Calling it a day
Trip Start
Sep 01, 2005
1
65
Trip End
May 11, 2006
Bangkok, Thailand
Monday, May 8, 2006
It doesn't seem like I'll ever forget this trip but some things stick in my mind as unforgettable. Such as standing on the unnerving Balancing Rock atop the cliff looking out over the Copper Canyons in Mexico, the arduous trek up and down mountain for 4 days in Peru to reach the Inca city of Machu Pichu, watching the stunning sunrise from the top of an active volcano in Indonesia, seeing the giant Manta Ray on our last dive in Thailand, and spending days amongst the ruins of Angkor. There's still plenty I haven't done and many places I still want to go so I imagine this wont be the last time I call a shabby hostel home.
As is to be expected I've become quite accustomed to certain aspects of the travelling life. I'm going really to miss relaxing on beautiful beaches and wondering about wearing nothing but shorts and flip flops. Taking a motorbike taxi was initially terrifying but I've actually come to enjoy bombing about on the back of the little kamikaze 2 wheelers with no helmet and a driver at the helm who has a total disregard for safety. And I don't know how I'm going to shake the habit of doing nothing all day, losing track of time and being able to wear the same pair of boxer shorts for up to three weeks at a time-just kidding, it can't have been more than two and a half weeks. With this in mind and the daunting prospect of returning to working life I've added "good at doing nothing" and "poor personal hygiene" to my CV and the doll office has accepted me for a position (at the back of the queue). Controversial.
Some things I wont miss: cockroaches (what are they for?), bad smells, the impossibility, due to the heat, of getting a good nights kip, people forever trying to sell me stuff, getting ripped off, never ending bus journeys, border crossings.
As is customary with all travellers I've grown a beard resembling a small shrubbery and I only wear clothes made from tofu that are 3 times too big, look like table cloths, and cost no more than 25p (haggled down from 50p you understand); I also now want to be known by my true tribal name, Ayisiyiniwoktok. Cynicism aside, I've seen so many amazing things, made lots of friends, and had so much fun, so I can't really knock it........but you have to a bit don't you?
I've missed everyone so much but have been kept strong by the words of an old wise monk I met on my travels. He told me, "Near, far, wherever you are I believe that the heart does go on." "Love can touch us one time," he went on, "And last for a lifetime. And never go till we're one." How true brother, how true. Deep moving words. I'm not sure where they came from but I like to believe that they were passed down through generation of noblemen.
Germany 2006 is almost upon us. World Cup summers are always the best summers and I've no reason to doubt this one will be any different. That's not to say that the weeks leading up to the final wont be full of anguish and despair, maybe disappointment, and definitely a lot of pulling ones hair out, and maybe the person sitting next to you as well.....wahey! pub brawl!!!. There's some good festivals on the cards with some top headlining acts to boot; and there's even talk of a long fabled trip to the October Beerfest in Munich to top it all off .....roll on May 11th and the English summer.
So cancel your hair appointments, put your drinking hats on, and get ready to receive some of the finest tat on offer in Bangkok's markets. I can't guarantee quality but I can promise you it wont go with anything you currently own. Emma, I have a waving golden plastic cat with your name on it, Hugh, a "Same Same, but Different" t-shirt.
