12/3/11

SAIGON....

been in saigon for six months now, thoroughly consumed in...
i love this city, i mean really love like nyc chicago love.. its a raw, badass town that doesnt take any shit, but at the same time is completely relaxed and glazed with a calm mellow vibe... saigon is about eating, coffee, life, seasons, and a beautiful simplicity not unlike indonesia...i came here completely broke with a goal of saving a lot of money and continuing my journey.. ive taught english 7 days a week, morning, noon, and nite for months now and im happy to report a travel budget of world conquest proportions.... but can i ever leave??????












8/9/11

20 DAYS ACROSS CAMBODIA...

Cambodia was pretty cool...


















8/4/11

Leaving Thailand.. 'Nuff respet to da king..

I think I can speak for all low budget cycling gypsys when I say THANKS to the KING for building these genius little pavilions along all of the highways.. They're perfect for sleeping, a hammock fits perfectly in all of them and they are usually elevated so there is only one entrance which is good for security, and they have roofs so you don't get wet.. It's like a free open-air hotel room every night! BRILLIANT!

7/4/11

10 Day Meditation...

I went to a small town a couple days ride east of Bangkok to take a silent meditation course that I'd heard about from a buddy in Indonesia. The course, including food and a small room to sleep, is free and ran entirely by the donations from past 'students', even the staff and teachers do not get paid. It's called Vipassana meditation and is a technique that dates back some 3000 years.. It's taught by a very old Burmese-Indian man named S.N. Goenka, who comes across as a very kind, wise, and objective person.. The ten day course takes place in a most beautiful setting surrounded by forest, a lotus-filled pond, and a wonderful silence. Well not really silent because of all of the animals and insects, but when you enter you take a vow of silence (you're not even to make eye contact with anyone in order to create the feeling that you are alone) and agree to eat 2 meals per day, one at 6 and one at 11, and also you must follow a strict meditation schedule which begins in the meditation hall at 430am and ends around 930pm.. That's a LOT of meditation. You might think it would be easy to sit, straight backed and legs crossed, for hours and hours, but it is anything but easy. I particularily struggled the entire course with the posture, but by the 7th day or so it wasn't so much a distraction to my meditation, and I now have a profound respect for monks and their inhuman sitting abilities...

As for the technique itself it's really very simple, it's just sitting still, eyes closed, and focusing all of your conscious attention (and ideally sub-conscious, although it is very difficult) on very small, subtle sensations and feelings that your mind would normally never notice, well consciously at least... The point of this, theoretically, is to sharpen up the senses and the mind to constantly be aware of the most subtle, atom-vibrating sensations and remaining objective at all times; that is to say: You don't develop craving for pleasant sensations, and you don't develop hatred for uncomfotable or painful sensations. You simply are to be aware, objective and aware of one simple truth, simply that the sensation exists, had a beginning, and will pass away... A fundamental truth in Buddhist philosophy applicable to all living and non living matter.

My course had about 20 westerners (most of which had already done several courses) and about 90 Thai people. Men and women are kept separate and you are to take a vow of complete sexual restraint (even when alone). Which, I concluded, is more or less impossible. I feel that this technique, naturally, would be more appealing to easterners than to westerners as it promotes a very passive state of mind that we (westerners) would often find an undesirable characteristic. However, I found it very interesting and I love the silence and the solitude, which I was already pretty used to. I will continue to practice and apply principles learned to my life. I look forward to doing another course, hopefully in Burma or India...

5/2/11

Bangkok...

As soon as I turned off of the highway and into the maze of streets I knew I was in a city that I loved. It's edgy, spicy, colorful and full of AMAZING street food. Bangkok is full of excitement and has everything I love about a big city. I spent my first 2 days wandering around eating and trying to talk to people in my horrible Thai. I found the world's coolest hostel (the overstay) that looks like an abandoned building in Brooklyn; it's filthy, covered in graffiti, and costs less than $2 a night.. I begin a 10 Meditation course (Vipassana) a day's ride east of Bangkok this week so my time in Bangkok might be short lived, which is a shame and I must return to properly explore this urban wonderland!









The bathroom door in my hostel, if I ever die I want this on my tombstone!

The road to Bangkok...

The road north along the Burmese border was pretty much flat, boring highway.. It's easy to cover 100+ miles a day like this but I would definitely prefer half the distance and twice the excitement! All in all it wasn't too bad with lots of roadside sleeping and smiles from the fruit vendors that line mile after mile of highway... Highlights were a couple really interesting cities like Prachuap Khiri Kahn and Hua Hin, which for whatever reason, I didn't take any photos of...





4/20/11

North through Southern Thailand...


Crossing into Thailand I was surprised that Islam was still the major religion in the very southern-most parts of the country. The further north i got, through the mountains, the more and more Buddhist it became and the less people spoke Malay (almost the same as Indonesian and my only outlet for communication as Thai is proving very hard to pick up). Things flattened out, and heated up, near the city of Songkhla and when my month of diarrhea turned into blood I was forced to seek medical treatment. My lack of communication ability and my desperate state resulted in me explaining my condition to a (very attractive) Thai nurse, in front of a waiting room full of people, by pointing out the word 'blood' in my phrase book and then motioning as though I were throwing something out of my ass! All the onlookers found this display irresistibly funny and I also couldn't hold back my laughter. Being from America I was afraid that my hospital trips were going to cost me a fortune, but the more I travel and require health care, the more I realize that health care in other countries is a service, not a business. And after 5 hospital trips, lots of antibiotics and other medicines, I.V. injections, and access to surprisingly good health facilities, I was charged a total of less than $15, a price that would have surely been in the thousands at the cheapest county hospital in the States. I can't help but wonder 'why is that?'