The Undignified Demise of a Rummed-Up Slunky

Actually the place wasn’t even called Slunky – that says Slinky now that we’re all sober

Yes, Virginia, there is a Slunky.

Although Thailand was not where I expected we’d meet.

Thailand has always held that wonderful aura of Exotic for me.  It’s got the dense jungle, mysterious temples and edible bugs to intrigue me.  However on my recent trip there I discovered I am not the only one to whom Thailand beckons.

Nope, turns out I am just a sheep in the herd.

Looking back it’s pretty funny that JD and I believed we’d be the only ones to visit Koh Phi Phi in search of the Hollywooded Beach.  Surely we were the sole people in the whole wide world who had seen the movie and agreed with Leonardo Di Caprio!  Yes, mainstream tourists ARE obnoxious!  Let’s go somewhere different. 

Turns out that all of us different-searching travelers are just a little too like-minded.  We’ve all left behind the party of the mainland…only to transport it to formerly tranquil islands.

JD and I knew we were in trouble as we stepped on to the ferry to go from Krabi to the Phi Phi islands and saw hacky sacks climb aboard; hacky sacks attached to hacky tourists with their hacky backpacks and hacky bongs.  Stress mounted when we saw more hacky ferries making their way behind us. Even the sight of the most stunning land-ho couldn’t fully distract me from the need to quickly change my expectations.  Quite serendipitously we disembarked alongside a Buddhist monk –  and shared a moment of horror as we looked past the gorgeous clear water into a sea of neon signs.

JD and I decided to voice our disappointment over a beer.  Then another one.  Then another.  Fast forward several hours spent self-righteously espousing the grandiose of going against the grain. Suddenly I’d polished off a bucket of Thai rum was seeing things in a slightly blurrier color.  There may or may not have been a bit of Thai boxing involved and definitely some booing at a monkey dressed as a child –or was that just a really ugly child?- and I had preached myself into the devil.  I had become that drunken slob so utterly detested half a day ago.

In my new state of mind I was no longer worried about anything but…nothing.  In fact I was very happy to welcome a new friend into our traveling party – a bar named Slunky.  It had jump ropes made of fire, weird green shots and offered the chance to dance in the high tide that was quietly invading the island.  My double vision came equipped with great self-assurance.    This wasn’t just a beach bar – it was a glimpse into a life once known to me in very early college years.  This night did not spell hypocrasie..,hipokrisee…or whatever; it was a chance to live young! Live for the moment!  Live for that next bucket!   We were in the midst of Slunky!

Was this making the best of the situation or just making the situation worse?  Did we adapt or just give in?  Is there a happy medium between being part of the problem and the solution?  Of course on paper I have beliefs and convictions.  But in my hand I had a bucket.  And it was delicious and fun…and…and at the end of the day I very kindly maintained the new status quo.

I survived the night, but my best intentions met their demise as an undignified slunky.