Epiphany - June 17th

I haven’t been sleeping much; last night I only slept for about 2 ½ hours and now at 2:30am I am sitting out on the porch of our guesthouse writing this journal. I don’t know if my lack of sleep is a result of the time change or my pure excitement, but either way I don’t really feel that fatigued.
Today will go down in my life book as one of the most amazing I have ever lived. What I saw and feel are hard to describe with the words that I know. All in all, if I died tomorrow I would feel as if my life was wholly fulfilled. It started out as an ordinary day. At our hotel in Bangkok the 5 of us girls met for breakfast at 8:15am and then returned to our rooms to finish packing, as we had to travel out of the city. 9am our entire group hailed 3 taxis and took them to the bus station on the southern side of Bangkok. From there, we took a 2-hour bus ride west and a little north from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi.

It was nice to see the outskirts of town and some of the smaller towns along the way. When we arrived it was raining. Here at the station I experienced my first Thai toilet. All the bathroom consists of is a small ceramic bowl low to the ground so you have to squat right over it and do your business. No toilet paper can go in these, so you have to use the trashcans provided. In order to flush… take a bowl from the large vat of water that is nearby and pour it down (usually takes 2). Nice, eh? I’ll just take it as a new experience and be thankful for what we have at home. All of us placed our hiking backpacks in the small bus station and were free for 2 hours to roam the market and small shops. Umbrellas in hand, the 5 of us girls headed off the market to find some ponchos so if it continued to rain while we were carrying our packs, we could cover them and keep them dry. Success came from this small task. In the open market, like so many others I’ve seen, there we fruit vendors, flowers, and many other table bursting with things I’ve never seen before. We had time to stop at a bakery (which also curiously sold shoes and handbags) to eat a small lunch. By this time we had to head back to the bus station so we could continue on to Sangkhlaburi.

(The toilet)

The ride west and slightly north took about 3 ½ to 4 hours, but the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. I don’t know what I was expecting Thailand to be like, but again my ideas about this country have been altered. At first there were just small rolling hills in the distance but the closer we got to P. Guesthouse (our residence for the next 2 days) the road became increasingly winding, uphill, and mountainous. Since we were in a mini-bus, something like a large conversion van but more cramped, you could feel every bump and turn. I was reminded of my Dad at the time though; he would love to ride his bike here. The roads are hilly and curvy and there are many steep down hills like the ones we rode in France. But we were not on bikes. Instead we were at the mercy of our driver who seemed to care little about our safety. We sped along, going around blind curves and straddling the middle line of the road. It is also mind-boggling because there are often people on scooters, children walking, or cows along the edge of the road. More than once, I was a bit concerned for our safe arrival.

Again when we arrived, it was pouring but all worries of rain gave way when we saw exactly where we were. At this point, I am going to try and explain how absolutely breath taking the view of our guesthouse is. It is situated on a hill with a long stone stairway down to the river. The small stone cabins we stay in are on the left. They are such cute little bungalow like cabins, only 2 beds and a fan in each. From the open-air lobby of the guesthouse, you look out onto a stone and marble patio down to the river and the small boathouses on the other side. To the right is the longest wooden walking bridge in Thailand (it looks a little rickety but apparently we will be walking on it tomorrow!) and the clouds from the passing storm. There is small boat dock at the bottom of the steps. The colors and the scenery remind me of camping up north a bit, but with a tropical feel. The river is not too wide, but it is busy with brightly colored long boats, floating houses, and covered boat docks that are low to the water. In the distance, there is a golden temple high on a hill. Even as I sit here writing this now, looking out to the awing scenery I feel happy to be alive.


We walked around the guesthouse and took pictures before going up to dinner in the open lobby overlooking all of this. While I tasted another of Thailand’s beers and amidst the 98% humidity, I was speechless. (Please note this is a very rare occurrence!) With all that I have seen and experience before, this place, here on the other side of the world, amazes me to no end. The simplicity and beauty in what I was looking at, taking in, mentally photographing, gave me one of those moments when you are truly content and feel blessed to have such an opportunity. The pictures I will post can never do this place justice. Words don’t come close. The beauty and complete difference of this place to my home give me the assured knowledge I am just a small piece of a miraculous world.

But anyways… our group had dinner (only 94 baht per person this evening) on the patio. Arjahn ordered many different kinds of Thai foods for us to try and we all passed them around. Again, fabulous. Placed on white rice, I tried a curry with pork, chicken with cashews and lemongrass, a sweet and sour veggie dish, and another kind of chicken dish. Seriously, I have been missing out. It is really interesting how we pay for dinner and other things here too; when you eat a meal or need coffee, water, anything, you are on the “Honor System.” Instead of directly paying for your item, you write it down on a book with your room number on it and upon check-out it will be totaled up. Can you imagine how ineffective this would be in the United States? Just another of those cultural differences to appreciate here.

After dinner Renee (my bunk buddy for the night) headed to experience the Thai toilets again and then went straight to bed. It was only 8:45pm, but after not sleeping the night before I was truly tired. Clearly, sleep didn’t last long because I am now finishing this up on the porch in the early morning hours. I know this day will be recorded in my mind forever. It’s one of those places I want to tell everyone about right away; I wish I had a telephone to do so. At this point in my life, I can hardly believe I am so lucky to see this part of the world. For the rest of my life, this place at P. Guesthouse will remain one of the most outstanding memories in my existence.

(The breathtaking view)