The last seven days were perhaps the most thrilling, adventurous & fun-filled days of my life. With the perfect mix of spirits, timing, planning, randomness & people, there could not have been a better way to begin the year than our trip to Thailand and Malaysia. Bundle ZNMD, Rock On & Hangover into one and you’ll get an idea of what I am talking about.
From the 31st night celebrations at Patong, the party capital of Asia to sleeping on the beach the next morning to watching brilliant fireworks & lamps flying high in the skies as well as the thousands of pole dancers, strippers & bikini clad people welcoming the new year – 31st night had never been this different, magnificent and amazing. The grooving and gyrating continued every night till Jan 3rd at the picturesque beaches of Phi Phi island. But Patong had set a benchmark so high, that we couldn’t quite get over its hangover in terms of magnitude, people and spirits.
If you search through wikitravel you’d come across this line – “One could visit Thailand only for the food”. 200% true. With multiple foodgasms (a constant movement of the head from left to right in appreciation of the food), S.E. Asia is a foodie’s paradise. Thai cuisine is like that extra hot girl-friend who’d make you cry but you’d still want more. Delicacies of chicken, crab, salmon, tuna, squids, prawn, shrimp and many more with rice, soups, pad thai, noodles etc. tingled the taste buds at Krabi, Phuket, Kata, Phi Phi & KL. The banana pancakes with coconut, chocolate & pineapple were so good that I wonder why no one has ever opened a chain of the pancakes in India. To add to that the regulars like Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks Coffee, Swiss and Belgian chocolates were the icing on the cake.
The multicolored aquatic life that we see on Nat Geo and Discovery Channel are 100 times more resplendent, beautiful and amazing when seen in reality. Snorkelling & diving at different parts of the Andaman Sea (Shark point, Maya Bay (The Beach movie of Leanardo Di Caprio), Mosquito Beach, Monkey Island) were breathtaking. To be able to swim with the fishes painting the blue waters with every imaginable color of the spectrum, water glittering like diamonds due to the sunrays, to be able to feel the warm and cold currents and the vast expanse of the see, knowing that we are nothing but a very tiny part of this wonderful creation was an amazing feeling and definitely the high point of the whole trip. Along with this the gorgeous beaches, the beautiful people, climbing 1237 steps to reach the top of a temple and a similar pain to reach the view point at Phi Phi island were all worthwhile. Next in store was an arduous and adventurous trip to Koh Phtalin (Koh = between land and sea, phtalin = clay) where we explored the mangrove forests via kayaking. To experience some man made thrill we went to Genting Highlands in Malaysia – where being dropped from 500m to a sudden halt (Space Shot) and amazing roller coasters literally took our voices and breath away. The ice show by a Russian group Freeze – a mix of magic, illusions, acrobats on ice, music and theatre was truly spectacular. With not enough enthusiasm (read cash), a walk through the huge Casino took around an hour. Perhaps a course on scuba diving and splurge@casino some other time.
From having a fierce debate with a cricket crazy South African who screamed “baatu baatu” when the boat was leaving without me (I was happily snorkeling and bhaating with the fishes) to having a nice deep conversation with a Swedish girl to meeting an old Korean who seemed to know more about India than anyone else, there were bhaat sessions galore. The best part of bhaating on foreign lands is that you don’t talk about stuff that involves your daily routine life – politics, work and problems. The settings are perfect for people to converse with an open mind and for a change not trying to prove a point or form an opinion. You just listen, accept, absorb and move on. With Lokesh & Co. machaofying & Maa Behen karofying all the time, I would often sneak out, talk with random people, have a quiet soliloquy & write stuff just to clear my head & reflect – something that I had been trying to do unsuccessfully for a long time. Sometimes one has to take oneself out, disconnect to understand things better.
With so much happening in such a short time, one had to step into one of the omnipresent massage parlors. Two Thai and one foot massage later, one was as good as brand new.
The best thing about the trip was that it was 20% planned and the rest 80% was random, there was that sense of excitement, of things changing, of not being in complete control. The open-minded, bring it on, we’ll take it as we get it sorts attitude by Lokesh, Manish & Layak made it an awesome foursome.
2011 passed away with the blink of an eye. With not many things to cherish, one year from the prime time of my life had been taken away. 2012 had to be different. If morning shows the day, then 2012 will be a year that would definitely leave a mark, more to cherish, remember and treasure.
2012 is the year of the Water Dragon according to the Chinese calendar. The dragon symbolizes prosperity, energy, strength & zeal while water has a cooling, balancing effect. May 2012 be the year of discoveries, dreams, achievements and merriment. One can’t wait and watch for life’s too short. Just plan a little, keep pursuing, keep pushing. Gravity, God and other forces would take care of the rest.
Eagerly waiting for the release of Rock On 2 (Macha Diye 2).
"
Taannaa na na na nana na...Pichle Saat Dinon mein....."
p.s. Check out the pics at facebook.
