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Final Thoughts

Final thoughts from Bryan

Now that the trip is behind us, there is so much to process. I am filled with gratitude for the experience, gratitude for the sense of Divine protection and guidance, gratitude for the reminder that goodness exists all over our shared world, and gratitude for getting to travel with an Eagle Scout and my best friend. I can heartily recommend Trevor as a travel companion. In all fairness I think I can say we were good for each other. Being human, we all miss things from time to time. I missed many things and Trevor was there to help me get back on track. Likewise, the things that Trevor missed were things that I noticed and helped him back on track.

I want to thank all of you who followed along with our travel blog. We've heard from many of you and we're glad you took the trip along with us. Special thanks to Trevor who spearheaded the creation of the blog and handled all the postings. While we both worked on entries and proofed each other's work, it was he who really kept it going.

After a trip like this it's impossible to know all the changes that have taken place in our hearts and minds. Only time will reveal the hidden jewels now planted deep within us. I wish each of you could experience the expansion that takes place when immersed in another culture. Prejudice and fear fall away in light of understanding, and compassion grows.

I look forward to continuing the journey of sharing the joy of yoga and the joy of life on our earth. And I also look forward to exploring more of this beautiful planet we call home.

Namaste, Aloha, and Sawadee Krup!

-Bryan

The Return

An unconscious (and completely true) reflection of the trip, by Trevor

Adjusting back to my normality was not automatic and I found myself feeling exhausted with some flu like symptoms. One evening as I was feeling rather puny I decided to take a hot bath. A few pleasant bath salts in the water, soft lighting and soothing sounds on the radio were a guarantee for a rejuvenating soak. I settled into the steaming tub, delighted with myself for correctly diagnosing my ailments and discovering the perfect remedy. As dictated by the perfect environment I gently dozed off into a refreshing slumber.

It was dark, yet there were faint rays of light ahead peeking through a doorway. I maneuvered cautiously along a long narrow walkway, eyes fixed ahead toward my destination. My hand steadied myself as it dragged along the cold stone wall to my right. As I neared the end of the path the light had increased to the point I was able to see my surroundings, I was back at Angkor Wat; the mysterious temple ruins of Cambodia.

My choice in music and bath scents unconsciously carried me through memories of my visit to this famed location and the awe and splendor of it rushed back to mind. It was dusk, just as it was the first time I visited the mammoth temple. Monkeys could be heard playfully calling to each other in the distance and the huge spires of the center complex were alive with the chatter of birds settling in for the night. I was alone except for the ambient sounds of the wildlife. An eerie hush came upon the place as the last fading rays of the sun began to dissipate beyond the horizon. I stood in silence for a moment soaking in the sensation of reliving the event.

After a reflective moment of gratitude I decided to move onward and passed through the open doorway and ran smack dab into the back of a large African American guy. He was standing on the edge of a ledge looking out at the expanse. There was nothing unusual about him except for his being out of place in my dream and his sudden appearance gave me quite a start. I let out an uncontrollable shriek. One thing that every sensible person knows is not to walk up behind someone else and let out a startling screech. Much less when that individual is standing on a 30 ft wall with no rails and even doubly so when they believe they are alone at a spooky and mysterious ruin at sundown. The man did what any person would have done in such a situation. He leaped into the air in complete terror and right off the wall into the courtyard far below. I was obviously shocked and dismayed by my irresponsible reaction and horrified at his. I wasn’t able to hear everything the man snarled but after a few recognizable expletives he ended his sentence with “kill you” and shot off around the corner headed towards the stairs. My immediate thought was to run but the scenario was obviously unintentional. Reason can be a powerful ally; certainly he would be calm enough after racing back to my location after having just survived his 30 ft. near death plunge to listen to reason. So I made my decision – I ran like hell.

I jolted awake. There I was, stewing in my soup of smelling salts and sweat, safe and sound back in America with no fear of anyone on their way to rip my innards out. I laughed so hard I almost punctured a lung.

Tokyo

Our return home included a purposefully planned twelve hour layover in Tokyo which included, among other challenges, another massive culture shock. The familiarity we had gained with the visual look of the Thai language, currency and customs went right out the door. Japanese, in all its calligraphic glory, was everywhere, and primarily without English subtitles.

Walking into the Narita airport we might as well been walking on another planet and we were instantly lost. We had trouble claiming our bags, we had trouble finding money, we had trouble finding our next flight check in, we had trouble finding directions, maps and travel info, and even had trouble finding someone that spoke English. After some effort, fueled by the determination to get into Tokyo, we had our information and made our plans. We stashed everything we didn’t want to carry in a locker and went to the Metro.

Surprisingly, we had little effort purchasing an express train and Metro pass for the Tokyo NEX Narita Express but getting on the correct train was another story. We showed the tickets, which were completely in Japanese, to several workers at the station, including the conductor of one of the trains. We were all pointed onto a train which ended up going entirely in the wrong direction. We discovered the error by following station signs with the map. Completely perplexed and hoping for some help, we made the bold move to exit the train at one of the stations. Not a soul that we could find knew any English. We made our way to the top level and eventually found a man in a ticket booth that said he ‘knew a little English’. Those were the last words he said in English. He looked at our tickets and started on a monologue in Japanese which included trying to get us to exit the toll area. We were worried that if we exited we may have to pay again to re-enter, so we took the tickets back, bowed a few times and headed back down to the platform. Another train came and left and we stood there bewildered. Finally another train came on an adjoining platform with only the letters NEX on the side. We thought that was our best shot. We ran as fast as we could back up the stairs and over to the next platform and just made it onto the train before the doors shut and away we went, although still not quite sure where we were headed. We tried to orient ourselves from the first couple of stops, and when we gained confidence we were headed in the right direction, out of exhaustion, we both fell fast asleep.

We woke up as the train arrived at the Tokyo station. We succeeded in getting on a subway to the Ueno station. We exited to begin yet another adventure of wrong directions and perplexing information. It was a challenge just to find our way out of the station. It was winter in Japan, so the businesses were closed up and the interiors were not visible from the sidewalk. Signs in front of shops had chalk headlines with what we assumed were daily specials. From our vantage point they could be selling anything from bird cages or plumbing supplies - we were hoping for lunch. Drivers used the left side of the street here, and all the sidewalks had a designated biking lane which we mistakenly used a few times.
Following a hunch, we headed toward a sign that would occasionally flash the word OPEN in English. Sure enough, it was a small restaurant. After being seated, the server handed us menus with Japanese AND English (were we that obvious?) and we reverted to the fool proof ‘point and smile’ system. After our tempura lunch we headed out for a famous temple area...

We stumbled upon an information store and met our first real English speaker that proved to be quite helpful. With her suggestions and maps in hand, we headed toward the points of interest. Walking proved to be a challenge due to the overabundance of rickshaw drivers. At every step drivers were offering us rides, for a fee of course. It became somewhat of a game to successfully avoid them. We found our own way to some renowned temple, famous for something that we never found out. We explored a few other areas and found a market where we bought a few souvenirs. We made our way back to the subway and then to one final stop at Asakusa. There we found two important and distinctive structures. The first we immediately dubbed “the golden turd”. We later found out our nickname was actually the unofficial name for the Asahi Beer Hall, which is one of the buildings of the Asahi Breweries headquartered on the east bank of the Sumida River. The other structure was the new and soon to be famous (and not yet open to the public) Sky Tree. This looming structure, opening in two more months, was billed at the tallest observation tower in the world. We were sorry we couldn’t enter, but it was nice to see the completed structure from below. It was nonetheless impressive from our lowly vantage point.

Our Tokyo tour was cut a little short from a twisted ankle (all healed, thank you) so we headed back to the airport where we checked in and had our final foreign meal: some veggie noodle soup.

Three sunsets, two sunrises, twelve time changes including crossing the International Date Line, and our trip from Thailand back to the USA had concluded. We were energized yet exhausted from the journey, but it was worth every moment.

Additional Thoughts

The following is a list of events or items that we noted during the trip that were potential entries into the blog. There was just too much to write to include it all. They are listed here primarily as reminders for us…

Workers were slow, no one was in a hurry unless they were driving.
Thai people look young, almost like kids, even the aged.

The Thai word for pig is moo.

Phuket had a large population of Muslims and mosques could be seen everywhere. 
While trying to negotiate on a cheap souvenir necklace on James Bond Island brought out the mean spirit in a Muslim sales woman who with disgust took the money we offered and added a few choice muttered words through snarling teeth. Whatever she said it didn’t sound complimentary.

French guests stayed next to us at the guesthouse with the “world’s greatest child”
Rene, another guest we met was an eccentric sort of free soul from Switzerland.
Russians were the least liked visitors in Thailand, French were a close second, and Israeli’s third.

IPhone’s were everywhere, far more people seemed to have them there than in the US
We often saw young boys escorting what appeared to us to look very much like well dressed American businessmen, or perhaps politicians.

We went to a Dairy Queen in the mall and tried a few varieties of ice cream not available in the USA the most notable being Green Tea flavor.

Bathrooms all had water for butt washings and rarely had toilet paper.
We also rarely found towels to dry hands (or butt) in a public restroom.

Upon our arrival in Bangkok, it paid us to be choosy. The first cab wanted to charge 900 Baht to take us to our hotel, and the second did it for 450b.

Streets at 12:30 am were busy and almost as crazy as daytime hours.
The Subway was completely shoulder to shoulder packed at 9:30 pm Fri night.

On more than one occasion we were noted as Bryan and his fat friend.

Grocery prices were no cheaper than home. A box of cereal was $7. Groceries were the same or more.
Just because things don't have expiration dates on them doesn't mean they shouldn't have one.
Corn seemed to be the most common flavor of just about anything. We saw, and tried, corn drinks, corn milk, corn ice cream, corn pizza, corn on a stick, Corn pancakes and corn waffles, corn desserts...
We were presented local blue shirts and leis by Bum on our departure

After eating fresh fruits and vegetables for a month we felt great. It was a chore to eat our packaged, boxed and preserved foods back home and it felt awkward doing so. There was quite a noticeable difference.

Jackie was our friendly and talkative flight attendant on the return trip home on AA.
We ordered kosher meals for flights which included Multi-meals, we were constantly eating.
We had to left the blinds closed on the flight home, the light was so blinding.
There was no info in Chicago at immigration and we exited the area and had a heck of a time re-entering the terminal.
Two sport teams on flight from Chicago to XNA.
We were picked up at XNA by Andrea.

Bryan:
Was the guest piano performer at the restaurant in Chiang Mai. His playing earned us free meals
Favorite fruit was Rose Apples
Only digestion problems the whole trip was immediately after eating at KFC
Left phone off for the whole 30 days
Drank cobra whiskey in Laos
Lost his hearing due to water in the ear

Trevor:
Received the shortest haircut of his life in Chiang Mai
Had several incidents of minor digestion issues
Had a traumatic toilet experience at the elephant camp
Hit his head on the zip line at the elephant camp enough to bleed and look scary
Had two bike injuries while in Chiang Mai
Was frequently dizzy during massage classes, but only while on the third floor
Was kissed on the forehead at a cabaret show by a lady boy who left large red lip prints
Mosquito bites: many time, many time
Found iPhone maps incredibly useful
Participated in Karaoke on van trip while visiting Nop


Our Temple tour in Bangkok was conducted by Tony / Sakda 8:30 - 2:30 (081-772-6487)

Thai Bits and Pieces

The sun’s rays exploited a gap in the curtains and proceeded to warm the cool air lingering from the night. Unlike mornings at home where work beckons us to make a daily return, here we were greeting with fresh fruits and yogurt, and freshly baked breads and warm tea. Today however was different, for this was our final morning. We lingered in our room enjoying the tranquility of the morning listening to the distant sounds of the city beyond the walls of our guest house. Precisely on cue, the maid arrived at the doorstep, sweeping the prior day’s droppings of dried leaves from the garden patio. We were in no hurry to leave, and serendipitously were not scheduled to do so until the afternoon.

At breakfast we learned that another guest was waiting for our room, and the maid was on call to prepare it after our exit. Not wanting to keep everyone waiting, we quickly transferred our things into an adjoining room and then began the wearisome and monumental task of packing for our return flight.

As the afternoon approached, we found ourselves seated in the lounge with bags bulging near our feet, reflecting on our now expired month in this ancient civilization. Still without many of the modern luxuries of our relatively new culture in the States, this land has survived and even thrived with a richness uniquely its own. We discussed some of the many differences - some drastic and some minor - that made this land exciting and fresh.

We found that driving was not the only thing they did backwards from us - the contents of salt and pepper shakers seemed to be reversed. The small or single holes put out the salt and the larger or multiple holes put out the pepper. Oops. Better like both, 'cause there ain't no turning back once it’s on the food. We quickly learned to test first, shake later.

Speaking of driving, it was tricky adjusting to the flow of traffic. Something as customary as walking down the road had to be altered here. It’s not that moving to the other side of the road is hard, but we found that staying there is sometimes a problem. We had several close calls on our bicycles when we accidentally and unconsciously reverted to our American traffic system programming, especially when turning corners. Fortunately most Thai drivers are well accustomed to sharing the road with motorbikes, bicycles, people on foot and various animals including dogs and chickens, and they seem to be most accommodating and forgiving. We never saw even a hint of road rage.

In the populous parts of Thailand, it is a constant sight to see an unbelievable number of electric wires strung from pole to pole. In fact, the tops of poles are often completely buried in wires. We were also amazed to see workers on scaffolding and ladders made from bamboo. We even saw line workers with their bamboo ladders supported by the very lines they were fixing. Talk about getting your wires crossed.

As hair will grow, and ours did, the host at our Guest House recommended a nearby barber. Our diligent hair technician spoke no English so our instructions on how much to trim were met with smiles and nods. It seems that a smile really IS the international way to say "have no idea what you say but okay". We never expected what all was included in that $2 service. Eyebrows too long? Clip clip. Nose hair sticking out? Clip clip clip. Ear hair sticking out? Clip! At the sink we received the Thai Massage version of shampooing. We imagined her thoughts: “Lather, scrub, squeeze, pull, push and rub all hair from client head, rinse and repeat. Make sure push on head bumps. No head bumps? Make some.”

Thai people seem to have an almost magical way of dealing with trash for we rarely saw trash cans in public places, yet litter was equally as rare. In Bangkok it is actually illegal to litter. We were constantly hunting for trash cans and were frequently left holding the bag, or cup, or wrapper…

Thais must also be very clean eaters. IF we had napkins at restaurants they were hardly bigger than a movie ticket, barely big enough to wipe half a lip. Some napkins in American restaurants (can you say buffet?) can unfold to the size of a newspaper. Small trash bins sat beneath most tables so at least we knew where to put our micro-napkins when we were through.

Most restaurants provided chopsticks, and occasionally there were places where no other kinds of eating utensils were visible. Thai servers also took some getting used to, and at first it seemed we were being ignored. We found out that once they bring your meal you are on your own. They don’t even bring the check until they are signaled to return.

Working through our travel to-do list, we decided to see a movie in Thailand. We found a theater that had films showing in English so we took a bicycle trek to a cinema complex in a gigantic mall. There was more parking designated for motorcycles than cars, and the lots were full and overflowing. As we neared the entrance to the parking area, a large snake was crossing the road. It was well over three feet long; nice, brown and cobra-esque. No one seemed to pay any attention to it, besides us. Perhaps the locals are accustomed to the critters, but it gave us quite a start.

Entering the five level mall felt like walking into any huge mall in the United States. The main difference was the prevalence of Thai language on signs and placards; however the idea of a SALE transcends the language barrier. The theater was on the topmost level and as modern as any in the world. Purchasing tickets was automated and required seat selection. For an additional charge you could get a seat in the "Honeymoon Section", which encompassed the last couple of rows in the back of the theater.

Being popcorn enthusiasts we had to order some for the show. I ordered the jumbo, the largest size they offer, and was handed a small bag. I tried to exchange it hoping the clerk would understand that I wanted the extra-large, not a small or medium. The guy had to call over help before we both understood, that WAS the large! Yikes! We knew the Thai people were small, but even their popcorn matches? I ordered a second bag.

Before the movie started, as is customary in all theaters in Thailand, the Thai national anthem played and all stood in reverence to the king. Even though we had already experienced a few of these national patriotic pauses, they never ceased to impress.
The movie we saw was a new American release, and we actually got to see it almost a full week before the American premier. Too bad we had to leave the country ONE DAY before the early release of the new 3D Star Wars Episode One. Guess we'll have to wait and see it in the US with all the other poor saps who didn’t get in on it early. As we were leaving the theater we noticed the floor of the grand entry area was lined with golden stars and names of screen actors. One that immediately stood out was Gwyneth Pattrow (instead of Paltrow). Poor Gwyneth. immortalized erroneously in Thailand.

Exiting the theater back into the mall we found the entire place closed up for the night. The escalators had stopped, all the primary lighting was out and the place deserted, with the exception of the movie goers. It was an eerie feeling and we wondered if we were supposed to be there. We followed some other stragglers back to the parking area, and on our bicycles made one last cross city trek back to the guest house.