And so the journey begins....

Cooling my heels, quite literally, in the soft sand and lapping waves of this quiet little island

I HAVE ARRIVED

Getting here was a process. It included a 1:45 AM bus ride, 26 hours on planes or in airports, a slow and confusing customs process, three movies, and 48 hours without adequate sleep. My taxi from the airport left me in the middle of Bangkok hustle and bustle, of which I am all too familiar, and I found my way to my hostel.  

My digs in Bangkok, shared with nine others

My lodgings were hardly luxurious, but I just needed a couple of days to get my bearings, figure out my next move, and try to understand why I came in the first place.

So I did no site seeing. I wanted to get out of Bangkok as soon as I could. That being said, being here sure brought back a lot of good memories.


Khoa San Road (left) and Ram Buttri Road

The famous backpacker's haven, Khoa San Road, is still in action, albeit more upscale than it used to be. (Back in the day, we Peace Corps Volunteers called "Farang Street", using the Thai word for Westerner.) Since then it has spilled over onto two adjacent streets, Ram Buttri and Thanee. My hostel was on the latter of these two.

It is not a place for much genuine cultural exchange, and speaking Thai doesn't offer me much of an advantage here, but it was the perfect place to figure out where I wanted to go next.


And where I went next is this island, a location I prefer to keep otherwise undisclosed. When I arrived at my resort I was greeted by this sign.

The sign that makes me happy/sad

It made me happy and it made me sad. That last little marker, interestingly rendered in German, is nothing other than what I already knew, but it reminded me of how much has changed. Anyone who has heard my stories has heard about the little slice of paradise, Koh Phangan, with long lazy days with nothing to do and nothing to wear, which was exactly the point. 

Well, Koh Phangan ain't what it used to be, and I am in no mood for crowded, late night beach raves anyway.

The island where I am staying right now still retains that quiet, if not the lax swimsuit rules. And I got here in the rainy season, which turns out is a good time to come. 

More on that in my next post.







Popular posts from this blog

The Journey Continues (overdue)

Image
  Picking Up Where I Left Off So I have received a few complaints for being lazy on my blogging. Sorry, everyone.  I hope to make up for lost time.  This journey I am on, as some of you know, is about introspection, looking within myself and figuring out what it all means. (If any of you happen to know the meaning of "it all" please drop me a line.) But I did take some time out for snorkeling off this pier. The water is not deep, but from where I took this picture I am a good 100 yards from dry land. Saw many fish, of course, then came back.  My Humble Abode Here is where I stayed, a small building comprising four rooms for guests with the owner's apartment in back. I stayed on the far left and spent many an hour there reading and journaling, in pursuit of the elusive "it all." My location had some nice luxuries. A real flower placed in my fruity cocktail among them. But the greatest luxury of all is the hospitality that this country is known for. It is bred int...
Read more

A Final Comment: The Monarchy

Image
  A COMMENT ON THE KING My history with this country goes back decades, and I have long admired and wondered about the monarchy. Since my formative years living here, the king, whose reign began about a year after Harry Truman's, died. He was long admired by the people and reflected an image of a serious, able, and honorable leader of the nation. His son, who became king in 2016, had not earned his father's reputation. Even when I a Peace Corps Volunteer here, ordinary Thais would mumble something complementary about him and leave it at that. His personal life suggested he had other interests than being a king. He became king anyway, and now his likeness, and that of his fourth wife, adorn public spaces. The presentation above stood outside the local post office. The late father (left) and the son Even on the currency, the effort continues to legitimize the new king. But this detail from a sample bill tells me the artist's heart isn't in the message. The old king appear...
Read more