All Good Things...

September came and went, bringing bittersweet memories as November 1st loomed in the distance. With their contracts ending, Keeks was set to leave behind a legacy and travel afar (okay, no so far) to the land of Merlions and perfectly spoken English. Mac was preparing to brave another year, Matyhom 1/2 be damned! But, before that could happen, the duo packed up for one Grand Finale on Ko Samet.

Things started off in a routine way- some Saturday afternoon peppering to work out the kinks from the bus ride; cooling off in the ocean; having pictures taken with/by complete strangers. Then, just when they thought their afternoon pick-up game would be a bust, the competition appeared.

Who knew that our toughest opponents would be one-third our size? The girls should know by now that their affinity for children means that they will never escape their presence. And so the two girls spent the rest of the day with a gang of kids, ranging from 3-9 years old, and led by Dahng, who although was one of the youngest, he was also the first brave soul to approach us, grabbing the ball and insisting on joining. How could Kiki and Mac resist? Their ability to speak Thai was the focal point of introductions to Dahng's friends, and after hours of endless playtime and buying snacks and water, they were later invited to take a nap and replace their mothers.

After tearing themselves away from what turned out to be a tropical edition of The Babysitter's Club, the girls prepared for their night out- meaning, they tried to scrub all the sand off themselves before giving up and falling asleep in their towels for an hour. Once dressed, they headed to Jep's for dinner and were greeted with two glasses of red wine, compliments of Pi Chai, before they even sat down.

"How did he know we were coming?" they asked, to which someone of the spiritual persuasion might have answered that their spirit is carried on the whispers of the ocean and their presence can be felt by close friends across the island, as they are all kindred souls. A more logical explanation was that somebody saw them coming.

What began as the traditional evening out on Ko Samet--fabulous dinner, joking with friends, followed by pool at Naga bar--all changed when the girls ordered their first bucket of gin and tonic. Already their drink of choice, ordering buckets is a recipe for trouble--or a really interesting story. Take adoption, for example. Kiki, her imminent departure a mere five days away, found it perfectly reasonable to adopt one of the new puppies at the bar, a black and white, cuddly, lovable mutt named Oreo. Two buckets later, and after meeting up with some friends, the girls went to Silver Sands and found it appropriate to order two more buckets of gin and tonic. The rest of the evening, as pieced together the following morning, involves a lot of dancing, torn apparel, and sand. Whether they were wrestling or swimming home in the sand, the world may never know. But we'll leave it up to your imagination...
Before leaving the island, the duo picked up Oreo (without once questioning whether she would be allowed on the bus or not) and said their goodbyes. However, leaving usually doesn't come easily and this time even the forces of nature where trying to keep them from going home. What started out as a light rain while the ferry was being loaded with people turned into a full-blown monsoon halfway to Ban Phe. At one point the tarp covering the upper deck of the boat gave way and brought buckets of water down on the people still dressed in their shorts and beach cover-ups. With shrieking and laughter, people ran for cover and the boat tumbled across the waves. Oreo slept through most of it, while Keeks and Mac wept bittersweet tears and laughed at the irony of it all.