…To soundly sum
up my ideal day of adventure (or any given day of a most perfectly-imagined
life for myself): it is sun-kissed and well-worn, it is lightly sand-dusted,
and soundly sleeping, it is a casual left foot, hanging comfortably (almost
lazily) out of this windowless tug boat. Waves gently rolling away from our
loudly humming engine (which laces itself with the happy sounds of authentic
Thai music, and the occasional crew member's singing voice, though of course
this is absent from a still photograph). It is a handful of sailor knots
holding an anchor in place close enough to touch, underneath a
cotton-ball-puffed sky. Ancient nail rust runs dry down the white windowless
frame, layers of fading past voyages, ill-remembered journeys, peeling away to
the peeking wood beneath. It is clearly a conclusion; tired limbs & drying
swimmers. It feels as it looks: accomplished, fulfilled, sustained - worthy of
this brief moment of simple gratitude and recognition.
Many, many days have passed since my last post. Days filled
with some of the most spectacular moments of my abroad life. To my greatest
dismay, it would be impossible to chronicle all of them. I will of course
attempt to go back and recall my most favourite of hours…
Thursday afternoon is one I will cherish for a long time to
come. How entirely enjoyable it was, how perfectly it fit into my list of
‘Things I Want’ that I had complied in my final post before leaving England,
and the irony of the fact that I spent this afternoon with a man I met while
teaching there in Southampton. Daniel is so lucky to have such a great new
connection on the island, a true friend and a wonderful soul that I feel lucky
enough having only gotten a few quick hours of him to myself!
It was that stimulating, intellectual conversation that is
only bred and born through conversations of fellow travellers. Just to sit and
listen to all of the places he has been and all of the things he has seen,
experienced, endured, grown through, survived… it was utterly inspiring. In
fact, I have never felt more inspired
than in those hours to create something real for myself. To uncover someway to
perfectly compile all of my own sights and experiences and survival stories,
more than just what I do here. It made me want to write something, for real. To really really do it instead of
just thinking I will eventually do it someday...
I am so happy he is here, and making the absolute most of
what his hard work and dedication back in England has now given him the
opportunity to do. I love already knowing how much he is going to adore this
life here. I sat and listened in awe of his tales, his opinions, his ideas and
his conclusions, hearing so much of my own wandering soul in the words that he
spoke. He is somebody I never had the chance to know very well in England, and
I am so glad for that. Because coming together on this day, as mere small-world
acquaintances, made the significance of our encounter here that much more
wonderful to me.
Since this afternoon, I only had a small handful of
additional opportunities to spend time with this Irishman, but I am so happy to
have gotten to be apart of many wonderful nights that will undoubtedly become
routine for those two lads I’m leaving here. I am already envious of all of
their future Shamrock Special nights!
Saturday was
an awesome start to another incredible weekend – I’d say this one even tops our
first! It was early English (ish) breakfast before a couple hours of paddle
boarding our home turf beach here. The weather was so fantastic, but the waves
were bigger than any I’ve SUP-ed before! It was such a fun challenge trying to
stick my poses and chase each other around the surf.
We reward our
physical activity efforts with a trip back to Grandfather Rock for more coconut
ice cream and then Rock Bar for tall, cold drinks and easy Marley tunes. We
share our smoke with two young men from Paris, and two slightly older ones from
India; an idyllic gathering of diverse cultures and distances travelled. Those are my most favourite moments in life: being one part of those brief, spontaneous, cross-cultural meetings, sharing casual conversation and sweet island bud with complete strangers who share the same love of international interaction. The
most perfect of relaxing afternoons.
And then we had
my absolute favourite few hours of this whole trip. We drove up to Gecko Bar in
Bo Phut Hills for a completely secluded and private evening of San Miguel and top shelf tequila. How there was no one else
there on a Saturday evening, I still can’t understand – while Daniel tried to
convince me he’d rented the mansion out for us for the evening, lol, it made
much more sense that it was just the universe’s way of giving us one completely
quintessential, intimate evening to just ourselves. The view was absolutely
stunning, the infinity pool bath-water-warm from the day’s sun, the tequila
crisp and refreshing, the satellite radio bumping Coldplay and Taylor Swift and
Match Box 20 and just about every other artist that could have made this flawless
evening even more unparalleled.
It was the
kind of picture-perfect evening that reminded me exactly why I travel. It is in
these rare moments of absolute utopia that I recognize travel does what good
novelists also do to the life of everyday; placing it like a picture in a frame
or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear.
Travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to
it the sharp contour and meaning of art. This bar, this evening, this feeling
is a work of art. There is meaning and beauty and significance here in these
moments that could only ever be captured internally, but fostered forever. I
know that if I am ever in doubt or in need of reassurance or inspiration or
explanation for this wild and wandering life I’ve chosen, I will think back to
this day, to this evening, to this view, to this boy, to this feeling of
absolute certainty.
And just when
I thought the day could not get any more stimulating or imaginative, we spent the midnight hours making magic with our fingertips in the ocean,
captivating our own minds, enchanting our spirits without explanation for the tiny
bolts of actual, twinkling luminosity. Little sparks of reflective bubbles,
some sort of electric kinesthetic energy that remains mysterious and mystical,
like a secret power exclusive to us. We
made that magic and it was ours and it will belong for us to hold in the most
sacred of places in our hearts: the parts that still believe.
Sunday was
such a classic Daniel/Kelsey day of adventure. It was full of physical
activity, exploring the unknown, achieving goals, being the best, getting
dirty, drinking beers, taking risks. Doing stuff. And there is no one I better
enjoy doing stuff with than that adventure buddy. We were up bright and early
to hop a boat to Ang Thong for a full day trip around the National Marine Park
(a series of islands with various sights to see, caves to explore and mountains
to climb!
And that is
just how we started the trip: with a slippery 500 meter climb up to the very
top of Ko Wua Talap, through mud and rocks and vines and forest, with only one
weather-worn rope to pull ourselves vertically through the brush. And we conquered that thing! Ripped up that
mountain in 30 minutes flat, and were the only ones of our whole
80-some-odd-person tour to make it to the top! Felt so good. And the view from
the top? Puts practically anything else I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes to
shame. That’s something I’ll give this country over any other I’ve been to so
far (which is saying a lot because I
have seen some incredibly beautiful parts of this world!!): the views. Oh man,
the views.
We caught our
breath under the beating sun and snapped a few dozen pieces of proof for the
glorious accomplishment. That’s the
kind of stuff I love. Doing that kind
of stuff, stuff that isn’t easy, or even relatively safe! The adrenaline, the
uncertainty, the complete faith you have to put into nature and into yourself,
in your body strength and your mental endurance. Wiping sweat out of my eyes,
covered knee-deep in fresh mud, using muscles only seemingly reserved for
adventures such as this… That is my favourite
stuff to do. And I know it’s Daniel’s too. We had an absolute blast.
After lunch
that was served back on our boat (deserving of a 5-star rating for sure!),
we’re scooted around to another island, Ko Paluay, for kayaking. In and around the cluster
of islands, under mountain lips and through caves, it is another gorgeous perspective to be able to experience. To see the beauty of this world here from
those angles, from almost-eye-level of the ocean, looking up at each island
mountain towering above, and looking below to all different colours and shapes
of coral (& jelly fish!). I rode mostly shotgun to my handsome captain,
taking in the sights in selfies and cannon videos.
Next we’re
climbing another mountain to reach the top of the Emerald Lagoon lookout point. The climb is up a series of staircases wonderfully combined into the natural landscape of the karst, threading through a narrow opening in the rock face at one point. Though there are man-made steps to this peek, they are so steep that you must climb them as a ladder, and only hope to not lose your footing! Exhausting, but another entirely worthy
view upon arrival. A slow and sweaty decline, seeking shaded refuge and a
much-deserved cold Chang.
Soon it is
4pm and we are drained beyond believe, but we are full with content and
accomplishment and beautiful new images dancing around our short-term memories.
We board our tugboat home. Daniel sleeps and I gaze, out this windowless
vessel, reflecting on the various escapades of the day, feeling grateful for
these opportunities, and so happy to still have that travel buddy, snoozing
here next to me. It is the sandy left foot hanging out of the window frame, it
is waves gently rolling, cotton-ball-puffed sky, my ideal day of adventure.
It was a
wonderful last weekend here – a perfect final few full days together.
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