32nd episode of Bangkok Days and Nights

Dinner was beef croquets with a rocket salad and roast pumpkin followed by the obligatory, for me, Haagen Dazs ice cream rum and raisin flavoured.
While Sheila was out shopping I watched ‘Lord of The Rings Return of the King’, although I had seen it before I felt that there were a number of scenes that I did not remember maybe it was an unedited version or perhaps my memory is not as good, but I can’t remember. After dinner Sheila announced that while she was out shopping she also ordered some more spectacles to replace a pair that had been in the stolen lady bag. I asked why Sheila had not mentioned this before and had waited until Rosalind was present. It was all to do with support from the sisterhood I must admit their union is better organised than the bloke’s.
Adam felt quite tired I guess after work going to the airport to pick up Rosalind would have added to that, but whatever reason Adam decided to have an early night and Rosalind and I also thought it a good idea, while Sheila said she would stay up a little while longer until she felt ready to sleep.
30th August 2006
I was under the illusion that Sheila and I had already experienced her worst night of insomnia; delusion is a more appropriate word as last night Sheila broke all her previous records; and we ‘enjoyed’ very little sleep.
I walked into the kitchen just as Adam was leaving for a second time, having forgotten his mobile telephone the first time.
As I was finishing my breakfast I was surprised to see Sheila come into the kitchen for hers announcing that she thought she should get up and have breakfast early to try and get back into a more civilized sleep pattern, I wish. After breakfast Sheila reminded me of a nocturnal promise I had made to go back to the optometrist to see the style of spectacle that were being made for Sheila.

My promise was perhaps fortuitous as the lady from the optician telephoned mid-morning to say that the lens were going to be thicker than what they thought and would Sheila like to talk with them before the order was placed.
Khun Boon Chuay took us to the new Central World shopping precinct that is in the same building as Adam’s office. We were driven into B1 level of the car park and Khun Boon Chuay said that he would pick us up from the same spot he dropped us at 1300.
We wandered into the complex with Sheila relying on her previous day’s experience and her unerring instinct in shopping centres. It is a very large new shopping centre and as we wandered Sheila admitted that she did have some problems the previous day. After consulting a map of the complex I was able to guide Sheila to the shop. I was under strict instructions not to get angry as she negotiated the return of her deposit. I did not get angry, just bemused, as we walked out of the shop with Sheila agreeing that they had three weeks to make the glasses, after they obtained the required lens from Japan. It was about then that Sheila’s unerring instinct failed and we were lost in the shopping centre.
After consulting the map again I was confident that I could lead us back to where Khun Boon Chuay had left us. We got there ok but we were still about twenty minutes early so I thought that we should just wait until he turned up. No Sheila wanted to wander back into the complex and find out of we should be in a different place. I know that when explorers are lost they should not separate, but I thought that it would give Sheila something to do while I waited for Khun Boon Chuay to turn up. At about 1255 Sheila came back and announced that we were in the wrong area. As we went back into the complex another driver waiting for his passengers suggested that if we had lost our driver the information desk would page him over the public address system. We thanked him for the idea then reentered the labyrinth, with Sheila mentioning that she had got quite distressed on the previous day when she could not find her way out. I was quite happy to tag along as I thought that Sheila had found Khun Boon Chuay. Sheila had not found him she was just convinced in her mind that we were in the wrong area. We conducted various forays down huge malls with Sheila becoming less and less sure of herself and feeling quite powerless. I thought if the worse came to the worst we could buy some emergency food supplies from any number of shops, hack our way through the impenetrable shops and get a taxi home and ask Rosalind to telephone Khun Boon Chuay and let him know what had happened. As thirst and hunger nearly overtook us we wandered near the information both and I was about to ask them to broadcast for our driver when Khun Boon Chuay appeared next to us. I think that he had met the other driver and the other driver mentioned that we had been directed to the information booth and it was fortuitous that we were there when he came looking. We headed back to the car under the care of our trusty native guide, and bugger me Khun Boon Chuay got us al lost for a while but after we exited the complex he was able to get his bearings and find the car and take us back home with Sheila still a little traumatized by ‘getting lost’ in a shopping complex.. When we returned Rosalind left to get her hair cut and a wax job done I hop that they don’t get the two procedures mixed up. I know that by now I should not be amazed but all this pre-Italy preparation by the ladies confounds me as the blokes will at most have a shower and a shave and throw a few spare clothes in a bag just before we leave. The continuing mystery of the female of the species, and their secret rites before leaving the portals of their lair.

After lunch I escorted Sheila to her appointment at a salon near the supermarket at the end of the soi and returned an hour later to take her home protected by an umbrella that I had taken more as a walking stick than anything but it proved very timely and useful as the rain started when we left the salon. Sheila was still feeing euphoric after her leg massage announcing that when we had a change of planes in Singapore on our way to Rome she intended to get another leg massage to help her relax before the long flight to Rome.
Dinner was salmon steaks again with various green things that are supposed to be good for me, I think that is based on the belief that ‘yucky’ tasting medicine does you good so if the vegetables are ‘crook’ tasting then they must be good. This must be female thinking as it does not make any sense to me and I think there is no rule that good medicine can not taste nice. Beer tastes nice and it does me good, ip so facto.
As I will no doubt I will be consulted/informed about what clothing etc I will decide to take this will probably be might last entry until we get back from our trip to Italy and Malta; then it will also take me a while to transcribe the notes that I will have made, plus sort out all the hundreds of photographs. So watch this space and check sometime about mid-October, I guess.