Today has been by far the most intense day of this adventure so far! But let me give you all the back story first.
So on the 22nd I flew from Denpasar, Bali to Kuala Lumpur, Mylasia. I changed airports and got on a plan to Bangkok, Thailand and arrived at 8:30pm... i took a taxi to shanti lodge, as it was the only address inh Bangkok that i knew at the time. I spent the next day walking around the city, and eating amazing Thai food for incredibly cheap! I switched hostels... and I awaited Miss Elisa's arrival. I took a bus top the airport the next morning and greeted Elisa as she arrived. It was a beautiful and dreamlike reunion, and we both found ourselves in a state of bliss that was as near to drunkenness as i have been for a long time. We spent the cab ride into the city relishing our intoxicating reunion. But in my love drunk stupor, i somehow managed to neglect my wallet... and i left it in the cab!
Two days of frustrating skype calls managed to cancel my credit cards and have replacements sent forthwith... but it put a small damper on the travel flow. After i canceled the cards Elisa and i got some train tickets to Chiang Mai. We thought that the Train would be much more relaxing and comfortable than a bus... we were wrong! After inhaling about two lifetimes worth of diesel fumes at the train station, we got on our funky train. We soon found that the diesel fumes while lessened were not absent for the entire train ride which was supposed to be about 14 hours but was actually 17 hours. NOTE: The bus takes 10 hours! Anyways, the noxious fumes were accompanied by creaking, squeaking, bumping, jerking, and the persistent slamming of a sliding door that was broken and would not stay open or closed but preferred to slam back and forth sending terrific vibrational force through the cabin. Earplugs cut out the noise but the jarring proved to be a substantial impediment to actually sleeping. We woke up to find out that we would be one... then two... no three hours late as our crappy Daewoo train struggled up the grade.
We had good fortune finding a nice place in Chiang Mai, and even managed free transport to the place.
Chiang Mai proved to be nice, there are some great places to eat, Wild Rose yoga studio was awesome, we had a great yoga practice there... but it proved to be too much of a big city for us and the impending craziness of New Years loomed like a dark cloud. So we strove to escape from Chiang Mai, to the comfort and serenity of Pai. Little did we know that our journey would bring us to a hundred different confusing options then eventually deposit us right back in Chiang Mai less than 48 hours later.
We booked a Mini bus to Pai for 2pm... at 2:30 we found out that they "forgot" to write down or booking. So we re-booked with another company leaving at "3:00" We brought our bags to the booking agency and waited... they said "come back 3:30, pick up here" in a twangy Thai accent. So we did. Around 4pm they came and picked us up in a pick up truck, and took us to the bus station. There we waited again till about 5:15. We eventually departed to Pai where we thought that we would be staying for a long period... But this obscurely perfect divine flow that we are in had other plans for us.
We got into PAi at night without much energy to haul our heavy backpacks long distance.. so we settled for a cheap and close option, Happy Huts. Happy Huts proved to be not so happy after all... Each minute movement of ones body caused the entire bamboo hut to shiver in its foundation... and the Cold seeped into the Happy Little hut, making fetal position the only real option for staying warm enough.
We awoke to some twangily melodic Thai music, and set out to set up a base camp for a few weeks... we wanted to rent a small house with a kitchen and cook for ourselves... so we checked the message boards, rented a motorbike and set out! We went on a great ride in the countryside, but none of our prospects panned out... and we found ourselves like a bohemian version of Goldy Locks... this one is too expensive... this one is too funky and old... and so on. We eventually headed back to Pai to refuel our stomachs and refresh our plan.
So, we had a breakdown in the Happy Hut... and what eventually arose was a re assessment of the entire situation... A deep heart desire to heal, and nurture our spirits. The conclusion was to do a meditation retreat. The one we had been recommended Swan Mot, is in southern Thailand... so we began planning a rush journey south before the 1st when the meditation retreat begins. Then we came across a vipassana center here in Pai and decided that this was a more viable option. We called the teacher at the retreat center, and practically the first words from his mouth were "I'm Getting that you should go to Wat Chum Tong in Chaing Mai." He graciously spoke with us for about 3 hours, and the end result is that we have a bus ticket to Chiang Mai tomorrow morning at 8am! We are in for a 14 day vipassana training.
So as i write this I am poised on the brink... and about to dive into a the deep pool of the self. And so dear friends and family, I love you all and i assure you that i will be safe and sound tucked away in a monastery. I will not write for another two weeks... but i will fill you in with all the details of this prolonged profound silence.
Love,
-Logan
