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Published: March 23rd 2024
After experiencing continuous adventurous travel for two months in South America prior to arriving at our destination in Thailand, where we quite deliberately chose not to move anywhere off the relatively small island we would call home for two months, it has been somewhat challenging to write a blog about our recent travels. This because, comparatively speaking, we were not actively traveling, even though we had relocated ourselves from the continent of South America, to North America, and then to Southeast Asia, clearly moving from one hemisphere to the other, and from one side, to the other, of the planet.
That is, until I began to consider broader definitions of travel, which is typically defined as a journey to a distant or unfamiliar place. Well, we could certainly check off the first qualifier, as Thailand, Asia, is very distant from our home in Saskatchewan, Canada. But we were returning to a very familiar destination - one which we have been returning to annually since 2017, minus the Covid years. But what if, for this journal entry, we expand the definition to include unfamiliar journeys of the mind, emotions, and spirit? For these are all very real journeys which travellers must
Our island home takes my breath - and heart - away
This is all natural. There is no photo retouching here. This we woke up to every day, and closed each day with. Peaceful bliss. also undertake: the joys upon returning to a special destination; the constant challenge to relinquish expectations - to avoid comparing the experiences of one year to those of the next; and the emotional upheaval when the inevitable arises - having to leave that place in which you are a visitor, and say good bye again to that which, and to those whom, you have grown more connected each year.
I fail miserably at the transitions, at leaving the people and places I have come to love, and it takes me several days before I readjust - whether I am returning home, or simply moving to another travel destination.
Perhaps this is a sign of aging - this latent inability to let go and immediately embrace the next adventure. But I prefer to think of it, as someone once said, as the price we pay for having loved, for I do love the lifestyle we experience on this island, and the people we have met along the way. Every year the scenario is both familiar and different, for the people we meet there constitute much of the experience, and with people, dynamics are always evolving. Everything, in fact, is
Finally! I can write!
My teacher insisted on taking this photo featuring what she declared was the nicest Thai script I had yet produced. Guaranteed, I was pretty happy too. always evolving.
So what did we do with our time, given that we are not “beach people” who enjoy soaking up the sun on a beach, even when we are living on one?
Language Studies This year, when I returned to my studies of the Thai language, I attained a goal I set for myself five years ago when I began these linguistic pursuits here: to be able read and write this Thai language of seemingly indecipherable codes. I have now attained this, albeit at a very rudimentary level which will require much continued diligent practice to apply effectively. This is a significant accomplishment which I have worked very hard to achieve. And then, just as I had completed my lesson on the last consonant rules to know, we left the country.
Music Evolution Although I had firmly placed my foot in the door last year to publicly perform on this island, having successfully booked and delivered a full night concert gig at a well known music venue, my focus this year was quite different. I surprised myself by having no interest in pursuing that direction, as I was not willing to devote the time
Dream Weaving with Mannu
Inspiring and beautiful music. I knew I would put in to prepare to perform. My musical interests instead revolved around experiencing music very differently, and far more deeply, attending a variety of kirtan performances: spiritually inspired chanting led by a singer using a call and response method to engage audience participation, supported by a band of very talented musicians. In addition, I attended several “Dream Weaving” concerts by a brilliant guitarist named Mannu Espanosa - in which he offered music he had improvised as a form of meditation, and his audience responded in kind, silently meditating with him after each offering. The entire experience was quite different, and very powerful - so much so that it inspired me to focus on improvising my own music for the next two months. I lost myself in music creation for long periods almost every day, and reached a level of playing that I do not believe I had ever before acquired in my life, playing purely for the enjoyment of it, offering it as a gift to the universe, playing for my garden, for the moon and stars, and for my very silent but very appreciative, attentive music loving next door neighbours. And then we left.
Yoga Practice We arrived on this island understandably fatigued after two months of intensive trekking and moving about in South America, followed by a mere two week stopover at home upon our return to Canada, before departing again upon our thirty hour plus journey to Thailand. I, as well, was still recovering from a stomach virus I had contracted in Peru; one which left me with less energy as well as 3 kg less weight on my already thin body that I have yet to recover. We were determined, upon returning to Koh Phangan, to use our time there to do whatever needed be done to fully recuperate.
And we did exactly that. Our daily regimes - both mine and Stan’s - began with a lengthy self directed yoga practice, for we have both studied extensively and have enough knowledge that we no longer need rely on guided lessons from elsewhere. My practice has become a composite of all the various teachings I have acquired over the past five decades - including Sivananda, Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Tantric hatha yoga practices. Given the seven decades of living my body has experienced, my practice is evolving into one which I
Morning Yoga Practice
Available to all resident yoga practitioners was a large, oceanside space, once a restaurant, which has since been transformed into a yoga shala. The ocean breeze kept temperatures cool and mosquitoes at bay. refer to as compassionate Ashtanga, as I still push myself to extreme limits, but do so attentively, slowly, and with much self care and attention. As such, daily practice easily evolves into a two and a half hour moving meditation which culminates in mantra chanting and breathwork. Stan‘s objective this year was to establish his own disciplined practice, without relying on the support of scheduled classes, and he succeeded at his goal, with a diligent daily practice, seven days a week, that was typically at least 80 minutes duration.
In addition to yoga practice, we swam daily either in the pool or the ocean, and Stan also participated in Tai Chi classes four days a week for six of the eight weeks that we were on the island.
We achieved our objective, feeling far stronger, and well rested, and Stan, at least, realized some success with his weight management objectives, dropping weight and toning muscles. I have definitely regained strength, but not so much the weight I lost somewhere in South America. I am still looking for it ☺️
Community This has perhaps been the most difficult to part with. The sense of community here has
grown each year, both in our small family run resort which accommodates only long stay clientele, several of whom are digital nomads that we have now known from previous years; others who arrived this year and stayed long enough to become new friends; and yet others old friends who, like us, have been returning annually for some time now. This community includes as well our resort caregivers, shopkeepers, restaurant personnel, teachers, musicians, and classmates whom we have come to know over the years. Even our old canine friend Han remembered us with warm hugs and sloppy kisses when we returned, affirming this sense of feeling at home which grows stronger each year. And then we leave.
In Summary . . . There have been many travels during these past two months, but they are cannot be measured in kilometres, as they have been primarily inner travels, navigating relationships, discoveries, teachings, and learnings, as we immersed ourselves more deeply into the community, culture, and environment.
The transition for me has been challenging, leaving this island I consider my favorite place on the planet. Adapting to change can be challenging at all ages, but no doubt becomes even more
challenging with age if not addressed. I recall reading a Ph.D. thesis report on aging which concluded - based on many interviews conducted with centenarians - that the major contributing factor to one’s longevity was the ability to adapt to change. Point noted.
And maybe, just maybe, some of this reluctance to move on is simply a function of having been on the road already for five consecutive months - travelling several thousand kilometres across many cultures and languages on three different continents - and there is an element of fatigue at play. Just maybe.
As the pain of having to let go of what one has come to love grows deeper, pulling more and more at the heartstrings, I am reminded again that pain is the price we pay for having loved. It is also a reminder that one is alive, just as sadness is the flip side of joy, and just as the depths of sadness one can sink to is directly proportional to the heights of joy that one can soar. Such are the hills and valleys on the road of the traveller. Such are the hills and valleys for us all on this road
called life.
We remain deeply grateful for the ability to traverse these hills and valleys, to ride these waves, to live this life, fully aware of the privilege it is to continue to have these experiences. We shall continue to ride them as long, and as gratuitously, as we can.
Thank you for your interest in our travels and philosophical musings.
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Philippe Appietto
non-member comment
Great moment
Love you !