I think that's the name of some sappy love song or bad chick flick, that I have likely cursed and watched a million times over. Regardless, it's true: it's in the little things. Direction of the wind. Watching every little kid in a tiny Laos village tear up to the road side to wave "Goodbye! Sayba dee!" throwing their hand out to slap a high five, as you pass through their streets. The strange yellow "sport drink" that finds it's way into every cooler in the country and quenches your thirst like none other. The sound of grinding gears when you momentarily forget which trigger to hit as you start to climb, watching a caged monkey suck his own dick...because really, what better way to pass the time? I still feel like i need a shower just for witnessing. The smell of curry, of coconut sticky rice, of squat toilets and raw meat. The four-set bowls at every seating in a noodle shop or restaurant full of chile, sugar and alternating versions of msg, salt and/or pickled peppers, fish sauce, peanuts etc. The truckloads of oranges available to buy on every corner of town, the ubiquitous (ooooh, big word) market places overflowing w/ fresh produce and countless new and bizarre edibles. The taste of coffee lao, first think in the morning as it strips the remaining 5 layers of enamel off your teeth and feeds it to you in a delicious shot of thick, black syrup.
I found myself bargaining for bananas w/ two Tribes women in a Sunday market in the middle of nowhere while an Asian looking man from Oakland, CA, stepped from his hired minivan, video recorder in hand, on record. The sound of roosters...no matter where I go and how many layers of insulation stand between us, little fuckers. The ridiculous ease of traveling w/ a stranger who often seems to know more about me than people I have known my entire life. The fact that we will soon part ways and I am once again looking at a map of Asia asking myself "if you could do anything here, what would it be?" The freedom and the limitations of cycling everywhere. The incredible people who are out doing their own version of the same. The amazing parallels I encounter everyday, between my world in America, and every other world I come in contact with. Of course. We are all human. Of course, we all face the same obstacles, endeavors and pleasures...of course. It's the little things though, that remind me, that stay w/ me, that paint the landscape of my travels and feed my soul. Where will I go from here? I have no idea.
It's in the little things. The fact that I have never seen such blatant, extensive obliteration of a landscape. Never breathed air so heavy and thick w/ smoke and pollution. Never felt so defeated by hills, so elated by simple interactions w/ people. Never before have I tasted the foods, encountered the smells, the sights. It's in the little things, that make this incredible "trip" so intense. A reservoir of water w/ a hand bucket for your personal & creative interpretation of toilet paper, sticky rice, bad music, drunk and loud tourists, bar girls, kindness in the form of a tip, distance in the form of a colored line, concern in the form of a reprimand, distraction in the form of electricity and all it's many applications.
I can't help seeing my life here. It annoys me that things like "where ever you go, there you are", stick in my head and prove themselves. Love it that I cannot seem to escape my head no matter where I go and find myself. Amused at the fact that it sometimes "occurs" to me that if I can't beat it, I might as well join it...as though this were an option and I could somehow sever my head from the rest of me to live a better, simpler life. Ha! Can't help digging for the ties that bind us as human beings, regardless of race, religion, sex, language, borders, the list goes on and on. I love it. I hate it. I revel in it. I soak it up and saturate my soul in it only to jump out screaming and hollering that I will have no part of it and that everyone should go to hell!...very effective. I highly recommend spastic rampage to any and all. A little hard headed independence mixed w/ a splash of masochism is always a good combo too. God, could I just take a moment to bear the inner workings of my head to the general public? Blaaaaaaaaah.
I wish so many times in a day that I could just wrap this shit up, throw it all in a box, pack it up nice and neat, slap a pretty bow on top and ship the fucker home. What is it with life experience?!?! What's with the constant discomfort of heady games and distractions? What's w/ the control freak and critical bitch and rigid fear of letting go and desperate longing to quit trying so hard only to find myself trying soooooo damned hard? What is it w/ being human?!?! Can't I just label the idiots I find in the street as "wrong" and myself as "right" so I can go on feeling superior to "other white tourists" and know I have found "the way?" Ha ha. No. Of course not. Did I mention the whole "no matter where I go..." thing?
Life is good. Damn good. I just want some fucking answers to it all. I want to know what I'll be doing in 10 yrs...so I can stubbornly refuse to do it. Want to know what I'll be doing when I get home so I can obsess over it while I bike through incredible countries, meeting amazing people, having experiences of a life time. I want to know what I will be doing in a week so I can decide to feel committed to my decision and then freak over how much I don't know and psych myself out of it only to bully myself into it. Mostly, I just want some candy for my monkey mind to occupy itself w/ so I don't have to deal w/ what's right here, right now. DISTRACT ME DAMN IT!!!
No. Of course not. Not really. But this is what it boils down to and then there is a moment of silence, of peace. I realize there is really no other place to be. No thing to do... except be another freak on the internet. Which, let's face it, is really where the world is headed anyway. At least I'm on the winning side. Ha! Stick that in your Vang Vieng opium pipe and smoke it!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
the situation is a little unclear...
There's a phenomina in my life that I have come to love. It's a feeling I get when life, in any of many forms, finds a way to say "Alisa, I love you honey. Now quit yer bitching and get your ass in gear." Sometimes it's a horoscope in the paper, telling me to get over it and get on with it. Sometimes it's a "random" stranger in Thailand, who just listened to me fire off for the last half hr, asking me "So, what you are gaining from hanging onto and playing victim to a bad, old relationship?" Sometimes it is allowing myself to cross over a land border, into an new and unexplored country, only to have my unsuspecting ass handed to me. Idiotic, rookey-tourist mistakes abound, result in spending twice the money to accomplish half the goals in twice the time and a quarter of the comfort. It's an inevitable part of travel. You will make a handful of mistakes upon entering any new country, even your own, before you get your feet under you. Best you take it w/ a good laugh, a shake of your head, and follow up w/ thorough indulgence in the regions finest offerings for beer. Current Primary Advantage: Making these mistakes in Asia, will likely put you out only a small portion of the cash amount you would have lost in America.
The truth is, none of these thing are experiences I would omit. I love them at the same that I hate them. I find myself indulging in the delicious enthusiasm of cussing and swinging my way through it, pissed off that I am indeed playing the victim, paying the high price because I didn't look further, or losing out on a hot shower (and everything else that requires electricity) that I just paid DOUBLE the room fee to have, because the gerbals that run the town generator, fall off their wheels from an exhausting 2 hr sprint around 8:30 p.m. to be resumed... tomorrow evening. Awesome. I had no idea and I love this shit. I love life being handed out in blatant, unpadded doses of experience that have no regard for my opinions, complaints or concerns. Get in. Hold on. Sit down. Shut up. Oh and P.S. Here's paradise. Can you see it yet?
Welcome to Laos, land of...well, in two days, mass amounts of incredibly persistent, yet infuriatingly vague directions but great curry, expensive food but cheep beer, hrs I didn't know existed in a day, spent sitting on benches I didn't know could be made that fucking hard and uncomfortable, laughing, eating, cussing and wondering what in the hell we are doing and how in the hell are we getting there. Welcome to Laos...where the hell is my bike?
They call it the "Slow Boat to Luang Probang". A rockin' hit w/ the tourists...who never return to warn the next wave of lemmings. Swerve (for his personal approach to hill climbs) and I, we're not in Kansas any more. That little fact came crashing down on my head around 9 p.m. last night, after a solid 8 hr day of tailbone-splitting boat ride down the Mekong, ending in my mad dash for lodging, along side the other 200 recently released passengers, while James held back, fending for his theoretical rights to carry his own damned luggage and bikes up the 45 degree angle sand dune, that doubles as a loading dock. I returned from room scouting 20 min later, to find James in the pitch dark, perched precariously on the side of afore mentioned sand dune, refusing to move another step, while a family of 5 Loa hovered inches away.
"I can't make a move w/ the bikes w/out them following me up the hill w/ luggage and then insisting that I pay more. I told them my wife has all the money and haven't moved since."
Ha! While even joking about being married still makes me squirm, I revel in the fact that I am apparently the one who wears the financial pants in this relationship...at least for the next five minutes.
"30,000 Kip." Says one voice in the dark. Equivelant to appx. 3 USD.
"No. I will not give you 30,000 Kip. I give you 10,000 and no more help. Stop helping, okay?"
"Okay. Khap jai."
"Khap jai."
Great. One thing down, only an ever increasing number of new things to learn, to go. We take turns holding the torch, while the other shoves paniers onto anything that will hold them for the next 1 km climb out of the sand pit loading dock to the guest house, passing rows of candle lit shops and restaurants...should have been my first clue, CANDLES=NO ELECTRICITY. Whatever, all I can think about is how hot and sweaty I am, how good a shower will feel and how good Beer Lao-the new and fabulous discovery of huge, cheap bottles of icey cold goodness-will taste. Shower on hold, dinner and beer call. 20:45, we roll back to the g.h. and a black-out. Ha! The entire village is swamped w/ white tourists asking the same three questions: "what did you pay for a room?" "What happened to the lights?" and "What time does the boat leave in the morning?" We all know what we paid. The range is as broad as the selection of languages the questions are asked in. As for the lights and departure time? Well, the situation is a little unclear.
Somehow, we all make it to the boat in the morning, now sporting what appears to be twice the original number of passengers. Sweet. I find myself crawling into the lap of a 23 yr old Dutch girl everytime someone needs to use the stair I have claimed as my seat, en route to the increasingly stanky and soggy bathroom at the back of the boat. Beer Lao is flowing faster than the Mekong by half day, though a little less by a few partiers from day 1 who are looking like life hurts them...very badly at the moment. 10 hrs for the impatient fools looking to claim "real" seats, and 8 hrs for the fools who load last (because they insist on toting their bicycles around which require "official" boat crew members for roof loading), Luang Probang comes into focus. Yippppeeeeeeee!!!!
It's dark but we're in good spirits, every guest house w/ reasonable prices is full. Hmmmm. It takes us an hr, but we square one away and head out for internet, good food and good beer. Yes! This is a town aimed at the useless pleasantries of Western tourists...and I am enjoying the hell out of it at the moment. Swerve (who I have officially deemed my brother, as of coffee round 2 this morning) and I are reveling in the notion of wasting a little time, money and calories here for the next day or two, before setting out for Vientiene, riding S. through a nice chunk of N. Laos. Soooooooooooooo looking forward to being back on my bike. Little rides over the last few days make me miss the saddle and the feeling of travel on self-propelled wheels. I think I'm hooked.
I hear nothing but rave reviews of Laos for cycling and the people are proving to be a new level of quiet and friendly. In Thailand it feels like paper work and money issues are taken care of for you, before you have to think about it. Here, especially w/ the new confusion of Kip conversions and the fact that Baht and Kip are accepted in one place, only Kip in another and USD prices given in the next, money takes another level of patience. No one seems to mind though, as we bumble our way through the conversions they look on and smile shyly. I have no idea what is in store for us here, but looking forward to it, untimely generator hours and all.
Hope this finds you well.
Love love love.
The truth is, none of these thing are experiences I would omit. I love them at the same that I hate them. I find myself indulging in the delicious enthusiasm of cussing and swinging my way through it, pissed off that I am indeed playing the victim, paying the high price because I didn't look further, or losing out on a hot shower (and everything else that requires electricity) that I just paid DOUBLE the room fee to have, because the gerbals that run the town generator, fall off their wheels from an exhausting 2 hr sprint around 8:30 p.m. to be resumed... tomorrow evening. Awesome. I had no idea and I love this shit. I love life being handed out in blatant, unpadded doses of experience that have no regard for my opinions, complaints or concerns. Get in. Hold on. Sit down. Shut up. Oh and P.S. Here's paradise. Can you see it yet?
Welcome to Laos, land of...well, in two days, mass amounts of incredibly persistent, yet infuriatingly vague directions but great curry, expensive food but cheep beer, hrs I didn't know existed in a day, spent sitting on benches I didn't know could be made that fucking hard and uncomfortable, laughing, eating, cussing and wondering what in the hell we are doing and how in the hell are we getting there. Welcome to Laos...where the hell is my bike?
They call it the "Slow Boat to Luang Probang". A rockin' hit w/ the tourists...who never return to warn the next wave of lemmings. Swerve (for his personal approach to hill climbs) and I, we're not in Kansas any more. That little fact came crashing down on my head around 9 p.m. last night, after a solid 8 hr day of tailbone-splitting boat ride down the Mekong, ending in my mad dash for lodging, along side the other 200 recently released passengers, while James held back, fending for his theoretical rights to carry his own damned luggage and bikes up the 45 degree angle sand dune, that doubles as a loading dock. I returned from room scouting 20 min later, to find James in the pitch dark, perched precariously on the side of afore mentioned sand dune, refusing to move another step, while a family of 5 Loa hovered inches away.
"I can't make a move w/ the bikes w/out them following me up the hill w/ luggage and then insisting that I pay more. I told them my wife has all the money and haven't moved since."
Ha! While even joking about being married still makes me squirm, I revel in the fact that I am apparently the one who wears the financial pants in this relationship...at least for the next five minutes.
"30,000 Kip." Says one voice in the dark. Equivelant to appx. 3 USD.
"No. I will not give you 30,000 Kip. I give you 10,000 and no more help. Stop helping, okay?"
"Okay. Khap jai."
"Khap jai."
Great. One thing down, only an ever increasing number of new things to learn, to go. We take turns holding the torch, while the other shoves paniers onto anything that will hold them for the next 1 km climb out of the sand pit loading dock to the guest house, passing rows of candle lit shops and restaurants...should have been my first clue, CANDLES=NO ELECTRICITY. Whatever, all I can think about is how hot and sweaty I am, how good a shower will feel and how good Beer Lao-the new and fabulous discovery of huge, cheap bottles of icey cold goodness-will taste. Shower on hold, dinner and beer call. 20:45, we roll back to the g.h. and a black-out. Ha! The entire village is swamped w/ white tourists asking the same three questions: "what did you pay for a room?" "What happened to the lights?" and "What time does the boat leave in the morning?" We all know what we paid. The range is as broad as the selection of languages the questions are asked in. As for the lights and departure time? Well, the situation is a little unclear.
Somehow, we all make it to the boat in the morning, now sporting what appears to be twice the original number of passengers. Sweet. I find myself crawling into the lap of a 23 yr old Dutch girl everytime someone needs to use the stair I have claimed as my seat, en route to the increasingly stanky and soggy bathroom at the back of the boat. Beer Lao is flowing faster than the Mekong by half day, though a little less by a few partiers from day 1 who are looking like life hurts them...very badly at the moment. 10 hrs for the impatient fools looking to claim "real" seats, and 8 hrs for the fools who load last (because they insist on toting their bicycles around which require "official" boat crew members for roof loading), Luang Probang comes into focus. Yippppeeeeeeee!!!!
It's dark but we're in good spirits, every guest house w/ reasonable prices is full. Hmmmm. It takes us an hr, but we square one away and head out for internet, good food and good beer. Yes! This is a town aimed at the useless pleasantries of Western tourists...and I am enjoying the hell out of it at the moment. Swerve (who I have officially deemed my brother, as of coffee round 2 this morning) and I are reveling in the notion of wasting a little time, money and calories here for the next day or two, before setting out for Vientiene, riding S. through a nice chunk of N. Laos. Soooooooooooooo looking forward to being back on my bike. Little rides over the last few days make me miss the saddle and the feeling of travel on self-propelled wheels. I think I'm hooked.
I hear nothing but rave reviews of Laos for cycling and the people are proving to be a new level of quiet and friendly. In Thailand it feels like paper work and money issues are taken care of for you, before you have to think about it. Here, especially w/ the new confusion of Kip conversions and the fact that Baht and Kip are accepted in one place, only Kip in another and USD prices given in the next, money takes another level of patience. No one seems to mind though, as we bumble our way through the conversions they look on and smile shyly. I have no idea what is in store for us here, but looking forward to it, untimely generator hours and all.
Hope this finds you well.
Love love love.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Blog This
Sometimes, life is almost too good to be blogged. Honestly, wat (ha ha) a ridiculously dorky way to try and explain what happens in a day: oh, just read my blog, and you'll be right there beside me! Well maybe...but not really...but maybe.
We've made it to Chiang Khong, border town for Th/Laos. Sleeping in a guest house beside the Mekong River (the official border), where we watch life in Laos, taking place a few hundred meters away on the other side. Amazing. 5 days biking, 1 day rest and suddenly looking at the map again, as one goal is accomplished and new ones come into focus. "Last day in Thailand", James announces. No no, just nearing the first day in Laos.
Pardon me, while I wax poetic over my life and current state of existence. While there is the occasional pang of guilt at how incredibly cool I think my life is, I do my best to balance it w/ incredible gratitude and occasionally splurge for humility...oh right Alisa, like your ass on a bike seat for weeks on end hasn't taught you humility. How about those hills and learning how to pack a panier both on and off the bike? Or wait, maybe the new appreciation for what a bunch of bananas really weighs, when you strap it to your bike thinking you are being clever and "local"? No, humility has certainly made it's way into my vocabulary and made itself a fabulous little nest in my ego. We'll be picking out window treatments for my soul next week, stay tuned. But really, I think it's easier to breath this way...and I swear I'm not high.
The last few days of travel have been a continuation of hilarious and absurd adventure. James and I have a similar outlook on our travels, which makes for a mostly laughable experience, though we have nearly polar opposite philosophys when it comes to packing. We walked our way into a noon-time snack at a roadside store yesterday, that had us walking away w/ a little bag of what I think is the local equivelant to chewing tobacco. They pull out this wad of what looks like cow dung (and pert near smells like it). It's layers of some sort of leaf, preserved in a Stevia sweet/olivey brine. You peel off a couple of leaves and pack a pinch of rock salt into it, fold it up and stuff it into your cheek. You chew on it and I guess eventually swallow it, once your cheek has been pickled and you are feeling rather happy about life as a whole.
Being a good MT girl, I of course jumped at the chance to cram a wad of chew into my mouth, only to realize that it was more of a "guy thing". James salvaged my honor by stuffing BOTH of his cheeks then proceeded to flex and make rapid peddaling motions w/ his arms, demonstrating the super hero effects of our new found substance to abuse. The whole lot was in stitches, while I withstood another line of gentle chastising from the grandma in the bunch, regarding my skin in the sun and traveling as a female.
"Stay close to your man", she motions w/ her hands and rattles on in Thai.
I love that I can have an entire conversation w/ people and not understand a word of the language, but the point is undeniably clear.
"You two are together, yes?"
"Yes. Of course. This is my husband of 5 days. We're tight. Oh and very much in love, right Honey? Honey, umm, what was your name again?"
So yeah, never a dull moment.
Once we rolled into Chiang Khong, we were met w/ the fabulous fortune of having a bike club and team sponsor, at our finger tips. The guest hs where we crashed, is owned by one of a handful of avid cyclists in the area, who sponsors big, international cycling events ea. yr. He and his "brother" (family is an increasingly broad spectrum term), have turned out volumes of maps, rt. directions, lodging and play by play commentary on terrain and side trips for Laos. Once again reinforcing my deepening faith in not planning a damned thing. Why bother? Just aim straight at what you know you want to see and be in and let it happen! It's amazing to me how much I think I don't know what I want and then take 30 seconds to look at a map or think about my options, only to discover I know EXACTLY what it is I want to do. And here I am, doin' it! Yeeeeeeeehaaw! Giddeeeeup! Did I mention how cool I think my life is? How funny is it that I think that might come accross as arrogant? Yeah Lis, you really need to be thinking your life sucks. How dare you actually enjoy your existence. Oooooh, shame shame...yeah, shame this.
James informs me that he thinks I am one of the most irreverant people he knows. I think myself oh so mild compared to many of the people I know, but take great pleasure in the notion that I might rank so highly in a realm that I have so much appreciation for. Mind you, I think James is completely irreverent and absolutely juvenile in his private rebellions against society and accepted norms...did I have to pick a damned mirror to travel with? His favorite mantra is "They do NOT want to hit me", as he takes the entire road to weave his way up a mtn pass or even just play w/ the wind in his paniers...God help me as my inner tour guide erupts from deep within. Do I just kill him so I don't have to watch him get killed, or do I gently suggest that he pick a frickin' lane, maybe even recommend the LEFT HAND side of the white line (remember we ride reverse here, I'm not trying to recommend traffic). My preferred response: adjust my helmet so the sun visor blocks all sight of him, and then I don't have to watch. Brilliant. Just like my theory on politics...which isn't working.
Anyway, tomorrow, Laos. Two days and one night down the Mekong to Luang Probang. I can hardly wait, and it could could take all the time in the world. Life is good. Really good. And though I know it's inevitable that my contentment will turn to agiation and have me screaming back out onto the road, I am loving being here and that feels awesome. I have no idea what Laos has in store, and now China is looking possibile again, depending mostly on visas and time, etc. Who knows?
For now...Take me to the river! Wash me down! Won't you cleanse my soul! And put my feet back on the ground! That and Tina Turner's, Proud Mary are my soundtracks for the moment. I'll spare you the rest. Mmmmmmmchwa (that's a kiss) to you all.
P.S.
I had a great conversaton w/ a fellow traveler the other day about US politics. He turned me onto something called PNAC-Project for a New American Century. If the name alone doesn't give you the creeps...I am putting a link up for the home page. Wondering if anyone else has been looking at this??? I'm still wading through the main publication, but this guy made it sound like the Bush Admins, "Mein Kamf". Creepy? Oh that's an understatement. Let me know what you think.
Love love love.
We've made it to Chiang Khong, border town for Th/Laos. Sleeping in a guest house beside the Mekong River (the official border), where we watch life in Laos, taking place a few hundred meters away on the other side. Amazing. 5 days biking, 1 day rest and suddenly looking at the map again, as one goal is accomplished and new ones come into focus. "Last day in Thailand", James announces. No no, just nearing the first day in Laos.
Pardon me, while I wax poetic over my life and current state of existence. While there is the occasional pang of guilt at how incredibly cool I think my life is, I do my best to balance it w/ incredible gratitude and occasionally splurge for humility...oh right Alisa, like your ass on a bike seat for weeks on end hasn't taught you humility. How about those hills and learning how to pack a panier both on and off the bike? Or wait, maybe the new appreciation for what a bunch of bananas really weighs, when you strap it to your bike thinking you are being clever and "local"? No, humility has certainly made it's way into my vocabulary and made itself a fabulous little nest in my ego. We'll be picking out window treatments for my soul next week, stay tuned. But really, I think it's easier to breath this way...and I swear I'm not high.
The last few days of travel have been a continuation of hilarious and absurd adventure. James and I have a similar outlook on our travels, which makes for a mostly laughable experience, though we have nearly polar opposite philosophys when it comes to packing. We walked our way into a noon-time snack at a roadside store yesterday, that had us walking away w/ a little bag of what I think is the local equivelant to chewing tobacco. They pull out this wad of what looks like cow dung (and pert near smells like it). It's layers of some sort of leaf, preserved in a Stevia sweet/olivey brine. You peel off a couple of leaves and pack a pinch of rock salt into it, fold it up and stuff it into your cheek. You chew on it and I guess eventually swallow it, once your cheek has been pickled and you are feeling rather happy about life as a whole.
Being a good MT girl, I of course jumped at the chance to cram a wad of chew into my mouth, only to realize that it was more of a "guy thing". James salvaged my honor by stuffing BOTH of his cheeks then proceeded to flex and make rapid peddaling motions w/ his arms, demonstrating the super hero effects of our new found substance to abuse. The whole lot was in stitches, while I withstood another line of gentle chastising from the grandma in the bunch, regarding my skin in the sun and traveling as a female.
"Stay close to your man", she motions w/ her hands and rattles on in Thai.
I love that I can have an entire conversation w/ people and not understand a word of the language, but the point is undeniably clear.
"You two are together, yes?"
"Yes. Of course. This is my husband of 5 days. We're tight. Oh and very much in love, right Honey? Honey, umm, what was your name again?"
So yeah, never a dull moment.
Once we rolled into Chiang Khong, we were met w/ the fabulous fortune of having a bike club and team sponsor, at our finger tips. The guest hs where we crashed, is owned by one of a handful of avid cyclists in the area, who sponsors big, international cycling events ea. yr. He and his "brother" (family is an increasingly broad spectrum term), have turned out volumes of maps, rt. directions, lodging and play by play commentary on terrain and side trips for Laos. Once again reinforcing my deepening faith in not planning a damned thing. Why bother? Just aim straight at what you know you want to see and be in and let it happen! It's amazing to me how much I think I don't know what I want and then take 30 seconds to look at a map or think about my options, only to discover I know EXACTLY what it is I want to do. And here I am, doin' it! Yeeeeeeeehaaw! Giddeeeeup! Did I mention how cool I think my life is? How funny is it that I think that might come accross as arrogant? Yeah Lis, you really need to be thinking your life sucks. How dare you actually enjoy your existence. Oooooh, shame shame...yeah, shame this.
James informs me that he thinks I am one of the most irreverant people he knows. I think myself oh so mild compared to many of the people I know, but take great pleasure in the notion that I might rank so highly in a realm that I have so much appreciation for. Mind you, I think James is completely irreverent and absolutely juvenile in his private rebellions against society and accepted norms...did I have to pick a damned mirror to travel with? His favorite mantra is "They do NOT want to hit me", as he takes the entire road to weave his way up a mtn pass or even just play w/ the wind in his paniers...God help me as my inner tour guide erupts from deep within. Do I just kill him so I don't have to watch him get killed, or do I gently suggest that he pick a frickin' lane, maybe even recommend the LEFT HAND side of the white line (remember we ride reverse here, I'm not trying to recommend traffic). My preferred response: adjust my helmet so the sun visor blocks all sight of him, and then I don't have to watch. Brilliant. Just like my theory on politics...which isn't working.
Anyway, tomorrow, Laos. Two days and one night down the Mekong to Luang Probang. I can hardly wait, and it could could take all the time in the world. Life is good. Really good. And though I know it's inevitable that my contentment will turn to agiation and have me screaming back out onto the road, I am loving being here and that feels awesome. I have no idea what Laos has in store, and now China is looking possibile again, depending mostly on visas and time, etc. Who knows?
For now...Take me to the river! Wash me down! Won't you cleanse my soul! And put my feet back on the ground! That and Tina Turner's, Proud Mary are my soundtracks for the moment. I'll spare you the rest. Mmmmmmmchwa (that's a kiss) to you all.
P.S.
I had a great conversaton w/ a fellow traveler the other day about US politics. He turned me onto something called PNAC-Project for a New American Century. If the name alone doesn't give you the creeps...I am putting a link up for the home page. Wondering if anyone else has been looking at this??? I'm still wading through the main publication, but this guy made it sound like the Bush Admins, "Mein Kamf". Creepy? Oh that's an understatement. Let me know what you think.
Love love love.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
At you own risk...
And now that I have refered you to James blog, I have taken a few moments to catch up on his most recent entries for myself. Proceed w/ caution, that is all I have to say. The man is an RN, and has mastered the art of abusing the vocabulary in flawless execution of a verbal rampage...thank God I am balanced, reverent and well mannered or this could get out of hand.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Partner in crime
Aaaah! So many things I keep meaning to write and so little time I want to take writing them and so ridiculously hyper sensitive to the idea of subjecting people to the lame monotony of meaningless details and aaaaaaah! Oh, and there's the teeny tiny matter of a recently consumed, rather large cup of Thai coffee...ha!
Okay, back track: Even on a.m., came from a ski trip right before I left the states. On a particularly lengthy chair lift ride, a buddy starts a game in which each person has a VW bus perched on the edge of a cliff. In the bus, you get to name the top 5, influential bands that you would strap into the seats, to shove over the edge.
I was concerned about the permanence of such a sentence, and so inquired after it's thoroughness. "Do we get to keep the music they have produced, but never have to endure another album, or is this complete obliteration?" My friend responded, "No. They will be pushed over the edge in entirety, never to be heard from ever again...not even on a.m."
When it came to naming the blog, "Not even on a.m." stuck in my head as the equivelent to the edge of the earth, except that it seemed more appropriate to be heard, even if only on a.m. And so it is, even on a.m., from the ends of the earth, that I write my little cyber novels and share my adventures w/ you.
On an even deeper (and perhaps more ridiculous) note, I fantasize about knowing my choices and beliefs in life so deeply that they would come through, "even on a.m." in a personal sense. Part of this trip has been wanting to know what I believe in on a core level, down to my toes, to the tips of my hair. What is it that I know and believe in, beyond all doubt? Or maybe, what is it I commit to believing in, because it's foundational to me? What comes through for me, even on a.m.?
Oddly enough, I believe at least part of that answer is humanity and human potential. We are a weird ass breed of beings, but I have a lot of faith in the incredible power of people and directed energy, be that mental, spiritual, physical, whatever, and ever more so as I travel.... are you still reading this??? Ha! Okay back to Thailand, stick w/ me now!
So, Mae Hong Son, right. Finished that last entry and was e-mailing James. James is the guy who's blog I stumbled on while googling "Bangkok bicycle", in a caffine inspired panic, two days off the plane from the states. (You can check his side of the story through the link to his blog on this pg-yep, go ahead and say it, I can't believe I just told you to read someone's blog either...geeeeeeek!) I sent him an e-mail at the time, excited to have found another cyclist and laughing out loud at his blog. A week later, we met over beer and curry and discovered a shared love for navel gazing and lint picking (terms I had not before been familiar w/, referencing mostly the ability to look waaaaaaaay to deeply into human nonsense), as well as a mutual non-existent tolerance for alcohol...which really just leads to more navel gazing.
Anyway, we chatted, he lent me his tent to be returned in the States (oh, and he's from Friday Harbor, WA!) and we went out separate ways, as his sister had just landed and he was to be touring w/ her for a couple of wks. I went to and returned from Myanmar, said goodbye to Crystal and Johnny then cycled off to climb some mountains. About the same time I was hitting headwinds in Mae Hong Son, James was in Chiang Mai, chomping at the bit for open road and the Laos border. I took a look at what I was up to, weighed my options, and bought a bus tkt to Chiang Mai.
I do not envy the poor fools who try to get in my way once I've set my head to something. The bus driver took one look at my bike and shook his head, telling me "No." and a few other things in Thai, I couldn't understand but could guess. While they pulled the bus around for passengers, I proceeded to disassemble my bike and cram it into any compartment available to be crammed...ha! Single white girl on a rampage! Not out to be rude, but damn it, don't just shake your head at me and think that's the end of the conversation! Oh no. Nine hrs and a LOAD of prayers for my bicycle being jarred, jammed and slammed in the under belly of a bus that felt more like a bad carnival ride, later, I arrived in Chiang Mai. As a side note, I noticed that I had likely been biking w/ a head wind for at least half of what I covered, and taking what appeared to be the most difficult rt. i.e. counter clockwise and against the favor of gravity in climbing. Of course it's easy to think that when you have an engine doing all the work for you.
Caught up w/ James in Chiang Mai, and crashed for the night. Next a.m., picked our route and headed out! Now we are 4 days into riding to the Laos border in Chiang Khong/Huai Xai, and I honestly could not have picked a cooler traveling partner. He's nuts, ridiculous, deep and juvenile all wrapped into one and we act like a couple of 12yr old idiot boys together. LOVE IT! I will try to get a few pics up soon. And NO, there is nothing even remotely romantic about any of it. Despite the fact that we have now spent countless hrs sleeping w/in inches of one another, cracking the stupidest jokes ever, discussing human idiosyncrasies, bowel movements, bodily functions and bonking. Somehow, we just click...and we are both leaving room to absolutely hate and want to kill one another, at any given moment. Ha! Brilliant! I am mildly disturbed but amused by the fact that it's often easier to just say we are married, then try to explain why we are sharing a room or traveling together, but more than anything, life is just a lot funnier when you have someone to laugh w/ over what a moron you are being. That and the countless misinterpretations, misdirections and mind boggling mishaps that take place in a day are now stages for jokes, songs, movie references or blatant name calling. Suddenly it doesn't feel quite so intensely necessary to find secure lodging by dark, or not find myrself alone w/ creepy strangers (other than James...). Just having someone to watch your stuff while you go pee for the love of Christ!
Anyway, needless to say, it's been a smashing success so far, and I am looking forward to Laos, though it is still a few days out. We took a completely roundabout way that has had us crashing on the floors of local village houses, camping out at hotsprings (w/ weird night noises that we still can't explain), crashing meals (actually I crashed, w/ my renewed enthusiasm for anything edible, oops) that have us laughing over language barriers while stuffing our faces w/ sticky rice and a line up of delicious dishes I couldn't explain if I tried, and making incredible connections w/ people and places alike as we scurry our way N. for a Feb 22 Thai visa deadline. Deep breath. Life is good. Really good. And I could never have planned it, but hoped for it, and here it is. Tada!
So glad I was in the mtns for initiating my legs..and backside. Glad to be lower now, except for the HEAT! The other thing I keep meaning to write, why N Thailand? I opened up a map of TH and took one look. The N, and especially the NW, is all that I wanted to see. It's covered in mountains, hotsprings, waterfalls, caves and Hilltribes. It seemed like a no-brainer to me, except that I didn't have a whole lot for guide or reference material for cycling...maybe because not many people want to bike a route whose nickname is "the loop of a thousand hairpin turns"? Sissys. Not that I would have read the guide if there is one...and there probably is.
For now, we are taking a days rest in Phrayao, a city that conveniently did NOT make it into LP! A whole new experience being in a city not geared toward western tourists...Thai anyone? I know how to say hello, thank you, mmmm good, beautiful, how much, a few numbers and I'm full. You'd be amazed at how much trouble I can cause w/ just that. Tomorrow, it's back in the saddle and headed for adventures unknown.
Holy hill, that's an entry for you. I hope this finds you all well and loving life. Pedals, paniers and mountain passes from Thailand, and a whole lotta LOVE!
Okay, back track: Even on a.m., came from a ski trip right before I left the states. On a particularly lengthy chair lift ride, a buddy starts a game in which each person has a VW bus perched on the edge of a cliff. In the bus, you get to name the top 5, influential bands that you would strap into the seats, to shove over the edge.
I was concerned about the permanence of such a sentence, and so inquired after it's thoroughness. "Do we get to keep the music they have produced, but never have to endure another album, or is this complete obliteration?" My friend responded, "No. They will be pushed over the edge in entirety, never to be heard from ever again...not even on a.m."
When it came to naming the blog, "Not even on a.m." stuck in my head as the equivelent to the edge of the earth, except that it seemed more appropriate to be heard, even if only on a.m. And so it is, even on a.m., from the ends of the earth, that I write my little cyber novels and share my adventures w/ you.
On an even deeper (and perhaps more ridiculous) note, I fantasize about knowing my choices and beliefs in life so deeply that they would come through, "even on a.m." in a personal sense. Part of this trip has been wanting to know what I believe in on a core level, down to my toes, to the tips of my hair. What is it that I know and believe in, beyond all doubt? Or maybe, what is it I commit to believing in, because it's foundational to me? What comes through for me, even on a.m.?
Oddly enough, I believe at least part of that answer is humanity and human potential. We are a weird ass breed of beings, but I have a lot of faith in the incredible power of people and directed energy, be that mental, spiritual, physical, whatever, and ever more so as I travel.... are you still reading this??? Ha! Okay back to Thailand, stick w/ me now!
So, Mae Hong Son, right. Finished that last entry and was e-mailing James. James is the guy who's blog I stumbled on while googling "Bangkok bicycle", in a caffine inspired panic, two days off the plane from the states. (You can check his side of the story through the link to his blog on this pg-yep, go ahead and say it, I can't believe I just told you to read someone's blog either...geeeeeeek!) I sent him an e-mail at the time, excited to have found another cyclist and laughing out loud at his blog. A week later, we met over beer and curry and discovered a shared love for navel gazing and lint picking (terms I had not before been familiar w/, referencing mostly the ability to look waaaaaaaay to deeply into human nonsense), as well as a mutual non-existent tolerance for alcohol...which really just leads to more navel gazing.
Anyway, we chatted, he lent me his tent to be returned in the States (oh, and he's from Friday Harbor, WA!) and we went out separate ways, as his sister had just landed and he was to be touring w/ her for a couple of wks. I went to and returned from Myanmar, said goodbye to Crystal and Johnny then cycled off to climb some mountains. About the same time I was hitting headwinds in Mae Hong Son, James was in Chiang Mai, chomping at the bit for open road and the Laos border. I took a look at what I was up to, weighed my options, and bought a bus tkt to Chiang Mai.
I do not envy the poor fools who try to get in my way once I've set my head to something. The bus driver took one look at my bike and shook his head, telling me "No." and a few other things in Thai, I couldn't understand but could guess. While they pulled the bus around for passengers, I proceeded to disassemble my bike and cram it into any compartment available to be crammed...ha! Single white girl on a rampage! Not out to be rude, but damn it, don't just shake your head at me and think that's the end of the conversation! Oh no. Nine hrs and a LOAD of prayers for my bicycle being jarred, jammed and slammed in the under belly of a bus that felt more like a bad carnival ride, later, I arrived in Chiang Mai. As a side note, I noticed that I had likely been biking w/ a head wind for at least half of what I covered, and taking what appeared to be the most difficult rt. i.e. counter clockwise and against the favor of gravity in climbing. Of course it's easy to think that when you have an engine doing all the work for you.
Caught up w/ James in Chiang Mai, and crashed for the night. Next a.m., picked our route and headed out! Now we are 4 days into riding to the Laos border in Chiang Khong/Huai Xai, and I honestly could not have picked a cooler traveling partner. He's nuts, ridiculous, deep and juvenile all wrapped into one and we act like a couple of 12yr old idiot boys together. LOVE IT! I will try to get a few pics up soon. And NO, there is nothing even remotely romantic about any of it. Despite the fact that we have now spent countless hrs sleeping w/in inches of one another, cracking the stupidest jokes ever, discussing human idiosyncrasies, bowel movements, bodily functions and bonking. Somehow, we just click...and we are both leaving room to absolutely hate and want to kill one another, at any given moment. Ha! Brilliant! I am mildly disturbed but amused by the fact that it's often easier to just say we are married, then try to explain why we are sharing a room or traveling together, but more than anything, life is just a lot funnier when you have someone to laugh w/ over what a moron you are being. That and the countless misinterpretations, misdirections and mind boggling mishaps that take place in a day are now stages for jokes, songs, movie references or blatant name calling. Suddenly it doesn't feel quite so intensely necessary to find secure lodging by dark, or not find myrself alone w/ creepy strangers (other than James...). Just having someone to watch your stuff while you go pee for the love of Christ!
Anyway, needless to say, it's been a smashing success so far, and I am looking forward to Laos, though it is still a few days out. We took a completely roundabout way that has had us crashing on the floors of local village houses, camping out at hotsprings (w/ weird night noises that we still can't explain), crashing meals (actually I crashed, w/ my renewed enthusiasm for anything edible, oops) that have us laughing over language barriers while stuffing our faces w/ sticky rice and a line up of delicious dishes I couldn't explain if I tried, and making incredible connections w/ people and places alike as we scurry our way N. for a Feb 22 Thai visa deadline. Deep breath. Life is good. Really good. And I could never have planned it, but hoped for it, and here it is. Tada!
So glad I was in the mtns for initiating my legs..and backside. Glad to be lower now, except for the HEAT! The other thing I keep meaning to write, why N Thailand? I opened up a map of TH and took one look. The N, and especially the NW, is all that I wanted to see. It's covered in mountains, hotsprings, waterfalls, caves and Hilltribes. It seemed like a no-brainer to me, except that I didn't have a whole lot for guide or reference material for cycling...maybe because not many people want to bike a route whose nickname is "the loop of a thousand hairpin turns"? Sissys. Not that I would have read the guide if there is one...and there probably is.
For now, we are taking a days rest in Phrayao, a city that conveniently did NOT make it into LP! A whole new experience being in a city not geared toward western tourists...Thai anyone? I know how to say hello, thank you, mmmm good, beautiful, how much, a few numbers and I'm full. You'd be amazed at how much trouble I can cause w/ just that. Tomorrow, it's back in the saddle and headed for adventures unknown.
Holy hill, that's an entry for you. I hope this finds you all well and loving life. Pedals, paniers and mountain passes from Thailand, and a whole lotta LOVE!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
MHS Loooooooop!
Oh my Gawd, Becky...
So here I am in Mae Hong Son, sitting at the computer waaaaay to late in the day to be feeling inspired for bike riding, but here's the best part: I'm staying in this dodgey little guest house, where my next door (and I do mean next door. the man sneezes and it sounds like he's in bed w/ me!) neighbor is Colin, from not Europe, but Britan, and don't confuse the two.
Colin, my very interested and enthusiastic 40 or 50 something bachelor, has a foot fetish...and WON'T quit staring at mine when we talk. If you've ever looked at my feet, you know I don't spend a whole lot of time on them. Yeah well, Colin has been making the same observations for me over the last 12 hrs. "Your heels need a bit of cream, and what's that you've done to the top of your foot?" refering to the constant rub-spot from my flip-flops. "How is it that you've just taken off your socks and shoes, but the bottoms of your feet are still dirty?" Well, Colin, it might be because I walk around barefoot all the damn time,and happen to be wearing the same pair of socks I've been wearing for the last three days, want to smell? Dirty, motor bike obsessed old man.
Anyway, Mae Hong Son, a.k.a GHETTO FUNK. So do not need to spend another night here, but hit a headwind yesterday pulling into town that cooled my enthusiasm for tackling the loop counter-clockwise. I had a feeling I might run into this. So, now, as always I am reconsidering my rt. My new favorite passtime ends up being a cup of coffee or a meal, while spilling over my maps and imagining the possibilities. Ultimately though, it's still just getting up and climbing on, pedaling away one stroke at a time. WoooooHoooooooo!
I made it to the other side of the mountaing chain I've been crawling in, yesterday. Made a side trip to Mae Lana, and oh my Lord, hills w/ grades my brain doesn't comprehend. But I rode em'! Yeah! Well, the first half anyway. Managed a taxi to get out and after the ride yesterday, so glad I did. I am nearly though my first set of break shoes in two wks of biking, if that says anything.
So, all is well. Can't seem to decide whether I want to make time and distance or take it easy and enjoy the inevitable adventures that unfold from being in a place for a few days. The N. is beautiful and they have great coffee. The Hilltribes are everywhere, both on tourist display and just livin' life. I prefer the latter, and get a lot out of just pedaling in the hills where they work and drive like bats out of hell, flying past me laughing or giving thumbs up to the crazy "fa-lang".
All in all, life is good and the adventure continues. Trying to catch up w/ fellow cyclist. James for a little Loas touing. We'll see how that plays out. Love to all.
So here I am in Mae Hong Son, sitting at the computer waaaaay to late in the day to be feeling inspired for bike riding, but here's the best part: I'm staying in this dodgey little guest house, where my next door (and I do mean next door. the man sneezes and it sounds like he's in bed w/ me!) neighbor is Colin, from not Europe, but Britan, and don't confuse the two.
Colin, my very interested and enthusiastic 40 or 50 something bachelor, has a foot fetish...and WON'T quit staring at mine when we talk. If you've ever looked at my feet, you know I don't spend a whole lot of time on them. Yeah well, Colin has been making the same observations for me over the last 12 hrs. "Your heels need a bit of cream, and what's that you've done to the top of your foot?" refering to the constant rub-spot from my flip-flops. "How is it that you've just taken off your socks and shoes, but the bottoms of your feet are still dirty?" Well, Colin, it might be because I walk around barefoot all the damn time,and happen to be wearing the same pair of socks I've been wearing for the last three days, want to smell? Dirty, motor bike obsessed old man.
Anyway, Mae Hong Son, a.k.a GHETTO FUNK. So do not need to spend another night here, but hit a headwind yesterday pulling into town that cooled my enthusiasm for tackling the loop counter-clockwise. I had a feeling I might run into this. So, now, as always I am reconsidering my rt. My new favorite passtime ends up being a cup of coffee or a meal, while spilling over my maps and imagining the possibilities. Ultimately though, it's still just getting up and climbing on, pedaling away one stroke at a time. WoooooHoooooooo!
I made it to the other side of the mountaing chain I've been crawling in, yesterday. Made a side trip to Mae Lana, and oh my Lord, hills w/ grades my brain doesn't comprehend. But I rode em'! Yeah! Well, the first half anyway. Managed a taxi to get out and after the ride yesterday, so glad I did. I am nearly though my first set of break shoes in two wks of biking, if that says anything.
So, all is well. Can't seem to decide whether I want to make time and distance or take it easy and enjoy the inevitable adventures that unfold from being in a place for a few days. The N. is beautiful and they have great coffee. The Hilltribes are everywhere, both on tourist display and just livin' life. I prefer the latter, and get a lot out of just pedaling in the hills where they work and drive like bats out of hell, flying past me laughing or giving thumbs up to the crazy "fa-lang".
All in all, life is good and the adventure continues. Trying to catch up w/ fellow cyclist. James for a little Loas touing. We'll see how that plays out. Love to all.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Pai...squared
So here I am in Pai...where all the cool people & hipppies go. I have to say, the experience of getting to dodge elephant dung in the road, made the whole trip worth it. Although, the descent into town has to rank in the top 10, maybe top 5. It was awesome.
I keep finding myself w/ less and less to report, not because I don't encounter weird shit (ha ha, literally) everyday, but it's starting to feel normal I guess. That, and there are sooooo many details in a day of talking to myself, where's a girl to begin? Maybe it's bloggers block...you think they could medicate me for that? I'm rounding up a whole new line of ailments due to blogging that the world didn't see comin'. Yeah, that's right, cuz I'm supa sly.
Right, intelligent conversation. Focus. New pics from the last adventure. Still working on this one. This is going to be my third night in Pai, and as usual, what I really need to do is get on my bike and ride. Two nights of freezing my butt off in my new, fancy, USELESS sleeping bag, had me tucking tail and running from my little hotsprings haven, into town for a real bed. For anyone who doesn't know this, I am an amazing display for tortured and useless after two nights of no sleep. So, a perfectly good biking day down the drain. Damn. Guess I'll have to go eat some curry and suck it up.
I am biking my own version of a somewhat establised route known as the Mae Hong Son Loop. Between back roads and side trips, I plan to be on this rt for the next 10 days, landing back in Chiang Mai to catch a bus to the Laos border. There's a 5 day tour that Lonely Planet lays out from Vientiene to Luang Probang, that I want to ride and draw out again w/ a few side trips.
I feel like I am giving you a monotonous layout of what is a really cool trip...but my brain can't wrap itself around at the moment. Curry calls and I love you all. Promise to sound smarter in the morning, though I'll likely tell it to the road and not the blog. Ha!
Happy belated birthdays to Tebin and Dooyee! Smooches all around.
I keep finding myself w/ less and less to report, not because I don't encounter weird shit (ha ha, literally) everyday, but it's starting to feel normal I guess. That, and there are sooooo many details in a day of talking to myself, where's a girl to begin? Maybe it's bloggers block...you think they could medicate me for that? I'm rounding up a whole new line of ailments due to blogging that the world didn't see comin'. Yeah, that's right, cuz I'm supa sly.
Right, intelligent conversation. Focus. New pics from the last adventure. Still working on this one. This is going to be my third night in Pai, and as usual, what I really need to do is get on my bike and ride. Two nights of freezing my butt off in my new, fancy, USELESS sleeping bag, had me tucking tail and running from my little hotsprings haven, into town for a real bed. For anyone who doesn't know this, I am an amazing display for tortured and useless after two nights of no sleep. So, a perfectly good biking day down the drain. Damn. Guess I'll have to go eat some curry and suck it up.
I am biking my own version of a somewhat establised route known as the Mae Hong Son Loop. Between back roads and side trips, I plan to be on this rt for the next 10 days, landing back in Chiang Mai to catch a bus to the Laos border. There's a 5 day tour that Lonely Planet lays out from Vientiene to Luang Probang, that I want to ride and draw out again w/ a few side trips.
I feel like I am giving you a monotonous layout of what is a really cool trip...but my brain can't wrap itself around at the moment. Curry calls and I love you all. Promise to sound smarter in the morning, though I'll likely tell it to the road and not the blog. Ha!
Happy belated birthdays to Tebin and Dooyee! Smooches all around.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Have Sneaking Suspicion...
So, remember that time I thought it would be a load of fun to point myself at THE highest peak in Thailand and start peddaling? Only to find myself singing Janis Joplin renditions of Bobby McGee to a couple of fully-orange-robed Buddhist Monks, over a camp fire in the middle of nowhere? One of them (I later discovered) breaking his vows by touching me, to read my palm and tell me I would be successful at my work, then propositioning me for a set of electric clippers to instigate what sounded like world peace throught free haircuts for his village...and the whole mountain?
Yeah, me too. That was pretty funny. I still think the best part was the fact that it took me until the third night, on the verge of tears from exhaustion, to bother looking at the map key and discovering the purpose of that obnoxious red diamond w/ the #10, posted on the one road I really wanted to take: Doi Inthanon, Thailands highest peak. Rising over 7,000 ft, and I was shamelessly crawling around in it's foothills w/ a loaded mountain bike weighing at least as much as I do, like that's what all tourists should be doing. Indicative of my life??? I think so.
On the brighter side, it took me one day to decend what it took me three (and a day of rest so I wouldn't start crying) to climb, and it was absolutely beautiful. I am here to say they had good cause to make it a National Park. Thank God, they apparently weren't waiting for my approval.
Back tracking just a bit, allow me to further humble myself by saying it took me a rockin' 20 ft outside my hotel on the first day to discover that I had my paniers on backwards...I half kicked them off on the first rotation of my peddals. That was fun to re-pack on the streets of Chiang Mai. The first night out I spent camping accross from an elephant camp, drinking waaaaaaay too much Thai moonshine w/ the 25 & 26 yr old owners of a handful of bungalows on the riverside. They gave me an extra blanket and pillow and a hollowed out piece of bamboo w/ a stick as a noise-maker, in case I got scared or encountered Dracula in the night. Apparently there is a genuine fear of vampires/Dracula here, and they can't understand why I'm not afraid too. If they only knew what their intersections do to me. Dracula is incredibly far down on the list at this point.
I did however encounter one American woman on my layover night. I told here what I was doing and she took one look and exclaimed, "Aren't you afraid of getting raped and murdered?!?" Jesus lady, the thought honestly hadn't even crossed my mind until you just said that and no, I'm not. In fact I think I am currently more afraid of running into more of that outlook and American lust for horrendous drama, than anything else.
I have received plenty of odd looks, headshakes and prayers from the locals who don't understand why I am traveling on a bike, much less alone. On the other hand, I have received huge smiles, warm cheers and enthusiastic thumbs up as they pass me on hill climbs and I pass them on decents. Even on the highway, people constantly hang their heads out the window to holler hello and wave or give thumbs up. It's fun and encouraging and sometimes a little confusing when every person I talk to has a different version of the road I am heading for.
Anyway, that's that. I am back in Chiang Mai where I HAD to buy a sleeping bag. My one night camped at the "temple" (more like a run down school yard), w/o the love of extra bedding, froze my tush. Now, I am still debating on how to fit a loop to the NW of here and a loop through Laos into the picture w/ the minor inconvenience of my Thai visa expiring on the 22nd of Feb...blah blah blah. Whatever.
I did however, discover that the whole water splash or spray thing, has little to do w/ sanitation of availablility of paper. I does EVERYTHING to do w/ the fact that I am in a country that eats only the hottest chili peppers like candy, and the sprayer is the only hope I have of ever feeling certain portions of my anatomy ever again.
On that charming note, I take leave of you. I have to let these lovely people shut their doors and get their beauty rest. Hope you are all well. Found another great bike shop here in Chiang Mai and added them as a link. These guys also buy and sell used bikes, so I have a great spot to off load at the end of my adventuring. Aaaaaand, Mom, the owner gives a great shpieel on GPS. If you have the urge to sink another few hundred dollars into your daughter, I can send you exact coordinates of my location each day! Then you can throw them up on Google Earth and litterally watch my route! Oooooh!...I have so many things to say to this...I'm going to walk away. Love to all.
Yeah, me too. That was pretty funny. I still think the best part was the fact that it took me until the third night, on the verge of tears from exhaustion, to bother looking at the map key and discovering the purpose of that obnoxious red diamond w/ the #10, posted on the one road I really wanted to take: Doi Inthanon, Thailands highest peak. Rising over 7,000 ft, and I was shamelessly crawling around in it's foothills w/ a loaded mountain bike weighing at least as much as I do, like that's what all tourists should be doing. Indicative of my life??? I think so.
On the brighter side, it took me one day to decend what it took me three (and a day of rest so I wouldn't start crying) to climb, and it was absolutely beautiful. I am here to say they had good cause to make it a National Park. Thank God, they apparently weren't waiting for my approval.
Back tracking just a bit, allow me to further humble myself by saying it took me a rockin' 20 ft outside my hotel on the first day to discover that I had my paniers on backwards...I half kicked them off on the first rotation of my peddals. That was fun to re-pack on the streets of Chiang Mai. The first night out I spent camping accross from an elephant camp, drinking waaaaaaay too much Thai moonshine w/ the 25 & 26 yr old owners of a handful of bungalows on the riverside. They gave me an extra blanket and pillow and a hollowed out piece of bamboo w/ a stick as a noise-maker, in case I got scared or encountered Dracula in the night. Apparently there is a genuine fear of vampires/Dracula here, and they can't understand why I'm not afraid too. If they only knew what their intersections do to me. Dracula is incredibly far down on the list at this point.
I did however encounter one American woman on my layover night. I told here what I was doing and she took one look and exclaimed, "Aren't you afraid of getting raped and murdered?!?" Jesus lady, the thought honestly hadn't even crossed my mind until you just said that and no, I'm not. In fact I think I am currently more afraid of running into more of that outlook and American lust for horrendous drama, than anything else.
I have received plenty of odd looks, headshakes and prayers from the locals who don't understand why I am traveling on a bike, much less alone. On the other hand, I have received huge smiles, warm cheers and enthusiastic thumbs up as they pass me on hill climbs and I pass them on decents. Even on the highway, people constantly hang their heads out the window to holler hello and wave or give thumbs up. It's fun and encouraging and sometimes a little confusing when every person I talk to has a different version of the road I am heading for.
Anyway, that's that. I am back in Chiang Mai where I HAD to buy a sleeping bag. My one night camped at the "temple" (more like a run down school yard), w/o the love of extra bedding, froze my tush. Now, I am still debating on how to fit a loop to the NW of here and a loop through Laos into the picture w/ the minor inconvenience of my Thai visa expiring on the 22nd of Feb...blah blah blah. Whatever.
I did however, discover that the whole water splash or spray thing, has little to do w/ sanitation of availablility of paper. I does EVERYTHING to do w/ the fact that I am in a country that eats only the hottest chili peppers like candy, and the sprayer is the only hope I have of ever feeling certain portions of my anatomy ever again.
On that charming note, I take leave of you. I have to let these lovely people shut their doors and get their beauty rest. Hope you are all well. Found another great bike shop here in Chiang Mai and added them as a link. These guys also buy and sell used bikes, so I have a great spot to off load at the end of my adventuring. Aaaaaand, Mom, the owner gives a great shpieel on GPS. If you have the urge to sink another few hundred dollars into your daughter, I can send you exact coordinates of my location each day! Then you can throw them up on Google Earth and litterally watch my route! Oooooh!...I have so many things to say to this...I'm going to walk away. Love to all.
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