OK, I had a pamper day. I have been living in a budget guesthouse, wearing copious amounts of mosquito repellent and sunscreen, sitting frequently on the ground, and driving around in the dusty air. My skin felt caked in dust and chemicals, and I wanted to feel clean and reborn, also so as to look a little less like a hippy backpacker.

I woke up, rode somewhere for breakfast, then dropped my bike off early. They were surprised to see me, but I couldn’t get the things done that i wanted to with a motorcycle.

First stop was Lek Chaiya for a massage. Oh yeah, that old lady there rocks. She really worked on my hip/leg problem, and I really love the hot compresses to finish.

After that I went for a walk. I really wanted to buy a statue I’d seen in my first couple of days, but I also really wanted to check if I could find it in some shops I’d passed the day before. It was a nice wander, but in the end I went back to the first shop.

This is Seda. She will arrive to grace our roof terrace in a couple of months. The scale is not part of the statue.

After that I found a waxing salon and dealt with the forest under my arms.

Then I wandered a bit more. I was contemplating finding a cafe to rest in when I passed a branch of Lila Spa, so I got a facial and a mani-pedi. As a professional in this industry, I found the facial nice although missing a couple of elements that make it more effective, and I could have done a better job painting my own nails, but whatever. It was about pampering and cleaning up, and that worked.

I was hungry when I left, but I couldn’t decide what I wanted, so I really wandered for quite a while. I ended up in the northeast corner of the old center, and I realized I was going to starve, so I stopped in a silly Tex-Mex and American place that had a band setting up. It was another cover band doing classic rock.

While sitting there I got into a conversation with an Irish guy who lives in Australia and was waiting for his Aussie girlfriend to come out of the salon across the street. He was entertaining, and so was she, and it would have been fun to chat a bit longer, but I had one moire plan before I was finished: a body scrub/mask/oil massage treatment. I got my legs waxed while I was at it, too.

By the time that was finished, it was after closing time, about 10:30, so I grabbed a tuktuk and headed home. Weirdest tuktuk driver ever, but that was also fun, actually.

I haven’t been able to get a tuktuk from one side of the old city to the other for less than 60 baht. Many of them ask me what I’ll pay, or say they want 100. I always counter with 50, but it always finishes at 60. Sometimes they say 60 from the outset. So, 60 it is. Works for me.

Anyway, I then went home and packed, browsed Facebook, read some online comics, and fell asleep. 5am comes early.