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| A coconut stand. Neither of us care for the liquid, but the meat is delicious. |
This morning at 3 am (when I often wake up for no reason whatsoever), I checked my phone as I often do hoping that reading will lull me back to sleep. With no cell contract or a SIM card for Thailand, I use the house’s WiFi connection to log on.
This isn’t always possible at every vacation home, especially when the signal is poor, but here in Rawai, Phuket we have a relatively good signal with few interruptions. Posting each day has been so much easier than in Bali and, on the Mekong River cruise, which was by far the worst signal we’ve experienced on a ship to date.
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| As is the case in most tourist locations, there’s a variety of ethnic restaurants. |
Most of us have a routine when we check our phones, don’t we? We take a peek at email, Facebook, news or any other active apps we may frequently use. Then, if we choose to stay online, we settle on an app where we may spend hours keeping us entertained and engaged.
Gosh, I wonder what we did with our free time decades ago, before technology took over our lives to some extent. Don’t get me wrong, I have no qualms about being online during quiet times.
What else would we do if we’ve already been out and about perusing the area having taken enough photos for the time being? It’s not as if I can spend half the day in the kitchen cooking a great meal for dinner guests. Nor, can Tom head down to the basement to work on his latest fix-it project.
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| Phuket consists of hundreds of islands, most unpopulated. |
On Sundays, there’s no newspaper to read which used to occupy several hours of the day after making a big breakfast for us or for family stopping by. Is there an upcoming trip to Home Depot on the day’s agenda to buy more flowers for the one remaining sparse garden in the yard? Hardly.
As glamorous as many assume our lives may be, there are simple realities of living this life of travel that have included a tremendous amount of sacrifice. But, wouldn’t anyone desiring a expand their horizons to experience an alternate lifestyle find themselves making sacrifices of one sort or another? An athlete? A mountain climber? An app developer?
We’re no different. We gave up some things to acquire others.As many of our loyal readers know, we have no regrets. We never question our decision, regardless of how hard it may become at times.
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| A local resort, The Villa. |
Perhaps, recently has been one of those hard times as I continue to slowly recover, seemingly one millimeter at a time. We just haven’t been able to get out to do much lately.
The combination of the bumpy roads in the less-than-stellar rental car, my difficulty of getting in and out of the very low-to-the-floor passenger seat and the continuing discomfort while riding simply makes getting out not much fun.
Instead, our days consist of posting here (easily keeping me busy for half a day), sitting at the kitchen table chopping and dicing (Tom brings everything to me and puts it all away helping to make the meal at dinnertime) and watching a movie and/or a few favorite shows on my laptop while staying cool in the bedroom.
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| Modest living quarters in the area, nestled in the trees. |
Frequently, I get up from a sitting position to move about, but at this point, I’m finding that resting while by alternating the ice and heat packs seems to be the most beneficial.
Oddly, we’re cheerful and optimistic as we could be under these restrictive circumstances. But, isn’t that how life is? Don’t we all have periods of time when we aren’t feeling 100%, or recovering from a surgery or illness where we aren’t quite able to conduct our preferred daily routines interspersed with a wide array of activities?
Certainly, under these circumstances most of us carry on, hopeful for the future, diligent in our efforts to get back to “normal” (whatever normal may be) while striving to maintain a positive attitude.
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| There are many gated houses in our area, as in the case for our villa. |
Then, there’s those special moments that make us smile or laugh, whether its the action or words from a loved one, an unexpected windfall or as simple as a colorful bird landing on a branch outside the window. Day brighteners. Hope perpetrators. Fodder for happiness.
To make a long story short, during the night when I saw this message on my phone posted as a comment at the end of yesterday’s post, my heart did a flip flop at 3:00 am as it had also done the prior day when a reader from Minnesota expressed the same interest in meeting us. It read:
“Jessica and Tom,
I am a loyal reader (every morning) who would love to meet up with you when you are in Nevada next year (we live in Arizona). I’ll keep reading if and when such a meeting is planned for your loyal readers in the Southwest. Sounds like your back continues to improve, and very happy to read that. All the best to you two for continued “happy trails.”
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| Small cabins for rent in the area. |
As soon as Tom awoke this morning, I read the message to him, as I’d done the prior day and again, he too, felt the same as me, grateful, appreciative and lucky to have reader/friends all over the world who travel along with us, through the good times and adventures and through the mundane times, (such a now), where exciting activities are hardly on the agenda.
Not only are we humbled by the world around us as we travel. Not only are we in awe of the culture we experience in each country we visit. Not only do we feel fortunate for the fine people we are honored to meet along the way. But, we feel so lucky to have our readers travel with us on this journey and we look forward to meeting more of you soon.
In August, 2014 our dear friend/reader Liz from Bristol, England, whom we’d never met took a train for a three hour round trip to meet us in South Kensington. (For the story of Liz’s visit, please click here). It was a day we’ll both always treasure, a friendship we’ll never forget.
Life is good. We hope yours is as well.
Photo from one year ago today, August 9, 2015:
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| A mailman on a motorbike in Trinity Beach stopped to chat with us! For more photos, please click here. |