Dave the Nomad

After my gracious sponsored flight back to Bangkok with the EWB team from CWRU, I left Sanchit, Dr Rollins, and Lynn in the terminal purgatory to return to the USA, and I checked into a sparse guest house in Bangkok. I spent the next few days checking out the sights of Bangkok including the Grand Palace, the massive 120 m long reclining Buddha, and stumbling upon a Ta Karouw Tournament. Ta Karouw is a native game in which team members attempt to hit a bamboo ball into a three hooped net about 3 m overhead using their elbows, legs, knees, shoulders, and heads.

I met a few other travelers along the way including Karen from San Diego and a group of Norwegians just starting a month of travel through Thailand. Karen gave me some great advice on where to go down south, as she was leaving the next day for home. I took up her advice to travel to the beautiful and overcrowded Ko Phi Phi island. The archipelago is home to the movie “The Beach,” harvesting of swiftlet nests (made from the bird’s saliva) used in the excessively priced Chinese bird-nest soup, stunning Karst formations jutting out of the water, and a devastating Boxing Day Tsunami.

The island has recovered well in the past few years, thanks mainly to the thriving tourist money pouring into the island. I randomly ran into the group of Norwegians I had met in Bangkok, and we had a blast snorkeling, building sandcastles, tanning (and burning) on the beach, watching Muay Thai boxing, and partying early into the morning on the beach. This debauchery island is filled mostly with Scandinavian travelers, and I picked up on a few words thanks to my new friends. My favorite was the word for pre-gaming (drinking before going out) forshpiel, which also means foreplay.

Every time I opened my eyes after laying in the sun or opening the window I was again awestruck at the beauty of this place. Parts of the island are still being rebuilt after the Tsunami, and evacuation routes are now very clearly marked. I left this beautiful island to visit a friend of my brother’s on Koh Lanta who has been living here for several months training as a Muay Thai boxer while getting his PADI Dive Master certification. AJ fights on Sunday, and I’m enjoying the more relaxed and desolate beaches here while waiting to cheer him.