Well this New Year's has got to be the best I've ever had!!!! I had to post about it right away while it is still vivid in my memory.
The original plan was to go to the Countdown Party at Koh Phangan...the local friend that Kyle made, Keng, was going to take us there with his friends (Marti, Phut, Tan, Nellie, and others)....but unfortunately a tropical storm hit the islands and made the seas really rough and unsafe for the speedboats, so we decided to stay on Samui. I was initially disappointed because I'd hoped to meet up with some of the Seetanu group over there, but I reminded myself that everything happens for a reason.
Keng picked us up at our bungalows and took us to his home, where a group of his friends were sitting on the front porch at a table filled with Singa Beer and authentic Thai appetizers. We sat down and were so warmly welcomed, immediately given glasses of beer with the infamous Thai smiles. They even picked fresh coconuts off the trees and poured us glasses of coconut milk to try. We learned the Thai way of saying cheers ('chung gao'), and got a lot of practice saying it throughout the evening!!!
We then headed to a restaurant at Chewang Beach, where the long table at which we sat was filled with incredible Thai food - fried rice, curry prawns, spicy soup, beef....I've never eaten so much in my life!! At this point, fireworks were going off all over the beach...you could feel the excitement rising in the air as midnight neared....
And now the most magical part of the evening....at 11:30 we walked to the beach, right up to the water's edge so that the waves were lapping up against our feet. The beach was absolutely packed, even more so than at the Full Moon Party, but again everyone was there simply to have a good time and I couldn't have felt safer or more comfortable. Now here's the hard part....what I saw was indescribable, and yet I'm faced with the task of trying to explain it in a way that does it justice....I'll do my best...
The sky literally took my breath away...here on Samui there are Good Luck lanterns that you can light and release into the sky. They're quite big, probably about 3 feet tall and made of a white paper fabric shaped as a cylinder. There were literally thousands of these speckling the sky like golden stars, slowly floating down the beach being carried in the wind and creeping upwards in the night. Mixed among these, massive displays of fireworks were being set off all around the bay as far as the eye could see, with some no more than 20 feet from where I stood....they literally went off directly above my head. This scene was truly magical....not something you could ever capture on film, but can only hope to imprint forever in your memory...
Last night, I escaped the tourist world and joined the local culture. I was given a taste of Thai hospitality and witnessed the very best of Thailand. The people here are the most genuine I've ever met, wanting nothing more than to spend time showing you their country and make you as comfortable as possible. I am lucky to be here and cannot begin to express how much this New Year's meant to me.
I have to believe that 2008 is going to be a good year based on this most incredible start...
Happy New Year!!!
[this is good] WOW! That sounds amazing Angie, I'd have to agree with you that with a start like that it's going to be a good year!
Posted by: David Christopher | 01/02/2008 at 10:58 AM