Out of Africa--Into Thailand

      Okay, sorry folks, I know it’s been a while now… There is no particular explanation I can give for my 'blogging absence' except for the fact that I haven’t felt as inspired lately. It’s probably because I spent the last few weeks of my trip in South Africa relaxing, reflecting and embracing my youth—attending music festivals, drinking beer, blah blah… Not too much exciting stuff to write about…

But now, I’m back, with a BANG. I’m in Thailand, baby.

I spent the last four days in transit travel. It went a little something like this:

Day one: Fly Cape Town to Windhoek, Namibia.

Day two: Spend the night in Windhoek.

Day three: Fly Windhoek to Johannesburg, layover four hours, fly Johannesburg to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, spend the night in Kuala Lumpur.

Day four: Fly Kuala Lumpur to Phuket, Thailand.

So, yes, it’s been a crazy past few days, but I finally made it to the Land of Smiles!

Backtracking a bit to Kuala Lumpur... I’d heard that Malaysia was an interesting, sexist place. With this in mind, I had worn the least-revealing outfit that I own: a t-shirt and calf-length gaucho pants. Even in this prude uniform, I still caught multiple Malaysian men staring at me—NOT at the standard places you might expect American men to be staring, but mainly at my ankles and sometimes at my hair. I gaped back confusedly at first, then decided it would be best to make my way through the airport at top-speed and find my hotel. I spent the rest of my day within the confines of the hotel room, only leaving once to explore the pool. I quickly realized that I would not be allowed to swim due to the fact that I only own two-piece bathing suits; the sign next to the pool stated ‘women must wear a full-covering, one-piece bathing suit in order to swim’. Yikes.

So, I was happy to move along. It was an easy one-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket. I landed, gathered my things and hustled my way out, searching for my ginger/best friend/platonic love, Tommy Parker. 

That's him, the tall one! And his dad... and his dogs.

I found him immediately, towering above all the little Thai people. It was like I was in a movie: I ran to him, he scooped me into his arms, swung me around three times and kissed me on the cheek. Reunited, finally after six months. He helped me pack my belongings into the taxi and we were off. As we sped through the streets of Thailand, I was on cloud nine… back with my Tom Tom and breathing in all the new, unfamiliar sights around me. Motorbikes sped past in a disorganized flurry. Thai Temples stood tall and golden. Lush green mountains loomed up around us. The humidity, the new smells, it all excited me.

We arrived at our destination, Patong. I had been so high from all the mental stimulation that I had hardly realized how tired I was from all the traveling. I fell straight to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, Tommy had left for work (he’s teaching English here, for a whole year!). I decided to go exploring. I was in for a bit of a shock. Motorbikes, tuk-tuks, taxis, people and stray dogs were all bustling around me. I felt like I was walking in slow motion and the world was moving around me in hyper-speed. Tiny stalls line the roads, selling street food, plagiarized brands of clothes, boxing gear, watches etc… (anything you want, I discovered, you can find in Thailand, FOR CHEAP).
 Dozens of young, Thai women stand on the streets, trying to persuade the white tourists that they are in dire need of an hour-long oil massage. People on motorbikes are continually honking. I’m under the impression that there are no traffic laws in Thailand: the streets are crazy—It’s a near death experience every time I cross the road.

I continued walking the streets in a daze. I walked around for hours just people-watching and observing the commotion. I finally arrived at the beach and was immediately astonished by how beautiful it was. It was a breath of fresh air to be at the shore again. It looked right out of a post card with crystal blue water, white sand and leafy green, palm tree-covered islands resting on the horizon. BUT, I was definitely not the only one enjoying this gorgeous paradise… Surrounding me were the masses: hoards of stereotypical tourists covered the beach. They were sunburned and fat, lounging in their beach chairs under umbrellas and sipping garnished, colorful drinks. They fit into this category, or the category of the men who obviously spend too much time in the gym: tanned, with muscles bulging and tribal tattoos. They strut along the beach, shirtless with manicured hair and a look on their face that says “I’m too sexy for my shirt”. The gorgeous setting was sharply contradicted by the crowd that inhabited it.     This is NOT my scene. 

As I normally do, I tried to find the best in this situation. I made my way down to the water and as soon as the tide touched my toes, I knew it was going to be okay. The sea was the temperature of bath water and clear blue. I couldn’t complain. Two weeks here might be interesting, but I would have to find my outlet some way or another. So I strolled down the beach with a slight smile on my face as I experienced some of the best people-watching imaginable. I even had to laugh out loud a few times as I observed some of the interactions going on around me. I was hoping to find the end of this long line of beach chairs, tourists and insanity, but was quickly disappointed as I saw that the mob stretched all the way from one side of the beach to the other. I sighed, laid my towel down, staking out my territory, in the least populated section.

I tried to relax, but the annoying buzz of jet skis interrupted my thoughts. So, I made my way to the sea and dove in. The ocean was so salty that I was as buoyant as a boat. I laid, belly up, in the warm water, letting the calm waves rock me back and forth like a serene hammock. I couldn’t hear anything now… my ears were submerged, producing a peaceful muteness. I appreciated the silence and I lay like this for a long time. I felt at home in the ocean. Life was good. Thailand is great.

Every tourist destination has its overpopulated center. California has LA. France has Paris. Bali has Kuta. And Thailand has Phuket. This isn’t my usual point of interest when traveling, but hey, we’ve got to make the best of what we have, right? I might end up heading off somewhere on my own and meeting up with Mr. Thomas when he’s finished with school in two weeks, OR I might just give myself a challenge and try to find the true beauty in Phuket. I haven’t been outside of the city yet and it’s only my second day, so I think I’ll give it a chance before I make any rash decisions. I’ll report back soon... Much love people!