Jer gan mai, bpratet Thai. (See you later, Thailand.)

“It is only in adventure that some people exceed in knowing themselves – in finding themselves.”

-Andre Gide

I fit practically everything I own into a backpack and duffle. It's a strange feeling, putting your whole life into a couple bags. It's exciting. Liberating. Scarily impermanent.

After 2 ½ years of living in Thailand, I'm going home to America. I've known it was coming since I bought the plane ticket two months ago. It's not a last-minute decision – not a surprise. In fact, I've been looking forward to it. Not because I've grown any less fond of Thailand, but because America the greatest country in the world and it's my home. It's where my family and many of my friends are, and I'm excited to be back with them. But even though I've known the time to leave has been steadily approaching, it didn't really hit me until my last day, while packing my things for the final time.

The last thing I threw in my backpack was my lucky Caps hat. It's always the last thing I put in my backpack – always at the top so it doesn't get crushed. I can remember when I bought it back in the States before ever coming to Thailand. It was dark blue then. Now it's a weathered light gray. I've put a lot of miles on that thing in the past couple years. I've worn it all over Thailand, from the mountains to the islands. It was on my head, keeping the pouring rain out of my eyes in Cambodia at Angkor Wat. It kept the Vietnamese sun off my face every day while I rode a motorcycle for hours and hours down Highway 1. In Laos, I'd pull it down over my brow so I could sleep, just to kill time on a two-day slow boat down the Mekong.

I've accomplished some amazing things and had some incredible experiences living and traveling abroad. I stared at my hat and many of these experiences flashed through my memory. That's when it hit me: I'm leaving. Not for a visit or to another town, but actually leaving. A heavy feeling came over me. Leaving Thailand is the end of not just a chapter, but a volume in my life. I might occasionally have a “third-world blowup” and bitch about the inconveniences of living in a developing country, but I truly love Thailand and the Thai people. It's become a second home to me and I'm going to miss it a lot.

I can honestly say that I'm a different person now than when I first arrived. I've learned so much about so many different aspects of life. I'm healthier. I'm happier. I've had more adventures in 2 years than most people will have in their whole lives. Do you have any crazy stories? Because I've got more than I have time to tell.

Perhaps the most valuable thing I've gained are the relationships I've built. I treasure these. Living and traveling with people thousands of miles from home creates a certain bond. Most of the friends I've made have moved on already, either back home or to a new country. I imagine that they had the same feelings while packing their bags as I did while packing mine. Knowing that you'll see those people again – someday, somewhere – makes it a little easier to deal with. And that's how I have to think of Thailand too – as a friend that I'll see again someday.

I zipped up my backpack and in just a few minutes my emotions had traveled the full spectrum. I went from a moment of realization to a moment of nostalgia. Then happy.  Sad.  Proud.  Overwhelmingly thankful.  And finally... excited. I'm excited because I know that this is the end of one series of adventures, yet so many more are still to come. I'm making a promise to myself to make sure that I never stop having adventures – that I never stop having experiences, meeting interesting people, wearing that hat, learning – that I never run out of things to write about.

I still have a lot of the world left to conquer. I better get started.

Jer gan mai, bpratet Thai.

So long, Thailand.  Until we meet again.

Long-necks & Monks in Mae Hong Son

After Pai, the next stop on the "northern loop" was Mae Hong Son.  The drive to Mae Hong Son was similar to the drive to Pai; up and down, side to side, rolling over and through the Thai highlands.  When we finally arrived in Mae Hong Son, people were selling t-shirts exactly like the ones for sale in Pai, but the "I survived the 762 curves to Pai!" tagline was replaced with "I survived the 1,864 curves to Mae Hong Son!".  Mae Hong Son is located on the Thai-Burmese border so you can't really go any further north or west, but I imagine if you could there would be a shirt available for purchase saying just how many curves it took to get there.

I liked Mae Hong Son from the beginning.  It's the most mountainous province in Thailand and it's name means "The City of Three Mists".  The town itself is "nestled in a deep valley, hemmed in by the high mountain ranges" of the Shan Hills that surround it.  Because it's a bit off the beaten path, Mae Hong Son is not nearly as touristy as Chiang Mai or Pai.  That's part of the reason it appealed to me.

Our guesthouse (Johnnie House, about $5 USD/night for a fan room) was located conveniently at the center of town, right on a lake.  Jong Kham Lake is small, but charming.  It's quiet, kept very clean, and there are restaurants and shops along the outlying footpath.  From our guesthouse we had a great view of a beautiful 200 year-old Shan-style temple on the opposite side.  Not-so-distant mountains provided an epic back drop to the scene.

Wat Jon Kham

Mae Hong Son's natural setting provides both a place to relax and a place to be active.  There's world-class hiking, biking, rafting, and elephant trekking.  The province is also home to many hill-tribe villages that have been forced to flee their native land, neighboring Myanmar (Burma), as political refugees.  One of these hill-tribe peoples is the Kayan (or Karenni), also known as the "long-necked" tribe.  The women (Lahwi) wear coiled rings that put pressure on the collar bone and, over time, give the appearance of a stretched neck.  A few long-neck villages around Mae Hong Son that have become tourist sites.  This allows foreigners to get glimpse inside the Kayan culture in addition to providing a source of self-sufficient revenue for the people.

I found a map, rented a motorbike for the day, and drove out to one of these villages.  It cost 250 baht to enter.  According to an information leaflet I was given, the entrance "fee supports their daily needs such as food, medical treatment, children's education, [the] development of their village, and other extra needs".  As I walked around these people's village, I felt more than a little uncomfortable.  I understood that because they are refugees and have no way of working (or farming, as was their traditional way of life), that this is the only real stream of income that they have, but I still felt a sense of guilt.  Some people have gone as far as to label these villages "human zoos" and while I wouldn't go that far, the ethics of such an issue are certainly debatable.  I got permission from a few of the "long-neck" women to take their pictures.  Afterward, I donated some money in exchange for a postcard, hopped on the motorbike, and left.

I'm convinced Brittany is a long-neck descendant

I had the motorbike for 24 hours and the day was still young, so I made use of it by exploring.  The mountain roads may be hell while in a bus, but on a motorbike they're a lot of fun!  I raced up and down the rolling hills.  Just outside of town I pulled off the main road to follow a steep dirt path up a hillside.  Upon reaching the hilltop, Britt and I were greeted warmly by two monks living in a monastery there.  They invited us to sit down, gave us cupcakes and water, and showed us around their temple that was still under construction.  We spoke in Thai for the best part of an hour on topics ranging from Buddhism to Mike Tyson.  They were curious as to what Americans eat, if not rice, and at the end of our conversation they invited us to stay at the monastery and teach them English.  This random and quirky encounter was probably my favorite part of the day.

photo credit: abrutalkind on tumblr

From there we rode further, on a quest for Tham Pla, the "Fish Cave", a local tourist attraction.  After an hour of riding and searching we found it, but decided we didn't feel like paying the 100 baht ($3.25 USD) entrance fee.  It was, after all, just a cave with some fish in it.  We turned around and drove back to town.

When we got back, we decided to try and catch the sunset from Mu Kong, the local hill that looks over Mae Hong Son town.  From the bottom, ascending the hill looked like an exhausting task, but it turned out to be pretty pleasant.  The hundreds of steps to the top were well worth it.  On top of Mu Kong hill, is Wat Phra That Doi Mu Kong, a Shan-style temple, accompanied by two Burmese-style Chedis (stupas) built in 1860.  One of the stupas is said to "contain the relics of Phra Moggalana, one of the disciples of Buddha".  We walked around and checked out the stupas and the awesome hilltop views.  First, I looked out from the viewpoint on the east side.  I could see over the entire valley.  The town and the lake below looked like a miniature model.

We went to the other viewpoint to watch the sunset from the cleverly named Sunset Cafe on the west side of the mountain.

By the time we reached the bottom of Mu Kong hill, there was a night market set up around the lake and a parade going on in the streets.  People were dressed up in Northern Thai-style outfits.  Some were singing and some did traditional dances.  We watched for a while, then retreated to the guesthouse for some much needed rest.  It had been quite an eventful day.

Jong Kham lake & temple at night

The following morning we packed up and took a rickety bus a few hours to the even smaller border town of Mae Sariang where we'd stay just for one night.  We were about to finish the loop.  The final leg of our northern tour was an interesting one.  Our ultimate destination was Mae Sot, where Britt and I would be volunteering for the next couple of months, working with Burmese refugees.  Unfortunately, we didn't know that there is no bus from Mae Sariang to Mae Sot.  The only way to get there is in the back of a songthaew, essentially a pickup truck with a caged-in bed.  To make an insanely exhausting story of even more exhausting ride short, watch this super quick video I shot of the songthaew journey.  Seriously, watch it...  It's amazing how many people they can fit into the back of one truck!

After 6 hours of bumpy unpaved roads and being crammed together with something like 34 other people (90% of whom were chewing and spitting beetle nut the whole time), we finally arrived Mae Sot.  It wasn't fun, but we made it.  We were safe and we'd had a crazy new experience.  In the end, that's what traveling is all about.

panoramic shot of Jong Kham Lake-- where we stayed in Mae Hong Son

762 Curves to Pai!

the "northern loop"

After Chiang Mai, the plan was to finish touring the north via the “northern loop”-- Chiang Mai to Pai to Mae Hong Son-- which is popular with many travelers. Then, instead of completing the loop back in Chiang Mai, we'd continue along the Thai-Burmese border to Mae Sariang, and follow the river to our final destination of Mae Sot in Tak province. 

Pai

          The mini-bus ride from Chiang Mai to Pai was like being on a roller coaster... for three hours. In total, there's 762 curves, up and down, side to side. The journey is  infamous amongst travelers. It's guaranteed that at least one person in every mini-bus will make good use of their barf bag. On my bus, it happened to be a pregnant Japanese women. I felt bad for her as she got sick again and again.

Top 12 Experiences Of '12

2012 was an incredible year; one of the best ever. I'm stoked to see what 2013 brings! Here's a few pictures to illustrate the countdown of my TOP 12 EXPERIENCES OF 2012!  

*For the full blog post, click on the relevant link (title) for each.

# 12.  Many visits to Khanom-- one of my favorite beaches in Thailand

Christmas at the Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai

Thailand is well-known for its tiger sanctuaries.  They're essentially tiger zoos that allow you to interact with the animals.  It's something that has been on my Thailand Bucket List, things to do before I leave the country.  I had the chance to visit the Tiger Temple when I was visiting Kanchanaburi in October 2011.  However, there's controversy over whether the tigers at this facility are drugged (to make them docile enough to be around humans without eating them).  After doing some research, we concluded it probably wasn't very ethical, and decided to hold off.  

I recently got my second chance while in Chiang Mai for the Christmas marathon.  Chiang Mai is home to the Tiger Kingdom.  Tiger Kingdom is humane in its training and treatment of the tigers and there are far less complaints about it, at least that we could find.  I only have a few months left in Thailand so this would be my last chance to wrestle a tiger!

BETTER FASTER STRONGER: MY 5 FAVORITE TECH TOOLS OF 2012

My girl Britt's back with another guest post.  I'm not the most tech savvy person these days, but even while living in a developing country, she manages to stay on top of what's hot and helpful. step your game up with the newest life hacks and check out these 5 websites and apps to make your 2013 more productive, efficient, and connected.

ENTER BRITT...