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Published: March 22nd 2023
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All You Need is Love
Yoga teacher extraordinaire, Carina, created this beautiful arrangement as part of the full moon ceremony she also offered, after which we all went for a swim in the ocean and watched the full moon rise. Magical. Inspired by Love. We were certainly warned prior to our arrival that Koh Phangan was incredibly busy this year. This proved to be true. There were far more vehicles on the roads, far more scooters, and the vacancy rates were generally maxed out, so that during our time there about 97% of the island’s accommodation facilities were fully booked. Almost all of the tourists were from eastern and western European countries, or other countries whose inhabitants were attempting to escape the realities of war and political unrest at home. I cannot say I blame them, as I would likely make the same choice. Thankfully, I have never had to walk in those shoes.
The busy-ness was never a deterrent for us. After three years of too much quarantine and too much solitude behind cold walls, we completely welcomed this vibrant influx of humanity. It was exhilarating, and in the process, notepad always in hand, I learned a few ways in which to say “hello”, “how are you”, “nice to meet you”, “thank you”, and “have a nice day” in several languages, never engaging in political debates, but instead just appreciating the diversity and warm communication between people simply looking for some peace and
joy. All of it was wonderfully heartwarming.
But we encountered a very special situation at the resort we have stayed at in previous years. We knew prior to arrival that this year’s accommodation would not include breakfast, and would offer only weekly housekeeping, as the staff /management, consisting of only four family members, had decided to operate the resort on a long stay basis only. This meant that everyone staying there had to commit to staying at least one month, and it seemed that most, if not all, were previous guests. Because of this, we were able to get to know the other residents much better than we would have more transient travellers.
This was an unexpected gift. By the time we left, we felt we had acquired a whole new set of friends, many of whom were digital nomads who had been living there for months - a small global community including Thailand, Israel, Germany, France, Sweden, and us, from Canada. The atmosphere was somehow more relaxed; an oasis of calm situated on the most beautiful beach on the island, in our opinion ☺️, amidst the buzzing energy of Koh Phangan.
It was a warm, rich,
diverse, and wonderfully supportive community, some of whom helped us get our temporary home set up, some of whom attended our yoga classes, and many of whom supported my music and encouraged me to share it in concert, which I ultimately did, and will elaborate upon in the next post.
We believe that it was this community that made this year’s experience in Koh Phangan particularly special; perhaps more than it has ever been, proving that community is everything, and can be found everywhere, if you are open to it. This is, in fact, precisely why we travel.
Thank you for your interest in our adventures 🙏
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