I Made Friends!!

Nothing brightens up a weekend more than meeting new friends, bouncing energy off of each other, sharing opinions, and learning from each other's different experiences and perspectives over good Haitian rum (best rum I've ever had).

Especially after I had accepted the fact that I was locked in my house with no outside contacts or opportunity for adventures for 2 months.

My friend dry spell is finally over. I think I might be an extrovert, in case you weren't convinced - I came home after this today and danced around to Caribbean music in my pajamas for way too long.

Let me start from the top. I was on my own all weekend - roommates all went out of the country. While I loved spending all my time cooking, Netflixing, working out, and trying to not get bitten by the puppy, I was thrilled when Chloe (a friend from work) called to say she's coming to the hotel near me with some friends, for the pool, and invited me along.

So I got picked up, met (like 10) of Chloe's friends, and headed to the pool, which, let me tell you, is fancy AF. Long story short, turns out we had to pay 30$ to stay there, so we left and went on a hunt for another pool. Then I basically was taken on a tour of all the fancy hotels with pools in Port-au-Prince, because every single one charged that absurd entrance fee. So, unfortunately, after an hour of winding up and down the mountainous streets, we decided to change our plans - get 60 Haitian chicken wings, and go drinking at one of Chloe's friend's house instead. Sounded good to me.

And man oh man, was I happy to be experiencing (Chloe's version) of the real Haiti.

We went to a cheap wing place, parked outside, and waited in the locked car while Chloe's boyfriend went to get the wings. And waited. And waited.

During the (2 hour) wait for wings (I know, it was like they were killing chicken back there or something), we got to know each other a little bit. They are so warm, kind, passionate, and most of all, honest. I learned many things.

Food for Though #1: 
I was hanging out with the 1% of Haiti. And they are REALLY wealthy. The rest of the 99%? Well there is no middle class here, unlike in the US. People either own maids, or are maids. The wealthy and educated (those who own cars, and can drive around for chicken wings) stick within their own group - to protect themselves. They are very well aware of the problems in the country, and care immensely, but can do nothing about it. Or rather, don't know what to do about it. Going into politics would be the only way to try. But no one wants to, because you'd just put you, and more importantly your family, in great danger.

"There needs to be a strong, hard-ass leader," I said, " to take control, order changes, and whip everyone into shape."
"If there is one," Chloe said, "they would get killed in no time."

Food for Thought #2: 
My new friends passionately lamented the state of the country in the car - The lower class, under the influence of the last president, despise the bourgeoisie.

"So by 30$ for the pool, they meant US $, not Haitian $, right?" I asked stupidly.
"Oh it's all US dollars, girl." one girl replied, "If you go to a place that's not in US dollars, you get a totally different crowd. And you'll get...haha you know." she gave a its-not-going-to-be-pretty look.
"Not being racist or anything, it's just reality, for us too. "

Food for Thought #3:
"Democracy isn't for every country. Like right now, many people are impossible to control. We need our dictatorship back."

"For example, when Haitians get on a plane in Miami, they know to throw their trash into a trash can. But once the plane approaches Haiti, all the trash start going on the floor in the aisle - because they know nothing will happen to them now."

Food for Thought #4:
"Putting all emotions aside," Jean Luc said, "the earthquake was supposed to be good for us - it's the one time where people didn't die for nothing, it was our chance to rebuild the country - but we dropped the ball." He continued, "Putting all emotions aside, a dictatorship right now, even though they might do some horrible things, like kill and control, will be able to really shake Haiti into shape in the long run. Improve the economy, build some infrastructure, etc. We need a strong, good leader to put us into place."


Chicken break - I actually GOT OUT of the car, and STEPPED INTO a real street for the first time!!

The chicken place

2-hour wait for this chicken. Better be worth it >:)

We drove to one of their houses, and sat in their fancy yard to enjoy our chicken wings and rum. They were so good I could die.

This is when I introduced all of them to this magical thing called the "Asian Glow". I know. It was entertaining. "Drink more," they all said, "I want to see you turn purple!"

I didn't have to try too hard to accomplish that goal.

We chatted for hours. We talked food, career, love, global politics, Key and Peele, Haitian views on sexuality, education...

This group of friends who have known each other since they were kids, welcomed me into their group with such warmth and enthusiasm. I am so lucky and thankful. Especially for Chloe :)

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*Side note: This is something America really could learn from - a country where small talk has taken over social interactions, where "How are you?" is ONLY met with "I'm good" regardless of how you actually are. I don't remember the last time I was able to have a real, meaningful conversation with someone after meeting them for the first time.

Okay maybe with the exception of plane conversations. Those are so real.
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Oh, and also, THEY SAID THEY'D TAKE ME TO THE BEACH NEXT WEEKEND.

AND Chloe said she'll make sure they take me to another city sometime before I leave, to experience another side of Haiti. WOOOOO.

The Other Side of A Forest

[Disclaimer: I wrote down my thoughts and experiences, and do not mean to offend anyone. But please let me know if the content or the way I present it is offensive to you and I will fix or remove the post.]

Today concludes week one of Haiti.  It's hard for me to put into words how I feel about everything, so I'm going to just write down the facts ---

I'm on lock down.

At 8am every morning, the driver comes to pick me up for work. The guard opens the gate, sees us out, locks it behind us and spends the day cleaning the house.

View outside my window, i absolutely LOVE the mountains here

We wind our way down the mountain during the 45min drive to work, through mango stands along the streets, colorful taptap busses crammed with people, and crooked shacks full of disassembled car parts in the slums. Each morning I eagerly peak out of the car window, wondering what it's like out there - the sounds, the smells, the hustle bustle. But I'm not allowed to set foot out of the car, into the real world of Port-au-Prince.

My previous blog entries might have given away that the traveling style I prefer is spontaneous adventuring. I love to wander, to follow instincts, to experience. Which, as it turns out, is not the experience here in Haiti.

So this kills me. I thought to myself those first few days as Milfort drove us through the city that yes, the metal shell around this car is keeping us safe from the chaos that is in the streets, but it is also keeping us from the color, the culture, and the beauty that is Haiti.

Why so strict, you might ask? Let me try to explain how I understand it, after having spoken with several locals I befriended at work or through the roommates.

Haiti has been struggling with economic turmoil and political instability for decades. The people have been let down over and over and over again by the unbelievably corrupt government. For example, the last president was supposedly famous for being a popular singer, and even though he did not have a high school degree, was elected by the people because they thought "at least he already had money and won't steal from our country."

Except after that, every member of his family mysteriously became millionaires. A tad sketchy, perhaps.

Many citizens are in an economic position where they live day by day. In the words of one of my coworkers "they don't have the resources to plan ahead. They don't get the luxury of grocery shopping and saying, next week I'm going to eat this. They have no appliances, lots of them no income, and live life day by day, eating what they can get."

Many people will do anything for money. Including, for example, selling their electoral ballots to corrupt government parties. Apparently for this reason, during the last (democratic) presidential election, the results were completely rigged, and the winning candidate was an obviously unfavorable one.

As a solution, they appointed an interim president, gave him a 3 month time period during which he was supposed to put together another presidential election.

That 3 month term ended a little over a week ago. And nope, no election yet. And the Senate terms apparently ran out too.

So yup, there is no government.

Crime rates are skyrocketing; people are pushing their limits to see how much they can get away with.

It's not surprisingly that society here today is a very distrusting one. People stay within their tight circles. They keep their heads down, go to work, do what their supposed to, and go home. The poor stay with the poor, the rich hide in their mountain top mansions, the expats lock themselves in buildings and cars, everyone is just trying their best to stay alive. One day at a time.

It hurts me. And the more I think about it, the more misty the solution seems to be. "To make a real change," Aurelie (who I recently met) said, "I have to be in politics. But it's so dangerous. For myself, I don't care. But for my family, I cannot put them in danger."

I made some expat friends, and dinner conversation is always that Tulane med student who got shot last week, and that Swedish man who was killed yesterday. 5 bullet holes in the Marriott, 6 in the windows of the cell phone company next door. Oh look Game of Thrones is on, I'll drive you home 2 blocks away after (of course you can't walk you'll get killed). Look the US embassy sent out another reminder - when you get robbed just give them your bag, and don't look at them, because if you look at them they're more likely to kill you.

So right now I live my expat life. It's kind of like I'm stepping out of my comfort zone in the opposite way - instead of being out in an uncomfortable situation, I'm learning how to be completely alone. It's the first time I've been truly confined. It'll be cool to see how much reflection I can do and how many books I can read.

Here are some parts of my life I am allowed to take pictures of:

Yes, this is what expats do

My Sunday breakfast on the patio

My neighborhood, a beauty especially at sunset

One of Kath (my roommate)'s amazing drinks

All this aside though - Haiti is absolutely breathtaking. I love the mountains, the beautiful lightning shows at night with no rain, the colorful taptap busses, the strength of the people (more on this next post) the way the entire city roars after a football win:

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One of those expat friends is the CEO of a microfinancing company here in Haiti. We had dinner tonight, and were talking about him moving on from his CEO position. I asked him what he wanted to do after, he said he didn't know. I said, you should take some time off! You should travel!

He said "well, see, you say that, but I just...don't have the desire to - I've been to many places."

"But not ALL of them," I said, "there are SO many places you haven't gone, like..." I proceeded to listing them (in my excited Jenny travel voice, if you can picture it).

To which he responded, "It's that, after I've seen so much poverty, been to so many of those places, it leaves me with no interest in seeing those beautiful places in the world. Because you stand there and look at the forest, and you know what's on the other side, you know how the people really live out there. This is not the world. The world is not a forest."

Haiti, Day 1

Cornell told us that instead of taking our summer breaks the old fashioned way, we were supposed to do something "productive" with it. And their definition of "productive" happens to be one thing - research.

I could go on forever about how I feel about that. But I'll spare you the rant and just get to the point that I decided, fine, I'll do research. But you can't stop me from traveling and adventuring, so I'm gonna do it somewhere, anywhere else in the world.

So, after taking my last test in the first year of med school, spending a week at my homes (Ithaca, Boston, Toronto), surprising dad on Father's Day with the sisters, and watching my best friend get married (tears), I finally hopped on a plane to PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI to spend my 2 months of summer!

So here I am, back on my "funemployment" blog, although what I'm doing this summer technically doesn't fit the description. But oh well, it's generally how I try to live life anyway.

So I got on the plane, and first thing I noticed was that:
1) This plane was 90% Haitians and
2) 10% white people wearing matching T-shirts with hearts on them saying "be a changemaker!" "Save the villages!" "Rescue Haiti!"

Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little there with the quotes, but you get the point. I carefully observed the Haitians walking past these uniformed altruists, and they did not look pleased in the slightest bit.

This really hit me. I'm by no means belittling what these volunteers are doing in Haiti - I find their giving spirits commendable. But I couldn't help but wonder, what difference are they actually making? Whose lives are they truly improving - those they are going to help for a month, or their own? Is their, no, is our presence actually welcomed?

I know, great way to start my 2 months of clinical and research work in an infectious disease clinic, amirite?

ANNNND WE'RE LANDING IN HAITI!

A couple first things I noticed upon landing:

1) Haiti is NOT as hot as I expected and what people made it to be. I think it's because I have lived and survived in Houston, which to this day seems to be THE HOTTEST place on earth I've visited (and I've been to places like Singapore).

2) To strangers and outsiders, Haitians seem to come off pretty cold, even a bit rude. But to their own people (family etc.) they give the worlddd. Very "us" and "them". At least from what I see, from something as simple as getting luggage. Maybe I'll get lucky and make some friends while I'm here.

We waited literally an hour for the luggage to all come out. It was a hot mess.

The thirst was real

People slowly picked out their bags and walked away. Every bag that wasn't mine that rolled out made my heart sink a little lower and believe a little more that my bag was lost. One by one the crowd thinned out, until, it was just, me.

Ruh roh. Small panic moment.

A dude with a lanyard walked up to me and asked to see my ticket. I showed it to him. He said "wait here", and disappeared for one second before reappearing with my bag. "Thank you SO much!" I said, "where did you find it??" "Give me money," he said, and walked away disappointed after I gave him only a dollar. Kinda sketch, I would say.

I finally made it out of the airport, and was greeted by a man with a sign that said "JENNY XIA". I felt so welcomed :). Except he was NOT happy - with my flight delay and luggage shenanigans, he had been waiting for 2 hours! He took me in his van and we took off. 

The driver was not a happy camper. This was not alleviated by the fact that I gave him wrong directions to the clinic at first. The car ride was awkward, and he at some point turned on the radio at full blast. I have to diffuse the tension, I thought to myself. Except the driver didn't speak English (they speak French/Haitian Creole here)! So I took a deep breath, set my insecurities aside, and busted out the broken French that I barely remember :

"Les montagnes sont belles (the mountains are beautiful) (at least I think)". 

The driver turned around and laughed. "Ahaha, tu parles Francais? (you speak French?)". I explained that I speak a little and will practice while I'm here. He told me his name is Joseph, and proceeded to teach me a bunch of Creole phrases. The most important ones, if you ask me -  for example "I'm hungry" (which I was, extremely).

Tension, gone. 

To be honest, my first impression of Port-au-Prince was poor. To get to the clinic, Joseph took me through the slums of the city, and it was nothing I had ever seen before - broken shacks extending for as far as I could see, women sitting near it with small piles of mangos on the ground for sale, big sacks of donated clothes with people pulling them out in every direction, interspersed with fighting pigs and piles of burning trash. It put the way I live my life to shame.

But, as we drove further inland, up the mountains, the socioeconomic class rose along with the elevation. Steep, mountainous paths are lined with beautiful stone walls, with pink tropical flowers peaking over the edge. Inside, colorful mansions stood proudly, accompanied by their backyard pools.

So, with whatever right I have to pass judgements on a place based on 3 hours of observations, I think Port-au-Prince is just like any other city - maybe just a little more extreme - a place with severely imbalanced wealth distribution. 

Oh, I skipped over the part where Joseph took me to the clinic, "Les Centres GHESKIO" to meet the crew. I met Katey, an MD from Weill Cornell, one of the girls I'll be working and living with, and some other important people.

The house I get to stay at (for free, if I can get any luckier, since Cornell owns it) is halfway up the mountain. So, you guessed it, in a decently wealthy area. And my jaw literally went like this :O after I saw how ENORMOUS it is. Especially since I'm coming from NYC.

Also the girls who live here longterm got a puppy, named Ziggy. Adorableee. Except he's teething, and literally bites EVERYTHING. So this is what happened when I played with him. 

But in all seriousness, today has been a bucket of mixed emotions. I don't know how I can help here in Haiti yet. To be honest, I don't even know if I can make a difference. The only thing I do know is that I get to live in a fancy house. A BIG ASS fancy house, with electricity, internet, 3 bathrooms, and a guard.

There is much to experience and learn. I think this country will teach me more than I can offer to give, for now at least. But I am thankful to have this chance. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to make someone feel glad that I came to offer my time and energy, maybe I'll be a part of a process that discovers a better treatment for TB. Or maybe I'll be lucky enough to be considered an "insider" by a local Haitian.

Anything is possible. I'm excited. 

In a Trance

"Now that vacation is over, back to the real world." You hear that a lot. I've said it too. And you can see that I acted on it - my only two clusters of posts on this blog were from Indonesia and Thailand.

But Julia being here has reminded me, even more than usual, to open my eyes and appreciate all the beauty there is all around us - magic happens everywhere, and you don't need to be a tourist to appreciate that. It can happen every day. 

Spotted on 5th Ave

And so, I was priveleged to explore my own city through hungry, open eyes, and man oh man was it the best 3 day vacation I've had in a while. 

I studied real hard the week before Julia got here. Like realll hard - went to all the lectures and everything! So that I could excuse myself from school and enjoy my time exploring with Julia. 

We went to Stardust diner on Broadway where waiters sang as they served; we went vintage shopping, used books/record hunting, 5th ave window shopping; tried Indian food, Korean food, soul food, Smorgasburg food; saw a musical, went to the MoMA, Brooklyn Bridge, flea markets; freedom tower, rooftop bars, ran into old friends; walked through Harlem, and experienced a gospel worship. 

The last one I'll talk a little more about. I think Julia would agree with me that it was legitimately the most spiritual experience we've had. I mean yes, Bali is spiritual, you can argue that. But, the change you feel there is within you. Don't get me wrong, that is a good thing - a deep form of self realization and growth, something that helps shape people. But what we felt today, was a whole other kind of spirit. 

I guess they would call it the holy spirit - some powerful force that descended upon all the trembling men and women, dressed in their Sunday best, falling to the ground or shaking in jerky movements to the music. I don't know if I believe the existence of a holy spirit right now, but I definitely felt something - an energy that moved me, almost connecting me with them. I didn't act the same way, but I could almost feel what they were feeling, and understand the force that urged them to act that way. It wasn't a spirituality from within; it was spirituality that spilled out. 

We weren't allowed to take pictures throughout the event, but we took one outside - dressed in our Sunday best:

We had the most delicious soul/Caribbean food after, and was surprised by live music during it :)

For the first time in days, Julia and I took it easy - after walking around in beautiful Harlem:

We headed home. Just in time for yoga.

Then it was 7pm. After having spent the last 3 days walking 30,000 steps a day late into the night, I didn't know what to do with myself.

So, "what do we do with ourselves, it's only 7pm!"

"Drink tea?" Julia responded.

And drink tea is what we did. (You see why I like her?:) )

Rose bud tea from an Indian supermarket we went to with friends in the kitchen

Bangkok

The weekend market, Chatuchak, should not be allowed - a market that could take a day just to walk through, selling anything from souvenirs, food, clothes, pets, decorations, paintings, to plants.....I have trouble holding on to my money when the market is only ONE street long. So naturally this market was the death of my wallet.

But back to this morning - after an uneventful (but pretty long) journey from the beach where Renee stayed, to Bangkok, I decided to check out their famous weekend market. Mario from the hostel told me how to get there by bus - for a fee of only 14 baht (40 cents!).

Let me first talk about Mario for a second. Mario is Burmese; he is 21 and works at the hostel. We chatted for a bit when he came into my room to check the beds. He studied Botany for his Bachelor's degree in Myanmar, and is passionate about it. But unfortunately, in Myanmar you either get a Bachelor's, or a Master's - not both. The kids with higher grades get to earn their Master's, and the rest get to earn a Bachelor's. After that, that's it. You either find a job in your field, or you can't. In Mario's case, you can imagine that it is hard for a Botanist major to find a job.

Mario said he wants to be a researcher. He was introduced to the labs in his last year of school, and fell in love with experiments. But that's not in the cards for him - he cannot get his Master's, and thus cannot go into academia. It was heartbreaking for me to hear this story. Here I am in my cradle of opportunities, having had a quarter life crisis not so long ago, about which field I wanted to pursue - I had SO many options; the hard part was narrowing it down. But there he is, with such a clear passion, but no way to realizing it, at least not in his own country. So he left, traveling to Thailand first, and getting the first job he could find - working at the front desk of a hostel.

Chase your dream, Mario. I'm rooting for you!

He is good at his job though - seeing as he got me to and back from the big weekend market for 28 baht, so I used the bulk of my money to buy clothes, drinks, more clothes, food, painting, lights, etc.etc. In my defense, everything was cheap...:p

I was so exhausted after this, but dragged myself out to check out to see Khao San road (the road where Hangover 2 took place) - it was my last night in Thailand! And I did not regret it -

I did not have the courage to eat this on my own though. This was something I needed friends to do it with hahaha.

At some point that night, I stupidly lost my debit card (I walked away from an ATM without taking it out, and by the time I ran back 20 seconds later it was gone - either someone took it or it was swallowed). This was a good enough reason for me to call it a night and go back to the hostel to try to cancel my debit card.

The next morning I got up bright and early to try to hit up the Grand Palace before the toxic sun and hordes of tourists set in.

OK it's been a month and I still haven't found the time to finish this post. I'm going to put what I have up first, and add to it later. But just briefly: the palace was brightly beautiful and hot, I found my med school crew and it was a good day with them at the floating market, and then we got a Thai massage so good i regretted not getting one every day. I ate a cricket and a frog, and then went to the airport to find my flight delayed. Met up with Christian and had a great time despite not being able to see a ping pong show. Thailand has been great.

Oh yeah also got stuck in Beijing for another day, hung out with Greg and roamed around the beautiful hometown :)

Vibing on Lanta

Sometimes, you find yourself in a place that leaves such a powerful impression on you, and find it hard to leave. I found one of those today, in Koh Lanta National Park.

Thanks to a kind German stranger also named Jenny, who let me use her panorama function because mine broke, I was able to physically record what I saw:

My favorite corner in the world so far -

On the left, a jagged stone beach with crashing waves breaking into a noisy white foam upon hitting the sharp rock edges.

On the right, a gentle and calm beach with the most natural and untouched sand. There was not a single other tourist here - only a handful of local families, children splashing around in the tame ocean and parents chatting under the mangrove shade with picnics. I love mangroves

Behind me, which you can't see, is an aged white lighthouse, perched on top of and surrounded by rock-islands.

There is something about rocky cliffs, jagged rocks, and the clashing waves, that I love. I don't know what it is, maybe the wildness, maybe the danger, definitely raw beauty... it all excites me. I could sit here forever. But probably just for the sunset today.

This is a picture I took earlier from the rocky beach. I stood there for a good while, feeling the waves crashing into my feet. It was a good change of pace.

Speaking of changing pace - I found Koh Lanta to have a completely different vibe than Koh Phi Phi. After saying my goodbyes in the morning, I hopped on a ferry to Ko Lanta, an island southeast of Phi Phi. It was a sleepy ride, and I was not patient with locals on the ferries trying to offer me taxis and accommodations.

But the second I set foot on this new island I felt the difference - first off, it was so much bigger, and quieter. There are some touristy stores, but they were very spaced out. Life was slower and quieter here, with no boat men trying to stop you every 2 meters offering rides. Although this also meant you can't find 20 restaurants just down the street from your hostel. What struck me the most, though, was how incredibly nice the locals are here.

I first stopped by my dive shop near the pier (I had signed up to scuba dive the next day, and wanted to check in). Not only did they welcome me in, had me try on all my gear, they also spent a LOT of time helping me figure out the most cost-effective and convenient way to get to my hostel, and around the island. They called around, and even haggled for a cheap tuktuk for me.

The island is very long, and getting around required transportation of some kind. We decided that I would get my own motorbike at the hostel in order to explore the island the rest of the day (I only had one day!)

Man oh man! I was definitely much more confident riding a scooter this time around , and flew through the mountainous road - my favorite kind! With lots of hills, and exciting curves - kept me leaning left and right.

And the most amazing views kept opening up:

Also I stopped here for a bite:

After that was when I reached the national park and found my light house and beaches.

I turned in super early that night - haven't slept well at all the entire trip! (Talk about not actually relaxing :p) AND I got the entire hostel room of 8 beds just to myself! Slept like a baby before the scuba trip the next day!

I was picked up bright and early the next morning along with Keith, a guy from Western Massachusetts. He has been coming yearly to Koh Lanta for decades, always stays at the same bungalow, and uses the same dive shop. He was a swell guy - he was also my diving buddy!

The trip we booked was to the two famous rock coral cliffs called Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. After feeding us a delicious breakfast, the divemasters took us out to the dive site on a 1.5 hr speed boat ride.

One of my favorite parts about diving is the boat ride. The fresh current of wind in your face, the endless ocean, not a worry in the world.

Keith and I stared hungrily at the surrounding as we drove by - distant rock islands, squid boats (which shine strong lights into the water on moonless nights, attracting plankton who then attract squid), and a whole lot of open water.

The dives were sweet. There were lots of beautiful purple and red soft corals, and we saw quite a few moray eels, barracudas, and huge jellyfish. There was a big dead jellyfish that all the other fish were taking huge bite chunks out of - sad sight :(

 Sea cucumber feet

On one occasion Keith pointed out a beautiful yellow baby boxfish. It was SO little and cute - I got too excited, my heart started racing and I started needing more air - which meant I was feeling suffocated and very anxious (aka panic attack). I checked our depth and saw that we were 26 meters deep, and freaked out even more. At this points I was taking really deep breaths and still not getting enough - I signaled to our divemaster that something is wrong with my heart rate and breathing, all the while trying not to panic about dying before making it up

This is what the fish looked like - doesn't it just take your breath away? (Courtesy of Google)

Evelyn, our divemaster, took both my hands, and calmly motioned for me to breathe in and out while going up a little shallower. It was magic, and in no time I calmed down and felt better. Thanks Evelyn! But man it was NOT a fun experience.

Anyway. in between the two dive sites they served us fruits, and coconut rice wraped in banana leaves (best ever). We just sat around, chatted, and shared our diving stories.

And on the way back Keith and I sat at the head of the boat, chatting, taking in the limitless ocean, and getting to know each other. I was very sad to have had only 1.5 days in Lanta - it had been my favorite place on this trip! Definitely will be back.

The rest of the day was not so smooth (it was one of those "I want to go home" moments) - the car ferry taking me from Lanta back to Krabi was 2 hours late, so by the time I got to Krabi pier it was already dark. I had planned to go to a (only) boat-accessible beach to meet 2 friends from college, Renee and Katie, but because there was no other way of getting to the beach except by longtail boat,  I was the biggest scammer target. They were vicious in trying to clean my wallet.

I won't go into details, but it was dark, and the normally beautiful limestone cliff islands surrounding Railay beach looked so ominous. I did not trust the boat man, and I paid way too much and was not let down the boat when I tried to change my mind and refuse the ride:

 "We already bought the gasoline", they said. 

"Then use it tomorrow, give me my money back and I will leave", I naively said.

"No, we can't use it tomorrow, we have to use it now"

"That makes NO sense....but how much is it maybe I'll just pay for the gas"

"500 baht." SO much bullshit, not my best travel moment

But I did eventually find Renee, and we had a lovely dinner, and she was so kind to let me stay with her in her cool rustic bungalow overnight. 

My travels are coming to an end - Bangkok tomorrow for a couple days, and then back home to NYC!

SONGKRAN

So our hostel room toilet has a flushing problem. If you take a #2, there's a 95% chance it won't go down, and you'll have to spend the next 10 minutes trying to unclog the toilet with 5 other ppl 5 feet away from you in the dorm room knowing exactly what's going on (one trick is to turn the shower on while you're going, but we all know that trick so you ain't fooling anyone). But at this point we're all good friends, so this shit (pun intended) is just funny.

I literally just did a victory dance cuz mine went down in one flush. Woo. Great start to Songkran. It's the little victories :)

Anyway, lemme get to business - what a day!

I got up bright and early, in hopes of safely getting breakfast, before the war starts. Unfortunately, I was being too naive - locals holding white cream (I think it's made of baby powder + water but I can't be sure) were waiting in the streets, and did this to me as I innocently tried to walk past:

Also this:

So I rushed home to assemble my own team of soldiers (couldn't figure out how to rotate it sorry)

Before we headed out though, I had a little hostel situation - I had been booking my room one night at a time because I wasn't sure how long I was going to stay in Koh Phi Phi. But I met some great people and figured I'd stay one more night there - but turns out they're full for that night :(

The lady at the hostel recommended the place next door. I didn't want to walk my backpack around the island in this heat and water festival madness, so I put down the 800baht (~26$!) for the only room they had left there - it's a private room!!!!! The second I stepped inside I decided that the extra 500baht was worth it.

Clean, spacious, private, and most of all, with a functional toilet!!!! Such luxury, I was excited for a good night's sleep (which didn't eventually happen but I won't go into it)

My army kindly waited until I finished dealing with my hostel shenanigans, and then we set off into the streets.

Koh Phi Phi is a small island with no cars, and all the streets are narrow and windy - pretty perfect setting for some water gun fighting. The entire experience was madness, and you really had to be there, but I'll try my best to describe.

This is an event which sees no race/color. In really doesn't matter what your nationality is, your age, your status - if you're in the streets, you WILL get shot at, and you WILL get drenched. One thing to note though: traditionally it's done with bowls and buckets, and I believe the western tourists are who made this whole water-gun thing so popular. Don't quote me though.

Owners of some storefronts put giant water buckets out front, and filled it with (sometimes ice!) water for everyone else to get gun refills. People holding hoses used to fill those buckets will periodically use the hose to shoot giant jets of water at passersby.

As you walk down the street, you'll get water coming from every direction - you'll get buckets of water dumped in your shirt from the back (sometimes icey), buckets of water dumped on you from balconies, and buckets straight in your face.

Some locals circulated the streets with the creamy thing I was talking about earlier, and smacked it on everyone's faces (they get washed off pretty quickly by the water).

The poor people just getting onto the island from the ferry got it the worst - weapons and carrying big bags, they didn't stand a chance and got totally drenched.

The children are the WORST. They were the most dangerous enemies. Here is a picture of some cute and tame ones - I didn't dare take a picture of the older ones, I would've died.

Our team put up a fearless fight -

"Take a picture of us please? "

"Ok." Said the Thai man

*sprays right in our faces*

*takes picture*

After going on for about 4 hours, we finally retreated back to our hostels - who knew water gun fighting could be so exhausting!

After a brief siesta in my new room, I decided to take a walk to the tsunami memorial (Phi Phi was one of the affected islands). Christian from Germany was awake so we took off together. 5 seconds into walking, we heard music, drums, and cheering from a block away - it's a parade! Well we HAVE to follow it!

Had no idea where they were taking us, but we bought beers and just followed...the yellow brick road

They took us all around the island, past the houses where locals lived, chanting, cheering, dancing around. And then ended back right near where we started.... at an effing EDM stage! It was bizarre, Christian and I were the only two tourists in the crowd of Thais wearing flowery clothes, dancing to the music. The host took a hose and just sprayed unto the crowd as the music pumped on

Ok let me speed this up, too much happened in one day haha.

Christian and I headed back after the party, grabbed Sam from the UK and Joanna from Dubai,  and we set off to look for the memorial again. Except this time we got distracted by the sunset:
       

Sigh. Just look at that for a moment. <3

Turns out the memorial we were looking for was torn down years ago and a hotel built above it :( But hunting for it brought so many surprises - there's always something happening around every corner. :)

After dinner, the gang headed to the Muay Thai fighting bar. The idea is, anyone can volunteer to fight in the ring, and the winner of 3 one-minute rounds gets a free bucket (of alcohol).

It was fucking intense. We saw two professional Muay Thai fighters, and the agility, speed, and force blew my mind. Multiple times they crashed into the sides of the ring, right in front of where we were sitting, and I felt the sweat spray my face.

Not surprisingly, we had a fighter in our group - Allan, a chef from Malaysia. He said he's never fought or learned how to fight before. Hard to believe because he fucking BEASTED and won!

Well, he did unfortunately throw up right after the match and had to go back, but still a winner!

The night ended at the hostel with some Never Have I Ever, some getting to know each other, and not a lot of sleep.

I miss the Phi Phi crew already.