life of pai

pai, thailand

one would be forgiven for confusing this town with boulder, co. there are mountains looming, a meandering creek, courses for yoga and massage, an abundance of thai food, and not all of the long-hairs are posers. there is even a buffalo exchange.

the town has the feel of being the right place to be for me, right now. wifi is abundant and i've been able to get good audio feeds for the ncaa basketball tournament (my bracket is looking pretty tough, btw [raises and holds hand in air, waiting for monster high five.]) plus, i'm sick. nothing bad, just seems like the mucus factory got a stimulus grant and my slight cough comes with textures. i did just spend three consecutive days of at least eleven hours in moving vessels with dozens of others, so being sedentary in a relaxed town is as good a prescription as any. a relaxed town that sells ginger tea on every corner, i might add.

still, i'm a bit bored by it all. the "illness" is not confining; i could very well keep pushing the proverbial tempo if i wanted. actually, if some dutch couple did not want to ride elephants today, i would be cooking with bamboo and sleeping near the myanmar border right now. instead, i'll have to wait until tomorrow. the meantime has been filled with hammocks and tea and earnest attempts at breaking through the poor writing in a tesla biography. the number of fresh fruit smoothies is approaching double digits. and i'm not relaxed.

what i thought would be an exercise in recovery has actually been a test of patience. this is week number twelve (more or less) of get-up-and-go. riding from dawn to dusk to pack all the travel into one day, allowing the next for whatever temple/beach/historical site is at the end of the road. i've parked myself for four or five days here or there, but even that felt methodical. those who know me would be loathe to use such pejoratives as "planner" and "restless" in my description. somehow, some way, that's kind of what i become out here.

it's a good approach for this life. spending six weeks on ecstasy in ko phi phi may work for some, but the better call is to actually, ya know, see a place. ergo, transporting oneself like a cliche '80s song title. but that day will come when the bag gets put down and there's no more guidebook necessary. get-up-and-go will come from the alarm clock and some expectant combination of boss and client. coffee will be taken in motion and the ability to put something off for another day will provide the true reward. the key, i'm thinking, is how to balance the two.

this is the part where i say that i have found it and, truth be told, i think i have. for me. that's why i do/did this. it involves a little more movement and a high degree of uncertainty, a combination that i'm slowly realizing brings out the best in me. so i still have a bit more time to plan. a bit more time to think of logistics. i suppose it'd be a good hour to get some more tea, maybe even a little rest. this town is suitable for the night, but there's a jungle waiting for me out there tomorrow.