Koh Lipe the Paradise: III, New Year and New Friends

December 31th 2006

There was a Jungle Music Party at Jack Jungle Bar leaded by Monkey Joe and friends. The guest was a mexican singer who also plays mexican guitar. Many people came from the other beaches to celebrate new year party here. It was really great fun ever for me.

I remember I sat behind the band singing along and in my hands in have a maracca and shaking it. Then a woman from the band dragged me to join the band haha .. ok cool.  I love this place because no one treats each other as a guest but as a friend. Jack doesn’t have customers, he only have friends. Even though we were a little spot that night, even though people in the band are nobody  but i was happy that i was there and shared a happiness with more than 200 people on NYE 2006 there.

Jack was very happy. He gave us a friendship. I think he got drunk a bit as I saw him climbed up and dance on the table haha.   Everyone is his friend and he is a friend of everyone. Not because he wanted your money to stay at his bungalow or to drink at his bar - yes he wanted but that’s not the point. He loves the beach. He loves party. He loves people. He loves to know new friend. Even he is older than my dad but his heart is still young.  If you were there that night, you might feel how i feel.  The warm support and happiness are all around. .

The bar closed at 8-9am in the next morning but Laila and i went to bed since 5am …. impressive.

Jack Jungle was started with a small bar. Then backpackers gave him an idea to build bangalows for people who come to drink and want  to stay over the night. Good Idea he thought. So he built from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4, now he has 7 bungalows.  Just 7 because Jack wants a space for us to see the view and feel  the air so now we have a space which big enough to play football. It’s our playground.

Jack Jungle will be rebuilt this year. Jack promised me next time I won’t see any frogs in the bathroom anymore
Yuppy!! (p.s. now 2011, I head from Ivan, a friend I met on Lipe Island at Jack’s in 2006 that now Jack’s is rebuilt and the frogs are still there :S)

You know, those frogs were scary .. for me and Laila. My bathroom time was so horible. Lai and I had to take a shower together and helped each other looked for them. Anyone that stayed there at that time might hear these two girls screaming every 6 pm because after sunset, there will be a frog parade in the toilet. Sometimes it jumps into people’s face…. brueeewwww!!!   And they jumped to me!!!!!  I had to asked for help from my new friend, Ivan, to take them out – and that’s how we knew him haha.

Ivan is not scared as same as most of foreigners.
They said they’re cute!!! Yukkk!!!

I wonder is it like when they say Thai women are cute???

Me = Frog ….   Yukkkkk!!!!
Not only Ivan who helped me for that. There’s another new friend who i met since the first day too.
When I first met him, he didn’t speak much. I thought he’s arrogant but after we had a time to sit next to each other and talk,  what I thought was totally wrong. He is friendly and nice more than anyone can imagine. How to say, modest? Humble? Uhmm .. my english!!!  Anyway he’s an interesting person - his ability, his thought, his mind. A converstaion with him has changed my thought at some point. Life is beautiful for him but for me sometimes life is shit. A limitation of the way of life which already set by culture, traditional and rule is a condition for me to do what i want. It’s not illegal but kinda immorals. Something like that. I don’t know. He did build me up without notice. I don’t know how could I do to make life beauty as I want but I know that something would be changed after this trip.

Last night on Lipe, we were on choa-lay’s boat on the beach. Around 4am, Moonset, big one in front of us was going down and 2 hours later, another big one is coming up. Sunrise!! That was a really very nice shot i’ve ever seen.
We were so …. stunning.
It’s very big big big big moon!
Wish you could see it with us.

Not only a beach that is beautiful but people i’ve met are beautiful too
Not only the appearance but also their mind. They are a giver not a taker ; Jack, P’tai, Ice, Ivan, Oly, Mawan, William, Sarah, Joe, his girlfriend, Mexican singer, William’s friend, Brazillan Models. Everybody there! And also the one who watched moonset and sunrise with me.

Instead of waiting for a friendship,
give it first then it will return to you before you know.

Koh Lipe the Paradise: II, Jack Jungle Bar

(continued)

Our place was Jack Jungle Bar. My friend stayed here last time and made friends with the owner already so now we chose this place. There were 7 bungalows at Jack’s. The owners are a couple, P’san (or Jack) and P’ Tai, his lovely wife. When arrived, I had just a small talk with them because they told us to take a shower. I wondered why couldn’t I chat more longer? Jack said “No, go now” Me “Why, it’s just not dark yet.” Jack said “Do it right away, whatever you would like to do in the bathroom because after sunset the frogs will come out!” Ah, frogs? No, frogs, no no no noooo! .

Scary!!!

There’s an open air bathroom. In the night there are a lot of frogs came. Laila and I had to watch each other to chase away the frogs while the other taking shower.

Jack Jungle isn’t located near the beach. I love to stay near the beach but at Jack’s, this place/ and these people gave me more than the beach I love

After shower we went ot the beach to see sunset. It’s so damn beautiful! Yeah, it could make me forget Phangan easily!

What a wonderful day!

We came back to Jack’s at night. Here besides Bungalows, Jack set up the small bar in front of his resort. This bar opens almost 24 hours. If we don’t sleep, Jack won’t. If people still come, Jack still serves. He’s old – older than my dad but his heart is young. He’s up from dust till dawn and never say a thing.

Jack Jungle Bar is one of the best few bars at Lipe Island that I like. The island is big, there are many beaches called different name. I love Andaman beach. White sand, the sea was so blue. I took a rest on that beach for many hours. They called this “Maldieve Thailand”. I’ve never been to Maldieve but I know what they mean and I agree! There were about 20-30 bars along the beach as I saw but most of people came to Jack’s.

We met a few new friends, two of them are English. They worked as a bar manager. They work for a few money exchange but they got room and food, that’s good ha? I would like to do something like that too, it’s gotta be fun if I can spend one year on the beach.
We’re back to Jack’s. It’s dinner time. P’Tai, Jack’s wife, is a chef. She cooks Thai food really good. We sat on the table in front of the bar. There’s only Me and Laila, my friend. When the food served, I was enjoy eating and didn’t see anything much. When finished I looked around, oh where was I? Which country? No Thai people at all. This places were full of tourists. When I just sat down there were only two of us (me and Laila) – now I think it’s like people from the whole island came to have dinner here.  First night, I wondered but the days after I knew why people love to come here. I love too!

Weather in Thailand

For everyone who would like to visit Thailand and wonder about when should be the perfect time. I hope this might help. (But nowadays the weather is changed by Global warming, take this blog as an info then when you come here please recheck again.) Welcome to Thailand, and hope you enjoy my country!

 

Thailand has determined by 3 seasons;

Summer, Rainy and Winter

but I think more than 10 years now that we don’t know what winter is.

When there’s no topic about global warming; Thailand is always hot and humid for the majority of the country during most of the year. Only in March 2011 that the temperature has decreased to 18c. It was really impossible to happen in Thailand but happened. It was colder than a season that we called “winter”. Although we know that it isn’t a good sign but we love that.

In Bangkok,
Jan – March  = Summer.
March – June = Summer (the temperature used to reach 40c) and  sometimes Rainy.
July – October = Rainy, hot and humid as it’s a monsoon season.
November – February  = Beginning of winter but normally it’s hot and dry until late December to early January in the north of Thailand.

Note:
A) Always; If today is too hot and dry, tonight or tomorrow will rain hard.
B) April: It’s always the hottest month across the country.
C) Bangkok is always hotter than north or northeast of Thailand.

The beach
* Beaches on Andaman coast: Most of the islands are closed from May to October because of the rainy season and monsoon. Some provinces have the beach like Krabi, Phuket, Pang-nga are free to visit all the year but just be careful a bit when it’s raining or during monsoon season. Recheck again before you go.

* Beaches on Thai Gulf: Best time to visit is from February to October. Sometimes it rains in May to October but sometimes the weather is good.  In November and December –> Monsoon season.

The Mountain (North of Bangkok to North of Thailand)
* Best time to visit is around November to January.  December is high season because you will have the real winter season there.

Hope this help. Enjoy travelling  in Thailand!

Koh Lipe the paradise : I, On the way

The beginning of the big journey has begun in 2006, started with this paradise “Lipe Island”.

I got two weeks holiday in late Decemeber through New year 2007. My plan was staying at Phangan Island alone for one week then Lipe  Island with one of my best friend another week. I don’t know much about Koh Lipe but my friend told me that if you are there, you will forget Phangan. Oh really? Must try!

It’s the fourth time of the year to Phangan island and I thought it wanted to say bye to me. The 4 meters  tidal wave didn’t allow me to swim or even walk on the beach.  The staff put the barrier along the beach to stop the sea comes to the resort.  It’s as windy as it would like to blow everybody on the beach away.

I was like a dead rat that stucked in a hammock for 7 days :S

I tried to change my ticket to go back sooner but a ferry can’t sail during that time so the pier was closed. I thought I was stuck there more than 7 days but a luck was still mine. On the day 7th, the Ferry started sailing again.

I came back to Bangkok for one day to prepare my stuff for Lipe Island on the next morning. If you think Phangan Island is far from Bangkok, Lipe Island is like another country.

Lipe Island is in Stool Province. (Southern Thailand) Located on Andaman Coast. Not easy to go. I think to go there from Malaysia is more short than Bangkok.

Going there by plane is comfortable than bus?

A. Stuck in the airport for 2 hours before departure time with another one hour on plane, with little space, and only see the cloud
or
B. 14 hours on VIP Bus from night till noon with a beautiful view along the way.

For me, I take B.

But during new year, bus tickets were sold out!!! So we had to take Choice A. Plane. There’s no direct flight to Stool so we had to catch the plane Bangkok-Had Yai then took a van with the destination Had Yai-Stool. When arrived Stool, we took another cab to Pakpara Pier. At Pakpara Pier took a spped boat to Lipe Island (stayed on the boat about 2-3 hours) .

My boat took 3 hours because the boat was broken. The driver stopped at Tarutao National Park. We waited for one hour. Normally during the way to Lipe Island, the boat driver would stop at a few islands such as Kai Island for tourists to take pictures, etc. But we were late, so everyone was tired – they, us, wanted to go directly to Lipe Island – no stops.

Finally, we were there.
Lipe Island.
Clear sky and blue sea made my heart beat again.
It’s not just an Island, it’s paradise!!

Wow ……

When everything doesn’t go well as you thought, must have to let it go. Agree?

If you’re afraid that you’d be sad after you let it go

but would you be happy if you hold it?

………………………………………………………………..

oh, i used to hold it, used to do many thing to extend the time

but just today, just this moment, just now

that I feel, I don’t care …!

I can let it go if it’s needed to let go

if someone wants to let me go, I would let that someone do too!

I’m free, wow, this feeling is really amazing that i’m not afraid of anything!!! Woo hoo!! ))

I’m free with my thought, i’m really happy wow!

Woo hoo!

So, stay or go? Doesn’t bother me anymore!!!!

Wooh Hoo!

My Way

Regrets,  I’ve had a few

but then again too few to mention

I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption

I planned each charted course

each careful step along the byway

And more, much more than this .. ..

I did it my way!

………………………………………….

“No one can help you but yourself”

I’m sure people always need someone to talk, to share or even help when they have a problem but who else can help them and always be there to listen to them if not themselves?

* To talk could help you feel better but what if there’s no one to talk to?

* To be helped is always good but what if there’s nothing can help if you don’t help yourself?

I don’t need help when I have problems (big problems not silly problems) but I just need someone to talk to. Sometimes distant makes it difficult to talk to another one so I decided to write … like I talk to myself. And it works, always.

And not only about problems, happiness also. As now, I know who can I shout at but unfortunately he would never hear even I scream out loud. And for the one that can hear, is not here to listen also. So again, I write.

I got two good news! I did it! I can do it! They like it! They accepted me! Wow! It’s really awesome! (hahaha I told myself that). I’m underestimated by myself – I mean I underestimate myself (why do I have to make it hard!) But I work with my heart/experience/soul and brain, of course but always thought – maybe I can’t have it, maybe they don’t like my idea or my writing style. I just don’t expect because I don’t want to get hurt by that ….

But this time I got it!

I GOT IT!

Well done hah, New?

…………………………………………………………….

Yes there were times I’m sure you knew

When I bit off more than I could chew

But through it all, when there was doubt

I ate it up and spit it out

I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way

Anyway, this is another thing I know that “only me that helps myself to do things, only me that helps myself to face it all, only me that helps myself to fight and find the solution for all troubles and yes only me that sees myself cry or smile when I am sad or happy.

I did it by myself

I did it my way

so I will do it by myself

and I will continue do it my way …

Be proud and enjoy it even though no one can see ..

This special time is now for Frank Sinatra and My Way

………………………………………………………..

For what is a man, what has he got?

If not himself, then he has naught.

To say the things he truly feels

and not the words of one who kneels

the record knows I took the blows and did it my way

Miracle or luck?

It happened to me many time which sometimes I’m not sure is it miracle or luck? Are they different? *

I won a lotto two times in my life! I’m not a lotto lover but bought them with birthday lucky number twenty years ago and this year. And i won!!!

* I dreamed about something good and on the next day it’s happened to me in real life.

* When “a name” of someone who i don’t know popped up in my head, later I always meet or know someone who has the same name as in my thought. * People who came into my life : friends or all ex, most of them were someone who i saw them first and really wanted to have a friendship/relationship with but never start the conversation with but later they came to me as they knew my thought.

* When i fall in love with “a song”, always heard it wherever i go even an oldest one which rarely heard in this century. * My wishes always come true!!!!! Unbelievable!!!

Well, miracle or just luck?

Step back

Just passed through a tough time in Bangkok where I live, the situation is now undercontrol but .. who knows? Thought that we hadn’t have a great day during SongKran Festival at all but no, thanks for everyone who can make it happened like the other years.

Not just only the politic problem in this country, but there’s a politic in the company I work also. Something changes. Some people have to leave, some people are still working here.

I was thinking, should I continue working as a Thai copywriter? Or should i change to do something that is better than now? There are many chances to work in the other fields but i just don’t have any passion to start it. I’m too old? .. no, no one is too old to start new thing. Just believe in yourself. Step back and look for what you really need then you can do it better ..

hmmm … keep that in mind, keep that in mind …

Blue light – like a friend

I’m sure there are so many people that come into your, your or your .. life. Me too. I can say that I can’t remember all of their names because some people just come and go. Some people just have some stories with you in a moment of time. After that, they’re gone.

But I don’t only remember just the people that I want to remember. Some of them, maybe they want me to forget them but I can’t.

I really can’t.

I have many friends. But .. some said “what does friend mean?” Why did you call those kind of people “friends”? .. I’m sorry, in English I call them friend. But in thai – I have the other names to call them.

I miss some of my friends who now disappear from my life. Some we lost contact, some we still have each other contact info but we didn’t contact each other. Maybe it’s sound exaggerated if I say I think they miss me too but actually I know.

One of my “friends” told me “we’re not disappear from each other but we just don’t see each other”. Yes, because we have a connection.

I used to have one friend who didn’t contact me every day or at lease every week or even every month like the others do but this friend just told me where to meet next time. Even it’s in a few months but yeah “we will meet there in 2 months” and within these two months, i never have a contact from this friend.

This remind me of one scene of Before sunset. The actor told the actress to come to meet at that time and they lost contact – so the guy thought that a woman didn’t show up. Ok, she didn’t show up but she can’t – not because she doesn’t want to go.

But for me and this friend, I showed up and my friend always showed up. We don’t have to say hello everyday. We don’t have to talk to each other everyday. But we know that “one day” we meet again. And yes, we did. We made a promise and we did as we promise.

I don’t expect that I’m gonna meet someone like this. Because I think no one can be like this.It’s too funny to be like my friend. Now we lost connection. I cut off – i did it. I’m not sorry because destiny leaded me this way.

I’m happy with a position I stand for now.

But in my life I have also lost the others who came into my life in the different time. For example, my good friend in the university, my best friend in school, my great friend in primary school… I don’t know where are they.

I used to talk a lot to one friend long time ago. She called me often. But I don’t think I’m close to her. When she has the problem she called me, I listened to her, talked to her, helped her feel better. She thought I am her good friend. Maybe I am good to her but I’m not her best friend. But she didn’t think like that. She thought when she thinks I’m her bestfriend – i would think the same. And she expected me to do that.

one day, I told her “Don’t expect too much in life because it will hurt you. If you want to give someone a hundred points, don’t expect that you’ll get the hundred points back. If you want to give, just give. And if no one gives you back, don’t angry. Just be happy when you want to give and you give”.

I don’t want to hurt her. But how can I tell her that she’s my best friend if she’s not the one that I can share everything with. Not because she doesn’t want to listen to me. But I don’t share to her too. I don’t know why but I don’t want to share. But I always listen to her.

I used to be a person who always calls my friends everyday. I used to be the one that my friends called me everyday. I used to be a person who always goes out with my friends everyday. Now I become a person who don’t give any call everyday and I don’t go out everyday. I’m happy to be alone in my small place – like a chicken in the egg that maybe some people feel strange with it. But i call it home – even it doesn’t look like home but it is a place I live.

Now I only talk to my best friends which I have not a lot.

I think it’s enough.

I used to think that everyone is my friends. Now I asked myself the same “what does “friend” mean?” In one day I have to meet many people. Who are they? For example if I’ve met 30 people, do they all friends? I don’t think that all of them will care for me. I don’t think that all of them would like to talk to me. I don’t think that all of them who already have my email, my mobile’s number or even my address would like to email, to call or to come to visit me. Maybe none of them will do.

The people who care for me are not one of them.

Sometimes I’m scare of relationship. Because I don’t know what they expect. If they don’t, happy for them. But if they do, I don’t know how to do. I’m not that so good. I can’t smile to people all the time. I have my space. I have my life. I have a moment that I want to be alone. Sometimes I want to go with Q but I don’t want to go with T but I have to go with Q and T. (just the fake names anyway) I know that sometimes they think the same. And maybe they don’t know know how to do too! But most of the time, straight talk hurts people. So what should we do? Quiet? Tell them a lie? Keep it and feel pain for it?

Even i don’t want to care but I do care, don’t I?

Enough …

I’m not so bad … but i’m going to do the right thing for the right ones.

note : I love this song, LIKE A FRIEND by PULP – dedicated to people i met who used to be friends

dying .. exciting mode

uhmm … it’s boring here

you come to do the same thing everyday,

actually in advertising field, it should have more exciting thing to pressure us to blow the idea out ..

but here no ..

one thing, one theme, one thing, one theme …

my brain almost stops working ….

my hands are dying by writing the same ..

how to make it much more beautiful than this time …

how ?