Well, I’ve been back in the country for over a week now and I feel like I’m finally decompressing. Sorry for the delay in posting. I’ve been slowly catching up with people and digging back into the online world. I’m not going to bore you with a daily travel diary but if you are interested, you can check out my photoblog where I created more of a daily blog.
I posted all the photos in order and added notes about each place:
Bangkok
Lopburi
Chiang Mai
Pai
Cave Lodge
Kanchanaburi
Ko Lanta
Ko Phangnan
You can also check out my updates on Twitter where I checked in as we went along.
Now that I’m back, I’m getting the typical question, “So how was it?” And my typical answer is: “Amazing.” It’s hard to begin to catch people up on a month’s worth of travel packed with sights, activities, new friends and surprises. Suffice it to say that this trip was exactly what I needed. I decided to travel because I needed to clear my head. I needed to separate myself from the constant influx of information and my own self-imposed and never-ending to-do list. In order to figure out how to deal with this crazy life, I needed to get away from it for a while. And getting away was exactly what I needed. The destination didn’t even matter.
I’ve been completely removed from all the noise – all the emails, all the feeds, all the tweets – even all the news. And i didn’t miss a bit of it. Of course I missed my friends and loved ones but I didn’t once think, “Gee I wonder what’s going on in Web 2.0 land.” or “I wonder what our idiot President is up to?”
Everyone is talking about time management and noise reduction these days. My trip to Thailand completely forced me into total radio silence. I couldn’t do anything BUT experience the moment.
When is the last time you did that? How important is it that you know every little thing going on in Silicon Valley? How important is it that you have 5 million browser windows and three chat clients open at every single moment? I’m not saying these things don’t have value. I’m the first to say that online and offline relationships aren’t that different. I’m just saying that I’ve learned I need to slow down. And I’m going to try to focus my attention on what really matters. If I haven’t missed my google reader for a month, do I really need to catch up on all these feeds? Which of these emails is going to help me start my company? My most valuable resource is my time. And I want to make sure that as much as possible, that time is used in an enriching and fulfilling way.
When we set off for Thailand, we initially planned to hit Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Unfortunately, when we tried to fly from Thailand to Cambodia, the ticket agent told me my passport was not good enough. It was only valid for 2 more months and it needed to be valid for 6 to travel between countries. Technically, they shouldn’t have even let me into Thailand. We were frustrated. And sick of planning. This disappointment turned out to be a blessing in disguise. From that moment on, we just took each day as it came. We slowed down, stopped worrying about our itinerary and really enjoyed what each place had to offer. The theme of our trip became, “Sometimes your decisions are made for you.” And when that happens, go with it.
Since I planned this trip to help me clear my head and figure out what the hell I want to do with my life, this was probably the most important lesson I could have learned. Life is not a series of decisions. It is a series of moments – experiences. Not surprisingly, after coming back from a primarily Buddhist country, I am feeling like I need to be more present in the moment. I spend so much time creating to-do lists for myself and piling on the pressure to figure out what’s next for me that I don’t enjoy what I have right now. And right now ain’t so bad. I think our friends at Coconut Beach put it best: “Maybe die, mai pen rai.”
OK so what were some of my favorite experiences on the trip? Swimming with elephants, motorbiking through the jungle, and chatting with locals and travelers and who had left their barriers at home. As we traveled, I was sad to leave each place mostly because of the people we met there. It forced me to think about the transience of all our relationships and somehow, I took comfort in that.
All said and done, I’m happy to be home. I’m excited about and more focused on the projects ahead of me. And I’m doing all I can to make sure that travel becomes a regular part of my life. The hardest decision now is where next?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I couldn’t agree with you more on the importance of unplugging and getting away from it all. You did it in style to be sure!
Off to check out all the photos. I can’t wait.
Amen, sister! Unplugging should be mandatory at least ever six months. How awesome is it to recharge!?
Glad you got to some of those excellent spots. Pai is one of my favorite towns in Thailand, and you can’t really go wrong with Koh Phangan.
omg, I just got some hella itchy travel feet!
I’ve been singing this song since returning from 3 weeks travel during which not for one moment was I electronically connected. Being unconnected is the new luxury, but we must take it for ourselves, even in small, mini-sabbatical moments.
It did help not to have to hear our idiot President. Being out of the US is like realizing the toothache is gone.
I know what you feel.
“Life is not a series of decisions. It is a series of moments – experiences.”
Your whole trip was worth it for that line alone.
I’m so glad to hear you had a safe and wonderful trip.
Thailand is such a different country than the USA.
Some parts of the country hasn’t changed for a 1,000 years and then other towns are very modern.
I know you must feel lucky to have experienced the people and their culture.
I wish for more people to check out and see the light. As a society, we’re lulled into this notion that we have to know so much at all times when, in fact, the important things we need to know (how your loved ones are doing at this moment, say) fall away into the noise. Isn’t it ironic how we are so very disconnected?
Beautiful pix!
/diane