Everything went so smoothly with my transport from my city,
Khon Kaen, to the capital six hours away. The nearby Western hangout spot,
Didines, called me a taxi on Friday night so I was able to chat with a fellow
teacher friend while playing pool before I departed. As I waved goodbye and
entered the cab, it all seemed so natural, so casual-just a weekend trip away.
My cab driver knew exactly where I was going, another relief, although he
uttered the word “krap” and I had to remind myself that he wasn’t cussing at
me, it’s the thai equivalent of saying “sir” or “madam”.
Then I waited in a very comfortable bus terminal for my
midnight trip to Bangkok. Reclining seats, personal televisions, bus
attendants, and free water made for a luxury experience. I was fast to snooze on my most elegant
overnight bus trip in South East Asia yet. I woke up in Bangkok and was able to
find a taxi immediately, and one with a meter running! The luck! I was dropped
off around the corner from my hostel which I quickly found as if I was a
resident walking the streets at 6AM. It was all so easy. Too easy, I thought?
But instead of questioning how I arrived with no hiccups, I just
thanked the universe and was grateful.
I took a short snooze on the hostel couches, since they
wouldn’t check me in until later. I woke up by my beautiful and amazing friend
Zola. She was laughing uncontrollably that I was so relaxed and chill with just
kicking it in the lobby. Mai ben rai, right? (No worries) Walking up the stairs to her dorm, I was flooded with
familiar faces from OEG Orientation. It was like I had come back from winter
break in College and was being reunited with all my friends. And yet again, I
was reminded why coming to Thailand with a program was so clutch, because I
immediately have a social structure in this foreign country.
Curing my girls of their epic hangovers, catching up about our interim lives filled the day and sooner than we realized we were starting to get ready for Together Festival. Oh right, I traveled to BKK not just to see my gypsy friends, but also for this electronic music festival . . . you know, that WOMP, WOMP, WOMP.
And for those of you who have this image in your head of
festivals as a place for all the crazies to join together in a fusion of drugs
and dance. . . well you’re right. But it’s much more than that. Don’t disregard
it as a place only for addicts and extremos. Because, at least for me, it has
to do with thousands of people joining together to jam with music that makes
you feel the drop. . . and some people might be out of their mind, but
they’re all happy, insanely happy. . .and what’s more special than to be in a
stadium of people jumping to the same beat and radiating pure ecstatic
euphoria?
You don’t have to drink the Kool-Aid to feel it.
So let me just tell you more about how amazing my friends
are. My friends find just as much joy as me when painting their faces and
adorning them with gold, glitter, and gems. We easily gossip, and not in this
nasty, hurtful, spreading rumors type of way, but in this let me tell you about
my new boy crush type of way. My friends go with the flow, and when I am at the
entrance of the venue telling them I forgot my ID, it’s no big deal, it’s all
about the journey, and that extra taxi ride was so much fun anyways. My friends
totally get me, when I inevitably get lost midway through the festival and they
trust they will find the phoneless Nora the Explora. My friends make new
friends, they aren’t just there for the music but more so for the company,
because new Thai connections mean better future memories. My friends jump at the
words, “Cat Café,” no convincing needed, they are just as giddy as me for the
purrfect Sunday afternoon lounging around with kitties.
My friends are the ones that reunite the following weekend,
and send me a video from the club saying how much I’m missed.
Those are my friends. And I’m so freaking blessed.
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