Adamo goes to Australia: August 2011

Thailandia!

I’ve just completed my own photo editing marathon and I feel relieved and energized at the same time. 1,900 photos will do that to ya! As on the trip to New Zealand, the details are best left to the photos and captions. They don’t tell the whole story, however. They don’t recall the insightful conversations we shared, the delicious Thai food we tasted, the cozy and cheap quarters we slept in, and the adventures we enjoyed.

I was excited to spend this quality time with Laz. When I decided upon this year abroad, I hoped it would offer me uninterrupted, focused time with friends and family. That has certainly happened this year, and it’s been wonderful! I haven’t seen much of David since high school. We each keep pretty busy, and while we catch up for the occasional crew gathering, it’s not like the time we had together running laps for Coach Rudman at 6 am every morning of tennis season. Laz and I are both taking an alternative year abroad. I’m basing myself in one spot, and he’s traveling the world, reaching Spain, Morocco, Italy, India, Egypt, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand (the list goes on). We’re each enjoying a period in our lives where we’ve been flooded with entertaining and educational new experiences, as well as more than sufficient alone time to ponder, prioritize, and plan our lives. Sharing this time with Laz was a real treat, and an invaluable experience. Thanks, Dupes!

And then there’s my new friend, Bopper. He’s Laz’s roommate from freshman year. Mr. Value was our designated bargainer. He could rival Hezi. He had the whole walk out routine down pat. We didn’t take a tuk tuk ride for more than 60 bot ($2). Bopper was a ton of fun, and so was watching his body respond to Thailand in general. We never knew what Bopper’s body was going to bring that day. Talk about excitement! We were a perfect Thai trio, and I’m grateful to have made such a good friend so fast.

Well, I guess I’ll give you a rundown of my impressions and highlights of Thailand. We started in Chiang Mai, which is a beautiful, cultured northern city. We did a 2 day/1 night trek through the jungle, sleeping in a mountain village for the night. This was absolutely one of the trip’s high points.

Check out the Chiang Mai pics:

https://picasaweb.google.com/101056834070973951663/ChiangMai?authkey=Gv1sRgCNCxg_CA3favBw

From there, we flew south to Ko Samui and spent a wild night on our way to Koh Tao. Samui is a bit commercialized. The beach is beautiful, but the non-stop venders take away from the experience a bit. Koh Tao is scuba central. Something like 40% of all Padi certifications are from there. The highlight for me though, wasn’t the scuba, but the day on the longboat. Such a treat! Koh Tao is full of young travelers (maybe a bit too young for us) but we made do.

Check out the Ko Samui and Koh Tao pics:

https://picasaweb.google.com/101056834070973951663/KoSamuiKohTao?authkey=Gv1sRgCNmdj6_GhteASQ

After 2 nights in Tao, we excitedly hopped a night ferry to a bus to a ferry and ended up in Koh Phi Phi. Phi Phi is truly stunning. I had one of the best days of my life there. We met a couple of wonderful Danish girls on the second ferry and spent the next day on a longboat with them. It was magical from the start, as we stopped to watch dolphins cross our path within the first 30 minutes of our ride. We continued on to Maya Bay, where they filmed “The Beach”. It reminded me of Milford Sound with the limestone rocks emerging straight from the beautiful water. Wow! We hopped out of the boat and snorkeled into a net and then to a ladder to make it to the beach. It was some of the best snorkeling I’ve done to date! We hopped back into the boat and made our way to Long Beach for lunch, where we played “asshole” and ate Pepperidge Farm Dark Chocolate Chip cookies alongside a cat with spectacular blue eyes! We continued to Monkey Island where made a b-line for the monkeys. Laz and Bopper told me the snorkeling was even better here, but I had my sights set on those monkeys! They were fascinating, frightening, exhilarating, and peaceful all at the same time. I felt like a national geographic photographer. I side-stroked back to the boat with one hand holding my camera’s wet-bag high in the air. The coral cut up all of our feet on Monkey Island. We made it back to Phi Phi just in time for sunset, but we were missing the view! For a few extra dollars, Bopper convinced our skipper to take us back out to see the sunset. I spent the next 2 hours in some sort of photo-trance. I couldn’t put that thing down! The night ended with fresh, grilled red snapper, a cob of corn, and some red wine to top it off, and then 2 scoops of cherry/vanilla frozen yogurt to top it off again. We had a few drinks on the beach and played “would you rather” before heading off to bed. Really, one of the best days of my life!

Koh Phi Phi and my photo-trance:
https://picasaweb.google.com/101056834070973951663/KohPhiPhi?authkey=Gv1sRgCODvgYKV2NKlLg#

We felt like the trip was over after that high. But we still had Bangkok! With only one night together, we made the most of it. We had an amazing meal, and spent the rest of our evening at “rooftop bar” singing away the night. Our request for Country Road (West Virginia) was a huge hit! It wasn’t until breakfast the next morning that we appreciated the amazing food Shanti Lodge had to offer. It’s a sheltered haven in the middle of a crazy city. I would recommend it to anyone! Tuckered out, we rested much of that last day, but managed to see some of the amazing temples Bangkok has to offer.

Here’s Bangkok:

https://picasaweb.google.com/101056834070973951663/Bangkok?authkey=Gv1sRgCOiS9sPe0Nqf1AE

When I look back, I’m amazed at how much I just let go and enjoyed this trip. I think a big part of that was exercise or the lack of it. I did a few push-ups (really, not very many), but that was it. I “couldn’t be fucked” (as they say in Oz) with going to the gym or going for a run. I’m not sure if that reflects more of me or of Thailand, but it was wonderful nonetheless. Don’t get me wrong…I’m still the same old Adamo, rearing to hit the gym once I’m “home”. And that’s exactly what I’ve done this week. But I haven’t let go like that since I started lifting weights 11 years ago. Yes, I’m an old man. 29 years old today to be exact. It’s been a wonderful birthday. To be honest, every day this year feels like my birthday.

One more notable…I acquired a wonderful new nickname on this trip: Photo Ninja…something to do with my shooting stances. I dunno, but I like it!