Day Two

Christmas morning began with a chill in the air that reminded me of early spring on Pika Road in Boulder. My wardrobe of cold weather wear was limited to one pair of jeans and a light biking windbreaker. I didn’t bring any long sleeved shirts.  

            After breakfast and the morning group/reading session ended it was badminton time. Little did I know badminton is a serious sport in Thailand, consisting of fake serves to fool your opponent and bullet drives reminiscent of spiking in volleyball. This was a match I probably should have avoided. The motions needed to sprint, laterally move, and swing a racket was something I hadn’t attempted in years. After about ten minutes of play I found myself in severe pain. Ty, our athletic director, I believe I incorrectly called him Ali in yesterday’s post, gave my a short deep tissue massage limited to my lower back and buttocks – I was rejuvenated, and with dreams of fame, fortune, and Nike commercials I once again joined my fellow teammates.

            Two hours later I couldn’t believe I was mounting a mountain bike, actually it was the only cross-bike they had – being a gentlemen I let everyone else choose their bikes first. The ride was wonderful. I made a joke of being outside the gates and screamed “freedom at last” one time to many. I’m not sure if it’s my particular sense of humor that goes ignored or the fact that these people are humorless – something I intend to explore in the near future. The two women riding slowed us down, which was probably a good thing for me. Our group of four spent an hour gently coasting on flat narrow paved and unpaved roads that proved to be effortless and thoroughly enjoyable. The scenery consisted of rice patties, private residences of all scales, a Wat, a river and small pond that Ty called a lake. We stopped at a local market for a short break at an intersection and I was reminded of how much I missed my freedom. I’ve been thinking about discussing my unhappiness regarding the rules and regulations that I felt were not discussed during the marketing and evaluation calls in October and November. I also needed to do some cooler weather shopping for clothes very soon.

            The ride was immediately followed by a one-hour massage in my room. The ninety-minute message I requested at registration was met with deaf ears. The masseuse was fair at best compared to my experience in Phuket last September. This was my second massage with the same women, once again my request to change masseuses was ignored. Offering the benefit of doubt, I’ll assume my requests are being ignored due to a skeleton staff over the holidays.

            Christmas dinner was magnificent. It was served buffet style at the side of the river that runs directly behind “The Cabin”. Everyone was dressed to the nines, and the staff looked more youthful and beautiful than ever. If there is one single high point that would keep me here for any length of time it would be the food – The cook has developed the perfect mix of Thai and American dishes skillfully prepared.

            I was very much looking forward to my first night of sleep since arriving. My thoughts were that the sport activities in addition to ending a magnificent day with a full turkey dinner that sleep should easy follow. I didn’t except the problem that would arise. Christmas in Thailand is not the somber religious or family event one might have in the U.S. It’s more like the combination of Christmas and New Year’s all rolled into one – with firecrackers and loud music blasting into the wee morning hours. The private residence directly behind my cabin played the most awful consent electronic drum solo that I guessed was created by a machine designed to perform backup for music lessons. It played a two-minute piece repeatedly, without any musical accompaniment, over and over and over again. I tried using wads of tissue as earplugs to little avail. The electronic bass of the drums vibrated through my bones, I don’t think my ears were used at all.

            Due to my fatigue I fell into a light sleep anyway, but the continuous drum solo caused God awful dreams all having the same scenario. It was a chase theme on foot in small confined office spaces with my aggressor getting closer and closer. Before I was ever caught I would wake for a few moments than fall back asleep then the dream would reoccur with the drum solo as the soundtrack. I was desperate by 1:00 am to tried to find the where this maddening noise was coming from. I wanted to destroy it along with any people that thought this was music. It was silenced by a kind soul around 2:00 am. Only then could I fall into a quiet restful undisturbed sleep that lasted about four hours.

            As I get up from the desk chair after writing this I can feel my leg calf and thigh muscles are quite sore – in a good way. The way you feel after a good day exercising with a new routine. A soreness that says I’m out of shape and need to get my act together. My back is in the same miserable condition as usual – at least I can walk.

            Today, Sunday is our weekly field trip outside this enclave. I understand Hans, the meditation instructor, is taking us to a petting zoo with live Tigers. I’ll take pictures for Luna and Cruz to be posted on tomorrow’s blog.