Hello from HOT Thailand
! I apologize for the lack of Blogs recently. This trip has been so overwhelming that I cannot even think of how to put the latest happenings into words. I have seen and learned so much that my brain is in overload.
We are now in Phuket, Thailand. I am currently not with my team because of overexposure to heat and direct sunlight while on Malaria Pills. Not the smartest move in the History of Kimberly Lynch, but as always UNIQUE!!! I am staying with the Red Team in an air conditioned hotel thanks to God’s divine intervention. Anna Marie and friends (from South Africa) took me under their wing and checked into the SAME hotel as the Red Team. It was no shock to anyone that I would be thrilled to stay with my two best buddies (Ashley and Sarah). The three of us could have a good time together tied to a tree! Hopefully that would never happen, but if it did we would have fun! So, a few hundred bottles of water and some air condition really helped my illness and now I am ready to go!! I have actually been recruited by the hotel owner to do some computer work and have gotten us all invited to a Thai dinner….so I am working (sort of).
I will be reunited with my Blue Team Buddies tomorrow and am really looking forward to seeing how God used them this week. I sure have been praying for them!
Now…I will bring you up to speed on what has been going on (since I am the world’s worst blogger)!!
As most of you have heard, this past race consisted of climbing a bazillion stairs of a Temple (with monkeys all over), riding elephants through a jungle, researching Budhist teachings, eathing BUGS/SILKWORMS, and swimming to an island. I am very proud of my team. We got stuck with some pretty slow and directionally challenged drivers, but through it all we never lost our integrity or sense of humor. I feel that no matter what place we come in, we will always have a good time! This past race was as crazy as ever and I look forward to many more like it.
After the race, we decided that we would camp on the beach (one of my dreams while in Thailand). We camped on a beach that was destroyed by the Tsunami last year. The building behind our tents had been washed away except for part of the foundation. I am not going to lie and say that I wasn’t a little scared sleeping there, but I survived and have another story to tell. We fell asleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. It reminds me of my trips to Peanut Island in Palm Beach, Florida.
During our time on the beach, three people had Birthdays! Anita turned 26, Sarah turned 25, and Ashley turned 23. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Both Sarah’s Birthday and Ashley’s were monumental days in my life!!! Sarah’s Birthday was the day of the race so we were trying to figure out how to celebrate it. We found out that there was a Birthday dinner in Phuket Town…which is about an hour drive from our little beach paradise. So Estee, Leisl and I decided that we really wanted to go! We quickly changed into some clean clothes (which are hard to come by these days). The three of us started walking towards town hoping to hitch a ride or find a cheap taxi. We found a taxi for 300 Baht which we thought was decent, but in the meantime Estee walked ahead to see if we could get a better deal. She found a motorbike rental place where you can rent a motorbike for 200baht and keep it for 24 hours. HOT DOG! The guy told us that it was against the law for three people to ride on one bike (oops…we did that a few times in the past). So, Leisl decided she would hitch a ride and let Estee and I ride the bike. I signed the papers and off we went! We were cruising in style for about 7 minutes when a Thai Police Officer whistled and motioned for us to pull over. I pulled over and he started writing me a ticket. I had no idea what for!!! I have NEVER been pulled over before so I was basically in SHOCK!!! Come to find out, it is against the law not to wear a helmet. Of course I would prefer to wear a helmet, but I was not given one so I didn’t even question it. He told me (gestured) for me to give him my Drivers License and go to the Police Station. Oh GREAT!!! Estee stayed with our motorbike as I, Criminal Kim, walked to the Police Station. I had to fill out tons of paper work and had to pay 300 Bhat ($7.50 US)for not wearing a helmet. I was so mad. Should have taken that cab!!! I go back to Estee and tell her that we are taking the bike back and getting this ticket paid for and we will wish Sarah a Happy Birthday tomorrow! I was a little MAD….which is an understatement! When we got back to the rental place, the poor guy had helmets for us and we found out that he tried to chase us to give them to us. I felt so bad asking him to pay for the ticket after finding that out. But I DID!!! I also asked for my money back for the bike because I was so frustrated. He said no to that, so after much discussion we kept the bike and he reinbursed me for the ticket!!! Estee drove this time and I hopped on the back and we drove an hour to the party. When we got there, everyone was just finishing their desert but we got to celebrate with SARAH!!!
Ashley’s birthday was not criminal like Sarah’s but it was HOT. Her birthday fell on the Hottest day of the year in Thailand which is also Thailand’s New Year. Thai people sure know how to celebrate. The whole town shuts down and they have the world’s largest water fight. Everyone, young and old, take the day off and soak everyone who comes close to them. We (blue team and yellow team) rode our motorbikes into town to meet up with the Red and Brown teams to celebrate Ashley’s birthday. Before we even got to the main rode we were soaked from head to toe. It was the best party ever. Truckloads of people were dumping buckets of ice cold, dyed water on everyone. It was traffic like Daytona Spring Break…cars lined up for miles. The only difference was the huge buckets of water in the back of each truck. It was so fun!!!
Besides those two crazy days, I have been building relationships with residents of the towns and enjoying being in beautiful Thailand. Thank you all for your continued support. Please pray for my health and for my feeling of homesickness!!! Love to you all!
