Weeks ?? (Nov.1st - Nov.24th) The first thing I noticed when I entered Thailand is that it carries an air of mystery, lawlessness, and beauty. Everywhere you look there are examples of contradictions that captivate your senses, and there is no use in trying to figure out how they co-exist. Thailand is a place where one can practice ancient eastern traditions or seek out modern day sex tourism. There are plenty of opportunities to find your inner zen through meditation in a temple, relaxing massages, or yoga classes. However, the second you step out into the street you realize it is a crazy free-for-all race between cars, motorbikes, pedestrians, and tuk tuks to get to their destination. There are no rules of the road. Speed limit signs? Didn't see any. Side of the road people are supposed to drive on? The left - unless the car in front of you is going slow, in which case you drive on the right until another car is coming at you. In the same general area you will see the most extravagant temples and dilapidated homes. The architecture is mismatched and nonsensical from (what I assume to be) an influence of different nations that have previously ruled the land. However, this varying architecture is scattered throughout a consistent tropical background.
In an effort to save time I will document the good, the bad, and the funny moments on the trip, starting with the bad (so I can end with the positives)...
1. Monsoon - unfortunately it rained heavily (like ridiculous flooding heavy) for 2/3 of our trip. While we made the most of it during our time on the islands, it was hard to truly enjoy the island beauty and island vibe with massive downpours and constant flooding. This kind of rain in Nov. was highly abnormal for Thailand, and it showed as certain things we had planned to do were postponed til later on in the month. The UN was even bringing relief aid to certain areas of Thailand because the flooding was so extreme. Bummers.
2. General recklessness - two stories here, the first is when we went boating in rough seas. It wasn't raining but storms had been coming in and out, which created conditions for really rough seas, so no boats (big or small) were going out and doing island tours. However, we managed to find a company that was willing to take us out. We tried to bargain down the price, but knowing they were the only company willing to go out to sea they would hardly budge because they knew we had no other option. This was the first sign that they were desperate for money and we were doing something stupid. We head out in a rickety canoe type boat with a canopy and a guide operating the motor at the tail. I look around and notice that all boats are docked or looming around in the bay, none are going out to sea. Sign number two we are doing something stupid. Fishermen on a nearby (and much larger) fishing boat yelled out to us urging us to turn around because the sea was too rough. At this point I tell our guide to turn around, noticing a change in the ocean. For some reason Lina thought the fishermen were joking with us, even though it was clear they weren't. We make our way out pretty far and get into really rough waters for being in such a small boat and it got to the point where I was wondering ' why the f*ck are we still going out and how am I going to save my camera if I have to swim back to shore?!?'. We finally get to the point where the waves were really choppy and higher than our boat. No doubt we would have capsized if we went any further, so the guide turned around and headed back to the bay. At that point I wanted off the boat even though the guide was going to try a different bay in the other direction. Screw him! If he needed the money that badly I'd rather he just stolen it from me. The other incident happened in Chaing Mai during Loi Krathong. We ended up walking by a rouge firework being lit in the middle of the street. Luckily, when I saw it I knew it was bad news and started running before it was lit, so when it exploded on the ground I was nearly into an open bar finding good cover. However, it was crazy to see bright balls of different colored sparks flying past me as I was running.
3. "I think I need to go to the hospital..." - Those were the last words I wanted to be saying on this trip. It was no more than a few hours after we had landed in Chaing Mai when I started shaking uncontrollably. I had goosebumps, my teeth were chattering, I was freezing - it was 90 degrees outside. The girls tried to convince me I was just getting a cold, but I knew (that gut feeling told me) this was something else and by the way my body was acting it was probably something worse. 4 tylenols and 6 hours later, my temperature only dropped 2 degrees from 103.8 to 103.6. I made the judgment call at 2am that we needed to go to the hospital immediately. I'm glad I did as the doctor told me if I wasn't admitted to the hospital I would have gone into shock. I spent the next 2 days in the hospital hooked up to IV's and eating what I can only describe as rice soup mush battling a bad bacterial infection. The girls were my guardian angels - they slept in the hospital with me and made 7-11 runs for bottled water, toilet paper (yes, no toilet paper in the hospital), and a deck of cards in case I would be in the hospital for awhile and wanted to get a poker game going with the nurses. My parents checked in often, and Joe was a main source of comfort in helping me get through it. All in all it took me two weeks to recover. The most unbelievable part of the whole experience is that 2 days in the hospital + the 6 different medications they gave me after I was discharged cost $100 USD.
It all makes you stronger (and wiser),
Jillian aka Jilly, Jillypet, Jillybean, J-Dilla, J-Bones, and sometimes Crab Cakes
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