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!