RETURN TO BANGKOK AGAIN

I am in Bangkok, Thailand, once more! I left Florida, USA, more than a week ago, and I have had some excitement in the process.

Let me start at the beginning. A while ago I met Brandon, a cinematographer based in Florida, USA. He is interested in documenting my travels, and he gave me a bunch of equipment for filming as I go along. My departure from Miami airport was being filmed at the check-in counter. The unflinching attendant charged me US $ 500 for excess baggage! Interesting that I had been on that same sequence of flights 3 times before, with the same baggage, and was never charged for it (I suppose they made up for it this time). Thanks to Brandon who immediately paid the fee on my behalf. Almost 2 days later I arrived in Bangkok - WITHOUT MY SUPER EXPENSIVE LUGGAGE! Exactly one week later my bike and all my equipment was delivered to me. Besides that, the cheap guest house where I have stayed in Bangkok many times was closed down when I turned up there, and it seems that the place is being demolished. Peachy GH was an institution amongst budget travelers, and it feels strange that it is now gone. My passport is nearly full, and I was planning to apply for a new passport at the SA embassy here, before returning to China and a few other countries. Surprise surprise! At the embassy today I was informed that the processing time for a new passport is 6 months. Now I have to figure out what to do and where to go in the mean time, and my savings may be depleted by that time anyway. Never a dull moment, but right now I could do with a few dull moments.