my nov work trip to bangkok

i spend a week in bangkok for work. this was the week after my sydney trip and i had only one day in singapore to catch up with errands, laundry and to squeeze in a wedding lunch. anyway, the trip to bangkok was a crazy one. i was the main co-ordinator for a global hr conference and it was quite a hell to be a co-ordinator, a logistician, a master of ceremony, tour guide, etc all rolled into one. but all said and done, the event went well and it was good that everyone had a good experience. the event ended on thursday and my colleagues left on friday afternoon, by which time i was so exhausted i slept my way through the afternoon. i took the opportunity to extend my trip through the weekend. 

it was my first trip to bangkok in 12 years and i was totally lost. bee had agreed to spend the weekend with me but, as usual, he didn't in the end as he had to work (again). and as i had time all to myself, i ended up sleeping and just lazing in my room and exploring grindr to check out the gay men in bangkok. i was bored and unmotivated to head out to explore the city. and i got messages from people who are massage boys, gay men from overseas including cambodia, japan, etc. haha... it was just so unproductive and i felt so bored. the furthest i dragged myself to on friday night was to a small street market next to my hotel for some food before heading back to my room to watch the news on tv and explore people in grindr. 

saturday, however, was rather eventful. you see, on friday night, i texted someone (whom i got to know in singapore) in grindr to ask if there are any place that i should visit (he claimed he's thai). and that was when i found out that he wanted to fly to bangkok but could not get a hotel room as all were booked or were too expensive. and so i offered him half my bed. he was kinda surprised to get such a offer but accepted it and went ahead to book an air ticket right away. i had never done such a thing before - offering my bed to strangers but well, i wanted to help (really). i regretted almost immediately after i offered but i kept my word. i regretted cos of the reaction i got. suddenly, i got all the drama - omg, i send u my pic so that you are ok with me, are you sure? are you ok with me? omg omg omg! are you sure you are ok with me, i mean... are you sure?... i was literally caught off guard with such a response and i told him straight off that i was merely providing him a space and he need not send me any photo, etc. you sure right? if i turn up at your door and you don't let me in, i'll freak out... he went on... for me, it was a simple case of - you come, take half the space, do your own stuff, i do my own stuff - simple as that. but for him, whatever was in his mind, he was just so over the top drama. i came to a point where i had to tell him that if he still go on drama-ing, i'll take back my offer. he stopped after that...

anyway, he arrived the next day (saturday late morning) with a huge luggage! and from the start, the whole conversation, the topics, the chemistry. everything was totally off. the interaction was so awkward. i wanted to just ask him to mind his own business but i couldn't. he went on and on and on non-stop. and so, the awkward conversations and exchanges saw me testing my boundaries in my responses when i felt the conversation was heading in the wrong direction. i ended up being so bloody firm with him and many-a-times, i had adopted the most condescending tones and at some points, i had to tell him off and to put him in the right place. and despite all these, he didn't seemed to get my point and instead gushed at how objective and mature a person i was, very "man" (wtf). and as a gesture of thanks he offered (insisted was the right word) to bring me to chatuchak, he went on and on about how bad he'd feel if i didn't allow him to show me to chatuchak. at chatuchak, he tried to grab my elbow and i had to push his hand away, not without telling him firmly i don't do physical contacts in public. i added that the only person whom i allowed such contacts was my partner. and i told him i wanted to explore the place on my own. in the end, we parted and i didn't head back to hotel until almost 10pm saturday night. i didn't want to interact with him.

that night, i retired to bed and as usual, i kept to the side of my bed. and he reached out and tried to pull my hand, and said something like do you want to sleep closer to me or something along this line. i was rather pissed off with him and told him off "i offered you half my bed out of goodwill and if you dare touch me in the middle of the night, i swear i would throw you out of the room right away". he didn't stop and i thought he didn't get my very explicit message for he added, why do you sleep at the side of the bed, come towards me la... i had half my mind to chase him out but held my patience and simply told him that sleeping at the side of my bed was my habit, and he added "but i scared you fall off the bed"... this response lost me totally and i half-raised my voice and said "stopped mommy-ing me! i have lived up to 50-over years on earth and even my mum did not ask me to not sleep at the side of my bed!". i thought he got my message after this for he quietly retreated to his corner and kept quiet. i simply ended the conversation by half ordering him to "go sleep!". the night passed peacefully for me. thankfully.

anyway, i was so glad he eventually checked out on sunday. i did so too not too long after that. i don't think i will ever offer my bed to people anymore in future.