Well, I got picked up by 2 sisters (Judy The Biker Chic & Kate the Marketeer)  from the UK, today and after the first round of beer (and peanuts) at this bar  they were joined by their 3rd sister (in from South Africa) and a sort of honorary sister (the explanation is long; she's just as nice as the rest). I would suggest  to you that I picked them up, but you would never fall for such unlikely fare. They joined me at my table, two rounds of beer on a completely empty stomach and we were old friends. I'm still missing 1.5 sisters' names, but I'm working on it.

I moved from the Bel Aire Princess which is quiet and nice, to the slightly seedy hotel that I stayed in last visit; on a cost-benefit basis (the new place is B1200 or about $28, vs $50 at Bel Aire), it's not worth switching from the Bel Aire (where I met the trio-and-a-half) except I can stumble back to the place, and its hard getting lost cuz it is on the main strip. It's a decent hotel but it was an inordinate hassle getting my stuff and switching.

Of course, had it not been a hassle, I wouldn't have been relaxing in the Bel Aire bar after a long day in the Leper colony in the blazing sun, and I wouldn't have met the trio and a half. These things have a way of working out. In fact if any other sequence of events had happened: if, for example, there hadn't been literally hundreds of people waiting for the single taxi at Bangkok Airport, if I hadn't gotten on a damn hundred-baht Tourist Airport bus asking quickly and adroitly "Does this bus go to Sukhumvit oh I see; I don't want to wait another 20 minutes does this bus go to a Skytrain station OK thankyouverymuchoneplease". I am so proud of my Thai. On the bus along the way, a teacher from Chiang Mai prattles on with a Thai businessman; the Thai sells chemicals or something, is of Chinese descent and has nothing nice to say about Muslims in general and Malays in specific. The farang (foreigner) teaches English to 1st and 2nd graders at an International school. Joy. The two gab on on matters of no consequence, and I feel like a fool for bothering to listen to them except they're well within earshot, I feel like a sardine in the can but without the benefit of the olive oil — and they're talking entirely too loudly. The farang speaks lousy Thai and I hate that. I hate that he speaks more than me, but moreover that he does it really badly. I could speak Thai badly, if I lived here 6 years. I'm willing to give it a try.

So there you have it. Winding down the trip, I may try to connect with The Trio + a half tomorrow; I skipped out on them off for dinner because after a day in the Leper colony, funny I wanted a shower more than anything (and then to go out and have a few more beers). Strange priorities: they would have made better company, and once they crashed and burnt I could return to my room guilt free knowing I'd led them to a decent dinner. I am scum.

Happy Valentine's Day, Readers.. There are signs of the holiday everywhere here, from the exorbitant price of roses from China article in the newspaper to the debate over whether Valentines Day or Buddhist holiday Makha Bucha Day is more important (Makha Bucha, the poll reports).