Itchy Feet

My desire is set to step onto a new horizon, places i'm not familiar with, i often imagined that. There were mixed emotions of freedom, happiness, thankful and also fear. Walking with my bagpack on my back and maybe a map. I'd like to be prepared whenever i travel, at least for the first 2 or 3 days. It's what i called calculated risk. Prepared in terms of which area to go and where to stay. And i especially like to stay in a place where one can see many characters that shape that particular place. I used to think that a quiet place will help me to be alert of my surrounding but... i think i'm wrong, it seems i'm more alert to my ownself. I hate that kind of self-conscious. At times i laugh because of the irony of it. But now i notice that im getting better in eliminating this habit.

Going to loud and happening places often help me to be less self-conscious. I've gone to Khao San road twice, everybody seems to have their own agenda although everyone pretty much heading to the same bars, same food stalls, standing packed in a group. That was the best time to just sit on the sidewalk coffee stall and just watch people and feel the town's energy and that is just one agenda. I always find these things interesting to do:

• Walking as far as i can and enjoy the scenery, people, business etc (but i always ended up with sore ankles! hukhuk)
• Talking to the locals (especially those wth out of the ordinary jobs like a waitress@ tut tut girl, it's always interesting to know their why, when, how etc)
• Going to unfamiliar and infamous places where you get to see the other side of the country
• Bars, i especially like Bangla road in phuket (you get to see who rule the scene and who's the victims)
• Waterfalls (well i like water, coolness, nature and good sound = waterfall)
• Look for the best pizza in town..woohoo!
• Go to their supermarkets!

Thing that i'd like to do that i never try before (fun fun) is live in a local's house preferably in a village, cook with them, eat with them, chat with them etc yeehaa!

Usually i can only afford to take 5 days leave, plus 2 or 3 days on weekend, makes a great bagpacking trip but of course it's not enough. There are just so many to see and do. How beautiful it is to constantly see a new horizon. My friend said 'you will never achieve anything stable if you constantly move around or travel too much'. I disagree. But if it's true then let me taste it. Let me make mistakes and correct it, honestly.

Anyway, after all the bagpacking and new horizon, it always back to boring routines and sometimes stupid rules. And after a while, i'll have itchy feet again....

Oh how beautiful it is to constantly see a new horizon...

Enthusiasm of a child

Watch, she runs with her older sisters,
She could not understand why they are running,
They stopped in the kitchen and her eldest sister picked out a flower from a plastic pot,
The rest followed and the little one wants one too,
But she is too short to pick her own,
Seeing her sisters with flowers, she begins to cry telling them she wants one,
Her second sister scolded her telling her there are no more flowers,
But the little one insists and is now crying louder
The other sisters do not heed her cry, they instead comparing whose flower is the prettiest,
They laugh together when the third sister broke some petals,
The little one is still crying and sitting on the floor,
There are too much noise in the kitchen,
The mother comes, scolded the sisters for pulling out the flowers from the pot and ordered them to put them back,
All heed, the mother then takes the little one in her arms, comforting her not to cry,
Laughing, the three sisters race each other to the living room,
The little one struggling to be free, the mother let her go and she runs to her sisters,
Forgotten about the flower, she is now trying to understand what her sisters are doing,
Whatever it is, she is having fun..

Let the child take the wheel again

I am 12 years old. I love staying in grandma’s house and I am here almost every weekend. I always go hill walking, sometimes with my cousins, sometimes alone. But I prefer going there alone. I am not afraid cos’ I am familiar with the path and I know what I want to do up there. I usually walk slowly but sometimes faster. When I am walking faster, my aunt would shout from grandma’s house telling me to walk slowly so that I can catch my breath. But the reason I walk faster is because I can’t wait to feel the air breezing up on the hill. It is really warm down here. On my way up, I sweep the leaves on the pathway with the stick that I have picked up earlier near grandma’s house, so that I can have a smooth walk home later. It’s so fun!

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......................

I’m 30 years old. I’d like to find time to stay in grandma’s house again. I miss being in the village. It’s been years since I last stayed overnight with aunty. And I definitely miss grandma the most, I know the Lord is resting her in peace now. I was at the village 2 months ago. I sat on the stairs overlooking the hill that I used to walk up when I was 12. I’d love to walk up there again and see the changes. I’m sure there are changes. But woohoo it’s too long of a journey, I’m too tired to walk. What if the path changed and I couldn’t find my way up? Impossible, the path will always remain there. Is the giant mango tree still there? What about the elephant rocks? It’s better to have companions to go up there. Maybe I’ll do that next week, right now I’m tired. But I really wonder the condition up there…

Let the child in us take the wheel once in a while…we never know what we will see and feel again…

Children of Kg. Tampasak, Tongod, Sabah

Journey to the river

photo credit: www.kaichang.net

When I was much younger, I did not think about how long I should walk up the hill to get to the river,

I never say ‘it’s a long journey up to the river’, because the journey was always fun,

On the way I enjoyed walking pass the grassy field near grandma’s kitchen,

On the way, I tried, again, to climb or maybe just hang onto the tree branch, oh I never actually climbed it, it was my favourite tree,

On the way, I can sit on the large rocks which I call elephant rocks, just to know how it feels to sit on a rock

I went up the hill many times and there were all the same view everytime I walked up,

It’s the same path, they’re the same trees, they’re the same rocks

But I never say ‘it’s the same thing’

I never say ‘I feel nothing is new’

I always say in my heart ‘I can’t wait to do it again’

When I reached the top, I always stopped to see the view of the paddy field, to feel the air breeze, to try to climb the giant mango tree, again…

When I reached the top, I always stopped to see the view of the rubber field, there are lots of rubber trees!

It was quite a long journey to the river, but I never say ‘it’s still a long way to go’,

Because I paused when I want to enjoy my surrounding,

I paid attention to the small things that make me happy and pleased at that moment,

The green grasses make me happy, the trees pleased me so much, the cool breeze gave me a quiet moment, the majestic rocks amazed me, the leaves coloured the forest floor, the ambience of the whole surrounding projects mystery…

That I forgot about the river,

There were so much to be done and felt in the journey,

I was already pleased before I reached the river,

When I reached it, it was like a bonus to the whole journey…

…and I repeat these all over again on my way back home in the afternoon…

photo credit: www.hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu

LOVE TO GRANDMA...

Busy Busy

I was busy with work and other personal things, that is why this is my 2nd post after 2 months not writing anything. I guess i will only post other fun phuket pictures if i found the enthusiasm again. Today i'm on mc because i sprained my back, again, the previous was 2 months ago. There are so many things to tell, hopefully i can write just a short one from time to time.

Welcome To Hell

A True Story by Colin Martin
 

Colin Martin is an Irish man, has a wife, 2 sons and a daughter, an engineer by profession, he was a successful man with a dream family and career. Several years later in 1994, it was a beginning of 'journey thru hell' for him. He secured a business deal in Bangkok with a large foreign corporate, not known to him, turned out to be a large fraud. So dedicated in his work, he didn't realized he was being cheated and being ripped off left to right. When the beans were spilled, it was already too late as the culprits were on their way sipping fine cocktails, spending the money. Penniless, mad, super frustrated, he decided to stay in Bangkok, ended up spending several years in Bangkok trying to find the culprits, leaving his wife and children in UK.

After 2 years, he managed to find the culprits and thought everything will be back to normal again. But he was absolutely wrong and that was the beginning of the real nightmare for him...

What happened to Colin? can be found in this book 'Welcome to Hell', a story told so intense by Colin about his life jailed in Bangkok Hilton - the most notorious prison in the entire Thailand. It is where money rules, the guards has ultimate power over the prisoners, filthy jails (feaces everywhere), men turned to men for sex, prisoners were asked to masturbate to fill the guards leisure time, super corrupt guards and policemen whom strip the prisoners' money (given by family and friends) to buy their daughter's birthday gifts, gangsterism, violence with no cause, 'cartoon' court trials and many more. How did Colin survived? Do grab the book. I found mine in 1B.

If you like true story, this is a must read, easy to understand, the type you can't put down for a break. It is an eye opening. One message Colin wants to deliver here is - Thailand is dangerous. Happy reading! *But at the same time, Thailand has its beauty side as well*