Day 12 - travel trips that went sideways - sort of

WORD FLOW - DAY 12 - JAN. 28 / 2025

Tip: Consider a setting in your writing… locations have energy. Readers love to soak into setting helps them integrate into the picture and make it real for them as they drink in your words, as they sink into your shared thoughts.

PROMPT: Today is about travel and this is when things went wrong or sideways or something out of the blue. Happy ending usually… but not necessary. Often it is a psychological journey.

The best way to see new countries is on a rented scooter, if you cannot afford to buy a more powerful motorcycle. Wind in your hair, breath ripped out of your nose, balancing down the road with your adrenalin pumping. A great way to really feel alive. We are in Thailand and my girlfriend is behind me hugging my waist as we ease our way north at the breakneck speed of about 40 mph or 60 downhill if the hill is steep enough. The downside is that this tiny moped motor is now supporting two bodies and uphill meant that the occasional youth on a pedal bike may end up passing you giggling that they beat you to the top.

We are at the end of the road where a huge fence with circular loops of barbed wire grace the top of the fence. We can see armed guards on the other side doing their Burma border patrol.

I slow the bike, not hard at the speed we are able to go, and when almost at a standstill I turn the handlebars to head back the other way. The whole back end of the bike slid sideways and Michele jumped off the back as I slipped under the falling bike with one leg and foot - on the gravel with the motor whining. The scrapes on my knee and leg are popularly known as a Thai Tatoo - and usual acquired from dumping a rented bike. It was painful and bloody but not earth shattering. We regained our composure, dusted ourselves off and headed back the way we came. On one hill the bike just did not have the power to take us up the road and there was no traffic so I was snow plowing from side to side to get to the top. Sure enough one car was heading our way so I moved over the the gravelly shoulder where the front wheel created a rut and into the ditch we went. Softer landing in the roadside weeds and mud but still causing Michele’s finger to be caught and cut.

At this point she was done and ready to walk or hitch-hike but her bike riding desire was gone. Now in Thailand if you wave to get a car to stop they wave and continue but if you move your hand and arm up and down in the way that encourages people to slow down, they will stop and see what’s up for you. So now Michele is waving for someone to stop and help while I struggle to upright the bike now lying on it’s side leaking gas into the ditch. Luckily a pick up truck stopped with two young men and offered help. One helped me upright the bike and took the keys out of it’s ignition and handed them to me - offering us to ride on an old tire in the bed of their pickup truck. I had no intention of leaving the rental in the ditch for the next person to claim. So we got Michele settled in the back of the pick up with her bloodied hand and off they went while I fired up the bike once again.

As I waved to Michele and watched the truck pull away I wondered if I would ever see this wonderful women I’d fallen in love with …. Ever again. We had arranged for them to take her to the hospital in the tiny town down the road. The bike performed much better with the weigh of one upon it’s seat. I relaxed a little and enjoyed the lovely pastoral countryside as I buzzed along the road now paved. I pulled into the hospital roadway an hour later and up to the buiding and my heart began beating again at the sight of Michele with a big white bandage on her hand. Never been so happy to see her, such a relief and tremendous gratitude to the two lads that loaded her up in their little truck. Now this hospital was under some serious construction renovations and the entire cement wall looked like it had taken the direct hit from a bomb. Personnel in white aprons and perky little hats were buzzing about looking busy. The construction workers were using noisy jack hammers while wearing sunglasses and flip flop sandals. Workers Compensation has no bearing here. I approached a nurse who saw my bleeding leg and bloodied knee, had me sit and within seconds was washing the wound and adding a lotion and bandaging it up. What service. - upon finishing cleaning me up so efficiently she walked away. When I saw her return I asked in my sign language how much I owed her for her services. She understood and turned to the six other nurses in the immediate area at a desk and counter. They all laughed and chatted amongst themselves in their language that I understood not one word. Then she turned to me and in broken but completely understood english said, “We took survey and decided that today - handsome Canadian man with new Thai Tatoo pays nothing for free tourist service at our hospital.” Well I was flabbergasted and bent towards them with hands raised and bowing towards them all - - over and over then with prayer hands in clear deep gratitude for their service, humor and kindness.

After we left the hospital it was clear that Michele had NO interest in returning to our $20 per night cabin in Pai Thailand which was about 50 miles away. So within 5 minutes and less than a kilometer away from the hospital we spot a sign “Sapporo River Inn”... and in we turned and booked a wee cabin. The deck overlooked the river and a bamboo forest that would not have been out of place with elephants feeding. No elephants here today. At dinner in the little restaurant adjacent to the Inn we met a wonderful couple of travellers a husband and wife. During the meal I stumbled up and over to the bar to order a bottle of wine for us all. The man Jan (pronounced Yawn) asked why I was limping, so Michele told him that I had dumped her off the scooter not once but twice within an hour. Jan got up and left the table returning within a few minutes with a small plastic box. Turns out that he was a doctor from Belgium and the box had bandages and sauves and healing lotions that brought instant relief to my aches and pains. Therein lies the “silver lining” that my Mother spoke of often. Brilliant how we chose this spot to spend the night and meet Jan and his wife who we visited in their two homes in Brugges and remote southern Belgium … for 3 days two years later. Lovely couple - generous and gracious… we enjoyed their company in their cottage in a small village with a church and a bar - no restarants. One day while with them we wanted to take them for lunch and he had a wonderful place he liked so we drove for about 20 minutes to France and had a wonderful meal to thank them for their ongoing kindness. How blessed are we when we “go with the flow” and trust that the universe will look after us in quite magical ways. Never saw that my Thai Tatto was the price we paid to have fine friends in Europe. Love my life and so does my wife … although I have not rented a scooter lately.

• Tommy t