Sleepless nights, with dozens of cockroaches escaping the floodwater from the sewers; days of worry about parents who refuse to flee their flooded homes; countless rides in military boats and trucks through road-turned-canals which take three times longer than usual.
Walking barefoot along the flooded roads, wading waist-deep in fetid water in the sois, buying an overpriced boat, hitchhiking, getting help from strangers and counting the days when this ordeal will end.
My personal account of Thailand's worst flood disaster in several decades might be similar to the stories told by other millions of flood-hit people.
However, what each of us has learned from this major deluge or how we have changed after this natural disaster will not be the same.
There are many more people who are suffering greater losses and facing far more difficulties than myself. I saw a father and daughter living on small pieces of plank-wood surrounded by floodwater over a meter deep.
I saw an old, blind man try to hitch a ride on a military truck to Nawong Temple where he uses a crematorium as his temporary shelter.
I saw a wife helping her seriously ill husband onto a 10-wheeled truck after she did failed to get any help from an emergency hotline.
I've seen the strength of the people and the ability to adjust themselves to hardship. In the first few days of the flooding, most people were fighting against the incoming water. They tried to block it, pump it out and even prayed that the water level would stop there.
Then, we lost the battle and accepted our defeat. We moved up to the second floor, trying to think that the situation would not become too bad. But we were wrong. Electrical shocks, poisonous reptiles and hygienic problems have become major concerns.
Toilets cannot be flushed and the piles of garbage have become bigger and bigger. Many of us decided to leave our homes, but our old folks wouldn't flee with us. They refused to live in an unfamiliar places and worry about the house, the dogs, burglars, etc.
We have no choice but to let them stay while we do everything we can to make their living condition as good as possible, while we still have to move on with our work.
At one point, everything seemed to be under control, thanks to the help of all the soldiers, state officials, rescue workers and volunteers working on the ground.
Public buses and military vehicles are my true heroes in this flood disaster. They make traveling to and from flooded areas possible. People go out to buy food and other supplies, children can go back to look after their parents and inspect their houses.
The city bus agency has been criticized for the poor condition of its vehicles. But in this time of crisis, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority's staff and its bus fleet have proved to be a big help.
The BMTA modified its buses to be able to run on flooded roads. Where the roads along their normal route became impassable, they changed the route to serve the commuters.
Most of the bus drivers and conductors I met were working very hard to help ease the hardship of people traveling in flooded areas.
It is basic facilities like these that help people get through a crisis, not the complicated, mulch-million-baht schemes which cabinet ministers dream up.
It has been three weeks now since the northern runoff hit the first parts of Bangkok in Don Mueang district, followed by Sai Mai, Bang Khen and Lak Si. It is good to see that many people managed to find the means to live with the water.
I recently took a ride on a crowded 10-wheeler from Chaeng Wattana Road to my house on Ram Intra Road. It was a distance of 10km and was totally flooded; it took me about two hours.
It was a pleasant trip (even if I did have to stand all the way, carrying three heavy bags of food and supplies). People from all walks of life from construction workers to well-to-do people got together on this truck.
These strangers exchanged their flood experiences and consoled each other like friends and relatives.
I listened to them, trying to forget the growing pain in my back and legs. A famous quote of Nietzche came to mind: "What does not kill (us) makes (us) stronger."
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