Southeast Asian Slowdown

Greetings from Ko Tao Island, Thailand!

Well, life has certainly taking a few interesting twists and turns since I last wrote. At last check in I was on my way to Bali. Currently I'm in Thailand, enjoying the sand, sun and beautiful blue waters of the Gulf of Thailand. But it hasn't been all fun and relaxation. Traveling is just like anything else in life - you do it long enough and you're bound to hit some rough patches along the way.

I arrived in Bali feeling awful. Some general abdominal pain, coupled with really low energy had me thinking that something serious was going on. I spent my first two days in Bali visiting doctors and trying to get sorted. The medical docs couldn't come up with anything after an abdominal xray turned up nothing. Oh wait, they did suggest I take and pay for a 980 dollar CT scan! No surprise there. The next day I took myself to the chiropractor. I found an excellent one in Kuta - the tourist mecca of Bali. After some massage, and adjustment, and electro-stim treatment to my lower back, I felt about 90 percent better. When you're used to exercising the body almost daily, and going in for regular chiro adjustments, after nearly 6 months of doing none of that, I was more than due to feel something. On the mend but still needing to rest, I spent my first 4 nights in Bali indoors, watching several very cheap (and very suspect) DVD's I purchased,and just generally taking it easy.

Finally feeling better enough, I hopped on my rental scooter and headed to the village of Ubud, about 45 minutes from Kuta. There I was greeted by Ketut, the friend and business client of my good friend Mikey Files. Ketut showed me around the local monkey rain forest and took me to dinner at a phenomenal restaurant. Best fish I'd ever had! The next day I joined Ketut and her son Oneness (yes, Oneness) for a day trip out to the reef at Ahmed on the Northeast corner of the island. We snorkeled the reef, ate pizza, and generally had a wonderful time. Ketut had never been for a proper snorkel because of her fear of the depths. So I took her along with me, keeping her close by. She lit up like a Christmas tree for having seen all the beautiful fish and corals. Her seven year old son took to water like a fish, and followed me all around the reef. Imagine swimming in clear tropical waters over beautiful reef with a golden child named Oneness at your side. It was ethereal.

I stayed two nights with Ketut, Oneness and Uli, Ketut's business partner and Oneness's father. I returned to Kuta set on just relaxing, and enjoying some of the beach. All was going quite well on the hour scooter ride home, when all of a sudden - the shakedown. Bali law enforcement is notorious for corruption, particularly when it comes to tourists. A motorcycle cop pulled me over and fined me 3,000,000 rupiah (a touch less than $30 US) for not carrying an international driver's license. And this dude wouldn't even haggle. No money on the spot, and I'd have to go downtown as it were. Oh well, easy come, easy go. Later that day I checked out famous surf spots Dreamland and Balangan. Beautiful spots for sure. Dreamland wasn't rideable when I arrived - only shore break. Balangan I surfed a little bit on the inside, but generally took it easy. At the end of my beach day, I was cruising along in the last afternoon when BAM! - flagged down by another cop. This time, for apparently not stopping completely before I made a left onto a the main highway. Bastards! I wasn't having it though. I angrily told him that this was the second time in a day I had been pulled at that I only had 50,000 rupiah left for food for the next two days (I lied - but was still angry). He acknowledged my complaint, and let me go with a begrudging handshake.

My last full day in Bali I had another chiro appointment, and dealt with some travel logistics online. I feel like Bali was more of a rest stop for me than anything else. Though, I did have the opportunity to visit some very beautiful spots on the island. If you've never taken the opportunity to experience the beauty and calm of seemingly endless rice paddies, do it. They're spectacular in Bali. Every turn through the country reveals another scenic vista of stepped rice paddies, green and wet. Ketut and Uli lived in a house that backed up to a rice paddy. Completely amazing.

After a brief layover in Jakarta, I arrived Bangkok on the night of the 16th and rendezvoused with my old time friend, Ella Dascalos. Ella, who I hadn't seen or heard from in years, tracked me down on Facebook a few months back. Needing a break herself, I suggested she join me for some exploration of Thailand with me. She accepted, and here we are!

After one day in hot, hot Bangkok, we hopped on an overnight bus and headed south for the islands. The first two nights we stayed on Kao Phangan, and now are currently on Kao Tao. It's beautiful here. The water is blue, the accomodation next to nothing, and the food is varied and fresh. All of the islands in the Gulf of Thailand have something of beauty and relaxation to offer. Take yourself here one day if you ever get the opportunity. It's been wonderful having Ella here with me for this 10 day leg of my journey. Traveling alone certainly allows for optimal flexibility, but from time to time lonliness, or even boredom can set. Having a travel buddy has been refreshing, and it's been wonderful to reconnect with someone who I hadn't seen in about 15 years.More to come later on. Right now I find myself debating whether or not I venture into Vietnam and Laos, or whether I just relax here in Thailand for a few more weeks and then make an early jump to India in mid May instead of early June. Funds are beginning to fall, and so is my thirst for adventure a bit to be quite honest. We'll see what presents itself to me in the next few weeks.

Much love to all still following along. More soon.

Jonathan