Coming Home

It feels very surreal to be sitting in the Bangkok airport waiting for my flight home (a brief overnight stop in LA and then back in Montreal by Friday evening). I had been so anxiously awaiting this trip since January. As we all struggled through the cold and snowy winter, I held on to the excitement of my trip. And now, it's all finished. I'm coming back to Montreal. It seems almost impossible.

This holiday can be summed up in different categories. Methods of transportation (plane, taxi, ferry, bus, zipline, longboat, Tuk, Tuk, back of a pick-up truck, subway, skytrain), food (green curry, red curry, fried whole fish, mango shakes, sticky rice, something from a street vendor that I think was chicken but may have been fish, sweet chili, spicy chili, spring rolls, fried bananas, eggs never cooked to Krisi's specifications), activities (hiking, cooking class, ziplining, rock climbing, snorkeling, scuba diving), animals (elephants, monkeys, leeches, fishies, a million cats and dogs, cockroaches -- which, interestingly, could be categorized as food, also), and places (Hong Kong, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Railay, Khao Sok, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, back to Bangkok). We also got to have some very unique experiences, including feeding and bathing elephants, getting drenched during Songkran, and a Passover seder in Koh Samui.

But in the end it comes down to one important thing...we were travellers. We got to spend some time in a different world, fending for ourselves, connecting with the wider world around us in a way that I couldn't do in Montreal.....

Or could I?

This trip made me wonder why I don't always do the things that clearly make me the happiest. I loved hiking, and learning to scuba dive, and snorkelling. I loved trying new food and putting myself in challenging situations. I met some great people. I went to bed every night exhausted and satisfied.

It's very easy to become myopic about life. All of my friends who are travellers at heart have spoken about the way that being away changes your perspective on being home. I'm defintely not a wanderer at heart...one of those types whose feet are always itching and who don't like to own furniture because it holds them back (although in Railay I did, for a brief second, think that dreadlocks seemed pretty sensible). I love my home, I love my routine. I miss my family and my friends, my cat, my morning coffee at Lili and Olli, my job (although, I have been working a fair bit for someone on vacation in Thailand, so I didn't have to miss it too much), and my yoga studio. I like my habits and my routines. But it's clear to me that I need to bring the spirit of travel into my every day life, continuing to challenge myself to learn new things and open myself up to whatever comes my way.

So, I'm excited to come home and see what happens next.

Also, my PVR has taped a full month of ANTM, Big Love, Dexter, and House...and I really want to know what's happening.

In more mundane news, Krisi and I failed miserably at exploring Bangkok. The original plan had been to do Bangkok right near the beginning of our travels, but we were waylaid (and drenched) during the new year celebration. But by the time we got back to Bangkok, we were totally in the beach mentality. We had just been diving into underwater paradise and hiking through jungles with monkeys. The thought of navigating the big city and all that entailed seemed impossible. Also, after having avoided any gastrointestinal discomfort for the entire trip, a few of our spicy meals and "surprise" dinner options came back to haunt us. We were not feeling very well, at all. Further, I ended up having to spend a couple of hours a day on the internet, catching up on some work that didn't get finished before I left, and must be finished by the time I get back. So we decided to be lazy, hang by the pool, get our gift-shopping done and also take advantage of Bangkok's reputation for medical tourism by getting our teeth whitened for a third of the cost in Montreal. We went to a couple of cool restaurant/clubs in the evenings (the best was a tapas bar called Gazebo with live music...a bit of rooftop eden in the middle of the city). This morning we sped over to the Grand Palace for a bit of real tourism. It was pretty cool. I'm not much of a temple / palace kind of tourist.

We'd heard about this scam, in which some guy comes up and tells you the exhibition is closed and they will take you to some other things but end up taking you to a gem shop where you buy fake gems they tell you will make you huge bucks to exprt...etc....Anyway, we knew about this scam. But when some guy came up and said "oh the tickets are through that door" we stumbled along behind him. And then another guy told us the palace was closed for prayers for the pruincess' death. Well, we knew the princess had died recently. We overheard a few other tourists being led away to the other exhibist (and unltimately, the "gem" shop) when I clued in and pushed past him. What shocked me was how aggressive he was. He actually tried to physically block me from going into the palace, at which point I pointed out that the guards would stop me if I weren't allowed to go in. Eventually, we just had to turn and walk away, go to another door, and it was fine. It's not surprising that many tourists fall for this scam. I'm glad I wasn't one of them. I'm very glad I wasn't polite.

Anyway, we're soon to head to our gate. We've been enjoying the serenity of the business class lounge (massages and all!) and we're soon to board out long flight to LAX. One more night in a hotel...then my own bed again. I can't wait.