Ps from Thailand

Travel in paradise, news from the Language Barrier guest blogger Mr. Lee

June 11 - Ps

I'll call you in my morning after my coffee and with a full charge on the computer. It takes days notice to make arrangement to get off and go somewhere and I haven't been sure where I'll be going and that takes many hours of research and this tiny computer is too tiny and sometimes the internet goes down for hours and I still have to book a 7-hour overnight ferry ride to somewhere I've never been, a ferry ride in which I'll be crammed like a sardine below deck onto a potentially bed bug infested thin mat 3 inches away from my fellow Thai travelers, no a/c, diesel fumes, body fumes, finally arriving at a port I've never seen in a place I've never been. To suffer like this takes copious research.

L.

Adventures of the Thai-Dragon

"Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why." -Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Circumnavigus Interuptus

June 11

I paddled as hard as I could, almost, but the sun and heat won. And the kayak, not much of a boat, tracked poorly and wallowed like a pig. But the water was lovely and the sea was calm. I did not come close to a proper circumnavigation; even in a real sea kayak, it would have been a serious challenge.

But I own that boat for 24 hours. Cost? 5 American bucks. Gonna paddle south when the sun gets a little lower.

You know that feeling when you are so coated with grime - the sweat and the sunscreen and the salt and the peeling skin - and it seems like nothing you do will ever make you clean, and everything you have is coated with salt and dirt. I feel profoundly dirty. I love the sea but it coats everything and then slowly eats it alive.

Wait, as I sit in my room overlooking the water, I see that another patron is paddling off with my boat! The outrage! I better go investigate.

--M. Lee

Thailand express

Thailand

The last time something from Mr. Lee appeared here at this outpost border crossing we were exploring Mayan ruins together in the Yucatan. Now he's in Thailand and I am not. It sucks. I miss him like crazy but it's clear the Universe wants me in the jungles of Berkeley exploring the poetry scene and I have found, after repeated attempts, that it's best to not argue with the Universe. Anyway, but and so for your reading pleasure I give you Mr. Lee our Language Barrier Guest Blogger du jour writing from the sunrise side of a Gulf of Thailand island paradise.

June 4

Do you like shadenfreude? I know you do. I'm racing against time here with only 22 minutes remaining on this satellite internet connection from bumfuck thailand (yes I found it). Power is supplied by generators and is only on 6 to 12. Internet was not working for me yesterday. Today is ok but like I said, time limit.

I am on the island of Koh Phangan. I flew to Samui and took a ferry. I am on the remote (where else) east side, a little place called Than Sadet. Thai kings used to come here so it is good enough for me.

I was the only patron at Plaas (do not be deceived by the web site, should you go there). Other than four drunk Germans smoking cigarettes around a table, I am the only person here tonight. Tourism is way off in general and it is also the start of the rainy season. I have a great bed, probably the best bed I have had in weeks. It is soaked in my sweat since the fan goes off at midnight. It is so hot here it is hallucinogenic. I can't be sure I am actually at a computer writing an email to you. I am nearly out of time now.

I had hoped to hang out with other travelers at least occasionally. I will move tomorrow to a little more populous place. Will it have internet? I do not know. Please do not be alarmed if you do not hear from me for a couple days by which time I will surely be off this island and on to other parts (the enduring irony here is that I went to this island for a little peace and quiet from the city, a place to gather my thoughts do a little research maybe even skype with you. a bitter irony indeed)

Please feel free to enjoy my plight. Savor the schadenfreude.


June 5 - Here's my "blog post":

I caught the "ferry" from Than Sadet this afternoon, destination Thong Nai Pan Noi, still on the island of Phangan. As lovely and budgetarian as Than Sadet was, it was really too hot and too isolated. The isolation alone would have been ok, but the heat was crippling without electricity to power a fan. Plus, no internet, and I need internet to make plans on the fly.

As I say, I caught the ferry but it wasn't a regular ferry as you might picture a ferry. It was a large boat and it beached, sort of, and I waded to the ladder and handed my backpack up and climbed aboard and then we sped off. There were three other passengers from somewhere else. I spoke to a taciturn Thai who seemed not to understand me at all and I was certain I would not reach my destination easily or quickly but somehow the boat dropped me off (in the water) right in front of my "hotel". It could not have gone easier.

I was the only person to disembark. My hope to meet other travelers is dimming for the moment, but we'll see who gathers around the water hole tonight.


June 6 (after finding lost passport)

sumbitch blended into my luggage, slipped behind a panel...I emptied out my luggage 3 times and the 3rd time was the charm...but first I hopped in a cab toward last night's lodging after trying and failing on each one of their phone numbers...they are really cut off and have no power until evening...was going to go there, find passport, catch the ferry back...stopped the taxi after quarter mile and decided to rent motorbike - cheaper and faster - eventually, I made it there on scary eroded dirt tracks ("you scratchee bike, dragon fucky fucky you long time!") and no passport. Had a great lunch and, dejected, I headed home. Decided to go through everything one more time before calling the US Consulate and BAM!, chinese dragon have pity on me.


June 7

Yes, I disembarked into bathtub-warm water up to my knees and waded about 20 feet onto the shore.

Had a Thai massage in Bangkok (G rated, with clothes on!). It was in a wonderful, relaxing old wooden house in the middle of the city and I was the only customer. I was prepared for lots of pain and a bit of coughing and phlegm from the masseuse, but it was really ok. More than ok, it was great.

I rented a small motorbike for a couple of days and have been exploring the island, cruising through dense jungle roads to get to distant beaches. The place is empty of tourists in general except for a few Germans.

For a variety of reasons (inertia, distance from anywhere else, tricky ferry schedule), I'm finding it hard to get off the island. Not a bad predicament, all in all.


June 10 - Your good night is my good morning

I'm renting a kayak tomorrow ($10 for the day to give you an idea of how cheap it is) and I will attempt to circumnavigate the island, something that is appropriate for a solo dude. I don't got to answer to no one, I just got to paddle. I'm crashing right now - I'll let you sleep and fill you in on the details as soon as I can.




--M. Lee

Poetry express

I read at the Poetry Express open mic on Monday night. It's held at the Priya Restaurant on San Pablo Ave, a little hole in the wall with a friendly staff and really tasty, cheap Indian food. Poetry Express is another of Berkeley's many groups. They are not only good poets but nice people. I am so glad I finally made it to the Bay Area to check out the scene. (thanks universe et al) The facilitator also invited me to be a feature reader at some future event but we set no date. Whether or not either of these invitations actually pan out, it's great to meet people who are not only doing things themselves, but also like my work.

Berkeley graffiti

Woman in the Wall

So here I am on what I promised would be an Epic American Road Trip (implying, of course, that I would be sure to post the adventures here) and nary a word. Of course you understand that I was being ironic. I have no money so that severely limits my options along the way but the universe compensated. Thanks universe. I've got your back. Anyway here's a quick update for the record.

As the fates would have it, I hooked up with an old friend while I was in Ashland. She was on the loose and up for an adventure and, in a happy synchronicity, her dad called and offered the use of his garage apartment for first two weeks in June. So here we are. Richmond, CA. In the hood. Other than someone squeezing off several rapid fire rounds yesterday it's been really quiet. At night the stranded earth out the window becomes a streetlight lit savanna for the neighborhood cats; in the day it returns to a sad parcel of earth defined by opposing chain link fences. The cats don't mind. Neither does the earth who watches it all come and go.

I read poetry at an open mic in Berkeley the other day. The group's host said he'd like to invite me back to be a featured reader sometime next winter. Great, though from here winter seems a long way off. We went to a Thai place afterward for dinner. Terrific. My new friends. Tonight I am hoping to read at another open mic in Berkeley. This is, after all, the point.

Stone's throw

I am out and about in what used to be my home town, but it's not anymore. I am what's left of us... of me. I am the beast inside the child's stone plaything thrown 10,000 years ago.

Trip update

Yesterday was Baby Thea's first birthday. It was a very sweet day. She's a delightful, happy little girl. She's already walking, signing some (ASL) and definitely working on her English. She amazes and fascinates me. All in all, I was in Portland just over a week and left today. Now I'm back in Southern Oregon and not quite sure what's next. A friend and I are talking about going to the Bay Area together but we haven't worked out the details yet.

I've been out almost two weeks now and am just beginning to sense a little distance from my life. It feels good.