I've been in Thailand for 24 days now. Most of which has been on the islands of Koh Phangan and koh Tao. Basically... its crackin. The last few weeks have been a continuous cycle of eating, reading, snorkling, card games, hiking, and reflecting on life in in general and what I'm doing here. Then of course, theres the occasional cliff jumping, moto drive, or rock climbing to keep me sane. We have been staying in beachside bungalows for ranging from 6 to 10 dollars a night. The songs from the foot long geckos and spiders as big as my old tarantula keep us up from time to time, but im getting used to it. Hard to believe, but im also getting used to going to sleep nearly naked, and waking up dripping sweat and sticky with new mosquito bites.
The beaches still take my breath away. Clear blue and green water, colorful brain-like coral, and endless species of tropical fish make it hard for me to stop snorkling on a day to day basis. It never gets old.
In the bungalows beside us, there are 2 guys from Finland with long blonde hair who just graduated high school and met here by chance. They are both joining the army, as every kid is required to after high school in Finland. I won't go into great detail because I could talk about the interesting characters that I have encountered. Through meeting these people and reading the books that i have, have learned quite a bit about the people of the world, mainly myself. The inspirational words of Paulo Coelho have allowed me to reflect on what I'm doing here, right now, as well as the big picture of my life.
I realize the first part of this trip is basically a vacation, and things will change. In a few days, we will be attending a 10 day meditation retreat in Chaiya. This will be different from anything I have ever done, but I'm ready for a change. This whole trip is about being open minded and experiencing new things, so thats exactly what I'm doing.
