Where in the World is Garry?

Postcard from the Edge

Free Charge To Refill contd...

I didn't go in to find out if it lived up to its name. In hind sight though from a marketing perspective the name is a disaster but from a PR perspective it is a success. What else should one expect at an airport afterall?

Routine

When finally I arrive on Samui the process of assimilation into island life begins. After the initial awe of finding oneself on an island in the Gulf of Thailand surrounded by crystal clear waters and palm trees the dread of what to do sets in. (Well, for me it does but what else to expect from an obsessive compulsive type A personality night mare?)

My more efficient, go fast life craves routine. Every spare minute in every day is accounted for and so I forget how difficult it is to shed this skin which threatens to choke my freedom. Thrown into the abyss of 100% leisure time I thrash around grasping for the life preserver we call routine. I cannot sit still for than 5 minutes, I should be doing something else - but what? This is an island paradise and there is nothing to do but relax. Ironically I cannot seem to relax unless I am doing something.

The mornings are my favourite time of day. There are no mosquitoes and the majority of the guests, like the mosquitoes, are sleeping. I stumble out of bed still sleepy. The sun peaks through the gaps in my hut and catches the motes of dust in its soft light. I pull on my swimming trunks, throw open the door "rubbing my eyes". The warm air caresses my skin and I wonder why I ever left this place to return to the cold damp air of san francsico? Having grown up in England I don't think the novelty of this experience can ever grow old but almost anything, when repeated often enough becomes routine and ultimately mundane. Variety, afterall, is the spice of life. It is a short walk of 20 yards or so to the inviting water. I cannot think of a better way to wake up than splashing around in the sea with a brilliant blue sky above bordered by a lush green canopy of palm trees which cover the hills. But now what?

Well, breakfast of course. This is certainly the highlight of the day for me. I am able to sit in the shade of a palm tree overlooking the ocean as the hawkers begin to ply their trade relentlessly up and down the beach. "Henna, Henna, Painting, Painting" "Salong, Salong, you want Salong?" My stomach is empty and I look forward to my first meal of the day with relish. Pun intended. Still, after breakfast the void of the day looms large and I start to fidget yet again. This trip I decided to frequent the gym every day. I managed for the first week but this quickly lost its novelty. Working out without the comfort of air conditioning can get tedious besides, the weights get a bit slippery when one's palms are sweaty.

This gym is an experience in this island paradise. Located on the first floor above a coffee shop overlooking the main Chaweng beach drag. It was pretty well equipped, open plan with no windows and an interesting mixture of clientele. The people like myself, who as part of their routine at home use the gym regularly and visitors who obviously had not used the gym at home but saw this as the perfect opportunity to start. However for me the strangest clients were the working girls who thanks to the gradual westernization of the island find themselves on bicycles and treadmills working out with their tricks. As if this job wasn't already difficult enough they have to sweat and toil in the gym too now. Definitely time to consider forming a union.

But why can't I relax? What is it that prevents me from immersing myself in this life of leisure? Some might say it is my personality type but there used to be a time when I could let go and just be. Ignorance is bliss they say and now I know what they mean. MY particular problem seems to be that doing nothing highlights the fact that I do not know what I really should be doing. What should I be doing? What is the right way to spend my time here? When I say here I don't mean here on samui I mean here, sub luna, tera firma, mother earth.

As Peter De Vries puts it

Anyone informed that the universe is expanding and contracting in pulsations of eighty billion years has a right to ask, 'What's in it for me?'

Unfortunately all I have are questions at the moment, but as a wise old sage once said

Better to question without answer than to never question at all

Routine is the anesthesia which dulls the constant pain of the nagging question of "Why are we here?"

Read More >>

"Basic cafe, so good they

named it three

times"