I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed New Year's Eve morning, which means I moaned, groaned, and hit snooze until I remembered "I'm in Thailand!"
I took a quick shower, got dressed, packed my backpack, and, by 7am, was in a cab. I was going to the Phi Phi Islands! For those of you that have not read my previous blogs (shame on you), this is where The Beach was filmed. And I have quickly discovered that most of the people of Thailand are not fans of that particular film. In fact, they hate it, but more on that later.
Karuna Yoga and Meditation Center's cab driver, Art, is delightful. He speaks perfect English and knows Phuket like the back of his hand. The first thing he said to me after he picked me up at the airport was "Everyday someone dies in a motorcycle accident"
Umm...Ok. was it random information time? What do I reply? "Dogs and bees cam smell fear?" At 3am, I'm a little slow. Then I got what he was really saying. "Don't rent a motor bike. It's dangerous." Well, thanks, Art, because that was EXACTLY my plan, die in Thailand on a motorbike. Hell, I'm scared to ride a bicycle these days.
Good ol' Art was practically a tour guide because he arranged my entire day for me, which included a speed boat trip to three of the islands, breakfast, lunch, and snorkeling. And he got me a discount! tomorrow he is bringing me to play with elephants:)
Also, when I got into the cab, He gave me a freshly picked orchid and said "Happy New Year!" It was so sweet, and I had completely forgotten that it was New Year's Eve.
Next, I jetted of to the Phi Phi Islands. I instantly made a friend on the boat. Shocking, I know! He was a nice young gay (I'm assuming, and I tend to be a gay magnet.) man from Singapore with a background in theatre. Yeah, I can't imagine why we hit it off. Can you??? He was traveling with two friends, also from Singapore, and we had a blast island hopping all day.
The Phi Phi Islands are so beautiful. It's hard to believe they are real. Yes, I went to Maya Bay, where The Beach was filmed. Now, I will explain the locals' problem with the film.
The amount of drug-trafficking in the film does not exactly portray Thailand in a positive light. Also bulldozers were used on the island to make it more esthetically pleasing to the eye. This did not bode well with environmentalists. Plus, while increased interest in Maya Bay has been good for the tourist industry, the once completely isolated island is not longer a secret wonder of the world. Even so, I highly recommend that everyone add Maya Bay to your bucket list ASAP! It's well worth the trip.
Upon arriving to the island, the ship captain made the following announcement:
(Side note: when he said "beach," it sounded like "beast.")
"We approaching Maya Bay. It is famous for movie, The Beast. You know The Beast? Well look at the beast. Do you see a coconut tree? No? That's because there is no coconut tree at Maya Bay. (I was waiting for him to say "YOU IDIOTS!") For movie, they take coconut tree from Phuket, put it on beast, make a movie, bring coconut tree back to Phuket. Now, if you want the beast, get on small boat. It will bring you to beast. You want great time snorkeling? Stay here on boat. You want beast? Enjoy beast!"
Noooo bitterness, whatsoever. He seemed VERY happy to promote The Beast. He probably has put a curse on Leonardo DiCaprio's head. But business is booming for him, so why be bitter in paradise?
All in all, it was one of the most surreal days of my life. I promise to post pics as soon as I get to my home sweet home in Korea.
It was a very long day. As soon as I got back to the Center at 6:30pm, I did my evening meditation and passed out waaay before midnight. I was promptly awakened, however, at midnight by the sound of fireworks loud enough to shake the entire island of Phuket. I forgot where I was for a minute, and thought "We're under attack! Hit the deck! Crazy Kim has finally lost it!"
Then I remembered that I was not in Korea, and the rest of the island was partying it up and ringing in the new year. I watched the fireworks out my window for a bit then slipped back into a coma.
It was probably my best New Year's Eve thus far. All alone in paradise. Although, I did miss my yearly date with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin:( I wonder if they missed me?
Happy 2010, everyone!
Make it count!
