APW: Long Days

How to describe my last week from Korat, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia to Bangkok, Thailand in 30 minutes before my internet time and money for the evening diminishes?

I consider listing all the events, emotions, and experiences that have transpired to the tune of “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” but my brother beat me to it.

Instead, we bring on the prose.

A cocktail of local vibes, exuberant tourism, misplaced debit cards, durian smelling cramped public transport, the only tall farang on the bus, bicycle cruising through millennia old temple cities, ‘you buy this, we make you discount, good good price,’ six on a motorbike, twelve in a tuk-tuk!, joyous hospital visits from Thai moms, Thai volleyball world champs, Cambodian hangovers, and ono grinds all around.

I relate a sequence of events to symbolize the week.

An 11 hour bus ride from Siem Reap to Bangkok.  2 hours of which are spent at the Cambodian – Thailand border, where they could have filmed Indiana Jones.  Many wear protection on their face from breathing in the dust.  Market vendors selling baguettes, amok fish, grilled kabobs over open flame, fresh fruits, dirty politics, all cheap cheap.  Lots of scams at this border, best to arrange transportation ahead of time.   Individual persons carry truck loads of concealed goods utilizing the mother of invention, the wheel, and its balance.  No camels or elephants at this crossing though I wouldn’t have blinked an eye, except for the fact that Durians, Mangoes, Pineapples and Camels generally don’t live together. 

Besides drivers on the one side of the road in Poipet and on the other in Aranya Prathet, the sense and culture between Kingdoms is drastically different.  Strange to compare traveling the same distance in America and arrive from the East to West end of North Dakota.  Came across many different nationalities and accents thus far, though very few Americans.

I arrive in Bangkok after the exciting ride of weaving in and out traffic, ignoring street lines, and chasing the buffaloes off the road into rice fields.  I stretch out.  All in good order after the 17 people (and the unfortunate tag-along Durian) pour out of the van at Khao San Rd, old city Bangkok (tourist and backpacker hub).  I link up with two Germans and head to a well recommended guesthouse for 200 baht a night, in a quiet, less touristic 10 minute walk from Old City.

We check into a non-computerized guesthouse by an older Thai guy not budging from the encroaching modern world, drop our bags, and check out the street vendors.  First thing I do in Bangkok: grab an appetizer of scorpions and crickets (the texture raises your awareness that you are eating an insect, though the flavor is masked well by the shoyu-chili-lime-crispiness).  Then I enjoy the best Pad Thai of my life made in front of me in a steaming hot wok, with 8 different toppings to add on afterwards from 4 variations of hot peppers to peanuts to dried shrimp.  Did I mention that this large portion cost 30 baht, equivalent to 1 US Dollar?  Afterwards we stuffed our bellies a little bit more with a banana and chocolate pancake, cooked on hot plate to order, with the classic Thai-style addition of sweet condensed milk.

So after the day of traveling 500k, I filling up my belly, taking a hot shower, and sleeping in a clean guesthouse, I spend under 20 US Dollar.  I almost got the massage too that night, though I saved it for the next day, keeping my average below 20 instead of below 25 USD.  It is no wonder why SE Asia is so widely visited by Europeans, Asians and Australians. 

I am leaving Thailand tomorrow morning to Nepal.  And though I’ve been reading Buddhist texts and learning from some amazing folk here, I am not going to distance myself and emotions from the ‘I-Self’ just yet, at least not as a writer.  I have had some beautiful experiences here in this country on the farm in rural Isaan, in the breathtaking temples of Bangkok, and the smells and smiles on the street from my basic efforts at the Thai tonal language.  If I come back here after Nepal,  I would love to spend some time in the North, visit Pun Pun and Pai, have a lengthier stay at Rak Tamachat, see friends who I’ve made in the brief time here, and possibly check out Laos and Vietnam.  I would be very pleased with that path if it were placed before me. 

That being said, what is front of me now is Nepal.  I smile knowing its existence and my path cross tomorrow after all-time and no-time.  I accept the unknowing future, and can only take the self that I’ve become to brave the road ahead.  I share with you the (paraphrased) wisdom of a Cambodian Tuk-Tuk Driver, who is no stranger to war, hardship, and the joys of this beautiful life. 

‘There are accidents in this world, and there is too, good all around.  Us meeting is so very lucky.  Until next time, I will see you when you see me, and good luck to you and good luck to me!

In both a literal and figurative sense, every time we had a drink of beer all 5 of us would raise our glasses together and say “Chuk Moi’e,” which translates to “Cheer Up!”

As Jeanette Winterson writes in the Passion, ‘I’m telling you stories, trust me.'

APW #3 Thailand, Rak Tamachat

I am in Thailand now at a Community called Rak Tamachat.  

I flew from Manilla to Thailand with the directions to the farm.  Okay, I have my mission.  What I don't have, is any substantial knowledge of Thai culture, transit, language or other foreign communication.  Easy.  Besides being laughed at, or laughed with, a few times, I was able to go from the plane, to train, to cab, to bus, to tuk tuk truck, to farm in nearly the fastest way public transportation can take you there, though not necessarily the cheapest.  Possibly got ripped off by the Tuk Tuk Driver for a few hundred baht (around $5).

All in all, smooth sailing and beautiful farm to land at and start my Asia travels.  Rak Tamachat (Love Naturally) is a young holistic, permaculture learning center, that is in the process of converting a conventional 75 acre corn and rice farm to a permaculture designed sustainable community.  They have planted 10,000 trees and built many impressive natural structures in under 5 years.  I came here to learn, work, observe, and take a 3 day natural buildings course. 

I rise early at sunrise to catch catfish in a throw net and cook it in a rocket stove for dinner.  I help sculpt an elephant being preyed on by a two headed snake into the corner of a cob wall in the composting toilet bathroom.  We mix tapioca starch with our plaster (clay and sand) to paint a water resistant rendering as a finishing touch. I become inspired after watching Garbage Warriors, the lectures and application of natural building to build and design my own home.

I share Awa brought from Hawai'i (thank you good Conor) and mix a tea after we share a traditional Thai dinner.  Som tum (green papaya salad), kaeng khiao wan (green curry) over jasmine rice (grown in the region).  We have a slice of western life here with speakers, a billiards table, and stainless steel kitchen.  The owner of the farm is from Louisiana, and has lived in SE Asia the last 12 years, now with a Thai wife and three children.  It is an incredible piece of land with beautiful buildings, art, and lots of food for the future.  I admire the gift he has given the world.  He intends to start a strong community and share his studies with Bill Mollison and host PDC's (Permaculture Design Courses) regularly throughout the year.

It is nearing the end of monsoon season and I retire to my tent tonight, currently under a roof, with the sound of the rain dripping against the lake, with crickets, toads and mosquitos buzzing.  I hear it all and feel safe, comfortable, grateful to be able to be having these experiences.  I am writing down recipes, taking pictures and documenting with notes and blog entries what I am learning. 

What an inspiration this last week has been.  I don’t accredit it to the space from my life on Hawai’i or the introduction of new ideas, concepts, cultures into my life.  Though all of this helped, it was the personal choice to make changes into my life, and surrounding myself in an environment with the intention of learning.  We make these choices every day, with every bite and every thought .  Here is a great TedTalk, from a Thai builder, grower, and seed saver (all simple), that talks about the simplicity of making life easier for yourself. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21j_OCNLuYg

 

Grateful to have met you all in different walks of life, I'll be thinking of you on my next trip, to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  More soon.

 

APW: Travel Blog #2 - Honolulu to Manilla to Rak Tamachat

Design a life that makes you happy and stimulated.  Create this in a sustainable way that includes abundance for you to give back for all the gifts we are given throughout this life. Live.  Learn.  Live.

Grateful to be alive, breathing country air, choosing to be on the road again.  My spirit has in a few short days begun to feel more calm and free.  The road in front of me leads into the illusive horizon.  I recognize how I’ve changed since the last time I engaged in travel.  I recognize how I will continue to grow and be different, though at the core, I will always be the boy who fell asleep face first into a plate of spaghetti.

I begin my travel, inevitably, with lessons to learn.  Immediately tested with expectations, and how to be patient with your path, and to not get hung up on what you think will be, because there is no true knowing.  All of this translates to: I miss my flight to Bangkok.  It is becoming an unskilled art of mine, to (un)intentionally not take preplanned flights to places.    And having familiarity with this feeling, I chose to avoid feelings of annoyance and disappointment with the expense and the adapted schedule.  So I sat at the airport, accepted the circumstances, and instead enjoyed another 2 days on Hawai’I, exploring the island of Oahu for the first time.    I ventured to the north shore, met a permaculturist from New Zealand on the bus, met some world travelers at hostel I stayed at, hung out on the beach at night, and took one last swim in the Hawaiian seas.

Accept the challenges and changes with introduce themselves into your lives.  Even if they appear disagreeable, invite them in and learn from them.  Do not reject the circumstances that have been placed at the table in front of you.  Rearrange your ingredients, get creative, and cook up something wonderful.

Food for thought:

In the two gifted days on Oahu, I was able to talk story about organic farming with Oahu and Kauai Natives, along with a boy from El Paso, the customs security agent, Israeli and German Travelers.  Previously when traveling I was an observer and listener, now I feel I have something worth sharing.   I will share what I have learned about healing the soil, for the benefit of the plant, the humans eating and breathing, and the ecosystem.   It all fits perfectly, into a natural ecosystem that this world has distanced itself from.  Who knows what any of these conversations lead to?  I was on a whim when I traveled to Hawai’i on a great friend’s suggestion 4 years ago.  We never know what we will become, only that every influence in our lives nurtures growth.

I will not preach, and I let most ideas be, but when a philosophy has the potential to harm the natural world and its inhabitants, it can spread like wildfire, I will stand up and have a go at balancing the larger forces out there.  I will do what I can and find my peace with the rest.

Incredible Person of the Day Award:

On my flight to the Philippines I sat next to a Chef in Waikiki.  He visits his family at home in the Philippines every three months.  What a beautiful responsibility he fulfills.  He told me is so grateful to be able to work away and come home and provide for his wife in children.  Not many are so fortunate to be able to provide for their family and live their passion.  I admired greatly this man named Jazz.

View from the roadside #1: bench at Waikiki Sunset

There was man offering directions and laughing the pigeon’s ineptitude of receiving them.  He did this for hours, waving his hands wildly, raising his eyebrows to the sky.  He was incredulous and mocking, using the rolled up newspaper to slap his hand in disbelief or direct the pigeon towards the ocean, as if that is where his destination lay.

He performed 10 meters in front of me, while next to me lies my backpack: my only belonging and reliable portable home for the next 6 months.  Next to my backpack sat an elderly Japanese woman, a real stunner.  Equipped with silky gray hair, a gentle thin smile and an elegant oriental summer dress. 

The trolley on the street rings behind, footsteps flood the street, all shapes sizes and colors, a woman plays ukulele to the ocean, which plays percussion for her.  The music of the city.  A city both beautiful and contrived.  With splatters of Hawaiian, Polynesian, International and Metropolitan culture all mixed and spewed on shore from belly of the humpback whale.  A culture that breeds pro surfers, executives wearing ties, bikini models, homeless haircuts, Polynesian dresses and all walks of life.  Similar to Las Vegas for me, Honolulu is a city that does not belong in its landscape.  And it is strange, having lived in such close proximity to this metropolis, but not seeing it face-to-face until now, to feel this way.  We are 2400 miles away from a great landmass, and it is both strange and beautiful, to say a hui hou to Hawai’i from Hana to Waikiki.

I spend my last day here waking up with the sun on the North Shore.  I arrive by bus to the Bishop Museum and then make my way to Waikiki.  Through the long uneventful hours of riding the bus I sit and admire the landscape and introspect on the idea of spending time with oneself.  I have been tossed around the island last year like a rag doll, though this was all my choosing.  I am choosing now to remove myself from the world of clutter and distraction and focus on nurturing myself and relationships and communities around me.  I live with the undesirable sacrifices I made last year. 

Back in Waikiki, a man in robes walks by carrying a torch and touching the flame to the tikis across the boardwalk.  A woman next to me tells me she is unable to write about more songs cause they all end up with pain.  Can’t escape the ‘he-done-me-wrong’ loops.  I offer her a smile and hints of forgiveness.  The sun drops a few inches closer to the horizon, the hula dancers are in swing, and the hokulea and company of twinkling stars awaits beyond the darkening blue sky.  A German with a beer belly, white tennis shoes and an ironed aloha shirt sits down on the other side of me and snorts.  A big smile spreads across his face.  He loves his wife.  He loves his life.  Isn’t America beautiful?

200 years ago who would have thought this would become of Waikiki?  On this trip across continents and seas I will be measuring how times travels across this modern world.    And how the inhabitants of these lands balance its influence.  What do I know?  I don’t lay claims to know more or anything.  I am here to observe, speculate, grow, seek and participate.

As I consider all this, the man arguing with the pigeon returns.  Frustrated, laughing and smiling, I love it all.

 

Soon to come:

My journey to Rak Tamachat in Thailand.
Overview of my natural buildings course.
Ethics regarding the introduction of a non-native species into an environment.

APW: Beginning a Travel Blog

In a sense, this has always been a travel blog.  I journey and write along the way.  However, this is a more intentional phase where I will be traveling and documenting my experiences along the way.

72 hours from now I will be waiting in Honolulu Airport to board a plane traveling west to what western civilization calls the east.  It will be my first journey to a world rooted in tradition that extends beyond the reach of British Imperialism (some of it), and further back than the days of Columbus.  I will be observing, participating, engaging with an open mind, knowing I may be relearning the basics, such as breathing, eating, walking, smiling.  I am entering this new world in a state of transition.  I am not wiping my slate clean, though I am beginning again with an experientially developed foundation.  As cliffs are formed by the prevailing winds, beating rain and the waves of time, I too have been molded by the natural forces of this earth; the events that I have not foreseen or imagined, that have all befallen me while I enact growth on this little rock. The cycling of randomness, the balance that surrounds it, and the nurturing within it.   I am a pawn, I am the chessboard, I am the stillness before the storm.

I am many things and I have lived many lives, and I am seeking not to forget them, but to simplify them into a state of present awareness, where I can engage with others as a better, more helpful self.   My journey is one of learning, and giving back.  I am indescribably grateful for all the people who I have crossed paths with and the impacts each has had on my life.  From the friends growing up in New York to camping trips in the desert and the mountains, from September holidays with family to the mentors who have guided me without trying, from the island dwellers who have humbled me with their good natures and large hearts to the amazing people I have met in just the last month and have shared experiences that I will never forget. 

I am ready to create new loops and finds pace from the persisting ones to help gain perspective and move towards attaining a state of peace with all that has and will transpire.  I am leaving with this intention for personal growth and engagement with cultures I have not yet immersed myself in.   I travel to seek balance between the diverse peoples and places of this world, to note the similarities, and to see how sustainable cooperative systems can be applied across oceans, or simply shared with neighbors.   I will be growing food, and learning how the Nepalese and Thai sustain there ways of life (and thrive) without all the advancements of the encroaching modern world.

I begin this travel blog, still on Maui, not fully ready for flight.  The moment I physically step on the plane and watch the islands become clouds as I ascend towards the atmosphere will cement that all this is real and is happening.   There will be postcards and pictures to follow, and new feelings and sensations to describe.  My eyes are wide and my heart is beating and and I will return, someday, soon myself.