Saturday, April 21, 2007

good-bye to thailand...for now...






After spending 3 months on the wonderful island of Koh Lanta, I decided to pack my bags on April 3rd and head north to another island that I had felt very drawn to visit for quite some time. This was the island of Ko Phangan, world-reknowned for its infamous “full-moon” parties…However, I was going there not for these famous beach parties but for the experience of participating in a yoga retreat as well as meeting up with a few friends…

Little did I know that I was about to land on a most amazing island- so amazing that I have already made plans to return here next year…

I arrived on Ko Phangan by ferry, under a glorious full moon and an amazing sunset, both seen simultaneously amidst a thunder/lightning storm happening in the distance… it was a most powerful encounter with Mother Nature….I also coincidentally met my friends Daniel and Aoiffa on the ferry..two freind I had met only weeks ago in Koh Lanta.




instinctually, I already knew that Ko Phangan was going to be a very special place for me…and indeed, I was right.



The one particular place that felt so much like “home” for me was a beach town called Had Ruan…Here I was surrounded by spiritually enlightened people (taking all sorts of metaphysical courses here such as yoga, reiki, and massage), clear blue waters, warm welcoming sands, amazing vegetarian (!) food, butterflies of every color of the rainbow, amazing mountains and rock formations, fluffy puppies and cuddly kittens, and a peacefulness in the air that took on a drug-like effect on all those who were fortunate enough to be there…there were also no roads here (thus no cars or motorbike noise) and the only way to get on or off the beach was by boat….my kind of place…













I spent my last 2 weeks here and it was just what I needed…there was very little to distract me from my peaceful life …no TV, little to no phone reception and a very expensive internet connection…. So. appropriately enough, I “detached” from everyone and everything for awhile…a true gift to myself.



funny enough, the place where I ate every night had a Brazilian and Greek flag right next to each other and I would always manage to eat right under these flags.....This definitely felt like a true validation that I was at the right place at the right time and that my family never felt far from me...



I vowed then and there to try and maintain this inner peace that I had found when I returned to Hawaii and as I sit here now in my own bed here in Honolulu I can still feel the calm from this magical place…I will do my best to have it last for as long as possible…I want my transition home to be a smooth one.

So now, some final thoughts now as I complete yet another 4 month journey in Thailand….

I am thankful , first and foremost, that I have had such an amazing privilege once again to take the time that I did to live in such an amazing place. I am most grateful for all the many new friendships I have made, many of which will be lifelong- this is, by far, the most precious souvenir one can come home with….



I was also reminded, quite starkly, on my last night in Bangkok, that I am definitely part of a very privileged class in the world. I have never gone to bed hungry, have always had a roof over my head, always had a family who supported me even in my most troubled times, and have had the blessing of an education that has now provided me this freedom to teach anywhere in the world.

For as I headed into Bangkok my last day (after a 12-hour overnight journey from the south), I saw a view of a lifestyle that I had almost forgotten about: There were people sleeping next to train tracks with all their belongings next to them in a few plastic bags…,stray dogs and cats roaming everywhere with no food in sight… I saw the most basic of homes built of simple slabs of wood and metal lined up for miles against the backdrop of big glistening skyscrapers- literally just a few feet from the train track….

I was reminded , quite suddenly, that the majority of the world still lives like this….and that I , and everyone else of the more “privileged” class, should do whatever they can to help stop this cycle of poverty that seems to be handed down from generation to generation…the wealth must be distributed more evenly…it just must. How we go about making this difference is a personal choice, but a choice that needs to be taken, nonetheless…

However, I must mention that I saw one particular home on this train track that left me with a beautiful sense of hope and optimism….it was a very small house, put together by only a few pieces of wood that sat over a small river…However, this house just really stood out to me for some reason…whoever had lived in this house had created a very special “deck” speckled with whatever worn-out chairs and furniture they could find; yet this family seemed to have made such an effort to truly make it a “home”..even if their view was only of other very poorly made wooden shacks and the constant view and sounds of the trains traveling by….This family seemed to just have made the most of what they had been given …there was a feeling of happiness that emanated from this home, this very simple home made of a few pieces of wood that sat over the river.…

happiness and love can be found in even the most simple of surroundings…


and as I have found so often in my travels, “less is more” in so many ways in life.

so as I end yet another journey , I would like to dedicate my last words and thoughts to all the fellow “gypsies” , both young and old, thatI have met along the way. So many of these people inspired me in countless ways ; their desires and hopes to make this world a better place, full of peace and tolerance ,truly gave me a renewed sense of my purpose of being here on this planet…















I am forever grateful for these newfound freindships…..


and thank you, to all of you, who have once again followed me on this amazing adventure…I cant tell you how special it was to know that I was always being “looked after” by your thoughts , care, and words of support…

It makes being “on the road” a lot less lonely…..



until the next journey begins…..

keep praying for peace.

melina