Christmas in Thailand

Trip Start Feb 25, 2006
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Trip End Jun 24, 2009


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Where I stayed
Chaloklum House
(Ko Phangan hotels)

Flag of Thailand  ,
Thursday, December 25, 2008

This is my 4th Christmas over the past 17+ years and my 3rd year in a row here in Thailand. The last three have been great especially when you compare them to my first Christmas in Thailand. I remember when I had this brilliant idea after I got a huge severance package from the company I was working for. I thought to myself, wouldn't it be a great idea to travel around the world by myself and seek adventure where I may find it. I was so new back then that I didn't even know what backpacking was or even that it was possible. To give you an idea how new, I had packed 2 duffel bags with about 20Kilos of stuff in them before I set off for the great unknown. A couple months later, I found myself on Christmas day in Bangkok sick as a dog with food poisoning from an evil gaeng kiew wan kai, green chicken curry. I didn't realize that the green referred to how I would look and feel after I ate it. I had checked into a hotel somewhere in the middle of Bangkok away from any other travelers with 2 bottles of water and a bag of peanuts. I didn't realize how ILL I was going to become and that I would be spending the next 7 days including New Year's Eve in Bangkok without enough energy or will to leave my room. I still remember lifting my head off the pillow after hearing some fireworks and setting it back down again after realizing I couldn't be bothered to go outside. I hadn't had anything to eat or drink besides the aforementioned trifles for a whole week as I was busy purging the green curry from both exits often simultaneously. The next day I had a revelation that if I didn't venture out to find some sustenance I would never muster enough energy to leave the room again. So I went out got some electrolyte drinks from a pharmacist and got some food from the market and nursed my way back to health. At at least one point, I didn't think I was going to make it. "I thought to myself, oh this was a great idea, let's just travel around the world by myself. So this is it, I'm going to die." Fortunately, I lived through this experience and it has only made me stronger in the end. In fact, traveling around the world on my own has become my preferred method of discovering the planet.

Christmas 06 was great when a few of my friends decided to come out to Thailand and spend the holidays out here with me. Unfortunately, they wanted to go to Phuket and Phi Phi. I can't really blame them, as those were the first two islands that I went on my first trip to Thailand in 91. But at least I was able to minimize the damage to 2 nights on Phuket and 1 on Phi Phi. I thought that maybe Phi Phi wouldn't be too bad and maybe the Tsunami had fixed all the over development that I had heard about over the years. Unfortunately, although the tsunami did just about level everything on the island, in the 2 years since, they have rebuilt it worse than it was before, one place on top of the next.

Christmas 07 was filled with mixed feelings. I had found one of my favorite islands in Thailand, the one that time forgot in last year's entry, and it transported me back to the Thailand that I fell in love with back in 91. Unfortunately, I had brought about 50 Kilos of excess baggage with me. She started literally as soon as we set foot on the island. I knew right then it wouldn't end well. After a tense week, she got really jealous that I was talking to a well endowed Dutch girl and we got into a huge fight on Christmas Eve. After spending Christmas morning picking my stuff up from around the bungalow and out of the sea, I decided that I really didn't want to start a new year with a negative influence on my life so I left her behind to start 2008 anew.

Christmas 08, I find myself back in Thailand on Phangan with a couple friends that I met here a couple years ago. On Christmas Eve we went to Cafe Del Mar and had some excellent roast pig cooked up by a large Chef-looking Dutchman. After making the rounds around Chaloklum's fine establishments, I had a craving for Turkey. The Lost Dog Cafe is run by a retired USMC who makes a mean burger that the Marines would be proud to call their own. I made my way back to the Dog knowing that they had to have some left-over Turkey for a sandwich to top off the night. "Colonel" Dave was all too happy to oblige even though he was at least 2 sheets to the wind if not 3. On Christmas Day, we had a huge traditional English feast at Wakeup Bar with turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sausages, brussel sprouts and Yorkshire pudding. Life is good...
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