August 31, 2007

Bangkok (THAILAND)

Seeing a Fortune-Teller, Touring Bangkok, and Dinner with Jo's Parents

Jo and I were up at 6am this morning in order to make it to our morning appointment with the fortune-teller. We grabbed a quick bite to eat before finding a cab driver willing to drive us all the way out to his home (most drivers are hawks preying on tourists who want to see the "big sights"). It was a long ride as Bangkok's traffic is notoriously bad, but when we finally arrived the cab driver was amazed when he realized who we were going to see. Apparently, this fortune-teller writes for the Bangkok Post, has written several books, and advises a slew of Thailand's big personalities. We were excited and nervous at the same time because we had no idea what to expect.

When we were granted admission through the front gate we respectfully removed our shoes and left them near the Mercedes-Benz parked outside (the man must be doing all right). We followed the assistant inside where we were cheerfully greeted in the fortune-teller's office amid a collection of various Chinese paraphernalia. There were pictures of the king adorning the walls along with intricately ornamented wooden carvings scattered throughout the room. Everything looked very cluttered (much like a well-traveled journalist's office would look), while the fortune-teller himself was calmly resting behind a large desk.

The first thing he had us do was write down our full name as well as the date and approximate time of our birth. He looked us over as we were doing this, and as I chose to have my fortune told first he began punching my information into a small electronic device that reminded me of a typewriter (he said it was a machine he created some time ago). The fortune-teller had only stubs for fingers, so he held a pencil in the palm of his hand to do all the key punching. When he finished keying in my information, the machine continued clicking away in the corner as it printed off seemingly incomprehensible figures and numbers. Next, he pulled out a massive astrological tome that he began thumbing through.

When the actual telling began, he started a tape recording and began by telling me my astrological information (mostly simple facts from the Chinese zodiac). Then, the real stuff began. He started talking about how I was a student who is decisive, but the trouble is I can never stick to the same decision for very long and I often think I would be better off quitting school to pursue a different path. He said this was a bad idea and the best path for me was to finish school as my "big break" would come just after my 27th birthday. He said this was also the age I should get married as I will be finished with all my studies by then, and my wealth will be following shortly - and a lot of wealth was to come. I was also advised to follow my father in business, and to listen more closely to the advise he gives me.

The fortune-teller went on to talk about which Chinese zodiacs suit me (I was born in the year of the tiger), but it was when I asked about health that more interesting tidbits emerged. He pointed out that I once had a problem with one of my legs that came about through sports (I have had knee surgery because of soccer) and that my father had a very similar problem when he was my age (he also had knee surgery because of basketball). Most of the other stuff was fairly generic, but when Jo had her fortune told he said she would suffer a minor accident in November or December (i.e. falling down the stairs or something similar). This isn't the kind of thing someone likes to hear, and it annoyed me that the man would say something like this - especially when it very well could happen to anyone.

We were charged more money than I care to admit, but we left feeling we had at least received a genuine fortune-telling. I will never see a fortune-teller again because I am now positive it is all a load of rubbish, but it was a worthwhile experience and it makes for a great story in the future. Nevertheless, I want to emphasize that the things I chose to include on this webpage were the somewhat true pieces of information while all the other stuff was well off the mark. For example, he said I was very lazy and he talked a lot about Chinese values.

In the afternoon, Jo and I toured downtown Bangkok and visited the giant Buddha at Wat Pho temple. Afterward, we headed back to the Khao San road to check out of our guest house and gather our belongings (it was a long morning). We would be spending the night at her parent's place, and on the way we stopped to pick up her visa at the Myanmar embassy.

We were greeted by Jo's mom at her home and spent the afternoon chatting. One of the biggest topics was our next travel destination: Myanmar [Burma]. A spate of protests recently began in Myanmar over rising gasoline prices, and the brutal regime has cracked down on dissidents. Jo's father has business contacts there who we can contact should something go wrong, but as long as we stay away from everything that is going on we should be fine. The ruling junta in Myanmar is not the kind of government I want to mess around with as they are well-known perpetrators of violence and abuse.

Later in the evening, I went out to dinner with Jo's parents at a posh restaurant in downtown Bangkok. Since I only had backpacking clothes with me, I made Jo dress equally grunge. It was our first taste of quality food (and wine) in quite a long time, and as everyone at the table is an avid Arsenal supporter (Jo has season tickets) we always had plenty to talk about. But the coincidences didn't end with our mutual love of the Gunners: Jo's father studied at the same college in Oxford as me (Worcester), and they actually know the Oxford coordinator at my university, Georgia Tech. We all realized what a small, small world we live in.