transcendental travelation...
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
The source of Bliss
My body is radiating. Every little vessel has been reborn and races ferociously through my limbs, thankful to be alive. Today I saw my body through new eyes. Through the eyes of someone who cannot see. For 120 minutes, side by side, Nate and I received Thai Massages at The Thai Massage Conservation Club. All of the therapists who work here have been trained by The Thailand Association for the Blind. My therapist could not see nor could we speak a common language yet he intrinsically knew my body. It was incredible and will forever change the way that I approach my own massage work. Thank you Alan and Malee for sharing such a gift with us.
Following our massages, on light fluffy clouds, we floated down the street to our favorite restaurant. In the past few days we have become devotees and have eaten here every day. For most of you reading this you may not share our enthusiasm but for all the vegetarians out there...we found Mecca! It's been a constant diet of rice and noodles for us while traveling. The adventurous meals that many people have while exploring new places are simply lost on us. But this place, while quiet humble, is a little slice of heaven. For less than a dollar you can have a heaping plate of rice, scrumptious GREEN veggies, incredible veggie proteins, papaya salad, noodle soup....mmmm.... I see visit number four tomorrow. And to top it all off - perfectly ripe avocados at dinner.
Truly a blissful day.
- oh a Nate threw a visit to the dentist in there too. That may have not been so blissful
Following our massages, on light fluffy clouds, we floated down the street to our favorite restaurant. In the past few days we have become devotees and have eaten here every day. For most of you reading this you may not share our enthusiasm but for all the vegetarians out there...we found Mecca! It's been a constant diet of rice and noodles for us while traveling. The adventurous meals that many people have while exploring new places are simply lost on us. But this place, while quiet humble, is a little slice of heaven. For less than a dollar you can have a heaping plate of rice, scrumptious GREEN veggies, incredible veggie proteins, papaya salad, noodle soup....mmmm.... I see visit number four tomorrow. And to top it all off - perfectly ripe avocados at dinner.
Truly a blissful day.
- oh a Nate threw a visit to the dentist in there too. That may have not been so blissful
Friday, January 6, 2012
Heart longings and the like
We are travel weary. Not of the journey but of the road. Us "birds" as my grandmother would say, left Vermont 72 days ago. Since flying away, our longest nest has only been for 5 days. Our wings are tired. I miss the snow...
I find myself wishing not for greener pastures but whiter ones. For the smell of cookies to overrun my kitchen. For that morning cup of tea to defrost my fingers around after they snuck out of the covers overnight. For the phone call from my Dad comparing snow falls.
I miss home.
Yesterday morning, after 12 hours of total darkness, I was just barely with my sleepless eyes, able to make out the silhouette of mountains from our train window. The next few moments, with baited breath, we watched the sunrise from one side of the train. From the other, the most beautiful shades of violet turned to pink and illuminated the misty hills of Chiang Mai.
It smells like Thai basil on the corner. Truly. I spin around in circles to wrap myself in it's spicy aroma. Its nourishing here. A welcome respite from the otherwise weary road. Suddenly home feels a little closer and I remember that there will be snow again next year...
I think we will nest here for a while. Rest our tired wings.
I find myself wishing not for greener pastures but whiter ones. For the smell of cookies to overrun my kitchen. For that morning cup of tea to defrost my fingers around after they snuck out of the covers overnight. For the phone call from my Dad comparing snow falls.
I miss home.
Yesterday morning, after 12 hours of total darkness, I was just barely with my sleepless eyes, able to make out the silhouette of mountains from our train window. The next few moments, with baited breath, we watched the sunrise from one side of the train. From the other, the most beautiful shades of violet turned to pink and illuminated the misty hills of Chiang Mai.
It smells like Thai basil on the corner. Truly. I spin around in circles to wrap myself in it's spicy aroma. Its nourishing here. A welcome respite from the otherwise weary road. Suddenly home feels a little closer and I remember that there will be snow again next year...
I think we will nest here for a while. Rest our tired wings.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
No matter how hard we try...we just can't escape Bangkok! After a grueling day of travel yesterday across almost the entire width of Cambodia in three different buses and one tuk-tuk, we arrived in Bangkok- three hours behind schedule! We didn't think we would be back to this crazy city anytime soon but there are certainly worse places to be stuck.
We thought we were doing the "smart" thing by booking our overnight train tickets to Chiang Mai ahead of time. There were only a few sleeper seats left and rather than spend money on a room in Bangkok we figured, save the loot and sleep on the train. Well, just a piece of advice. Don't buy any tickets in advance when you only have a two hour window and definitely don't believe the bus company when they tell you what time you will be arriving. Just to make matters a lil more sticky, our debit card does not work here and we have to wait until 8pm tonight to talk to our bank. Fun fun! We're also hoping we can sweet talk the train people into letting us on tonight's train without having to buy new tickets. It's all part of the adventure though.
"Remember that time...."
So for the next 8 hours we will sit (probably in the same restaurant) and try to make our $13 last for the rest of the day AND afford us a ride to the train station. All part of the journey.
Shangri La La we're coming!...
We thought we were doing the "smart" thing by booking our overnight train tickets to Chiang Mai ahead of time. There were only a few sleeper seats left and rather than spend money on a room in Bangkok we figured, save the loot and sleep on the train. Well, just a piece of advice. Don't buy any tickets in advance when you only have a two hour window and definitely don't believe the bus company when they tell you what time you will be arriving. Just to make matters a lil more sticky, our debit card does not work here and we have to wait until 8pm tonight to talk to our bank. Fun fun! We're also hoping we can sweet talk the train people into letting us on tonight's train without having to buy new tickets. It's all part of the adventure though.
"Remember that time...."
So for the next 8 hours we will sit (probably in the same restaurant) and try to make our $13 last for the rest of the day AND afford us a ride to the train station. All part of the journey.
Shangri La La we're coming!...
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Tomorrow
Whoa nelly! Twelve hour bus ride in the am to Bangkok, two free hours and then 15 hour train ride to Chang Mai. Keep on keepin on!
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