Paradise Now 1990

In 1990 I got on the Bangkok train and caught a midnight cargo barge from Surathani to Koh Samui. The rising moon reflected a shining path to the warm horizon and dolphins sang a swimming song in our wake. At dawn the ferry docked on the palm-covered island. I rented a motorcycle and rode through coastal coconut plantations to a coral beach south of Chaweng. My simple bungalow was sheltered by the shade trees. There was no electricity during the day and a slight sea breeze wafted across the shore at sunset. The beer was cold. Food was a delight. We swam in the sea by moonlight and washed off the salt with buckets of monsoon rain. Sleep was to the music of gentle waves caressing the sand.

Photo of the W resort on Koh Samui.

Thirty-five years ago there was no need for a fucking swimming pool. The sea was as cleasr as gin, but things change, except in our memories.

72 Whores

The Koran or Qur’an condemns suicide. Paradise or 72 virgins is forbidden the suicide. The legend comes from a single passage in a Hadith.

“The smallest reward for the people of Paradise is an abode where there are 80,000 servants and 72 wives.”

Wives not virgins, because sex with a virgin is always a trial, since they are ignorant of sex.

So the gift of 72 virgins is as much a curse as 72 wives.

Of course 72 houris or companions of pure delight are another story in entirety and finding 72 houris in Pattaya is not a challenge for any man living.

The city is paradise on earth.

And a houris is always a pleasure.