11/25 – 12/2/2016

What in the actual FUCK? I left the cool mountains of Nepal and arrived in the hottest place that I’ve ever been or hope to go again. I am not a beach guy. I know this and have proven it to myself enough times that I would hope I would have learned. I belong in the mountains, where the air is dry and crisp. Instead, I was in Thailand. I was getting my first cold in nearly 2 years, hemorrhaging money from flights, boats, and just being in a western catered resort. I was taking public transportation and flippantly discarded several hours of my life while whirling through the blur of a modern Asian super highway, passing a Lamborghini dealership, via numerous taxi rides. All around me were lobster baked tourists, slurping watered down, over priced drinks, thinking this was the greatest vacation ever. And maybe it was for them, and that’s fine…for them. The signs were all there. This wasn’t for me. Breathe. Be in the moment I had to tell myself. I did this. Intentionally.   With eyes wide open. I wasn’t tricked. This was definitely out of my comfort zone…but that is a good place to visit as I’ve been learning.

Three weeks ago I met two people from Israel while in Pokhara and they reached out to me when we all made it back to Kathmandu. Anva and Yuval work for an Israeli NGO doing disaster support after the earthquake that rocked Nepal 2 years ago. “My project is finishing on November 24 and I want to go to Thailand to be on a beach. Do you want to go?” inquired Anva in her thick, Israeli accent. In life, always say “yes” and when doors open, simply take one step forward.

My buddy Taylor from Colorado was in Bangkok before beginning his cycle tour in the northern mountains of Thailand so this trip would also provide an opportunity to connect with an old friend. Just another good reason to always say yes. Shortly after landing, we met Taylor for dinner. It was still nearly 90F at 8pm. Just walking out of the oasis that was our air conditioned hotel room smothered me with a wet towel and I was immediately drenched in sweat. Not perspiration. Sweat. The air was so dense that I felt I needed to chew it before inhaling. My clothes were sticking to me. And this was the beginning of their cool season. I miss Nepal  Perhaps ordering curry for dinner wasn’t the best idea. I was going through napkins like I was the Bounty quicker picker upper absorption tester…and they were failing. I couldn’t stop sweating. Literally. I could NOT stop. I may as well have been in a pool. Apparently this was a common spectacle, one that the staff never grow tired of. They brought us both cold, wet towels (that we immediately draped over our heads) and set up an industrial fan 3 feet away that blew most of the items off the table, but also the sweat from our bodies. It was the best green curry that I think I’ve ever had.

The next day we hopped another flight, this time to Phuket. Phuket is like Mardis Gras conceived a baby with Daytona Beach, during a wild weekend in Vegas. I was content to hide in the hotel before hopping on a 2 hour boat to Koh Phi Phi the next morning, where the actual beach time would happen.

Koh Phi Phi is an island between Phuket and the west Strait of Malacca coast, off the Thailand mainland. It has a population between 2,000-3,000, concentrated mostly in the main port town.The island came to worldwide prominence when it was used as a location for the 2000 film The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio. There are no motor vehicles on Koh Phi Phi…AH! The only horns that are heard are from the locals transporting goods and supplies around the village, making audible “beep beep beep” sounds as they come up behind you in their wagons. Koh Phi Phi is surrounded by calm, luminous pastel colored turquoise water with a temperature that barely cools you from the surrounding air. It’s like going from the steam room to the hot tub. A short 30 minute walk along the coast and we arrived at a sparsely populated area on the south east side of the island known as Long Beach, our home for a week. Each morning I gorged myself on fresh pineapple, dragon fruit, yogurt, and musli, while reading a book and drifting off into my calm. After 2,000 miles of cycling in the Himalayas, perhaps this was what I needed. I just had to get out of my own head and step through the door.

It was seriously that hot

On the boat to Koh Phi Phi

The one time I ventured into the water, pale skin and all

When snorkeling in Thailand with fair skin and a bald head, a hat is required