I am on Koh Samui now. Unlike Koh Phangan, where I am constantly surrounded by people I know (I’ve spent a good amount of time on the island in the past few years. With my superpower of making friends everywhere I go, you can imagine how many people I know on the island.), being on Koh Samui feels like being on a different planet.
In the past 4 years of living the nomadic life, Koh Phangan has been my home. It’s the place I come back to every time I am tired of traveling and wanting to be at a place where people know my name – where I know where to go and who to talk to for everything I need. It’s been my place of comfort living this adventurous, not-knowing-where-I’ll-be-tomorrow type of life.
The past two months being back on the island (from northern Thailand), I had been so happy to see my friends again. But as time goes, I feel heavier and heavier with all the connections I have on the island. I gave it the term ‘connection fatigue’. I dreamt of being at a place where nobody knows me. Where I can camouflage into the background. Do whatever I want. Go wherever I want. It sounds funny this is what I was dreaming of. That’s why I’d been wanting to come to Samui to live a simpler life.
So here I am, living the dream. Ha! Today is the second day of my trip. I woke up really late. Then I went to the cafe I went to the day before called “The Secret Brunch” which is a 2-minute drive from my house. I ended up staying there the whole afternoon reading my book “Believe IT” by Jamie Kern. I was so absorbed in the book that I couldn’t put it down. I only planned to get a coffee at the cafe but ended up staying for hours just reading. I felt a huge sense of peace and joy to be able to devour myself with a great book.
Many people might be surprised to know (including me!) that my ideal vacation nowadays is where I could spend hours and hours reading a book without distraction or obligation to be anywhere (some call this getting old). It’s so simple yet so rejuvenating.
I live a life that many people think I am always out doing something interesting and adventurous. But in reality, I love living as simply as possible. And I am probably the laziest traveler I know. I usually stay in my accommodation and do not really go out much. I find joy in staying put and working on my creation at home.
Living in Lamai at the moment, I stay within the perimeter of 5km from my house. As soon as I find a coffee shop or a restaurant I like in a new city, it immediately becomes my go-to place almost every day. I like the routine and the simplicity of it. Instead of discovering new places, I go to the same place every day. I think it brings a sense of familiarity and certainty to my uncertain life.
I am now sitting in front of my Macbook, facing the ocean, with the full moon rising and shining on my face. Oh my oh my. I cried a little over the beauty of all this.
Another moment, another day to be grateful for.
