India Wisdom Part 2 – VIDEO
I’ll be in India soon.
I’m preparing myself by asking anyone I meet: have you been to India? If they have, I interrogate them…
Sticky Waterfall – Chiang Mai, Thailand
Officially it’s ‘Bua Tong Waterfall’ but Orawun tells us all the locals call it ‘Sticky Waterfall’. It’s a really hot Chiang Mai day. Getting into the water is awesome. It’s cold, and clean, and surrounded by thick, lush jungle…
Songkran Peace Fight – Chiang Mai, Thailand
People party for days, get drunk, run around in the streets chasing each other with water guns, but it’s all good humored. There’s no sense of malice. People are respectful of each other…
Wat a Day – Chiang Mai, Thailand
The original Wat Chedi Luang was built six centuries ago, so it looks a bit battered and falling down. It has big elephants on it. It’s like a giant birthday cake after the kids grabbed fistfuls of it…
Roadhouse – Chiang Mai, Thailand
The house band kicks off the evening with some slick prog rock, and then segues into blues and R&B standards. I jump up on stage, first chance I get, and it’s great fun. Everyone is relaxed, and happy to jam out…
Exiled – Chiang Mai, Thailand
Breakfast time in the guesthouse kitchen. “Hey man! What you doing today?” “Nothing as usual.” “Perfect day then… Those are prayer beads?” “Yes. I must calm my spirit. Prayer stops me from being consumed by my anger.” “You’re going through some shit?” “I am in exile.” “Oh. From your country?” “Yes. From my home.…
Mugged By Monkeys – Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand.
…Our mouths smell of whiskey and we are both breathing hard through our nostrils as we kiss, our sweaty faces sliding over each other. I see a monkey over Katherine’s shoulder. Two monkeys. Three. I pull away from the kiss. We are surrounded by monkeys. They are in a ring around us. They’re big,…
The Amazing Kindness Of Strangers
“This place is amazing Nev, thanks man” I tell him. “It’s been a couple of days since I had a hot shower, so I’m really gonna enjoy this.”
“Well I didn’t want to say nuthin’, but you do stink a bit” Nev quips, with a wink…
Rough Riding – Chiang Mai, Thailand
…My left knee jams under the accelerator grip, and the next thing I know, I’ve lost power, lost my balance and I’m toppling, slowly and gracelessly toward the ground. A group of monks are laughing at me uproariously. I pick myself up with Buddhist humility, and ride slowly and carefully out the temple gate… Flashback:…
DIY Krathong – Chiang Mai, Thailand
It’s Loi Krathong all over Thailand right now. Central to the festival ritual is the making and floating of Krathong: little floral rafts that you place into the river or sea. Focus Gallery Cafe , here in Chiang Mai, ran a Krathong making workshop yesterday. Anna and I went along and made us a couple…
Metal Menagerie – Chiang Mai, Thailand
…There is welding equipment all over the place, and the artists are all clad in protective overalls and home made masks that protect their faces from sparks. Noi shows us around proudly. There are steel horses, elephants, monsters and mutants… My original Thai tourist visa has expired. To get a new visa, I need…
The 5 Reasons I Hate Thailand
Tuk-tuk drivers make me feel inadequate. Here is a guy who, despite being a chronic alcoholic womaniser with five children, manages to operate a small business…