The
road is much freer with the wind in your hair – and also with it on your bare
chest and between your toes. Little winding concrete road, jungle covered
hillsides with the odd shack and a little Chinese made scooter between your
legs – perfect for a cruise around these empty roads. I stopped at a lean-to
and dropped a couple Baht for a coke bottle of what I hoped was gasoline. The
road doubled back on itself getting higher and higher, finally depositing me on
a dirt parking lot, with a solitary sign marking the trail’s entrance.
The
path was steep and dry, the sun hot and unfriendly. The sweat came out like the
waterfall before me, emerging mysteriously out of the skin of the earth to
dribble down the valley. Nobody here but me and a cool spring water pool at the
bottom, to reward a sweaty climb.
As
I climbed down the path to the pool, my private walk was interrupted by two
pairs of legs emerging from below the foliage on the path. As I got down lower
the legs went up and up, and the golden brown skin with it. The skin finally
petered out just below the hips, as the skin tight shorts left nothing to
imagination. Her hair hung in long, waves down over the same golden brown
shoulders, framing large almond eyes and a wide cheeky smile. Her friend beside
her wasn’t bad either. I tried to discreetly slip past with a polite nod, but
was met with the requisite questions fired at every farang. “What your name?
Where you from?” “Andrew, from Canada,” I said. This was met a constant stream
of giggles, groans and chattering in Thai leaving me unable to get a word in.
Finally, I managed a, “your English is good, did you learn from a Canadian?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Last boyfriend was Canadian, but Canadian boy no good,
meet many woman, say he only need one.” What can I say I thought, Thailand was
filled with sleazy expats and probably a few on them were Canadian.
Before
I could reply she said, “I like you, you look honest. Let’s go in the water.”
With that she took my hand and led me over the wet rocks and over into the
small wading pools below the falls. I tugged at my shorts trying to keep them
up as we slip slided over the rocks. “What wrong,” she asked. “Oh my swimsuit
keeps sliding down on me,” I replied. “That okay, you can let them down,” she
suggested with a smile, tugging on my waistband. “Ahhh you never know who
you’ll run into up here, so I’ll keep them on,” I said grabbing her wrist and
pulling away her hand, with a thought of regret. “Let’s sit down here,” I said.
We were sitting in our clothes in a small wading pool together. Tiny minnows
swirled around pecking at our feet, eliciting little gasps from us every time
they chewed off a little bit of skin. She cupped her hands trying to catch
them, showing me their slim, silvery bodies wriggling in her palm. I had a
brief thought, instantly suppressed, of myself in her hand, wriggling back and
forth. I splashed water, it falling almost inevitably in her eyes, she trying
to keep her fake eyelashes on, me feeling sheepish. No bad. She splashed back; completely
soaked we headed back to our scooters in the parking lot. She asking for a
promise to stop by her workplace on the main road, he promising to stop on his
way back from the beach.
Promises
fall by the wayside as the bikes speed through the jungle, past temples,
rickety shacks selling gasoline, outdoor restaurants and gogo bars. Another day
in paradise.
For the road - Andrew.
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