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| A Woman's Directory For Travel and Life. WAVE Journey is your one stop online resource for women oriented businesses and services around the world. WAVE Journey is for every woman to enjoy. If you love to travel, cook, read or revel in outdoor activities this website is for you. If you are looking to connect with other like-minded women or if you are interested in finding businesses or services that cater to women, WAVE Journey is your number one online resource. Thailand: A Country Where Cares & Worries Ooze Away ~ Article by Catherine Graham |
| WAVE Journey |
| Women's Adventures, Vacations & Experiences ~ Your Journey Starts Here! |
BIO:
Catherine Graham, has been travelling on and off since graduating in summer 2008 (BA English
Literature and Media). She has travelled to: USA, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Samoa,
Thailand.
Her travel blogs can be enjoyed here:
www.getjealous.com/cath123
www.thetravelbug-cath.blogspot.com
Catherine Graham, has been travelling on and off since graduating in summer 2008 (BA English
Literature and Media). She has travelled to: USA, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Samoa,
Thailand.
Her travel blogs can be enjoyed here:
www.getjealous.com/cath123
www.thetravelbug-cath.blogspot.com
Thailand has so much to offer it is difficult to pinpoint
just one element and still truly capture its magic. The
experience gained from this country culminates from
so many separate novelties on so many levels, I
guess I just don't know where to start...the Thai
manner, service and friendliness, the temperature,
the frantic yet exciting atmosphere of Bangkok, the
peace and beauty of southern islands, the delicious
cuisine, the quaint stalls and markets, the list goes
on.
just one element and still truly capture its magic. The
experience gained from this country culminates from
so many separate novelties on so many levels, I
guess I just don't know where to start...the Thai
manner, service and friendliness, the temperature,
the frantic yet exciting atmosphere of Bangkok, the
peace and beauty of southern islands, the delicious
cuisine, the quaint stalls and markets, the list goes
on.
If I could cover every positive element from my two week holiday in Thailand, I would. However
I will have to settle for one outstanding evening on Ko Pha-Ngan, down on party central: Haad
Rin beach. Backpackers and locals alike, crowds flock Haad Rin regularly to party under a Full
Moon, and in the daytime, to enjoy the watersports and chilled out vibe of the beach.
Restaurant and bars line this beach as far as the eye can see and as my friends and I
wandered down there one Wednesday evening about 9pm, these beach bars were already lit
up, buzzing with activity and pumping out beats.
We'd just enjoyed a divine Thai meal at a restaurant near the beach, run by a warm couple
called Paul and Opor. Our plan was to chill out at a bar, have a couple of drinks before heading
back to our accommodation around 11. There is honestly nothing more cool and delicious than
wandering barefoot along a beach after dark, feeling the warmth hanging in the air and
pushing your toes throigh the silky sand. A sensation like that seems to bring this inevitable
feeling that there is not one care or worry in the world. This is how I felt as we wandered, full
and content, towards the distant music and the illuminating lights. Looking up at the sky just
completed this image of paradise; stars shone down bright and full and there was not one
cloud to blemish the clarity.
Thai men were entertaining crowds outside the front of the bars, with fire throwing: tossing
rods, burning with fire on both ends, up in the air and catching them again so accurately it
made you gasp. Their bodies so agile, they seemed to work as one with the fire, flipping it
round in every direction so quickly it was almost a blur. We joined the admiring viewers,
relaxing on the sand round a low table set back from the entertainment. One by one the men
took turns to dance with this fire in the most daring ways I've ever seen. How they were skilled
enough to avoid burning themselves I don't know. Having had several malibus and feeling
confident, I rushed over in the break to praise one of the men gushingly and request a photo
with him, of me holding his fire rod (no puns intended). The excitement really kicked off as the
Thai entertainers set up a very tall pole in the middle of their circle, probably about 10 foot
high, then set up cups of alcohol in glasses on a table and surrounded the pole. One by one
they held a burning rod infront of them, drunk the alcohol without swallowing it, then spat it
out towards the fire in an attempt to blow the explosion of fire towards the head of the upright
pole above them. Between them they were trying to light the head of this vertical pole, by
effectively blowing fire towards it! The rocket of flame which exploded when the vodka touched
the fire was immense; it must have been inches from their faces yet not one of them was
phased. Incredible. The crowd were transfixed at this point, 'oooh'ing and 'aaah'ing everytime
the flame almost reached the top of the pole.
They followed this with fire limbo, a game which honestly had me cringing from my safe patch of
sand. A typical limbo bar for people to bend backwards underneath, except that the bar was
alight with roaring flames. As volunteers came up to join in the competitions, the atmosphere
grew even more tense. Completely having forgotten our 11.00 plan, the drinks were rolling in
and the music was pumping out louder than ever. My brother Andrew and his mates were
already on the vodka buckets and soon enough Josh and Andrew had got involved in the limbo.
The Thai men were still entertaining by topping everyone's efforts; they even showed off by
holding cigarettes in their mouth, almost bending over horizontally without legs buckling and
lighting up on the flame as they went under. Sighing, I tried to imagine what it must feel like to
be so skilled that cockiness like that was totally viable. Cue, slip back in to dreamy thoughts
about Thai men....
So, following the limbo, the hurdles were brought out. One by one crazy drunk tourists would
tear towards these burning hurdles, diving, jumping or barely clearing them. I was actually
physically flinching on watching this game as some bumbling idiots approached, almost certainly
unable to make it. Andrew and Josh, however, were going strong, clearing heights of about 5
foot by the end. The only crash to really make me scream out was a Thai man himself who
obviously did not commit to the jump and sent the bar flying, along the way ripping his side to
shreds with burn marks. Ouch!
By midninght we were throwing out shapes on a sandy dance floor, surrounded by people
who, like us, were high on this happy feeling which envelopes Thailand. Nothing could have
made the scene more positive, fun and enjoyable as like minded tourists and locals danced
euphorically on the beach to perfectly selected party tunes. That evening, and across the
duration of my stay in Thailand, I experienced no anger, violence, or rudeness; Thai people
seem to exube warmth and foreigners are immediately infected with it. A country which seems
to flow with laid back attitudes and electric nightlife puts our own into perspective; when we
imagine the uproar and chaos what would be caused if a game of limbo on fire were to be
played down on an english beach. Coupled with zero road rules in Bangkok and the ability to
hire a jeep without a license, Thailand, whether for good, bad, correct or incorrect reasons,
functions successfully with very little strict law and order. By looking directly at the individual
people, their attitudes and their treatment of one another, perhaps we as a society could learn
a few things.
Thailand: A truly outstanding experience!
I will have to settle for one outstanding evening on Ko Pha-Ngan, down on party central: Haad
Rin beach. Backpackers and locals alike, crowds flock Haad Rin regularly to party under a Full
Moon, and in the daytime, to enjoy the watersports and chilled out vibe of the beach.
Restaurant and bars line this beach as far as the eye can see and as my friends and I
wandered down there one Wednesday evening about 9pm, these beach bars were already lit
up, buzzing with activity and pumping out beats.
We'd just enjoyed a divine Thai meal at a restaurant near the beach, run by a warm couple
called Paul and Opor. Our plan was to chill out at a bar, have a couple of drinks before heading
back to our accommodation around 11. There is honestly nothing more cool and delicious than
wandering barefoot along a beach after dark, feeling the warmth hanging in the air and
pushing your toes throigh the silky sand. A sensation like that seems to bring this inevitable
feeling that there is not one care or worry in the world. This is how I felt as we wandered, full
and content, towards the distant music and the illuminating lights. Looking up at the sky just
completed this image of paradise; stars shone down bright and full and there was not one
cloud to blemish the clarity.
Thai men were entertaining crowds outside the front of the bars, with fire throwing: tossing
rods, burning with fire on both ends, up in the air and catching them again so accurately it
made you gasp. Their bodies so agile, they seemed to work as one with the fire, flipping it
round in every direction so quickly it was almost a blur. We joined the admiring viewers,
relaxing on the sand round a low table set back from the entertainment. One by one the men
took turns to dance with this fire in the most daring ways I've ever seen. How they were skilled
enough to avoid burning themselves I don't know. Having had several malibus and feeling
confident, I rushed over in the break to praise one of the men gushingly and request a photo
with him, of me holding his fire rod (no puns intended). The excitement really kicked off as the
Thai entertainers set up a very tall pole in the middle of their circle, probably about 10 foot
high, then set up cups of alcohol in glasses on a table and surrounded the pole. One by one
they held a burning rod infront of them, drunk the alcohol without swallowing it, then spat it
out towards the fire in an attempt to blow the explosion of fire towards the head of the upright
pole above them. Between them they were trying to light the head of this vertical pole, by
effectively blowing fire towards it! The rocket of flame which exploded when the vodka touched
the fire was immense; it must have been inches from their faces yet not one of them was
phased. Incredible. The crowd were transfixed at this point, 'oooh'ing and 'aaah'ing everytime
the flame almost reached the top of the pole.
They followed this with fire limbo, a game which honestly had me cringing from my safe patch of
sand. A typical limbo bar for people to bend backwards underneath, except that the bar was
alight with roaring flames. As volunteers came up to join in the competitions, the atmosphere
grew even more tense. Completely having forgotten our 11.00 plan, the drinks were rolling in
and the music was pumping out louder than ever. My brother Andrew and his mates were
already on the vodka buckets and soon enough Josh and Andrew had got involved in the limbo.
The Thai men were still entertaining by topping everyone's efforts; they even showed off by
holding cigarettes in their mouth, almost bending over horizontally without legs buckling and
lighting up on the flame as they went under. Sighing, I tried to imagine what it must feel like to
be so skilled that cockiness like that was totally viable. Cue, slip back in to dreamy thoughts
about Thai men....
So, following the limbo, the hurdles were brought out. One by one crazy drunk tourists would
tear towards these burning hurdles, diving, jumping or barely clearing them. I was actually
physically flinching on watching this game as some bumbling idiots approached, almost certainly
unable to make it. Andrew and Josh, however, were going strong, clearing heights of about 5
foot by the end. The only crash to really make me scream out was a Thai man himself who
obviously did not commit to the jump and sent the bar flying, along the way ripping his side to
shreds with burn marks. Ouch!
By midninght we were throwing out shapes on a sandy dance floor, surrounded by people
who, like us, were high on this happy feeling which envelopes Thailand. Nothing could have
made the scene more positive, fun and enjoyable as like minded tourists and locals danced
euphorically on the beach to perfectly selected party tunes. That evening, and across the
duration of my stay in Thailand, I experienced no anger, violence, or rudeness; Thai people
seem to exube warmth and foreigners are immediately infected with it. A country which seems
to flow with laid back attitudes and electric nightlife puts our own into perspective; when we
imagine the uproar and chaos what would be caused if a game of limbo on fire were to be
played down on an english beach. Coupled with zero road rules in Bangkok and the ability to
hire a jeep without a license, Thailand, whether for good, bad, correct or incorrect reasons,
functions successfully with very little strict law and order. By looking directly at the individual
people, their attitudes and their treatment of one another, perhaps we as a society could learn
a few things.
Thailand: A truly outstanding experience!
