David

     David was an odd fellow.  I met him on the beach in Koh Samui, Thailand, way back in once upon a time time, when there was no airport and you had to take a boat to get there.  In the dark days of travel, prior to credit cards, hotel reservations, the internet, e-mail, Facebook, a variety of apps, the distraction of a constant screen in front of you and the even more alienating earbuds, we talked to each other back then, which is how I came to know him.
     He worked 6 months out of the year in the U.S. as a waiter and spent the other 6 months on Koh Samui.  Back then, you could get your own cottage on the beach for $1/day.  Sure, you had to bring your own towel, toiletries, there was no hot water, electricity was spotty and the mosquitoes were plentiful, but you had your own cottage on a beach in Thailand.  We all thought it was a pretty good deal.  David would always stay in the exact same guest house, in the exact same cottage.  If someone else happened to be staying in 'his' cottage, which was truly beachfront, not set back like some of the others, the proprietors would move them to accommodate David.  After all, he was going to be there for the next six months, and they wanted to ensure their goose continued to lay that golden baht.  A sparse breakfast was included in the $1/day rate, either banana pancakes or a mixed fruit plate, but he always ate dinner in the restaurant attached to the guest house.  There were other options for eating, he knew it, as did the owners of the guest house.  After breakfast, he'd walk the length of Chaweng Beach, 3 miles one way, 3 miles the other and then go for a swim.  Then he'd settle down on the porch of his cottage and read the day away until dinner time, which, because he didn't eat lunch, was at exactly 4:30 pm. He'd amble up to the restaurant, book in hand and sit at his table.  If someone else happened to be eating that early, the owners would ensure they weren't sitting at David's table.  They had a fairly varied menu, but he had the same thing.  Every. day.  Yellow chicken curry and rice. For six months.  Yeah, an odd fellow. He was well read and we swapped books and recommendations. I traveled on with friends to Malaysia and Indonesia, but ran into David about 2 years later.  I was going to graduate school in Hawaii, and took a bike ride down to Magic Island and there was David, walking.  It must have been in between breakfast and dinner time, because that was the time he always took his walk.  In surprise, I yelled out, "David!" His response?  "Oh, hi Alan, how are you?"  He seemed completely unsurprised that we'd bump into each other in Hawaii after being acquainted on an island in Thailand.  It was the 6 month work season for David, and he was staying in some nasty apartment, squirreling away the dollars before he could get back to Koh Samui.
     I thought he was odd because he was so committed to his routine, but as I get older, I tend to live within my own self defined lines.  I was just thinking about David because here I am, back in Thailand.  I went to Bumrungrad Hospital for a thorough check up because it's just good preventative practice when you reach the ripe age of 55.  Shit happens, and I'm not fond of shit, so I like to prevent that shit from happening, if I can.  I've been to Bumrungrad before, and there is a certain reassuring feeling of going through the same process, seeing the same doctors, and them having access to your past records.  Today, I saw the dentist I saw in 2012.  She asked about my front tooth and if I had decided to get it fixed.  Yesterday, I saw the same dermatologist I saw before and we talked about the nevus mole on my face as he did a whole body skin cancer check.

     Okay, it's not exactly having the same GP in the same town, but we move around a lot.  I've been going to the same restaurant every day. Routines. The name of the restaurant is Thai food very good and very cheap, and there's always plenty of Thais eating there.  And how can you argue with that advertising brilliance?  They had me at very cheap.  I mix up what I eat, and have yet to have a yellow chicken curry with rice, but still, same restaurant every day.  I'm not to the point of eating at the same time and sitting at the same table but that's the direction I'm headed.

     I'm getting ready to head to Chiang Mai to settle down for a bit and explore the areas of Chiang Mai I haven't seen before on a bike.  I know the Eastern part of Chiang Mai and the Old City pretty well, it's where I first went back in 1984, and every time I've returned, my lizard brain just takes me right back to the same part of town.  I'll start out in the Eastern section and get on a bike for a few days to look for a longer term rental.  I'll be taking a look see at the Western section this time as you can get a decent apartment for just over $200/month. But the smart money should bet on me ending up somewhere in the Old City or the Eastern side of town.  I'll meet a few travellers while there (if the screens of smartphones and tablets can be penetrated) and someone will likely go home and say, "That  Alan, he was an odd fellow."