Many New Faces

Yesterday I jumped in a van to go on a tour for a day, not something I typically do but am so glad I did. Immediately upon hopping into the van the man I'd be sitting next to introduced himself, Mindia (from Georgia, not the state!). He's a photographer who takes about 2 months to travel each year to work on images for a show that he then puts together for an exhibit either back home or elsewhere. We began to talk about travel and photography and since the point of my taking this particular tour was to PHOTOGRAPH it was really fun to have someone along with whom I could talk about photography. We ended up laughing quite a bit and really were fortunate to have such a easygoing group of people in our small tour. There was a French brother and sister? who at first spoke no English but seemed to ease into it as the day went on, a woman from Austria, a girl from Chile and one from Canada who seemed to be friends and basically talked to eachoter and a couple in love (Thai and Falang) who didn't even seem to be on our tour except when we were in the van. Or guide was an energetic young Thai woman named Ei. She has the best sense of humor! It was funny as those of us laughing at her jokes seemed to ease the worried expressions of those who thought she was being "serious" about the things she said like how we were going to have monkey for lunch and how the men's correctional facility was a good free hotel etc. She really was so good natured and as the day went on and she slipped me a few words in Thai we began to banter back and forth in gest in 2 languages. She was a great source of information and when she didn't know she's ask a local in whatever common language they could use to try to get more information for us. She noticed that I really was interested in details about culture and family structures as well as migration history and really took off with this accompanying me as I took pictures and telling me intersting facts and details about the people and region we were visiting. Thankful that it was a wonderful day full of laughter, interesting information, a new photograper aquaintance and lots of photos. . .what could have been tour hell turned out to be a perfect day!

We began our journey at a butterfly and orchid farm (lots of pictures) which presented some interesting challenges due to the bright yet overcast sky. I found my small point and shoot digital to be better suited to the macro shots and tricky lighting than my newly acquired used digital slr setup. I guess I still have a lot to learn about lighting and using an SLR. It was a wonderful lush hour that felt like longer as I meandered among the orchids and assorited tropical plants. I always seem to be able to loose myself in time in that kind of environment. I'm not sure that others felt the same but I loved it! I actually got a few butterfly shots though they weren't as varied in species as when I walked along the river bank in Um Prang in the noon day sun. . . there there were vibrant irridescent colored butterflies displaying bright turquoise and purple.

Next stop were the Karen Long neck and Karen Long Ears tribal people. I don't believe there are any of these people left living a fully "traditional" lifestyle in Thailand. The few who remain are making a business of "tourism" and selling their weavings. There are I believe groups who still live a more authentic or traditional existance in Myanmar. The girls of this tribe do not go to school, the boys do. At 5 the mother decides if the child (girl) will wear the neck extending rings or not, I'm not sure about the ear stretching. They were originally two separeate groups but here are living together and intermarrying. The neck extender rings are made of brass and applied in one long continual piece that is skillfully bent around the female's neck. I am not sure how it is added to over time as with the lengthening of the spinal column at the upper vertebre of the neck occurs the ability to hold one's head (support) without the rings may well become extremely difficult and dangerous. The wearing of the rings once begun must be continued forever. I've taken photos to show what I mean. I found these women really beautiful and as you all know I'm fond of physical adornment but no worries, I bought a bracelet from them but will not be wearing neck rings anytime soon. I think the photos will speak more than I can say in mere words. You'll just have to wait.

Next was on to the Chaing Dao Cave and Temple. . . What a huge series of caves! there are 4 separete caverns and they go quite deep into the mountain. It was a perfect middle of the day activity to escape into the cool of a cave from the noon day sun. There were many incredible stalagtite and stalagmiet fromations. Very difficult to photograph due to light conditions DARK with some artificial florescent light to guide my way. There were some Buddhas and other religious images strategically placed in the walls of the caves, sometimes quite high up. Most intersting for me was to see the Burmese style Buddhas which have rounder shorter heads than Thai style Buddhas. At the end of cavern that I went to was a Burmese Sleeping Buddha, literally sleeping, not an image you see in Thai Theravatta Buddhism which does have a reclining Buddha on his side (the Tuesday Buddha).

Lunch was plentiful and most liked the pinaple, papaya and banana dessert!

In the afternoon we drove to some villages where some Akha, Lisu and White Karen live. I had a lot of fun with the Akha women who were trying to sell me things. We had about 5 words in common among 3 different languages. There best use phrases were "HELLO" to get your attention, literally used about every 30 seconds and "10 bhat" repeated as if it would become more inticing the more it was said. One lady really wanted me to buy her hat and actually put it on me. Mindia got a shot of this I think and I can't wait to see it!!! I got a fun shot of him with two of the ladies and he's going to put it on his website. It's amazing when you can joke around and laugh with people who you have practically no language in common with but he and I did. It was a really nice experience. You'll have to wait to see the pictures of these women, what characters they are! It was intersting to see the obvious difference in facial features/ characteristics between the Akha and the Lisu (originally from China Yunan province perhaps). The Karen and Akha women look much older than I expected and the Lisu elders aged remarkably well. I have a photo of a White Karen woman who I was very taken by. She and I talked for a while with the help of my tour guide. We mostly discussed the different jewelery eachother were wearing. You'll see a pic of her. I thought she was probably in her 70's but she is only 63! A Karen woman (the mother of the family where I stayed in Um Prang) who looked to be 90 was only in her early 70's. A Lisu weaver who looked only to be in her 60's was 80.Genetics do have a factor!

Many many photos, a lot of good laughs, a few new words in Thai, a new photographer aquaintance and some good memories. A good day!

A new friend

Well, it is unlike me to stay in one spot for too long but this must be my mid journey pause. . . and besides there's a great Sunday night market I want to see and a friend to hang out with on Monday.. . It's nice to travel to where you have friends and really something when you make frineds along the way. . .So I was in Mae Sot (not far from the border of Myanmar (Burnma) eating at this AMAZING hole in the wall labled only "tea shop" located across from a Mosque. I've discovered one of my new favorite things in life it is called a Rootee. . . basically a thick crep but what makes this my favorite is that this one was filled with chicken curry!!!!! Oh what a delight. So it was about a week and a half ago or so and I'm sitting watching the night sky darken over the mosque and the people coming and going when a woman pulls up on her bicycle, jumps off of it smiles and says something along the lines of goodevening to me as she springs up the steps of the open fronted shop and and and orders. She is about to sit down behind me when I turn around and say, are you eating alone? You're welcome to join me. She flashes her wonderful smile again and joins me. We connect! We talk about everything, food, Thailand, chewing beetlenut (which she shows me how to do correctly since I'd bougth some from a young muslim girl from her little crate box stand earlier in the evening when I was wandering around a residental neighbornood inhabitated mostly by "Burmese" immigrants both muslim and nonmuslim). . . we talk about travel, living abroad, careers and suddenly we realize that we've eaten all our food and I've finished my second cup of masala tea and well, we really should get going so they can close the shop. . . Siripan suggest that we go to the night market and walk around. We have a wonderful time exploring the inner part of the city's night food market. First off we find the insect ladies and I decide the crickets look doable. . .I've already eaten silk worm pupa as this is quite the thing in Korea. . . I've eaten plenty of worms in my days, the locusts look a bit big to begin with so the crickets get the vote. Siripan makes sure the women make them nice and tastey for me with chili and soy and well I get a skewer of 3 hoppers. My new friend did me the favor of documenting this cullinary adventure for all of you to witness when I get back and load my photos on the blog. hahahah... They were actually surprisingly delicious, yes I know, I'm crazy but this one is true.

We continued along the market stalls and I was given an expanded education on some of the local cullinary traditions by my new friend. There is nothing better than having a local guide! S bought her favorite sweet for later and we worked our way along the streets of town heading slowly toward my guest house. We found a Burmese food stand with wonderful sweets of coconut, peanut, fennel sugared syrup and red onion wrapped in banana leaves that I would later go back to try on my journey back through Mae Sot. We visited a Burmese style temple, well the grounds of the Watt only and thus began a discussion about Buddhism which we kept returning to for the rest of the night. We found a newly opened Boutique Hotel and checked the place out, it was gorgeous!!! and finally landed at an outdoor cafe to have a few drinks. We closed that place too. . . It was like being with someone I'd know for years and it was the first time we'd met. . . It's an amazing thing that happens sometimes when traveling but the unsusual twist about this story is that she is Thai and lives in Chiang Mai so here I am now and we will have a chance to do it all again in her "home" city. . . I am so pleased and warmed to have a Thai friend with whom I share such a genuine connection. . . the world becomes a very small place very easily when you travel. Life is GOOD!

Big Bugs

Ha Ha Ha OK, apparently I've gotten soft living in Korea's colder climate. While walking home along the curving roads of the old city carrying a two- gallon juge of drinking water in one hand and my camera in another I am carefully stepping so as to neither stub my toe on the uneven cement pavers slabs that fill the drain access holes and are about 20 meters apart along the sidewalk or to twist my ankle on the spill run that dips a few inches down and runs along the sidewalk as well when I step next to what looked like a lollypop some child had accidently lost along the way. When with the rapidity of a tightly wound racing car it launched toward my foot you should have seen the speed and height of my left leg lift/kick. I guess my injured leg is getting better...that was a damn quick reflex. Any how, the lollypop was no sucker it was the largest bettle looking cockroach I've seen in years and it gave me quite the start! I laughed at myself and was glad to see that I hadn't flashed any innocents by my wild midstroll leg lift as I was wearing a skirt. Ha.. . home safely to my couch for the night with lots of water to rehydrate from the day.

Getting to Chiang Mai

Ah so I have more time than I thought so let me back track a bit now while I am in the mood. I arrived in Chiang Mai yesterday somewhere in the middle of the day from Mae Sot. I rose just before the sun brushed my teeth and put on my small back pack and even smaller front back, hung my room key in the hall, quietly rolled the old metal gate of the Ban Fern Guest House open and ambled down the road among the morning traffic of mopeds, bicycles, uniformed school children and lines of those seeking a walkalong breakfast on the roadside before work. Markets open early in primairly agrarian societies. By sevenish I had reached the local bus depo where I would hop a small minivan up and over the mountain, yes more winding hilly roads, not as narrow as the ones to UmPrang nor a trecherous but challenging none the less considereing we'd be sharing the 2 lane hiway with big wheeled trucks hauling heavy loads. They're not the most agile of vehicles.

I was tucked into the back left corner of the van and really had to sit with my knees in my lap. I may be short but those of you who know me know I'm easily 75% legs. Short is often convenient when traveling, long-legged rarely is. . ah but I digress. I was glad to have a window that could open but really it was just as fumy whether we had it open or not. I was amazed that I wasn't sick from all the CO and arrived clearheaded to the TAK bus station about 1.5hrs later. I no less got out of the van and had slung my pack over my back when I was guided to the departing big bus to Chiang Mai. . .So much for breakfast or lunch I guess. It was a rarity that I didn't have water with me but well, that's how it goes. About 1/2 way through the 5-6 hr ride I did get a migraine which forced me to put down the 2nd book for that day, (yes although I suffered terrible motion sickness as a child I think sailing must have helped cure me of this and I can read even on winding roads in the back of a van!!) So I put down my book and found 2 Excedrin (I don't go anywhere with out my migrain solution!) and sucked em down with my own spit as it was all I had on hand. I was glad it seemed to do the trick, enough so that I survived the ride without too much unplesantness and was able to spend time with Barb when I arrived. She was a gracious host and came to find me at the bus terminal so that we could begin our walking tour of the city. It took me a minute or two to figure out how to call her on a local pay phone. It was the first phone call I'd made in Thailand and wasn't sure how many of the numbers in the long string I'd actually need to use locally. I found a payphone that used coins, not a card, and just kept going hit or miss until I figured things out. It was actually pretty easy and there was a very effective volume control button that allowed me to hear her even over the din of the bustling bus tation.
I've aquired some clothing along the way as I'm not a big fan of current Korean fashions and will off load the extra weight and bulk from my pack by sending a box to Korea from here, , , it's much better than carrying it.

Curious things about Thailand so far, meds are really relatively inexpensive and easily available from a pharmcist, toiletries are dirt cheap compared to Korea! Oh my hair is sooooo happy for the conditioning rinse! Drivers are better than in Korea, because they are all concious on some level of what others are doing and in a very communial way, every one just adjusts, Food is the best!!!! People smile and say hello, people make eyecontact, I believe there are more massage parlors per square inch than anywhere else in the world! (I'm talking about all the regular massage places!!!!not just the uhhh full service ones, ya know what I mean, wink wink, nod, nod!)

Barb and I are off to a Thai dinner and a Jazz club toninght and tomorrow bicycling around and then a great little stop at a place that has 69Bhat hour massage, (That's like 2 U$S folks, OK, now I know you're a little enveous.)

It's hard to keep up!

Ok so the thing about being on the road and not having a notebook computer but only really a notebook and pen is that at some point you have to stop walking around and sit down and type. I love to share what is in my head and have done a fair amount of journling but finding the time where I am not doing other things,even if it is just people watching is a bit daunting I'm finding. So a quick update and maybe tomorrow if I'm in a writing mode I'll backtrack a bit...wow, so much has happened in 2 weeks it's more than a bit I guess. I'm now in Chiang Mai, visiting a friend Barb who lived in Korea for a while and thus we met. It's been fantastic talking with someone who is not just passing through as you do when traveling on the road with other travelers. Actually, I've been doing little talking up until now an have spent the majority of my days lost in my thoughts. I think a digital voice recoder could be very useful on my wanderings as I often feel I have some of my most inspired ideas of how to share the moment when a pen and paper is not always conveninent or even possible.

So, here in CM with Barb I've been delighting in the wonderful food mostly. Fresh wok fried whole fish and a spicy green papaya salad made for a perfect dinner on the street last night. Barb took me along some great winding roads in the inner "walled in old city" where we window shopped and I actually found a beautiful silk scarf that I immediately wore around my neck and shoulders for the rest of the night. She and I sat out talked and walked until about 3something this morning, which made for a short night but it's such a gift to have the time to share together. She has blessed me in my stay here with a couch at a friends who lives in the old part of the city along a winding narrow SOI (small street) filled with lush gardens, old wooden Thai houses with porches on stilts and pointy roofs typical of Kemmher and Saimese architecture. It is such a wonderful treat to be living a little "local " for the moment. Chiang Mai is a mixed bag of gorgeous Thai history, Buddhism, local markets full of colorful fruits, vegetables and textiles, delcious aromatic local food and tourists galore. . . I know, I'm a tourist too. .. I'm glad to have the chance to be with a few local people here though. It does make the experience different. I well write more tomorrow. . .

Bangkok day 1

It's my first day here, the beads of sweat roll down my back and forehead as the tropical air and intermittent rain showers cure me of my airplane dehydration. I've decided after one day in Bangkok to jump aboard an early bus tomorrow to catch the morning colors of the Dampiern Saduak Floating Market. I find that the first day of travel is always the longest and the slowest including lots of walking around to get my bearings in my new location. I'll leave Bangkok tomorrow for a few nights heading toward the west. I'll see the famous River Kwoi Bridge (spelling?) and a few other touristy attractions before heading north on a night train to Phitsanulok. Perhaps after a few days biking around there I'll head west to Sukhothai and then to Mae Sot to find my way off the beaten path to see some of the lush country and the ethnic minority tribal groups.

Sitting in a cafe it's fun to watch the fellow travelers stroll by in all their varying states of road worn disarray. . . it's pretty easy to pick out who's been on the road for a while. Hearing a smattering of European languages is music to my ears and surprisingly the melodious Thai song is beginning to sound a little bit familiar already. The smiles of the local passersby are warm and friendly and as always help to eas the way. It's nice to be in a place where a warm smile is met with a response. . . other than the cold unaffected stare of the self conscious Seoulites. The street food is plentiful, aromatic and like a painting to the eye. Perhaps what I'm enjoying most about people watching here is the variety of shapes, sizes and facial features. It is such a welcomed relief from the monotony of homogeneous Seoul, South Korea.

My eyes are getting accustomed to my contacts which I hardly ever wear and as things begin to come into focus I realize that as always the trip though extended for some (6-7 weeks) is just to short to possibly do and see all I have a yen for. It always goes buy in the blink of an eye. So I will remember to breath in every moment and focus on my present. I remember now why I barely seem to need to sleep while I am on the road, it affects me like a Thai Red Bull, the anticipation and excitement about what's around the next corner revs me up more than any shot of caffeine. I've known for a long while that travel is my drug of choice. I don't know if I'll ever find a cure... well, I guess that is OK, it seems to be a positive force in my life.

I'll be off the grid for a few days. . . Surely will have some adventure to speak of by the next installment.
-On the other side!

Day before the trip

Ahhh snowy and cold...sometimes the best way to leave for a vacation to warmer climes. I do not expect to see much white flying around for the next 7 weeks. . . I expect it to be cold at night in higher elevations of northern Thailand and Laos but expect the weather overall to be very agreeable. Those of you who know me I don't agree with the cold, or rather it doesn't agree with me or my body. So goodbye Korean winter and hello South East Asian dry season. . .I'll try to upload posts along the way. I'll see how the internet availability goes. . . there is always pen and paper. . . I still bring that everywhere I go. I haven't gone completely digital yet. Images may not be uploaded until I return to the Land of the Morning Clam in late February. Wish me luck, health and wonders along the way.