On my way…

I found myself in Koh Lipe, an island off the south of Thailand. It wasn’t the most incredible place I’ve ever been, but like all new places, it was an incredible experience for what it was. I joined a friend, Angela to venture the country and get as far opposite as where we were to see this place. It was, however, the first place I’ve ever had the courage to swim deep enough into the sea to snorkel.

I didn’t meet the ocean, but I did see quite a lot of fish, some quite close where I needed to rely, quickly on my breathing techniques to calm myself down as I do have a bit of an irrational fear towards fish. I don’t know why, but they freak me out. Just those soul less eyes looking at you, swimming freely yet unintentionally around all day, you know, just hanging…

Luckily, Angela went with me even though we were sharing her set of goggles and snorkel. So we took turns while the other had eyes above water looking for boats while one would be below the surface, in the quiet serenity of the sea. I saw some nemos (clown fish) as well as heaps more I can not, nor will try to identify. I found peace whilst actively participating in something that was the cause of fear for me.

Currently, I’m sitting in a coffee shop, across the road from the Trang train station, in southern Thailand. I have about an hour to go before I board an overnight train en route to Bangkok. There I will spend one more night then on Friday morning it’s off to Nepal.

Nepal has been a dream of mine for years. And one of those sick dreams we have as humans, where you know it’s a worldly possibility of achieving yet, you yourself don’t believe you’re capable of living that dream. Nepal has interested me because it was never really one of those countries that people flock too (unlike Thailand) and therefore still preserved a little mystery, even if just to me.

While I am there I will be participating in my second Vipassana – a silent, 10 day meditation retreat. I have previously completed a 10 day Vipassana in California, last year before I set off on my travels.

I will be sure to report how that goes. But right now, in this moment, I am at a peace. This Asia adventure has been an amazing eye opener for so many reasons, and as a traveller for quite a few reasons. One of which is the freedom of mobility you realize when you get yourself to far off places and are doing well! Today alone I used my feet, a boat, a van and soon a train to get me to my destination because I have an idea piqued in my head that I want to go to Nepal.

It’s an incredible feeling to live the life you like, the way you like it and take control of the things that you are able to. There’s a lot going on in the world (as per usual) and I won’t sit here, with my pineapple banana smoothie and free wifi telling you what you need to know, but I am more and more aware of the people who float and are not aware.

Or that try too hard or think to hard (hello, me) of ways to change everything and everybody. It’s nice to take a rest from that and just start focusing on making myself happy because as I do this – live my dream, live my goals, live my curiosity – people see it, they notice and they want that too. We all do!  You don’t have to be travelling the world to be living a fantastic life – you just have to be happy with yourself and your contributions to the world. But really happy, not surface happy. I’m still working in it as I get side-tracked and forget that not everything matters the way I think it does.

Courage comes in a lot of different forms, for me, this week, it was snorkeling and trusting a new friend. Then it unravelled a bit and I started to realize those times I am unhappy it is because of what I’ve created in my mind. And yet, I’ve been in this coffee shop for 5 hours, sweating the entire time and I am 100% completely content because my biggest acts of the day were getting through a horrendous butt slapping boat ride and booking some hostels.  When in doubt – always do what ever is next.