/2006/02/impressions-of-paradise.html" /> /2006/02/impressions-of-paradise.html" /> Alternative Culture Blog: Impressions of Paradise

Alternative Culture MagazineCougar WebWorks Celebrating Nature, Culture, and Spirit
Alternative Culture Magazine

Alternative Culture Blog


Irregular commentary on various aspects of alternative culture: nature, books, travel, music, literature, spirituality.

by Nowick Gray, Editor of Alternative Culture Magazine

journal online

 


Wednesday, February 15, 2006

 

Impressions of Paradise


Halfway along in this five-week stay in Thailand . . . Each day I move slower, sinking deeper into life’s simplicity, the gentle warmth of air and water, and of the people who live here. In this respect there is little difference between the native Thais and the foreigners vacationing here, or those who have adopted it as their home. The pace of life is universally relaxed, at least on the island of Koh Phangan . . . even at the thronging spit of beach known as Haad Rin, home of the world’s biggest full moon party.

This is supposed to be the dry season, but it has rained almost every day, and recently for most of the day and night. The occasional appearances of full sun are reminders of the blasting power of that element, which otherwise is rather subdued, moderated by soft clouds and caressing breezes. At night there is seldom need for more than a sheet, and often just half of that is enough to cover bare skin. In the sun it is impossible to keep clothes dry from sweat, and in the torrential rain likewise impossible to stay dry. But there is no panic of hypothermia or even much of a chill . . . just acceptance of that other universal element, the water which surrounds us.

I’ve been somewhat guiltily managing to carry on my editing business here, averaging a couple hours a day of work on the laptop. Internet connection businesses are everywhere, so it was a simple matter to find one with a fast connection and ethernet cable to hook into my laptop for transferring edited files. The guilt part has something to do with working at all here, when the experience of paradise is so rich and full in itself; a feeling that I should be immersed as fully as possible in it while it lasts. The other part of the guilt has to do with enjoying the best of both worlds . . . that’s it’s somehow unfair or undeserved to be able to make one’s living in so relaxed and effortless a way as this. In fact the combination is doing what I anticipated it might: convincing me that living and working here at least six months of the year is eminently sensible.

The other part of my working life is also coming together as well as I could have imagined, with a full dozen of the yoga students deciding to attend drum classes once or twice a week while I’m here. The main obstacle of having enough drums was passed last week when I accompanied half a dozen of the students into the nearest town (Thong Sala), to buy passable djembes for under $40 each.

The beach itself is perfect for swimming, with a broad crescent of white soft sand, shallow clear pale green water, and minimal wave action here on the mainland side of the island. A recent visit to the seaward side gave some challenging variety in the form of big breaking waves, but a tropical storm whipped them too high even to travel out by boat, so we had to hike back to our starting point, two hours over a steep rough trail. Amazingly, no complaints from 9-year-old Cleo on the grueling trek.

Other roads and trails nearby have taken us by foot to neighboring beaches, giving us relatively local access to groceries as well as, again, more variety of experience here – much more immediate than traveling by taxi or motorbike.

With the beaches lined by bungalows and restaurants, there is no shortage of variety in eating out . . . though the menus differ very little from place to place. There is only a subtle difference between the universally offered green, red, or coconut curries, but it’s hard to tire of these, when the result is almost always excellent, and at times absolutely transcendent. (The homemade coconut or chocolate ice cream doesn’t hurt either, or the discovery here and there of a real cappuccino). The biggest challenge on the food front is appeasing (or not) the endless restaurant obsessions of Cleo.

Yes, this is yuppie heaven all right, but heaven by any name is hardly to be argued with. If I have found the formula and means to live out my ideal 8-hour day here – 2 hours each of work, music, swimming and walking – there is no cause to complain. And that’s just the quantitative analysis of how time can be spent . . . when the true experience is timeless, and of a mysterious yet unmistakable quality, impossible to convey and equally impossible to resist.

Comments:
Dear Nowick Gray,
My name is Eyre and I am Thai. I live in Chiangmai which is in the northern part of Thailand. I'm truly impressed by your comments on Thailand.There are hundreds of reasons why foreigners love Thailand. Some of them never return home again.Well I have an American teacher who told me he will die and have his body barried here in Thailand. I'm so proud of my country, but it seems like we have been spoiled by the power of money of the west a lot and bit by bit we become the slave of pounds, franc, dollars or whatsoever. It seems like we cannot live without tourism industry anymore. I don't say that tourism is bad because in the UK,USA and other countries also have most of their money comes from tourism.Anyway, there are the differences between my country's tourism and the others,I think tourists who visit the UK or the USA don't pay for the trip to be or watching movies in a bar,but in the opposit when a western tourist comes to visit Thailand they tend to spend loads of their time in a bar/ bars (many of them, but not all)
Anyway,I thank those tourists who don't build up their repetation of Thailand on bars,girls and sex.

Ps.I read your 'Impression Of Paradies' and I've had a personal question to ask you about drum, but I don't know if I am allowed to ask you private questions in this blog or not. Please give tell me how I can ask you about the drum.I will very much appreciate your help. Thanks
 
Thank you for your comments on the blog. I'll be happy to answer your questions about drumming, if you send me emaildirectly. I'm looking forward to returning to Thailand this winter (Dec. 06, Feb. 07)!
 
Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link



<< Home

Archives

January 2006   February 2006   April 2006   May 2006   September 2006   December 2006   January 2007   February 2007   March 2007   April 2007   May 2007   June 2007   October 2007   January 2008   February 2008   March 2008   April 2008   May 2008   October 2008   November 2008   December 2008   February 2009   May 2009   September 2009   October 2009   November 2009   February 2010   March 2010  

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?


journal online

Earlier Archive:

Rule Reversals (January 2003)

Telling it Like it Is (January 2003)

White Rabbit (February 2002)

On Novelty (February 2002)

An Open Letter to the Democratic Party after September 11 (December 2001)

Psychoactive Sacramentals: Essays on Entheogens and Religion (book review) (November 2001)

Forest Storm (September 2001)

Feminism, Poetic Myth, and Alternative Culture - An Homage to The White Goddess (July 2000)

Quests for Identity and Other Addictions (May 2000)

Wheel of Fortune (April 2000)

Great Writers and Street Poets (February 2000)

Upgrade for Speed Because Time is Running Out? (August 1999)

Retail Therapy: Decision Making in the Computer Age (August 1999)

Retail Therapy2: Random Brief Downtimes (August 1999)

Farouche Speaks (April 1999)

NetGlut: Notes from a cleansing fast (February 1998)

To Unix and Back Alive (January 1997)

Webness (November 1996)

Surfing Again (November 1996)

Bananas in British Columbia (May 1996)

Confessions of a computer addict (May 1996)



About the Editor | Site Map | Homepage | Email | ©2006 Cougar WebWorks