I'm letting that one sink in…
Oddly, I think i'm okay with it. The last time I was in a new place for a birthday was six years ago. I'd moved to Chicago five months prior, started school four months prior, and hadn't made much of a life for myself. I still managed to have a fairly good time. Turns out i'd met another person in the small circle of friends supplied by the restaurant that employed my then roommate (and dear friend, Joseph), who also had a birthday on December 5th. So there was a gathering of people, some who I knew from school, a few from the restaurant i'd just started working at, and then a whole bunch of people I didn't really know but wished me happy birthday and bought me shots. How lovely of new friends to show up though, and for another new friend to share his celebration with me.
I have now been in Thailand for about three months. The kindness shown to me by the people who have begun to create my circle of friends here was overwhelming. In Thailand, I share my birthday with the king. This is really awesome because he's kind of a big deal here, so we had a national holiday. Since i've always shared my birthday with someone, this might have even made things a tad easier. Thanks to the national holiday, there was no school on Thursday. This, of course, meant dinner and drinks for me and Carey Wednesday night. Turns out others wanted to join to celebrate with me. Carey was so lovely to set things up and take care of everything.
One of the young women I work with also had a birthday last week on the fourth, so we shared our time together Wednesday. We all ate dinner at The Natural Restaurant in Phuket Town. A hidden gem, if i've ever seen one. You can't tell from the side soi (street) the entrance sits on that it's three stories high and that entering feels like stepping into a rain forest. It is so gorgeous and tranquil and the food is delicious. It was originally recommended to Carey by an Australian man who she bumped into in a coffee shop. He owns and runs the cafe, which is delicious, so we figured he must not be far off the mark. We had a great meal the first time, but hadn't been back since moving south to Chalong. I picked it for my birthday dinner. Not only did nine people show up, but most of them accompanied me and Carey to Roxy Bar for a night of trivia and more beverages. Though we didn't have any interest originally, we decided going to Patong might not be so bad. Never made it. Not because we drank like underage college kids, but because we were abandoned by the women we ran into and hung out with from Carey's school at the bar after dinner. In hindsight, it probably wasn't such a bad thing. Between the money spent and the residual physical side effects that accompany a night in Patong, we probably came out on top in this category. Our taxi home was most certainly a win. We met a lovely young gentleman (Nok - he gave us his card when he dropped us off and said to call him "any of the times") who shared with us that he learned English by listening to American music. We sang Mariah, Whitney, Adele, Boyz II Men, the list goes on… a taxi sing along, with him until he pulled up outside of our apartment building. Can't speak for both me and Carey, but I know i'm excited to see Nok again. I decided, if I can find somewhere here to do it, that i'll purchase proper business cards for him. He has small cut up pieces of paper handwritten with his information. So lovely. He was just such a treat and so professional and kind, obviously fun, so I think he deserves it. The holidays are upon us.
On Saturday morning, bright and early, Carey and I met a group of 13 people at Ratsada Pier to catch a ferry to Koh Phi Phi Island. We were there before everyone else, not shocking, so we grabbed fresh fruit smoothies and hung out. It took about an hour and a half to get across the water. Dramamine on the way back made things much more bearable. At the end of the ride, they slow down the boat and take you around the island so you can see it in all its beauty.
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The Dynamic Duo on the ferry.
Brendan, my favorite Aussie mate, blew my mind with a techy trick here.
It was really hard to know when to take out the camera because everything just looks so beautiful. The minute you put your camera away you feel like you need to get it out again. In an attempt to avoid a repeat of my trip to San Francisco though, I kept the snapping to a minimum. As far as sheer size goes, the left picture can give you an idea. The one on the right shows how the vegetation just grows, seemingly just out of the rock. Incredible stuff. Such beauty.
I was surprised to see how the island was all laid out because I assumed everything would be spacious and quiet. On the contrary, the village that you walk through to get to the beach is a tiny maze like place where no motorized vehicles are allowed (actually none anywhere on the island), so locals are carefully plodding through on bikes. Shops, food, bars galore. If you get split up from your group, just keep walking, you will inevitably run into them again. On a few occasions I was so shocked to run into someone I had just spoken with 20 steps behind.
These long boats will never get old. Next time we take an island trip, we'll get on one and go snorkeling. This trip was all about relaxation and no agendas.
Other than when I ate meals and slept, my time was spent on this gorgeous beach that I could see from my tiny, minimal hostel room. It was private, kind of quiet, air conditioned, and reasonably clean. The price was good, the shower worked, and it was right in the thick of everything. If I could describe for you the blues and greens of the water, I would. Just think of every shade and hue of blue and green that you've ever seen and put them all together. Saturday the shallower parts were a bit murkier, though I didn't realize that until Sunday when I could see down to my toes when the water came up over my knees.
I wish the full beauty of this man's abs was more clear. The group decided he must get a different farang (foreign) girl every night. Even the guys admitted he was super good looking.
After dinner Saturday night, we stopped at the first fire show we came to because all the beachfront bars have them. Also, the man in red shorts (pictured in the first fire picture) was gorgeous and svelte, so why would we leave?
People drink excessively and then also play with the fire. Flaming limbo, jump rope, ring jumping, the list goes on. Carey is pictured here, though she had less to drink than anyone else on that beach, I guarantee it.
She did win me a bucket.. that I didn't drink because naturally it was terrible. But the important part is she let me push her into getting up there and then won me a prize for kicking ass. Happy birthday, to me.
That is an audience member hurling his body through the air and fire. This is a liability waiting to happen in America, thus you must go to Thailand to see or compete in this bizarre show of manliness. Watching guys insist the Thai fire throwers lift the hoop even higher was almost has entertaining as picking my nose.
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Just take some time to enjoy the abs, if you can see them. Whew. There are more videos, but they just take far too long to load, so i'll leave you with this.
To clarify, that burning sign reads "Woody Sexy Night Party." We were at a bar on the beach called Woody's. This sign begged me to drink like an underaged college student. So I did. I'm too old for that, I gotta say. All in all, it was a great time. I got to know some friends better and they feel even more like friends. I got to experience a different place, finally got my first post card for my book, bought a beautiful (cheap) sarong, celebrated with one of the best friends i've ever had, and welcomed the final year of my 20's.
If 29 is anything like 28 was, i'm in for a wild ride.
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