It was a pretty rough stretch last night; between the exhaustion and the heat and the recriminations a la 'what the hell am I doing here?', I got into a pretty unhappy state. Even managed to allow myself to shed some tears, alone in another cheapo room under a cheapo fan, is this my fate? (he wondered sadly). I was definitely into Hank Williams territory, along the lines of 'I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry'. (so that's what I did) (and it's a good thing, somehow, allowing myself that freedom)
Am I looking for sympathy? Not a bit. This is mere reportage of the fact that damn, it's hard to travel around the world; it takes it out of you, of me, rather. But things started to turn in the middle of the night. I did some reading, currently into a book called 'Tales of a Female Nomad' (Living at Large in the World) by Rita Golden Gelman, who definitely shares my perspective that there's a much bigger world out there than the American viewpoint. And I grabbed my guitar which is beginning to cooperate and stay in tune. Its insistance on getting out of tune was definitely a blow the other day; I guess I count on the ability to transform feelings into music, and when the guitar won't allow that, YIKES!
I ended up writing my first song of this trip this morning, a samba tune that is based on Desafinado, which I alluded to yesterday. Jobim slips a cool dissonance into that song, which is a dominant chord with a flatted fifth, and I 'borrowed' that harmonic idea and placement to create something nice. Once I got it rolling, the tune came quickly (just like I used to do, but I digress:-), and within a few minutes, I had a nice progression, a cool bridge and voila, a real nice jazzy song. It was one of those that I needed to write down, lest I forget the specifics, so that's what I did this morning, under the watchful eye of 'Prem' who is the owner of the place I'm staying. What a mensch he is! He brings me a cup of tea as I'm working and is delighted with the music and the process. (as am I)
Afterwards, I started teaching him about tablature, which is a simplified way of learning melody on the guitar. He has a little guitar and a song book full of typical Thai folk songs, and I showed him how the system works. It was a wonderful interchange, and I'm really glad to be staying at his place. He takes it seriously, wanting to make sure that his guests are taken care of, including keeping a watchful eye on the place. He doesn't want any ripoffs, which tend to happen around the 'full moon party' when the town is full of drunken foreighers. It's easy pickings for the criminal element, and if I was a pickpocket or other type of thief, this is exactly where I'd head.
Another great interaction was at the restaurant where I started my foray into the town. I had a bowl of soup (amazingly delicious) and spent about 45 minutes doing a language interchange with two of the women who work there. It was early and the place was quiet, which gave us a chance to learn from each other. I was writing down some useful Thai expressions (which I need to practice) and they were working on their English pronunciation, which is usually very difficult for people from here. It's the dipthongs, apparently. A word like 'flood' which is easy for us, is pretty impossible for them. We made a joke about it... a Thai person saying excitedly 'The freud is coming' (that's about as close as they could get to the FL sound. 'A Freud is coming' What, I don't understand. 'A Freud is coming' I don't understand..... Whooooosh, inundation. We were cracking up and it was a lovely scene to share laughter across cultures.
And that's the point of the book I'm reading. The joy comes from connecting with people, plugging in, giving and taking and sharing the gifts. I'm totally on board with that idea, and one thing I can really offer is help with the English language, which they very much appreciate. So today, after a long and unhappy night, things feel brighter and more in tune. I'm very grateful about that. My trip has begun.
Desafinado
'Desafinado' is the name of one of Jobim's well known bossa nova tunes and it translates to 'out of tune', which is the best description I can come up with for the first day or two of this journey. For starters, I can't get my guitar in tune, which is driving me kind of nutty. Before leaving Eugene, I changed the nylon strings on my axe, something I hadn't done for awhile.
In the best of times, it always takes a couple of days for nylon strings to stretch and settle and hold their tune, so I made sure to change them about 3 days before leaving. But I'm thinking that the strings I used, though new, were lousy ones, because I have yet to be able to make the thing sound right. The fact that it's hot and sticky here probable doesn't help the cause, but it's been a continuing source of frustration that my guitar, which has traditionally been a great ally on road trips, has turned on me, at least for now. Instead of being my friend and compadre, she has turned on me (if one were to ascribe human characteristics to an instrument). And what the hell, it's my blog, so I can do it, right?
And of course, 'desafinado' wouldn't be a theme unless it spilled over into other areas, and yeah, it's spilling. Like the annoying fucking shrieking coming from the TV set in this internet cafe at 11:30pm where the bored young woman is watching an incredibly vapid show in which the audience is constantly screaming at the misfortunes of the participants. I just looked back there wonderingly, and she got the hint and turned it down. Thank you. (could my luck be turning? he wondered). Hey, be grateful for small favors, and now I can at least hear myself think (a little).
It was quite a haul to make it here to Ko Phangan, starting with a 24 hour itinerary into Bangkok, then sitting up all night in the airport there to catch a 7am flight to Ko Samui, where I found my way to the boat that goes to Phangan which is about an hour's cruise to the north. I was beyond tired at that point, running on empty, and also nervous because I didn't have a room reserved, and the boat was full of westerners who were saying that they had to reserve for 4 nights in order to get a spot, due to the Full Moon Party which begins in a couple of days.
I've been hearing a lot about this event, and it sounds amazing.... amazingly freakin' awful. Fifteen to twenty thousand people on a mile long stretch of beach, going from one thumping PA system to the next, dancing all night to techno, trance, house music, drinking lots of alcohol from strategically placed vendor bars, painting themselves in neon colors, getting totally wasted. Good times! (he said sarcastically). It's the kind of scene I would normally skip, and because of that, I'm gonna go... just to see, just to test out my aversion, and what the hell, learn a little something.
But not if I don't have a place to stay. I had the name of a place on the other end of the island, a cheap and beautiful spot recommended by a facebook friend of a facebook friend, and I called the owner when I got to Phangan. Yes there was a spot, good price, but it's expensive to get there, $25 in a cab or a jet boat. But she was coming into town to pick up her son at 5pm and would meet me 'tall farang with a guitar' at the 7 11 and give me a ride out there. Oh shit, that means 5 more hours of waiting, and here I am sweating it out in my travel clothes, going on 50 hours without sleep, feeling pretty toasted.
Went to look for some nourishment, made my way past places where the waiters were trying to lasso me in, I'm carrying my backpack and guitar and it's kinda grim. And then I saw a little spot where the people seemed nice, smiling waitresses, few customers, good vibe and I stopped in and ordered a fruit shake. Delicious. We got talking a bit and before long, one of the women told me that her brother owned some bungalows about 5 minutes away, and she made a call and there was a room available. Yep, seemed like the thing to do, the brother was super nice, excited to see my guitar (he has one too) and the deal was done. Cheap room, just the essentials, but a shower and a fan and a place to lie down were exactly what was needed. I tried to call the woman who was allegedly gonna pick me up at 5, but her cell phone was off or something, and she didn't pick up. I tried again, but no luck. Sorry about that, ma'am, I tried.
Got a little food and crashed out from 4-11pm when I just woke up. Guitar still out of tune. I'm not operating on all cylinders either, but hey you've got to start somewhere and this is where I am. And besides, it makes for a better arc if there is some kind of journey from 'down in the dumps' to something different, so that's my hope on some level. Some sleep, some exercise, some observation inside and outside and we'll see what occurs. Here I am, the place is closing up so I need to sign off, I'm hopeful and glad to get huge trip out of the way. Tomorrow I'll be running on the beach, stretching out my body and getting in the water. Then it's a short trip to the Full Moon Dance and something to write home about. We shall see.
In the best of times, it always takes a couple of days for nylon strings to stretch and settle and hold their tune, so I made sure to change them about 3 days before leaving. But I'm thinking that the strings I used, though new, were lousy ones, because I have yet to be able to make the thing sound right. The fact that it's hot and sticky here probable doesn't help the cause, but it's been a continuing source of frustration that my guitar, which has traditionally been a great ally on road trips, has turned on me, at least for now. Instead of being my friend and compadre, she has turned on me (if one were to ascribe human characteristics to an instrument). And what the hell, it's my blog, so I can do it, right?
And of course, 'desafinado' wouldn't be a theme unless it spilled over into other areas, and yeah, it's spilling. Like the annoying fucking shrieking coming from the TV set in this internet cafe at 11:30pm where the bored young woman is watching an incredibly vapid show in which the audience is constantly screaming at the misfortunes of the participants. I just looked back there wonderingly, and she got the hint and turned it down. Thank you. (could my luck be turning? he wondered). Hey, be grateful for small favors, and now I can at least hear myself think (a little).
It was quite a haul to make it here to Ko Phangan, starting with a 24 hour itinerary into Bangkok, then sitting up all night in the airport there to catch a 7am flight to Ko Samui, where I found my way to the boat that goes to Phangan which is about an hour's cruise to the north. I was beyond tired at that point, running on empty, and also nervous because I didn't have a room reserved, and the boat was full of westerners who were saying that they had to reserve for 4 nights in order to get a spot, due to the Full Moon Party which begins in a couple of days.
I've been hearing a lot about this event, and it sounds amazing.... amazingly freakin' awful. Fifteen to twenty thousand people on a mile long stretch of beach, going from one thumping PA system to the next, dancing all night to techno, trance, house music, drinking lots of alcohol from strategically placed vendor bars, painting themselves in neon colors, getting totally wasted. Good times! (he said sarcastically). It's the kind of scene I would normally skip, and because of that, I'm gonna go... just to see, just to test out my aversion, and what the hell, learn a little something.
But not if I don't have a place to stay. I had the name of a place on the other end of the island, a cheap and beautiful spot recommended by a facebook friend of a facebook friend, and I called the owner when I got to Phangan. Yes there was a spot, good price, but it's expensive to get there, $25 in a cab or a jet boat. But she was coming into town to pick up her son at 5pm and would meet me 'tall farang with a guitar' at the 7 11 and give me a ride out there. Oh shit, that means 5 more hours of waiting, and here I am sweating it out in my travel clothes, going on 50 hours without sleep, feeling pretty toasted.
Went to look for some nourishment, made my way past places where the waiters were trying to lasso me in, I'm carrying my backpack and guitar and it's kinda grim. And then I saw a little spot where the people seemed nice, smiling waitresses, few customers, good vibe and I stopped in and ordered a fruit shake. Delicious. We got talking a bit and before long, one of the women told me that her brother owned some bungalows about 5 minutes away, and she made a call and there was a room available. Yep, seemed like the thing to do, the brother was super nice, excited to see my guitar (he has one too) and the deal was done. Cheap room, just the essentials, but a shower and a fan and a place to lie down were exactly what was needed. I tried to call the woman who was allegedly gonna pick me up at 5, but her cell phone was off or something, and she didn't pick up. I tried again, but no luck. Sorry about that, ma'am, I tried.
Got a little food and crashed out from 4-11pm when I just woke up. Guitar still out of tune. I'm not operating on all cylinders either, but hey you've got to start somewhere and this is where I am. And besides, it makes for a better arc if there is some kind of journey from 'down in the dumps' to something different, so that's my hope on some level. Some sleep, some exercise, some observation inside and outside and we'll see what occurs. Here I am, the place is closing up so I need to sign off, I'm hopeful and glad to get huge trip out of the way. Tomorrow I'll be running on the beach, stretching out my body and getting in the water. Then it's a short trip to the Full Moon Dance and something to write home about. We shall see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)