In order for She’s in Love with the World to even have a “Year in Review,” I need to bring it all the way back to mid-2009, when I first decided to take the leap into the unknown world of travel and blog writing. I was laid off, the economy was bad and I was pretty damn directionless. Ask anyone. As 2009’s close drew near, it looked as though 2010 would be the Year of the Awesome for me, and for the most part, it was.

2010 started off with a bang – a fantastic evening, just seven days prior to departure, with the person I love most. We had a fabulous, classy evening all dressed up and blissfully ignorant that in a mere week, we’d be separated for an undetermined amount of time. And that week flew by quickly. Before I knew it, Andrea and I were off on a plane to Bangkok, beginning the best way I’ve ever spent six months of my life.

The Highs of 2010:

• Maintaining She’s in Love with the World and even watching it garner some attention from other great bloggers and travel websites. Unfortunately, for this high, comes the low of me letting slip off my radar upon my return to the States. I worked hard to build my blog up, and after I deemed myself “far less interesting” in my domestic setting, I put no work into making myself interesting and let it fall to the wayside. Regardless of my actions, writing on this website throughout 2010 was one of the most rewarding aspects of my travels and I loved sharing my life with each and every new friend (and old) that came its way. It also allowed me to actually keep track of what I was crossing off of my brand new Bucket List, of which this blog has still only seen the first half!
• Volunteering in Southeast Asia. Working at the Future Light Orphanage with four other incredible young, solo female travelers was one of the most rewarding and impactful experiences I’ve ever had. The beauty of Angkor Wat doesn’t light a candle to the beauty of the shining, smiling faces I saw each and every day on site. This feeling was exacerbated when I began to bring clean water, fresh food and smiles to those incarcerated in the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok with In Search of Sanuk. No price can be put on the amazing feeling of bringing some relief and happiness to others during such an exciting period of your own life.
• The new friends made around the world. Facebook has proved to be a wonderful, magnificent tool for maintaining contact with friends made across the globe. Not only am I still in touch with the fabulous network of travel bloggers out there, but it’s possible to stay friendly with friends I made elsewhere – on a slow boat along the Mekong, in Al Azhar Park in Egypt – everywhere. Each person added to my journey in a unique way, and I’m happy to have them along for future journeys to come.
• Motorbiking down the coast of Vietnam. Despite a pretty horrific accident and some badly bruised legs, this trip still ranks on my Top 3 travel moments of 2010 when people ask my favorite part. It was an exhilarating, stressful and exciting day throwing me out of my comfort zone and into a whole new realm of extreme possibilities.

The Lows of 2010:

• The job search from July through October. It took me quite some time to find a job, even one with which I’m not in love. The economy didn’t do much rebounding as I had hoped it would while I was gone, and it took me a long time to even land an interview for a full-time position. I feel as though I had to lower my standards to get a job and, in my secretarial position, I have come to miss journalism more than I ever could have imagined.
• The money woes that come after a big trip are a lot to come to terms with. Of the $16,000 I left for Thailand with, pretty much all was depleted except for $2,000 reserved for bills, car payments and other incurred costs upon my return home. The difficulties in my job search did not help my severe lack of funds, and only now – at the start of 2011 – am I really beginning to replenish my bank account.
• Reverse culture shock and unexpected changes in my old lifestyle. Certain aspects of my former life certainly took a hit when I first came home. It took a little while for my boyfriend to warm up to possibility of us again, after his rocky visit to Thailand (Hi, Mike. I love you!). My family had all moved on without me to a certain extent, and became quite used to my absence. There was less freelance work for me at the newspaper once my column ended, some other personal issues, and reverse culture shock (read: absence of street food and motosais) made a belated appearance, sending me into a pretty big tailspin for the end of 2010.

So what’s up for 2011? This year I brought in the new year on a cruise ship with the flu, fast asleep by 12:20. Like I said, my good and bad seem to come in waves.

After some lofty resolutions last year, I’m anticipating a pretty slow beginning of 2011. The year will likely be filled with more monotonous work in order to continue replenishing my bank account in preparation for big changes in 2012, whatever they may turn out to be. I plan to stop biting my nails once and for all (after many failed attempts).

I’ve learned that not every year can be golden the whole year — even the best years have their lows – but I’ll make the best of the excitement I do have for 2011. I have a bunch of friends’ weddings to look forward to that will involve some travel, tentative plans for TBEX’11 in Vancouver to finally put faces to names of bloggers I interact with almost daily, and more time with those I do love at home.

Happy 2011, everyone.

Love,

Sarah

Midway into my fourth week, I’ve realized quite a few things about myself and, what it is exactly, that irks me about the 9-5 grind. It only took about 20 paper cuts, cotton mouth and a last-minute road trip with my boyfriend to Washington, D.C. this past weekend to help me figure out what I already knew while staring at my longtail boat background on my office computer every day (yes, the title picture).

• I hate feeling like I’m not being put to use. I love to be busy, but not with busywork. What made traveling so great was that it kept me on my toes. I was always thinking and expanding my horizons because I had to. New cultures, languages and people forced me to explore the tiny, dark corners of my brain and open creaky doors that had long been shut since college. I was thinking and I was learning. With a lot of the jobs I’ve been doing since coming home both at the JCC and my new job — answering phones, stuffing envelopes, processing memberships — there’s not much of a brain requirement there and I feel the need to learn and be challenged.

• The Internet is the most efficient tool ever created. Seriously. I know this is coming from a blogger and obsessive social media-lover, but hear me out. Some things, like mailings, would just be so much simpler done via e-mail through blasts to members. I’m a print traditionalist when it comes to newspapers, and I hate to see my one true love gasp its dying breaths, but there’s something to be said for the immediacy and ease of the Internet. Besides, it would save my hands from looking like they were just put through the paper shredder.

• I’m still meant to be a journalist. After I was laid off, I was jaded. Many of you probably recall me
  

  Hanging with CBS' Bob Schieffer in Dec. 2009 after an interview.

  bitching and moaning something along the lines of, “This field sucks. I’m done with it forever.” Well, the past few weeks, I’ve found myself surrounded by and completely immersed in a field that I am still so passionate about and miss dearly. The first Saturday in November, after  a road trip with some close friends back down to Delaware for the University of Delaware’s Homecoming football game, I spent an evening celebrating one of the most talented and dedicated journalists (and my personal mentor) I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. Follow that up with my first-ever trip to the Newseum in Washington, D.C. on this past weekend’s road trip and the feelings are nearly bursting out of me. I don’t have a more deep-seeded passion for anything [aside for maybe travel] than I do for the news. The Newseum’s exhibits on Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina moved me, and it wasn’t because of the immensity of the news being covered. Mike, you didn’t see it, but I actually cried in the Newseum. Twice. It was the passion and the drive these reporters had to deliver the news, the commitment they made to the public and the audacity to face fear, corruption and despair to bring to the people what they deserve. It gave me a new motivation and inspiration to pursue my dreams of working as a foreign journalist one day. It gave me the vigor I needed to suffer through any menial communications job to get me that much closer to the goal.

• The travel goal hasn’t been lost either, though. Barring some fantastic dream job smacks me across the face before I turn 25 and I’m suddenly the next Katie Couric, I still plan to hit the road again. Plans as to where are still completely unclear, but it will certainly be places in which I can delve deep into the culture and uncover things for myself, both in this blog and hopefully a reinvigorated travel column. Book ideas fleet through my head from time to time; spending an intense amount of time in one location uncovering misconceptions and cultural rarities (think, Finding George Orwell in Burma). Much like journalism, travel runs through my blood.

I’ll continue with attempts to fill the pages of this blog with more of my thoughts and rants about full-time work and travel and passionate words, but for now, I’m glad that I’m slowly starting to find my way and figure out what’s real and what’s not. I’m finally learning exactly what I want and that, even if I can’t have it right away…eventually, I have the drive to make it mine.

That’s why it was such a pleasure to be a part of the New Haven stop on Chris Guillebeau’s Unconventional Book Tour, spreading the release of his first print book under the same name as his blog, “The Art of Nonconformity.” Chris and I have missed meeting one another (despite quite a few mutual friends) by just a few days in Bangkok back in March and then again last week in New York. The event was organized by the wonderful Brooke Thomas of Adventures in Wellbeing and featured spirited conversation over wine, beer, cheese and enough cupcakes to feed Chris’ entire Small Army.

A group of about 20 — all with vastly distinct paths ranging from my traveling/writing self to clinical psychology to engineering to Internet marketing — gathered in Brooke’s beautiful second floor office space that triples as a rolfing practice, pilates studio and soon-to-be co-working office around an antique mantle and exposed brick walls. After Chris’ brief introduction, much of the evening was left for mingling with attendees and smaller, more intimate dialogue.

Saturday evening, I hadn’t seen much past the prologue of his book, but since then I’ve put down what I was reading for a brief interlude. I’m about three-quarters finished with Chris’ book and what impresses me most is the honesty and acknowledgement that the very art about which he writes may not be for everyone. Too often the “lifestyle design” community that Chris is sometimes lumped into ignores these people because they live a conventional lifestyle void of world travel and working on your own terms. Instead, Chris addresses them head on as well, offering the important insights that provide them the chance to find new alternatives or take up new practices in addition to their current lifestyle.

The book isn’t about the “work less, play more and still get rich” mentality that plagues many in the genre, but instead turns toward making a lasting legacy and impression. Chris’ experiences abroad have taken him all across the globe, beginning with his four years on a Mercy Ship in the most impoverished and war-torn parts of Africa. With some proceeds of his book donated toward clean water projects in Ethiopia, Chris keeps his word on his philosophy of doing good not just for you, but applying nonconformity for the good of others as well.

Chris is as personal, spirited and down-to-earth in the flesh as he is in his writing. If you have the opportunity to make it to one of his stops on his Unconventional Book Tour, it’s highly recommended. Find out the rest of his schedule at www.unconventionalbooktour.com.

Click here to read She’s in Love with the World’s interview with GO! Overseas.

It’s one of my favorite bookmarked travel sites to visit and I was thrilled when they contacted me with the opportunity to be a part of their community as a featured blogger interview and one of their Top 10 Travel Blogs on the web. A big thank you goes to Andrew Dunkle, who helped coordinate the interview and is one of the masterminds behind GO!

The best parts about reading while on the road are the discussions and book trades you make along the way. Upon finishing my first book, I made a pact to myself to leave a note and my blog link ( a la PostSecret.com-style) for the person to pick up my book after I’ve left it behind. The following are some of my favorites; the books that inspired me to keep traveling and soak in as much history as possible:

John Lennon: The Life by Philip Norman – Of all the works I’ve read on the Beatles, this is easily the most exhaustive and comprehensive, weighing in at nearly 900 pages. Initially written with the blessings and cooperation of both Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney, it has been reported they were unhappy with the end results. In his biography, Norman is able to strip away the martyrdom and the controversy that oft surrounds Lennon to bring to light the good, the bad, talented and tortured.

The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss – The jury’s still out on how much I liked this one. While I can certainly appreciate the ideals of a four-hour work week and location independent lifestyle, it is not for everyone and I think that’s where my feelings are lost on the self-help book. Ferriss needs to work on finding a better balance between helping those who want to make the actual concept a reality and those interested in making simpler lifestyle changes. I most enjoyed answering the thoughtful questions at the end of chapters and working on my personal Dreamline Worksheet.

The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton – You can read my review of this book here.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss – The first of the two fiction works I read while traveling, Krauss’ novel was like fulfilling a sweet tooth. It offers the entwined story of a young girl trying to help her translator-mother find love again and the secret behind a book that holds great family meaning. The book within the book tells of a Holocaust survivor’s story of lover lost.

First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung – Ung throws the reader right into the Khmer Rouge’s regime by writing in the present tense, as if she is still the young girl working to survive her family’s hardships under Pol Pot. While this narrative offers insight to what happened during the Cambodian genocide, it left me wondering how legitimate some of her accounts are, as the title itself is misleading.

The Posionwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver – This best-selling novel is the best fiction work I’ve read in a long time. It’s engaging, clever and heartbreaking all at once. The Price family of six (led by a Baptist missionary father) relocates from Georgia to the Belgian Congo during the country’s emergence into a post-colonial era. The historical fiction story is narrated by the women of the family, as their lives parallel the tumultuous time in of The Congo during the 1950s and ’60s.

The Girl in the Picture by Denise Chong – This biographical and historical work traces the life story of the child in the infamous picture of the young girl running naked during the Vietnam War, Kim Phúc. It follows her life from before the attack and into present day (1999). The work also focuses heavily on relationships between the Vietnamese and Americans during the war, examining ideas of war, political turmoil, international relations and racism. A heavy, but worthwhile read.

Magic Bus: On the Hippie Trail from Istanbul to India by Rory MacLean – I bought this book on a whim nearly a year ago, before the prospect of world travel was even on my radar. I was drawn to its lime green cover and eclectic hippie drawings, but then forgot I even had it. In this little-known travel narrative, MacLean retraces the eastward path traveled by the enlightened, the spiritual and the adventuresome in the 1960s and ’70s. The so-called Intrepids — fueled by gurus like Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi — are the backbone of modern day backpackers, though much of the initial purpose (to “observe and absorb” other cultures) has been lost. This was hands-down my favorite book of my travels, and maybe one of my favorites of all time.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Relin – After a failed attempt to summit the world’s greatest peak, K2, Greg Mortensen turns the page from mountain man to philanthropist. In this man-versus-the-world story of Mortensen’s attempt to build schools and educate girls in Afghanistan, culture prejudices, poverty and the Taliban are revealed in an alarmingly accurate and sometimes unfortunate manner. The recently-released follow up, Stones into Schools is on my list of to-reads.

Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin – In the last days of George Orwell’s life, he returned to his earlier ones in Burma/Myanmar for inspiration. The result is an unfinished manuscript and pages of notes. Larkin follows Orwell’s footsteps and trio of novels (Burmese Days, Animal Farm and 1984) in Burma/Myanmar, discovering that his time in Burma may have been the inspiration for 1984 and that the country, where he is revered as “The Prophet,” still bears an eerily close resemblance to the story written so many years ago.

• Stones into Schools by Greg Mortensen
• The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want and Change the World by Chris Guillebeau
• Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne
• You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers
• The Glass Palace by Amitav Gosh
• Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
• The King Never Smiles by Paul M. Handley

Read any great books lately? Leave them in the comments, as I’m always looking for suggestions!

Don’t get me wrong. I am still loving every second of my trip and each day brings something new and more exciting than the one prior. But every once in awhile something will remind me of someone or something back home and reminds me that when I do come home, having those things again will be appreciated in a new way. The following is just a short list of some of the things that I tend to return to when pangs of homesickness hit:

• Cheese – Yes, cheese. Most people don’t really seem to get it when I tell them, but cheese – along with other dairy products – is sorely lacking in Asia. Ah, the things I would give for a baked brie or chèvre roll with cranberries and cinnamon. I’d even settle for a good sharp cheddar. Chris, this is your cue to comment on my cheese snobbery…I’m waiting.
• Baseball – The time difference has made it incredibly difficult to keep up with my beloved New York Mets games on my MLB Radio subscription and I also have yet to make a friend who can talk bats with me for hours on end. I miss my David Wright jerseys and heading to Citi Field on a weekend with my little brother or friends. Something I don’t miss? The heartbreak and frustration the Mets have given me over the past five years.
• Seasons – It’s sweltering hot in Bangkok right now. It’s the kind of heat that slaps you across the face the second you step outside and makes you want to run around naked all the time. While I’m thankful to have missed one of the worst winters the Northeast has seen in a long time, I wouldn’t mind a day where I can put on a sweater or hoodie, a hat, scarf and blankets.
• Driving – Bangkok has some of the worst traffic I’ve ever seen, and while I’d probably never attempt to drive here, I do miss cruising down I-95 in my Baby Blue that my brother is ever-so-cautiously watching over and probably racing about town in.
• Home-cooked meals – Dad’s Sunday gourmet meals and Mom’s macaroni and cheese. Enough said.
• Wardrobe variety – I remember when shopping was a major downfall of mine. While I’m happy to have kicked the habit, I do miss owning more than five shirts, two pairs of shorts, two dresses, one pair of jeans and a pair of flip flops. Like my brother’s watchful eye on my car, I’m sure my sister’s keeping a close watch (or wear, likely) on my clothes.
• Live music and Broadway – Before travel, most of my leisurely spending money went toward concerts
  

  Casa Villa tacos courtesy of Chris Preovolos

  and plays. It didn’t matter if it was a local band or huge national tour. Generally, if there was a stage with a singer and a guitar, I was there. I’ve finally found a couple of places in Bangkok with a decent live music scene, but I’ll look forward to coming home and seeing some of my favorite performers again.

• Being a ‘regular’ – Weekend nights out almost always led me to my favorite bar in Connecticut with one of my best friends, resulting in far too many drinks, a new bartender crush and dancing to an awful cover band. It may sound silly, but it’s nice to revisit places where you’re known and get special treatment from time to time.
• Sierra Grille salads and Casa Villa burritos – The same way good coffee has remained elusive throughout Southeast Asia – I still can’t get used to the whole condensed milk, super-sweet, syrupy coffee – I have yet to find good Mexican food, though this one comes as less of a shock. Back home I tend to overindulge on Mexican (you mean four times a week is too much?!) and I do still find myself missing it more often than not. Though, Thai food has become quite the nice alternative, as they have a similar affinity for chilis.
• Peoplesickness – It’s simple really; I miss you guys. Family, friends, beagles, adorable children I babysat, old coworkers, mentors, bartenders, et al.

It’s not too late to send me your best budgeting tip for backpackers for Part II of  ‘How to Deal: Budgeting.’ Send me an e-mail at lovewiththeworld@gmail.com to have your favorite tip included!

Results from the study state that a new generation of children who choose not to leave the home could get so wrapped up in gaming and social media that travel could altogether be abandoned, The Telegraph reports. While I’m not quite sure to what degree I support or believe in the study’s findings (just look at all the great networks of travel bloggers on Facebook and Twitter!), if it proved to ever be true, it could cause a serious problem within modern society.

For as much as we can learn about other cultures on the Internet and media outlets, it does not pale in comparison to what can be learned through the first-hand experience. Travel is the type of profession or hobby that requires the use of all senses, something that would clearly be lost in translation through the advent of 3-D television, online chats and the gaming that allows armchair travel. While you can “travel” to France through documentaries about the Eiffel Tower or imagine the tastes of a dumpling in Hong Kong through Anthony Bourdain, it is not the same as climbing the steps to the top of the Tower or actually smelling and tasting the food from a street cart vendor.

Aside from the iconic sights and tastes of another world, travel should remain a necessary pleasure — not to be replaced by technology — to broaden perspectives and improve relations with other countries and cultures. The best way to maintain a relationship is through interpersonal interaction and stepping into an alternative way of life. Only so much can be learned and understood from television and books. Media is a great way to stay informed, but to truly understand there is nothing like immersing oneself in a culture and how it lives. Understanding is the key to learning favorable relations, and the understanding comes only with the experience of being there. As a recent example: everything I’ve read in international media about the political crisis in Bangkok has been in stark contrast to what I’ve read and seen myself while living in the country.

So what makes travel important and why this study needs to be proven wrong for years to come?

Travel gives people a basic understanding of the great big world in which we live. It allows us to appreciate other societies, forms of government and even cuisines. We can experience diversity in all its forms while relaxing us, exciting and teaching us all at the same time. Travel — in any of the many forms in which it occurs — makes us a cohesive whole.

Do you think technology could ever replace the need or desire for travel? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

— Alain de Botton

With its misleading title, “The Art of Travel” by Alain de Botton is not what it appears. It is not a guide on how to travel, but rather a deep philosophical exploration of why we travel and the role it plays in our lives.

The bestseller breaks up travel into sections beginning with departure and its anticipation working its way all the way up through the return from a journey.

De Botton draws from the lives of great writers and artists, using them as tour guides through his travels: Gustav Flaubert’s view of Egypt to his of Amsterdam and Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings of Provence for de Botton’s first-time visit. Instead of attempting full biographies of his subjects, de Botton provides an overview of their lives, then shifts his focus to certain periods of their work that pertain to the idea of travel.

He uses his own travels as an addition to this, sometimes directly and sometimes only partially, but takes care to never reveal too much of his own life and his personal travels. Beginning with the excitement of anticipation and sometimes-harsh reality, de Botton moves between his trip to Barbados and the disappointing trips of the Duc des Esseintes in J.K. Huysman’s novel A Rebours. The “guides” de Botton uses to contrast his own experiences to are early 19^th century figures, which limits the scope of the concerns of modern travelers; sustainability, the destruction of natural habitats, economic strife.

What is most striking about de Botton’s work in “The Art of Travel” is his keen eye for detail, especially evident in his passage on service stations — airports, trains, and rest stops. Writing in beautifully careful and clear prose, he is able to juxtapose the common with the sublime. The meek smile of a woman on a train or smudges on a window pane take on a life of their own, outside the daily mechanisms of travel too often taken for granted.

Although at times difficult to digest, “The Art of Travel” is entertaining and thought-provoking. It will certainly help to question and rethink some of our own travel experiences and also leave a slight imprint on how we approach new ones.

I’ve decided to extend my donations from this post for Haiti and Chile. For every comment on the post, I will donate an additional $1 to the Red Cross to help earthquake efforts in both Haiti and Chile through April 20.

To debrief, after spending our first week in Bangkok (a bit too long, in my opinion), we headed south beginning with Krabi and the Andaman Sea coast islands of Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta. From there, we jumped over to the other coast to the islands of Koh Tao and Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.

What I did love about the islands was that each was vastly different in size and make up. Each had its own ethereal beauty and there was something to love about each. If Koh Phi Phi was a nonstop beach party flecked with famous beaches and beautiful tourists, Koh Lanta was the detox from it all, with its lush inclusive resorts overlooking a stunning sunset. Koh Tao served as the chill, diver’s paradise, while Koh Phangan provides the ultimate beach rave in the world under a full moon and UV lights.

The Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan brings mixed feelings for me. It’s an outrageous event and I had a blast drinkingfrom buckets, painting my body and dancing until sunrise. We made new friends from all over the world and loved our resort. It was an amazing experience and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. However — and I’m no prude — the idea that Koh Phangan exists solely as a party island and that tourists lose their minds in drugs and alcohol and many walk away the next day bandaged up and on crutches, makes me wonder if it gives the Western world a bad rap as spoiled, partying alcoholics. Exploring Haad Rin in daylight was telling for me: it’s seedy and dirty, a place more fit only to be seen under the glow of UV lights, body paint and intoxication.

I understand the amazing time I had at the Full Moon Party totally contradicts my feelings about Koh Phangan, but hey, it’s my blog. Go with it.

We arrived in Chiang Mai today and I couldn’t be more excited to be landlocked for the next week or so. It should introduce me to more of the culture I came to Southeast Asia to see in the first place. We already have plans to see the night bazaar tonight and trek through the jungle for the following three days. We hope to meet up with Benny Lewis again (hopefully he’ll still speak English to us!) and spend a night learning to meditate with Buddhist monks. Even if all of these plans don’t work out in Chiang Mai, I can at least rest easy that the real culture vulture experience is finally in full swing.

It’s not too late to put your two cents (and my dollar) toward helping out Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake. Check out my previous post on the similarities between Haiti and Koh Phi Phi.

Lucky for us, immediately after checking in at the Imm Fusion in Bangkok, Andrea and I were handed complimentary 60-minute Thai massage vouchers as a promotion for booking our accommodations through STA in New York before we left.

Back at home, I was never able to afford a massage. They remained reserved for joint Father’s Day gifts from my siblings and I to our dad after a stressful workweek or as something a married couple did for a romantic getaway at all-inclusive resorts on the beach. So needless to say, I was excited, but a bit nervous for my first massage. I’m not big on people touching me, and the idea of someone standing on me and using their feet and knees to kneed out any kinks didn’t exactly sound appealing…at first.

The Thai massage combines acupressure and yoga positions to stretch out and relax tense muscles throughout the body. Masseurs clamber up onto your back and use their knees, elbows, hands and toes to crack bones back into place and work out sore muscles — not unlike the symptoms I felt from flying for so long.

The second I felt the Thai woman’s knee on my back, I couldn’t help but laugh. And also flinch in some serious pain. This is a massage? People like this? Throughout the ordeal, I couldn’t decide if it was more comforting or painful. I had to hold myself back from laughter or some kind of verbal cue when something didn’t feel right. Some parts of my body took to the massage more than others — my hands, legs and head quite enjoyed the massage, but a sharp knee to the shoulder wasn’t exactly my idea of relaxing. It turns out I’m still quite flexible, and the yoga positions my body was contorted in felt quite good to stretch out. Looking over at Andrea, she looked a lot more calm and relaxed than I did.

After the massages were finished, Andrea and I were graciously handed cups of tea to decompress. Talking it over, we both agreed it’s definitely an experience to be had, and one we’ll probably do again. After all the pain and my obvious awkwardness/inability to relax during the massage, my body still felt wonderful afterward, like Jell-O.