The transition back to Texas has been a fairly smooth one. I've been back for one year now. I've fallen in love with my home. What defines a home? I have been able to call a really great variety of places my home, there's so much flavor in my little simmering pot of homes. France will always be home, India really did feel like home, and different pockets of DFW have filled my heart with their aroma and essence. Truthfully, I have probably called every single place I've ever visited a home. My friends will attest to this, anytime we go somewhere new, I've uttered the words, "I could soooo totally live here!!" "WOW, I love this place! Let's move here!" "Man, this place is awesome! I'm definitely moving here." So...I'm a romantic! I feel lots of love and appreciation for people and different ways of living. I find lots of gratitude in being able to spend a day in a new place, imagining what life is like. Today, I was able to spend my day exploring my beloved hometown, Fort Worth, TX. It felt nice to delve into Funky Town with Rafaela. I felt like a tourist in my own city.
I refrain from using the word tourist because of the connotations behind it. When I explore a place, I prefer to be one with a community. I want to integrate, immerse, involve myself with the happenings around me. I don't usually mark things off a checklist, sometimes there are MUST-SEES in a location. (Tour Eiffel in Paris is a prime example, that view will never get old to me).
Alas de la Ciudad en Fort Worth, Tx
Wings of the City, Fort Worth, TX
Rafaela and I spent our day outside on a mini-not-so-scavengerish-scavenger hunt! After delicious food under a covered patio, some amazing rain drops, a few hibiscus mimosas, we were off to hunt down Jorge Marín's exhibit, Alas de la Ciudad. The result was an amazing session of impromptu photos, great conversation(s), an inspiration to visit the mother land (México), a sun tan, a sexy sweaty trot around downtown and lots of deep down in da' belly laughs and heartfelt moments.
Wings of the City sculptures have toured around the world, and I think that's pretty cool! The first photo with the wings had us flying high in a different realm, jumping around, having fun and snapping pics felt natural. Our little field trip around fort worth exposed us to gorgeous obras maestras, a sweet breeze and lots of sun rays! YAY
With Sinsiri as our guide, we were exposed to the realest of Thai culture. A local temple fair, meeting her family, learning the bus system, eating crazy food, swimming, having coffee breaks and just feeling pretty privileged and luxurious! Getting our own condo with an infinity pool- and getting to ride in her car to cool places! Saying bye to Amanda wasn't the easiest, I was so into our time together. A familiar face, confessing all my worries, doubts, fears, but also sharing with her my excitement and hope for my next leg of the journey.
The new temple!
Oyster Omelettes, can't leave Thailand without having one!
Our favorite girl, Sinsiri!
In Thailand, you don't have to be afraid to smile!
I didn't quite figure out if locals actually eat these or not...
Donation Ribbons, so fancy
Found the bus stop..now just to find the correct bus...
That little red vehicle behind us is a tiny micro bus!
Celebrating the King's Bday
Snackin' on Kao Sahn
English and what a cute street name!
Sweet Pics of the Royalty all over the place
I stayed in Bangkok a few days at this awesome guest house right on the river. Once again, no AC (not a problem) and no flushing toilet- BUT, there was an actual toilet, so that was cool! I was grateful for a toilet, it wasn't one you would put your bum on, but there was no squatting involved. I hadn't really been exposed to that yet, but I knew it'd be best to get used it cause I was going back to India soon. There was also not any privacy in this bathroom. It was outside of the room and there was a door, but you could hear everything that went down in there (literally). Flushing the toilet was easy, just fill up a bucket of water and dump it directly in the bowl- all your problems swept down, just like that. After the second time, I got really comfortable using this method of flushing.
After the Thai Tsunami, walkways were built like this due to the flooding.
The best thing about this house was the awesome location!
The plants, the river, the breeze
Homemade Thai food, here we go!
Hot n Sweaty Sleeping Arrangements
I was able to explore a different side of Thailand. This area known as the "Backpackers Ghetto" or Kao Shan Road. It's what you imagine when you think of a lot of Westerners partying, shopping, getting tattoos, eating grilled scorpions on a stick, getting wasted on the street. It was quite opposite of what the last two months in SE Asia had offered me. It was quite overwhelming and not the kind of scene that I wanted to be immersed in. I noticed my resitance and released it. I mingled with the other guests in the house, helped the host cook dinner and even joined the crew up to Kao Sahn.
Near Kao Sahn, this is the abandoned building that people sneak into to see all the fish. The fish made it their home after the Tsunami and now a recent article has made it go viral!
The best part of the night was finding a Thai Blues & Jazz Bar (with only Thai people)! These guys were jamming, and all the people in the tiny (I mean tiny) room were really into it. A lot of singing and about one person dancing (cause that's all there was room for).
Here's a tiny vid with some excerpts of the passionate Thai Blues singer + other Kao Sahn Moments:
We moved on to the Backpackers ghetto, got a cool performance by these break dancers, dared a friend to eat the scorpion and danced on the street. I'm glad I got to experience the famous road, and I even got to purchase a pair of fake Ray Bans- HEYO! The best shopping isn't in Kao Shan, however, you'll find this closer to the main temples. Sinsiri and her hubby had showed us the Thai Flea market earlier that week, it's walking distance from Kao Sahn and you can honestly find ANYTHING there. New and used, clean and dirty, useful and useless- whatever you want, it's there! It was mind-blowing! I couldn't even buy anything cause there was just so much to choose from and overwhelming- This is the kind of place you go to when you need something RANDOM.
Literally, anything- even a spiffy new do!
Phiman House Guests, two Americans, A Norwegian and a German
I am really grateful for those last few days in Thailand. I learned to stop resisting, to really find and harness the inner peace and project my happiness outwards. Being conscious of my mood, of my body language, allowed me to be open to new acquaintances that really enhanced my Thai experience. I was feeling quite ready at this point to surrender and allow the universe to work its magic on me. I finalized the last things to fly to Chennai. I did a bit of research and found the main Bus station where I would hop on the bus to Tiruvanamalai. My flight landed pretty late at night so I booked a hotel near the airport ahead of time through Booking.com - Once again, I chose to come from a place of abundance, so I picked a hotel that looked pretty decent. I was willing to pay a bit more to have something clean, with a toilet and with WIFI!
As I boarded my plane back to India I found my seat I got to chit chatting with the couple next to me. Dinesh and Lata, a couple from Northern India, living in Chennai. We quickly became friends and it's not because I'm "too" trusting- it's because I go with my instinct. I don't stay on autopilot, I pay attention, I feel, I think. This is intuition, a gift that we all have if we just stop and listen. I almost get into a meditative state when I'm conversing (especially with someone new) I look them in the eyes, and my guides always lead me to the best humans! In Indian tradition, guests should be considered Gods- So, after coming to the conclusion that I would not be able to find authentic North Indian food, Dinesh told me his wife would cook for me the next time I visited Chennai. We became Facebook friends, I got his business card and we agreed I would call them before I left India.
Airplane buddies!
So, now I had these cool Indian friends and the real fun was about to begin. Upon landing, I say bye to my new friends, I go to the ATM for some Indian Rupees and I go look for my arranged ride from the airport to the hotel. According to the site I would have one, but there were just so many drivers standing behind the line calling out names, some had signs, some didn't. It was quite overwhelming, so I decided to trust and just hoped to miraculously figure something out. Then Lata and Dinesh appear, asking me how I'm getting to my hotel. Luckily, they've learned Tamil and were able to do some negotiating with a driver that would get me safely to the hotel-- yes, thank you!
My fancy hotel room in Chennai
MEMORABLE MOMENTS + TIPS:
In Chennai, the rickshaw drivers don't seem to want to take you very far. I had a really hard time finding a ride from the hotel to the main bus station. A lot of them were confused when I asked to be taken there. I figured out it's because I was calling it by the wrong name. According to Google, it's the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus..but nobody calls it that! So if you're in Chennai and want to catch a bus, ask to be taken to Koyambedu - and cross your fingers that the driver will accept :)
Long bus journey ahead of you? Do you have a strong stomach? Don't bother buying snacks! At any bus stop, traffic jam or red light, vendors will flock onto the bus selling food! If you are willing to trust what's in the food, then go on ahead and get yourself some food. ( I purchased a water and cookies for the ride, the food looked tempting, but I didn't want to get diarrhea on a NON A/C NO TOILET 5 hour bus ride).
Don't worry about buying a bus ticket ahead of time either. An attendant will stop by and ask each passenger their destination, he calculates the distance and lets you know how much you owe. I paid 110 Rupees for a 184 KM journey (under $2). In a place with decent roads this would take about 2 hours. The road was decent for the first 45 minutes and quickly worsened. I'm talking massive pot holes and bumps, and they don't slow down for the bumps. I was lifted at least a food off my seat for the last 3 hours of the ride! Talk about an adrenaline rush!
Women should brush their hair. I'm the wrong person to suggest that to, for I have never owned a hair brush. The 80 year old lady sitting next to me didn't speak any English, but she was able to communicate that she wanted water and that I should brush my hair and pull up into a pony tail. Don't ask me how she told me, but hand signs and facial gestures are easy to understand.
Pack Light and just let your backpack get dirty! I know this is a DUH- My backpack wasn't actually very big so I just put it in the seat next to me. After a few stops the bus got completely packed. I had to give up my backpack's seat and couldn't squeeze it over head so I actually gave up my leg room to squish my backpack in there. I also was a bit foolish and chose to not use the bathroom at Koyambedu cause I didn't want to put my backpack down cause the floor was soaking wet (It was being washed). I'm ashamed, but the 1st World Grecia appeared and didn't want to remove her backpack to squat down. I just wasn't ready, so much for surrendering, but sometimes you're just not ready (and I wasn't ready)!
When she first started talking I thought she was asking for a selfie..then I figured out she just wanted me to look at my hair in the mirror... hahaha!
Five and a half hours later, a very sweaty Grecia finally arrived. I kept doubting where to get down but my old lady friend told me to sit down and wait and she would tell me when to get off. Once again, this communication wasn't in English, but somehow we got through to each other. Upon descending, I walked over to a phone shop. I tried buying a sim card for my phone but apparently you can't just buy a sim card in India if you're foreign. So, instead, I borrowed the shop owner's phone and called Isaac. Isaac and his family were going to host me during my time there. He was very happy sounding and told me he would arrive shortly.
I gave the phone back and sat on the curb, basking in my sunshine, allowing my backpack to get gritty and waited with open arms and an open heart.
I re-read his email and felt his joy through his broken English and allowed myself to feel the same.
After dropping my bag off at Ideer Hostel iDeer Hostel BKK, Amanda and I began our journey to find the Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok. DMK International is the older, outdated international airport in Bangkok about 19 miles north of the city. There is a train that goes there, but apparently the times are erratic, which makes it quite an ordeal to maneuver. That seemed a bit too complicated to deal with ,so if we wanted to make it to our flight, a taxi was going to be the best option! There's a big street right outside the hostel, so we knew it would be easy to find a cab to take us there right away. We wave down the first pink ride we see. (The taxi cabs in Bangkok are all really bright colors, lime green, hot pink, blue.) As we hop in we ask the driver to take us to Don Mueang Airport. (This is actually really hard to pronounce..neither of us could get it right!) After repeating ourselves a few times, he understood. Before we set off, we asked the price... He quoted us something outrageous, I tried disputing the price andthat's when Amanda noticed the Thai Taxi Permit on display did not belong to him. The guy photographed in the picture definitely was NOT the man behind the wheel! We immediately grabbed our bag, opened the door told him no thanks and hopped out of the car. (Maybe he wasn't dangerous, but his price wasn't right and apparently neither was his permit!) It's nice traveling with someone as keen as Amanda! So, we laughed it off and wished for a more honest driver next! Luckily, we found one! Got to the airport with time to spare. Finding vegetarian food there was not an easy feat. Amanda ordered a Greek Salad from the pizza place, I had a mushroom pastry (not delicious). I should have gone with the salad for a few Baht more, but when you're traveling on a budget, sometimes you have to make sacrifices and eat something a bit more economical! Thailand is pretty affordable, but in comparison to India, it's twice as expensive. I was really missing Indian prices ( andcurry)!
Fun @ DMK Airport, the background changes! Here we are in NYC!
Cambodian Customs, we are ready for you! (Notice Amanda's serious burn!)
Sitting in the back in the back of Bahnet's Rickshaw
Our time in Cambodia was a quick pit stop! When we arrived, Bahnet, the Cambodian tuktuk driver, was waiting for us at the airport. Major props to Amanda cause our hostel was perfect, we had a private room WITH A/C and there was even an indoor swimming pool! At The Siem Reap Hostel I even ran into my Samyak Sister, Gabriella! She attended the Samyak Hatha Teacher Training in February, now she's back in the UK firing up her yoga career! Gabriella and I had a much-needed catch up, we decided we would be up bright n'early to check out the famous temples. The following morning we woke up at 530 AM to make it to Angkor Wat before the rise of the Sun. We explored the sites and stretched and bended into some deep yoga poses throughout the land.
Patiently waiting for the Sun to rise with Gabriella
SUN HANDS
I wasn't aware that there are actually a series of Wats (temples) that are part of the whole Siem Riep tourist catch. So, luckily, Angkor Wat isn't the only ancient temple/tourist spot! (Like i mentioned in the previous post, I didn't do ANY research or planning before the getaway with Amanda. Which is quite unlike me, I usually spend tons of time online, getting to know the places I will visit. But when you're in India, good internet is hard to come by! Plus, who has time for that anyway? I'd rather spend my time outdoors exploring, than in an old web cafe, suffering through the slowest internet connections and attacks by mozzies (mosquitos).
This was my day pass to ALL the temples. (Notice the price is in US Currency.)
Step 1. wake up early, Step 2. Go to place to buy day pass, Step 3. Find a ride to take you around/rent a bike
As the sun rose, we trotted around the grounds of the first temple. Angkor is absolutely huge! We climbed carefully up uneven steps and began our photo shoot. It was honestly, completely, utterly magical being there. The thousands of tourists didn't bother me one bit, it's just so vast! and ancient! and detailed! and gorgeous! It seems to go on forever! The temperature outside was perfect for exploring and jumping around for pics! We spent hours there! On the way out got stopped but a damn good sales woman and headed to her place for breakfast. Eggs & potatoes for me, with the biggest coconut in history for some tasty & real hydration! As we walked out, we easily spotted Bahnet amongst the hundreds of rickshwaws (what a relief!)
Mandy & Gabs
Where in the world is Gia?
Look at that coconut!!
Our trusty driver took us to the rest of the temples, too.They were all just as magical and marvelous, so much lush richness, detail and peace throughout. Despite all the people, all locations did feel really sacred and quiet to me. After exploring the 3rd temple, we didn't have so much luck finding Bahnet! There were just SO many tuktuks, thousands! and so many people, it was getting really hot, our breakfast was already practically burned off from all the walking. For a moment, I really thought we would never find him again. And it made me sad because we knew he was an honest guy, and we wouldn't want him to think we ditched him! We began shouting his name and he suddenly appeared out of nowhere!
Cruising these streets with B
I was really amazed at the amount of child labor I witnessed. These kids are really good at selling things! They all speak perfect English, they actually are clever, they know things! They are so adorable, who wouldn't want to purchase things from them? They were selling an array of things, from snacks, to waters, to post cards, souverniers. You name it and they would probably find a way to get it for you! Some of these kids were so young, I saw a few that looked about 3 or 4 years old! It such a tough situation, I felt torn. I didn't want to encourage this kind of abuse, but it presumably for a good cause, and why wouldn't I want to help children.. especially when they tell you it's for their education and they dazzle you with their knowledge of Geography!
Lil' baby boy with his basket of products hung on his shoulder
Siem Reap also has a big pub crawl scene that completely caters to Westerner (not my thing). There are huge neon lights, in bright red, a massive sign that says, Pub Street. Here you can find bars, restaurants, souvenir shops, massage joints andice-cream parlors. They accept US Dollars everywhere, when you withdraw money from the ATM, you get Dollars. The currency is Riels, so when you pay at the shops in USD$, they give you change in Riels. The conversion rate is $1USD = 3990 Cambodian Riels. It's usually a better deal if you pay in Riels, since they will round up prices in dollars. But the amounts of money are ridiculous and confusing, so dollars make it a bit more simple.
Cambodian food reminded me of Thai, except creamier and less tasty!
Once again we had noodles or fried rice for dinner. the prices were cheaper than Thailand, so that was a relief. Amanda found herself some products to relieve her sunburn. Our hunt for something natural/unharmful was not easy! We found that about 95% of skin products had bleaching agents. The obsession with white skin is insane! Among the lotions sold, there is one named "Fair & Lovely". A brand from India (not surprising)! Indians, Thais, Cambodians, they're all equally obsessed with having fair skin. There were a few times I had debates with Indians about how beautiful their skin tone was. In the South, people have much darker skin so at times they thought maybe I was Northern Indian. They would tell me how much they loved my skin color, and how they were just "too dark"! This is nonsense to me, and we can thank the media for that. For only portraying characters on television, with "perfect" facial features, flawless fair skin and tamed hair.
So Amanda eventually found something without bleach, after all, she was there to get a tan! not to get bleached!
Our 24 hours went by quickly, we had comissioned Bahnet to take us to the airport on his TukTuk the next morning. We are such good travelers, got there totally early and had a smooth flight back to Bangkok.
Now we were ready to commence our Bangkok couchsufing adventure. !
