Reisdagboek #1

FROM SRI LANKA TO THAILAND

Some time ago, I had the idea of wanting to work abroad for a month. Thank goodness May agreed, and so it happened. But whether I would want to hold back a bit and not produce a flood of travel stories, because not everyone is on a tropical island. Fair point, fair point, but luckily I was allowed to keep a travel diary once a week. So from now on, you will receive an update about my life here at the beginning of the week, and here is the first one.

As I write this, it is Sunday, January 3rd, the new year has begun. After Sri Lanka I traveled on to Thailand and after a short visit to Bangkok, flew south and arrived by boats and cars on Koh Libong. Thailand has never really appealed to me because I find those busloads of hysterical tourists quite repulsive, but Koh Libong is an undiscovered gem with only a few hotels and resorts. And in one of those resorts, I am now, with about 30 others. Extremely relaxing.

Here I also celebrated New Year's Eve, or well, ‘celebrated’, it happened more. As in: there was a ‘gala dinner’ and a Thai ‘show’ and it was all so clumsy and silly, it really didn't amount to much, but in that awkwardness, it was extremely cute. At midnight, three rockets went up into the air, I released a wish balloon, and by 1:30 AM, I had had enough and was back in bed, extremely satisfied and just a little tipsy from the gin tonics.

My days here are filled with reading books on the beach or by the pool, typing little pieces on that same bed or in the beach bar, white wine at lunch, and occasionally taking a beach walk and going to bed on time. Really, I behave like an elderly person and I can't tell you enough how wonderful I find that.

On Saturday, I rented a scooter and rode one for the first time in my life, because how it can be, it can be, but I have never ridden a scooter before. I came across small paths through the village, where I unexpectedly found myself in the middle of a Thai wedding and was immediately invited to have lunch on a deserted beach where I again lay very idyllically on a blanket. The island is 40 square kilometers large, has 3500 inhabitants, and there is actually no normal restaurant or anything to be found. So you are at the mercy of your resort, but thank goodness I am in heaven, so I am extremely satisfied.

As mentioned, it is Sunday at the time of writing, and on Monday I departed for Koh Lanta. A lot bigger, and I really hope to avoid the busloads of tourists there as well. My tan is starting to fade nicely, so the skin is peeling off my body in chunks, which is a bit less pleasant. But hey, with five weeks left, that problem will be solved soon.