During my week off work Polly and I made our way down to Phuket and Hua Hin. Shortly after our arduous bus ride we arrived sleepily to our hostel before 10am. After getting ourselves situated in our room we made our way downstairs in search for some breakfast. When we got downstairs people were crying and screaming. A woman who worked as a waitress next door collapsed from a heart attack. Polly, being a nurse, ran to her and gave her cpr. Unfortunately it was too little too late and the woman died. The 26 year old was well liked in the area. The faces of everyone around told the story pretty well. She will be missed dearly by everyone who met her.
After this sobering scene I walked toward Kata beach to rent myself a surf board. The waves had good size and I lucked into a surf shop offering over 60 boards to chose from. I surfed until I could barely walk. On the way back I witnessed another horrible scene. Two Chinese men were struggling in the surf. They had the brilliant idea of swimming in red flag conditions and were caught in a rip, doing what not to do, swimming towards shore. Jet ski's were circling them, trying to grab them and pull them up. One man got on, the other missed. Then a wave broke over the struggling man's head and he went under water never to be found until two days later. So my first day in Phuket I watched two people die.
The rest of the trip was full of romantic dinners and lots of surfing. I enjoyed the ocean. I missed it.
僕は仕事から休みをもらった。僕たちは休みの間にタイの南海岸でサーフィンをした。バスで行った。二度と長い距離バス旅行したくない。プケットの海岸についてから民宿をさがした。部屋をみてから階段を下った。その瞬間に泣いている声を聞こえた。隣のレストランでみなばらばらして『助けって！！』と呼ばれた。そのレストランに仕事する女性が心臓発作して倒れた。みな彼女に代わり代わり心肺蘇生法をあげたが彼女はすぐ死んでしまった。そのあと、僕は一日中サーフィンして、自分の命や家族や友達や考えて感謝した。
でも海から民宿に帰るときにまた他の荒いことを見た。僕の民宿の近い砂浜で荒い海のに二人は入っていた。その二人はもちろん困っていた。その海岸の監視員がジェットスキーで救いにきたけど一人は間に合わなくて溺れてしまった。僕は同じ日に二人の死を目撃した。その残っている休みで感謝をこめて、毎日海に入ったり彼女と大切の時間を過ごしたり、家族みな連絡した。僕は健康あるからこそ幸せです。
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| Our hotel in Hua Hin |
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| Delicious sweets made from Taro root and sugar. |
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| Kata beach |
