Chiang Rai

I had a bad sleep and that was 100% because of stupidity.  I hate taking pills and because I have been pretty much pain-free I decided I didn’t need to take any painkillers even though I was taking them regularly in the hospital which was why (duh) I had no pain.  Finally at four this morning I broke down and took a couple and in no time was able to sleep.  It also doesn’t help that I have a beer in the evenings and then I get up a few times in the night so I have a new plan. I will be taking my pills exactly the way I am supposed to and I will be enjoying my beer mid afternoon. I am expecting a perfect sleep tonight.

I am unable to put my hair in a ponytail so when I left my room this morning a cleaner was next-door so I asked him. He looked at me horrified and shook his head no.  I laughed!  Luckily, the woman at the front desk had no problem with it.

I called a Grab to take me back to Bangkok Hospital to see the ophthalmologist.  I was in a Mazda CX8 – what a beautiful car. Unfortunately, the driver is dealing with a wife who tried to kill herself by jumping off the bridge. She has a broken ankle and shoulder and is unable to work in their restaurant.  He talked about her the whole ride – I felt very badly for him and he thanked me for listening after he apologized for going on and on.

The ophthalmologist said that I no longer have corneal abrasions but I have dry eyes and that is causing my vision to be only 20/25. Every time I’ve been tested here, the woman is shocked that I see absolutely nothing with my left eye.  She kept adjusting the wand I was holding as if I was doing it wrong.  Not even 20/400 in my left eye which is completely normal!  I am to continue using the drops until Saturday morning and continue with the tears as long as I find it’s helpful.

From the hospital, I took another Grab to the Blue Temple which is officially called Wat Rong Suea Ten.  It is very new as it was just completed in 2016 –

The altar-

The back wall/entrance-

A side wall-

Worshipping outside-

The back of the temple-

The entrance to the complex is well guarded-

as is the exit-

From here I walked 2 miles back to my hotel.  I had to cross the Kok River-

and was very hungry so had Pad Thai, which I loved, finally –

and mango sticky rice-

I found the market and bought a washcloth to make bathing simpler because I do not want to shower until I can remove my bandages.  I returned to the hotel. Today is some sort of holiday so the liquor store next-door is closed but he told me last night that the woman at the front desk of the hotel would sell me a beer anyway. When I told her this she started laughing and said she would if I drank it in my room.  I am doing a load of wash and have booked for two more nights.

At 7 pm there’s a light show at the clock tower.  Big deal-

Tomorrow I will visit the White Temple via public bus.  I feel really good.