The weather in BKK was similar to what we were having in Chiang Rai. Most of the day we had cloudy sunshine. In the late afternoon it rained and then the whole system cleared out and we had a beautiful evening.
This week’s ‘Zany Day’ song was “Idol With The Golden Head” by The Coasters. ‘Old School Friday’ is going on the road again with another song with a location in the title: “Long distance information, give me __, __. Help me find the party trying to get in touch with me. She could not leave her number, but I know who placed the call ‘cause my uncle took the number and he wrote it on the wall.” Hint: This tune is by one of the godfathers of Rock & Roll. The location in question is near a famous river.
Today was the big day and the reason we’re in Bangkok. Tatt graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology. Khun Boonrit drove us to a building next to the school and we communicated with Tatt about how to meet. Trying to find someone on a huge campus can be frustrating. Fortunately, in this age of personal communicators, it’s a lot easier. Through texting and phone calls we finally found each other. His parents were beaming with joy. They gave us big hugs and couldn’t stop smiling. One of Tatt’s sisters, her husband and daughter were also there. After taking a bunch of photos we announced that we were hungry. Tatt walked us through more of the campus to a big cafeteria where Lisa and I each had a bowl of noodles with chicken and it cost a grand total of 88 cents US. Two bottles of water came to 45 cents. There’s nothing like ‘student prices’. I should add that it was an excellent bowl of noodles and chicken, especially in a cafeteria. Tatt told us that approximately 9,600 students received Bachelor’s degrees over the two days of graduation. There were also Masters and Doctoral degrees given. That’s a lot of new grads flooding into the workforce. Tatt is teaching part-time in his home town of Rayong until he can complete his obligation to the military. He can’t start that until next May and it will last one year. It’s quite frustrating, since he can’t apply for work with the pending obligation.
Today’s photo is a ‘Family Portrait’ at the graduation.
When we finally left the family and headed home, where we got to experience BKK on the ‘real’ side. We took a campus bus to the Skytrain station. Since the train runs above the city, one must climb a very steep staircase (legs starting to get tired). We’ve ridden the Skytrain before, but Friday afternoon is a unique time to do it. Oh, the crush of humanity. When the doors open at a given stop, a few people exit, but more want to enter. There is a quick adjustment of your standing position and then you brace for the pressure of 'the new ones’. The seats had long been occupied and since this is Bangkok and not Singapore, we had to stand the whole way. In Singapore, a young person would have jumped up and offered their seat to us. Hmm, maybe this will catch on some day. There was a small sign with drawings of three types of people that should be given seats, but elderly and tired weren't on the list.
At our exit, we found a coffee shop and sat down in the aircon oasis for iced coffee. Back out on the street/heat, it wasn’t long before we hailed a cab for the rest of the journey.
This photo shows motorbike taxis lined up, waiting for customers. Yesterday we saw a line of about 20 people waiting for one of these ‘taxis’. Anyone in this photo with an orange vest on is a taxi driver.
It’s raining again, really hard. A whole new system has moved in since the late afternoon storm. This one is the kind that would flood our front yard.
Tonight we dined at a place called Pesca. The food and service were outstanding. Nita and James had seen it, but had never been there. When we entered at 7pm, it was almost empty, which gave us pause, but by 8:30pm it was full. After our meal, one of the guys we assumed was an owner, got interviewed and we learned that it’s a partnership that owns 22 restaurants in Thailand. At one point James mentioned how interesting it was to be in Thailand eating European cuisine and listening to “Stand By Me”. Indeed.
Have a Wonderful WeekEnd. Stay tuned for the ‘Funnies’. Oh, Formula 1 is in Japan this weekend. Zoom.
Peace,
Danny
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