Greetings from Koh Tao! I’m basking in the glow of post-Halloween happiness, and well as the joy of being back on my favorite rock. Heather and I wound down our trip with a few final days in Chiang Mai temple hopping, getting creative at a leather making workshop, hiking through Doi Suthep National Park, and making a religion of daily massages. Now we are back by the sea, and I’m loving introducing Heather to this island I love so much, and all the people that make it so very special.
Happy November, guys!
Photo A
Purple flowers, black fingers in Doi Suthep National Park, Chiang Mai
Photo B
A bronze figure placed atop a supposed footprint of the Buddha in Chiang Mai
Photo C
A leather workshop in Chiang Mai
Photo D
Perfect patterns in nature
Photo E
…and a Happy Halloween selfie from Koh Tao!
Which photo is your favorite?
Alex, I will choose C. Always good to see a local craftsman at work.
Indeed! And especially when they are a colorful character like this π
Gotta be the Koh Tao selfie – better than the Koh Tao kiss!!!
Indeed! Though unfortunately I have one of those right now too… (a motorbike burn, for those who don’t know!)
Wow, you guys rocked your Halloween make-up! That’s pretty impressive. E is my favorite π
Thanks Sonja! It wasn’t easy to pull together in a remote place like this π
What an interesting mix of activities and ways to spend your time. Sounds delightful.
I have to say I’m a fan of the patterns created in nature. π
I’m always drawn to the super graphic images like that one π Thanks for voting Colleen!
Wow your make up is spectacular! Definetly photo E!
Thanks so much! We had a blast!
I like B a lot but your Halloween makeup was amazing! It makes your eyes look bright green.
Thanks Ashley! I was so happy to find a group of fellow enthusiasts to celebrate with π
As usual I like them all. But I have to go with E if for no other reason than … it is not a Zombie!
I’m not a fan of scary costumes… I’d get creeped out looking in the mirror!
E is off-the-charts amazing. I am so crazy in love with your day of the dead ensembles! I was the corpse bride this year so I can totally appreciate the painstaking effort/patience required for macabre face paint.
Especially with the low quality materials we were subjected to out here, ha! First time doing full face makeup for Halloween… it was intense!
Everything about E is amazing. That’s an impressive makeup job! But there’s just something about D that I love too. Sounds like you’ve had a wonderful week!
We did indeed! A great trip around my home away from home.
Love E so much, your halloween makeup is awesome!!!
Thanks Christie! It was fun to paint again… even if it was a strange canvas π
I love E. Did you guys do your own makeup? Very impressive π
We did indeed! With some inspiration found online π
That guy`s jewelery in the leather workshop is insanely beautiful. Does he sell jewelery as well?
He said he made it, but there was none for sale here… I guess it was a highly specialized leather shop!
Gorgeous pictures! A or B are my favourites :).
Thanks Kate!
E! Sick makeup!
Thanks Kristen! It seemed everyone went with this costume this year, but it was a fun one!
I think it’s a tie for C and E this week! Love that makeup, and the leather workshop looks awesome!
Thanks Miquel! It was a crazy fun night.
Definitely E – amazing!
Thanks Amy! We were quite proud of our results π
awesome, enjoyed this post very very much <3
Thanks Jelena π
The selfie is just INCREDIBLE!!! How you two manage to pull off looking gorgeous under that makeup is beyond me!
π Big thank you!
I love C – being there to watch them work must have been so fascinating!
We did a whole day workshop, it was interesting. Definitely planning to write more about it in the future!
Gotta go with E because that makeup turned out AMAZING! Where did you end up finding it!?
A little bit of everywhere! We found the white on Koh Tao which was a pretty low quality and was a nightmare as the night went on. The black was from Chiang Mai at that art supply store you mentioned and was really nice… sadly they were sold out of many colors. We were too late!
Hope you’re having a great time.. Weather not so good here in Samui…
We had two beautiful days here of sun π Felt very luck for it!
Photo D – I love it! Glad you had fun in Chiang Mai and I absolutely agree on those massages. They’re highly addictive.
A massage a day keeps the stress away! That’s what I keep telling myself anyway…
E, E, E! Are Day of the Dead parties the new Halloween? Seems like it if my social media feeds are to be believed.
I KNOW! I thought I was being so creative and original… and there were literally a dozen other people on this teeny little island doing the same.
Great costume makeup! Planning my first trip to Thailand (Bangkok, Koh Tao, Koh Samui, then back to Bangkok) with my lovely lady the day after Christmas and just ran across your blog. Looks like you’ve had quite some experiences there! Can’t wait to find out what it’s like for myself! We’ll be also staying at the Aloft and am very much looking forward to that pool…
That’s an awesome choice, Evan! Sounds like a fabulous trip. Enjoy π
E allllll the way. Totes nailed the Halloween makeup. π How did you manage to still look gorgeous with that face full of paint. I did the zombie thing this halloween and managed to end up looking like beetle juice. Not cool, dorky in fact.
Ha, I could never do makeup with blood involved… I’m too squeamish, and I’d probably pass out if I looked in the mirror!
I love photo E – I haven’t done Halloween in a long time but I love looking at other people’s costumes.
Maybe next year is the time to get back in the swing of things π
I want to travel everytime I see your blog. It’s just hard to avoid the cycle of an office life living in the city π
Hey Julia, I feel you! Unfortunately I’m not great at writing anything useful or inspirational in that regard, but there are so many wonderful blogs out there about how to break out of the 9-5! Let me know if you want any suggestions π