Koh Phangan or the Hotel California?

The winds of change blew through this island with almost the same amount of whirlwind force as the water cyclone I witnessed off my beach.

Within the span of two days, the group of friends that I'd so lovingly grown accustomed to at my bungalows all departed to either continue their travels or return back home.

(Not only did I have to say goodbye to Matthias, but to his monkey skull as well).

I suppose I'd been a bit spoiled in Chiang Mai. The majority of my friends in that city remained there as long or longer than I did, so I was unaccustomed to such short lived/intense relationships with other travelers. But these brief relationships were just one more reminder that this island is not like Chiang Mai. The other, and most pressing reminder for me, has been that Koh Phangan is way more expensive. In fact, I was unaware how often I repeated that mantra until the Burmese workers at my bungalows nicknamed me "It Too 'Spensive!"

I hit a bit of a financial wall right before coming down to Koh Phangan, so I began looking for work in other islands. I applied to numerous volunteer jobs online that would supplement food and housing in exchange for [slave] labor. I had ten days to look for work before checking out of my bungalow, but as that date inched closer, I was still in the same jobless rut. I had to get creative so I began offering massages to friends at my bungalow. Word spread and before I knew it, I was booked for an entire week. More importantly, I had cash in my pocket which allowed me to eat.

I massaged one of my friends, a reiki master, who had been attending classes at the Yoga Retreat up the road from our bungalows. (A little bit of backstory about the retreat. Three years ago, I lived with a girl in India who had attended the retreat in Koh Phangan. It was a dream of mine to go there ever since, but for various reasons, aka financial/space availability, I was unable to attend. You can imagine my excitement when I found out that the retreat was randomly up the road from my bungalow!) My friend referred my massage services to one of the teachers at the retreat, so I ascended 20 minutes up a steep hill to meet my new client. It was my last official day on the island, and with no job/nothing to lose, I asked the owner of the Yoga Retreat if she needed any help around there in exchange for room/board. She didn't have any space for me to stay there, but offered me a room in which to practice massage.

Still unsure of what move I wanted to take, I didn't commit to the offer right away. I met the yoga teacher I was booked to massage and she offered to read my cards as an exchange for my services. I usually shy away from psychic readings due to my skepticism, but I was feeling particularly confused/lost that day, so I accepted the exchange.

The teacher put a crystal from New York in my right hand and almost immediately a butterfly landed on my thumb. The teacher assured me this was a good sign and it meant I was transforming.

As the reading progressed, I was shocked with how relevant the cards were to my life. The questions I had about where to go or what to do began to melt away. The most peculiar part of all was that tiny butterfly remained on my thumb for an hour despite me moving my arms and reaching for cards and crystals. It didn't fly away until I let go of the New York crystal.

Completely overcome with emotion by the end of the reading, I knew that I was going to stay on Koh Phangan and accept the job at the Yoga Retreat. Although I wasn't sure where I was going to stay or if I was going to make money or not, I knew that I needed to trust that there was "nothing to worry about" and just "go for it."

I'm entering my fourth week on this island and I cannot believe how incredibly things have worked themselves out. I've been getting booked so much that I've actually had to turn away people. I'm grateful for my work, but I haven't lost sight of the importance of enjoying my time on this incredible island by exploring beaches,

hanging out with friends,

and going to all-night parties.

(what? I can't actually show you photos FROM the parties...)

I tried to leave Koh Phangan, but I've found myself completely engrossed by the lifestyle here, putting my plans to travel through other islands and countries on hold for a little while.

If you find yourself in Koh Phangan, you can give me a call and book a massage with me up at the retreat. As the Thai's on the beach say, I make good price for you!

The Island Life For Me

Once again, I apologize for the delay in posts. I've been on island time for the last 8 days which apparently moves slower than both the Chiang Mai and Pai time warps combined.

Although I was sad to say goodbye to Chiang Mai after two incredible months there, I was ready to venture out to another unfamiliar part of Thailand. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a little apprehension mixed in with my excitement about leaving my comfort zone and going to a place with geography and people I didn't know, but regardless of my fears, I said goodbye to my guest house,

had one final dinner with friends,

then strapped on my backpack and was caravanned motorbike style to the Arcade Bus Terminal where I *barely* made it on time for my night bus. (Lesson learned: do not separate your bags amongst friends on different motorbikes)

10 hours traveling on a Thai VIP bus playing Korean Pop,

two taxis and a flight from Bangkok (no photos here because I hate Bangkok), another bus, a trolley and one ferry later, I said GOODBYE to the mainland of Thailand

and said HELLO to Koh Phangan, a beautiful island in the gulf of Thailand that had been without electricity for five days.

Since I arrived around 9pm, I literally could see nothing except the Milky Way, so I threw caution to the wind and hopped on the back of a very nice motorbike taxi to ride the mountainous Coast Road to my bungalows. 

The entire island was pitch black, so I was led by candlelight to my bungalow and fell asleep pretty immediately (there was no electricity/facebook to distract me from my slumber). The electricity came back to the island around 4am that night, but it went unnoticed in the morning, when the sun beamed brightly and I was more than pleasantly surprised to see my surroundings for the first time.

(My view over breakfast on my first morning)

One of my fears traveling to an island by myself was that I would be alone most of the time, but it was hardly any effort at all to meet the fantastic and laid back crowd that was also inhabiting the bungalows. I made fast friends with Xaida, a beautiful curly haired Spanish girl and Matt, a South African engineer living in Oxford. With the help/persuassion of my new buddies, I was convinced to attend the Half Moon Party that night.

Matt, three German boys and I were taxied in the back of a truck from the bungalows to the jungle where we dropped into an enormous party full of glow paint,

black lights,

and a cranking DJ hanging from the sky.

We got to work decorating ourselves with paint,

then danced all night long with hundreds of fun and good natured foreigners.

I left the party on the early end (around 5am) and was far outlasted by the German boys who stayed until mid morning. All in all, Half Moon ranked as one of the best parties I've attended.

I spent the next day (and pretty much every day after) chillaxing in a hammock by the beach,

socializing with my new mates,

and listening to the musical stylings of 50 Baht, a Burmese boy/entertainer extraordinaire who works at the bungalows. If you go to my Youtube page, you can listen to him playing one of his original songs.

Although I had taken my talents of being busy doing nothing to a whole new level, I was able to squeeze in some time to practice massage daily and rent a kayak to go snorkeling with the German boys near our beach. The conditions were crystal clear and I happily floated amongst another exotic and tropical world.

Koh Phangan rose far above my expectations. Whether I was on the verge of tears with laughter, swimming with fallen coconuts in the crystal water or just sitting quietly in a hammock, I've once again come to realize just how spectacular and nuanced life can be.

 #WERD.

Goodbye Chiang Mai/The Smile Party

The day has finally arrived for me to pack up my things and leave Chiang Mai. It's been just shy of two months in this city, and I can happily say that my time here has far exceeded expectations. Whether I was learning Thai Massage, swimming at the pool or jamming with friends in the garden of my guest house, my experiences were full of laughter and happiness.

So what better way to say goodbye to Chiang Mai on my last night than to attend the Smile Party!

Four of the most popular bars in Chiang Mai- Roots Rock Reggae, Babylon, Zoe in Yellow, & Cafe Del Sol- teamed up with the best bands and DJs to create this outdoor party. Located at a big lake about 20 minutes outside of Chiang Mai, the Smile Party cranked from 5pm to 7am. Farang (Thai for foreigner) from all over the world gathered between two stages to dance,

paint their faces with glow paint,

and drink obscene amounts of liquor out of buckets

Smile Party could be categorized somewhere between frat party and rave. I was enjoying dancing with the international crowd but was happily reminded of home when I came face to face with a cute Thai girl in a Yankee cap.

At some point in the night, I found the semi-competitive sport of tequila luge. It was around that time that the Smile Party turned into the Frown Party, and alongside my Aussie girlfriend Taj and hundreds of other sloppy Farang, I fell asleep on the grass in front of a bonfire.

Eventually Taj's boyfriend, Punya, came to retrieve us from "sleeping in the bush" and we shared a tuk tuk back to their guest house for a very subdued slumber party.

Although I felt a little closer to 21 than 31 last night, the Smile Party was a fun, albeit painful, way to say goodbye to fair Chiang Mai. I'm headed down south to Koh Phangan this evening where I plan to detox my entire system, practice yoga and sit on the beach. Nevermind that it's the biggest party island in Thailand...

I'll miss Chiang Mai and the friends I've made here. It was the perfect start to this journey.

(Oh yeah, and a big shout out to my girl Taj on her 28th birthday! Easy on the buckets...)

When You Wish Upon a Lantern...

I returned to Chiang Mai refreshed and excited after a week in Pai. Since this was my first week in Chiang Mai where I didn't have school or travel plans, I knew that I'd be able to accomplish many tasks that I simply hadn't found time for previously. These tasks included but were not limited to 1.) extending my visa for an extra 30 days, 2.) booking my bus and ferry to Koh Phangan, 3.) buying toilet paper. I was raring to go but I somehow found myself busy doing nothing all day every day and the majority of my tasks remained unfinished. You may be wondering what "busy doing nothing" might look like, so I'll tell you.

7:30am Wake up/check Facebook

8:30am Go to breakfast

11am Leave breakfast and work on my Shaklee business (see, I was a little productive!)

12:30pm Check Facebook/take a nap

1pm Check Facebook again in case I missed anything during my nap

2pm Make toast

2:30pm Go to the pool (it's obviously too late to accomplish any of the other tasks I'd intended. Besides, it's late in the day and I want to get some sunlight while I'm swimming laps)

4pm Leave pool/shower/check Facebook

4:30pm Practice massage

6:30pm Check Facebook

7pm Evening activity

There were a few other activities stuffed in there. For example, one day I went on a bike ride and met a purple pug.

For some reason, many of my friends left Chiang Mai this week either to continue their journeys elsewhere or return home.

Dariya and Ainaz began their bike tour of Southeast Asia, which you can follow here.

Sarah flew back to France, but not before sharing some of the Bordeaux she brought from home.

Sweet Marie finally returned from Pai 5 days after schedule, but only to fly back to France the next day :(

And my dear friend Lauren left to spend a few days in Bangkok before flying home toTexas. (But not before receiving some love from those of us in Chiang Mai)

I'm really not okay with all these goodbyes, but I suppose that's the name of the game when you're traveling for a while. The bright side to all these departures were my evening activities were rich savoring the remaining quality time with good friends.

One of the evening activities this week was attending the lantern lighting festival, Loi Krathong. Loi Krathong happens on the full moon in the last month of the Thai Lunar Calendar. During the festival thousands of people gather around the river to release krathong (floating lotus shaped flower baskets) onto the river and yi peng (large lanterns) into the night sky. Traditionally, when you release krathong into the river, you are supposed to release the things in your life that are weighing you down.

(My bread krathong was not only pretty, but edible as well)

After floating your bad habits and mental afflictions down the river, you make a wish on a lantern and send it up into the sky.

My photos don't do the festival justice. If you didn't know better, you'd think the entire sky was lit with stars instead of lanterns. If I can take a moment to be cheesy, I will admit that it was nice to look up and see all those beautiful wishes hanging over Chiang Mai that night. It filled me with a deep sense of gratitude for my friends, the city and the year to come. 

And just in case you wanted to see a live action shot of the lanterns being released, here's a video Martin letting his wishes go...

I Take a Deep Breath and I Get Real Pai

Although the beginning of my birthday trip to Pai started a bit shaky, I ended up having a fabulous (albeit CRAY CRAY) week.

On the night of my birthday, my dear friend Marie joined me at the Osho Meditation center. Although I found the two older men running the place and all the Thai workers building the swimming pool to be strange lovely people, I was relieved to have a friend with me. And Marie is not just any friend. She is the type of girl that can make any situation full of light and laughter, so having her as my travel partner through the tripped out wonderland of Pai made for a most enjoyable journey.

(Marie in front of our hut at the meditation center)

The meditation center had free wi-fi, so in between bouts of laughter, Marie and I intensely worked on opening our 8th Chakra...the Facebook Chakra.

We couldn't ignore the fact that we were in a beautiful place, which helped us separate from our electronic gurus. As temperatures soared to the mid 90s, we took advantage of the surroundings by cooling off in a mountain river nearby the meditation center. After swimming, we decided to check out the town. Pai is not close to the meditation center and neither of us had rented a motorbike at that time, but as two Pilates teachers, we figured the hour walk in the heat of the day would be no big deal. As we began our walk, one of the many street dogs we encountered started following us, or rather leading us to Pai. After 2km with our new canine companion, Marie and I were ready to adopt him. But just as we gave him his new name (Thai Pai) his owner drove up on a motorcycle and took him home.

We were sad to see him go, but there were about 10,000 other street dogs ready to take his place.

The energy in Pai is crazy. It seems to be a mecca for new age hippies that believe they are either God or high priests from the 5th dimension. As we walked the streets and continuously ran into the same characters over and over again, it started to feel like we fell down Alice's rabbit hole and ended up in the Matrix.

We discovered that Pai is not only a great place for people watching, it is also great for eating your weight in fried foods and buying jewelry you don't need.

Pai only has 4 traffic lights, but we somehow managed to get lost there for 6 hours. It was late and we needed to head back to the center, so we hired a motorbike taxi to drive us home. In true Thai style, we stuffed 3 people on the back of that bike. The overcrowded drive home was enough to inspire us to rent our own motorbike the next day. It also didn't hurt that we needed to leave the meditation center to move to our new bungalow closer to town, and there was no way my oversized backpack was going to fit on the back of another crowded taxi. (By the way, I'm starting to reconsider the name of this blog. It seems inappropriate to call it "mylilbackpack" when my backpack is too big to comfortably fit inside a bungalow...).

I was in charge of navigating the way to our new digs as Marie drove the bike. Things were going smoothly for us until I directed Marie to a bridge we were supposed to cross over the river.

Marie thought we could do it, but let's have a closer look.

It was at that moment I realized I was reading the walking directions to the bungalow, and there was no way to drive two girls, one big backpack and a motorbike over a bamboo bridge. We parked our bike and forded the river on foot to our new accommodations.

The huts were simple and peaceful. We even had our own hammock.

(No matter how good you're feeling about yourself, there's always hammock-ass to give you a nice slap of humility)

After getting situated in our hut, we decided to walk around our new neighborhood. Pai may be a small town, but it has everything you need and more.

Marie and I met a nice French circus performer, and we joined him for a little bit of tight rope walking and hot spring swimming at night. (I sadly didn't get any photos from this part of our adventure, but trust that it was wonderful).

Pai is a strange and beautiful place. I would have loved to stay longer, but I needed to get back to Chiang Mai to study with my teacher so I sadly said goodbye to my dear Marie (who stayed an extra 5 days) and Pai.

Oh, yeah...I almost forgot to mention that Marie and I were so inspired by our time there, we wrote a song about it. It's full of inside jokes, but I think you'll get the gist. Enjoy!

"THE STREETS OF PAI"

walkin' down the streets of Pai

don't need no weed to get real high

cuz we'll still see that bearded guy

with all the stories his beard hides

 

our canine pal escorts us there

makes sure we're safe, because he cares

don't matter he goes back alone

10,000 dogs call Pai their home

 

only four streets on the grid

but we get lost like little kids

cruisin' circles through the shops

pickin' jewelry like they're crops

 

that boy's tattooed from head to toe

he stalks us everywhere we go

in case we weren't sure where he's from

"All American" is branded on his tum

 

walkin' down the streets of Pai

don't need no weed to get real high

laughin' hard until we cry

from all the weird shit walkin' by

 

used to get munchies when you smoke

but here you get it shoppin' folks

fried and starchy's what we toke

eatin' waffles till we're broke

 

can't dare to try that cricket fry

we make the vendor demo why

it's yummy for this asian guy

who munches larvae till we try

 

six hours later, time to go

no taxi meters to take us home

one taxi-bike for us on loan

three on the back, no broken bones

 

walkin' down the streets of Pai

don't need no weed to get us high

fell down the rabbit hole in stride

this place is really worth the ride

 

besides, the french invented Pai