My favourite day so far!

Tuk tuk ride to Riverside
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Today was my favourite day so far. Fred went on a cooking course and I didn't have any real plans. I took my laundry to reception and Luc said something to me but I wasn't listening. I was still in sleepy mode. When I turned back to the foyer I couldn't find Luc. I guessed he'd told me that he'd popped out somewhere but I didn't know where, so I got a nice big cup of coffee and wrote in my diary for a while. After no sign of him I decided to go it alone and remembered the Insect museum that a girl I met one night in London had recommended to me. I set off with my map and as i crossed the road I saw Luc. I called his name but he was too far away to hear, so I decided to take it as a sign and head off to the museum alone. It was a long walk, but I was really enjoying being alone. It hadn't happened since Sukhothai and I wanted my own little adventure.

Tuk tuk ride
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When I arrived, there was a little doorbell on two huge iron gates. I rang the bell and was greeted by the man himself; Mr. Mosquito. With over 427 different species of mosquito in the world, this man; Mr Manop has discovered about 11 of them. He had previously run the museum with his wife who was not around and I didn't ask as I had the feeling she may have died. He has devoted most of his life to the research and collection of thousands of different insect species. All the creatures on display have been collected after dying of natural causes. Most insects know they are going to die and they find a cool dark place, so It's easy to find little insect graveyards. The museum was unbelievable. I recommend it to anyone. It is so full of information, quirky quotes and a real love of Mother nature. There was loads of information about Malaria. Mr. Mosquito had contracted it when he was a small child and he had miraculously survived. He had taken this as a sign and decided to spread the word about the lifecycle of the mosquito and the disease Malaria.

We discussed Buddhism, his family, his future and the cost of an Ipod in England

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Have a look at the photos. I know there are a lot but some of them are so beautiful.

I left the Museum after a few hours feeling really happy and strangely back in touch with nature. I was oozing contentment. I bought some nibbles at a couple of roadside vendors and walked back to visit a Wat (temple) I'd seen on the way. It was huge. It had a beautiful garden with different wise and wonderful phrases from the teachings of Buddha nailed to trees. The temple was also a school for novice monks. Young novices walked around with their school books and some even chatted on mobiles. After looking around and taking photos (again, take a look as I got all the interesting quotes), I decided it was the perfect time and place to begin reading Herman Hesse's 'Siddharta'. It's the story of Buddha and his life from youth to Enlightenment. Luc had recommended it to me and said that books always find us, so I should look out. Strangely enough, a couple of days later, it was in pride of place at the front of a bookshop I passed. I decided the book had found me and knew it was time to buy it.

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Sitting in this garden of wisdom, I was only two pages in when a young novice named 'Chat' came over and asked if he could join me. He was learning English and wanted to practice. We ended up talking for 3 hours! It was really interesting. We discussed Buddhism, his family, his future and the cost of an Ipod in England. Near the end of the conversation his friend 'Big' joined us too. It was so cool. The whole time I have been here I have been scared to even smile at a monk let alone chat to one. Women are not allowed to make any physical contact with them and I've always seen them as these allusive beings I've tried to secretly photograph. It got dark and I knew Luc would be worried as he had no clue where I was. I said goodbye and blissfully walked home. When I got back, there was a note on the bed from Luc asking where I had been. Bless. It said to meet up at 10pm. Luc got back about 8.30 and he'd had a haircut and proffessional shave. At 10pm, we met up with Fred, ate somewhere (I don't remember where) and got a Tuk Tuk to a place called Riverside that our books said was really good for Live Music. The books were right. We bought a bottle of whiskey with a bucket of ice and some cokes and gate crashed a table of Thais. The bands were fantastic. We drank and danced with our new Thai friends and were all so, so happy. We chatted to to people around us and one girl named 'Noola' wrote loads of recommendations for Pai down in my book. They were so lovely. They kept giving me some of their beer from the huge keg they had on the table. When it closed, we were fired up for more, so Noola recommended a club for us to go to. We jumped in a Tuk Tuk and headed there. On arrival, it was huge and packed full of young Thais. It was a little claustrophobic for us oldies, but Fred loved it. We stepped outside for a while. Fred got a 7/11 hotdog and we decided to jump back in and brave the crowds. We fought our was to the dance floor and started to boogie. We got chatting to a table of Thais and they gave us glasses of whiskey. Thais outside of Khao San road are so nice. I know I wondered if the Thai smile was genuine, well I can surley say that it is. They are so generous and inviting. Not long after we started dancing, the lights came up. Just when me and Luk were about to have a little slow dance ;-(

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We left drunk as anything (see photos lol) and got Tuk Tuk home. It was an amazing day and I'll never forget it.

Elaine x x x