January 19, 2010

On Saturday we went kayaking in the Andaman Sea. Just about fifteen minutes from where I am staying. Guess we're not really inland after all.... It was incredible, relaxing, beautiful in every way. We went into 3 caves, one of which we had to lye down in our kayaks in order to fit through under a tree. We walked into one cave with 3,000 year old cave paintings...

kayaking in Bor Thor

I got my first EVER professional massage! The lady that everyone goes to is named Noi and she charges 150 baht for one hour...which is $5. Yes, five dollars for the most amazing massages. She is only a five minutes walk away too. I've been told that her Thai massage is really painful, so I got an oil massage to start off. I loved every second of it. It literally felt like she freed me of every bit of tension my body has accumulated over my 21 years of living. Also, she massaged my dozens of huge, painful mosquito bites that are clustered around my ankles and feet. I was worried that it would make them worse, but Noi said "tomorrow, they go away", and sure enough I never felt an itch afterwards. They are nearly gone now. I felt so rejuvinated and liberated walking home from my massage. When I returned, I was told my my housemates that we were being picked up in five minutes to go to one of the English teacher's house for dinner. I got in this car with my buddies and after driving for about 15 minutes, thought to myself, 'where the hell am I going, and who are these people?' After a minute of serious fear, we arrived at the most beautiful soon-to-be resort. Pa Pui's family made me feel right at home. They took care of us as if we were royalty, and invited us back to go bike riding later today. I'm still slightly confused, but from what I understand, Pa Pui and her family live in one of the houses in this community (which is named after her father), and other extended family live in some of the other houses. They are in the process of turning the place into a "homestay" aka a resort for travelers to stay. It used to be a palm tree plantation owned by Pa Pui's ancestors, and her parents were buried there. It's amazing how connected the families are. All of the other teachers I work with are somehow related to Pa Pui. Family means everything to the Thais. Outside of every shop and home there is a miniature temple for the family members who have passed away, and they put a plate of food out next to it every day.