allergies cleared up. mild heat rash on the left side, doubt its sticking around. nose no longer running constantly, sleeping better, things are finally stabalizing on the health front.
so one of the frustrating things about trying to shop here is that you generally are surrounded by total bullshit garbage, 99% of which you can find in any tourist area in any major city. so eventually you seriously get worn down and cave and end up spending like a hundred dollars on shirts that dont fit, etc etc.
today i had a small check clear. not enough to go nuts with but enough to put down a payment with a tailor and cross a couple of other things off my list.
actually now that i think about it, today started with me wanting to seriously set people on fire with my mind.
one of the most frustrating things about living here so far is that there is one bangkok with two names for almost everything. so, for example. i wanted to head to Milan Tailors, an excellent place to get shirts and slacks made, literally world famous. their location is right under the Asoke subway station.
so this is how my day starts:
I call the desk to get a cab sent over.
<me> Yes, please send for a cab, I need to go to Asoke station.
<bastard> Ohhhhhhh I donnooo... heh eh e hehhehe... where is....?
<me> A-S-O-K-E BTS SUBWAY STATION.
<bastard> ohhhhhhhhh he hehehhehehehe ....................... I donno!
<me> AAAAAYYYYYE----SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...????
<bastard> I'ym sorrrrry he eh ehhehehe I canno' order cab eef I dooonno where you go... he heehehehehehhe!
This has been a factor since I arrived. Asoke Station is on every fucking map, but try to get there if you dont fucking speak Thai, its brutal. Not a single cab driver to date has known how to get to my apartment unaided by the front desk. I no longer even try; I tell them to drop me off at the subway near it and I walk the final half mile.
ok anyway. Bless his heart, epicdeskguy orders the cab anyway, and after.. not kidding here.. 15 minutes on the phone with the cab driver's dispatch office, we figure out that YES.. I WANT TO GO TO FUCKING ASOKE STATION and off we go.
And from then on the day was smoother than molten glass. He literally drops me off at the tailors front stoop.
The fitting goes remarkably well. 2 pairs of cashmere/wool slacks, 3 casual shirts, 2 dress shirts w/ button collars and cufflink holes. I couldnt be more pleased; total cost was 15,600 baht, or about $470 dollars.
For perspective, the slacks alone would cost that much in the states. Fuck, the *fabric* for the slacks would run nearly that much. *A* tailored shirt in the states is going to start at $125 at any reasonable tailor.
So I put forked over a downpayment and made an appointment for the 10th to pick up a shirt and a pair of slacks, with the rest coming in the next 2 weeks.
*Fuck yeah Milan Tailor*.
So chapter two begins in 2 days on the bespoken clothing front. Speaking of which, the place I want to get the suits done? Yeah the cab I took after Milan literally passed by it on my way to Pahurat market, aka Little India. Its a quick walk from Milan. I cannot stress enough how awesome that is.
So yeah, traffic is really bad of course and it takes forever because Chinese New Years is coming and the streets are literally clogged with people buying paper lanterns and such, but finally the cabbie drops me off and I begin my search for batik tapestry.
Batik is an interesting form of silk screening; wax is poured onto fabric, fabric is dyed, wax is boiled out, reapplied, and the process continues.
Truth be told, I went through maybe 50 stalls and shops and found nothing I really wanted until I stumbled into this literal hole in the wall on the outskirts of the market, and they had some really beautiful pieces that I hadnt seen anywhere else, so I gave them a fuckton of business and didnt even consider haggling, nor would I have accepted a discount if one was offered. The prices were already disgracefully low and it was clearly a family shop. Sometimes the money is worth more in someone elses pocket, lets put it like that.
Not content to call it a day quite then, I walked back to Chinatown and copped a dvd player that blows the one at home to pieces for the princely sum of $66. Had a great cab drive back with a guy who gave me his card along with a knowing wink, tipped him massive, and bought a green tea slushie and 2 banana & egg roti's on the way home.
I mean seriously its been a implausibly wonderful day. I feel good, I just finished off some godly Vietnamese food while watching Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto, and thats where its at for the night so far. My work shift starts in 90 minutes which is kind of a drag but if I can avoid either one of my bosses using me as a chess piece in their ongoing power struggle, I will be going to bed tonight happier than I have been since I arrived.
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