South Thailand - the end of the journey
Monday, December 14, 2015
Bangkok, Thailand
Our last days as the Vibe Tribe were spent island hopping through paradise on a glorified gondola captained by Sun, a man who lives up to his name both by virtue of his having a father and through his beaming personality .
The days were hot, the ocean about six shades of blue-green and pale tans. We spent a few hours each day cruising on the boat, passing countless bits of lush greenery and bare rock strewn through the ocean like constellations in the night sky. We snorkeled, admiring the clarity of the water, the phosphorescence of the fish, and the black spikes of some rather large sea urchins reminiscent of the dreams of a medieval torture expert.
The first two nights of our tour, we slept in the shelter of tents out on the beach, though those on the sand faced several shooting star sightings and the ever-present and sometimes very real threat of nocturnal sea life -- namely, the crabs. Anna awoke to find that one of the little buggers had affectionately attached itself to her finger. Slightly less painful were the bioluminescent algae (I believe they were algae) that lit up with every crashing wave.
We slept our final night of the tour in air-conditioned or fan-conditioned bungalows on another island across the street from a restaurant and hammocks overlooking another white, sandy beach . The restaurant served a delicious, spicy papaya salad and meat that, at first glance, appeared to be barbecued ribs but actually turned out to be chicken. It was marvelous to be out of Hindu country and into what was, comparatively, Carnivore Central.
We had one more home stay (Brad, they never end!), this one about 24 hours, with all of us in one home. The man of the house took us on a tour of his village, sharing wisdom; funny stories; and bits of coconut, lemongrass, and rubber sap (they tap rubber trees like we tap sugar maples in a manner that is, as they have said since Nepal, 'same-same, but different').
He started out this tour by handing us ripped bits of a large leaf (surface area of six or seven hands), telling us to close our eyes and crush up the leaf. What did we all find when we opened our eyes but that we had been duped -- he'd had us crush up the leaf of a teak tree, leaving our fingers and nails stained with the maroon of teak . It did wash out, mostly.
That evening, we all (to varying degrees) assisted with dinner preparations with a simultaneous dance party. One beautiful moment was Griffin out on the floor by himself, moving with surprising fluidity; he was joined -- mirrored from behind, really -- by the youngest child of the house, an energetic young man with quite the sense of humor and fun without any shared language between us and him.
We ended up taking the train back to Bangkok earlier than expected and in slightly less luxury: our original train with air conditioning and beds was delayed three hours (until 12:30 a.m.), so we made a group decision and switched trains for one that still had air conditioning but had seats instead of beds. Tim had the novel and rewarding experience of going to a ticket counter and RECEIVING money from the ticket switch.
So, we arrived in Bangkok around 6:30 a.m., December 13; everyone pretty much did their own thing until group dinner at 6:00 that evening, spending hours at the fabulous weekend market (it supplied my travelling outfit . I have no other clean clothes.) or sleeping at the hostel. The group ended up eating at a small place with great ambiance and quite nice food. Alex got a bit sick and slept at the restaurant, but he has recovered significantly and was able to see us off at the airport. At 3:15 this morning. In fact, we bid adieu to both Alexes, Leader and Boy (he'll tell you he prefers the term 'Man'); they will continue their travels in Thailand and New Zealand, respectively.
This trip has been madness, joy, a gigantic reality check, compassion, and introspection. It's been beautiful, loud, odiferous, dirty, peaceful, sweltering and snowy. Life these past months has been full, and thus, wonderful.
And now, as Alejandro just beautifully put it, we're going to have 'a long-ass flight.'
And that's all from Lake Woebegone.
Katherine
Other Entries
2025-02-07