Video about a woman's quest for peace (not me)

I get a monthly newsletter from www.Gratefulness.org This video was referred to in the latest issue. It takes around 25 minutes to watch and of course I have some questions about what this woman was doing...........but I have great respect for a lot of what she did and learned. http://www.turntowardlife.tv/vijali_world_wheel/display_large/video_player_16x9_large.htm

If you have time and inclination.............take a break and watch it. Let me know what you think, if you want tol

How do I sit with it all?

I do not quite know how to be here. I am hyper-sensitized by my time in Thailand.

I think it all started 4 years ago in India. When I got to India, my being felt like I had found “HOME” in a very profound way. One of my main memories is standing in the middle of the lake bed in Udaipur, Rajastan, in the early morning and listening to the Muslim call to prayer in one ear and the Hindu morning chanting in the other. I loved the pluralism. I loved the calling out in prayer. I loved the chanting.

Being in Thailand I saw the many many many faces and representations of the Buddha. There was a Buddha for each day of the week. A different position. A different look and feel. Some Buddhas are more androgynous than others. All felt generous of spirit. None were as scary to me as Jesus on a cross. All together giving me that sense of permission for one to find the personal image of Buddha that spoke to you. I like that. It was a different pluralism for me.

I returned to the states humbled. I remain quite open and vulnerable. Sometimes that is hard, but I would not trade it. I am just trying to learn from it. I am just noticing. I hear the adversarial nature of our interactions. I hear the ‘right and wrong’ judgment in our talking. I see the fear and self protection. I notice the multi-culturalism that is present in this country and our separations within that. I am aware of our fear of death. It seems very different in Thailand or India; I do not believe they fear death as we do. I wonder if that is the core of much of the differences.

I do not have answers, but many questions……..I encourage you to please share your thoughts/ponderings with me as well.

Continuing at home

I started this blog as a traveling journal. I was encouraged after sending many emails back from India. I used the emails to give insights and impressions of my visit to another culture. Before going to Thailand I decided to blog my travels as oppose to trying to remember all the people to email…and also because blogging allows people to check in to see the entry as oppose to being invaded by emails.

So it seems appropriate to continue this idea of “Ambassador of Humanity” while I am home. I want to share my thoughts with my friends and family with the same consideration and respect that I try to do with people in another culture. I am more limited in another culture by language. [Well perhaps I am limited within my own culture with that as well; my x-father-in-relationship once told me “we don’t speak the same language”………but we both spoke English.] At any rate, I think a lot. I do have a degree in Philosophy! Because of the enthusiasm I have heard about my travel blogging, I am going to start trying to just write periodically, or often (we shall see). I hope it will inspire dialog. I hope it will spark further thinking on all of our parts.

We are in an incredible time. One can easily look at the world we live in right now and find overwhelming despair. See the ending of things as we know them and find that fearful. One could predict a horrendous future. OR one can see change. One can see the institutions we have known falling apart and revealing remarkable opportunity. It is an exciting time. It is a scary time. It is an age of enlightenment of a new sort. When my Dad died, the hospice counselor who had been visiting him said “there was a shift in the universe when he died”. Of course I could feel that, but I was taken aback to hear her say it. Well, I think it goes beyond my Dad. I think the crack in the ceiling, the drop in the market, the shakedown/shakeup of our systems, the election of a person who can think outside the box are all signs of a shift happening in the universe. It is a time for self-reflection and creativity. We can no longer count on things being the way they have been, however, we are not bound by what has been either. This year during the holiday season, I heard of more creative ways to ‘deal’ with the season. More toned down, homemade, innovative and heart-felt exchanges than I have heard for a long time. We can do that in many other areas of our life, our work, our living situations….the possibilities are endless.

So I invite you to visit the blog, make comments, contribute; you name it I leave it wide open. I look forward to learning with you. I look forward to getting all these thoughts out of my head so maybe I can sleep better at night. And I thank you for your encouragement.

Less plastic and more glue guns!
Karen

Moving slow

Home again, home again jiggity jig...........well, through my jet lagged eyes, I see a lot of White people who all seem to speak English.....it was nice to be around dark hair and dark eyes all the time, though I was too hesitent to get a hair cut, as I don't think they know curly hair!!!.

Last night though my body was exhausted, my eyes popped open when I went to lay down cause it was really the middle of the afternoon............I put on Jami's album, HIDDEN SKY and allowed it to ease me to sleep. I awoke at some point, feeling my astral body catching up to my physical body. It tingled.........an odd feeling.

I am home and as much as I want to linger in the thoughts, smells, feelings of Thailand, in following Buddhist practices........."be present"..........I am attempting to embrace all that brings me back to Seattle and keeps me here. I have to say my bed is a big one!!! Beds in Thailand suck!

Welcome home........I am sure I will have more to say as time goes on but for now.......I thank all of you who have shared my journey through my words and pictures.

Things I have learned for traveling.........welll some of them!

1-Take your cell phone. One can get an international card to use on your cell phone and it is much easier han trying to find Public International Phones that work.

2- If you are using a travel guide, like Lonely Planet, go to the towns that only mention a few guesthouses or hotels, they will still be visitor friendly but not over-run with tourists. (Assuming you want to engage more with the locals than other travelers from all over the world)

3- IF you are taking a rolling suitcase, take one that is big enough to give you room to find things and buy things without having to send them home with other friends or so carefully stuffing things into the case. Traveling with a small one for a month allowed me to feel righteous but proved more difficult in the long run. And once you are wheeling and not backpacking, it really makes no difference.

4- Put yourself out there.............even if you can't speak the language, any attempt is so appreciated and met with willing assistance. People may laugh at you, but it is in good spirit.

5- Journal............any way you do it.............it is hard to remember all that you have done a month later if you don't write it down, or draw it or take pictures. And along those lines, if you take pictures, bring an extra flash card to store them on...........it would be a bummer to lose them.

6- Enjoy enjoy enjoy!!!!

Chinese New Years

What a way to end this amazing adventure.............In Chinatown in Bangkok!!! Oh my oh my.

I met Janet, a friend of Karen Allman's who lives in Bangkok and we walked and took a boat taxi and walked and walked, (good thing since I will be sitting a lot tomorrow) to Chinatown. What a scene. What an adventure..........until we both got clostrophobic and had to walk down a quiet alley, where we bumped into the Chinese School building, where they were expecting the Royal Princess. We both thought it would be grand fun and so we waited..........and waited and waited.........well 2 hours later, with a lot of false alarms..........we just had to give up, since I need to get ready to go back to the states tomorrow. Then a tuk tuk back to my guest house, where I helped a prof from Bellingham get his computer working!!!

I guess I am getting prepared to go back to work life and home!!!

Enjoy the photos.

See you soon.

moving toward home

Back in the big city, Jami, Beth and I celebrated our time with a pedicure!! Can you identify MY toes?


Back in Chiang Mai...........tomorrow morning I fly to Bangkok, in time for Chinese New Years and then the next day begin my journey toward home, with a six hour layover in Taiwan. What a month it has been. And even though I have tried to write as things were happening............so much more went on. My eyes and my heart are filled. There are no simple concise words to tell you all that happens when one visits another culture. Because of Jami's connections in Thailand, I have been privy to a bit deeper understanding, a tad more of an 'insider' view............and yet...........we are still just visitors. Jami and I came up with the title for the book.........."When Do You Move Beyond Kha?" A woman uses kha at the end of words to be polite to guests, strangers, unrelated elders, etc...........so when does one move to the status of an inimate friend that no longer needs the kha at the end. And even once you get there, Thai people, as a generalization are very private and very polite....so can a farang (foreigner) ever really know what is going on? Can an outsider ever really be a part of the culture?





Yesterday we went to a hot springs and sat in the pools with 3 generations. I played with the water with baby and grandma........we laughed..........it felt good but I had no understanding of what they were saying and why sometimes they were laughing........but we found a common space with playing. So yes, one can tough the common space. One can even find good friendships but how in this huge globe and we truly be as one people when we have so little understanding.





Yet each trip, each interaction that reaches beyond the distances, each attempt at honoring the uniqueness of a person..........makes it a little closer, a little kinder. I am thrilled to be an explorer. I am thrilled to be an ambassador. I am humbled by it all. And on this trip, I added the thrill of inter-species connections as well.

a bit of heaven in Chiang Dao

"THE NEST" in Chiang Dao


9 month old elephant at the Nature Park



20 month pregnant elephant.....you could feel the baby moving

my new best friends

oh to look into the eye of an elephant!!!!

Jami has landed us in another piece of heaven. We are spending our last 2 nights together at "The Nest" in Chiang Dao. A perfect name for this place and for the culmination of this adventure together. It is lovely, we each have a teak wood cabin with a large bed that is actually soft enough to sleep on!! The setting is among the trees surrounded by mountains. Last night there were more stars than imaginable. It is not a big city or even a very big village so it is very dark at night.

Hard to believe that 2 mornings ago, I was getting up this early to go get my elephant! Hard to put into words all that I have been feeling about these remarkable creatures. Yesterday we went to the Elephant Nature Park. I had a hard time there, cause we were clearly just day visitors, not baby mahouts as we had been at the TECC. (I hope you all went to http://www.changthai.com/ to see the pictures of us). It was the first real touristy thing we have done in terms of elephants. At this place they do not have people ride elephants and there is no 'show'. You get to feed them and bath them and see the babies. Their 'schpeel' is very cutesy and righteous. It is interesting, everyone has their slant. Each center believes THEY are doing the right thing.....naturally, otherwise why would they be doing it!! And what is necessary is to just see/feel/experience how all of them, bottom line, just LOVE ELEPHANTS. I can see why. They are awe inspiring. No, I do not want to fill my room with elephant paraphenalia.........but I will have a tender place in my heart for these large friends.

But I realize, as I miss the gentle conversations between mahout and elephant that that is what I will miss most. The connections. Tiem spoke in almost a whisper to Wanalee constantly. It is a fantastic relationship that I had the opportunity to join for just a moment.

This has been a fantastic journey...............and it ain't over yet!!!!

you have to see this

ok, go to www.changthai.com and scroll down the page.

The World's First Mahout String Band

Last night we were gifted with a moment in time. The first mahout string band played for us, for hours. These are the older mahouts who use to be out in the forest with just each other and the elephants for months on end, logging. Now they work at various centers where they care for their elephants but are no longer alone with them. They are a dying breed. The younger mahouts have families they go home to and do not know that world of months on end with just each other. The TECC does it's best to preserve some of the elders teachings, the natural things that are best for the elephant to eat, the medicinal plants found in the woods, the LOVE of the elephants.............but the young ones do not play music like these guys!!

Of course, my first thought was 'they need to come to Vancouver Folk Festival'. However, they would never never leave their elephants for that long. Such devotion. They work 26 days in a row and then have 4 days off. It is their life!!! But, back to the band...........such fun. We laughed and danced and all knew how special it was to witness these unusual instruments and listen to one of them who crooned these lovely songs, which of course we did not understand but they were somewhat interpretted for us. Jami wants to figure out at least how to record them and have a cd available to honor their history. I could barely sleep afterwards I was so thrilled.

Today, as I was leaving, I gave Tiem (sorry for the misspelling before) my nose flute so he could practice and play music with them next time!!! I also gave him my set of "Pass the Pigs"..........that was a big deal...........but he had come by the other night when we were playing and just LAUGHED........so, now I do believe they will be yukking it up with the pigs. I have a task, given to my by my cohorts, to design a 'toss the elephants' game, along the idea of Pig!!!!

Anyway, now we are back in Chiang Mai, quite an adjustment, considering I was riding an elephant this morning. Tomorrow we leave for a different Elephant Sanctuary. Jami is being really good at giving us the opportunity to see the various options that people are doing to protect the elephants. And believe me, they are worthy of all the protection the humans can do for them.

Not sure of the next town and internet, but I will do what I can when I can.

Thank you all for your comments and encouragement.

oops wrong url for photos!!

try this one:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kkaushansky/TheElephants#

I did it!

Yesterday I got myself back on Wan Na Li, though I was anxious and hurting but was determined to get back on. In the afternoon I walked her out to the forest, where she sleeps at night with Te Am but did not ride her there. This morning, we woke up at 6 a.m. and put on our appropriate letters to spell OBAMA and walked out to get the elephants in the forest. The mahouts LOVED it............the love Obama. Te Am had me feed her lots of sugar cane and then we rode back from the forest..............it was magnificent. Not the show, not the tourists, me and Te Am and Wan Na Li in the forest...........with my other elephant friends. This is magnificent. To be in their presence for days............to hear them at night, well not our elephants as they are kept further in the woods so they have more grazing area, but the other tuskers who are kept close.

Yesterday, Jami did a show for the elephants. They were mesmerized. And trumpetted and chirped with her/to her. Last night Jami did a little concert just for the 4 of us. Lovely. This has all been lovely................even the places that have been scary. Such sweet support from my new friends and from the mahouts, who laugh at me and tease and tell me to relax........as they sneak up behind me and pinch me!! It is a wonderful humor. These are my kind of people!!

The softness of their words and tone and gentleness of their touch..........they are, as Richard Lair says 'nature's gentlemen'. So now, they are doing the show and I ducked out. I don't like it.
However, my dear ones, I was able to load the elephant photos to picasa at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/webUpload?uname=kkaushansky&aid=5293576792101000641

so ENJOY......................

The elephants.........oh my Godt (as the mahouts say)

I just tried to upload some pictures of me on the elephant, but it was too much for the computer.....I will try to figure it out later........sorry

The elephants...........the elephants, what magnificent animals. SOOOO BIG and so graceful. The mahouts dance with them like they are jelly. I on the other hand am clumsy and awkward. I am meeting some of my internal demons..........my fears, my reluctance to take risks with my body, that cause me to tense up on the elephant and today I ACHE. I mean ACHE........but I am finding ways to take good care of myself while honoring my need to push myself, while honoring my need to accept myself.........all a big order. I cried this morning cause I am such a big baby.....then I realized I am probably the only one in my family to ever get up on an elephant, so give me a break!!!

There is such emotional conflict in this scene. The mahouts LOVE their elephants. My elephant is named Wan Na Li........my mahout is Te Am.....very dear man. They are tender with the elephants and speak so softly...........and then this place makes it's money from the tourists so every day there are 2 shows that the elephants (and us as baby mahouts) participate in. I do not like it, but the elephants get food so they are happy. And the mahouts have a great time getting the elephants to spray water and the audience.

It is very dark at night.........the elephants are in the forest, expect for the big tuskers cause they need to protect them. One elephant very close to where we are sleeping GROWLS.....ROARS...it is exciting.

So..........I have more days to walk through my emotions. It is no coincidence that this is happening around Dad's death.........a place I walked with grace, to remind me about grace.....and around Obama's inauguration, YES WE CAN..............I am finding my way.

Lampang

no pictures right now.........finally found an internet cafe that works....just to tell you that in fact I will be out of touch for the next while since there is not any access at the Elephant Conservation Center..........So....probably Wednesday.

It is the 18th here.............but really tomorrow is when I will honor my dear Daddy. But as you can imagine he is very much on my mind and in my heart.

Yesterday we went to the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital. A difficult place to start my connection with these incredible beings. These are elephants that have been hurt by humans. Mistreated or damaged by their 'work' as logging or entertaining. There is so much to consider in relation to the elephants..........they are captive. Their land has been developed so much they do not roam as easily in herds and their intimates are now the mahouts. They have to protect baby elephants when they are first born because the mothers do not have all the aunties around to help them KNOW how to care for the baby and they often try to kill the baby. And there are good people trying to protect them and unfortunately, because so much comes down to MONEY they are in competition with each other for recognition and funding. It brings out some bad energy sometimes. We saw 2 elephants who are being fitted for prosthesis for their leg that has been blown off. Fascinating.

My eyes and heart are wide open.

Picasa site for pictures

I just started posting pictures onto a Picasa site so you can see them all at your leisure.......
the url is http://picasaweb.google.com/kkaushansky/ThailandChiangMai#

I will try to keep it up but as always I never know what the internet access will be in the next place.

Right now it is unedited............so feel free to skip through it!!!

Lovely

There are some very sweet women that I am traveling around in a pack with now!! Today we toured one of the major Wats in Chiang Mai, Doi Suthep.......funny, since for two of the women this is their first trip and they just got here, I am aware that the 2 weeks prior have given me just a bit of understanding that I do appreciate at this point............at least it is not ALL NEW......but one realizes that any journey into another culture is just the tip of the iceburg. The foods and smells might be more familiar but the signage and language are still quite a mystery.

We are travelling around with Lek, our guide, who is very good at explaining what we are seeing and easy to ask the questions one might be too shy to ask. The whole scene of the hilltribes is fascinating. Many are refugees, many who are not refugees are still without legal rights, and most all are discriminated against...therefore, is it cool to ask what tribe one is from? Can we claim foreign curiosity? Or is that one of the things you need to just wonder and not put someone on the spot?? Lek says it is okay to ask. We went to a Tribal Museum today that had LOTS of information, so much that it is hard to keep it all straight, but it is totally fascinating all the same.

Tomorrow we will tour another market and then head for Lampang and lunch with Richard Liar, who is a friend of Jami's and has worked with the Conservatory for years. We will go to the Elephant Hospital the next day before heading to the conservatory.............so the elephants are still a few days away, but the orientations is of course heading us in that direction. Last night Jami did a great job of pulling the 5 of us together and beginning our questions and journey toward this exciting time. I am glad to be here.

I have just tried to upload some pictures for you but for some reason, it is not taking it, and the explanation of why is all in Thai so I have to wait for Lek to come back and tell me what is going on. I think however, tonight I may set up a Picasas site with all the photos so you can just look at your leisure!! Oh well.

A new neighborhood in Chiang Mai

Oh my goodness, I am in a different world now!!! The place I am staying with Jami is pretty fancy compared to my little hut or my small guesthouse accomodations! I guess I should have taken pictures before writing this but Mady and I have have been walking around the neighborhood and stopped to get a pedicure and now she is off to more Wat adventures and I just quickly stopped into this internet cafe to send off a note.

This is the fancier section of Chiang Mai, I think I like the old neighborhood better for strolling around. There is not much street scene as in the old city, where we have been. It is lovely, lots more space here, but much more sterile and new. I like the smells better in the old city area. But the thing that I keep noticing about Thailand, wherever I have been, it is CLEAN and there is no clear presence of great poverty. Very different from India. VERY DIFFERENT.

Mady and I went to the Art Museum here. Lots of verious contemporary paintings. Lots of images of the Buddha, from artist, and kids as well. I think that sence of Thailand=Buddhas is very clear. It made me wonder what the image/symbol would be for the United States. Thoughts????

Anyway..........I am starting my next phase. There is so much I will continue to hold for stories later.........even if I blogged every day, there are many more stories!!

Chiang Mai

A tad out of sequence here but this is a Lisu woman I had been watching for days in Mae Hong Son, finally the morning I was leaving I went to buy something from her, just to interact with her more than at a distance. The Lisu eat beetle seed of some sort for dental hygiene, since they do not use toothpaste. It turns their mouth completely red/brown. We exchanged some and laughed some, I just wanted to look at her teeth!!! I almost asked if I could take her picture, but I didn't want to invade.


Me and Puff the Magic Dragon in Chiang Mai............Dragons are very common here in Northern Thailand........lots of Chinese and Burmese influences

This guy was so cool cause we went to this Wat at night and could not really see much, until I took a flash picture and then...........there he was looking so sweet and friendly............again in Chiang Mai

This is the view from the plane flying out of Mae Hong Son

one of the many creative uses of bamboo. Today we passed a 'lumber yard' and it was basically various sizes of bamboo stacked in various bins.

Mady and I walked all over Chiang Mai yesterday............and while walking, I tripped on a board on the street and fell FLAT ON MY FACE. I was worried that I had broken my nose, but it is just bruised and I got a fat lip and was extremely embarrassed..........the woman who were busy preparing lots of food were sure to get me ice.......Mady was great at telling me it probably felt worse than it looks and my nose was not crooked!! We continued to walk, with my holding ice on my face. We went to the Women's Correctional Institute, where they actually do massage and have a shop and a bakery.........teaching trades to the women in prison. We opted not to get massages at the moment, cause I felt too vulnerable already!!!! And Mady had fallen with the scooter the day before so was not really wanting to get rubbed either. What a pair.

We spent a lovely day exploring Chiang Mai and enjoying MANY MANY Wats, there are a ton of them here. Our guest house is quite pleasant but it does not have wireless like my hut!!! So I am stopping in here to just do a quick update.

Today, we took a bus to Chiang Dao to meet with some folks who are doing community political theatre with the hilltribes near Chiang Dao. They have an amazing compound. I did take pictures but have not downloaded them yet, so they will be on another entry. We learned a lot. It is an amazing project called Mathamsom Theater (I think- I have to ask Mady again about the name). They have been in the area for 3 years now and are just slowly............very slowly building connections in the community and are becoming more and more trusted. It is fantastic. Mady talked about how in the states we do 'community projects' for 3 to 6 months............again, our different sense of time.

So my dears, I am aware that there are so many pictures I have not take, can not send you, but are so full in my mind. The people carrying piles of leaves on scooter for making a roof. The garden shops that sell alters in every color. The pictures, billboards, shrines to the King everywhere you look. The many uses of bikes and scooters and trucks and vans to get anything anywhere. And as it is said again and again...........the smiles. People are very smiley........always.

I meet up with Jami tomorrow and begin the next chapter. Mady will go with me but leave on Friday for Bangkok and then back to the states. I will keep posting as I can.

Karen

oops I forgot to say...............

that these brilliant garbage cans are made from old tires........in case it wasn't obvious in the picture!!! and I spelt ingenious wrong!!!

thanks for you patience!

Another day, another adventure

Today, Mady and I headed south to a hot springs............however, because scootering is new to her, we went back roads............this part of Thailand is NOT in any way, shape or form totally focused on tourists........so the signs were almost all in Thai with a few signs now and again in English. The maps are really not much better so we were totally lost, going up and back the same road a few times cause my sense of direction said one thing and the signs something else.

WE MADE IT.............and then the 'hot springs' were pretty unsatisfying. There was a hot spring.....but you rented a room, read "area that looked like a prison cell" that you filled up a tub with the spring water, read "luke warm water".............and soaked . Mady and I shared one and felt like little kids taking a bath together.

Then back on the road, still avoiding the main highway..........it was spectacular...........and getting home was easier than getting there.............as is often the case. We went through a number of very small hamlets............all with traditional folks and people riding scooters with 1 to 4 people, including babies and kids. They actually have the cutest little seats to hook on in front of the driver person for the kids. Quite smart. Speaking of smart, I am including a picture of the local garbage cans in Northern Thailand..........I think they are quite ingenus.

Tomorrow we fly (in a small plane) to Chiang Mai. I believe we have now taken almost every form of transportation in Thailand!!! Don't know if my room there will have the same ease of internet as my hut!!! But I will do what I can..............I do love writing it all down. It helps me keep the images fresh............though of course there are so many more than I could ever write in a blog!!!

bye for now........

Mae Hong Son

Mady and I with our mud masks after a long windy mountainous scooter ride to a not well marked Mud Spa.........the maps are few in detail and most signs are in Thai.........but I had my gps (thank you Sonny) though it was not very helpful since we didn't know where we were going...........but we got there and home!!!

View of the mountains around Mae Hong Son from one of the many many Wats

One buys these large (4 foot tall) paper lanterns from the monks and they light this wooden piece inside and send these 'hot air balloons' up into the air...there can be many going at once, it is quite spectacular

The town Wat, on the lake, is all lit up at night

Notice the Burmese influence on this Wat as compared to the ones in Bangkok. Very different and the Buddha is a little more Chinese looking here. Tonight we had a fantastic Burmese Green Tea Salad with dinner............different spices than I am use to.

Yes that is neon behind the Buddha.......and it keeps changing and flashing...........pretty cool.

My little 8 by 10 hut with attached bathroom............which actually gets wireless internet!!!!

So far Mae Hong Son is my favorite place in Thailand. It is very quiet and easy. Most 'tourists' are Thai. Lots of hiltribe people all around. Beautiful art. Easy place. Amazing mountains all around and today, Mady and I rented scooters and just WENT.............the best day yet!

Enjoy.

Now near the Myanmar border

Longnecked women dancers at a local hilltribe talent show last night in Pai.

Bridge on the River Pai.............no kidding.........small slats, you can imagine my excitement............I never made it across the whole bridge.

Trip to the street market with our Cooking teacher.

For you Larry and Arin...........but my elephant photos will really happen once I am with Jami after the 15th of January.

Today we travelled through the very curvy mountainous area from Pai to Mae Hong Son. LARGE Burmese influence here. The street stalls offer very different items than what we have found in the rest of Thailand. Curious wonders...........as in I wonder what the hell it is!!! Some experiementing, lots of smiles and some understanding. It is much calmer here than Pai and that is wonderful. We are each staying in a tiny hut with our own bathroom and mosquito netting. Lovely small place by the lake. There is a chedi in the middle of the lake with someone's ashes in it, that is lit up at night. Beautiful....I will try to send pictures later as I am in an internet cafe and have not downloaded those pictures yet.

Yesterday's cooking class was fantastic. I am ready to start a restaurant!! Just kidding, I have already done that in my life and now I am traveling with one of the people I did that with!!!

Anyhow, besides cooking we took a walk to the local market and samples and learned lots about the ingrediants.....we also all had to taste grasshopper........crispy little critter........tastes like chips. Did you know that a pineapple is ripe and sweet if the size of the pentagon on top is the same as the ones on the bottom and if the crevices are not too deep!!! Or that if you have the choice of more elongated eggs vs squatty oval ones, the elongated one has less cholestoral!!! Oh the things one has to come to Thailand to learn.

I am learning. I am noticing. I am trying to take as much in as I can. I think a lot. I see myself trying to make comparisons to what is familiar......"oh that looks just like.....morning glory" etc. And then I think about that movie "What the Bleep Do We Know" and what I learned there about how much we don't SEE because it is unfamiliar. So I am trying to just open my eyes and heart and take it in. Sometimes I think I won't really know what I am seeing until I come home and see what remains with me. I hope I get to keep discussing it with all of you other travellers. I think it is part of the opportunity of traveling.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring and if it will include internet or not!! Not as easy in the little hut. But tomorrow is Childrens Day in Thailand............they celebrate Father's day on the Kings Birthday..............they LOVE THE KING. And I can't tell you how many people from all over the world are commenting to us about their excitement about Obama. Lots of German/Aussie/British travellers, not many USA....another interesting thing to notice!

Bye for now.....Karen

scooting around in the hills

Luckily I had a chat with my cousin Arin, who reminded me how much I love my scooter so this morning before my cooking class in the afternoon, I rented a scooter and too off for the hills. I LOVED IT............it is the thing to do anywhere. To get away from the town and see where people really live and breath.........of course there were a few glitches as the helmets were crappy and a bit too big but it worked, and the gas gauge, I discovered while up in the hills read empty....but I found a store and though the man spoke no english we charaded my gas concern....only to discover there was plenty!! I did perceive some odd looks, this older woman on a scooter by herself in the hills.........maybe just my perceptions though. This is a very young group of tourists in Pai. But hope you enjoy the pictures.

more pictures and a few stories

Pictures of sights around Pai

Our Guest House Bungalow in Sukhothai

The shadows on the chadies were amazing

Sukhothai Buddhas at Wat Maharat

Here are some pictures from the Reclining Buddha in Bangkok (that got lost in my camera for a few days)

This morning Mady is on an elephant ride. I decided to skip it cause I think I will have plenty of time to ride. But I am glad for the quiet time now to myself. She is considering NOT doing the trekking. She is now saying she does not know if she wants to stay in Pai for too much longer cause it is pretty touristy. Which it is. If you find places in Lonely Planet and they have many pages of info, It will likely be pretty touristy. I guess I have learned something about travel.....if you want 'more genuine' you have to work harder to get there, and it is probably not as comfortable a ride!!!

Last night we had THE best meal I have had in Thailand. It was delightfully seasoned and some good spice. I think in general they are light on the hotness for tourists, though I keep saying I like it hot. Then I had an hour massage before bed..........$5. Today after I dropped Mady off at the Elephant Ride place, I just walked down the street and had what I know is more common food for breakfast.....some sort of rice gruel with an egg, mushrooms, pork bits, ginger and fish sauce. Interesting. I sat with some people, I think Chinese who did not speak English........I do love just listening. I like the anonymity. Then I dropped my clothes off to get laundered, It will cost around $1.50 for all of it.

When Mady returns, we will hopefully take a walk OUT of town...........ie...where real people live. And hopefully that will be more to our liking. Then perhaps another massage in the heat of the day. It gets cold here at night and HOT during the day.

So...........we will see what tomorrow brings..............hopefully a cooking class.

love to you all,

Karen

I am SOOOO much happier

I unpacked my bag!!!!

This morning we took a three hour mini-van bus ride through winding roads out of Chiang Mai and to Pai. It is incredibly lovely and quiet around here. Mountains and jungles surround this laid back (hippy) little village, where we will stay for a few days, and the place we found costs around $12 a night and has free wifi.........does it get better??

So now that I can think straight I want to tell you some of what amazes me about this place. It is soft. The language, the people, the hills and vegitation. I love the textures of the plants, not that different from any tropical/jungle place but in combo with everything else it is quite lovely.

As we travelled here, I noticed that they stack their hay in triangles not that different from the roof peeks of the temples. Interesting. Oh the temples, they are fascinating. So ornate, so complex, so many different Buddhas. Here in Pai, Mady and I just came upon a temple that is a fascinating conglomeration of spiritualities. The 'guard' figures look like they are from Oxiaca. The carvings looked quite Hindi. There was an almost skeleton looking Buddha figure. Then a picture of someone who looked like a Semitic Jesus and then a few sculptures that looked almost Jamaican.............go figure. We are near the border, so I imagine there are a lot more influences in the belief systems.

Children here are totally adored. No matter how busy anyone is, when a child comes in, there is always time to play/tease/giggle. I love that. I look forward to being here long enough to make some real connection with some of the people who live in Pai..........not just the tourists!

I figured out how to post some pictures and will do the ones of Sukhothai and onward once I get them off my camera. These are from the Wats in Bangkok and the dragon roof sculpture out our
guesthouse window also in Bangkok.

more later.............I am much happier!!!!