asian hiatus

i flew into the philippines late friday night; from salt lake city, routed through minneapolis and tokyo. even at midnight in the capital city of manila there was crazy traffic and people everywhere; walking, eating, sleeping on the sidewalk. the car exhaust was overwhelming. the scenery from the airport to the hostel was a lively mixture of latin and tropical asian. i slept a few hours before scott flew in from bangkok early the following morning. it had been 6 months since we parted in thailand, on a trip through asia that we started last summer. we rode trains, boats, and planes from st. petersburg, russia to koh tao, thailand. last october i flew back to utah through oman and london, and scott kept exploring the eastern hemisphere: malaysia, singapore, india, nepal and plenty of time in thailand. the philippines is a first for both of us, and we love it; especially the people. everyone is so friendly. smiling. social. curious. polite. that seems to make a significant difference when traveling somewhere. food is also a major factor, and the filipinos do pretty well with that. they use a lot of strong spices in their dishes; seafood and meats in colorful sauces over rice. and they make just about everything: italian, cuban, korean, and it's easy to find a traditional american breakfast.

Thai Songkran Festival

April 12th, 2009
Songkran has apparently begun here in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The original idea for the festival was tame enough - but it has since spawned into a much more sinister event consisting of water gun toting teens and bucket wielding men lying in wait along streets and even freeways for anyone unlucky enough to get within range. Luckily, this is the hottest month of the year and a good dousing can feel quite refreshing at times. My attempt to venture into the old city on my motorbike this afternoon proved impossible due to the barrage of water from squirt guns, buckets & hoses. It's quite an effort just to stay on the bike when hit in unison with such vast amounts of water. Can't imagine how many accidents must occur during these days of all out water fights throughout the country. I now don a rain coat & scuba mask whenever driving.

April 15th, 2oo9
I can now better imagine how many accidents occur during the days of Songkran. While trying to make my way from my hotel to where I intended to return my motorbike a couple kilometers away, a few locals threw enough (buckets of) water to both blind me and prevent my disk brakes from functioning properly... The result was quite painful. Luckily - nothing was broken and the damage was minimal to the bike. I noticed only later how my Chaco sandal was ground down from the long pavement slide - apparently saving my ankle. I realized I mainly needed bandages and a way to clean the road and grit from the wounds, but couldn't find a pharmacy open due to the holiday. I eventually just went to the hospital, hoping to buy some supplies from them. Since my Thai is mostly limited to culinary lingo, I had a hard time communicating exactly what I wanted, so just showed them the bodily damage. Apparently they understood because they plopped me on a gurney in the emergency room. I didn't need emergency care - but it was actually quite entertaining to watch four nurses and a doctor attend to my road rash as if my life depended on it. The fact that they mostly just rubbed iodine into the wounds after only a light scouring did not surprise me. I was additionally curious as to the price of such attention. The answer was 100 Thai Baht - about 3 dollars! Twenty years riding motorbikes without incident - suppose I was due.

I spent the last day of the festival with friends in Bangkok - darting around the city, huddled in the back of a truck alongside multiple barrels of water - to which we added about 100 pounds of dense ice in large blocks. The reaction of each person shot was typically an intense bodily cringe of some sort, then a cry of surrender. I only shot in retaliation or defense. There were cells of activity throughout the whole city, but a few spots were especially intense. One such area was so jammed with people that it took me three hours to squeeze my way down a single city block.

There happened to be a bit of political tension during the festival as the "red shirts" attempted to force the current prime minister out of power. Something similar to what transpired with the "yellow shirts" and their protests while I was in the country last year. The weeks of interchanges this time between the protesters, local residents and Thai army resulted in about 130 injuries and 2 deaths. However - the official carnage from the week of water fights totaled 4,332 injuries and 373 deaths! Interesting comparison.

I'll soon be headed to the Philippines to meet back up with my brother, Dustin. We haven't a clue what to expect and I imagine we're both likely hoping the other is doing some research on the area! Might do some diving, island hopping, funky food sampling...

Sitting Quietly in Thailand

I didn't anticipate being back in Thailand again this soon, but realized I was ready for another dose after the months spent meandering India & Nepal. I was especially interested in practicing the specific method of Vipassana meditation taught at a monastery in northern Thailand, as well as learning the unique form of "yoga massage" common throughout the area. So - I studied and practiced in a spa for a few weeks while preparing for meditation. The meditation retreat took place at Doi Suthep Buddhist Temple - located on top of a nearby mountain outside Chiang Mai. I spent a few weeks living with monks there - mostly in silence & without eating past noon. Days started with meditation at 5:00am - occasionally earlier when the mood struck me. A vegetarian breakfast was served at 6:30am, which typically consisted of a bowl of noodles or rice & vegetables in broth. At 8am each day we had a "Dhamma Talk" by the same monk tasked with teaching us meditation techniques. Vegetarian lunch was at 11am, then the rest of the day is spent meditating. We were invited to join the monks for evening chanting in the main temple, then slept at around midnight. Along with myself were up to a dozen others, mostly foreigners, who were from various, still unknown countries. Seeing as we don't speak to one another, I took it upon myself to name each person according to something they wore or did, typically something that annoyed me. Each meditator had their own room - which came sparsely decorated with 1 thin mattress on the floor, 3 blankets, 1 dense pillow. I thought I had followed what sounded like good advice of having "no expectations" of the experience, but upon arrival learned how drastically different things were from how I had, apparently, expected them. So - that was my first lesson. The rest of what I learned in the following weeks was equally unexpected & surprising. I realize now how one cannot choose what to learn from such an experience. I also discovered a renewed appreciation for sincerity & strictness. Due to the lack of enforcement of the rules, some meditators chose not to follow them. As someone who wanted to gain as much as possible from the experience, that bothered me at times. A lot of things bothered me - which was another lesson about myself. So anyhow, I spent my days walking/pacing extremely slowly for up to an hour, followed by motionless sitting for the same amount of time. The specific meditation style I practiced is called Vipassana/Insight and was developed by a Burmese monk named Mahasi Sayadaw, combined with techniques from a Thai monk named Ajahn Tong. I look forward to practicing & comparing additional styles in the future. I think I'll continue to discover lessons and insight from this experience as I look back on it throughout the coming weeks and months.

The Rest of India

Eventually returned from Nepal to India & spent a few days in Delhi before continuing west to Rajastan. Didn't have the weeks/months required to explore that area, so continued to Mumbai/Bombay after a few days with friends. I met some nice local city-folk & could see reason to return if such an opportunity arises. I then joined a commune for a week. Interesting experience - you'll have to ask me about it someday. Continuing down the coast I encountered the famed beaches of Goa. Not considering myself much of a beach bum, I anticipated staying a maximum of 2 days. Ended up in a single spot for 2 weeks. Main excuse for the extended stay was a surprisingly decent Thai massage course that a friend & I decided was worth the rescheduling. We found plenty of eager beach bums to practice on and I'm now a certified masseuse. Upon planning my next step toward southern India, I realized I needed more time. Besides, I had Thailand on the brain... So - back to Bangkok.

Nepal

Took the night train from Varanasi, which turned out to be more basic than I was prepared for. I somehow ended up alone in an otherwise empty wagon with windows that provided no effective protection from the frozen draft. Without the blankets typically provided, my only way of keeping vital organs from completely freezing was to adorn every piece of clothing in my pack. My hand towel kept ice from forming on my face. The morning finally arrived as we came to the Nepali border, upon which I removed a half dozen layers of clothing, then crossed over by foot. It took some amount of focus to locate the immigration officials on either side of the border - most folks seem to just walk back & forth between the countries without any formalities.

I spent the first night in Lumbini - little Nepali village outside the location popularized as being the birthplace of Buddha. There was no electricity in the area - but everyone seemed content with the candles. Requested a couple extra comforters to layer on my bed and slept quite well. Awoke to a knock at the door - my bucket of morning bath water was ready. Bathing from a bucket is much easier than it would seem - especially when the water is anything but frigid. Spent the day wandering the grounds surrounding the Buddha's birthplace - along with a few monasteries on the premises. My plan was to take a local bus up to the mountain town Pokhara - an irrationally twisted route that had been the source of multiple horror stories I'd recently heard - but a group of Maoist Communists had blocked the road north by means of a strike. Anyone attempting to break the strike and bypass the group risks a barrage or rocks, fire, or worse. So - I flew to Kathmandu.

Kathmandu is quite a mix of mountain folks - from those choosing a nearby route for a basic weekend trek to those methodically preparing for an attempt at Everest. The locals take advantage of every opportunity to fleece the temporary visitors of any dollars, pounds, euros or rupees. (I bought 4 coats, a sleeping bag, thermals, boots, multiple socks of increasing thickness...) I wandered the city for the first few days with a guy named Al from Australia whom I met on the plane. He had been meditating in a monastery in Lumbini for the past 3 months - during which he'd hardly spoken a single word. He seemed plenty talkative when I stroke up a conversation with him there at the airport. Quite interesting to hear his thoughts on Buddhism and meditation.

So - spent most of the next few days eating decent food - Italian, Israeli, Thai, anything but Indian food... and even a couple steaks! Hoped to finally get to Pokhara and even bought a bus ticket, but the Maoists once again foiled my plan by forcing a strike that closed the hotels and restaurants there. I'll stick around Kathmandu for a bit longer, then make a plan for venturing back to India.

Northern India

Life's indescribably different here in India, but I'm adjusting quickly and enjoying the challenges. Arrived into Kolkata, then took a train a couple days later to Varansi and the sacred Ganges river. Admired the maze of winding alleys and spent time chatting with the locals attending the cremations at the burning ghats. Continued from there to Delhi where I've been most of the past week. I spent my birthday attempting to capture unique shots of the Taj Mahal at sunrise - the second visit this week in search of good light. I'll be leaving tomorrow night for Amritsar, near the border with Pakistan and then spend a couple weeks traveling along the Himalayas. I'll be in Dharamshala for Xmas - seat of the Tibetan government in exile. Plan to stop in Shimla, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Allahabad, Mirzapur and Varanasi once again before returning to Delhi. Should be plenty cold.

Route for the next couple weeks in purple on the map ->

Thailand... Malaysia... Singapore... India...

I hope to eventually include updates for the last month or two in SE Asia, but have now made my way to India. Gandered the Taj Mahal earlier this evening - now headed on a train back to Delhi. Might be making updates via Twitter if I don't find internet more often than I have lately... so check there if you feel like it (link over there ..>). Good food so far!

southern thai islands

i visited koh phangan for a night during a huge beach party. every phase of the moon initiates these giant gatherings, and this was a full moon. so, thousands of people on the beach, enourmous speakers pumping techno and r&b, oversized flaming jump ropes...it was nuts, but it was worth seeing. i rented a motorbike and toured the island in the morning. it's small, but there are amazing beaches and mountains.

koh tao is a small island with a pair of 7-11's and a few dozen dive shops. it's a popular scuba diving destination, so we spent a lot of time underwater. we found a bungalo on sairee beach with a handful of foreign dive instructors: a couple of irish, a canadian, and an australian. the water was clear as glass for a few days, and then it got a bit milky. during a night dive the water was full of bioluminescent plankton. so when we turned off the flashlights and shook our hands around; everything looked like it was covered in tiny glowsticks.

the most surreal experience was swimming with a whale shark. i was so close, it could have eaten me. but they're mild creatures, and they don't crave humans. they're as big as they sound; like a cadillac with fins. as i was jumping out of the boat to put on my diving gear, it swam right at me. i got a good look as it floated slowly by with a school of following fish. breathing compressed air underwater is such a strange feeling. i thought about not dying, and i thought about how we live above water, more or less unaware of the vast majority of the earth; which is covered in water. and i realized how little i know about the town i grew up in, aside from this foreign sea kingdom.

a massage a day keeps the chiropractor away

everything is in bangkok. we flew in at midnight from tokyo and headed to our hotel. the night was just starting, as we passed street vendors food carts: mobile kitchens. it's a cart with a gas powered frying pan, and a table full of spices and raw foods. we went out for a snack and ordered som tam (green papaya salad) and some barbecued meats. the food is unbelievably good, everywhere. i've never eaten so much and paid so little (about $2 for a meal). since we don't look local, we would have to specify that we liked the food spicy. and this still wouldn't do the trick, so we would have to tell them how many peppers we wanted: 3, 4, 5... depending on how much we wanted to sweat.

you can shop for almost anything in the city at a great price. they have a lot of gorgeous fabric, but they also sell cheap electronics. and anything you want in knock-off brands, clothing and accessories. i went to a huge weekend market and got lost in the aisles. it felt like walking through a small city with no street signs, and it just kept repeating itself.

my lower back has been in pain for the past few years, but especially the past few months. and for about $7 you can get a traditional thai massage for an hour. they stretch your arms, legs, and crack your back, aside from hitting all the pressure points in your entire body. every massage was a little different, and they all make you feel like you're floating for the next several hours.

communicating with most people was difficult, since my thai vocabulary is limited to the names of only a few entrees. but we met some locals that speak good english, and they were extremely helpful in showing us around.

japanese railways

japan was such a sweet place. the first few days we were at yokota air base. we stayed with our sister cindy and her kids, who have been living there about three years. they're extremely entertaining. and it was a nice break from traveling the past couple months. i felt like i was at home; washer and dryer, hot water, american groceries, taco bell...and everyone takes dollars instead of some foreign currency that i can never remember what the exchange rate is.

the bullet trains in japan are just as fast as they sound. there's a few types, and they all travel over 200 miles/hour. it feels like riding a smooth airplane, over land. it's the best way to get around. the whole system is very non-american; efficient, punctual and proper. we bought a 7-day rail pass in hong kong before arrivng in tokyo. after visiting sendai, kyoto, hiroshima, fukuoka, nara, and some smaller towns, i found that nagoya was one of my favorite cities. i stayed with a local friend that i had met in hawaii. he cooked authentic food, like egg rice (hot rice, raw egg) and udon (fat noodles), and introduced me to a lot of other locals as we cruised around on his moped.

it seems like every person i spoke to was so sincere. when i would ask for diections, they would often stop what they were doing and show me where to go, and they may even walk part of the way with me just to make sure. it was unbelievable how nice they were.

our dad and his wife, rose met up with us in japan. we all stayed at the new sanno military hotel with cindy's family. there's a lot to see in tokyo, and we hardly scratched the surface. my favorite, the fish market at 5 am. our nephew, mason joined us, and i think he liked it the best. nearly all of the tuna in the world is routed through here. they hold an auction, and there's endless stalls of exotic fresh fish. it was like walking through a raw, edible aquarium.

kamakura is a town with a huge buddha. he's bigger than a tank. and you can crawl inside of him, and look at his organs. there's not really organs, but you can go inside through a staircase and see how they built the huge statue.

there's a trick art museum south of tokyo with all sorts of displays and interactive wacko things that make your mind bend. the kids love it there, but it's pretty cool for adults too. like a room with a sloped floor and ceiling, so it looks like the people on opposite sides are giants and midgits (pc: little people). before we went to the museum we took a tram up this mountain nearby, and there's a monkey park on top. the monkey keeper comes out and makes the animals do tricks for the tourists. then he gives them some bananas, and they make a mess everywhere. it smelled terrible, like monkeys or something. the walk down the mountain was herendously strenuous. but we survived, and wished we would have just taken the tram again. good thing we didnt' hike up.