Thailand continued and finished

Again Continued:

Obviously at the end of the day we did not venture forth to Bangkok and spent the night with our friends at their apartments. They took me to eat at a street vendor for pork ramen (for me without the pork) and fixed it up with pepper, vinegar, sugar and more pepper. I was even to my surprise able to eat it with chopsticks!

Also, Bird began to teach us Thai and we had to talk what we could in Thai to them. He wrote it in our notebook and made us practice…Bird Teacher he was or Khou Kroo Bird—fabulous!

So at the dawn of the eve of the New Year I found myself getting ready for bed. After a short nap Brooke and I were touristed by Jit and (S)Top (two of the actors) to a floating market just outside of town. It was a pretty amazing site to see these platforms and “buildings suspended over the water and people selling things from boats and brown murky water that just brought the whole thing into perspective. We ate by visiting different side vendors including quail eggs, coconut something, fruit, silkworms, crickets (some of these things were not Brooke and me or even usually (S)Top, but mostly Jit who was a bottomless pit)…It really was fascinating to watch and see and have a native telling us what to try rather than depend on our own guesses. After a few hours we had to return to the city so the boys could go to work. Brooke and I went shopping and got ready to go to their show.

Again the show was amazing to see; the gracefulness and precision-beautiful. When the puppets made their audience rounds they stole Brooke’s camera and made her follow it up on stage and “kiss” the three actors to get it back. Afterwards they had one more “show” to prepare for and Brooke needed to go to the hotel so I went to Samsbar on the beach to watch the fireworks and have the traditional tequila at midnight.

We all met up with “Happy New Year” greetings at the restaurant in time for the party to start and the special show. The special show was (our boys) dressed up as the Wonder Guns a spoof of the pop group Wondergirls and they performed Nobody, Nobody. We had at least three other performances including the boss dressed up in drag. After the “ceremony” part was over we danced, danced, danced, and watched the sun come up.

Again we were in no shape to leave and find a hotel in Bangkok, so we stayed and had a relaxing day of nothingness on the beach. Finally, we meet up with Bird and Jit on the beach for the final night of learning Thai and relaxing with our friends who weren’t sick or too tired.

The last day was spent on the beach before going to the airport and ending up back here in Korea.

None of this gloss over can truly convey the spirit that retuned to me in Thailand. It was such a warm, inviting and friendly place. Brooke and I made friends on the beach who shared food and stories like you would never see in some places and the Joe Louis Company made us feel as if we had known them for years and years. Thailand was rejuvenating and filled with hope. I feel I could live that dream forever.