I had booked myself into a different hostel than the one in which I had previously stayed, primarily tdue to the overwhelming tiredness I was now feeling and the close proximity of it to the Silom Sala Daeng BTS station which was easy to get to sing the train links from the Airport. I pre-booked a couple of nights there, intending to crash out before booking something away from the city for the last 3 weeks of the trip, but after struggling to decide on a suitable final destination over successive days, I decided to just stop here for a bit longer, take the pressure off that I placed on myself and hope that inspiration would strike given time. Another good reason for staying was that the 13th of April would signal the arrival of the Thai New Year, and bring with it the Songkran water festival which was one the things that I had jotted down on my list of "things to see and do" in the pre planning stages of the trip. Now I happened to find myself in the right area at the right time, something that doesn't usually happen.
I spent a few days walking around, trying out a few new things with the camera and seeking out shelter as temperatures soared from 34 degrees or so on the day I arrived, to 39 and 40 by afternoons 3 and four days later. In the evening when the temperature had eased to the upper mid 30's, I retired to Lumpini Park to enjoy a walk and see just how people used the park at the end of the working day. A full loop of the park is marked out on the wide paths as being 2.5 km and there were no shortage of people going around. Solo runners, solo walkers, pairs and groups, family, friends, all consumed in their own personal challenges with a shared spirit providing energy to those whose legs needed it most, overlooked by those on pieces of gym equipment found at places along the route.
Elsewhere in the park music blared and people danced in workouts which could switch from disjointed mass movement into spontaneous synchronicity and back again with regular ease with people coming and going, a rotating mass of movement. There was nothing to segment those who wanted to join, all that was required was the willingness to participate, and the sense of energy is contagious.
The potential problem here was that having just left Vietnam, I wasn't sure about the rules of re-entry, with different pieces of internet mis-information lending themselves to the possibility of my not being allowed to re-enter the country within 30 days of leaving. I decided to walk to the Vietnam embassy and see if I could get some clarification before risking booking some flights and I was informed that as my previous entry was covered by a full 1 month visa (that I had paid for), I would be able to go back for 15 days at no additional cost. I would just need a flight booked out of the country within the permitted timescale to be allowed back in, opening up the possibility of the return my mind had been jostling with.
The following evening I returned to the park, eager to take advantage of the positive vibe I had picked up on the the evening before and join in with a run around it's perimeter. Having not done any meaningful exercise in more than 5 months and with the late afternoon heat still up at 36 degrees the idea seemed daft at the time, but I reasoned that if I could even just walk the circuit and perspire a little, it would be a significant mark in the continued recovery of my long standing foot injury. 30 minutes, 2 laps and 5km (3 miles) later I had sweated loads, drank as much and enjoyed a jog more than I ever thought possible. I usually passionately despise running because of it's plain monotony, but here it had been a completely different experience. On my own I doubt I would have managed a quarter of that distance, let alone run the full lot.
So it's a little disheartening to hear that, at the same time I am discovering the benefits that exercise in a group environment can bring, in the UK a small council met, and decided by a 6 to 4 majority to place a charge on, and thus effectively end a organised event in one of it's parks designed to encourage just that. Spouting nonsense that it would be wrong for others in community to have to pay for the it's upkeep, but maybe forgetting that these spaces are there to be a benefit for all, and maybe just as importantly. the average uk citizen already gets stung for around 50% of their income on tax in one form or another. If you think about the amount of money actually accrued by the U.K government and various councils from the people of the country, more facilities should be being made available for people benefit from, not extra charges being levied. It's an embarrassment to see this sort of attitude again coming to the front in the UK, especially when I have witnessed so many countries, many of them poorer than mine back home, actively provide facilities for people to use in order to benefit different aspects of their peoples lives.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-36030582
By the time I climbed the stairs back at the hostel, my legs were starting to stiffen up severely, calling into question the wisdom of my actions just a short time earlier. The truth is those first steps back on the mend are never going to be easy, and the discomfort in my legs was being kept a little bit at bay by the feeling of having (finally) come through a physical test that had resulted in only strong to moderate pain.
3 bottles of beer were playing their part in that too.
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