So, we’re still in Melbourne… We’re still missing Bangkok… But we’ll be back home soon, which is a bonus.
I think i’d hoped that with a little time, Melbourne would worm it’s way into my affections… Sadly, it has not… The weather has gotten colder, the rain has begun to fall and all I can think about it the heat of Bangkok, the familiar feel of Bangkok, my life of Bangkok… I just want to be back in Bangkok.
At this point i’ll pause… Or you’ll pause… Maybe we’ll all pause? This particular instalment has taken a while to write, at this point (as in the point where i’m actually typing THESE words) there are hundreds of words typed out… I actually just looked down on them as i’m typing… Those words however, are about to be deleted.
Why delete your work? Some may ask… Some, maybe most won’t ask but i’ll explain why anyway… I found myself going over the same old story in regards to being in Melbourne… No I don’t love the place… Yes, I miss Bangkok.. I’m struggling with the attitudes of some (not all) people here… Putting it simply, i’m not enjoying myself… And how can expect people to enjoy reading about me not enjoying myself? well… I can’t… So… Why bother writing a pt 3 to this blog if you don’t find it entertaining you may ask… Or not… Whatever…
Well, there is a point to this third part… and that point is the title “I did something incredibly stupid”... Because dear friends… I did…. I did something incredibly stupid… I’ll explain…. or try to.
Jo had decided that we should go out on Saturday, have a few drinks, get some food and see where the night leads us, she’s worked hard this week and she deserves a night out after all… We left the hotel in the evening and found ourselves a small bar in town, we had a couple of drinks and went off into town, the streets were quite busy, lots of people out on the town, we were a little undecided on where to go so we basically wandered around town looking for cool places to go, we were in a bar at about 10:00 pm when I told Jo that I didn’t want to ruin the night but I wasn’t feeling too well and would she mind if we headed back to the hotel, Jo was fine with us heading back, but she was hungry so we headed to a fast food place close by to pick up some fries…
We were in the fast-food place, it’s very popular and was full of people ordering and eating food, we’d been waiting about five minutes when out in the street we heard one loud “BANG!”… people looked around wondering what it was, but nobody was concerned... A few seconds later “BANG! BANG! BANG!”… Nobody moved… nobody was sure what was going on, two young Asian girls ran into the shop and hid behind the door… “BANG! BANG! BANG!” again.. Jo looked worried… The two Asian girls looked terrified… At this point I did something stupid.
I walked outside.
One of the scared Asian girls asks me what's going on, i’m standing outside the fast food place listening, trying to work out what the noise is…”BANG! BANG!” again… I can’t hear screaming, I don’t hear sirens… The Asian girl asks “Is it guns?” she looks terrified, I try to make a joke of it and say “I don’t think it’s guns… But if you hear a bang and I fall over.. I may be wrong.” (Smooth… Very smooth) … I still can’t hear the sounds of panic, I still don’t hear sirens… I tell the girls that I think it’s fireworks… Nothing to worry about… The girls thank me and leave the shop before running off, away from the noise… I walked back to Jo and tell her I think it’s just someone throwing firecrackers around… She collects her food and we leave the shop… “BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!” again… I turn around as the last one exploded and caught a glimpse of a firecracker exploding in the air just down the road from the fast food place…. Firecrackers… Nothing to worry about.
I awoke on Sunday morning with one thought in my head “I did something incredibly stupid”… Firecrackers… Just some idiot having fun on a Saturday night in Melbourne… But, what if i’d been wrong?
What if it hadn’t been firecrackers… What if it had been something more serious?
What if the act of running into that fast food place had saved the lives of those two Asian girls?… What if the act of walking out of it had ended mine?
On the day we left Bangkok, the city experienced a number of bombs exploding, Here in Melbourne in 2018 there was a “terror-related” attack where someone set fire to a car carrying propane cylinders (which failed to explode) before attacking three people with a knife… And there I was... With the sound of possible gunfire in the air… Walking out to see what was going on… Brave? No. Thoughtless and stupid? Sadly yes.
We can’t live our lives constantly thinking the worst… That, after all, would be no life at all… But still, I’d like to think that in future i’d maybe give a little more thought if even there was the slightest chance of something dangerous happening…
Ah well…. Until next time…