It is 6pm on the first day of 2008.
I am typing this from an Internet hut in the middle of a jungle on Tonsai Beach. The cicadas are calling and my stomach is rumbling from the red curry I just had. The rock-climbers are trekking back from their hard day's work and I am getting seriously high on fumes from the mosquitoes coil.
The Boy is sleeping. He has been asleep since 2am last night and only woke up briefly to throw up last night dinner. It must have been the dubious things we ate at the funfair yesterday (we found ants, we plucked them out and threw the rest in our mouths anyway). Whilst clutching his tummy this morning, he announced that I should just put him back on the rocks and he will feel better. Then he passed out (sigh... the exuberance of youth).
It has been quite an adventure the day before. We'd decided to take a day off climbing to go do the 'tourist' thing. So we rented a tiny motorbike and scooted around Krabi island yesterday. We visited a temple, looked for an elusive waterfall, scour the town for fireworks, shoot darts at a local funfair and salivated at the local food market.
Come evening, we were travelling back to Ao Nang from Krabi town in the rain when we skidded at a road intersection. The bike toppled over and we were thrown off. The Boy had the hindsight to kick the bike away before it fell on us but we slided a good distance onto the middle of the road. Luckily we weren't hit by oncoming traffic or crippled by our fall. The Boy landed on his (fleshless) hip whilst I scraped my leg across the road. The pain was crippling but we managed to get up and back on the bike and rode back to the jetty.
Cold, wet, bleeding and in f****g a lot of pain, we looked at each other - what else can go wrong?
Well, firstly there was the blistering cold we have to endure from the boat ride back to our island. Then, the key to our room broke in the keyhole and we have to climb through the window. Then, there was no running water so we couldn't wash up. So we squatted at the balcony trying to eat scrapes of rice from a bamboo roll that we bought at the market earlier when the electricity promptly goes off.
Unfazed by the series of unfortunate events, we continued eating in the dark whilst bitten alive by mosquitoes.
We tried drinking very strong coffee so that we can stay awake for the midnight countdown but we didn't make it. My mobile phone was ringing to oblivion and the fireworks were out in full blast. We woke up just after midnight in a start and scrambled half-awake to the beach. Alas, the people are already drunk and the fireworks were over - so we started our own. The Boy have (excitedly) stashed a small collection of firecrackers of his own and both of us were like idiots trying to light them in the sand. Most of them failed to launch but it was good fun trying anyhow. There were many drunks staggerin' past us , cheering and exclaiming that our fire display was the best on the beach. We smirked and took free swigs of champagne.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, isn't it? Thinking back, I wouldn't have wanted NY any other way. Hope everyone had a great celebration as well!
1 comment:
I wouldnt want NY other way too..
Minus the puking my guts out part.. I enjoyed the trip very much! Sorry for leaving u wondering ard in Tonsai alone when i was half dead in bed for 28hrs..
Freaking good sleep wasnt it?
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