The Gluten-Free Nomad: Koh Phi Phi

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Koh Phi Phi

This weekend, some friends and

I took

a ferry to Koh Phi Phi, a little island about an hour and a half from Phuket. It's one of the most surreal places I've ever been to...in a way it feels disconnected from the outside world. Everyone is so carefree that being there makes you just kind of forget about all of the trouble in the world.

You can walk from one side of the island to the other in the span of 5 minutes. If you walk out into the ocean, you can continue for about a quarter of a mile with the depth of the water still only up to your waist, and there are rock structures jutting out of the Andaman nearly in a full circle around you...the pictures don't do it justice.

We talked to multiple people who had come to Phi Phi for a short vacation, maybe a weekend, and had wound up staying there for years. Even saw a few "Quit Your Job" tee-shirts for sale. Just one of those places I guess.

It was one of the islands that was most affected by the Tsunami a few years ago, but it seems to have been rebuilt pretty well since then. Phi Phi is an amazing place and I'll probably end up going back before my time in Phuket is over. Week 3 of the TEFL course starts in the morning...going to get some MUCH needed sleep right now.

1 comment:

melwongNovember 30, 2010 at 4:34 PM
My father is obsessed with the fact that you are now scuba certified.....hahaha also! Don't forget to visit "transvestite street" in phuket kiddo. pay to touch their boobs its kind of amazing!
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Description

In March 2010, I was diagnosed with celiac disease, an inherited, autoimmune disease in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged from eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats. The only treatment available to those afflicted with Celiac disease is to follow a lifelong gluten-free diet.

As one of my greatest interests in life is world travel, this revelation posed quite the dilemma: should I stay at home and give myself the greatest chance to remain healthy? or should I satisfy my curiosity by continuing to journey the world, but at the same time putting myself at risk of illness along the way?

I chose the latter. In November 2010, I packed my bags and took a one-way flight to Asia. During the next eight months, I received my TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Certification from TEFL International in Phuket, Thailand and subsequently worked as an English Kindergarten teacher in Gwangju, South Korea. I also traveled sans gluten to Cambodia, China, North Korea (gulp), Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia, Laos, India and the United Kingdom.

I hope that this site (along with the new gfnomad.com) serves to motivate those who suffer from Celiac disease to pursue our ambitions and not allow the strict diet to prevent us from exploring the world. So tell your family, tell your friends. Be an advocate!

"Activism is my rent for living on this planet." -Alice Walker