Alone again. I’m sitting in my hotel room, zoning out on my laundry and taking inventory of all my personal clutter on the desk in front of me.

Nico jumped the ferry for Phuket a couple days ago and once again, I’m left alone with my thoughts and reflections. Our time together was quick and frantic as we only had two weeks and an ambitious plan. Fortunately, we did allow for a little time to slow down at the end of his holiday when we decided to come to Koh Phi Phi about six days ago.

For just over USD$12 a night, I’m in a good place – a simple beachfront resort with stellar bay views, spacious rooms and daily maid service. It’s hard not to feel good about life when you can come home to a personal space like this, and I feel just as at home here as I did at my small yet cozy apartment back in Los Angeles.

It helps to feel at ease as my mind wanders over the happenings of the past two weeks, attempting to find the best way to put it all into perspective. Considering the great variety of experiences that we just crammed into such a short timeframe, there really isn’t a single wavelength to follow, other than two main characters – Nico and I – and the ever changing scenery around us.

Scuba diving had left me with a pretty annoying sinus infection around the time I met up with Nico and I was eager for a little peace and quiet. Luckily, he was into the idea of heading north to the mountains and check out the sights of Chang Mai and Pai. I had heard great things about Pai, a funky hippie village in far north of Thailand near the Myanmar border, and I knew it would be just my style.

After a night in Chang Mai, during which we managed to fit in a visit to the famed night market and check out town, we headed north. I wanted as much time in Pai as possible, yet with our limited schedule that meant only three nights. Even though there couldn’t be a place in the country farther from the beach (my usual requisite for any chosen destination), I loved it. The shops were funky, the clothes reminded me of the creative bohemian styles you might find in a Grateful Dead parking lot scene, and the chilled out little restaurants were the cheapest in the country.

The main tourism draw in the north is elephant trekking, and Nico, thoroughly informed of the country’s must-do activities (complements of his steady faith in his Lonely Planet Thailand guide), was ready to ride. While the pace was slow and the ride a little bumpy, it proved to be an incredibly good time. With the highlight centering on “bathing” with the elephant, we ended up with some hilarious video footage of Nico and I scrambling around, trying to stay mounted while our elephant submerged herself in a muddy brown river and rolled over. Trust me when I say you have little grace when attempting such a feat. It was sloppy, wet and downright hysterical.

A little bruised, a little sun burned and entirely elated, we ended our day with a motor bike ride through the mountains. While I had my reservations about renting motor bikes in the first place and had a nagging premonition that I would eventually fall, the motor bikes were a great idea.

For the first time since I left home, I had wheels. And cruising along those quiet mountain roads, I even had a vision of Nico and I riding them all the way back to Chang Mai. Of course, that dream was squashed when it started pouring rain and I managed to crash my bike into a bamboo fence. The funniest part about the crash was that I was at a standstill when somehow my hand slipped back on the throttle and forgot to let go. I sustained a big bruise on my leg (my own Thailand tattoo) and a blow to the ego, but other than that I was fine (don’t worry mom, I don’t plan to rent one again).

The next day, after questioning the plan to leave Thailand on more than one occasion, Nico and I endured two travel days and made it all the way to Singapore. Luckily, Nico understood my haste to get back "home" and we decided on staying only two nights, giving us one full day to check out the city.

From our morning cruise on the quays and visits to the technology-obsessed shopping malls to getting kicked out of the oldest exclusive hotel in town (apparently men have to wear pants to hang out there) and seeing the incredibly clean markets of Chinatown, I can honestly say I saw enough. Two days and two hundred dollars later, we were back in Thailand.

This time, we headed straight for the fabled shores of Koh Phi Phi. Most people back home know this place as the tiny island ravaged by the tsunami of December 2004 or as the chosen location for the movie, The Beach. Both references have had undeniable effects on local tourism.

While it is a bit haunting to look out at the mangled palm trees and cleared landscapes that were once filled with crowded beachfront establishments before the tsunami, it feels good to be here and spend my money where it’s most needed. The island is slowly rebuilding, but you get the sense that reconstruction efforts have moved much slower here than they have on Phuket.

While sitting in an Internet café, waiting to burn a CD of his photos, Nico mistakenly watched some video footage of the tsunami. His mind was clouded after, and he felt a little shaken. More than 3,000 people died on this island that day, and the memory is still quite fresh for most of the locals. Here’s hoping that the island will soon be healed of the pains the tsunami left behind.

On a brighter note, the beaches here will always be beautiful, and despite the monsoon season, the sun has been shining steady. I’m happy to say that we got what we came for – a little quality time in paradise.

I'm sure we'll be talking about these times together for the rest of our days.

August 26, 2006