Voices In My Head

***Hi All, so there will be more Vietnam to come, I can’t not tell you how I may have gone a little over board when having clothes made for me in Hoi An or how a woman shoved meat skewers into my mouth, vegan doesn’t translate in Vietnamese. But I thought I would get some up to date blogs posted. So stay tuned.

Voices were pounding in my head, news feed after news feed all the reporter could do was talk of death, remembrance of those we had lost and constant cut ins with presidential address updates. More images, the President speaks, and then we jump back to the morning news show and some man is jumping around with the newest dance moves, while everyone else is painfully trying to imitate him. My head was spinning; this was my introduction back into US news and television. I’d been home for a week but my assimilation process was a slow one. When I walked off the plane in Los Angeles and through customs I wanted to kiss the ground, what can I say being abroad has both negative and positive affects on your beliefs of you own country. But reading the customs sign Thank You and Welcome to the United States had me brimming with joy. When the customs agent asked, “why were you traveling in India, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam?” I smiled and said, “I was trying to figure out my life.” Ok yes the smile held a hint of sarcasm and my response earned me a confused look, but then he said, “welcome home,” and it felt so right.

So after the tearful embrace and love from my parents and Lulu I was whisked home where I enjoyed a veggie meal and after 30 hours of travel and very little sleep I fell into bed ready to crash for what I had hopped would be about two days worth of shuteye. Lying in bed wide-awake at 3 am I realized it was going to take time to adjust. So after a week of very little interaction with the outside world I decided to watch my favorite morning news show, Good Morning America with my favorite morning news anchor, Josh Elliott, he is just so dreamy, gotta love those really tall men. Dreamy-ness aside, I was overwhelmed by the images, sounds and entertainment. As I tried to process the fact that my travels had sealed me in a bubble of protection from all things US, my protective layer was now popped. First realization, I’ve missed a lot; see, I used to have a reputation of being the entertainment queen, ask me a question about Hollywood I could tell you who, where and when. Now I was at a loss, but the weird part was I wasn’t that concerned about getting caught up. Instead I became completely overwhelmed with questions of my own unsteady future, as well as images, media reports and social media updates of injustices of the present. While abroad there were many behaviors I experienced that I had to accept because this was “their” culture. Well honey not anymore this is my culture and I was blatantly aware that everything was wrong. All of this culminated into a completely irrational battle of wills in my head. As I drove along trying to process all of these emotions and thoughts I realized I was surrounded by silence, there was no honking, no chaos, and no people. I realized that I while the chaos of the streets, sounds and experiences of South East Asia were gone, I now was facing a new chaos. While the world around me was no longer new and unknown, the chaos was now in my mind and I didn’t know if there was anyway to be free of it.

At that very thought, I realized that the chaos in my mind was all self induced. A major theme in the yoga philosophy is to gain purification through the mind with the right attitude. In yoga attitude is acceptance, and a major part of acceptance is that we need to understand and accept what we can and cannot control. I cannot change the world around me; I cannot change the way that my neighbors treat their neighbors (figuratively). All I can change and control is myself. So first things first, maybe limit my television news time. While I can’t become ignorant to what is happening in this world, I can be more particular about where I get my information from. Second, I can take a breath, relax, and maybe take another breath, and then smile, because I’m home.

 

Oh No Caught In A Scam

In Thailand, and now I’m finding Vietnam there is a saying “Same, Same.” And then occasionally the locals add in “Same, Same, but different.” It get’s confusing because you hear same, same and then you wait for the different and then you get everything mixed up so you don’t know whether it’s the same or it’s different. Well I never really knew how to use this phrase until I got on the train in Sapa to head back to Hanoi. I had paid for a roundtrip train ticket and therefore my expectation would be that the train you arrived in was the train you returned in, Same Same… but no the train I left in was Same Same only because it was a train, but it was oh so different. While I wouldn’t have said my first train was high class, now, in comparison to the return trip, I was blatantly informed that I arrived in style and was leaving in cargo. As I walked on the train I was transported to a frat house surrounded by loud, rowdy men. For some reason these men thought that it was ok to get as comfortable as possible while traveling and stripped down to their boxers. I don’t know what part of a  public sleeping train reads get as comfortable as you do in your own home, but I prayed that none of this rowdy bunch was sharing a car with me and climbed around them to get to my berth. Luckily a old Chinese man was below me and I was thankful that the party wouldn’t be continuing in our sleeper.

That was until the family of eight loaded in. They put all their bags on the top bunk and piled into to the lower bunk. Imagine this,  lying on the bed I barely fit head to toe. I tried not to stare but I was just so amazed that eight people could fit on one bed, and the fact that I didn’t realize purchasing one bed meant you could stick as many people as you wanted on it. Well 30 minutes into our journey at one of the stops two men came in indicating that they were actually the ticket holders for those beds and the family of eight left. Realizing I may be getting some sleep, I put my earphones in and played the soundtrack of Garden State on continuos loop for the rest of the night. Of course restless is the only way to describe my sleeping patterns on a train and when we pulled into the station at Hanoi at 4:30 in the morning I was just so grateful that I had called my previous hotel and paid for a half day stay so that I could get a couple of hours of sleep. Groggily I climbed down from the top bunk and walked out into the hallway. The floor was strewn with cigarette butts and playing cards. I obviously missed quite the party.

And then my amazing travel judgment seemed to vanish into thin air as I stepped off the train into the morning madness. Cab drivers huddled around the entrance just waiting to grab you as you walked off. The first guy to get my attention grabbed me and dragged me out of the station. I should have known, I’d been forewarned not only by the books but also by my hotel. There are only specific taxi services to use in Hanoi, because the rest are scammers. They have fixed their meters so that they run at a high rate. But with the chaos, yelling and lack of sleep I got into the cab with a sick feeling in my stomach.

The minute we entered the empty streets I knew I had been played, the meter read 5,000 then jumped to 35,000 and then hit 100,000. To give you some perspective my ride from the hotel to the train station three days earlier cost me a total of 24,000 dong. My heart started to race. I wasn’t going to pay that. No one was going to take advantage of me. But it was 4:30 in the morning, the streets were empty and dark and I am a woman traveling alone, I needed to be smart. When I started to see some familiar street signs I told the cab driver that the meter was broken and I wasn’t going to pay that amount, it had now reached 143,000 dong. Not speaking English but understanding that I knew what was going on he pulled over. I got out and luckily was able to get my bag from the trunk of the car. Not knowing what to do I started to walk towards my hotel. He got out and told me to pay him (this entire conversation took place in very broken English). I told him that I knew the meter was broken and that I wasn’t going to pay him that price. He countered and said fine 100,000, I told him no he couldn’t negotiate a price that I would only pay 24,000. Now you have to understand at this point I was motivated by principal. It’s one thing to try to sell your goods on the street for a price that may be a little high, it’s another thing to take advantage of a woman, or really anyone at 4:30 in the morning while they are alone. This man may have thought he was in for an easy steal, but no, you don’t mess with me because not only will I not pay you I’ll also kick you in the balls (figuratively). Ok, so no violence was resorted to, but when I threatened to call the cops I then realized that that statement carried no threat at all. I knew I needed a third party to intervene. I went to the hotel in front of me and knocked on the glass, mean while dealing with the driver who was now asking for 50,000 dong. Thank God the man on night watch heard my knock because he immediately became my interpreter. I explained the situation and he told me that the driver was saying he had driven me three kilometers. I asked what the rate per kilometer was and he said 15,000 dong. I then told him to tell the driver I would pay 45,000 dong. Needing change I asked the doorman if he could break a 100,000 and we stepped into the hotel. As I was taking the money out my hands where shaking uncontrollably, mainly from adrenaline rather than fear. But the sweet young man who had come to my aid saw my hands and said “mam everything is going to be all right.” Well all my courage broke and I burst into tears. Whether it was exhaustion or simply being completely overwhelmed I apologized for having to rely on him. He gave me the change and I walked outside and threw it into the cab and told the driver he should be ashamed of himself. While he may not have understood what I said I know I made his job a little more difficult which made me happy.

But then I realized I had put myself in a worse situation because this driver knew my hotel name. Walking back into the hotel still crying the young man told me to sit and when he returned he gave me a warm glass of water to help calm my nerves. He then apologized over and over for taxi driver’s behavior, he said this was not what the Vietnamese people want Westerns to think of their country and that he was so sorry I had to experience it. I told him that up until this point I had truly enjoyed my experience in his country. Looking at his watch he told me his shift had just ended and he wanted to walk me to my hotel to make sure I was safe. For the entire three minute walk he talked about how much I was going to enjoy Hoi An and other parts of Vietnam. His kindness was so overwhelming that any animosity that had arisen due to my scamming altercation completely faded away. Once at the hotel he wished me luck and I wanted to hug him and thank him again for his kindness, but I knew that wasn’t appropriate so I put my hands in prayer form and bowed thanking him again for his help. The kindness of strangers can change your life, something to think about the next time you see someone a little lost.

Needless to say the train ride and taxi were same, same but oh so drastically different. I learned a valuable lesson about scamming, but with some time to reflect on the mornings activities I also realized that I need to be smarter about standing up for myself. This situation could have been drastically different and what for a couple of dollars? But I was riding on a cloud of principal and it was a good lesson to learn. Most importantly in the past a situation like this may have tainted my entire view of the city or country, but I realized that this was just one man’s actions and I didn’t let it spoil my time in Hanoi. Just remember when in Hanoi only use the Mai Linh taxi company which is the green taxis or Hanoi Tourist Taxi, and know that there are plenty of copycats.

Sapa Enlightenment

I don’t know whether it is the fresh mountain air, the energy coursing through my veins from the exercise of the hike or just the majestic waterfall in front of me, but all I can do is smile and enjoy everything that surrounds me. It was a moment of peace heightened by my euphoric state of mind. As I was taking in the view I realized that there seems to be some amazing order to the way in which I planned my travels. With each destination I’ve learned something new that benefits my experience in the next country.
I am amused by how in love I am with the surroundings of Vietnam. I can’t help but wonder if there was a greater power who helped in designing my itinerary to get me to this point of elation. India showed me chaos and garbage that has yet to compare to anything I’ve ever experienced. Thailand showed me the kindness of scam artist and taught me to be polite but not naive. Thailand also taught me to book my room ahead of my arrival, even just by a day or two so that you are not bombarded and overwhelmed by the chaos at every airport, bus station, train station and port, by people trying to lure you into their hotel, dive shop or taxi. Cambodia taught me that a smile with a no thank you is all you need, and that the begging is apart of the countries struggle.

Therefore life in Vietnam has been easy. While my time in Sapa was surrounded by local village woman trying to hoc their wares, I realized that again they are just trying to make a living. It’s funny, they have the same speech planned out for every tourist they meet. I heard it over and over again I begin to wonder whether they just have a script to follow or whether they actually know what you are saying. But it goes like this, “Hello, what is your name, where are you from, did you arrive to Sapa today?” No matter who you run into this is the routine. While I was hiking alone I would be approached by these woman asking the same questions and I would answer and then as they continued to walk with me. I explained that they are more then welcome to join me but I had already done all my shopping and therefore I was not going to buy anything else. There responses varied from “But you haven’t bought anything from me” to “ok, maybe you buy something later.” And yes while this is more of a hindrance then anything else you can’t let it affect you. You can either play along and interact with them or you can firmly say no thank you and continue on.

So my travels have led me to a more calm place. While the occasional bump in the road has taught me many things, I have to wonder whether I would be having the same experience in Vietnam had this been my first destination, because guess what I am in love. This country is so spectacularly beautiful and the people are wonderful, inviting and kind. I am so grateful for all I’ve learned along the way because even if my time in Vietnam is seen through rose colored glasses, I’m just thrilled that I can say that I’m enjoying my time here.

All My Bags Are Packed… But I’m Not Sure

So my travel time has come to an end and I’ve been trying to process my feelings. I’ve really been all over the board of emotions. Pure elation at the thought of seeing my family and friends. Feeling their hugging embrace, I’ve missed hugs. Seeing my beautiful baby Lulu whose face is on every iProduct screen I own. And of course the creature comforts that the US holds, hair products, bagels and tofutti cream cheese, the cold bite of autumn air that indicates a change in seasons.

But my travels have changed my life, I left as a cautious, high maintenance by choice woman and I’ve laughed in the face of bed bugs, cockroaches, muck slick streets and who knew, but I may be the better for it. A deeper analysis of how this has affected me is to come but for now I am most focusing on the transition.

Life is about to change and while in Hoi An I was slapped in the face by everything that I had left behind and everything I was hoping to change. Its truly my fault I stated to think about bills, mortgages and money and then came… resumes, cover letters, applications, searching, searching, searching. I screamed at my self “WAIT, your in Vietnam and your consuming your time with all of this.” So I am obviously having a internal struggle. Half of me is frantically racing through employment listings trying to find the perfect future for myself and the other half of me is shaking her head fuming because I am waisting what little time I have in my last week focusing on the future and not being present.

What is a girl to do. I know I am about to face a huge transitional shift between this leisurely life of travel and exploration to a life of income, mortgages and calendar updates and I don’t know what to do. While I am anxiously awaiting wearing a pair of jeans and some type of footwear other then my rusty now dusty Keens, I also feel the anxiety boiling in my stomach fearing, “what if I’m not happy?” Life on the road has not been easy, but its been the most rewarding time of my life. How do I transition that feeling of fulfillment into a life dictated by “grown-up affairs”.

I read through my notes from the ashram and found this little quote from Mata Ji ” Does wealth lead to security, no, those who are wealthy have the most to lose. The baker gets a good nights sleep because he has nothing to lose.” Yes while I know consumerism and business would laugh in the face of this philosophy it actually made me smile. I knew right then that money can’t dictate my life. Yes while I need some to survive, and I’ve made financial commitments to people and institutions therefore I need to uphold those contracts, I can’t let money be the reason for work, career and life. It has always stressed me out, and I just want t good nights sleep. This may be naive, but right then and there I shut off all my searching and headed into town to enjoy my last few days. 

And so here I am, I am freaked out about heading home, while a loving embrace will make tears spill out of me, I also have no idea how this transition is going to go. While I don’t think this trip was a way to run away from my past. It was a way to leave it all behind and get perspective. The perspective I got was life changing I just don’t know if it translates in to US living. So there you have it, I will walk on the plane with excitement that keeps me from sleeping, but anxiety of what lays ahead. I just need to remind myself to “be the baker.”

It Rains In Paradise?

Britta and I were relieved to be leaving Koh Tao, not only were we both covered in bed bug bites but we were also exhausted from our endless diving days. We were ready for some R&R and Phuket was our next destination. What do you all think of when you hear Phuket? Well probably first and foremost the tsunami that rocked the country in 2004. But secondly maybe something posh, famous and beautiful. Well that is what I was hoping for and instead I got slammed in the face by Patong beach, a town in Phuket that I would describe as the island’s version of Bangkok and tourist hell. Of course we had done our research of the areas and knew we needed to stay on another beach so the driver dropped us off at our hotel in Kata beach. While is was a nice area it wasn’t anything like the posh vision I had dreamed about. But our night consisted of picking through our clothing to make sure no bed bugs had joined us in our travels and then off to sleep to prepare us for a full day at the beach.

Well thank the gods because Kata beach was the most spectacular beach I’ve ever been to. While yes it was dripping with tourists and vendors, the sand was as soft as Egyptian cotton sheets. The ocean was the perfect temperature of refreshing cool and the texture of the water was as if it had been run through a water softener. We acquired a chaise lounge and umbrella immediately and so I was happy!

And we sat back and relaxed, an entire day reading, occasionally dipping into the water and letting the scratching, swelling and exhaustion from Koh Tao drift off to sea. And then the sunset over the beach, icing on what was a perfect cake of a day. So amazing I couldn’t help but feel truly blessed to get to experience this beauty.

Then we were off again, heading to the island of Phi Phi. Have you see the movie “The Beach”, well every island scene was filmed on Phi Phi. We were excited for this island destination but unsure of what was in store for us. Phi Phi has no cars on the entire island. Therefore you take boats around to the different beach hotels or you can hike into the jungle to get to the other side. Well Britta and I were jungle hiked out and we were ready to set out our beach towels and relax. Pulling up to the resort we began to realize that we were in for some rustic nights.

While Phi Phi Relax is a true island getaway it is another hotel stay I would categorize as glamping. So we examined our mosquito nets and then read the sign. “Electricity will only be available from 6pm to 6am.” “Um I’m sorry what…So at 6am our fans will turn off because the power goes off.” Ok we officially have down graded from glamping status to camping status. Deciding to ignore our sleeping arrangements and lack of electrical power we headed to the beach. I couldn’t get over the views, it truly was as if we were on the set of The Beach or Lost and I was loving every moment of the seclusion.

Night one, was uneventful. I love mosquito nets, you tuck yourself in creating a barrier between you and all that creeps and crawls. And yes while I learned it was a false sense of protection, at least for night number one I slept ok. Who knew that power was a comfort I can’t live without, as the fan puttered and shut off around 7am I realized that that was the end of my restful nights sleep and the next hour would consist of tossing a turning. And then came the rain, so this is what a monsoon looks like. While I knew that I was taking a risk traveling at this time of year, I had yet to really experience too much precipitation. Well it proceeded to rain for the entire day. What do you do when you are in island paradise and it rains….

First, find a spot to relax protected from the water and stay there all day…

Second, be amused by the downpour for at least 20 minutes…

Third, read an entire book and then venture out into the rain to the little hut where there is wifi and download another….

Fourth, have your first cocktail, its 5pm somewhere….

Fifth, move onto beer because it is a 10th of the cost and pull out paper for a game of MASH, do you all remember this fortune telling game? Well it consists of creating categories and then selecting people, houses, careers and number of children and then counting them down until you have your future told…

Britta’s Future – Britta will be living in a shack on the island of Phi Phi with the teacher from Chiang Mia who tried to scam us in Bangkok. She’ll be driving a Tuk Tuk, be a Thai masseuse in every sense and have four children. If you can’t tell we chose everything based on our travels.

Lindsey’s Future – Lindsey will be living in a bungalow on Kata beach married to the teacher from Chiang Mia (yes the same). My mode of transport will be a truck taxi, I’ll be a dive master and have zero children, which Britta thought was good as I didn’t find the little French boy who came up and pinched as amusing as everyone else did (I may have had some choice words for him).

Sixth, you move on to the playing cards and keep yourselves entertained with games of “screw your neighbor,” war and gin rummy.

Seventh, you realize while it is only 10pm you’ve made a valiant effort to relax and enjoy your day and its ok to call it a night.

Well with another night of restless sleep and our third run in with a cockroach which was on my bed and proceeded to get away by scurrying under the mattress, Britta and I were in a fit, screaming, cussing and laughing at our situation. Throwing items into our bags we concluded that we were too old to have the patience to deal with cockroaches no matter how wonderful the island setting and we just wanted to get out of there.

While we road our long boat to the ferry dock I was sad that our time together had come to an end. Two weeks had flown by in a blur of activities and while we were a little water logged, bitten and still fearing future bed bugs we both concluded that it had been a wonderful adventure. While Southern Thailand may have lost some of its authenticity due to the large influx of tourists, the islands setting, water and sea creatures make it a destination worth some of the rustic struggle.

Into The Deep

“Why don’t you get your advanced diver certification?” I looked at the woman with excitement and asked what it entailed. I went into the dive shop to inquire about doing a night dive. I have always wanted to try it but I have always been fearful of what would find me in the depths of the ocean at night. But as I was wandering around the town I realized that pushing my limits has become one of the themes of my travels and this was the perfect opportunity to do something I have always wanted to try but never had the courage to follow through. So with my inquiry I was told that for the night dive and the other dives I was interested in, it made sense to go for my advanced certification, a total of 5 dives and some class work would have me in a entirely new category of diver. And without much more question I said “Lets do it!”

Dives one and two focused on the theories of peak performance buoyancy control and navigation. Being able to turn upside down, 60 feet below the waters surface to look at something up close with out disturbing it was one of the cooler tricks I learned. Navigation on the other hand is still tricky and an area that needs a lot of practice. It was the first time I think I have ever held or used a compass so I at least give myself credit for getting around the bottom of the ocean and back to the surface.

Dives three and four were focused on deep water diving (100 feet) and wreck diving. Diving into the water for our 100 foot dive had me in a knot of nerves, fearing some sort of nitrogen narcosis effects I braced myself for the descent. But as I slowly drifted down through schools of fish and deeper into the depths I was mesmerized at how peaceful it was to descend into the dark blue. As we hit the bottom I looked above to see the sun glistening at the surface. Knowing that the water was especially crystal clear I was enthralled by the life around me. After our few deep exercises we headed to the reef where I experienced the best dive of my life. The aquatic life, the crystal blue waters and the swarms of fish were everything you see in the movies and more. Never have I experienced anything more beautiful. As we surfaced we all exclaimed how amazing that dive had been. Really the ship wreck didn’t stand a chance of toping what we just experienced but it was another dive to add to our total.

The night dive had me in a fit of nerves again. Growing more silent as we headed deeper into the darkness of night I was unsure of what I was getting myself into. As we anchored the boat and looked down into the dark night waters I saw nothing but the think black liquid of ocean. So I suited up and jumped in. Moving my equipment around me I tried to get settled as the current and waves rocked me back and forth. And then it was time to descend. Into the black water again we floated down to the bottom. Looking around I saw the quite that is night in the water. Using my torch (flash light) we explored the coral reefs and watched as the fish hid in the crevices of the reef using it as protection from the predators of night. Swimming around I was overcome by a sense of ease, the silence and darkness seemed to calm my breathing and I became more adventurous exploring the area. One of our night dive stops had us sitting on the bottom hiding our torch light and waving our arms around. This brought out a florescent wave of light from organisms floating all around. You couldn’t help but feel as if you were in another world completely.

I ended my diving adventure with two more dives to Sail Rock, what was sold as the best dive site in all of Koh Tao. While I would argue this, after my best dive ever, I did enjoy using my new dive education by heading head first through a coral chimney cave. Experiencing the different exhilaration that came from the head first descent ran panic through my body but once I realized that it was the blood rushing to my head from the position I was in I wanted to try it again. This dive spot is known for its sharks and so our first dive was focused on looking deep for these creatures. The water was a murky mess of floating bits which made for poor visibility. As I searched around for sharks I tried to push the thoughts of horror movies out of my head as I felt as if I was starring in one. While some divers saw a couple of sharks I did not and I didn’t want to waste my second dive doing the same. So I joined another group and explored the rock area and the life around it. While it wasn’t as great as the other day I did use a lot of my new advanced diver skills and I was glad I had earned my status.

I ended the day reading a PADI email of congratulations for my achievement of advanced diver status and I realized that in 48 hours I had completed 7 dives and two wake up calls at 5:00 am. Pure exhaustion ran through my body as the adrenaline of all the diving slowly faded away and I was fast asleep by 4:30 that afternoon.

My Heaven Quickly Became My Hell

As the sun set over the water I laid back and smiled, this island life was pretty wonderful and the mai thai wasn’t bad either.

As the music played and the heat of the day began to fade I realized I could actually get used to this way of life. While I would need to work on my backpacker chic look; one that resembles that of a island hipster looking as if you haven’t spent much time on your ensemble and hair, yet you still managed to look cooler than everyone else. I began to think that this could be a island where I could set up camp and never leave. The only nagging part was the bug bites, but that was a small price to pay for the heaven I was in.

24 hours later sitting in a Thai hospital room I had to wonder was it Devine intervention or karma that had me waiting to see a doctor in a foreign country. Part of me wanted to think that someone was telling me that my life path didn’t include staying on this island, but as I assessed the blisters that had swollen my hands and covered my arms I had to wonder how much karma I was needing to cleanse. I had thought having my flip flops stolen would be enough but now I am wondering what I did to deserve this pain.

I thought the blisters were a reaction to bug bites but I hadn’t seen that many bugs. I just needed the doctor to confirm my allergic reaction and settle my nerves and fear that I was experiencing some side effects of deep water diving. As I showed him my hands and arms he had the same perplexed look as I did. When I told him what I thought it was he agreed and suggested we pop all of them, clean them and then he told me that for the rest of my trip in every location I stayed I would have to go to the hospital and have them cleaned. I looked at him wondering if he got his degree from a cereal box because that was the worst idea I had ever heard. There was no way I was going to let nurses pop the blisters draining them of the natural protective layer that my body had created. On top of that he told me no more diving, as I was three dives from my advanced certification I told him I didn’t agree. He gave me a antibiotic, allergy medicine and creams, all sprawled in Thai writing. As I walked away I was relieved that it wasn’t something worse but concerned that I wasn’t following doctors orders.

The only time I have had a similar reaction is when I had bed bug bites. Uh, I know it sounds so awful and dirty, but my travel mate Britta wasn’t having the same reaction (I later found out this was because she was sleeping on top of the sheets). So I chalked it up to a allergic reaction and started my Thai regime of pills and creams. Making sure to clean my wounds I continued to dive and prayed that I was right and the doctor was wrong. While new blisters popped up the old ones began to fade and I thanked my limited health science education and mother’s guidance in knowing to trust my bodies defenses over the medical advice I was given.

Back at our beach bungalow I realized that the stark conditions of the room only added to my bodies stress. While I would use the word “glamping” for my stay at the elephant sanctuary. Our new accommodations didn’t even earn that status. Britta and I both agreed that the room was more of a camping style and neither of us were in the mood. Two of the four nights had us lying awake at 3am with no fan or air-conditioning as the power had gone off throughout the island. Sweltering in the heat we tried to be optimistic, but the early wake up calls and itching pain had us questioning island life. Reviewing my bites on the last day I decided that it was too coincidental that I would have the same reaction as the one time I did have bed bugs, looking at Britta’s bites I concluded that Bow Thong Beach Resort was my hellish nightmare and that I had just experienced four nights of a bed bug infested stay. Ok I get it, I won’t become a permanent resident of Koh Tao, while the sunset views and diving are some of the best, I was literally itching to leave.

And so I left Koh Tao like so many others covered in bandages and wounds. It seems that the island is a Mecca for the accident prone. Whether it is a motor bike scrape or a drunken stumble everyone seems to leave with some sort of bandage, a reminder of the wild ride they had. And now rocking on the boat headed for another island adventure I can only hope that this experience has officially cleansed my karma.

Climb Every Mountain

“Britta I was born in the rocky mountains, its in my DNA to know how to hike.” “Well I was born in Kansas.” Yes my sassy mouth got me into another situation where I was eating my words. Britta and I had decided to do a day trip out to Ang Thong National Marine Park off the island of Ko Samui.

About an hour or two out from the island we entered into a network of passage ways through limestone pillars and islands that jetted out of the depths of the ocean. What was once a great hiding ground for pirates has now become a marine reserve and a breathtaking wonderment of nature.

As we pulled up to our first stop, the island of Wua Ta Lap, we were told that there was a 500 meter hike to a view point, but that if you just go half way the view is still stunning. Britta looked and me and I said “Oh we are going all the way!” I couldn’t understand why they said it would take two hours to hike 500 meters, .6 miles, come on I may not be in peak physical shape but I was planning on jogging up that hill. 100 meters into the climb, dripping with sweat and questioning my physical strength I realized I was in a strenuous situation and being born in the rocky mountains wasn’t going to help me at all.

In the final 50 meters of sheer rock face I blocked out all the dangerous possibilities I was facing with the slight slip of my foot and powered my way to the top, purposefully ignoring the fact that what comes up must come down.

Drenched in sweat and breathless I took in a big gulp of air and then I took in the 360 degree view of the most beautiful island setting I’ve ever seen.

We just had enough time to take a couple of photos trying to mentally capture this majestic setting and then the fear of the decent clouded my view.

The climb down was one fueled with scratches, leg spasms and exhaustion. Ignoring all potential hazards I made a point to focus on getting to the bottom in one piece, which at times meant crawling on hands and knees. And it took all my strength both mentally and physically to not completely have a melt down in the jungle. My legs burned and every muscle in my body was screaming for relief. As the jungle started to clear and there was an end in sight my legs were on the brink of physical exhaustion. Clearing the jungle Britta and I wandered like zombies to the waters edge and walked straight in letting the warm ocean water wash away the heat from the climb.

Assessing our bruises and cuts later on that night we couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation we put ourselves in. And our souvenir for all our hard work was plastered on our shines, knees and elbows. But then I took out my iPad downloaded the days pictures and we realized that the breath taking view that could barely be captured in our photos was worth every bump and bruise.

The Not So Quiet American

My ugly American attitude raised its voice today and I was in paradise and confused by this behavior. After two days of overwhelming chaos in Bangkok we headed to the island of Ko Samui, which is in the Gulf of Thailand. Elated to finally be getting to wear a bathing suit and enjoy some relaxation I was brimming with energy at the airport.

Once we arrived in Samui I was just as excited to find our hotel way above my budgeting standards and as we wandered to the beach I was ready for sun, sand and relaxation. But we found no chairs, no shade and only high temperatures. Yes I know shade and sun bathing don’t go together very well. As my brother in law pointed out on our last family vacation we love being at the beach but only if we are a hundred percent covered in the shade. Sun and the Marshall clan don’t compliment each other well. Not to digress, but anyway, with no shade and no reclining chairs Britta and I managed to find a less then desirable spot in the sand (I know bare with me it gets worse).

But the issue of shade and comfortable chairs came up again as that was all I could focus my attention on (yes rather then focusing on the lapping of the waves or the heat of the sun).

All I wanted was a chaise lounge on the beach with an umbrella, I know I sound a little spoiled (ok maybe totally and utterly spoiled).

As I tried to work with the beach staff to find my fixation, I told Britta in a frustrated tone, “no one speaks English and understands what I am asking.” Yes those words came out of my mouth (don’t judge me too harshly it was a moment of weakness and I am almost too embarrassed to write this).

While I understand that travel and foreign frustrations are just natural human behavior, I have strived to accept my international place in this country and have worked to be a understanding guest (hell I’m in their country and all I can say is hello and thank you).

But with all my practice and all my patience this island setting couldn’t calm my nerves and I lashed out. Once comfortably settled on a lounge and watching the waves roll in I asked myself why was I behaving this way. I was in what some would consider island paradise and yet my attitude needed some major adjustment. Not being able to answer my own attitude problem, I finally managed to relax into a puddle of calm and let the frustrations of earlier wash away. With that came a better enjoyment of the island, the noise that surrounded us and the view.

Well today taught me that even in paradise I am only human and therefore I may react accordingly. Patience is a virtue and one that I will continually have to work towards.

I just hope that all that I have learned along the way won’t disappear the minute I am frustrated or cranky. Putting my philosophies into action and actually living by them will be the truest test.

Of course the sunset and a mia tai had me sinking into a further state of relaxation and I am now ready to see what other challenges lay in wait.

Bangkok Chaos Conquered In Two Days

Bangkok old and new. A city of contradictions. Bangkok is a rats maze of alleyways, round-a-bouts, highways and waterways. Leaving Cambodia I had butterflies of excitement to see this familiar face!

Britta met me at the Bangkok Airport and I couldn’t contain my excitement, jumping up and down, embracing my familiar Chicago friend. We have a two week itinerary packed full of sand, sun and scuba. But we couldn’t miss out on Bangkok and therefore we dedicated two days to the city.

Our first day we dove right in and followed our map through the city, snaking our way through tight alleyways full of flowers, fish and various Thai trinkets. As our feet burned from the many steps and our stomachs grumbled with hunger we came upon a street stall pad thai stand. The perfect first meal to welcome Britta to this culinary delight.

I later realized I had become a Thailand pro as the tight alleyways, endless crowds and crazy smells didn’t overwhelm me the way they once did. But I completely forgot of the shock this culture can have on your senses and I really dragged Britta through it all.

Bangkok day one and two were a success. We managed to find every site we wanted to see and we managed to avoid every taxi, tuk-tuk and scam artist who tried to lure us in a different direction. Everyone was more then friendly and helpful, but some of their helpfulness was in hopes we would follow their scam rather then follow our path. We tried to be as kind as possible and enjoyed the friendly encounters. But Bangkok visitors beware, while their friendliness is a nice change from the cold shoulders of the western world, it tends to mean they want something. They will ask where you are from, where you are going and then tell you the temple you were planning to visit is closed. We ran into this time and again, but there is no reason to be rude or cold, we would talk to them for a bit and then use each other to get out of the situation and move on. Never did we feel threatened or uncomfortable, but it did become a old song and dance after two days and we where pros at hiding our map and not looking too lost to avoid the friendly attention.

Top three sites, worth the visit:

The Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, an amazing statue of the Buddha the size of the entire building, ornately decorated in black and gold, one of the most amazing statues I’ve ever seen.

The Golden Mountain at Wat Saket, worth the climb, and the endless amounts of school children that surrounded us. The views are spectacular, you can see the entire city and being up so high was a nice escape from the commotion below.

Heading to similar heights just in a more modern part of town had us sipping cocktails 56 stories above the city at Sirocco. While the cost of a drink could feed you for a week on Thai street food, the view is worth a least one cocktail.

Top meals:

Wandering onto this pad thai stall in the middle of China town down one of the endless alleyways was a blessing.

Both Britta and I were hot, tired and hungry and the first food stand we found contained mixtures of dishes too foreign for us to decipher the ingredients, so when I saw pad thai I knew we were good to go. Authentic pad thai comes with four separate ingredients that you can add; sugar, crushed chilies, chilies in vinegar and peanuts. You have the ability to mix the flavors to your liking, but if your lips aren’t burning you probably didn’t do it right.

Later that night we ate at Cabbages and Condoms, a restaurant benefiting sexual education. While the meal couldn’t top that first pad thai encounter, we were very entertained by all the condom decor.

And with our aching feet, Britta and I head to the beach for some much needed R&R.