Mee Motosai! Gaeng Mak! (I Have a Motorcycle! How Cool!)

You will remember the visit of my legendary cousin brother Ishan, the man, the myth, the maestro. He went back to the States after more than a few adventures and left me the surrogate owner of this beautiful bike. Yesterday riding a burst of motivation on what was a very lazy Sunday, we took it out. It had about 10 ml of gas in it, unsurprising if you know Ishan and slurped up oil like a hot-season first-time tourist gulps water here.

What kind of motorcycle helmet would Audrey Hepburn wear, do you think?

ETA: In the second picture, just beyond the tarp hanging over the alley is my front door. Everyday the alley turns into an outdoor noodle restaurant set up with little plastic chairs and tables. My lovely neighbor lady wheels her noodle cart to the end of the alley and serves up bowls to office workers from the buildings who sit and slurp. As you can see, the alley is not that wide, so when I open my door, I nearly graze people who chose the table in the door's arc-- this creates unintentional hilarity and jaw dropping looks.

The Heat Is On- Hua Hin and Political Upheaval

It's hotter than you can possibly imagine--so hot, in fact, that to ponder the mere existence of such calor for more than the moment it takes you to wipe the sweat coursing down your face or for you to exclaim "It's SOOOOOO F'ING HOT," could actually drive you insane. So I try not to the think about it.

What I prefer to think about is the place I was this weekend which is on a quiet stretch of Gulf coast between Hua Hin and Prachap Kiri Khan. I stayed in the suite pictured above. That balcony wasn't even the best part. It was the wireless access in the room. I am joking. It was the breeze, the beach, the sea, the infinity pool, the quiet and the company.

I did have a few anxieties, work related, although it was a public holiday. What if the King died? He resides at the Summer Palace in Hua Hin, so I'd be golden. I had a nightmare about a missing tripod, too.

It was an inspired move to get out of the city for the weekend--the news cycle as the Kingdom desparately seeks a government shows little signs of slowing. I've done three live reports already and have at least one more. A fresh round of general elections is upcoming. So is, for that matter, another public holiday.

In another surreal twist to my life here, I have inherited a lovely silver Kawasaki motorcycle.