hellilu!

right now im in Kanchanburi, a little city about 3 hours away from Bangkok. 3 hours with a slow train, that is. got up at 5.45 this morning to get to the suthern train station in time. it was fun, finally an adventure, and ther train ride was a bit to hot sometimes but wonderful and charming. after about two hours a group of women sat beside me. efter awhile the one next to me talked to me. i said "what?" since she said it i Thai (that is the language here, right?) then she stroked her finger over my arm, shaked her head and said something that made the others laugh! i wish i knew what she said!! it was a cool thing, to be the one that is different for once, here im not the norm with my pale skin. but still, even if i know its nothing speicial with tourists here, i bet they think its more special to see someone like me, then the opposite. im more used to people with different colours from back home, then what people here are. i guess white people here are just tourists and not much more when people in all different colours are integrated in all parts of society.

i took a taxi from the hotell in bangkok and after some dealing he took my offer. first he said 150 bath but i only had to pay 100. thank god! the man in the reception said it would cost 70-80 bath!! trafic in bangkok is a facinating phenomenon, i must say. as it says in the lonely planet, everybody tend to use the invincible third line in the middle of the two lanes. even if the streets are just crouded, i still feel that people have respect for eachother and dont drive aggressive. everybody understad that they are all in it together. even the traffic in gothenburg is more aggressive. nobody claims its rights here in the same way as back home. at least not what i have seen so far. or, its just a culture thing that i dont understad, maybe. but my taxi driver was very nice. i thought it was going to be hell to have to deal about the price but people respect a polite no and, well, the dont leave you alone, if yoy cross them one hour later the drivers ask again where you are going, but always in a fun and nice way.

the train ride took 3 hours, the time tabble said it wolud be 2.5 h. its good. good for me to not be able to rush around and try to live after a time table. same thing with the fact that i stayed for two days in bangkok, i wished i colud have left already yesterday but i had to check things up first. its like i didnt think that an 11 hours flight affects me and that adjusting to bangkok wolud be easy. of corse its not!! its like with everything thats new, it takes time to know where to eat, figure out what the hell to do, find things, know what to talk with... and everything is so different. like i said before, i have never been to a place where english is so far away from the native language. but the language thing is still ok, actually. i think its good to show people that i know english,in that way i think people that want to fool me, thing again. i hope!! just so i dont look even more stupid then what i already do, i mean.

so, yesterday was all planning and i sleept late. in the evening i went out to have food/go for a walk/whatever. i just wanted to get out and i went to some other streets on the banglampong area. on the other side of the car road, where i went, people were sleeping on the streets! it was so sureal, that all the tourists, with money to spend on useless things were on the other side while people without homes where on the other. i wonder why, why they didnt walk around in the croud to beg/ask for money. this statement makes it official that im such a westerner that just want to numb my own bad feelings for not giving them money, but maybe the police tells them to be there to not bother the tourists and so we get a good impression. like non-citicents are more important then their own pepole. but, at the same time, its true that its not my responsibillity and that some small change wouldnt do. not for long. a structural change has to come.

im reading barack obamas book now, att vaga hoppas, its really good!

anyway, here i am in kanchanaburi at a backpackers in called Jolly frog. here i pay 70bath for one night. in bangkok i had to pay 750 bath! i really like it here. when i came here it felt like this was all i had longed for. its just on the river and the first half of the day i read, sleeped and relaxed at the river or in a "hangmatta" between to palm trees! so cool! i really needed that after some confused days in bangkok.

oh, i didnt tell what happened whan i was out for food and a walk yesterday evening. in the end of dinner, it starte d raining. and it continued. and within minutes it was raining cats and dogs!! really heavy down poor! after some serious waiting that drew me crasy i took of my shoes, put them in plastic bags and went all the way back. i shure could have used that set of reign clothes... i was soaking wet after one minute (not kidding) and was more or less pissed of with the whole thing. i just wanted to go out and it starts to rain!! lessen learnd is to never leave without the poncho and bags for things that shouldnt get wet. (i got two bags for my phone and wallet from a nice young girl in a jewelery booth). but, i think its these kind of things that will make me learn and understand how things are. and... my idea of how things are (ok, its one been three days BUT) nothing goes the way its planned. thats nice i think. relaxing.

at the food stall where i had my food, rice and tofu with vegetables, a middle aged short round thai woman put a bucket right where the rain gathered and poored down on the ground under the plastic that was put up as a roof. when the bucket was full she came to empty it. in the exact same place as she had put it. that was where me and some other english people were standing. my shoes got weet. stupid little middle aged round thai woman. that was when i desided to leave.

and here i am, this chair is killing me here at the out side internet cafe (computers outside!) and im getting up early tomorrow, so good night!

tomorrw: erawan national falls.