Fabulous Thailand

My second day in Chiangmai and the retail therapy, spa experiences* (oh boy, more on that later) and lack of dust have helped the culture shock rapidly vanish.

When I first landed in Bangkok, I felt as disoriented as I predicted I would feel when being back in the States. Where is the dust? I know it exists, where did they put it? Everything is so easy! Everyone looks so well off and it's not fair to the people who aren't! I better remember that I can't throw orange peels on the ground anymore!

Well, I'm not sure how much of that was culture shock and how much was being dazed and amazed that I made it here on schedule at all.

Because, SURPRISE! Guess who gets food poisoning on their last day in Nepal.

Guess who almost misses their flight because I can't move or get out of bed.Guess who spends an hour throwing up on the airplane AGAIN. Sound familiar? Sounds like last year!! Maybe it's a physical reaction to culture shock.

Anyway, it was a 24 hour thing once again, maybe I just have a physical reaction to impending culture shock, WTF.

Landed in Bangkok, got driven in a car with seat belts to my $24 hotel which had AIR CONDITIONING, 24 hour electricity (no more load shedding woo), a balcony with a view, free water, and a pristine bathroom. I got in t 8:50 PM, admired the view briefly out of my balcony and made the executive decision that I was not going anywhere except sleep. So I took a lukewarm shower, marveling at the fact that I wasn't freezing and the cool ish water felt nice, and passed out in my bed, briefly reflecting on the fact that I was eyebrows-to-the-sky psyched to be sleeping without a wool hat or long sleeves for the first time in months.

Flew to Chiangmai the next day and was still totally dazed when I met up with Chris. After mailing the rest of my warm clothes home from the airport, we managed to stuff both of my huge backpacks and two people on a motor bike and headed to his wonderful home. I got to meet Tingting, went out to lunch with some people, and then my spa adventures began.

I am walking down the street looking for a pedicure or maybe leg waxing, something a normal person would start with when transitioning from four months of long pants to a less conservative beach culture. But noo, I happen to sign up for a Brazilian wax at the first place I get a good vibe from. Dear bikini and beyond, here's some scalding hot wax followed by hair ripping by the follicle, WELCOME TO THAILAND! 

The whole thing took about an hour, done by two female staff. I could have definitely stayed for a back or foot massage after but left as to not have them think I was flirting with them or looking for special services.

I decided then that I would never do it again, but my memory is quickly fading and I am thinking it was not quite so bad. 

The pedicure is still on the list.

Today I spent a couple of hours at immigration then found a fabulous cafe with a fast, free computer, and now I am doing research on dating and romance in Thailand for my presentation. Fun?

Other activities have included buying shoes and failing to meditate for three days now.

Dear Self-Improvement, how have you been replaced with Bridget Jones-esque motives so quickly?

KTM solo

Woke up at 6 today, moved out of my lovely room, and got dropped off at the tourist bus park to begin my journey to Kathmandu. The 'conductor' wanted to sell more tickets so he had me switch places with a little kid whom he asked to sit up front near the driver. Well, the kid lasted all of ten minutes there before he came back and crammed into the seat next to mine in his sister's lap, so being the good samaritan that I am, I offered to take shotty. BEST DECISION EVER. Sort of. Had the best view and got to chill with some Nepali trekking guides instead of being subjected to the mind numbing conversations the large American tour group was carrying on in the main part of the bus. Got to make faces at the two adorable little girls who got on the bus later. The bad part? Being mad creeped on by the younger of the trekking guides, who WOULD have something going for him if he did not say that since I like kids so much, we can get married and make babies. OK buddy, a little forward? I've known you for 20 minutes, now? Anyway, got off the bus and got a room in the guest house I really wanted in Paknajol. No idea why I was craving this guest house which is sans hot water and was totally locked by the time I got back from dinner, so I had to climb over a somewhat sharp edged fence. Adventure? But it's cute and the blanket is incredibly warm and I got a home vibe from the manager, so I'm really psyched to be staying here. The first thing I did after checking in was get lost in literally a 400 meter stretch of Thamel for close to 2 hours. If you've been to Ktm, you'll understand that while this requires a lot of talent, it is not impossible. What a lesson in patience to keep from screaming, 'I DON'T WANT A FUCKING RICKSHAW!' every five minutes when I was offered one. I met some super cool kids from Taiwan and joined them for dinner with some live reggae music, then made a boy from Delhi help me find my hotel, followed by aforementioned fence climbing. Also, the ABC extra stout beer I tracked down at a grocery store is as close to a Guinness or Rogue as I could dream in this country. So yes, the day turned out OK. Now what awaits me is likely an hour long walk to the airport tomorrow (maybe two hours if I get lost again, FML) because of the strike! We will cross that bridge and dusty roads when we get there. Good night!

I'd like to change the world, it's easier than changing me

Four more days left in Nepal, then I get to complain about the heat instead of the cold! Woo hoo!
Mana, Liana, and her brother Alex were visiting this week and we did the Ghorepani Ghandruk loop again (no guide this time.) No spontaneous base camp trip, either. It snowed on days 2 and 3, while days 1 and 4 were warmer. We found a spectacular lodge in Ghandruk with a huge porch and PIPING hot water.

Said bye to the friends today, finished Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, spent two hours doing various Internet errands and still going strong. Darn California grad schools holding out on admissions decisions, ahh! That is not a valid complaint as some application deadlines have not even passed yet, but it feels like worlds and ages since I have applied. Oh well, not knowing is keeping my stateside plans as up in the air and exciting as I intended them to be.

I felt good today, different. Kind of like soon the ways I've changed will be revealed to me, and I have a good feeling about this upcoming revelation. Or maybe it is the opposite - I already feel different and it makes me happy that I can see it tangibly.

Not sure how, though.

I think the biggest lesson I am coming away with is that people are everything. Surround yourself with good people. Build lasting relationships. You need good, loving people like you need food - it is nourishment, it is everything. But don't subject yourself to toxic people. It is better to fast than ingest poison.

So I am just filled with so much love and happiness for all the new and old friends I have been fortunate enough to interact with. It was so wonderful to catch up with Mana and Liana - people you have known for a while and you can skip the small talk and just be. There is really nothing more valuable than family and good friends.

And let people be imperfect - let your friends, family, and loved ones be cranky every once in a while. Let them be unfair, lazy, tired, greedy, whatever. Humor them, help them, be patient, make exceptions. Then they will do the same for you. Your donation of unconditional goodness and the love you get back is all that makes the world go round.

Nepal and Electricity

My relationship with the Internet here goes like this:

Wake up in the morning. Have 2-3 hours before volunteering but usually no power. Try to go on the Internet. Wait 20 minutes for computer to turn on. Discover it does not have MS Word, Excel, or something else I need that day.

Go to another cafe. Wait another 20 minutes. Computer turns on. Go on the Internet. A wire is disconnected. Spend half an hour trying to figure out how to fix it.

Check email. Reply to one email. Get really excited about a side tangent (ex. Facebook, link in email, song lyrics) and disregard the rest of my Internet to-do list.

Then one of these things happens:
A-computer shuts down unexpectedly.
B-computer stays on, Internet is down for an uncertain amount of time.
C-cafe owner asks me to hurry up because the battery is running low.
D-I am already late for volunteering so I save everything to drafts and run off.

Evening time: I get off the rock around 4, shower, drink a beer, meditate, etc. Then it is dinner time. After dinner - sometimes there is power for an hour or so, but it is cold and I'm tired, so I go back to the room.

Anyway, in comparison to being online every few hours or so when I am in the states, I go online once every four days, if I am lucky and not lazy.

And by the time I finish my to do list, (by "finish" I mean do 1 out of 5 things on it), no time is left for Facebook stalking, blog updating, etc.!

Do not take this to mean that I am complaining in any way. There is SO much time in the day without the Internet!!

Anyway:
*Australian camp for New Year's - one day backpacking trip with Laura - gorgeous, peaceful, first time I did not stay awake until midnight since I was probably three
*Climbing almost every day the past two weeks - amazing, love love the girls, lake view, paradise!
*MANA is coming to Pokhara tomorrow!!! I barely ever meet up with Dartmouth people in PA, now I get to meet up with someone in NEPAL?! Clearly though, Nepal is a much more interesting place than PA so figures that Dartmouth people would choose that over the indistinct East Coast.

The computer is beeping ominously so I am sensing a power disruption soon. Let's see if I get a chance to save this before that happens!

My Times and Time Differences

Lumbini was.. peaceful. There is no other way to properly describe it. Maybe if you added sun and took out the piles of garbage and perpetual construction, it could be beautiful. Maybe if town had more than one restaurant and three meters of main street, it could be exciting.
But the way that it is now, the huge expansive lake, mysterious birds lazily flapping their wings, spread out monasteries with vague labels, it was very peaceful.
I can't say I would wish for a sunnier Lumbini experience, because the fog gave it a mythical air that hinted at something ancient, poorly understood, and somewhat removed from the everyday sphere of the typical tourist's experience.

What I CAN say is that I would never wish for a Lumbini experience without Judith. When you arrive somewhere at 4 starving and are finished dinner by 5, there is absolutely nowhere to go, it is freezing, empty, and getting dark, what can you possibly do except get drunk off Chai and whiskey, consume ridiculous amounts of desserts, do Sudoku and  Dutch word searches, and get in "ha ha moods" to tell jokes?
And how quickly can a peaceful isolated bike ride around a sleepy lake turn into a creepy empty journey if you are not with a friend?

Anyway, I can't complain about my Lumbini experience. I met up with an older couple from Oregon there, and we ended up splurging $33 each to take a private cab, not a public bus, back to Pokhara. The seven hour drive was much more pleasant without people trying to put crates of eggs in your lap, without fear of being puked on, and with unlimited stops for photo ops and bathroom breaks (and you know what an expert I am on road trip bathroom breaks.) So that was a fabulous Christmas present!

My transportation options for heading back to Kathmandu is a 20 dollar or 400 rupee tourist bus. Apparently both are nicer than the 600 rupee tourist bus we took to Lumbini (by "tourist" read: free cultural experience thrown in), but I am slightly skeptical. In any case, I am not flying.

This morning I got up at 4:40 to call a professor about potential for grad school research. Oh, excuse me, I got up at 4:40 yesterday morning and was staring at his number at 5:15 with the phone in my hand, JUST about to dial the digits, when I had a funny feeling. So I called my mother instead and asked her what day it was. YEAH, fun fact for you - when it's 5:15 AM on Thursday in Nepal, it is 4:30 PM on WEDNESDAY in Colorado in America. If you're still unclear about the definition of a time difference, waking up at 4:40 AM two days in a row will really help you understand it.

You know me and my masochistic love for mornings, so I am only a tiny bit better. How many hours there are in the day to read, stretch, meditate, and go for a walk while everyone else is asleep, the stars are bright, and the sky is fresh!

But now that is done and knock on air, wood, and your helmet, it went well. I briefly considered doing the Annapurna 50K on New Year's Day (yes, that K stands for kilometer.) The thing that will stop me is paying 150 Euros to do a run in shitty shoes without my Camelbak backpack and favorite technical clothes. If I am going to break the bank to do something miserable, at least I want to be well prepared in terms of gear etc. for it. And maybe train? A little? A tiny bit?
So.. next year? New Year's in Nepal with me anyway? The street festival and parades are really quite lovely!
I am even trying to get my mom to come out here for Christmas. As usual, there is something about leaving here that will break my heart, so I have to come back. And since I am never spending another Christmas without my family, my mother has to come. Just wait until I show her the photos of the handmade Tibetan rugs, and I think it's a done deal.
Happy 8AM here on Friday morning, enjoy your Thursday, silly time-different West people!

My Climbing Firsts

Oh yeah, in between cutting grass and poking at rocks with sticks this week I sort of had a first ascent? Harry had gone up the line using jumars earlier, but I was the first to lead this freshly bolted climb. Woo hoo!

Then today, I got to glue in a screw and attach a bolt to it after Harry had drilled the holes. Yes, at some point I will get a picture up here of myself pointing to the bolt I installed in the rock (with lots of instruction and hand-holding, of course) with some kind of touristy grin.

Tonight Laura and I are eating with Harry since he is leaving on Friday, and tomorrow I am off to Lumbini (Boombini? Bamboo? Lumbuni?!) with Judith, Harry's niece. Lumbini is where Buddha was born - look it up!

There is a chance this did not make much sense to anybody whose name I explicitly mentioned, but I've been told that I have a habit of using names out of context, so this is not out of character for me.

SUPARATRI!

Pokhara

I spent a good part of today and yesterday (welcome to Nepal, home of the 6 day volunteer work week) cutting grass and poking at sand and loose plants in the rock with a stick. I'm sure this is exactly what my father intended when he helped me pay for my Ivy League education.

Do you sense a hint of bitterness? Nooooo, I'm having a grand time being in the outdoors. In between helping Harry and Laura this afternoon, I had a good two hours hanging out at the top of a climb, watching the sun set over the lake, observing how much easier it is becoming for me to clear my mind after a whole 19 days of more-or-less pathetic attempts to meditate for 15 minutes every morning. And you know what? It's paying off a whole lot.

I could feel it in yoga class, when for once I could focus on my breathing at least briefly before my mind was somewhere else. I can feel it when it becomes so much more natural for my brain to enter the focused, relaxed, detached stage when I am looking at a gorgeous view. Watching the sunset today, I tried to think about it, but I had no words (thoughts), so I just <i>observed</i>. And I COULD just observe!

Matthiessen struggles with relinquishing the "I" throughout The Snow Leopard.  I cannot say that I felt like there was no I, but the ever-present I felt much more at peace and happy just.. observing, being somewhere, revolving in a world of beauty and sounds and trees and sunsets, than I am used to experiencing.

So there, I am learning a lot. And this* is all part of the learning. If you want to know the side note on the asterisk, you'll just have to email me.

Suparatri!