:Amie Grace Woodgate

 

My first day in Chiang Mai was spent in my room, sleeping.  Seems like a waste, I know, but I needed it.  I spent the following day roaming the city on foot, stopping in at Wats along the way to snap photos of Buddha with a camera I still thought was working, exploring the street markets of the city, and indulging in a rejuvenating Thai massage.  The next morning I got ready for a 2-day trek in the northern hills of Thailand.  I packed a smaller bag for the two days and locked up the rest of my gear and waited out front for the 9 am shuttle.  It was already close to 10 when two beautifully spirited girls, with short shorts and French giggles, ran by me to check into the hotel.  What luck! I thought to myself, I just had to be leaving the morning that they get here.  I mean, who knows, it could have been love at first sight, if I had only had the chance to look either of them in the eyes. 

 

The tuk tuk finally arrived and a few minutes after I loaded in with the rest of the people who had signed up, those same two girls, those girls who had me silently wondering whether I should just cancel the tour package and check back into my room, came loading into the back of the tuk tuk, hair still wet from a quick shower and shorts even shorter than before.  We didn’t talk much with each other at first, they didn’t speak much English and I didn’t speak any French, but when we made a pit stop an hour down the road and they bought some beers and climbed to the top of the canopy to enjoy the rest of the ride from the roof, I knew I wanted to talk to them, even if I had to learn French to so.

 

After stopping for lunch and walking around an outdoor temple, I climbed up to ride on the roof with them.  It was exhilarating!  The truck speeding up the mountain path, hugging curves, and me dodging branches against the hard wind.  The girls sat behind me, singing a Thai folksong the guide had been teaching them and I listened and enjoyed the ride.  The driver dropped us at a hill tribe village and we took a quick tour of an elementary school, fed a pond of koi fish, and bought some beers for the hike.  I spent the next four hours hiking through the forests of Thailand, climbing up hill, crossing rivers on log bridges, and excitingly anticipating the waterfalls.  The hike was a lot fun and I enjoyed the exertion.  It helped that the girls were hiking in front of me and one of them had no problem hiking in jean shorts cut in the shape of a thong.  I could hear my dad in my head, God bless her!  I enjoyed having the girls around.  Though they kept to themselves mostly, laughing with each other in French, their easy and generous way brought a fresh breath of disruption to the group.  They spiced everything up, made each step forward interesting, at least, for me. 

 

It was close to dusk when we reached the camp, just a small walk away from a waterfall on the river, and while the others were settling in, I changed into my trunks and jumped in before I completely lost my sweat.  I stood under the fall, taking in the power of the water crashing down on me as it cooled my skin.  Soon, our guide Pot, a 25 year old local with long wavy hair and a smile bigger than his face, jumped in and showed me how to get to the top of the fall by climbing the roots of a tree growing over the rocks.  Then he showed me how jump off the waterfall.  I must have done it three times after that. We spent the rest of the night sitting around the campfire after we had finished eating dinner, playing with the fire and singing along with the guitar.  I hadn’t really spoken with the girls too much, but I already felt a connection with them.  I liked how they sat around me, how they would smile and offer me a cigarette, how as the night drew on, our bodies sat closer and closer, until I had one girl leaning against my shoulder and the other lying against my legs.  The girls were the first to go to bed, they had stayed up late on a night train to Chiang Mai the night before, only to show up with barely enough time to take a quick shower before catching their guide.  It was understandable.  I was sad to see them go, but I was happy they had been here.

 

I slept until nine the next morning and asked Pot to cook me up another frog from last night.  After everyone had gone to bed, Pot took me and the last of the Irish on a frog hunting expedition. Its only fair to say that he did all the work.  Me and the Irishman could barely stand, but Pot was able to walk the river and had nabbed a bottle full of small frogs.  He had cooked one for us to all share the night before and now he was cooking one just for me.  I poured myself some tea, ate my barbequed breakfast, and noticed how, as Samantha leaned forward, the sunlight would silhouette her figure and I could see her naked body through the thin cloth she wore over it.  She was quite beautiful.  A free spirit wrapped inside a delicate, yet vibrant body.    I made it a point not to notice again though the image was stained in my mind.   I was a little anxious when I heard the group was splitting.  Five of the eight had signed up for a three day trek.  I would have too, except, my visa expired the following day and I had already arranged a bus to Laos.  It was a bummer to have to split up the group, and the guides kept trying to get me to upgrade, and who knows, maybe I would have, if I hadn’t realized that the guides were asking Samantha and Jenni to also. Suddenly, having to take group pictures, saying goodbyes, and promising to see each other later on Facebook, wasn’t as depressing as it usually is。         

 

We spent the first half of the day hiking to a waterfall.  We would stop along the way to interact with plants or play with spiders or just catch our breath.  Sam and Jenni had a cool vibe about them and I felt blessed that things had worked out so well.  I had been so upset when I first realized that I only got a 15-day visa since I crossed the border by land.  But this makes it worth it. I remember thinking, if I had had more time, I would have definitely signed up for the 3-day and would have been kicking myself right now.  We stopped for lunch at a gorgeous waterfall.  We ate first and then I spent the next half hour, standing under the fall and meditating. 

 

After lunch, we set out to find the truck that would take us to the elephant camp.  The camp was ok.  Once at the circus, when I was a child, I rode an elephant.  This wasn’t much different, except I got to straddle its neck this time, which was actually pretty cool.  I liked how its big ears would wrap around my calves and hold onto me while it walked along.  Its head was dry and rough, but the ears were smooth and cooling.  I bought a banana bunch and fed it one by one to it.  It would raise its trunk over its head and point it at me while sucking in like a vacuum.  Then it would grab the banana from my hand and put it in its mouth and immediately ask for more.  I ran out quickly, but that didn’t stop it from trying.  The girls gave me a cookie to feed it, but it just crumbled it up and dropped it to its head.  Jenni was kind enough to give me a bottle of water and have me pour some on its head to cool it off and even thought to have me give the rest to the elephant guide.

 

From there, we went for a ride down the river on a bamboo boat, which again was, ok.  We stood up and surfed the river, doing really well about keeping our balance, until three-fourths down the way, we hit a rock that threw us all in.  The guide’s steering stick broke in half, so Jenni took one part and started guiding us down the river herself.  She did a fine job of it too. So, when I say that the elephant camp and the bamboo ride were ok, they were nothing special.  Having Sam and Jenni along, that made it worthwhile.

 

The worst was when we finished.  I had to be back at the hotel so I could catch my bus to Laos at ten the next morning.  The girls had already pre-booked a night at some hotel further up the mountain.  The plan was to drop them off where a driver would pick them up and then take me back to the city.  I could see we were all a little disappointed, but there wasn’t much anyone could do.  One of the greatest things about traveling is the people you meet along the way.  The hardest part is when you have to say goodbye.  We began to load back in the truck, saying goodbye to Pot before we did.  He had to catch up to the original group before nightfall.  The girls hugged him and kissed his cheeks, I shook his hand and gave him a hug.  They then hugged and kissed me before remembering that they would have to say goodbye to me one more time. I was fine with that.  After that goodbye, I was looking forward to another one.

 

 I was quiet most of the way.  We all were.  Silent, soft smiles on everyone’s face.  Sam started singing to herself.  Maybe it was the way she smiled as she sang it, or maybe it was the way she smiled at me, as she sang it, but it seemed like some part of her was singing to some part of me. Some part of me that was screaming, don’t let her go and some part of her that was asking the same thing. 

 

As we continued driving, I drew more anxious for the next stop, that last stop.  Until we had driven far enough that we could have been driving them all the way to the hotel.  And that’s what we did.  As they unloaded their luggage, we said goodbye one more time.  Jenni hugged and kissed my cheeks again.  Sam hugged me and kissed my cheek several times, as if again, with each strong embrace, some part of her was asking me not to go.  I watched them walk up to the front desk and jumped in the front seat of the truck with the driver.  He was putting her in gear, when I quickly asked, How far is the city?  It was an hour away.  Hmm, it was already dark I explained to him and to myself, what if I were to just stay here tonight?  Could I get a ride back to the hotel before ten the next morning?  He smiled and nodded towards the hotel asking, you go boom boom?  I smiled, I don’t know, but I’d like to try.  He seemed more than happy to help me out and gave me his card, promising to pick me up early in the morning.

 

I grabbed my pack and made my way up to book a room.  The girls were happy to see me.  I told them since it was already late, I decided I might as well just stay here, its beautiful afterall.  They asked the receptionist to put our rooms close together.  We found our rooms right across from each other and knew we would meet later for dinner.  I got showered, the girls got dolled up, and an hour or so later, we went to find some food.  At the bottom of the road, we saw what looked like a taco stand and immediately a man began calling and waving to us.  It was our driver.  He was getting drunk off a bottle before having to fall asleep in a hammock strung up in the back of the tuk tuk.  We went over and he ordered us drinks and said he would take us out for food. Well, he was drunk, so he had me drive.  I have to say, aside from stalling out once in the middle of a slope, I did a good job considering it was a winding road and I was driving on the left.  We had a good dinner, full of laughs and insights about one another and after a few more drinks, I drove us back.  Though this time, the driver was already passed out in his hammock in the back and the girls sat up front with me. I guess I’m not that keen on downshifting, because I tended to go a little too fast on the curves going down.  The poor hammock was swinging all over the place.  But I got us all home safe and sound. 

 

It was late, but it was also our last night, this time, for sure.  If I wasn’t in Laos by sundown the next day, I was going to have a shitty immigration problem on my hands.  We went in their room and promised not to go to bed before we finished all the beer and cigarettes.  We stayed up until almost three in the morning talking about sex and relationships, monogamy and marriage, of the joy they are sure to bring and of the failures that inevitably follow.  An old lady from down the hall knocked at our door to remind us what time it was.  I promised to keep it down.  She persisted that she was tired and wanted to sleep.  I closed the door.  The beer was gone, we shared the last cigarette, Jenni looked tired, Sam looked sleepy.  I kissed them both goodbye one last time.  They wanted me to promise that I would wake them up before I left.  I told them I was leaving at six in the morning.  They told me they would leave the door unlocked.  I wanted to promise, but I knew it was better this way.  This is how I wanted to say goodbye.  I went to my room and began scribbling a letter to slide under their door in the morning, when I left.  But before I could finish, I got a knock at the door.

 

Come in.  My door was left unlocked purposely.  I had hoped, a vague and desperate hope that bordered on fantasy, that if I left it unlocked, maybe someone would open it from the outside.  That it would be opened just as it was being opened now.  Sam slipped into the room wearing red panties and a t-shirt.  Before my heart even had a chance to flutter, she said in that French tone I love so much,  Tonight, I sleep with you.  I smiled, I hoped you’d say that.  Just sleep, she added as she took off her shirt.  I stared at her bare back before I turned off the light. Just sleep,  I said smiling, whatever you say…

 Coming up...Part V: Laos, the last chapter