Brian and I are now in Thailand, we walked across the border 6 days ago and decided to visit Ko Phi Phi Don, a beautiful island in the Andaman Sea well known throughout the world as a result of the 2004 Tsunami and the movie The beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Upon arriving we were captivated by the crystal clear turquois water surrounding this rugged island with white sandy palm tree-lined beaches. Yet after spending 1 day on Long Beach with 1000s of tourists who come to this island to sun-bathe and party we no longer felt like we were in a tropical paradise.
So we found a map and hired a longtail boatsman to take us to the only beach on the island that hasn't yet been developed. We got dropped off at a small village with an expensive resort and walked from there. We pictured our own little paradise and were suprised when we arrived at this beautiful bay and saw that it was covered in trash-piles and piles of it. We set up camp anyways-relieved to be away from the herds of drunk tourists. That night we fell asleep under the glow of the full moon on an empty quiet beach.
Over the last 4 days we discovered that the beach we were staying had not yet been cleaned up after the 2004 Tsunami, hence the amount of rubbish. We also discovered that the beauty here in Phi Phi Island village was hidden in the locals hearts. After 4 days we felt that we knew a large percentage of the people there, saying hi (sa de ka) every few steps to the local village people in their family owned restraunts and shops. The 2nd night we were walking home from the beach, Brian had his guitar on his back and a Thai man invited us into his restraunt and asked Brian if he would play there that night.
We came back at sunset, when the electricity turned on and Brian played a show and I helped wait tables. The first night was rather slow and I spent most of it sitting at the table with Ronnie, the man who invited us to play. Ronnie told me that he just moved to this village 2 weeks ago to help out his sister, Kantong who owns the restraunt and cooks the food. Before Ronnie arrived Kantong was running the restraunt all by herself working every day from 8am to 11pm (when the electricty shuts down). She is working to take care of her husband who is dying of lung cancer back in the mainland. She has to stay on the island to work and make money but he had to go to Phuket where there is a proper hospital. So Ronnie, her brother left his wife and daughter to come help out his sister.
After the customers left we all sat down by candle light and shared a meal together and then we went back to their home and slept on the ground. The next 3 mornings we had breakfast with them and then came back again at sunset. Brian's music brought in lots of people and many return customers from the night before. The restraunt was busy and I sat tables, made cocktails, bussed tables, took food out to the tables and helped with dishes. Last night was so busy we had to turn people away and had people waiting at the bar. Ronnie told us that this was the busiest they've ever been and they were so happy because they made 10,000 Baht which is equivalent to $300 US dollars. Ronnie paid me for my help although I tried to refuse and they took us back to the pier and treated us to one last lunch this afternoon before we left the island.
We have a daily budget and didn't even come close to spending it while we were on this rather expensive (for Thailand) island because of Ronnie and Kantong. Yesterday we used some of this money to go on a snorkeling trip to Maya Bay, this was something we really wanted to do but didn't think we could afford.
I wish you all could meet Ronnie and Kantong and experience the Thai hospitality and generosity. I love how it seems to be instilled in the people here that the most important thing is family and looking after one another. People that have very little give you their best and they are happy to do so.
If you were to walk into their restraunt (LeeMas in Phi Phi Island village) Ronnie would be there waiting for you at the door with a big smile and genuine joy that you decided to eat at their restraunt. He would take you to a table, pull the chair out for you and tell you in one of the many languages he has learned to take it easy and enjoy yourself. After taking your order he would tell it to Kantong in Thai and she would then cook it to perfection.
We didn't get to speak with Kantong for she only speaks Thai, but she told us many things about herself in the way she lived. No matter how busy the restraunt got, she always kept her cool, cooking as many as 30 meals at once. When I would go back into the kitchen to help her with the simplest of things she would laugh with joy and she has one of the most beautiful laughs. When we would thank her she would shake her head and motion with her hands no no no don't thank me! Throughout the night while we were working she would find time to cook for us. I think we ate dinner 3 times last night, never knowing what we were eating but loving every bite.
As the boat left the pier this afternoon we gave thanks that we weren't just leaving a beautiful island with a nice sun tan and a hangover. But we were leaving a village, that was completely destroyed 6 years ago and alive and well today. We were leaving people, people that we shared life with for only a short time but felt like we were extended family; we left fulfilled.
Brian started a non-profit in 2004, Journey4YOUth. We want to combine his music with giving back to the communities we visit. Our dream is for Journey4YOUth to make a local and global impact. We spend many lazy days and coffee mornings discussing just how we can do this. We want to start now. As we travel to 2nd and 3rd world countires and meet people like Ronnie and Kantong we hope that we can not only help them for a few days or a week, but tell their story and give others opportunites to give to them. This can be done by credit card and or paypal at journey4youth.org just comment what the money is for and we can mail it to Ronnie and Kantong to help pay for her husbands hospital bills and possibly give her the chance to hire someone else or take a break and spend some time with her dying husband.
We plan to continue to tell the stories of the people we meet amd give our friends and family back home opportunites to bless the people here. We too will keep in touch with these people and communites, giving 10% of all the money we earn to them and doing what we can to help take care of our global family.
