Last Week in Canada

Today's song is: Suzanne Takes you Down by Leonard Cohen .. another great Candian.

My last weekend in Canada is over. Tomorrow is Monday. Apparently the nightlife in Bangkok has taken a downtown and business is way down. August and September are typically the low tourist months in Thailand, however this year is worse, probably due to the bombing.

I decided to check the airfares and you can fly to Bangkok from Ottawa now for about $850 return with United, which is an Star Alliance partner so you get air miles which you can use to get to Florida next winter (if you can afford to go with low Canadian dollar!).

When the tourists disappear, the bar girls suffer, and if it goes on for a while they head back to the village to see their kids. That works out well for the mama-sans who don't have to pay them to dance to no one.  However, 3 bars were doing well, as they catered to Japanese who are always coming and going to Bangkok.

Thavorn has started the countdown to my arrival. Four more sleeps and I arrive at 6 am in Bangkok. Apparently Thavorn does not want to meet me at the airport. Can't understand why :-)  many a girl has seen me off and met me on arrival at BKK. It is a very common sight at the airport. Sometimes the lady even sheds a tear :-)

Apparently Nana Plaza is almost 80% Lady Boy now. To each his or her own. I find Katoeys fascinating to talk to but would never go with one. Their English is invariably good and they always seem to have a good sense of humor. Some of them are real stunners. Try not to get fooled.

My goodbye night at Big Rig is shaping up to be fun. It looks like there will be about 15 of my friends there to say goodbye for another year. Hopefully my two children will find the time to go.

My first day back I plan on taking a shower, having a jet-lag nap and heading down to Hillary 4 just outside Nana Plaza for some tourist watching to see what has changed. Of course Jaidan and Thavorn will come with me.

I have been a little remiss with my blog lately, but frankly, there is not much to write about in Canada. There is an election underway but so far, it is pretty boring and seems headed towards a coalition minority government. In my opinion, you might as well give the young man (Trudeau) a chance, just for something different.

If anyone out there has a solution for the migrant/refugee explosion in Europe I would be happy to hear it. If Germany thinks they can absorb a million of them I suggest they talk to Sweden who is a few years ahead of them.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/swedens-ugly-immigration-problem/article26338254/

TTYL