Thailand with Lize

The muezzin’s call to prayer from a mosque in Krabi is a something Lize Ehlers will never forget. It’s a sound she recalls amidst the daily chanting from a place of worship near her hotel where spiritual and comforting mantras travelled thickly in the air, settled sweetly in her soul and now rouse her from sleep back home in Namibia each morning.

For the singer, who spent nine days in Thailand as part of her prize for winning the debut Artist of the Year at the Namibian Annual Music Awards last year, Thailand’s soundscape is a clash of sonic colour.

The mournful adhan emanating from a lofty minaret, heavenly chanting, traditional Thai music she hears only in tuk-tuks and the live music performances spilling from countless restaurants and bars in a rough cut musical montage of international covers.

Amidst all this, Ehlers and her husband Hendrik brought some music of their own. Hendrik falls in love with ‘Colorado’, Neil Young’s latest album, on their highly praised Qatar Airways flight from Windhoek, and Ehlers’ own song ‘Always’, which talks about being a mirror to yourself and the person you love, is in her heart throughout.

“I also listened to Sade all the way in Thailand. I listen to Sade always and everywhere!” says Ehlers, who explored the Thai islands of Phuket and Krabi while celebrating her and Hendrik’s 12th wedding anniversary mostly make-up free, in her Stec Leathers slip-ons, flaunting her Yashena Textiles accessories.

“Many people stopped me and asked where I got them and I said they were handmade Namibian products.”

As the 2019 winner of the NAMAs Artist of the Year, it was important to Ehlers to fly the flag high – literally.

“Carrying the Namibian flag with us made us quite the ambassadors in Thailand. We actually took a flag along and put it on the beaches we went to,” says Ehlers, who adds that people often asked them what country the flag represented and were amazed that a place twice the size of Thailand had just 2,6 million inhabitants.

“These were our favourite questions to be asked and to answer proudly next to ‘Wow, where on earth is it still possible to win such a holiday trip?’”

Such a holiday is best described by Ehlers herself, who sees the trip as an incredible example of how hard work can pay off in the most unexpected and rewarding ways.

“Our first five days were in Phuket. Patong Beach was festively Valentine (like on steroids) with live music and heart-shaped photo corners at every second restaurant, street vendors, parasailing on the beach and B-boys on Bangla road. It was booming with boxing matches, food stalls and massage parlours calling our names 24/7,” says Ehlers, who stayed at the Patong Merlin Hotel, just 100 metres from the beach.

“We literally walked from our breakfast buffet into the ocean every day. It was very cool! The hotel also has four pools and two kiddie pools, so we were either in the ocean or in one of the pools with a non-alcoholic cocktail. We did some pampering with manicures and grooming. It was just absolutely relaxing!”

Whisked away to deliciously sleepy Krabi after the hustle and bustle of Phuket’s cabaret and magical firework lit dinners, the Ehlers spent four days on the quieter island in what Lize describes as a spiritual experience made of soul-soothing calls to prayer, a private beach, reading, lounging, leisurely temple exploration, amazing clear soups and salads and their daily ritual of an ice-cold fresh coconut.

Happy to have gotten some rest at the beginning of the year rather than feeling like breaking down at the end, Ehlers believes the NAMAs international holiday prize is truly something special.

“You get to see how music is taken on internationally. There were singers at every second restaurant, mostly doing covers, but it pulled crowds everywhere! The places with live music always had more customers than the establishments without. Namibia can really learn from this and our local audiences can too,” says Ehlers.

“Live music creates an experience that is something that a CD playing in the background cannot do. I also realised just how world-class some of our Namibian singers are and that we should really shift gears with marketing, performing internationally and taking our brands more seriously.”

Amazed by how travel takes you out of your day-to-day and makes you appreciate what you have but also look forward to new things, Ehlers also realised how privileged some people are in relation to others.

“I saw zero black guests in the Patong Merlin Hotel and maybe one couple in the Krabi Cha-Da Hotel. Throughout Thailand I saw many locals and very many white tourists but people of colour were still very scarce,” says Ehlers, who appreciated how women in tiny Brazilian style bikinis relaxed next to fully clad and veiled Muslim women and families.

“Nobody worries and this is how it should be everywhere. I flaunted my Nam curves like nobody’s business and didn’t feel body conscious once! My skin also completely adored the moisture of Thailand.”

Coming from a little city like Windhoek, Ehlers also enjoyed the anonymity she found in the land of smiles.

“It was super interesting for me that I could be who I am – just raw and natural. Nobody knew me, I did not have to talk to anybody – except my hubby of course – and there were zero deadlines. I felt that took a big edge off so thank you again Trip Travel, MTC and NBC!”

Asked what this trip brought out in her soul even as her husband Hendrik prepares to build her a small meditation temple in homage to the ones she so admired in Thailand, Ehlers is all love.

“I really love travelling. I really want to go to Greece and Italy but I would also like to get to know my own country even better. The world is still sleeping on us. What I learned is that I love our food and quality of meat the most. I love Namibia and our country is worth fighting for – to become an even better place,” says Ehlers, who is currently nominated for a #GirlStarPower award at the 2020 Rockstar Awards.

“2020 is going to be on another level and I think this trip just gave me the right rest to have the power to push to new levels!

Catch Lize Ehlers on the MTC Independence stage at Hage Geingob Stadium on 21 March, RMB Song Night at The Brewers Market on 25 March and starring in the National Theatre of Namibia’s ‘Boet & Sus’ on 23, 24 and 25 March. Follow Lize Ehlers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more information.

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com

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