Hello everyone out there! Yes, I’m still alive. It’s been an incredible and enlightening experience these last few months. I haven’t posted a lot, okay, like hardly anything but it’s been so wonderful simply being present in the moment with the people around me. I’ve wanted to share this with all of you but life happens and it turns into “tomorrow, Kira. Write it tomorrow. Share it later.”
As one chapter ends and another begins, I just want to briefly catch you up with me. I left Thailand and the amazing Koh Phangan island last week as my visa was ending. The big question was ‘Where to next?’ And up until the last day I still didn’t have a destination. It was both terrifying and exhilarating. I like spontaneity up to a point, more like freedom within a confined plan. Sounds a bit like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? I had some dear friends pushing me to stay but I was ready to move to my next destination. It didn’t feel right to start my travels around the world, only to stop in the first country I came to. I’d been there 7 months and was ready to expand my bubble.
I settled on Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It seemed like a good location to figure myself out. Lots of embassies to get visas and an international airport. And so began (or rather, continued) internet searches, emails, and phone calls galore. I was looking for a place to do my Dive Master course as an internship (work exchange) and was waiting to hear from some while always on the look out for new opportunities. At the same time, I was also looking for workaway possibilities as a place to stay to help offset some opportunities that didn’t include accommodation.
I kept leaning towards Indonesia; I’d heard repeatedly on how incredible the diving was in Bali and the Gili Islands. One dive shop I very much had my heart set on told me I was overqualified. They were only looking for those brand new to diving or with only their Open Water despite the same end result of becoming Dive Master. ::shrug:: Their loss.
It had reached the point where I decided that unless something crazy just popped up, I was going to Indonesia and would just start banging on dive shop doors, begging them to take me in as a DMT in exchange for work. I’m a hard worker, darn it!! ::bangs fist on table...rubs fist:: :-) The only problem was discovering that KL no longer does 60 day visas. ARGH! So it was off to Penang for a couple of days.
Now I am once again sitting in an airport, waiting for my flight, wondering where this next adventure will lead me. I’m heading to the Gili Islands in Indonesia, specifically Gili Meno. Apparently it has a population of about 300 locals and “there are no cars or motorbikes on the island, all transport is by horse-drawn carts or on foot.”--According to a website I’d found. But the diving is supposed to be spectacular!! I found a workaway where in exchange for getting a cute little house all to myself, I have to watch their cat and maybe water the garden. DONE! And it will leave me plenty of time to try and sell myself to one of the local dive shops. ::chuckle::
So wish me luck! I have 60 days on a new tropical island. By the end I’ll have loved it and want to stay longer or I’ll be pulling out my hair from sheer boredom. ::laughs but stops suddenly with a nervous look:: But in all seriousness, I’ve made it my goal to try and learn how to climb a coconut tree. A monkey’s gotta eat! ;-)
Lovelovelovelovelove!!!!
