Bye Bye Kanchanaburi

On November 10, 2016November 16, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Thailand, Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

It was party time again at the Bamboo House. This is the third night in a row I got about 4 hours sleep. I should have changed hotels. I should have known that just because the hotel said the kids would be respectful didn’t mean they would. I no longer can function at this point. A minivan comes to get me to take me to Bangkok. I don’t really want to go by minivan. I have to pay for two seats because of my suitcase. But, still, if I had taken a bus it would have cost about the same amount for a taxi to the bus station and the bus. The minivan does not belong to some company that owns a fleet of minivans. This is definitely a case of “my uncle has a minivan….”. We get into the main part of town and the minivan driver stops, takes my suitcase out and puts it on the side of the road and tells me “out”. In the back of my head I know it’s ok, but I am not equipped with enough sleep to handle anything so I just start crying as he’s talking to some woman across the street standing with more people and suitcases than can fit in the minivan. How is this going to logistically work and why do I have to get out to make room for these people? The lady rushes over and tells me not to cry, it’s ok. Then they put me back on the van and we leave the other people standing there. I have no idea why I’m crying and still after all this time I have no idea how transportation works in this country. I wonder why all this “poor me” stuff is coming up. Once again, I’ve worked on this for so long and here it is again. I feel like I’m doing well trusting that everything in life will unfold just fine and then I feel like I’ve just gone backwards in time. The only thing I can do is just cry and notice that I’m feeling scared and uncomfortable and wait for it to change. It always changes. When we get to Bangkok, the van stops at a gas station and the driver says “Mo Chit”, the name of the bus station I want to go to. So, now my suitcase and I are back out and he takes me to another van. This van is more ghetto than the last. This time I didn’t cry. That van took me to Mo Chit. I was dropped on the side of the road with a few other people. Good thing I didn’t actually want to take a bus because I couldn’t see a bus station anywhere. There were a couple taxis and that’s what I needed so it didn’t matter that Bangkok’s largest bus station had gone missing. I told the taxi driver I wanted to go to Don Mueng airport. He kept asking me. I must have said Don Mueng 4 times. Then he called an English speaking friend so she could talk to me and double check. Yes, still Don Mueng.

Then a lot of time in the airport because I was early. Again, I’m in awe of how strange it is to see everyone in black. There’s no color anywhere. I see on Facebook all the fear Americans are having right now. There is so much fear and hatred, hatred coming from those that are complaining that Trump and Republican are about hatred. I see no posts from Trump supporters. Either they are keeping quiet, Facebook is choosing not to show me those posts, or all my friends are Democrats. It makes me sad to see so much fear and speculation about how horrible it is going to be. The actual truth is we don’t know. I want to stop looking at Facebook because all I see is unnecessary hysteria that helps create the separation that they are scared of. I want to scream at everyone and tell them to calm the fuck down. Oh, is this the real reason I’m crying so much? Is this why I’m feeling scared? I haven’t moved backwards at all. I’m feeling America. Damn it America, stop it, I’m on vacation here.

My airplane to Mae Sot was uneventful. I got to see the smallest snack ever made. The water bottle was so small that it took two sips to drink. But that’s ok because the bun in the snack box was no bigger than an inch in diameter. So, not much water was needed to wash that down. There was literally more packaging than snack. I had a wonderful taxi driver from the Mae Sot airport to my hotel. He talked my ear off the whole way. I stayed at the Hop Inn. It actually has a comfortable soft bed. This is the first soft bed I have experienced in Thailand. I got to eat dinner at my favorite café in Mae Sot – the one I took a cooking class at a long time ago. I love Mae Sot!!!

20161109_072124 — This door is why there were so many bugs in my room

20161109_104222 — Banana Roti with White Chocolate and Ice Cream, Whoa

20161109_133119 — Cool Garden Restaurant in Kanchanaburi

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20161110_170844 — Mountains near Mae Sot

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Kanchanaburi

On November 9, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Thailand, Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I have heard nothing but amazing things about Kanchanaburi. I say meh.

I took benedryl my first night here to help me sleep through the party next door. I woke up to an ant infestation. I tried to explain to the staff that there were ants in my room. No one spoke English so I had trouble knowing if they understood my concern or not. I tried using google translate, but I never know if it worked or not since google apparently knows only a few more words in Thai than I do.

I did a tour yesterday. First we went to the bridge. I didn’t need to pay a tour guide for that since I just walked there the day before. Oh well. There were 6 other people on the tour. They were not friendly at all. I tried to make conversation, but it was painful. I miss my tour group from China. Everyone on that trip was fun, interesting and friendly. Of course, we spent 2 weeks together so that helped. This is just one day. After the bridge we went to the Erawan Waterfall which is why I booked this tour. It has seven levels. It takes an hour (took me longer) to hike to the top waterfall. It was so humid, my face was sweating. I enjoyed the exercise though. Half way up I was so hot, I wished I had brought my bathing suit. I didn’t because I thought I would just wade in the water and not actually swim. They had told us that we could enjoy the fish massage at the waterfall. Fish spa is where you put your feet in a fish tank and the fish eat the dead skin off your feet. I assumed this is what they meant by fish massage. I finally got to the top waterfall and was so excited to get in the water. I wasn’t even in to my knees before fish started biting my feet. These weren’t the tiny fish I had seen in the fish spas. Some were 6 inches long. Others were over a foot long. I screamed like a little girl. I am now torn between being so hot that I just want to be immersed in water and wanting to be as far away from the water as possible. The fish won. I decided that swimming was not an option and was quite fine not having my bathing suit. I could stand where the water was going over a rock and be fish free. I splashed water on myself to cool down. Overall, the waterfalls were very beautiful and I enjoyed sitting with my feet in fish free zones watching and listening to the water. After the waterfall, we went to ride a train on the death railway. We waited about 50 minutes for the train. While we waited, we could go see the cave near the train station. There’s a Buddha statue in the cave, of course. We rode the train for a half hour. If you are ever in Kanchanaburi, you can skip the train.

Last night I tried to rent a bicycle since my hotel was advertising bicycles for rent. No. No bicycles. But…..I can see them……they are right there. The lady typed into google translate – All broke. Really? 10 broken bicycles? Ok, walking is good exercise too. After dinner it was more party next door. I tried to get help, but no one spoke English. Finally, tired from lack of sleep and just frustrated I slammed my door and cried. I’m sure everyone could hear me crying because Thailand doesn’t believe in insulation or proper building materials. That actually put an end to the party. I should have cried hours ago. I tried to change rooms today, but there are no more rooms. They promised the kids would be quiet tonight. I thought about changing hotels, but I’m too tired and that sounds like a lot of work. Breakfast at this hotel is weird. It’s not a buffet and I don’t get to chose what I want. They just make it when I appear. Yesterday it was fried eggs, hot dogs and fruit. I didn’t eat the hot dogs. This morning it was fried eggs, french fries and fruit. Bless their hearts, they are trying. French fries are better than hot dogs.

I spent most of the day at a coffee shop and a restaurant trying to figure out what I’m doing after the 15th when I have no more plans. People don’t just sit around in coffee shops here so it was uncomfortable after an hour or so when they kept staring at me, but I stayed anyway. It was kind of like the coffee shop in Sam Ngao where the entire menu was different forms of sugar. The restaurant I went to was wonderful. It had a great garden out back. They put a fan on for me and they didn’t seem uncomfortable having me hang out for awhile. They have a free taxi service and offered to take me back to my hotel or pick me up later if I wanted to come back for dinner. I narrowed down the list of possible places to go after the 15th. I was leaning toward Fiji until I looked up flights. It would cost more and take longer to go to Fiji than to go back to America. That was the point where I gave up. I will have to search smarter later as I’m sure it’s possible for way cheaper. I think sites like Expedia assume I’m American and give me American prices. If I search through the airlines that fly to Fiji, I bet I’ll get a better deal.

Trump will be our new president. I really do not understand how this happened. How can over half our nation think he would make a good leader? You only have to listen to him for 5 minutes to see he has no idea what he’s talking about. Yet, half our nation doesn’t see this. What am I missing? So much of the world is living in fear. Fear breeds anger and hatred. Then add ignorance. This feeds the fear and it becomes a never ending circle. I think much of the world is caught in this circle, especially America and they have no idea. It’s the fault of the republicans, the Muslims, the black people, the Christians, the rich people, the Mexicans, – whoever is over there. Everyone is so busy pointing that no one realizes they are on the merry-go-round and they could just hop off. How am I supposed to support people to wake up when I’m standing next to the merry-go-round offering help, but no one hears me? (I know, my new magic tattoo.) How am I supposed to help people wake up when I keep finding myself back on the merry-go-round myself? I don’t know how I got there, but there I am. Last night my issue got resolved by slamming doors and crying – on the merry-go-round. Then I jump off. Oh, crap, how’d I get here again. Jump off. On. Off. In the past some of my best learning experiences came from me getting so worked up, creating drama and destruction everywhere I went, total meltdown or blowout and only then could I see the absurdity in it all. I had to take it to the extreme to see that what I believed wasn’t true, who I thought I was wasn’t true. After that, I can never go back to the old beliefs, but it was a messy uncomfortable process to get to the truth. So, as much as I think Trump was the wrong decision, I wonder, does it have to be like this? Do other people learn this way too? Does it have to be chaos before we will open our eyes and say “what am I doing – this is not true”? Are we doing that as a country? Does it need to be horrible before people will see how ridiculous our thinking has become? Then I also question, will it actually be horrible or will American life go on as it always has? Or, maybe I have no idea what I’m talking about….

I challenge you:

Ask yourself – are you on the merry-go-round? If so, are you having fun? If not, why not jump off?
How many times do you point the finger and blame someone else in a day?
See if you can make it through one week without turning on the news on tv. Then turn it on and see if you can feel how the news propagates fear.
Enjoy these waterfall pictures:

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20161108_102625 — People leave clothes at the holy trees

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20161108_160721 — My face tells you how I feel about the train

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Sak Yant

On November 7, 2016November 8, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Thailand, Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Maybe I’ll find a new job and stay in Thailand longer, but it doesn’t feel like that is going to happen. I feel that my time living here is coming to an end. This has been a big part of my journey to awakening as I practice living in presence even when things are challenging. I decided to get a Sak Yant tattoo as a ceremonial experience of this part of my journey. A Sak Yant tattoo is a traditional Buddhist tattoo that has magic for protection, good luck, or some other purpose. A friend recommended the Sak Yant master I went to. I made an appointment with him a month ago. He isn’t a monk, but has learned from the monks as well as other teachers. It sounded cleaner and more personal than going to a temple to have it done. They have a package where I could have a translator as well as be picked up from my hotel so I paid extra for that. The translator picked me up at 8:30 and we didn’t get to the tattoo place until 10:00am. He chatted the whole time. He has a friend that wanted to watch me get the tattoo – she wants one, but is afraid. She met us at Ajarn Neng’s tattoo place. He works out of the front room of his house. When we got there I had to sit in the carport and wait since Ajarn Neng was still praying. The carport, like most places in Thailand, is dirty. It smells like pee. What have I gotten myself into? This is supposed to be one of the best Sak Yant masters in Bangkok. Am I in the right place? His assistant came out and gave me some incense to hold while I prayed with him to Ganesha. I had to repeat what he was chanting. I have no idea what I promised to Ganesha. Ganesha is a Hindu god. I cannot explain what he has to do with a Buddhist tattoo. Then I got to go into the house, kneel before the master and present him with a pedestal that had a bunch of fake flowers and and envelope with my money in it. After a brief conversation, he recommended the tattoo that I got. It will help protect me in my new business. It will make people want to support me. People will want to listen to me the way they want to listen to a bird sing. I decided that this was fitting as I’m learning to trust that life supports me. He suggested the right shoulder and as I was not set in what or where, I went with his suggestion. He makes the ink himself. He uses a long stick with a sharp point to do the tattoo. It’s amazing that he has any aim at all with such a long stick. Two people assist him to hold my skin tight. After the tattoo is done, he cleans it and then puts a sheet of gold leaf above it. He prays as he puts the gold leaf on. I believe this is also part of the process of putting the magic in the tattoo. He also anointed me with holy water like I had seen the monks do at ceremonies I had seen.

Now, I have rules to follow or the magic of the tattoo will be lessened. I think I can handle all of them except number 4. 1. Do not say any bad word to your parents and be grateful for them. 2. Do not use any chemical drug. Mushroom and Marijuana are ok. 3. Do not eat star fruit or Winter gourd. 4. If you have a chance to come to Thailand. You should come and worship the Waikru day(Master day) which organized once a year at Arjan Neng’s place. (The first Sunday of March). 5. Do not go under the hanging rope that hang the laundry. 6. No adultery. 7. Pray kata that Arjan Neng gave you 3 times in the morning.

After the tattoo, the translator and his friend drove me to the bus station. We drove forever (over an hour) and still didn’t even go halfway across the city. Bangkok is a huge city. They called the bus station and my hotel in Kanchanaburi just to get the lowdown on everything for me. They told me how Chinese tourists are not respectful of the Thai culture and he’d rather have tourists from other countries – he’s a tour guide too. When we got to the bus station, they came in with me and helped me buy a ticket. The bus station is huge. It had 5 or 6 floors and even had a mall. I would have been able to buy a ticket on my own, but it would have taken forever to find my way around. I was grateful to have their help. Hmmmmm…. is the tattoo working already?

I got to Kanchanaburi a couple of hours later. Instead of playing cheesy game shows on the tv on the bus, they played sad Thai music with videos of people mourning the King. For two hours. I don’t like my hotel. I miss the nice hotels I had in China. I walked to a floating restaurant for dinner. It was right next to the bridge or the river Kwae. It’s spelled Kwae, not Kwai. I thought it would be nice and relaxing to eat by the river, but the water in the river was dirty with a film of yuck on top. The food was way overpriced. I saw two bakeries on my way to the restaurant – one would have cake and that would make me feel better. No. Neither bakery had any baked goods. Maybe they don’t know what a bakery is. The room next to mine must have 8 people staying in it. They keep yelling, going in and out of the room slamming the door and shuffling their feet loudly as they go past my door, only to turn around and go back. Back and forth, back and forth, inside, outside, inside.

http://www.thaisakyant.com/index.php?lang=en

20161107_101018 — Waiting in the carport

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Tag: Kanchanaburi

Bye Bye Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi

Sak Yant