Sun, Sand, Violence, and Death
Sun, Sand, Violence and Death
Our trip so far has been such a learning experience, both difficult and rewarding. We have seen both the best and the worst faces of humanity. I think that is one of the lessons I am meant to learn on this trip is that you cannot have light without dark, happiness without sadness, and life without death. Death and destruction has either preceded us or followed us and seems to be an energy we cannot escape. Before our arrival in Chiang Mai and Pai, a flood had done significant damage and took many lives in Pai. When we were there, I met several people who were still emotionally sensitive about the damage and destruction they had witnessed. Upon leaving Chiang Mai, another flood hit the city that did more damage than the first. As you know 2 terrorist bombs hit Kuta, Bali, where we had been and are very lucky we went there when we did. Katrina hit while we were in Laos, and we watched internet reports of the mounting catastrophe. We have just departed from Ko Phi Phi, which was devastated by the Tsunami last December (see my entry.) When we arrived back on the mainland today, we were alerted of the mammoth earthquake in Pakistan, which has claimed over 20,000 lives. Unfortunately, we had much more intimate brushes with the dark side which have left us pondering the lessons to be learned from all of this…
Visiting the islands of Ko Phi Phi and Ko Pha Ngan in Southern Thailand was meant to be the calm before the storm. The storm being our arrival and adjustment to India, which we imagine is going to test our endurance and our nerves. I was looking forward to some relaxation on their beaches after our non-stop traveling schedule through Laos, Cambodia, Bali, and Thailand. We also wanted to develop some song ideas we had had while there, and figured we would finally have the time. Ko Pha Ngan was beautiful, and we enjoyed time on the North East of the island before moving to the South East beach Hat Yuann. We reveled in the phosphorescent plankton (which you can read my entry about below.) and had a good time swimming in the turquoise blue water that is so warm you can spend hours and hours in it. We were also looking forward to dancing the night away at the Black Moon Party that takes place at a waterfall in the interior jungle of the island.
However, our time there came to a rather abrupt end our 5th day there. Malcolm had taken a yoga class that morning on a beautiful deck that overlooked the bay and was right next door to where we were staying. He figured this would be an inspiring place to come back later to play some guitar. I joined him later on and did some yoga there as well. In the midst of melodies and some downward dog, 4-5 Thai men, with anger in their eyes stormed up to us. Malcolm put out his hand to introduce himself and was greeted by a punch to the head. Within seconds Malcolm was surrounded by these guys and when I tried to intervene I was met by raised fists. The leader of the bunch owned the bungalows where the yoga deck was situated and was yelling nonsense about “us needing to learn a lesson”. We don’t know whether it was a case of mistaken identity but us peacefully being on this bamboo deck in no way warranted the violence by which we were met. Both of us being non-violent, we tried to calm the situation down with words and by me reasoning with them. That was only met with the men picking up bamboo sticks to hit us with. At that point I knew I had to get help, as I knew these 5 guys could kill Malcolm if they wanted to and they had no reason or logic to their actions. I can’t tell you how scared I was, and was in utter shock of the ugliness of these peoples actions. After I was about 20 steps out for help, I turned around because more Thai men were coming and I could not leave Malcolm to be swarmed upon by them. At this point, the leader picked up Malcolm’s acoustic guitar and hit him 3 times with it, breaking it in half. In the brief moment afterwards, we managed to make a hasty retreat and packed our bags and headed to the hospital and police station. First off, the Police are a joke in Thailand, so nothing will happen. Luckily, Malcolm just suffered some bruises and scratches and soreness. We were very lucky as I was not hit and Malcolm could have fared a lot worse.
This was the second guitar Malcolm had lost, the first being stolen in Cambodia. With that, went our ability to work on musical ideas which is a major setback for us. So many people think that these places are so safe and easy, but there is a dark underside to all of these places. Ko Pha Ngan, in particular has a very dark element to it that rears its ugly head in the form of drug dealers, thieves, and ignoramuses that prey upon the foreign travelers. It is not until you witness it though are you shaken out of your tropical dream.
6 days later, we had escaped to Ko Phi Phi, eager to volunteer and help rebuild this beautiful island which is just getting back on its feet. Just going there helps as 100% of the population makes its money from tourism ( See my journal entry below about the Tsunami.) Being there was very heavy, even though the Thai people there give no indication that they many of them lost everything including children, friends, parents, and family. The destruction is still very evident and there are more than a few lost souls haunting the beach. Last night, Malcolm and I were up late at night working when we heard a loud bang. We thought it sounded like a gunshot, but dismissed the idea as we figured no one had guns there. This morning we woke up and went to breakfast. About 30 feet from our guesthouse, a crowd was gathered around an open walled bamboo Tattoo shop that had just re-opened 3 days ago. I had accompanied a German friend to get her first tattoo there just 2 days ago and had spoken with the Tattoo artist about the bamboo technique they use. When I looked inside, I shook back as the site of a body on the floor covered with a bloody sheet filled my vision. Photos were being taken by Thai detectives. It turns out that someone had shot the Tattoo artist in the head with the one shot we had heard last night. No motive is clear at this point but we were speechless. I have not encountered or been witness to such violence in the past 10 years as I have on these islands in the past 7 days. I have been living in Echo Park, Los Angeles, not known for being the safest neighborhood, and have never once seen an act of violence. I felt sick to my stomach as I have never had an interaction with someone and than had them die so quickly. It doesn’t make sense to my logical mind that the same person I was chatting with is dead…At this point, I needed some space and walked to the beach through the rubble of the Tsunami. On the way, still in a daze, a local came up to me, opening a folder that had grisly photos of floating corpses, caskets, and piles of bodies from the Tsunami. I had no idea why I was being shown these and averted my eyes almost immediately, telling him “that’s horrible, I am sorry.” At that point, as I walked away overcome with the numbing reality of death, he yelled in broken English “do you want to buy photos…” At this point, I decided that my time on these islands had prematurely come to an end and we hopped on the next fairy to the mainland, where we hope to process what has happened and come out wiser for the time. However, I was meant with more ugliness before we left when I witnessed a Thai man beat up a woman in front of her 6 year old daughter over a dispute as both were hawking souvenirs next to each other. The way in which Thai men treat women is a whole other story in itself, which I will not get into now. Needless to say, it was the first time I had ever seen a man punch a woman and it was horribly disturbing. The Thai people may be Buddhist in theory but unfortunately, it seems some of them have missed the point…
Life is a gift, tell those you care about that you love them and live your life to the fullest of your abilities…I love you all.
Our trip so far has been such a learning experience, both difficult and rewarding. We have seen both the best and the worst faces of humanity. I think that is one of the lessons I am meant to learn on this trip is that you cannot have light without dark, happiness without sadness, and life without death. Death and destruction has either preceded us or followed us and seems to be an energy we cannot escape. Before our arrival in Chiang Mai and Pai, a flood had done significant damage and took many lives in Pai. When we were there, I met several people who were still emotionally sensitive about the damage and destruction they had witnessed. Upon leaving Chiang Mai, another flood hit the city that did more damage than the first. As you know 2 terrorist bombs hit Kuta, Bali, where we had been and are very lucky we went there when we did. Katrina hit while we were in Laos, and we watched internet reports of the mounting catastrophe. We have just departed from Ko Phi Phi, which was devastated by the Tsunami last December (see my entry.) When we arrived back on the mainland today, we were alerted of the mammoth earthquake in Pakistan, which has claimed over 20,000 lives. Unfortunately, we had much more intimate brushes with the dark side which have left us pondering the lessons to be learned from all of this…
Visiting the islands of Ko Phi Phi and Ko Pha Ngan in Southern Thailand was meant to be the calm before the storm. The storm being our arrival and adjustment to India, which we imagine is going to test our endurance and our nerves. I was looking forward to some relaxation on their beaches after our non-stop traveling schedule through Laos, Cambodia, Bali, and Thailand. We also wanted to develop some song ideas we had had while there, and figured we would finally have the time. Ko Pha Ngan was beautiful, and we enjoyed time on the North East of the island before moving to the South East beach Hat Yuann. We reveled in the phosphorescent plankton (which you can read my entry about below.) and had a good time swimming in the turquoise blue water that is so warm you can spend hours and hours in it. We were also looking forward to dancing the night away at the Black Moon Party that takes place at a waterfall in the interior jungle of the island.
However, our time there came to a rather abrupt end our 5th day there. Malcolm had taken a yoga class that morning on a beautiful deck that overlooked the bay and was right next door to where we were staying. He figured this would be an inspiring place to come back later to play some guitar. I joined him later on and did some yoga there as well. In the midst of melodies and some downward dog, 4-5 Thai men, with anger in their eyes stormed up to us. Malcolm put out his hand to introduce himself and was greeted by a punch to the head. Within seconds Malcolm was surrounded by these guys and when I tried to intervene I was met by raised fists. The leader of the bunch owned the bungalows where the yoga deck was situated and was yelling nonsense about “us needing to learn a lesson”. We don’t know whether it was a case of mistaken identity but us peacefully being on this bamboo deck in no way warranted the violence by which we were met. Both of us being non-violent, we tried to calm the situation down with words and by me reasoning with them. That was only met with the men picking up bamboo sticks to hit us with. At that point I knew I had to get help, as I knew these 5 guys could kill Malcolm if they wanted to and they had no reason or logic to their actions. I can’t tell you how scared I was, and was in utter shock of the ugliness of these peoples actions. After I was about 20 steps out for help, I turned around because more Thai men were coming and I could not leave Malcolm to be swarmed upon by them. At this point, the leader picked up Malcolm’s acoustic guitar and hit him 3 times with it, breaking it in half. In the brief moment afterwards, we managed to make a hasty retreat and packed our bags and headed to the hospital and police station. First off, the Police are a joke in Thailand, so nothing will happen. Luckily, Malcolm just suffered some bruises and scratches and soreness. We were very lucky as I was not hit and Malcolm could have fared a lot worse.
This was the second guitar Malcolm had lost, the first being stolen in Cambodia. With that, went our ability to work on musical ideas which is a major setback for us. So many people think that these places are so safe and easy, but there is a dark underside to all of these places. Ko Pha Ngan, in particular has a very dark element to it that rears its ugly head in the form of drug dealers, thieves, and ignoramuses that prey upon the foreign travelers. It is not until you witness it though are you shaken out of your tropical dream.
6 days later, we had escaped to Ko Phi Phi, eager to volunteer and help rebuild this beautiful island which is just getting back on its feet. Just going there helps as 100% of the population makes its money from tourism ( See my journal entry below about the Tsunami.) Being there was very heavy, even though the Thai people there give no indication that they many of them lost everything including children, friends, parents, and family. The destruction is still very evident and there are more than a few lost souls haunting the beach. Last night, Malcolm and I were up late at night working when we heard a loud bang. We thought it sounded like a gunshot, but dismissed the idea as we figured no one had guns there. This morning we woke up and went to breakfast. About 30 feet from our guesthouse, a crowd was gathered around an open walled bamboo Tattoo shop that had just re-opened 3 days ago. I had accompanied a German friend to get her first tattoo there just 2 days ago and had spoken with the Tattoo artist about the bamboo technique they use. When I looked inside, I shook back as the site of a body on the floor covered with a bloody sheet filled my vision. Photos were being taken by Thai detectives. It turns out that someone had shot the Tattoo artist in the head with the one shot we had heard last night. No motive is clear at this point but we were speechless. I have not encountered or been witness to such violence in the past 10 years as I have on these islands in the past 7 days. I have been living in Echo Park, Los Angeles, not known for being the safest neighborhood, and have never once seen an act of violence. I felt sick to my stomach as I have never had an interaction with someone and than had them die so quickly. It doesn’t make sense to my logical mind that the same person I was chatting with is dead…At this point, I needed some space and walked to the beach through the rubble of the Tsunami. On the way, still in a daze, a local came up to me, opening a folder that had grisly photos of floating corpses, caskets, and piles of bodies from the Tsunami. I had no idea why I was being shown these and averted my eyes almost immediately, telling him “that’s horrible, I am sorry.” At that point, as I walked away overcome with the numbing reality of death, he yelled in broken English “do you want to buy photos…” At this point, I decided that my time on these islands had prematurely come to an end and we hopped on the next fairy to the mainland, where we hope to process what has happened and come out wiser for the time. However, I was meant with more ugliness before we left when I witnessed a Thai man beat up a woman in front of her 6 year old daughter over a dispute as both were hawking souvenirs next to each other. The way in which Thai men treat women is a whole other story in itself, which I will not get into now. Needless to say, it was the first time I had ever seen a man punch a woman and it was horribly disturbing. The Thai people may be Buddhist in theory but unfortunately, it seems some of them have missed the point…
Life is a gift, tell those you care about that you love them and live your life to the fullest of your abilities…I love you all.
posted by Sagedrummer at 11:07 PM
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