where "terrible luck" led me

I went to a fancy Bangkok hospital and found out I had pink eye and an infection in my month-old leg wound. I was supposed go to Koh Tao to learn to dive, but I couldn’t wear contacts or go in water for at least a week. So instead of starting my dive course, I started my meds and booked a flight to Malaysia.

I tell fellow travelers about getting my bag stolen, gashing my leg in a rappelling accident, and now the pink eye and infection - and we laugh about my terrible luck. But actually, everything good on my trip has happened from a string of serendipitous coincidences.

If I’d stuck to my original plan, I wouldn’t have arrived in Penang to find that not one - but TWO awesome arts festivals were going on. I would have never met the beautiful friends I adventured through Malaysia with. Shit happens, but I’m so lucky to be living out my dreams on this side of the world, even in glasses and with a leg patch. And now, I’m even happier to be pink-eye free, with my leg finally healing up.