Where I spent the day yesterday wrapping up the final bits and pieces of my Christmas shopping. Chinatown in Bangkok, an awesome place for shopping and market time, but insanely busy where there are people touching you are all points and places and uncomfortable smears of sweaty arms as they meet yours. Walkin down the small sois of Sampeng looking at (this and that, which I bought for my parents, who read this, so I won't rite it yet...) and suddenly a *beep beep* and a motorbike bumps into people left and right as it tries to make a delivery halfway down a mile long soi that is no more than two and a half feet wide. My best advice, avoid standing on the right, to avoid the scalding hot tailpipe. I always feel bad for the newbies as they hustle out of the way of an oncoming motorbike and get burnt in the process. Soon they will learn.

We took a watertaxi there, always a nice way to avoid the traffic and congestion. I feel like I am almost cheating the system by getting to my destination so fast. But on a public holiday, the water is the way to go. On the boat I saw a foreign woman rushing to lean on the railing under the sign marked for monks. Monks ride for free on the boats, and there is a designated spot for them to stand, where people can stand, provided ther are no monks left to wither in the sun. And so I saw this woman pushing her way the railing and Rin was watchin my reaction. It is stricyly forbidden for a woman to touch a monk's saffron robe. (A very important thing for female travellers to read up on before they come here.) And she pushed her way through, thinking nothing of it (why would you, really...) And she leaned on his robe and watched the sights. The monk smiled, saw Rin and I watching, and I asked Rin if I should say something, and the monk simply went outside and left her to inhale the filthy waters of the Chao Phrya. It really made me realize that there are so many dos an don'ts here. So many things to do and not do. Don't point your feet at someone. Don't touch the head. Do rub up very close to other people in a market. Do ignore social bubbles. Do pick your nose in public (and wipe it in your math book, as another teacher at school disovered last week.) Do not have courtesy for other drivers. Do wai your elders, teachers and parents. Don't, if they are foreign. Do, hoever wai a foreigner if theyr hands are full and it is simply impossible to wai them back, as the parents do one of my students do every time I see them.

At any rate. A long day. I have been sick all weekend, as has my little dog. He has a virus from the market we got him at and it is possibly fatal, so we are doing everything we can to take care of him. Yesterday before going to Chinatown Rin went and bought me some medicine as I wasn't feeling well. I was walking through the sois shopping and felt suddenly very tired. I asked him, and he said, 'oh yes. If you take this medicine, you must sleep. It is very strong.' Perfect, honey, thanks. I eventually made it home.

Christmas is coming, my shopping is done and being sent off today. And soon I will have a new business here in the heart of it all. But more to come on that soon.