The Odyssey of Gertrude and Bertha: Part Five – Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Distance so far: 1215 km
Bike repairs: Bertha has joined Gertrude in the two back one forward mentality of gear changing. But she’s stepped up her game and has gone with a three back, two forward, with the occasional gear slip up while I’m pedalling uphill. Solution: follow her lead and do what she wants.
Gertrude has lost the washers that hold together the bracket for her basket. Solution: rope.
Both girls’ baskets have begun to separate bottom from side. Solution: more rope, and some weaving skills.
This Christmas week began with our usual Tali, Sophie, and the girls style. Our first 100km day, breaking the 1000 km mark, sleeping in a school, dodging rain, attending a 7/11 grand opening, and being in people’s photos. (We’re in sooooooooooooo many people’s photos, mostly terrible sneaky photos of us doing exciting and apparently hilarious things like eating, and speaking, and cleaning water, and getting on and off the bikes.)
When Christmas morning rolled around, we were determined it would be better than last year’s Christmas Day of rain, terrible food, and waiting for transportation that was likely not going to come. We awoke on mattresses with pillows and fans, knowing we were only a few kilometres from the ferry port and our destination of Ko Lanta, and leisurely began to get ready to pack the bikes and head out. And then Christmas really began! A red ant invasion (they found my leftover cake), tropical downpours, and a full morning on the bikes is definitely the best way to get you into the holiday spirit. As a Christmas miracle (or are there just Hanukkah miracles, I’m not sure) the sun finally came out! After several days without sun, we had forgotten about things like the heat and sunburns that accompany the sun. But no matter, we donned our Santa hats and took culturally insensitive photos in front of some monks and a Buddha, and then quickly escaped the area before karma could catch up with us.
The days on the island rolled by, as island days are wont to do, with leisurely mornings, washing clothes in a washing machine!, exploring on bicycles, getting burnt in the shade, sweating profusely as we climb many, many hills, dinner and chats with Jay, our host for a few days, and a general sense of contentment. With the imminent arrival of Jay’s next guests, we pack the bikes and head to a small chai tea cafe sophie found in a forest. It’s run by actors and artists, and will be home to our tents (and our slightly too small tarp) until the New Years parties have subsided, the prices have dropped back down, and the noise levels recede enough to let us go to sleep at our usual 8 pm bedtime.
New Year’s Eve appears and is celebrated on Ko Lanta, an island filled with families and couples. A beer on the beach at sunset, some requisite candy, fireworks, lanterns floating in the air, and some fire dancing in the distance got these two non-partiers thinking about finding a party. But unless you call a group of tuk tuks with coloured lights and crappy music a party, there were none to be found. And as two determined party animals, we hopped back on our bikes and were in our tents and asleep by 10:30 pm, a wild night for us!
Our celebration of the new year came unexpectedly to us in the form of a Buddhist temple where we were going to be sleeping. Turns out it doubles as a community space, and next thing you know we’re sitting at a table with 10 or so other people, enjoying delicious food and a wonderful atmosphere, despite not understanding a word. So in the end we celebrated the new year, just in a fashion more our style.
