3 Weeks Will Bring

rk — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 19:06:00 GMT

I spent the afternoon with a Dang today, a textile shop owner who buys fabrics from the Northern hill tribes and brings them back to make clothing, bags, and quilts. She is the first Thai woman, aside from my teacher that I had an extended converstion with. I talked to the market and vendor women, but those were short and in passing. Mostly my interactions have been with men, so when Dang pulled out a stool and offered me water and pomelo I didn't say no.

We talked for hours about food, fabrics, Thai herbal medicine, massage, farangs, and Buddha. The latter two are topics I really wanted to write about here, but the words just are not ready. I felt a bit worn out from being foreigner over the weekend. There is just nowhere to hide, and the more I interacted with Chiang Mai the more I felt my farang footprint. It's a loaded topic, and one that is best spent over a bottle of wine and good food.

The summary though is that this trip has shown me how comfortable I am in my skin now. That I have grown to be a person that is so much more open to taking the world in than I used to be. That I am still drained by too much social interaction, but that I don't want to be alone or hide away. And that what I do for a living and how I live my life are truly seamless.

I'm so glad that I recorded some of my tales here and that you indulged my story telling. Thank you, and see you soon.

The End of Eating

rk — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 18:33:00 GMT

Last night I went through all of my food resources and started to compile a list of what I have been eating. An hour of writing later I decided that a summary is easier. Besides, Clint called over from the other porch and told me to save room for dessert. (I had just finished eating a whole fish, but made room anyway for the fried donuts and conversation).

When I start my food blog I can talk about the specifics of the eating here. Oh yes, another blog in the works. I think the name is going to be A Brooklyn Convivium, and the theme will be Recipes that require very little packaging (i.e., fresh foods and local products).

Ok, so the tally of my food explorations...

-About 9 new curries I had never had. The difference is red, green, or yellow. Then: how dark, how thick, how hot, and if coconut milk is added.

-3 varieties of insects. I saw giant cockroaches two nights ago, but couldn't bring myself to do it. Too close to home.

-5 different coconut desserts. My favorite is a baked coconut bars. Coconut by far was my favorite of the sweets. I tried several different donuts but wasn't so into it. And the gelatin I just don't like in general, but that list would have been endless here.

-4 different whole dish. My favorite is a very simple steamed fresh water fish with kaffir lime juice,leaves, fish sauce, and cilantro. And of course hot peppers. Oh, and I also had fish brains, eye balls, and fish liver a couple of times.

-Two different livers, but I have no idea what animal they came from. Most likely pork and chicken. Beef is not so common here, although I did see a few cows when I went to the mountains.

-Noodles that are yellow, thin, medium, or thick in size. Basic Chinatown eating on this one. I really only ate noodles with broth and other stuff thrown in. It's street food eating and not the most complex meal. I ate it enough times to have it with seafood, pork, chicken, and tofu.

-My favorite vegetable here has been Thai Pumpkin and Makeua and Makeua Pooang, which is golf ball and pea size eggplants. More bitter the smaller it gets, but SO good in curries.

-Several varieties of steamed buns. One would think that they can all taste the same, but the quality of meat and the care of how the sweet dough is made makes or breaks this one. I only found one place that I really liked, and I would buy between 5-7 each time and eat them as snacks throughout the day. I stopped that after two or three buys. Too much pork here. I had to cut back.

-Fresh kaffir limes leaves, fresh bamboo, and fresh crab I will miss dearly. And the Thai lemon basil tastes totally different here than at home. Kaffir lime leaves are in EVERYTHING. If cooked too long though it destroys the meal. It's a smell here too that comes out of many a home and restuarant as I pass. Such a complex plant. Thai women use the juice of the Kaffir lime for their hair. You squeeze it onto your dry hair, comb it through, and then shampoo as normal. It is one of the secrets to their beautiful locks. But if you have any color then it will strip the color.

-I lost count of the fruit tasting, but it hovers around 9. Dragon Fruit and papaya I ate a lot of here.

The list goes on, but those are the highlights. I know I tried over 100 different foods over the course of this stay. I'm going to take a little hiatus from eating Thai food for a while, but stay tuned for the cooking portion as I try to recreate the palette of the last few weeks.

Medical Tourism

rk — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The King has pumped a lot of money into making the medical system in Thailand a good one. I guess because he is a doctor so it has been one of the pet projects of the royal family.

Either way, going to the Dentist here probably saved me a few thousand dollars. I went to get my teeth cleaned and had some other work done that had been bothering me for years. (I am cavity free too). The entire visit cost me as much as I spend on a monthly subway pass in New York. And the Dentist did a better job than I've had done at home.

With no health insurance for the last few years and even more years since I went to the Dentist that medical visit basically made the cost of my flight and room more than worth it. Thank you King!

The Dogs

rk — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:47:00 GMT

Dogs are everywhere. They run in packs of three and up and can be seen sleeping under trucks, in the road, around the Wats, and any place there is shade. I learned the other night that they are around for a reason too. Twice times I've been chased by them, and once warned. I was coming home the other night and decided to take the side streets over the main road. I got a little turned around and ended up passing the same Wat twice.

On the first go I thought of stopping to look through the gate but didn't. As I passed there were several dogs sleeping by the road and someone was out. I smiled and kept going. Twenty minutes later when I returned I stopped. I pulled up to the gate and immediately a dog started to growl. My first mistake was ignoring the warning. A few more dogs started to growl and as I turned to ride away three dogs got up and made there way towards me.

I had about 100 meters before I was off the street and needed every bit of that space to get away from them. They are faster than their scrawny bodies let on. I had one dog at each heel barking and reaching out to snap at my feet, and one trailing very close behind. They stopped just as I reached the end of the road and turned around. Clint had actually warned me to not ride around the side streets at night because of the dogs, but I had not been thinking about it. Clint is a smart man.

Taking photos has been a challenge for the dog reason too. Today I got chased by one dog, or more or less chapperoned to the end of his street when I attempted to stop and take a picture. I played a game today and decided to only make my way around the city via narrow streets off the more frequented roads. After more than two weeks of riding everywhere I don't get turned around easily so it was fun to wander.

The rainy season is in full swing now and when the sun is out I make sure to spend every minute of that time outside. I've been soaked several times getting caught in a downpour. I carry two plastic bags everywhere now--one for the camera, and one to cover my bag. And then I have a poncho that I bought at 7-11 for less than a dollar.

Yes, there are 7-11's everywhere here. You can also buy Johny Walker Black and Red there too.

Bikes and Sawngthaews

rk — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:28:00 GMT

The other night Jo Jo and I hitched a ride with a Sawngthaew (Truck Taxi) by bike. These are Toyota size pick-up that have shells over the truck beds. Eight people can fit inside. Around the perimeter of the truck are side railings and two ladders on the back for storage on top.

Jo Jo and I were waiting at a light and one pulled up to the right. Jo Jo was in front of me and he looked back and then at the truck to hold on. So with the left hand I held my bike and the right grabbed the side railing. We were on busy road so to go as fast as traffic was quite exhillerating. To simultaneously keep my bike steady, a safe distance from Jo Jo's back tire inches in front of mine, the back tire of the truck, and watching the road was a serious test of my bike skills. The truck driver was having so much fun with us too! He would swerve wide enough to clear any road obstacles so that we could continue the ride. We managed to go from the base of the mountains all the back into the area close to Old Town.

Jo Jo was shocked that I had never done that before. Well, once in New York for the minute I was a bike messenger. He said in France he does it all of the time. That and riding two to one bike, which is another thing I had not done until a few weeks ago. It's really not as impressive as what the locals do with scooters here. Three to four on one scooter is pretty common. I love seeing the family's: Mom, Dad, baby in the baby seat made for a scooter in front, and one more child sandwiched between the parents.

Or the date version is pretty amazing too. The women wearing skirts sit side saddle on the back, balanced perfectly. Sometimes she will have her legs crossed and the high heel will dangle. That, I love to see.

100 baht

rk — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 23:52:00 GMT

Without trying I tend to spend about $3 everynight at the market when I'm shopping for Dinner, Breakfast and Lunch. My dinners are generally things I haven't tried yet. Last night I had whole fish, which was so good. Tonight the bag of fried squash was the new thing. I couldn't tell what it was which is why I bought it. After several trips to this place I now know which vendor has the more salty cuisine, which are the spicy dishes, and who has the best steamed buns. I'm now working my way through the desserts.

1 Fishbowl bag of Chiang Mai style Chicken Curry.

1 bag of fried squash

3 fresh steamed vegetable spring rolls.

1 bag of brown rice.

1 bag of thin white noodles that you add coconut sauce too, plus fresh cilantro.

4 squares of compressed honey coconut dessert

1 large package of fresh papaya and dragon fruit cut up.

Wat Umong

rk — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 22:35:00 GMT

Getting back into taking photos with film is part returning to a passionate love that I haven't seen for many years and part facing all of my fears of why putting the camera down was easier than working through the resistance. Polaroids fit much more neatly into my life, which has been convenient and a wonderful toy to make photos with during schooling and working the last two years. But when I hold this manual camera in my hands it brings up all of the joy and weakness that love motivates.

My first exploration taking photos was a morning trip to Wat Umong last weekend. It is located on the outside of Old Town closer to the mountains. To get there I follow the inner road of Old Town which goes one way around the moat and then exit out of one of the main gates to cross the road which goes the opposite way. The hard part is crossing to continue West. This gate spills out onto a highway (like the FDR, 501, or 80) with five lanes no traffic light.

There is a big island between me and the road I need so obviously crossing is not encouraged. But I am on bike and like the scooters here, you do what you need to do. I wait for five minutes hoping for a break and then give up and start walking against traffic towards a pedestrian bridge high over the highway. It would mean carrying my heavy bike up two flights of stairs and then down again. When I get to the bridge there is another person wanting to cross too. This skill is best accomplished in duets I've learned. We cross within a minute staggering ourselves. (When I left I teamed up with a scooter who literally blocked traffic for me).

I took a few photos along the way, but mostly just enjoyed being in a new neigborhood with it's intricate and very narrow roads.

The Wat.

Wat Umong stands in a forrest and was built in the 1300s, abandoned shortly after and reopened in the 1960s. It's an incredibly peaceful place to go and sit for a few hours. And the beauty is both in the nature surrounding and the tunnels with faded murals lining most of the ceilings. The tunnels are low and narrow and dimly lit but if you stand close enough to the light you can see some the paintings.

While wandering the tunnels a monk stopped me to chat. The usual beginning of most conversations is "Where are you from?" America got a "that's very good" response. And then "What is your name?" Renee does not roll off of the tongue easily here, but neither do most Thai names for me so I just try to remember the phoenetic and hope it sticks.

He saw my camera and wanted me to take a picture of the murals. I didn't know how to explain the low light factor so I set it to B and hoped that if I hold still something would come out. He was standing close and after I the took the first photo he reached out and touched my earing and held it and my earlobe in his hand long enough that I wondered if I should move away.

I thought it was a little quarky, but didn't really think about it again until I ended up in the same tunnels by accident. As usual I got a little lost. I was above ground at the Stuppa and thought it would be fun to wander along a path in the forrest. The path didn't go far and ended up right at the tunnel of the monk who was very happy to see me again.

The French family and I exchanged smiles and then the monk ignored them and waved me to follow back in the tunnels. He proceeded to take my photo with his nokia green glow phone. My only thought at that point was, 'he's a monk, what harm will it do to be part of his tourist photo album?' Then it got more strange. He got me to take more photos and then gestured to follow through another tunnel. As we were going down the stairs he moved even closer and wrapped his hand around my arm for just a moment. I swear I thought the monk wanted to kiss me. At that point I did what any smart girl knows to do, I smiled nicely and made my exit.

Having been to a couple of other Wats since that trip I defnitely know that monks and women do not come into close contact. But I actually loved that my first interaction with a monk was so inappropriate because it reminded me that they are people too and the robe is just a marker for where they are in their life at this moment.

I did consider taking advantage of the situation and getting a portrait, but using myself as bait for the photo was undesirable so I just let it go. Sometimes it's just not worth it.

Mountains Vs. Island

rk — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:39:00 GMT

The last of the learning portion of my classes ended today. We practiced a two hour routine on our partner this afternoon, and tomorrow we will work for three hours each. Friday is our "test" day. No book, no instruction, just flow with a two hour treatment that we design.

I had planned to go to Ko Samui for the duration of my trip, but did not anticipate that the travel time by bus (the most affordable) and ferry would be 24 hours total. I also didn't really pay attention to my return ticket. I leave on the 31st, but at 12:40am so really I need to be at the airport on the 30th. Between all of that would leave two days of beautiful island time.

And then there are the mountains that I see everyday here and long to go into. In New York I have months of missing being in the mountains. Usually around Fall when the air changes from humid summer in the city to crisp and less dense. I crave going to altitude where I can take a full breath in and shut out the city sounds. So as I ride around Chiang Mai and wonder why I'm not wearing a mask like a third of the scooter commuters (and all of the policeman working traffic) I am having the same desire to breath in fresh air.

Between two days of beach and five more days of being in the North, I chose the latter. I'm nesting for the three weeks and once classes end I plan to take as many day trips, barring rain, into the mountains. My true desire is to cross into Burma for a few hours just to do it. I'll let you know how that goes. There is one place one can do it, it's just getting there that might be a challenge. The roads during the rainy season tend to be inaccessable.

The other trips I have planned are closer and I can get to by bike or group taxi. Saturday I'm going to Doi Suthep which is a very famous Wat (Buddhist Temple) that sits a little more than 1/2 way up the mountain that is in view from Chiang Mai. The story goes if I remember correctly that the monks let an elephant begin the journey up this mountain and where it stopped the temple would be built. On a clear night you can see the lights from the temple, and during the day you can actually see the Stuppa and Umbrella. Here's a photo of it from the website: http://www.doisuthep.com/images/z_002.JPG.

That's it for tonight. I have some other stories, but am tired. I've also been meaning to mention that this blog doesn't have a spell check which at first was like nails on a chalkboard because I'm usually more careful about grammar and spelling errors. So I apologize if that has been annoying and you were wondering why I don't check my work.

Ok. See you soon. :)

My Comfort Food

rk — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 23:00:00 GMT

Coffee and a full meal here cost the same, about 20-30 baht or .80-$1. Whenever I'm riding my bike around town I keep my eye out for any cafe that looks like it would serve coffee that is larger than a measuring cup. About three days in I decided that buying my own package of instant Nescafe and Coffee Mate would solve my desire to have coffee and sit at leisure on the porch. To make the coffee I had to go down to the kitchen and ask for the hot water. The cup was twice as big as the usual fare I have been having so I was already thrilled.

1 1/2 cups later of disgusting coffee convinced me that even if I'm buying instant nescafe from the street vendors they make it better than I can. I did break down on Sunday before the market and go to Starbucks here. For $3 I had a Venti coffee. I'm not proud of that, but there it is. The coffee is not nearly as strong as it's made in the states thankfully.

Today was my most successful day yet. There are bunch of street vendors set up down the road from where I am studying. Everyday after lunch the french people and I go to have coffee. One day we stopped at a to go vendor. I didn't know that you have a choice of how you want to take the coffee away: paper cup, glass cup, or plastic fishbowl. The price also changes depending on that choice. So of course, being a faraang (foreigner) I am just given the most expensive choice: 35 baht.

Today when I went the woman recognized me and gave me a glass: 20 baht. She gestured to the plastic stool next to her stand to sit. Across from us is another vendor and they start talking and asking me questions. The coffee vendor would ask the food vendor a question in Thai and the food vendor would ask me the question in Thai, but use gestures that helped translate. It was a good time. They asked me where I'm from. New York City never got translated. United States is as specific as it got. Then they asked if I was studying massage. Yes. Easy.

Once that conversation hit a wall we started on the language lesson. "Chai," yes. "Mai," no. "Kor," please. "Korp Kun," Thank you. They also taught me the thank you that Chiang Mai locals say, but I've forgotten.
When I left them I asked "kor gaa-faa tung sai nom noy (i'd like filtered coffee with milk please) to go." Plastic bags with coffee cost 10 baht.

Life along the Burma/Thailand Border

rk — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 23:05:00 GMT

I didn't move into the other guesthouse as planned. I did move, but moved back to my guesthouse a few hours later. My classmate Jo Jo has been living at the Second Home guesthouse since he arrived two months ago. He pays about $3 a night. Thinking how happy I would be to save so much money I reserved a room at his place without going through to the trouble to go visit first.

The owner showed me to my room and handed me the padlock for my door and asked for my passport to photocopy. There was everything you could want in a place to sleep: a mattress; mosquito net (in this case because there were no screens on the windows); and a fan. The bathroom is actually what made me second think my choice. It was shared and not clean at all.

At that point I had to admit that while I'm intrepid in the eating and travelling category, I do prefer to be comfortable where I sleep. And on that particular day I was not feeling so hot and wanted the bathroom close by. The amazing mackeral meal I had written about a few posts ago gave me some serious heartburn--that I'm still feeling unfortunately. I don't know why I thought eating 10 small very hot chili peppers would not do something to my digestion.

I was very happy to return to my home after a long day of learning how to make herbal medicine balls from fresh ingredients. I did my market shopping trip and the eating on the porch again. On this night another guest was sitting on his porch across the courtyard. He asked if he could come over and chat.

Clint, a transplant from Kansas who first came to Thailand on a mission trip for Feed the Children "fell in love" with "the people" and the country and decided to return and learn Thai and teach English. He is about two months into living between the guesthouse and along the border in Fang and taking culture lessons from a teacher in the border village. He had never lived outside of Kansas and from what discerned really never travelled, but plans to not return to the US.

Clint found work teaching Thai locals in Fang, and a couple of monks English. The trip from Chiang Mai is 3 hours by bus, so he stays up there during the week and comes back to use the computer and take a break from that world. We talked for almost two hours. Mostly he talked actually, but I was happy to hear his stories and get the skinny on the other guests in the place. Sitting on porches with the travellers is his thing.

He told me that in the last two weeks there have been 5 funerals from men dying. A couple from suicide, but the rest from whatever diseases they contract from working in the fruit orchards where there is no regulation on pesticide spraying. All under 40. What's left of the town are a lot of women with children and not that much work to feed them.

One of the men in town decided that arranged marriages were a good way for women to survive, so he has found foreigners to marry for citzenship and in return provide financial security to their wives. Clint was not very specific about what other arrangments might be included.

I laid in my $14 a night room that night with air conditioning, screens on windows, clean bathroom, small frig, and peace thinking about that conversation and Clint. As much as I want to hate him because of his racism, ignorance, and call to serve god, Clint is serving a good. And I got a serious lesson is what it can mean to make choices that require enormous compromise.

Sunday Market

rk — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:43:00 GMT

Imagine your local flea market + food festival and square it. The Old City on the North side essentially shuts down to cars and scooter and fills with vendors lining both sides of the street shoulder to shoulder, plus the middle of the street. Every twenty feet or so there is someone playing music. Not great music, but entertaining notheless.

It felt like the entire city under 30 was out to join the fun. I walked around with my teacher and a classmate for some of it, and then as the market started to fill we got separated so I just wandered. Four hours of wandering is what it took to see the entire market.

Unlike my friends here, I am not prone to crazy consumption (my days of that are long over), but I did very much enjoy the people watching and seeing the city change it's face for a night. And I love that I could park my bike, lock it to itself, and not worry about it. When I left, a foot massage stand of 10 lawnchairs chairs were blocking my bike. I had to squeeze between two to get to it, and then get back out without hitting anyone.

Outside the market the streets were very quiet and the heat broke for the night so the ride home was a great decompression. I ended the evening sitting on the porch eating the crab cakes and fresh spring rolls I bought at the fete.

National Anthem

rk — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:27:00 GMT

At 6pm everyday (and in the morning at some point) the national anthem plays over a loud speaker all over the city and everyone stops what they are doing, hands by sides and looks straight ahead until the music stops. The cars used to stop too, but that's not the case anymore. And the younger people don't really stop all of the time either actually.

But tonight I happened to be at the market that I've been talking about here when the 6pm anthem played. It's a busy place and there is a lot of noise all the time, but when the music started everyone stopped. I followed along, hands by sides looking straight ahead...10 seconds go by, the music stops and as if the pause button went to play everyone started to move again. The woman next to me turned and gave a smile my way. I read it as "yup, we really do this everyday."

Plastic Fishtanks of Food

rk — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 02:03:00 GMT

No plastic containers for "takeout," just plastic bags that hold your curries, rices, soups, and noodles. They look like little fishtanks, reminiscent of the cheap goldfish you can buy at a carnival.

After a week of going full force eating everything and trying anything, I can now tell the difference between good tasting and mediocre foods. The first meal that I thought was so good Sunday night when I arrived in Chiang Mai actually was pretty low on the tasty scale compared to the amazing dishes I've tried from the super-like market. I only figured that out when I was desperate last night to find something to eat in the rain. This is the rainy season, but it hasn't been raining. I had gotten so used to eating at vendors that I didn't know what to do in a downpour. So I went back to the restaurant Krisna showed me that first night and discovered that it is possible to have a really bad meal in Thailand.

But the good food? Tonight I travelled to the market I came across on Wednesday when I got lost. I retraced my steps and ventured back in to try new things. The bugs were not there tonight and neither was the banana leaf curry seafood dish I had. (Oh, and I didn't have maggots the other night. I had catepillars). I bought spring rolls, 6 for 20 baht (.80) and a banana leaf bowl with a tale end of grilled Mackeral placed inside the bowl, and fresh lime kaffir leaves sprinkled over it with small dried chilli peppers on the side--also lightly grilled.

I've grown tired of eating out so much, so for the last two nights I've been taking food home with me to eat on the porch outside my room that overlooks the courtyard of the guesthouse. It's lovely actually and just as romantic as it sounds. And feels more like eating at home than eating out even if I a buying the food over making it. Tomorrow I am moving to a new guesthouse that will have a kitchen so I can cook. I thought I could hold out for three weeks of no cooking, but it's just too hard. The room is also going to be 3/4 less than what I have been paying.

The first bite of the mackeral was very fishy. Then I realized that the lime kaffir leaves and chillis were probably there for a reason. I took another bite of the dish, then ate a kaffir leaf, then the entire small chilli. Everything changed with that bite. Usually I can't tell what makes what taste so good, but this meal helped me understand more the Thai cooking spirit of mixing sweet, salty, and spicy together in harmony.

I was thinking of taking a cooking course while I'm here, but most cater to tourists. I'm not so interested in the dished they make either. I've been taking photos of most of the meals I eat and then writing about them when I am particularly moved. I went to two markets today to look for herbs and spices. I bought a bunch of small bags of spices and have no idea what they are accept for the ground chilli. Like the other foods though, I'm sure I will figure it out. Now I have to check to see if I can bring them home. Kaffir leaves I know I can't take home fresh. I have been chatting with a woman who works at the place where I ate breakfast this week (curries over rice mostly) and she told me that the fresh leaves have insects on them that US customs will not let through. She's been very helpful actually in my eating exploration. Yo Yo, a tour guide, who hangs out at the vendors across the street from Mountain View has also been helpful when I want to order something particularly interesting. The other night I had a seafood noodle soup with squid, liver, fresh crab (which tastes COMPLETELY different than fresh in the US), tuna, shrimp, fish balls, and two other things that I don't know.

I hope all of the food talk is not too boring for you. I do have a few trips planned outside of the city soon so I will have other stories to tell. Next week I'm also going to a friend's engagement party. I have known Ton since I lived in Washington, DC. We used to go to out dancing all night to drum and base parties. I think he has mellowed a bit, but it should still be fun.

Two Gallons of Water

rk — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 01:40:00 GMT

I'm pretty sure that is how much I consumed today when I returned from school. Four very large water bottles now sit empty in my room and I've only peed once. It's defintely hotter today than it has been. I'm not uncomfortable, but I do change my clothing a few times a day. I also have spent some good down time washing my tank tops in the bathroom sink every night just so I have cleanish clothing for the next day.

Friday ended my first week of school. I love my classmates and my teacher. I really feel fortunate to have such a great group of people to work with. And we do WORK all day. Not crazy "must keep going" hard, but we give one another genuine feedback and keep practicing until the postures feel right.

Thai massage, like Chinese Medicine is an art I will spend the rest of my life learning to be better at. Very little is recorded in writing from the Masters so you just have to keep coming back to learn more and grow. I wouldn't mind making a pilgrimage here once a year to keep learning. I feel very at home with the people I have met who are studying Thai Massage. I'm in a bit of heaven actually because I finally have fellow Ashtanga lovers around.

Although I'm only a foe Ashtanga person at this point. I went to a Master teacher the other morning after not doing this practice for at least a year and it was HARD. It was not only hard because I'm so inflexible, but hard because it's the type of yoga that forces your mind to be with your breath and your body the entire time. I'm not so good at that in general, and even when I was practicing 4 times a week years ago I still wasn't very good at it.

The teacher, William led three of us through two hours of asanas. Thank god it's so fucking humid and hot here or else my body could not have survived the posture corrections. At one point William, a 6' and built guy, laid over my body in downward dog--feet to head. He didn't hold back either using his weight. He put his hands on my achilles to push my feet flat one the floor. I think on a good day of yoga my heels brush the floor!

I haven't gone back. I'm too scared, and it's also too difficult to leave there at 8:30am (starting at 6:30am) and get to class at 9am on the other side of the city--aside from then spending 8 hours working my body more in difficult positions. I will say this though, Thai Massage is going to force me to go to yoga because I will not be able to do half of the things I'm learning unless I am flexible.

Tomorrow Ahm, my class teacher is going to spend the day teaching a few of us how to make Medicine balls and compresses. I am so excited!

Thai Massage

rk — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 01:12:00 GMT

Chiang Mai is a professional student's paradise. There is probably a teacher willing to give you a lesson for anything you want to know here. Thai massage has made a home in this city, and I think there are more than seven schools that have programs--all with different personalities and focuses. The one that I am attending is called Sunshine School of Thai Massage and it style is a combination of yoga and therapuetic work that relates to the meridians (Sen in Thai) of the body. It's a perfect match for me, and like I expected this massage is an art that suits my abilities very well.

There are four of us in the class, and Ahm (pronounced Om) is our teacher. Blandine is Parisian and every bit as glamorous as one would expect from a native of the French Capital. Jo Jo is from the french countryside and grew up on a farm. He has been travelling in Australia, Cambodia, and Thailand for the last two years and is returning home in a few weeks. Sandra is from Barcelona, but spent 23 years in france so her mannerisms and accent are more French than Spanish. She now lives outside the Barcelona in a small farm town. I wish I could say that all of my years of French were being put to use. The conversations moves between English and French, but I speak only english. Maybe this will be one of my dares while I'm here.

I really lucked out with this group. Jo Jo and Blandine have been taking Thai Massage courses for a while and Sandra is a Massage Therapist so Ahm fits in as much as possible and works way above a beginner level. I feel like I'm getting a beginner and advanced class in one. Even after three days I am able to give a 1 1/2 hour massage and that is just working on the feet and legs!

With my jetlag subsiding a bit my focus is better too so the material is beginning to make sense and I am absorbing the it all quickly. The first two days I was feeling worn down and not so excited about spending so much of my day using my brain and doing body work, but now I look forward to the last 7 days of this course. I'm even going in early tomorrow to practice with Sandra. :)

Bikes and Maggots

rk — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:27:00 GMT

Having a bike changes everything. At home biking and cooking are so much a part of what brings me joy that not having those things for even a couple of days started to takes its toll. I made sure that I got to the bike shop before it closed last night so I could secure one of the joys. Instantly I felt better about being away from my comforts for a few weeks.

Biking in Chiang Mai is a kind of like biking in NYC so I have adapted quickly. The differences are that people actually smile on the road and are patient with how traffic moves so I can manuever my way through narrow streets and major streets with relative ease. No one drives that fast either because there are so many cars on the road that I tend to end up in packs of scooters. The biggest difference is that traffic doesn't stop so I just have to be aware of the cars and scooters coming from all directions and merging with whatever traffic I am in. Oh, and the driving is on the left here. (Living in England has come in handy after all).

I felt so accomplished making my way to school this morning and not getting lost. Also braving the morning traffic was no small feat. Tonight I rode around for three hours exploring the city. I had a destination and then ended up getting really lost so the short bike trip turned into a mini adventure. I figured out that the mountains are North and my guesthouse, appropriately Mountain View is located on the North side of the Old City. So when I discovered that I was indeen very lost I looked for the mountains and started to make my way back.

On the way I fell upon a little outdoor city of plants called Kamthieng Market. It was the end of the work day so there were no shoppers, just business owners closing down. I rode around for at least 20 minutes just exploring all of the flora. This place is huge and so beautiful!

At this point I thought I figured out where I was but ended up in a very crowded food market on my way to the Old City. I couldn't resist stopping despite being lost and having no idea how without bike lights I was going to find my way home. I parked along the scooters and locked my bike to itself and headed in to explore. (No one locks there bikes to things, just the frame to wheel). I bought a package of cut up fruit which I will have for breakfast tomorrow. I have seen several fruits that I've never tried and have no idea what they are so I am hoping this medley will help discern what to buy in the future and what to stay away from.

I also had my first truly spicy meal. It was a leaf bowl of seafood and something else. I really have no idea what I ate, but it was so good. I am ruined for a while because of all of the good meals I am having. The most exciting part of this stop was eating bugs. I giggled out loud when I spotted the bowls of different insects. The gentleman behind the counter didn't speak any english but could see my excitement and tried to descibe in simple Thai what everything was. I wsn't ready to buy the bags of bugs, but he was generous enough to let me try fried maggots and larva. Delicious. If I had to compare it to anything, I would say it tastes like deer jerky. I didn't dare ask to try the flying bug, but I plan to eat many more meals at this place and will not leave town before trying all of the bugs.

Being here is a little like daring myself to be a bit braver with everything I do. Eating and bike riding are a good start because it's a base and something I am used to pushing the envelope with. This is definitely the easiest country I've been too in terms of being a woman. I love that I can look people in the eye and smile and not have it be taken as anything but a friendly gesture. This openness is a good thing for me to feel for a few weeks and I look forward to whatever comes from that.

Orientation

rk — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:43:00 GMT

My taxi driver from Chiang Mai airport informed me that second to Bangkok it is the largest city in Thailand. It's not New York in size, but I'm definitely in a city. Crossing the street is a fun frogger like challenge. Where there are cross walks, I press a large button on a poll and in seconds the light changes from red to green. The trick is that it only lasts for 15 seconds and as soon as you pass the cars ignore my green light and just go. The good news is that despite the crazy amount of cars, scooters, tuk tuks, and red trucks (group taxis) no one honks. really. And people appear to notice pedistrians but from what i can tell it's really my job to pay attention to them, and their job to play another video game.

I considered for a second today getting a scooter to join the fun when Krisna, the night manager at my guesthouse, gave me a ride to school--about a three or four mile trek. His orientation to the city was very useful, albeit a little scary as we crossed the Ping river on a narrow sidewalk and he stopped looking at the road and gestured wildely with one arm the beautiful view on both sides. Right before that he told me that he likes to race bikes and showed me the very large scar on his arm. After that I decided to stick with my original plan to rent a bicycle.

Krisna has been a great help in the last 24 hours. When I arrived last night I wanted to eat and planned to check out the vendors across from the guesthouse. Instead he asked me if I eat meat, and when I said I eat anything he walked me around the corner to another spot. He ordered for me and told me to sit at the table and how much it would cost and then returned to his post at Mountain View. I was the only foreigner and the food was great. I had some soupy noodle, pork dish with these small egg like chewy things. I will get more aquainted with what I've been eating a report back. It's all been good, and what costs $8-14 at my favorite thai place in queens is under a $1 here.

Tonight I visted the vendors for dinner. There are about 12 vendors set up along a busy road and lots of chairs and tables. I spotted a dish that looked good and hoped that the menu was in english, but it wasn't. Easy enough to point out what I wanted though. Another pork dish, but this time with rice and chinese broccoli. I think. And a side broth.

More stories later. I am getting up at 5:45a to begin my yoga routine before class. I'll tell you about the Thai Massage too. It's me, two french people, and a Spaniard.

Thanks for reading!

xor

36 Hours Later

rk — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 01:43:00 GMT

I arrived safely. Thanks to a sweet guardian angel my plane trip was so smooth. Drugs and neck pillows are amazing. I started Saturday morning and my flight was 17 hours direct. I slept for 13 hours and ate very well in between the long naps on Thai Airways. I had 3 hours of people watching in the Bangkok ariport between the long flight and the short one to Chiang Mai. The Difference is 11 hours ahead. It's now Sunday evening. I'm pretending for jet lag purposes that I just took a short trip this morning (sunday) and did not lose a day. I feel ok actually. Considering this was the part of my trip I was most unsure about it's been easy.

Well, I'm off to the food market across the street to try out some of the vendors. As much as I want to dive in and be adventurous I am going to start out slow and work my way up to eating bugs. I don't have much to report about Thailand so far since it's been airports and nighttime, but I have been grateful to be travelling alone and not be harassed or bombarded with solitics.

Looking forward to school in the morning and seeing this city. The taxi driver said that it's been raining a lot but there are days (like tonight) with no rain. I am going to rent a bike and do some exploring as soon as possible. So far my wise sage has been so helpful to my trip that I can't wait to check out her suggestions for things to do in Chiang Mai.

Off to eat.

A Primer

rk — Thu, 9 Aug 2007 01:09:00 GMT

A few days left to enjoy New York summer before I to journey to Thailand on Saturday. I have no idea how often I will visit a computer while I'm gone, but when I do I will leave my stories here. I am looking forward to a few weeks of less techonology.

I am most looking forward to sitting with my thoughts without this city's distractions. It's been an amazing year and I've spent little time considering the profound impact of my transition from working towards doing what I love to loving what I do. I'm ready to slow down a bit to see what rises from the stillness.

I'll be in the Northern city Chiang Mai for two weeks studying noad boran (thai massage). I'm keeping myself open to whatever else comes, though I also plan to do a lot of yoga and take a cooking class. The last leg of the trip will be down south to an island, Koh Sumai and then a couple of days in Bangkok.

I will not be able to load photos until I return but you can expect a link to those in September.

Much love,

Renee