Oh, Thailand...

As I sit on the wooden porch of our small bungalow on the island of Ko Tao, in the country of Thailand, I can't help but wonder how I got here. It has taken me nine and a half months, a lot of hard work, a lot of money (most of which I couldn't afford to spend), and a fondness of travel that will most likely never end.

My journeys have taken me through China/Tibet, Nepal, India, Malaysia, and finally here to the traveler's paradise of Thailand. I have endured hardship, loneliness, extreme sickness, and the best, most indescribable moments of my life. I have met (and said goodbye to) the most amazing people from all corners of the globe, and now have friends all over the world. I have seen things that most people will only ever see in movies or on tv, and slept in places that some Americans would never even set foot inside. I have ate food that should have made me sick, and got sick on food that I figured would be safe.

And up until now, I have been alone. I have always been able to meet people once settled into a new city or country, but I have always arrived alone. Until now.

A couple days ago in the congested and crazy city of Bangkok, I took a public bus to the airport in preparation for my sister's arrival. As she walked by me through the exits, oblivious to my presence behind her, I jumped on her out of sheer excitement. As we laughed and hugged hello, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief and pure joy at her arrival. Finally I would have someone else close to me to share a little piece of my travels with.

Since Sarah's arrival on October 2nd, things have been great. We spent a couple days in Bangkok, checking out the city, and got toted around by a tuk tuk driver who took us to two separate Buddha statues and temples. We ate good food, met up with some friends of mine, and wandered over to Bangkok's huge weekend market (which is an amazingly large market full of food and shopping).

Things were nice and calm at first, and I was starting to think that maybe Sarah would be lucky enough to escape the wrath of Asia, but then the hassles started.

To make a long and very frustrating story short, we didn't find out until a half hour before our train was scheduled to leave that it got canceled due to a bad accident. So, after a half hour of struggling to have a normal conversation with a Thai lady whose English was less than perfect (and getting yelled at because she thought I was mad at her), we finally paid more money and got on a night bus that eventually took us to the ferry to get to the island of Ko Tao. It wasn't nearly as comfortable as the train, and I got super mad that we had to pay more money (we got partially refunded for the train ticket and should get the rest back in Bangkok), but I am just incredibly glad that we got here this morning.

Today, despite our sleepiness from the long and restless night, we have been enjoying this beautiful island, and wandering around on the beach and throughout the town. I am so happy to have Sarah with me to share in this beauty, and in a couple days we will take another ferry to the bigger island of Ko Samui, a little further south. Then it's back to Bangkok for Sarah's flight back to NYC, and my last two and a half weeks of my trip. Not sure yet what I'm going to do, there's plenty of time to figure it out!

For now, we are going to relax, enjoy our cozy and rustic bungalow, and take in all the sights of the islands. Tomorrow we are going on an all day snorkeling trip!

I will update again soon -- hope everyone back home is doing great, see you soon.

Miss you all, much love!