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Published: February 17th 2008
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Bonfire at Dusk
At Stacia's Sugar Shack! Well, Paradise was...Paradise, as expected....
OK, this blog is LOOONG overdue. Blame internet problems...
We were welcomed warmly back to our sweetest dreamscape, the Mae Nam Resort, on the island of Koh Samui. This place is one of our treasured gems, which we discovered on our very first trip here, and it's never come close to being beat for value, charm and magic. We spent the first 3 days "soaking it in" - for me, that means a frequently repeated mantra, "notice. feel. smell. taste. see. remember!"
Chilled mango sliced up fresh from a beach-strolling vendor. Green curry fish, prepared by the longtime staff. Greeting "Grandma" and "Grandpa" - and being remembered!
Secretly seeing Grandpa making his morning offerings and prayers at their spirit house.
The Soi dog - and the boy who adores him.
Hours spent in the Gulf of Thailand, lounging and burning ourselves on air mattresses.
Finding creative ways to implement "in-room coffee".
The endless, luscious sound of the surf.
Fisherman's Village.
The ring road. (And all it's slippery, sand-covered terrors).
The lil' corner store with our usual clerk, the guy with one eye who surprises you with his English (and the delicious rice cakes his wife
Reb's Feet, Midmorning
This is our classic view. makes!)
Pooh. Oh, Pooh, let me sign on as your janitor! Let me clean your sinks! Utterly enchanted cooking from the most purely joyful hearted person I ever saw...
On to Koh Tao:
New ground for me! My first time!
We took a high-speed catamaran, my first, and met some wonderful travelers in transit. Arriving on Koh Tao, we explored a few hours before booking our very excellent (and we were very lucky to have it available!) beachfront bungalow. Koh Tao is ALL ABOUT diving; the entire island is in every way geared towards divers. 4 dive shops on each block!
We escaped the famed noisy under-bungalow roosters, and our diving excursion was wonderful - I saw stingrays and several new fish I'd never seen before. Beginning our ascent, I realized our Divemaster was acting unusually theatrical in my direction. Looking up, I saw the most graceful and deadly-looking Portuegese-Man-Of-War looking giant Jellyfish, directly above me! I used up a great deal of my already-low air supply hyperventilating and kicking away. Then I felt sorry when the small fish which had previously been cleaning our Divemaster's leg wound began eating the tendrils of the Jellyfish! Its delicate
tendrils reached, retreated, danced towards me.
The snorkeling on the other side of the island was also wonderful - and I drove an ATV for the first time! (Stalled at the first turn; I couldn't find the turn signal and there was traffic on all sides of me and I was panicked about maneouvering without giving notice.) (ATV's don't have turn signals. Thanks Dolly.)
Our bungalow was on the beach, which gave us a unique view on the beach nightclub festivities, including numerous varied fire-dancing artists, karaoke singers, etc. however, when we retired, our bed was silent and sweet. But the next morning, Dolly called me to see the fully-grown man stumbling/pirouetting down the promenade in a frilly dress, seemingly unaware that his attire was more geared towards the ballroom than the early-morning yoga crowd! LOL
Speaking of Dolly: we're out and about, and we part ways, but I remember after he leaves that I want to give him my money roll. So I start to follow him, softly calling, "Dolly, Dolly"-
Thai people, not familiar with my mushmouth nickname for Dan, start tugging on his clothes, shouting, "Darling! Darling!" and pointing back towards me. So here's Dan,
being grabbed and tugged by strange women yelling darling. Funny, no?
The school photos were distributed among the students on our final week at Kew Sua. Sadly, one child's photos didn't make it to the printer, and we noticed well into the festivities that she was crying her eyes out, weeping as if her heart were broken. Happily, her photo was still stored on our computer and she received her photos the next week!
Our last week at Kew Sua was very bitter-sweet. We have come to adore these children, and are very invested in their education. Our last week marked "Sports Week" in the neighboring (comparatively huge) town of Samoeng, where all the children from all over Northern Thailand competed for glory. We cheered on our Tigers, Dan earning a sore throat in the process...and our ragtag team SWOOPED the competition, creaming and humiliating them in the last game of the day, Soccer (Football) heroes all of us! Kew Sua! Kew Sua!!
One final humorous note on the Karen language and teaching at Kew Sua.
All during classes, we would frequently shout "good job!" at the children, when they answered correctly - and more often than not,
Dan would follow up with an enthusiastic high-five. So...eventually, it was explained to us, the sounds that in English make up the words "good job"...are sounds, in Karen, that are the word for...(sorry, there's no translation that would give the proper effect)...FART.
So, imagine you're a Karen child. You've studied, and correctly answered the questions asked of you. How scary would it be, then, to have ONLY THE 2ND WHITE PERSON EVER TO VISIT YOUR VILLAGE....shouting "FART!" at you, and raising their hand as if to hit you? (High five, remember?)
Ahhh....good times!!
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Josie
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Good Job!
I smirk to myself everytime I slip and say this. :) Having a blast up here with Stacia... wish you were here!