Time coming to an end :(

Sadly, my time here in Southeast Asia is finally coming to an end:(  It's hard to believe that the place that seemed so foreign to me 4 months ago, is now a familiar place, a place that I've created so many memories in, a place that will be hard to say goodbye to. I can't believe how fast this semester has gone by. Then I think of all the places I've been and all the things that I've done and it does make sense. I just came home from another INCREDIBLE experience. TRULY a once in a lifetime thing. I received a Sak Yant Yantra traditional tattoo. These tattoos are very spiritual and date back thousands of years ago. Only certain masters can perform them and they are very powerful. I met my guide Nikom who was raised in the temple. He brought me to Arjan Sompong's spirit house where he performs the blessings. Sompong was a monk for five years and a highly respected master in the community. He has learned the ancient skills of Sak Yant and thousands of locals come to him just to receive blessings every year. I was given a booklet of designs that meant different things. I chose the pattern that best fits my aura according to Sompong and Nikom. It is the "highest" of all Sak Yant and it is one of the most powerful. I gave the master an offering and he performed a deep blessing and ritual before the tattoo. After the blessing, he started the tattoo which was basically a sharp rod that he dipped in black ink and continuously jabbed in my back. The tattoo is hand drawn. The best place for this tattoo I chose is on the upper back reaching the lower neck, where it is the most powerful. The tattoo hurt at first but I suddenly began to shift into a complete meditative state, a state of complete relaxation. The tattoo was done before I knew it. After he finished, he then began another blessing which he performed different acts and touched holy water on me. I love the tattoo and the master was very nice. Although this is a very unique experience, it is said to be very powerful and magical, consisting of different rules and conditions that the user must follow in their life in order to use the power of the blessing and tattoo correctly. Monks have to follow much stricter rules after receiving the tattoo. Mine contains many meanings and there are different powers it presents. The whole experience was very unique and incredible. After the ceremony, I felt so refreshed and new. According to the Yantra tradition, Arjan Sompong is now the only master I can receive blessings from and I must use the powers that the tattoo brings, in the right manner in life. After taking pics and videos of the ceremony (Nikom took plenty for me) we went to eat. Nikom and I went to a local restaurant where he ordered a lot of food and we had a good conversation. He then dropped me off at the apartment and we said our goodbyes. I am still processing the whole thing because it was such an incredible experience that I will remember forever, and now I have something physical to remember this whole trip by. The rules that I must follow according to the blessings are very interesting and are basically all the rules any "good person" should follow in life. Tonight I am going to a market for the last time to buy the last few things that I want to get. Then, tomorrow I will go to get my hair braided and eat some local food before heading to the airport to head home. I'm definitely not looking forward to the long flight and stop in Bangkok. I'm spending a lot of time reflecting on this whole trip and experience and I can honestly say that it taught me a lot about myself, as well as the world around me. Comparing the feeling I know I will have to go to the airport with the feeling I have leaving Ghana is completely different and nowhere close to it emotionally, but there is no doubt that I'm going to miss this part of the world and living here. I am already feeling sad knowing that the whole thing is soon coming to an end, but that is the price you pay when you are a traveler. I also have a lot planned that I am looking forward to when I leave so I am always excited for the next chapter because, for every chapter that ends, a new one emerges. So the feeling is bittersweet. Plus, who's to say that one day, years from now, I won't end up back here, traveling, discovering more of this beautiful part of the world...picking right up where I left off this very time♡♡♡♡

Long awaited update (May 3)

It’s been a while since my last update, things got really busy after my trip to three countries. To quickly summarize, my time in Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia was very successful and I had a great time. Soon after that my mom and brother came all the way here to visit for a little more than a week. We had a great time exploring temples, markets, interacting with elephants, swimming, and much more. It was definitely one of the best times of the whole trip. Although I have been having such great times, everything is going so fast. Too fast.  So fast that I am no longer at my apartment. The semester has ended, I took my finals, and I moved out:( a lot of people left today to go home and others are staying to further travel with friends and family across Southeast Asia. I can’t bel that the semester has ended and it’s over. It seems like yesterday I was planning to come here, now I’m planning to leave. Seems like traveling always ends up this way and things go by too fast when you don’t want them to. I am now in another Airbnb apartment. Took some trouble finding it but I am here. The next few days I will enjoy in Chiang Mai and end the entire trip here. I plan on getting my hair braided, see the markets for the last time, and get my sak yant yantra tattoo by the monk in a spiritual ceremony on the last day I am in Thailand. Great way to end the trip and have something sentimental yet powerful for the rest of my life to remember my time here. I moved everything out today and it didn’t take that long. The area I am in now is very residential and in the middle of a local neighborhood. It’s peaceful and I’m happy to end things this way. I am going to sleep now so I can wake up early tomorrow and enjoy my last days here. Definitely going to enjoy every minute, just like I have done since January!