Monday, October 20, 2008

in this installment, james fights fire with a french canadian rastafarian buddhist who plays the harmonica and makes monkey noises.

There's nothing better for escaping the midday heat of Thailand than lugging enormous jugs of water up vertical steps to put out an inferno that used to be a bungalow.

We were strewn out over the restaurant tables like cats, not reading, not eating, not talking, just trying to doze to pass the time and heat. The quiet guesthouse had been inundated with Spaniards and Germans in the late morning, and now they too were overcome by the sun - though a few still bobbed in the water.

Then a boom, and screams, and running around the corner to see a staff bungalow - grass roof and driftwood walls - is not a box of flame. It spreads instantly to the hut next door, then quickly to a tree that will lead to more buildings.

A few sat in their seats and watched (French, enough said). Two ran to grab cash and passports then headed to help (myself and the French Canadian), and the Spaniards (mostly women) instantly formed a water lugging assembly line up the hill. The men spread around the fire and began to toss pitiful amounts that evaporated before contact. There was no saving what was burning, so we began to douse the third bungalow and trees.

Fifteen minutes later, the two bungalows were ash, but otherwise nothing was damaged. I got some footage, but not much, since I felt guilty every time I pushed REC ... this is why I'm not a documentarian.

Well, that's all I'm gonna write now. I'll post video when I'm back in Korea. I have to sleep. I just got back from night diving with a giant jellyfish and tomorrow morning I'm doing my deep dive with sharks!

1 comment:

KathyB. said...

Yikes ! Diving with sharks..fire fighting, heat exhaustion, you need to come home for a vacation...

No, really, sounds as if you're having a wonderful time and if you're keeping a journal you will have a lot to write about later !