Shangri-La

I have not been getting much sleep since I got to Asia. Between jetlag and trying to pack as much expriences in two countries in 6 days, my body clock has lost all its rhythm. The days meld into each other. I don't even remember what day it is and how many days I have already been gone for. All that matters is that I am present in whatever city I am in, having the time of my life. I woke up at midnight to a strange lound noise hammering incessantly in my ear. In my drowsy state, it took me a while to identify it and trace where it was coming from. It was torrential, hard pounding, angry rain like I have never experienced before. It poured and poured with no signs of stopping. It took me a while to gather my bearings as I gained lucidity. I am sleeping alone in a tent on the beach in a remote island in Southern Thailand. I was frightened.

I have never camped in my life before being the city dweller that I am. I am completely out of any comfort zone I have known all my life. I watched my mind started play all these scenarios that make me want to shit my pants. What if the rain never stops? What if I got stuck here on this island and miss my flight out of Thailand to Manila? What if a tsunami comes? Are my belongings dry? Is this tent going to withstand the wind and rain? I listened to the thunder. Oddly, it calmed me and lulled me back to sleep.

I woke up right at sunrise. The morning had a nonchalance to it like we didn't get pummeled by rain the night before. It was all just a memory. This place is an amazing piece of earth. I almost don't want to talk about it because I want to help keep it hush hush so that the tourism industry doesn't ruin the purity of it. Getting off the longtail, I felt like I stepped into the filming of "Castaway", except that this is far more real. The sand is very white and soft, reminsicent of talcum powder. The water is clear teeming with life, and from the shore, you can spot droves of tiny fish swimming as a school. There are no permanent resort facilities - guests sleep in tents. It is actually a very luxurious way of roughing it out, if you can imagine that. Mike says that the maximum capacity in the island is sixty, but could actually be less than that. While I was there, there were only eleven of us. There is a working plumbing system but the bathrooms are shared and doesn't have hot water. Instead of palm trees, the backdrop here is a rainforest. On one end of the island is amazing rockclimbing people travel the world over for. Traveling south from the Hat Yao Pier, one would see island after island, actually more like enormous rocks, that jut upwards out of the water, like phallic symbols. It's just fascinating. The closest island here can be reached by an easy twenty minute trip on a kayak.

There is nothing to do here except master the art of doing nothing. There are no Thai massages, no wi-fi. It's just the earth and you, baby. As the day winds down, I soak in The Island's magnificence. This is as close to the earth as I have been and this island is perfect for reminding me of the oneness of everything.. that man is not superior to the other creatures on earth and how utterly important it is to co-exist with the rest of the Universe because they deserve this existence as much as we do. They say time flies when you're having fun. My experience today has shown me another dimension of itself. Nothing about this day went fast. Everything was divinely langorous to be savored, to be cherished. I probably napped at least three times today and I did not even feel guilty about it. I laid on a Thai matress for most part of the afternoon alternately staring at the sea, watching the colorful birds play, crab scurry about, and ants march by. In between, there were two (failed) attempts at snorkeling (the rain brought the jellyfish), swimming, reading, walks, a beach volleyball game, two kayak trips (the island has four kayaks that you can take around The Island or to nearby islands on your own or with friends - no need for tour guides), and lots of rich conversations with new friends from all over the world.

We're having seafood barbeque tonight and I am stoked. From where I am writing this, I can hear Mike playing the guitar and Tiger (one of the resident kittens) meowing in the background. The waves are softly crashing the shore and in between, there are gaps of unmistakable silence. It was good finding pieces of myself I didn't know I had here. Namaste, love, joy, peace and compasion to everyone from Shangri-La...

#thailand #travel #welcome