There is nothing like a trip half way around the world to shed a little light back into the world you just came from. Don't worry, I'm not about to digress back into an introspective rant. I could though...
Instead I will try and answer the questions proposed by you, the reader. Lets start with the five senses shall we?
Smells: Being that it is the most nostalgic sense I have to admit that the nights here remind me of the time I have spent in the mid-west. Because it has been unseasonably damp over the last few days everything smells humid. Mix that in with dirt, the occasional piles of trash (Some of these are smoldering attempts to burn away what is flammable), the rich spices used in Thai cooking, raw sewage suntan lotion, cigarettes, and when your by the beach, the smell of the sea food section in City Market. Of course there are a couple other smells mixed in there but these are to subtle to truly describe.
Taste: As always the food is a bled of complex spices, steamed rice, vegetables cooked to the perfect consistency. The best dish by far is a coconut green curry with chicken and pineapple. Naturally the dish is best accompanied with steamed rice and a Chang (Thai beer).While 60-70% of the meals I have eaten here have been traditional Thai dishes, I have taken a risk and ordered the Thai version of several foods that I love to eat at home. By far the best American, or what I associate with being American, food has been the BBQ chicken. Let me say I have had some excellent grilled chicken but the Thai twist would give it a good run for its money. The other meals have always fallen short. Spaghetti consists of traditional Italian noodles with ketchup. The tuna sandwiches have left me feeling a little ill. Omelets are tolerable but pale in comparison to the monstrous things I made while back in college. As a side note I'm not complaining. If I wanted American food I never would have left the states.
Sounds:Unlike Phuket, Tonsai keeps a natural sound track rolling all the time. Right now I hear several crickets and other insects calling out. I hear the steady bass line of a rasta song. On the rare occasion you will hear the sounds of a motor bike putt putting by. In the morning you hear people drifting through conversations not really concerned about who is over hearing them. The diversity of language here is amazing. Yesterday our waiter spouted out how to say "hello" in at least a dozen languages. If you lived here for very long it would only be a matter of time before your foreign language abilities would sky rocket.
Sights: If you have never been to a rain forest then watching the palm leaves sway in the evening breeze is a sight worth experiencing. Everything away from the white sandy beaches are a hue of green or brown. We have seen birds of paradise, a monitor lizard that would consider a chiuaua nothing but a snack, and a black snake that was either a python or the deadly cobra. At night you look down the dirt path that acts as the local highway an will see the bright lights of a bar beckoning to those passing by. Because it is a beach resort there is a lot of flesh. Men go shirtless most of the day and night. Women follow suit but only while basking in the sun on the beach.
Feel: Because we are climbing I have intimate knowledge with the texture of the local rocks. In one climb there was the slick(almost like soap stone), the jagged razor like, and the in between. The last makes for the best climbing. Scattered through out many of the climbs are deep pockets. Some are large enough to fit your entire arm into, while others are nothing more than a half-pad mono. Beyond the climbing aspect, sand finds it's way into everything. One night I went to bed in a clean bed and in the morning I woke up on a sand bar. Needless to say taking a shower after every adventure is not only advisable but necessary to keep your bungalow in some semblance of cleanliness. On top of the natural textures and physical sensations of Tonsai I could talk about the metaphorical "feel". That however is still developing, and I feel that if I tried to describe it now I would only be jumping the gun. I think it would be best to let that develope into something that will hold more weight.
For now I hope that helps with the questions and curiosity you are feeling where ever you are. Look for more pictures soon.
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