Now I Get It

I never understood the beach vacation...until now.  When it comes to travel and recreation, I generally subscribe to the go/see/do school.  I've never been a beach-goer.  Don't get me wrong, I like the beach, but I just don't know what to do with myself for hours on end.  Same goes with camping (though that has more to do with me not liking being dirty).  Or hanging out by a pool.  I like to be active, even if that activity is something I'm really really bad at (like say, kayaking, hiking, competing in any sort of race, or, as is the case since I've returned from this trip, getting out of bed before noon).  I'm sure it's something I inherited from my parents what with their preference to go on action-packed vacations (where most of the action is driving around in the car).  The one time I wanted to try out the "beach vacation" was our family trip to Hawaii in December of 2002.  And that totally failed, not because of me, but because my parents couldn't fully grasp the concept (nor could they stick to their edict of "We're all adults, so we can split up and enjoy individual activities" because this vacation turned into an all-or-nothing drive-a-thon).

My brother and I tried to stand together on the "lazy day at the beach" strategy, but Dad's need to keep moving never made it possible.  Rather than allow us a day to do as we pleased, we were lured into the backseat of the rental car and driven around O'ahu all day long.  Don't get me wrong, we had a good time going to Pearl Harbor, stopping at the Dole Pineapple Plantation, and checking out the North Shore (where we got our first beach stop, which consisted of dad stopping on the side of the road and saying, "Okay, there's the beach.  You have five minutes."  (And people think I'm a ball-buster when I try to get them in and out of Grace Cathedral in less than 10 minutes.))

Needless to say, that didn't satisfy our beach-going desires, so we commenced the moaning and groaning which led to a second (and much more uncomfortable and less-satisfying stop).  Hearing our cries, the 'rents made a decision to quell our misery by pulling into a parking lot at a beach, where Dad turned to us and said, "Alright.  There's the beach.  If you two want to go, that's fine.  Your mother and I will stay here with the car."

Surprisingly that kind of selfless compromise worked only my dad's favor because my brother and I just felt weird and awkward going to the beach while our parents waited for us in the car in a crowded parking lot.  Did I mention we were full-grown adults at this time?  Closer to thirty than twenty?  Needless to say, we returned to the car after two minutes and continued the endless drive.

Given that experience and a myriad of other botched attempts at hanging out and doing nothing somewhere other than my couch (where I have no problem whatsoever), I have never had a successful beach holiday...until now.

We took the night train down from Bangkok and ended up in Surat Thani at 6:30 in the morning.  All I wanted was a shower, and that shower was never going to happen which made me very upset (because for a person who dislikes showering, I hate being dirty--it's one of my grand ironies).  We grabbed some breakfast, then boarded a bus to Khao Sok filled with entitled and endlessly bitching college kids, then transferred to a truck which delivered us to a boat where we boarded and cruised through Cheow Lan Lake until we arrived at our home for the next two nights--a raft house resort in the middle of the lake.

Suddenly, I was less concerned about my lack of a shower because this place was magical.  Each of us got our own bamboo huts, and we spent the next two and a half days hanging out on our respective porches and swimming in the lake.  Our hosts called us to the main raft at meal time where we ate like kings.

And now I get it.  At last!  I didn't have to rise early.  I didn't have to worry about a schedule or opening hours.  All I had to do was sit around, read, write, swim, and eat (and unfortunately, I had a wee eating issue when an entire colony of ants found their way into my small bag of almonds.  Had I not looked down and noticed them as I popped the nuts in my mouth, I probably would have eaten them without worry--and yes, I see the irony that I was unwilling to eat ants with a side of almonds after eating fried maggots).

All I had to do was relax, and I took the opportunity to get my non-bathroom "me" time in my little hut.  It was bliss.  However, I'm glad we left after a couple of days because I'd hate to get burned out on my new discovery.  I'm sold on the beach vacation, but only for a couple days at a time (ed. unless of course the beach vacation is in my living room in which case I can keep it up for weeks).