Happy New Year 2008

Well another year has come and gone all too quickly. It doesn't seem so long ago that my friends came out to Thailand last Christmas and New Years to celebrate the holidays with me. 2007 has seemed to just fly by in the blink of an eye and here we are on the verge of 2008. Fortunately, I've found a great place to chill out and kick off the new year. My new favorite song, Corner of the Earth by Jamiroquai, pretty much sums up this island and SE Asia for me. Some of the lyrics speak to me in more ways than one and on multiple levels. Click on the link above if you want to see the video.

Dutchies n Ray

Little darlin' don't you see the sun is shining

Thai New Years

just for you, only today

If you hurry you can get a Ray on you, come with me, just to play

This corner of the earth is like me in many ways

I can sit for hours here and watch the emerald feathers play

On the face of this I'm blessed

When the sunlight comes for free

I know this corner of the earth it smiles at me

The slow pace of the island suits me just fine. Cha, Cha na (slowly, slowly) There aren't really any parties or big nights out, but on Christmas and NYE, the Thai Bar lites up and gets groovy. Pretty much the entire island converges on this central location and meets up for a seafood barbecue and some cocktails lasting well into the night and clear into the next morning. It's a great mixture of locals and farang. They play both Thai and Western music and everyone seems to dance to it all. The best part is that you don't have to get all dressed up and pay exorbitant prices for everything. The dress or lack thereof is the same and the prices are the same as any other night. Skinny dipping with the phosphorescent plankton in the moonlight is optional depending on your state of mind. I'm not sure what it is about NYE, but the last couple of years I've spent it with lesbians or former lesbians. It can be a lot of fun but when the clock strikes 12, the traditional kiss feels a bit strange. I think Gay and Lesbian Travel Magazine wrote a favorable article on this island because there were so many openly gay couples on the island. This year I was sitting around with a couple Dutch lesbians. Now, there seems to be a ready made joke sitting here, but I just can't seem to put my finger in it... I mean on it. When it's time to head back home, the only problem with being on Long Beach is that it is really long and depending on the time and tide, you could have to swim a part of the long way home.

NYE Dinner

2006 and 2007 have been pretty good, but I welcome the challenges and adventures that 2008 will bring. Chok Di Krap! I wonder where I'll be for 2009.

Germans Micha and Boris

Another Picture with another Farang