Loi Kratong, English Camps Tour

Well, a few things have happened since I last checked in :)

Lanterns over Chiang Mai [click 2 enlarge]

First of all was the famous 'festival of lights'- Loi Kratong. For this festival, people get big paper lanterns and light a burning wick in the middle, and they float up into the sky. This is pretty cool with a few lanterns, and when there are hundreds being released at once the whole sky lights up. Its also traditional to write a message on the lantern, so I wrote 'to all my friends' (I know, its corny but I couldn't think of anything amazing).

Roman Candle at Chiang Mai

Another aspect of Loi Kratong is fireworks. Almost everyone has some kind of firework they are releasing, missiles, smoke bombs, roman candles, and even massive exploding rockets right in the middle of town. There was also a huge parade through the main streets of Chiang Mai, with floats and people dressed up in traditional Thai dress.

Helping a local student blow up his hand

Then the school I am living at- School for Life had a celebration of their own to celebrate Loi Kratong, they had a game where you had to float a lantern through a hoop suspended in the air, and then you would win a prize. There was then a cute lil show where all the boys and girls did some dances and some of them even did karaoke  Then we went down to a local festival in the nearby village and all the boys had a massive firework war and a rocket exploded right in my ear so I couldn't hear for the rest of the night, and I let off a skyrocket but it went wrong and exploded about a meter off the ground making everyone scream. It was really a cool night and just like most festivals, everyone gets together in good spirits and has a good time :)

Picture unrelated

A few days after that, the motorbike I bought started playing up a little. We weren't sure what the problem was but think it might have just been an impurity in the fuel tank because it has been fine ever since. So I left the bike in town while it wasn't working properly and rented one of the new fuel injected CBR 250s. It was a lot bigger and heavier than I was used to, and on the way back into Chiang Mai a woman did a u-turn right in front of me on the motorway (for some reason they have u-turns on the motorway in Thailand) and I didn't have time to stop and rammed straight into the back of her at about 60ks. Luckily I was completely fine, but the bike wasn't. My Thai aunt Bee pretty much saved me from having to pay all of about 50,000 baht (about 1.5 Australian grand) by convincing the insurance guy that it was the other driver's fault (which it pretty much was) so i'm really glad it all worked out in the end.

Helping out Thai students at an English camp

After that I started work with a company that runs English camps around Thailand for Thai students, called Dragonfly English Camps.
First I went to a small town called Loei, where I did my first English camp. Basically what we do is get all the students involved in fun English based games like treasure hunts, and they make a shop to sell things in English, and other cool things. The students really love it- after all its a lot more fun than school, and I get to travel around to new places and get free accommodation and food :)

Bangkok by night

After that I went for a daytrip to a place called Udon Thani and got stuck there for about 8 hours so I looked around the massive shopping mall and had some really bad crab-stick pizza.

After that I went off for 9 days to camps in Bangkok, Korat, Cha-Am and supanburi.

Korat was a fairly small town with nothing much to see apart from a few massive sugar-cane processing factories.

The 3 day camp in Cha-am was at a beach resort which was great because I got to go to the beach and swimming and we had an all you can eat steak buffet.

The camp after that was in a massive golf resort in Supanburi which even had a zoo with monkey's.
We also planted mangrove trees in a royal forest conservation project, saw King Rama 6's palace, saw a local tie-die tshirt factory and went to a butterfly sanctuary.

Some of the Dragonfly crew

Now it is Christmas time, and I am deciding what to do next in my little journey, after I leave Thailand.
I was initially planning on staying in Thailand for about a year and establishing myself here, but now I am thinking that I have seen and experienced so much that Thailand has to offer and I would like to see some other places as well. After I have been down to visit the south of Thailand with some friends from Australia, I will have pretty much done a round-trip of Thailand. Also, my tourist visa expires on Jan 7, so I will have to see whether I can do some visa runs to extend it or not. If I can't then I will have to leave earlier than expected. If I can, then I will probably stay until Febuary-March.

Butterfly Sanctuary

Now I am planning on living and meditating at a temple in Chiang Mai called Wat Roempeng. The head monk runs meditation classes there, and he wants me to come and learn there for a while, so I am thinking of staying there until about the 26th (presuming my visa will allow it) and then heading down south to visit some friends from Australia at Kopanyang for the infamous full-moon party. Also I'm growing a beard, so i'm not going to shave for at least a month and see how it goes, because why not?

Mangrove Forest

By then it will probably be time for me to
leave Thailand, and I will have to think about what to do next. I have some vague ideas- Teaching English living in Japan, working at summer camps (Starting May) in America (which I am applying for now), travelling working and partying around Europe (with my UK passport ;) and visiting a friend (Nicola) and making music in Italy- among other things. The three factors that I have identified to be absolutely necessary for travel are 1.A flight there 2.Visa/legality of stay 3.A means of sustaining yourself. Once the first two can be organised, the third is the only real challenge to face, and where the mystery and adventure of travel lie :)

Lastly, I wrote this little section about happiness-

1. Happiness

To put it simply, life is all about happiness. When your mind, body and soul are really in order, then you will be happy. Only recently have I begun to have real and profound glimpses into the deep, all-encompassing happiness that has been missing from my life for perhaps the last 2-3 years. The reason this happiness waned somewhat in my life can be attributed to a few externalities, but the only one real perpetrator here is myself, or rather my ego. Without getting too deep into the fundamentals of it, the fact is that I have been holding myself back from this state, at least for a little while anyway. And only now after having been travelling for a while, and really starting to examine myself and my mindset, I have started to access this deep well of inner peace. When I talk about happiness here, I don't just mean being content with the situation you are in, I mean absolute and complete happiness, the nectar of life that we can sample at any time. 

At the moment they are still only relatively short insights- I think they are described as 'peak experiences' by Maslow [http://alturl.com/zrkk9]. It is just a moment in time when you are totally content- and I beleive we were all born into that state. An examination of any normal child shows that. Whenever you try to hold onto or examine that feeling, you loose it because you are no longer living it, but rather examining it with your mind. But the fact that I am able feel that natural state of happiness at all gives me all the hope I ever need. I am going to a buddhist temple to complete a long meditation course so that I might cultivate that feeling and make it a part of my life again. Which upon examination is the real reason I went travelling in the first place- despite the fact that I could (theoretically) find that inner peace in any given situation. But for me it just seemed easier in a new and exciting scenario.

I thought I would put up this picture because I think it summarizes my motives nicely [click to enlarge]. (Don't worry i'm not planning on going to Antarctica and freezing to death in an abandoned bus though).

First English Lesson, New Motorbike, Future Opportunities

Well, a few things have happened since the last time I posted.

All of the students at School for Life

Recently I taught my first English lesson to a class of Thai kids, at the school I am working at in Chiang Mai. It was really hard seeing as they speak basically no English so I just had to work with them slowly and go through one small thing at a time. Being a teacher is difficult, and being a horrible student in school it is no big surprise that I do not hold a natural aptitude to inspire others to learn boring things. Not that all lessons have to be boring or that I am bad teacher but I am just referring to learning in general really, especially when it is something as tedious as another language. Living at school for life is nice, but it is a little boring. The school is about a good 45 minute drive from Chiang Mai city, and located up near the base of the mountains there is not that much in the way of entertainment as you can guess. Still, I appreciate getting free food and accommodation  and at least there is some nice scenery here.

Nora, Me and Elena

Having been travelling on my own for a little under 2 months now, I have surprised myself at how easy it is to meet other people if you are just a little bit open minded. I have already had some really awesome nights here in Chiang Mai and met some great people. There are two girls from Germany that I am living and working with at School for Life (Nora and Elena), a whole bunch of foreigners who live and grew up here in Chiang Mai, a slew of young Thai students who are friendly for the most part (apart from the ones who punch you in the face for unintentionally hitting on their girlfriend who approaches you in the first place) and even a collection of other travelling English teachers just like myself. There is plenty of opportunity to party here with lots of bars, clubs, pubs and music. I even went on a roadtrip to an awesome festival in Bangkok called Culture One, with 5 seperate stages of music the weekend before last.

At the festival Culture One in Bangkok

I have actually been doing some thinking about human relationships in general, and I think it all comes down to living in the moment. Human companionship is naturally wired into our being, but I think as we get older and go through certain experiences we start to develop all these things that hold us back from this natural state of connection. As I was thinking the other day, I remember when I was a kid I would just instantly become friends with any of the other kids I happened to be playing a game of hide and seek with, or the neighbors kids coming over to visit. Some may argue that loosing that it is a part of growing up, but here in Thailand, especially with some of the Buddhist Monks, I see that spark of warmth has not waned and still very much a defining factor in many peoples lives. Personality, habits, routines, living situation and many other things will change in a person's life but I still think this state of pure love is an aspect fundamental to our existence, which some people simply loose contact with. And I think perhaps the reason I went travelling in the first place was to find that again, or maybe to see that it still exists at all.

A lake near the school

I have also realised just how easy it can be to travel on a tight budget. Sure here in Thailand things are really cheap, but I think provided you can save enough for a flight, and simply get yourself into the country then you can really start to establish a life for yourself. There are jobs available for travelers be it working as an English teacher, a bartender, moving furniture there are so many opportunities for you to be able to get by. Then as long as you look hard enough you can find all of the things you are looking for, I really believe in that.

My new CBR 150

In other news, I have bought myself a motorbike (sorry Mum). It's only a Honda CBR 150 so it's not like i'm gonna do a wheelie in third, but it still manages a decent 140kph if you need it to (and mostly I don't). Riding a motorbike is just so much fun, you can only really understand it when you have ridden one yourself. It just doesn't compare to the scooter I was riding previously. Don't worry though, i'm still a pretty defensive driver here in Thailand though- because you have to be, so nobody be worrying that i'm going to axe myself in some terrible crash.

Bangkok- A city of opportunities

I am also working at an English Camp the weekend after next. Basically this is an organisation that holds a camp for Thai students in a location somewhere in Thailand over a certain time (usually 2-3 days) and they pay me to go from wherever I am staying down to work at that camp. It is more about fun activities and team-building exercises with the children rather than teaching which I would prefer a lot more! And I would be getting paid (1000 Baht a day), with the prospect of full-time employment! This is just the kind of opportunity I have been looking for, a chance to travel, get involved with fun activities with the students and even get some money so i'm not constantly living off my savings! So if I was to find a full time job, I would be relocating to Bangkok. Chiang Mai is a great place and I like living here but I would like to see other parts of Thailand and this could be just the opportunity I have been looking for.

Burma & Back

Thai-Burmese Border

Today, I went all the way from Chiang Mai up to the border at Burma (also known as Myanmar, the country directly to the west of Thailand). My friend Mica needed to go up there to get more time on his visa. This is commonly known as a 'visa run' where you just drive to the border, go through immigration and the come back again. This automatically gives you 15 days on your visa. Anyways the drive up there was fairly long and uneventful, just chilling, talking and listening to music. After about 3 hours of driving the border loomed into view. It was a really busy area with heaps of people and trucks and things coming and going. Mica got his visa renewed and I got a chance to look around at the big market and get a huge feed for about $6 (still can't get over how cheap the food is here!).

On the way back we stopped by a place called the 'white temple', which is basically just a really intricate decorative temple with lots of amazing artwork and sculptures around it. It was done by a foreigner  and has so many weird sculptures around it including these hands coming out of the ground, demonic faces and even one of Predator coming out of the ground. To really understand why it is so beautiful you have to witness it in person, or at least see what it looks like:

The White Temple [click to enlarge]

Sculptures at the White Temple

With the Rangers at the national park

Then on the way back we drove past a National Park which Mica and I both wanted to check, out so we drove up and just chilled in the park for a while drinking some scotch. After a while the park ranger came up and asked us what we were doing. Instead of kicking us out and telling us to be quiet he was really friendly and had a drink with us. He then invited us into his house in the park to have some food and drink some more with his family and friends. We ended up going up to their house and eating some random food and getting drunk and making a nice bonfire with the local park rangers. The guy we were drinking with turned out to be the superintendent of the whole national park and he got wasted and told us 'not to worry, because the police couldn't fuck with us here'. It was a pretty random occurrence but also turned out pretty well. One of the rangers made some noodles which seemed alright but it turned to my horror out that the little jelly-like chunks were infact lumps of dried pigs blood. The food got a lot less attractive after that. We got on pretty well with the guys, and they were just naturally friendly, as I have found a lot of Thai people are. Despite what anyone says about their culture, lifestyle or anything else, the majority of Thai people that I have met have been really nice, and I think that counts for something!

The Ranger who made the unfortunate stew

Before I left Sydney I was worried that I might become lonely leaving all my friends and family behind, but I have found out that this is not the case. There are just so many people in the world, and so many nice ones at that. The truth is that if you just go with the flow you will naturally meet so many interesting people and I have found that making friends comes so naturally once you are in the right mindset! You just have to be yourself, and a little confident and outgoing and you will soon find that things will go your way. We all make friends in the places that we are based (school, home, work), I think its just a natural human process!

In terms of looking for a job, I have actually found that everyone wants to learn English here, and if you dress nicely and put out a positive impression people will just give you teaching opportunities. I have had many offers for private tuition, and then a few offers from language centres and schools as well. It seems everyone knows someone who wants to learn English. I just have to get organised and manage all the clients properly.

School for Life

I have managed to find a job volunteering at an amazing place called 'School for Life' which is basically a school which takes in orphans and kids from broken homes (about 112 students at the moment) and looks after and nurtures them. I will be living, eating and teaching there. Luckily for me though there are also  other English speaking volunteers (who just happen to be 2 German girls) so I won't be completely alone! I am going up to School for Life on Wednesday to talk to the director of the school, and from there I will know what is happening. I think it will be a really good opportunity as well because it is at a place where they will really need me. The only real reason I wanted a teaching job which pays money is so that I could sustain myself, but if I have a place where I will get free food and accommodation, and not a single place around to spend my money, then that is exactly what I am looking for!

The Beast

In other news have rented myself a nice lil scooter to get around on (only 115 cc with a top speed of 100km :/) but it is still better than walking. Although there are a lot of nice second hand motorbikes and scooters around so I will consider purchasing one of those soon so that I have one of my own. I am also considering going on a road trip with some friends down to an electronic music festival in Bangkok on the 17th. I am also considering doing a 10 day meditation retreat at a local temple in Chiang Mai, where a few foreigners also do the same thing. You have to get up at 4am and you can only eat 2 bowls of rice though :/


Lastly and most importantly, I feel that even in this short time away from Sydney I have had the opportunity to start to get back to being myself. I believe that as independent as we all might think we are, we are still influenced by everything surrounding us, societies attitudes, beliefs, associates & friend's personalities, the government, media, the list just goes on- and having time to travel (even though I am still surrounded by all those things) encourages a refreshing mindset of indifference. I think it is hard to define what our 'self' really is, but I think perhaps it is easier to say what we are not. And I think what we are not is being defined by things outside of our control.
Anyway that might not make total sense but part of the reason I am writing this blog is as a point of reference for myself, so coherency is not always my highest priority.

Until next time!
:)

Elephant riding, trekking, rafting and partying

I have recently got back from an amazing time, trekking through Chiang Mai!

Riding on top of the bus

Firstly, we started out the journey riding around in a little open minivan called a songtaew and picked up the people who would come on the tour with us. We were with one guy who I met on the train from Byron Bay, Australia called Mason, 2 French guys, 2 English guys, and a Korean girl. Our guides name was Dea, and we started off by driving for about half an hour south of Chiang Mai to the elephant riding camp. Dea said it would be a cool idea if we rode on the top of the bus so some of us got on the roof and held on to the little rack at the top which was pretty fun.

Elephant Riding

At the elephant camp we met our nice Elephant (I think her name was Mae Song or something) and got up on the little seat on the back. The Mahut (Elephant driver) rode up on the elephants head. Unfortunately he used a metal hook to dig into the elephant to make it go which was a little harsh, but I guess there are worse jobs for the elephants to have. Once the elephant knew we had bananas, she would stop every few steps and put her trunk up behind her to receive a new banana. This was cute at first but got annoying after a while. The elephant sloshed through the muddy path and came to the top where we had a nice view over rural Chiang Mai. It was a cool experience but I think at the end of the day they are just exploiting the poor elephants for these rides, being forced to walk around and around every day, where they should just be free instead. There are other elephants in worse positions but still I much prefer elephant sanctuaries, similar to the one in Chiang Mai, where they look after the elephants and give them food and let them do what they want in their own environment.

Walking through a rice paddy

After the elephant rides we drove down to where we would start our long walk to the village. The nature around Thailand is really nice, full of lakes, rivers, rice paddies, wet bushland, towering trees, and so many insects and animals. Our guide showed us many different things such as how to cut a walking stick out of bamboo, different leaves you could eat such as some nice sour tasting ones and some minty ones to clean your teeth. Different seeds and where other animals and insects hide. He really had a keen eye for all the things around the area, and could spot a little frog or a spider from ages away.

The local Karim village people

We walked for a few hours and stopped at a nice little waterfall and had a lunch consisting of noodles, pineapple and passionfruit. After walking for about 3 hours we finally arrived at the 'village'. In reality, it was actually just 2 little huts made out of leaves and bamboo and a family consisting of about 8 people, all in the middle of nowhere! We gave some little presents to the children, and got to shoot one of the farmers guns which was pretty cool. The villagers seemed so nice with their nice little community. I wondered if they ever got lonely living out there in the middle of nowhere, but they seemed so self-sufficient with water, animals, hunting equipment and things like that. They were the Karim people, who actually speak Burmese and who are native to the area. One of the girls was only 14 but was on her second husband, and had a pair of boy identical twins and a little baby girl. They seemed genuinely happy and nice, and I could see no real complications with their life.

Our guide Dea at the campsite

We walked for another half an hour and arrived at the campsite where we would stay for the night. There were 2 locals who looked after the campsite (which again was just 2 leaf houses) and all sat around the little fire. We sat around talking for a while, cooking some local things. Dea made an awesome dinner out of all local ingredients that he had either found or bought from the market, basically curies and things. He even found a frog on the path and roasted it up. I didn't want to try it because I thought it might taste gross but I ate some of the meat and it was really amazing! Like firm chicken but chewier and tastier. We got up to a lot of fun things that night. We got a guitar from the campsite owners house and managed to fix it up with some sticks, pieces of metal from a beer can, and a machete, and sat around playing from the book of songs they had, like John Lennon- Imagine. Then we went down to the river and set off some of the fireworks we had bought from the local market with 2 of the guys from the campsite who put the in the end of bamboo sticks and fired them around. We also found some passion fruits floating along the river and ate them. Then after most people had gone to bed 3 of us sat around smoking some of the local 'herbs' and talked with Dea. He was actually a really nice guy, and even though his English wasn't perfect, and we were with a French guy and a Korean girl we still all managed to talk and laugh about things and have an awesome time! It just showed me that age, language and race don't really matter at the end of the day.

The local dam

The next day we walked to an amazing huge waterfall and climbed around on the rocks for a while and had a shower underneath it. We crossed a few rope and bamboo bridges, walked through rice fields and dense jungle and finally finished our amazing walk. There was a dog called Bek who followed us the whole way through the trek and walked for about 4 hours, always surprising us when she would disappear then reappear back in front of us on the track.





We then went bamboo rafting, which was a little scary considering that our raft drivers were about 8 years old, and the rapids were pretty fast too. Finally we headed back to the hotel, but then decided to all go out with our guide Dea who showed us some local Thai music bars. They were cool and everyone got drunk and tried to impossibly sing along, and you even get a massage when you go to the toilet there.

Overall it was an awesome experience, but the best thing for me was being able to see how the villagers lived there. Their lives are so different there but still they are ultimately happy, and is that not what we base our very lives around? They can live here in these little leaf huts, no electricity, no medicine, no shops, no outside contact yet still live a sustainable and happy existence. I believe there are more than a few means to an end, and to see these people so happy with what little they have gives me hope :)

Finishing the trek

I am going for an interview for a teaching job in a nearby province on Monday, where I will teach Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They will probably be grateful for a teacher as it is a smaller province, and I will get free accommodation and a motorbike there, as well as bus tickets to and from Chiang Mai. I am also thinking of buying a little honda 150 cbr motorbike to get around, and i'm looking forward to meeting lots more people around the area, locals and expats!

Friends, perspectives, opportunities, inner peace

There are a few things that I have quickly developed some perspective on in my short time in Thailand. Two of these are girls and money.

Out here in Thailand, as a 'far-ang' (foreigner) you are kinda like a celebrity. Girls either love you for your money, or your western looks, and local Thai guys either love you as a novelty, or hate you because all the Thai girls like you (but usually the former). And when I say girls love you, I mean it is like fishing for retarded fish, in a barrel, with a huge net. In Australia I am just another guy trying to impress a myriad of beautiful women with my meagre slew of positive qualities, but here I need to seek shelter from the colossal torrents of eager women (not literally but you get the picture). Personally I have never really had the 'yellow fever' so much, but I can appreciate a good 'luk krung' (half-blood). The point is that here it is easy to see how attraction is relative. I am in no hurry to find a girl but if I did she would have to speak English, be relatively educated and intelligent (as a lot of Thai's are not) and of course attractive (preferably with some western blood).

Bangkok Slum

Money is another thing I have come to appreciate here a lot more. Did you know that the world is currently about 400 trillion in debt at the moment, but only to itself obviously. Here everything is cheap, for a few dollars you can get a taxi across the whole city, a meal, a massage, a bottle of whisky, or pretty much anything else you might want. As I was in Khao San Road I decided to go into KFC as it was my last day in Bangkok and I had eaten enough Pad Thai to satisfy a starving platoon of orcs. It was funny to see that at the counter they had a little change donation box for a charity that helps people in Africa. Here I was in Thailand, surrounded by derelict buildings, people living in tents and little corrugated iron sheds, and there were still people much worse off. Laos is a country bordering on Thailand which is about half as cheap as Thailand. A Thai person going to Laos with Thai Baht is about the equivalent of an Australian going to Thailand with Australian Dollars. And even then, most of those people still have access to running water, some food, and a place to shelter for the night. It realllllly puts Australia, America and Europe in perspective. And there are millions and millions of people that live in similar or worse conditions. Millions and millions.

The train conductor who saved me from total chaos

Anyways, after leaving Bangkok after an eventful few days, it was time to head up to Chiang Mai. I got to the train and was directed to train. I got to my carriage and found that I was sharing it with a guy from byron bay and two german girls which was a surprise, and there were quite a few different foreigners and interesting travellers heading up to Chiang Mai on the train. After about half an hour on the train a guy comes to inspect tickets and then I find out I am actually on the wrong train, and my train was about an hour earlier. The train inspector didn't speak much English and I couldn't speak any Thai so a chinese girl on the train called her Thai friend who then translated back to the train conductor and I ended up working out that I had to get off at the next stop and buy a ticket. I had to get off at some random place in the middle of nowhere with a million dogs lying around and run with the train conductor to buy a ticket, where I actually ended up using my credit card which meant the guy had to climb onto the roof to fix the antenna for the eftpos machine. It was all kind of confusing but I managed to get back on the train and get back to my carriage.

Train stopping to feed the chickens and dogs

After a 10 hour trip, the train having to stop once because dogs were on the tracks, another time to get another engine to go up the hill, and a third time to feed some chickens out of the window, I finally managed to get to Chiang Mai.

I met up and am currently staying with my uncle Alex, his son (my cousin [or brother in Thai]), his partner Bee and family friend Air. The day after I arrived, we went out to lunch at an amazing place about 25km north near the mountains with another german friend of Alex's who does sound design. Chiang Mai is actually a really beautiful place, and a welcome escape from the craziness of Bangkok.

Circus comes to Chiang Mai

Then we all went out to a local circus that came to town from Germany, and walked around the Chiang Mai sunday markets. I met this crazy girl called Narusan who was a half Japanese and half Thai skater girl, and apparently spoke 7 languages. She was really friendly and came up and held my hand (kinda randomly) and walked around with me. Then she went off to do something and I ended up loosing her.

Haru-san the crazy half japanese half thai girl

I then went out with one of Alex's friends Micha who is a cool 22 year old guy from Hawaii who works in multimedia and he showed me around Chiang Mai with some of his friends. We ended up going to a place called THC bar which has an open rooftop, then a backpacker bar and then to a local Thai club called monkey bar. It was a really fun night and I ended up getting pretty drunk on the cheap alcohol here. It is actually easier to get drunk here as well because its so hot. And that was all on a sunday night!

Tomorrow I am going to go on a trek and elephant riding and rafting adventure with a guy called Mason who is a guy from Byron bay who I met on the train. There are also a fair few people who do rock climbing around the area so thats something I want to get back into.  I also plan to sit in on some lessons at an English language school, and find a job teaching as soon as possible as well as do a bit of work for Alex and his partners. So far I have found a potential job in a place called Phayao which is about 3 hours away from Chiang Mai, and it looks like it will be monday to Wednesday with free accommodation and a motorbike. I can then come back to Chiang Mai and look for work here (as well as partying) in the other time I have off.

At Monkey Bar :)

Overall I am loving being back in Thailand, and the lifestyle over here is just so great. With a little introspection and meditation I am quickly regaining a stable centre of inner peace and happiness that I feel has somewhat waned in my time in Australia. Its funny to think how much the experience of life can fluctuate- life really can be awesome if you try and make it that way I think. I am also just starting to recognise (or remember) the importance of a positive attitude and the impact that actually has on your  whole life experience.

Travelling Alone

Buddha

The next day as I was getting over some of the culture shock I decided to do some touristy things. As I was walking to a buddhist temple, a tuk-tuk driver offered me a good deal to check out some of the local sites so thats what I did. I went to one temple which was the 'standing buddha' which is basically a fucking massive gold Buddha standing. Once I got there, there was a woman selling wooden cages with 3 little finches in them, and the aim was to set them free in front of the Buddha so it would bring you good luck. I figured I might as well make 3 little birds lives better, so I went to get some money out. The lady was really weird and wanted me to take her to Kho San road and buy her drinks and tried to get me to come with her but I basically shut her down (nicely).
I then went to go and pretend to be interested in buying a suit so the driver would get a fuel voucher for bringing me there.

Today I bought a ticket to Chiang Mai on Friday. Bangkok is a cool place, but really busy and touristy. It would be fun if I was here with some friends to party and stuff but there is not that much appeal beyond that. Also I would like to get started with finding a teaching job and making friends with some locals.

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Travelling Alone

Playground under a motorway

Travelling alone defiantly takes some getting used to. To go from a state of complete stability and organization with all your friends and family to the opposite is a shock for sure. There are defiantly times where question what I am even doing, but with a little introspection and insight, I can get to appreciate what i'm doing.
I think travelling is such an important thing. It just gets rid of any stubborn viewpoints you might have adopted about the environment you live in. Ironically Australia is one of the nicest places to live on earth, but it seems that a lot of people are unhappy to a certain degree. Here in Thailand there are people living in complete poverty, who are so happy and genuine. They do all still want money, sure. But they get by with what they have and they are adaptable. Seeing all these things in front of you just shows you what the world is really like, and how lucky we are living in western society. The fact is that the world is a really big struggle for a lot of people, and it can't be ignored by the people who have a fortunate situation. Once you have adopted a positive viewpoint however, you start to develop a kind of  inner strength and happiness, and start to appreciate what you do have as opposed to what you don't (from my limited experience).

Now that I have seen a Ping Pong show, I think I have seen it all. I figured seeing as I was in Bangkok, I might as well. Sexuality is shoved in your face a lot here, which is fine if thats all you are looking for, and on a good note it is about the most prosperous thing for the Thai economy as well. But looking underneath what is essentially glorified prostitution it is really just a sad world of desperation, catering to drunk tourists. I met a really nice tuk tuk driver called Artie, who told me all about his life as an ex Muai Thai boxer as well as his family and kids, and he wished me luck in being a teacher in the future.

Bangkok Train Station

Anyways, I am going to Chiang Mai on the overnight train on Friday, and i'm planning on doing a meditation retreat once I am there for a while, and possibly some kind of a trek. And then getting on finding a job. Its only my third day but I feel like I have already experienced so much.
Until next time!

Meeting some locals

Today I moved to my hostel in Kho San road. I walked around the area and was stopped by an Indian fortune teller dude. He seemed nice enough and he told me some things about my life and that I had a 'moon face' whatever that means, and then he gave me a necklace and asked me to give him heaps of money so I kinda left after that.

It might be small, but its $10 a night!

At night time I met up with a Thai girl I had met the previous night drinking with one of the guys who works at the airport hotel. She bought 4 of her girl friends and 1 guy who was scared of cars. It was nice getting to know them but they hardly spoke any English so it was hard to communicate. I managed to drop literally a whole bowl of soup in my lap so that was shit and I had to go change my clothes. Then we went to a local bar and listened to a Thai band, which were actually surprisingly good but they just lip synced the words to famous bands like Maroon 5. Everyone drinks this horrible but cheap whisky called Sam Song in Thailand, they mix it with soda water. It is actually really gross but like $3 for a whole bottle. It was cool being with some locals as the hawkers don't harass you, and you get to not be a tourist (kinda).

After that I decided to go back and sleep at the hostel but as I was walking back I met a cool tuk tuk driver called Rambo and he promised to show me a 'good time' so I went along with it. Rambo drove his tuk tuk really fast while drinking a beer and ended up driving me to a Thai strip club which was pretty random. After drinking some more with Rambo,  he then drove me back to the hostel where I ate a huge Pad Thai and went to sleep.

Not in Kansas anymore

Day 0- Arrival

So- finally I made it to Bangkok!

Everything went pretty normally on my way in, flight was an hour late but the plane food was pretty good, and there is literally no comfortable way to sleep on a plane in economy.

After a worrying episode of forgetting my arrival pass, and dropping by bag on another guys foot, I stepped out of the airport. I was suddenly blasted with the realisation of what I was actually doing, as well as the sauna-heat that is Thailand all year round (and I am in the coldest month of the year).
I was met by the guys who would take me to the airport, they were 2 young guys about 17 or 18. They were really friendly and they all seem to be interested in foreigners like me, and practicing their English. One of the guys asked me if they had 'Kwala Bares' in the city, to which I said no and he commented (to my surprise) on how Koala's usually live in one tree. I told him that Koala's were not actually bears and he just kinda laughed and didn't understand.

My room

As I got to the 'resort' I realised that I was staying in one of the more upper class places, but for $24 Australian a night I wasn't really breaking the bank. I got a huge room with a double bed and bathroom all to myself. I tried to watch some Thai tv however the tv was stuck on one channel which was a ram eating some grass to classical music and people clapping.




I walked up the road to get some food at about 4am from the street vendors as it was about 5 times cheaper than the hotel (and even then the hotel food was about $3 a meal). The street vendors basically have mobile food stalls on the back of their scooters. I went over to one stall and she didn't really speak a word of English, but her daughter pointed at one and managed to say 'kin-kin' and I assumed that was chicken so I bought it. It turned out to be Thai fish cakes with chicken, beans, chilli and rice, and it cost me only 20baht in total, which is 64 cents!! I gave her another 20baht tip and she was really happy. I guess money means a lot in a country like this!

Walking along the street I realised how different everything was here. The long winding and confusing roads, indecipherable writing, hardly anyone speaking good English, stray dogs, poorly constructed houses, crazy wires everywhere, second rate plumbing and electricity, everything is just a little bit old and downgraded, it really makes me appreciate how nice all the things are we have in western countries!

I think the safety inspector had the day off

The people are what matter though, they seem to have a natural carefree nature, they are hospitable and respectful (but maybe because I have money), and on the most part just really friendly.
Now that I am travelling I have also decided to develop my own morning routine, for vitality and happiness. Half an hour of meditation, followed by some basic yoga, a (possibly fruit) breakfast, and some reading of the Dalai Lama if I have time. Then I will pack my things ready for the days exploring and leave.

Day 1: Total Chaos

So as much as I might of thought I was prepared to travel around Bangkok on my own, I was completely mistaken. As soon as I get out of the hotel about 4 taxi drivers try and offer me some discount to drive around the city. At first I was trying to be nice but I soon learned a swift 'no' shuts them up.

Kho San Road area

Taking a taxi all the way to the city proved to be further than I thought, but I guess i'm lucky that its Thailand cause a half hour taxi ride only cost me about $10 au. I told the taxi driver to go to the only place that I could remember 'Kho San Road'. He didn't speak any English at all, and I tried to tell him to go back to the hotel when it started raining, but he said some shit in Thai and kept driving so I just went along with it.

Kho San Road is an amazing place, and defiantly a culture shock. There are market stalls EVERYWHERE and sooo many people trying to sell you shit, Indians trying to sell you suits (like who is going to wear a suit in a sauna?), sunglasses, watches, massages, and everything else under the sun, just cheap and shitty.

I met a group of students who wanted to interview me for a university project and asked me some questions and stuff. I got to know them and they were really nice, and I even gave them my contact details incase they ever needed to practice their English speaking. Already made some friends in Bangkok :)

Thai Students

I wandered around the streets of Bangkok for a while which are just really amazing, and then spent ages trying to get back to my hotel with another taxi driver who didn't understand my because I lost the address.
Also I got a nice 1 hour massage for only 300 baht (about $10), and i'm gonna go out drinking with one of the guys who works at the hotel i'm staying at.

I love Bangkok!

I thought it would be a cool idea to chronicle all the places I have lived in my 8 years in Sydney. So here they are:

Station street, Newtown:
I shared a room with an Italian guy Nicola Mapelli in Newtown and lived there for about 3 months while the renter of the room was away. Had some sick gatherings in the house which had a patio and outdoor party area, and even a weird fat little dog that used to sleep on my face.

Elim place, Broadway:
After living in Newtown we put off finding a new place literally until the last minute so we found a place on Gumtree. It was a shithole sharehouse in Broadway right next to The Landsdowne hotel with paper thin walls and a neigboring housemate who liked to pray at all times and demanded silence.

Rooftop tent, broadway
After eventually being kicked out of my room in Elim place, I had nowhere to go and no money or a job (and was reluctant to ask for help). I found my way onto the rooftop of a hostel (circular building on Broadway next to The Landsdowne hotel) and decided to camp there in a tent for a little while. I ended up liking it there and decided to stay for a month. I put a lock on the gate up to the roof and hid my tent under a tarpaulin, and even managed to land a job by going to the apple store each day and using their computers, and buying a suit from vinnies.

Glebe village backpackers, Glebe point road
I decided to move into a hostel in Glebe point road for a few weeks, in order to be a bit more comfortable. I lived with 6 other people in a room and got to meet some cool travellers, and the hostel’s cat.

Above the Colombian, Oxford Street
My Italian friend Nicola said that he had found a place to rent in a room above a gay bar, The Colombian on Oxford street. He said I could stay on his couch for a few nights and I ended up making a bed under his stairs and a room by sticky taping a sheet to the roof for a door. We lived with a Spanish DJ called Zeus, 2 brothers from holland who liked to get high and a few other foreigners.

Storage room, Jono and Paris’ house
Eventually the landlord of the apartment came around and kicked out all the squatters who were staying in the room, especially me who she was most angry at for turning the under stair area into a room. My friend Paris asked if I wanted to stay at his house as he had room and I gladly accepted. I lived in the front storage room/sun room and made myself a nice little room. Eventually Sam another room mate moved out and a room became available.
My room, Roseville
And now here I am, with my own room in a house which I pay rent for, and all is well!

Currently, I am still in Sydney.

I am still working on my Teaching English as a Foreign Language qualification, but that should be done quite soon. I am thinking about a September or October leaving date. As to where I am going, that is something I still need to decide. I know its going to be somewhere in Asia, and somewhere fairly nice and not too backwards. I am leaning away from China and Korea, I was thinking perhaps Thailand (Bangkok) or Japan or Singapore. Somewhere like that! Whenever I see a picture of the Earth or i'm zoomed really far into Google maps, I remember how big the world is. And that everything in my life is all just happening on this relatively small ball of atmosphere. Humans were meant to be nomadic I think. I mean people can argue forever about whats really 'natural', but the worlds a big place and it feels right.

I have bought myself a nice new camera, the Sony NEX5 to take photos wherever I go. 

As I learn more about what it will really means to be a teacher the more I realise how much of a big task it will be. To stand in front of these students who will expect so much of me! Lucky I already know how to speak the language at least. 

I have a new job that starts on Monday, which will be my final job in Australia, which I will be using to pay the last of my rent, and to save up and buy a plane ticket. It seems things are all changing in Sydney at the moment, my apartment lease will be over soon, a lot of my friends have gone travelling including Rusty who just went around Europe and to study in Sweden for a bit. My sister just got an internship to study in an international government related position, and it seems like everyone around me is at the stage where they are figuring out what they want to do with their lives. Its certainly how I feel at the moment anyway! 

I feel like I have just the right balance of youthful endeavour coupled with some small amount of wisdom to go travelling. You need a mix of things to set out and do something like this, and in no small measure is rash thinking a factor. But still they say life is like a book and those who don't travel read only one page. I think part of my motivation to go travelling in the first place stems from the adventure I had sailing from England to Australia with my parents when I was 12. I know the world is a big place (from what I can remember) and now I just want to get out there where im actually at the age to appreciate it.

I always come across great people with profound insight into the world and happiness and one trait they all share is their knowledge of travel and the world around them. As a believer in the 'eternal balance', I think that if a person were to be born in a nice wealthy area, but never got a chance to see the other side of the spectrum, how can they appreciate what they have? Sure things are okay when you are in a nice situation, but at the same time there is always another side to it, someone else living in poverty, and someone else who is less fortunate being exploited to make the jeans im wearing, for example.

Anyways didn't mean to ramble on for a bit there, just wanted to verbalise some of my motivations for going travelling! I found a nice quote from a guy called Henry Rollins, which ive just posted below.
Henry seems like an interesting guy so ill do some more research on him. 

I'll update this blog when I get closer to my departure date.

Until next time!

xx

Today, I am starting my blog.
Soon I will be travelling around the world, so I will make a blog about my experiences :)

I have also started making my own website, with links to my various online connections:

http://lorinpearce.wix.com/life

:)