Thailand 2023, Second Report
February 23, one the biggest challenges on different zone travel is adjusting to the new time zone. Can be a significant challenge. Thailand is at least 14 time zones different then Texas. So, sleeping takes place at all times of the day because of exhaustion trying to function in a different time zone. The issue for me this year is feelings of significant hunger and then over eating. I was sick twice yesterday from eating too much food. Once after a very good breakfast from the hotel I am staying at and last night after dinner. Too much good food.
Yesterday I used the Drug Store Boots (highly recommended in Thailand) at Central Festival shopping center to get some medication that Kaiser (medical group in California) used to give me for trips and the VA does not provide now. It is an antibiotic for extreme stomach sickness for eating in foreign countries where the water is not safe to drink. On further research on the web, the VA medication does the same thing per tests. I am still glad I got it.
I used the ride service Bolt (same as lyft) in the U.S.A. It was terrific. The car was a new toyota truck and the driver was very careful. The AP is easy to use and the ride was at the hotel very quickly. Price was Thailand reasonable.
Bridge today with the local group which has people in it I have known for years. A variety of personalities shows up to play bridge and I am subject to be assigned to play with any one of them. Challenges in the past was playing with an Englishmen who used the popular system used in England that is radically different from Standard American and an Indian, from India who used what knows system. The Indian person was a retired boat Captain who played bridge over 5 days a week in India.
My rooms sliding balcony door sliding door does not lock and I complained to the office yesterday. I also dumped a large of laundry off at a local laundry. Usually very reasonably priced compared to hotel prices.
Friday, Played bridge with the local bridge group. Sorry to see so many long timers significantly disabled. John who was in Vietnam with the Australian Army has has a substantial amount of his lower body removed do to cancer. He was in the hospital for months in Australia where their Australian VA picked up the tab because he had been in combat in Vietnam. He was very slim and yet is still playing golf many times during the week and playing duplicate bridge three times a week. Very nice person. I took the ride service Bolt to get to the bridge place. It was good. On the way back, I could not get a car and went with a motorcycle taxi. My first since back here on this trip. Exciting.
I had one of the most unusual bridge experiences in my life today. I played with Andrew from Australia, Sidney. He was reported to be one of their best players. We were to play one of the last three tables and he left the bridge area. Someone went after him and he told them, he would not return. He was making some mistakes and yet we were still getting along. He apologized and I told him to forget it that I was here for fun only. I had brushed my teeth before coming to bridge and have no idea why he left. Upsetting. We ended up 4th of 10 pairs. Good for a new partnership.
Had a terrific massage then went to bed.
Saturday, busy administration day. Did more then I expected, quicker. Went to BJs to try to sign up to play golf with them on Tuesday. All filled up, no vacancies. I also called BJ himself. His back hurts and he was up in his residence. He said he is in too much pain to play golf and also his group is also filled up for Tuesday. Wow, did not expect this. So need to revise my plan. Went to the Sportsman’s club office to see if they could enter my home golf cards so I could post my scores on my local course in Texas on their system on Pattaya. They took the cards an said they would work on it.
I then went to Witherspoons on soy Buakhao and made reservations to play with them on Tuesday and Thursday of next week. I paid for the transport. It is a noncompetition group which is fine. They do play later in the day when it is even hotter. I will take a cart so hopefully I will not get heat exhaustion. Paul the coordinator is always very nice to talk to and we chatted for a while.
I then took a baht bus to the Tukcom IT center to try to sell or trade my old iPhone 4. The best I could do was 500 baht and after trying to separate vendors, I took it. Equivalent to 15 dollars U.S.. I shopped at Tops grocer store got some basics before taking a motorcycle taxi to Soi Diana to my favorite Subway. Still doing good. Also tried to see if old Australian, Jewish friend from Hotel Metropole was still hanging out in the lobby as he used to years ago. He was not there. Went to drug store to get electrolyte and back to the room. Many of these trips would have taken 1/4 of the day. The Bolt transport system really makes it easy to get a car cheaply and safely transported to a location.
In all my travels today, I lost my hearing aid batteries. The drug stores do not sell them like in the States. So I called all the places where I could have dropped them and so far and no results. I visited a lot of places. Also, I went to the highest end drug store. I was referred to a place in Northern Pattaya that should have sold them and they did not have them. A motorcycle taxi to a place that sold them and they are not open until Monday. I will have time to visit them before bridge on Monday. So is the life of a 78 year old.
