Selected texts from my travel diary- Part 1

“The lunatic is in my head...you lock the door and throw away the key...there is someone in my head and it’s not me” Pink Floyd

Who wouldn’t have questioned his life in a place like this?! I can’t help thinking how many sun sets and rises I’ve missed. I recall crying silently as I smoked my first fag in front of the office in Istanbul under the shadow of the Plaza palms.

They were standing there staring at me, reminding me of the fakeness of the life I had, just as fake as their existence in the road sides of the plaza entrance was!

Yet once again, I’m identifying my existence with another palm tree as I look out of the window of this bamboo shack on the seaside of this heaven I am at.

This palm hasn’t been carried here by a truck; it wasn’t produced in a green house, it has real coconuts and hosts a million ants.

There is no dark side of the moon...it's all dark!

Smoke over Bangkok!!!

This is how Bangkok have looked like for the whole week from the window of Aleksandra's place!

The Red Shirts have occupied the business district for the last few weeks and the traffic has been hell all around the city! They have moved here from where they were located next to the Khao San Street. I passed by the protesting area myself dressed in a red dress and carrying a red bag only a few weeks from now. The protesters loved the fact that a Farang chick was wearing red and greeted me cheerfully as I walked by. The place looked like a festival than a demonstration, there were families with kids running around playing, men sitting under colorful tents chatting and women cooking all around. Everyone looked peaceful and happy. However, the tension between the government and protesters has been raising, talks and negotiations ended up nowhere until hell just broke loose today!

Just on the day I'm supposed to be flying to Istanbul the government decided to take harsh action! Military troops have been ordered to marsh into the protesting area! They are using live ammunition and shooting randomly at anyone standing in their way! We have been following the news from every possible online source for the whole day! People are being shot out there as I write these lines and Thai TV channels are showing nothing! All channels are airing the same program; people singing and dancing and celebrating the king as if it was a national occasion! Internet sources say there has been about 100 people injured so far and tens dead including an Italian journalist and civilians just passing by!

There is a curfew in Bangkok; for the first time in 18 years, and I'm here! The streets are not safe; we hear the news of one more shopping mall and another European bank branch bombed! More smoke is raising from different parts of the city! Expatriate networks are warning: stay home!

I've canceled my ticket and decided to wait until things cool up a bit! Me, Aleksandra and Rob are staying in today! We will hit the nearest 7-11 to get some necessities and food before the curfew is on! Alex has a lot to prepare for school next week, I'll make her a TV from card board for her Thai students, or energy suckers as she refers to them, at her English class.

I'm a little scared and broken hearted for what has become of the city of smiles and I can only hope it will recover soon...

Lay-lo

@Ko Phangan

So days here are more or less the same. Not that it gets any boring. In fact, it is such a relief to know that things in heaven will always be as beautiful and peaceful.

The sun set and rise varies only a few minutes throughout the year. There is almost no difference between summer and winter. Watermelons, bananas and pineapples are available year round too. Oh! and coconuts! Lots of coconuts :)

We bought a hammock for 200 Baht. I hanged it in an "experimental" way. But it looks just fine and I've been using it since yesterday. Rob doesn't seem ready to use it yet; which results in me occupying it almost all of the time.

Here is a thing about hammocks. In my vision of heaven there are certainly a few. Their random and common existence here is one of the things I love most about Thailand. Thais are very creative when it comes to hanging hammocks around. I have seen them on balconies, in parks, at shops and markets. They are basically everywhere! Yesterday I saw a hammock hanged on the back of the taxi-pickup-tuk tuk-like thing. I thought the idea was brilliant.

Thai people are gifted when it comes to making things. They are very good at fishing, cooking, painting, tattoo and so on. They are simple, peaceful and self-sufficient. Almost all Thais in the South have their business in their houses. I get the feeling of walking into someones house as I step into a bookstore or a pharmacy. They have an amazing way of merging their daily life with what they do for a living. Even a Shakes and Sandwiches stand would feel like if your Thai buddy's Mom was cooking you breakfast at her kitchen at home.

There is a huge number of Thai people cooking all sorts of food on stands in the streets all over the country. Thai people barely cook at home. Not having a kitchen in an apartment is not unusual....

Sunset, the same day...

At sunset the wind stops and everything stands still. The absolute peaceful stillness blended in all tones of pink and purple on the sky feels like a magical farewell ceremony of nature to yet another day.

The Natural order of things and the harmony of their coexistence make me float with everything else around. I capture the joy of the moment of floating a lay-lo, facing the sky, watching the moon swallowed by the day light. The water so still, the skies bright blue. Every now and then a tiny wave washes my face, I can hear the singing of birds and the engine of a passing-by long-tail boat in the distance. Everything seems too good to be true. Yet, it is all real.

At night a million star twinkle in the dark blue sky. I can hardly spot any of the constellations I know. I can see a storm somewhere in the distance but I can't hear it. The palm tree the sea and the sky appear for a split second at a flash of lightning before everything is swallowed back by absolute darkness.

I'm watching the army of ants getting ready for our daily fight. Little bastards!