The Pearl Chronicles

“The Let Go” is a term I use to describe a shift in the state of mind that usually occurs a few weeks into a long period of traveling. If you’ve ever taken a vacation or gone traveling for more than 6 months then you probably know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s when you relax into a kind of calmness, knowing that everything is going exactly as it should and there is no need to stress about anything. And indeed even without making any plans, events align in a way that is retrospectively perfect…

I think the world would be a much better place if everybody tried this at least once on twice during their adult life.

I’m in Bangkok again after flying back from Singapore last night, and already getting ready to return to the airport and head down to Koh Tao where a diving certification course and New Years parties await… The trip to Singapore was VERY enjoyable, thanks mostly to my wonderful hosts Barratt and Asuka who showed me around and introduced me to some of the less touristy parts of the city. Thanks guys, it was great!

Singapore reminded me of the USA in many ways. It is a highly consumer driven country but despite of all its wealth there is a very poor health care and retirement plans for its citizens so they need to work hard and save most of their lives. It’s very shiny on the outside but I won’t be surprised if the “poorer” countries around are generally happier. It’s also very hard to make any change because of the one party political system, censorship and limitations on protesting. Still, the people are very friendly, intelligent and easy going.

It’s been said before that Singapore is a Mecca for foodies and I fully agree. I’ve probably gained more weight than I lost during the detox… The location of the city and its multinational character offer a wide selection of cooking styles and dishes, and you don’t even have to go to the fancy restaurants to enjoy it. I got my fill of Dim Sam, Laksa (my favorite local food), north + south Indian food and some items yet to be identified.

It also turns out that Singapore has a psytrance scene run by the local Om Project crew, and they had a party right on my last night in the city! It took place in an absinthe bar so you can imagine what state I was in by the end of the night. Ironic, isn’t it? I hardly partied in Thailand but rocked it in one of the most strict countries in Asia…

Alright, time to pack and head once again to the islands…

I’ve been in Singapore for 3 days now and starting to form an opinion about this interesting city. It is one of the most international city I’ve been and has lots of westerners and other ethnicities running around, although I haven’t seen any Israelis yet which is very strange. I thought it would be refreshing to visit a real modern city after Bangkok but it didn’t turn out like that at all. Since it is so modern then the prices are accordingly high and to fully experience what it has to offer I need to go way over my budget. So in spite of the available options I am staying and eating at crummy places, way below my standard in Thailand.

Travel tip of the day: if your external hard drive crashes, try to have it happen in Singapore around Christmas time… Mine started giving me all kinds of trouble so I decided to replace it before all the data is lost. I went to a mall called “Funan Digital Life” which sounded promising and turned out to be a geeks ultimate wet dream. 5 floors of computers, gadgets, video games and electronics. They had EVERYTHING including specialty stores such as one called “glitter” that only sold cases (for iPhones, computers, etc.) that have shiny elements.

It was very nice to meet Barratt and Asuka for dinner and drinks on Sunday. We finished the evening at Clark Quay and sat at a bar called Clinic where the stools are wheel chairs and some drinks are served in syringes or IV bags. I’ve been walking all over town in the last few days, enjoying some of the neighborhoods and the colonial architecture. Today I am going to venture to the “countryside” to see the famous zoo and night safari.

I was warned that Thailand tends to become very busy around Christmas/New Years and indeed this is the case. It was very hard to find train tickets from Surat Thani back to Bangkok and I ended up taking the last train which leaves at 11:30pm and arrives around 10:30am the next day. It involved some wait at the origin but it is perfect to get to the hotels around check-out time and have more options. Up until now the Thais have been extremely punctual, but unfortunately the train was about 3 hours late so I got very little sleep, arrived late to Khao San but manged to find a decent place after all. Knowing how CalTrain is back in SF I can’t actually complain because they are even worse… The sleeper car was pretty nice and clean, and they even serve breakfast in bed!

In case you don’t know, Khao San road is the backpackers street in Bangkok. If you’ve been to Delhi then think “main bazaar”. It is quite a sharp change from the calm and soothing time at Monte Vista Healing Center back in Koh Phangan. I had an awesome time there and the staff & other guests were really nice and professional. We had a yoga class every morning and I really got into it. After 5 days I could clearly see an improvement in my flexibility and genral well being. Since I am totally out of shape right now I think I will try to keep the routine going and dedicate 30 minutes in the morning to do some exercises and get my body in gear for the tracking that’s ahead. I even got a yoga mat so I have no excuses, although I hope that carrying it won’t become too much of a burden. Friends, please slap me if I EVER become a yoga elitist snob (sorry to offend, but you know exactly what I mean ☺).

So back to Khao San, if I though it was busy when I first got here 2 weeks ago then now it’s really crazy and packed to the rim. At least I am getting more adapt at travel life and have more confidence eating on the streets and chatting with the Thais. I even feel qualified to help other travelers that just landed… All this “hecticness” has forced me to have firm plans for the upcoming weeks. Tomorrow I am flying to Singapore where I will spend 9 days. I’ll then fly back to Bangkok and immediately take a train and boat to Koh Tao (booked). There I have signed up for a diving class and will stay on the island until past New Years. By then I hope that the holidays travelers will dissipate and it will be less crowded. I’m still not sure where I want to go afterwards and I’m thinking maybe Myanmar (Burma) and Bhutan.

Some of you have asked for more pictures. They are coming very soon, please bear with me…

I’ve been on Koh Phangan for about a week now, chilling, eating well, sleeping, reading, partying a bit and seeing some of the sights such as Phaeng waterfall and the magnificent view from the top of that hill. But now I am getting a bit restless and feel like I need to do something a little more proactive…

One of the decisions I made before this trip is not to make too many plans and let things unfold as they may. However, soon after getting to the island I realized that I want to spend New Years on Koh Tao to attend the big party over there, but since I didn’t bother getting a tourist visa in advance I now must exit the country before Dec 27th to get another 30 days… Also, New Years/Christmas is a very busy time on the island so it’s best to get situated at least a week before Christmas on Koh Toa, especially if I also want to get a diving certification there. It would be best to spend another week or so in Thailand before exiting but what to do until then?

Going over the options of things to do on the island it suddenly dawned on me – there is a large yoga and healing community over here so why not take advantage of that and give my body and mind some attention? I looked at a few options and felt most attracted to a healing center called “Monte Vista”. When I went to see what’s it all about the staff was really nice and it felt right so I signed up for a 5 day detox + yoga program. It’s a bit ironic that while most travelers here seem to focus on intoxication I decided to do detoxification… I’m looking forward to it and trust that everything will fall into place as it should. This will buy me a few days and soon afterwards I’ll probably fly to Singapore to spend a few days, say hi to friends who live there and extend the visa.

I’ve never driven a motorcycle. I rode as a passenger but never actually drove one. Until today that is. And I can finally understand why people really get into it.

Despite thunderstorms all of last night this morning was clear and dry so I decided to go ahead with my plan to rent a scooter and explore the other parts of Koh Phangan. During breakfast at the restaurant of the guest house I noticed a guy with a motorcycle helmet so I asked him if there is anything I need to know before renting and riding a motorcycle for the first time. He was very helpful, offered some tips and even rode along side for a while to a near gas station to see that I can handle myself. The truth is that I was a bit nervous, especially since the roads on the island are sometime narrow and some drivers can be drunk with all the parties that are going on here. Mind you that I was only riding a 100cc Honda automatic scooter. What can I say, I’m a wuss.

After riding VERY slowly for a while I gained more confidence and decided to do a kind of circular route around the island. Leaving the village, the road became empty and I felt like I could go faster. It felt good, real good, and also very liberating! I felt free and happy like I haven’t felt in a long time. I rode all around the island for about 4 hours and had a really good time.

But don’t worry mom, I don’t think I’ll trade my car for a motorcycle just yet. Still, I can finally understand why my brother has been so keen on getting one. I’ll probably continue being a “car person” when I get back, but for this island and for this time of life it is just what the doctor ordered…

Well, I’m finally here. With all the preparations for this journey I was so busy in the last two months that I didn’t have time to get excited about what I am about to do. The realization finally hit me when I finished packing my things and headed out to the airport. And now I’m here, sitting in a restaurant of a beach resort near Thong Sala on Koh Phangan Island.

The ride to Bangkok was pretty smooth and I didn’t even have to confront the TSA folks because I wasn’t made to go through the X-Ray back-scatter machines that I was determined to refuse. I got to Bangkok in the morning and had time to book a next day flight to Koh Samui, get a local SIM card, walk around the infamous Khao San Road, and hang out with my friends Shlomi and Tal who have been here for many months. Thanks S&T for the many useful tips!

The journey to the island was also very smooth and in the plane I was seated next to a very nice guy that happens to live in the same resort that I was going to! We got to talk and it turned out that he is an engineer from Belgium that’s living in Thailand during the high season, and working in China the rest of the year. This is exactly the kind of things I need to see and get inspired to find my own balance in life…

Being from Israel, where many Thai people come to work illegally at construction and other manual labor I had a vision of the country being very poor. This is actually not the case. Sure, there are definitely many poor farmers but overall the country seem to be developing steadily and it looks like the middle class in Bangkok is doing quite well. Thai people seem to be proud of their heritage and they have a reason to be so. Unlike most countries in the area Thailand was able to resist western colonization and succeeded in retaining it’s character. The people are very nice and are really into Buddhism.

After catching up on sleep last night (missed the half moon party) I finally feel like exploring the island. Tomorrow I think I’ll rent a scooter and go for a ride. I am actually a bit scared because I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before.