Bangkok Has Bed Bugs!

Caitlin and I arrived at Khao San Rd. at about 4am, and fortunately, the place I had in mind to sleep at was affordable and counted 4am as the following day - so we were really getting two nights for the price of one. We slept lightly until 8am when Kayleigh emailed that she made it, and we met her for McDonald's breakfast and brought her back to the room. The rest of the day, we just went to the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho), walked back to Khao San and shopped around. I wasn't feeling great and called it an early night as the girls had a late one.

The next day, we found ourselves a nice rooftop pool to lounge at before the girls got their bus to Chiang Mai. I booked a cheap room at the guesthouse attached to Green House restaurant - biggest mistake yet.

In the morning, I woke up covered in what I thought were simple rashes, but I wasn't sure what it was. In an attempt to forget about the itchiness, I met up with my friend, Paul, that I met in Malaysia, and we went to MBK, the art museum and caught the new JT film, "In Time."

Closest I got to Turkey for this Thanksgiving month.

The rashes weren't getting better, and I stopped at various pharmacies and concluded that it was bed bugs. I avoided my room and hung around on the couches at the hostel. Then, I saw a bed bug crawling on my purse. After a full day of research, I knew a bed bug when I saw one. I Skyped home, and my brothers helped me figure out how to get rid of the monsters and found me a nice place to stay at for the night - sponsored by my parents.

At this point, I was nearly in tears from the pain, itchiness and leper-like welts forming all over my back and arms. Thinking about ridding my belongings of these awful insects was even more upsetting. This was the worst thing that's happened on my travels yet, and I was alone. At least I had the support of my family, and Dave's iPhone! I left everything but my money, passport and iPhone and went to the nice hotel. In the morning, I rushed around all day finding a place that could wash everything I own (including my backpack) and dry it for longer than normal. I still can't be sure if they really did. I even bought something new to wear on the spot and took off what I was wearing. I packed everything in plastic bags within my backpack and hoped for the best upon my arrival in Kathmandu. As you can imagine, I didn't sleep properly for the next week. Be sure to thoroughly check those beds for bugs and small feces stains on the sheets - monsters!!

iPhone Camera

Back in Bangkok.

My time with Amy was sadly coming to an end. The laughs and experiences we shared were some of the best moments of my life. We got ourselves into and out of some once-in-a-lifetime situations - that girl is hilarious! We spent most of the day eating and shopping and finished it off with a couple drinks as we again bumped into Ryan, Dillon and Craig. We gave Amy a nice sendoff, and we went out exploring the city to the road with lady-boys and strip clubs - we wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It mostly consisted of rich, old men or oddball young foreigners. We got back in time to put Amy in her 3am cab to the airport; the end of an era.

Goodbye shots.

Over the last seven weeks, I collected all kinds of clothes and gifts, and I had to get some of the weight off my back. I mailed home a 7kg box, which my posture was thankful for, and roamed the streets until Lena arrived a few hours later. Over the next few days, we shopped, checked out Chatuchak Market (which is now flooded) and went to the MBK mall where I could reluctantly get a cheap phone and sim card only to satisfy my parents' demand. 

Chatuchak Market. 

We stayed in Bangkok for longer than I would have liked, but it happened to be Yom Kippur and Bangkok was a good place to be for it. Lena joined me in my last meal before the fast with a bowl of green curry with chicken and rice. She was going to accompany me to the Chabad House for the boring services but was subjected to racial profiling at the door and was refused entrance. I was completely stunned by the rude interrogation she was receiving by the older, Israeli doorman - in fact, I was truly embarrassed. I've never known of any congregation to be unwelcoming to a guest, no matter what their religion, but Lena left and I headed into the lonely room solo. 

I forgot how much I hate attending Chabad services, although the one in Korea wasn't as bad as this one. It quickly filled up with Israelis and the random American Jew, but it still felt empty. I forgot about the partition between the men and women, and the entire service was 100% in Hebrew - sermons, books and all conversations - which I can handle, but the Rabbi was speaking so quickly. I rushed out at the end and decided I wasn't coming back the next day. Instead, I handled some things I needed to finish before taking an overnight bus and ferry to Koh Phangan, in time for the October full moon party.