Swimming and Massage (Nov. 24, 2014)

Well, I think today might be one of the first days that I haven't got any new photos to share with you. I suppose it's a good time to be getting ready to go to another country....lol.

I got up this morning, called Martin and met him at his rooftop pool for a swim. It was great and just what the creaky bones needed. I tried to get a hold of him earlier, but his phone wasn't on so I decided to walk over to the Post Office to find out about mailing some stuff. I got a couple of mailing envelopes, and a box. I want to send some of my clothes home as I brought too much, and want to drag a few less kilos around. Bangkok is the best place to post stuff from as it's the biggest city, so I thought it would be perfect to send a box home of things that I haven't used. I decided that I would sort by things used in the last two to three weeks. That covers the beach areas, and the city. I have quite a lot of extra stuff that I don't need so it's going home. That way, even if I am lugging a suitcase, it will be light to carry up and down any stairs, etc. I like the idea of getting rid of some things.

Next trip I am going to try to pack all my stuff into a carry on bag and my backpack and see if I can make that work. I think it's possible, but just need to pare down a bit more. I hope I don't regret sending any of it, but I haven't touched some of it yet, so I'm thinking I will be ok.

After the Post Office and then meeting Martin for a swim, he and I went for some lunch. We went to that restaurant beside his condo, where we first met. I had a soup and he had a rice and chicken dish. You've seen both before, so it's nothing new.....lol. I tried a banana smoothie this time which was fantastic. Love their fresh fruits and drinks.

Martin left for work, and I began to walk back to my hostel. That is, until I passed the first massage place I had tried. If you remember, I got a foot massage, which was good, but not great. I decided to try it again today, and what a great choice. Today I got a guy who massaged all the areas I pointed out from Cleo, down to my creaky ankle, and used a lot of pressure for the full hour. He was incredible and I got his name in order to get him again. I liked his massage the best yet and will return to ask for him to do a Thai massage for me. I tipped him well, so we both were very happy. Then I floated back to the hostel, organized the stuff I want to send back, and relaxed.

A ended up talking to a French guy who has been travelling for 9 months. He is very interesting and we sat for quite a while exchanging stories and sharing information for future reference. He was the one who brought up the shedding of unneeded items to make long term travel easier. I agreed, thought about all the extras in my suitcase, and how much I hate lugging it because it's heavy. I even brought a lot less than last time but still have a heavy case. I took out about 7 kgs of stuff making my suitcase just over 10 kgs including the case. That is totally easy to haul up a staircase, and I still think I have all that I need.

Later on, Ian and I went for supper to the noodle place that I ate at with Caz, yesterday. It is amazing and I felt like another bowl of noodle and pork with wontons, soup. It was as great as yesterday, and Ian is easy company that shares the conversation. He is really sweet. On the way back, we stopped at the squid place as Ian had enjoyed the squid I brought him back the other day. He wanted to know where I bought it, and since it was close, I showed him and we bought some.

Then we just hung out at the hostel for a while munching on squid and chatting. Now I am getting ready for bed, and saying goodnight to you guys.

More tomorrow, with some photos. I have a really cool day planned for Wednesday, so you will definitely get more pics and new information then......lol.