Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Mr. Noi and Alan Bate, unexpected stay....

The most consistent lesson you learn while traveling is listening to your gut; that little intuitive feeling that tells you where your path shall go. Emily and I recall the moments where we have felt it, where we knew we would be making the right decision to go with it, and to no prevail, we have been delighted by unique and memorable experiences that fuels our hearts. Sitting in a cafe in Pai, we were trying to decide what our next move was going to be. We had been warned that Pai can "get" you; you come for a few days but stay for weeks. We were enjoying our time there with some new English friends and the large amounts of wandering hippie's and ex-pats, but our time together was limited and there was so much we wanted to see! We wanted to make our way to the Thailand-Laos border and take a boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang, which is the path of most the travelers we met, who buy packages to do it all. There had been rumors that the river was too low (it hadn't rained in 4 months); boats had hit rocks and sunk or simply just got stuck. These rumors and the desire to get off the beaten track convinced us to just buy one bus ride to the border town of Chaing Khong. On the bus we met some amazing people who made the 6 hour ride bearable; one of them being Aman, a Turkish man born and raised in Germany, who was one of very few people left who spoke Amharic. We were the only three on the bus who had no plans but "whatever happens" at the border. As we walked the sleepy streets in the town we met Mr. Noi, a Thai man we started conversation with, originally in search of sticky rice and mango. He informed us that there was something special to see in Chaing Khong, just take a left at the next street....and there we found The Hub, a bicycle museum packed full of bike paraphernalia. The owner, a British man, had collected all the items since he was 13 years old, the year that he knew he was going to race bikes. We sat with him as he told us his story; the feeling he got when we first saw a racer, the people he had met (who knew mick jagger was a cyclist?), buying a 150 year old bike and one made completely out of recycled material....and his new adventure, riding around the world in 99 days to beat the record of 126 days by a man years younger than he! He encouraged us to stay and as we sat mesmerized by his tales, a decision was made to stay and rent bikes to a lake he recommended.
The next day Emily, Aman, and I hopped on gear less bikes and made our way down a dirt road cupped in rice fields and thatched huts. Mountains surrounding us, reminding us of our upcoming journey to Laos, we made our way to a quiet lake, sat and cooled off, and giggle in pure enjoyment of our little intuition showing us the right way......











whiskey made from sticky rice: lao lao "distillery" on the side of the road....happy travelers in Chaing Khong....dinner from the night market.....ingredients for 6 thai dishes I made.....local villagers performing for the flower festival in a small village in the mountains....



Monday, February 22, 2010












amazing vine on one of my hikes in the Chaeson National Park where we spent four days.....altar at SukhoThai where I spent a hot day riding around, finding 500 year old Buddhas the size of buildings....abundance at the night market.....making yum yum with my thai family for a potluck with friends, the night ended laughing and singing thai folk songs....elephant at a animal refuge...



survival words

emily and I make sure we know "our" language in another language....what do you think the most important phrase is? IT'S DELICIOUS!
arroy mak mak and sep lai flow out of our mouths as often as things flow back in.........we are crazy about the food, crazy about trying new things, and crazy about spending hours talking about it and writing stories in our journals of the magical things we tried....
at the end of every meal, belly's protruding from our waist we laugh and say "ahhh, our little Thai baby..." and we rub our tummy to ease our digestion!

repeat

Chaeson National Park =--



wake up for 6am Yoga...walk softly down the hill along waking forest and find sitting meditators on wooden floors, find your place on your knees and your breath, sun salutations as the sun rises behind us, blood circulating through body enough to bring hunger to our stomachs for our traditional thai breakfast

hiking in the bamboo.....slather sunscreen on cheeks and shoulders, pretend to read thai and know which trail to go up, find yourself in bamboo groves, dry leaves, singing birds and insects, bathe in waterfall, continue conversation on love and life with new friend

11 am meditation...sit in shade and find a position that brings you relaxation, listen to tummy growls

12 pm Thai lunch...eyes wide watching plates set on table, steamed morning glory, tom kah gai, tree ripened papaya and mango, sticky rice in bamboo basket, northern thai specialties so yummy but too complicated to describe, remembering to eat slowly but tempted to go fast to maintain the glorious flavors in my mouth

hot springs, thai massage, thai ice coffee....ease slowly into sulfur waters, close eyes and soak, tension washing away, hear giggles of thai children behind the tree watching me, walk on dry paths to simple cotton mattress on floor, strong hands awaiting me, manipulating my body into positions that look painful but feel heavenly, relaxing into massage, songs of geckos, birds and insects again reminding me of my place in the thai forest, find shade under tree to enjoy my daily ice coffee, so strong it rings memories of home

3 pm restorative yoga.... in positions for minute after minute, breathing into stretch to go deeper and deeper, now I know what kind of yoga my body screams for

5:30 pm dinner....somehow I can fill my belly again, its easy when the smells and flavors from the kitchen make the hair on your body stand, your heart beat faster, and your tummy sing a melody

Evening.....walk back up the hill, muscles working but the heat feels good, play cards and laugh, smiling, content, knowing that tomorrow will bring me the same