Easy Rider

We took it eEeeeEeeeasy for a while..... actually-- we took it easy for THREE weeks. So easy that I didn't know what to do with myself, I was even feeling funny about sitting around all day. I never really liked laying on the beach or in a hammock, even at the beach I prefer to be in the water or going for a walk- so it was a bit uncomfortable for me. But not uncomfortable in the way that a mosquito bite would be, uncomfortable the way not getting a scoop of vanilla ice cream with your apple pie would be. I took up reading fiction books. I've always liked non-fiction, but man this week I couldn't wait to get home and find out what "Toby" was going to do next in my book! I wrote a lot of poetry, much of it inspired by India, but in India I couldn't stop long enough to write anything down. But mostly, we ate a lot of good food; fresh fruit shakes, stir fried green curry pork and fish with pineapple and cashew nuts, pad thai, singha beer, fresh bbq seafood.....hey, it was allllriiiight.

I spent a spank load of money too and it wasn't by accident. I was experimenting with my finances I guess. I realized as soon as we got there that we didn't ever leave the beach, so we were saving on taxis and our bungalows were really cheap- even compared to India. And on trips like this its really easy to keep track of your money because it only goes to a handful of expenses: food, taxis, transportation, hotels, internet, drinks, and buying things like gifts or flip flops. That's pretty much it so if you spend a lot on a few of these you just back off the others and you stay on budget. It's much better than being at home where we have 10 to 15 different bills changing amounts every month....especially when Sprint needs to cover overhead so they rip you a new bill with surprise fees. I was buying 10 dollar fish dinners at the fanciest restaurants on the cliffs of the ocean these past weeks. Now that it is all over (closing in on 1 month in Thailand in about a week) I came out spending the exact same in India for each month--1000 dollars....The experiment worked. I really didn't hold back, I bought whatever I wanted--I didn't stop, from massages to dinners to internet to drinks....Now I know if we get that 5 dollar hotel without AC and walk to the ferry instead of taking a cab, we can eat like kings...or the other way around...it's our choice. I guess I already knew these things, its sounds obvious, but I never did it. I feel much more comfortable now that I have...

You guys should have seen some of these places that we stayed. Haad Yao: white sand, turqoise ocean, with restaurants and bars lining the beach. We spent most of our nights on our porch though--the bar scene got old and we were enjoying each other's company (plus I had that 'Toby'--little crazy bastard).... We rented a scooter for two days and finally had the freedom to move on our own, a freedom we hadn't had since that red Beamer from LA to NY. We didn't look like Easy Riders though I have to admit, our bowl shaped helmets gave us more of the 'Dumb and Dumber' look--but we had Hells Angel grins. We just explored the island, going from beach to beach to dirt road to cafe to fruit shake place, just doing whatever we wanted. Zaz would just call out on the back and say, "stop, this place looks cool" or "turn right here there's a sign for a waterfall".

I can't speak for Zaz but I'm trying to really be in the moment while we're on this trip, it's never an easy thing to do(for me--and I guess for a lot of people). These stories may sound awesome but when you're actually in the moment-your brain follows with all its baggage- always. We still wonder about what we're going to do with our lives, when will we have kids together?, can I afford college?, or an apartment?, or a car?, or will I love my job?, do I want a job? will I have enough time for my kids? I have been on a few adventures and sometimes you forget that what you're doing is absolutely mind-blowing fun! When you guys send us emails of how we're giving you the itch to travel, it reminds me how wild this whole thing is. Its an experience I want to remember for sure, but much much more importantly its an experience I want to enjoy.

We saw quite a bit of Koh Pangan, we even looked at property for sale(approx $50,000 dollars an acre with an ocean view). We also booked a hotel in person (the only way round here) for the Full Moon Party in Haad Rin. Have you guys heard of this party? Haad Rin throws a huge party where thousands of people show up to dance on the beach to international DJ's once a month on the night of the full moon. It was a little European spring break cheesoid, but we didn't care, we were in India one and half weeks previous, let's rock.

The party IS everything it says it is and we're glad taht we can say that we went to a famous Full Moon party, but when we left (at 9am still with thousands dancing) I asked Zaz, "what did you think of the infamous Full Moon party?" and we both proceeded to make fart sounds with our mouths and turn our thumbs down as we laughed. I don't know maybe we've just been to better parties. We did have fun though AND I woke up with someone else's sandales and thats a
sign of a good

time right? maybe....

I only got this pic just before I fell off a table with 3 other British guys. We made new friends from Seattle to the UK to Ireland to Thailand, and we danced like we deserved it.

We took a few days to recover in a new bungalow on these beautiful granite rocky cliffs for 200 Baht a night (thats 6 bucks!!). The only time we left our bungalow that day was to eat at the restaurant at the bottom of the cliffs. The next day we took in 'Borat' and 'The Beach' at a couch infested lounge bar restaurant that was quiet to cater to the hung-over tourists. Then we hitched a ferry to Koh Tao and stayed in Shark Bay at another cream puff palace with stilts right in the damn ocean....the waves and the rocks under our porch were in a life-long battle to see who is most powerful. It sounded like the rocks had the waves beat when we were there, but on the way out I noticed the sharp, holey, lava rock had some smooth parts where the waves hit. Looks like the waves' might come out on top if they go the distance...

Zaz started prying around asking people why this place was called Sharks Bay. I think she secretly hoped that the bay was shaped like a shark head or something....when we found out there were sharks in the bay that you could snorkel out and take a look at, we were both pretty excited. I really wasn't scared at all about the sharks. I really wasn't. I had seen sharks before snorkeling and I know that most sharks never bother humans. Only tiger sharks and great whites (I think) and I've never seen those. These were reef sharks - they just mame and rip FISH apart with their razor sharp teeth. We swam out where other people were looking for sharks. And when I say other- I mean 2. The large group of snorkelers looking for sharks were now replaced with goosebumps up and down my back. Still not scared though, everyone says it's safe(right?). Zaz and I were in the deep section where we were supposed to be for about 5 minutes when I saw one. It was anywhere from 2 feet to 20 feet away from us and about 4 feet to 18 feet long, my memory has taken those measurements and ran with them--I can't keep up anymore. But it was a shark and I was fucking scared. I pushed that fear down deep to take a closer look and after a little while it whipped its tail into the darkness of the unbelievably alien ocean depths.

When it left I felt a little better--because it really didn't seem to care about us. That gave us the confidence to dip our masks again. We saw two more sharks about 20 feet away on the floor of the ocean. Each one was about 5 feet long and they looked like happy fish, maybe they were siblings we thought. Until one after another they both whipped their tails each twice with enough force to easily juggle one of us, and shot into the darkness. The strength that they showed shook us a bit. Finally as we were swimming in, we saw the biggest and closest one of the day directly to our right swimming in the same direction as we were. This littl' bugga also swam exactly where we were planning on going, so that added to the uh em excitement? I was half thinking what the hell are we doing here and half hoping it would never end. When you look across the top of the calm quiet blue ocean from your mask, you realize that that familar flat blue sight is hiding a lot.

Although it's been three weeks, there isn't much more to talk about. Life isn't as poetic when it doesn't suck. Plus, we didn't meet anyone hardly. It was strange at first how everyone kept to themselves on these islands, but then we loved it. At the end of the 3 weeks when one couple started to become interested in hanging out with us, we hid and made up lies why we couldn't!

We went to a "VIP" movie last night and we saw 300. I don't know about the movie but VIP in Bangkok is the way to go!!! I wish we had pictures but we do not. VIP movies cost 500 baht (14 american bangers), the theatre and the screen are the same size as an average theatre back home but there are only about 20 seats. They are pairs of leather extra wide extra cushiony lounge seats that tilt back with the touch of a button. I'm telling you this movie experience could not be beat. They give you a blanket and a pillow, and there is a small table between the 2 of you that you fill with the usual movie treats--except in this theatre you order from the menu from the "waiter". We tilted the seats back to where we were laying down--it was movie magic. But then we both stumbled and fell when we had to rise to stand for the King's anthem. I didnt know whether to put my hands on my heart or at my sides. What I ended up doing was failing at fitting in.....

I think we're off to Cambodia in a couple of days. What comes to mind is the Killing Fields, the secret bombings during the Vietnam War, beautiful landscapes and paradise. I hope it's nothing I imagine.

gg