Extreme Hammocking and a blogging debut

Greetings to all of you that have graciously taken some time out to find out how Chan and I are doing on our little adventure. Trying to avoid lengthy passages of prose so am trying to bring regular features to each update.

    

First up is Good idea, Bad idea. A concept borrowed from anamaniacs.

Good Idea

Cheap and Deliscious street food

Bad Idea

Thinking that just because loads of thai's are eating there it must be good. This led to a breakfast that resemblemed watery slimey ricey porridge with balls of mystery meat and raw egg.

Good Idea

Taraq suggested that I set up a 'fake' wallet and have disposable old bank cards and just enough money for the day so that if it comes to robbery you just hand it over.

Bad Idea

Keeping your fake bank card safe and leaving your real one in the machine.

Good Idea

Having air con on night buses for a cool, calm and peaceful travel experience.

Bad idea

Having the old and extremely loud air con up way too high so that not only is it freezing and noisy it also drips on you throughout the night.

Next up is a Shared Experience with words and thoughts rather than continuous prose. 1st up is my first 30min foot massage:

Foot wash (shared laughter - ohh that thickles), Rules: no phones, no talking. Her phone rings, She starts talking. Told to relax - let go of 1 months hectic planning and packing in an arduos second. It feels so good that everything makes sense - working, saving, leaving loved ones. Focus on breathing to stop mind wondering, mind wanders, back to present, grateful to yoga teaching for technique, sensual relaxation, serenity, bliss and peace. FIREWORKS (the loudest I have ever heard, even through a wall!), noise stops, joy returns, joy stays, Chantelle snores, actually LOL, annoyed at a past Joe for making the stupid decision to only have half an hour. Try to enjoy last moments (never understand why always harder to enjoy than the first even though they really are the same), leave happy with bliss meandering through me and the reassurance of a 3 pound 60 bill and the knowledge of tomorrows return.

Last up this time is Give It A Go and is something that we have been enjoying that you could try where ever this blog finds you.

When I first saw the street sellers there were lots of t-shirts saying 'same, same' on the front and 'but different' on the back. Although the expresion seemed familar it certainly held no significance for me. Then the more I interacted with Thai people the more sense it made. They often say things twice (easy, easy or look, look) and it is actually often true. Here are a couple of examples and then maybe you can share some with me.

1. Toilets are nearly always visited for the same reason but here everyone is different - seat flushing system, toilet paper or not. So it is easy to describe the tiolets as Same, Same but different.

2. Travelers often have the same outlook and goals but are all kinds of ages and from all corners of the globe. You can definately describe them as Same, Same but different.

That's all for now folks. Happy Christmas and look forward to your posts and comments. Love Joseph and Chantelle x