I fell into a daily routine: talk to Neil when I wake about 7 am my time which is 2 pm the day before for him. Within the hour, the internet at the hotel would get slow for some reason so I would head downstairs to the Craft Café for tea or hot chocolate and use their internet to continue talking, writing emails, or researching on my tablet. I would stay there for breakfast or else meet up with Grace and Jill at 71 Coffee Café. (No, it’s not 71 kind of coffees but the street name of Sukhumvit 71 Road.) Then have an outing before my evening dental appointment. Dinner would either be before or after depending if the driver was picking me up at 3 or as late as 6 pm. Of course every day had unique experiences for me to share with you.

Hair Cut

Jill had gotten a great haircut her first night for 99 baht! At 35 baht to a US dollar, that is  less than $3! It was time for me to have a cut but it took me a couple of nights to find the right shop. I had the same sweetheart of a hair stylist as Jill and he did such a fantastic job, I went back two and half weeks later right before I was to leave to have him trim it. I wish I could bring him here to Maui! I haven’t been able to find a hair cutter since my friend Annie moved 2 years ago. I went to the shop a few days later for a pedi-mani and another day for a Thai massage. I have concluded that after having a Thai massage on each of my Thailand visits, I just don’t enjoy the vigorous feet and elbows poking Thai style. I like deep massage but this vigorous deep poking is not relaxing at all for me.

I was enjoying my time with new friends Grace and Jill and they were speaking so fondly of their months in Chiang Khong that I asked if I might join them on their travels for my week holiday after the dental procedures. They were very excited about of the idea of me traveling with them. Their plan was to leave by bus Saturday morning for the northern province of Nan then proceed to a small village near the town of Nan (Yep there’s a city and province with my name.) They would stay a few nights in the house Grace’s son had recently built on his Thai partner’s family land. Then midweek, we would continue journeying onto Chiang Khong. I was thrilled about the opportunity to travel with these experienced travelers but as the week went on with daily dental appointments, I realized it wouldn’t be wise to spend all day Saturday on a Thai bus after having two wisdom teeth extracted on Thursday night. I was sad but it was a good decision in the long run to wait in Bangkok a few more days before traveling.

Dental appointments

Monday night’s dental appointment was the drilling to prepare for my crowns, take an imprint, and put on temporary crowns. It did take about 2 hours but again no pain. When they were setting my appointment for two days out to have the crowns put on (the crowns would be prepared in house and ready Wednesday), I asked when my three composite fillings would be done. They looked at my chart and said all three had just been done tonight with the other work! They gave me more medication. I did take one for swelling on Tuesday and Wednesday thinking it might reduce swelling in the gums before the crowns installed.

Wednesday night I had 3 crowns put in and I was her last client for the night. Both Monday and Wednesday I had eaten dinner before the appointment so I wouldn’t have to eat while numb. I had the same dentist as the last two appointments and I wasn’t in the chair for long this time. She only numbed one side because the other two were root canals so teeth “dead”. She had some problems getting the temp off the one tooth but then put all new crowns on and they fit snugly. I had to sign acceptance before permanent cement was put on. Then she did the grinding to get them to fit smoothly with the upper and lower teeth and we were done.

General Impressions

My general overall impression of the Thai people is they are very industrious and entrepreneurial. They have small business filling every nook and cranny. I would see a small table or blanket appear on the sidewalk near the bus stop and entrance to the BTS during the morning commute with take-away sandwiches and lunch items. Commuters could buy lunch on the way to work and then the table would disappear an hour later when their inventory is sold out. At night when the shops closed, the sidewalk would become filled with cooking wagons, portable lights, tables and chairs: instant street side restaurant! To-go items are put in plastic bags for transporting home for dinner. In front of the pharmacy, a man had a sewing machine set up for business. Under the overpass on-ramp were numerous barber and beauty shops; a single barber chair would fill the little space and there would be another shop right next to it. In the narrow backstreets north of the main road was the local-style shopping mall filled with clothing stalls, accessories, fabric shops, eating places, and far at the back near the canal is the fresh meat and produce. It is a whole community in the shadows of the apartment buildings.

Text and Photos by Nanette Harter

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