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Adventures in Thailand, lifestyle, travel, yoga

Koh Chang: A Summary of Experiences

November 25, 2015November 29, 2015 Evelyn Loh

My 7-months is up. I leave for real tomorrow.

Though I’m a big believer in staying in the present moment, I’m not immune to the feelings and emotions that stir up like a dust cloud as you trail behind the footsteps of Father Time.

I allow my mind to drift into this state of nostalgia. I begin to see things as “this will be the last time.”

This will be my last coffee at Picasjo House.
This will be my last swim in this waterfall.
This will be my last bicycle ride to Salak Phet.
This will be the last time I see my friends.
This will be the last time I ride all the way round the island.

I start to think about all the people I’ve met and all the experiences I had while I was here on a month-to-month basis. I must say, it really was like a dream. Wow, am I a lucky.

May, 2015:

Arrived on the island and a large smile plastered on my face as I approached my new place of work. Had an amazing time teaching and connecting with students. Snorkelled in the powder white sands of the islands south in beautiful turquoise waters. Fell in love. Fell in love with this stunning place.

Thai Language level: Sawadeeka (Hello/Goodbye)

Plates of Pad Ga Prow consumed: 0

June, 2015:

Getting into a nice rhythm of life here. After a few hiccups from mold and mice, life was good. I made new friends with the lovely ladies at the restaurant and had the first inside glimpse of how the locals live here. My friend Bow had a Thai barbecue at her lovely house on the water. Her little wooden house overlooking tiny islands with two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen was pretty much what my dream house would look like.

Thai Language level: I start to pick up on Thai much better. Learn to say the phrase “Please teach me some Thai” and everyone jumps on board – they all love the idea of being a teacher. Everyone becomes a teacher, even the Cambodian staff. I sit back and watch as my “teachers” argue with each other in order to teach me a better way to say a certain phrase and how my English name is spelt in Thai. I love how language is sometimes just a semantic perspective.

Plates of Pad Ga Prow consumed: 1

July, 2015:

Explored more of the island and made more friends, did a quick visa run to Malaysia and visited family as well.

Lots of time spent with my new Thai friends. Heading out almost every day and night, they take me to various places to eat, sing karaoke, beaches, waterfalls, you name it. Since I’m Southeast Asian too, I blended in lots and get the real Thai experience. I would pay the local 20 baht fee for the national park entrance while other foreigners paid 200 baht. I felt super ninja chameleon and loved every moment of it.

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I wanted to learn more Thai to communicate with my friends better. I was advised against learning their writing system due to its complexity and they told me that I was better off just learning to speak Thai. But the combination of being a linguistic nerd and an artist that appreciates this exotic writing system, I decided that learning this phonetically-based system would be achievable. It was the best decision I made because each Thai consonant is linked to a specific animal or thing to help them remember their whopping 44 consonants (including 3 different types of K’s), so once I learned to write the consonants, I gained 44 new words in my vocabulary.

Thai Language level: I learnt to write (most of) the Thai consonants and (hardly any of) the Thai vowels. 44 words added to my vocabulary.

Plates of Pad Ga Prow consumed: 10

August, 2015:

My first set of dives for my Advanced Open Water Course (AOWC) on Koh Chang after going over a year without diving. Beautiful weather and great memories. Met people in this part of the island that became good friends later on.

Second set of dives for my AOWC on Koh Chang at the HTMS Chang shipwreck was a combination of feelings. There was a “Dayum, wreck diving is so f**ckin awesome!” and then there was me throwing up every time we got out of the water – not so good. A combination of what I think is food poisoning and rough waters had me over the edge most of the time we surfaced. At the end of the day, I felt super weak and defeated by Mother Nature, yet I was glad that I was finally certified for deep dives.

Thai Language level: Lots of compliments towards my spoken Thai and the correct use of their classifiers. So instead of simply asking for water, I’d ask for “a bottle of” or “a glass of ” water. As in English, these classifiers really make the difference in smoothening out your speech. Getting better.

Plates of Pad Ga Prow consumed: 30

September, 2015:

My fiancé comes to visit!!! We’re back to being like two peas in a pod. That’s what I love about my relationship with JR, it’s so unforced, so natural, as if he is part-me and I am part-him. He resumes to making me a cup of coffee every morning like he used to back home in Canada. Only here, my coffee is of the instant variety which he makes in our hotel room. Adorable.

I show him around paradise, my local hangouts and he feels envious and happy for me. He likes it way better than Phuket. We agree all we need is a small beachside bungalow. We start talking about moving here and living here, but he is still unsure what he would do for work.

At the end of his stay, I get news that my father had a heart attack and when my fiancé leaves, I fall off-balance. My energy for teaching yoga drops. I had a very kind American couple that genuinely cared about me and provided me consolation and love to which I will remember them forever. I am moved by the human connection and how we can relate to each other having never met previously. I have a quick trip back to Malaysia to see my father and organize a family lunch.

Thai language level: I impressed my fiancé as he watched me chat up the locals everywhere we went on the island. I felt proud I could still impress him. And in return he impressed me by agreeing to ride the scooter everywhere which he perceived as very dangerous and unnecessary.

Plates of Pad Ga Prow consumed: 50

October, 2015:

I finally start to kick my addiction to Pad Ga Prow and have it less and less. After seeing my father, I start to get back into the swing of things and reconnect with myself. The Miss Grand International beauty pageant arrives on the island and I get the honour of teaching them some basic yoga breathing techniques.

I also go for my third dive and was blessed with amazing weather and great visibility. Great friends and great fun.

Thai language level: Keng Mahk, which means very skilled – this is what they tell me at least. I’m now able to have entire conversations in Thai. I also understand what’s going on around me and I realize that my friends gossip a lot about me in front of me. They start to realize that they can’t do that too much anymore.

Plates of Pad Ga Prow consumed: 60

November, 2015:

My last month here and the island gave me an amazing farewell. Please read about it in my next post Koh Chang Says Goodbye.

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3 Rules to Become a Traveller

November 22, 2015November 23, 2015 Evelyn Loh

Over the years, I’ve met people who travel and people who don’t. And I gotta tell ya…There’s a whole bunch of misconceptions and stigma towards travellers. The number one misconception:

False: You must be rich to be able to travel.

Wow, do we get this a lot. And almost all the travellers I meet and talk to agree this is the worst one. No, my parents have not paid for my travels since I became a working adult. Nor does my fiancé. Seriously, the people who think this are the worst (if you’re reading this, you’re the worst).

My trips are 100% funded by me and me alone.

Yes, I have a fiancé who has a stable job and he does spoil me with things I rather he didn’t sometimes, but he does not pay for any of my travelling expense. In fact, while he visited me here in Thailand, I paid for his stay and expenses. And although my fiancé is a pretty easy going guy, he still insists on basic comforts like a warm shower, air-conditioning and good eats – stuff that I don’t need, which made his stay cost about 3 times more than I would pay for my own travels. But because I love him, I spoil him as much as I can, and that’s how relationships work.

Well, how then did I manage to travel? Here’s 3 rules I followed and you can too.

1st Rule : You have to really want it.
Just like being fit and healthy, or scoring well in an examination. You need to work for something you want.

I went to work, and although you may be surprised I did like my job. I had my friends at work and a steady pay check and all the comforts of a 9-5 job: paid vacation, health, dental and the like. Yet, I had this nagging feeling that I didn’t want to be in an office. Looking back now, I think one of the reasons I didn’t like corporate life was because I hated sitting at my desk. I’m such an active person and full of energy, sitting in a chair for extended periods of time made me sad. I remember continuously going to the kitchen to make green tea, fill up my water bottle at every file-still-loading-opportunity I got to get away from my desk. I wanted to be free on my feet, or sitting cross-legged on the floor. As Edith Piaf says the first time she heard Non, je ne regrette rien, “C’est moi” (That’s me).

Once I knew that I wanted change, I really started focusing on travelling. I wanted to be able to support myself on my trips and I love, love, love yoga. So why not try my hand at teaching yoga? And so I did, which allowed me to earn some money while being in beautiful vacation spots.

Backpack — I swapped my cubicle for a backpack. Happy as a clam in Koh Lipe 2013.

2nd Rule : Save money now.
This will be a long point but it really come down to stop buying shit you don’t need. Your house is messy as it is. Read a book once in a while and cut cable.

Before I got into this lifestyle, I was already preparing for it. I saved money whenever I could, even though I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with that money at the time.

When I worked corporate, it was so clear how people got into debt so easily and had a difficult time saving. This notion of, “But a $7 sandwich won’t make a difference in the long run” – it a lazy and weak mentality. You know it, I know it. This is exactly why I am $3000 dollars ahead of you in savings.

The two big ones here I know people just suck at saving at is: your food and your phone.

1) Your Food:
Let me break it down for you. To make the math simple, let’s just say we’ll assume there are no holidays and you work 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Which is a fair statement, because if you had holidays, you’re spending habits will probably increase, so I’m using the more conservative calculation here. And I’m not including days where you go out for lunch at a sit-down place, your cab ride home after the bars, or your occasional pack of smokes.

A $7 Subway sandwich a day costs you $1,820/year ($7 x 5 days/week x 52 weeks/year)

A $3.50 Starbucks latte a day costs you $910/year.

Your $7 Friday beer (if you can stop at one) costs you $364/year.

Add that all up, you are spending around $3,084/year.

2) Your Phone:
Don’t you dare say you don’t have the money to travel when you’re on Facebook with the latest $700 iPhone 5 that you pay $60/month. That there: $1420/year.

Cost of your food and phone: $4,504

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My Food:
My sandwiches cost me $18.50/week – $962/year

Loaf of bread – $2.50
Lettuce – $1
2 Tomatoes – $2
Filling, either sliced boiled eggs/veggie ham – $5
Banana and oatmeal as snacks – roughly $5

*when I got bored of sandwiches, I switched it up to soup, salads or leftovers. Leftover lunches are the best.

My Phone:
My 3 years outdated phone cost $200 bought with gift cards = free. And my pay as you go plan cost an average of $25/month. Because we can add up to 3 devices on our home wifi Shaw network that is pretty well connected throughout Calgary. If I was out of range, I paid for data at $1/day.

Cost? $300/year

Cost of my food and phone: $1262/year

Through food and phone alone, I saved $3242!!! more than you a year. That could be 2-months of your mortgage payment, your credit card debt payment or 2-weeks all inclusive for two people in Mexico. You may brush of $3000 as a small dent in the pocket in the span of the year, but we all know $3000 is still $3000. And I choose to go to Hawaii with my $3000 as you chomp down on your Subway sandwich.

Also, to me there were so many other benefits to bringing my lunch to work because (a) it’s healthier, I tended to stick to required portions instead of pigging out on a 12-inch footlong and never felt bloated; and (b) it tasted better without mayonnaise lathered on or soaked in teriyaki sauce.

And if the occasion did call for birthdays or colleagues leaving, I’d go out. I just didn’t make a habit of it.

Those are only 2 ways in which I saved more money than you, I have many other ways as well. Usually, you will find what saves you money, makes you healthier. Hate paying for gas? Bike to work and use your fat as fuel and save on a gym membership at the same time.

12278163_10153623675061539_495846169_n-2 — My once a week splurge. A bowl of seafood noodles with clear broth soup. Healthy cheat and so cheap! Costs only 50 baht ($1.70).

3rd Rule: Toughen up.
Stop being whiny, stop complaining and just be happy.

What I like about (most) travellers, is that they are really easy-going people. We have the same type of vibe.

We don’t ask for much when we travel which means, we don’t complain much either. We endure long-ass trips on busses and planes, feel like death and all we want to do is have a shower and lay in bed. Yet, we continue to put one foot in front of the other with a heavy ass backpack and smile graciously when we ask for directions. We skip sleeps simply to get over jet lag. And all the while, you may think, that doesn’t sound like fun, who’d wanna do that? We do.

And here’s where the power of mind comes in:

When I am carrying around that heavy backpack all sweaty, I’m thinking, “Well, this is a good workout. I’m burning off those beer calories from last night.”
When I eat that same papaya salad day-in, day-out, I’m thinking, “This is so good for my health, full of fibre and so cheap.”
When I skip sleeps, I’m thinking, “Wow, that was a good novel. I would have never had the time to finish it otherwise.”
When a mouse crawled onto my hand while I was sleeping, I laughed about it.
When I get into a scooter accident, I make the best out that situation and gain a friend.

That’s just the way my brain works. I like to think that it’s the same type of mindset that allows climbers to climb mountain, freedivers to suspend their breath for over 10 minutes underwater, or run ultra marathons.

Yes, we have bad days and sometimes we need to vent it out. But if you stop seeing them as bad days, and more as lessons and experiences, the more you get out of your travels. It’s life. When you complain every day, there’s something wrong with you and not the world around you. It takes practice but when you achieve this state, you will definitely get more out of experiences.

Adventures in Thailand, lifestyle, travel

My First Scooter Accident

November 19, 2015November 22, 2015 Evelyn Loh

Two weeks before I leave Koh Chang, last Saturday, about 4 days ago, I had my first scooter accident.

It is as if Koh Chang, being the fiery beauty she is, didn’t take my leaving her too well.

I had decided to go to Bang Bao for my day off to to see my friend Su, procure some souvenirs and check the boat schedules/prices that went to Koh Mak – which I was planning to visit after I finished working at The Spa. All went well and I did everything I came to do.

Happenstance had it that I even spent the whole morning with fellow Canadian, Tim, who I was acquainted with but never got to know that well from my visits to the dive shop before. Then Su arrived at the dive shop, we ate and went shopping and talking along the pier. When we were done, we went over to her place at Cliff Cottage and sat in the hammocks overlooking the sea.

12244166_10153609582716539_228364224_n — A beautiful day to chill in the hammock and have a conversation.

I was only going to stay till sunset and leave while there was still a little bit of lingering light in the sky. But things were going so well, so when the opportunity came, I decided to stay and try Roberto’s (my Italian dive instructor’s) pizza before I left. Usually I left that side of the island really early well before sunset, but this time I stayed and decided to drive home after dark. When I left, it started to rain.

The Accident

It was head-on collision between my scooter and a big truck. However, the accident wasn’t caused by us, but by the inexperienced, irresponsible parties that we were both trying to avoid.

What a crazy night! It was dark and rainy, scooters were flying everywhere and cars were skidding on the corners, it was truly amazing how no one got seriously injured.

There was no way that the truck driver, Phai, could have gone without hitting anything unless his truck was an airplane. Well…he could have driven a little slower and he could have driven a smaller vehicle – which is another thing I don’t understand. Why do they let this huge trucks, that 80% of the time can barely fit within the lines, on this island? They pose such a danger to so many people out there, especially at the speed that some of them are going.

Anyway, looking back he had the following 3 options that day. He would have to either :

Driven into the bush and potentially roll over the female passenger of Scooter A– Her idiot boyfriend was the culprit that started all of this. He had taken the downhill corner too fast, slid all the way across to my side of the road and landed in the bush. She was launched off the back a good 3 metres behind him (right by where I was). I had to stop so she could get up and move safely out of the way. What a jerk.
Hit Scooter B and potentially roll over one of their 2 passengers – This was the scooter the truck saw first and was trying to avoid on his side of the road. Scooter B was following Scooter A, saw what happened, didn’t keep their eyes on the road, freaked out, lost control and fell.
Hit Scooter C -Me. I drove up the hill nice and slow like you’re supposed to. I was in exactly the spot you’re supposed to be when you drive a scooter closer to the left side of the road. When the idiots of Scooter A flew right in front of me, I made sure no one was behind me, so I could stop for her to get up. And within a split second around the corner, a truck was coming at me from the front. Had I not jumped off my scooter at the moment I did, I could have been seriously injured too. Had I continued driving, I would have potentially rolled over her hand and maybe have had even more severe impact from that oncoming truck. It was the best option in retrospect.

So how did it happen?

First, he saw Scooter B, tried to avoid hitting them, and took a wide turn and came onto my side of the road and saw me a little too last. He tried to stop, could not, I jumped off and watched my bike get smashed.

There was some confusion to what immediately followed the situation on his part. After he hit my bike, he got out of his car, brushed right past me to the passengers from Scooter A, all apologetic. I don’t blame him, they looked more like people who had just been in an accident, lying on the ground and all.

I didn’t have time to lie on the ground so I stood in disbelief as this dude that almost killed me didn’t even bother to say sorry. They were trying to explain to him that they fell by themselves and that he actually hit me instead. He was obviously having trouble digesting this and looked really confused because here I was geared up in my North Face jacket, long flowy hair without a scratch on my slender bare legs. He did a few takes between me and them, before finally coming to talk to me.

Meanwhile, I didn’t waste any time. While he was figuring out what happened, I was looking for my phone so I could call someone to let them know in case anything else happened. I immediately decided to call Poon, the manager, he spoke the best English and bright as a button, he would take the least time to explain things to. My bike compartment where my phone was, was smashed in and so my phone must have flown somewhere. It was so dark that night. Some locals (god bless their souls) pulled over to help us and I saw it just as another truck was about to roll over it. Thank god this truck was driving much slower and stopped for me to pick my phone up. I called Poon, explained what happened and he told me to let him know if they could be of any help.

Finally, Phai, the man who drove the truck, comes to talk to me. He is still in shock and says nothing. My mind was much clearer than his so I take the reigns tell him simply, “Hey, it’s okay. No one is injured, so be thankful. You just have to pay for the damages which won’t be that much because the scooter still starts. We can put my bike in your truck and you can drive me home. It’s only 7 o’clock and we will be done in no time.”

He turns to his mother and sister and speaks in hasty, frustrated Thai – a version I’m not familiar with. I only know how to talk about lighthearted stuff in Thai. I’d imagine his mother was giving him trouble about not listening to her to slow down or something like that. He doesn’t like the idea of taking me home on the other side of the island because he drives a manual car, doesn’t know the island very well and was well still, shaken and afraid.

During the next 5 minutes, a few more near misses happen. First, a van screeched by, loses control and almost hits Phai’s truck. Phai excitedly grabs me and pulls me into the bush which trips me. I tell him to calm down and that the sooner we get out of here, the better. He was definitely still in shock. Then yet, another truck comes by, passes us safely, yet has trouble stopping down the hill, wavers and almost hits a car coming uphill. We move onto the other side of the road thinking that it was safer and within seconds, two Russian men on a scooter come around the corner sliding sideways. They are fine, get up and take their sweet ass time to get off the road. They seemed cheerful and think it’s funny. The locals tell them to get off the road and they did very slowly. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

They wanted me to drive the scooter all the way back to Salak Khok, which is over an hour away like nothing happened. Even though my scooter’s engine still started, the lights worked, I didn’t like the idea because what if there were unseen damages inside? But knowing that I would have to stomp my foot and make like a baby for another hour to get my way didn’t seem appealing to me either. And I really wanted to get out of that area. So after initially contesting to idea, I gave in. I kept his ID card and we decided to settle it tomorrow. I told him that if I die tonight on my way back, I’m going to come back as a ghost to haunt him forever – he laughed nervously and told me that I will be okay. I think deep down he was afraid for my safety too. I asked one of the locals to drive with me to Kai Bae, about 5 minutes away, where the roads got better and it would test the scooter’s reliability. If something went wrong during this time, at least I’d have someone to help me out.

Luckily, nothing did and I managed to get home safely that night. Phai called me to check that I got home safely. He apologized and told me he will settle the damages in the morning. After which, he striked up a conversation with me regarding his trip to Koh Chang from Chiang Mai. He told me that his mother was still a little shaken from the incident because he could have killed someone that night. He told me a little bit about his life and he asked me about mine. We discovered that we were about the same age and that we both schooled in Auckland. I decided he was a decent guy that wouldn’t screw me over. And true to which, the next day, he settled the bill in full which was really nice of him. I was not able to meet him since I was teaching at the time. But I’m glad we both made the best of a bad situation. We’re now Facebook friends.

The impact cracked the anterior of the scooter. The whole thing will need to be replaced. The cup holder and exhaust guard will also need to be replaced. Pi Mem, the lady who rented me the bike, was not impressed by what happened. But she acknowledges that these things do happen and she was glad I was okay.

I was proud of myself for 3 things from this experience:

One, was that I was able to make a life saving decision to jump off when I did and that I didn’t take too much time to think about it.

Two, was that I didn’t freak out completely after it happened and that I was in a calm state of mind to get myself home safely the best way I could. I made best out of a bad situation and I felt really mature for the words I said and how I acted.

Three, I didn’t scream. You always see girls in the movies screaming in accidents. I was surprised I didn’t since I am quite ~~the screamer~~ the type of person who would.

During the whole time this happened, I heard myself teaching mediation saying, “Keep a calm and balanced mind. Stay present, stay peaceful.” My former self would have been a bit more of an asshole and more demanding, so I’m sure glad that this meditation and yoga thing really works. It’s all true.