Well. I got a massage after the last post. It was glorious. The lady laughed at how tense I was and she worked my back for a long time. Though when she picked up my backpack afterwards she gave me a scolding and yet knowing look. They even gave me free tea afterwards and referred to me as Teacher. It is nice to be called that instead of farang. Afterwards I took a tuk tuk back to the bus station and got on my bus home.
Well if I have learned anything from Thailand is that reality will often go beyond your imagination. Five minutes after I got on the bus a man sitting one seat in front of me and to the left leaned his chair way back and noticed me. He then proceeded to leer at me for five minutes before reaching his hand back between the seats to try and shake my hand. He said hello to which I gave a disinterested half smile and did not shake his hand. He then proceeded to touch my hand again and blew kisses at me and then winked. From that point on I attempted to ignore him. For the next 40 minutes he would periodically reach back and touch my arm, hand or knee and try to say hello, then guess my country of origin and then finally, "I love you." I had shifted as far away from him as possible, with my knees in the aisle and my arms crossed facing away from him. I started shaking my head, saying stop and no with increasing volume. There are more than 5 ways to say no in Thai and I am still learning when/how to use them. I did not touch him or punch him in the face like I wanted to but used my bag to push his hand away a few times. Of course when I said "NO!" I gave away my language and he responded with "yessssss" which he would repeat every few minutes. The ladies sitting across the aisle gave me looks of sympathy but no one around me did anything. I was seriously wrestling with myself as to my options because if I hit him or touched him I would go to jail, if I removed myself from the situation by getting off the bus in the middle of no where I would be stranded and my phone was dead. And no one on the bus was helping. I was seriously coming to the end of my tolerance because no means no and STOP TOUCHING ME!!!! Even imagining hitting him with a baseball bat was not helping.
As I was about to get off the bus, I see the lady sitting across from me pull out some toilet paper and a pen and she starts writing on it. Just then a girl about my age sitting behind me taps me. She is part of a group of three girls and I am assuming her boyfriend. She and the boyfriend indicated that I should swap seats with him. That was the most respectful wai I think I have ever given. That put me another row back where the guy could no longer reach me. And the lady across from me that was writing was about to pass up the paper so I think she had written a note to pass up to the driver. So these people were eventually going to help me in their own cultural way. Now the man was displeased as to my move and occasionally would stare back at me or shout things in Thai at me but eventually the situation calmed down and I was finally able to get an hour of sleep.
Now some hours later (like 6), we stopped at a gas station outside of Uttaradit. When they refuel everyone has to get off the bus and I needed to use the restroom anyway. It is 11:30pm. I am walking across the gas station parking lot back to my bus when, of course my new creeper/stalker materializes from the darkness and heads towards me rapidly. I take a moment to mentally chastise myself for momentarily forgetting I had a creeper and then I was like, "get to the light, get to the light. How could you have been so stupid? Get to the light!" I make it back to the bus with the man still following me. There are people standing, waiting to be allowed back on the bus. I put myself closest to the door. And he bows to me and tries to come up to me again. I walk away, putting people between us and we do this a number of times. The lady that was sitting next to me mouthed something in Thai to me, but I can barely speak it, let alone lip read Thai. But finally we are allowed back on the bus and I get myself secure back in my position away from the man. Go ahead and stare at me for the next half hour. Call me an ugly ape. I am almost home! Of course, my fear is that when I get off he will too but I get off the bus and onto my ride with my motorcycle man and we are off. No one followed. Just a motorcycle and the open air of the night. I tipped the man 20 baht at the end just because he was not a creepy man. He seemed confused as to why I was tipping him, especially when the ride costs 50 baht, but I stick with my decision. I have ridden with him many times and he has never been creepy. So I thanked him for it.
So now I know that people do help out in tight situations in their own ways and sometimes even when it is up to you to get yourself out of a bad situation, there are just no good options. But geez some people!!!
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