Post by Djbenharvey from Travelpod.com ???? ??????
It’s hard to believe that one week ago, I was running around NYC with a winter hat on, and today I woke up in a beautiful hut in northern Thailand with a view of cows grazing on a rice paddy (paddie?). Basically, after all the flying, driving, hiking, elephant riding, and snake-show-cringing we had been doing, we decided we would do absolutely nothing and just sit by the pool all day. It was hot as hell down in Bangkok, but up here it’s only hot as hell during the days, and cold as hell at night.
This place (Bella Villa) is absolutely gorgeous. 14 raised wooden huts, and they’re not huts the way you think a hut would be – ours has a huge king bed, a nice tv, DVD player, huge slate tiled bathroom, perfectly manicured grounds, and an infinity pool – except that instead of the pool going off infinitely into the ocean, it goes off into a rice paddy. There are wooden swings overlooking the rice fields, and a separate hut for massages. Later we’re heading into town, which we discovered last night – it’s a really quaint town; lots of backpackers but also lots of locals. Very quiet.
Ugh. I had my first “squat toilet” experience last night; if you don’t know what I’m talking about, some bars and even hotels that don’t have Western toilets have these toilets that you stand or squat on when you’re doing your #2 thing. We were sitting at a bar in the middle of Pai, a twenty minute walk from our hut. And being the IBS sufferer that I am, well, I had to go. Which meant I had to go use this awful toilet in the back of the bar; there was no toilet paper, no spray thingy to clean myself. I’m not even going to tell you any more details, but just know it was horrifying. Oh, plus there were these drunken Australian backpackers waiting to use the toilet while I was doing my thing. They kept pounding on the door. It was a nightmare. I guess the only upshot of all this is that I got to use my squat muscles, something I hadn’t done since going to the gym back in NYC.
In Pai we met some drunken travelers who chatted us up; some of them had been doing the travelling thing for a couple weeks, some for eight months, some for ten years. It seems there are varying degrees of pride and showing off when it comes to talking about your travelling experiences. One guy said “I was a teacher for 32 years before I decided to become a beach bum; I earned it.” Another goes, “Oh, you said you guys are going to Koh Phangan? You should go to the Malaysian beaches; they are so much less developed than Koh Phangan.” Whatever. I guess even out in traveling land there is always “that guy” who wants to be the coolest kid in the room. But in this case he wants to be the coolest, drunkest, loudest traveler who has been to the coolest, most beautiful places for the longest time ever.
2 responses so far ↓
1 NOT // Aug 4, 2009 at 7:33 am
excuse me. sir I’d like number contact MU SHOP PAI ,please do u have it? PLease tell me (T-T)
2 Chris // Oct 1, 2009 at 5:20 pm
I liked what you had to say at the end about “that guy” and the self-conscious travelers. I’m a sociology student who’s specializing in tourism research and I have experienced and met “that guy” a billion times. As much as we travellers would like to believe we’re more understanding and separate from dominant society, we really end up reflecting the same things… like your friend there bragging about himself. Not much different than the annoying lawyer claiming her/his shrewd win or the real estate agent closing a deal on a house… the same bragging happens and the two parties experience the same emotions I feel. Not sure – anyway, since you’re from New York – read David Brooks’ book “Bobos in Paradise.” It’s about exactly what you’re talking about, and he’s a journalist for the NY Times.
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