Good day!

That hotel I had sucked, big time and for some reason I didn’t feel like blogging last night. Instead I just tracked the markets movements like your local neighborhood stalker until about 2am. I woke up at 7 sweating because the A/C didn’t work on a stained mattress in a sh~thole. I tried to get them to fix it but they didn’t speak any English.

Suffice to say, I woke up and headed to the business hotel. I’m on the top floor. The elevator goes to floor 8 and then I walk up a semi set of stairs to the 9th floor, club floor, thank you. With my free breakfast voucher I dropped my gear and thought “Ahhh, this is more like it”.

This place is MINT!! It’s only ~$200RMB compared to the 180 at the other place. We’re looking at ~$150-$200+ back home. A deal indeed. This room is my ideal flat. I’d love to rent a room just like this. Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t need a kitchen as I prefer to have people prepare meals for me, and wash up thank you.

Yesterday I tried to check in here, full. Then I checked this other place and this fat portly round faced woman always told me “I don’t speak English” in a perfect accent. Then I’d be like can I see a room, she’d say “full”. I went there again, was on way in when these other tourists, Chinese showed up. They gave them rooms I asked and she said “I don’t speak English” to which I said “ya you do, we’re speaking it now” and she said something in Chinese and I knew what it was…

I looked at the guy who just walked in and having exchanged a “what’s up” on the way in, I said “They don’t take foreigners do they?” he gave me the “nope” look and then kinda sympathy. I walked out totally … I dunno… I had this weird sensation of not being good enough or I dunno, it wasn’t mental just a physiological feeling of disgust.

As a WASPY white male, I’ve never faced ANY KIND of discrimination in my life, it felt weird and I feel for anyone who has experienced it. it’s @#$#@$ LAME. It’s not a nice feeling and made me feel like crap for about 7.5 seconds. Just moments earlier I was like “I LOVE CHINA!!”.That left a bad taste in this gentleman’s mouth.

Then I went shopping for purses as many women sent me emails. I got none as they all sucked, somehow I got suckered into a massage parlor in the mall hahaha what started as a good deal ~$3 for an hour turned into a triple team massage and ~$15. Isn’t it crazy how you can feel “played” and still only waste a meager ~$15US!?!? Back home I’d spend more then that at Kelsey’s and have to leave a tip for some frumpy waitress who I had to ask 5X to get a d@mn coke refill.

Feeling bored I got my teeth cleaned as well. I live in a mangled dichotomy. I am a smoker who loves white teeth, too bad they don’t have whitening cigarettes. On the note of smokes, if we go into a big dip depression on this Euro news, I will be long MANY cigarette companies. Those things are so inelastic it’s the strongest most insidious drug ever and totally legal… It’s like insulin for non diabetics, it’s the insulin of smokers.

So I’m in the mall and I will note that Brits love their fake gear more than anyone I’ve seen. I was buying some leather shoes and then this lady came in raving about these brand name ones, suffice to say I had a weak moment and bought some brand name shoes for like ~$40. Doubt I’ll ever wear them, sigh.

Ironically the non-branded ones were way higher quality but whatever. It’s funny how gents like me get all worked up over poor consumer purchases but the market can swing and overnight you can lose X and just say “how unfortunate” and then go about eating your breakfast.

I’m starting to feel like an a$$, carrying around all this crap I never wear aka feeling like a mule whose back hurts. Seriously, if you’re touring the world you need like 1-2 pair of shorts, 1 swim suit to wear when you do laundry. You’d need 3-5 shirts, 1 long sleeve and like ~5 pairs of boxers, 5 pairs of socks and a tuque for when the temp drops. Other things you CAN bring are a pair of pants, 1 dress shirt and a rain jacket. I’ve used the things mentioned in the last sentence maybe 2-3x in 7 months in Asia… That’s it people, that’s it! The less the better, big time. The lighter your pack, the more freedom you can enjoy, as you know freedom is a priority of mine.

Watching people spend like crazed lunatics made me think of how most people I’ve ever met only ever think of how they can spend their money and never how they can make more with it. The world is like one big tug of war between doing what you want vs doing what you need to do so you can do what you want. Just remember, you trade energy to get money, money is stored energy. If you store enough energy, you can use that energy instead of your own.

That said, here is kinda different, if you’re in China, at a mall like this and you got one shot, might as well go to town… Not everyone is traveling around where appearances mean little so obviously my opinion is kinda jaded. If you have certain dress code at work and a polo shirt costs ~$125+ back home and you can get em for $10, why wouldn’t you buy 6 for half the price of 1!?! Being able to appreciate both sides of a coin can be quite the conundrum within an enigma at times, kinda like having your ball land in the massive sand bunkers @ the Decameron Resort in Panama.

While observing the bartering process and people filling extra luggage with purchases made me think of how some people say business is too much of a hassle, sure it’s a hassle but so is getting up everyday at 6am, taking a shower, commuting, spending 8 hours doing something you don’t love and then commuting back for 40 years, yes?

Making a business is like getting punched in the face by Mike Tyson, once. Going to work everyday is like getting b~tch slapped by a strong jewel encrusted pimp hand every morning, which would you prefer?

Tips hat,

P.S: The photo above is of the mall, talk about BEHEMOTH, there are like 1000x small stalls. Look at the photo below as well, it’s tiny holes like this that lead to above where they keep their stock. You have to be tiny to fit in there. It’s kinda mean but if you want a STEAL of a deal… Get them to go up there and get your shoes then say something like “These don’t feel right!” and storm out… Moments later the price drops to loco low levels as you walk away.

Considering people clean streets for a few $ a month and they bank mad coin selling you crap at over inflated prices, I don’t feel so bad sharing this with you… I often wondered how everyone can make money with so much competition, if the mall was bigger there would be more stalls and more people earning lots compared to others in this country. Same applies to all of SE Asia.

P.P.S: LOL @ This search Query “Khao San Road Crazy Rob”