Bye Bye for Now

Anyways... There are so many untold stories that will come out as we spend time with each of you, but for now it's time to go. Here we are, the last day of the trip, sitting on the computer. There is so much more street food waiting for us then we can possibly eat in 24 hours. And you better bet that Jared is going to try to eat all of it. Thanks for all your love and support. We can't wait to get back home to be with you all.

SE Asia Party Scene

Seems like it doesn't matter which country we end up in, there is always a little (or a lot) of taste of home. By taste, we don't just mean in the figurative sense either, we mean pizza and burgers, cocktails and french fries, Espressos and bakeries. These places have at times been a refuge from the poop-stained squat toilet, cockroach infested days of traveling. They are however a major test in cynicism and patience.

In Laos, it was Vang Vieng. In Thailand it was almost every beach town south of Bangkok. In Nepal it was lakeside district of Pokahra. For us there has always been a souvenirs in a bite of real chocolate cake though. Navigating through the vomiting people with permanent markers all over their faces, we have been glad that we are tired because of the climbing close by, not the buckets of alcohol that we could have consumed.

Same same, no difference between some of these people. Just now on Koh San Rd in Bangkok, there is a loud young American swearing and bragging about the money he spent getting wasted last night while complaining how he doesn't know his parent's e-mail addresses. I'm glad we choose to spend our money and time other ways.

Seems like it is all over the world if you want to find it. At least now we know where the stereotypes of loud Americans comes from...

A Photographic Eye

Our experiences in Nepal have been one of the most cultural experiences of both of our lives. As you can tell, from the bus rides to the trek, we've learned the lives and ways that exist in the east. With these photos, we hope to share some of that. From top to bottom (in no particular order). I just wanted you all to know that these pictures came from Suzi's eye behind the lens. She has an amazing sense for the detail and still subjects.

Prayer wheels along the trek in Gyaru at 12,380 feet.

Buddha statues at the Drubgon Jangchup Choeling Monestary in Kathmandu, Nepal

A doorway in Bandipur, Nepal

Another doorway in Kagbeni, Nepal
(Both of these towns took us back a century or two. Jared whacked his head on every single one!)

Trekking Photos III

Some more photos of the trek. From top down... A yak grazing, talk about free-range meat. A tough old woman carrying a regular load, these people are amazing! Somewhere along the trail, Suzi has a good eye with that camera. So many terraced fields growing a variety of things from buckwheat, corn, rice and more. A regular traffic jam on the trail.

There are so many more pictures, but it would take days and cost a fortune to post them all. We have added a number of them on Facebook though, so check out more there.

Trekking Photos II

More pictures... Top down... The Yak burgers were actually really good here, but don't worry they weren't fast food style (they took over an hour to make). This kid was in his teens and weighed less then that pack. A goat jam in the slate stone alley of Kagbeni. Close up of a prayer wheel. An woman in Kagbeni who for some reason was really excited to get her picture taken.

Trekking Photos I

Well, there are endless words to describe the 10 days we spent walking through the Himalayas, but for now we can leave it to some images to tell a few stories. From the top down...

Suzi and I topping out on Thorong-La pass (17,769 ft.), the high point of our trek!
A close up of a Mani wall - Tibetan Buddhist walls with mantras and prayers carved into stone. The regular life of a child growing in the mountains.
Annapurna I from the back side, one of the worlds highest peaks at 26,545 ft.
A grazing Yak.

Market

Doesn't matter where we ended up, markets became an easy place to spend time. In the states, there is all this talk of local and organic foods. On this side of the planet, there is no other alternative. Whether spending lots of money in a nice restaurant, or eating at a roadside stall, the only food available is that which is in season.

Suzi and her amazing eye for the beauty and detail of food shows more then can ever be written about some of the amazingly simple sights of the markets we visited.

Ridgeline Views (all clouded in)

After the glory of walking in the Himalayas and eating at all of Pokarha's bakeries, we decided to head off to Bandipur. A ridge top village in which the Lonely Planet dubbed a wonderful out of the way place where you are more likely to experience real culture of the Newari people then the typical Western travel culture. As expected, it was full of young travelers like ourselves toting their Lonely Planets looking for the recommended place to stay.

Side note here... As I write this, the club song "Shaking That Ass" and other great club favorites are blaring from the massive speakers above my head making it difficult to recall all of the intricate details of the timeless ridges we spent three wonderful days on. For more on this see the section re: SE Asia party scene...

As usual, Suzi and her savvy ways brought us to a small guest house without much traffic and good for the pocket book, less then $3 a night. Bandipur is situated on a broad ridge line overlooking what many Nepali people call the best view in all of the Himalayas (not sure how many of those people have been atop Everest). Unfortunately for us, we saw nothing but L.A. style fog and clouds with a visibility of possibly a half a mile.

As a result, we spent less time exploring and more time relaxing, reading, writing, and eating. Pretty much anything that required the least amount of effort to move in the thick hot air. We did however make a journey to "the biggest cave in the Himalayas where we sang and chanted in the real dark of a silent mountain. We also spent a fair bit of time eating across the slate stone road from our guest house from a man who had the smile and heart of a giant radiating from his 5 foot 2 inch frame. It was here that we did a few of our 5 and 3 minute writes....

From Suzi
Chicken chasing children cause turmoil in the tiny lives of their offspring. Sun rays poking though the dense, dusty air welcoming the brick building painted white and blue, green and gold. Shutters open to greet the morning. Slate streets gently leading tourists and locals through the bazaar. Men resting on plastic round tables outside the local lodges. It's Sunday.

From Jared
Swallows swallowing mosquitoes, weaving through a tangle of power lines overhead. Barefoot man, unkempt with a massive scrape on his leg listlessly wanders the streets all day long with an odd smile. Flowers pink and orange adorn verandas and balconies. A village from another place it seams. Four older men talk about something with Nepali or Indian music drifting from a half closed door and past the steam of their glasses of tea; Tea the color of mute clay. Children chase chickens around dogs that lie uninterested in the morning sun.

Epic Bus Rides

On one of our 24 hour epics, Jared and I decided to highlight some of our favorite parts of one of Asia's best kept secrets: overland travel. Here are the almost unreadable snippets we wrote in our journal as we were navigating a Northern Thai highway through a thunderstorm.

Early morning heat searing the pavement, I feel like a fried egg.

Always some shade of neon upholstery... usually pink.

"Tuk-Tuk, where you go?" kindly asks a Laos taxi driver. "I'm at the bus station, dude! Clearly I've already got a plan." (Suzi can be a little impatient.)

The same two pop CD's on every bus. A groovy combination of a 1980's Casio keyboard bought at Walmart and a dying cat.

Three Horrific Words: "The Laos Superhighway"

Departure time: 9:30 sharp. The bus is in a creeping reverse by 9:29.

Suzi's mantra, "I have to pee, I have to pee. . . just breathe. . .shit I have to pee!"

Rear view mirrors sporting yellow flowers and Buddhas.

I'm sweating between the boobs. . . aaah, maximum AC. . . I'm FREEZING!

Finally a toilet stop! 3 Baht? For what? You guys don't even supply soap or toilet paper! Whew, sweet release! Wait! Stop the bus!

I need to pee, again.

The old man behind me has quite the smokers cough. Ew! I think he spit up something.

Laos mountain driving, people puking up all night. Aren't you guys used to this yet?

When was the last time you washed these lacy headrest covers? How about the vinyl ones?

Thank goodness Jared is comfy, this could have been a miserable ride.

Hmmm. . . cell phones as radios, interesting idea. Do you all need to play the song so the whole bus hears? Seriously, at least listen to the same song.

One word, cattle. I hope you guys standing in the isle got a discount. At least I get to sit on a bag of rice.

I still need to pee.

No, don't worry drunk Nepali guy, you should just fall asleep with your legs stretched out over two seats while I sit here on the engine cover kneeing myself in the chin every 17 seconds.

Finally we're here... What do you mean we have to get on another bus right now for another 6 hours, I haven't gone pee yet.

Falling off the kiddie stools we are sitting on in the isles between singing drunk Nepalis.

An empty water bottle, an empty back of the bus, a guilty look, and sweet release. No need to stop now, we're almost there I'm sure. I feel a lot better...

One Last Go

To all few of our fellow followers, we have not forgotten about you.

Times have been wild, mountains have been grand, walking has made us strong, we have almost been run over by 7,461 motorcycles in Nepal, our stomachs are becoming more iron by the day, spicy tolerances have gone up, and epic long bus rides now lull us gently to sleep.

From April 2nd until yesterday, we have been in Nepal as most of you know. A magic land that has stolen our hearts, but a land with terrible and infrequent Internet connections. These same connections which cost more to check our e-mails then to fill our never ending hunger for samosas and Dal Baht. However, now that we have come back to Thailand, where computers and connections are up to date, we are going to be putting together one grand finale set of blogs and pictures.

We fly away from this trip in two days, back to the land of regular dollars and traffic laws. Before we do though, look for our final entry. We have been thinking about all of you for so long now, and know that our journey would never have been possible without all of your love and support...

Writing Exercises to Add Wonder to Words

Jared and I have sat and down a few times to lyrically capture our experiences into our journals with organized writing exercises. Some pretty fun results have come out of it and we thought we'd share the pictures that come up in our minds. Enjoy!


One Day. . . (from Suzi)
Early morning sit, roosters sharing airspace with crackling speakers blaring something in Lao. Walk on bustling street, matching khaki slacks and Patagonia shirts. Assault by Akha jewelry sellers, persistent with their handmade wares. Their earth-worked hands and aging eyes beginning to drop some finer detail. Red-black teeth and lips, eyes piercing, colorful traditional dress. Bicycles, cruisers, seats too short, or we're too tall. Maung Sing Market, babies on hips, women with produce: lettuce, tomatoes, chilies, chicken feet, intestine. Bags of rice, fire pit grilling meats. Basket backpacks with the days grocery list. Little boys being little boys, (universalizing the planet.) Dirt road takes our eyes to wooden huts on stilts.

Monk's robes slung over deck walls. Chicken cackling through the Yard. "Can I take your photo?" asked only by gestures. "No." shakes the head of a young Lao boy in hi orange gown, seemingly posed for the shot never taken. Women beating clothes in a slow moving stream. One finds money in a pocket of a skirt. Gardens enclosed by bamboo fences: lettuce, kale, herbs.

Dirt, dust, we ride on. One woman puts on a shirt after nursing her young. Hot sun, open fields. Melons covering vast spaces of land. Men giving men haircuts, girls brushing the long black hair of an elder. Boys on bikes, baskets, soccer game after a day of school. Cane sugar, cold, in a
bag. . . "Can I borrow your bike?" . . . with ice. Tomorrow's a full moon.

Part of our first day of trekking... (from Jared)
Breakfast, western, banana pancakes and eggs lead to a bumpy van ride out of town. Locals in open back mountain tuk tuks. Our air condition on high. New eyes here with a guide. Making rice noodles. Rice milled and boiled in a cotton bag. Pounded into a sticky paste, and crushed through a screen into boiling water. Pulled out with a stick, separated and dried on bamboo thatch. All machines the way they have been forever. Engineering from a simpler time.
School children laughing. Everywhere the same; smaller world then we think. Not shy for the camera. One brave boy says something to me and runs. The rest laugh - embarrassed, amused. More time in the van.

Began trekking near a river with naked children, brown and playing in brown water, giggle and run from us. Up and over a dusty mountain road. Hardly the virgin forests I imagined. Old world slashed and burned to supply China. Sugar and rubber. The world as we know it lost without these. Banana leaf wrapped lunch; water buffalo with ginger, green beans, an omelet. Bare hands and sticky rice as utensils. The road keeps going.

Bare chested Akha women rest for their lunch. Breasts hanging from born children, lips and teeth a deep red from born tradition. Beetle nut. An hour and a half more they say, two hours later we pass through the spirit gate into the village. A young man bathing in a small stream. Lean and fit with these mountains. Attention focuses solely on us. First white people ever in the village. Feeling awkward...

They sit and watch us, we do the same to them. An intrusive camera always at our sides. A woman weaving her burial shroud in her traditional clothing and headdress. Not because she knows we were coming but because that is what the still do. I want to take so many more photos. Words will have to do...

More Photos

This page only allows 5 photos at one time. We promise, there will be stories to come.

Top to bottom:

• HMong children
• HMong girl
• Akha man with his child
• Akha women going to the fields (the women work the back breaking labor in the sun while the men stay home with the kids)
• Typical village housing
  

Photos of Laos Villages

This will be a brief one. These are just a few of the images of the villages we traveled thorough. There were a million untaken pictures, and even more unwritten words to describe what we experienced. After too much time of trying to document it all, we just let ourselves become a part of it. We did, however, spend some time doing some writing exercises to try and get to the heart of where we were. In the next day or two, we will come back and share those words along with some more images. For more pictures visit our Facebook pages. If you have a problem seeing the photos, just request to be our friends. We promise, we will accept you. Even if you have already looked through the albums, check again, we have added more photos.

From the top down:

• An Akha woman who hosted us for the night
• Typical village scene with animals having free roam
• kids running form the camera
• laying out freshly pressed rice noodles on a bamboo "screen to dry"
  

A Dialogue

by, Suzi and Jared

After a much needed month of independent adventures, team Suzi and Jared are back! We met up on March 3rd, where I had to lie my way past security at the airport to meet Suzi at the baggage claim (lovingly greeting me with sweaty palms.) We then immediately hopped a train to Chiang Mai (after being bestowed many gifts that Jared picked up along the way.) It was nice to be back to the noise, dirt, street food, and begging baby elephants in evening rush hour.

We jumped on the train with a mere moment to spare. Packed with a bunch of drunk backpackers, ordering buckets of assorted beers and liquors, it seemed like the perfect venue to reconnect after such a long time. Good thing that we could close the curtains on our smaller-then-twin-sized-bed and exchange stories of hour long meditations, nutritional therapy lectures, emotional yoga moments, near-misses in crazy Thai traffic, Brazilian super models, and Bangkok brothels. At some point, I thought i heard one of the European tank-tops run to the bathroom to let loose his bucket in time. After 16 hours on our scheduled 12 hour ride to Chiang Mai, Jared and I bounce off the train, into a tuk-tuk, and whiz off to a cheap guest house in the heart of the backpacker district.

Thursday morning found us in the back of a truck with 5 European travelers making our way to first a local market then a farm to learn how to cook Thai food. At the market were pigs feet and fish sauce, a dozen varieties of rice and the slaughter of live fish to order, fried chicken feet and cell phone stores, Suzi with a mouthful of some unknown Thai fruit. Tommy, a 23 year old Thai guy, was quite the impressive teacher as he walked us through rows of palm and papaya trees, lime bushes, ginger, cilantro, lemongrass, eggplant, basil, and pineapple. Jared was awarded with many smiles and giggles as the other members of the group affectionately listened to him stumble over his eagerness to continue to learn Thai. Really, I just made more of a fool of myself then anything, and caused us all to eat 20 minutes later then our scheduled time. But at least i learned important life lessons... like how to say ginger in Thai (which I've already forgotten.)

Making curry paste (from scratch, with a mortar and pestle!!!), soups that were always too spicy for Suzi, noodle dishes, spring rolls, and some weird coconut milk desserts. We could hardly eat just the beginnings of it all, let alone the leftovers 2 days later. After having spent all this time in different kitchens, I couldn't break my old habits and had to be told countless times to"Keep the pan on the heat and use the metal spatula like Thai way!" Tommy ordered. Bob and Cathy, the 'Jared way' didn't really work out for him this time. After a long and hot day in the kitchen, it was back to the room for a nap.

So much more has happened, and so much more to come, but for now we will leave you in suspense while we cross into Laos tomorrow. The plan is to be there for two weeks before returning to Northern Thailand and then on to Nepal. Until next time....

Concrete Heat Waves

A constant heat, waving me down from this Bangkok concrete landscape. Skytrains and subways, a market with 10,000 stands, always street food. Playing mandolin with a Thai bluegrass band on the street. Supermodels and movies. Stray cats wandering into 7-11 coolers. Massive amounts of people everywhere I turn. I am getting ready to leave this city once again.

Since coming back to "town', I have spent my days waiting for Suzi's arrival from Yogaland trying to get cheap dentistry and wandering into the city, getting intentionally lost. I have found myself at an indoor rock climbing wall in the center of a mall. A Chinatown maze of markets selling pellet guns, used tools, black market porn, toothbrushes with no wrappers, and children's toys. I even spent all of last night playing dice and cards with some Brazilian supermodels in their apartment. Speaking broken Portuguese, dancing to Samba, laughing a lot, a foreign country inside a foreign country. Even in sweat pants they are that beautiful; the men and women.

To add to all of this, I was able to run into yet another friend from Alaska who is living here training Maui Thai boxing. Another couch and a hot shower. Movies and popcorn. A great overall visit.

I meet up with Suzi in a few hours from now. Excited to say the very least. It will be good to have a cribbage partner again. We are catching a train to Chaing Mai this evening. From there we have a few days before we need to make a visa run. Plans constantly evolve. For now, Northern Thailand and a trip South through Laos are on the agenda for the next month. After that, Nepal is cresting on our horizon. Always exciting when at the mercy of the unknown.

Climbing Up North

As Suzi finishes off her training and testing, I have been testing myself through yet another part of this country as I'm (you guessed it), climbing. Charlie and I have been in Chiang Mai area for a few days now climbing in one of the coolest areas I have ever climbed. The grades are honest, but best of all, the crag is clean. There is a really neat company in Chiang Mai who manages the area for free, builds shade areas, provides free water so as to cut down on plastic bottles piling up, makes trails...etc. However the coolest part of it all is where we are staying.

Just a few Kilometers away there is a home stay/bungalow place. My Thai is getting a bit better, and our hosts speak next to no English. Needless to say, there are lots of impromptu games of charades, like every time we try and communicate. They cook us three meals a day (which we never order, they just make us really great food), and even deliver lunch to the climbing area for us. All said and done, room and board, Thai lessons, and really amazing hospitality costs about $7.00 a day.

We have taken a rest day in Chiang Mai today and are back out to the home stay soon. So great. No Internet, no distractions, early to bed, early to rise. A few days more and then we fly back to Bangkok for a few days before I see Suzi again.

I have realized that it is quite a pain in the rear to upload photos on to blogspot, so I have instead loaded most of my Thailand pictures on to facebook. If there is anyone that wants to see them, you should be able to log on with out having to be approved by me to see them. However, if you need me to approve you, then I will okay you as my friend and you can go on to my profile into my photo section and see the photos there. There are a lot of them. For all you parents that don't know how to do this, ask your kids, they will help you. Until next time...

A Morning of Yoga

Morning asana practice in the Chala
Mysore Style Yoga (meaning we all do the poses in our own time and the teachers come around and adjust accordingly.
Student from Jackson Hole, WY with her coffee enima bag hanging in her closet, waiting for her morning colon coffee high.
A view of the ocean-front salt water pool and herbal steam room.  Yeah, I know, I'm roughing it.  

I thought I'd throw in some more pictures for you all.  I was hoping the asana practice photos would be more telling, but, alas, they're not. Ashtanga is traditionally done in a "mysore" style.  Mysore is the name of the place it originated in India, and it means doing the sequence of poses in the silence of our own breath in our own time.  It's a really powerful way to practice, moving with our own breath and the energy of the other students.  Four teachers float through the room giving guidance and adjustments where necessary.  I have learned more than I bargained for, and without getting heady about any of it, have traveled more internally than I ever could on foot.  A journey of a lifetime!