~try something new~

Sunday, 4th February 2001

breakfast tables ~

are great places to meet people

that is what i learn here in Thailand's guesthouses, where the tables are usually shared. which is really nicer, to have some conversation with the breakfast, some meeting of other traveller, some throughts shared with those who already staid in the place for some days.

this morning, i met a couple from New Jersey, Leika and Matt. they are on a four month journey through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Nepal.
"How can you afford that?", i asked
"Work your ass off," Leika answered, and laughed. then she got serious. "We both had good jobs and could save some money. After some time, it was enough to either renovate our flat, or have a big wedding, or make this trip. The decision was easy."

decisions. it is really one of the key words of this journey. to make a decision, it always means: to stop for a moment, to listen to the inner voices of thought and emotion, to figure out what it is that you want. where do you want to go today? do you want to stay in this place, or move on? and if you want to move, where do you want to go to?

but also: what do you want to eat for breakfast? where do you want to sit? do you want to read the newspaper, write some diary lines, or simply drink in the atmosphere? these are small decisions, true, but then, most of our live is a succession of such small decisions. whether we spend the evening taking a walk, reading a book, or meeting friends. whether we walk the ways we know, or walk ways we haven't been before.

"Every day, try something new" - that is the advice a traveller gave me in Sukhothai, at the breakfast table of the Lotus Village, when i wanted to order the same toast-and-jam breakfast i had the day before.

"But it's just breakfast," i said.
"It's making a difference," he answered.

and it is. for trying something new always includes a risk. for you don't know yet how you will like it. for it might well happen that your decision moves you in a place or situation you had imaged to turned out in a different way, in the way you had in mind when you made the decision

but that is part of it trying something new. or rather: the purpose of it. to widen the range of places and situations you have in mind. to add new colours, flavours, feelings, viewpoints.

like here in Songkhla. a place that sounded so neat. 'an old harbour town, its inhabitants a colourful mixture of Thais, Chinese and Malays, and the local architecture and cuisine reflect this combination. West of Th Ramwithi, toward the waterfront, you find the charming older town.

and the map just added to this description.

great, i thought, as i waited for the bus to take me southwards. yet the day started with the bus being late. so late that i missed the connecting bus in Trang. there always is another bus, i learned. only that it departed late, too, and took longer, much longer than expected. thus, instead of arriving in the afternoon, i arrived in the late evening.

now for a guesthouse, i thought, and walked off, in a mix of anger and frustration. of course, the one guesthouse i had marked was full already. the next, several streets further, felt odd the moment i entered the lobby. maybe it is just me, i thought, and asked for a room. they had one. i took it.

some minutes later, i sat there, on the bed, staring at a grey wall. what am i doing here, i wondered. and: i don't want to be here. after some more minutes i got up, and slipped in my shoes again.

outside, the same darkness, but easier to take, now that i had a place to stay. i walked around the block. and there, around the second corner, i came across it: another guesthouse. one not even in the book. i walked in again, asked for a room. they had two, and showed me both. better, i thought. much better. some minutes later i was back, with my luggage. i even got the money for the room back, against all expectation

tomorrow, i thought before i fell asleep. tomorrow it will be a new day, the sun will be shining, and this colourful town will wait for me.

but Songkhla had it a different way. after breakfast, i walked down the street, towards the sea front. it must be there, i thought, easy to find. yet all i found was houses. and more houses. no water views, no open lake, no fisher boats. i walked on, feeling the frustration rise again. the seafront. it was completely filled with buildings. they stood, wall on wall, blocking the view. this can't be true, i thought. and almost wanted to gave up. then i saw a small alley. i tried it. it lead through the houses, towards a jetty.

some boats waited there, people got in and out, like into buses.
"where are you going," i asked one of the boatmen.
he didn't understand.
i gestured toward the other side of the lake, and back.
"you go and come back?"
he nodded.
i got into the boat.
and learned that Songkhla has its very own style indeed. a town built into the water. where it is all about fish. the buildings that blocked the view, they all were fisher houses.

in the afternoon, i walked to the town again, with a new sight in mind: i wanted to walk up "Khao Tang Kuan" - a temple hill. again, it took some searching to find the access to the path that led up the hill in curves first. later, the curves turned into stone steps. and with every step, a wider view unfolded. the walk up was more demanding than i thought, with the steps going on and on, and the sky sending no cloud for shade. but when i reached the top, and breathed in the view, i knew it had been worth the effort, and the lesson learned:

that probably most times, your impression of a different place or situation really depends on your own point of view

~~~~~~~~~~
Do

see the travel pictures: time
read the next diary entry: KoPhaNgan- no room left in paradise

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