BIG NEWS!

            I’ve been thinking about this blog all week and until this point the only thing I knew was that it would begin with: Where to begin…”. That is no longer the case. I have done so many amazing things over the past week and had some unforgettable adventures with Miranda; watching sunsets from rocky peninsulas, crashing motorbikes into parked BMWs, playing with puppies, drinking all night with an Australian bachelor party on St. Patty’s day, writing songs, meeting some of the most beautiful people this world has to offer and enjoying every single second of it. But as of this moment, pure excitement has flooded every inch of my brain and I no longer have the ability to write about anything other than the present. And in this glorious present, I have just received a job offer that perfectly embodies everything I’ve longed for from this grand adventure!

            The position I’ve mentioned is located at a school in Phang Nga city, about an hour north of Phuket along the Andaman Coast. Phang Nga is more of a small, relaxed town than an actual city and although it boasts some of the most beautiful scenery in all of Thailand, the lack of amenities keep it from being overrun with tourists as most beaches here are. Phang Nga is similar to Krabi in that it is a small city with some of the best climbing in the country, as well as one of the top ten dive spots in the world directly off the coast. Unlike Krabi though it is a destination and not just a jumping off point for other adventures. In other words, between pristine diving in some of the world’s richest waters; hiking in a rain forest that hides elephants, tigers, leopards, birds, lizards, snakes and who knows what other adventurers; and climbing on rock formations that would make a dinosaur’s jaw drop; I will be in the most perfect place I could imagine.

            Now I know what my mom is thinking as she reads this, what about the SCHOOL Tommy, what is the SCHOOL like! Well momma bear, the school itself is a government run primary school. I’ve talked to many teachers that have told me this is the best age to teach, and from my experience coaching many children this same age, I’d have to agree. Because it is a government school I will be teaching mostly Thai children who very much NEED this education to move themselves up in the world, something that is very important to me but something I was not sure I would be able to get involved in. I will be teaching Math, Health, English, and Science and although the class sizes are relatively large, I am excited for the challenge and thanks to experience gained coaching 40 kids with Mike and Ashley, I’m pretty confident in my ability to handle such a rowdy bunch.  They pay is good, the rent is cheap, and the opportunity is golden; I am grateful beyond the extent to which words could explain. Here is a link to the school website itself in case any of you want to come over and enroll your children J

http://btc2551.igetweb.com/index.php

            Beyond all this, the school year doesn’t start until the middle of May, meaning Miranda and I have over a month of traveling, diving, climbing, and treacking to do. I am about ready to go see what this beautiful country has to offer my “sister” and I considering we’ve been able to experience so much in just 5 short days in a busy city.

             I know this blog was a bit boring, being so full of techincal mumbo jumbo, so we’ll make sure to get ourselves into some trouble over the next month and report back on it all, with pictures included. Love you all and here are some images to give you a taste of the life we’ve been living!

  

-Tommy

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.”

The Bus

            While my spur of the moment decision to switch locations had brought me new motivation and excitement, it was not without its inconveniences also. Most notably was the fact that the course I was now enrolled in had started a week previously. This meant that not only did I find myself a week behind on the material, but also I was responsible for getting there and settled within the next 12 hours. By that time the ferries had all left so I decided to do it the local way and take a cheap, un-airconditioned bus. Apparently I was the only Farang (foreigner) that thought this a feasible plan because I found myself surrounded by a full bus of Thai locals, pet birds, flowers, plants, and the like; all of whom seemed enchanted by the unusually tall farang with the funny hair. Needless to say I was watched the entire 3 hours like a movie on an airplane.

Now many people have told me to be safe in Thailand but I must say the only danger I have encountered thus far was on this bus ride, and it wasn’t really a danger to my health as much as it was a danger to my pride. As I’ve said, my fellow commuters found me a fascinating sight so as I stood and walked to the back of the bus where the restroom was, 20 sets of eyes followed me the entire way. I had been suppressing my need to pee for 2 hours in a desperate effort to avoid this moment, but inevitably it had come. As I stepped into the tiny bathroom that was swaying with every turn (and there were many), I had the sinking realization that the bathroom door had no mechanism to hold it closed. I can do this I thought, so I held the door closed with one hand and turned just in time to see the lid I had just put up slam down with a loud SLAP! After several more failed attempts to prop it up I realized that this was going not going to be difficult, it was going to be IMPOSSIBLE. I braced myself and mustered all the natural human ingenuity and athleticism I could, then I went about my task.  With back against the wall and one hand pulling the door handle in against the opposing centrifugal force, I balanced on my left foot and held the lid up with my right… let me tell you if I encounter anything that difficult again I think I may just turn around and go home, but, I did it, and for the rest of my trip I sat with a smile. I wondered if any of these commuters turned people watchers had any idea just how close they’d come to seeing  a truly disastrous series of events.

Several lost taxis, one trip to a town that no longer held a language school, and 30 minutes of backpacking through the streets of Patong later, I was standing at the front desk of my language school gathering my materials and trying to conceal a smile that was threatening to split my face from ear to ear.  Every step so far has been an adventure and I had just taken a big one without knowing much of what to expect, but this felt right and I knew immediately, I’d found the path I needed to be on.

-Tommy

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” -Emerson

Day 1- Krabi

In the lead up to this grand adventure that I’m now a part of, during the long months in which my friends had to endure my endless talk of Thailand, one specific friend made me promise her that I would keep a travel blog while I was gone. A travel blog I thought, what on earth would I write in a blog? I’ve never even kept a journal! Well soon enough I would find out a lesson about traveling both painful and beautiful; every day you are living in or traveling through a foreign country, you WILL have something to write about. Every step here is a step into the unknown and whether you end up on a beautiful beach paradise, on a jungle path through the mountains, or in a dingy hotel room with bed bugs… it is still a step towards a greater understanding of the world.

            

            By the time I landed in Krabi I had been traveling for close to 30 hours, stop and go, and had barely slept a wink. I had cycled through more emotions than I knew existed; sadness in the airport as I looked through the cards; letters, and pictures from the beautiful people I was leaving behind; complete awe of the earth’s beauty as I looked down on frozen Alaskan tundra from my tiny window in the sky; pride as I wrote down my goals and ambitions; fear of the unknown as I made my decent into Krabi and finally an overwhelming sense of doubt in myself and my decisions as my day came to a close, a feeling of emotional distress that I hope never again to feel in my life. This feeling overtook me as I laid on my back under the leaking roof of a cramped, dingy hotel room that I inevitably overpaid for, on a mattress as stiff as my body felt. The thoughts of bed bugs, mold, and a general unhappiness is what forced me back out and it was this instinct that began to change my fortunes. I realized that the reason for my unhappiness and my doubts was that I was looking at this city through the eyes of someone about to move in. Within that mindset I was lonely, lost, overwhelmed and I must say, fairly disappointed in my decisions, for while the surroundings were stunning, Krabi just didn't seem livable to me; but when I shifted my viewpoint to that of a stranger traveling through a new land everything changed. My loneliness morphed into a curiosity about all the new people around me, and the sense of being overwhelmed transitioned into an excitement of the unknown. Some good thai food, an amazing mai tai, and several beers at the local Irish bar later and I was happy man. Lying in bed the next morning I thought about where I was and what I wanted from my trip; it was right then that I made a decision that has completely changed the direction of my plans... I was going to Phuket, but first, it was time to eat!

-Tommy

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” -Emerson