My Achey, Achey [fill in the blank]
Before going to sleep last night, I had a Thai massage in my room. I know I fell asleep a couple of times while she as working on me, because I work myself up with a snore. By the time the massage was finished and I washed out a few articles of clothing, it was almost midnight. I fell asleep quickly, but woke several times during the night. I got up around 6:30, just a few minutes before my alarm went off. Today I’m scheduled to do the Royal Palace & Emerald Buddha tour. Thank goodness it’s only a half day tour, so I won’t be out as long as yesterday. I wish I could cancel and get a refund since I saw most of it already when I rode the tuk tuk.
When I finished eating breakfast, it was almost 8am. Where’s my pick up? Oh geeze…don’t tell me I’m scheduled for the afternoon tour when it will be really hot. Plus, I could have slept longer! I ache all over. Some from where the massage girl applied pressure, but mainly my left heel, which has been bothering me for months. It’s really swollen where the Achilles tendon attaches to the heel bone. My podiatrist says I have some bursitis in it. She couldn’t do anything for me in the short term except prescribe some anti-inflammatory. When I get back home, she’ll probably do some cortisone shots and physical therapy. Anyway, it hurts when I sit, it hurts when I lay down…so I’m not sure how well I’ll be able to walk around on the tour this afternoon.
I wish I could upload the photos I took yesterday. Hmmm…I wonder where I could buy a card reader for my larger media card? Hey, I just went through all my devices I packed and it appears that I thought to pack the cord that connects my camera to my laptop via USB! Woohoo! I also just made another discovery. My laptop has a built-in web cam (not that I plan on using it right now). My photos are transferring now, so they should be posted sometime today. I also discovered that I have a whole batch of photos from Seattle’s Pike Place Market on my disk that I had forgotten about and never looked at.
While my photos are doing their thing, I think I’ll call the front desk and get some ice for my foot to calm it down enough for this afternoon’s tour.
I had just ordered a bucket of ice for my foot at 8:30 a.m. when the phone rang. It turns out that I was booked for the morning tour and my guide was downstairs to pick me up. So, I rushed out of my room without even logging off the Wi-Fi (good thing I’m paying a daily rate instead of hourly!).
At the palace, I thought I would be safe taking along a scarf to put over my bare shoulders, but no go. I had to borrow a shirt with sleeves from the front gate (they have many for people to sign out). It didn’t exactly fit well enough to button, but it did cover my shoulders. I don’t think the Thai make clothes for people my size.The palace was beautiful. There was so much mosaic of mirrors, porcelain, and gold leaf that glittered in the bright sun. After two hours at the palace, I thought we were heading back to my hotel, but the guide dropped us all off at a jewelry factory/store. I wasn’t expecting this and I was a bit annoyed since it smelled of a kick-back for the guide. I wasn’t exactly pressured…I could have walked away at any time, but everything was so beautiful. I guess I’m a sucker because I did end buying a pair of fresh water pearl earrings, a fresh water pearl pendant, and a fresh water pearl ring (all also had cubic zirconia) set in sterling silver for only $114. When I got back to my hotel (finally), I dropped off my purchase and camera and walked a block to get some lunch from a street vendor (I could get used to this…being able to walk to so many options of food).
After lunch, I had a foot massage at the hotel. It was the same woman that did my Thai massage last night. It felt so good! I was pretty much dozing in the chair because I was so relaxed. Afterwards, she put some medicated salve on my bruised leg and sore heel. And it sure made those areas feel so much better! I gave her a nice tip for the extra touch.
Now, I think I’ll take a nap.
