Northern Thailand is exquisite. I’ve been poking around its far reaches the past several days, brushing against and into Laos and Myanmar, and have meandered  through the bullseye of the famed (and infamous) Golden Triangle, the stuff of legend back in the 60’s and 70’s, including the Mekong River. It brought to mind some wild visuals from Apocalypse Now, with Martin Sheen cruising upriver in a PRB, .50 caliber machine guns at the ready, in search of Colonel Kurtz. It all came back as I was sitting on the Mekong in Chiang Khong having lunch and daydreaming. Here’s a map of my meanderings since arriving in Chiang Mai from Bagan as a visual aid:

I’m about 500 miles N/NW of Bangkok now, and debating whether to drive down there before heading to Phnom Penh for the start of the Cambodia leg of the trip.

Some observations might be interesting and are kind of called for around now, as the trip nears its half-way point. Indonesia, and Bali specifically, was beautiful but quite crowded where I visited. Jakarta was a maelstrom of humanity and poverty. Life flowed seamlessly in both places, however. What I always view as most important when visiting somewhere new is my impression of the people. The Balinese people are so incredibly happy, sweet and chill that it’s hard to imagine anyone outdoing them in those departments. Well, maybe the Dirtbags…..

The Burmese people have very little, as their country has been wracked by political and military turmoil and corruption for decades, and where I visited, Mandalay and Bagan and their environs, were really impoverished, arid and not particularly pretty. Nonetheless, the people there were extremely kind and polite. They had almost nothing, yet they gave of themselves freely.

One observation that rings very clear so far is that everyone with whom I’ve come in contact has been completely honest, and I’ve never felt that I have been in any personal danger despite poking around some, shall we say, interesting places. In addition, no one has tried to charge me more than they would a local for anything, and I’d know if they had, as you pick up on that pretty quickly on the road. That’s wonderful. No mining of tourists for extra cash. Honesty rocks.

By the way, there are virtually no public trash cans here, yet there is no trash on the streets or elsewhere. People leave property unattended everywhere, and it’s not stolen. In addition, there are plenty of dogs pretty much everywhere I’ve been, many of which look like strays, but they are all super chill and they don’t beg or bark. Seriously. Funny observations in a way, but clearly noticeable.

The culture and religion here, primarily Buddhist, infuses people with humility, kindness,  love and honesty. Children learn to meditate in grade school here, and the calm it provides infuses society and creates an unmistakable social bond. How about a big dose of that for the States? Boy, would that be welcome right about now.

One striking feature of traveling here is that virtually every town has its own temple, and they are so amazingly beautiful and ornate that I struggle to comprehend how they are paid for in light of the level (or more appropriately absence) of wealth here. Everyone must donate inordinate amounts of their money, resources and time to build and maintain these spectacular places. That tells you what’s really important to these people. How nice in the grand scheme of things.

I’ve also not witnessed one disagreement, argument or shouting match during the past four weeks, and I haven’t heard anyone raise their voice towards anyone else. Everyone is completely respectful towards others. People wait in line politely and calmly everywhere and bow their heads humbly after interacting. The harmony and tranquility are so nice, and raise the question of how we, in our country, have gotten to the deplorable and divisive state that we’re in today. OK, enough soap box….

A total digression – Billy Joel’s Summer, Highland Falls came on this morning while I was listening to tunes and the lyrics “They say that these are not the best of times, but they’re the only times I’ve ever known…” rang out and vibrated powerfully through me. I feel so blessed and grateful for the opportunity to experience these places and the people who live here, in many cases much as their ancestors have, for centuries. These are, in fact, the best of times because life is what you make of it. Really cool and fun in so many ways.

Back to reality and some photos. These are from the Chiang Rai environs. Amazing sights nearby.

The Baan Dam Museum, otherwise known as the Black House outside of Chiang Rai, was very interesting and bizarre. It’s not one structure, but an assemblage of over forty in wildly varying sizes, shapes and materials, conceived and assembled by the Thai artist Thawan Duchanee as an interpretation of Buddhist philosophy. Its size, style and overall feel reminded me a great deal of my next door neighbor Philip Johnson’s estate in New Canaan, where buildings, galleries and sculptures of substantially different styles, materials, sizes and configurations join together over 48 acres to form a completely harmonious whole.  Here are some images from the Baan Dam Museum:

I know it’s art, but I have absolutely no idea of its intrinsic meaning. Pretty funny to me as a guy, though. Dude must have serious back problems cartin’ that thang around….

After Baan Dam, I went to Wat Rong Khun, otherwise known as the White Temple. This completely blew me away. It was conceived and built privately by Chalermchai Kositpipat, the Thai artist and architect, and opened in 1997. White was chosen as the temple’s exterior color, which was until then unheard of in historic temple design, to reflect the Buddhist notion of purity, and innumerable small mirrored glass pieces adorn it and reflect even more light from its core. In addition to the White Temple, numerous other buildings grace the property. It was truly sublime.

You have to see this temple to believe it. Photos simply can’t capture its magnificence and awe.

Notions of joy and peace juxtapose with those of pain and terror. Very interesting to experience.

Matt had a good idea on the name of the blog. I created it three years ago for my first Australia trip, hence the original name of Adventures Down Under. Instead of recreating the wheel for this trip, I just continued (and hijacked) that blog in the name of efficiency, but its name wasn’t really appropriate anymore in light of where I’ve been and am headed on this trip. So, here’s the new and improved look:

Early dinner stop at a street market on the road to Pai

Yum

Photos from last night and this morning en route to and in Pai:

Hill Tribe womanGotta believe James Cameron cribbed these lovelies for Avatar.

Met this fellow on the way to a huge waterfall. He was sooo happy.

These folks too

Sleeping angel on the street

Late afternoon

I went up to a spectacular waterfall this afternoon and had an interesting experience on the way back into town. Six automatic-weapons armed Thai police stopped me at a makeshift checkpoint on the tiny road, asked me some questions and requested that I agree to a search of my body, my pack and the car. They were looking for drugs (duh – we’re in the Golden Triangle…). I acceded, they patted me down, checked my pack and the car, and all was good. They could not have been more polite and respectful, although memories of Tulum momentarily flooded my mind. No worries, mon. Off to dinner and a cold Singha….

Tonight while cruising around Pai’s Sunday night street fair. Pai is a super cool, hip and fun town. Maybe a tad too hippified, but fun for sure. Really glad I came, as it’s off the beaten path and a bit of pain to get to.

These girls were singing and dancing to raise money for a local scholarship fund. They were quite shy, but very friendly. Loved the hat on the little one.

That’s it for tonight. Gonna hit the hay and get some rest for tomorrow.