2 Month Hiatus

It’s been exactly 2 months since my last post, and for that, I apologize.

For whatever reason, after Simon and I evacuated Russia/Mongolia and got back to the joys of Southeast Asia…I just stopped writing.

The 8 days spent in the Mongolian desert were great but hard. We spent 8+ hours a day in a small van with no AC driving across the desert. We didn’t see any resemblance of a road for the entire 8 days. We camped in gers (similar to yurts) or outside every night, showered once, and ate a lot of mutton. Overall the trip was great because the scenery was amazing and we were fortunate enough to see a large part of southern Mongolia in such a small amount of time, but we were ready to head back to civilization.

Since Mongolia we have spent 2 weeks in Thailand (Bangkok, Krabi, Koh Lanta, Koh Phi Phi, and Koh Tao), 2 weeks in Vietnam (Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Mui Ne, and Saigon), and a final two weeks in Thailand (Bangkok, Koh Phangan, Hua Hin). The trip has been exactly what I expected and the reasons that I came back to Southeast Asia: warm, friendly, good food, good people, relaxing, beautiful, etc. Vietnam was harder than Thailand, but still an amazing place to visit especially now that I have become obsessed with the Vietnam (aka American) War. I’m currently back in BKK, having stayed at a nice hotel (thanks SPG!) for a few days and now at a hostel. 

Simon left Thailand 2 days ago to head back to Germany to study, and let’s just say that has been more than difficult. It’s a bizarre feeling to spend every single moment with someone, every single day, for multiple months - then have them ultimately evaporate from your life. It’s a weird break up because it’s not because we get along or don’t want to be with each other any more, but because we both have different goals in life right now - him to study and me to continue travelling. I’m going through all the normal breakup shockwaves and have ready every single article I can get my hands on about ending a relationship while on the road.

My future plans are up in the air but I have narrowed them down to two clear options: work at home for a few months or begin my divemaster career. If it is the divemaster route, I will be moving to Koh Tao in the next week or two, getting my divemaster cert, then looking for work on the island afterwards.

Speaking of Koh Tao, I’m sure many of you have heard of the 2 British backpackers who were brutally murdered there this week. I’ve been following the story and developments quite closely, and let’s just say it is a complete investigatory and political fuck up/farce/disaster. In short, 2 people were murdered, the police and PM stated that it “couldn’t have been committed by a Thai”, targeted the wrong suspects (now proven innocent via DNA), didn’t seal off the island from people leaving, basically accused the victims since they were wearing revealing clothing, questioned if any attractive female tourist is safe in Thailand, contaminated the crime scene, posted grisly photos of the deceased on Facebook, and have made so many incorrect statements that it’s hard for people to keep track of what is true and what is false. Nick Carroll - how about you come down here and teach them something?

I’m currently in limbo trying to figure out which path to take for the future, but things will figure themselves out as they always do.