i just wanna zipline all day

Crisis of career moves! Bah!

Oh to be back in Chiang Mai, zip-lining through the forest. I just want to do that for work, where can I accomplish this?

Mm, yes it is a long way to the ground.

i'm coming home, coming home, tell the world...

Well, I'm already back so the song lyrics are a bit outdated but whatever.

I was optimistic that I was going to avoid jet lag and the ensuing insomnia since I did catch three hours of sleep last night but alas-- here I am wide awake at 3 in the morning. I hate the first 48 hours of coming back from Asia-- they literally hurt. Not only are you sleep deprived but my stomach isn't used to Western food anymore. And it's boring as hell when you're the only one awake in an entire house. Luckily we have markets open 24 hours a day here so I might end up walking over in a few minutes.

The journey back wasn't bad at all. People were remarkably kind to me at different points.
And I love Beijing's airport! So I'm not in a terrible funk about returning to the States.
I know I should be gathering a few loose ends together so I can be ready to head out again next month but I am just too exhausted to think about it.

I am avoiding working on Visa/Job stuff so here are a few more pictures of Samui before I post about Chiang Mai.

This is called the "sleeping grandfather" rock formation. Can you guess why?

This one is awake! Haha.

Fortunes. We went to the temple of the Mummified monk. You shake a can full of sticks with numbers on them. The first one to fall out is your fortune. You find the corresponding number with a paper here. Warning--English translations rarely make sense.

I love waterfalls.

samui fruit carving

Ah, back to Busan tonight. I'm always sad to leave Thailand, but I believe this time I won't be away for as long. Oh mangoes! You are my true love!

We went to the island Samui for a week. I can't say very much about it. I did take a fruit carving course while I was there! Here's some of the things I did.

It takes HOURS.

Apparently we left in time, the island flooded and they shut the ferries and airport down.

just in time for these words from our sponsors...

I'm back after a week in Chiang Mai and another in Samui. Samui was kind of a bust; it rained and I'm just not a big beach person. Chiang Mai - Oh I loooooooved it. Gonna get right on posting about it, I might just do several posts tomorrow since I leave Thailand Wednesday night. Erk.

It's a strange, cold day here in Bangkok. Yeah, that's right-- COLD. Never thought I'd say that about Thailand. Especially since the hot season is almost upon us.


So I wanted to run a little poll by any and all who have been reading my little blog. It's called where should that girl go next? Haha. But seriously, I'm feeling like I always do: lost, lost, lost. So it's back to Busan and then they have booked me a flight back to America which I cannot get a refund on, unfortunately.

I have been contemplating on living in Korea again. Lord knows it had its trials but I made it through them, to a point where I'm comfortable with the country. And the money's good.
But hell, it's Korea. Where life can get stagnant and decent people are hard to come by. Know how many good people I got out of living there for a year? 4. Just 4. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that we even met at all and life should be quality over quantity, but this ratio gets depressing during those aforementioned stagnant periods!

I went about applying to schools in Thailand too. I actually finally got some responses. It would be nice to live in the country to connect more with my family. The weather is super agreeable! The food is to die for! And I love traveling around it!
But the money's not as good, let's not lie. And I met with enough hippies in Chiang Mai to know what I'd be getting into with making friends here. (But maybe better them than the die-hard drunks in Korea, hm?) Plus I don't fit in. Whiiiiiite skiiiiiiin. And whenever you see a white guy here, my automatic thought is: PERVERT. You watch, that second Hangover movie is going to come out and there's going to be an onslaught of them.

I met some interesting people in Chiang Mai that got me thinking too. This girl and her boyfriend/fiancee lived in India for two months. She was learning how to teach Yoga from a more meditative viewpoint. Before that they lived in London where he was teaching students how to cook. Why not go study abroad for a month or two?

And I have this dream of going to Tibet for some reason. I mean, I think India might be out of the question for me at this current time. I lack the 'balls' to be there on my own. My friend Sala went there and warned me its not for the faint in heart. (I am so faint of heart.) But hey, I'd go back to Bali and study how to teach yoga. And before the Korea ball started rolling last year I was planning on going to Costa Rica to teach English for a couple months.

Any input, dear ones?

recoup regroup

Greetings from hot and somewhat sunny Thailand! I am currently enjoying this drastic temperature change from cold, windy Korea... but I admit I fell prey to a cold right before leaving so I am still recovering.

My belly is full of delicious Thai foods and fruits... so full, in fact, I took a look in the mirror today and said to myself: Woah! I have to cut back on the sticky rice!

I have no updates as of right now. I've got a ticket back to Korea on March 31st. My job still hasn't booked my ticket back home, so I feel like I'm in limbo a little. Well, I do plan on taking a Thai cooking course in beautiful beachfront Samui, maybe do a little Muay Thai or go up north to Chang Mai. I don't know! Trying to get these good vibes going!

Don't be down, don't be down, don't be down!

And hey, my Thai is coming back to me! I'm thinking in Korean less and less by day! (I think)