axis

The first time i came to thailand i went to a small beach about 2 miles long way out in south thailand, Ralay. Ralay is a penislia but where it meets the land is an unsurpassable mountian and so it is only accessable by boat. Ralay itself is home to some of the best rock climbing in the world which is why i went there. Also why several thousand other rock climbers a year visited there from every corner of the world. Other than the beach (which is soft white sand over under bathtub warm water for at least 50meters out) and the cliffs, which are off the beach, theres just a few miles of jungle. Real jungle. Giant man eating lizards, butterflies a foot wide, mushrooms as big around as hulla hoops. Deadly and beautiful. I loved that jungel. Anyway, there was this bar, The Coco Jazz Pub owned by a guy name PeDang. He was so cool and the bar he built (by himself) and lived in was so chill that it became my hangout while i stayed there. The whole thing looked like a treehouse out of the junglebook. Completely openair with random artwork by passing travlers scribbled on the walls. At high tide the water came up to the door step. All the tables looking out to the most spectacular sunsets. He let people bring in their own music so hanging out in there you'd get a rediculious varance in beats. Hungarian rap, then japensese techno, then french jazz, then russian vocal... It was a great place to be with an even better vibe. So when i moved to thailand i had to go to Ralay. Unfortantly (maybe not) i ran out of money while i was there and kinda got my silly ass lost in the jungle. Well after a few days i got back out (on the wrong side of the penislia but i climbed around the point and then swam back to my side) and beat up, thristy as all hell, exusted and dirty, PeDang found me and took me in to his home, let me shower and fed me. He didnt ask for anyting back. Just took care of me. Then he gave me and my brother a room, let us eat with him and his family. When money finaly did come, not much, he helped ezra and i build our own hut to live in and taught us how to take food out of the jungle to cook and drive a longtail boat out to catch squid and sharks. He was like a father to me. Took me in as his own. The only father i've ever had. His actual son Mung took a lot after his father (although unlike PeDang he could drink like a champ) but he was much more physical and unimagably even more considerate. I remember finding Mung one day combing the beach with this sea shell in his hand. I came over to see what he was looking for, and his sea shell was actualy a hermit crab the size of my fist. I asked what was up and he showed me the crab, its legs were penched in the sides of its shell. So he was finding it a bigger shell to live in. For at least 3 hours he scoured the beach to find a bigger shell for the crab, then he waited the rest of the day talking to it, encouraging it to move into the new bigger shell. Moving to new places is scary i know Mr.Crab but even though its hard and you'll have to spend some time adjusting you'll be happier in this new shell with more room. When late that night the crab did move into the new shell Mung beamed from ear to ear. PeDang was a master gutar player, a painter and a hella of a bartender. He was also extremly wise and gave lessons he'd learned from nature like "Water is lower than all things, always goes down, down, till no more down. But water is stronger than all other things. Water, goes through skin, water goes though wood, water goes through stone. Always finds the easiest way down. Never hendered, it fits anything you put it in. Water, adapts. Water, is calm until something else comes, then when the something leaves, water is calm again. Does not stay uncalm when things have gone. Water lets go. We can be like water. We can be calm, and find the wasy way. Just have to remember to come down, to let go, this way, we be very happy" PeDang thaught me valuable lessons on how to forgive myself and live calmly and feely. He and his were great people. Living a good life, working when work needed to be done, enjoying their work and just living well when there was no work to do. They were my family. I love them. I miss them. May they rest in peace.