Around the World: Not For Sale

January 18, 1992

I made a small fortune, for Thailand, cutting hair on the beach today.  All it took was one brave (or desperate) person to consent and I spent the afternoon answering repeated demands for my hair cutting services. 

Image by Stardust Astronette

Eager for an alternative to the beach, I was thrilled to discover the hotel has a pool table.  Tracey and I were in the middle of a game when two Thai guys came in and demanded the table, saying it was their time to play.  Their attitude irked me, that we should just end our half finished game because they showed up?  Half joking, I cockily suggested, "Winner gets the table."

They laughed out loud, and one of the guys said, "Okay."

Tracey muttered something unintelligible under her breath and left, leaving me alone with these two guys.  I fully expected to soon be handed my cocky attitude, which may very well have been the case if the guy I was playing wasn't so inebriated.  He could barely line up the cue ball, and it wasn't long into the game that his friend walked out on him.  When I sunk the last ball, I put my cue down and planned to make a polite departure, but my opponent just picked up his drink and walked out of the room without a word.

Later in the evening, I joined Tracey and her parents in the hotel's karaoke bar and discovered it's that and a bit more.  Even though the bar contained tourists and locals, I noticed that only Thai girls go up to sing.  From where I was sitting, I could see some men sitting at a table chatting and exchanging money.  When the song ended, the singer was greeted by one of the men and the "couple" would leave through a door beside the stage.

One of the men passed by our table and Harvey volunteered Tracey and I to sing.  The man gave Harvey a peculiar look and walked away without any more acknowledgement.  Harvey turned to Anna and slurred, "I think the girls should go up and sing.  Maybe they'll make enough to pay for us to stay an extra night or two!"

Anna shot him a disgusted look and excused herself, suggesting that Tracey and I should get a good night's rest before the train trip back to Bangkok tomorrow.

• ¤ •

"Guess that's thirty-one pieces of silver you've got now, huh? Sleep well, Judas."

~Mark Millar

Around the World: Small Pleasures

January 16, 1992

Another day spent hanging out on the beach.  It was such a refreshing change to get away from the hotel yesterday and see some of the island.  There's transportation into a nearby town, which is basically a pick-up truck with a canopy covering. The town is full of touristy shopping: Thai knock-offs of Rolex watches, Gucci bags and copyright infringed music, except Thailand doesn't recognize international copyright laws, and other than a few pieces of clothing, there's very little worth purchasing.

Fisherman's Village near Bo Phut Beach

I'm looking forward to getting back to Bangkok.  Harvey and Tracey prefer to spend their days sitting on the beach drinking for hours.  Harvey is most unpleasant company by mid afternoon, when Anna makes an attempt to encourage him into the hotel room for a sobering nap.  By then, she is sufficiently frustrated, which ends up instigating some sort of family feud.  It's usually a great time for me to watch the waves, while playing with the stray puppies I've befriended on the beach.

Photo by Sharon Schneider

Fortunately, I found a recent Lonely Planet guidebook for India in town for $6.  From what little I've read so far, it's money well spent.  Not only is it pleasantly distracting from the daily drunken tirades, but I am getting the sense from the traveler's hints and tips that it's a place that requires some preparation.

• ¤ •

"I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it."

~Groucho Marx

Around the World: Exploring Ko Samui

January 15, 1992

Explored some of the sites on the island today in a rented jeep.  Not far from the hotel is the Big Buddah, a 12 meter high gold statue that is visible for miles over the treetops.  On the opposite side of the island is the Buddah Footprint, which is a vaguely distinguishable imprint in a substance similar to concrete, however the hilltop shrine has a remarkable view of the island.  The scenery is a nice reward while I catch my breath after climbing the 163 steps to the top.

Big Buddah
Photo by Silver Sand

On our way to one of the island's many temples, the jeep narrowly missed being wiped off the road by a rock slide.  Fortunately, there was just enough time to stop and watch a few large boulders tumble across the road just beyond the hood.

Disaster averted, it only seemed appropriate to continue to the Buddhist shrine of Wat Kiri Wongkaram, which houses the remains of the Buddhist monk, Luang-Por Rerm.  After living a life of purity and meditation for 66 years, his body naturally mummified upon his death without any chemical preservation. The monk is on display, behind glass, and although he's been dead since 1966, his nails and hair continue to grow.  Sections of his hair and nails are cut and used as protective charms.

Walking around the grounds of the temple, I found an interesting specimen, not unlike this...

Photo by Alexander Marc Eckert

 ...hanging out between two poles that supported a sign.  I was just passing under the sign when I saw this gigantic, platter-size spider waiting in a web spun just inches above my head.  Although instinct told me to stop and retreat, I didn't want to risk leaping out of my skin and disturbing the web.  I continued past "Sentry Spider, Sir", hoping to find an alternate route back to the main entrance that didn't exist, unless I wanted to wade through the bushes.  If something this big is out in the open, I'm not eager to find out what's hiding under cover.  Realizing I would have to pass under the web again, I crouched down and bolted past the sign.  Although the spider remained motionless, I wasn't going to chance taking my eyes off it.

Limbo:  it's not just a party game.  It's a survival strategy.

• ¤ •

"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."

~Buddah