therefore, wander!: Catching Up To Do!

How time flies! 2013 is already a month in and what a year it's been so far...

The Golden Mount at night

First things first, Thailand was incredible. Minus a bad case of food poisoning on the way to the airport, the rest was exactly what I needed. The first few days alone were restorative and thoughtful and peaceful. I was reminded how truly nice it is to be a female traveler alone in the world. I met more women alone on this trip than I ever have before and it was inspiring...I think it takes bravery and charisma, and such a sense of adventure to be able to venture out into the world when the world tells you you "shouldn't" (I mean, if I do say so myself :P).

My second day in Bangkok, I met a girl named Katie from the US at the hostel and we spent the day adventuring together...we got 2 hour Thai massages and lent each other the courage needed to try street food and bargain, we rode Tuktuks and ate Pad Thai and went to an overpriced Muay Thai fight. We met a French woman who'd lost her job and her boyfriend and decided to just leave home and travel Southeast Asia for a few months before trying to find a new job. The three of us explored a flower market and Patpong, the Red Light district, at night. The French woman was remarkably, hilariously pushy and called everyone "Mister" or "Missus". She made the men with the "ping pong show" menus (look it up) describe in detail what went on, before brusquely saying "No thank you mister" and leaving. She was wonderful. Katie (a visual artist) and I spent a warm evening walking along the Chao Phraya river talking about how we'd become disillusioned with the art/performance world and the attributes required of artists. She left the next day to live in Cambodia for three months. She was excited about the prospect of buying a motorbike.

The main sanctuary at Wat Sutat

On Friday I woke up early and packed up my things and spent the day wandering solo through multitudes (okay, 3) of the Wats in Bangkok. I started at a small Wat nearest the hostel called Wat Sutat located right next to the Giant Swing. It was in some ways, my favorite of the three I saw. It was smaller and less grand than the other two, but it was also consequently quieter and less crowded. I didn't feel herded into place along with the other 600 people around me, nor did I feel like I was at a tourist attraction rather than an actual place of worship. It was much more peaceful.

I visited Wat Pho second and while it was certainly splendorous and impressive (the reclining Buddha was particularly awesome...in the "struck awe" sense) it was honestly overcrowded and hot and felt particularly touristy.

Crossing the river to Wat Arun

Last I went to Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn, which stands impressively on the other side of the river, reaching up beyond the skyline. At this point it was the dead of the afternoon and I was hot and tired, but decided to make the journey for one more temple. I'm glad I did...while it was perhaps almost as overrun with tourists as Wat Pho (not quite, but almost) Wat Arun is home to an impressive spire that climbs over 229 feet into the sky. You can climb up partway, which even with my general love of heights was a terrifying journey, and look out over Bangkok...while catching some cool river breezes.

My favorite part of travelling alone is that you don't have to do anything you don't want to. I don't feel guilty about walking through museums quickly if I feel like it...or sitting for an hour in the middle of a temple and then leaving. There's no one else to please. Maybe that says something about my capacity to have a normal human relationship but...oh well. I spent a lot of time "contemplating" and while after the second temple things started to look very similar, they were still breathtaking. I don't know much about Buddhism, beyond what I've learned from popular culture and whatever, but I was inspired to reread Siddhartha, which I did over the course of the rest of the trip. Recommended.

Pier to the ferry.

Friday night I caught a sleeper train to Chumphon and a ferry the next morning to Koh Tao, an Island off the East coast of Thailand. I had realized the night before that my South Korean card didn't work in the ATMs (great planning, Emily) and I had been spending more money than I meant to...so I faced the island with the prospect that I was running out of money. Consquently when I got to the island, which was jungle-y and humid and amazing, I decided to hoof it to the resort which was about a 30 minute hike from the port rather than take a water taxi. I felt disgusting, but I figured at that point it couldn't get much worse, so I slathered on some bug stuff and sunscreen over the layers of sweat and set off into the jungle. It was QUITE a hike, especially with a backpack on, but I made it and emerging from the jungle sweaty and exhausted to this idyllic little cool beach and turquoise water and a tree swing was the best moment of the trip. I checked in and the woman who ran the resort led me to our beachfront bungalow which was, LITERALLY, ten steps away from the water. The bungalow itself wasn't very fancy, but we had a hammock on the porch and running water which is really all I needed at that point. I threw down my backpack, stripped down to my swimsuit and immediately dunked in the water which was probably about 75 degrees. Heaven. I spent the rest of the day in the hammock sleeping and by the time it got dark I splurged on some fried rice and a big beer and took a stroll in the water after dinner.

Oh well, hello there paradise.

[more after the break]

By the next morning the number of beautiful Northern European couples and adorable blonde, tan families walking around seemed to be increasing exponentially and being alone was losing its appeal...luckily my friend J joined me that morning and we spent the next few days sleeping on the beach, reading, talking, taking pictures, laughing, and generally restoring. We both knew we were running out of money, which unfortunately meant we had to cancel two of our five nights at the resort, but we made it work and enjoyed the time we had. [side note - for interested parties, we stayed at the Saithong Resort and Spa...a really great value. On the con side, it's difficult to get to town without spending the money on a water taxi...which isn't super expensive, but was out of our price range. Pro side...well, look at the pictures. Also it cost us the equivalent of about $55 USD a night.]

Back to Bangkok for the last two days, which we spent doing everything free that Bangkok has to offer (and boy did we!) and again, minus the awful trip home, we both made it safe and sound back to Korea. And back to the single digit weather. [In Bangkok, we stayed at Niras Bankoc Cultural Hostel. About $14 USD a night, air conditioned, cute coffee shop down below, free wifi...and good location! No complaints here.]

Bangkok Butterfly Garden...free!

So that was that. It was wonderful...did I mention? The next week my friend A came to visit as part of her Round the World tour (she's amazing). We were roommates freshman year of college, a chance combination, and it turned out to be the best group of roommates I could have ever been randomly placed with. We haven't had much time to spend together since college (life goes on!) so it was precious to have time to catch up. Of course, I was working during the day, but she explored on her own and we did plenty (shopping and giggling, mostly) in the evenings. On her last full day here, we ventured into Seoul and attended the Salon du Chocolate, which is (apparently) the largest event dedicated to Cocoa and Chocolate in the world. It was pretty extensive...although unfortunately we got there a bit on the late side and only had an hour or so to look around. We had Chinese food in Gangnam that night and returned home exhausted, happy, and a bit sad at the prospect of parting. She set off to Hong Kong the next day and now she's in Delhi and will be continuing on to Dubai soon (lucky girl!).

Sunday I slept almost the entire day because, as fantastic as traveling and hosting are...they're probably the most tiring activities in the world. On top of which I was directing and choreographing musicals with 8 year olds during the day. That's pretty tiring too, surprisingly. *sarcasm*

The next week for winter camp I put on a severely shortened version of Grease with my 5th and 6th graders and it turned out pretty well, I think. My favorite part was teaching them "We Go Together"...nice memories of high school theater :) Also trying to teach "Rama lama lama, ka dinga de dinga dong. Shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yippity boom de boom" to Korean 6th graders...turns out it's hilarious.

Things have calmed down now and I'm getting back into the regular schedule of school, gym, TV, eating, and drinking perhaps a bit too much on the weekends again...for better or worse. It was a really nice feeling to come back from Thailand and be relieved to see Koreans and see my house and know how to get around and such...it really did feel like I was coming home. That's a remarkable feeling.

In any case, onwards to the next months of 2013, hoping they'll be as busy and fulfilling as the first. 2013, like 2012 should see a lot of change in my life...hopefully all for the best!

A few more Thailand pictures: