The Rosebush

Well not yet.  But I *have* made a new psychopathic friend who, yesterday, bought me a brand new Sony DVD player and left it at the hotel reception desk for me, right after I made a whole bunch of excuses why I didn’t want to see him that evening….

Oops… what’s going on?

Well… I made it here!

Yesterday was not a good day… The predictable panic and tears and isolation… Especially as my mobile doesn’t work here, and apparently my email is intermittent - it was working fine yesterday but for some reason now it’s stopped. Just hoping and praying it’s just a dodgy server rather than the g*vernment here having sussed me out already!!!  Emailing friends and family really helped yesterday.

Today I’m going to explore the market which is close to my hotel.  I think it will take every ounce of bravery I can muster, but that’s what I’m here for I guess.  Later on, I am supposed to be meeting a guy who I got chatting to last night in the hotel bar, and we’re going to go exploring the Shwe Dagon Pagoda - the most famous landmark in the country (Google it!).  I kinda wish I hadn’t arranged to go with him, but he was nice and I suppose it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go with a local!

Managed to get some sleep last night, so no jet lag at the moment.  Probably need a nap a bit later, but there’s no reason why I can’t do that.  Might make use of the free gym/sauna/steam room and the outdoor swimming pool.  Considering that you feel kinda damp whenever you go outside anyway,  I suppose I might as well actually get wet!!  It is bl**dy hot and sticky here… gonna need to find myself some more lightweight clothing I think.

Right, time to hit the shops I suppose.  God… I hope today doesn’t end up with a repeat of yesterday’s emotional outbursts!!

Here I go…. :ninja:

If all goes to plan, in about 14.5 hours I’ll be on a plane to Bangkok, closely followed by a plane to Yangon.

:w00t:

:cwy:

:dizzy:

:alien:

:sick:

:face:

My brother came home last night and after I executed the fastest ever shower/image transformation from work to ‘dinner’ clothes, we (the small but complete Gilbert family) went out for dinner to celebrate Mrs Gilbert’s birthday, which was last Sunday. Well, knock me over with a dim sum dumpling, it was the most GORGEOUS meal I have had in a very very long time. (Possibly since the Indonesian in Amsterdam.) Started off beautifully with a won ton dumpling each (complimentary) which was just incredible. My brother and I shared a starter platter for two and my envious parents helped us out. Various dishes for the main and dessert for me was a Thai pancake with coconut icecream. Even that was utterly fantastic, and the white wine we had with the meal was yummy!

And where, I hear you cry, did this gastronical extravaganza take place? Well, shocking as it may be, it took place in High Wycombe, home of traditional handcrafted chairs, Wycombe Wanderers FC and a few suicide bombers.

The restaurant was called ‘Eat Thai’ and they have branches in London and Wycombe only it seems. Interesting choice of secondary location, but I’m not complaining. They are new here and I think they could possibly have replaced our usual celebratory occasion restaurant. They are a bit pricey, but we don’t go very often so I guess it’s okay :tongue:

Went shopping with my mum today, no joy whatsoever though… Wasn’t to be. Need cotton shirts for new job but just can’t seem to find any which are a good fit AND 100% cotton. Oh well, I’ve got a few days left!

Got a bikini, so I can offend the poor Burmese hotel staff with my hideous wibbly bits (Well, when it’s not tipping it down with rain during a thunderstorm). All that’s left to do now is sort my freight out for collection and go visit the cutest member of my family tomorrow evening, along with his parents

Oh and one other thing which made me smile today - my mum bought me a ‘Hamptons’ suitcase-style box which I’ve wanted for absolutely ages… They’ve been selling them in Cancer Research and she gave it to me today… it’s the coolest thing ever I might even post a picture :kissing:

Please feel free to stomp on my head and wipe your feet on me.

Well if I wasn’t scared of flying before I bloody well am now! Now where did I put the valium…? http://news.bbc.co.uk/

I wonder what kind of message the media is sending out to terrorists… is it “Look, we stopped you, and you can’t possibly succeed now because we’re x-raying people’s shoes” or is it “Oops, you almost did it… well done.”?

Looks like I’ll be saying goodbye to my family outside the terminal and it also looks like I won’t be able to take my phone on the plane with me, so no chance of letting them know I’ve got on the plane or arrived in Bangkok, as my phone will be in my check-in luggage and will go straight onto the 2nd plane. I’ll have to try to remember how to use a good old payphone! I suppose it will be good preparation for Burma where I’ll have no mobile phone use at all!

If you’re flying today… take a bloody big book.

Update - scratch that, you can’t take books on the plane either!!

I thought blogging was supposed to be a kind of therapy, like keeping a diary.  After writing the previous post, I just feel even more angry and frustrated than I did before.

In case you couldn’t tell (cos the link is almost the same colour as the font), that ‘where the hell is matt’ thing below is a link to a brilliant website.

HERE IT IS AGAIN! 

Illness - I am still not well.

Good things - Where The Hell is Matt?

A joke:

Q: What do you call a Frenchman wearing sandals?

A: Philippe Philoppe