I lived in Chiang Mai, Thailand for 2 years. Chiang Mai is in the northwest of Thailand. It has 3 seasons: monsoon,winter and HOT!! The most common mode of transportation in Thailand is motorbike, and a friend there used to say that riding your motorbike in the hot season was like driving in a microwave.

 As a result of being a teacher at an international school, I was given 3 weeks off during the HOT season. This time period coincides with the Songkran Water Festival. Songkran is the major national festival of Thailand, and Chiang Mai is nucleus of all  the festivities.

Imminent Danger: An Inconvenient Bombing

Having decided on my destination of Koh Tarutao National Marine Park, I began planning my intinerary. I decided to fly to Bangkok and take the train from there to Hat Yai, which is the southernmost major city in Thailand. From there, I would take a mini-van to Pak Bara in Satun, which is the embarking point for the islands.

Thailand has been experiencing many years of civil unrest and violence in south of Thailand. The indigenous muslim population has had an explosive relationship with the Thai government and there have been many bombings in the provinces of Songhkla,Pattani and Yala. Hat Yai is in Songhkla province.

Four days before I was to begin my journey to Hat Yai, there were reports of bombings in the airport and at two major retail stores. My friends were alarmed and questioned whether I should go. The US State Department issued a warning telling US citizens not to travel to Hat Yai.

I've been an astrologer for 17 years, so I decided to use a technique called horary(from hora, latin for hour)to find out if I was in Danger. Horary is the technique of creating  a chart for the time a question is asked. The astrologer then uses that chart to answer the question. For those of you interested in Astrology, read my horary article about my trip.

The horary chart, in addition to denoting my safety, made implications about enjoyment with friends as well. I was traveling alone, but was planning to meet up with some other teachers towards the end of my journey on Koh Lanta. Even though my question was about Hat Yai, it never occurred to me that the chart was referring to enjoyment with friends there.

I arrived in Bangkok with no problems and caught the train to Hat Yai. I arrived in Hat Yai very early the next morning and checked in to Cathay Guest House. Cathay Guest House is for the shoestring-budget backpacker, which suits me just fine.

There is an important trade-off that accompanies choosing Guest house accomodations. Guest houses like Cathay are important social hubs; nerve centers for adventure travellers that connect them to culture of the city, other travellers and the expat community. Cathay does not offer  luxury in any way shape or form. Nor is it a party house,  with all ratty dreadlocks and illicit substances floating around. It is clean,cheap and, most importantly, well-known.

Anyway, after a short nap I went out to the registration area to order breakfast. There were tables for eating there and I almost walked into two of my greek friends from up north, who were seated at a table eating breakfast and rolling cigarettes.

"Ah, you are very lucky to have encountered us!", my friend said as I sat down with them. "We come here all the time and we know a lot of people here. You are set."

And I was. They hosted me for the entire day, which ended up at the fantastic Godfather Bar, where we jammed with local musicians, ate incredible food and got resoundingly smashed. I even got a ride back to Cathay.

Of course, the minute I saw them I thought about the horary chart and how it had inferred that there would be an event which would involve pleasure with friends.

Antoine Garth

www.ancientsky.com