on the move

i'm now at the Siam Paragon, a mall that opened 8 months ago in central bangkok, featuring an aquarium, an Imax theater, and pretty much any store that rests at the pinnacle of western material culture, and although i resent paying 1 dollar an hour for internet access, the air conditioning and fast connection is a plus. my bags are packed where im staying, but i thought it would be wise to check my email, baseball standings and whatnot before i take the 6 hour busride to khon kaen where i will seek shelter from the weather, a combination of fire and rain that leaves me shaking my fists at the sky (wet from perspiration or monsoon residue, usually a combination of the two).
this morning i woke up and took a sip of a Caribou(red bull, pronounce Carib-Ouw) 'XO' (i've heard that the concept of the energy drink originated in Thailand) and got a little more of a wake-up call than i was looking for. The one fateful swig i took from the medicine bottle had the consistency of cold canned gravy, and tasted like a soiled ashtray filled with hard liquor. these energy drinks are ubiquitous at the equally ubiquitous 7-11 that dot nearly every corner of bangkok, and come in medicine bottles that cost about 25 cents. unfortunately, i am a sucker for flashy advertising (shiny foil and bright colors) and took the bait on this particular bottle (XO caught my eye), thinking it was an edgier version(and thus cooler version) of a trusted brand. it definitely did the job in terms of aking me up, but i will not forget the taste (that took 20 minutes to wash down) any time soon. i later inquired about what on earth could produce such a horrible flavor, and i found out that it had all the vitamins and caffeine of the normal thai concoction, but this one was special because there was an added kick of nicotine, and although it tasted and smelled like something that could knock you into the gutter pretty fast, it didnt contain any liquor. I'm sure there were a lot more strange ingredients, but i'll have to find out later, but the thing that really got me is that it was Whisky flavored! nothing like artificial whisky flavor, real nicotine, and wholesome vitamins and caffeine to get you started in the morning.
I bought my video camera, a nice little panasonic 3ccd digital with spinning rims, after having made 3 trips to an electronics bazaar where i managed to slash the price, utilizing a trapist wit to bargain 2 extra batteries, 5 mini dv tapes, a tripod and bag, for 150$ US less than the asking price. I have to thank Mr. Nakorn, formerly a teacher at Ampawan Suksaa(they are always looking for foreign teachers if interested), who seems to be unemployed after having spent 8 months in Iceland of all places working in a Thai restaurant, having to come back with his wife(or did she even go? she wasnt in any of the pictures they showed me and still taught at the school) due to visa problems. All i can say is Nakorn is the man, he cant even go back to Ampawan for fear of being mobbed by throngs of cheering supporters. The whole Iceland story is funny, but I'll have to save it for another time because I gotta keep on moving up to Isaan in the next couple hours and manage to keep my camera from being stolen in the process. i also need to make some more kickboxer friends up there to protect it, and quick.