What Would Happen If...: January 2014

Camping is one of those activities that I've always known I'd love despite the fact that I've never actually pitched a tent. The same could be said for rock climbing, paragliding, surfing (which I've only tried twice) and hot air ballooning. I love all of these activities despite my lack of experience with them because they all involve similar concepts of doing something active and adventurous outside. Connecting with nature is so fundamental to humans' happiness and I've found that camping up the coast of Australia for the last few weeks has made me feel more grounded and at peace than ever.

Last night Amanda, Niv and I made a fire, cooked some kebabs and played Yahtzee under the stars. It was so relaxing to have so few distractions and just enjoy being outdoors. Sleeping in a tent on pool mats and shampooing our hair using public beach showers may sound unglamorous. And it is. But when did we all get so concerned with everyday luxuries which we now define as necessities? Is a toilet really a necessity? Not when you don't have access to one... It's a fun challenge to make do with whatever you have. Although I will say toilet paper is a must. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

Australia has been so different from the rest of the trip. In a way I feel like I've already gone through the culture shock of being back in a western society but the camping portion has kept it from feeling too much like a vacation as opposed to travel. Melbourne was filled with fun new friends via Rachel (AJ & Brittany let me crash on their floor - such sweethearts) and our left-side-of-the-road road trip to Sydney was a nice adventure. New Years in Sydney ended up being a party in the park with fireworks over the Harbor Bridge. Not a bad way to start 2014! It was said to say bye to Rachel though, I feel so lucky to have gotten to travel with her and am happy to have such a good new friend in my life.

Amanda (an Aussie I met back in October in Koh Rong), Niv (a friend I met in Melbourne thru Rachel) and I are an odd little group but we're having fun making friends and exploring the east coast. We made our way from Sydney to Hat Head National Park to Yamba to Byron Bay to the Gold Coast and are now heading back south to check out more national park campgrounds and beaches. Highlights of the trip so far include seeing dolphins, wallabies, goannas, and the best thing yet... Feeding a wild kangaroo that we met in a park. So cool. We've had lots of interesting stops along the way like Nimbin - a little hippie town just west of Byron Bay full of weed paraphernalia and a drug museum. Loved seeing all the characters walking around barefoot and the bright '70s looking decorations that filled the street and all it's shops. Looking forward to seeing more of the coast and hopefully making some S'Mores tonight after we go to a "meat raffle" which Amanda won't stop talking about... Apparently you can buy a $2 ticket to win a whole tray of meat. So Australian. Wish us luck!

Boat day in Sydney with Amanda, Becky & some of their girlfriends

A goanna!

Amazing group of friends from all over the world - fun night out in Sydney

Pitching our first tent in Hat Head National Park

Testing out some yoga on an amazing beach we discovered - the sunlight bouncing off the water's reflection on the sand was incredible

The most Eastern point of Australia near Byron Bay!

Such beautiful beaches... Another from Byron Bay

Rope swing & Coronas

Challenging trek with Amanda up Mt. Warning - 9km in the rain in 3 1/2 hours. Such sore legs.

Nimbin - a random colorful hippie town

Fed a wild kangaroo we found in a park!

Something was wrong with his eye though :(

Two hours into my eleven hour bus ride from Chiang Mai (northern Thailand) to Bangkok (Southern Thailand) I had a wave of panic rush through me as I realized I didn't have my passport. After frantically checking my bags multiple times, I had the sinking feeling that it was back at the front desk of my hostel in Chiang Mai. With no option to hop off the bus in the middle the night, I rode all the way to Bangkok trying not to worry and hoping everything would work out considering my flight was the following morning at 7am. I thought I had given myself plenty of time but with this wrench in my plans I realized I had 24 hours from the time I got to Bangkok to somehow get my passport and make my flight.

I got into Bangkok at 5am and called my hostel who thankfully had it at the front desk so I told them to hold it and caught a cab ride to the bus station to try and make the 6am bus right back to Chiang Mai. The cab driver was completely insane and would periodically swerve into other lanes then look back, make eye contact with me, and laugh hysterically. At one point he swerved in front of oncoming traffic and I heard a siren go off. Great - I have 10 minutes to catch this bus and we're getting pulled over. Then I realized all the cars were getting out of the way and the siren was actually coming from inside the cab... My cabbie had installed a siren. However insane, he got me there in time and I boarded a bus right back to Chiang Mai. Another 11 hours of travel on an uncomfortable bus. Surprisingly through all of this I remained pretty calm. I just kept thinking there's nothing I can do at this point but get there and hope everything works out. For a control freak like me this was a true test of patience but I knew it was my own fault that I left it so I couldn't be too mad.

Thirteen hours later after an obnoxious amount of stops (the bus driver kept picking random people up off the street) we got back to Chiang Mai and I shuffled into my hostel exhausted and sweaty. As I walked up to the front desk the Thai man at the front's face dropped and the conversation went something like this:

Thai man: You came back??

Me: Yes! Can I have my passport?

TM: Your passport in Bangkok. We gave it to woman to take...

Me: What do you mean you gave it to a woman to take?! I told you I was coming back you can't just give my passport to someone I don't know without my permission! WHERE IS MY PASSPORT?

*Entire hostel is now watching

*I finally lose my cool and start tearing up

TM: So sorry so sorry I call now. You go to Bangkok you get passport?

Me: You need to fix this where's your manager? This is completely unacceptable for future reference...(I'm now sobbing... Thai man looks very uncomfortable).

After a bit of back and forth I booked a flight back to Bangkok and was given a photo of this Thai lady and was told to meet her in Terminal D at BKK - only one of the busiest airports in the world. The hostel let me shower and gave me a free meal and I pulled myself together, got on the plane, and a few hours later was running across the airport to tackle the little Thai woman who was shuffling around holding my passport. I still don't know how it all worked out the way it did but I knew I got lucky and was just relieved to have it in my possession. I switched airports in Bangkok and set up camp to sleep for a bit before boarding another 18 hours of flights to Australia. All in all it was an insane amount of travel and stress within 48 hours but somehow things all worked out.

Quick recap from Pai - such a beautiful and laid back place. I stayed at Spicy Pai which felt a lot like camp with a big open dorm-style room and bathroom out back near an often lit campfire. The weather was freezing at night but sunny and beautiful during the days. I hung out with a fun group of oddballs including a Australian Muay Thai fighter (ranked #3 in the country), a few hilarious Mexicans, some English, Swedish, and Canadians. A typical day involved getting chai tea and breakfast with Taylor, hopping on the back of someone's motorbike, and taking a trip to see waterfalls, hot springs or canyons. At night the whole walking street would open up where local artisans sold their handmade goods and street vendors made all kinds of amazing food right in front of you. Live music at Irie Bar and campfires would usually end the night. Really fun times and fun people - ran into the whole Spicy crew in Chiang Mai completely coincidentally and was welcomed with a huge group hug and everyone shouting my name - god I love travelers.

The Thai woman I tracked down in Bangkok. Too bad this photo is about 20 years old and she looks nothing like that now...