Bye bye Bangkok

It is 10.30 Thursday morning in Bangkok and I am packing ready to leave for Manila. The flight is with Thai at 3pm but I am leaving a huge amount of time to get to the airport, I will take the Skytrain in about half an hour, go 4 stops and then take the Airport Express. I used to think it was really cool to arrive at the airport at the last minute but I have changed totally and I even annoy one friend of mine by being so cautious. He will learn! One day the taxi will break down and he will find that missing a flight can be very expensive indeed. And why hang around in my hotel room when I might just as well hang around at the airport where, these days, there are lots of attractive shops to browse? Although I have done plenty of that in the past few days. On the second floor of Siam Shopping Mall, I was torn between the Rolls-Royce or the McClaren but in the end, I went for economy and, walking past the two Aston Martin Avants, I went for the Maserati. You think I am joking??

Yesterday, I did very little. I swam a few lengths of the pool on the roof. Had a small glass of wine which is included in the day ticket and then wandered around the malls. My friend Nini in Colombia is interested in selling cakes so I took some photos of a bakery shop. Her husband has just come out of hospital after an operation to his shoulder so I don't think he is in the mood for baking just yet. I thought maybe the photos would cheer him up.

Then I went to a meetup but it wasn't a great success for me. We met at a coffee shop a long way from my hotel and one guy argued with me about independence for Catalunya. He upset me a little because some of the arguments he was putting forward were ridiculous, like it was ok to break the law or choose which laws to obey and which to reject. "What would have happened if they had said we must respect the law during the French Revolution?" He said. And he wouldn't give up, certainly he wasn't listening to me. And I live there! He had met a girl from Catalunya a week or two ago.
Then I started worrying about Nini's niece who is very ill (and I was worrying about me!) I recently sent some money to pay for some expensive medication, it was not much for me, about 60 euros, but I was getting scared it would escalate and she would start to depend on me and that I could end up in a very pressured situation. Emotional blackmail is a very strong term but you can see what I am getting at!
I had a strawberry smoothie which was just flavoured ice so I left most of it, and then we wandered around a market. My mood was dropping rapidly and we then walked about 10 minutes to a very ethnic Thai area for some food. I just wanted a nice comfortable hotel lounge and a beer. And so I bade my farewell, talking about leaving the following day.. etc. Even from the original location, I was a long way from home, three different trains, about 1 hour. I am sure you know the feeling, I just wanted to be back in familiar surroundings.
So, that brings me to this morning. In Manila, I am staying one night in the same hotel as last time. Because I know where it is, I can direct the taxi driver. Last time we took ages to find it. Then my friend Nomel is coming at mid-day tomorrow and we will go together to the apartment (condo) which I have rented for the next 3 weeks. It is out to the north of the city and I didn't fancy trying to find it at 9pm in the evening, even if the office was open. Much better to relax and take it easy. The flight is 3 hours, so I arrive at 7pm local time, the Philippines being one hour ahead of Thailand. 
I've had a great time in Bangkok, a mixture of normal life and also being a tourist. The length of the stay was perfect. And now I am very excited about living in the Philippines for 3 weeks. Not as a tourist!