forth night tonight... lazy days in northern Laos! Kyi Kyi and I veering more from the travel motif on over the 'vacation' side of life, not a great feeling when your reserves are an issue. Tomorrow though, over and down to Vien Vieng, (I would like to at this point kindly ask you to excuse spelling of all the names). Praising jah long into the night and sleeping long into the day, today though set the alarm for 6 am and watched all the monks walk the city and collect alms.
until then....
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
spotted consciousness
Back to Chiang Rai (2nd time)
huh, I just realized that the last four posts have all had Chiang Mai in the title. I guess I really was getting sucked in there....phew, good to be out. Been in Chiang Rai now for last two days with Kyi Kyi and Tune. Kyi Kyi and I were going to split up to a northern most city and slow boat it over into to Laos...but ah how things change. I don't think I've had a plan that's fully held up past a day or two max.
Tune was going to split for Chiang Rai on her lonesome and Kyi Kyi and I were going to try to get a package deal: bus to Chiang Kong, next morning slow boat over into Laos, spend a night on the river and then slow boat over to the city of Luang Prabaung, Laos... Package deal ends up being fully booked, and just to do anything to get moving and get the hell out of Chiang Mai we reassemble the team and decide to all head to Chiang Rai, and considering it's in the same direction, wasn't much of a decision.
Right now I'm using Tune's computer in one of her two rental houses that her and her husband shares, connected by a car port made of some type of corrugated aluminum I suppose. I gather that the 'H' is back in France working. Easily the nicest and place if stayed, big ceilings, tiled porches, all the amenities, all emmaculately clean. Yesterday the girls made use of the kitchen to whip up some Shan (Myanmar) food. I'm getting the impression that a big big staple of the Shan diet is the yellow bean. Scrumpcous! Last night I made two separate missions to the kitchen to make eggs and toast with a side of the yellow bean chili stuff. Granted there were other reasons for my sudden spike in appetite.
I feel like I really should shake my head sometimes. Living with two exotic and beautiful girls in a huge beautiful house that a France computer engineer who slaves away back in France pays for, gourmet authentic food cooked before my eyes, a next to new vespa in the car park to go anywhere, music to be jammed at the local rasta bars, cheap food and beer, etc, etc...simply amazing, mind blowing really. I think the reason I can't shake my head at it is because I am just unable to get my head around it. It just continues and continues to get more and more interesting, and at anyone time when I really think to shake my head at it, there's just too much still waiting! pointless.
For instance: tonight big jam night at the peace house (rasta bar), making Shan food and other food for fishing trip tomorrow, need to get bus ticket over near Laos in order to catch a slow boat in a day or two, visa almost up. Will travel with Kyi Kyi for a week or two, last night out late and slept late. There's just to much...
Even in Chiang Mai, for days it would just be Kyi Kyi, Tune and I. Hanging out into the wee hours of the night, waking in the long afternoon, looking for food run an errand or two, maybe take it easy and watch a movie, or maybe back out the endless hours of that northern Thai night life. I scene that really brings it home for me, is how we ride everywhere together on one vespa, Kyi Kyi folded in front of me and Tune behind. I negotiate the road, reminding myself often to take great care in keeping these two amazing girls with me safe. I peer around Kyi Kyi head of flaring black hair trying to see what gear I'm presently in and once in a while making sure that Kyi Kyi isn't sliding to far forward. What a sight we must be to certain people!
oops...got to go, forgot I have sandals getting made today...
huh, I just realized that the last four posts have all had Chiang Mai in the title. I guess I really was getting sucked in there....phew, good to be out. Been in Chiang Rai now for last two days with Kyi Kyi and Tune. Kyi Kyi and I were going to split up to a northern most city and slow boat it over into to Laos...but ah how things change. I don't think I've had a plan that's fully held up past a day or two max.
Tune was going to split for Chiang Rai on her lonesome and Kyi Kyi and I were going to try to get a package deal: bus to Chiang Kong, next morning slow boat over into Laos, spend a night on the river and then slow boat over to the city of Luang Prabaung, Laos... Package deal ends up being fully booked, and just to do anything to get moving and get the hell out of Chiang Mai we reassemble the team and decide to all head to Chiang Rai, and considering it's in the same direction, wasn't much of a decision.
Right now I'm using Tune's computer in one of her two rental houses that her and her husband shares, connected by a car port made of some type of corrugated aluminum I suppose. I gather that the 'H' is back in France working. Easily the nicest and place if stayed, big ceilings, tiled porches, all the amenities, all emmaculately clean. Yesterday the girls made use of the kitchen to whip up some Shan (Myanmar) food. I'm getting the impression that a big big staple of the Shan diet is the yellow bean. Scrumpcous! Last night I made two separate missions to the kitchen to make eggs and toast with a side of the yellow bean chili stuff. Granted there were other reasons for my sudden spike in appetite.
I feel like I really should shake my head sometimes. Living with two exotic and beautiful girls in a huge beautiful house that a France computer engineer who slaves away back in France pays for, gourmet authentic food cooked before my eyes, a next to new vespa in the car park to go anywhere, music to be jammed at the local rasta bars, cheap food and beer, etc, etc...simply amazing, mind blowing really. I think the reason I can't shake my head at it is because I am just unable to get my head around it. It just continues and continues to get more and more interesting, and at anyone time when I really think to shake my head at it, there's just too much still waiting! pointless.
For instance: tonight big jam night at the peace house (rasta bar), making Shan food and other food for fishing trip tomorrow, need to get bus ticket over near Laos in order to catch a slow boat in a day or two, visa almost up. Will travel with Kyi Kyi for a week or two, last night out late and slept late. There's just to much...
Even in Chiang Mai, for days it would just be Kyi Kyi, Tune and I. Hanging out into the wee hours of the night, waking in the long afternoon, looking for food run an errand or two, maybe take it easy and watch a movie, or maybe back out the endless hours of that northern Thai night life. I scene that really brings it home for me, is how we ride everywhere together on one vespa, Kyi Kyi folded in front of me and Tune behind. I negotiate the road, reminding myself often to take great care in keeping these two amazing girls with me safe. I peer around Kyi Kyi head of flaring black hair trying to see what gear I'm presently in and once in a while making sure that Kyi Kyi isn't sliding to far forward. What a sight we must be to certain people!
oops...got to go, forgot I have sandals getting made today...
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Back to Chiang Mai.
Hmmm....where to start.
Played a three day set with Nate up in Pai at a place called Buffalo Exchange. Tom Rasta down at the ol' Guitar Man bar/restaurant/jam spot hipped us to this joint the night before we hit out for a 4 hour minivan trip to Pai. As maybe you might know, when Nate and I get together - we go big. Praising Jah well into the morning hours, I remember a once full bottle of whiskey with a case of the drip, drip....drip. Apparently Tom Rasta took quite easily to Nate and I, he kept laughing at me when I smiled and he said I reminded him of a little kid. Early this night I got to jam with Tom Rasta at Guitar Man, haven't played an electric guitar in a long time.
Funny, I just stepped out of the Internet shop here to have a smoke and wait for facebook pictures to upload, and who do i see, a one Tom Rasta on his signature Honda, speeding like a crazied biker coming out of a Sturgis weekend, guitar backpack pointing high above his flaring dread locks as he bounces over the rolling road. It must be pretty radical to have one of the only 'real' motorcycles in town. Too late to flag him down. I was meaning to get over there today to sell Nate's ukulele to him...
Where was I...oh yes...Tom must be one of the hippest cats in town. Nate and I sat long into the night with him talking shop, smoking a very unhealthy amount of cigarettes and drinking piss beer beyond the point of achieving any further effects from such. It getting quite early, somebodies got to call it. We fallow Tom back to his pad where he bestowed apon us a very generous gift and Nate and proceed through the Chiang Mai streets two to a vespa. With the luck of a God we gingerly idle past the random police check point blocking the entire road and head to get another pack of smokes. Lady boys scattered to the sides of road pleading with us to stop. Bare silicon chest staring us right in the headlights, we get a pack and he/she says "pleeeeaaasse", apparently she likes us too. And the night goes on. Songs traded back and forth through to the early hours. A couple of hours of sleep and off to catch that bus to Pai. 762 curves they say, Chiang Mai to Pai, up in to the mountains, stomach telling its own stories and reminding me of some I had forgotten. Needless to say I had to spend a far amount of time in strange squatters and bucket flushes.
To much to say, to much to forget. That was all some 4 -5 days ago, and I left Nate at the departure security check yesterday morning for his flight to Singapore via a 4 hour stop over in Bangkok. Strange. As quickly as I see him come, we waste little time, and as quickly I see him go. I joke that I'll see him in an hour, but we both know this time will be different. Don't know when I'll see my friend Nate again, but I figure for sure it would be in the mist of some other adventure, where easy come easy go are the ways its good to be, making the the most, minus a banjo player - Lapsap String Band style. After Singapore he's back to Hong Kong for day, the place where this little tale originated.
....................anti climatic on this one. Completely tired from putting facebook pictures up, it's 2:45 in the morning and I think I've already been here for some 4 hours. Off to Northern Laos tomorrow for the forseeable, with Kyi Kyi.
oh well, still pulling some luck and it'll be good to head down the road, way to long in Chiang Mai, getting way to serious for my liking. But then again I won't be free of Chiang Mai, but I've heard Northern Laos works wonders.
Played a three day set with Nate up in Pai at a place called Buffalo Exchange. Tom Rasta down at the ol' Guitar Man bar/restaurant/jam spot hipped us to this joint the night before we hit out for a 4 hour minivan trip to Pai. As maybe you might know, when Nate and I get together - we go big. Praising Jah well into the morning hours, I remember a once full bottle of whiskey with a case of the drip, drip....drip. Apparently Tom Rasta took quite easily to Nate and I, he kept laughing at me when I smiled and he said I reminded him of a little kid. Early this night I got to jam with Tom Rasta at Guitar Man, haven't played an electric guitar in a long time.
Funny, I just stepped out of the Internet shop here to have a smoke and wait for facebook pictures to upload, and who do i see, a one Tom Rasta on his signature Honda, speeding like a crazied biker coming out of a Sturgis weekend, guitar backpack pointing high above his flaring dread locks as he bounces over the rolling road. It must be pretty radical to have one of the only 'real' motorcycles in town. Too late to flag him down. I was meaning to get over there today to sell Nate's ukulele to him...
Where was I...oh yes...Tom must be one of the hippest cats in town. Nate and I sat long into the night with him talking shop, smoking a very unhealthy amount of cigarettes and drinking piss beer beyond the point of achieving any further effects from such. It getting quite early, somebodies got to call it. We fallow Tom back to his pad where he bestowed apon us a very generous gift and Nate and proceed through the Chiang Mai streets two to a vespa. With the luck of a God we gingerly idle past the random police check point blocking the entire road and head to get another pack of smokes. Lady boys scattered to the sides of road pleading with us to stop. Bare silicon chest staring us right in the headlights, we get a pack and he/she says "pleeeeaaasse", apparently she likes us too. And the night goes on. Songs traded back and forth through to the early hours. A couple of hours of sleep and off to catch that bus to Pai. 762 curves they say, Chiang Mai to Pai, up in to the mountains, stomach telling its own stories and reminding me of some I had forgotten. Needless to say I had to spend a far amount of time in strange squatters and bucket flushes.
To much to say, to much to forget. That was all some 4 -5 days ago, and I left Nate at the departure security check yesterday morning for his flight to Singapore via a 4 hour stop over in Bangkok. Strange. As quickly as I see him come, we waste little time, and as quickly I see him go. I joke that I'll see him in an hour, but we both know this time will be different. Don't know when I'll see my friend Nate again, but I figure for sure it would be in the mist of some other adventure, where easy come easy go are the ways its good to be, making the the most, minus a banjo player - Lapsap String Band style. After Singapore he's back to Hong Kong for day, the place where this little tale originated.
....................anti climatic on this one. Completely tired from putting facebook pictures up, it's 2:45 in the morning and I think I've already been here for some 4 hours. Off to Northern Laos tomorrow for the forseeable, with Kyi Kyi.
oh well, still pulling some luck and it'll be good to head down the road, way to long in Chiang Mai, getting way to serious for my liking. But then again I won't be free of Chiang Mai, but I've heard Northern Laos works wonders.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
back to chiang mai
Back to Chiang Mai and met back up with Nate and Tune last night. Today Nate and I try to get off to Phi for few days before he has to get back to Singapore for a first aid/first responder course. Kyi Kyi and Tune head down to Bangkok so Kyi Kyi and go work on her student visa and goes to school for a couple of days to learn more of the Thai language. Jay is probably soon to be over in Laos-slow boat style and maybe meet up with the Aussie couple Cameron and Sarah over in Phi. After that, anybodies guess. I assume Nate and I will be taking it pretty easy over in Phi, find some guitars, "praise jah", kick back and drink some Chang Beers and watch a new world unfold.
Yesterday....quite the day. Went to Myanmar and talked hush hush about the dictatorship presently in power. He gave me some insider info that I promised not to reveal. Only told 2 people so far, figure its a technicality if I don't mention his name. Then on the motor scooter trip back from the boarder to remeet Kyi Kyi in Chiang Rai, busted a flat and had to ride the rim for about a mile or two until I came to a rinky dink little repair shop. 15 minutes, good as new - 120 baht - 4 bucks - not to shabby. Two days in Chiang Rai, hanging out with Kyi Kyi's friends at all the Rasta bars throughout town. Playing guitars and jamming out well into the night, sleeping until dark the next day and doing the same same circuit again. Quite the time!
Off to find bus tickets and put a bean in the ol' gulley.
Yesterday....quite the day. Went to Myanmar and talked hush hush about the dictatorship presently in power. He gave me some insider info that I promised not to reveal. Only told 2 people so far, figure its a technicality if I don't mention his name. Then on the motor scooter trip back from the boarder to remeet Kyi Kyi in Chiang Rai, busted a flat and had to ride the rim for about a mile or two until I came to a rinky dink little repair shop. 15 minutes, good as new - 120 baht - 4 bucks - not to shabby. Two days in Chiang Rai, hanging out with Kyi Kyi's friends at all the Rasta bars throughout town. Playing guitars and jamming out well into the night, sleeping until dark the next day and doing the same same circuit again. Quite the time!
Off to find bus tickets and put a bean in the ol' gulley.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Still Alive in Chiang Mai
Crazy tales from Chaing Mai... trying to leave, and hopefully tomorrow that will be a reality.
Just ate Japanese food at the Fuji restaurant with Kyi Kyi, and now spending my day listening to her talk to all her friends in Thai/Burmese/Chan, etc. Trying to be interested for a little bit but then I just drift off into some day dream or another...Got a call from Nate today. He's still over in Vientiane Laos with Tune. Last time I saw him he had said "see you in an hour", and now it's been about 3 days since I saw him last, racing down the streets of Chiang Mai with Tune in a Tuk Tuk heading to check bus tickets . He lucked out and got the "very last" seat on the bus - a wet unreclinable seat next to the toilet. On a overnight 12 hours bus trip through northern Thailand, probably not going to be the most comfortable way to travel. Tune had to do a visa run, and last minute Nate split too. As for Jay he split for Pai before I had the chance to see him after his 3 days of volunteering on a kayaking trip. Maybe I'll see him down the road in a couple of weeks. As for me all's well, got a free place to stay and classical guitar to play whenever I want. Even got a couple of songs in the making...
As stands now, I'll head up to Chaing Rai tomorrow morning for a 4 hour bus trip and then spend a couple of days up there. Convieniently I be pretty close to Burma so I'll be able to do a quick visa run over there. Hard to believe another 2 weeks will be up in 3 days. Not sure what or where to go after that, probably just come back down the Chaing Mai to hang out with Nate before he heads out next week enroute to be flyfishing guide in Alaska. Then again, maybe he'll decide to stay in Thailand. I think that might be the last I'll see of Nate for a spell considering we won't be meeting back up in Hong Kong.
Just ate Japanese food at the Fuji restaurant with Kyi Kyi, and now spending my day listening to her talk to all her friends in Thai/Burmese/Chan, etc. Trying to be interested for a little bit but then I just drift off into some day dream or another...Got a call from Nate today. He's still over in Vientiane Laos with Tune. Last time I saw him he had said "see you in an hour", and now it's been about 3 days since I saw him last, racing down the streets of Chiang Mai with Tune in a Tuk Tuk heading to check bus tickets . He lucked out and got the "very last" seat on the bus - a wet unreclinable seat next to the toilet. On a overnight 12 hours bus trip through northern Thailand, probably not going to be the most comfortable way to travel. Tune had to do a visa run, and last minute Nate split too. As for Jay he split for Pai before I had the chance to see him after his 3 days of volunteering on a kayaking trip. Maybe I'll see him down the road in a couple of weeks. As for me all's well, got a free place to stay and classical guitar to play whenever I want. Even got a couple of songs in the making...
As stands now, I'll head up to Chaing Rai tomorrow morning for a 4 hour bus trip and then spend a couple of days up there. Convieniently I be pretty close to Burma so I'll be able to do a quick visa run over there. Hard to believe another 2 weeks will be up in 3 days. Not sure what or where to go after that, probably just come back down the Chaing Mai to hang out with Nate before he heads out next week enroute to be flyfishing guide in Alaska. Then again, maybe he'll decide to stay in Thailand. I think that might be the last I'll see of Nate for a spell considering we won't be meeting back up in Hong Kong.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Chiang Mai
Been here for two nights now - third day. Seen some real Muay Thai boxing the first night, biked all over with Nate yesterday. Going on Jungle Trek and to meet and stay with the hill-side tribes in the next couple of days.
- 250 baht room
Today going to hit up the oldest temple in Chiang Mai from 1296 a.d.
- 250 baht room
Today going to hit up the oldest temple in Chiang Mai from 1296 a.d.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
I believe I will leave.
I'm outta here, 3 hours to kill and I can start to crush some miles - another 12 hour bus ride north! Chiang Mai. Seems I really ended up staying in Bangkok for long time, never really had that in the plans. Been fun but I"m definitely ready to go. When you stay to long in one place those serious question start popping up into your head - like "what I'm I doing with my life?"... Phew, I'll be glad to get away from that one again. Hmm, wonder if that ones going to catch up with me...eh, anyway. Nate and Jay have already been up there for a day or two, and I'll probably just go straight to catch up with them. Ah, back to basics, leave this city livin' behind.
- 300 Baht 12 hours bus ride
- 300 Baht knock off MatLab 2008 DVD
- 30 Baht shave ( still doesn't top that Filipino shave and cut for 50 piso ($1)
Toured the school yesterday with Dave. Quite the experience, I think a full on western teacher would have a really hard time trying to adjust the buearocracy of teaching here, considering there is none.
- 300 Baht 12 hours bus ride
- 300 Baht knock off MatLab 2008 DVD
- 30 Baht shave ( still doesn't top that Filipino shave and cut for 50 piso ($1)
Toured the school yesterday with Dave. Quite the experience, I think a full on western teacher would have a really hard time trying to adjust the buearocracy of teaching here, considering there is none.
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