Merry Christmas!

Being away from home at Christmas is a concept I'm pretty familiar with. I spent Christmas of 2009 in Italy, albeit with my family plus a hoard of Italian cousins I had never met. Last Christmas I was somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean working on a cruise ship and partying with people from all over the world that I'd met only a few days prior. This year I am in Thailand on the island of Koh Phangan where I had planned on celebrating Christmas by attending a Full Moon Party. Unfortunately, I have been sick as a dog the last couple of days (high fever, unbelievably painful aches all over my body, etc.) which left me stuck in bed last night (Christmas Eve) and will likely keep me there tonight (Christmas Day) as well. It's not exactly how I envisioned spending Christmas but as everyone knows, traveling (and life in general) rarely goes as planned.

I want to wish my family and friends around the world a very Merry Christmas from Thailand! I miss and love you all and will be thinking of you lots today.

Merry Christmas from the Thai islands!