It's inevitable that I get into discussions with people who love ground grappling systems, but pay little to no attention to the issue of safety. With testosterone pumping through their veins, they train in dirty gis, with no rash guards, and carelessly allow open wounds to rub on their training partners.

I used to look at my old roommate from years ago, TJ Desch, and wonder why he'd be going to Jiu-Jitsu classes with a long sleeve T-shirt on underneath his gi, slathering his face with tea tree oil, and wearing an earguard. Turns out that he was, as he usually is, way ahead of the curve when it comes to understanding this situation.

I've always said that Darwin's constantly at work. And he's not only at work with making the pathogens out there stronger by the day, but also by weeding out such careless and brainless individuals who train recklessly and selfishly from the gene pool.

If you're reading this, I hope you're not one of them...

Staph fatalities may exceed AIDS deaths

Day 10: October 14, Sunday – GOAL!

The day starts off pretty much like yesterday’s. However, I get out to Nonthaburi right after breakfast to grab my suit. The Veronica’s resident manager, Mr. Chaiyamas, is a very pleasant and helpful fellow who calls the shop to see if it’s open, ascertains the location, and after deciding that it’s too much of a crapshoot for me to risk taking a Bangkok taxi to a neighboring city to find the tailor, takes me out there himself in his own car. He suggests that I can repay his kindness by putting a bit of gasoline in his car and is shocked when I have the attendant fill the entire tank.

The suit is exactly what I’d hoped for – a beautiful jet-black Mandarin collar. It’s so nice that I have to ask how long it would take to have another made, but when the chief seamstress says 1 week, I have to shake my head and roll out. I like it so much that I have to try to find another tailor to make one in white. That, however, will take some doing, and may be quite impossible on this particular trip. I have only 1 more full day here to not only source such a thing, but also to have it made. God-willing, I’ll find a white one that’s ready made and fits me passably.

After returning with the suit, we are off for a late morning massage and more shopping. The massage protocols seem very “paint-by-the-numbers” for the most part. Regardless of what source the masseuse seems to come from, whether a spa, a recommended massage establishment, the hotel, or whatever, there’s very little variation in this stuff. But for the price, who cares?

Shopping is VERY productive today. I not only manage to get a bag that’s big enough to put two people inside of, but also several collarless shirts that have either the perfect fit, or very cool designs. Just need to find some long sleeve collarless shirts and hopefully that white Mandarin collar suit and my shopping will be complete here.

During the late afternoon, as we sit down for a bite of food, the sky darkens dramatically and the heavens pour down some serious rain. Within minutes, the water is ankle deep at street intersections, and we kill about an hour under a long tarp waiting for the rain to subside just a bit. Walking back after such a deluge, it’s unavoidable that we’ll be doing some wading through the streets. By the time we arrive back at the hotel, all 3 of us are too drenched from sweat, rain, and filth to do more than crash out and hope that our shoes dry out overnight.

Day 11: October 15, Monday – The wind-down

It’s the last full day of our stay here, and we’re all too damn lazy to do much more than walk around. We make a trip to Lumpini to see about Thai boxing, but realize that it’s closed on Mondays. At 1pm, almost nobody selling Thai gear is open yet, and the few that are open are asking prices that sound almost identical to US prices and more in some cases. This is foolish. Any monkey with ebay can (or should) check their prices before getting carried away buying stuff on Bangkok streets, so we head off to see the Chao Phaya River. The smell coming off the tributary streams is immense, and by the time we get to the river itself, the water seems a bit choppy for our liking, and we head off for another few plates of $1 pad thai.

Back at the hotel, it’s time to pack. I’m eager to get home and back to Los Angeles. This trip has been most of what it’s supposed to be – a way for me to study an ancient combat art at the highest levels, and a way to recharge my spiritual batteries. My aches still need some attention, and my shopping could have been a bit more productive, but overall, there’s nothing to complain about. It's 5pm here, and a long hot shower beckons. I'll look forward to being back in touch with you all when I get back to LA!

Addendum......

On our way out to have a few drinks on our last night together as a group in Bangkok, we arrive a bit too early at one of the clubs. This club, located in the basement of one of the hotels, doesn't open for another hour, so we're reduced to killing time by walking around and looking at the hotel's boutique shops.

One of these shops, run by a couple of Indian tailors who speak flawless, crystal clear English, catches my eye, and the tailor calls me in and exclaims confidently that he can make any suit I desire and it will fit better than any other I own. Quite a boast!

I don't see any mandarin collars in the window, but I tell him what I want. He tells me very matter-of-factly that those are easy and that such suits are common in India. The price he quotes is even better than the last tailor, and his service is very accomodating. I gamble and tell him that I'll go for 2 suits and 3 shirts at the price he's giving me.

If they're anywhere near as good as he claims, I'll be posting his information here on this blog, along with a picture of the suits!