Monsoon!
We decided to get out of Singapore because I was starting to get stressed out from the big city. Well also living in an apartment where you are in a constant social situation was getting to me. What I believed to be angst over my Australian visa I soon realized was a need for space. Most people who know me would not know that I actually need a break from constant social interaction, even from Sebastien the love of my life. I really cherish my time alone – I can relish in being a loner and I fully replace that. But I can do both.
So Sebastien and I decided to go back to Thailand because we were two weeks in Singapore and still no word from the Australian visa. And I mean I love our couchsurfing hosts, they`re super cool and everything but we were feeling like maybe we were outstaying our welcome. They never made us feel that way but we didn't`to want to push our boundaries with our generous hosts. There`so a saying about houseguests and it goes like this. Houseguests are like fish, after three days they go bad.
Anyways life works in mysterious ways. We come back to Thailand because everything is dirt cheap. And I realized that really I came to Thailand to explore the beaches, and I haven`t even seen the beach where The Beach was filmed. So why not come back and explore the south where everything is cheap and the people are amazingly friendly.
Seriously Thailand is a place that inspires me. I enjoy my runs in the morning, the amazing food, the people you meet in Thailand. So much so that even on the gloomiest rainy day, I can revel in doing lazy rainy day things.
Here is my list of great things to do on a rainy day:
1. Find a used bookstore slash coffee shop where they will serve you non fat lattes and multigrain bread. People watch the people who are getting soaked to the bone in torrential rainfall. Analyze their fashion sense, and empathize with their situation of being a drowned rat for a few moments.
2. Get a Thai massage. It is so dead quiet that you get lots of attention since you are the only person in the shop. Chat with your Thai masseuse, find out her name and give her a good tip. A good tip here is the equivalent of one or two dollars, because the tradition is not to tip, and the cost of a massage is like ten dollars so one to two dollars fits into the ten to twenty percent. It feels good to tip.
3. Go for a run to burn off those calories from the night before from those damn bucket specials. It feels good but make sure you avoid stepping on the jellyfish that have washed ashore.
I have an obsession for all weird organisms aquatic. I love octopi, jellyfish, manatees, sea turtles, the weirder they are the more I love them. So I counted about ten to twenty jellyfish all washed up ashore and I had to resist the urge of getting a stick and poking them or touching them because I respect and do not want to mess with nature.
By the way on the beach there was so much nasty garbage washed ashore. Where we are on Koh Phi Phi is where the Tsunami had hit so everything on the beach is new. When you are in the city (except for Singapore) no one cares, cigarette butts, litter on the busy streets. But when you see it in nature like a beautiful beach in Thailand, it is utterly revolting. It makes me want to puke. It makes me want to be more socially conscious because we all want to appreciate natural beauty.The universe works in mysterious ways. I come back to Thailand and after a couple more days of checking on line with the Australian Government to see if my work visa has come through, I have come to acceptance. No matter what happens, I am in Thailand and it`so beautiful here. I just have to accept accept accepting.
Here I feel inspired to meditate, to photograph, to talk to people travellers and locals alike. I have accepted well maybe the Australian government will reject me but what the hell, I am loving my life right now.
And just like that the first morning where I don`t care whether or not the government has approved me, and I am checking out of daily obligation
BOOM! I have been approved to go to The land down under.
I am learning so many life lessons on this trip it is a shame I didn`t travel like this earlier in my twenties.
