This is what happens when you leave your house for a month in Phuket - the jungle taketh backeth. Without a cat to hunt for intruders, my house became a moldy, dirty, insect lair in less than 30 days and as I flicked on the light switch, I went on the offense, assumed an attack position, and commenced a full raid of the place. The horror, the horror. I swear to god, it was unreal.
Now, 24 hours post vacation and ant killing spree, my cat is back, my house is clean, and the jungle is being kept at bay...for now, that is.
There's some more about Phuket that is taking some getting used to. The traffic, the reality of responsibilities, the internet, the fact that vacation life is over...wait, what? Well, that's not entirely true. Like I said awhile back, I have been Inception-ing my vacations, and now, though done vacationing from vacation-living, I'm just vacation-living...so down to one vacation, but truthfully, it feels good to be back.
In the last month, I traveled all the way from southern Thailand to the most northern province of Thailand, Chiang Rai. I was on the Burmese border, in mountains covered with bamboo forests, and walking the 9 levels of Wat (Temple) Tha Ton or the "Easter Egg Wat", as I called it, when the adventure started. After unexpected rock climbing in Tha Ton, Tim and I took a long tail boat, 5 hours down the Mae Kok River to Chiang Rai, motorbiked over hillsides of terraced farms searching for hot springs and waterfalls, and found ourselves with the Akha hill tribe - making bamboo chopsticks with machetes and rooting our lunch out of stream beds while trekking.
We were left in awe by the White Wat - which should only be discussed in the voice of Elmer Fudd, humbled by kindness and generosity, and recovering (from the miles covered as we criss-crossed the region) in a town called, Pai. Pai was one of the highlights of the trip as it is a back packer oasis complete with art, music, and totally zen-ed out activities - like reading, hard chilling, and excessive lounging. It was amazing. We settled right in and attempted to make ourselves permanent fixtures in bars, tea shops, and waterfalls alike. How chill is it? Well hunt out "Fat Cats" or "The Good Life" and you will get an unforgettable taste of local food and flavor. "Local", as in after taking your order, the owner of "Fat Cats" will be seen gardening, for all of the veggies that will go into your meal. I had an egg salad sandwich and some kombucha that made my life and was a prelude to a 2 hour nap in the perched bungalow eating area. That's how chill it is. Now Tim and I didn't have a camera for this part of the journey, because mine decided to cop out on me right before we left, so we were going back and forth making jokes about "just being really zen 'wit' it, man". It was like we were Boulder-ites. We would get on a roll sometimes about how we were blazing the zen trails and just being "totally natural and organic and in the present..." while joking about pseudo hippies and drinking down kombucha. Real zen like. Well, our zen trails hit an all time high in Pai and we couldn't get enough.
After leading the first half of the trip in a dream world and blowing a lot of our cash without even trying, we decided to try to slow down a bit...but ended up doing the opposite. By the middle of the month, we headed back to Chiang Mai to meet up with other Phuket teacher folk and rage for the Songkran festival. It was epic. We water war-ed for 4 days straight in a fight that felt more like a foam party-water fight-rave-conflict zone than an new year's party I can remember. Though I've only celebrated Songkran for 2 years now, it never ceases to amaze me. Eventually, though, I was ecstatic about the prospect of being dry for longer than a god damn second. No, it was fun, I can't feign being put out by it at all, but it was made even better by the fact that I had an amazing super soaker that launched rockets of water and was a whole heap of fun, so I was no Songkran Grinch. We danced all night, wared all day, and enjoyed ourselves to the extreme. So much for being zen...
Finally, as the war fizzled out, we gathered our climbing gear and hit up the Crazy Horse Buttress outside of Chiang Mai for some rock climbing and recuperation. After 3 days of destroying ourselves on multi-pitches and high elevation climbing, we caught our flight from the north, stopped in Phuket for a matter of hours, and headed straight for Tonsai. Though we had 10 days ahead of us, I knew it would flash by before our eyes. On Tonsai, there is really only one place to eat - that we acknowledge at least - and that is "Chicken Momma". Her cooking is insanely good and can keep people there for months at a time, that and the limestone towers. Oh, that limestone. It still has my heart and beckons me to post up there for months, despite my other priorities and obligations.
Tonsai is magic and extraordinary things happen there all of the time. On the day of our arrival, and Tommy's birthday, I was walking across the Freedom bar platform and I saw a couple of distinct tattoos out of the corner of my eye. I will always remember the time in Flagstaff that my boyfriend at the time pointed out a "dying star" tattoo as a justification for liking color tattoos. It was beautiful, intricate, and coupled with a sailboat painting the guy's ribs. These tattoos caught my attention immediately. My head spun around as if in slow motion and I puzzled, "Sam....? Sam....Cody?"
Sam Cody, a former Flagstaffian, turned around in that same instant to face me. No, shit. It is so wild seeing people in different contexts around the world, but this blew my mind. Sam Cody - and to think that the last time I saw him, he was selling all of his stuff and hitch hiking with his dog to Alaska. Hah, I didn't think I'd see him again...and definitely not in a secluded bungalow community of about 100. Dream world.
Tim and I met up with Dan, a Swedish teacher, who kept us laughing with his sarcasm and quick commentary that meshed perfectly with our ongoing banter. We were gasping for air as we laughed about the number of cats and monkeys we could each take on at one time. Big man on campus, Dan, believes he can take on 3 monkeys at one time. Well, I'll be the ol' "nay-person" as Swedish Dan would say, and refute his belief that he could fight 3 monkeys at once based on the fact that monkeys have aerial attack advantages and are strong as sh*t with big fang-like chompers. 3 monkeys would take you out, sir - unless you threw chicken wings and ninja kicks into the mix - only chicken wings and ninja kicks could save you. And, I'll stand by that. It's science.
The three of us climbed hard, pushed ourselves, ate like unsupervised fat kids, and had an amazing time on the peninsula watching our strength and courage increase. My highlight came from multi-pitching with Tim - towering over the ocean below, climbing amazing routes in areas I'd never explored before, getting serenaded by reggae vibes and phenomenal music in the evenings, and meeting exceptional people to share fire shows, shooting stars, and climbing enthusiasm with. It was incredible.
However, all vacations must come to an end. After 10 days of wearing pretty much the same thing, my clothing had reached an unprecedented spice level, but more than that, my empty wallet indicated to me that it was time to head home.
Oh, and I have a job. Hah, forgot about that! So, we made our way back to our other little island, Phuket, that had been shaken by Tsunami warnings, earthquakes, and personal dramas in our absence - mounted motor bikes again, topped up cell phones, paid rent, and contacted employers. I'm sorry that vacation time is over, but it was epic in all senses. We blazed some serious zen trails and came back with hearts filled with exploration and memories to carry us through the start of this new school year.
Though my house is part Jumanji and the nature still needs some attending to, I'm trying to stay "zen up in this 'B'..." and get my mind right for Phuket living again, which as always, is just another step in the adventure.
