Days T15-20: Quality Time

August 21, 2024

There's still a week left of this trip. It really has blown my mind so far in what has happened. At some point a mass editing job of this journal will be done, but I think the main highlights and themes have been captured so far. We'll also know in a few months how the option shorts have gone to finance this trip. The idea that the entire trip costs could *potentially* be covered by trading options is also mind blowing.

Of course it wouldn't be a trip if my wife didn't join me, and she was able to make it happen towards the end. That was the plan we worked out earlier. She is also a trader but unfortunately has to do this full time at an office. The volumes she plays with are in the millions of dollars and make my trades look like child's play. She handles it with finesse but it's all on company money and making others rich.

She wouldn't admit it, but I owe my trading skills to her. Although she didn't teach me directly, she most certainly inspired me to start doing all this. The end result is that I'm building more confidence and trading larger and larger volumes

The only downside to all this is my wife gets very limited time off and so we need to make the most of it. So it was on this note that I checked out and got the bus back to Bangkok to pick her up from the airport. We would end up staying a few days more or less doing the same things together that I had done earlier this leg of the trip. After that we would get the bus to Pattaya. So it made sense logistically just to leave the bicycle at the hotel and they helped arrange all that.

It was a piece of cake to get those two small bags onto a motorcycle taxi to the bus station in Pattaya and, as luck would have it, a a bus was leaving right away. There was still enough time to squeeze in one last visit to the counselor before heading off to the airport. At that point I got there just in time to pick her up.

We enjoyed a couple of days in Bangkok first, and based ourselves out of the Sananwan Palace guesthouse. It was quite the local experience for Sophia. I explained to her that it's far better to stay in these kind of places and enjoy the local atmosphere, rather than stay downtown and basically hang out in shopping malls. The transport, well it can be an adventure let's say. It's all part of the fun. None of us were really interested in paying 5x the price to stay downtown anyway. She was more than happy for me to take the lead and show her around.

Part of that involved doing a longtail boat ride one afternoon through the local canals. We were hoping to stop off at Khaosan Road afterwards but the river was closed due to some sort of royal procession. No matter then, the boat ride itself was amazing. We were both captivated by the local chilled out vibes and all the life that was along the canals. It made a lot of sense. The name Bangkok as we foreigners refer to it literally means canals. The actual Thai name for the capital as the locals refer to is a lot more complex and descriptive. They abbreviate it as 'Krung Thep'

An iconic shopping mall we never checked out

After that boat ride and several other trips to the city to check out various other things, we did end up experiencing the full assault of the Bangkok rush hour. This was a bit of a shock for Sophia as the traffic is unbelievably bad. I tried to explain that the Thais sort of figure it out themselves and there is more of a 'mai pen rai' attitude about it.

That is to say, everyone agrees that the traffic sucks but the Thais have this unique attitude that they can't do much about it so they might as well just accept it. On one hand it is reassuring they don't stress about the traffic like we do in the west. On the other hand, they share the same belief as us that traffic is caused by external circumstances, not by themselves. It doesn't register to anyone living in car cultures that traffic is essentially large volumes of people complaining about the traffic who also contribute to it.

To be fair the traffic does move, it is only congested in certain parts. The solution is simple: where possible, use alternative means of transport including public transit and bikes.

But of course the next day we shared a car ride to Pattaya.

The hotel I had booked earlier was such a good deal, it only made sense to repeat it. Sophia enjoyed the place very much as well. For whatever reason, when we stayed together they only charged half the price of when I was by myself the previous week. I couldn't figure it out but wasn't complaining. Basically 1000 baht per night the second time, and that included a deluxe room and free breakfasts. It also included a welcome party on arrival with unlimited drinks. Go figure.

Some friends back home on social media thought I was out of my mind for bringing my wife to Pattaya. But I tried to explain, on the contrary, there are many reasons why you would do this. It also proved one of the earlier points I made somewhere here: we don't aim please people who have incorrect mindsets by doing what they say to validate their thinking.

It could be as simple as them thinking like this which is incorrect:

Hospital --> if you visit there, something is wrong with you.

Pattaya --> this place is for old men degenerate sex tourists.

It doesn't occur to these people that you could go to a hospital for proactive health maintenance, and you could visit Pattaya with your wife and explore the city.

We can't deny the realities of what does happen in Pattaya, and it's rather foolish to pretend that what exists actually does not. Let's face it, a bunch of freelancers lining up on Beach Road facing the street, they aren't exactly there to enjoy the beach. Believe it or not, there are Thai government officials who would hold this view that prostitution doesn't exist in Pattaya. It never ceases to amaze me what kind of things people can believe and how they justify it.

To make the most of the time, we rented a scooter and did tours all over the place. Highlights included the view that overlooks the city, the water market, the food markets, and surprising to both of us all the new condos that had gone up in Jomtien. Of course we also checked out my old condo that was the misadventure of the last 10 years.

The project that has been on hold for over 15 years

After checking out much of the city, we ended up eating way too much food and I realized that the diet and weight loss plan was going out the window. It is incredible how much weight I had lost in July with the fitness and the biking, and then put it all back in August.

Even so, it was worth it. We could always do the workouts later.

Next was heading back to Bangkok for another day and night and then meeting some more friends. I then spent time packing and got ready to end this trip.

Back to this place near the airport for one last night

A very beautiful and clear day today, you could see as far as downtown

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 1,074 km (667 miles)

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