Post 361: Koh Lak Si .....

Bangkok Floods 2011 ....

I woke this morning at dawn and following my daily routine, wandered down from the apartment to give food to the passing monks ... the traditional Thai ritual of 'Sai Baht'. There were no monks this morning, only water ...... lots of water

Yesterday I bought a pair of natty black rubber boots, 'Wellingtons' ... just like I wore when I was a kid. They came up to just below my knee ... and thankfully that was just above the water. I wandered to the market, more in hope than confidence. The stores along the Soi were all open .... but all flooded. They've built walls of sandbags and concrete block, but I fear many have missed the chapter on hydro dynamics. Water finds it's own level and if your internal drains are lower than the level of the water outside, no matter how impressive your wall is .... you'll flood from the inside out ... mai pen rai kap

Kids will be kids, and kids love playing in water. When that water is a free flowing river or a beautifully chlorinated pool then that's a good thing ..... but when it's sloshing around in the street mixed with sewage and garbage ..... maybe not so good

Arriving at the store .... shampoo, condoms and chewing gum. Looking on the bright side, yesterday they didn't have any gum ...

I did find food .... at the Food Hall in IT Square. I killed an hour enjoying a plate of kow pad gai. It was quite delicious. I'd been off the street for a little less than an hour, but in aquatic terms, it seemed like a day. The waters had risen .....

Along the Soi, the Taxi Bikes demonstrated the success of their scooter modifications. Yesterday I'd laughed at the improvised plumbing systems but today I'm impressed ... it actually seems to work. Perhaps more impressive was the sudden appearance of sexy thigh-high PVC boots in this part of town. It's unusual for around here .... but the matching 'skins' on the girls iPhones and BB's was a real touch of class ....

The water had breached the top of my natty new boots and the closer I got to the apartment the deeper it got. In the end I gave up. I took them off and handed them to a local guy who was wading towards the shallower waters ......

If this was happening back in Blighty, we'd all be getting bent out of shape ... screaming at Authority and trying to drown ourselves not just in water ... but in self pity. But this isn't England .. this is Thailand and the people here just seem to get on with their shit and smile ... and that's why I love it here