"Err, OK!" - KBG brain, regularly.The clock was ticking and I was err-ing. As with many life decisions where I need a little shove, I messaged my sister P and sought her advice:
K: Sup.
P: Sup.
K: Thinking fishing trip.
P: Do it, sounds insane.
K: Cool.
P: Cool.
I tend to lean towards things which are slightly ridiculous, and which I am slightly ridiculous in doing.
In India I did rooftop yoga and it was genuinely one of the best evenings I've had - my chakras are far from aligned and I cannot balance for toffee, but I bloody love yoga. Growing up and even in university I always wanted to be the best, and I would do whatever it took from myself in order to reach that and nail whatever it was I wanted to do. I still have that drive and ambition, but I'm now also trying to turn it into a desire rather than an absolute need. I don't need to be the best at yoga, and the fact that it would never be the case doesn't matter because I enjoy it and I enjoy just enjoying it. It might be simple to other people, but for me that separation took a long time to kick in because I equated outright success with personal success and completely ignored the nuances between them. It's that kick which now lets me do things just for the sheer love of trying new things and that being at the back of the pack is still within the pack, rather than an embarrassing or disappointing place of someone who can't do. I recently clocked on to the fact that fitness isn't about being better than other people but being better than you used to be, and I'm trying to translate that across the board.
In India I did rooftop yoga and it was genuinely one of the best evenings I've had - my chakras are far from aligned and I cannot balance for toffee, but I bloody love yoga. Growing up and even in university I always wanted to be the best, and I would do whatever it took from myself in order to reach that and nail whatever it was I wanted to do. I still have that drive and ambition, but I'm now also trying to turn it into a desire rather than an absolute need. I don't need to be the best at yoga, and the fact that it would never be the case doesn't matter because I enjoy it and I enjoy just enjoying it. It might be simple to other people, but for me that separation took a long time to kick in because I equated outright success with personal success and completely ignored the nuances between them. It's that kick which now lets me do things just for the sheer love of trying new things and that being at the back of the pack is still within the pack, rather than an embarrassing or disappointing place of someone who can't do. I recently clocked on to the fact that fitness isn't about being better than other people but being better than you used to be, and I'm trying to translate that across the board.
As usual, P was right. Learning a new skill in a new country is an amazing opportunity and provides a totally different experience to the "seeing" and even "doing" that I'm used to. So, with the kick still fresh on my butt, I ran downstairs in the hostel to sign myself up. 15 minutes later and I'm in the flat bed of a pick up truck, hurtling down Koh Chang's single road towards Lonely Beach with a group of buds from the hostel and an independent couple all heading towards the boat! Apparently night fishing is best for the larger fish, and there's no way I could cope on a boat in the heat of the day without becoming a lobster myself!
As the sunset built through the yellows to oranges we climbed aboard the boat and plonked ourselves down on plastic garden chairs on the deck. Our Thai fishermen guides started rigging up the rods into holders along the side of the boat and, as the sky turned deeper and deeper red, we set off into the sea, whizzing past the gorgeous mountains and jungles of Koh Chang.
I'm a terrible person and can't remember the main guide's name, so we'll call him Awesome Thai Guy for now.
The sky became completely black and Awesome Thai Guy handed out plastic cups of small squid which we'd be using as bait. Some people had fishing experience but I was as green as they come (except maybe Kate, bless her, for whom the waves were not ideal), so Awesome Thai Guy spent ages showing me how to bait a hook for a good bite rather than a nibble, and how deep to let the hook settle to attract some good beasties. We left the hooks for a while and no one was getting anywhere, so I pulled up my hook to check if the bait had gone and lo and behold there was a little fishy on my hook! First fish of the night and, although it was a puney little yellow fish which was immediate reused for bait, I felt awesome!
Then, DRAMA. One of the other Thai fisherman started shouting and the line on his rod was going insane!! He pointed at me and I ran over, so excited to be reeling something so big in and everyone was watching and it was so cool! Reeling and reeling I couldn't understand why I wasn't getting anywhere but the Thai guy was still shouting... Until he lifted up his foot and the line went slack and the entire boat laughed their arses off for how long this had been going on for! I wouldn't have felt quite so silly, had the same stunt not been pulled 3 times by now, but I'd just been too wrapped up in my bubble of little yellow fish euphoria to notice. Nugget.
Red faced and sweaty, I made my way back to my seat to have another go for the sought after barracuda. In my classic pattern on unobservancy - worrying, for an anthropologist? - I reeled up my hook to check my bait and HOLLA, BARRACUDA!!! I think I honestly giggled and squealed with delight for far too long for social respectability, but zero cares given because I HAD A BARRACUDA ON MY LINE! Elatedly I tucked into our buffet dinner which had been provided by Awesome Thai Guy (rice, spicy chicken, sweat and sour chicken, salad, and other noms) as my barracuda (now named Tempest) went straight into the boat's already comfortably filled victory bucket.
With squid ink covered hands I didn't get a chance to photograph my amazing catch (Tempest was a tiddler at the size of my forearm, allegedly) before he was prepared, chunked, fried, and passed around the boat with the other successful catches to nom on the way home.
Can confirm: barracuda from the sea to my stomach within 15 minutes is the best seafood meal I have ever had!
At 11pm I was back at the dock and heading home from one of the best impulse decisions I've made so far. Learning a new skill has been so cool, to do it I'm Thailand has been amazing, and the combination is a truly unforgettable experience.
YAY FISHING!
Details:
1,300 baht
4-5 hours on the boat
Return transport included
Buffet dinner and water included
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