bit dodgy. So, I mostly just walked around and took a couple of photos.

Two girls in our gang were shopaholic. So, we finally left Mae Sai well in the evening, after hours of shopping. We came back into town, and went out for a few drinks with our local friends.

Next day was our last day up there, and we started early again. We headed to Doi Tung to visit the Royal Villa there. No dual pricing policy here, apparently.

We made our way from ticket booth up to the Royal Villa first.

Loads of flowers along the way.

We went inside to see the residence of the late Princess Mother. No photos allowed, of course. But we were allowed to take photos outside on the balcony, facing away from the Princess Mother’s bedroom.

After the villa, we made our way back out to go see the Mae Fah Luang Garden.

Drinking water provided along the way.

A huge beautiful garden here.

After our lovely walk around the garden, we headed to Chiang Saen.

We stopped for lunch near the river and noticed the ferries between Thailand and Laos.

There was this ancient temple not too far away. Wat Phra That Chedi Luang - the biggest Chedi in Chiang Saen.

After making some merits, we moved on to the Golden Triangle.

Not much going on that way, really. So, we went to our last stop for the day - the Anantara Golden Triangle. We had arranged a site inspection with the GM, who is a personal friend of mine, the day before. But he conveniently had to come to Bangkok on a very short notice. So, one of his staff showed us around. I have yet to get to work on a report on the place. Anyway, finished the site inspection and we came back into town. Had a lovely dinner with our local friends, then a few drinks - as usual.

We flew back to Bangkok early morning the next day. It was a nice trip, even though Chiang Rai was a bit quiet. The people in the North are definitely nicer than the twats in Bangkok. Enjoyed it.

So, it’s that time of year where TG miles were about to expire. My sister redeemed her air award and got a free ticket for me. We were heading to Bali.

Being an extremely organised person that I am, one month passed and I only had plane tickets and hotels sorted and paid for. Then, just two weeks before taking off, my aunt went back into ICU - last stage of breast cancer. Driving between Pathumthani and Thonburi nearly everyday took up a lot of my energy, so I decided to email a driver/guide out of the two names I had and pretty much left everything else up to him.

Day 1

8:40am on a Friday and wheels up. TG’s Boeing 777-300 have PTVs these days so it’s not too bad. We were flying through some turbulence at one point. The plane was shaking a bit and jumping up and down slightly which scared the shit out of me. But the good old captain brought us all to Bali safe and sound. The landing wasn’t quite Smooth as Silk, but whatever. Good to be on the ground again.

Not really too exciting at the airport. Immigration was painless. But my luggage took forever to come out. Once outside, I was looking for Putu - our driver. And there he was with a sign with my name on it. After saying a quick hello and all that bollocks, he dragged our luggages to the car park. And the silly bugger turned to us saying “Where is my car?”

Original plan for the first day was that he would take us to the hotel in Kuta, check-in, and we went South to see the Uluwatu and stuff. But he said traffic around Kuta was very bad that day, and that we should just check-in and walk around the beach and relax, the sightseeing would begin next day instead. OK then. So, he took us to our hotel in Kuta - the Alam Kulkul. Agoda charged us 105 USD, inclusive of admin fee. No breakfast.

When we arrived, I left my sister to do the check-in and I was led to a lounge at the lobby where the hotel provided snacks and some drinks.

When my sister joined me, she said she reckoned the front desk told her that our room type was full so they upgraded us to Villa.

The room was nice. The bathroom was even nicer.. and big.

From the dressing area, there was a glass door. And then you will find the toilet.

Further from the toilet, there was a tub/shower.

These three things smelled really really nice.

After a quick rest, we went out to check out Kuta town.

Like I read before, it was quite like Indonesian version of our Patong. So, not really all that exciting to us.

Apparently, there was a thing going on Kuta beach at that time called Kuta Karnival. But not much going on when we were walking along the beach. Then something caught my eyes. There were many people gathering on the beach, and local music were being played. So, we stayed to watch what was going on.

They were dancing while the sun going down.

It was pretty nice actually. All the kids were dancing with their teachers leading in front. I took a short(ish) video of it. I’ll see if I can upload it and post it later. After the dance, this guy (must be some kind of head of something) started walking round spraying water on the locals.

We didn’t do much after this as my sister wasn’t one to be out too late at night. We went back to the hotel to relax as the driver would come to pick us up at 8:30am next day.

Day 2

Putu turned up at 8:30am and we checked out of the hotel as we were staying in Ubud the next two days. I have to say that we were very impressed with Alam Kulkul. Service was great. Room was really nice. Staff were great. Can’t find anything to complain about the place. Oh wait, there is no wifi in room. Have to get username and password at the Reception and wifi is available around there.

Putu then took us to see a Barong Dance in Denpasar. It’s about a fight between the good (Barong) and the evil (Rangda). They provided a leaflet in English too, so you can read a bit of the story. Quite fun actually.

My sister said the Barong looked like a Shih Tzu.

Google is your friend, if you want to read up about the Barong Dance.

After the dance, we continued our journey to Kintamani and Putu stopped at this place for us to look at Batik stuff.

We agreed that this place was very touristy and way too expensive so we didn’t buy anything. So, we moved on. We were going to Kintamani first and made our way back down to Ubud in the afternoon.

Before hitting Kintamani, Putu stopped at this temple. You need to wear a sarong before going in. If you don’t have one, you can borrow from the temple and put some money in the donation box. At the gate, a bloke was standing there spraying water on people going in. It’s to clean you and your soul. When the guy is spraying water on you, you just raise your hands with your palms up, like in the last pic in my first day post.

After the temple, we were back on the road. Not too long, Putu parked the car at a restaurant called Lake View for us to have lunch. From the restaurant, you can see Mt Batur and Lake Batur. They have tables on the outside, but we were not that lucky. But no problem, we didn’t take long to finish the buffet lunch (shit food) and we walked around to take pics.

The first time I saw a real volcano. Simply amazing. I was really impressed. We took quite a few pics with the volcano in the background.

While looking for Putu, I noticed this chap. The first soi dog I came across in Bali, and he was all the way up near a volcano.

Next stop, Putu was so kind enough to stop at a shop where they sold some spa products. He also asked if we liked coffee. Having done some research before the trip, I hesitated but said yes quietly. These spa products were very good quality, according to Putu. It’d better be good, cos it’s quite expensive. But at least, I got the Javanese Lulur stuff for my friend. I couldn’t find it elsewhere during the whole trip. Outside the shop, there was a little corner where they sold their coffee beans. They got a few different types. One of them, Putu said… they gave the beans to the civet, the thing would only eat the best beans, they waited till the civet had a shit and they collected the shit and proceeded to make coffee beans out of it. Yep, that pretty much confirmed what I suspected. So, I politely declined when Putu asked if we wanted to drink coffee. I ain’t eating no poop.

After the poop place, we went to Pura Tirta Empul (or Temple of Holy Water) in Tempaksiring. Before going inside, you need to wear a sarong also. But can borrow at the temple, with a small donation.

Before hitting Ubud, Putu stopped at Tegalalang rice terrace for us to take a few pics.

Then, straight to our hotel in Ubud - Champlung Sari Hotel. Agoda charged us about 60 USD per night, inclusive of admin fee and breakfast. We read a bit of reviews and we prepared for a run down hotel. It was indeed a bit run down. But acceptable for us, as it’s cheap as chips and location was pretty good. It is located on Monkey Forest Street. After a quick walk around, we thought the location was definitely what we paid for. Being very close to the Monkey Forest, we didn’t need alarm clock at all as the little buggers came down our roof early morning every day, on their way to the hotel resaurant to steal the guests’ breakfast.

On Monkey Forest Street…

We found Ubud market and Monkey Forest Street to be the best place to shop. Pretty good price for pretty good quality. Loads of stuff there that you can bargain the price down at least 50%. We did some shopping in the evening, had a nice meal and a long chat, and went back to hotel to sleep. Early start next day again.

Day 3
Next morning, Putu came to pick us up early morning again. We were heading to Besakih Temple (the most important temple on the island) today. Before going there, Putu informed us that the people there were not very nice and only wanted money. He trained us a bit on the price thingy as he wouldn’t be able to accompany us, mainly because he didn’t have permission to take tourists up to the temple, I think. So, we went to the desk to negotiate the fee to get a guy leading us up there. They originally quoted us ridiculous price, but having a trainer, we negotiated the price down a lot. We ended up paying 120,000 IDR for the guide. Don’t pay them 50 or 60 EUR. They are taking the piss.

So, we paid the money. Our guide didn’t look too happy when he knew how much we paid. Tough shit. The money guy gave in, so sort it out with him, silly cookie.

Walking up the hill turned out to be quite a challenge to me as I haven’t had much exercise the past two years. There were a few temples in the Pura Besakih. Can probably say the temple is like a complex. It’s not just one temple.

The mountain in the background is called Mt Agung - the highest mountain on the island. There were quite a few folks doing their ceremony that day.

Next stop, Putu took us to Klungkung, an ancient palace. Not much going on there really. Not really worth a trip there.

Didn’t spend a lot of time there as there was not much to see. So, we headed to Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave.

There was holy water here too.

And here’s the cave..

We went inside, even though I am no good with narrow places. I kept looking at the way out of the cave to reassure myself that it’s there and I could run out anytime. Too dark, too spooky inside. So, we came back out and walked around the place a bit.

With all this walking, I must have lost some more weight. Anyway, after the cave, we came back to Ubud walking around some more. We wanted to try out their spa. So, walk walk walk. Talk talk talk. Either they didn’t have enough therapists, or they were too expensive. So, we gave up and spent our money on silk scarf, massage oil, soap, etc instead. Our feet were really hurt today so we didn’t even go out for dinner. I just couldn’t walk anymore.

Day 4
Our last day, Putu wasn’t available so he sent another guy on his team to take care of us instead. The driver was coming to pick us up at 10am, so we finished breakfast pretty quick and walked around a bit. We went to see Ubud Palace, which didn’t have anything to do there during the day, but it’s worth to come down in the evening to watch some dance.

We decided to check out the Ubud Market - again - before heading back to the hotel to meet our driver.

I wanted to buy some slippers from here, but the slipper lady asked for 80,000 IDR. We (read My sister) negotiated the price down a bit, but the slipper lady wouldn’t go lower than 40,000 IDR. We walked away, and she screamed OK OK How much you tell me. My sister said 20,000 and slipper lady said 30,000. We walked away again, and the slipper lady said OK OK 20,000 IDR. This walk-away trick works very well at Ubud Market and Sukawati Market (not worth it, Ubud market is better).

We were going to go to Tanah Lot as our last destination and off to the airport after. On the way, the driver stopped at a shop for us to look at the wood carving. Pretty neat, I have to say. I kind of liked how they put flowers everywhere.

Even on the Ganesh.

Last destination, Tanah Lot, is a temple by the sea. It’s on the West of the island. Very famous for sunset. But I’ve been told it’s too crowded then as everyone wants to see sunset here.

There was a Holy Snake .. and some more Holy Water here. But you have to pay to see the Holy Snake or wash your face with Holy Water. Like I bloody would. So, that’s it. We were off to the airport. Maybe worth to remind everyone that, once you pass the Immigration at the airport, there is another counter where you have to pay 150,000 IDR to get out of the country. Make sure you don’t change all your money back to USD or whatever. While they accept other currencies at the counter, the rate is proper shit. Best to keep 150,000 IDR with you for them.

All in all, we had a great time there. Wish we had brought more USD with us, as the THB rate was proper shit there. I find the people to be pretty nice and friendly. Monkey Forest Street has really nice smell, because of all the oil and flowers and stuff. We will definitely return.

So, it’s that time of year where TG miles were about to expire. My sister redeemed her air award and got a free ticket for me. We were heading to Bali.

Being an extremely organised person that I am :rolleyes: , one month passed and I only had plane tickets and hotels sorted and paid for. Then, just two weeks before taking off, my aunt went back into ICU - last stage of breast cancer. Driving between Pathumthani and Thonburi nearly everyday took up a lot of my energy, so I decided to email a driver/guide out of the two names I had and pretty much left everything else up to him.

8:40am on a Friday and wheels up. TG’s Boeing 777-300 have PTVs these days so it’s not too bad. We were flying through some turbulence at one point. The plane was shaking a bit and jumping up and down slightly which scared the shit out of me. But the good old captain brought us all to Bali safe and sound. The landing wasn’t quite Smooth as Silk, but whatever. Good to be on the ground again.

Not really too exciting at the airport. Immigration was painless. But my luggage took forever to come out. Once outside, I was looking for Putu - our driver. And there he was with a sign with my name on it. After saying a quick hello and all that stuff, he dragged our luggages to the car park. And the silly bugger turned to us saying “Where is my car?”

Original plan for the first day was that he would take us to the hotel in Kuta, check-in, and we went South to see the Uluwatu and stuff. But he said traffic around Kuta was very bad that day, and that we should just check-in and walk around the beach and relax, the sightseeing would begin next day instead. OK then. So, he took us to our hotel in Kuta - the Alam Kulkul. Agoda charged us 105 USD, inclusive of admin fee. No breakfast.

When we arrived, I left my sister to do the check-in and I was led to a lounge at the lobby where the hotel provided snacks and some drinks.

When my sister joined me, she said she reckoned the front desk told her that our room type was full so they upgraded us to Villa.

The room was nice. The bathroom was even nicer.. and big.

From the dressing area, there was a glass door. And then you will find the toilet.

Further from the toilet, there was a tub/shower.

These three things smelled really really nice.

After a quick rest, we went out to check out Kuta town.

Like I read before, it was quite like Indonesian version of our Patong. So, not really all that exciting to us.

Apparently, there was a thing going on Kuta beach at that time called Kuta Karnival. But not much going on when we were walking along the beach. Then something caught my eyes.

There were many people gathering on the beach, and local music were being played. So, we stayed to watch what was going on.

They were dancing while the sun going down.

It was pretty nice actually. All the kids were dancing with their teachers leading in front. I took a short(ish) video of it. I’ll see if I can upload it and post it later. After the dance, this guy (must be some kind of head of something) started walking round spraying water on the locals.

We didn’t do much after this as my sister wasn’t one to be out too late at night. We went back to the hotel to relax as the driver would come to pick us up at 8:30am next day.

———-

Putu turned up at 8:30am and we checked out of the hotel as we were staying in Ubud the next two days. I have to say that we were very impressed with Alam Kulkul. Service was great. Room was really nice. Staff were great. Can’t find anything to complain about the place. Oh wait, there is no wifi in room. Have to get username and password at the Reception and wifi is available around there.

Putu then took us to see a Barong Dance in Denpasar. It’s about a fight between the good (Barong) and the evil (Rangda). They provided a leaflet in English too, so you can read a bit of the story. Quite fun actually.

My sister said the Barong looked like a Shih Tzu.

Google is your friend, if you want to read up about the Barong Dance.

After the dance, we continued our journey to Kintamani and Putu stopped at this place for us to look at Batik stuff.

We agreed that this place was very touristy and way too expensive so we didn’t buy anything. So, we moved on. We were going to Kintamani first and made our way back down to Ubud in the afternoon.

Before hitting Kintamani, Putu stopped at this temple. You need to wear a sarong before going in. If you don’t have one, you can borrow from the temple and put some money in the donation box. At the gate, a bloke was standing there spraying water on people going in. It’s to clean you and your soul. When the guy is spraying water on you, you just raise your hands with your palms up, like in the last pic in my first post.

After the temple, we were back on the road. Not too long, Putu parked the car at a restaurant called Lake View for us to have lunch. From the restaurant, you can see Mt Batur and Lake Batur. They have tables on the outside, but we were not that lucky. But no problem, we didn’t take long to finish the buffet lunch (shit food) and we walked around to take pics.

The first time I saw a real volcano. Fucking amazing. I was really impressed. We took quite a few pics with the volcano in the background.

While looking for Putu, I noticed this chap. The first soi dog I came across in Bali, and he was all the way up near a volcano.

Next stop, Putu was so kind enough to stop at a shop where they sold some spa products. He also asked if we liked coffee. Having done some research before the trip, I hesitated but said yes quietly. These spa products were very good quality, according to Putu. It’d better be good, cos it’s quite expensive. But at least, I got the Javanese Lulur stuff for my friend. I couldn’t find it elsewhere during the whole trip. Outside the shop, there was a little corner where they sold their coffee beans. They got a few different types. One of them, Putu said… they gave the beans to the civet, the thing would only eat the best beans, they waited till the civet had a shit and they collected the shit and proceeded to make coffee beans out of it. Yep, that pretty much confirmed what I suspected. So, I politely declined when Putu asked if we wanted to drink coffee. I ain’t eating no poop.

After the poop place, we went to Pura Tirta Empul (or Temple of Holy Water) in Tempaksiring. Before going inside, you need to wear a sarong also. But can borrow at the temple, with a small donation.

Before hitting Ubud, Putu stopped at Tegalalang rice terrace for us to take a few pics.

Then, straight to our hotel in Ubud - Champlung Sari Hotel. Agoda charged us about 60 USD per night, inclusive of admin fee and breakfast. We read a bit of reviews and we prepared for a run down hotel. It was indeed a bit run down. But acceptable for us, as it’s cheap as chips and location was pretty good. It is located on Monkey Forest Street. After a quick walk around, we thought the location was definitely what we paid for. Being very close to the Monkey Forest, we didn’t need alarm clock at all as the little buggers came down our roof early morning every day, on their way to the hotel resaurant to steal the guests’ breakfast.

On Monkey Forest Street…

We found Ubud market and Monkey Forest Street to be the best place to shop. Pretty good price for pretty good quality. Loads of stuff there that you can bargain the price down at least 50%. We did some shopping in the evening, had a nice meal and a long chat, and went back to hotel to sleep. Early start next day again.

———-

Next morning, Putu came to pick us up early morning again. We were heading to Besakih Temple (the most important temple on the island) today. Before going there, Putu informed us that the people there were not very nice and only wanted money. He trained us a bit on the price thingy as he wouldn’t be able to accompany us, mainly because he didn’t have permission to take tourists up to the temple, I think.

So, we went to the desk to negotiate the fee to get a guy leading us up there. They originally quoted us ridiculous price, but having a trainer, we negotiated the price down a lot. We ended up paying 120,000 IDR for the guide. Don’t pay them 50 or 60 EUR. They are taking the piss.

So, we paid the money. Our guide didn’t look too happy when he knew how much we paid. Tough shit. The money guy gave in, so sort it out with him, cheeky sod.

Walking up the hill turned out to be quite a challenge to me as I haven’t had much exercise the past two years. There were a few temples in the Pura Besakih. Can probably say the temple is like a complex. It’s not just one temple.

The mountain in the background on the way up is called Mt Agung - the highest mountain on the island. There were quite a few folks doing their ceremony that day.

Next stop, Putu took us to Klungkung, an ancient palace. Not much going on there really. Not really worth a trip there.

Didn’t spend a lot of time there as there was not much to see. So, we headed to Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave.

There was holy water here too.

And here’s the cave..

We went inside, even though I am no good with narrow places. I kept looking at the way out of the cave to reassure myself that it’s there and I could run out anytime. Too dark, too spooky inside. So, we came back out and walked around the place a bit.

With all this walking, I must have lost some more weight. Anyway, after the cave, we came back to Ubud walking around some more. We wanted to try out their spa. So, walk walk walk. Talk talk talk. Either they didn’t have enough therapists, or they were too expensive. So, we gave up and spent our money on silk scarf, massage oil, soap, etc instead. Our feet were really hurt today so we didn’t even go out for dinner. I just couldn’t walk anymore.

———-

Our last day, Putu wasn’t available so he sent another guy on his team to take care of us instead. The driver was coming to pick us up at 10am, so we finished breakfast pretty quick and walked around a bit. We went to see Ubud Palace, which didn’t have anything to do there during the day, but it’s worth to come down in the evening to watch some dance.

We decided to check out the Ubud Market - again - before heading back to the hotel to meet our driver.

I wanted to buy some slippers from here, but the slipper lady asked for 80,000 IDR. We (read My sister) negotiated the price down a bit, but the slipper lady wouldn’t go lower than 40,000 IDR. We walked away, and she screamed OK OK How much you tell me. My sister said 20,000 and slipper lady said 30,000. We walked away again, and the slipper lady said OK OK 20,000 IDR. This walk-away trick works very well at Ubud Market and Sukawati Market (not worth it, Ubud market is better).

We were going to go to Tanah Lot as our last destination and off to the airport after. On the way, the driver stopped at a shop for us to look at the wood carving. Pretty neat, I have to say. I kind of liked how they put flowers everywhere.

Even on the Ganesh.

Last destination, Tanah Lot, is a temple by the sea. It’s on the West of the island. Very famous for sunset. But I’ve been told it’s too crowded then as everyone wants to see sunset here.

There was a Holy Snake (!!!!) .. and some more Holy Water (!!!!) here. But you have to pay to see the Holy Snake or wash your face with Holy Water. Like fook I would. So, that’s it. We were off to the airport. Maybe worth to remind everyone that, once you pass the Immigration at the airport, there is another counter where you have to pay 150,000 IDR to get out of the country. Make sure you don’t change all your money back to USD or whatever. While they accept other currencies at the counter, the rate is proper shit. Best to keep 150,000 IDR with you for them.

All in all, we had a great time there. Wish we had brought more USD with us, as the THB rate was proper shit there. I find the people to be pretty nice and friendly. Monkey Forest Street has really nice smell, because of all the oil and flowers and stuff. We will definitely return.

PS. I think I forgot to mention all the six packs on Kuta beach. Aussie’s they might be. But still makes a nice change from all the beer guts in Thailand I see.

Or maybe full moon??

Really, there must be a reason behind this…

About a week ago (Ok, it was Friday), I turned on my Skype as I hadn’t been on it much so just wanted to check in a bit. And not long after, I got a call from someone familiar…

Yep, you guess it. It’s the Alcoholic. I couldn’t see his online status since I had deleted him months ago. Caught me a little off guard he did. But nothing eventful, really. A few name callings just for the sake of it. And he said he would like to meet up soon.

…. rrrrrrright.

Last time I saw his face, he said “See you in two weeks” before buggering off. And that was… hmm… at least 6 months ago.

Anyways…. so, end of conversation, he had my phone number, I didn’t have his, he said he would call to meet the following week. Honestly, I didn’t expect him to call or anything. I lived my life as per normal.

A few days later, I was told that someone had seen him getting pissed out of his head somewhere. I didn’t care for details, as it didn’t matter. Thought I would try be a good friend so I sent out an email warning him about his boozing.

Boy, did he get pissed off with me. He rang me on Skype right after reading the email - fuming. Demanding to know who my source was and all that stuff. Saying I wasn’t being nice or kind to him (WTF?!?), etc. So, he successfully shot the messenger and I promised myself I wouldn’t care if he was dead or alive again.

Now, a few days later - well, today at about midday, I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognise. I had to answer as sometimes it was about work. And you guess it….

Yep, right on cue, after being warned about his boozing, a Friday night came, and from the sound of it him,  he has been drinking since last night and hasn’t been to bed yet. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, I know all this stuff.

In a lame attempt to get his sodding revenge (hahaha), he said to me “Oh hey, you know,  I’ve heard you been seen walking around town, and people say Hey that’s Kay, that’s the weird girl, that’s the girl who can’t get a boyfriend…..”

I only heard up to that point as I took the phone away from my ear, took a good look at it, and clicked to hang up. Lord knows how long after that he kept spouting more shite to try upset me. Hahahaha.

I mean, Tom darling, my email was supposed to be a bloody wake-up call to you. You are a teacher at an international school. With your boozing and perhaps drugs taking? (I hope you haven’t done more of that shit) You really think the parents would be too pleased to see you - a teacher of their kids - in that state? Wake up, sweetheart. You need to get your shit together. Quick.

And really, honestly, my life has been a lot better since he buggered off. I’ve become my old self again. Just happier. If I had to have a boyfriend like this twat, I would rather die alone. Seriously.

First thing I should say that it is still safe to come to Thailand, even though we have been having some political thingys going on for a while now.

Well, as a matter of fact, I just had a friend in town for a few days and he left Thailand unscratched. Just a few mosquito bites.

I took him down to Bangsaen beach in Chonburi province for a night as it was a better choice than Pattaya. We stayed at this new hotel - Laplaya Boutique Resort. Quite nice, actually. Except there was only one English speaking channel on the telly.

Near the hotel, there was a (new, I think) hip bar which we visited. They got some interesting chairs and stuff. Lots of young people enjoyed their night out there, even though it was Thursday night. So, I guess they must be students from the university in the area.

Back to Bangkok and I had to get home, take a shower, get changed, and go out with my colleagues. Except I couldn’t.

For some unknown reason, the traffic that evening was a complete nightmare. After dropping my friend off, I was making my way back into town… and I realised I was screwed. Traffic just got worse by the minute. I remember I was stuck in Thong Lor for a bit over an hour. I mean, it took about two hours to move from Thong Lor BTS station to Phrom Phong station. I had to consult the girls in the office as to what to do as I knew I would be stuck there for quite a while. Strategies changed every call I made.

And in the end, I made it to the restaurant - one and half hours late. But I was forgiven as they all knew the traffic was terrible beyond belief. Enjoyed the night with all of them, though. It was good fun. Problem is, I didn’t think I was pissed. I knew I drank quite a bit, but didn’t feel drunk.

Turned out I was actually drunk, looking at a couple of messages I wrote last night.

Oh, and the hangover I am still having now also.

How time flies!

Anyway, just a quick update that I am still alive and kicking. It has been a tad busy over here, what with my uncle passing away and stuff.

Hoping to do some constructive stuff for the site soon.

After my beloved the Alcoholic disappeared from my life, I have started rebuilding my self-confidence and my life. Slowly.

I am more friendly, nicer to co-workers and bosses, and all that. My mood swing is better.

And then, he gets back in touch.

Seeing that cheeky face with that familiar cheeky smile with no signs of remorse on Skype was a pretty dumb idea, as it resulted in me getting angry (again), upset (again), sad (again), and then me getting drunk (good excuse actually) and taking three tables of sleeping pill and antidepressant.

And then, I realised I hadn’t had dinner.

Shit.

So, I passed out pretty much right away and got sick a few hours later. And a few hours later.
Well, at least, I eventually woke up today.

Well, actually, it was two quick trips.

Two weeks ago, Mum and I went to Chantaburi to check out some business opportunity. I will have to write that one up very soon. Got a few pics too.

Last weekend, I went down to Pattaya with two friends. I had planned to go there because Lee Shamrock - a friend of mine - was going to play there on last Sunday. But shit happened first and he wasn’t playing anymore.

The hell to it! I was still going. I needed a quick break.

That. And AH was coming over to see me too.

AH and I were together for a while. We split last year. For some unknown reasons, AH is one of the two bastards I can never forget. The other is called CJ. Lord knows why. I once had lost contact with CJ for at least a year. When we met up again, it was just like we had never been apart.

Strange thing is that, AH and CJ look quite alike. I hadn’t seen CJ for a long time when I first met AH at a party. I couldn’t quite take my eyes off AH that night. Oh, the good old days.

It was very nice to see AH again.

Well, ok, there is still some shit here and there. But at least, it’s my own shit.

Just a few weeks ago, I went out with a few friends. I ended up drinking with one of them until 6AM. Just by the end of the evening (or was it the morning?), some tosser pissed me off. So, we decided to go home.

That was a nice change. I mean, usually, if I was up until 6AM, it was because the Alcoholic wouldn’t go to sleep and was having a pop at me. It was usually drama, headache, argument, tears and all that. But that Friday night, it was great fun. I had a great time with my mate.

And that makes me feel life is just getting better after such an ordeal.