Courage

Hi,

Today I have more memories of Phuket, airport drama, and the return to normal in this wonderful adventure called life.

Looks like 'Easy' was easy this week. Many of you knew the song. Some of you can't remember the group. Read on:
"Ooh, her love is heavenly. When her arms enfold me, I hear a rhapsody. But in reality, she doesn't even know me. 'Cause it was __ __ __ once again, runnin' away with me. It was __ __ __ runnin' away with me." Clue: I'm tempted to tell you the name of the group from Motor Town, but it's 'Easy Monday'.

There are many similarities between Phuket and Pattaya as far as the beach front goes. The bustling activity, the traffic, the umbrella lined beaches, and the Muay Thai kickboxing trucks. The trucks advertise the boxing matches that are held on Monday nights, and when I rode by on Friday night, there was something going on. There is a pick-up truck with a platform at roof level, and on this level there are boxers in a ring posing in their shorts and gloves. The loud-speaker blares about the champions fighting on 'Monday night, Monday night'. The 'hawkers' on the sidewalk mimic the chant with a slight chuckle, letting me know that they think it's a little over the top. The stadium where the fights are held is a sight to behold. Giant statues of boxers and a monster are bathed in multicolored flood lights. It's really hard to miss.

The island of Phuket is bigger than Singapore although Singapore has more people. This bit of trivia was offered by Khun Prirum on one of our drives. He also told me that the tourist traffic keeps growing, and they may have to enlarge the airport to accommodate the demand for flights to the island. I found it interesting that the in-flight safety announcements on certain topics were in more languages than usual. In addition to Thai and English, which are given live, there were recorded messages in Chinese, and French.

I think I might really enjoy Phuket in the off season. It's a beautiful place and I understand the desperation of seasonal commerce, but it might be a nicer experience with less pressure and less people. Hmm, guess I'm not looking for as much intensity these days. (555)

Sunday afternoon I arrived at the airport and checked in, only to find out the flight had been delayed. This was just on the verge of being a problem since I had to connect to Chiang Rai on the last flight of the evening. When we got to Bangkok I knew they had closed the check-in counter but I went anyway. They gave me a boarding pass and told me to hurry to the gate. Now you have to understand that hurrying to the gate means going through the security check, down an escalator, and then down a long corridor with moving sidewalks. With all of that distance and some unfamiliar speed-walking, I made it just as they were boarding. My bag was left at the check-in where I had to sign that I understood that it might not make the flight. It didn't. I had to return to our local airport and pick it up after the morning flight arrived on Monday. I just love our little airport. I walked up to a closed Air Asia window, the woman looked at my baggage stub, and took me over to the ticket office and found my bag. So simple and personal.

Monday morning I had a massage to help get over the whole travel thing. I think the trick to traveling well is to not be in a hurry, and to be free of worry. The weekend was a wonderful experience and I accomplished what I set out to do. That's what's important.

Have a Happy Tuesday.

Peace,
Danny

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."
~E. E. Cummings

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
www.flickr.com/photos/gratidudepics
http://blog.risingstardom.com/
www.lisamosesgallery.com