I know, I know, another post today. I've been chastised by some for being online too much and thanked by some for keeping in touch frequently. So I will keep connected in the way I see fit for my journey through life and may those who oppose forever hold their peace. :p (To be honest though, I'd be content being busy enough for a few days not to be online :).
Tomorrow we leave the islands for Chang Mai. I'm really quite ready indeed. We've kept busy but its a bit repetetive now and even with all our activity we have a lot of down time. On Koh Tao we met people at the beach bar every night and it was cool to see people a few days in a row, to hear about their day, and their travel stories. On Koh Phangan it's much quieter where we are staying so we've not talked to many people at all. The local restauranteures get a lot of attention from us as a result though! We've had much more time to sit around here which is great for reading and writing and, with wifi in our room, it also leads to plenty of catch up emails and fb updates.
For me the first week was quite rough actually and all the time sitting on beaches to think didn't help. I really struggled having to leave London for many reasons and although I was coming somewhere beautiful to ease the pain of getting kicked out I really felt jettisoned right when I found myself very content with my London life. I had Sunday movie nights, Wednesday ukelele nights (replete with celebrity guest visits), bi-monthly game nights, the return of faraway friends, and unplanned adventures to look forward to. But everything was put on pause and I really had a hard time leaving it behind despite the grand travels that lay ahead. I'm in a better place now and, though it sounds anti-the-whole-traveler-ethos, connectivity is to thank for relieving some of my fears. It means some of you got some long emails during that time but just feeling like, despite the distance, I can still check in (mostly) when I want (at least where I've been so far haha) has made a world of difference. So thanks!
Having said it's a bit dull here, we shook things up big time today. This morning we rented motor bikes to tour around the northwest section of the island and visit a few waterfalls. This was a fantastic time for many reasons including, but not limited to:
Driving! - I. Love. Driving. And I love navigating my way through new territory. I love finding myself on a map and figuring out how to get from A to B. I even enjoy getting lost a bit from time to time because then I learn how things are connected and it makes me feel good to turn a scary, unknown place into one that not only makes sense but will forever stay on my memory for future use.
Cool, clear, fresh, water! - The nice thing about waterfalls is that they are full of crisp, refreshing water. And even better, it doesn't taste salty or leave you with a feeling of crustiness. It serves, rather, to cleanse your body and awaken your sensations. A welcome change from our daily ocean swims.
Rocks. Big ones. - Another perk of waterfalls is that they are up hills. These were up particularly rocky, steep hills which resulted in lots of scrambling. I <3 scrambling :)
So our last day on Koh Phangan proved incredibly refreshing and perfectly exhausting. A great way to end our time here. I have my fingers crossed that the north will provide plenty of opportunity to have more days like today!
