Should've Slept…
As I had guessed last night, working off just a few hours of sleep made for an extremely long day. That, and the fact my schedule today took me around the country.
We left early to return to the hospital. Today the patients from yesterday cataract surgery were came in for their post-op check up and to be released back home. Having their eye sight restored was nothing less than miraculous for them. It was quite an event.
Around 9:30am we left for the airport some two hours away. I felt terrible the whole way. Headache. Quezziness. Bad stuff all around. The flight back to Bangkok was ok though. Very short. By the time they served us our snack, the plane had already started to descend. I was glad that with the salad they provided Italian dressing and not that infernal salad cream Thais love.
Once back in the city I jumped in my car and drove to Siam Square for another set of interviews! True Coffee has opened a “Learning House” where customers can browse a digital library or learn English and Chinese. Not bad. I’ve interviewed my guest last year for a similar event so we had a relaxed and familiar rapport.
The second interview, at a noodle house called ‘Pok Pok’ , didn’t go so well. Mainly because the guest didn’t show up! While we were waiting my producer and I argued about what sounds animals make. It’s funny hearing the differences between the Thai interpretation and the American.
From Siam Square I then drove over to the Dusit to wait for a couple friends. I finished my novel while waiting. Disappointing end. The build up was great but I felt the last chapter tried to do everything. Oh well. I have two more books waiting. Once my friends arrived we all left for the Banyan Tree for dinner. We ate at Saffron first and had planned to have some after dinner drinks at Vertigo but they closed the roof due to rain. The weird thing is that when we left the streets were dry as a bone. Maybe the rain evaporated before it hit the ground… or maybe someone had a private party going on.
Timing wise it was fortunate though. by the time we drove back to my friend’s hotel, pick up her bags, and left for the airport it was getting late. I didn’t get home until close to midnight, again, so I don’t plan on going to school on time tomorrow. I deserve to sleep in. Just hope my mom or sister don’t wake me up!
Eyes & Dinosaurs!
My alarm went off at 5:30am and my crew and I were leaving the hotel by 7am. It was about 1.5 hours to the hospital where the eye surgeries were taking place. Most of the patients had cataracts. I interviewed the organizer from the Christian Foundation For The Blind and also the CEO of Standard Chartered (Thailand) who is sponsoring the program. Over 130 people, mostly elderly will receive free treatment. We even had the chance to watch a lens being removed and a new, artificial one being put in. Kinda creepy to see someone’s eye opened like that. Reminded me of the cult leader in Hell Boy.
We left by early afternoon for a newly constructed dinosaur museum about an hour away. We grabbed lunch on the way there. About 40 minutes after we had finished and left my cameraman noticed that he forgot his camera at the restaurant. Great. But rather than waste time going back we had some of the event staff bring it to us. Now that’s service.
The museum is absolutely spectacular. State of the art facilities and modern design. It is truly out of place in this rural area. Now why can’t Bangkok have a word class museum like this?! In a separate structure they housed an on-going excavation of Asia’s most complete dinosaur fossil. The bones were found by accident while constructing a new road. I interviews the senior geologist who has been working at the site since its discovery. I wish we had more time to look around the museum but we were pressed for time and the weather was turning for the worst. We left just in time for the rain to start.
We had a brief stop at our hotel to relax and freshen up, then it was out to dinner with the organizers and sponsors. The CEO and her staff are very down to earth. Its not often you find management who are that personable and willing to work beside their employees. After dinner a few of us wanted to check out a local club. There weren’t a lot of people in the beginning, but by the time we left it was packed. It was around midnight when we got back to the hotel. Waking up at 5:30am again isn’t looking very good…
Welcome To Kalasin
I left work early to go home and finish packing. Then it was straight to the airport. I arrived fairly early, well before everyone else. I grabbed some jok at a Chinese restaurant and did some reading. About an hour later my producer and cameraman showed up. They hadn’t eaten anything all day and were counting on the the BK which was inside the gate to get them through the night. Imagine their surprise when all we saw was a sea of benches. They have taken out the BK and the coffee shop further down. No food shops, or any shops for that matter remain inside. Great.
We arrived in Khon Kaen a little after 8pm and were promptly met by the Standard Chartered PR lady. She first took us to dinner near the airport. Very good food. We tried to get as much authentic northeastern food as possible. It didn’t disappoint. Then it was another 1.5 hour to the hotel outside the ‘city’ in Kalasin province. The hotel looks very similar to the place I stayed at in Yasothon. Even the town looks the same. But it’s a very early rise tomorrow followed by another hour long commute to the hospital. Time for bed.
