Back in the Land of Smiles

I finally got back to Thailand, after 9 hours on one bus, 5 on a minibus, 1 in a pick up truck. It's good to be home, except that we don't have water...which I guess I should be used to by now, but after not showering for two days, I just wanted to get clean, even if cold water is my only option. Getting used to alot of things here...

Great news tho, we have free internet at a computer center 5 doors down!!!! Hopefully this blog will be getting updated much more now that it's available...but word spreads like wildfire, so already it's packed...

Feeling restless...

... giddy and excited, even though sleep has been a luxury I couldn't really afford lately...as someone I can't remember once told me "You can sleep when you're dead." Whoever you are, thanks, there are days, sometimes months when I really take that to heart.

So back to being restless, trying to find a place to live when I get back to Uni, thinking of all the things I can't wait to do when I get back, planning trips to take because I know I won't be sitting in one place for too long. There is the excitement of moving to a new chapter of my life, and the apprehension of leaving the comfortable (if you could call traveling for 14 months comfortable) one I'm currently living out. There are the incredible memories of months past, faces that I may never see again, pictures that I regret not taking...everything is a rush of emotions in my mind. There are the plans for the future, dreams that peak from my subconscious mind reminding me that there is more to life than just your front yard. Hopes that my plans for the future will actually work out. Hopes that one day I will return to all of the places where I have left a piece of my heart. Thinking of home I realize that the word no longer means what it did before. What is your home anyways? I only lived in Poland for 6 years after I was born, so is that home? Or maybe Chicago, where I grew up? But then there's Cairo which forever changed me. Or what about Vienna? Now Khao Lak? Throw in the different housing I've had at Uni each year I was there and the mess gets even bigger. I guess home no longer exists for me, each place is just a place where I settle for some time, live out my life and then move on, like a true nomad. Gypsies have gained a whole new level of respect in my eyes...

So what does the future hold? Where do I see myself in the next few years, or should I say months? Hopefully putting into practice all that I've learned in the last year. There are so many ideas, so many goals that I have set. So many places that I want to visit. At the top of the list are India and of course back to Egypt but also anywhere in the Middle East. Also looking to do some research in that area, but not sure where or what...I guess I'm waiting for that moment of enlightenment to point me in the right direction. Learning new languages, experiencing new cultures...I'd be happy anywhere...but for now my biggest concern is what book to buy on the bus ride back to Phuket. Right back into reality where the dreams and desires get washed away by raging computer games and screaming teenage boys...I'll miss Malaysia...

always an adventure

Roughly three hours ago I was supposed to be on a plane going to Phuket, instead the idiot guy at the check in counter couldn't make an exception and let us check in late, so here we are with Meredith ready to hop a 9 hour bus to Hadyai where we will make a transfer to another bus to Phuket and then either hitch the 1.5 hour trip back to Khao Lak, or if we're feeling extra spendy, buy another bus ticket. arrrggghhh!!! But I'm sure with the two of us, adventures are not too far away and at least we get to spend some more time with Lina and her incredible family ;) A blessing in disguise no doubt...

asian invasion...

Somewhere between wild weekends, celebrity moments and being a teacher I decided to take an impromptu trip to Kuala Lumpur. Meredith's visa was only valid for one month and her visa run to the border turned into a weeklong affair in KL with the whole fam coming along for the ride. We're visiting Lina, the Malaysian trainee whose 3 months in Thailand have come to an unfortunate end. We just can't seem to get enough of her ;) The guys flew a day later but not without stories from home. We live in/near Khao Lak, which is a strech of beautiful jungle land along the coast, with pretty much one main road connecting Takua Pa and Phuket. One particular strech of this road is very curvy and surrounded by massive trees and foliage making the road a bit more dangerous when it rains. As Weaw, Karen and 2 new Taiwanese trainees, Ningy and Yvonne were driving back from school they had an accident and 3 of the girls were thrown out of the back of the truck. Weaw was the driver, Karen landed on her feet and only had minor swelling, Yvonne apparently hung on for dear life and came away with a few bruises, and Ningy was taken to the hospital so a metal plate could make her knee cap whole again. This literally happened 4 hours after we left to KL. 2 days later Karen came with news that Hitoshi, the new Japanese/UK trainee broke his toe doing construction work with bricks. It's like a right of passage around here...everyone is doing well, but Ningy flew back to Taiwan.

As for us, the last few days have been spent soaking up life in Malaysia. We've escaped the concrete jungle of KL and headed to Malaka for the weekend. We met a really cool painter selling his works in an abandoned church on top of a hill. He was incredibly worldly, said things worth writing down, and gave me 2 free paintings. There was also the Sound and Lights show...for anyone out here considering this, don't. As Meredith put it, it's like they took 4 flashlights and put them in front of buildings. We taught we were the only ones, but 6 more people joined in making the grand total of 12 in the audience. I could have spent that 10 ringgit on some laksa instead...

having an incredible time as always...pictures on the way. I've managed to put them on a CD, but as luck would have it, there are no disc drives on this computer :(

Update from July 12th...

It's becoming increasingly difficult to post actual entries of my adventures in Thailand, and I see this blog turning into a giant list of highlights. Here's the newest installment:

-After some further issues and police intervention, I finally got my money back from not the girl, but her father, who was called in from the sea (he's a fisherman) and handed over the amount that she said was in the wallet. Not a moment I look back on fondly since he probably handed over the amount he makes in a month. Also, due to her klepto tendencies, she'll be sent to a special school in Bangkok since the teachers here can't really help her.

-As part of a possible eco-tourism trip we went fishing with local fishermen in Bang Nam Kaem, the hardest hit village in Thailand. We spent 8AM-12PM on one boat with the fishermen and a camera crew that is doing a documentary on tsunami victims on the other. Along the way we stopped on an island and decided to go for a swim in our clothes, the only way of cooling off our incredibly sun burned skin. That night, our two boat loads of people and some other locals grilled the catch of the day.

-Last Sunday we were trekking through the jungles of Khao Lak/Lam Ru National Park, which is roughly 5 km from our back yard (we moved to a new place, no more elephants for neighbors). We hitched a ride from and incredibly nice man that went completely out of his way for us, walked for hours, swam in a waterfall, got attacked by leeches and then found ourselves stranded 5km from the main road. Luckily, another stranger offered us a ride (he didn't have much choice, we sat in the middle of the road and refused to move until someone picked us up...it was quite sad, but then again, the hike was vicious and we were beyond exhausted).

-We spent the weekend in Krabi partying with Job 2 Do, a local reggae band, at Cowboy night which was held at a horseback riding place complete with a spitfire grill and all the food you could eat. The feasting was followed by sleeping in the truck, a day of rock climbing and then spending another night at a swanky bungalow resort in Railay with nothing more than the clothes on our back. Spectacular scenery and incredible memories!!

-I just booked a ticket to Malaysia for 19-26 July to visit Lina, one of the trainees here, who will be going back home. We hope to make the most of our time by also hopping a bus to Singapore. Can't wait!