Friday morning. I am slightly hungover as a direct result of going barhopping last night with two random women I met at the hotel. Oh, but that’s not all I did. I also went to this terrible zoo where they were obviously exploiting the animals for profit.

That’s right.

So it was a lot, obviously. I’m still processing everything I saw. I am definitely not quite as charmed by Thailand as I initially was at the beginning. That being said, I did enjoy my night out to the Afrobeats club very much.

Let me talk about the fun stuff first. The animal thing might take time to come to the page because it was pretty awful. Not an experience I would personally recommend to anyone, but I’ll get to that later.

So back to the nightclub.

We went out at 10 o’clock like the 27-year-olds we were pretending to be would do. First we went to this very lovely open air lounge for cocktails and apps. There, we were approached by a group of three racially diverse men from Sweden. They were all pretty good-looking. Still, we decided to move on because they were ultimately cramping both our table and our vibe.

While we were still there, we saw another group of white dudes who definitely had the scrubby, washed up, “I’ve been living in Thailand for too long” look about them. One of the two women was crushing on one, but I was trying to steer her away. She told me she likes white guys. I told her what a Passport Bro is and why she should be careful of white Western men who come to Southeast Asia. She was shocked because she didn’t know that was a “thing,” but it explained A LOT of her ex’s behavior. He was a white guy from Europe who abused her and beat up on her. She is a Filipina woman. They recently broke up, which is good for her. I just tried to warn her about men like him so she could be more discerning about who she dates in the future. She deserves better than that.

We decided to move on to the next spot, which was a hotel rooftop bar. It was lame AF. It was full of old Indian uncles. My other new friend, who I had gone to the zoo with, was saying earlier that she wanted to find a hot Indian boyfriend. I couldn’t help but poke fun at her when we walked into a room full of old Indian uncles with their big old potbellies. lol! I was like… Be careful what you wish for, lol!!!

Obviously we left that place pretty fast. We moved onto the Afrobeats club, which was lit so we decided to stay there for most of the night. I drank vodka cranberries and danced to all my favourite rap songs. I had a blast.

I also met this guy from Oman. He went on a whole rant about how much he hates Dubai, lol. So controversial. I love it. Anyway, he said the only reason I like it so much is because they treat Americans like royalty. I was like… you’re right, lol.

He said I need to come to Oman. He’ll show me real Arab hospitality there. Lol, that’s what they all say. Well, it is actually on my list of places I would like to go, so…

Anyway we ditched him and danced some more. Then we finally decided to leave at like 4am, maybe? Lol! We went out into the street and all I saw everywhere was the sex workers. They are literally everywhere! It’s so normal. It’s like… wow. I don’t know what else to say. Just… wow.

I am just very naive about the reality of the world. That’s all I have to say. I’m happy to be on this trip, even if it can be tough to witness some of these things in real life. Someone has to be out here documenting their experiences.

I felt so much gratitude as I sat on the rooftop and watched the sun rise over the city of Bangkok. I am grateful for the life I have, even if it has its ups and downs. I’m lucky to be on this adventure and tell this story. Someone has to speak for the tigers locked up in cages and the elephants in chains. If not me, than who?

I’m not ready to write about the safari park yet. It was a really difficult experience for me. I love animals. All of the animals. I love them so much. It’s so hard when I see them being mistreated. It just breaks my heart. So I just need a bit more time before I can write about it.

Well, off to enjoy my coffee and pastries and bougie high-rise loft while they last. In two weeks I’ll be back in a yoga shala in India eating sattvic Indian food 3x a day and meditating in the mountains. No more takeout or deliveries or designer dispensary products or beauty treatments or fancy open-air lounges or imported luxury goods like wine and cheese from France and olive oil from Italy. Just me, myself, and I, facing down the mountain…

Oy vey, what am I getting myself into by doing this again?

At least this time I know what I’m signing up for. I know things about India now that I did not know before. I have experience teaching yoga. I’ve been working on myself and healing my negative emotional energy. I know what to expect out of a month-long yoga teacher training course. I know what I personally want to get out of the course. I feel much more prepared this time around. That’s why I know I’m ready to give up the luxe and go back to the shala to train once more.

My hope is to achieve the level of self-discipline necessary to sit down and write an actual book instead of messing around with this dumb, throwaway garbage I keep picking up off the streets.

So hopefully we’ll make that happen.

For now, I am going to give some very special attention to this pile of French pastries I had delivered last night because the app gave me a great deal. It knows me now so it recommends cheaper and better options for deliveries. The other day it gave me a $5 lunch special deal from some random food cart down the street. Two dishes for $5. I got a huge bowl of chicken pad Thai and a huge bowl of egg fried rice for $5. $5! One for lunch and for dinner. $5. Insanity. I’m obsessed with the coupons and deals. I will try anything and everything. No, I haven’t gotten sick yet.

Why? One, because I’m vaccinated. Two, I always eat a variety of food from around the world, including spicy food, so my stomach is used to it. Three, I stay hydrated AF. I also haven’t been drinking much alcohol (last night aside) so that probably helps a lot as well.

I know it helps a lot…

Ugh, I did not miss being hungover, lol! It feels like shit! I feel like shit. Was it worth it? I don’t think so. I think I just need to learn how to have fun and loosen up more. Then I won’t need the alcohol so much.

Not sure I’ll get that from the yoga shala, but I guess we’ll find out.

So tired right now. Off to take a nap. Take a moment to be grateful for life today!