Madame, one day you will be Queen.

I celebrated my 25th birthday in typical Asian style: Karaoke. For the past two years I had been living in Southern Japan, escaping the innevitable fate of my first degree while deciding what my second kick at the can would be...a dream career, if you will.

But now we were in Thailand, half-way through our journey through South East Asia. By "we" I mean whomever I happened to be travelling with at the time. Currently it was two friends from highschool who had flown out to meet me at different points along the way. And a guy. A sole remnant of a larger caravan of Danish men that we had been partying with while trapsing through Malaysia.

As we ingested Singha and vodka in copious amounts that only 20-somethings can endure we stumbled on to the street in downtown Bangkok. It was the height of summer vacation and the popularity of The Beach (which was released the year before) had made this once quieter area of town a "must see" tourist attraction. It was hot and I was very drunk.

For those who haven't had the pleasure of visiting Thailand, specifically Bangkok, I can tell you that the swirl of energy bouncing off young tourists and ex-pats alike is electric. Explosive. The heightened intensity of backpackers downing buckets of vodka and redbulls intermixed with swarms of children working the streets (begging for money) combined with very loud Israeli youth who have finished their military service, leads to a kinetic interaction that turns into a deafening blur. Specifics become difficult to focus on. And the heat combined with this nauseating energy is overwhelming to say the least.

"Madame, can I read your fortune?" I heard to my right. A voice came from the alleyway. It was another component to the chaos of this street: A fortune teller from India. Turban and all. "No thanks", I said and continued a step. But he stopped me. "Please, let me show you" he said. But I wasn't in the mood. "I'm sorry, but I'm very drunk" I said as I side-stepped him.

"Madame, the next time you see me I will tell you something very important". And with that he receeded back into the dark alleyway. And I continued on with my night.

I had forgotten about this random drunk encounter during the midst of a chaotic birthday celebration -- until two months later. Walking down the same street, alone this time, I heard the same voice. "Ah, I see you are heartbroken" he said. It was daylight now and I could see him very clearly. There was a familiarity in his approach. We exchanged looks and he grabbed my hand. "Come, come" he said. So I followed this man down an alley to a little stool set up near a tap on the side of a house. He motioned for me to sit on the stool and he sat in front of me crosslegged.

"Sir, I really don't have the money for this" I said. But I sat on the stool anyway and he proceeded to read my hand. This was the second time I had my hand read by a fortune teller. The first time was in grade 10 science. A boy from India sat beside me and one day he stared at my fingers. "WHAT!?!" I snapped, slightly creeped out by this. He too grabbed my hand and began to read. He told me that I would have a successful career, that I would have many relationships - some good and some bad - but mostly good, and that I would marry a very rich man. "Very rich?" I squealed. "How do you know"? He turned my hand over and showed me where my pinky finger lined up against my fourth finger. To him that meant that I would marry rich. "Are you sure?" I asked, wanting to verify. He conquered. He also told me that his family were gypsy's in India and that the reading was accurate. I wish I could remember his name. In any case, ten years later I am now being seduced by a pro-bono swami in a back alley in downtown Thailand.

"Sir, I really should be going".

"Please, madame" he said. And so I watched him observe my hand meticulously. Squinting and pondering while he examined. A toothless woman sat two feet away from us and smiled. Her laundry was hung for the day and I suppose we were her entertainment. "What do you see?" I asked. Now I was intrigued. I tried to figure out how I could spare some extra baht to give this guy. Most of my money was stashed in my money belt tucked into my sweaty underwear for safe keeping - and I wasn't about to pull that out in public.

He pondered a bit more and said, "Do not worry about your heart being broken, you will see this man again. But he is not the one for you". It turns out he was right. I did run into the German lawyer I was travelling with the following week. He had dumped me on the island of Koh Samet because he heard that his ex was coming to meet up with him -- but that's another story. The sting was still fresh and I suppose the swami could see it in my face. I've never been good with hiding my emotions. "Oh, madame. Do not worry. I have good news for you".

"Sir, I really don't have any money -- only a few baht that I was going to use to make a phone call". He smiled. "Don't worry, this is not a real reading. This is my gift to you". I sized him up but he seemed fairly genuine. At this point it was either get a free reading or have my throat slit. The point of no return had already passed. I acquiesed.

"Madame, one day you will be surrounded by good fortune and love. True love. But it won't come easy - but do not fret. You will marry a very rich man who will love you. You will die quietly of old age in your bed surrouned by your family. You will live a rich life. You will be loved dearly".

There had to be some element of truth. This was the second Indian fortune teller who now has confirmed that my husband will be wealthy.

"True love?" I said. The optimism must have been shining from my eyes. "Oh yes. He will treat you like gold. Madame, one day you will be queen". I was satisfied with my free reading at that point. The bitterness of my recent break up (if you could even call it that) was now fading. I handed the swami all the money I had in my decoy change purse: 4 baht.

Being the starving opportunist he immediately shot up and said "For 50 baht I can tell you his name!". By now I was walking back down the aisle. The woman reached out her hand for money as I passed her - but I didn't have any. So we just exchanged smiles. The swami followed me back out to the main road and jumped in front of me "For 10 baht, I can tell you his first letter". I told him that I didn't have any more money and thanked him for the reading. He waived me on and said "Remember Madame, one day you will be Queen!". I turned around and said, "How will I know when I find him?" and my swami smiled and said, "You will be fooled many many times".