There is nothing in the world that a little bit of salt water cannot cure. Add to that some sweet music, hours of dancing, toes in the whitest sands and endless laughter, and well I have no idea how I actually left the islands of Thailand.

From the endless sun, painted skies and clear blue waters that made me feel back at home…

To finding my soul sister and partner in crime in Koh Phi Phi… who together we proved to the rest of the world that not all Americans are good at beer pong but we are “buckets” of fun without a doubt!

To meeting a guy who walks through countries…Casual. He’s walked through the entirety of Japan and Colombia, walking on average 16 hours a day, has slept in the bushes of New Zealand… and has reminded me yet again that really there is no one “right” walk of life or way to travel through it other than walking your specific and unique path fully, passionately and with vigor, wherever your path leads you.

To the sweetest harmonies created in the common area of the Non La Mer Hostel in Koh Lanta… something about music unites strangers instantly in the most magical way. A guitar, a box drum and some open hearts with willing voices made for undoubtedly one of the most beautiful nights in my travels. Whether it was belting Hakuna Matata or Jessie J’s “Price Tag” or the mellower tunes of A Great Big World… every song sang that night will forever remind of the souls of Koh Lanta.

To reuniting with my first travel friend, & more importantly, a forever friend, from Singapore in Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party festivities… and reuniting again in Bangkok to engage in some guiltless shopping and shameless authentic tourist trappy Thailand culture.

To the dances shared between the most exotic of tongues until sunrise over the masses glowing in body paint, being open and willing to just simply be fully present for one night under the full moon.

To conquering fears I didn’t even know I had while getting my dive certification with my superb dive buddy and ever amazing, fist pounding, Eminem look-alike, dive instructor.

(Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?)

It was the first time in my life where someone was telling me to “relax, breathe slowly, you’re fine.” That’s usually my line to well everyone else, friends, students, etc!

On my second day of skill testing… I apparently forgot how to breathe through my mouth and did everything the textbook says not to while attempting to clear my goggles underwater. I panicked and shot up to the surface… completely forgetting I had a tank of air strapped to my back and that if I simply inhaled and exhaled, I would’ve been fine. It was the first time I thought, “Maybe, this isn’t for me.”

But that was what this trip in many ways was about for me. Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable… to put myself in situations that are foreign and strange and challenging, physically, mentally and spiritually… and through it I’ve learned immense amounts about myself.

And in the end, I made it down to my open dives and enjoyed every minute of it. The feeling of weightless floating through schools of colorful fish and coral 60 feet below the surface is an experience like no other and was the perfect way for me to say, “see you soon” to southern Thailand.

คุณ ขอบคุณ Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, Krabi, Railay, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao…

for the crazy, the music, the dance, the romance, & the adventure.