The commercialization that is choking the life out of the Christmas spirit in America is all that exists of the holiday here in Thailand. Makes sense, considering this is a Buddhist culture. However, when I was informed that I would have a Christmas break, though shocked, I knew it was time to start planning my first long trip out of Phuket. The possibilities are endless thanks to the close proximity and the cheap flights to so many destinations, but because I had yet to go anywhere other than Koh Phi Phi in Thailand, exploring my new country seemed the best thing to do.
After living in a big city for the last six years, going to Bangkok hasn't exactly been at the top of my list, but you gotta go, you know? This was part of the original plan, to spend a couple days in Thailand's second capital, but due to the political unrest and protests that have been taking place, Carey and I decided, maybe another time would be better. We both agreed that we would really like to spend a good chunk of time in Chiang Mai. We also knew we wanted to end our trip on a quiet island, lying on the beach, sipping frosty cocktails, joining rowdy bars as we wished. Although we were not able to find a resort within our budget on the first few islands we were considering due to the New Year holiday rates, we "settled" on Koh Samui because everyone has given it such rave reviews.
Naturally, the final week leading up to break was unusual. The Friday before leaving on holiday, there was a Christmas party at school. Kids dress up in Christmas costumes, like Halloween Part Deux, over here and it is bizarre and just a smidge creepy. Between the saggy too bright Santa costumes, and the little girls dressed up in skimpy crushed velvet dresses with white feathery lined hems, high heels, and make up, I wasn't sure what to make of it all. The kids had a great time stuffing their faces full of whatever treat the parents brought in to try to out do the next parent. They also exchanged gifts at random draw. A few kids didn't follow the protocol I had set up earlier in the week, which pretty much boiled down to not being thankful for the gift they received and having a meltdown. One kid was so insistent that he didn't want his gift that I put it in with the gifts the school donated to an orphanage that houses children who have parents serving prison time.
Carey and I had to return our scooters before we left and decided to have some dinner in Phuket Town. We were approached by a strange (read drunk), middle aged British man who'd been living in Thailand for about 20 years. Because we weren't on his level, he was sure we needed to relax. I'll give him this, he bought us a round of drinks. Needless to say, we felt the urge to leave directly following our meal. By chance, we passed a Blues bar that we'd seen the first week we moved to Phuket. A lot of places don't open until a good bit later, so we'd never seen the inside of the bar, let alone anyone in it with the lights on, playing any music. We stopped, the first customers of the evening, to have a beer. Patrick Chua, a Singapore native, runs the place. Rockin' Angels is the only Blues bar in Phuket. It has been there since 2004 when Patrick decided he just couldn't live without music at the center of his world anymore, he had previously run a place in Singapore. He has quite a history, including doing some fashion work with some high profile folks. He mentioned one of my favorite politicians of all time, Mr. Bill Clinton. We learned all this when Patrick came over to chat with Carey and me and the gentleman who had been playing a little with him when we arrived. I stopped the other gentleman on his way out because he was wearing an Illinois shirt. He went to Columbia University, and according to Patrick is a very successful and very wealthy local architecture. It seemed as though music is Patrick's first passion, and helping others fulfill their dreams of playing music is his second. He told us about a guy who showed up while he was still talking to us that came to Patrick a couple years ago and told him he'd always wanted to be in a band. Because he's an older fellow, Patrick decided he could teach him how to bang a drum, "He's not a great musician, but he loves it, and who am I to stand in the way of a man living out his dream?" A 19 year old girl showed up with her bass. The daughter of a friend, about four years ago, her parents had had enough. She was getting into trouble at school, causing problems at home, they were at their wits end. Patrick's family took her in. He taught her how to play the bass. It was hard to decide who was better - the young girl or Patrick. She sang everything from Tina Turner to Amy Winehouse whilst strumming the bass. Whaaaaaaat? All in all it was a really fantastic evening and what started out as, "let's have a beer and listen to a bit of music" turned into several beers, befriending the owner, making a new gal pal, chatting with some guy from Seattle, another from Switzerland, and another from Romania. We called Nok, our guy to come pick us up and get us home.
If this were to be any indication of what the trip would be like, we were both feeling pretty good about the next 10 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment