I don't usually find plane ride very comfortable, especially ones that exceed 5 hours. But on my flight home I realized just how comfortable planes actually are. Yes they do have limited leg space and being 5'10'' my legs usually get in the way of my comfort, but for the first time in a long while I wasn't sitting sideways to get them to cram into the seat in front of me. One leg wasn't awkwardly crossed over the other or stepping on something that was squirming under my feet (yes at some points I had to rest me feet on bags filled with something live.) My butt wasn't going numb and I was free to move about as I pleased. I didn't have to ration my water or my food in fear of not knowing when or if the bus (Plane) would stop. There was no one to bargain for things with, and no squattlet to be used. There was water for me to drink and ample amounts of toilet paper (extremely odd, it took me a bit to also realize that toilet paper can go down the toilet again). I was just feeling a bit strange. Where was the over crowded bus with the girls I was traveling with (they were making their way back to the states, as I was making my way to Germany). Where was the intense heat and humidity causing me to sweat every morsel of fluids out of my body. Where were the locals and the mountain of things that were piled high on top of the bus that looked like it just stepped out of the 1970's. Sitting on this über clean plane, I was feeling a bit out of sorts.

2 months is such a short time to travel to see a country and experience their culture. And yet it takes even longer to get accustomed to the backpackers life, being more or less never clean, wearing the same things over and over again, being on the go and sleeping in the most uncomfortable of beds in some of the grungiest places. But some where along the way it grows on you and when stepping back into a clean a civilized world everything is just out of place. I was finally growing accustomed to the strange smells, the heat and humidity, describing things with my hands in order for people to get what I was saying, cramming the 3 of us into one bed (yes it was usually a double or two twins pushed together). I was getting the hang of bargaining and accepting the fact that everything I own would smell of mold and never look clean. My legs were bound to look diseased from all the strange bug bites acquired (right now it looks like I had a bought with the chicken pox). I had finally mastered using the squatter toilets and how to find my 'Happy Place' when crammed onto the long, over crowded, numb butt bus rides.

I'm going to miss the smiling kids, practicing the new words that we would try to learn and the discovering of new places. I'm going to miss the crazy adventures and the backpackers world (even if we hated being stuck on the 'backpackers loop'). It was a good 9 weeks exploring, learning, discovering, growing, embracing, gaining self awareness, and accepting all that came our way. I know for sure that this isn't the end of my worldly travels and cultural learning.

A few random pictures from Koh Tao...

Our Scuba Diving Team - "Wet Dream"
(no we didn't come up with that name, our crazy British instructor did) Tobias (from Germany), Avy, Bridget, Molly

Avy and Bridget in the water with Paul (the British Instructor)

and Tobias after coming up from a dive!

Me just kicking it on top of the boat.

The famous "Long Tail" boats that are the mode
of transportation when living on the water

Day 56...

...Still lost at sea. We drank all the water, and food is running out...

Rather, day who know's what, the sun is finally shining and we are still living the island life in Koh Tao, Thailand. The rain has stopped, the water is an amazing teal bule and about 30 degrees celcious. There are still way to many tourists for my liking, but I'm getting certified in scuba diving... tehehe!

A two day adventure turned in to a 3 day adventure, which turned into wanting to do one dive, and then realizing that we are in the prime location to learn and get certified in scuba diving. So here we still are...

We started the course two days ago, watching the super cheesy PADI movies in the morning and testing our skills on the water and getting to explore the world down under in the afternoon. I can't begin to explain the sea life that I've seen and the colors of the fish when they pass right in front of your mask, the markings that they have and the way they swim about, gliding right on past allowing us to have an even closer inspection, brilliant (testing out my new British vocabulary!). We were lucky enough to see Nemo, which I was told that Nemo fish are rare to these parts of the water.

ELEPHANT RIDING

Yes, that means that we rode elephants, or just one elephant!!! It was so exciting.

We took it to the river and it threw us off its back on several occasions and dumped water all over us. Rather amusing!!

"Embrace the Journey"

Bridget also did the unthinkable

We are now living the island life, and finding it hard to get off. About 3/4 days ago we landed on Koh Tao, Thailand (I would show pictures, but I have yet to bust out the camera) after 32 hours - 3 buses, 2 trucks and 1 boat, plus a few hours in the we hours of the morning at the Bangkok bus station - in order to get here. We made the decision to get out of the north where we were riding elephants, soaking in hot springs (nice reminder of home) and hanging out with the locals in the artsy town of Pai. We realized that our time is coming close to an end (only a week and a day left) and we wanted to get to an island or two before we are to make our ways home (or back to Germany in my case). So here we are, soaking up the rain on the beach, and about to become certified in Scuba Diving with Padi diving for up to 20 meters!!

Picture Time...

Just the 3 of us.

Bridget and I about to kill each other in the kitchen...

Bridget and I took a Thai cooking course in hope of recreating the most delectable dishes back in Colorado. We started off with making our own curry paste and the day ended with making some mango stick rice (my new favorite thing to eat), with 5 other dishes in between. We learned the way the Thai's cook, the ingredients they use, and their methods of making the food turn out so delicious.

Live like poetry

Avy did the unthinkable...

Molly, Avy, Bridget
At one of the biggest green tea exports in Thailand

Getting a taste of what it felt like to have the heavy coils around my neck which the women of the Long Neck Tribe are required to wear to stretch out their neck.

The stretching is started from a very young age and at they get older they get more coils. On their wedding day they take the coils off, show their new husband their stretched out neck and gain a whole new set of coils.

Avy and one of the Long Neck Tribe's kid.

We also saw the Big Ear Tribe. The big ears are just the same as the Long Neck tribe, but they just have their ears stretched out.