I had to go to my friend Ashley's house to pick up my things, which she had kindly held on for me while I was traveling. T and I had to trade pictures, maybe eat our Raw lunch, and I wanted to get some mangoes for my mom all before I had to head to the airport at about 2 p.m.
I couldn't believe my time in Thailand was wrapping up!...after getting most of things on our itinerary, we discovered we needed to grab a quick lunch instead of the raw food. So, we went to the Tesco Food court – on Ratchada ( where we shopped and I got mangoes for my mom). After grabbing my food – I placed my cell on the table and kept a close eye on the time while I inhaled my chicken and rice dish. Taryn was sitting right across from me, enjoying her meal. After 15 minutes we finished, and I went to reach for my purse on my chair. But to my shock and horror, it was gone. My purse was gone. My purse stuffed plump and full of all things important and vital to my existence as a U.S. Citizen residing in Thailand was gone. My plane ticket, my passport, my eyeglasses, my camera, my wallet, my everything..was GONE! I Yelled and shrieked – realizing I didn't know how to call for help in Thai. It was the worst feeling in my stomach and my head. A flood of emotions crashing its way around in my body – I was angry, mad, sad, frustrated, embarrassed, shocked, and disappointed. It was not the way I wanted to leave Thailand. It wasn't how I wanted to remember my time. Help was not quick to come from the shopping center – which was really frustrating. After an hour after the incident, the security staff of the center took a long time trying to find the video footage of where we were. However, after much anticipation. They told us “Mot Laaw” - broken. Not working. I must admit I prepared myself for that answer. I didn't expect much from the security staff. I try to tell myself to calm down and think of the positives. But it's really hard. A lot of help and support from friends, my travel plans were canceled and I got information from my embassy and I am on my way back to the hotel, where I must tell them my room key is stolen. Great, a $30 charge! When I have no money. Awesome. Good thing they had my credit card on file for the deposit so I could pay for the room and the additional costs! In times of crises, shock, hardship, panic...its good to be able to lean on your friends. I leaned very much on Taryn and Ashley.
After leaving our hotel, I had to schlep all my belongings into a taxi shared with Taryn and we headed to toward the police station where I must get a police report for my stolen purse. After a painful hour in classic Bangkok traffic, we FINALLY make it to the police station, where I once again schlep all my belongings into the police station and attempt to communicate in pidgeon Thai and English. The police at the department were helpful and I got the needed report, thank God it wasn't a busy day! I peeked outside of the police station and there weren't a lot of taxi's available...and darn it! It started to rain. Perfect. It just completed my long, emotionally draining day. After 20 minutes and more rain, I gave up on the hope of getting a taxi and decided to hop into an open air tuk tuk – perfect for the rain. ( Please note a hint of sarcasm..ok, its heavy sarcasm!) The top of the tuk tuk was leaking and my bags were getting wet, and as the tuk tuk accelerated, I got even more wet. Alas, about 20 minutes later, I arrived at my kind hostess, Ashely's apartment. Where I was greeted with a warm hug, a cold bottle of spy (a wine cooler- very popular with the ladies in Thailand), and promises of savory pahd Thai in our near future! She made my day more bearable and we got the chance to catch up. It was meant to be – we joke. “Thailand just doesn't want to let you go!” Ashley lovingly exclaimed. The next morning, I was on my way to the U.S. Embassy to plead my case, fill out forms, pay my processing fee, and hope for a speedy way to get my passport and get home. However, after sitting in the waiting room for hours, running around here and there for new pictures, and searching for print outs of proof of this and that to prove the urgency of my need to get home, I was sadly informed that due to the cyclone crises in Burma, the embassy was even more backlogged the normal for passport processing. I tearfully accepted the news and tried to make the most of my time in Bangkok and decided to close out my bank account, do some shopping at the nearby mall, hang out at the Conrad hotel to regroup...and take advantage of a $8 massage that I was surely not going to be getting when I finally get back to the states.
I got home and Ashley informed me that she was going to be heading to Koh Samui for work – so I was going to be alone for my final days in BKK. Luckily, Taryn was kind enough to come out and spend another last night with me before I left. Saturday, we ended up going to RCA – Royal City Avenue, which is a row of slinky night clubs and lounges. We rocked it there for a bit and ended the night with pizza so we could have a good last morning together. The next morning we got up, grabbed some breakfast and lunch. Then we headed back to the apartment, where I gathered my things and hopped in a cab bound to the airport. It was the last time I was going to see my dear friends who were remaining in Thailand. I was sad, but I was also ready to come home after the traumatic events, and see my loved ones.
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