little note from tonggook, myanmar

Because the internet is so sparse and slow I won't really be posting things to the site until I get home.  I'm trying to keep a daily type of journal and will put it up with pictures when I can.  

Things are for the most part great in Burma.  The people very friendly and the landscape beautiful.  But a lot of travel is involved to get from place to place and it can be extremely draining. Throw in some intense heat and heavy constant rains and it makes for not the easiest of travels.  

I'm now in a small port town where I am hoping to catch the boat tomorrow to Sittwe. My plan is to go from Sittwe to Mrauk-U as it looks beautiful. However two main issues are as follows.  It's rainy season and the boat may not be going or it could capsize as the waves i was seeing in the south were pretty rough.  Secondly, there are culture clashes up around where I want to go and I'm not sure if it's open or how safe it is.  But something is driving me to go there, so off I hope to go....

I wrote the paragraph below for another day's journal but felt like posting it today as it's on my mind.  

I watched "Into The Wild" before going to bed and contemplated a lot of things.  Might I die in the next few days in a boat capsizing or during a riot up north. Am I a lot like the main character, escaping society of sorts by constantly traveling and trying to see the world as much as I can on my terms.  The book had a huge impact on me when I read it, and I'd be lying if I said that it didn't help put me on the path to leave my work and travel. It wasn't the catalyst, but it helped in my decision.  Thoughts rushed through my head and I missed home. I felt sad that my constant need to see more and do more put a strain and sadness on my parents who wanted to see and hold me.  I realized that I wanted to be home right now. In a comfortable bed, not being eaten alive by mosquitoes and ants. Very recently I really wanted to be home, to be done with this trip. I think somewhat because I've bought the ticket already and so the end date is close. But also because traveling the way I am in Burma can be very difficult and taxing. When things get tough we want to turn back instead of facing them. But too often we try to face things that we shouldn't just because we don't want to quit.  It's sort of a paradox within itself.  To quit is seen as wrong but to keep going into what we shouldn't go into is also wrong. So what is right?  Of course it's all personal and different and maybe I'm waxing too rhetorical here.  Anyways, the point is that as much as I'm trying to live in the moment. To be present and here. I also and excited to be home with the comforts of modern living.   

off to the military regime of Myanmar

Early tomorrow morning I will fly to Yangon to spend the next 28 days in Burma... I mean Myanmar.  I expect little communications with the outside world, though I know that there are some spots for internet.  I've been wanting to go here for years so am very excited to see what the country has to offer. I am more than excited especially for Bagan, that place looks AMAZING!!

I spent the last few weeks outside of Chiang Mai in a small Lahoo (Thai ethnic minority) village studying thai massage a bit more and I hope to get some pictures up soon before I head off.  If not, well.. you'll just have to wait.  Apologies for the lack of posts and pictures, but the village didn't have internet and then the last few days since being back have been a blur...

Wish me safe travels, lord knows I don't want to end up in one of their prisons... :)

The Black Village - Baan Si Dam

Being in Chiang Mai for a few days before my massage course started I decided to head up to Chiang Rai to see the White Temple and the Black Village. Both are considered sacred places but also are seen as art installations.

Nearly completely opposite from the White Temple is the Black Village. Though both are very beautiful, the Black Village is... well pardon the french... but fucked up. It's gorgeous and inspiring in many ways, but it's also so freaky. Apocalyptic in ways and there is the feel of someone who did way too much acid and saw some out there shit.

The main room houses an art gallery of sorts for mostly Thai artists but also from all around the globe. (or at least around Asia).  Almost like a taxidermist gone wrong, each house has bones or horns or skins/hides of various animals.  One thing I really liked about the Black Village was how tactile it was. You could get your hands on a lot of things and many rooms which looked closed off were actually open to be walked around in or opened up.

For me there was too much to really digest in just one visit and I don't think I even got to see every house/room. But what I did see I enjoyed. It's a must see for anyone in the area.

The White Temple (Wat Rong Khun)

Being in Chiang Mai for a few days before my massage course started I decided to head up to Chiang Rai to see the White Temple and the Black Village. Both are considered sacred places but also are seen as art installations. 

The white temple is a modernistic take on a classical thai temple but the insides have references to sci-fi and pop culture. (unfortunately you are not allowed to photograph the insides).  

The day I was there was one of restoration and repainting. In some ways this was a bummer as the work interrupted the flow of the place but it also shows how the work is constantly evolving and growing.  Not just on the outside, but also the inside was being repainted with new designs and icons on the walls.

I'm glad I finally got to see the White Temple (and the golden bathroom) as it was truly a beautiful and spiritual type place, even with the mass hordes of people taking photographs.

The Flight Out Of Bhutan

Well, it had to happen at some point.  My 2.5month contract in Bhutan ran out. So after finally getting adjusted and used to being in Bhutan, I was quickly and somewhat shortly whisked away back to SE Asia.  It was a little hard on the heart. I had finally made huge progress getting to know much of the staff and was getting to be on good familiar terms with many people in the country. Alas, that is the travelers life. I am fortunate enough to have gotten to be there at all.

The flight was a bit bumpy.  As the second photo shows, there were many points when you couldn't even see out the window as the clouds were so thick.  But we made it through ok, and arrived in a very different world of Bangkok.  It went from cold and clean air to hot, humid and dirty thick air.  From a small spread out population to a densely packed over populated area.

I will head north to Chiang Mai to do another massage course and will stay in BKK a few days just to get a Myanmar visa and see some friends in the city.  I look forward to the slower vibed, less populated and cleaner city of Chiang Mai.

The last photo is of Tashi, the flight attendant.  He was the first Bhutanese person I met on my flight in and also the last one I left on my flight out.  I saw him a few times in town as he was friends with my friend Kara, and also Bhutan is still small enough where mostly everyone in a town knows everyone else (or sometimes in the surrounding towns as well.)