The Perfect Stranger

Dave and I parted ways in Hong Kong - he back to work via a few days visiting friends in Japan and I to Bangkok. I hopped a taxi from the airport and made my way to Banglamphu an area over-run with wandering hippies and Australian and British frat boys. Luckily, one of the bars on the street showed movies every night as I wasn't in much of a mood to chat with anyone, but at the same time didn't want to hold up in my lonely room. So, I spent my first night watching what likely qualifies as Bruce Willis's worst hour, "Perfect Stranger" with Halle Berry. And yes, I've seen some of his other films and will stand by my assertion that it is among the least impressive of his unimpressive movies. However horrific, it did the trick of taking my mind of my emotional overload after saying goodbye to Dave and facing the world for the first time really on my own.

Luckily, the next night, after a day visiting 3 of Bangkok's famed temples, I ventured out open to socializing. Still over-run with hippies and frat boys, I was lucky enough to meet a friendly Australian man from Perth (non-frat boy) who had circled the world over the past 13 months and was now returning to Siagon (his point of origin) to wrap his adventure up in a nice tight symetrical package (also a Virgo).

The company would have probably been enough to help temper my nerves, but he offered so much more than friendship - tales of adventure, words of reassurance, practical advice on both general traveling and destinations of interest and, above all, a message from a higher power that while what one will not always get exactly what one wants (e.g. "Perfect Stranger"), the world has a funny way of helping us out (e.g. Greg, a once perfect stranger, now friend).