(Written December 21st)

Link to current photos

Today marks a year since we pulled out of the driveway back in San Francisco. If you can remember that feeling you used to have when you were a child on the first day of summer vacation - you had all the time in the world ahead of you and you were free to do whatever you wanted - that was how I felt last December 21st. The following 365 days have not disappointed in the least way. I suppose some people roll their eyes at my or Tami's repetitive expressions of how grateful we are. Call me naive but I still feel it strongly.

After a full year of literally wandering the planet, we finally landed on a beach. We're on an island in the Gulf of Thailand called Koh Mak. In my mind, when you strap a backpack to your body and board an international flight, a tropical beach hovers confindently somewhere in the wings as the inevitable default destination. If you're lucky, you can find a beach with the right balance of calm serenity and comforts. Palm trees, sand and clear, warm water might be the comfort food of backpacking travel - perhaps of all travel.

Beach life is one of those parts of a big trip that you know is going to give you some low-impact, intimate interaction with nature. It's going to give you a sure chance to slow down. (And no jokes about what the heck do we need to slow down from...everyone needs a little beach chill in their lives from time to time.)
Koh Mak delivers. Actually, if Koh Mak were any more relaxing, I'd think it was fiction. Apart from a thatched hut on stilts, we virtually live outside. We can walk through huge groves of coconut palms swaying in the breeze. We get to submerse our bodies into the limpid ocean all day. Beers are cheap and very cold.

We may be in and out of touch for awhile. Tomorrow we take a boat for Cambodia. If the next year turns out to be anything like the last, we're in for lots of fun. May yours be that, as well.

Happy holidays and all the best!