The Saturday before last, I chatted with my friend Emily on MSN and the next thing I knew, two days later, I was in Medicine Hat with her and Cindy and Heather and some other people running some Christian soccer camps. Two English guys were in charge and graciously showed us how to do simple things like set up the nets. I must explain that all my soccer experience comes from playing intramurals in the Frontier school gym where the only rule seemed to be don't use your hands. As I left home, my brother admonished me tongue in cheek to teach the kids to bend it like Beckham. Alas, it is a sad feeling when eight year old children can outmanuever you.
We also ran camps in Calgary. At one camp, a bunch of Vietnamese kids came and I therefore felt quite at home. One little boy looked just like one of my former students - even how he hiked his pants up a little too high. He made me nostalgic for Taiwan and my blue and white classroom. I did get to lead the game "Simon Says", which I do quite well having much practice utilizing it in the classroom. Unfortunately, Vietnam is the one southeast Asian country where I neglected to learn any of the language except for the word for ice cream which apparently I don't know how to pronounce correctly because the kids had no idea what I was saying.
Between camps, everyone else went to play soccer and handout flyers to the international student families at the University of Calgary. I opted out and got a ride to meet a boy named Sebastian Ray whom I must admit I loved at first sight. Don't worry - he's a beautiful baby, the first child of my cousin Shandi and Mike. I spent the afternoon holding him as much as I could and enjoying just being with Shandi. He was just over a week old when I was there and spent most of his time sleeping like an angel. It's funny how quickly God fills your heart with love when you hold your new little cousin for the first time. Shandi's half-sister was gracious enough to let me hog him most of the day since I told her she could hold him tomorrow. It was strange and exciting to see my cousin all maternal. Not too long ago, we were girls playing Barbies and dress up and nearly crashing three wheelers. I guess we're grown up now.
The last camp I helped with in Calgary was a multicultural affair. We had your average Caucasians of course, but they were peppered with children from a variety of different ethnicities - Kurds, Romanians, Chinese, Irani. It was beautiful to see them running around and playing together. (There were some kicking and punching at times however.) Muslim moms in their coverings stood at the sidelines. Other parents would come by on bicycles. I was in charge of a group of eight kids - which sometimes grew when little Ameer or another little Ameer would decide to leave his mother's side and play with the big kids. My team never quite got the knack of playing as a team. Good thing Hong Kong-born Eric with his purple sunglasses is a little soccer phenom. We would have had no goals otherwise.
As a part of the soccer camps, we would sit the kids down and one of the coaches from England would share a Christian message and then give the kids an opportunity to respond or to play soccer. Tons of kids would stay and want to hear more about Jesus. The Muslim parents and even the Buddhist parents stayed to listen. Some of the Muslims even pulled out video recorders and taped the whole talk. Several parents took some gospel literature home. It was pretty cool.
The camps are still going on, but I caught a ride back to the Toque - Poppa's name for Medicine Hat - to spend time with my grandparents, aunt and uncle (who works all the time so I barely see him). Nana and Poppa are my mom's parents. We've made popcorn balls, played crib, and shot the breeze. My aunt and I went shopping like we always do. It felt so good being in Medicine Hat, doing the normal things that I do while I'm there. At least something hasn't changed . . . too much.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Culture Shock
Some of you faithful blog readers assured me that I would suffer from little culture shock and I really didn't for the first week I was back on the farm in Saskatchewan. That is, until I attended the Frenchman River Valley Gospel Music Jamboree.
Every year, people congregate from all over southwestern Saskatchewan and beyond in the often brown valley where a muddy stream runs. Some singing groups are brought in from as far away as the southern States and others are local acts consisting of parents and their children. I usually go in the evenings and hardly listen to the music - except when my friends and acquaintances are on stage. I go to see the people and have my annual conversations with them.
Now, I have lived in Asia for close to two years. I am used to being in crowds of people. But in Asia, the people are dark haired non-English short Asians. I am used to being in such circumstances.
This weekend I found myself in a crowd of people. English speaking people who are tall and some quite fat. The overwhelming thing was knowing most of them. I am not used to being in a crowd of people whom I actually know. I wanted to run and hide. It was so weird. I didn't know who to talk to. My senses were overloaded. From the moment I stepped out of my parents' styling mini-van and ran into a familiar face, I experienced culture shock like I never had before. It wasn't Canadian life. It was small town Saskatchewan life where everyone knows your name and who your dad is and where you've been for the last few years and which car is yours. Most of you could never understand what it's like to grow up like this so you couldn't understand how crazy it is to walk back into it after being away so long.
And then I tried to help on the farm the next day. My farming aptitude has been totally depleted. I felt like the stupid cousin from the city.
But it is good to be home. Everyday, I look at the big blue sky and fail to grasp its enormity. It's then that I know that I'm home.
Every year, people congregate from all over southwestern Saskatchewan and beyond in the often brown valley where a muddy stream runs. Some singing groups are brought in from as far away as the southern States and others are local acts consisting of parents and their children. I usually go in the evenings and hardly listen to the music - except when my friends and acquaintances are on stage. I go to see the people and have my annual conversations with them.
Now, I have lived in Asia for close to two years. I am used to being in crowds of people. But in Asia, the people are dark haired non-English short Asians. I am used to being in such circumstances.
This weekend I found myself in a crowd of people. English speaking people who are tall and some quite fat. The overwhelming thing was knowing most of them. I am not used to being in a crowd of people whom I actually know. I wanted to run and hide. It was so weird. I didn't know who to talk to. My senses were overloaded. From the moment I stepped out of my parents' styling mini-van and ran into a familiar face, I experienced culture shock like I never had before. It wasn't Canadian life. It was small town Saskatchewan life where everyone knows your name and who your dad is and where you've been for the last few years and which car is yours. Most of you could never understand what it's like to grow up like this so you couldn't understand how crazy it is to walk back into it after being away so long.
And then I tried to help on the farm the next day. My farming aptitude has been totally depleted. I felt like the stupid cousin from the city.
But it is good to be home. Everyday, I look at the big blue sky and fail to grasp its enormity. It's then that I know that I'm home.
Monday, June 13, 2005
How to Prolong Jet Lag as Long as Possible
Coming from Taiwan, I pretty much have to switch night and day in my body clock. It's killer jet lag. I must subconciously get some kind of enjoyment out of it because I've been making it last as long as possible by getting only a few hours of sleep each night and only allowing myself to nap during such opportune times as wedding rehearsals and graduation programs. But now I'm back on the parents' farm with no immediate plans other than to play with my dog, sleep, watch movies and reacquaint myself with the countryside.
Last summer, I was able to come home for a few weeks in August. Upon arrival in Vancouver, I had tons of difficulties with Air Canada from grumpy employees who vacated their work station when I was next in line to my flight being cancelled at boarding time so I had the privilege of being put on standby to Calgary. So this time, I was excited to be staying in the Vancouver area and not having to deal with a frustrating airline. This excitement was shortlived as we made our way through customs and were forced into the dreaded "search every cranny of your bag" room. There were not too many other Caucasians in the room. The poor officer was not too excited to see our three massive hockey bags, one gigantic suitcase and four carry-ons, but proceeded to make a mess of our careful packing while repeatedly asking us if we had switchblades, drugs, or bongs. He even asked if we were tempted to buy any. Gregg got away less than an hour before his flight to Calgary. I felt bad because my friend Nickie's mom was waiting to pick me up for over an hour. But surprise, surprise, the officer found nothing incriminating in our bags.
Nickie was my accountability partner while in Taiwan and still a very good friend. I was slightly nervous about going to her wedding because she was the only person I knew. It gets lonely at a wedding if you only know the bride. But from the moment I met her mom in the airport, it felt like I was part of the family. She promptly took me to Washington where I was reunited with Nickie and went to her brand new house in Sumas. The next few days were a blur as I shadowed Nickie in her final wedding preparations, met her fiancee Phil (finally), and managed to stay up late each night. I even got my hair done with the bridesmaids and the bride, and Carissa the candlelighter who I was blessed to spend the entire day with. After two years of having to wear a helmet every day, it sure felt nice to have beautiful hair. The wedding was beautiful and suited Nickie to a tee. I was given the honor of reading a passage out of 1 Corinthians 13.
The reception was fun. We had to blow party favors to get the new couple to kiss. Mine was defective and sounded like a cow in labor. When it came time to throw the bouquet, all the single females came up - about four women my age and a dozen little kids. I felt old. Thankfully Carissa charged through the children to catch the bouquet. Since I was riding back to Canada with Nickie's family, I got to stay at the reception until the doors were locked and help clean up. I scraped candle wax off the floor with a pie server.
The next morning, after two hours of sleep, I flew from Abbottsford to Regina via Calgary on WestJet where I was thanked for choosing them instead of an airline on the verge of bankruptcy. The first leg of the flight I got to watch live satellite TV. The second leg took me over the grid of fields of Saskatchewan. I loved looking down and seeing the crops, correction lines and farms. It was so beautiful - although after life in Asia I was a little weirded out by the extreme amount of space. Mom and Gregg picked me up and after some errands, we made our way to Caronport.
Caronport is the home of Briercrest Family of Schools. I attended the college for three years and have no burning desire to live there again. But since my aunt and uncle live there, I always get to go back. The occasion this time was my baby brother Grant's graduation. After two years of being an Asian orphan, I was overwhelmed in the midst of all my relatives, especially the ones hugging me. Gregg showed off his t-bird, including his ability to burn rubber. Grant and my cousins have all acquired a lot of muscle mass. And I must brag, my cousin Michael got second in provincials in hurdles. We were late for the banquet and I had to nap before the lengthy grad-parent program, a crazy kind of talent show. Grant played some guitar. Since I didn't know many of the kids, I slept on a pew for the first hour and a half. The next day was the ceremony. Grant listened to his I-pod for the whole thing.
I felt really old there. Kids who were in grade twelve when I was an intern are getting married and some already have kids. I visited my married friends the Henkelmans and heard more news of college friends settling down. As I survey the large pile of possession on the floor of my childhood bedroom, I realize I have enough stuff to furnish a house, but I don't foresee that happening any time soon. Anyone want to go to South America?
Last summer, I was able to come home for a few weeks in August. Upon arrival in Vancouver, I had tons of difficulties with Air Canada from grumpy employees who vacated their work station when I was next in line to my flight being cancelled at boarding time so I had the privilege of being put on standby to Calgary. So this time, I was excited to be staying in the Vancouver area and not having to deal with a frustrating airline. This excitement was shortlived as we made our way through customs and were forced into the dreaded "search every cranny of your bag" room. There were not too many other Caucasians in the room. The poor officer was not too excited to see our three massive hockey bags, one gigantic suitcase and four carry-ons, but proceeded to make a mess of our careful packing while repeatedly asking us if we had switchblades, drugs, or bongs. He even asked if we were tempted to buy any. Gregg got away less than an hour before his flight to Calgary. I felt bad because my friend Nickie's mom was waiting to pick me up for over an hour. But surprise, surprise, the officer found nothing incriminating in our bags.
Nickie was my accountability partner while in Taiwan and still a very good friend. I was slightly nervous about going to her wedding because she was the only person I knew. It gets lonely at a wedding if you only know the bride. But from the moment I met her mom in the airport, it felt like I was part of the family. She promptly took me to Washington where I was reunited with Nickie and went to her brand new house in Sumas. The next few days were a blur as I shadowed Nickie in her final wedding preparations, met her fiancee Phil (finally), and managed to stay up late each night. I even got my hair done with the bridesmaids and the bride, and Carissa the candlelighter who I was blessed to spend the entire day with. After two years of having to wear a helmet every day, it sure felt nice to have beautiful hair. The wedding was beautiful and suited Nickie to a tee. I was given the honor of reading a passage out of 1 Corinthians 13.
The reception was fun. We had to blow party favors to get the new couple to kiss. Mine was defective and sounded like a cow in labor. When it came time to throw the bouquet, all the single females came up - about four women my age and a dozen little kids. I felt old. Thankfully Carissa charged through the children to catch the bouquet. Since I was riding back to Canada with Nickie's family, I got to stay at the reception until the doors were locked and help clean up. I scraped candle wax off the floor with a pie server.
The next morning, after two hours of sleep, I flew from Abbottsford to Regina via Calgary on WestJet where I was thanked for choosing them instead of an airline on the verge of bankruptcy. The first leg of the flight I got to watch live satellite TV. The second leg took me over the grid of fields of Saskatchewan. I loved looking down and seeing the crops, correction lines and farms. It was so beautiful - although after life in Asia I was a little weirded out by the extreme amount of space. Mom and Gregg picked me up and after some errands, we made our way to Caronport.
Caronport is the home of Briercrest Family of Schools. I attended the college for three years and have no burning desire to live there again. But since my aunt and uncle live there, I always get to go back. The occasion this time was my baby brother Grant's graduation. After two years of being an Asian orphan, I was overwhelmed in the midst of all my relatives, especially the ones hugging me. Gregg showed off his t-bird, including his ability to burn rubber. Grant and my cousins have all acquired a lot of muscle mass. And I must brag, my cousin Michael got second in provincials in hurdles. We were late for the banquet and I had to nap before the lengthy grad-parent program, a crazy kind of talent show. Grant played some guitar. Since I didn't know many of the kids, I slept on a pew for the first hour and a half. The next day was the ceremony. Grant listened to his I-pod for the whole thing.
I felt really old there. Kids who were in grade twelve when I was an intern are getting married and some already have kids. I visited my married friends the Henkelmans and heard more news of college friends settling down. As I survey the large pile of possession on the floor of my childhood bedroom, I realize I have enough stuff to furnish a house, but I don't foresee that happening any time soon. Anyone want to go to South America?
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
In transit
Descending into Hong Kong is one of my favorite airplane descents. Approaching from the air, the islands down below rise out of the water while boats and huge tankers chug through the ocean leaving big white frothy wakes. One minute you're over the South China Sea and the next minute you're on a runway that seems to begin at the water's edge. I have a few hours until flight CX888 leaves for Vancouver and I don't expect Gregg to be at the gate for another hour.
Yesterday was a blessed day filled with time with the people who I have come to love so much. The people I wanted to see most came to a little goodbye party at the Vietnamese restaurant where we laughed, cried and ate lychee (thanks to tennis pro Andy). The likelihood of me seeing them again is fairly high. Lots of Canadians and you all know how I love road trips. But it was the end of an era and it seemed surreal to hug them all one last time. My friend Esther drove me to the airport this morning and Leanne met us there. But alas, I forgot my Vietnamese conical hat in Esther's car. It was so nice to have them there with me as I waited for my flight. During my final hours in Taiwan, I felt so loved. Trust me the feeling is mutual. My Taiwan friends, all I can say is thank you for everything.
Hmmm, maybe I'll check out the TV lounge or just sleep for a while.
Yesterday was a blessed day filled with time with the people who I have come to love so much. The people I wanted to see most came to a little goodbye party at the Vietnamese restaurant where we laughed, cried and ate lychee (thanks to tennis pro Andy). The likelihood of me seeing them again is fairly high. Lots of Canadians and you all know how I love road trips. But it was the end of an era and it seemed surreal to hug them all one last time. My friend Esther drove me to the airport this morning and Leanne met us there. But alas, I forgot my Vietnamese conical hat in Esther's car. It was so nice to have them there with me as I waited for my flight. During my final hours in Taiwan, I felt so loved. Trust me the feeling is mutual. My Taiwan friends, all I can say is thank you for everything.
Hmmm, maybe I'll check out the TV lounge or just sleep for a while.
Smoggy Skies
Gregg bought about 15 t-shirts on Sunday. We had to go drop some off at the hotel because his backpack was getting too heavy. We went on a minor shopping spree even though Gregg was already worried about our baggage being overweight. It's hard to know when to stop, but when you get back home, you always wish you'd bought more.
We were walking down the street when suddenly someone shouted our names. The next thing we knew, we were settled in at a table having another slow boat reunion. We were once again reunited with English Sarah and Dutch Tim. Then along came English Martin who brought news of seeing English Will. Small little tourist world. I imagine I shall run into some of them again one day.
As we tried to finish up shopping on Khao San Road, it began to rain. It wasn't the light rains or even heavy rains that the prairies get. This was a torrential downpour, a minor monsoon. It didn't let up for a long time. The gutters couldn't keep up with the water and soon the street was flooded and the water was creeping up over the curb. To cross the street, we had to wade through 18 inches of water. I was glad Gregg got to see what real rain is, but was saddened by the loss of shopping time. Everyone was packing up and plastering everything with plastic. I made a few quick purchases and then we ran through the flooded streets to the safety of the Baan Sabai. Gregg's flip flops kept falling off.
We arose at 3:30 to be at the airport by 5 for our seven o'clock flight. Our bags were pretty much exactly the allowable limit. I acheived this feat by throwing away almost all the clothes that I had began the trip with. Other than being late and the bus to Kaohsiung being slow, our travel back to Taiwan was painless.
It's interesting to compare the written scripts of the languages we encountered on our trip. Lao and Thai alphabets are full of "u"s, "n"s, and round lines and circles. The written words have a strange beauty. Chinese has its characters. What I found interesting was Vietnamese. It is tonal like Chinese, except it has 6 tones instead of four. But written Vietnamese uses a Latin alphabet.
Gregg's in Hong Kong now, seeing the sights solo. I'm in Taiwan wrapping up the loose ends of my life and saying my final goodbyes. It really hasn't hit me that I'm leaving this smoggy and surprisingly beautiful island for good. It has been my home for nearly two years.
Gregg is helping me to move home in many ways. He is transporting some of my stuff. But just being around him and talking about family and things back home has helped my heart and emotions to move back to North America. I guess I'm finally ready to go home. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Any advice for re-culturization, Katrina?
We were walking down the street when suddenly someone shouted our names. The next thing we knew, we were settled in at a table having another slow boat reunion. We were once again reunited with English Sarah and Dutch Tim. Then along came English Martin who brought news of seeing English Will. Small little tourist world. I imagine I shall run into some of them again one day.
As we tried to finish up shopping on Khao San Road, it began to rain. It wasn't the light rains or even heavy rains that the prairies get. This was a torrential downpour, a minor monsoon. It didn't let up for a long time. The gutters couldn't keep up with the water and soon the street was flooded and the water was creeping up over the curb. To cross the street, we had to wade through 18 inches of water. I was glad Gregg got to see what real rain is, but was saddened by the loss of shopping time. Everyone was packing up and plastering everything with plastic. I made a few quick purchases and then we ran through the flooded streets to the safety of the Baan Sabai. Gregg's flip flops kept falling off.
We arose at 3:30 to be at the airport by 5 for our seven o'clock flight. Our bags were pretty much exactly the allowable limit. I acheived this feat by throwing away almost all the clothes that I had began the trip with. Other than being late and the bus to Kaohsiung being slow, our travel back to Taiwan was painless.
It's interesting to compare the written scripts of the languages we encountered on our trip. Lao and Thai alphabets are full of "u"s, "n"s, and round lines and circles. The written words have a strange beauty. Chinese has its characters. What I found interesting was Vietnamese. It is tonal like Chinese, except it has 6 tones instead of four. But written Vietnamese uses a Latin alphabet.
Gregg's in Hong Kong now, seeing the sights solo. I'm in Taiwan wrapping up the loose ends of my life and saying my final goodbyes. It really hasn't hit me that I'm leaving this smoggy and surprisingly beautiful island for good. It has been my home for nearly two years.
Gregg is helping me to move home in many ways. He is transporting some of my stuff. But just being around him and talking about family and things back home has helped my heart and emotions to move back to North America. I guess I'm finally ready to go home. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Any advice for re-culturization, Katrina?
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Miss Universe is Canadian . . .
or so we've been told by every single Thai person who finds out we're Canadian. I guess the Miss Universe pageant is a big thing over here. They keep talking about it . . .
It was mighty hard saying goodbye to the beach. On Thursday, Gregg didn't leave the beach all day. We even ate lunch right there. The beach bumming lifestyle is addictive. Oh, we did see Wolverine again, but couldn't go talk to him because we were getting tattoos. He went walking by with a new girl, his fanny pack secured over his sarong. What a guy!
Our final morning, we both got up early to enjoy a few more hours of sand, sun, and ocean. Gregg sat reading his book and trying to get rid of his sandal tan. I decided to enjoy the quiet and solitude of the early morning by walking down the beach. It was a great idea, but I didn't take into account the partiers who would just be making their way home. A stringy haired Thai guy in his underwear tried to pull my hand to make me go swimming. A slightly drunken "Irishman" who sounded Scottish wouldn't leave alone and tried to impress me by saying he was one of Prince Harry's keepers and that Prince Harry was staying at a nearby dumpy resort with a Thai woman. (I guess I'll have to check out the tabloids for the veracity of his story.) And then there were the gangs of beach dogs and plenty of happy fisherman. I was happy to be back with Gregg so people would leave me alone. We went for one last swim in the beautiful blue waters, packed up the massive mound of stuff we've acquired and headed for the pier and our boat back to the mainland.
Our bus was scheduled for 7:30 and that gave us three hours to kill in the city of Surat Thani, a major transport center for people headed to Samui, Krabi and Phuket. There isn't a whole lot to do in the part of town we found ourselves in. We ate, found the most spacious 7- Eleven in all of Thailand, and ate mangosteens. The bus ride was uneventful except for the movie fiasco. Gregg and I had just been talking about the movie Pearl Harbor and how we didn't like it very much or its two principal actors. And voila, that's the movie that was shown. And furthermore, it was a very poor pirated version. It would skip and stop. The start of the movie was missing. You could hear the audience's laughter. I slept through most of it.
And we awoke back in Bangkok, the crazy city. The bus stopped right by the short cut to our hotel and in the early morning hours, we got to see the topless old ladies who sit in the alley who seem to delight in making us uncomfortable. We went to the famous weekend market (aka Chatachuck or JJ) and were so overwhelmed by the crowds and confined spaces and heat that we really didn't buy much or even see anything we liked. We tried out MBK and bought some jeans. Then it was just Khao San Road and vicinty. The day stuff was closing and then it rained so most of Khao San shut down. It kind of sucked. Maybe tomorrow will be sunny.
It was mighty hard saying goodbye to the beach. On Thursday, Gregg didn't leave the beach all day. We even ate lunch right there. The beach bumming lifestyle is addictive. Oh, we did see Wolverine again, but couldn't go talk to him because we were getting tattoos. He went walking by with a new girl, his fanny pack secured over his sarong. What a guy!
Our final morning, we both got up early to enjoy a few more hours of sand, sun, and ocean. Gregg sat reading his book and trying to get rid of his sandal tan. I decided to enjoy the quiet and solitude of the early morning by walking down the beach. It was a great idea, but I didn't take into account the partiers who would just be making their way home. A stringy haired Thai guy in his underwear tried to pull my hand to make me go swimming. A slightly drunken "Irishman" who sounded Scottish wouldn't leave alone and tried to impress me by saying he was one of Prince Harry's keepers and that Prince Harry was staying at a nearby dumpy resort with a Thai woman. (I guess I'll have to check out the tabloids for the veracity of his story.) And then there were the gangs of beach dogs and plenty of happy fisherman. I was happy to be back with Gregg so people would leave me alone. We went for one last swim in the beautiful blue waters, packed up the massive mound of stuff we've acquired and headed for the pier and our boat back to the mainland.
Our bus was scheduled for 7:30 and that gave us three hours to kill in the city of Surat Thani, a major transport center for people headed to Samui, Krabi and Phuket. There isn't a whole lot to do in the part of town we found ourselves in. We ate, found the most spacious 7- Eleven in all of Thailand, and ate mangosteens. The bus ride was uneventful except for the movie fiasco. Gregg and I had just been talking about the movie Pearl Harbor and how we didn't like it very much or its two principal actors. And voila, that's the movie that was shown. And furthermore, it was a very poor pirated version. It would skip and stop. The start of the movie was missing. You could hear the audience's laughter. I slept through most of it.
And we awoke back in Bangkok, the crazy city. The bus stopped right by the short cut to our hotel and in the early morning hours, we got to see the topless old ladies who sit in the alley who seem to delight in making us uncomfortable. We went to the famous weekend market (aka Chatachuck or JJ) and were so overwhelmed by the crowds and confined spaces and heat that we really didn't buy much or even see anything we liked. We tried out MBK and bought some jeans. Then it was just Khao San Road and vicinty. The day stuff was closing and then it rained so most of Khao San shut down. It kind of sucked. Maybe tomorrow will be sunny.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Half Moon Party
Before we left Koh Tao, we were looking in a shop. The doors were open and the lights were on so we thought it was open. The lady at the counter was kind of grumpy, but didn't say much. The next thing we knew, she was running at us with a broom, chasing us out because she was closed. She was crazy.
Koh Tao was quiet while we were there because it was only a couple days after the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan. In high season, upwards of 20 000 people congregate on the beach for an all night party, dancing to trance music pumped out by the djs and drinking literal buckets of vodka or whiskey mixed with Red Bull. It's a pretty crazy time. Haad Rin, the host beach of the Full Moon Party, is known as the party beach with a happening night life every night of the year. After our quiet nights in Koh Tao, we were ready for a little more excitement.
Haad Rin is on a peninsula on the southeast corner of Koh Phangan. It's divided into two sections: sunrise and sunset. Sunrise is where the party is. Sunset is where cheap accomodation is. We checked into a bungalow substantially better than our last one. The lights were bright enough for us to see. In our Koh Tao bungalow, the lights were so dim, we used our headlamps to read at night. The afternoon was spent suntanning and swimming. I don't know if I could get tired of tropical beaches.
That night, God put on a fire show in the sky while restaurant employees stood on the beach putting on their own. The lightning was fantastic - bright streaks stretching across the entire sky. We ate on the beach in a quiet restaurant. In fact, every restaurant we walked by was quiet. Some had no people in them. Some were closed. It is low season here, but we expected a few more people to be out at the party beach. But no. We went to bed early.
The next day was May 30, a week after full moon and time for the twice monthly Half Moon festival. This festival takes place in the jungle with neon decorations and black lights. When we walked in with our new friends from the taxi truck, we only saw about three people there. The place is big enough for 1 999 people so there was definitely room to spare. Luckily we saw there were a lot of people on the upper level and joined them so we didn't feel so alone. As the night progressed, several hundred people showed up and after a few hours people started to dance. I think they needed to drink a few buckets first. It's awkward being with a sibling at such a party. We kept wishing we were with our friends. It was still a cool experience. We met a girl from Thompson MB who tried to drag Gregg out onto the dance floor. She was kind of mad when he didn't go.
Another day on the beach and Gregg got to experience a real Asian downpour. We saw the clouds roll in and the rain start on the hills at the end of the beach. Everyone ran for cover as the rain started to beat down.
Today, we departed from Koh Phangan on the Haad Rin Queen. The water was choppy and huge waves would dowse all of us and our stuff. I sought shelter behind the staff cabin next to a strange man singing along to what may have been Hebrew rock. Gregg stayed on the bench and felt the full force of the waves. He was dripping wet.
Koh Samui is one of the largest islands in Thailand. We are settled into a room on Chaweng beach on the east side. It's about 5 km long and has a thick concentration of shops and services and entertainment. We can see Burger King from our deck. Once again, we went to the beach. I tried to make a sandcastle and a sandturtle and neither were impressive.
The best thing about today was seeing Wolverine, our friend from the slow boat to Luang Prabang. We didn't get to talk to him. We just saw him swimming with his long hair and chops, still wearing his glasses with the idiot string. I've never met anyone else who can wear an idiot string and make it look cool. Hopefully we'll run into him tomorrow.
Koh Tao was quiet while we were there because it was only a couple days after the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan. In high season, upwards of 20 000 people congregate on the beach for an all night party, dancing to trance music pumped out by the djs and drinking literal buckets of vodka or whiskey mixed with Red Bull. It's a pretty crazy time. Haad Rin, the host beach of the Full Moon Party, is known as the party beach with a happening night life every night of the year. After our quiet nights in Koh Tao, we were ready for a little more excitement.
Haad Rin is on a peninsula on the southeast corner of Koh Phangan. It's divided into two sections: sunrise and sunset. Sunrise is where the party is. Sunset is where cheap accomodation is. We checked into a bungalow substantially better than our last one. The lights were bright enough for us to see. In our Koh Tao bungalow, the lights were so dim, we used our headlamps to read at night. The afternoon was spent suntanning and swimming. I don't know if I could get tired of tropical beaches.
That night, God put on a fire show in the sky while restaurant employees stood on the beach putting on their own. The lightning was fantastic - bright streaks stretching across the entire sky. We ate on the beach in a quiet restaurant. In fact, every restaurant we walked by was quiet. Some had no people in them. Some were closed. It is low season here, but we expected a few more people to be out at the party beach. But no. We went to bed early.
The next day was May 30, a week after full moon and time for the twice monthly Half Moon festival. This festival takes place in the jungle with neon decorations and black lights. When we walked in with our new friends from the taxi truck, we only saw about three people there. The place is big enough for 1 999 people so there was definitely room to spare. Luckily we saw there were a lot of people on the upper level and joined them so we didn't feel so alone. As the night progressed, several hundred people showed up and after a few hours people started to dance. I think they needed to drink a few buckets first. It's awkward being with a sibling at such a party. We kept wishing we were with our friends. It was still a cool experience. We met a girl from Thompson MB who tried to drag Gregg out onto the dance floor. She was kind of mad when he didn't go.
Another day on the beach and Gregg got to experience a real Asian downpour. We saw the clouds roll in and the rain start on the hills at the end of the beach. Everyone ran for cover as the rain started to beat down.
Today, we departed from Koh Phangan on the Haad Rin Queen. The water was choppy and huge waves would dowse all of us and our stuff. I sought shelter behind the staff cabin next to a strange man singing along to what may have been Hebrew rock. Gregg stayed on the bench and felt the full force of the waves. He was dripping wet.
Koh Samui is one of the largest islands in Thailand. We are settled into a room on Chaweng beach on the east side. It's about 5 km long and has a thick concentration of shops and services and entertainment. We can see Burger King from our deck. Once again, we went to the beach. I tried to make a sandcastle and a sandturtle and neither were impressive.
The best thing about today was seeing Wolverine, our friend from the slow boat to Luang Prabang. We didn't get to talk to him. We just saw him swimming with his long hair and chops, still wearing his glasses with the idiot string. I've never met anyone else who can wear an idiot string and make it look cool. Hopefully we'll run into him tomorrow.
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