In the jungle, the mighty jungle...

After basking in the sun for 2 days, interrupted only by lazy dips in the ocean, I was fully relaxed and ready to explore the island. Rumor had it there was a chocolate farm on the other side of the island... what could be more heavenly! It was accessible one of two ways; walk the lovely, clearly marked path by which I arrived through the jungle and flag down a boat to take me to the dock on the other side of the island orrrrr I could try cutting across the island by hiking through the jungle that didn't exactly have a path. While I had read there had been frequent muggings around wizard beach which I would have to go through, I was not deterred. I'd been given the following directions, "walk as far as you can down the beach/ jungle, when you can't go any further, you'll see a blue hut on your left and that is where you'll find the path that leads across the island to the chocolate farm. Option two sounded way more fun, off I went. I reached the end of the beach but didn't see a blue hut or a path... must not have gone far enough because I definitely didn't miss anything blue. A couple kids with machetes, sure, but here I was covered in sweat without a purse or backpack, no one wanted to mess with me. I began to scale the cliffs that stood before me, tide must be in. Somehow I seem to end up scaling a cliff in every country I visit… The further I climbed, the larger the crabs grew and the longer the fall...  After 20 or so minutes of climbing, I could go no further by cliff, I grudgingly conceded. I retraced my steps thinking I must have passed the blue hut indicating the start of the trail, still nothing.

Mystified, I retreated to my peaceful oasis for another coconut in the hammock. I really don't even like chocolate I lied to myself... this is supposed to be a time of relaxation, not a reenactment of tarzan hacking through the jungle. 15 minutes later I could take it no more, I had to find that blue hut and the path I'd missed. I would take a boat to the chocolate and then hike the trail back so I could walk across the island at least one way. I flagged down a boat and ask him to take me to the other side of the island. As I get in, I realize,  I failed to get the name of  the chocolate farm and realized that I had no idea how to say chocolate in Spanish. What in the heck do I know how to say in Spanish? Seems like nothing practical, I add Spanish classes to my "when I returned home to do list". After some wandering, I did find the chocolate farm which by this point was closed with the exception of a small cafe. Who am I kidding, I didn't really want to go on a tour anyway, I just wanted the brownie and another cup of the rich Panamanian coffee I was developing an addiction to. A gently used lonely planet book beckoned me to give it a read while I ate and figure out how I was going to get to Costa Rica from here. Somehow, I ended up on the warning page about the muggings on Wizard beach again... maybe it's a sign I should take the boat back rather than hike through it?! The sun is starting to set... I ask the woman serving the brownies if the muggings were real. She said yes, but you don't have a bag, so I'm sure you'll be fine. "However," there it was, the dreaded however, "However" she cautioned, "it is a bit hard to find Red Frog beach because of the mud... you'd best get moving now before the sun goes down." She warned. "If you can't find your way, retrace your steps back to me." How sweet, if I get lost in the thick jungle filled with machete clad boys, I will try to remember which bamboo tree was west and which jaguar was east and I'll find my way right on back to you! I embarked upon what I was sure would be an easy hike. Look at that, clearly marked sign, clearly marked trail, no hay problemo! 

Whistling along I patted myself on the back for trying again, this would have driven me crazy years after I returned home. The jungle thickened, the sun lessened as did the path... Before long, there wasn't a path at all, just deep slippery mud, trees so thick I could barely continue to move forward, the sounds of large creatures coming to life and the occasional barefoot kid with a machete.... Don't panic, use your senses, listen for the ocean, try to find enough light to figure out what direction you're going. Wishing like I'd never before wished, my eagle scout husband was with me. This would be fun if I knew I wasn't going to get eaten by something twice my size for dinner or mugged by a kid half my size. Just when I started to let the panic set it, I heard the sound of distant crashing waves! YESSSS, Jason would be so proud of me I thought! I charged through the remaining trees that separated me from the ocean and ran straight into it, arms wide like I'd scored the winning touch down for the team. That was fun, I'm glad I did that, I thought. I'll have to find the guy that gave me the blue hut as a mile marker and let him know, that blue hut no longer exists. But yay me, I found my way home anyway! Skipping along, feeling as though I should probably be granted honorary eagle scout status myself, I began to notice the beach line was different than Red Frog Beach.... I didn't see any drift wood I recognized, or the look out point that should have been at the utmost tip of the beach. And the islands that I'd been staring at from my hammock contemplating trying to swim to, they were much further away now.... I'm at Wizard Beach I gasped out loud. There is was, now the panic had set it! The cliffs that had prevented me from getting from Red Frog to Wizard beach, once again presented themselves ominously before me. I had three options and had to think fast the sun was barely tucked above the horizon. #1, scale the cliffs, #2 swim far out around them. #3 go back into the jungle until I made it around the point. 

I knew from earlier in the day option #1 was wasn't going to work. Option #2 would have been great had I not brought my phone to take pictures. Ok so I didn't actually have three options, I had one. Option 3 it was... I dreadingly entered the dark jungle once more, trying to stay as close to the shore line as possible so I didn't loose sight of the ocean. As began to sink deeper and deeper into the mud, I was forced to go further and further inland towards drier ground. Slipping every step I took, clinging on to huge swinging vines to keep my balance, thanking God I wasn't on some reality TV show with a camera crew documenting my ridiculous moves. A left turn to get around a thick patch, a right turn to avoid a swamp and before I knew it, the ocean was in audible. I tried to move faster, wishing I had brought some chocolates for the road incase I ended up out here all night. Who am I kidding, I wouldn't survive a night in this jungle. Unless I made friends with a nice machete kid to help me fend off creatures and other machete kids .. where are those kids when I need them! Ayudame! Auydame! I'm pulling myself up hills and sliding down them, covered in mud trying to think happy thoughts. Just a word of wisdom if anyone is reading this, when you are alone and lost in the jungle and nightfall is moments away, do not think about anything except survival, there’s no time for happy thoughts! Before I knew it, I was sinking in mud. We used to play a game called quick mud as kids, what insensitive bastards we were! People like me could actually be drowning in quick mud in the jungle! I try to pull my feet out but the mud swallows my shoe. Nooooooo I scream, I can't make it through this without shoes! Frantically, I start to dig, panic laced sweat streaming down my cheeks as I notice there are other shoes around here. Oh no, what if the bodies got swallowed in the mud and their shoes floated back up... This can’t be happening to me! Obviously, since you’re reading this, I made it out alive, yay,  just “plain” mud. Whew, I've got my shoes and a vine to pull myself out.

Judging by what little light that remains, I’m certain I am still going northwest, I carry on unto I hear what is actually the most beautiful sound in the world; the waves of Red Frog Beach crashing on the shore. I shed a tear as I dive my mud covered body into the ocean steeling myself I wasn't actually lost in the jungle. As I skip down the beach to take my first shower in three days, I see nestled tightly into the jungle on my right, none other than the blue hut...

The path to the unknown- Panama

For the first time I can remember, I was heading to the airport scheming up a way to get out of my flight (without having to pay to change it.) I didn’t want to go. I had a million things going at home, I didn’t have time to go globe trotting. LA was cold and grey, but I wanted to be there. Jason had just given me a beach cruiser with gears so I could explore our new, very hilly neighbor, I’d just finished a 6 month stint of driving and working and working and driving.This was the first time in the 6 months we’d lived in this house, that I would actually be able to spend in it not hammering or staining or sanding and now I’m getting on a plane. Leaving my really nice husband, my new house, my 10,000 unfinished projects with a migraine the size of Russia... I was deep in the throws of post production when I booked this flight, wanting to get as far away from life for as long as possible. This is why I don't plan in advance! Now I'm driving to the airport at 5 am for a flight I could have sworn was at 6 PM, I would NEVER willingly book a 6am flight regardless of the pice. Bleary eyed, I’m apologizing profusely to my husband for jumping on a plane without him yet again, and missing valentines day; our first married Valentines day and I was missing it, I get the worst wife of the year award. And thanking him for the bike he gave me the day before that I hadn’t even ridden yet and back to apologizing to him for leaving him to water the plants and shipping the inventory I didn’t have time to send out. At the automated check in, up comes the question, “would you like to bump?” “HECK YES I WOULD LIKE TO BUMP!” Bump me to a week from today and re route me to Costa Rica where I'm meeting the girls for a 1/3 life crisis trip, I don’t even care about exploring Panama anymore. Thrilled to get out of this flight, I went to the gate to negotiate my voucher and was told they no longer needed volunteers to bump. So close I could almost feel my soft sheets welcoming me back! With a throbbing head ache, a sour attitude and no idea where I’m going once I land in Panama City, I board my flight. This migraine has killed my appetite for adventure. Altitude increases the pressure in my head until I’m convinced my brain will explode. Customs and immigration are horrendously slow, bright and loud. I finally make it into a cab, the only cabbie in Panama City that wants to chit chat in Spanish at 10pm. My spanish is horrible on a good day but on a day like today, I couldn't remember my own birthday, muchless the future tense. I'm cursing myself for not skipping the trip all together. 

The next morning I decide I’m going to fly to Bocas del Toro.

Bastimentos Island, Panama

Who cares if it’s touristy, it’s an island in the Caribbean for a fraction of the price! A stroke of good fortune, flights are almost the same price as buses and arrive 10 hours sooner, booked! I’m in desperate need of relaxation, the 4 day migraine leveled me. I’ll find somewhere off the beaten path. I hire a driver to take me to check out the canals and then to the airport. If you ever have a layover in Panama City, you have to check out the canals, they're ahhhmazing. Go to Mira Flores locks, you can watch ships pass there and it’s right by the domestic airport Albrook.


We land directly on the island of Bocas, OMG TOURISTY WAS AN UNDERSTATEMENT! This is worse than Cancun. Tourist gift shops and women handing out fliers (in english) for night clubs saturate the streets. My hearts sinks, this is not what I was looking for. I wanted to swim through crystal clear waters without getting run over by a fishing boat and swing in a hammock to read my book. Determined to find somewhere less populated, I walked straight across the island and jump in the first boat I see. Bastimentos por favor? It’s another island I read about, 10 mins away and feels like another world! There is no town, just jungle and beach. According to Lonely planet there was an eco tent lodge on this Bastimentos island. I tried to reserve a tent online at the Albrook airport but it said it was full…. but it also said walk ins welcome… So I’m rolling the dice that maybe, just maybe they’re like a "hike and bike campground" where they reserve space for walk ins? It’s a stretch but I want it bad enough to wander through the thick jungle at dusk to ask. There’s a great path that I’m assuming must take me right to Palmar and sure enough, after about 15 minutes it does! Rehearsing my wording in Spanish, why don’t they teach phrases for these kinds of situations in spanish class?! “Hi, yes, I tried to reserve online but it said you didn’t have rooms available but I flew here anyway, took a boat over and now it’s getting dark so I sure hope you have a room so I don’t have to sleep in the jungle with the jaguars...” Fortunately for me, the owner happened to be there and happened to be American. Unfortunately for me, he informed me they were completely booked for the next three nights but if I followed a path further into the jungle, there was a hostel up there and they would probably have rooms. Totally crushed, this place was PARADISE. There were no buildings in sight, it was snuggly nestled between the jungle and the ocean, there was a thatched roof restaurant without walls that barefoot people lounged around in and sandy paths connecting all the tents to the beach where the water was pristine and hammocks proudly waited for weary travelers. 

Palmar tent lodge 

Disheartened, I began the trek to the hostel through the jungle. I’m 31, I’ve stayed in hundreds of hostels, no problem. However, I was recovering from serious physical, emotion and mental stresses and didn’t want to endure Panama, I wanted to relax and enjoy it... in a tent on the beach!!!! A concrete hostel in the jungle wasn’t going to provide that. Still in denial the tent lodge didn’t have room for me I decided to go back to Palmar and ask the great english speaking guy to help me flag down a boat to another island, then he’d have the opportunity to tell me they had a last minute cancelation and have a bed available for me! Palmar is the kind of place people spend their travels in search of. A laid back sort of commune in the jungle with tents that open to the beach and both fresh fish and yoga classes classes on the menu. It gets darker earlier in the jungle, the tree cover is so dense it blocks out the sun long before it actually goes down, I of course neglected to think of this minor detail before I set off through the jungle again. The buzz and rustle of jungle life swarming about me thickened with the onset of dusk. When I arrived back to Palmar, Aaron, the owner laughed and said exactly what I'd been hoping and praying he would say, "We’re so glad you came back! We might have a bed for you! We’re building a lodge in the back of the property, it’s not done yet, and we still need in during the day to work on it, but there is a bed in there you can sleep in if you don’t mind sleeping in a construction sight."

Mind sleeping in a construction site?! Puhhhlease, he should see the house we're living in while renovating! No I didn't mind! I knew I belonged here! My soul felt at ease here. Overjoyed to spend the next 3 days in paradise, I ditched my shoes, snagged a coconut and settled into a hammock to listen to the howler monkeys start their evening chant. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, thankful I got on the plane in spite of a migraine.

.

Life's short, cram it

Life has been insanely hectic, (to put it mildly) hence my absence. Since I've last written, I rehabbed a house, took a 6 month producing gig that had me working all hours of the days and nights, designed a line of pillows with handwoven fabrics I discovered in Myanmar, started selling said pillows through my non profit organization One Life, made a trip back to Myanmar for more fabrics, took a ski trip to Telluride, got in two bike wrecks, got one concussion, landscaped the freshly rehabbed house, went to Costa Rica on a surfing/yoga trip with my college besties, slowly and steadily built my vintage wedding furniture rental business, celebrated the holidays with both sets of families and hiked through the jungles of Panama.  One of these days I'll finish writing about our honeymoon in Thailand, and our next stop, Myanmar (obsessed!) but I've noticed I'm not very good at the chronological thing. I've traveled a lot since my last post but haven't written about new adventures because I hadn't finished writing about the old ones. So from here forward, I'm going to post past, present and future trips as the memories and inspiration come to me. They'll all be mashed together, just like my life!:) Can't wait to tell you about paradise in Panama and my hunt for handwoven textiles in Myanmar. 

Paradise on earth; Ko Tao

I can’t not believe it. The place i’ve always dreamed of exists! The place I have combed through continents for years searching for, exists! The gorgeous beach, crystal clear water teaming with colorful fish, dotted with bamboo bungalows and hammocks; developed just enough to have running water, not hot water, not AC, a bungalow on the beach with very few other tourist around. You can lounge in beach front chairs for free, borrow a snorkel from the woven basket for free, walk 5 minutes into town and rent a motorcycle for $4.50 a day without singing a waiver, buying insurance or providing a drivers license. 

It’s like going back in time where everything is cheap and simple, no regulations, no permits. 

Our overnight boat arrived at 5:00am- still dark out. We hopped in a tuk tuk to Sairee beach where we were dropped at a cluster of bungalows. Nothing was open yet so we wandered down the beach until we found ones we liked the look of and ran into out new Dutch friends we made on the boat who were also waiting for the bungalow keeper to awake. We were all thankful she had bungalows available, but I was not surprised, things were going to smoothly so far, why would they stop now. People are so accomodating in Thailand! We had to pay 800 bahts (Approx $24 USD) instead of 600 because we were only staying one night, and we had to take the old bungalow that had not one but two igunas in it, but who cares!? We are in paradise and lizards eat big spiders. 

We secure a hut and brush our teeth, THANK GOD, throw on swim suits and stroll to the beach for a recovery nap and some breakfast. Next, we grab a snorkel and dive in to the crystal clear water just long enough for Jason to cut his stomach on coral:( Decide it's time to take a break from swimming and get a motorcycle to explore the rest of the island. Ride to the top of a mountain, drink a coconut shake, snorkel on the other side of the island. Eat a fabulous meal. Return to our side of the island. Go for an evening stroll on the beach, oh look, thai massages on the beach for $7USD, sold. Feeling limber and restored, we continue our walk to thinking this day couldn’t get any better yet it does. Fire throwers and dancers lining the beach, we score a beach front seat on the sand with a triangular pillow to lean again and order a beer. CHANG. I’m learning to love Chang mostly for the price tag. 

Ko Tao is paradise. I love the vibe on this island. I never want to leave. 

Working our way down the Gulf Cost of Thailand

Mistake number one, going to the bus station and letting people herd you onto their buses.There are multiple companies, shop around until you find the nice, non mildewy, aircon leaking on the seat bus! But whatever, it’s only a few hours to and thanks to the magnetic traveling chess board, we have an intense game of chess going on so we barely notice.We are awakened at our destination, Hua Hin. Per the usual, we roll in to town with no hotel. Swarms of tuk tuks and are waiting at the bus stop, we start negotiating the price to be dropped in an area close to the beach and then wander for a few minutes until we find a little guest house for $30 a night, it’s no frills but it’s cheap and its close to the beach and we’re tired. We wake up before sunrise again. Relieved to realize the other is awake, put on some running shoes and go for a run to explore our new town. Early morning runs in a new country are sheer magic. It’s still cool out, the city is clean and quiet and you get to watch the city wake up.

Stairs leading up to Wat Kaho Takiap

It’s like being early to a party your best friend is hosting, you get to see greet every guest as they come and watch the party come to life. We run on the beach with an escort of non mangy dogs, watching the fishermen set off to sea, intrigued by steep stairs up a large hill with some ruins we start up. We are greeted by dozens of enormous monkeys guarding the path to the temple at the top, we proceed cautiously but it turns out they are friend, not foe.

After we’ve befriended a couple of monkeys and found a string of restaurants on the beach with lounge chairs, we end our run with one of the early to set up street vendors and have a thai coffee. We don’t speak a word of the same language, it’s the inevitable game of charades with lots of smiling and bowing, Thai’s sure smile a lot.  Back to the “hotel” to throw on swim suits and head to the unpopulated beach area we discovered. We eat just about everything on the menu and drink coconut shakes and carrot shakes, noodle salad, noodle soup, seafood salad and then lounge around on the beach for a while napping and reading lonely planet deciding our next destination and the the best combination of trains, buses, boats, car rentals and motorcycles to get to Ko Tao. 

Suan Son Beach at sunrise

Pleasantly surprised by how cheap the trains are in comparison to Europe, we take a train to Chumphon. The train is delayed but there’s WiFi in the train station where I check my email to make sure my last set of Airbnb’ers left the key for the upcoming set of Airbnb'ers  and the Homejoy cleaners were able to find the washer and dryer. Things are on auto pilot, great, I can check back out. The train from Hua Him to Chumphon was one of the most gorgeous train rides, we wished our train hadn’t been delayed and it was light the whole time, but I wouldn’t have been able to keep my eyes open anyway. Trains put me into a deep sleep, every time, without fail. Upon arrival to Chumphon we are beckoned by a thai woman announcing the slow boat to Ko Tao is leaving “NOW” so hurry up and come with her. We are skeptical but it’s only $12 to take an overnight boat to an island, what do we have to loose? Overnight travel is so efficient. You get accommodation + transportation and you waste no time getting there. You’re sleeping in one city/ country and wake up in a new one. I try to work in over night transportation whenever possible. We befriended some Dutch girls and all blindly followed the random woman from the train station in a tuk tuk to a cargo boat. Yes, a cargo boat. They cleared out a room in the hull and added 36 bunk beds.

The cargo ship

cargo sent from the mainland to the island

playing chess in our bunk in the hull of the ship (I won!) 

Not the most romantic, but we have Six Senses for the romantic part of the honeymoon, until then we are traveling… It was remarkably clean, this culture has an obsession with cleanliness (except the bathrooms), even on a ship! We had to take our shoes off before entering the sleeping room. I was thankful I had my "don't leave home without it bag". And thankful I could make it through the night without using the bathroom or brushing my teeth. We arrive to Ko Tao at 5:30 am, again it is dark, we don’t have lodgings and there are swarms of tuk tuk drivers luring us into their cars. 

Don't leave home without...

There are some items I never get on a plane without and I think ever traveler should also consider packing before embarking upon an adventure. 

Running shoes: I never pack a bag without Nike Frees, when I am home and running to train for something of distance, I run in Saucony’s, Brooks or Mizunos, but when I’m traveling, I’m exploring new territory and not doing any runs longer than an hour so I pack Frees because they are small, light and make great traveling shoes as well as running shoes. 

Bikini: Even if I'm going to Austria in the fall, I take a bikini. When there’s not a beach or a hot tub, it’s a top for a yoga or a strapless bra. Bikini’s are more versatile than they get credit for. 

Hand sanitizer: Pre street food, post restroom. There are few countries with clean and open to the public bathrooms like the US. 

Kleenex: serves many purposes, napkins for greasy street food, TP for squatty potties… 

Gum: Just accept the fact that you’re going to be dehydrated the majority of the time you travel. At least when you have gum, you don’t feel like you're dying of thirst. Plus, it’s the easiest way to make a new friend, kids world wide LOVE a stick of gum. 

Passport: Duh. I never leave my house without this.

Face wipes: They are the key to making overnight transit go from bearable to enjoyable. And a life saver when you go straight from a sweaty bike ride to a sprint to the overnight bus stop, no shower in between. 

Portable phone charger: The phone is now a camera, WiFi, alarm clock, flashlight, it’s nice to have a life line charged. 

Chapstick-ever since I caught my lip on fire in Valencia Spain, I have an obsession with keeping my lips hydrated. 

Happy traveling! 

Have Passport, need Visa.

Day two in Thailand, still waking up before the sun which is great. We eat an AMAZING breakfast at the Dream hotel, find a cooking class to sign up for and figure out where the Myanmar embassy is. Next stop- Myanmar embassy to obtain some visas. Could we have done this in advance- yes. Did we no? Why you may ask would we spend precious time in a foreign land obtaining visas? Well, glad you inquired. About a year in a half ago, our passports were lost in the mail (yes yes, completely my fault for sending them regular mail) when we applied for our visas to Jordan in advance. And no- you are not required to get those in advance, I was just trying to be prepared for once in my life, but it back fired on me and we ended up missing our flights, paying the $500 change fee and getting 24 hour passports which cost even more. Jason refused to go through that again for visas to Myanmar and miss our honeymoon. He got me on board by reminding me how pretty my passport was getting with stamps and visas and that I might be able to achieve my goal of adding passport pages if I didn’t loose this one. He always knows how to get me on board. SO here we are, at the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, 30 minutes before it opens, and it packed with travelers! Getting visas makes us giddy with excitement despite the fact that it is sweltering hot and we are missing the cooking class I’d signed us up for earlier this morning.

Seeing throngs of people excited about exploring the uncharted territories of Myanmar excites me. It’s like we are all explorers waiting for the King to grant us permission to sail to the new world. It’s also beautiful to see the throngs of shops that have sprouted up to cater to the influx of foot traffic at the embassy. Tuk Tuks with instant passport photos and copiers for the required pictures and passport copies to obtain a visas, men selling coffee, women selling meat skewers- it’s capitalism in it’s purist form. We wait for approximately two hours, drinking coffee, taking turns exploring while one of us stays in line, playing would you rather, and then our number is called. I’m nervous. We are requesting same day visas and don’t have proof of exit from the country- no way they’ll grant it according to everyone we’ve talked to in line and what we’ve read. If they don’t we’ll have to come back to Bangkok in a couple of days, but will we even be able to check into hotels without our passports?! Probably not, and we won’t be able to fly back to Bangkok either… we have to get them today or we loose another day of a hammock on the beach. I put my biggest smile on and start chatting with the woman behind the counter, our fate lies in her stamp. Things are going well until she sees that I’ve foolishly written “producer” as my occupation. It’s habit, for years it’s been my primary occupation but now I have several other side projects I could just have easily written, “chef, entrepreneur, wedding industry” anything else would have been less threatening than producer. The last thing a country that’s barely opened it’s doors to the world wants is a producer in there filming the less than perfect parts of their country. Little does she know, as a post production producer I don’t do anything cool like filming or making any kind of creative decisions. She growled at me and then grabbed her colleague who came back and also growled. “what will you produce in OUR country” they questioned. Sweat beads began to appear on my forehead making me look like I was an under cover spy rather than a tourist on a honeymoon that was dying to explore new frontier. I managed to make them believe the truth, and we went back to our jovial chatting when she said, "ok, you come back at 3:30 for pick up” We tried not to let our joy and shock show until we got outside and we burst out laughing and cheering. They et us in!!!! No questions about an exit strategy even asked. This turned out to be the easiest and cheapest (approximately $37 USD) visa I’ve ever gotten. Why is everything so easy in Asia?! 

Now we were an hour late for cooking class at Silom Thai Cooking School but we decided to give it a whirl anyway. Much to our delight, we were welcomed with open arms and brought up to speed. It was a FANTASTIC experience. They require you to cook barefoot, I love Asian’s insistence on bare feet. In America, we’re required to wear close toed shoes when cooking commercially and here, they require you to cook barefoot. It’s so liberating. We made and ate green curry, pad thai, tom yum soup and mango sticky rice and then went on the market tour we’d missed from the morning class with the afternoon class group. While we cooked dishes catered to the western world, it was super fun learning making curry paste from scratch and touring a market with so many foreign fruits and vegetables with a chef. With still a couple of hours to kill before our visa was ready we popped into one of the thousands of thai massage places and got hour long massages for $7.50. I’m madly in love with this country. Now to find a bus to start working our way down the coast. Our only schedule is to be at Six Sense in Ko Samui 5 days from when we landed.