Comments on this Lifestyle

---

I started to think about this blog a couple of weeks ago when I was in Chiang Mai. It wasn't a well-developed idea then, and it still isn't...

I was walking down the side of a busy street, early morning just after a rain. I had my backpack on and my feet were bare so I could feel the heat from the sun spreading through the concrete. I could have taken a Tuk-Tuk to where I was going, but I chose to walk and to look and to listen. I was alone in a new place, not quite sure where I'd spend the night--let alone the day--I could smell something rank rising from the open sewers, and the Thai people were all giving me funny looks as I padded through standing water and mud puddles. Awww, that's the life.

So I decided I should probably write something vague and simple about all the sights and the sounds and the experiences that I've been having: big picture.

There's a lot of strangeness here. Strange words hurled at you in a crowd, followed by laughter, or fired-off at you rapidly along with an inquisitive smile. Strange sights along the narrow alleyways, where laundry hangs from power-lines above broken-down motorbike, piles of garbage, and stray dogs. Strange smells where the street vendors cook chicken-gizzards and chilies, letting the smoke mix with the steam of the sewer below and the exhaust of the gridlocked cars. Strange sounds from the rickety farm vehicles people drive even in the cities here, from the rapidly beeping horns, and from the whiney Thai pop music blasting out of taxi cabs. Strange customs when you can go into certain bars and pay for any gir--or boy that looks like a girl--who you see, but you can't kiss someone in the street and you have to take your shoes off at the door. It's really strange to walk into a Laotian restaurant in the afternoon, see Opium and Marijuana on the menu along with pizza, and there's a DVD of Friends Season Ten on the TV.

I'm wearing the same one pair of jeans, two pairs of camo shorts, and three sleeveless shirts everywhere I go. It isn't even worth it to put more than sandals on your feet. I go barefoot whenever possible, and I rarely constrain myself with underwear. I added a couple of necklaces to the ensemble in Laos, and a Thai friend gave me a bracelet for my wrist that reads, "Long Live the King."

The Thais really love their royalty, a concept that is absolutely bizarre to me and most Americans. That's one of the strange sights here that quickly fades into the background: shrines to the king and queen every 100ft or less. Some of them are huge billboards with pictures of the royal couple and their babies, others are little and require an offering from those who pass. Even where there aren't shrines, there are the yellow flags of the royal dynasty flying everywhere. They also have large, walled palaces scattered around the country, and there's always armed guards.

Unlike the Thai royal family, I live wherever my backpack is. I go into restaraunts or street vendors and usually just have them make me what they want to: I eat what all the locals are having, or I ask the cook what's their favorite dish and try that. I take cold showers several times a day, with the occassional hot one as a rare luxury. I usually dry off in the sun. I party with internationals or chat with locals until I'm exhausted or I start to see the dawn coming. I fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed, with no blankets to cover me. More likely than not, the roosters outside in the alleyway will be my alarm clock.

I never know quite where I'm gonna be tomorrow, or what is going on today. I know I'll make some friends, I know I'll see something new--a lot of new things, most likely. I also know there's gonna be a lot going through my head...

---

Comments

[Sarah Martin]

Great Detail
Hey Nic I have been reading up on your blog little by little and I wanted to let you know that you make everything very clear by being descriptive and I appreciate that. I am very envious of your trip and look forward to reading more each day!!

[karen johnson]

Moms really like to hear from sons on their Birthdays. Hint Hint. I spent the day with Doug on my Birthday. Your mom and I celebrated ours together on Friday night eating Thia food in Bellingham. I have been following your travels and enjoying your excellent wriitting skills. I see many scripts, books and essays in your future. Take care and safe travel.