Sun 16 Sep 2007
The Art of Doing Nothing
Posted by Derek under Thailand
[3] Comments
The past few months have been incredibly hectic for us – leaving our jobs, selling a house, moving out of a house, preparing for this trip and…oh yeah…planning a wedding! I’m not sure we could count the number of to-do lists that we have prepared and completed. As we now look back on it, we’re not sure how we made it through it all without at least one nervous breakdown.
On our first day in Thailand 6 days ago, I was truly worried that neither Shanna nor I would be able to relax because we’re so used to being productive.  That fear was quickly allayed after laying in a beachside hammock for about 5 minutes. We’ve now settled into a “routine” of waking up at 9:45 to make it to breakfast right before our hotel stops serving it and heading to the beautiful pool or beach for a few hours of reading and listening to our iPods. At around 3:00, we eat lunch at the same open-air, waterfront restaurant - the Beach Club – because the food is amazing and we have never paid more than $10 total (after ordering 3 entrees, 2 shakes and a large bottle of water each day). In the late afternoon, we read some more, get a massage, take a nap and start thinking about where we’ll go to dinner.
I could definitely get used to this.
We keep talking about doing some activities, such as a half-day snorkeling trip around the island or a hike through the jungle. However, we just can’t muster the energy. Somehow, we finally gained enough strength to go sea kayaking yesterday. After an hour of this, however, we needed a nap.Â
One side note: While at a beach bar last night, there was a commotion behind us. A snake had slithered up under one of the tables. After playing with the snake for awhile (!!), one of the locals caught the snake with his hands and put it in a bag (presumably, to release it in the nearby jungle…or to prepare him for dinner). When we asked someone if this happens frequently, his response was – “Yep, quite frequently. Of course, that was ONLY a python; it’s more interesting when they are cobras.” Only a python…
Shanna and Derek,
You should have taken me along to handle the snakes. I grew up in the land of cobras and other snakes. However, my preference would have been to handle the delicious food. Please call if it is convinient. We miss hearing your voice a lot.
Love,
Papa
ONLY A PYTHON… Yeah, I see why I would not have freaked out. 😉
Holey-moly. You’re hanging out in places where they “play” with phythons. That’s totally wild (and also sounds very cool). It’s so great to see ya’lls smiling faces. Looks like the beaches of Thailand are treating you right. I’m so glad you enjoyed Paris. Those stairs up to the top of the Notre Dame can be a real workout! Glad you made it to the top. Miss you!