Before I get too far behind my writing again, I want to make sure I write about a bit more about my new family experiences I have been going through...
So I have stayed in 3 different locations since I have been in Sydney. First I stayed at the hostel that my mom's cousin owns and I talked about in a past post...
Next is Auntie Junghee. Her father is my grandfather's brother (kind of confusing?) and she is my mom's cousin...she has 3 children, Sam who is 22, ben who is 20, and Izzy who is 14...oh and BOO, they're adorable mini poodle/bichon mix.
They welcomed me into their home and made me feel so comfortable...picking me up here, driving me there, taking me to lunch/dinner, and just treating me as if we've known each other forever. Now side-note to this is that I actually haven't seen my Auntie since the late 90s and I only saw Sam and Ben briefly in Manhattan in February.
Spending time with them has really reminded me of hanging out with my family. The way Auntie treats her dog is to a T exactly like Gina. Referring to the little fur ball as "baby" is just one thing...Auntie is greeted by a load of squeals and a jumping little dog everytime she walks through the door, Boo is carried around more than she actually uses her own feet, she perches up on the tops of the couch pillows exactly like Caesar, she gets royal treatment when it comes to food, Aunty stands up for her against her kids, and Boo can do no bad...it's almost as if Caesar and Boo are exactly the same dog. Even besides the way they treat their dog, the Seeto family acts quite similar to the Glausers. The interaction between daughter/mother/brother resembles that of my family so closely its so weird. Their sense of family was so comforting and really made my stay enjoyable.
After that I stayed with my mom's other cousin...She has 2 children...Paulina who is 21 and Thomas who is 16. They were a riot to stay with. Their family is extremely close-we spent the night in watching a scaring movie and just hanging out. They also welcomed me with open arms and made me feel right at home. Paulina and I really hit it off-she took me to a friends 21st birthday party (which was quite lame) but we had a good time kind of people watching and being critics, and Thomas couldn't get enough of my "american" accent and kept imitating me...it was quite hilarious.
Either way, both of these families really made me feel at home. Even though I was across the world away from my family, these people welcomed me into their homes and really gave me a world of comfort when I needed it the most. After 6 weeks of traveling it was nice to feel comfortable and at ease in their homes.
Leaving Australia was weird…it was definitley a sense of comfort and familiarity.
First: my flight on Emirates was one of the best flights I have ever had. I luckily got 3 seats to myself and each seat had its own tv with unlimited amount of movies/tv shows. I ate a meal consisting of pesto pasta, 2 glasses of wine, and a hefty green salad. Needless to say, no US airline compares to this…
Now I’m in Thailand and in a world of the unknown and culture shock. The way here was quite interesting. I arrived in Bangkok at 1:15 am and didn’t really have too many plans. I knew there was a 6am bus to get to Koh Tao, but I was still unsure as to how to catch this or even where to begin. So I slept at the airport until about 4:30 am and caught a cab to Lomprayah (the travel agency that the bus to Koh Tao was running through). I got dropped off by the cab at a corner and I was to navigate to the place myself. FAIL it was 5:40 am and the streets were empty minus the few late night stragglers. Thank goodness for cell phones because I was able to call the agency and then they picked me up in front of the 7eleven on a motorbike!! Turns out…pre-booking is kind of important, but thankfully the woman felt bad for me so she sold me a ticket! I was on my way.
The bus was close to 6 hours-thankfully I got a window seat and the bus was air-conditioned. After arriving at the port-we got off, got our stuff and hopped on a rather large ferry. I was ALMOST there…butttttt I still did not have accommodation for when I arrived. I had glanced online at random places but didn’t want to book in fear of the fact that pictures can be deceiving. I know this kills my parents, but living on edge like this and kind of winging it keeps my life a bit more interesting. So we arrived in Koh Tao at about 3pm and I walked up and down the block and decided on a place. $30 US dollars for 2 nights…not bad. I ended up with a small bungalow to myself with a private bathroom and a nice porch with a hammock to myself. Oh and I forgot to mention…less than 50 meters to the most beautiful beach I have ever set foot on. Looks like winging it did me well.
I quickly threw on my bathing suit and went to the beach. I was exhausted from close to 24 hours of travel and just thankful to be “settled” somewhere. (I parenthesize settled because 2 days is hardly settling). After relaxing on the beach I decided to venture around the area for a bit…I quickly found out that there was one tiny road running parallel to the beach plastered with tattoo parlors, bathing suit shops, bars, coffee shops, diving shops, and hotel/bungalow accommodations. The perfect beach town setting. However, the culture shock was still setting in. Coming from Australia (basically the US) I was still adjusting to being wary of my surroundings. There were constantly people summoning me into their shops and what not, but this is their culture. Thus far, Thailand really reminds me a lot of Vietnam.
So after adventuring out for a bit, I ended up finding a quiet bar/restaurant on the water where I plopped into a beanbag, got a beer, spring rolls, and pad thai. How cliché. YUM absolutely fantastic! After this it was close to 8pm, I ventured back to my bungalow and passssssssed out…it had been such a long day and I was extremely exhausted.
I woke up at 6:30am…GREAT haha. Going to bed at 8:30pm kind of screwed with my sleeping pattern…as did the 4 hour time difference from Australia. So I did some yoga out by the water…probably one of the most peaceful practices I have had in a while. I headed to a café for breakfast and had some fresh fruit and toast. From here, I walked to the port where I arrived and bought a ticket to Koh Phangan for the full moon party and a return ticket back to Bangkok…plans were stirring. I still was not sure of where I was to be staying in Koh Phangan because I had not been in contact with my friend for a few days but either way I knew I wanted to get to the party…
Walked back to the bungalow and went out snorkeling for the morning. It was wonderful-the coral here is obviously not as good as the reef, but I still saw a lot and really enjoyed myself. Hm after this I went back and got some lunch where I ended up meeting a few American girls…they are studying abroad in Bangkok and are in Koh Tao for the weekend/to hop to Koh Phangan for their 2nd full moon party. They settled all of the nerves that I had about attending this party. I had heard/read numerous sketchy stories about the party and was a bit wary about going but figured I had to since I’m here at the right time…turns out it isn’t as bad as everyone says-as long as you make sure not to drink too many “buckets.” Basically, I found some travel buddies who are veterans of the party and are willing to hang out with me! YES friends haha…
So, yes, Thailand has been the sketchiest of my travels so far…but I think that is to be expected. I skyped with my parents this morning and got a lecture about being safe and all that, and I understand why. This country is full of creepy guys who stare, women who prance around selling their bodies, and people who are constantly trying to con you…but I am honestly not that stupid. There are a lot of stupid things I’ve done in my life, but here is not the place to partake in any irresponsible decisions. I plan on being fully alert and on my toes at all times, but I can still see why my father “will be happy when I leave Thailand” as he put it.
Homesickness struck me again the other night…being alone in a foreign country has its perks, but also has its downfalls. I talked to meg on the phone for close to an hour the other day and WOW do I miss her and all of my friends. Going out with new friends isn’t the same as going out with friends from home…while in Cairns, I found one of my roommates tearing up in the bathroom because of a song that came on in the club. She said, “I love this song, and it just makes me sad thinking about how much fun I have at home with my friends when we go out dancing” And this is SO true…every “club” song that comes on has some tie to my friends from home. It sounds cheesy writing it, but little things like that definitely make me miss home. Also, a few friends birthdays have come and gone in the past few days, and I guess that just makes me nostalgic…my friends are home going out in the city and partying and having a good time. But that is neither here nor there; there will be many more years to celebrate birthdays and little things like that.
So…from here-I leave tomorrow for Koh Phangan for a night then I head back to Bangkok…thank goodness for cheap/affordable travel within this country-it is costing me less than $100 US dollars to come to Koh Toa/Koh Phangan and back to Bangkok. So I will leave you with that…wish me luck and hopefully I will be able to post more soon…I can’t believe I’m already this far into my trip-I’m really really really really looking forward to Israel with Neek and also KENYA!!! Remember if you can please donate:
https://www.z2systems.com/np/clients/ayoga/campaign.jsp?campaign=7
And if you have already donated THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!! You are really helping me out and definitely putting money towards such a great cause. While I’m in Kenya I’m going to be working on helping the instructors with blogging and such so hopefully I will be making more posts and keeping you updated!
Until next time! Namaste and much love.
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