Dec.29, 2014. And a few days earlier......

I am back in Luang Prabang in the Lao P. D..R.,  one of the most enjoyable places I have ever visited.

I loved it here last year and was afraid that a return visit would be a disappointment.  Not so.  Luang Prabang is even better this time.  It is a relaxing city with a French colonial charm and a European feel.   A clean, friendly, safe, beautiful city of about 40,000, on the banks of the Mekong.  It is also a World Heritage Site - like Bhaktapour in Nepal and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  

I rented a bicycle and rode about 10 miles this morning.  Tomorrow morning I will do the same.

A tuk tuk.  I have taken many, many rides in the back of tuk tuks.......some are bigger, not many are smaller.

The Mekong, just 50 feet to the west of my hotel room.  The river bank is lined with restaurants and tables.   It is so relaxing spending the afternoons watching the slow boats ply the Mekong over a BeerLao.......

The Nam Khan River, which empties into the Mekong at Luang Prabang.

The food is fantastic.  From street stalls, to fresh fruit smoothies to $40.00 a plate French cuisine.....

Tonight I had an Australian ribeye steak.......

View from my hotel balcony, same guest house, same room as last year!!!

Pak Beng, 70 km above Luang Prabang on the Mekong.  The view was from my hotel room balcony.

Tomorrow I will tour an English language school here in Luang Prabang that is run by a Brit I met on the slow boat ride several days ago.  I will be exploring returning to Luang Prabang for several months next year to teach English.

Merry Christmas

On the Mekong in northern Lao.

Christmas Eve

All good.  Left Bamboo Nest and now on the way to Lao in 1 hour.  No inet last 3 days.

Will post more  later.

Dec. 16, 2014. The News on TV.

In Chiang Rai there are 2 English stations on the flat screen TV in my room - BBC and Aljazeera.

With the recent massacres of inocents in Sydney and Pakistan, I am favorably impressed by the objective, unbiased reporting on Aljazeera   The cynic in me says Algazeera might be less objective when broadcast in Farsi or Arabic.  

Aljazeera showed almost the entire speech made yesterday of Secty. of State John Kerry in London.  Then there were numerous interviews with the heads of state - from Australia, Pakistan, the UK - covering the barbaric nature of the attacks.  On what U.S. TV station would you see more than soundbites of Secty. Kerry?

Much of the coverage on both Aljazeera and BBC for the last 48 hours has been covering these two events, but there is also news about Russia's financial crisis, Jeb Bush's aspirations, Syria and ISIS, Palestine, the CIA and torture, and of course, football, as in soccer.

It was my perception that Algazeera was a pro Islamic spin machine, fomenting hatred of westerners and supporting Islamic beliefs.  I was wrong.  There are women on the anchor desks, in western clothing, speaking fluent English, along with male anchors. 

Aljazeera.com

Dec. 16, 2014 Chiang Rai, White Temple.

Took the motorbike out for a spin and visited The White Temple yesterday.

The White Temple

Name

Wat Rong Khun, “The White Temple”

Date

Completely rebuild late 20^th century onward

Location

Off Highway 1 (Phahonyothin road)
15 kilometers South West of Chiang Rai town

Wat Rong Khun, better known as “the White Temple” is one of the most recognizable temples in Thailand. The temple outside the town of Chiang Rai attracts a large number of visitors, both Thai and foreign, making it one of Chiang Rai’s most visited attractions.

Wat Rong Khun is a unique temple that stands out through the white color and the use of pieces of glass in the plaster, sparkling in the sun. The white color signifies the purity of the Buddha, while the glass symbolizes the Buddha’s wisdom and the Dhamma, the Buddhist teachings.

The Wat Rong Khun was designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat, a famous Thai visual artist. To date the temple is not finished. Eventually there will be nine buildings including an ubosot, a hall to enshrine Buddhist relics, a meditation hall, the monks living quarters and an art gallery.

History of the Wat Rong Khun

Towards the end of the 20^th century, the original Wat Rong Khun was in a very poor state of preservation. Restoration works on the temple started, but had to be halted due to a lack of funds.

Chalermchai Kositpipat, a artist born in Chiang Rai, decided to completely rebuild the temple and fund the project with his own money. The artist built the temple to be a center of learning and meditation and for people to gain benefit from the Buddhist teachings. Today the works are ongoing.

Structures and their symbolism

Every detail of the temple carries meaning and encourages the visitor to reflect on the Buddhist teachings that show the way to escape from the worldly temptations, desires and greed and focus on the mind instead.

The bridge of “the cycle of rebirth”

The ubosot, the main building of the white temple, is reached by crossing a bridge over a small lake. In front of the bridge is a circular area with hundreds of reaching hands that symbolize desire. This area represents human suffering and hell. The bridge towards the ubosot, called the bridge of “the cycle of rebirth” signifies the crossing over from the cycle of death and rebirth into a state free of suffering. It symbolizes the way to happiness by overcoming worldly things as temptations, greed and desire. Next to the lake stand two very elegant Kinnaree, a creature from Buddhist mythology, half human, half bird.

The “Gate of Heaven”

After crossing the bridge the visitor arrives at the “Gate of Heaven” guarded by two huge creatures that represent Death and Rahu, who decides over men’s fate. At the end of the bridge in front of the ubosot are several Buddha images in meditation.

The ubosot

The most important building of the Wat Rong Khun, the ubosot is an all white building with fragments of reflective glass in the plaster. The very ornate ubosot shows some design elements of classic Northern Thai temples like the three tiered roof and stylized Naga serpents on the bargeboards.

Whereas the murals of many old temples depict scenes from Buddhist stories, the walls of the white temple contain colorful murals that depict modern representations of good and evil, contemporary figures like Batman, Spiderman and Elvis, villains and superheroes from movies and comics and even spaceships. On the back wall of the ubosot is a golden mural of the Buddha, a few images of the Buddha in front of it.

Dec 11,12,13, 2014

Nothing exciting for the last several days.  I just laid around, sat in the sun, enjoyed the half functioning shower and air conditioner.  In the afternoons I would explore Koh Phangan on the bike.

Just before I came across the largest Yang Na tree on the island, I encountered a police roadblock.  I had read that the police often set up roadblocks and conduct searches for drugs on the plethora of young folks on the island.  There were about 4 policemen standing in the middle of the road and they made me stop, turn of the bike, get off the bike and take off my daypack which they searched thoroughly.  

My pack was almost empty and I had only brought it with me so I could carry some groceries home.  They looked all through my bag then gave me a pat down, checking the contents of every pocket.  Then they asked me to open the compartment under the seat. Then I was given a green light to continue. It was the only search stop I witnessed while on the island.

I had read that if you were caught with drugs on Koh Phangan....and I am sure that at the Half Moon Party there were plenty of them, though I was not ever offered any....you could bribe the police with a couple of hundred bucks and get released.  

In Kathmandu I was repeatedly offered drugs dozens of times from peddelers on the streets of Thamel.  I laughed at them or ignored them.

I took the ferry back to the mainland, an enjoyable 3 hour boat ride.  

I caught a bus from the ferry terminal to the Surat Thani bus station then took a ride in the back of a tuktuk the rest of the way back to Hip Box 26.  After a bit of confusion, I was able to successfully convey that I already paid for a room last week.  Then I was able to get the bag I left with the desk before I departed to Koh Phangan. 

I settled into my shipping container converted into a cozy, clean room with a good AC and shower.

At Hip Box I met up with two young Brits, Romona and Tom, and we later walked about a mile and had dinner together.  She was a singer/actress and he made music videos. We drank some beers and enjoyed the evening around the pool.

Early the following morning I took a taxi ride in the back of a tuktuk to the Surat Thani airport and caught my flight to BKK then connected to Chiang Rai.

I have made the following 13 flights so far on this trip:

Portland to Washington DC

DC to Munich

Munich to Ankara

Ankara to Sinop

Ankara to Istanbul

Istanbul to Kathmandu

Lhasa to Kathmandu

Kathmandu to Lukla

Lukla to Kathmandu

Kathmandu to Bangkok

Bangkok to Surat Thani

Surat Thani to Bangkok

Bangkok to Chiang Rai

Namaste

Dec. 9, 10, 2014. Koh Phangan Island

I have now spent nearly two and a half months on the international travel road, planning or negotiating  flights, bus rides, cab rides, hotels or guesthouses and then moving - all the  packing, then backpacking my bag and changing rooms on the average every two days.  Struggling with power outages, crappy inet connections, uploading the blog, cold weather, basic accomodations, etc.

Ban Tai on Koh Phangan feels like a great place to chill, in comfort and with easy transport - my rental motorbike.

I stay up late.   I sleep late in the morning after getting up to watch the sunrise.  I take naps.  When I am tired of laying around or I am humgry or thirsty, I go to town on the motorbike.   When I am bored, I go for a ride..

 

There is not much exciting to blog about on Koh Phangan.  Many roads I have been on multiple times.  Today, I returned to Haad Rin, the site of the FMP or Full Moon Party, my first return since I left the dorm style hostel the morning after the FMP.  

Today, Haad Rin, on the southern tip of the island, was just a sleepy little Thai island ghost town compared to last week.  Few people were there.  Maybe 40 or 50 folks on the beach.  The restaurants were either closed, or empty, with the local Thai staff sitting at one table shooting the shit.  Most of the beachside bars that were jam packed the day of and the night of FMP, were boarded up.  Most hotels and guesthouses looked empty. The motorcycle rental shops had dozens of bikes to rent- last week most bikes were rented. 

Tommy's at Haad Rin Beach

I walked the beach then returned on foot via town and all the shops to "Tommy's".  There was one table occupied.  I stopped for 45 minutes, relaxed even more and had a beer.

I then got on the bike and went around Haad Rin further.  All over town the store owners sat curbside in the shade or else they were in the back of their souvineer T shirt shops snoozing.  There was no booming techno music anywhere.  

Haad Rin was quiet, laidback, tranquil, hot, but with a nice breeze. 

Returned to my privtate bungalo.  I think I am the only guest here.

Life is good, but honestly,  I miss FMP week in Haad Rin.  There was so much to look at.