stone temple pilots

07.06.2008 Kratie To Sen Monorom
outside seats!

Ruth and I decide to venture into the ‘wild east’, a world of tribal villages, waterfalls, elephants and, little did we know, bad, bad roads
:)

We end up on the top of a pick-up (“outside” tickets!) for six hours, inching our way through a foot or more deep mud, before we were implored by the driver to get into the back seat ( because we could have easily slid off the top on that muddy road).
The pick-up, precariously balancing about a 1000 pounds of fish and about a 100 dozen eggs and 4 grown adults from the west (considerably larger frames than the average Cambodian) out on an adventure, slid sideways on the hills, barely moving at times. And then it got stuck and in an effort to get out of the mud, something snapped (I was told, the axle).

So there we were, in the midst of a wildlife sanctuary, miles away from the nearest village, crouched uncomfortably in the back seat in the pouring rain, with our driver and his assistant sitting under a tarp by the pick-up waiting- for I’m not sure what.
Meanwhile, other cars, SUVs, pick-ups went by- occasionally got stuck in the mud, and then, with a little push by our driver and assistant, accelerated uphill.

After an hour and a half of waiting for a miracle while, jokingly, taking stock of our supplies of food, water and flashlights, we decide to hitch a ride to a village in either direction- whatever came first.
After being refused by three fancy SUV owners (we were covered in mud), we finally made our way back to where we came from in the back of what seemed like an antique US Army jeep driven by two Cambodian policemen. Certainly the perfect vehicle for this kind of terrain- It cruised through uphills, downhills, mud, and everything else.

A few hours later, I lay on a mattress, something I didn’t think we would have for the night, cocooned in the luxury of my silk sleep sheet.

A brief stop in Phnom Penh and then we are off to soak the sun on the beaches of Cambodia at Sihanoukhville and that was some serious sun! For two days, I lay on the beach- reading, sleeping, getting $5 massages, and just relaxing.

Turns out we really needed that time off. The next stop was Angkor Wat.

Everyone mentions how amazing it is, but no one mentions how exhausted you are at the end of every day at Angkor Wat. I suppose, the beauty of the temples overshadows the fatigue you feel at the end of every day.

Six of the seven days we are in Siam Reap, we go to take in the splendor and perfection of the temples. There’s no rush better than cycling on the streets in Cambodia in rain water, sometimes a foot deep, amidst crazy mixed traffic (than maybe perhaps cycling in India ;) motos, cars, tuktuks, buses- all honking for attention.
When I wasn’t cycling to the tunes on my iPod, I was reading up on Angkor Wat, hanging out on Bar Street watching Apsara dances at a café with free wi-fi, or getting ready for an early next day.

Another dream fulfilled, early tomorrow morning, I am headed to Vietnam – a step closer to another dream (there are so many, after all) kickboxing at Shaolin Temple in China!

second thoughts

I didn’t have any expectations when I started out- none of self-discovery, self-realization (or self-anything). I haven’t had an epiphany (yet). I haven’t rediscovered myself and I feel, I haven’t even changed that much, except I am a lot more patient perhaps?

For the last 3.5 months, I have just lived life very different from the one I have had before , where I think about everything I do, decisions I make- no matter how trivial.

I have just lived a life without any expectations- from anyone, any place, anything- that’s what been different and that has made all the difference.

I feel fearless today. I feel like standing in an open field, arms raised to the blue skies, eyes closed, my sense of feeling enhanced, going around in circles, doing cartwheels (if only i could)- to go giddy- intentionally..

I remember, vividly, the moment I decided it was time that night in December. I thought out loud- What’s stopping me? A long silence followed. Me.
I was ready to let go.

Not a single day goes by when I don’t think of the ones I have loved, ones who have left me behind, ones I have left behind - not one.

It’s a great burden, it’s a great joy.
today, I choose to share it and multiply it with you all.

a day in the life

Praying

I have been experiencing Laos Withdrawal Syndrome (LWS). Its easy to feel that when the owner of the guesthouse feeds you corn, biscuits, carrot juice throughout the day.

On Don Khong, the biggest island of 4000 islands in Southern Laos, I relaxed, read, biked, ran, ate and slept.
For six days.
Then its time to move on and the island closest to the Cambodian border is Don Det, a party island (if you like partying with lizards and mosquitoes), with 2 hours of electricity every evening.

I like electricity. I like fans, laptops, music. I don’t like lizards! After a sleepless night, I cross over to Cambodia on the “backpacker’s mini bus”- aptly named so because its really "packed" (but it’s a mini-van.)

On the bus, I sit next to Ruth from Israel and, within moments of meeting, we shake hands and decide to travel together in Cambodia. Yet another country where I will end up staying longer than expected- but I'm not complaining at all!

I have been here for a few days now. Every day I have been here, I read in bed, anxious to finish my book so I can exchange it for another one that I saw in a bookshop. I read till it falls flat on my face a few times- it's been quite a few long days.

Come morning, I get dressed quickly (in two of the 8 clothes I have), rested after a good night sleep, have a wholesome breakfast of yogurt/fruit salad/muesli and then venture out to see Phnom Penh as a tourist.

Every day, I pass the tuk-tuk/moto drivers, shouting for business, offering a tuk-tuk/moto/weed/heroine and everything in between, the little girls and boys, tender shoulders crushed under the weight of photocopied books they sell, a rice cake vendor whose wares are to die for, men playing cards on the street, locals chatting up foreigners, giggling schoolgirls playing badminton on the street littered with fragrant frangipani- quietly taking in, and yet ignoring the >chaos that is Cambodia.
Just like India.

Today I get up feeling homesick and want to relive my past. So I get on a moto to a new-age café with the music and brownies and whole wheat bread, and the best bathroom I have seen in SE asia yet and sip on my first latte in two months- on a Friday afternoon of a long weekend.
Just like the Bay Area.

And I feel at home- right here, between the two countries I have called home.

soul kitchen

Mitu wrote poems, beautiful poems, words in perfect harmony. Mummy handed out a beautiful diary to her. I expressed the desire for one.

“You have to earn it. Write a poem and it’s yours”, she said.

So I did. It was about spring- 12 lines, every alternate line rhymed (the rule for poems, I thought). It was 1985.

The third poem I wrote was about my love for books.

I have rediscovered that love. At any given time, my backpack has four-five books – that’s more weight than my toiletries (and that says a lot). My third most-visited website on this trip after gmail and flickr is Shelfari.

In a part of the world devoid of Barnes and Nobles and the used bookstores like in SF and because of my inability to order on amazon, I find myself wandering the streets of a big city in SE Asia, searching for the familiar-buy, sell, trade books sign.

So I publish a list of book exchanges I have found in the two major cities of Laos that I have visited.

Laos
Luang prabang:
• Hive bookshop – the only one in LP
• Book exchange at Three elephant café- the café is mentioned in LP but book exchange isn’t.
• A small collection opposite Café Toui on Th Sisavang Vatthana
• A small collection in a restaurant on Th Kitsarat opposite the Post Office

Vientiane
• Kosila bookshop (mentioned in LP)- the best collection on Th Chanta Khumman
• Oriental bookshop, 121 Chao Anou road, 856.21.215 352 – opposite La Gondola – the second best collection
• Book café –053/2 Heng Boun Road, Haysoke 020.6893741- adjacent to the Bank on Heng Boun Road - owned by a british expat, Robert Cooper.
• A good bookshop opposite Douang Deuane Hotel (I think its called Kosila 2)
• A small bookshop opp Mixay Boutique on Th Nokeo Khumman
• Monument Books (mentioned in LP) sells new books only, very limited collection
• Vientiane Book Center (mentioned in LP) limited collection but buys, sells, trades books
• A small bookshop on Th Setthathirat next to Wat Hai Sok.

Cambodia:
Phnom Penh• D's bookshop II- next to Number 9 guest house- the best collection i found in Phnom Penh
• London Book center has closed

Siam Reap
• Blue Apsara (Old Market Area next to Capitol Tour, 012-601-483) the best collection and best value for old books
• D's bookshop #112 Mondol 1 Village, Siam Reap - great collection- opposite Angkor What? on Pub Street
• Le Tigre de Papier (012-659-770, pub street next to Angkor What? bar) free wi-fi and free book exchange with a meal, great collection of french books
• Siam Reap Book Center (#699 Pithnou Street, Phoum Mondol 1, Khum) limited collection