You little beauty.
If there is one thing I profoundly dislike, in this life and every other, it is the international backpacking community. White rasta pastas who turn the same shade of brown, wear baggy hemp, stay in hostels, sometimes have breed-less dogs with thick leather collars, flaunt woven hemp jewelry, smell like patchouli, harbor vague neo-hippie ideals, etc.
Blights each and every one though almost celebrated in the 2000 film The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
I went to see in the theatre because I very much enjoy the work of director Danny Boyle but was horrified during the first third when I thought that it was a celebration of that misbegotten lifestyle on a pristine Thai island.
Thankfully, three Scandinavians became attacked by a shark, two dying horrific deaths, shattering the ideals and leading to more death, if I recall.
Satisfying.
In any case, the picturesque beach on Phi Phi Leh where the shark attack took place is being officially re-opened to the public, this January, after being shuttered due “severe deterioration caused by tourists.
The reopening comes with several caveats. Boats will not be able to enter the bay. Instead, drivers will have to drop passengers off at a pier set at the back of the island away from the famed cove.
Only eight speedboats will be allowed to dock there at a time, and visits will be capped at one hour, with a maximum of 300 tourists allowed per round, from 10 a.m.-4p.m daily.
Very cool.
I, myself, visited Phi Phi Leh and “the beach” in the early 2000s in order to lay a hemp wreath on the grave of international backpacking.
It simply read, “The hostel has closed. Forever.”
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I know how you do it – you throw a bunch of words written down on a piece of paper and then draw them one at a time from a salad bowl – that’s how you get these titles!
Classic LA punk song.
The Deadbeats “Kill the Hippies”
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
Good one
Appreciate your concern.
In your dreams kid.
It’s like a spin off from Jaws how that mother shark comes back for retribution for the death of her babies. Glaring omission Chas.
“The Family” slowly filtered into society. Some positive influence, and some bad. Once you break the whole thing down, it has socialist roots in it. I don’t think that was Jerry’s original intent.
Is Leo the next Jonah here?
They both have crap reo’s.
I’ve been to Ko Samui it was average. Nothing beats a coconut mojito at Dukes in the arvo
I’d say close to 99% of these dreadlocked brothers and sisters have somehow engaged with surfing at least once. They probably have a visceral dislike for the corpo speak surrounding it. Surfline-man et. al.Ergo, they’re beachgrit readers.
A friend got vaxxed in June so he could travel.
He’s still waiting and not feeling well.
Seems a pretty dumb reason to poison yself
got my booster yesterday, having a fantastic hair day today.
Such privilege
Good for you.
I got my first vax last January – my whole family got covid – I did not… got my 2nd Vax, went to Mexico and Oaxaca for four months, caught a breakthrough in Barra with very mild symptoms – I missed a surf day at Chacaqua – and couldn’t smell the coffee for a week (not the first time) – I’m gonna be 72 my next birthday; I know 9 people who have died of covid – so, my Modernas have saved my ass TWICE as far as I’m concerned. Just got my booster shot. Being anti vax sucks because you can infect some old anti vaxxers and kill him… or is that the upside?
Yeah well as long as the old blokes are fine, don’t worry what’s happening to the young bucks
Damn Stand Up Patchouli’ers
Movie Review: Poor. There was no surf.
Whenever I hear the UB40 cover of Neil Diamond’s song ‘Red Red Wine’ I have a sudden and strong impulse to encourage all bearded bongo playing dreadlocked hacky sacking tattooed fish owners (even the males) to attend a holiday camp, at Belsen or Auschwitz…
That was the best version though.
Q: What did the hippie say, when asked to leave after couch surfing for 6 weeks?
A: Nah, ma stay.
Q: How do you hide money from a hippie?
A: Put it under the soap.
Q: How many hippies can fit into a VW van?
A: One more, and a dog.
Bonus Q for the US punters: How many Deadheads does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: They just wait for it to burn out, and then follow it around for 30 years.
My friends punk band wrote a song “The hippie God is dead and I’m grateful” when Jerry died.
Played it for the first time at a collage bar in Oklahoma.
No sense of humor, them hippies. Peace and love only if convenient.
The “family” all ended up in Ocean Beach(SD) when he died. We got a little south swell, and one morning I went to surf the “Jetty”, and the rock said; “Jerry”. Dog poo barrels are the best.
Partly Bums (PB), Mostly Bums (MB), Only Bums (OB). Nah, that “little kirra” section fires off fer sure.
I haven’t heard that in ages. LaughOutLoud!
In real life I’m a huge Deadhead. I think Robert Hunter is one of the best songwriters ever, and 69 through 77 the band (minus Donna) covered some really creative musical ground. But I totally get people wanting to rag on them, esp since Jerry was a heroin/diabetic corpse from the 80s onwards. I saw an article one time that someone tallied up Bob Weir’s life–all his GD shows going back to age 17 through age 75 (still on tour as I type), and then Ratdog shows, and Bobby and the Midnites shows, and other shows–and concluded Bob Weir is the most watched human ever who has played music. Seems about right.
To your comment–this was me in the 90s, but I had a hippie beard and longer hair. Even ate the same brand of seaweed chips:
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
It was pretty common knowledge that Jerry, shortly before his passing, spent a lot of time giving rides home to girls from various Marin county high schools. He always had the best drugs, even at the end.
Ha! All good!
But this….
Q. What did one Rasta say to the other when they ran out of weed?
A. How long have we been listening to this shit music for?
Q: How do you get a hippie chick pregnant?
A:Cum on her Birkenstock’s and let the flies do the rest.
Don’t you wear harem pants?
Yes but cotton.
1%ers punching down – carry on!
Not everyone grew up with a trust fund, Chas.
That’s just it though Jack.
A lot of these fuckwits ARE the international trustfund set trying to shake off their families expectations of personal cleanliness and societal productivity, they pretend to lack funds (but ya know they’ve got a five star hotel room they sneak back to for lobster, champagne and bubble baths when they think no-one’s looking) and are really just ‘slumming it’ while they decide what sort of money losing boutique or restaurant etc they’ll open when they return to whatever privileged life they came from.
Normal travelers on a low budget have been lumped in with them through no fault of their own for far too long…
Trustafarians…
That’s was a small subset, most backpackers I knew in the mid 80s were just low income travelers with alot of curiosity about the world. They smuggled a lot of weed and hash and discovered alot of surf, I think that you should be more grateful
Ummm, errr, ahhh
I actually was one of those 1980’s backpackers doing all the things you talk about (and still keep in touch with what’s happening in some respects).
Many of my older friends have been doing it since the 1960’s.
I’m very grateful I lived through that time and am still around to tell many a story, unlike quite a few good friends unfortunately.
The ones following in our footsteps that I’ve met in the last 10 to 20 years are a different breed though.
The change of the Eastern Blok countries, oil wars, 9/11 and especially the internet changed everything…
Cheers, all the best
Cheers 🍻