don't go chasing waterfalls

Hey man…

Hope you are enjoying the east coast and your family…you should have your own blog. And it better be funny, damnit.

Things are getting a bit busier around here. Working the looooong days. 15 hours easy and none of those pesky sag rules that keep me in the sleep and trailer. Just a chair (if I am lucky) and 5 hours off or so for the weekend. We pulled a hard night on Saturday until 5:30 am which basically killed our day off Sunday. The call for Monday: a dreadful 6 am. Guh. I tried to make myself sleep and then tried to make myself wake up on Sunday so I could get to bed that night and have a decent night’s rest. Spencer and I decided to hit up one of the islands just off the coast here but the rains had a different idea. The sky was dark and turning and we were beat down. Our driver, kwan, recommended we go to the waterfall just 50 k away and we begrudgingly agreed. Sometimes it is easier to just say yes than to try and have things translated, especially things like I am not able to hold my eyes open or riding in the back of this van on these less than paved roads is hurting my neck. But alas, we made it. And man. It changed the whole of my (minute) weekend. Turns out this waterfall is a national park and is a seven tiered wonder spanning almost 600 meters. Spencer and nueng (one of the wonders that is Thailand) climbed up past kids doing back flips into the shallow pools near the bottom. We thought that was kind of it but then noticed the idea of a path into the jungle. I am not sure when the last time you hiked in the jungle was, but I am sure you did not wear flip flops and shorts. It does not make the climbing any easier. And I say climb because that is what it turned out to be for much of the way up. Hand over hand, tight, winding path that just disappeared into the clouds overhead. The three of us stopped about 30 minutes up the way and spencer made a dash for the pool at the base of the third tier. Nueng joined him. I had to press on. Buy stock in rainbow flip flops. Man, they held their own up there. Slipping and sliding and dripping sweat for another 30 minutes I up, I was beat and, honestly, a bit scared of the jungle. By now, it was not the tame, friendly place near the bottom. Dark, loud, and buggy as fuck. I kept stepping onto logs that just burst from my weight, the insides ravaged long ago by some termite hoard, each one the size of you thumb. By the time I reached the pool where spencer was, he was almost ready to get out. He jumped right back in thought when I learned we could jump off the cliff over looking the pool. Then he jumped. Then he made me climb higher and jump. Then we gave the camera to nueng and did flips for her. The sweat from the climb and the mineral water rejuvenated us in so many ways. We ended up staying for hours.

We thought our day was over, but it only got better on the drive home when we learned our new driver was also a local cop. And as you know, sean, cops always get the best deals and know “the praces wit da best taste.” After a quick swim in the hotel pool and shower, we headed to his local joint (he carried his police walkie and his gun) for some southern thai food. As I think I have said, southern thai food is spicier, heartier, and more seafood oriented. We hit all three of these. Dish after dish of amazing flavors. fried fish with crispy garlic. Prawns the size of small birds floating in coconut milk which we grabbed with our hands and sucked to the shell. Spencer was consuming ice cubes whole to cool the fire. That is when I got the nickname “pha lang mahasachan,” or miracle foreigner. The owner of the restaurant came out (he is a driven fan?!) and gave me a house special he wanted me to try. Before I knew it, my first real fear factor food was there: sautéed cricket pods from the coconut tree. They were fried with garlic and thai chilis (natch) and looked every bit the part. But, when in Rome…I was first up and after the initial explosion of juices, I was actually quite pleased. Kwan, the cop driver, hit his. Spencer tried to wriggle his way out, but I was not having it. He said he does not have to it again but was not totally turned off. None of the thai gals got involved. I think we drank 700 chang beers (elephant in thai, malt liquor) and finished with a street bought coconut to end the night. I slept like a child. Another thai day that just brought the unexpected and surpassed any of my wildest thoughts…


nb: spencer is old. therefore, he has not figured out how to work the interweb in this country and has yet to email me pics. they will be up soon. in the meantime, i pulled this waterfall pic from the web to whet your appetite. i could not find pics of the bugs to whet it even more.