December 26 -- Ko Lanta Yai, Thailand
What a Christmas. Today is a lazy day. I tanned on the beach and swam in the warm ocean. Tonight, we will sit around the fire on the beach and learn Thai songs and marvel at our glorious luck.

January 1 -- Ko Lanta Yai, Thailand
Wonderful party last night to ring in the new year. I was having such a good time at the party on the beach. It was only at midnight, when it became painfully clear how alone I actually am here, that I felt homesick. Feel better today after calling home. Costs the moon, but it was worth it to hear my dad's voice.

January 3 -- 2000 Krabi, Thailand
Said my farewells today to Mama, Oy, Bang, Bao, and the rest on Ko Lanta. Sort of hard because I feel like I've become part of the family. They've been so kind, open, generous, and fun. Mama sent me off with pineapple, watermelon, bananas, and a couple of yards of beautiful green Thai silk. I'll miss them.

January 5 -- East Railae, Thailand
I'm thoroughly enjoying myself in this idyllic place, surrounded by limestone karsts and blue, blue ocean. And as I suspected it might, home is looking better and better all the time. Like HOME, somehow, something I've never felt about Toronto and my life there.

January 9 -- East Railae, Thailand
I realize why I'm so lonely here in Railae. Aside from the fact I haven't had a conversation in 4 days, the fact is that I formed attachments on Ko Lanta. I fell in love with the children there, bonded with the grown-ups. It was hard to leave. And easy, because I was itching to see new places.

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.
(Eleanor Roosevelt)

There are two ways of meeting difficulties. You alter the difficulties or you alter yourself to meet them.
(Phyllis Bottome)

Chance is the first step you take. Luck is what comes afterward.
(Amy Tan)

Look twice before you leap.
(Charlotte Bronte)

When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before.
(Mae West)

Editor's Note: For more thoughts on travelling solo, read Travel Solo but not Alone.