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| Bocas Del Toro - Panama |
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Costa Rica to Panama and a hummingbird with no passport
Just arrived in Bocas Del Torro, Panama. After the Yoga retreat was over, I moved to a small place across the street from the Caribbean waters where people were surfing. Had extra rain, after not having almost any for a week. It was nice rainforest rain, warm and relaxing. As I write here on the balcony of Hotel Olas, facing the water, a hummingbird keeps flying back and forth, showing off her little dance and long beak. Does she care she lives in Bocas?
The shuttle to Panama began with a minivan ride, chatting in Spanish with the driver and sharing torta y bananas, then crossed the border, walking over a very old rusty bridge, with lots of gaps between the boards (it used to be a railroad bridge), passport control through a mostly dark window of a run down, peeling blue wooden hut, while I am standing under grey sky, taking a pause from crying over the earth. (Of course I gave Lauren my rain Jacket, thinking I can always be OK without it - and I am. The rain poured mostly when in the car. When I needed to cross the bridge it stopped, waited till I finished all passport control stuff, and only resumed while I got back into the car - good rain Karma!!).
I step into a small room, to get a stamp in my passport, literally a little paper stamp in exchange for 3 dollars. Next desk is something like costumes. The man checks my knapsack and then points to a small door beside him. As I step in, I realize it’s a small toilet. Hmmm, what next? He points to my belly. Oh, Of course he wants me to lift the shirt to see I have no weapon, right? Well, no. Cash, he says. Cash?? Where is your money? In my bag, I respond. Show me, he demands in Spanish. I go to my bag, get the Ziploc, place it in my pocket and walk back to the tiny toilet. I hand him the cash. Earlier I had to declare how much money I am bringing in, so I thought, maybe he will check if the sum is right. I declared $1500, but really had only $700. He pulls out the money and goes through it, holding one bill after the other against the light shining from the tiny window above. He is not counting it, but rather making sure it is real. There is lots of fake money being passed into Panama, and they are controlling the money. OK. Done. I take my stuff, head to the next mini van for another hour or so ride. We arrive at the water; get into a speedboat, and head over to Bocas del Toro. Calm waters, passing islands of floating green vegetation. My butt hurts from the wooden seat; so I drop my thinking mind, soften my gaze towards the water, and surrender. Suddenly I am gone; water, sky and islands are here.
Lots of sail boats around. I take my carry on and walk off the boat, while everyone else has a backpack. I decide not to worry about what other people are thinking of me right now. I walk towards a hotel that maybe has my reservation. I was emailing them, but at a certain point they stopped emailing back. (Was it my lack of ability to send Western Union from Porto Viejo?) As I walk down the chill out street of Colon, the main island, wondering whether I have where to stay tonight, a few hustlers tried to offer me other places, but I think I look seasoned enough, that they did not bother me at all.
I got my room, pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. Well, a bit better really. Though I am in a standard room, from my bed I can see the ocean. The whole house is on stilts floating on the water. So with a slight angle I get the entire ocean. There is a public balcony with panoramic views (photos soon), and some chill out couches, perfect for me doing work. Oh, humming bird is back. She seems content to wander around freely, with no passport or cash, finding her food one moment at a time.
When registering I was offered coffee and cake. The man bringing it over spoke Spanish, but had a thick accent when speaking English. Not really a Spanish accent. It turns out his name is Avi, and you can guess where he is from! 20 years in Colombia, and now this is another business of his.
I asked the receptionist for another room that seemed open, and she said it was booked. Later, when I came down, I heard Avi asking her to switch me to that room. You never know when it pays off being Israeli.
The shuttle to Panama began with a minivan ride, chatting in Spanish with the driver and sharing torta y bananas, then crossed the border, walking over a very old rusty bridge, with lots of gaps between the boards (it used to be a railroad bridge), passport control through a mostly dark window of a run down, peeling blue wooden hut, while I am standing under grey sky, taking a pause from crying over the earth. (Of course I gave Lauren my rain Jacket, thinking I can always be OK without it - and I am. The rain poured mostly when in the car. When I needed to cross the bridge it stopped, waited till I finished all passport control stuff, and only resumed while I got back into the car - good rain Karma!!).
I step into a small room, to get a stamp in my passport, literally a little paper stamp in exchange for 3 dollars. Next desk is something like costumes. The man checks my knapsack and then points to a small door beside him. As I step in, I realize it’s a small toilet. Hmmm, what next? He points to my belly. Oh, Of course he wants me to lift the shirt to see I have no weapon, right? Well, no. Cash, he says. Cash?? Where is your money? In my bag, I respond. Show me, he demands in Spanish. I go to my bag, get the Ziploc, place it in my pocket and walk back to the tiny toilet. I hand him the cash. Earlier I had to declare how much money I am bringing in, so I thought, maybe he will check if the sum is right. I declared $1500, but really had only $700. He pulls out the money and goes through it, holding one bill after the other against the light shining from the tiny window above. He is not counting it, but rather making sure it is real. There is lots of fake money being passed into Panama, and they are controlling the money. OK. Done. I take my stuff, head to the next mini van for another hour or so ride. We arrive at the water; get into a speedboat, and head over to Bocas del Toro. Calm waters, passing islands of floating green vegetation. My butt hurts from the wooden seat; so I drop my thinking mind, soften my gaze towards the water, and surrender. Suddenly I am gone; water, sky and islands are here.
Lots of sail boats around. I take my carry on and walk off the boat, while everyone else has a backpack. I decide not to worry about what other people are thinking of me right now. I walk towards a hotel that maybe has my reservation. I was emailing them, but at a certain point they stopped emailing back. (Was it my lack of ability to send Western Union from Porto Viejo?) As I walk down the chill out street of Colon, the main island, wondering whether I have where to stay tonight, a few hustlers tried to offer me other places, but I think I look seasoned enough, that they did not bother me at all.
I got my room, pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. Well, a bit better really. Though I am in a standard room, from my bed I can see the ocean. The whole house is on stilts floating on the water. So with a slight angle I get the entire ocean. There is a public balcony with panoramic views (photos soon), and some chill out couches, perfect for me doing work. Oh, humming bird is back. She seems content to wander around freely, with no passport or cash, finding her food one moment at a time.
When registering I was offered coffee and cake. The man bringing it over spoke Spanish, but had a thick accent when speaking English. Not really a Spanish accent. It turns out his name is Avi, and you can guess where he is from! 20 years in Colombia, and now this is another business of his.
I asked the receptionist for another room that seemed open, and she said it was booked. Later, when I came down, I heard Avi asking her to switch me to that room. You never know when it pays off being Israeli.
Costa Rica, Samasati yoga retreat
The group left. I stood by the 4x4 Japanese metallic green car, waiving at the people inside. They are on their way to the airport, passing through the Costa Rica rain forest, heading back to the US. A week of Yoga and meditation with dharma talks focusing on understanding the tendencies of our minds and how to clear it.
Though the group was pretty diverse, there was beautiful group energy, a support system created organically, and even some deep friendships or as one student said “I found my sister”.
Reggae blends with Latin, blacks with Hispanics, expats with serious tans, blond moms with Costa Rican looking kids, a blend of cultures, music and food, mixed with the ocean spice, topped off with jungle life. Sounds like it could be a mess, but rather it is one of the most peaceful, accepting and non-racist places I have ever encountered.
Wandering around the main strip of Porto Viejo is a delight, with plenty of little shops, bars and restaurants. With the ocean just a few steps away, maybe having a drink, possibly the local Imperial beer, (I chose the regular which is more of an amber color), or eating a Casado, the local classic of rice, beans, non veggie protein and fried plantains, on one big white plate, served hot and assured to satisfy a hungry stomach.
Down the road from Porto Viejo, we rode our red cruise bikes along small retreats, hostels, a bakery, an animal rescue, crossing a few rivers, all surrounded by the rain forest life. A huge neon blue butterfly flirts with me as I ride my bike, sloths watch us lazily from above, signs announcing land for sale, and in general a pretty mellow vibe.
Riding along the river we arrive at Playa Punta Uva, a beach spotted with palm trees bearing heavy coconuts, some cliffs with rain forest growth on one of its curves, medium waves washing away the footprints on the sand, allowing us to feel over and over again the rebirthing of a new moment.
Morning sessions of yoga which included workshop like tips and practices were followed by a delightful ocean view breakfast buffet. Then, a day at the beach, horseback riding, kayaking or a canopy tour, sometimes known as zip lining. A harness strapped around our hips, a cable stretching over the rain forest for as long as the eye can see, zipping over a valley that seems so far below. Legs up and off I go. I lean back as I choose to go as fast as possible, enjoying the surrender of effortless movement merging into nature, before landing at the platform revealed between the enormous leaves that seem to be on steroids. Really, all of nature is much greater here. From spiders, to butterflies, from leaves to trees, all seem to flourish on Mother Nature’s abundance. We hike from one platform to another, finding ourselves high up on hanging platforms deep within the rainforest. After 20 or so platforms we arrive safely back to enjoy deliciously sweet pineapples and bananas.
Early morning symphony of bird singing is as grand as any orchestra, with a deep drumming base of the howling monkeys, which at times sounds like roaring lions.
The sounds in Costa Rica are just as much of an experience as the sights. Especially up at Samasati, which was specifically architected to give the true nature feel of the rain forest. I saw monkeys, amazing butterflies, hummingbirds, and even toucans there. The simple and beautiful constructions of our bungalows from local wood, the morning juices from the fruit grown on the property, and the coffee, that even those with the most hedonistic taste would commend. Add to that the warmth of the local people working there, the views, and the good vibes, and you know this is as close to bliss as it gets.
We added our own tunes, with a night of Zen Dance as well as a night of Osho Kundalini Meditation. Finding freedom within our bodies, our minds, and dropping into the presence of love and group support, it was like watching flowers open up revealing their true color, every day shining with more radiance.
I sit here on my supportive hammock on my bungalow deck sipping in peace and content as the group heads back. I wish you all to follow your intentions, to take on your new clarities and practice them, so they keep shining through, and to share the gift of this experience with those that could not be with us.
With deep gratitude to Lauren my wife for her unparalleled support, to the amazing group that held the space for each other and was willing to open up, to Samasati for their hospitality, to the people and the land of Costa Rica for sharing the abundance and love with us.
We will be back!
Though the group was pretty diverse, there was beautiful group energy, a support system created organically, and even some deep friendships or as one student said “I found my sister”.
Reggae blends with Latin, blacks with Hispanics, expats with serious tans, blond moms with Costa Rican looking kids, a blend of cultures, music and food, mixed with the ocean spice, topped off with jungle life. Sounds like it could be a mess, but rather it is one of the most peaceful, accepting and non-racist places I have ever encountered.
Wandering around the main strip of Porto Viejo is a delight, with plenty of little shops, bars and restaurants. With the ocean just a few steps away, maybe having a drink, possibly the local Imperial beer, (I chose the regular which is more of an amber color), or eating a Casado, the local classic of rice, beans, non veggie protein and fried plantains, on one big white plate, served hot and assured to satisfy a hungry stomach.
Down the road from Porto Viejo, we rode our red cruise bikes along small retreats, hostels, a bakery, an animal rescue, crossing a few rivers, all surrounded by the rain forest life. A huge neon blue butterfly flirts with me as I ride my bike, sloths watch us lazily from above, signs announcing land for sale, and in general a pretty mellow vibe.
Riding along the river we arrive at Playa Punta Uva, a beach spotted with palm trees bearing heavy coconuts, some cliffs with rain forest growth on one of its curves, medium waves washing away the footprints on the sand, allowing us to feel over and over again the rebirthing of a new moment.
Morning sessions of yoga which included workshop like tips and practices were followed by a delightful ocean view breakfast buffet. Then, a day at the beach, horseback riding, kayaking or a canopy tour, sometimes known as zip lining. A harness strapped around our hips, a cable stretching over the rain forest for as long as the eye can see, zipping over a valley that seems so far below. Legs up and off I go. I lean back as I choose to go as fast as possible, enjoying the surrender of effortless movement merging into nature, before landing at the platform revealed between the enormous leaves that seem to be on steroids. Really, all of nature is much greater here. From spiders, to butterflies, from leaves to trees, all seem to flourish on Mother Nature’s abundance. We hike from one platform to another, finding ourselves high up on hanging platforms deep within the rainforest. After 20 or so platforms we arrive safely back to enjoy deliciously sweet pineapples and bananas.
Early morning symphony of bird singing is as grand as any orchestra, with a deep drumming base of the howling monkeys, which at times sounds like roaring lions.
The sounds in Costa Rica are just as much of an experience as the sights. Especially up at Samasati, which was specifically architected to give the true nature feel of the rain forest. I saw monkeys, amazing butterflies, hummingbirds, and even toucans there. The simple and beautiful constructions of our bungalows from local wood, the morning juices from the fruit grown on the property, and the coffee, that even those with the most hedonistic taste would commend. Add to that the warmth of the local people working there, the views, and the good vibes, and you know this is as close to bliss as it gets.
We added our own tunes, with a night of Zen Dance as well as a night of Osho Kundalini Meditation. Finding freedom within our bodies, our minds, and dropping into the presence of love and group support, it was like watching flowers open up revealing their true color, every day shining with more radiance.
I sit here on my supportive hammock on my bungalow deck sipping in peace and content as the group heads back. I wish you all to follow your intentions, to take on your new clarities and practice them, so they keep shining through, and to share the gift of this experience with those that could not be with us.
With deep gratitude to Lauren my wife for her unparalleled support, to the amazing group that held the space for each other and was willing to open up, to Samasati for their hospitality, to the people and the land of Costa Rica for sharing the abundance and love with us.
We will be back!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Worth Remembering
”It is worth remembering, that it is much more disheartening to have to steal than to be stolen from” Boris Lermontov [to Julian Craster] in the movie: The Red Shoes, 1948.
When someone takes from us, it means we had something. We had something that could be taken away. You can practice anger and loss, or celebrate that you had it to begin with, did not need to take it from others, and even practice compassion towards the thief that needed it so badly, that they had to go and steel it.
You may lose and idea, a concept, money, jewelry or even a relationship. Celebrate it while you have it, and allow it to continue its flow in the universe, as it was never really yours to begin with.
May you know lots of generosity in your life!
Blissful Living,
Doron
PS. Ready to find more balance in your life? Join me at Esalen, May 27-29.
Sign up now with 2 friends, and you all receive 10% off!
http://doronhanoch.com/Retreats/esalen.html
When someone takes from us, it means we had something. We had something that could be taken away. You can practice anger and loss, or celebrate that you had it to begin with, did not need to take it from others, and even practice compassion towards the thief that needed it so badly, that they had to go and steel it.
You may lose and idea, a concept, money, jewelry or even a relationship. Celebrate it while you have it, and allow it to continue its flow in the universe, as it was never really yours to begin with.
May you know lots of generosity in your life!
Blissful Living,
Doron
PS. Ready to find more balance in your life? Join me at Esalen, May 27-29.
Sign up now with 2 friends, and you all receive 10% off!
http://doronhanoch.com/Retreats/esalen.html
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Are you real?
This is a photo of my nieces Maya and Kayla. They are truly wonderful. Their genuine smiles and laughter,their joy for the little things in life, their appreciation of food... And they never pretend to like me, even when their mommy asks them to. They come to me when they want and laugh with me when they want to, they are themselves, and that is beautiful. They dress up and pretend when THEY want to, and not to be nice, but to celebrate life. Are you REAL?
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Holy Cow! Happy Sankaranti!
Happy Sankaranti!(Shankranti)
All the cows seemed to have vanished, the streets are quiet, few people around, its the Harvest Holiday, a new year. Much of the festivities take place in the fields or other wise in the homes, drinking Badam Milk (almond and cow milk) and eating Pongal a specialty dish for the holiday made of mushy grains and beans (Kitchari like) in two variations, sweet and spicy.
Efrat volunteers to take me to the cow area. Its not far from where I live, we walk passed the Mandala house where I study, cross double road, named thus since it has a big, black and yellow metal fence dividing it into two equals, and down the street I can already see a cow tied to the fence of a large park. Mysore has parks galore, some small and some large, most with walking paths and benches, coconut trees, lots of plants and a fence to guard it so that no one but humans can go in, part of Mysore’s charm.
We walk towards the cow that is painted yellow in all the spots that are not dark. To our left appears another street with three sheep, a young cow and a calf, all colored yellow. My lips stretch to my ears, a bit surreal, but then again India always is a bit like a movie set, with its own orderly chaos and plenty of dotted beauties, like Bindis on a young girls forehead.
After a while using my camera, I decided that today is a good day to stretch its buttons and twist its focus ring. It was a great feeling of liberty to just walk around without the need to capture, to hold on to the visuals in a permanent form (temporary permanence really), seeing at the present moment with nothing as a barrier between reality and me. Today is a holiday, and as part of the celebration all the cows are painted yellow, turmeric is the color, so it is all natural, healthy, anti-inflammatory and strength giving. It is a great day to share my love to this beautiful animal, in its beautified form of yellow and red painted horns, sometimes with sparkles, sometimes with an Ohm painted on its rear. The camera, when used as part of the celebration, as a means of communication rather that greed, can be an enhancer of reality. It was like that on my trip to Cuba where I only had a 24mm wide angel lens, forcing me to really make contact with the people, to be part of the photo without being in it, a project I started back when I took photos of my parents, creating a triangle of emotion with out me being visually in the frame. I now have a 24-105 zoom, but this still does not allow me to hide and reach far with my zoom to capture an unaware soul, I still am in the midst of life, and with digital even more so. The kids ran up to me and asked me to take photos of them with their cow, or of their little sister, or aunt eating in the window, and then they would want to look at my little screen, to see themselves appear like magic on my magic screen. Their eyes bright with joy, open hearted and wanting to share, their moms inviting us in to eat, “please, you come inside”, when I refused gently, they would run out with a little bag of sweets, like trick or treat, sharing their blessings. Stepping over cow poop, passing by dried cow dong drying on the wall as it will be used for fire later, another cow, being painted goats horns on its forehead with red and gold glitter, little girls dressed in their fanciest cloths, with beautiful dresses of bright colors, sequence and shiny materials offering translucent material covering their arms, lots of colorful shiny bangles singing along with their anklets as they walk. Kids dragged us from one street to the next, “come see my cow”, “this is my house, please come in”, “my uncle”, or any other declarations, wanting to share, feeling pride of connecting with us fortunate foreigners.
In the evening after walking around the lake and seeing the sunset, with the left shin hurting form all the walking, feeling tired, yet hydrated with fresh coconut water, Lauren, Efrat and myself, returned to the cow area, as at night they take the cows to jump over fire. Some of the afternoon kids find us and lead us around. We end up going into one of the homes, drinking some fresh Badam milk, and I mean fresh. The first floor hosts the cows and some sheep, we enter the door, skip the urine, leave our sandals below on the nice tiled steps but not too close to the sheep that want to chew on it, and go up stairs. Downstairs the lighting was tungsten yellow, pale, contrasted with the living room that shone with bright greenish neon lights turning neutral with the light yellow paint on the wall, mostly bare, as was the room apart from a TV and a few plastic chairs. Some huge metal pots containing fresh milk stood in the hallway, one of them being heated (to drink or to clean bacteria?). We are offered seats and some food. We get plates with yummy Pongal. Some hesitation as of for the raw milk from my friends, but I dive right into it, loving the idea of fresh raw milk, a slight after taste of grass.
Load music came from outside, ”dancing, dancing, please you come”, offered the young man that until now was just standing and watching us eat, as if it were a rare view (and maybe it was). We took to the balcony watching the young kids dancing in the street. Cows near by, cow poop on the side, a bright light illuminating so the one video camera in the neighborhood could document the beautiful kids with their marvelous outfits dancing some Bollywood moves. Before long we are down on the street shaking and moving as well, the girls really, I was still finishing my Badam milk, and holding my bit too large of a camera.
We continued along to see some fire hopping. It turns to be some burning hay on the street with a man dragging the cows though it. There sure was fire, yellow cows and even a man going through it, though maybe not so much of any big hopping. The cows went back and forth a few times, there was something really amazing about this, though the cows as holy as they are were not very respected of their own wills.
The cows are holy as long as they provide he precious milk. They are mostly not eaten, though secretly some, like my landlord will admit “it gives great strength to eat a cow, as long as you do not eat pigs, witch will turn you into an evil man.”
All the cows seemed to have vanished, the streets are quiet, few people around, its the Harvest Holiday, a new year. Much of the festivities take place in the fields or other wise in the homes, drinking Badam Milk (almond and cow milk) and eating Pongal a specialty dish for the holiday made of mushy grains and beans (Kitchari like) in two variations, sweet and spicy.
Efrat volunteers to take me to the cow area. Its not far from where I live, we walk passed the Mandala house where I study, cross double road, named thus since it has a big, black and yellow metal fence dividing it into two equals, and down the street I can already see a cow tied to the fence of a large park. Mysore has parks galore, some small and some large, most with walking paths and benches, coconut trees, lots of plants and a fence to guard it so that no one but humans can go in, part of Mysore’s charm.
We walk towards the cow that is painted yellow in all the spots that are not dark. To our left appears another street with three sheep, a young cow and a calf, all colored yellow. My lips stretch to my ears, a bit surreal, but then again India always is a bit like a movie set, with its own orderly chaos and plenty of dotted beauties, like Bindis on a young girls forehead.
After a while using my camera, I decided that today is a good day to stretch its buttons and twist its focus ring. It was a great feeling of liberty to just walk around without the need to capture, to hold on to the visuals in a permanent form (temporary permanence really), seeing at the present moment with nothing as a barrier between reality and me. Today is a holiday, and as part of the celebration all the cows are painted yellow, turmeric is the color, so it is all natural, healthy, anti-inflammatory and strength giving. It is a great day to share my love to this beautiful animal, in its beautified form of yellow and red painted horns, sometimes with sparkles, sometimes with an Ohm painted on its rear. The camera, when used as part of the celebration, as a means of communication rather that greed, can be an enhancer of reality. It was like that on my trip to Cuba where I only had a 24mm wide angel lens, forcing me to really make contact with the people, to be part of the photo without being in it, a project I started back when I took photos of my parents, creating a triangle of emotion with out me being visually in the frame. I now have a 24-105 zoom, but this still does not allow me to hide and reach far with my zoom to capture an unaware soul, I still am in the midst of life, and with digital even more so. The kids ran up to me and asked me to take photos of them with their cow, or of their little sister, or aunt eating in the window, and then they would want to look at my little screen, to see themselves appear like magic on my magic screen. Their eyes bright with joy, open hearted and wanting to share, their moms inviting us in to eat, “please, you come inside”, when I refused gently, they would run out with a little bag of sweets, like trick or treat, sharing their blessings. Stepping over cow poop, passing by dried cow dong drying on the wall as it will be used for fire later, another cow, being painted goats horns on its forehead with red and gold glitter, little girls dressed in their fanciest cloths, with beautiful dresses of bright colors, sequence and shiny materials offering translucent material covering their arms, lots of colorful shiny bangles singing along with their anklets as they walk. Kids dragged us from one street to the next, “come see my cow”, “this is my house, please come in”, “my uncle”, or any other declarations, wanting to share, feeling pride of connecting with us fortunate foreigners.
In the evening after walking around the lake and seeing the sunset, with the left shin hurting form all the walking, feeling tired, yet hydrated with fresh coconut water, Lauren, Efrat and myself, returned to the cow area, as at night they take the cows to jump over fire. Some of the afternoon kids find us and lead us around. We end up going into one of the homes, drinking some fresh Badam milk, and I mean fresh. The first floor hosts the cows and some sheep, we enter the door, skip the urine, leave our sandals below on the nice tiled steps but not too close to the sheep that want to chew on it, and go up stairs. Downstairs the lighting was tungsten yellow, pale, contrasted with the living room that shone with bright greenish neon lights turning neutral with the light yellow paint on the wall, mostly bare, as was the room apart from a TV and a few plastic chairs. Some huge metal pots containing fresh milk stood in the hallway, one of them being heated (to drink or to clean bacteria?). We are offered seats and some food. We get plates with yummy Pongal. Some hesitation as of for the raw milk from my friends, but I dive right into it, loving the idea of fresh raw milk, a slight after taste of grass.
Load music came from outside, ”dancing, dancing, please you come”, offered the young man that until now was just standing and watching us eat, as if it were a rare view (and maybe it was). We took to the balcony watching the young kids dancing in the street. Cows near by, cow poop on the side, a bright light illuminating so the one video camera in the neighborhood could document the beautiful kids with their marvelous outfits dancing some Bollywood moves. Before long we are down on the street shaking and moving as well, the girls really, I was still finishing my Badam milk, and holding my bit too large of a camera.
We continued along to see some fire hopping. It turns to be some burning hay on the street with a man dragging the cows though it. There sure was fire, yellow cows and even a man going through it, though maybe not so much of any big hopping. The cows went back and forth a few times, there was something really amazing about this, though the cows as holy as they are were not very respected of their own wills.
The cows are holy as long as they provide he precious milk. They are mostly not eaten, though secretly some, like my landlord will admit “it gives great strength to eat a cow, as long as you do not eat pigs, witch will turn you into an evil man.”
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Mysore into the New Year
Landing at 11:30am in Bangalore after three flights, immigration and luggage, then getting into a taxi for 3 hours more. A bit tiring, but considering how crazy Bangalore traffic is during the day, we were happy to be in a cool night (freezing really for what we were wearing), and ride smoothly to Mysore. Elena, my sweet Italian friend, put us up for the night. We just changed shifts. She wakes up at 2:15am to warm up her spine, before she goes to the Shala to practice; we got there at 3:30am, and crashed like babies.
We woke up as she returned from practice, had a fantastic breakfast, got filled up on some of the happenings in Mysore, and borrowed her scooter to go search for a place to stay as well as practice.
It was a big step to move from my comfort zone and friend circle of Gukulam, and dive into Lakshmi Puram, the older part of town, or sometimes known as the real Indian as it is not as wealthy and set up for the westerners coming to practice with Sharat. There are a few of BNS Iyengar (not to be confused with BKS Iyengar) students teaching around here, and they all teach Ashtanga similar to Pattabhi Jois. Since our new pad is right near the Mandala house, we decided to give Cidanada a try. On my last visit here, I practiced with Sheshadri in the same place, now he has grown to having his own shala. I was pleasantly surprised with Cidanada. Nice calm beginning with chanting between every sun salute, a small class with lots of attention, strong adjustments yet with lots of care. BNS Iyengar still teaches pranayama, philosophy and mudra, at the Mandala house, so I was very happy for the opportunity to study with this 85-year-old man, a student of Krishnamacharya, and a character indeed. Mostly shaved head, though it has stubble as if it is shaved only once a month, with a large patch of salt and pepper hair left on the back, a red line climbing from his third eye up on his forehead for a good inch and a half, and a thick white heavy textured elongated half circle encasing it from the bottom like a deep cup holding a red stem. He wears glasses and looks at you from above the glasses as they rest low on his nose. He wears the traditional white longhi wrapped around his waist with a long Indian style cream or white shirt, with three buttons and a small Chinese like color, with one pocket on the left side, hanging over his medium sized belly. He enters the shala with his faded turquoise three quarter helmet, takes off his worn flip-flops and moves about barefoot, in slow motion. He has a similar accent to the one I remember of Pattabhi Jois; Yeit – meaning eight and a bit of singing to his sentences.
After so many pranayama coursed I have taken I am still enjoying this one, as the study is very gradual, similar to the Mysore style, one completes a pose and gets the next one, also here, when completed with a pranayama exercise, one receives the next. And do not think of this as breathing exercise, “That is respiration” Iyengar would say, Pranayama has a whole different purpose. I look forward to sharing this in my classes and workshops ahead.
Mysore changes some, but what really is new every time, is the experiences, no matter how much the same a place may look, it never is the same, as the Indians would say “same same, little different”. Experiences are of India but also of meeting other travelers, people from around the world, observing their perspective of a new place, sharing a discussion about Israel, conflicts and finding peace, learning about the yoga scene around the world, or about life as a South Korean Zen monk. Meeting an Israeli couple traveling with their three and five year olds, finding an American in his 60’s that left the US behind and now lives here. It is the little stories, the endless firecrackers on New Years Eve, the father on his scooter stopping by to wish Happy New Year as his son smiles staring at my Keen sandals, The rickshaw that would not start, and had to be rolled down the hill, kicked into second and jump started, so it can roll us through the bumpy roads to Gokulam, to have lunch at Elena’s and friends. A young women in jeans and a pretty tight T shirt showing her healthy appetite around the waist holding her tan Labrador cub, sits on the ledge of the temple square near the market hiding behind her fathers small SUV, waiting for him to return from the market. I smile and pet her shiny fur dog, an older Indian man comes to play with the dog, but obviously knows he is not allowed to touch it, so just plays from afar, casts and hierarchies are still very visible. We engage in conversation about the need to work in Bangalore and what it means, the great city and it being so over populated, she is the new middle class generation; the ones we see coming out of really nice villas planted amongst the older homes and buildings. A daughter of a doctor I project.
At the restaurant, enjoying the Indian food, Dosas and Idlis, the Thali meals, we sit in front of a man and woman, she is wearing a sari, black hair oiled and pulled back tightly, wearing a big nose ring. Him, wearing western like polyester pants and a light color dress shirt, having red color spread with a finger up his forehead tells me the importance of eating with the hands “Food tastes better you see, feeling the food, there is a connection”. They are lawyers and come the Mahesh Prasad a lot, “it is the best restaurant in the area,” she tells me. We speak of tradition, of the great necklace she wears to show the world she is married, the toe rings a married woman wears to stimulate her uterus, and that she needs not do yoga since she still squats to wash cloths in the bucket, washes dishes by hand, climbs the stairs, and in general uses very little machines. “The traditional life style takes care of me,” she says with a big smile and shiny black eyes.
Life in Mysore has its own pace, and I am greatly enjoying it. Even though much of life here has beautiful picture moments, I did not take out my camera yet. Maybe because I have been here many times before, it now feels like home, and thus I just smile at these moments, taking them in, but not recording them in pixels.
The street, the flavors are all part of one big live canvas, the amazing papayas that don’t even need extra lime to make them taste good, the walk through the colorful market, the intense smell of incense and flowers threaded together as necklaces, sold on the street or worn as ornaments on the ladies’ hair, blended with intense sweat coming off a group of men in line to make photocopies, dust and rickshaw pollution, smiling faces nodding their head from side to side, greeting hello, the colorful saris wrapping full bodied women, the smell of spices riding up the steam of milk from the small tea cups, the fruit carts on the side of the streets, the back and yellow rickshaws waiting at every corner to take you to your desired destination, and the cows.
No wonder the cows are holy, they symbolize the patience and endurance of life here. They go about slowly, eating around all that they find, sometimes being touched for a blessing, sometimes hit to move out of the way, and they, in their very nonchalant way, just move about, never getting angry, not violent, just surrendering to what life has offered them, grazing on the fields in front of them with no aspiration to become a cow of the Alps.
We woke up as she returned from practice, had a fantastic breakfast, got filled up on some of the happenings in Mysore, and borrowed her scooter to go search for a place to stay as well as practice.
It was a big step to move from my comfort zone and friend circle of Gukulam, and dive into Lakshmi Puram, the older part of town, or sometimes known as the real Indian as it is not as wealthy and set up for the westerners coming to practice with Sharat. There are a few of BNS Iyengar (not to be confused with BKS Iyengar) students teaching around here, and they all teach Ashtanga similar to Pattabhi Jois. Since our new pad is right near the Mandala house, we decided to give Cidanada a try. On my last visit here, I practiced with Sheshadri in the same place, now he has grown to having his own shala. I was pleasantly surprised with Cidanada. Nice calm beginning with chanting between every sun salute, a small class with lots of attention, strong adjustments yet with lots of care. BNS Iyengar still teaches pranayama, philosophy and mudra, at the Mandala house, so I was very happy for the opportunity to study with this 85-year-old man, a student of Krishnamacharya, and a character indeed. Mostly shaved head, though it has stubble as if it is shaved only once a month, with a large patch of salt and pepper hair left on the back, a red line climbing from his third eye up on his forehead for a good inch and a half, and a thick white heavy textured elongated half circle encasing it from the bottom like a deep cup holding a red stem. He wears glasses and looks at you from above the glasses as they rest low on his nose. He wears the traditional white longhi wrapped around his waist with a long Indian style cream or white shirt, with three buttons and a small Chinese like color, with one pocket on the left side, hanging over his medium sized belly. He enters the shala with his faded turquoise three quarter helmet, takes off his worn flip-flops and moves about barefoot, in slow motion. He has a similar accent to the one I remember of Pattabhi Jois; Yeit – meaning eight and a bit of singing to his sentences.
After so many pranayama coursed I have taken I am still enjoying this one, as the study is very gradual, similar to the Mysore style, one completes a pose and gets the next one, also here, when completed with a pranayama exercise, one receives the next. And do not think of this as breathing exercise, “That is respiration” Iyengar would say, Pranayama has a whole different purpose. I look forward to sharing this in my classes and workshops ahead.
Mysore changes some, but what really is new every time, is the experiences, no matter how much the same a place may look, it never is the same, as the Indians would say “same same, little different”. Experiences are of India but also of meeting other travelers, people from around the world, observing their perspective of a new place, sharing a discussion about Israel, conflicts and finding peace, learning about the yoga scene around the world, or about life as a South Korean Zen monk. Meeting an Israeli couple traveling with their three and five year olds, finding an American in his 60’s that left the US behind and now lives here. It is the little stories, the endless firecrackers on New Years Eve, the father on his scooter stopping by to wish Happy New Year as his son smiles staring at my Keen sandals, The rickshaw that would not start, and had to be rolled down the hill, kicked into second and jump started, so it can roll us through the bumpy roads to Gokulam, to have lunch at Elena’s and friends. A young women in jeans and a pretty tight T shirt showing her healthy appetite around the waist holding her tan Labrador cub, sits on the ledge of the temple square near the market hiding behind her fathers small SUV, waiting for him to return from the market. I smile and pet her shiny fur dog, an older Indian man comes to play with the dog, but obviously knows he is not allowed to touch it, so just plays from afar, casts and hierarchies are still very visible. We engage in conversation about the need to work in Bangalore and what it means, the great city and it being so over populated, she is the new middle class generation; the ones we see coming out of really nice villas planted amongst the older homes and buildings. A daughter of a doctor I project.
At the restaurant, enjoying the Indian food, Dosas and Idlis, the Thali meals, we sit in front of a man and woman, she is wearing a sari, black hair oiled and pulled back tightly, wearing a big nose ring. Him, wearing western like polyester pants and a light color dress shirt, having red color spread with a finger up his forehead tells me the importance of eating with the hands “Food tastes better you see, feeling the food, there is a connection”. They are lawyers and come the Mahesh Prasad a lot, “it is the best restaurant in the area,” she tells me. We speak of tradition, of the great necklace she wears to show the world she is married, the toe rings a married woman wears to stimulate her uterus, and that she needs not do yoga since she still squats to wash cloths in the bucket, washes dishes by hand, climbs the stairs, and in general uses very little machines. “The traditional life style takes care of me,” she says with a big smile and shiny black eyes.
Life in Mysore has its own pace, and I am greatly enjoying it. Even though much of life here has beautiful picture moments, I did not take out my camera yet. Maybe because I have been here many times before, it now feels like home, and thus I just smile at these moments, taking them in, but not recording them in pixels.
The street, the flavors are all part of one big live canvas, the amazing papayas that don’t even need extra lime to make them taste good, the walk through the colorful market, the intense smell of incense and flowers threaded together as necklaces, sold on the street or worn as ornaments on the ladies’ hair, blended with intense sweat coming off a group of men in line to make photocopies, dust and rickshaw pollution, smiling faces nodding their head from side to side, greeting hello, the colorful saris wrapping full bodied women, the smell of spices riding up the steam of milk from the small tea cups, the fruit carts on the side of the streets, the back and yellow rickshaws waiting at every corner to take you to your desired destination, and the cows.
No wonder the cows are holy, they symbolize the patience and endurance of life here. They go about slowly, eating around all that they find, sometimes being touched for a blessing, sometimes hit to move out of the way, and they, in their very nonchalant way, just move about, never getting angry, not violent, just surrendering to what life has offered them, grazing on the fields in front of them with no aspiration to become a cow of the Alps.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Hoi An
In the center on Vietnam, along the river, a short bike ride from the beach, lays this quaint town, with some French colonial influences of architecture and baguettes, an old quarter, a boardwalk along the river, some small temples with beautiful art featuring fantastic dragons, horses and paintings that seem to be influenced by Christianity.
The bridge that crosses between two old parts of town is lined up with lanterns, pedestrians, bike riders, scooters, overlooking the big wooden blue boats with eyes painted on their front, bringing them to life. Huge paper sculptures of a dragon, a fish jumping out of the water, a turtle and a lion float on the other side of the bridge, waiting patiently till nightfall to be illuminated and glow in their bright colors. Just behind them, crossing over a smaller offshoot of the river, is the Japanese bridge, covered with a strong roof and guarded by dogs on one side and monkeys on the other, symbolizing the years the bridge began and finished its construction.
This is the new undiscovered Ubud of Bali. With tons of wonderful cafes, great restaurants, amazing shopping, tailored suits, jackets, dresses and shirts, beautiful art galleries, massage spas and nail saloons, cool lounges Saigon style influenced by New York installed in a heritage homes from 200 years ago, calm streets in the old quarter that in the evenings are open only to pedestrians, while others have signs permitting primitive vehicles as well, a laid back feel, a friendly atmosphere, smiles and welcomes mixed with some ‘hello, where you from, come look my shop, please by something’…but not to a level of persistence sometimes known in India.
The area is flat, so bike riding is a treat, and within 10-15 minutes you could be on a beach with palm trees. Even the busy roads here are not too overwhelming, and mostly it feels just fine walking around anywhere. The place surely has been discovered as aside from the backpackers, many posh resorts are either up and shining, or under construction. There are some real beautiful beaches up towards Danag, the main big city north from here, and many of them are hidden behind walls, marking the territory of a to be exclusive resort.
I had my Pho as well as CaoLau, a Hoi An specialty noodle dish with lots of fresh greens, herbs and sprouts, had the wonderful local fresh spring rolls, with rice paper wrap rolled up over lots of veggies and sprouts slivered into thin match sticks, or the delicious green papaya salad, with roasted peanuts, shrimp, slivered carrots and freshly fried puffed rice crackers. Pizza, a dish a rarely eat back west, somehow appeared on my plate as a break from rice and noodles.
A day of walking, relaxing, editing photos, and a day of bike riding everywhere, a day of exploring little temples, the beautiful market with the pruned old ladies selling fresh vegetables along with tied legs white ducks, sitting quietly accepting their karma, or just too tired to fight, and an afternoon on a calming boat ride down the river.
On an early gray morning we mounted our 125cc Yamaha red and black scooter, and headed towards Marble Mountain. It has thin but relatively large wheels, a wanna be motorcycle, stuck on automatic. Full service at the gas station, good for employment. The road goes from narrow to wide as we pass a few funeral processions, and find large marble sculpture shops along the side of the road. Everything involves shopping, even parking the scooter; free parking if you ‘come look my shop later, no buy no problem, just looking.’
We climbed the steep stairs, bought lots of large incense to offer all the great statutes we will encounter. The first Buddha was grand and white set on the side of the cliff, and like many other temples, had a little pond in front with a great sculpture like limestone rock with some large Bonsai plants wrapping roots around it’s niches. Bonsai, the dwarf plants, are much larger and less delicate here, but have a different quality, of mini trees with large blossoms wrapping and warping similarly to the miniature Japanese ones. Pagodas set atop the rocky peaks offer great views, or semi great views as the coastline is spotted with more resort construction. It seems that there is no zoning, no area kept aside, at least from my limited view. Caves with beautiful large Buddha’s, little temples, a cave deep in the ground offers super tall ceilings with a few skylights, a Buddha set high up in the wall, and a temple that is receiving a new marble flooring. We sit and listen to a recoded prayer coming from a speaker off a tall bluish pagoda; bells mark ends of sutras, creating a melody.
The scooter takes us a long way to My Son (pronounced: mi son), a heritage Hindu temple area, a mini Anchor Watt if you will. We stop to get food on the way, no English, just a TV hanging with all generations glued to it watching soup operas. I walk to the kitchen and point to the dishes that look appealing. Saigon Beer with ice in my glass along the morning glory and garlic, the yummy broth with greens, rice, fresh sprouts and lettuce, and a plate of shrimp in a red sauce.
After the bike dying on the way, a sweet prayer of mine, and a resurrection, we arrive. Nature is beautiful and lush, the ruins are interesting and set in a peaceful environment. We enjoy our walk through the area, but would not make it here just for this. Traveling, like life is about the process; the lunch we had, the tea place we stopped at just before with the young girl in short yellow pants and a flirty smile serving us warm Vietnamese tea and cold Lipton tea with ginger without us even ordering, the scooters carrying more than the imagination can hold, the cows led by the farmers on the side of the road, the large water buffalo working the earth with the guide of a human, the one small tractor we found that was barely a frame with a hovering seat, and wheals that were actually the plowing tool, the friendly face pointing us in the right direction, the friendly and confused face pointing us in any direction just not to admit they do not understand, the old lady on the bicycle carrying loads of greens that seem to be floating in mid air with no support, the sun setting over rice fields with cone shaped hats glowing in her warmth, a family of four slowly on one small scooter, three girls in their beautiful traditional uniform, white tops, sheer with fabric all the way down their grey pants, cut into four sections, riding their bicycle one by the other, three boys in their simple uniform appear just a moment later, riding side by side, a girl riding behind her friend on the metal rack over the rear wheel places her feet beside her friends’ on the pedals as they move together sharing the load, some old homes sit quietly along the grand new fresh painted mansions, the breeze on the face, the helmet that flies off as I lift my head too high, and the sky spreading wide.
Traveling is about these little moments that are too many to write about, too often to stop and take pictures of; it is about the experience of life as it unfolds moment by moment. I am grateful to be part of this world, to share with humans across the globe their culture and tradition, their past and present. I find myself part of them, breathing their pain of past wars and living their dreams of a better tomorrow while sharing the flavors of their present joys.
The bridge that crosses between two old parts of town is lined up with lanterns, pedestrians, bike riders, scooters, overlooking the big wooden blue boats with eyes painted on their front, bringing them to life. Huge paper sculptures of a dragon, a fish jumping out of the water, a turtle and a lion float on the other side of the bridge, waiting patiently till nightfall to be illuminated and glow in their bright colors. Just behind them, crossing over a smaller offshoot of the river, is the Japanese bridge, covered with a strong roof and guarded by dogs on one side and monkeys on the other, symbolizing the years the bridge began and finished its construction.
This is the new undiscovered Ubud of Bali. With tons of wonderful cafes, great restaurants, amazing shopping, tailored suits, jackets, dresses and shirts, beautiful art galleries, massage spas and nail saloons, cool lounges Saigon style influenced by New York installed in a heritage homes from 200 years ago, calm streets in the old quarter that in the evenings are open only to pedestrians, while others have signs permitting primitive vehicles as well, a laid back feel, a friendly atmosphere, smiles and welcomes mixed with some ‘hello, where you from, come look my shop, please by something’…but not to a level of persistence sometimes known in India.
The area is flat, so bike riding is a treat, and within 10-15 minutes you could be on a beach with palm trees. Even the busy roads here are not too overwhelming, and mostly it feels just fine walking around anywhere. The place surely has been discovered as aside from the backpackers, many posh resorts are either up and shining, or under construction. There are some real beautiful beaches up towards Danag, the main big city north from here, and many of them are hidden behind walls, marking the territory of a to be exclusive resort.
I had my Pho as well as CaoLau, a Hoi An specialty noodle dish with lots of fresh greens, herbs and sprouts, had the wonderful local fresh spring rolls, with rice paper wrap rolled up over lots of veggies and sprouts slivered into thin match sticks, or the delicious green papaya salad, with roasted peanuts, shrimp, slivered carrots and freshly fried puffed rice crackers. Pizza, a dish a rarely eat back west, somehow appeared on my plate as a break from rice and noodles.
A day of walking, relaxing, editing photos, and a day of bike riding everywhere, a day of exploring little temples, the beautiful market with the pruned old ladies selling fresh vegetables along with tied legs white ducks, sitting quietly accepting their karma, or just too tired to fight, and an afternoon on a calming boat ride down the river.
On an early gray morning we mounted our 125cc Yamaha red and black scooter, and headed towards Marble Mountain. It has thin but relatively large wheels, a wanna be motorcycle, stuck on automatic. Full service at the gas station, good for employment. The road goes from narrow to wide as we pass a few funeral processions, and find large marble sculpture shops along the side of the road. Everything involves shopping, even parking the scooter; free parking if you ‘come look my shop later, no buy no problem, just looking.’
We climbed the steep stairs, bought lots of large incense to offer all the great statutes we will encounter. The first Buddha was grand and white set on the side of the cliff, and like many other temples, had a little pond in front with a great sculpture like limestone rock with some large Bonsai plants wrapping roots around it’s niches. Bonsai, the dwarf plants, are much larger and less delicate here, but have a different quality, of mini trees with large blossoms wrapping and warping similarly to the miniature Japanese ones. Pagodas set atop the rocky peaks offer great views, or semi great views as the coastline is spotted with more resort construction. It seems that there is no zoning, no area kept aside, at least from my limited view. Caves with beautiful large Buddha’s, little temples, a cave deep in the ground offers super tall ceilings with a few skylights, a Buddha set high up in the wall, and a temple that is receiving a new marble flooring. We sit and listen to a recoded prayer coming from a speaker off a tall bluish pagoda; bells mark ends of sutras, creating a melody.
The scooter takes us a long way to My Son (pronounced: mi son), a heritage Hindu temple area, a mini Anchor Watt if you will. We stop to get food on the way, no English, just a TV hanging with all generations glued to it watching soup operas. I walk to the kitchen and point to the dishes that look appealing. Saigon Beer with ice in my glass along the morning glory and garlic, the yummy broth with greens, rice, fresh sprouts and lettuce, and a plate of shrimp in a red sauce.
After the bike dying on the way, a sweet prayer of mine, and a resurrection, we arrive. Nature is beautiful and lush, the ruins are interesting and set in a peaceful environment. We enjoy our walk through the area, but would not make it here just for this. Traveling, like life is about the process; the lunch we had, the tea place we stopped at just before with the young girl in short yellow pants and a flirty smile serving us warm Vietnamese tea and cold Lipton tea with ginger without us even ordering, the scooters carrying more than the imagination can hold, the cows led by the farmers on the side of the road, the large water buffalo working the earth with the guide of a human, the one small tractor we found that was barely a frame with a hovering seat, and wheals that were actually the plowing tool, the friendly face pointing us in the right direction, the friendly and confused face pointing us in any direction just not to admit they do not understand, the old lady on the bicycle carrying loads of greens that seem to be floating in mid air with no support, the sun setting over rice fields with cone shaped hats glowing in her warmth, a family of four slowly on one small scooter, three girls in their beautiful traditional uniform, white tops, sheer with fabric all the way down their grey pants, cut into four sections, riding their bicycle one by the other, three boys in their simple uniform appear just a moment later, riding side by side, a girl riding behind her friend on the metal rack over the rear wheel places her feet beside her friends’ on the pedals as they move together sharing the load, some old homes sit quietly along the grand new fresh painted mansions, the breeze on the face, the helmet that flies off as I lift my head too high, and the sky spreading wide.
Traveling is about these little moments that are too many to write about, too often to stop and take pictures of; it is about the experience of life as it unfolds moment by moment. I am grateful to be part of this world, to share with humans across the globe their culture and tradition, their past and present. I find myself part of them, breathing their pain of past wars and living their dreams of a better tomorrow while sharing the flavors of their present joys.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Halong Bay
A sweet talkative young man named Tang (wrong spelling on purpose, but this is how you pronounce it), picks us up at the hotel, 160 km in 5 hours, with a pit stop and some rounds to pick up a few other guests, surprisingly enough a few from the US. It’s somewhat misty out there, giving the bay a spiritual feel of a Japanese painting, though in reality most of those paintings would sell far less than the same painting on a sunny day.
The boat is quite grand, dark wood, three levels, with a nice upper deck, and a Viking feel to it. A welcome drink, a break and the boat stops moving. Transfer to another boat and head towards a bay within the bay. We pass countless islands, all rising out of the water in dramatic cliffs, climbing high up as if they intended to be a play ground for climbers. Powerful rock with some vegetation on it, some are smaller some enormous. I have seen the like in Yangshu near Guilin in the Southeast of China, though here it is rising out of an endless sea. In south Thailand I have seen a huge monolith like this as well in the ocean, but not nearly as grand or extensive as here. The boat is smooth and calming, not too warm, not too cold. Nice fellow travelers include people from Singapore, India, Ireland, and the US. The boat docks, hop on to a smaller boat and climb up one of the small but very tall islands. Sorry, but now words will do justice to the view. I’ll try anyway. Steep stairs through vegetation, an opening, terrace like exposes the bay with its numerous island monoliths, twenty or so large wooden boats as if taken from a scene of a new movie pretending to be old, some smaller local faded wooden boats roaming around and vast skies. Endless sky.
Dinner on the boat, Karaoke that we did as a sing along as no one wanted to be Madonna or John Lennon, a moment of squid fishing close to midnight and sleep. Slept well on the boat.
After breakfast on the boat, we climbed into the “Amazing Cave”, which was really nice indeed, with stalagmites and stalactites, though the view from above was really what makes it fantastic. The rash cans were shaped as black and white dolphins or penguins. Now where did they get that idea? Did they ship the trashcans all the way from Iceland, or do they have a northern person design the cans around here? We shipped to another Island, part of the Cat Ba national park, where we mounted on bicycles with no gear and squeaking breaks, with a basket up front we head out, riding along the green water, surrounded by cliff rock walls, passing a Buddhist temple that is used twice a month to pray for rains, entering a big valley with more fish farms, along some rice fields and goats set to the background of the grand monoliths with the bushy green and mustard yellow, like receding hair on a curly big headed Yemen, entered a village and explored a bit of their daily life.
Next we went kayaking, through the beautiful chilli waters, passing by floating homes in between the islands, circling around some monoliths, going under a little arch connecting two islands, rested for a moment soaking it all in, the paddled powerfully, letting it all out, went for a swim in the cold water, dived head first from the boat, and dried out in the barely peaking sun.
Stayed on Cat Ba, a nice island with not much going for it at night, a good thing since there is less of harassment, strolled the concrete boardwalk, ate some ice cream and climbed to bed.
Last day is travel day, boats through the beautiful scenery, the grand rocks with floating homes in front of them, the small fish farms that look actually pretty good and natural, maybe I’ll be OK buying the farm raised shrimp from Vietnam at Trader Joe’s next time, water which obeys the rhythm of the wind, and dances slightly, rocking the boat like a good DJ, using someone else’s music to rock individuals moving by.
The boat is quite grand, dark wood, three levels, with a nice upper deck, and a Viking feel to it. A welcome drink, a break and the boat stops moving. Transfer to another boat and head towards a bay within the bay. We pass countless islands, all rising out of the water in dramatic cliffs, climbing high up as if they intended to be a play ground for climbers. Powerful rock with some vegetation on it, some are smaller some enormous. I have seen the like in Yangshu near Guilin in the Southeast of China, though here it is rising out of an endless sea. In south Thailand I have seen a huge monolith like this as well in the ocean, but not nearly as grand or extensive as here. The boat is smooth and calming, not too warm, not too cold. Nice fellow travelers include people from Singapore, India, Ireland, and the US. The boat docks, hop on to a smaller boat and climb up one of the small but very tall islands. Sorry, but now words will do justice to the view. I’ll try anyway. Steep stairs through vegetation, an opening, terrace like exposes the bay with its numerous island monoliths, twenty or so large wooden boats as if taken from a scene of a new movie pretending to be old, some smaller local faded wooden boats roaming around and vast skies. Endless sky.
Dinner on the boat, Karaoke that we did as a sing along as no one wanted to be Madonna or John Lennon, a moment of squid fishing close to midnight and sleep. Slept well on the boat.
After breakfast on the boat, we climbed into the “Amazing Cave”, which was really nice indeed, with stalagmites and stalactites, though the view from above was really what makes it fantastic. The rash cans were shaped as black and white dolphins or penguins. Now where did they get that idea? Did they ship the trashcans all the way from Iceland, or do they have a northern person design the cans around here? We shipped to another Island, part of the Cat Ba national park, where we mounted on bicycles with no gear and squeaking breaks, with a basket up front we head out, riding along the green water, surrounded by cliff rock walls, passing a Buddhist temple that is used twice a month to pray for rains, entering a big valley with more fish farms, along some rice fields and goats set to the background of the grand monoliths with the bushy green and mustard yellow, like receding hair on a curly big headed Yemen, entered a village and explored a bit of their daily life.
Next we went kayaking, through the beautiful chilli waters, passing by floating homes in between the islands, circling around some monoliths, going under a little arch connecting two islands, rested for a moment soaking it all in, the paddled powerfully, letting it all out, went for a swim in the cold water, dived head first from the boat, and dried out in the barely peaking sun.
Stayed on Cat Ba, a nice island with not much going for it at night, a good thing since there is less of harassment, strolled the concrete boardwalk, ate some ice cream and climbed to bed.
Last day is travel day, boats through the beautiful scenery, the grand rocks with floating homes in front of them, the small fish farms that look actually pretty good and natural, maybe I’ll be OK buying the farm raised shrimp from Vietnam at Trader Joe’s next time, water which obeys the rhythm of the wind, and dances slightly, rocking the boat like a good DJ, using someone else’s music to rock individuals moving by.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Hanoi
Stopped by the tourist desk to ask about transportation to the city, and the beautiful Vietnamese woman speaking good English with a heavy accent, helped us book a wonderful hotel, a three day tour to Halong Bay, and a flight down to Danang. Life has just found some order after Bangkok chaos, and with the rainy foggy weather that welcomed us out side, we were very happy to have a nice comfy start. The taxi made its way to the French quarter, finding its’ way through the rain and the early darkness that fell on the city.
Super friendly staff, a beautiful room, a shower, some laundry, hand washed and a walk about town to get some food. After a lovely dinner of lots of veggies, the best variety on our trip so far, and some fish we strolled towards the night market. At least that’s what I thought, as it seemed that we were never getting there. Asked for help, but the man just offered to take us on his bicycle rickshaw. I felt bad having him drive us, yet I knew that if I walk away, I actually took an income away from him, so we sat on the nice slightly reclining metal framed seat, plastic covered silver cushions, facing the street in front of us. Imagine one of those royal seats, mounted on the front of the bike, covered on top, with the handle bar behind us, and the bike driver looking over our heads through our opened cage. He drove us about one hundred meters, to where we saw the night market bustle begin, hopped off and paid him for what should have been ten times longer of a ride. The market was not so amazing, but I really enjoyed it being a true locals market, a place where mostly locals walk around and get their clothes, accessories or imitations of Dolce Gabana shoes. A local artist was stringing wooden pieces, embedded with copper or aluminum designs, to a necklace. He was truly cute, with a charming smile. I could not resist but buy a whole bunch of necklaces from him.
A day of wondering through the streets; A local food market where fish, meat eggs, vegetables, fruit are all sold right on the street, barely even stands, in whatever way it works, just piled up on the side walk or from a basket. Beautiful produce, beautiful people. They just don’t want their photo taken, mostly that is. I think it was in China, back in the day where they thought that by taking their photo you are actually stealing their spirit. Is it true?
We walked along busy streets, scooters more than in Bangkok, like a swarm of bees, buzzing to find honey due, beeping, carrying another person or a whole family, a bicycle holding a fruit shop or flower shop, a delivery of Heineken beer, covering the scooter with the green boxes all around, and even with all the beeping and honking, it all seemed very calm and patient. The beeping was to notify the other person of their existence, or to tell them to move aside, but there was no angry tone. We walk down a French colonial street, facing a lake dotted with large swan shaped pedal boats, white and accents of pastel blue and pink contrasting the hazy day, we turn left as we see a huge lake across the street and enter a small temple with dragons, pass through a pretty gate, to see the courtyard dotted with teen age girls dressed in a white and blue uniform, the colors of the Israeli flag, the blue was a long blouse, going down all the way to the white pant length, but with a slit coming up above the hip bone, like two stripes of blue on the white flag. Down the street we pass the enormous French style president house, behind it humbly exists the stilt house, where Ho Chi Min used to reside, and further down the street, we enter a vast road closed to traffic, a grand grass square on one side and the HCM mausoleum on the other. We arrived right on time for the guard change. The white pressed uniforms, the exaggerated march and the peacock feeling of it all.
A pagoda, a museum, the temple of literature from 1070AD and the first university behind it established in 1076, with it’s five courts and some old decorations of dragons and flowers with very large bonsai like pots in the court, and a tea break; Lots of cafés everywhere, wonderful city really, even if a bit chaotic in the old quarter.
Super friendly staff, a beautiful room, a shower, some laundry, hand washed and a walk about town to get some food. After a lovely dinner of lots of veggies, the best variety on our trip so far, and some fish we strolled towards the night market. At least that’s what I thought, as it seemed that we were never getting there. Asked for help, but the man just offered to take us on his bicycle rickshaw. I felt bad having him drive us, yet I knew that if I walk away, I actually took an income away from him, so we sat on the nice slightly reclining metal framed seat, plastic covered silver cushions, facing the street in front of us. Imagine one of those royal seats, mounted on the front of the bike, covered on top, with the handle bar behind us, and the bike driver looking over our heads through our opened cage. He drove us about one hundred meters, to where we saw the night market bustle begin, hopped off and paid him for what should have been ten times longer of a ride. The market was not so amazing, but I really enjoyed it being a true locals market, a place where mostly locals walk around and get their clothes, accessories or imitations of Dolce Gabana shoes. A local artist was stringing wooden pieces, embedded with copper or aluminum designs, to a necklace. He was truly cute, with a charming smile. I could not resist but buy a whole bunch of necklaces from him.
A day of wondering through the streets; A local food market where fish, meat eggs, vegetables, fruit are all sold right on the street, barely even stands, in whatever way it works, just piled up on the side walk or from a basket. Beautiful produce, beautiful people. They just don’t want their photo taken, mostly that is. I think it was in China, back in the day where they thought that by taking their photo you are actually stealing their spirit. Is it true?
We walked along busy streets, scooters more than in Bangkok, like a swarm of bees, buzzing to find honey due, beeping, carrying another person or a whole family, a bicycle holding a fruit shop or flower shop, a delivery of Heineken beer, covering the scooter with the green boxes all around, and even with all the beeping and honking, it all seemed very calm and patient. The beeping was to notify the other person of their existence, or to tell them to move aside, but there was no angry tone. We walk down a French colonial street, facing a lake dotted with large swan shaped pedal boats, white and accents of pastel blue and pink contrasting the hazy day, we turn left as we see a huge lake across the street and enter a small temple with dragons, pass through a pretty gate, to see the courtyard dotted with teen age girls dressed in a white and blue uniform, the colors of the Israeli flag, the blue was a long blouse, going down all the way to the white pant length, but with a slit coming up above the hip bone, like two stripes of blue on the white flag. Down the street we pass the enormous French style president house, behind it humbly exists the stilt house, where Ho Chi Min used to reside, and further down the street, we enter a vast road closed to traffic, a grand grass square on one side and the HCM mausoleum on the other. We arrived right on time for the guard change. The white pressed uniforms, the exaggerated march and the peacock feeling of it all.
A pagoda, a museum, the temple of literature from 1070AD and the first university behind it established in 1076, with it’s five courts and some old decorations of dragons and flowers with very large bonsai like pots in the court, and a tea break; Lots of cafés everywhere, wonderful city really, even if a bit chaotic in the old quarter.
Bangkok 2
A week went by, like a blur, like a tuk-tuk zooming through town, negotiating a price, the driver telling me that the Palace will open at 2pm as there is a ceremony for the king in the morning, and then taking us to a beautiful huge standing Buddha with a fantastic temple besides it, a place to release birds out of cages symbolizing the freedom of our souls (our minds in my interpretation). He waits patiently for us, and then takes us to another temple which is closed and as many big tourist shops as he can claiming they are some sort of special expo for the kings birthday, I know better, but let him earn some commission anyway, until I say firmly, enough!
Then we head over to the Grand Palace, which is grand indeed. Or maybe it’s the Royal Palace, and I just find it beautiful. I have been here before, and the major difference is the amount of tourists around. Last I was here, I could move about freely, take photos without any foreign head appearing at the bottom of my frame, but now it is packed, people everywhere. We found the wall paintings especially beautiful and intricate, fantastic stories of people and gods of masters and followers set amongst grand nature. Some of the figures are painted in gold, allowing for a beautiful contrast, reflecting daylight coming from under the awning. The temples are covered with layers of gold, carvings and statues; the roofs are impressive with frames of yellow, green and black ending stitched with corners that curve up towards the heavens holding some golden ornamentation. We hurried along to the reclining or sleeping Buddha as I had a teeth cleaning appointment later that evening. Impressive for it’s size mostly. Reminded me of art school when a friend made some huge prints that most of us never saw such a size before, it had a wow affect for it’s size.
Bangkok is a city of waves. Walking down the Khaosan road, with all the shops and stalls of T shirts, imitation Billabong pants, pirate music, jewelry, Havaianas flip flops which I surrendered and bought pink ones, imitation designer underwear with big names all over the waist band, corn on the cob grilled over charcoal, Pad thai with the option to chose from three different types of noodles as well as plain, with egg, or with chicken, foot massage for 30 min with beds rolling on to the street, fish massage where you put your feet in an aquarium full of fish, and surely signs for Thai massage, which I received on a parallel street. Some restaurants are hidden behind the stalls of dresses and Thai fisherman pants, guesthouses and a few banks and moneychangers, fruit stands, shake stands, dogs, a beggar, and big signs everywhere. This is beyond the tourists flooding the streets, the nicely dressed young men offering a tailored suit in 24 hours, women dressed in the northern Thailand traditional costume selling a variety of hand made crafts from bracelets to little wooden frog that as you roll a wooden stick on their dragooned back you get a cricket sound affect, which of course they do non stop, it’s really not very different than how I felt after walking around Vegas. In Vegas there were lights, and sounds of slot machines, but in both there was more stimulation than any human should receive in a lifetime, both offered lots of visual as well as sound and smell. In Vegas cigarettes and perfume, here, cigarettes, food and incense blended with ice.
Bangkok also has markets that are not flooded with tourists and can be charming. I spoke to a monk at one of them, while he was happy to pose in front of an array of Buddha sculptures. Monks in Orange were not uncommon, as well as people praying to Buddha, placing offerings in front of his sculptures, lighting incense and making donations. Buddha, from all I learned was just another human in search for happiness, or maybe a meaning for life, or just wanting to understand this cycle of suffering we live in. He had it all, money, food, pleasures, care takers, he was a prince living in a palace, but when he learned that that there are other states of living like, sickness and death, he decided to go and understand life, see what is beyond the walls of his sheltered life. He went backpacking if you will. He tried it all, from being ascetic to, a variety of spiritual paths, more food, less food, begging, or suffering more, but then he just stopped. Sat down and listened, dropped away, did not try so hard to achieve anything and there it was. He realized that he really had it all within him. Following the middle path, he could realize himself and thus liberate himself from suffering. He tried teaching this and even created some simple formulas, but in reality all he did was offer some tools and guidance of how one can find the realization, the liberation from suffering or enlightenment, on their own. Buddha taught freedom from the mind. Walking around Bangkok I am reminded of Christ and the Church. Just like Buddhism it seems that the interpretation of the simple beautiful teachings of beings that understood truth, has led to an established religion, a following and worshiping that no one asked for, turning teachings that require one to take responsibility for their actions and for finding their own healing, into a system where everything is put upon the dead teacher and a faith that by worshiping his image which most likely doesn’t even look like him will bring about freedom, success, love, fortune, rain, sun, children or any other human desire. Was it not to drop desires that both of these great masters taught. Why is it that humans attach so much to symbolism, to the cosmetics rather than the actual? Cosmetics have an important role, as well as rituals and liturgy, yet these are extra tools to help us find what we already have within, these are not a means to an end. Makeup may add a layer of beauty to a woman, but it could never beautify an ugly soul.
We had to stay longer in Bangkok as we discovered we needed to get Visas for Vietnam ahead of time. It turned out to be perfectly fine, as we have decided that we would rather stay in places longer and really feel them out rather than skip around, see a lot, but not fully experience every place. We did the tourist tour of the floating markets, and with no more expectations than a tourist trap, we actually enjoyed it. Seeing the bits of what it used to be like, the proficiency of the people on their boat, their balance and sense of efficiency, and of course trying new fruits, another spicy noodle soup and some fried sweets.
We went downtown to Siam center, walked through the gigantic MBK center, the craziest, largest mall I have been too, similar to Kauasan road but with AC and on nine levels, stopped buy a few other centers that had more of the real designer brands with real price tags as well and less crowds, I ate the spiciest soup of my life with a variety of wild mushrooms, and spent the fire with a chocolate doughnut. I bought amazing headphones that keep bringing a smile to my face as I listen to music; yes I had to admit to being a sound snob, with no attachment, I could stay with no music at all, but since I had the option to enjoy nice headphones (relatively of course), I decided to renounce my poverty state of mind and enjoy. Wondering down town, I sure got my fix for a big city.
We balanced it out with some quiet evenings in a healthy restaurant off a side street, sitting on cushions on the floor while drinking healthy juices and eating home made Tempeh, we got some foot massages that left us in a state of natural high, I got a Thai massage from a woman that found many sensitive pressure points, and proved that my body has not found enlightenment just yet. I enjoyed a balance of street stall food, along with some nicer restaurants, love having no phone, and yet happy to connect via the Internet often but not more than a few times a week. I guess I could not manage to keep it this way back home…
Then we head over to the Grand Palace, which is grand indeed. Or maybe it’s the Royal Palace, and I just find it beautiful. I have been here before, and the major difference is the amount of tourists around. Last I was here, I could move about freely, take photos without any foreign head appearing at the bottom of my frame, but now it is packed, people everywhere. We found the wall paintings especially beautiful and intricate, fantastic stories of people and gods of masters and followers set amongst grand nature. Some of the figures are painted in gold, allowing for a beautiful contrast, reflecting daylight coming from under the awning. The temples are covered with layers of gold, carvings and statues; the roofs are impressive with frames of yellow, green and black ending stitched with corners that curve up towards the heavens holding some golden ornamentation. We hurried along to the reclining or sleeping Buddha as I had a teeth cleaning appointment later that evening. Impressive for it’s size mostly. Reminded me of art school when a friend made some huge prints that most of us never saw such a size before, it had a wow affect for it’s size.
Bangkok is a city of waves. Walking down the Khaosan road, with all the shops and stalls of T shirts, imitation Billabong pants, pirate music, jewelry, Havaianas flip flops which I surrendered and bought pink ones, imitation designer underwear with big names all over the waist band, corn on the cob grilled over charcoal, Pad thai with the option to chose from three different types of noodles as well as plain, with egg, or with chicken, foot massage for 30 min with beds rolling on to the street, fish massage where you put your feet in an aquarium full of fish, and surely signs for Thai massage, which I received on a parallel street. Some restaurants are hidden behind the stalls of dresses and Thai fisherman pants, guesthouses and a few banks and moneychangers, fruit stands, shake stands, dogs, a beggar, and big signs everywhere. This is beyond the tourists flooding the streets, the nicely dressed young men offering a tailored suit in 24 hours, women dressed in the northern Thailand traditional costume selling a variety of hand made crafts from bracelets to little wooden frog that as you roll a wooden stick on their dragooned back you get a cricket sound affect, which of course they do non stop, it’s really not very different than how I felt after walking around Vegas. In Vegas there were lights, and sounds of slot machines, but in both there was more stimulation than any human should receive in a lifetime, both offered lots of visual as well as sound and smell. In Vegas cigarettes and perfume, here, cigarettes, food and incense blended with ice.
Bangkok also has markets that are not flooded with tourists and can be charming. I spoke to a monk at one of them, while he was happy to pose in front of an array of Buddha sculptures. Monks in Orange were not uncommon, as well as people praying to Buddha, placing offerings in front of his sculptures, lighting incense and making donations. Buddha, from all I learned was just another human in search for happiness, or maybe a meaning for life, or just wanting to understand this cycle of suffering we live in. He had it all, money, food, pleasures, care takers, he was a prince living in a palace, but when he learned that that there are other states of living like, sickness and death, he decided to go and understand life, see what is beyond the walls of his sheltered life. He went backpacking if you will. He tried it all, from being ascetic to, a variety of spiritual paths, more food, less food, begging, or suffering more, but then he just stopped. Sat down and listened, dropped away, did not try so hard to achieve anything and there it was. He realized that he really had it all within him. Following the middle path, he could realize himself and thus liberate himself from suffering. He tried teaching this and even created some simple formulas, but in reality all he did was offer some tools and guidance of how one can find the realization, the liberation from suffering or enlightenment, on their own. Buddha taught freedom from the mind. Walking around Bangkok I am reminded of Christ and the Church. Just like Buddhism it seems that the interpretation of the simple beautiful teachings of beings that understood truth, has led to an established religion, a following and worshiping that no one asked for, turning teachings that require one to take responsibility for their actions and for finding their own healing, into a system where everything is put upon the dead teacher and a faith that by worshiping his image which most likely doesn’t even look like him will bring about freedom, success, love, fortune, rain, sun, children or any other human desire. Was it not to drop desires that both of these great masters taught. Why is it that humans attach so much to symbolism, to the cosmetics rather than the actual? Cosmetics have an important role, as well as rituals and liturgy, yet these are extra tools to help us find what we already have within, these are not a means to an end. Makeup may add a layer of beauty to a woman, but it could never beautify an ugly soul.
We had to stay longer in Bangkok as we discovered we needed to get Visas for Vietnam ahead of time. It turned out to be perfectly fine, as we have decided that we would rather stay in places longer and really feel them out rather than skip around, see a lot, but not fully experience every place. We did the tourist tour of the floating markets, and with no more expectations than a tourist trap, we actually enjoyed it. Seeing the bits of what it used to be like, the proficiency of the people on their boat, their balance and sense of efficiency, and of course trying new fruits, another spicy noodle soup and some fried sweets.
We went downtown to Siam center, walked through the gigantic MBK center, the craziest, largest mall I have been too, similar to Kauasan road but with AC and on nine levels, stopped buy a few other centers that had more of the real designer brands with real price tags as well and less crowds, I ate the spiciest soup of my life with a variety of wild mushrooms, and spent the fire with a chocolate doughnut. I bought amazing headphones that keep bringing a smile to my face as I listen to music; yes I had to admit to being a sound snob, with no attachment, I could stay with no music at all, but since I had the option to enjoy nice headphones (relatively of course), I decided to renounce my poverty state of mind and enjoy. Wondering down town, I sure got my fix for a big city.
We balanced it out with some quiet evenings in a healthy restaurant off a side street, sitting on cushions on the floor while drinking healthy juices and eating home made Tempeh, we got some foot massages that left us in a state of natural high, I got a Thai massage from a woman that found many sensitive pressure points, and proved that my body has not found enlightenment just yet. I enjoyed a balance of street stall food, along with some nicer restaurants, love having no phone, and yet happy to connect via the Internet often but not more than a few times a week. I guess I could not manage to keep it this way back home…
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
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