Shrinking World, Growing Self
There is a puddle of water forming on the floor around where my absolutely, sopping, dripping, totally saturated body sits to write this humble entry, and that... ... is amazing.
After several months without even seeing a drop of rain, and a year of never feeling it, the jungle hilltops on the island of Penang, Malaysia answered the, until then unknown to me, deepest desires of my soul. I spent perhaps 7 hours today tromping around the hillside and the outer city in intermittent tropical downpours, my valuables tucked inside plastic bags and my heart on my sleeve. It was cleansing, mind, body, and soul. I climbed to the top of the pagoda at Kek Lok Si temple in the Penang Hills and basked in it. Thinking, why the hell not, I stopped inside the temple and, removing my shoes, joined a large group of monks and some chinese tourists bowing to one of several massive golden Buddha statues. I never made it to the poisonous snake temple. Perhaps tomorrow morning.
I needed today after the previous 26 hours across southwestern Thailand on minibusses. They didn't count the stopovers, and so on their 10 hour long journey estimate I didn't bring any Thai Baht currency with me, and so I had no food or water during this time. On one three hour bus our air conditioning broke. Eighty percent humidity, thirty-six degrees, ten people, one microbus, zero water.
Bangkok before this was rife with culture shock and extremes. Straight out of the middle east I arrived to a city that hasn't even learned the phrase "conservative society", and although maybe that's what I needed, it was a bit much to take in. A rowdy hostel filled with Brits and Australians welcomed me with drinks in hand and out into the wilds of Bangkok's night life we flew amidst swarms of pursuant Thai girls, and boys, and boys who look like girls, and boys who now offically ARE girls, "family cafes" with forty dancers on stage, black label scotch from the corner store, and tales unfit for any livejournal wound their way around 3 nights of staying up until dawn. I still managed a little tourist sightseeing, and I took in a ringside Muay Thai kickboxing match at the premier arena in the world, and had my photo taken with the reigning champion.
Tomorrow I will rent a motorbike and attempt to find the poisonous snake temple if I have time before catching a bus to Kuala Lumpur. I am working my way toward Singapore now, where I have a lot of healthy relaxing and catching up with Mark to do before heading homeward.
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