Fabulously Robbed!

Bangkok Sky Walk, originally uploaded by ShonC.

Thank you Bangkok! 10 days to departure and, I finally have a semi-exciting travel tale. My trip to Asia would've been incomplete without it! It all started with a visit to a custom tailoring store (Inders Fasion, Sukumvit, Soi 11. Highly recommended!!) for a business suit fitting. A few minutes later, I was standing at the sky train platform waiting to board when someone pointed out that the zipper on my back pack was open. Wallet and iPod gone! poof! Of course I panicked and then traced my steps back to the store trying to tell myself I probably dropped it somewhere. All this time clearly remembering putting my wallet safely in and closing the zipper. In the panic stricken state, I’ve given up my train ticket and walked out of the station and now I don’t even have enough cash to get back to the apartment.

I get back to the store and the kind store owner (Thai Sardar) sits me down and gives me a glass of water before handing over his cell phone and a laptop with internet connection so I can cancel all my cards. He then takes me to the police station where he speaks to the cops in Thai and has a report filed for me. He even drops me back to my apartment and offers me some cash to tide me over.

Back at the apartment I start making calls to my family and friends and start realizing what has really happened. What did I loose?
 Cash: I think a certain portion of my earning is pre-ordained to be spent on drinks. I haven’t been paying my dues to the alcohol gods since I’ve been here. So they found a way to extort it from me. The guy who took my wallet in all probability shot straight for a go-go bar in Pat Pong, bought himself a bottle of Johnny Black and partied the night away and even managed to take a girl back home with him for once! Money well spent I’d say, bought someone a night of excitement and action (or so I’d like to think.)
 Credit cards: I lost some replaceable plastic and some liquidity until I get back to the US. I had put away some cash ‘just in case’ and ‘just in case’ happened. Patting myself on the back for that one!
 Driving license: I can’t go to work on May 2 since I will need the day to get a new license. An extra day off from work, ha!
 iPod: The iPod had some sentimental value. On the flip side, it was an obsolete mini and I wasn’t upgrading for sentimental reasons. Thank you Mr. Thief for giving me the opportunity to go out and gadget shop. Yipeeeeee!

Some of you have heard me talking about wanting someone who takes charge for me when I don’t feel like it. Suddenly I was surrounded by 3 men (the store owner and his sons) who took care of it all without me having to struggle with the language. Help comes when you least expect it and even though people hide behind the facades of indifference trying to shelter themselves from the mean world, they are very nice at heart and will help others in difficulty.

I know I sound nauseously positive to some of you at this point. Did you know optimism is contagious? I hope I’ve infected some of you, leave a comment and let me know if I did!

P.S. - I considered making the story a bit more juicy by adding an action sequence (kick in the crotch or slamming a guy down with my bag) but decided against it.