Best New Year ever. Last year was pretty tough to beat. Going to Chiang Mai by train then driving to my friend's house on a mountain in Chiang Rai. Riding elephants and partying with the family. This year I again made it to the top of a mountain, but it took a lot longer.
I've known Fam for a while now. We toured around Thailand in minibuses during Potato concert tours, and hung out together when at home in BKK. P'1 (nueng) is tall and thin like me, only 7 years older. We knew each other from Peacemaker concerts back when I was running around with Tum. P'Nueng is older than Fam and I, but acts a lot younger. He and Fam wrestle and curse like siblings, but only because they have been best friends both at and outside of work for the last four years. P'Oon looks like a DJ with his nice tattoos, camo hat, and Hotwave FM T-shirt, but is really just a drum tech for AB Normal. We'd never met before, but I'm glad we did. All of us met at Mor Chit station at 5:30 am. We bough tickets and walked outside. Only a second after sitting down together, Fam, P'Oon and I noticed P'Nueng starring at the trashcan right next to us. We all agreed without saying a word, and moved inside. All 7 of the bombs that had gone off just hours before, were reported to have been placed in garbage bins. (By the way.. at 1am on the 1st a bomb was found in Suan Loom Night Plaza, where P'Mo, Sam, Drew, and I were sitting.) We bought water and played Winning Eleven together. Next to the video games was a man who P'Nueng aptly named the presenter for สสส's next "I don't drive drunk." campaign. At least his hands weren't on the wheel...
The bus ride to the Loei province was quick. I actually don't remember anything after listening to music and taking a muscle relaxant. We got off the bus around 2pm, ate some food, then caught a pickup truck to the mountain base camp. We rented a tent, blankets, and a clay stove from a restaurant which quickly became our favorite. That night two girls and their Chinese friend came over and sat with us. between our two tents we had a mat and a stove. The stove was to keep us warm, not to cook. When we woke up at 5:30, the temperature was numbing. We had breakfast of boiled rice and headed to the trail head.
I had no idea I would be climing 5,000+ meter tall butte. Phu Gra Dueng Phugradueng ภูกระดึง however you want to spell it. The top of the mountain is a flat plain, which is about twenty square kilometers large. The climb took us 5 hours+, stopping to eat only once, but taking many small breaks to take pictures, drink water, or just play around. Some parts of the climb are very near vertical. Once we reached the top we had to walk on one of the sand trails for about an hour until we reached the camp area. A good way to picture this mountain is an island that floats in the sky. We waited for our baggage to arrive then set up the tent. The man who carried our bags up on a pole over his shoulder was carrying a load of 10 bags and a propane tank weighing a total of 80 kgs or 176 lbs. He does this three times a week for a living.
After setting up our tents and tarps, we walked across the field to the restaurant area and ate dinner. Then I took the coldest shower of my life. It hurt. We threw our bags in the tents and walked another sand trail for 2 km to Mokdood Cliff ผาหมอกดูด to watch the sunset. We were about 10 minutes too late, but still had fun playing with our silhouettes using the shutter release timer on my camera and my backpack as a tripod. Then we sat in a candle-lit restaurant eating boiled eggs and meatballs. The walk back was chilly and dark. P'Oon bought beers and rented a guitar which kept us busy for the night. The next morning P'Nueng, Fam, and I managed to get up at 5 am again and walk yet another sand trail to another cliff for the sunrise. This trail had a sign warning of wild elephants, but I didn't see any tracks. The sunrise was beautiful I think. I couldn't bring myself to take off the wool ski mask I was wearing.
After walking back and having breakfast with P'Oon we put off visiting the waterfalls and a 9 km walk and slept instead. We woke up at 11.00 and scrambled to return tarps and blankets, check our bags, an take the 2km sand trail to the trail that leads down the mountain. The park rangers won't let anyone down after the 2pm cut-off which w barely made. They are afraid people may not make it all the way by sunset. We made the decent, running, in 2 hrs. 30 minutes. If you've never run down a mountain I don't recommend it. We all new we'd trip at some point. I tripped, just barely missed a rock and caught myself on a tree. Picked a tree covered in cm long thorns though... got one trough my right hand. We stopped and ate ice cream while a nice old lady washed my hand. After we made it down, we weighed our garbage and got certificates for making it down alive and bringing garbage with us too.
We went back to our "aunt's" restaurant and ate lunch and returned the tents. She offered to drive us in her truck to the bus station on the way to the market, but our bags hadn't arrived yet. We bought gifts then took another pickup truck to the bus station. Instead of a bus we got suckered into taking a minibus. We didn't know that the minibus was already half-full. Fam, P'Oon, and P'Nueng ride in minibuses nearly everyday, taking drum sets, amps, and equipment between provinces and bars. It wasn't all bad because we got to stop for bathroom breaks and eat a long dinner. We reached BKK around 2 am.
Today I slept in and washed me clothes. I heard they have found well over 10 more bombs. If it hadn't been for concert cancellations due to bombs going off behind stages, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to go to Loei and have such a great New Year with friends! Tomorrow I'll wash more clothes and plan my class schedule. At 4pm I have to go to Bitec Arena during sound check to give Fam a CD of pictures. I may stick around or come back early. Bangna is only a 10 minute bus ride.
I add courses for my next semester on the 10th.
These days I keep reminding myself that I have to be myself, because nobody else can be me. Life is something we all have but it is up to us to decide what we want that life to be. "You can do anything if you put your mind to it."
"Weather is here, wish you were beautiful."
