Naked Soul Kitchen

I started my Thursday morning with a nice walk through Chiang Rai, stopping at a market for some fresh fruit for breakfast. After that I headed to the bus station and found the bus that was going to the White Temple. That was my destination today. The Temple was only thirteen kilometers outside of town so it was a short half an hour rise on a bumpy local bus. The bus stopped right across the street from the temple so it was very convenient. One thing that is strange about this temples to me is their proximity to major roads, highways and just the hustle and bustle of a city. Such a majestic place as the White Temple loses a bit of its charm in my eyes, when anywhere you look around it you see cars, supermarkets and hundreds of electrical wires. I guess we are in the twenty first century after all, but it still astounds me that exceptional places like The White Temple, don't get exempt from the more and more westernized lifestyle. Nonetheless, the architecture and the detail of the...

Today's adventure ends right here, at the Phasoet Hot Sprigs. A wonderful day spent with a great group of French people and our local Thai guide, Filo, ends with everyone soaking their tired bodies in the natural hot water pools, in the mountains near Chiang Rai. What started out as your regular tour, ended up being an unforgettable adventure of jungle trekking and elephant riding. When I got to Chiang Rai yesterday afternoon, I didn't really know what I was doing in terms of a tour, I just knew that I wanted to explore the area. So I talked to the tour company at the Chat House, the local hostel I was staying in, and found out my options. At the time I inquired about the tour, I was the only person wanting to do a tour the next day, which would have resulted in a really high price. Shortly after I lost all hope for finding an affordable tour, the hostel guy/tour guy, informed me that a group of four want to do a tour tomorrow. So I went over to those people and introduced mys...

Delicious food, beautiful statues, breathtaking scenery and of course, the plentiful silly signs :) Thailand. What a place.....

My mind races as I jump from one thought to another and to yet another. I am completely at peace yet my thoughts can't slow down. It's not nerves. It's something else. Knowledge maybe? Knowing how life is, how it could be and how I hope it will never be. Like trees sitting peacefully in the jungle, undisturbed and quiet. Waiting for something that might never come. An afternoon breeze or maybe a beautiful bird passing by. Life is full of chance meetings and by taking one step to the left, you might have dismissed your chances of your chance meeting. Whatever it was going to be, now it will not be. But something else will come out of it and you'll have a chance meeting, just a different one. You will not be aware of any of it. You will continue living your life as you have and continue walking down the path that you have chosen or you think you have chosen. People say that fate is what determines where our paths will lead us. But what if one day you wake up and you'...

As I am driving away from this unique little town, I look back on my experience here and I am not sad to leave. I am happy that I got to spend a tranquil and relaxing week here, taking in all that Pai has to offer. From the cascading waterfalls, to street food, to waking up every morning and stepping outside feeling as if I've stepping right into a Thomas Kinkade painting. All of those experiences will be with me forever. Although, one thing i definitely will not miss. Bugs!! I am definitely excited to get away from the river a bit because the bugs have been absolutely horrible in Pai. So goodbye my little Pie, I am on to my next adventure in Chiang Rai!

All of us could learn some things from the lovely people of Thailand. Their honesty and generosity really runs off on you. Everything is honor system here. Well, most things are. But just the way they interact with you; it's genuine and most of the time from the heart. Granted, when you go to the market as a tourist, they are bound to charge you a bit more than your average local. But that happens everywhere and you just have to be savvy about current prices. So I just came back from returning my bicycle back to the rental shop and the owner, the same elderly Thai man I dealt with when I rented the bike two days ago, asked me for only one day's worth of rental money. He was so sweet though that I couldn't help myself and before I knew it, my mouth was speaking words before my brain could register them. I told him that I owed him money for two days. And he was so thankful and happy that I told him. That was all the confirmation I needed that I did something good, although s...

So I got my first bikini wax in Thailand and let me tell you, next time I might pay extra couple bucks for a nicer place. Then again who knows, maybe they're all similar. I ended up shelling out a whole $13 for a bikini and underarm wax. I'm not big on complaining, especially in Asia but... the wax was barely warm and she used a kitchen spoon to spread the wax! So it hurt everytime she was spreading the wax. So the final result was ok. She got the job done...barely though. Oh well. It'll do for now. So I've decided to head to Chiang Rai tomorrow, via Chiang Mai. I'll get myself on some elephant over there and have a little bit of an adventure. I am also waiting to hear from a place out Northeast of Thailand, right near Laos border, a small town called Nong Khai. There is a volunteer organization there and I would like to volunteer there for the rest of my time in Thailand. So hopefully I hear back from them soon! :) Today is my laundry day. Washing clothes the old...

This day started out quite well I must say. I slept pretty late today, almost until 8am!! For some reason I always end up rising early when I'm traveling. I think my body feels that I should get up and do something since I'm in a foreign country. I wouldn't want to sleep through my trip. I'll sleep when I'm dead. So once I did get up, I had a couple failed attempts with Skype. And as always, the internet did not want to cooperate. After that, I got myself together and headed into town, which is a two minute walk across a wobbly bamboo bridge. There, I rented a bicycle for the day from the most adorable little Thai man. He knew quite a lot of English, especially for an older guy. So once he set up the bike for me, I headed down the road and across the bridge, on a mission to find a place called Fluid, which has a pool and other entertainment, all for a $1.50 for the day. I pedaled my way up and down a few hills and after about ten minutes, I reached my destination. ...

Sweet and sour, chocolate and salt, fried ice cream... All unlikely combinations which somehow work together to make something delicious. Well, salt and pepper chips doused in caramel is not one of those surprisingly good combinations. It's actually pretty disgusting and I'm pretty sure that I can never look at caramel the same way again. Ugh gross!!!

So I was out in town and I felt like It was all a set up. A setup for me to notice how alone I really am even in a sea of people. Everywhere I walked, I saw travelers just like myself, walking around, laughing, smiling, enjoying themselves. I guess I'm just out of practice with traveling on my own. I know it takes time to get used to being comfortable in your own skin, which I thought I was. I stand corrected. Also there were A LOT of couples strolling the main street happily, hand in hand, so in love. I noticed myself becoming envious of all those people. Why do we always want what we can't have? And it's not so much that I want to have their lives. No, not at all. I love my life, it's wonderful! What I want is that comfort of knowing that someone is there for you, with you in that moment when you need them. Simple things. I guess sometimes the simple things in life are the hardest to achieve. But this life is nothing to complain about right now so let's take it al...

My body lays here as the wind softly whispers sweet nothings into my ear My soul is dancing somewhere far away, on top of the mountains, that my eyes are looking at. The sun is shining but the dark clouds gathering behind it, make the day seem as if out of a child's painting; unrealistic, there are too many bright colors for one seemingly peaceful scene. Who knew that this could be real? Thunder rumbles far away while the tropical birds continue to sing their songs, as if unaware of what's to come. They know, but they can't do much at this time. How much distance can they really cover before they get caught in the rain. Does it really matter how far they get before they have to stop and rest? It's not the really the distance that matter. What matters is their determination to seek something better than what they've known. Their destination might be unknown, but of the desire is there then there is nothing that can stop them. Fly freebird, open your wings and go hom...

This is my eighth day in Thailand and the more days I spend here, the more I fall in love with this culture. There are so many contrasts in Thailand, but they're all beautiful and somehow fit right into this crazy unpredictable place. Healthy breakfast I am laying down in bed right now because there is a pretty serious rain storm outside and the hammock is completely wet. Also the electricity just went out so I figured I'll do some writing until my battery dies. So let's go back to where I left off... Yesterday, I had a proper breakfast for the first time in Thailand; eggs, bacon, toast and a delicious iced coffee. It felt strange eating regular food because I got so used to the crazy unknown combinations of food. Ordinary has become foreign. So after my breakfast, I woke up Alfredo, and we rented a motorcycle for the day and took it out to the country, to see some waterfalls and temples on the way. After a few wrong turns, we finally reached the waterfall and let me ...

A sleepy town in the Northwest Thailand, called Pai, welcomed me yesterday with open arms and a great first impression. After a 3.5 hour minibus ride to here from Chiang Mai and it seems that I have finally managed to escape the grips of the city and its busy lifestyle. And I have arrived here; to paradise. I have a feeling I'll stick around here for a while...

Southeast Asia is a new and exotic place for me and I definitely didn't know what to expect when I threw myself into this melting pot of dizzying color, flavor and culture. But they say sometimes it's better to not have any expectations at all, that way anything that happens is adventure versus one disappointment after another. And I must say, this trip so far has been a smooth highway with very few potholes. Anything that goes wrong or isn't exactly what you expected it to be just like rain; without you rain, sunshine just doesn't seem that wonderful and a blessing everyday. I already had many disappointing moments, some that turned out better than it could have been and some that were amazing and I'll never forget them. I think it's all about balance. The balance of the good and the bad and the million things in between. It's like missing someone when they're gone, but not knowing how much you'd actually miss them until they're not there any...

                                                                                                                Mamytei Tu šviesi kaip saulė, Kaip rytų aušra. Už tave pasauly Geresnės nėra. Tau karšta saulytė Siunčia spindulių… Dar karščiau, mamyte, Aš tave myliu. Mama, mano mama, Aš tave myliu!- Tau vėjelis šlama Tarp margų gėlių. -Anzelmas Matutis

This is super random but I stumbled upon these guys while looking up some other songs and they are absolutely amazing! So check them out. They are The Civil Wars. I'd LOVE to see them live! The rest of their songs are awesome too. Well worth checking out ;) Awesome!!

So here I am, relaxing and enjoying Chiang Mai. I've decided that I've been rushing way too much ever since I got to Thailand. And why? I don't need to, I have 30 days in Thailand so I want to take my sweet time exploring it. After all, that is why I have decided to stay in Southeast Asia for five and a half months and not one month. I want to explore hidden pathways, get to know places and feel at home as opposed to feeling like a tourist. And really, the only way to achieve that is to take my time. So I will :) Although Chiang Mai is a charming little place, it's not the quiet haven which I've been looking for, though it comes pretty close to it. Chiang Mai is a chameleon disguised as a busy town one moment but once you take a turn onto a quiet side street, it makes you feel like you're on a deserted island. But the silence never lasts long. It is usually interrupted by a noisy motorcycle or a persistent tuktuk driver yelling out "Hello! Need ride?...

So I almost had my first fail on the third day of my trip. I was supposed to be leaving Lampuri this evening heading to Chiang Mai on a night train. Alfredo and I spent all day just relaxing and strolling around town, playing with the monkeys. Unfortunately, the food market which we ate at yesterday was not open today for some reason. Other than that, the day went smoothly. We walked for about five kilometers round trip to the bus station in order to find out the price for the night bus to Chiang Mai but our trip proved to be fruitless since no one there spoke English and supposedly did not know any of the prices. It was a nice stroll during a sunny hundred degree day... Ok so maybe it wasn't that pleasant but it's alright. So the rest of the time before our five o'clock train, we spent just hanging out in the back of the hotel lobby discussing politics, religion and travel while enjoying a nice constant breeze of a rotating fan and some snacks. Finally, time came for ...