Back in Bangkok

Still on the bus, approaching Lebanon. Let's see if I can wrap up this blog before getting home. (*It's not going to happen... Blogger just erased at least 20 minutes of writing... toward the end of this post.) Oh shit - I65 traffic jam. We just pulled off the interstate to take back roads.

Monday morning we again had breakfast at the hotel. I was not super hungry, so I had some fruit, yogurt, and yummy granola. I was once again disappointed in the range and availability of hot foods. But it was probably just as well considering my meager appetite.

We headed to the airport and checked in, where I got my coffee and blogged while we waited to board. Just after wrapping up my post for the day, and only about 10 minutes before boarding, a student noticed her camera was missing. I went with her back through security to the airport entrance security checkpoint. We were about to give up there when a woman told us they had a camera at the information desk. That was the missing camera! But it took the student a minute to convince the employees it was hers.

Of course we made it back to board on time. The flight is only about an hour and 20 minutes, but I slept as much as I could. In Bangkok we walked to a hotel restaurant adjacent to the airport. It was warm and crowded, but we sat near an air conditioner which I appreciated. I still wasn't hungry, and I didn't find the spread at all appealing although Brenda and Angie seemed to enjoy the food. I had some good pumpkin soup, fried rice, half a boiled egg, and the two last bites of teriyaki chicken. They didn't seem to offer any entrees with no sauces. The only drinks were fountain drinks or water from pitchers, so I went without.

After lunch we took a bus to the Board of Investments and were back into the swing of the business-y stuff. There we met the #2 person, a woman who received her MBA from the Kelley School (Secretary General Duangjai Asawachintachit). She told us some interesting stuff about the ease of doing Business in Thailand, a new manufacturing corridor, Thailand 4.0, and other stuff that tied in quite nicely with what the students had learned in class. During the presentation I was fidgety, then cold, and a little unfocused. They provided some coffee which wasn't working for me (wish I could have tried the Thai iced tea, but the beverage service seemed... random). I could barely bring myself taste the pork-filled bun they gave us. I went to the restroom and realized I actually had the chills so bad I couldn't type on my phone. I knew I had to abandon ship and go to the hotel.

The guides convinced me to ride the bus to the next visit and take an Uber to the hotel from there, since it would be closer. I watched the map on my phone as we approached the city center, passed near the hotel, and kept going in a big circular path to the east and ultimately far south of the hotel. And of courses we had to go past the place and cross over to the other side of the road and backtrack before we finally arrived. The students went inside to learn about copyright law and the counterfeit goods industry while I waited for my Uber. Finally he arrived, and a mere half an hour or so later I was back. I went to the mall and bought a higher strength Tylenol and a thermometer before getting some harsh Thai Whisky and heading to my room to sleep for about 12 hours.

We are seriously driving around on country roads and through subdivisions somewhere near Zionsville... and he just turned the wrong way. Now literally driving north, away from the student drop-off point.

Tuesday morning I awoke feeling better, but not 100%. I had fruit and yogurt for breakfast, which I ate by myself. We had a nice briefing meeting and we headed out for a day of cultural visits. We took a bus to the area of the Grand Royal Palace where we had to walk to the security checkpoint. We showed our passports to get in to the area, then walked a couple hundred yards to the Palace entrance. It was crowded, but apparently with fewer people than during the high season. While it had been raining when we left, it was now dry but overcast and humid. The place covers something like 60 acres, and of course we could only see part of it. We did a group photo first then proceeded to the temple area where we learned about the various structures there such as the gold stupa, the assembly hall, and the building where the sacred texts are stored. Next to all of that was a large building holding the tiny and most sacred Jade Buddha. No photos allowed inside, and of course we had to remove our shoes to go in. Only the Thai people could go closer to worship the Buddha.

[Starting here is where all of the brilliant stuff I wrote before disappeared]

Everything was very detailed and ornate; things that were not gilded were covered in painted tiles or mirrored mosaic tiles. We were given about 15 minutes to walk around and take pictures. There were tourists of every nationality taking pictures of themselves - selfie sticks or not - or of groups, or of us. If was all a bit overwhelming and claustrophobic. I paused to take my temperature, which was going up, and realized I couldn't make it through the day. (I later discovered I was taking the wrong dosage of Tylenol.) We headed away from the temple area and toward the palace itself, but first we had to stop to learn about pollution and the ongoing restoration of the temple buildings. Finally we got to the palaces, where the King no longer lives, and the guides told us all about their uses, architecture, and history before we at last we headed toward the "Happy Rooms" (restrooms), at which post I told Angie and the guides I couldn't continue.

To get out, we had to walk out the same entrance but the streets were restricted there so we had to walk a couple hundred yards around to the back side of the palace before I could summon an Uber. Thank God the driver was right there,  but the ride back was excruciatingly long due to the stop-and-go traffic. I took my temperature during the ride, and it was now up to 102.4. I knew I had to see a doctor.

At the hotel, I asked the nice Duty Manager Wannisa(?) to call a doctor. I was resting in my room with a headache when he arrived with his nurse. He looked me over and asked some questions and knew right away he had to give me a shot to bring my fever down. I also got a shot of antibiotic, an electrolyte drink, an antihistamine described as a ”Face Bomb," antibiotics for later, and some other tablet. He also gave me a large bill, but it was totally worth it.

Within a couple hours, while everyone else was seeing the giant reclining Buddha, hearing personal stories from the guides, visiting the Marble Hall, seeing the Queen's high-security exhibit, and enjoying free time at Khao San Rd (as seen in Hangover 2!), my temperature had returned to normal and I was feeling much better. The hotel sent flowers for me, and Wannisa called once or twice to ask if there was anything else she could do for me.

I blogged, ordered room service, and even sat outside for a while on the pool level (after the heavy shower that popped up) before going to bed around 10:00.

We are finally south of Martinsville and getting closer to home. I think I recreated most of my lost writing and added on the last two or three sentences describing the day, but that puts me out of time and energy to write about the last day and the trip home, although there's not a lot to say about the travel. I will simply have to do another post to wrap up Thailand after I get home -  which kind of defies the name of the blog. I might also tweak these previous entries with more links and photos at some point.

You may be interested to know that the bus driver is still playing annoying R&B...

I can't wait to see Barry and our dogs soon!