And lots of
it. Living on a Thai island isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. In fact it’s a
lot of intense sun for nine months and then it’s not. Then, it just rains. And
here, the saying “when it rains, it pours” could not ring any truer. I have never
seen rain like this. Forrest Gump was spot-on when he talked about the rain in
Vietnam.
One day it started raining, and it didn’t
quit for four months. We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty
stingin’ rain…and big ol’ fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes
rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at
night…
I can
definitely say, we’ve seen all of these types of rain and more. Along with this
rain (and the intense heat of months prior) comes blackouts. Electricity
failure is common due to all the illegal connections to the grid, so when it’s
too something it just shuts down.
So we’ve
learned to live with rolling blackouts and all that comes with having no
electricity (no air conditioning, fans, wifi, lights, TVs, computers, etc.). We’ve
also learned to live with (and sometimes love) many other things that at first
seemed like you just can’t live without them, or with them. But, when you have
no other options (literally) you can. And you will. And most likely you’ll have
a much better experience (or a good story to tell) in their absence or presence.
Take for
example the other day I did one of those “just so Asian” things that I’ve always chastised as being so dangerous
while also questioning the person’s brain capacity. And I lived. And only got
half as soaked had I not rode my bike one handed with my umbrella up the entire
time. I had no other options. And in fact I may have even enjoyed it bit…it felt
very Mary Poppins like—so no more judging! But now I do get it. When it rains and you
have to be somewhere…you gotta do what you gotta do. At least I didn’t do the
total donkey move and put a clear plastic bag all the way over my head to
protect me from the rain (now you know who those suffocation disclaimers on the
bags are for).
Living on this
semi-remote island also leaves you with limited options. Beer, sure there are 3
choices and they all taste the same (like Bud Light). Food, sure there are two choices Thai food
(rice or noodles) or shitty Western food. Wine, yup there’s wine but it will
cost you an arm and a leg for a crap bottle of wine that is just $4 in the
States. Things to do, absolutely! If you
like the beach…or eating (see above choices)…or drinking (again, above are the
choices)…or dodging rain drops, giant muddy puddles, and being splashed by cars
while going anywhere…or baking in a sun so hot that you’re always wet with
sweat or are on a mission to find the closest AC or body of water…then yes,
Lanta is the place for you!
I kid. For
the most part.
In truth, this
island has some of the most gorgeous beaches, views, and nature you can find in
all the world, and it’s all right here on this tiny piece of land in the middle
of the Andaman Sea. And I’m grateful
everyday of my life that I’m part of it.
However, we
are still living on an island. An island in the tropics. Which, surprisingly, has
quite a bit of that isolation feeling still going for it.
We had
avocados available for 2 glorious months. We have no clue what the latest
movies may be as we most definitely do not have a mall, a theater, or really
any resemblance of an enclosed (non-bamboo) shop beyond the bajillion 7-11s. We
tell time by the sun (Literally. It rises at 6 am and sets at 6:30 pm.
Everyday). Our internet connection is limited to when we’re at home or eating
out. Credit cards are not accepted as a form of payment, only cash. And there
is an entire menagerie of animals around every corner. In the past week alone
we’ve seen: monkeys, giant monitor lizards (think komodo dragon), birds of prey
out hunting, a beached dolphin, a dead capybara (Ulick saw that one alone), crabs,
house geckos, fish of all kinds, baby squids or jellyfish (unclear), snakes,
frogs, rats, turtles, weird living barnacle urchin things, and of course the street
packs of feral dogs and cats.
While we may
be isolated, we are definitely not alone. There’s a small town vibe going on
here—I wave at the same people (and dogs & cows) everyday on the way to and
from work—the water man, the ice man, the man in the wheelchair, the old lady
with the eye patch, the pharmacy woman who is always buying fried chicken at
8:15 am, the man delivering the fish, the guy we bought our motorbike from,
etc.—and having this very “same same” routine day in and day out is weirdly comforting
and refreshing.
We know our
neighbors. We have a local bar. We spend quality time together. And we have
time to dream. What more could you ask for with life.
I’ll definitely
take this laid back life of being disconnected and monotonous in our food, drink,
and routine 95% of the time—the other 5%, GET ME OFF THIS ISLAND!
Don’t worry,
we won’t be naming volleyballs anytime soon. We’ve definitely made plans to get
out of here at least once per month; our upcoming trips include: Vietnam, Trang,
Bangkok, Japan, Iceland, Hong Kong, Chiang Mai, and then back to the States in
December.
#IslandLife
