Saturday, December 04, 2004
look to this day.
okay im baaack! :D
its been a long time. actually came back on mon but was still in the midst of moving house n all so didnt have the time to come online. n i just got broadband today! hahah. but my mouse is spoilt so im kinda having a hard time using the comp. :/
okay so alot of things have happened. first of all the yep trip. it was damn fun! really enjoyed the experience. great n unpleasant times..it was all a good learning experience. lets see. 1st 4 days we were at khao yai national park. first night we slept in tents n i shared one w sharmila. the stars were so beautiful! n we woke up soaked in dew n freezing cold. it was so cold i really couldnt move properly. my joints were like stiff. ok but to cut a long story short. i miss thailand! i miss the people- the pees. the kids. the villagers. i miss our 'house' despite all the rhino -motorbike sounding- beetles n the -terrorist!- praying mantis tt came clinging to our mosquito net. our 'house' at dek rak pha was this cute wooden thing on stilts! it was v windy n our clothes dried real fast. n its super cosy n actually quite comfy. four of us [me,jill,sharm,charlotte] slept tog on sleeping bags n blankets on the floor. :) actually it was supposed to be 3 per house but the first 2 nites meera n pj n charlotte came to sleep w us cos we were freaked out. hehheh.but then it got a lil squeezy n i had fever so meera n pj decided to move out cos pj was a lil sick too. yeahh, i had fever. argh. felt kinda horrible cos i couldnt join in the activities for 1 day but after tt i was ok:) but 1 thing i dont miss is the toilets. oh my gosh. it was scary to bathe ok. sharmila should noe. hahah. somehow frogs n beetles n whatevers all manage to share the toilet w her. n she would freak out inside n we would all be trying not to panic. hahah. for me i just dash inside n quickly pour water all over me without looking at anything. ignorance is bliss. heheh. but still could feel flies 'dive-bombing' me while i bathed so i just close my eyes. hahahah. quite funny now tt i think of it but then it was totally horrifying ok. ohh! n we had to work in the rice fields 1 day during homestay. it was a killer man. was carrying n bundling bundles n bundles of rice all across the fields. ahhh. had cuts all over me. not to mention the ladybirds swarming the place. but it was a once in a lifetime experience :) oh oh n while i was bundling this bundle up..a huge grasshopper! or whatever it was leaped onto me.it was the size of my palm ok n when it jumped on me my whole shoulder was pushed back by the impact. scary man. n i yelped n brushed it away.. -shudders- hahah. but it was seriously vvvvvvtiring. n we had to use sickles to cut the rice too. all tt trouble for a few sacks of rice?! now i noe how a farmer must feel. after tt we all just collapsed on the hammocks at the house n slept. it was extreme exhaustion man. charlotte n i shared a hammock n half way i remember getting off to join pj on the bed beside the rice fields cos i was falling off the hammock. hahah. n we slept for 2 hrs straight. only to awake to have thai kids n villagers looking at us n giggling. haha. think we amuse them too much. shrieking at insects n sliding down hills n falling into rivers while crossing bridges. hahah. oh man. feel so pathetic sometimes. at khao yai national park [which is 4 times the size of spore] we went to swim at a waterfall. and i almost drowned la! gosh..n i thought i was an okay swimmer. :/ the rocks were slimy n sharp.. n the water looked rather still n manageable. but the undercurrents were super strong ok! i dived into the ice cold depths n tried to swim to the other end n halfway i realised tt i was kicking w all my might but i was still stationary. then i was like...shit. my legs were starting to cramp la n i was starting to get tired. n i was nowhere near the land. n geraldine who had jumped in after me was in trouble too. hahah. she was like 'eh can u wait for me! there are alot of things brushing against me' n she was also like not moving like me. hahah. tthen we tried swimming on our backs but a wave came n engulfed me making me swallow water. thank goodness one of the pees. p rod came n rescued us. we were like gasping n clinging to his arms. think we almost drowned him too. :/ hahah. n he brought us to shore. so embarrasing lah. all ard us thai kids half our size were swimming across with great ease. n some of us even had to be brought life vests! me n geraldine shared one. hahah. pathetic man. but b4 u guys laugh. the currents were real strong ok! sighh. really enjoyed those times... painting by the candlelight at night. lying down on the mats outside to star gaze n talk. chasing huge porcupines ard n tryg to get a pic of it. singing songs n playing games. chatting w the pees. abt life n everything else. taking midnight strolls..playing w n painting masks w my buddy on. trying to make my buddy dance n recieving a plant fr her. cooking n chopping mountains of food. sending off our beautiful kratongs into the 'river' late at night with everyone lighting the candles n singing. hearing the kids laughter. laughing at the antics of pee charn n deaw n the rest. having the ticklers run ard me trying to tickle me. having kids i dont know coming up to me n shaking my hand. asking me to write in their book for them. pee charn calling me terriole n always trying to disturb me. deaw , my 'laotian sister' trying to convince everyone n me tt im actually fr laos n tt he is my brother, no sister. hahahah. jill n i managing the limbo rock w an eager enthusiastic grp of thai kids. the farewell ceremony where many came n tied e strings for me. the hugs i recieved. little kids clinging to my arms sobbing. gathering ard us as they watched us pack our luggage in the hall....the hugs n shy restrained goodbyes. cramped in the van as we all drove away to the sound of their goodbyes n waving all sniffling in the van. i miss it all man. n even if this may not be the last trip like tt i'll be making..n i might still be able to keep in contact w them via the net. it wont be the same....like menon said. 'i shall not pass this way again.' im glad i came for this trip :) even if it meant roughing it out for 2wks of my hols n missing moving day into my new house. cos lives have been touched in those 2 wks. mine included. :)
still, im glad to be back. :) since this is a super long entry i guess i'll stop here. its impossible to encapsulate wat ive experienced in 2 wks here anw.
Look to this day. For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is but a vision. but today well lived makes, every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. :]
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dreamed.at .|. 8:17 AM