Saturday, January 9, 2010

Bangkok (6) The Family from South Africa

Bangkok (4) The drive to the hotel
Bangkok (5) P2 Boutique Hotel



Day 1: Tuesday, December 29 2009

While I'm checking in, a family who's staying at the hotel arrives back from being out. They need to ask the man helping me something and we just greet each other politely. The mother of the family wants to know if there is a laundromat nearby. I notice her accent is British. A few minutes later, the daughter of the family comes back to the desk asking about the Wi-Fi connection in their room.


Something makes me ask her, "Where are you from?" and I'm not too surprised when she says, "South Africa" because I pick it up in her accent immediately. When I tell her that I'm South African too, she then asks, "Where are you from...Jo'Burg?" It really bothers me when people ask me where in SA I'm from and assume the city.  She becomes more interested that I'm an English teacher in Korea as she wants to do the same thing.  Turns out she & her brother are in Thailand to study and their parents are there to 'drop them off'.  She tells me that her family are British Jamaican, but moved to South Africa many years ago.




After I take my luggage upstairs, I go back down to the lobby where the girl is to chat a bit. I'm not tired even though it's 1am.  She is Skyping with family & friends in the UK & America and I'm catching up with my friends online as well.



She tells me about all the shopping she's done in Bangkok since they'd arrived. Her luggage didn't arrive from SA, but she doesn't seemed too stressed out about it. We plan to maybe go to a couple of areas together the following day. Nothing definite, but we say we'll meet at breakfast in a few hours time.

It's time to call it a night.  I go back to my room feeling very exhausted. There is no need to rush, because places in Bangkok only open at 10 or 10:30am.



Bangkok (7) Breakfast on Wed morning

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