Hi readers! I’m back…from Hatyai…last Sunday night. Couldn’t update my blog as there were so many things that I needed to catch up on. Yeah, I went there on a bike – 40 bikes in all, actually - with a majority of married couples.
Like I said, it is never about the destination or the bike – it’s the ride that matters. Of course, some people failed to see what matters most and kept on rushing on everything. In the end, they missed the point of enjoying themselves and got stuck in their own mood-sways, grudges and anger over nothing.
As for me, although I was tired as hell from the ride, and still feel the aches here and there up till today but one thing for sure is that I’m mentally refreshed. And you know what? I can see that the love between all the couples that joined the ride is refreshed too.
I didn’t know that riding can have that effect on married couples until Hatyai.
To summarize the trip - we left the house at 10 pm on Thursday night and headed to the first check-point in Rawang.
At 12 midnite sharp, we were all on our way to Hatyai – all excited and worried on whether or not we can survive the weather, the agony of spending sleepless night on a bike and to be careful and patience all the way through.
We stopped for gas and rest at at least 5 other check-points before we reached our destination at 12 noon the next day. A tourist police car was assigned to escort us from Danok and for the whole 3 days. In Hatyai, we were received by Thailand bikers who took us to lunch at a Restaurant named Kelantan, before checking-in at Hatyai Paradise Hotel later on.
First thing I did when I reached the hotel was to fill the tub with hot water and slept in it. 2 hours later I was surprised to feel as good as waking up in the morning after a good night’s sleep. 6 pm we were on our way to the famous floating market of Klonghae.
Hatyai is certainly a food heaven – we had the best tomyam kelapa (tomyam served in coconut shell), a perfect siakap tiga rasa and God! I’ve never tasted teh tarik that good… And the crab+prawn+squid otak-otak is simply amazing!
The next day, we rode to Songkhla and found out that Songhkla too, is a place for food, especially seafood. So, good yet so cheap. And there was this lady selling coconut ice-cream (ice-cream served in coconut shell with fruits, nuts and jelly) on the beach and note that she sells only the ice-cream and we can ask for the coconut water from her for free!
Among the things that I can’t forget about Hatyai is the sight of an old woman begging when I took a stroll in Uptown Hatyai. She was wiping the face of an old and a very sick handicap man who was lying helplessly beside her. It is so disturbing that I needed to be pulled away from staring at them. It is so painful that all I can do is hand a few baht to them which will most probably last them for a day or so. This is why sometimes I wish I were a ‘somebody’ who has the power to make changes whenever I feel like it.
And I can’t forget the warmth courtesy of the people in general. The Thais can be a tourist guide, a receptionist, a masseur or even a call girl but they sure have the highest courtesy and humility that put them at a certain class in terms of civilization and humanity.
The return trip was more torture. We left the hotel at 10 am on Sunday and right after the border we were forced to endure the fierce sun all through Kedah. And then we went through an on and off rainfalls in Juru and heavy rain all the way from Tapah to our home. Thinking that we were already headed for home, I decided not to bother putting on the raincoat. As a result, my boots and gloves were drenched.
‘Waiting’ is culture in a long ride. We have to wait for everybody to arrive at every check-point before we start riding again. We have to wait should any of us have problems with their bikes and as a matter of fact, two of our brothers had to ride in a lorry along with their bikes.
After all the sun, the rain, the pain, the waiting and the riding, finally, at 11.40 pm I was ready for bed in my own home – so tired that waiting for myself to fall asleep was torture. But it’s okay, I had 3 days and 3 nights of great fun!
What else can a say about the trip? Aahh..yess.. good massage, good entertainment and good sightseeing… Hmm..not much that I can tell and yet there are some that I cannot tell…
To conclude it all, the ride taught us all the meaning of friendship, brotherhood and patience but Hatyai taught us everything else!
Thank God that we are safely home – happy and blessed with love and life.
No comments:
Post a Comment