I conducted a couple more interviews this morning and tomorrow afternoon, I board a flight that will take me to Kuala Lumpur.

Seven days ago, I was on the verge of going barmy. I was struggling with exhaustion, both physical and mental. I could feel the onset of a cold that I managed to nip in the bud with ibuprofen and cough medication (though I still have a sniffly nose and flammy throat). I was going bonkers in a bubble-world where I couldn’t read or understand the local language. And most of all, I was missing friends and loved ones.

This past week in Bangkok has been more bearable thanks to the arrival of a best friend. He added colour, cheer and company to my life. I haven’t had silly laughs in such a long time, nor bitching about poor unsuspecting passerbys. I almost forgot what it was like to talk to someone who’s on a similar wavelength and not have to spell every word, cross every “t” or dot every “i”. We’ve been shopping, dining, having coffee, reading newspapers over breakkie… This is what fieldwork should be like…! Not the gruelling, psychologically torturous and isolated working environment that I had to endure in the previous five weeks…

I will of course miss some aspects of my time in Bangkok. I shall miss being able to change my wardrobe and avoid doing laundry thanks to cheap clothing in the markets. I shall miss the photocopy service at Thammasat. I shall miss the coffee stand in front of the faculty where my office is located. I shall miss the motorcycle-service that allows me to avoid having to walk in the heat. I shall miss good cheap food, just not the pork. And I shall miss the wonderful civil-servants who were happy to chat openly and frankly with me on sensitive issues.

However, I will not miss the heat, not understanding the local language, the submissively compliant masses (over-socialised perhaps?), the racist gay community (that’s a post for another time), the wai-ing (that’s the Thai “salutation” given by putting your palms together to your face and then bowing ever so slightly), and the constant ka-ing and krap-ping (grammatical articles used in the Thai language as signs of politeness). These… I will be glad to leave behind.

That said, I have, in general, had a rather good, productive and interesting (remember the coup?) fieldtrip in Bangkok. But I am glad that I now have only one more week in Kuala Lumpur, albeit a somewhat busy one, before finally, finally, heading home…