Some days are “shelf days”, says my mother. There are days for great adventure (like yesterday when I went scuba diving for the first time) and other days are for errands, processing and resting. Today in Aonang, Thailand is a shelf day. I play in the pool, pack up souvenirs and paintings and drop them off at the post-office. “Please send this box to my mother in America,” I pray it arrives safely.
I spend my morning at Sunn Coffee Bar with my friend Lek. Lek is a Thai man originally from Bangkok who lived in Seattle for a few years as a teenager / young man. I found his hidden gem coffee shop at the very back end of an alleyway, just down from Aonang Beach. Finally!!! This is the best coffee I’ve tasted on my journey. It’s the service and love he pours into it. His coffee making machinery is old school manual measurements and loud steaming screaming machines that adds to this charming industrial vibe experience. If you walk into Lek’s shop, you’ll find him sitting there watching a Korean TV show on his laptop or he’ll be smiling and pouring coffee for whoever just walked in the door. After my first visit he knew my name and my favorite drink order. He opened a tab for me. He asked me each day about little details of my life I’d mentioned in passing the previous day. He understands the beauty of a simple life in a chill town, drinking good coffee. He opened his shop in the middle of COVID. He said he didn’t turn profit during that time (obviously, it was COVID and people told him it was crazy to open a shop)…he believed that humans needed a place to come to gather for a good coffee. That mission was enough of a reward for him.
Sleeping at the Krabi Tipa Resort means you get to be greeted by these playful elephants in the lobby. I don’t know if the towels were thrown on their head intentionally. Playing elephants is instant joy. They’re everywhere here.
My habits are merging with Rae’s habits. We’re such similar creatures. We’re starting our days with coffee and eating fresh mangos; juice dripping down our arms. A fresh dragonfruit is a cool breakfast. The mango is a perfect lunch. These superfruit superfood to keep us glowing healthy all day long until Thai dinner time! We start planning our dinner in the morning. We survive on fresh fruit and snacks all day long. Eating the mangos on the balcony with a soft breeze is a simple pleasure, deeply sensual, and now a staple part of my days.
From my journal:
”Scuba diving yesterday - wow, life changing moment. I came into deep clarity and resurfaced ready to take action. … I love playing in the pool. Krabi Tipa Resort is the best pool/view I’ve enjoyed so far. … I feel so clear that I want to be here in the water in Thailand, on the boats, diving, running the beach, swimming, painting, writing, practicing yoga. I feel peace of mind. Underwater I feel peace. I love the feeling of floating in water. The parrot fish is so beautiful, rainbow colors!
I’m sitting in this Sunn coffee shop with the guys and it’s so perfect. Hard to leave. Who will I meet in Phuket? Which way will I move forward as I write?
“It’s good to have positive energy; it carries you smoothly through the day,” said Lek.”
Love & Rainbows,
Cha Wilde
