A couple weeks ago, I took some time off from work to visit the Southern Gulf of Thailand. My partner in crime for this venture was none other than the Lum to my Kat. The Mr. Callum Linton. You all remember him, no? The charming Londoner who courted me during my time in Chennai. Ah, yes...we spent the week doing some very Thai things (reinventing acceptable fashion trends) and non-Thai things (indulging in copious amounts of falafel). All in all, a great week. Featured activities include: "theater swine," briefing with Tokyo, full moons, dehydrated waterfalls, and sunsets. Please enjoy the following pictures from the series "Katlum's adventures: Part II."
Funky hatted duo spotted on Khaosan road in Bangkok.
Hmmm....cheeky.
Saying hello in the telephone booth.
Beautiful rooftop pool at Bangkok hotel. A splurge for these parts (1,300 baht) but totally worth it ($35!).
The city persona.
Stepped off the skytrain (Bangkok's above ground subway system) to discover that we had come at exactly the right time. Tis the season for Japan Festival '09!!!
Callum being interviewed by a Thai teenager regarding his thoughts on swine flu! Hilarious video commentary of this event as well.
Bienvenidos a la isla de Koh Phangan!
Beach smiles.
There's quite a bit of this to be found in the tropics.
View overlooking the island from our motorbike ride.
Matching Singha's.
A British pub on the island...I'll take it!
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Hamming it up.
First night's no-frills bungalow, but it did have a hammock!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Just a Taste
It’s difficult to return back to something after it’s been abandoned for some time. As precious as it might have been, as familiar as it once may have appeared—over time, the details begin to blur and all I’m left with is a faint silhouette of what once was. A shadow beyond a doubt.
I suppose in part, this is how I feel when I think about returning to write here. A public domain of personal thoughts has to, or should rather, have a degree of credibility to go along with it. It’s all too easy to provide daily accounts of the mundane and routine, that which all of us in our lives experience, no matter where we are on the globe.
I’ll tell you something: it’s quite exhausting being on the move. It’s actually quite hard to believe I first left the U.S. just a month and a half after graduating- already 15 months ago! As always, my perception of time is distorted and I think I could be reborn a hundred times over (in my Hindu life), or reach my ninth life (as a cat) and still not feel comfortable assessing time. In some ways it feels like ages since I woke up to the contradictory smells of India...gentle jasmine pinned against the much fiercer scent of automobile exhaust. Then again, it feels like just yesterday that I was swinging on my hammock in Bali, catching a breeze and planning lessons for tomorrow’s kindergarten class.
With less than four weeks remaining of my time in Thailand, I haven’t even come close to seeing it all. I have spent the past few weekends in Mae Sot being low-key and relatively unadventurous. I have been keeping an eye out on the community, continuously absolved by each and every dynamic that exists in this small place. I don’t “explore” nearly as often as I feel I should. But I must admit, I feel a deep satisfaction each time I let my curiosity get the better of me.
Before I lose the detail of this place…
I ride my bike around the streets of Mae Sot, each section distinguishing itself from the next. The Muslim district is home to some of the best tea stalls in town-“chai” that is a heavenly mixture of freshly brewed tea, condensed milk, and an unforgiving amount of sugar. The enormous, bustling day market with its noises and smells- it never ceases to amaze me. There’s the unavoidable police check points: a constant identity check and re-check and way to remind those who have fled here illegally to ‘behave.’ Of course, it’s not all exotic. There are the farang, or foreigner hang-outs, where Westerners craving some sterile, air-conditioned, English-speaking, “me and my journal time” can temporarily retreat.
A crowded, dusty town encapsulated by a panoramic, green frontier Mae Sot is. A lovely and complicated place that I hope to one day return to.
I suppose in part, this is how I feel when I think about returning to write here. A public domain of personal thoughts has to, or should rather, have a degree of credibility to go along with it. It’s all too easy to provide daily accounts of the mundane and routine, that which all of us in our lives experience, no matter where we are on the globe.
I’ll tell you something: it’s quite exhausting being on the move. It’s actually quite hard to believe I first left the U.S. just a month and a half after graduating- already 15 months ago! As always, my perception of time is distorted and I think I could be reborn a hundred times over (in my Hindu life), or reach my ninth life (as a cat) and still not feel comfortable assessing time. In some ways it feels like ages since I woke up to the contradictory smells of India...gentle jasmine pinned against the much fiercer scent of automobile exhaust. Then again, it feels like just yesterday that I was swinging on my hammock in Bali, catching a breeze and planning lessons for tomorrow’s kindergarten class.
With less than four weeks remaining of my time in Thailand, I haven’t even come close to seeing it all. I have spent the past few weekends in Mae Sot being low-key and relatively unadventurous. I have been keeping an eye out on the community, continuously absolved by each and every dynamic that exists in this small place. I don’t “explore” nearly as often as I feel I should. But I must admit, I feel a deep satisfaction each time I let my curiosity get the better of me.
Before I lose the detail of this place…
I ride my bike around the streets of Mae Sot, each section distinguishing itself from the next. The Muslim district is home to some of the best tea stalls in town-“chai” that is a heavenly mixture of freshly brewed tea, condensed milk, and an unforgiving amount of sugar. The enormous, bustling day market with its noises and smells- it never ceases to amaze me. There’s the unavoidable police check points: a constant identity check and re-check and way to remind those who have fled here illegally to ‘behave.’ Of course, it’s not all exotic. There are the farang, or foreigner hang-outs, where Westerners craving some sterile, air-conditioned, English-speaking, “me and my journal time” can temporarily retreat.
A crowded, dusty town encapsulated by a panoramic, green frontier Mae Sot is. A lovely and complicated place that I hope to one day return to.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Blog Recession
It seems as though my blog was hit even harder than my bank account during the recession. I have been very busy with loads of work (contract is up in less than four weeks!), bits of traveling, and have had very little time to write. I will do my best to post an update this weekend, complete with pictures!
Stay tuned...
Stay tuned...
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