Bare essentials

If preparation is half the fun and sharing double the pleasure, I should use this equasion to write this blog and share my preparation on my 'tour de Thailand'. I'm not gone yet, my leaving date isn't even close, but I have started packing. Or rather; I'm making piles of stuff I should not forget.
I've asked around at more experienced travellers what I should do, don't and bring on this holiday, but all I get are hazy stares and mumbled words like 'jealous', 'ah Bangkok' or 'can I go with you'. But occasionaly I get a practical advise or a referral to a website. I found www.khaosanroad.com/firstfewdays (thank you Janou) and www.travelfish.org very helpfull. Also, the Trotter-travelguide I'm bringing has been to Thailand more than it's actual owner, so thank you Leyla, for lending me an experienced guide. (referral to 'Are you experienced?', geddit? Oh, nevermind)
I frowned when my friend Roxan suggested to buy a pair of shorts, because last time I wore a pair of shorts I was 19, size 10 and worked at Camp Summit, New Jersey. But apparently they prove practical when travelling or just sitting without showing too much. So I bought my first pair of shorts in 12 years. And once again, they will only we worn in another continent.
Should I bring a towel? Yes. Do i need a coat? Of course not! But bring a vest (thanks Jelle). Do I need a sleepingbag? No, but take this travelsheet (thanks again Roxan). Do I need a third bikini? No, my friend said. Ha! Luckily I have the final say in that one! From what I've heard the only size 14 goods made in Asia, end up in an H&M in Europe anyway. Another usefull advise: 'stop worrying, you can buy everything you need there, Apie' (thanks Vithya). And buy tie-rips to close your bag and duct-tape for unforseen repairs (thanks Mariska). Tie-rips I could see happen, but duct-tape? I felt like preparing for a robbery, not a holiday. Because everyone knows that tie-rips, ducttape, next to a balaclava and a black nylon sports-rucsac are the bare essentials for a robbery, so that just felt wrong. Plus... what Vithya said.
Of course my final preparation revolves around music; what MP3's to install on my phone. Ha! Didn't see that one coming, did you? But music is important to me, and this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_zLOnDnFpw) will be my 'calm down song'. Knowing me, I probably need it.

the (temporary) extinction of the tiger

The ten days of IFFR go so fast, just a few more blinks of the eye of the tiger and another brilliant week will be over. The tigers are walking on their last (rear) legs. Exhaustion, booze, stolen kisses, awkward customers and lunch-bags (what happened to the treats, people?) are taking their toll, pushing the brave tigers over the edge.
As always, now is a time for reflection, but since I have no intention of turning this blog into an evaluation, I'll share some older memories with you first.

I mentioned it before, I used to work in the Pathe cinema during my studies. This means that I've spent 5 years making and selling popcorn, pouring liters of coke, cleaning chairs, disposing garbage, cleaning white doors, washing puke out of a guy's hair, sweeping floors and selling tickets.
Once a year the building, my building, was taken over by IFFR-people. And I hated it. They were arrogant snobs, looking down on us 'commercial guys', prohibiting people to take their coffee into the cinema, sticking posters on the walls (leaving tape-marks that I would have to clean up afterwards) and they did not have to wear a uniform, like us, in a time the girls still had to wear a skirt, yellow shirts and a scarf tied around the neck. Throwing down the IFFR banners was a ritual that I looked forward to most, especially at the end of the Volkskrant-dag.
So what happened?
The parties, getting to know the people (I made sure the location-manager knew my name and where to find me), a sense of unfullfillment in regular day-job causing a longing for a trip down Pathe-lane; just selling tickets.
(picture was taken 2 years ago, btw)
During my Pathe-years I bonded with Tanja over an IFFR-incident. As some of you might know, IFFR people take their refreshments very serious. That is, coffee and espresso, not so much the popcorn or sweets, which, contrary to what happens in the box-office, practically remains untouched for ten days. And those who do not bring their own flask of herbal tea, are condemned to queue. I also had a woman who refused to pay 1,80 for her hot water, because 'she had brought her own tea bags'... A few years ago Pathe only had one (1) coffee-machine. For over one-thousand (1000) customers. Can you imagine that? Now picture the same machine breaking down due to heavy usage. So I had to climb on top of the counter and shout to an angry mob that there was no more coffee, and that yes, this also meant no more capuccino (or tea or espresso). Well, that culturally responsible, environmentally and otherwise appropriate left wing crowd turned terribly sour and was ready to lynch me. I survived but sharing this with Tanja left us with similar scars and a fear of Volkskrant-readers.

The films aren't really the highlight for me. I was watching a documentary about the very serious problem of soil-polution and illegal garbage dumps in Italy. I guess I wanted to see something responsible, but kept dozing off untill a text-message from Tanja saved me. Of course having chips with her at Schippers-chips is much more important than watching this, well, garbage.
Or yesterday, queueing for one hour and then falling asleep in a film about loud, drinking French college-students. Or watching ecoline-stains change colour, for an hour and a half. Falling asleep is casual damage or a welcome powernap, depending on how tired you are. Over the years I also learned to get up and walk out, a skill proving to be very helpfull in the rest of my life.

Of course IFFR is also the perfect place to rebound and creating new memories that you might like to forget as soon as the festival is over. Now these war-stories about single and not-so-single men are not suitable for a public blog, and should only be shared in a one-2-one dialogue. Even then they contain a kiss-and-don't-tell-clause. You can always ask, but I don't guarantee a satisfying answer.
For now, this tiger is going to bed and gain some sleep before the grand finale of the End-party, the Volkskrantdag and the volunteers-party.