February 15, 2024
Back to Hong Kong
With time running out and down to the wire, I had to pick and choose who to see in Bangkok on the very last night. There also wasn't time for any counseling sessions. The guy was booked rocked solid weeks in advance, months even. He is the best at what he does and it is very hard to book a slot with him. But that's fine, this trip itself did a really good job for healing and coaching. Everyone I met along the way played a key role.
Now that I think about it more, a month long psychotherapy retreat to deal with lockdown PTSD may be overkill. That's about half as long as the lockdown itself, and the cost would also be very expensive. All I really need to do is book a week in advance of concentrated therapy. The problem could be solved more effectively this way, and then more time and money alloted for the key stuff I need to do going forward.
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What I noticed while looking at the bike is it somehow appeared newer, like it was washed and cleaned. But I didn't do any cleaning of it whatsoever. Not that I'm complaining.
The priority was to see a former colleauge who is also a math and science teacher and working in Bangkok. Many creative ideas were discussed and we then did a mini bar tour around his compound in the heart of downtown. Traffic was absolutely fucked as he said it would be. This was mainly due to this ridiculous Valentines Day that the Thais celebrate for marketing purposes. We called it after a few bars. He had to teach and I had to catch a flight anyway.
With so little luggage, the journey was a piece of cake. My pannier bags had been whittled down to half the weight and amount of stuff. Then it was just a small backpack. I checked out of the Sananwan and into a taxi that was waiting. The staff were super nice and told me to just leave the bicycle and the folding bike bagthat had arrived ages ago. In turn I'll leave a killer review of the best guesthouse in the area.
The taxi took off like a bat out of hell but I tried to slow him down by requesting a stop at 7/11 and buying some snacks for the trip, as well as water and drinks for him. He knew all the shortcuts and the airport was actually clear across town, the old Don Muang. It was a breeze to check in and then update the blog at Starbucks. There was of course the usual airport crap to deal with and people in a rush so I did what I always do, let them go ahead. I'll never understand why people rush at airports and on planes. It won't speed things up one iota. We're all getting on board the flight anyway so we might as well try to relax and enjoy it.
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On that note the Starbucks guy said "Thanks for being patient. We see people cutting the queue all the time. We try to stop it but they yell back at us like we did something wrong."
I said "You guys are always great. I'll never understand the rush. Sadly these people treat you guys like crap because they know they could never get away with that in the security line."
Then I recalled those sloppy western backpackers drinking smoothies and wearing tank tops while having their passports checked. There's just no way to win. The Thais are not confrontational but I don't think they appreciate all these poeple dripping with attitude and treating them and their country like a garbage dump.
He had a laugh at that and said "So where are you flying to?" I told him Hong Kong and then he asked a lot of questions like if it was expensive (yes!), how the food was (excellent), and whether they allow smoking (no).
It occurred to me during this conversation that Hong Kong might be a potential middle of the road alternative as a pre-retirement destination. Pros: many top schools, close enough to China that my wife could move there, and better overall expat life. Weather is also better. Cons: the rat race, high costs, and the cramped living conditions. We'll see.
I then checked the stock markets and found to my astonishment that I had made $5000 overnight in the US market. Well it turns out that this novice trader was actually beating the S&P 500. How long would this keep up? Who knows.
This trip was now looking like it might not be an ending but a beginning.
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2 months ago