oh brave new world that has such people in it

I’ve been back in the States a week now. In a lot of ways, it’s like never having left. I’m getting used to living with my parents and around the extended family. My brother, his girlfriend, and her two young sons are living in the basement but are more like ghosts in the attic. I spend most of my time in front of the laptop screen with the part time jobs and looking for more.

This quote I thought was particularly fitting:

“‘Oh yes. The important thing about having lots of memories is that you’ve got to go somewhere afterward where you can remember them, you see? You’ve got to stop. You haven’t really been anywhere until you’ve got back home. I think that’s what I mean.’”
– Twoflower, The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

And so, I guess it’s time to go get mixed up somewhere else.

So, I realize I’ve been horribly remiss about updating in the last couple of weeks. I guess you could blame it on having fun, staying busy, and being lazy. I have more respect for travel bloggers now than I’ve ever had.

That being said, this won’t be a real post either. Due to poor pre-planning, I have an air ticket from Kunming back to Beijing to fulfill on Feb 16. If I would have been thinking, I would have made the return ticket from somewhere like Bangkok so I didn’t have to retrace all my steps. In all I’ll have gone about 800 miles, 1300km, by bus in a week. But, it can always be worse. I could have been stuck in Bangkok for the last week . . .

Tomorrow, China.

Attended an all-day Thai cooking class today. Cheap? No. Worth it? Totally!

And it’s true. Like a python who just swallowed an entire deer, I think I’d prefer not to eat for a couple of more months. It’s a happy kind of full, though. I can’t remember the last time I ate this much good food. And the best part is, it was all surprisingly easy to make!

They gave us a choice of three dishes for each course, so the following were my choices. First, stir fried thick rice noodles with chicken

On to green curry paste and curry and, while that was simmering, cashew chicken.

From there we made fresh papaya salad and dtom yum goong, prawn and coconut milk soup

Finally, fried bananas with coconut toffee

Will I cook for you when I see you again? Absolutely! Will I share mine. . .probably not.

This brief traveling stint has awakened a whole new world of possibilities to me. I can see just how people get hooked on this life; it’s so easy, so effortleess to imagine working online, a literal world of possibilities.

And I’ve met many such people who just travel for months, years. The dreamy, feral artists, for example. Dali especially was a haven for them. They crash from couch to couch, performing and creating for their dinner, their eyes glassing over a bit when they talk of home.

Then there are the business people, entrepreneurs who follow the money, acting as middlemen, tour guides, franchaise owners. They see the opportunity and snag it. There’s no suitable guesthouses in Jinghong? And before you know it, they’ve signed a 10 year lease, only to set it up and move on. More money than they know what to do with.

You also get the people who travel because they don’t know what else to do. Lost souls, hoping, praying that this trip will reveal their life’s purpose to them, not really realizing it was in them all along.

Of course, these are just the tip of the iceberg, the adrenaline junkies, short-term travelers, and save-the-world types are around as well.

Then there are the people you hope to meet while traveling alone, the ones you instantly feel at home with. Seasoned enough to have understanding, yet open enough to not be jaded. I’ve met a few of these people along the way, some I’ve managed to keep in touch with, some I regret not sharing my information with because they disappeared as quickly as they came. Shannon introduced me to a few such people tonight, and because of that, Chiang Mai will always feel like a haven for me. It’s tempting. . . so very tempting.

One of the most magical things about Luang Prabang is the Buddhist monks. Laos boys traditionally spend up to 4 years studying as a monk. They spend their days praying, meditating, and attending school. Schooling is free for these boys and many of them have quite strong English abilities.

The main school in Luang Prabang serves the city (a dozen or so temples inside of it) and the surrounding countryside. We were told up to 800 boys attend school here.

Every morning in Luang Prabang the monks form organized lines and go through the city, barefoot, with food bowls,and collect food for the day. We spoke with a young waiter who had finished his time as a monk only a few months ago. He told us they wake at 3:30am, pray, conduct alms at dawn, eat, attend classes until midday, then have lunch. They’re not permitted to eat after noon. Classes again in the afternoon and then prayer and meditation in the evenings. The ex-monk we spoke with said he liked the life very much and missed it. He’s working now to save money to go to university.

I woke one morning and attended the alms ceremony. They sell sticky rice and bananas on the street, although the monks can eat anything they’re given. After my rice ran out, I ducked out of line and snapped a couple of photos. The whole process made me feel very uneasy and guilty. It felt more like a show than a sincere, peaceful event. Tourists crowded and chased the monks, snapping photos. It was clear the monks didn’t like the photos, but nothing could be done. As far as it was explained to me, the monks were told if they stopped, the city would just pay young men to dress up in saffron robes and do it anyway. It’s too big of a draw for tourists.

Some of the monks I’ve seen are very young, maybe only 7 or 8 years. The ones who have spoken to me have a quiet, confident aire about them, very emotionally mature for their age. There’s already depth in their eyes. The service seems to have this affect on all of them.

The disgust and hostility some of them feel towards the tourists is clear on their faces sometimes, though. I’m sure it would get tiring very quickly, the endless cameras pointed at you, the staring.

Girls have no such option. Girls from about 10 on seem to work in stands or shops around the city, many of them supervising on their own while their mothers do other things. A friend and I were eating breakfast one morning when she motioned to a girl, maybe 12 years, organizing shawls at a stand. “Come back in 10 years and she’ll probably still be here,” she said, “manning that same stall.” And it’s true. Education is available here for 12 years, but I’m not sure how it relates to these girls who work.

Stopping in villages, the education system seems even more lax. In one we stopped in, probably 50 children were running wild, they seemed to far outnumber the adults present. They followed us and chanted for us to buy their handmaid bracelets and scarves, the words running together in such as way it was clear they were only a memorized string.

That being said, I think Laos children are some of the most cheerful, carefree, and beautiful I’ve ever seen. They’re constantly playing, their laughter like tinkling bells.

We arrived in Luang Prabang three hours late, after two flat tires and miles and miles and miles of hilly, bumpy roads. As I was hanging half off the back of a tuktuk being taken into the main part of the town, I contemplated what the hell I was doing in Laos.

I tagged along with three Israeli girls as they searched for accommodation but luckily found dormitory-style beds for a reasonable price. Not 10 minutes after I arrived a young woman walked in, put her pack down, and asked if anybody wanted to go for a drink. Yes! Please. So we went out, perused the night market, grabbed a bowl of noodle soup and a beer, and life was god again.

This morning we took a walk along the Mekong then checked out the palace. Pretty incredible stuff.

Afterward we climbed up to a monastery, young monks dressed in saffron-colored robes were everywhere. In addition to being a monastery it’s also a school for some 800 boys in the area. It’s clear most of them didn’t like the prying tourists, cameras at the ready, and I can completely understand why. It’s so difficult not to take photos, though, they look so picturesque and unique.

We walked around town, enjoying the afternoon and then went back up to the monastery for sunset.

Tomorrow or possibly the next day we’re looking into taking an elephant trek and kayaking trip. Super excited about that!

I awoke this morning around 7:00 to blaring public loudspeakers and a pounding head cold. I waited around, dozing, to a more reasonable hour and headed down to a local stall for a cup of thick, strong Laos coffee.

I spent most of the day just wandering around town, up and down the main street and through the residential areas. Laos is a curious mixture of old, wooden stilted houses and more modern, colorful buildings in a vaguely French style. Parts of the city remind me a bit of the French Quarter in New Orleans. A bit.

Stray dogs and children are everywhere. The dogs startled me at first, but most are chill. I get the occasional warning bark, but once I move far enough away they go back to sleeping. The children are curious and shy, but after a few seconds, surprisingly friendly. “Sabaidi!” they shout, wave, and giggle uncontrollably. It’s very cute.

I watched a man fell a palm tree. The afternoon’s entertainment for all the neighbors as well.

It’s also quite warm here in the afternoons. It makes me very glad I’m visiting in winter and not summertime. The afternoon demands a rest in a shady place and some ice-cold fruit. Quite a change from the frozen Dali hillsides.

I booked a bus ticket to Luang Prabang for the morning.

7 hour journey to Luang Namtha today. We crossed the boarder and I got my Laos visa with no complications. Not really knowing what to expct, I took an Australian’s advice on a room for the night; my first room to myself since leaving Beijing. It feels strange to be “really” traveling now. Traveling in China is something, but still comfortable somehow as I know basically what to expect and how to get around. Laos is a whole different animal. I’m having trouble accessing money in my Chinese bank account, having flash backs to when I first arrived in China, and I stuipidly don’t remember my international card’s PIN number, having used it mostly for online cc transactions over the last few years. So, I exchanged US Dollars in a less than well-lit shop for a surprisingly good exchange rate, 1 to 8000, and now feel satisfied with some Kip in my pocket.

Luang Namtha is a little more than one main street. I’m thinking of catching the 9-hour bus to get down to Luang Prabang tomorrow, if nothing else to get away from this extremely annoying Australian!

I had every intention of going to the elephant park, but after hearing varied rumors that they possibly abuse the animals and make them perform in shows, I lost my taste to go. Instead I took a bus to Mengyang, about half an hour away, hoping to see the elephant-shaped banyan tree.

I woke late and was there by around 13:00. I talked to a bengbeng driver outside the bus station to see if he had heard of the tree and if it was far. I couldn’t get a straight answer from him, but assuming the tree was outside of town and having no idea where to begin, I boarded his vehicle and was driven the 500 or so meters to the “famous” tree. What a letdown. Again, no photos, but if I can get to a decent computer somewhere in Luang Namtha, I promise to update this post with visual content. Suffice to say, you really have to squint and turn your head to even imagine an elephant. But, I was glad to get out of Jinghong for the day.

I wandered about the main streets of the town, dodging piles of trash, stray dogs, and wide-eyed people. Evidently I was the afternoon’s entertainment. 45-minutes or so later I jumped back on the bus bound for Jinghong. I had half a mind to go back to Manting Park but I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going and got lost somewhere along the road. Late afternoon rolled around and I headed to a familiar cafe for a beer. Tomorrow, Laos!

Departed at 18:00 on 18 January on the overnight sleeper bus to Jinghong. I heard horror stories and was dreading the 15-hour trip south. I found, however, that not only was it fairly comfortable, I could actually sleep. There were two layers of bunks, which were situated so that your feet went underneath a raised solid portion that the other person put their head on. I won’t say I slept well, but by the time I woke up, around 6:00 on 19 January, there was a hint of dawn and palm trees outside the window.

I headed for Mekong Cafe, on recommendation from Michael, the Frenchman I met in Lijiang, and asked around for dorm-style accommodation and they suggested Dou Dou. I won’t say it’s great, I wouldn’t even say it’s ok, it’s just a bed. The lobby/check in area is inside somebody’s bedroom, the same somebody who refuses to speak with me in English although I know she’s able, and who’s mood swings are as variable as springtime in Beijing.

I wandered around town today, to the Tropical Botanical Gardens and Research Center, a waste of 15RMB, east to Peacock Lake, which is a little more than a puddle, and south to Manting Park, where they were having some kind of “traditional” sing and dance show for 160RMB that I wanted nothing to do with. So, today has been pretty much a wash.

Jing Hong itself gives me a strange feeling. I’ll be walking down a street that’s decidedly Chinese, then turn a corner to reveal a Thai-style building or temple. China. Not China. China. Not China.

I’m going to try and head to the Sanchahe Nature Reserve tomorrow, where they’re rumored to have wild elephants, although my hostel host was reluctant to divulge how to get there and I have a feeling she may have given me incorrect directions out of spite or boredom.

I really wanted to post photos but there’s no computer available at my residence and the one at the nearest cafe doesn’t seem to want to recognize my camera. Next time I do one of these trips I’m brining a Netbook!