Sea kayaking

Buddy Lissy and I have made a friend, a neighbor to our hut. A very pinkly tanned, reserved, yet interesting conversationalist man from Poland. I was intrigued to get to know Mr. Poland, because the left side of me is Polish. Meeting fellow travelers in holiday locations like this is like traveling in two places at once. He got to go to America and we went to Poland.

And we also all went sea kayaking. Three seats in the kayak but only 2 paddles: all of us being Movement People we all wanted the paddles. But I, being the baby, acquiesced and sat uselessly in the middle seat. I took this as a challenge, because it is more difficult for me to sit still and to watch others work than to work myself.

Engineering parents upbringing, you see.

But I did well. I gazed sleepily and contentedly at the tall graceful palms, the white stretching sands, the steep hills. How lovely to get a view of the island not from the island but from the water. The water was teal, almost the color of my Seattle hair.

Groups of tiny fishes jumped out of the water, looking as if wedding-goers were tossing handfuls of rice--but not rice, but glittering jewels. Seeing them coordinated like this, hundreds of little momentarily soaring things, wow! I imagined what initiated these group fly-outs like this. Maybe one little one calling, "come in honey the air's fine!" and then suddenly everyone joins in the experience.

Lovely, truly lovely.

The moon last night was a golden smile, an almost half-moon reflecting on the sea.

Tomorrow or the next day we leave this island, to bike a few more days in Thailand, then ba-boom! Cambodia border here we come!