Ailment # 5562...this poor vessel(Megan)

Yesterday Corey and I decided that it would be a great idea to rent bicycles and find out a little more about Pai (mountain town on the north of Thailand, near Myanmar). It started out like any other bike ride…cows of all shapes and sizes and smells, a wat (temple) with a drunk Thai man and a monk giving us sign-language interpretations of the story of the Buddha with the hollow steaming water head…you know, the usual. After breaking a sweat heading up to the mountains we were relieved to realize that the New Year celebration starts early here. For us, it meant getting soaked with buckets of water and having a flour-water mixture wiped on our faces about every 100 feet. The kids absolutely love this holiday, and who wouldn’t…it’s a nation-wide water fight! The bike continued high up into the mountains until we finally reached the waterfall. It was one of those amazing waterfalls with many tiers, allowing you to slide down into a pool of water. So amazing. On the way back down from the waterfall we felt elated and were enjoying the ease of the descent and praising ourselves for coming up the steep mountain. I was being silly and telling Corey about a dragonfly I had just seen face-planted into the ground when I slid forward on the bike seat. I tried to brake, but the quality of the Thai bicycles are not quite the same…brakes were bad and the bike weighed almost nothing. The brakes slammed and I went straight over the front of the handle bars, the bike coming up behind me and flipping over my head. I found myself in quite a state of pain…shoulder and elbow bleeding and pounding, legs and knee and hip scraped all up, and a huge purple palm with a throbbing wrist to match. Corey was there to join me in a rant about the quality of bike and how surely I was not the clumsy one…starting to think that all of the scars I am acquiring tell a different story. Wow, get me the hell down the mountain. Meanwhile, the kids are still there to soak us with water, which now makes my wounds sting like an iron. Still, at least we were biking by a field of sunflowers and Corey immediately gave me a cold beer to settle the score

Life in Pai (Jordan)

After just one week in Thailand I have yet again fallen in love with a new country. Bangkok introduced me to the essence of Thai culture; markets full of fresh herbs, juices, steaming curries, flowers, and fish, endless golden wats (temples) cover the city and bald monks draped in bright orange robes spend their days on the path to enlightenment, neon signs saturate the famed Khao San Road where all the backpackers convene, sex tourism is overtly visible and I had to learn the hard way what a “ping-pong show” really is, and humidity has taken on an entirely new meaning for me. But all the while in this maze of culture and stimulation peace and harmony shine through with clearly the most wattage.

Four days was plenty of time in Bangkok before we were ready to head up North to the mountain village of Pai. We had to take an overnight bus from the city to Chiang Mai. Sleeping pills and DVDs helped the 12 hour ride breeze right by. The second part of the trip, a 4 hour shuttle up a winding road into the mountains was less than pleasant. As soon as we neared the village I felt a sense that I would like this place. Cooler air, less traffic, cheaper prices and an over all better vibe is what has attracted me to Pai. A scene of almost trendy ex-pats has taken over the night life scene, but the Thai culture still dominates in most other venues. We each have our own bamboo hut situated on the peaceful Pai river for a mere 4 dollars a night. My biggest decision of the day usually consists of whether to have red, green, or yellow curry for lunch.

Yesterday I spent the day riding an elephant bare-back and also swimming and playing with her in a river; climbing on her head, getting thrown off, sprayed by water with her trunk and hugging her around the neck, my body embracing this huge beast. What a highlight of my life! Tomorrow we will take a full day trek into the mountains to visit waterfalls and hill tribes near the Burmese border. The day after we will venture to a new city, Chiang Mai to celebrate the Thai New Year which is basically a massive water fight between millions of people. The celebrating has already started here among the village kids and it is impossible to walk down the street and avoid getting splashed with a bucket of water. I just had a Thai massage; was walked on stretched, cracked and rubbed by a tiny but strong Thai girl followed by the coldest, freshest squeezed orange juice I have ever tasted. After I sit in my river front hammock and read all afternoon I will join Megan and Corey for an evening yoga class. All in all, life couldn’t be much better right now.Until next time! Sewatdi pimaica, Happy New Year

Our time is Bali is officially coming to an end (at least for this trip). We have had some really amazing times here and met a huge number of characters. Meeting different people all the time really makes you think about how many life paths are available to every person. For instance: you could run an organic farm and restaurant in the middle of some rice patties, you could party your little dancing butt off on the weekends and be a “black light painter” during the week. You could travel the world going to backpackers camps and persue your inventions as a hobby (an adjustable desk with a hammock chair, multi-purporse travel shoes, a language bar...). You could research tourist places with a group of Dutch students. You could divorce your wife and devote your life to teaching Raja yoga meditation.You could sell jewelry overseas, sell all of your possesions and pick up a new talent, like learning to speak 6 languages or learning to play guitar and surf. You could sit in front of your sticker shop and do absolutely nothing. My point is, there are so many options and lifestyles in the world. Traveling allows you to meet people who each seem to have something new and interesting to offer. Every person that we talk to shapes our trip not only through our experience of converstaing with them, but they also guide us in some way; offering advice, setting examples, or changing our perception.
Jordan and I have had quite a few instances of having to defend America or the American people. It is really astonishing how few Americans we have come across while traveling. Time and time again people are surpirised to hear “America” when ask the standard travel question :”where are you from?”. People from all around the world act differently towards us because of where we are from. Mostly, we choose to avoid talking about the war with people, because both of us are so against it and people think that we are just saying that we are because we think that is what they want us to say and then it just starts a huge mess. However, here is a quote from the book that I am reading that summarizes some of our thoughts about the current government: “How long this present order, based on an absurd idea of castes, will last is not within my means to answer, but it's time that those who govern spent less time publicizing their own virtues and more money, much more money, funding socially useful works” (Che Gavara).
Hmmm, enough about that. We have been attempting to surf. Once on a reef break in the middle of the ocean...the currents were too strong and we were defeated. Yesterday I gave in and had a surf lesson in Kuta. It was a mellow beach break and this time the board I was using was actually big enough, so I actually caught some waves. It is so amazing to be in the ocean and be able to ride on those powerful waves. Missing all of our friends and family a great deal!