Magical Islands

I have discovered that there are certain islands where I get off the boat, or I am even just approaching it via ferry, and I KNOW that something special is about to happen.  It’s crazy.  At first, I thought it was just me, or that I was imagining it, but the longer I stay on these particular islands, the more I know that they are special.  I can feel it.  It’s so hard to describe, but I am going to try…

KOH PHANGAN, THAILAND:

The first island where this happened to me was Koh Phangan in Thailand.  When I arrived, I remember seeing people waiting for their friends and family at the pier and I was already so jealous that these people lived here. I began dreaming about what it would be like to greet my friends and family at the pier when they came to visit.  This is not something that I usually do.  Usually, I get off the boat, and it’s immediately about where I am going, how am I getting there, etc. etc.  Not the case in Koh Phangan.  I had no idea where my place was, and I didn’t care.  I immediately felt at home.  I was so comfortable, and so at peace.  I do remember thinking to myself, “How weird.  I haven’t even been here that long…”.  These were my first tip offs.  Then, that very first night, I had one of the best experiences of my life.  I went to the night market, which can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, but this one was PERFECT.  The right size for me; not too big, not too small, amazing food everywhere, affordable, just the right amount of souvenir shops…I remember thinking, “Finally.  I can feel comfortable here.”  Then I went and saw an amazing sunset atop a tree house in the mountains, met amazing strangers who invited me to join them for dinner, and proceeded to fall asleep like a baby.  Pretty great day.  But I still didn’t give it much thought.  

The next day, I walked along the beach for miles marveling at the beauty, and pinching myself along the way.  Slowly, I made my way back to the beach at my bungalow and settled in with a good book and a banana smoothie. HEAVEN.  I wasn’t surprised by this.  It was a tropical paradise.  Who wouldn’t love it?  What I was surprised by was when I had an overwhelming urge to go back to my room and meditate.  This was very early in my trip (February 2023) and although I had thought about exploring meditation at some point, I hadn’t done a thing about it.  So I gathered my things, went to my room, lit some incense, and proceeded to meditate.  I truly believe I had no idea what I was doing, but somehow I knew exactly what to do.  I meditated for an hour and it was EASY.  (P.S.  This has not happened again since then).  I couldn’t believe that an hour had gone by!  “What is happening?”, I thought.  This is just totally crazy.  But I loved it.  So I just accepted it, and moved on.  

The rest of that short 4-day stay was magical.  I found my favorite sunset bar/restaurant in the whole world (to this day), I found a magical yoga place, and even the music was perfect everywhere I went (and for those of you who know how important music is to me, this was a big deal!).  Anyway, it was time to go and I moved on to another island.  Life is short, and there are millions of islands so I don’t like to repeat, but I have been back to Koh Phangan twice since then — I think this speaks volumes — Once for the Full Moon Party, where I met an expat in a Tuk Tuk who asked me what I thought of the island.  When I started to describe the above, he just looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and was like, “Of course.  Don’t you know that there are magical healing powers on this island?”  Well, of course I did not know that but he proceeded to explain to me that Koh Phangan is an island situated on pink rose quartz, which has heart-healing properties, and that this was a totally normal reaction for some people.  A lot of people, it seems, have come here without even realizing it for healing in some capacity.  My mind was blown!  Everything that was happening to me finally made sense.  I believed it.  And I have decided that I WILL live here someday.

GILI ISLANDS, INDONESIA:

I went to the Gilis by accident, but I am starting to believe that this was actually no accident.  The Universe knows what it is doing.  I was literally melting in Malaysia in May and I had to go somewhere cooler.  Everytime I looked at the internet for help on where to cool off, it was telling me to go to Bali, or almost anywhere in Indonesia.  Since I had already been in Bali, I landed on the Gili Islands, which was nearby.  I had heard of them, and someone along the way had told me that they were great, but that was about it.  Good enough for me, I thought.  80 degrees sounds better than 95 with a heat index of 114. (REALLY – this is not a lie.  It was SO hot!).  There are 3 Gili Islands, all with very different characteristics so I decided to do one week on each.

In the interest of keeping this a reasonable length, I am going to skim over the Gilis just a little bit.  They were PHENOMENAL, and I could go on for days, but the main point is that I had that feeling of utter and extreme comfort from the moment I arrived until the moment I left; and yes, I shed a tear upon departure.  It wasn’t quite as profound as Koh Phangan, but I did feel the magic in the air.  I never found out if there were any magical rocks beneath the sea, but I woke each morning and went to sleep each night in utter bliss.  Again, I could feel it in my bones.  I will get back to you on whatever healing properties are here.  Perhaps there are none.  But I will make it my life mission to disprove this if that is true.

SEQUIJOR, PHILIPPINES:

Whoa.  I felt this one before we even set food on land.  As I was approaching this island by ferry, I was struck by how green and beautiful it was.  Also, I felt this overwhelming sense that something amazing was about to happen.  I just felt GOOD; and like I KNEW that I was going to meet someone or that I was going to be very happy here…or both.  In fact, I met someone on the ferry ride over. Another solo traveler, who became my bestie for 3 amazing days, and despite our 18-year age difference, we got along fabulously and we both felt like we had known each other for years, not hours.  Again, hard to describe, but very true nonetheless.  We were inseparable and I was heart-broken when she had to leave.  The stories, the meals, the landscapes, and all the experiences that we shared were that much better together.  It truly was one of those times where I felt like the Universe had sent me a soulmate.  And then more  friends showed up on top of that! I met three other women who were equally amazing.  Meeting 4 women in one week that I connected with and was able to feel at home with is a bit out of the ordinary for me these days…It was so nice to eat and drink together, go to the beach together, and go out dancing together.  It almost felt like I was with my girls back home….

Back to the magic – It is well known that Sequijor has a history of witchcraft, love potions, and healing properties, but nobody really talks about it.  It’s weird how I can just feel it. I wish I could describe it better, but it is just a feeling that washes over me like a wave in the ocean.  It envelops me completely and I surrender to it wholeheartedly.  I knew that I was going to want to live here within minutes of being on land.  Aside from the cool, new friends by my side, the island itself was calling to me.  I kept waiting for it to go away, but it kept getting stronger with each day that went by.

After my new friends departed, and I was back on my own again, I decided to explore the witchcraft and sorcery that the island is known for.  I ended up at a healing guru’s medicine shack up in the mountains who is known for a traditional Sequijorian practice of fumigation and hilot massage.  Fumigation is a ritual using ashes obtained only during the religious holiday, Black Saturday, combined with a concoction of herbs which is believed to remove sickness and evil spells.  A hilot massage is similar to a deep tissue massage focused on your areas of discontent using these same special herb-marinated oils.  I actually fell asleep on the table after the massage (which I never do), and the healer let me lay there for as long as I needed.  I think it ended up being only a half hour, but I was shocked that I was still lying there!  I bought an amulet on the way out that is a seashell stuffed with these protective herbs that fight off negative energy, because why not?  This island was speaking to me and I had no plans to ignore it!

I have read other stories about some amazing witchcraft ceremonies that have taken place here, but I am still waiting for the Universe to present this to me.  It’s not something you can just look up on GoogleMaps.  I have read that when you are ready, it will be presented to you, and the rest, so to speak, is history.

So in the meantime, I will patiently wait my turn and dream about a future where I live in Sequijor and my heart wants to explode not from the stress and demands of a life once lived, but from pure love, joy, and the most beautiful light imaginable.