So we made plans, on multiple occasions, to make the 20 minute journey to the beach via motorbike. Our plans somehow signaled to the gods that NOW is very good time to rain. Like the bat signal in the sky- A silhouette of Maris and I sitting on the beach is shot into the blue sky and the gods are like, "Ok, hit the switch" and it turns into a post-apocalyptic storm for the ages. We decided that instead of waiting for the weekend, we would, if the sky was blue enough and far enough, make the trip after class. A perfect day, sun scorching, not a pesky cloud in the sky. No signs of The Perfect Storm OR George Clooney, so we went for it. Class let out early, we bolted home, tore off our "Teacher Garb" and threw on our "Beach Gear", packed our bag: our beach mat, two towels, a big bottle of water, camera and wallets.
Out the door, on the bike-one headphone in each of our ears ( two is a little dangerous). We cut through the jungle at 60 kph, bugs smashing on my face, my stubble, I later found on the trip back, was the nat graveyard, a perfect place to lay to rest the millions of bugs inhabiting the jungle. 20 minutes. It took exactly 20 minutes to get to the beach. Still not a cloud in sight. The tide was high, the beach we close to non-existent. The sand was not sand, but millions of tiny shells. We threw down our mat and towels, tossed our bag to the side, laid down on the beach and exhaled. Like we hadn't taken a breathe the whole trip there, hoping the sky wouldn't open up on us. The Relaxation was on.
The water was brilliant, perfect temperature. As you went out further it got a little cooler, but it was perfect. Mountains in the distance, crags jutting out of the horizon like floating, flipped over teeth, the roots mimicking pillars of earth in random patches at the end of the ocean.
I floated on my back, eyes closed. My ears submerged, I heard the crackling of crabs pinching their claws together, prawns bumping into each other as they escaped whatever deep ocean predators that eat prawns ( I recently found that if I lived in the sea, I would be one of those predators. My affinity for prawns (shrimp) has become solidified from the quality of them here)- I was totally relaxed, floating, breathing in just enough air to keep me afloat, arms wide, legs spread- floating with the small waves that momentarily baptized my eyes- At total peace.
Maris loves massages, baking in the sun- those things do not appeal to me as much, but the feeling of weightlessness and peace is right up my alley. I found it was one of my new favorite feelings. With my eyes closed, as far as I knew, I was floating in the Mediterranean or The Tennessee River or the 10 foot by 30 foot pool in the middle of The Fort neighborhood in Knoxville- It didn't matter and I had no idea. All I knew was I liked the feeling.
Afterwards we looked for food. We were both craving Mexican food, we had not devoured a Chimichanga in over a month and THAT is not how we like to run business, there is a quota we were not meeting and our bodies knew that- The Chimichanga Quota. There is also a Sushi Quota that has not been met and will not be met for a while, business is changing here. So we found a place that had a Thai, Mexican and Indian menu. We thought, "That will surely do".
We bothed ordered the Chimi's, they were absolutely divine. Small, slathered in cheese and topped with fresh Guacamole from a Guacamole bush around the corner. There was also Indian influence in the food, Indian rice. It was one of the best meals I have had here. So very, very good.
We shopped around, enjoyed the sun, drank waters, even a couple beers, discussing our favorite parts of Thailand. Wether the motorbike ride to Doi Suthep, the wat in the mountains of Chiang Mai, or the arrival at West Raillay Beach were our favorite occurrences thus far. We both agreed, later that night that the sunset we had just experienced, walking along the beach, seeing creepy crawlies we had never seen before, finding sand dollars, hermit crabs, sea worms (think the creatures from the movie Tremors, but the size of half my forearm roughly) and other interesting little shells and bugs-was now lumped in the echelon of experiences with the mountain wat and beach arrival.
We hopped back on the bike as night fell and hummed back to Krabitown, jungles to the left and right, bugs pelting my face. No music this time, the cool night air and chirping of exotic bugs orchestrated our nightfall soundtrack just fine. A magical day. The reason we came.
_Brock
I am now officially special because I was the first to comment on this post. This is Alan by the way, I only know how to post these damn things as anonymous so I figured I would tell you who I was in the body of the post. Have you given your neighbors in Thailand any late night/early morning Bluesy versions of the "Saved By The Bell" Theme song? I am guessing no since you need my backup vocals to pull it off completely. I promise not to tell you how much I miss you in every post, but I do miss you guys a lot. I am never on any lists to get into any cool places downtown unless you guys are here. So there that goes.
ReplyDeleteI can't decide whether to take this promotion at my job or to give it all up to move to Thailand and fulfill my dream of being the world's most feared muay thai fighter...and get to hang out with you. It's a real toss up at this juncture.
I took your advice and rented Surf Ninjas 2 and watched it twice within a 24 hour period, and to be honest I really enjoyed it. I think I must of been too young to realize the depth of that movie when I was younger. The young Rob Schneider is like an onion...he has many layers as an actor, and Surf Ninjas 2 really peels back many of them to get to the core of him. I am now on a mission to raise money to produce my own version of Surf Ninjas 3...straight to VHS.
Gotta go, work to do.