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Published: June 10th 2007
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Here I am - back in Bangkok. Waiting. I am waiting to find out if I will stay here another four months to teach English or whether I will be back home. Perhaps I jumped the gun on my last entry. Last week it sounded like we had the jobs, but now we have been waiting for three days for them to draw up a contract and so far, not a word. Apparently this happens often where jobs will be offered and then taken away at the last minute. So tick tock tick tock… wait… wait… wait… In the mean time, let me tell you about the last week.
After Koh Phi Phi we sailed to Krabi where we took a bus to the port of Surrathani. From there we took a night ferry to Koh Phan Ngan. The night ferry was one of the most relaxing sleeps I have had this whole time - maybe it has to do with the womb-like atmosphere - the rocking, the sound of the ocean… We slept on mats laid out next to each other on the floor of the upper deck. It was quite soothing. At 6 a.m. we arrived and
found an amazing place with a 4 person bungalow right on the beach. No air conditioning, just a couple fans and the breeze from the ocean. We slept a bit longer then found a restaurant a little way down the beach. That evening we went into the beach town of Hat Rin - which is the vortex of what has come to be know as the full moon party. Not only do they have full moon parties, but half moon parties etc… It is basically just a humungous party on the beach with each club blasting a different type of music from pop to trance. Drunken people do stupid stunts like jumping through a flaming hula hoop or jump rope - flaming jump rope. Oh - I forgot about flaming limbo. I myself did not try any of these feats because I value my hair and my dignity. We saw several people walk away missing both. Then there was the usual rave type crowd - painted in florescent paints, twirling glow sticks, and wearing hippy-esque clothing. Then there were the rest of us - who were there to watch the action, dance, and make merry. I guess I fell into
this category. All along the beach were stands where people sold buckets of alcohol. Yes, that’s right. BUCKETS. We would dance the night away and then sit on the beach and watch the sunrise. I have many pictures of poor drunken souls who did not know their limit and passed out in the sand only to wake up to find a sandcastle built around them or buried to the neck in sand and other less desirable flotsam. One morning I saw a young man passed out in a chair with his head tilted all the way back. Thinking that he would wake up with the worst stiff neck ever, I gently picked up his head. When he opened his eyes and looked at me I said “ Its time to go home.” He smiled at me and said “O.k.” and then promptly crawled on the sand in the fetal position and fell back asleep. Our bungalow, being about a fifteen-minute ride away from the action was a lovely little haven from the crowds of people and the terrible club music - which I am convinced you can only enjoy if you are on drugs. Since the penalty for drugs in
Thailand is either life imprisonment or death - I was not going to attempt to enjoy the music!
Regardless, we had a lot of fun - beautiful beaches, great food, good looking guys, and the relaxation of island living. We stayed three days longer than we intended! We made friends with several really cool Thai people, including a couple of lady boys and prostitutes. They were fun to dance with and we were not ripped off on taxis or drink prices when we were with them. They gave us street credit. We also met tons of different people from around the world… The U.K. Sweden, Mexico, Chile, Norway, Pennsylvania, India, Israel, Canada etc… It was a blast.
But sadly, the time came to move on. Our friend Kate who had done the teaching course with us left for another island and Karen, Diane (my two crazy friends from Glasgow) and I took a ferry to a bus to Bangkok. And here we have been, sorting out passport issues for Karen and waiting to find out if we will indeed be teaching here in Thailand. If it does not work out, you may be seeing me sooner than you think.
Whichever way, I’m coming back here soon. I’m not done with this country. Nor am I even close to discovering the rest of Southeast Asia.
So here we are in Bangkok, planning our next move. There is no sense in waiting around like some Chekovian character for something to happen, so I think tomorrow we will head up to Kanchaburi to see where the Burma Death Railway was built and then make our way up to Chiang Mai for a couple days. The suckiest thing about this teaching job falling through is that I postponed my volunteer work with the elephants. But nea bother. I am coming back to Thailand soon. Sooner than later. Its not ver yet!
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