The Amazing Adventures of Kyrgyzstan and Col

Chapter Ten: The Edge of Reason

I’m not sure if I wrote anything for the month of December. If that’s the case, it’s a first for me. I’m sorry; this is long overdue. Photos to come.

White Elephant.

I took my first winter fall this afternoon. It was a quick up-down-up, but nonetheless, I have the stain on my jeans to prove it. After classes this morning, I decided to take a walk to O-Kochcor to visit my host-family and deliver some souvenirs I picked up from Thailand. I had two big bags in my hands and lost my footing. It was embarrassing. I had to give myself a pep talk to get my confidence back. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s that no one in this entire country feels the need to shovel freshly fallen snow before it begins to melt, turn to ice and then accumulate as the winter progresses. Really, it’s amazing there aren’t more shattered hips. What’s up, Mom?!?

Speaking of She-She. I met the parents along with my sister, Brigid, in Bangkok over New Year’s. My school gave me two weeks off for the holidays, and since I was here last year, I didn’t feel so bad leaving them on their own to bring in 2007. I flew to Thailand via Almaty, Kazakhstan, to Delhi, India, where I waited 18 hours for my connecting flight to Bangkok. Not fun. And of course, it wasn’t until my return trip back through that I realized I could make a $40 down payment in the Sheraton Welcome Lounge and sit on comfy sofas and eat and drink all I wanted, for as long as I wanted. But that’s all in the past, so I won’t dwell on my idiocy. Eventually I made it to my destination, two days before my family would be there, so I took it upon myself to indulge in as many Western amenities I could find in that part of southeast Asia; namely, 7-Eleven, Starbucks and Cinemax movie theaters. Sipping my Slurpie in one hand, my latte in the other, I watched The Holiday with three other foreigners and some very eager Thai teenagers. Before that, I went to the enormous mall across the street, thinking it was crucial to buy a cute, sparkly New Year’s outfit, even though I had zero plans and would in fact not be kissing anyone as the ball dropped. Hours later, I made it out of the six-storied building, just in time to take in the outdoor festivities. And by “taking in the festivities” I mean walking along the main street, perusing the local food stands, but buying nothing but Thai beer and mango in a bag, listening to the live music and thinking to myself that I miss my family and all my friends, being all alone in this new city. Now don’t be mistaken, there are few things I love more than discovering a new city, but doing it in a language I didn’t know and anticipating the arrival of family I hadn’t seen for almost a year in a half, put a twist on things I hadn’t anticipated. The joy of anything celebratory soon died down for me, so I went back up to my hotel room, watched a special on TV about some Buddhist monk living and teaching in NYC, drank Singha Beer and went to bed early.

Central City.

Actually, I remember thinking I wasn’t missing all that much by not being outside during the countdown because, to my surprise, Central City died down before 12:00, no music, no people. I was woken up by what I thought were fireworks at around midnight, so I got up and out of bed, walked over to my window and looked out to watch the show, but there was absolutely nothing in the night air, so I closed the drapes and crawled back into my comfy, expensive covers. When I woke up, an American couple asked me if I had heard anything else about the bombings. When I told them that I had no idea what they were talking about, they informed me that nine went off around Bangkok, and that’s why no one was outside celebrating. Ahhhhh. And to think, I thought all that Asian New Year stuff was all talk. I bet had the president allowed the celebration to continue as planned, it would have been quite the party. As history would have it, I missed nothing. I’m not gonna lie though, I almost stayed inside the hotel after I heard the news, but after some self-contemplation, I decided I wasn’t about to let politics stand in my way. So off to Chinatown it was for me. It ended up being an entire affair, the usual, getting lost, finding myself in Little India, having to take a Tuk-Tuk (three-wheeled, no-door vehicle) to Monk’s Bowl Village and then a taxi back to my central hotel. You’d think that after all this traveling on my own my sense of direction would develop just the slightest, but no. I remain a compass moron. But a moron who isn’t afraid to ask for help.

Tuk-Tuk.

“If I could start again, a million miles away, I would keep myself, I would find a way.”
Johnny Cash, Hurt

That’s a good song. I know he didn’t write it, but still. He’s a legend and I’m not, and I know I haven’t lived a life as full or as spiritually tormented as Mr. Cash, but I’d like to think that by the time I’m ready to leave this place, this world, I’ll feel the same way about myself.

The two and a half days by myself were actually very enjoyable. After all the outdoor stuff, I pretty much just stayed inside and ran and ran on the treadmills because I knew that this would be my only opportunity to run and workout without being stared, pointed and whistled at for the next five months. It was awesome. I’m one of those people who actually like working out inside on a machine because it keeps track of everything. And as an added bonus, the machines at the Hyatt Hotel had a built in television, so it didn’t even faze me when I ended up running an extra two miles. Nothing else mattered except the end of the MTV revenge and prank program I was watching. It was the episode where the dude has his room all packed up in Saran Wrap. It had me fixated. Is MTV eligible for the Emmys?

At 1:00 AM on the 3rd, my family walked through the Hyatt Hotel doors, where I was waiting patiently in the lobby. Actually my heart was beating abnormally fast for the previous two hours, and I almost gave myself an anxiety attacked wondering what they were going to say or not say about and to me. My thoughts and self-doubts were completely unfounded, but it’s really difficult anticipating the arrival of someone whose opinion you care about and haven’t seen in a long time. So many crazy thoughts run through your head, it’s insane. But then again, maybe that’s just me. Eh.

In Kyrgyz Garb.

We took in Bangkok for three days, flew to Chiang Mai (which my parents would not stop referring to as “Ching May”), and then to Puket Island, where we stayed on Nai Yang Beach just southwest of the airport. In Bangkok, we hit up all the regular tourist places, including the Grand Palace and Temples, where we got rejected at first for being inappropriately dressed, bought souvenirs at the floating market, got physically abused during a traditional Thai massage and walked over the famous River Kwai, which was built by WWII POWs.

Reclining Buddha.

Chiang Mai was some more Buddhist temples, ancient ruins, an elephant ride and a monkey farm, all while traveling place to place on a three-seat Tuk-Tuk. I’d rather not talk about it in much detail, but the four of us decided to give the whole massage thing another go. Everyone except for me got out of the aromatherapy spa without any mild sexual abuse. The elephants were a lot more fun and talented.

Not Dumbo.

Puket was pure relaxation in the sun, swimming, snorkeling, boating and exploring James Bond Island.

007.

Due to my father’s high, but not unreasonable expectations, we got moved to the Presidential Suite at the Indigo Pearl Hotel for no added charge. High Five for polite complaints! And I’m pretty sure my mom got flashed by a 60-year-old German woman at the hotel pool. When she asked my dad, who was sitting to her right whether that was the case, he replied, “Yep, it appears so.”

The King.

It was overcast for two days, which prevented me from getting melanoma, but since I’ve been living in Siberia, the would-be burns were almost welcomed. My mom was not surprisingly happy about all that. My body, on the other hand, went into complete shock when I started actually eating healthy food like fruits and vegetables and fish. And I didn’t even care. If only for the food, Thailand is worth the trip. All the pineapple, coconut, shrimp, lobster and curry your body can handle. I should have taken pictures or something for a keepsake. Wait, I did take a picture of the room service banana split I ordered, and my sister told me that’s something only fat kids do. I deleted it.

Me and Coconut McGee.

On the 12th, my family got up at 4:00 AM and said goodbye to me. It was weird and short, but then not that weird at all. I was like, “Thanks, see you in 5 months for the wedding.” And that was that. My flight left later in the afternoon, and when I landed in Almaty, everything was surreal. It seemed like everything I had just experienced was a dream, and I was just waking up. I wasn’t sad or anything because I have things to do and finish here in Kyrgyzstan, but it really was such a gift to have been able to take that break, spend time with people I love, learn about a new place and culture and then come back. That’s the secret: you have to come back to understand it all.

posted by C @ 4:30 PM