Aimee’s World Tour

 

Yesterday Melissa, Mike and I took the 3:30 pm ferry to the island Koh Samui (pronounced Ko Sah – moy).  I think Koh means island so I might have just been redundant.  I took a lot of pictures os the landscape – somewhat mountainous as we had traveled 45 minutes by bus to get to the port.  It was rather foggy out but you could make out islands in the distance.

One in particular remnded me of skull rock in Peter Pan.  Melissa felt a little cold and sea sick – poor thing! – so I actually busted out my winter scarf.  Never thought I’d use that over here. 

Once we arrived on the island we hopped into a tukee (that how it sounds at least).  I say this with no judgement but it felt like I was one of those poor people that sit in the back of a truck.  Or perhaps someone riding away in the back of a military truck.  I think when I get a picture on here you’ll see what I mean.  It’s actually a neat little vehicle and they are all over.  Someone told me to watch out for them because some of them make a ton of stops at their friends’ shops and try to convince you to purchase things.  I haven’t seen that firsthand however. 

We weren’t sure when to get off the tukee and tried the first bungalow we saw.  We had one in mind for 500 baht.  You can even get some as low as 200 baht or one-something.  It’s insanely cheap!  We kept negotiating with the very beautiful high-priced bungalow we had stumbled upon which was asking 800 baht.  800 baht is about… $24… divided by 3 equals $8!!!  And that’s the pricey one!!!!!!!!  I think we all wanted to get the cheapest because we COULD.  But after a while Melissa said to me, you want to stay here don’t you?  I can see that look in your eye.  In all honesty I didn’t have any look about the place but I knew Melissa was really thinking about staying there.  She told me well Aimee you’ve only got a few days here and it’s your vacation so if you want to we can stay here.  And so we did.  I made sure to make Melissa admit that she was just trying to be slick. haha.  It’s beautiful.  Right on the beach.  Actually we’re behind another row of bungalows so it’s like a 30 second walk… 

When we first walked up there was this giant mound of coconuts.  I’m trying to think of that song in the Lion King… “lovely bunch of coconuts… there they are all standing in a row…”

We continued our “splurge” by eating at an italian restaurant.  Man was that pizza good and my mozzeralla and basil salad!  We broke out the soju I had bought Melissa for Christmas and had some with orange fanta. 

After dinner I was deliriously tired.  We stopped at a 7-11 and I shared my kit kat and nutrageous.  Then I hit the bungalow for a “45 minute nap.”  Melissa and Mike sat outside on the beach.  I’m not sure what happened because I don’t remember anyone trying to wake me. 

I must have been up at 7 am this morning because when I got back from my run and headed out to the Kodak picture place it was only 8:20 am.  This was the first run I’ve done in ever and it felt great.  I ran along these side streets that led to the beach.  Lots of the shops are run down but they seem more unique than ghetto.  The resorts and bungalows are much nicer and they are all along the beach. 

I’m surprised none of the stray dogs were chasing me but they’re probably over it. haha.  They actually lay in the street and everyone just drives around them.  They own the road.  In America we’re all be freaking out and trying to find the owner before the poor doggie turned into road kill.  I started laughing to myself when I saw this old lady on her motorbike.  That just doesn’t happen in the US. 

I dropped off my memory card to make my second cd of pictures and am currently trying to upload from my first cd but neither facebook nor my blog seem to be cooperating.  Yahoo worked but I’m not going to give up on getting them on here.

I’m feeling a bit guilty since I just disappeared this morning but Mike and Melissa were still sleeping when I got back from my room.  I’m sure they figured out I just went roaming.  It’s just now 10 am.  (Natasha and Justine – by “just now” I mean this moment… South Africans say just now which could mean that something just happened or it will happen, as well as “now”  and also “now now”, the meanings of which I get mixed up.)

I was slightly frustrated this morning trying to contact my family and friends about the funeral which takes place tomorrow American time.  I was hoping someone could stand in for me or have some flowers delivered as well as a personal gift.  I am across the world on vacation so this lack of communication is quite understandable and almost to be expected.  Susan – I’m praying for you. 

Even though none of you are physically here in Thailand with me, I think of you often.  Trinkets, clothing, funny experiences – everything reminds me of someone different from back home.  I realized yesterday that they way Melissa talks sometimes is just like my old college pal Michelle.  And Michelle it’s great to “have you here.”  Now LOCK IT UP.  (Michelle and I are great fans of The Wedding Crashers.)

I’d better skiddadle so I can lay on the beach, drink a real coconut and maybe ride an elephant.  Melissa said I’d probaby get to ride one on my trip so long as they elephants weren’t being mistreated for tourist use.  How amazing would that be to ride an elephant in a real jungle??!!!  Oh snap! 

~สาหกเสาะ

I was so ecstatic to write to you about everything I’ve been experiencing since my last blog but there’s been a bit of a damper on my excitement.  Jen (Brundage – old PA roomie and dear friend) just send me an email regarding one of our closest friends.  Jen – thank you for your email.  It is with much saddness that I have to relay the news of the passing of Susan’s father.  Apparently he had a heartattack a couple days ago and did not survive it. 

Susan – I cannot imagine how you are handling this.  There were tears in my eyes as I read Jen’s email.  I don’t think I’m even going to try to make things better with my words.  Instead know I am praying for you and your loving mother and the rest of your family.  Even more than being home for Christmas I would have liked to be home with you right now.  I don’t know how but please hang in there.  I know there are so many people who love you and upon any of them you may rely.  Know that I’m there in spirit for always.  I love you.  ~Always, your Aimee.

On a happier note, though I cannot write with the same enthusiasm as when I first walked into this pc room, Thailand is an eye-opening experience.  Staying in Surat Thani I’ve been able to get a taste of the non-tourist side.  The house I’m staying in is wide open. There are no walls or doors on the front of back of the house.  Simply a gate in front.  The house is surrounded with intenses greenery and P E calls it her jungle house. 

I must admit my bathing and excreting experiences were rather unique.  Now I’ve been on a squatter twice in Korea but I had the pleasure of using it again.  It literally is a hole in the floor… kind of like a very flat toilet with no seat.  I was really dreading the squatter because your legs can get awfuly tired if you have to deposit anything above a number one.  The trick is to do a low squat.  Like all the way down so that your butt almost touches the floor.  It is much more comfortable this way.  My guest house in Bangkok had a toilet but I’m guessing the squatter is quite common.  I had been avoiding the toilet has I had to drop off some brownies but you can’t put that off forever. And so I crawled out of the mosquito tent over our bed (which is pretty cool actually) and prepared for the big squat. 

 

I am about to get into a little more detail here so if you’re someone like Lauren Kidd (haha sorry lauren!) you may want to skip the rest of the paragraph though it’s really not so bad.  We all do it.  Poop that is.  Shit. Excrete. Make a bowel movement.  Koop – kah as they say in Poland.  And so I did. 

 

I encountered a bit of a problem flushing it down.  It wasn’t that the handle broke.  There is no handle, no button to push.  You just grab another bucket of water and dump it in.  Unfortunately my poop wasn’t moving and I finally resorted to grabbing some TP and picking out some chunks and disposing of them in the trash which is where you have to put the TP anyway.  I motioned to Melissa to join me by the toilet because I feared one was still lodged in there but she assured me it was all good. 

Now for the shower. 

Do you ever have low water pressure or your water is luke warm?  Maybe never quite heats up?  Does your shower curtain ever accidentally go outside the tub and water covers the floor?  Perhaps your shower has even stopped working altogether and you have to use a friend’s shower or just wash your hair in the sink?  Oh poor poor babies.  Oh how spoiled we are back home and even in my Korean apt. (mind you I live in a rich area).   

Basically you have a hose and a bucket.  You fill the bucket with the water, which happens not to be heated, and dump it on yourself.  Tah dah.  Thai shower.  Melissa told me that you just have to psyche yourself up before you go in and it won’t be so bad.  Luckily there was a second place that the water could come out of the hose and it just poured out onto the floor.  I decided to just stick my head under that light stream of water and then splash some water on the rest of my body.  Melissa did have some really nice shampoo I must admit and I’m seriously considering buying some for Korea.  My hair has been having serious issues over there.  Melissa and Mike – I know how proud you are of me!  Natasha – I can’t believe you did that for six months in your crappy Korean apt. and I now see how much you must be loving where you live now.  Though I must say it is quite the adventure. 

Back tracking, Mike took me on a mini tour of the area yesterday.  We went to see some shrine/structure honoring the king or Buddah – not quite sure.  It’s the first time I’ve had to take off my shoes to walk around outside at a historical site.  (I did have to take my shoes off for certain parts of palaces in Korea and also when I went inside the Emperor’s Palace.) 

 

I decided to get a little wooden elephant as I had left Cedric back in Korea.  You know, my traveling knome, of whom I must post more pictures.  (Sorry Britskys!  I guess he’s just a Korean knome.)  Elephants are sacred out here and there are many little elephant statues.  If I’m correct, the elephant is also good luck in Poland~ Mom, Agnieska?  My little wooden elephant, which I named Mike after my new friend, was hand carved by Buddhist monks.  Supposedly the monks can only do certain crafts to earn money and making wooden elephants is one of them. 

Mike and I continued our stroll down the river and I got a very good idea of how the Thai people live.  We met Melissa after work at this mall which was jam packed with mini shops.  A lot of the stuff reminded me of Korea.  Prior to meeting Melissa I bought a kit kat and it was the real thing.  So delicious.  We went shopping for at least an hour and I was quite disappointed that this John Wayne t-shit didn’t fit me but luckily it fit Mike so he got to take it home.  I had been hoping to maybe find a summery shirt/tang top for New Year’s because a regular t-shirt is a bit too much fabric for the humidity out here.  No such luck. I did end up getting THE COOLEST PANTS EVER.  Had Melissa not been so enthusiastic about me getting them I don’t think I would have even considered it.  They are multi-colored and the waist is huge yet they can fit anyone.  You simply fold over the extra fabric and tie the string.  They are truely THE traveling pants and I’m now in the sisterhood.  (That’d be a book/movie reference.)

After shopping we each got a Thai beer and sat along the river to watch the sunset.  We walked a little further down the “boardwalk” and had dinner.  I went with the pad thai since I was in Thailand.  Not American made pad Thai but small Thai vendor on the street pad Thai.   Delicious. 

As we were leaving Melissa asked a group of guys where they were from.  France.  I’ve been wishing I was in France since I got to Korea and now I found myself speaking a really rusty version of their language.  Hopefully the video will get posted up here.  “Merry Christmas Maman Aimee.”  Yup – that one’s for you mama. 

We proceeded to the italian restaurant across the street hoping we could just walk in and use their toilet.  Our plan worked.  Well it wasn’t much of a plan but a toilet is golden out here.  It flushed and everything!  haha.  I haven’t taken notice of which way the water goes…

I must say that Mike and Melissa know a lot of Thai culture and can actually speak a great deal for only having been here several months.  They taught me many phrases and I think I’ve just about caughten up to my Korean vocabulary.  Kap or Kup-koon-kah means thank you. 

I really want to encourage all of you to get out there and see the world.  I know there are a million excuses not to and some good ones but life is short and you must make time to explore.  We’re but a tiny dot on the globe and many of us never leave that speck.  It’s not just about going on vacation and having fun.  It’s about experiencing other cultures and opening your mind.  Some places may make you envious and other grateful for what you’ve got.  However it is true that you don’t know what you’re missing until you try it.  I feel that Thailand has brought a change in me even though it’s only been a couple days. 

When Melissa gets home from work we’ll probably get some food and then try to catch a boat to Kah Samui where we’ll stay until New Year’s Eve.  After we pick up Gen (another of Melissa’s friends from NJ) we’ll head to Kah P… for a New year’s extravaganza.  I’ll take the night boat back to Surat Thani on New Year’s day and then catch the day train on the 2nd with enough time to make it for my flight that night. 

May you all be happy and healthy this coming year and always.

Love,

Aimee

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