Sounds fantastic. Yes I do. But not today... Another day perhaps...
It's Christmas Day already here in Thailand. My first thought though is how, in a relatively anonymous internet cafe here in Koh Chang,
to summarise our last big journey by train, bus, taxi and ferry covering many hundreds of miles from Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand to the island of Koh Chang here in the south into less than half an hour of bloggin' time?.
Again, images will tell parts of the story, supplemented by my own disconnected and fitful recollections (Events and resemblance to characters living or dead is purely co-incidental!).
The more we take on, do, see, experience and absorb, the harder it becomes to sort and present them in an orderly fashion. Arriving in THailand, less than 2 weeks ago, I felt detached from what we were seeing. However as we assimilate into daily life, detached observation becomes harder to unwind.
However, putting that aside, in the last 10 minutes of online time, several events to report of some interest;
Firstly Chiang Mai - where I think I last I left you - time messes with your memories. Returning there after 14 years I found Chiang Mai to have become a far more congested and chaotic city with little sense of definition or focus. Few, if any, landmarks really stood out and what was recognisable appeared buried under a barrage of shops, partly consturcted buildings and a plethora of mopeds going here, there and nowhere.
However, whether the city was always like this, I struggle to recall. Or had my memory, overrun with 14 years of subsequent experiences, simply not kept up?. Or instead had actual change within the city occured or had the change occurred only within my own ' interior mind'?. A cheap internet cafe on Xmas day probably won't provide the answers but at least the questions were posed. Either way the effect I found it had on me was that, whilst being glad to re-visit, I left with feelings of regret at leaving, only pleasure at having lived there in the first place.
The temple featured in some of the snapshots below summarise the peace and beauty of Chiang Mai. The children enjoyed these too. Red, Gold, White and Yellow being the main colours - all set amidst the tropical greenery of surrounding trees and plants. Again what comes back to hit me is the inate kindness and friendliness of the 'Thai people'. Retained among them is a mixture of humbleness, innocence, openness and calm - perhaps it stems from the cyclical nature of Buddhism - yet it does provide a refreshing break from our red faced, money rich - time poor, society in which the demands for more seem endless.
Time expired. Just to say the island we are on has a beautiful and long coastline with a very calm current. Of course we are loving swimming and relaxing on beach with kids. Xmas eve was surprisingly theatric with lights, bbq, fireshows and music on the beach.
From us here,on what is otherwise just another day, Happy Christmas Day - hope you are enjoying being where you are and what you are doing - hopefully not too much washing up!.
Technical reasons have again prevented the following images from being in chronological order, making navigaton abut random. In no particular order therefore, they include;
...Temple in Chiang Mai on last day before overnight train back to Bangkok
... View of train travel with drop down beds (and breakfast) (6.00pm)
... Kids - open and closed in ardous s taxi drive across Bangkok to bus station (10.00 am next day)
... Ferry port to Koh Chang (5.00 pm same day)
... Beach, Janaki and I, - Xmas Eve
... More sunsets, temples and elephants !
Hope they brighten your day. Now where did that guy from Cambodia get to....
Part
Part II of Christmas Day on an island in the Gulf of Thailand. After a morning's swim in the sea - 10 minutes from our hotel - we had lunch - burgers for the kids and thai food for janaki and I. Beach here sandy and water clear. Busy but still a very relaxed feel on the coast. Kids absolutely loving the sea. Probably overheating as by afternoon, as you can tell, they are on hysteria's verge. All getting tanned of course.
Our highlight for Xmas Day was a pre-booked chance to ride with elephants and swim and wash them. How do you wash an elephant I asked Janaki. Again as the photo's show you get an idea.
Will write more in next day or two. In meantime, hope the cold front is retreating and that the Xmas day is going well.
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