9 1/2 Hours with Marshall

We are on the road to Habadura from Negomo. The drive has been amazing and I am writing this now because after a large meal of curry our driver had to pull over and take a nap. We are parked along side the road, no place in particular. The road is narrow. People are walking or riding bikes right by. They aren't thinking a thing about this. I suppose it is natural for a hired van full of white people to be parked along side the road while the driver sleeps. Tuk tuks, trucks and large public busses speed past. These busses are all painted brightly and filled with people going where ever Sri Lankan people go. The music is often blaring from them . It seems quite natural that our driver would need to pull over to sleep. It seems like we would not be in Sri Lanka if he didn't.

Our driver is having a very difficult day. First he had to buy a jack for the car. His windshield wiper broke and he had to stop at a repair shop. Vince accidentally pushed the van door off of the hinges and they had to reattach it. Now, as I write, he is having to bribe a police officer to get out of a hefty ticket. The entire thing is highly amusing for us, but probably not for our driver.

Yesterday I woke up in Sri Lanka. I preceded to sit around on the lawn of our hotel room for an entire day doing nothing. Oh sure, I walked 100 yards to a fancier hotel for a meal, but besides that it was all sunshine, sitting, and watching the birds and butterflies flit about.

It was our plan to take the train to Habadura. We hired a cab. We got ready. We were about half way to the station when the driver suggested he drive us all the way to our hotel. I was not amused. Was he running another scam once he had us securely stationed inside the car? We got to the train station. Tuk tuks were zipping around while cows made themselves very comfortable in the middle of the road. I walked up to the window and a barely able to speak English train employee looked at me from behind wooden slats. I kept asking him questions and he kept gently smiling at me, nodding, not really able to answer. I decided to hire the driver and take the car. (don't worry...we will take the train another day.)

But I was not going to mess around with this driver! Oh, No! I said to him, "You will take us where ever we want to go? Stop where ever we want to stop?" He said, "Oh yes Madame... we will do everything except daddy mommy things." It took me much time to realize what he meant by this joke.

This drive has been amazing. There are people everywhere waving at us as we drive past their homes. The green of the jungle is off set by the green of the rice patties. Egrets sit beside cow and water buffalo like the old friends that they are. One small town center looks like another. The colonial era homes are grand mansions nestled into the jungle. The contrast is striking and surprising and beautiful. These places are not entirely manicured. They are simply a grand memory fighting to keep the jungle at bay.

We arrived at an elephant show place. There are several of these here. It was going to cost about $35 bucks for the kids and Craig to ride the elephant and no one really wanted to do it that badly. As we were considering this a man shouted at us from across the street, "Want to pet my monkey?" Excuse us? Sure enough there was a monkey tied to a post and a man standing with a boa constrictor around his neck. "Come, pet my snake!" I wasn't really into petting anything this guy had going, but then I said, "Is that a cobra in the basket?" Oh yes! It is a cobra and he can make it dance for 500 rupee and I could touch his monkey and snake at the same time. I told him I would give him a hundred to make the snake dance with no monkey petting. He said 150. I didn't have a 50 and what do you do? Have the guy make change for a thousand? Craig said, "I will give you 50. I need to see this!" Out from the basket came a one year old cobra and as you can see it the picture, it was something. People kept stopping to watch the snake, but the man kept telling them, "Hey, this is my job!" and they would leave. Incredible.

We stopped at a spice garden and got to see and learn about different aerovedic medicines. Sri Lanka is heavily into natural medicines and we learned all about it. We were given tea to drink on the tour that was amazing flavored. Sweet without sugar. We bought some. Of course, the most expensive tea in the world, but the smile on my daughters face was worth it!

We stopped at a bakery and had coffee and sweets. We stopped for lunch at a curry and rice stop. Our driver taught us how to eat Sri Lankan style as this restaurant had no silverware. Chicken curry, pork curry, rice with dal and eggplant. We ate with our fingers in the way Marshall taught us. Make a scoop with the fingers and push the food into your mouth. It was spicy. Really spicy. So spicy Craig's nose started running. But spicy in a good way. This meal was so delicious that we could not stop eating. The owner had to bring us more egg plant.

Then Marshall needed a nap.

After Marshall bribed the police, we carried on to our final destination. What did we see standing along side the road like it was no big deal, just another day? An elephant. A wild beautiful elephant just hanging out doing what elephants do...eat. She was a little shy, hiding behind the tree. I didn't want to ask Marshall to back up anymore so that I could get a better shot of her because his day has not been going well and with his luck he would drive into the ditch.

The Sunrise Holiday Resort is not exactly what the word 'resort' implies. What this means in Sri Lanka is that there is a pool. The rooms are spacious and the host is warm and gracious. We were greeted with fresh juice made of papaya and pinapple. The kids immediately jumped in the pool. "Will you be staying for dinner?" They asked. "Tonight is rice and curry" they said. Of course we will eat rice and curry! OK, it will be ready at 8. 8pm? Really...

And the kids were swimming and I was watching the bats fly over head and all was right with the world. And then we learned that there had been a booking problem and Craig would have to sleep at another hotel for the night after dinner and they were so sorry and they would come and get him first thing and they were so sorry.

The curry was fantastic. I finished eating and much like our driver after our lunch I could not stay awake another moment. I kissed Craig goodbye, as this might be the end for him, and passed out hard!

Oh Sri Lanka! You are winning my heart!

The Final Leg of the Journey

Note on Airplane Journey to Sri Lanka

White guy says loudly to everyone in the debarkation area, "I LOVE THAI WOMEN!" or something to that effect while he reflects on the sex life he had with his Thai 'girlfriends' Hello...Thai women...really? This guy is ugly, skinny and although he may be wealthy, this is ridiculous! Come on Thai girls, it is self respect time! These are the boyfriends you choose...ug...barf!

I was given a questionnaire by the Thai visitors association while I laid on the airport floor. They were interested in knowing if I came to Thailand for elective surgery? Did I choose surgery while I was there from an advertisement I had seen? If so, What did I have done? Did I have hospital services because of an unforeseen event? This question was at the end and almost an afterthought.

The Sri Lankan Airline airplane has wreaths and stuffed snowmen hanging from the walls and ceiling of the main cabin....like a highly decorated tuk tuk.

Sri Lankan stewardesses must be trained in this unique method of waking sleeping passengers. I had been asleep since before the plane took off. I felt someone scratching my scalp with long fingernails... I woke up and the stewardess said, "Would you like to eat?"

There is a large Muslim man arguing with the world. He does not want to sit between two white people. He just yelled at the stewardess and got into her face. This could be bad.

Craig is talking to a guy about our trip. Oh God! He is a 'travel agent' and he is giving Craig advice. He says our hotel sucks and is where prostitutes bring their johns. He also says that the train is not good to ride. hum...

When you arrive in Sri Lanka, be amused by the 1980's feel of the joint. Listen to how the carousel squeaks as package after package of t-shirts and sarongs are unpacked by wealthy shop owners and put into duffel bags by porters.

Change money inside the airport. Get a ticket for a taxi before leaving the secured area. Do not be bothered by people asking you if you need a place to stay or a ride. Let the taxi service people walk you out to a waiting cab.

Do not let that cab driver fill your heart with fear about the place you are staying. Because he certainly will tell you this. When he insists on taking you to a different hotel...one owned by a relative... unleash that inner bus driver and sternly say, "Take us where we want to go!"

Don't worry that when you get to the hotel and you can't see the rooms from the road.

Don't worry that you are lead to your room by flashlight.

Try not to worry that you don't know where you are in the world and that things feel out of control and you are exhausted.

In the morning, after a cool silent night under a mosquito net, when you look outside to the amazingly lush green, the butterflies and the birds, your dear friend will peek his head out around the cement wall separating your rooms and will say, "want some coffee?"

Leaving Bangkok

I am laying on the floor in the Bangkok airport, waiting for our delayed flight to Sri Lanka. That is right. I'm laying on the floor. The tiles are cold. To my side is a moving sidewalk and so people are zipping by me. This floor sleeping is so unbecoming of me as a middle aged white lady in Asia, and yet, so Alaskan. Across the airport are some old recliners and people are passed out in them stretched out, one guy has his mouth open drooling. Why is my laying on this cold tile floor so much worse than that? Below me is the staging area for our "sometime in the future" flight. We are not allowed to go down there until our flight is called. I can hear the sound of a 1993 computer printer zipping out page after page of paper. My first thought is, "why is there not a more modern printer in service down there?" Then my second thought, "What does this say about the state of the airplane we are flying in?"

I wonder if the flight is going to be delayed yet again. As we were standing in line today at the counter I thought about how there was a definitive change in the mood and countenance of the group of travelers we are going to be traveling with. Before we left for this trip, I watched a YouTube video by a very amusing Sri Lankan comedian. He makes wonderful jokes about the Ipod being on Sri Lankan time so that you are always late for everything. It is a very funny joke and so far it is ringing true. I have tried to get a hold of our first hotel, but I can not get through to them on the phone. I can not get through to them by email. We have bought three rooms for two nights and I don't even know if anyone will be there when we show up after midnight. I told the guys that I could tell I was on my way to the Indian Sub-continent. Time was starting to feel differently. It is as if I really need to not be thinking a thing about time or getting somewhere on time, or being anxious or annoyed about time. Things are going to happen as they do. I need to roll with it now. I am on my way to another world. It is not going to serve me bringing anxiety with me.

I said, "Well, worst case, if no one is there to give us our rooms we will be grateful to Craig for having the foresight to pack a mosquito net tent. We will all crawl inside of it on the beach and sleep." Falcom said, "What about the crabs!" "We will sleep on their lawn."

This morning I was awake at 3.30. I laid there, awake, thinking of nothing in particular until 5.30 when Vince and Marina were both awake there in the room, joining me in thinking about nothing in particular but being awake none the less. It is tricky this jet lag business.

We left our last hotel not on the greatest of terms. They tried to get Vince to over pay, which annoyed him with me that I had somehow made a mistake and that made me upset with some unsuspecting girl at the reception who was told to collect an extra 1000 bhat. I won't put up with being ripped off and I am not afraid to make a scene and whalla! We got in a taxi which brought us here to the most beautiful high rise hotel. It is right in the main tourist district, of course, but wow! The view...not only of Bangkok, but of the events happening inside the bathroom because it is walled entirely of glass! (See picture of Vince pretending to be using the toilet.)

That previous evening, while the guys were out drinking beer and eating street food, Marina was sleeping and Falcom was in Craigs room sleeping, I made the decision that I needed to get up early in the morning and travel to a place called Wat Benjamabophit: The Marble Temple. Marina, Vince and I made it out of the hotel as the sun was rising and made our way to a taxi. The taxi took us across town for 80 bhat and we arrived at the Wat Benja. Outside were a line of monks with their robes such dark saffron it was more orange. People were driving up to the doors of the temple and bringing them all kinds of sustainance: water, rice, fruit, chips. The people would get out of the car, take off their shoes and proceed to give monks bags of essentials. Care packages for monks. It was beautiful. A river passes by the temple and in it were large monitor lizards. Amazing.

The sun came up and we watched it blaze bright orange through the smog filled sky. After a while we attempted to flag down a taxi. We weren't in tourist district anymore! The taxis were full or else they didn't know where we wanted to go or they didn't want to take us. Finally a tuk tuk pulled over and said he would take us to the hotel for 100 bhat. I was surprised that Vince didn't argue with the guy, but hey... what a fun experience!

We hopped into the tuktuk and started off. Before long Vince said, "I have the feeling we are going the wrong way." "No!" I said, "He's a tuk tuk driver for heavens sake!" and sure enough we were lost. He had taken us away from any tourist oriented place and drove us right through the heart of Bangkok. What was a 15 minute trip to get there became an hour trip to get home. We went through China Town and around the palace.

Tuktuks are interesting. They are so cool, and they zip around like nothing. It is like being on a three wheeled motorcycle with a roof: the whole world is right there and you can move relatively quickly through it and even touch it if you want. But I learned something else. When you are in a Tuktuk during morning traffic when the streets are just packed, you are right at exhaust pipe level with every bus in the city. Also, unless you stick your head out into the street you can't see much.

Our driver was lost. After about 30 minutes he pulled over to ask directions. It was obvious that he was not at all pleased with the situation he had found himself in. This was a lot of time wasted on three Americans who are up early to look at monks. He must have been thinking to himself, "Gosh, when I go to America are they going to expect me to go to churches and stare at the preachers?"

Finally, he found our hotel and boy was he ever glad to be rid of us. He raised the price to 200 and Vince gave him a look like, what? and then gave him 140, we were so glad to be back in the lap of luxury! I took a shower in the glass room and met the family for a breakfast of massive proportion. Guests were at the hotel from all over the globe! Many of them were in their native dress: the Indians, Muslims, and Europeans (in their underdressed states). I suppose we were too... in our Alaskan shorts and T-shirts that we only wear once a year when we go on vacation to a tropical location so why bother updating the style? I can not remember the last time I heard so many accents and seen so many different varieties of food to sustain all these people. There was one table of American breakfast foods, one lady was walking through the restaurant carrying a baguette, one Indian man was loading up his plate with relishes.

It was great but I couldn't get to feeling better. Craig brought me a glass of ginger juice. I'm not kidding. There are people who can drink that like it is orange juice. I am not one of them. It did help my stomach though.

Even so, I could not kick the feeling of stomach and body sickness. Not enough sleep, too much exhaust fumes. I spent the rest of the day hanging around the air conditioned hotel, drinking water and waiting to go to the airport.

Which is where this leaves me. Oh! The plane is going to board eventually and they are letting us down to the main gate waiting area. Cool. Write more from Sri Lanka!

72 Hours in Bangkok

I am having problems with creative flexibility while blogging on the road. In my attempt to post poolside and include pictures the time line of the posts got worked about. Here is the post with pictures at the end of it instead of throughout. Compared to three years ago, this ability to blog is amazing!

72 Hours in Bangkok

I know that wise people have given me the impression that we should get out of Bangkok as soon as we possibly can, but honestly, I am in no big hurry. I like it here. It reminds me of all of the things that I find so incredibly interesting in cities without yellin, or hostility, or well, paranoia of strangers. Being in Bangkok has reminded me simultaneously of San Francisco, Kuala Lumpur, and Honolulu all mixed together. How is this?

We are in an enormous modern city with ancient tradiditons that are still being practiced. It is not like Bali where we are in the midst of the incence smoke at every turn. Instead, we are treated kindly. Questions we have are answered honestly. Sure, there is an ugly underbelly happening, but more frequent are people trying to get by, trying to provide for their family, ting th...just like everywhere else on this planet.

Why is Bangkok like San Francisco?

Last night while we were having dinner we were given a receipt for the food we ate. Along with the money paid and the change we received, the note came with a detailed nutritional analysis of the meal. If you are in the mood for specific food or delicacies or a Starbucks coffee...help your self! It's all here! And, for us tourists there seems to be no trouble wether a person is straight or gay or whatever...as long as you aren't bothering anyone...

Why Kuala Lumpur?

There is serious hustle and bustle here. There is risk involved in street crossing. There is street food and cafes and religion and commerce everywhere all at once. The street food fills the air with amazing savory mouth watering smells. Need that third season of True Blood? It is right over here at the knock off DVD stand for about a buck. Spilled a drink on your t-shirt? buy another for a dollar. Marina needed some socks so I went into a drug store to get her some. They were cute and had embrodery on them. They cost .80 cents US. Whatever. I got them to the room and inside in the embroidery on one side of the foot it reads 'Beauty Socks' On the other side it reads 'Beauty Sucks!' Oh! I love that bad English!

Why Honolulu?

The mix of local population ethnic diversity and the tourist to local ratio are similar to Honolulu. Their seems to be an understanding that tourism can happily drive an economy. There is a laid back peaceful attitude. How many clasped hands and head bowing have we seen? I just saw the most beautiful butterfly soaring right over me. Flowers everywhere! and we are sitting poolside on the 20th floor of our hotel because the pool is on the roof! 20th floor and butterflies are dancing around here. Both kids are begging to stay indefinitely. I don't blame them.

Sri Lanka

As we leave for our journey we have been emeshed in frantic busy exasperation right up until the last minute.  I have started a blog specifically for this trip,   earthtripping-srilanka.blogspot.com

I am going to be posting the trip as it happens and allowing myself to enjoy taking pictures and writing again.  To start the journey, I have posted an essay I wrote for one of my classes this semester.  The piece is more confrontational than I am used to writing, but it sums up my feelings.  The rest of the posts will be way more fun, I promise!

So, go to the following link

Greears in Sri Lanka!

And imagine us frantically hitting the road...

Love and blessings to you all!

Ten

Marina turns ten years old this month. Ten years ago Falcom was running around wild and Vince was telling me to mop the floor on hand and knee to get that baby moving! Well, we are having part one of her birthday today with the Nutcracker Faire and Ballet and cake. Next Monday, we will have another party with the Girl Scouts. Then the celebrating will continue into our trip. Sometimes this December birthday is a problem. Sometimes, I think it must be super awesome for her. One of the things I love about her is that he is not all about the presents. Instead, she is just thrilled to have fun with her family and her friends. She is a great girl, the perfect addition to this family!

Technology

In an attempt to join the modern world, I am blogging twice today. The first blog is centered on the real news I wanted to share. The second is a picture that was supposed to be with the text. This one is to see if we can merge the two technologies.

This is a picture of Falcom getting his vaccinations updated before going n a world adventure. The second is of a gift Vince received this week.

At some point I am going to have to write about my heavy heart, but it will have to wait for a time when I have the time to go a dark place.