Nuwii

I arrived in Thailand, not willing to look back on all the obstacles I faced attempting to get there, and was in complete shock from this country. I had my own idea of “Thailand”, and the thing about Thailand is – wow. It constantly amazed me, every town I went to, the people I met, the experiences I had, blah blah blah. So I arrived in Bangkok, completely overwhelmed by the large city and knew I had to get out as soon as possible to start my adventures. After Bangkok I went to Chiang Mai, enjoyed the smaller town atmosphere, went to Patara Elephant Farm – absolutely amazing! One of the best experiences I’ve ever had, I got to take care of an elephant all day, checking to make sure she was healthy, bathing her, then we got to go on a walk to the waterfalls- she walked I sat on her neck. Her name was Nuwii. Who is now tattoo’d on my arm! If you look through the pics there’s a picture of me riding Nuwii, that’s the one on my arm- obviously without me on her. I got the tattoo done by bamboo, which is just a bamboo rod with 3 tiny needles and the tattoo artist just taps it in your skin constantly. Not that painful, just a strange pain… my arm never went numb and I felt the constant pricks, but it wasn’t painful it was just a shock of “Oh yup, can still feel it.” The tattoo artist was absolutely amazing, such a talented human being. He also does machine tattoo, giving himself a range of artistic knowledge. So after Chiang Mai I made my way to Pai, where I got the tattoo done. I fell in love with Pai, the hard part was towards the end I was getting antsy feet, I needed to move again before coming back to Senegal. I was in such a state of comfort and relaxation which would have made the transition back to Senegal much more difficult. I ended up staying in Pai tho, it’s hard to leave Pai. After Pai I returned to Bangkok to get prepared for my fly out and back to Senegal. Once again at the airport I ran into various obstacles, but I made it back to Senegal and was greeted by Steve! Which was a great way to return to Senegal! I
This is the shortest story about my travels, but it was my travels; I don’t need to share it all. It was greatly needed, and completely worth it. I absolutely love Thailand, and I would definitely return.
Also, I never felt like I was in any sort of danger when traveling on my own. I met some amazing people, and enjoyed hearing their stories of their travels, I hope to stay in contact with many travelers, and hopefully I run into others somewhere else in the world.
So, Senegal has been different for me. I don’t know if it’s because of my recent travels or if it’s because I’ve hit the year mark, but I just feel so much more comfortable in this country. I feel like I know what to expect and what I can get away with, also, I don’t have to please everybody. I don’t have to take things personal, if my work isn’t working out maybe it’s not me, maybe it’s the people- so be it. I’m just finding my place, and it feels like I’ve gained control again. It’s a nice feeling.
Now I’m attempting to plan a trip with Huda, inchallah. I really want to meet up with her, plane tickets might be an issue, but I think I might be meeting up with Huda in Morocco or Spain come October. Then in December I have a bike trip! What what! Super excited for the bike trip (not like I’m not excited to see Huda) the bike trip is going to be emotional and physically draining, it’s going to be difficult. I love pushing myself to endure something so difficult, because the truth is- we can all handle it, we’re just too scared to push ourselves. Also I haven’t been training and I’m having difficulty fixing my flat tire lately, the patches wont stick! The first day of biking will be my first day of training! 

Loves and hugs.
xox