05/07/19

Last day on Koh Lanta. Shouldn’t really even be writing that. Ideally I’d be on my way off the island in an hour rather than something like four hours. It’s not a full day here, but that’s not the point. Claudio said he would arrange the minibus for me, then this morning claims he thought I was leaving tomorrow and said something about minibuses being all booked, but maybe I could book something with a travel agent up the street. Not sure if he’s just playing dumb because he doesn’t like my photos, or doesn’t care, or genuinely made a mistake because he didn’t listen to me yesterday. Anyway, the situation is what it is, and I’ve booked transportation myself. I’m staying in Krabi tonight, then a quick drive to the airport the following morning for a short flight to Kuala Lumpur.

I must say I’m happy to get a move on off this island, though I am at last feeling rather comfortable here having developed a bit of a routine. I’m looking forward to a change in structure in my life, and an adjustment in accomodation, though I don’t imagine that it’ll be a huge change; I’m just hoping for consistent air conditioning.

When I first arrived here a whole week ago and showed up at the hostel it wasn’t long before I realized that there was nowhere to find respite from the oppressive heat, at least not in the hostel (until 7pm, when a/c in the dorm rooms was turned on), but it seemed to me that after a day or two of being here there was absolutely nowhere to go, with the exception of a couple of cafes, and this left me with limited time, not a lot of flexibility, and having to formulate a schedule for myself. However, formulating a schedule is easier said than done when one is uncertain about what one’s “employer” might ask of him, and when. This left me somewhat on edge and uncomfortable—what can and can’t I do, and how much time might I be able to allot myself for any given thing? Of course after a few days I realized it didn’t much matter what I did; there was no schedule, and Claudio, from what I could ascertain, expected nothing from me but that I would get the photography done. Once I came to this realization I was finally able to relax and create a daily routine for myself. This of course was only to last a few days as my stay was only a week, but that simple plan that developed is the thing that kept me from falling into despair, kept me sane, and gave me some sense of joyful productivity from time to time. And video chatting with Huyen. That was one of the loveliest of pleasures.

Soon I will be in Kuala Lumpur working a regular six hours a day and probably struggling to fit all my projects into each. However, one day at a time!

Bit by bit!