I come with baggage.

"Sir, that will be $200."



Her voice snaps me back to reality to find myself at the Thailand's international airport check in. In front of me there's an all too cheery lady sporting a painted on smile that doesn't match the news she just gave me. News that still has yet to register as it's 5 am and I have all the brain activity of a sea cucumber in the microwave.
I'm starting to think that going out and staying up all night before my flight to Singapore this early morning was a bad idea. Regardless, there was no getting around it. It was my last night in Bangkok and my friends weren't letting me out of there without a proper performance. It was a really great night too. We washed down tacos with potent margaritas at our favourite little hole in the wall, then we hit up our usual lounge to meet some good friends. After that, we all came back to our apartment pool to swim under the moon light. Lastly, we capped the night by sneaking up onto the roof for a beautiful, 360 degree view of Bangkok's skyline, 30 stories up. It was a night worth remembering and I can still feel the warm Thailand breeze on my face.

"Sir?"

I shake off my sleepiness and remember that I had just been trying to check my Kristie Alley sized bag past this smiling cardboard cut out of a lady when my hazy mind wandered off.
"The final charge is $200. How would you like to pay for that?"

"In hugs?" I reply.

The Colgate smile finally falters.
So there IS someone under there. Good to know.
"If you cannot pay you will have to step aside sir. Your bag is 13.3 kg's over the standard limit so you are required to pay the overweight fee of $15 per kilo, so how would you like to pay for that?" She says again.
I am Kevin's fleeting sense of calmness.
Tiredness and patience do not have the same area code and with that the dam breaks:
"Are you kidding me?! You do realize that the ENTIRE cost of my flight there AND back costs less than that?! For LESS than this amount, I could buy the seat next to me, bring my bag onto the plane and make a little fort to sleep in. Then I could make a little sign that would hang out front that would say no YOU's allowed. THAT, would be less retarded than this situation."
I said in my mind.

Sometimes I just hate airports. They drive me crazy. In the movies, they make flying seem so cool. Do you remember that scene in the movie Blow? The one where Johnny Depp is walking all badass through the airport:

Looks awesome right? Well in reality, he would've been walking through this:

Suddenly not so cool.

Yet, for a guy who doesn't like airports, I sure seem to spend a lot of time in them. Wasn't I just here? I swear I was just at this very airport arriving from China. Now that time, it was an ACTUAL cool airport moment (arriving is always so much better than departing). I remember being greeted by all these happy, smiling Thai people and wondering who they were smiling at only to realize that I wasn't in China anymore and here in Thailand, people smile at each other. I remember the huge sense of elation when the airport doors opened and that warm Thailand air hit me like Mother Nature was giving me a bear hug. It was like that scene out of Ace Ventura:

It seems like that just happened. A month ago max but apparently, it's already been three. How the hell did that happen so quick? 

I remember as soon as I got to BKK, I met up with my favourite spaniard, Mr. Arturo Lin. 

"In this pic, let's both look like douche bags"

He was cool enough to let me move into his living room (a habit of mine) and we quickly got to the business of trying to forget my China induced hangover. Luckily, Bangkok is pretty good for this.

Bird watching

Then things stepped up a level when two of my Vancouver buddies came to visit. 

Being the hospitable friend I am, I felt it was my duty to show them around Bangkok:

And then day turned to night:

And then night turned to day.

 

After that we decided it might be good to get out of Bangkok so we hopped onto the night train to Chang Mai.

Once there, we did all the stuff cool kids do from white water rafting (no pics/couldn't bring camera), to zip-lining through the forest, to visiting an amazing elephant sanctuary that takes care of mistreated elephants. 

Not big on mornings.

We stayed with a kind and generous Thai family who fed us and massaged us. 

Had a blast ripping through the forests

 Shit our pants

One of these zip lines was 800 meters long!

Had some serious deep and meaningfuls with Mother Nature

Met Babar.

Fed Babar

Washed Babar

After that awesome experience, we flew down to the islands where....

"Sir?! How would you like to pay for that?" She asked again. 

Oh right. The cardboard cut out lady. "Listen lady, I'm trying to tell a story here" I didn't say. 

What I did say though was something along the lines of "PLEEEEAAASE help me! I can't afford $200! Is there anything we can do? Can't I check a second bag? Can I speak to a manager? Shouldn't you be off trying to eat Hansel and Gretel?"

Now my memory on the event is hazy at best so I might be paraphrasing a wee bit but next thing I know, she sends me to the end of a brand new line up, this one full of angry, pissed off flyers who ALSO didn't like the cardboard cut out lady. 

My people. It's good to be home.

With her out of the way and me in my tired brain fog, I go back to daydreaming about Thailand adventures.....

Once on the islands, we went to work trying to turn money into fun. Not a hard thing to do in Thailand.

Met up with Elis a friend from Shanghai

Fruity drinks are ok to drink when you're on the islands. Having a flower behind your ear however...

Not so much.

Buckets. The beginning of the end.

If ever you find yourself at the Coral pool party on Koh Phanang; realize that shit is about to get seriously real. I have no words.

"How can I help you sir?" says the lady behind the counter. Her alarm clock voice jolts me back to reality:

The whole baggage check in debacle. Right. 

So I give her my speech. "I'm 13.3 kg's over the limit for checked bags and I need your help or else I'm going to miss my plane to Singapore. Is there anything you can do other than tell me it's $200 dollars?!"  Even in my brain dead state I can see her distain for me sloshing around behind her eyes, which stare at me for what seems like a director's cut amount of time. Tumble weeds roll by before she finally says to me in a flat, unconcerned voice "Did you consider packing two bags?"

Mother of God.

OK. Fine, You win.

I tell her what she wants to hear: "No. I didn't because I'm stupid. I'm sorry for overpacking my bag and wasting your time. It was a stupid thing for me to do. Do you think you can help me before I miss my flight?"

With this, her Russian winter of a smile finally thaws and she disappears into the back room to leave me with my Thailand thoughts......

After my Van buddies left and I got back to Bangkok, Arturo and I moved into a new (I use the term very loosely) apartment with a super cool Swedish/Thai chick named Victoria. We immediately threw a house warming party that started things off right. From there, it became a weekly thing.

Then once we got settled, I went about setting up work with a handful of modelling agencies to freelance with to pay the way. Once that was done, I went about enjoying one of my favourite cities.

Russian smile strikes again

The crazy wanderer Kaz

My old roomate Ludovic who I lived with in Shanghai

If ever you make the mistake of wearing a hat to the club, understand that women can't help but immediately steal it.

Making friends

The Russian posse Masha and Julia

As all these memories of the last 3 months play through my foggy brain, an old cardboard box suddenly pushes through my thoughts and on to the counter in front of me. I look up to see my favourite complaints manager say "Use this." She's returned from wherever she went and is now holding an old cardboard box. Her face shows that she is pretty proud of find. "If you split some of your stuff into this box then you won't be over the allowed weight."
"Wow." I say. "Way to think outside the box."
She does not get it.


Ok then. Small talk over. "If you need me I'll just be sitting on the floor in front of your desk" and with that; I'm old news. She moves on to the angry flyer behind me and I'm left looking at an old beat up, card board box that she clearly just fished out of the garbage. The perfect vehicle for everything I own.

Now for anyone who has ever played the "frantic-tear-your-bag-apart-on-the-airport-floor-in-front-of-everyone" routine, you know the what I'm talking about but if you haven't had the pleasure, let me tell ya; it's good times. You're stuck there on the floor with all your crap spread out everywhere, for everyone to see while you frantically rearrange through everything so that you don't miss your flight. As you do this, you can feel everyone staring at you, judging you and all your poorly packed belongings. It's one of those little moments where you suddenly see all your junk through other peoples eyes. It makes you seriously contemplate just saying "Fuck it. I'll just buy a new everything" and walking away.
But I don't walk away. Instead, I swallow my pride and begin packing half of everything I own into an old cardboard box. As I do this, I throw on my music and I retreat back to my memories of my last 3 months in Thailand......
 (this is the song that randomly came on as I packed)

So there I am having good times with great friends in a crazy city when, even more fun arrives in the form of the stelar Laura and Janet. Two of my favourite people from Canada and once again, I played BKK tour guide as we bombed around Bangkok.

But all too soon it came time for the girls to leave. I was sad to see them go but luckily, I was left in good company.

One good looking crew

Chilling at the weekend market

The famous BKK pool parties

The famous Yulia

Steffen, Lily and I dodging the BKK traffic boat styles

Why do I have a fake beard on? Good question

English Tom strumming lullaby's to the BKK cityscape.

Picking up Yulia on my sexy purple scooter

On set while shooting a commercial for an an Asian restaurant

My VanCity bro JP 

I took a lot of heat for ruining the "Russian smile family portrait". Just couldn't help it :)

As I finally close the old box that now holds half of all my meager possessions and watch it chug it's way down the baggage conveyor belt, I take one last look at it. I'm not entirely convinced I'll ever see it again.
And I'm strangely ok with that.
While a part of me floods with panic at the idea of losing everything in that beat up box, there is a calmness in me in that I know that even if I never see it again; I'll be ok. Sure, in it lies some of my favourite, cherished items that I couldn't just walk away from. Items I've collected over my travels that serve as tokens of good days gone by, but I know that ultimately, everything I need to start over somewhere new is already inside me. It's in my knowledge that no matter where I am, I trust myself to handle it. More so, I trust myself to make it as great as I can make it. This self trust surely comes from the confidence of knowing that my friends and family have my back no matter where I am in the world. And it all lives in memories made with them. Memories that no one can take those away from me...... let alone charge me $200 for having.

It's an exhilarating feeling. One that widens my tired eyes and gives me the energy for a new days adventure.

I know that wherever I end up next, I won't go there alone.  My wealth of memories will come with me, giving me the strength to venture out into the world to make new ones.
I miss you all and you are always in my thoughts, giving me strength.
Thanks for reading,
K

Looks like I'll get my Johnny Depp moment moment after all.....