PoTD - Punakha's Shabdrung Thankha

While last in Punakha there happened to be a national holiday honoring Shabdrung, the unifier of Bhutan.  Punakha has a huge beautiful old thankha (tapestry) that they unfurl just for the day. It will only be out for a few hours and then rolled back up again.  It is believed that to touch it will clear your sins and gain you merit.  I wish I had known before as it would have given me a chance to do more bad things first before being cleaned. :)

PoTD - Yak Herders camp

On a later night drive from Gangtey back to Thimphu, we passed by some yak herders camped for the night. It was very beautiful to me. There were many yaks all around the area, grazing and sleeping and milling around. A small tent was set up for the herders and a little fire was there for cooking food and keeping warm. I couldn't think of a more simple life.  

A few minutes down the road we ran into two yaks fighting in the street. Horns interlocked and pushing each other they almost smashed into our car. It may not sound like much but the force from two such big animals would have caused serious damage to the car and possibly us. It's always great to see nature being so natural. :)

PoTD - Hardly Chinese

They call it chinese food, and authentic at that, but the two places in Thimphu that serve Chinese food are nothing close to any of the chinese food I've ever had in my life.  At Chopsticks, the more known local chinese food joint, they serve sichuan rice missing the key ingredient... sichuan pepper.  Now this wouldn't be a big deal as it's hard to get in most parts of the world, except the peppercorn grows natively here in Bhutan.  It was a huge disappointment for me, as a Jew I need to have chinese food every now and then... it's in my blood (well, sort of).  Alas, I think I will need to wait till next month when I leave Bhutan to have proper chinese food again (I'm looking at you BKK Chinatown)

PoTD - Another Big Buddha

The title says it all.  It's another giant Buddha.  I've seen a shit load in China, Japan, and even in Mongolia.  So this wasn't the high point of being in Bhutan but still always fun to see.  What's odd is this is more of a Chinese style of Buddha vs a Bhutanese one.

PoTD - YAK!!

Well, it's been over a year since I've been at high enough plateaus to see such a marvelous animal as the yak but on my way to Gangtey I came across a few of them just hanging around. I love yaks.  I find them to be very gentle and beautiful animals. The royalty of bovines, in my eyes.  Water buffalo are lovely as well, but in not such a majestic way.

Hello there, Mr. Yak!

PoTD - Another Amazing Sign (which i don't really understand)

I honestly don't know why they can't just say first officers mess.  Is there a need to add the information about the second?

PoTD - Think your job is bad?

You think your job is hard? Imagine being a migrant worker and being forced to hammer at stone to work on breaking it apart in order to make a "better" road.  You live in make shift tents by the side of the roads and are paid very little. Yet, you still smile a lot.  Something to think about the next time you're upset at work. :)

PoTD - Bitterheart

I saw this bumper sticker on the back of a truck the other day while waiting for a roadblock to clear and found it so to the point. Thought I'd share it with y'all.  Stay off the sweets :)

PoTD - First Snowfall

You can't really see it, but there is snow in the air here.  I was so excited as I hadn't seen snow in quite some time. Even though it was just a very little bit, I was like a boy in a candy store hopping all over the place while still sitting in the small cramped taxi.  It's the little things in life. 

PoTD - i love this sign

I love this sign. Every time I drive by it I laugh out loud. Poor English signs are always a good laugh but this one has something more for me.  What is the inconvenience they speak about? It's a mystery to me. The sign is on a clear road with no real signs of danger or of a traffic back up, yet for some reason they are regretful?  I don't know what it may be about, but it still makes me laugh and laugh.  

Don't have regrets, dear sign, you are forgiven.

PoTD - Bhutanese Astrology

A monk in Bumthang who specializes in astrology came to the lodge to read some of our horoscopes.  I don't believe in this and would never pay for such a thing, but when presented with the option for free and having really nothing to lose I figured... why not?  So I went and learned that 

I will die when I'm 70. 

In my past life I was a deity.

Next life I'll be a bear (unless I give merit to change this... but why would I change this? bears are cool!)

Will find true love at the age of 38.

In my life I will never be truly successful, but also never be unsuccessful. So I'll straddle the line but always be happy.  

I think I'm cool with all this. (though 6 more years for true love... gahhhhhh)

PoTD - My little masseuse

I wrote before about my short 64 year old masseuse, Ba Mon. Well I got a picture of her next to me to show you the difference in our sizes.  I'd like to remind you that this 64 year old, less than 5 foot tall lady, can cause immense pain into the muscles and energy lines of my body. Further proofing that size does not matter (which will make most asian men very happy to hear.)

I'll miss her amazing massages as well as her infectious laugh. She would always laugh so hard when I'd be screaming in agony (and a little pleasure), and she'd offer me tissues in case I wanted to cry and then laugh even more.  Godspeed, Ba Mon

PoTD - Bikeless

A hard part of moving is dealing with attachment issues and learning to let go of things. I had two cool bikes in Laos. There was my Minsk that I bought over a year before in Vietnam and then there was the push bike with the cool baskets.  But I can't take these with me so I had to sell them. And now I am vehicle less. Which is fine as I can't drive to Bhutan in any way, but I will miss my two cool rides and wanted to send a blog post in honor of them. I hope the new owners love them as much as I did.  

One last beautiful sunset in Luang Prabang

ok so in fairness I took this photo about a week ago, but with the slash and burn tactics in the jungles around town the sky is getting worse and worse that I'll have to settle for this as my last beautiful sunset over the Mekong.  What I planned to be 1 month in Laos quickly escalated into more… and now 11 months later I'm packing up and heading to Bhutan.  I've had an amazing time and and found myself in situations I didn't plan for. Making great friends, having a few doggie nephews who i love deeply, working teaching yoga for a top hotel and having their guests LOVE IT! (not to mention traveling to other locations with the company), finding a very cute and caring girlfriend, and, well… being here for so damn long.  But now as my time approaches I must leave it all behind… at least for now.

Today I couldn't find my japa mala (the string of 108 beads i wear around my wrist for prayers of a sort). I was looking hard for it and then resigned to the fact that it may be gone and time for me to move on. How fitting of a situation to find myself in when I am forced to deal with non attachment of my life here. My life, like my mala, is what it is. nothing more nor less.  when it's time to go, it's time and that is it.  And so I will work on my non-attachment and move forward.  though saying goodbye to people (and dogs) and a life you've lived for nearly a year is much harder than saying goodbye to a semi-sacred item of yours.

...and what of my mala disappearance. turns out my friend's sister some how got the mala placed into her purse before she left for Vientiane today. She said she'd mail it back to me but I think it more fitting for her to take it and use it and for me to move on and find a new mala. Further cementing this notion is that she just bought a Vietnamese buddha (which is very different than a Thai or Lao one) and my mala was bought in Hoi An, Vietnam last year. They belong together, and I belong wherever my new direction will take me.

PoTD - Missing Leon

What I may miss most about Laos is my friend Leon. I've written about him numerous times before and he's my go to boy for things. Well, go to dog. If I'm down he's there to support me. If I'm happy, I get even happier when he jumps up on me.  He'll see me coming and take off sprinting to hop on me, hug my leg (read hug, not hump). He's an amazing dog and we've spent so much time together.  Taking him on walks around town was a favorite past time of mine here.

I don't know if I'll come back or not. But if I do, I sure hope Leon remembers me. I can see myself coming back in 5 or 7 years and I see Leon. He pauses for a second, and then remembers me and comes sprinting after me for a hug.  It's a nice dream

A little side note.  the pup here was Honey, Ai Lit's (the neighbors) dog.  Leon loved being big brother to her and played so nicely. Sadly Honey died from a stomach bug related illness. We all really liked her and I was very sad for Leon and Lit.

PoTD - Nice Stache

Last month I went to the wedding of a friend of a friend of a friends. (something that is somewhat common in Laos)  While there I met this fellow.  He couldn't speak English nor me Lao but we bonded over facial here.  In a country (hell, a continent!!) where the men can't really grow any facial hair, this man was an anomaly... and he looked good.  It looked like a sort of Vietnamese mustache, but nope he was full on Lao.

In a small town where everyone knows each other, no one seems to know the mysterious mustache man. He just showed up out of nowhere and disappears, adding a little pizzaz into things.

A few weeks later I would pass him on the street and we spoke briefly (where you go? I go work) and then again he disappears from my life. At least we'll always have this moment together, Mr Lao Mustache Man.

PoTD - My Lao Kitchen

I don't have a kitchen where I live, at least not in a proper sense. No sink, or boiler, stove or range. Nope, none of the above. But I did go out and buy two essential parts of a Lao kitchen. A mortar and pestle and a tan fi (pronounced phai, it's a small charcoal stove) and a metal rack to use as a grill on top of the tan fi. I  haven't used it too much yet, only really made one grilled eggplant dish, but am hoping to do some more grilling soon and even make a big soup where I boil the bones down.  We'll see if any of that materializes. For now, I'm ok eating out a lot. 

 

PoTD - Little hands cause big pain

Meet Ba Mon. (Ba means auntie or older lady in Lao). Mon is a 65year old lady who was trained in massage many years ago and worked for the Lao Red Cross before getting too tired from all the daily massages and heading out on her own. A sort of rogue masseuse. She'll come to your place, give you an AMAZING massage and charges about $6.25usd an hour. She's a tiny old lady who will cause you SO MUCH PAIN. but in a good way. I'm getting a 2 hour massage every week from her now. And while it hurts sometimes during her work (excruciating pain while she opens up blockages in your sen, or energy lines) it also feels great the next day and after. I am finding myself more open and looser following sessions with her.  I'm flexible because of yoga but I always have tightness. But with her, the tightness is going away. slowly and painfully. It's all worth it, though. It's even funny in some ways. I'll tell her in my broken Lao that "I like you but i also hate you." Today she gave me a tissue and said in Lao "It's ok to cry if you want." And then laughed at me. We have a swell relationship and even though she laughs when she hits those points that send me into immediate convulsions, I laugh as well with her and it makes the experience all the more authentic.  I can get free nice glitzy massages from work, but I prefer to spend time with my Ba Mon. If you come to Lao, I'll get you a taste of her powerful little hands and elbows. :)

PoTD - Bucket Bath

While in Phongali I came across a kid too adorable to not take a picture of. A very simple (and cold) bath. How cute!

PoTD - My Man Leon

For those following my twitter, you've heard me talk about Leon quite a bit.  But who is this dog I keep referring to? Well, my friend left the country for a month and asked me to house and dog/cat sit for her. Not being the hugest fan of (and highly allergic to) cats I was pretty "meh" about that part but I love dogs so was excited.  Leon was a bit scared of me at first but slowly he grew to like me, then love me. And I grew to love him as well.  A very smart dog who is also beyond adorable, though a bit too playful at times.. Like when I'm in a rush and he wants to play and stay outside so will go run around the neighborhood.  But I know he means well. When I come home he hears my bike and starts banging on the door for me to let him out. As soon as that door is open, his yelping starts and he'll hop up on his two hind legs and give me a hug with the front two. It warms my heart every time I receive a Leon hug.  Some days his mom would take him to a store near where I work and he always comes running over to the door. One of the guys in the shop will say, "Hey isn't that the dog you used to watch" and I'll drop what I'm doing to go see Leon. A week or so ago Leon's moms car had some problems so she went to get help while Leon was with other people in the car. Well Leon, being Leon, hopped out to explore and then got lost. In a frantic state I was called to help look for him and of course I dropped all to go get that mut. After picking up mom, we headed out to where the car was and hoped to find him nearby. Well not even all the way there we found him. As I turned a corner, Leon heard my bike (a very distinct sound and one he knows well) and he popped out. Both relieved to find him and know he wasn't someone's dinner. 

Well, I'm back housesitting for one week, so I got my best friend back and I couldn't be happier.  I love this mut!