The Life of a Solo Traveler

"You're traveling the world, alone?!?!"

Well, technically, I guess you could say that.

Monkey Beach, Penang National Park, Malaysia

But, as I try to explain to hesitant friends and family, I'm never actually alone (unless of course I want to be - another great perk of solo travel). Traveling alone is not only one of the best things I've ever done, but also one of the easiest and least scary ways to travel - despite what it may seem to the unfamiliar.

Phi-Phi: Is it Pee-Pee or Paradise?

Living and traveling in Southeast for over a year, the name Koh Phi Phi (or Phi Phi Island) came up enough times to make me realize I had to see what the hype was all about.

Phi Phi (pronounced Pee-Pee) was made famous by the backpacker book and movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio "The Beach".  Since then, hoards of tourists flock to get a piece of what once was the undiscovered paradise as described in the story, making it not-so undiscovered anymore.

Typical Phi Phi backpacker tales involve drunken escapades amongst an idyllic setting. While some claim Phi Phi has been ruined by the crowds, most travelers would agree that despite the hot commodity the island has become, it would be a crime to skip over such a paradise.

Sisters do the South

I could not have asked for a better way to kick-off my extended travel than with my sisters and best friends.

Having not seen my sister, Morgan, in over a year, 10 days in Thailand with her and her long-time best friend, Kendall, (who has always been a sister to me) was a trip of a lifetime for all of us.

Morgan, myself and Kendall on Karon Beach, Phuket

After a couple days playing tour-guide around Bangkok's temples and markets, we headed the furthest south I'd been in Thailand -  the country's most talked about beach destination: Phuket.

As is the nature of travel, not everything can go smoothly. But, it's such sticky situations which require the ability to have some faith and laugh a little - and that we did.

The Long-Awaited Long-Term Travel Begins!

Over summer holiday, I traveled around Asia for a couple months. Pretty soon upon departure, I knew I was hooked, and I wouldn't be able to go home without seeing more of this continent. I remember distinctly it was on those long night buses in Vietnam that I began devising what would become my current long-term travel plan. The girl I met & traveled in Vietnam with and I even began discussing the possibility of an India trip together.

Once I moved to Ubon, my sole pre-occupation and determination to stick out the semester was to save money for the biggest trip of my life yet. Although I made sure not to sacrifice having fun, I had a very clear goal of mind of saving money, and stuck to it. Although the school canteen was without a doubt the worst food I've had in Thailand (..or in life), the free price had me coming back for more. Often the only money I'd exchange during the work week was a 30 baht dinner. I had after-school tutoring for extra cash, allowing me to mainly refrain from touching my Thai account.

10 Things I'll Miss About Living in Thailand

In many ways, this challenging semester illuminated for me that I could never permanently settle here and it was time to wrap up life in Thailand. Despite the occasional aggravations in my final months, words fail to articulate how difficult it is to say goodbye to a place that changed my life. At the end of my days living in Thailand, I reflected on what I'll miss most & certainly reminisce about for years to come.

1. An Ode to Thai Food 

If you missed my pathetic attempt at poetry, check out my last post dedicated to my love affair with Thai cuisine. Besides my number one true love, the rest are in no meaningful order...

An Ode to Thai Food

This is Thailand: walk down the street

and you'll get whiff of that distinct chili heat

At any place, any hour on any day,

the woks will surely be clinking away

When the pangs of hunger do appear,

without a kitchen at home, most would fear

But walk a few feet north, south, west or east

and you'll find yourself a memorable feast

Ba Mee Moo Daeng - Egg noodle soup with
barbeque pork topped with peanuts

Thai people eating everywhere,

An empty street stall would be rare!

At only thirty baht for a delicious meal,

Your taste buds will be dancing at a steal

Anecdotes from Exam Week

With two weeks left of school, I'm desperately trying to complete the semester grades of my 700+ students. While I've certainly had better weeks involving less chaotic and redundent busy work, a couple of anecdotes from testing week have made me giggle.

"The Plight" in Action

I wrote about the conundrum of government schools in Thailand both in a detailed blog post and the article The Plight of Government Schools in Thailand for a website called AsiaPundits, but I thought I might provide some first hand examples of the backward system straight from testing week.

After a semester of receiving zero instruction or materials for teaching yet again, I am expected to test my students. Fair enough. The test doesn't serve to actually evaluate their knowledge, but more as a formality to provide the necessary evidence for the (laughable) Ministry of Education, which in turn will keep the funds coming so long as everyone looks busy.

So, I devise the easiest possible test because, as I wrote about in "The Plight...", all students must pass. Whereas last semester I was instructed to senselessly handwrite "pass" next to 1200 students' names, this semester I was given six poorly translated objectives that students must receive a grade for.

After running up and down the stairs between the grade five and six offices trying to sort out unclear and contradictory instructions, finally someone told it how it was.

Thailand is a culture that is all about saving face. This usually involves stepping on eggshells so as not to bring attention to problems or corruption. 

Oraya, the head of English for grade five, probably speaks the best English in the school. She knows of my familiarity with Thailand after a year of working here, and she is also smart enough to realize that things are done differently here than in other places. Despite our lengthy English conversation, she finally spoke words that I recognized as my language when she stated what is implicit in Thai culture:

"This is Thailand. Make it up!"