Poem: "Ovation"

Ovation

as if in celebration of this day
the sun has prepared
a grand exit

clouds, sky, red, sand, breeze

reflection in calm waters
somehow coordinated in perfect unison
lucky fools overlook this grand pleasure daily
unlucky fools, like this kind observer,
gawk at such a spectacle

clouds, sky, red, sand, breeze

a lotus blossom drawn in the sand
by a lazy toe
the waves will claim it
as will the wind and inevitable rotation of sun from view
with this performance
relaxed, quiet, calm
I am
clouds, sky, red, sand, breeze
in Koh Tao

Southbound

My posts may not be very plentiful for the next two weeks as Sharon and I travel south together to enjoy some good hammock time on the beach as well as snorkeling and jungle exploring. I return to Chiang Mai on the 3rd of January to begin my longer bike journey. I'm working on details right now and think it will be pretty exciting.

For the time being, a few snapshots from my time in Chiang Mai and the north:


a teak canopy
over the road between rice
and banana fields


----

Chiang Mai, Morning

I can't believe
I'm putting on a sweater
in Thailand!


Until then,

Khap kun krop for reading my blog,

:)
Jamie

On Cycling

On Cycling
For Asher ben Aaron ben Moshe Yosha

I.

My father instilled in me the joy of cycling,
the freedom to move under my own volition
in whichever direction I chose
at whatever pace I could manage.

The quiet hours spent together
pedaling along the Santa Ana River,
a safe straight flat path from our home
to the beach four miles South.

Throughout my childhood and teenage years,
we both found peace and respite
silently seated in our saddles--spinning,
watching people, birds, clouds, surfers, waves
__--the asphalt slowly passing.

We'd take a day and make the sixteen mile round trip
(many weekends we rode it twice)
to Balboa Island and back
where we'd play video games, eat Penguin's and walk the pier together.

I appreciated that time spent
with the wind curling through our hair,
the sweet smell of salt in the South breeze
as we'd watch dowitchers, stilts and egrets
in the wetlands along the river path.

For him, this was an escape from miles of twisted freeways
he daily found himself negotiating
as he peddled scissor jacks, tilt ups and floating forms
for Aluma Systems, Burke, Simons--thieves of his time,
our family's primary means of survival

How different the pushing of crank arms
the pulling of break levers and balance
From the pushing of accelerator and brake pedals,
the pull of slow moving traffic

___late for a deal
___get out of the way
___the client's waiting
___forty five minutes, an hour or two
___down the 5
___the 405
___the 10
___the 210
___to Compton, to Rialto, to Ventura, to San Diego

How different the sights and sounds along the river
the steady pace of the ride
the wind in the hair
the miles and minutes slipping away easy


II.

For me, just a boy,
I'd often not appreciate the long hauls against the wind,
I'd beg him (or force him rather) to pull me a ways,
I'd grab on to his seat post and hold on, let him pull my weight.

His calves bulged--
___I always admired those calves
___as big as my legs at their widest girth
___bigger, in my childhood imagination
___so powerful
___so freeing
His pace slowed slightly.

He'd complain a little,
laugh at me
then teach me to "draft" him-
to ride real close behind him and let him cut the wind.
It worked sometimes,
other times, I'd complain,
force him to stop for more breaks.

In time, this too became my solace
as I'd head out alone on my weekends
to ride the river path and the board walk down
through Bolsa Chica Wetlands, past the Huntington Pier-

Sometimes I'd go out just to put miles on the bike,
to get some space, make room for thoughts
through Newport, the backbay, PCH
___tucked tight
___alone and quiet
___free
___joyful

I dreamt of riding to the distant San Gabrial Mountains,
visible through the haze only on rare days
when the Santa Ana winds blew from the North
or after an infrequent rain.

Dreams have a way of building like that;
once simple goals are attained,
mountainous ones lie in wait just behind--
they unfold as does our life's potential.

For these things and many more
I owe my father much gratitude.
I think of him and thank him
with every push and pull
___of these crank arms
___of these bulging legs
___of my heart's steady rhythm
for this freedom.

© Jamie Yosha, 2008, Pedaling down the road somewhere in Thailand

[Note: this is a work in progress. Blogger changes the formatting of the poem, the ___ represent spaces Blogger is unable to make]

RIDE DAY: Old Sukhothai to Sawankhalok to Uttaradit

12/18/08
Day: 125.73km
Cumulative: 323.1km
Avg Spd: 18.2
Max Spd: 32
Ride Time: 6h 54m
Highs: Si Satchanalai Historic Park, teak lined roads, mountains, finally met my first touring cyclists (a couple, Jay and Jenny), longest day of cycling in my life
Lows: Finding out there were no trains leaving Sawankhalok after a hard push in the morn, the last 10km, the uphill that started at 5h 30min and didn't end until the last 4 km, not staying to camp at Si Satchanalai, crack in rim noticeably worse




I ridethrough countless miles of rice fields
with thoughts and smiles

----


That was the beginning of the day, written within the first 50km. I was feeling really good. Wide shoulder, well paved roads, very few cars, cooler temperatures, lots of waves and hellos and smiles. I was pushing hard because it was going to be a short day to Sawankhalok to catch a train to Chiang Mai to get the rim fixed...or so I thought. I pushed hard in the morning with a 20.5 km/h or so average speed.

CYCLISTS TAKE NOTE: I arrived in Sawankhalok to find there's only one train a day and it goes to BKK. I could have waited around this town until 21:00, ridden the train one stop and then switched to a Chiang Mai train, but Iwould have had to hang out in this little town all day. I decided to head the advice of a street vender who emphatically encouraged me to travel north to see Si Satchanalai and I headed out of town toward Uttraradit where I could catch a direct train and on a road that passed right by Si Satchanalai. With the additional distance, a slight head wind and knowing that it would be a long day, I slowed my pace and I knew I'd have just enough time to get to Uttraradit before sunset.

I am so happy I listened to that vender. Si Satchanalai is one of the three major sites that are a part of Sukhothai National Historic Park. This site blew Ayyutaya and Sukhothai out of the water for various reasons, but specifically for the setting. This region is forested with large trees, totally silent, right along a

 huge river with the city wall running the length of the bank of the river. It's a breathtaking setting. THEN, the structures were absolutely unbelieveable and much much larger in scale

 than the other sites I had seen. There were preserved etchings on one section of wall which is now covered with a roof structure to slow the inevitable erosion that were simply exquisite. One of the chedas (round bell shaped structure) had an open entry leading into an enclosed cylinder which one could/would circumambulate. Magical! Incensce, candles, fetishes, a wide swath of gold fabric encircling the cylinder, the darkness of the back of the path...truly truly magical!

The remainder of the day was a little rough. Tired legs, slight uphill for the last 35-40km and a slight head wind that kept blowing. I made it to Uttraradit just as the sunset was finalizing and went to the train station to discover only third class overnight seats left. It was going to be a long night. 

RIDE DAY: Sukhothai Siteseeing

12/17/08

Day: 29.62km
Cumulative: 197.3
Ride Time: 2h 12m
Highs: Simply amazing. Rode into the park around 6:30 to avoid the heat, met some lovely travelers from Spain and Argentina and chatted a bit, feeling better, afternoon nap in the park
Lows: FashionTV the ONLY English language station on my TV box

I'm not really sure what to say about this day. I'm going to have to let the snap shots and photographs (to be posted soon on Flickr) speak for me. This day in its entirity was rather breathtaking. There is a reason UNESCO granted this site the status of World Heritage Site. On this day, I specifically visited the three sites right near old Sukhothai that make up part of the larger Sukhothai National Historic Park which has multiple sites over many square kilometers.

Sukhothai

ancient pillars
built to hold up the sky
house only pigeons now

----

these birds' ancestors
sang similar songs
when ours lived here

----

so much prayerful
hand work abandoned in the
Sukhothai forest

----

At first I thought that Ayyutaya caught my interest more, but Sukhothai really caught me later in the day when I stumbled upon an absolutely amazing ruin to the North next to 

which a nunery and monastery still thrive. The whole thing was surrounded by a huge moat, 

offering many excellent points of viewing reflections of structures and the forest in the water. I tried my best to photograph this place, but I believe its grandeur defies any sort of photographic technology.


A quick note on cuisine: I ate a dish called "Mad Fish" that really intrigued me. Battered and deep fried fish (no idea what kind) topped with some sort of pickled apple and carrot mixture with spices with a very complex flavor. Very tasty.


----


looking in the mirror behind the mirror
I see things as they are
myself looking in the mirror

RIDE DAY: Phitsanoluk to Old Sukhothai

12/16/08

Day: 86.38 km

Cumulative: 167.7 km
Avg Spd: 19.2Max Spd: 28.0
Ride Time: 4h28m

Highs: Really neat ride, quiet country roads, early start (7AM) to avoid afternoon heat

Lows: Fever returned, rear rim cracked!

Sleep was hard to come by in Phitsanulok. Very busy town and I was pretty near the night

 bizzare. At some point in the middle of the night there were either simultaneous loud fireworks going off or drums being beaten around the area. There may have been a festival, but I

 wasn't interested because I was tired and staying in a pretty shaggy guest house. So I wrote:

traffic in the day
traffic and noise in the night
when do these Thais sleep?

I got up early and headed out of the door. I was feeling better and spinning a bit recharged me. Early morning in Phitsanulok was actually pretty nice. A very somber morning market was

 going on, I got some soup and other snacks, including oranges and bananas, but I passed on the live turtles, serpents, grubs and other unidentifiable LARGE basket of live insects (again).

I passed on Sukhothai where there were supposedly very cheap accomdations...just a string of large hotels and very busy main thoroughfaire...and went on another 10km 

to Old Sukhothai where I found a LOVELY room in a guest house right in town at the Old City Guest House. It was way in the back, far from the street, very quiet, extremely lovely terracotta tile and teak interior with windows on three walls and an in room bathroom and sink. Simply lovely (and $10 a night). I arrived late enough and tired enough (and it was HOT enough) that it wasn't worth it for me to embark on starting to site see the park. I decided on two nights, because I'd heard so much about Sukhothai from Thai friends in Berkeley.  So, I sat at the wat across the street, had a meal with many other farangs at a neat little cafe and turned in early. The hot shower was awesome!

Some time during the ride day, I finally paid attention to a noise that was not coming from my racks, not coming from my fenders, not coming from my panniers or my drive train. It started getting louder and sounded a lot like the noise that went away when I replaced my freewheel hub. I got off the bike, poked around and found a hairline crack in the rear rim which had begun to bulge. I poked at it a bit and decided that after 12 years and I'm not going to even try to guess how many miles of mountain biking, touring, trials riding, commuting and shopping on that rim, it had served me well. It didn't make me feel very good, because I was now 50 or 80 km to the nearest train station.

TRAIN: Ayuttaya to Phitsanulok

Considering my still not perfect health, the terrain and timing, I decided to hop a train north 7 hours to Phitsanulok, gateway to Sukothai. It couldn't have been easier (or cheaper!) to catch a third class local train north (for 150 baht, $5 US) with my bike. I didn't see any other farangs (Euro-white folks) on the train, just Thai and immediately made friends with a man who sat near me by making kind eyes and gestures. I decided to try to make run up to Chiang Mai by bike and wanted to catapult my ride so that I could arrive there on time to get back to BKK for Sharon's arrival next weekend. I'm glad I did. I avoided hundreds of miles of flat, hot terrain in exchange for cooler temperatures up north and much nicer roadside scenary. Late in the ride, a little boy about age four took interest in my journaling and started trying to interact with me by shouting at me in Thai. He and I eventually decided to draw together. I'll have to scan some of the pictures he and I came up with! When I got off the train, he ran over and gave me a shove in the way little boys do before running off with his mother.



My train trip ended in Phitsanulok:



Phitsanulok
Little Bangkok
in the country



That's what I thought last night, but this morning, when I went to the morning market, I saw a completely other side and found the people there to be very very kind. Night time was crazy, though, and loud with a WILD night bizar, tons of pubs and bars and lots of young people with loud music and such. I wasn't feeling well (still) so this was not to my liking at the time. I turned the TV on to the Bloomberg station to drown out all the other noise and get sleep (it worked). I had a neat experience watching Thai kick boxing while ill in Ayuttaya, very very interesting! Bloomberg was just depressing story after depressing story about the economy. I'm glad I fell asleep quick!



I loved the train ride up, though. I've only taken the train a few times in my life and this was very different. Food and drink venders walking up and down selling the sweetest and tastiest of foods for nearly nothing. People coming on, people getting off. Making eyes with young children and interested Thais who seemed to want to know what I was up to, but unable to communicate. That didn't stop the man in front of me, as we communicated with gestures and smiles. Very kind. Some views:



cell towers
the tallest perch
near these rice fields



----



white cranes
green rice patties
lunch time



----



smell of burnt fields
indelible hazy skies
rice basket of the world





Today, on to Sukothai by bike!!!

RIDE DAY: Bangkok to Ayuttaya

Thewet, Bangkok to Ayuttaya
Distance: 80.99 km
Cumulative: 81.3 kmAvg Spd: 16.2 km/hMx Spd: 34.5 km/h
Ride Time: 4h59m
Ride Notes: One street dog gave good chase at about 70km into ride. So HOT and then met up with a guy selling ice cream from his scooter, pulled in late, directed to great guest house by local, city festival going on as I arrive
I rode out of Bangkok on the weekend when traffic is supposedly lighter. I didn't see that, but what I did see and experience, after many hours worrying about how I'd actually do it before just doing it, was how much safer I felt pedaling in crazy Bangkok traffic than I ever do riding in Marin or have in Orange County. Traffic moves fast, there's a lot of it, but there always seems to be room for bikes: trucks, buses, taxis, tuk tuks, SUVs, cars, pickups, motor bikes ALL make room for bikes on the left shoulder and there is a dedicated space on the shoulder (with decent smooth pavement) for bikes, carts and slow moving motor bikes. A quick snapshot I wrote on a break:


Friday night Bangkok traffic

as bad as Los Angeles traffic

at it's worst

I basically spent 60km riding on the shoulder of a very busy highway. I put ear plugs in to make it less harsh on the ears but it was pretty harsh on the lungs. Riding into Ayuttaya, I experienced, yet again, Thai kindness as a woman who spoke no English had me follower her on her motor bike to the most lovely guest house on the river after I asked her where I could find one. The guest house accomodations were quaint and meger, but the location couldn't be beat, 100 meters from the train station, 10 meters from a ferry across the island and a lovely deck to sit out on and watch the river go by:

A coconut drifts
down the Chao Praya
from Ayuttaya

----

orange full moon
floats over Ayuttaya

with ten lanterns

----

ten lanterns

float above the festival
joining the stars
----

sparks cascade
from ten ascending lanterns
our hopes rise

----

With a little kiss of tr

avel luck (again), I happened to come into town during the big celebration 

of the history of Ayuttaya and the ruins were BUMPING at night with multiple parties and festivals. From techno stages and undulating bodies to a traditional historic "light and sound" presentation inside on of the temples (I went to this), there were SO MANY thai people partying down and celebra

ting this historic ancient capital of the province. This was a very inspiring setting which drew many poems out of me:

kitten perched

on temple ruins
orange cat, orange moon

another evening spent watching

bats pour from the ancient palace

(woops, the only film I have is filmed vertically)

----

street dogs enter
the ancient palace for free -
I pay 50 baht!
it's fair consideringthe life of Thai street dogs

----

may my dreams
drift down the Chao Pria
with the water cress

----

haggling for pennies
on principle that I'm
not just a farang
----

green pomegranates
weigh down thin branches
Christmas in Thailand

----

orange moon
orange juice
illness abroad sucks

Regarding this last one, the cold I had been fighting off for a couple of weeks and which I brought with me to Thailand finally caught up to me and I spent a good amount of my time in Ayuttaya sleeping. I feel better now, but when I woke, I felt quite reflective and I believe it inspired a more observative state.

I would return to Ayuttaya in a heart beat, by train (with my bike!).

Orientation, Aclimitization and Overwhelm!

I've found myself stuck in Bangkok, with way too much to do and see, but I've found it very helpful to be here a bit and grow more at ease with the shift in culture. Bangkok is definitely nuts, but I've enjoyed walking over a good portion of the city near my guest house and have put quite a few kilometers on my shoes on the pavement here. I've wandered through all sorts of neighborhoods and definitely see varying flavors of Bangkok, literally and metaphorically. I'm really surpised with the neighborhood in which my guest house lies--it's very very laid back, down to earth and calm compared with so many of the other neighborhoods where backpackers hang out. I can't quite figure out what makes it this way, but it seems like a place where a lot of working class people live (I've seen a lot of vender carts parked in driveways early in the morning and late at night). It doesn't have the greatest selection of anything you could ever want like many other places, but it's quaint, has mostly everything right aroung the corner and lies right on a ferry stop (Thewet). I've wandered small alley ways, meat markets (with serpent, frog and every sort of fish for sale), tourist markets, regional parks, palaces, run down neighborhoods, upscale neighborhoods and even a few tree lined streets (don't know why there aren't more...feels good when it's hot).

So, highlights:

Bangkok: Street food (of course): there's so much of it and so many different styles and types, it's sorta overwhelming! Makes me wonder what happened to this sort of business in the US. I like it because the street venders serve neighborhoods and each neighborhood has its venders. Keeps things pretty local...at night in Thewet, it seems that neighbors are out and support the local street carts. With that, food in a bag: today, I had the BEST fresh coconut shake (<$0.50 US) in a bag and drank it down to the last drop! Everything comes in little plastic bags...it's sorta annoying, but the things inside the bag are nearly irresistable! The wats: I've visited a big handful! They're a great relief from the ultra fast pace (not to mention the touters) of Bangkok. I hope to have some shots up online at some point. The river: I take the ferry whenever I can...where else could you get an amazing 45 min boat ride with world class views for less than $.50 US? Random friendly strangers: even though some of them are friendly for a reason (to get you in a tuk tuk to go for a scam), I have met quite a few very very nice, authentically kind people in Bangkok! A monk stopped me today just to talk (I think also to practic his English) and to welcome me to the place I was visiting. Transportation: amazing. Simply amazing! How many different ways can you get anywhere for under a dollar or two? Bike, motor bike, tuk tuk, taxi, bus, ferry, sky way, sub way...ahhhh, no driving for me. Ko Kret: I couldn't resist visiting this island nestled in the middle of the river in the far North of Bangkok where the Mon people have been potting for many many years (note 2baht ferry ride---$.07USD). I visited on the wrong day to take a spin on the wheel. They were busy with production when I got there and got to witness their hallmark surface decorating techniques. Truly amazing! Also saw my first coconut, banana and papaya trees loaded with fruit in the mangrove swamps of the island. Met and talked with a locally recognized potter (she had a photo of her with the king winning an award for her art work) who told me (with many hand gestures) how some of her work was created. I could have brought her whole shop home with me (and pretty much did in my camera)!

A few lowlights: no trash cans, ANYWHERE! Lots of trash (see aforementioned plastic bags) in my pockets and backpack, on the ground, in the river and in the water ways. No trash cans. Anywhere. Touters: as if Bangkok wasn't hectic enough, take it up a notch with every tuk tuk, motor bike and taxi honking at your or shouting at you (this also includes other individuals attempting to sell every sort of good and service imaginable). Pollution: this city can't have this kind of readily available, cheap pub trans without a tremendous amount of NOISE and AIR pollution. Ride a non-AC bus and get a little bit light headed from the fumes. Traffic: World Class Traffic! At it's worst, it's on par with LA, but compressed into city streets (rather than ten lane freeways). I can't imagine, because I haven't looked or noticed, where they park all these vehicles!!!!!

That's Bangkok so far. Gonna try to get out of here for a few days starting tomorrow or Sunday.

Bangkok Snapshots

There's so much I can say about Bangkok, it would go on forever. I'm STILL here, still trying to get aclimitized and used to (what feels to me like) the drastic shift in culture. Instead of rambling for an hour about what I've been up to, I'll offer two very similar snapshots and promise to say more soon:

the wat's garden
a pool of calmness near
Bangkok hurling stones


(for the Wat at the end of the street I'm staying on)
---

Suan Lumphini
an emerald vien within
cold bare concrete cliffs

(this is a lovely large park right inside the downtown business district of Bangkok which I hung out at for two hours watching birds, lizards, bicyclists, joggers and reading)

Arrival

Thanks to a brilliant suggestion of a lovely guest house in a "quiet" part of Bangkok, I'm now typing from a great little guest house along the river in Bangkok. All flights and connections went well as did the taxi ride. The bike box looks good from the outside, with the exception of stress marks on the handles. I watched it be loaded in Narita and the baggage handlers were very very good with it (thanks United). Gonna go open it up and peak inside before setting down for some more rest. It's 2:30 AM and I'm mostly awake.

Bangkok rests-
a silent moon reflected
in the rice paddies

Departure

Thanks to everyone for your support of my travels. I'm very excited to be departing this morning and very very excited I found my first cycling destination, a small island in Northern Bangkok, called Ko Kret known for it hand thrown ceramic pottery. I think I'll attempt to weasel my way onto a wheel to get a taste for the local clay (they dig their own!). In the least, I'm going to see if any local potters offer classes---I'd love to explore different throwing styles and I'm very interested in exploring other forms.

Bangkok will be very very busy for me with a long list of things to do. First up is to get my passport to the Vietnam consulate to start the VISA process.

Wish me luck!


BTW: Sharon and I both agreed that the extra five days was very very helpful for me, so, in essence, the change of plans was very welcomed (my condolences to the hundreds of thousands of stranded tourists, though--may they return home to their families as soon as possible). I feel very calm and prepared, much unlike Wednesday this week when I had originally intended to fly.

Confirmation

I don't believe anything until I see some proof. Now I have proof! United Airlines Flight 891 from Narita, Japan to Bangkok, Thailand is in the air right now as I type. I will take that same flight on Monday. Yeah!!!!

It's A GO!

Thai Transportation authorities officially reopened BKK airport for full operations Friday, which means my plane will be able to fly in late Monday night. I depart Sunday around noon and will be in transit for 15 or so hours, with a brief stop over at the Narita airport outside Tokyo.

I'm in the final stages of packing and will begin boxing my bike today. With the spare time, I was able to do a little bit more fussing and mechanical work on the bike (replaced four spokes on the rear wheel and trued it up real nice!), so that I'm fully comfortable with it's operations at the start of my trip. Now, it just has to survive United Airlines baggage handling and I have to survive the flight across the Pacific without a window seat (and oh so much curiosity :).

It's a GO! and I'm very excited!!!