The Adventures of Julie

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Moving Day...

I have moved my blog to http://mytravelconfessions.com/ Working on a new look as I am traveling more. Check it out.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Warning this is one of those semi-serious introspective what have I learned from this trip, reflective, blah blah blah blogs. So stop now if you are expecting my usual light hearted witty thoughts. I will promise you a joke at the end if you slog though. Or you can just skip to the end and tell me you read It so I feel good. :)

So, first big trip all by myself. I be a grown up. I won’t lie it was harder than I thought and more rewarding as well. There were nights I felt so lonely and wanted to cry, that I wished for my ex or just someone to share the moment with, and other times where I had met the most amazing people and spent the night laughing, talking, dancing, and thinking I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything. I have been stretched and pulled, torn in two and put back together, had amazing discussions, met amazing people, had wicked adventures and broadened my mind. Seven months and six countries later (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, Burma) I am back in Taiwan feeling like I never left and that I have lived a lifetime since I have been gone.

Since April I have…

Decorated my body with glow paint and danced on the beach during the full moon party, drank way way too much alcohol, broke into a national monument – twice (it was the same one, I just got caught the first time, so went home, changed my clothes, bribed a tuk-tuk driver to show me another way in and successfully snuck in the second time), attempted to surf, dove off a cliff, scuba dived and saw the biggest fish ever – named Elvis of course, because he is the king, messed up a visa and had to figure out how to fix it, did my first visa run, scootered all over Sapa, Northern Thailand, Goa, Ko Tao, Phuket, and Nha Trang, took a bamboo raft through a giant cave, kayaked through three caves, ate live shrimp, was horribly sick in India, couchsurfed in Delhi India, Passara Sri Lanka, Shimla, India, Pai, Thailand, Chennai, India, and Mae Hong Son, Thailand, spent days doing nothing where my biggest achievement was walking to town to get lunch and watching the rice paddies, was silent for ten days, discussed religion over Pho in Hanoi, and sex over a Kuma Sutra book in a café in Pai, wakeboarded, kissed on the beach, got thrown in the ocean by a drunk Italian, had an entire wardrobe made, walked up to random people and introduced myself, stayed at the Golden Temple in Amitsar, drank the best Lassie EVER, watched monks chant at sunset high above the world at Ankor Wat, danced the night away on a beach in Phi Phi, bought too many sundresses, saw a man shove a large sharp peg through his skull at the vegetarian festival, watched the sunrise in Sri Lanka, danced in the ocean, drank beer on the beach at sunset, ate lots of pad thai, green curry, banana chocolate pancakes, fruit smoothies, and fried rice, kissed a midget, missed a night bus and slept on a random hotel couch, asked a guy out for drinks and got rejected, sat down with a guy at a bar and did not get rejected, tried kite boarding, was stunned and moved at the War Remnants Museum in Saigon, watched bodies burning in Varanasi as well as a dead guy we named Bob floating down the Varanasi, took about 3,000 pics at the Taj Majal, walked through a blue city, lived in bungalows, bamboo huts, lofts, and even a dorm bed for two weeks, took pics with at least 50 random Indian families, got to be a Superstar, explored temples, wats, and ruins, crashed my scooter, ate meals with at least 100 different people, slept on buses, hammocks, planes, trains, benches, beaches, slapped a guy who touched my ass, was part of a giant water fight in Phi Phi for Songram, the Thai New Year, learned Muy Tai boxing, ate a happy pizza, drank shots of rice wine, jumped off the top of a boat, went skinny dipping with 20 other drunk foreigners in Halong Bay singing “I can be Your Hero”, hiked to the end of the world, saw the white temple in Chiang Rai, (and yes, they do have a pic of Michael Jackson in Hell, props to Emily Awesomesauce for being right), danced to “With or Without You” in Pai more times than I can count, explored waterfalls, caves, and hot springs, smoked Hooka with an adorable Dutch guy at a little bar in Pai, hitchhiked in Thailand, sung “I Will Survive” as a duet from a scooter In the rain, watched the sunset from the hot springs at a monastery, had a tuk-tuk driver ask to kiss me (I said no), toured a slum in Mumbai, worked at an Indian wedding….to name just a few adventures.

It has been a trip like no other, and somewhere in the middle of it I think I did find some of those answers I was looking for, and more importantly I gained a sense of myself and an acceptance of who I am now. I have struggled mightily to come to terms with my divorce, and what I believe now about God, Christianity, Religion, etc. And I think I have finally forgiven myself, made a fragile peace with what I believe, and established a truce with God, maybe even an understanding. I still have my issues, but I've realized all of us do, it just depends on how well we handle them and I'm getting pretty good at handling mine. :) I have seen that I need to live in the Now ; enjoy life for all it has to offer, and stop looking back. My future’s so bright I gotta wear shades. :)

And where to next? Is the question of the hour. I am thinking South America, most likey. I think I will just rock up to Rio and see what happens. But we will see what happens. Maybe I'll find a reason to stay around. The world is my playground after all.

Okay, now for the promised joke. This is the best joke I heard on the trip and I have told it everywhere. A bra and two jumper cables walk into a bar. The bartender says, I am sorry but I can’t serve you. Why not they ask? Because, you are clearly off your tits and you two are about to start something. Ba dop ba shhh.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Enjoy the Silence

I'm baaackkk and for all you doubters I stick my tongue out at you. Not only did I finish the ten day silent retreat; I rocked it out. Who know that my ADHD -ohhhh shiny - personality could be tampted down and put into lotus position? I was pretty much at the top of the list for those who said I couldn't do it or would go mad (was close a few times).

THE RULES

So here's the skinny (literally, we only got two meals a day and on day 9 "monk day" when we got to live like real monks (yipee) we only got one meal at 8am). First of all Buddhists are really really into suffering apparently and the only way to avoid suffering is to take everything fun out of life (yes, I get the irony). So they live by these 8 noble truths. I'll give you the cliff notes version. First, no sex. Can't even think about it - "keep the mind and body free from sexual activity." Second, no drugs or alcohol. They are "substances that intoxicate and lead to carelessness." Third, no eating between dawn and noon, and no caffeine or sugar, or meat. Fourth, no "dancing, singing, playing or listening to music, watching shows, wearing garlands (??) and beautifying oneself with perfumes and cosmetics". Finally, no sleeping on anything comfortable at all. My room was a cell, literally. Concrete block and wooden pillow, yes a wooden pillow. A few other things, the opposite sex is a dangerous temptation (they might make us think about S-E-X), so boys sit one side of the dining and mediation halls and girls on the other, and do yoga in a different area entirely (so as not to tempt each other with suggestive body movements. (There is actually a sign warning against suggestive stretching). There are no clocks. There is a bell for everything. I am now like Pavlov's dog. At the sound of a bell I will wake up, roll over, sit up, do yoga, eat, and meditate.

So here is our daily schedule.

4am Wake up (with the bell being rung over and over again, til
you want to put your pillow over your head and scream, but
you can't cause it is wooden)
4:30 - 5:15 Sitting meditation
5:15 - 7 Yoga
7 - 8 Dharma talk
8 Breakfast and chores then free time
10 - 11 Dharma talk
11-11:45 Walking or standing meditation
11:45 - 12:30 Sitting meditation
12:30 Lunch (last meal of the day) and free time.
2:30 - 3:30 Dharma talk
3:30 - 4:15 Walking or standing meditation
4:15 - 5 Sitting mediation
5-6 Loving Kindness chanting
6 Tea(the cup of hot chocolate soy milk that we all came to
live for. They gave us regular soy milk one day and it almost
got violent)
7:30 -8 Sitting meditation
8-8:30 Group walking meditation
8:30 - 9 Sitting meditation.
9:30 Lights out.

Okay so now to give you some insights into the inner workings of the silent retreat I give you some excerpts from my super secret highly illegal journal (yeah, no books, or writing of any kind. We are susposed to turn all that stuff in at the beginning of the retreat along with our laptops, phones, cameras, etc).

DAY 1

* I am going on one hour of sleep, hung over, sunburned, and getting a cold(yeah it seemed like such a good idea at the time to have one last wild night before getting locked up). The only thing that could make this more perfect would be getting my period...yeah. Off to a great start.

* They rang the bell to start the silence and you could feel the moment. It just gets harder from here. Tonight the guy in charge said "you can't escape yourself here" well that sounds creepy.

* With my mosquito net up and clothes hung up my cell looks almost homey.

* The monk who gives the Dharma talks in the morning is impossible to understand. The only words I got were suffering and Thailand. Near as I can make out he is happy we are here suffering in Thailand. Brilliant.

DAY 3

* 4am meditation. I don't even try. All I can see in my head is a big huge fluffy bed with pillows, lots and lots of pillows. Ahh, well while we are fantasing, let's throw in a handsome guy, so he can give me lots and lots of (must not think about sex. No sex. No sex)...food. Yeah, food. I need someone to serve me breakfast in bed :). Scrambled eggs, orange with cheddar cheese. Crispy bacon. Home fries with red onion. Flaky biscuits. Fresh pressed coffee. Mimosas. Sigh.

* So far my meditation runs something like this "Concentrate. Mindful breathing. Watch every breath. Breath in. Breath out. In. Out. In. Out. Hey I am kinda good a this. what else am I good at? Scuba diving. Oh I can't wait to go to Ko Tao and see all the pretty shiny fish. ahhhh. Ok. In. Out. In. Out. I am so hungry. Wonder what's for lunch? How long have we been doing this? That one guy here looks a lot like Bruce Willis, he was really good in that movie, what was it? AHHHHHH. Breathe. in. Breath out. Okay doing good. In. Out. In. Out. Doing good. In the jungle, the mighty jungle the lion sleeps. ahh sleep. and ZZZZZZZZZZ. Wake with a start. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. And repeat.

DAY 4

* The random songs in my head are getting stranger. Woke up singing "good morning to you, you live in a shoe." And at breakfast found myself humming "stay on the happy side of life." And I thought, "oh please just don't let me be the one that goes crazy." Cause you know at these things there is always one person who goes bat shit mad and everyone is looking around for that person, praying it is not them. Maybe that is why I think I have been doing so well. I am slowly going mad.

* The girl in the cell next door is masturbating - loudly. Really?? We are not even susposed to be thinking about sex. I really want to go giggle with someone but I can't cause we have to be SILENT. Well at least someone is getting some around here.

DAY 6

* Woke up to It's a beautiful Day by U2 in my head and found I was (gasp) using the wooden pillow. Life gets stranger and stranger. I actually felt good and happy. At four am. and I like the silence. What is happening to me???

* So totally into the meditation. doing the mindful breathing, in - out - empty mind feeling the moment, so proud of myself and then like he is standing right next to me, I hear Joey from Friends go, "Grandma's Chicken Salad." "See I can make anything sound dirty. "And gone. I would have bust out laughing but I don't want to be the crazy one.

DAY 8

* They are dropping like flies at the end of a 5k run in 110 degree heat in the Arizona desert. Lost Blondie, Sexy Thong Girl, Macy's White Sale, and Random Asian Chick #1 today. We started with 70 and about 20 people have left. I am not the only one doing nicknames. Blondie aka Lou, broke the silence before she left and told me my nickname was Enthusiastic Smiley Girl. I did a happy dance. Love it. :)

DAY 9

* They posted the schedule for day 9 and it is as bad as I feared. We only get one meal at 8:30am. We were all crowded around reading the schedule and a mournful voice (okay, my voice) breaks the silence. "No food." Then Bald Hippy Girl walks up, takes in the new schedule, and sums it up with one word. "Fuck". LOL. We also now have a two hour and three hour chunk of time just for meditation. Song on day 10 will be "I'm Still Standing". Watched the sunset. Gorgeous. And then a dip in the hot springs. And now the bell I live by. Wishing myself luck tomorrow.

FINAL THOUGHTS

And now for a more serious note. All really serious things must be dealt with sense of humor, and although the rules were very strict, they did have a purpose and gave order and direction to the retreat and allowed us to leave the world behind and concentrate on our meditation. I actually found peace in the silence and the schedule and liked it. Even though we couldn't talk, we smiled at each other and sense of community and support developed. The time gave me what I really needed, a space to think and not think, to relax from the hurry and stress of the world. Everything was taken care of all I had to do was wander the beautiful grounds, take a dip in the hot springs, nap in the afternoons, and contemplete and meditate. I didn't go crazy, in fact I think I found a lot of the answers I have been seeking and was able to finally let go of a lot of things I have been holding onto as well as find genuine moments of peace and silence and a happiness that I have not felt in a long time. It was a very powerful ten days for me.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Rocks and Other Misadventures on the Road

It's really shitty to be brought back to earth and reminded of your mortality by a rock. One minute I was flying down the road at 45-50km an hour, my friend Emily on the back of the scooter, thinking I was invincible and could outrun the sudden rain storm, and the next I was flat on the pavement, hearing Emily yelling my name, afraid to move and find out how badly I was hurt. Fortunately my guardian angels were still at work (even if they missed that damn rock) and I escaped with some scratches on my right side, a scrapped knee, and a badly scrapped arm - that pussed up, shed dead skin, hurt like a bitch, bled out randomly, and looked gruesome, but actually was not that bad. Emily who was smarter then me and was wearing a sweatshirt instead of a tiny little sundress, only hurt her knee, and our scooter, which we affectionately named Chip, only lost a mirror. All things considered not too bad.

We had just started a three day scootering adventure taking in the Mae Hong Son Loop, famous for its 1,864 bends over about 500km from Chiang Mai to Pai. It is a windy, crazy, scenic road taking in some of the best scenery in Northern Thailand. We managed to arrive at our first stop, the town of Mae Hong Son, with no further incidents and spent a great night couchsurfing with Dev, a peace corp volunteer from Texas, who, I kid you not can bike as fast as I can scooter. It is pretty impressive to have your ass whipped by a guy on a bike. Next day was more driving through rain, corn fields, rice paddies, quaint villages, and waterfalls. Absolutely stunning. We stayed overnight in Mae Chaem and woke up early the next morning to enjoy some Pad Thai and coffee before continuing to Chiang Mai, stopping at Mae Pan, literally the most amazing and impressive waterfall I have ever seen (the picture does not do it justice, but gives you an idea) and a few other falls. We arrived safely in Chiang Mai with no more misadventures where we spent a few days before Emily flew out and I continued back on to Pai, finishing the loop.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Life in Pai Part 2

I don't know if I have ever so completely fallen under the spell of a place so quickly. There is something magical and addictive about Pai and the more time you spend here the more in love you fall. I have met so many people who came for a few days and are still here, months later. It is easy to see why. The weather is sunny and gorgeous - not too hot and not too cold. It is rainy season, but I've found the rain usually comes for an hour or two or in the afternoon. The rain keeps it cool and keeps the hoards of tourists away so I have no complaints. There are a thousand cute coffee shops, restaurants, bars, to hang out at as well as numerous stunning guesthouses that let you use their pools very cheaply, so you can spend the day lounging around in style. At every turn it is green and beautiful and there are so many trips that can be taken to waterfalls, hot springs, wats, villages. Time gets lost here.

I have moved from my cute bungalow to Mountain View, a guesthouse just out of town on a mountain (hence the name) that has quite a few long termers staying there. I have a great Aussie roommate, Emily, and between us we are paying 2,000baht or about $60 for the month. Yesterday we took our scooters and drove this stunning loop around the countryside to a local wat. A typical day includes sleeping in, meeting friends at a local restaurant, scootering to waterfalls, canyons, wats, and hot springs, swimming at a local pool, eating Thai food, and going out to local music and bars with friends, or sometimes just doing nothing. :) Life is good.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Life in Pai

Here I am. Pai. For those not familiar, Pai is one of the undiscovered gems of Northern Thailand, above Chiang Mai, a backpacker hippie down, far away from tuk tuks and the chaos of Bangkok. I have rented a cute little bungalow in a garden for all of 100baht ($3) a night. A scooter to explore the countryside. Imported some friends from Chiang Mai. Visited my volunteer office, so I know where to start work on Monday. I am all set for the next two months I plan to spend here.

And now it is the weekend and the day is stunning. With my incredible sense of planning that puts me in India in 45 degree weather, I have also arrived in Northern Thailand smack dab in the middle of rainy season. Today though God has granted a reprieve, probably for my good behavior. :) And I am going to properly appreciate it. First stop, a local waterfall with some swimming and people watching. I feel restless though and head off. I hit a T in the road. The sign says Pai, with an arrow to the right, or some long Thai name with an arrow to the left. I see the open windy road. Impulsively I head left - the road opens up before me; gentle curves, up the mountain and then down; long open stretches though green rice paddies...I just hit the accelerator and drive and drive. Linkin Park blasting in my headphones and some Lady Ga Ga as well, singing at the top of my voice, wind in my hair, sun beating down, all worries and cares left behind. I am simply alive, driving too fast, soaking in the moment.

About 25km from Pai I hit a rest stop at the top of the mountain, the valley stretches below me. There is a sign for a place called Lod cave. Sounds interesting. Not sure how far it is, but I just keep driving and about half an hour later I arrive at a giant cave. It is so big a river runs through it. I am loaded onto a bamboo raft that is poled by a cute 10 year old boy, and a guide who holds a giant glass lantern. Off into total darkness we go. Eventually we leave the raft and I am led into the darkness, the guide pointing at different stalagmites...elephant...monkey...popcorn. Huge caverns. One wonder after another.

There are actually three caves, unfortunately the other two are flooded due to the rainy season, but I stop at Cave Lodge, a guesthouse a few km away, that is situated on the river with gorgeous bungalows, a huge chill out area, and a swimming hole. It looks like the perfect place to spend a weekend, exploring the caves during the day and hanging out with friends drinking, or playing cards in the evening. The lodge offers a bunch of different kayak trips through the caves. The most interesting one is 13 km through all three of the caves, taking 4 to 5 hours. I know I will be back.

As I head home, flying down the road, I am on top of the world. This is why I travel. No day is ever boring or predictable. I can wake up in the morning and end up in a spontaneous random adventure in the afternoon. I can tell that life in Pai will be good. Oh and I have room in my bungalow for anyone that wants to join me. :)

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Today I will be Hermione from England. Now all I need is Harry Potter's invisibility cloak...

Traveling as a solo white female is a cultural experience in itself. You are sought after, nearly worshipped for your white skin - there are many days when you feel like a superstar - families want pictures with you; babies are thrust into your arms; school children flock around you wanting to touch you; you sit down for a moment and 20 people are crowding around you.

The flip side is the men. Your white skin besides being infinitely fascinating also labels you a westerner and thus a whore. They have seen all the American movies and looked at all the magazines, and thus all Western women are cheap sluts desperate for sex and willing to give it up to any man who comes near them.

In sexually repressed India, the men usually leave you alone, you are merely subjected to what Jen and I dubbed the "mind fuck or MF" where in one stare they pretty much fuck you with their mind. It is very creepy and disconcerting. Our solution - use humor. "Hey Jen, nasty looking bald guy scratching his crotch doing a MF on you behind the blue sign."

In Sri Lanka the men have all read the same page from the poorly written grammerically incorrect handbook on H"ow to pick up Western Women". It goes like this:

Helllloooo hellloooo (repeatedly and loudly and more annoyingly if you try to ignore them, but because obviously the only reason you are not responding to their studly good looks and manliness is that you didn't hear them) hellllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooo
Where you from?
What your name?
Sri Lanka like?
How long you stay?
You have boyfriend? No? Really?
Why you single?
You want (fill in the blank) tuk tuk, boat, me, surf lessons, etc ...

Repeat conversation about 40 times a day. Out of sheer boredom and a twisted sense of humor I've started creating alternate personalities and stories for my life. I've been Hermione, Ivanika, Roger, Mary Poppins, from England, Estonia, Never Never Land. My boyfiend is at home drunk, meeting me soon, dead, ran off with another man, I've been an actress (and my friend my agent), a comedian, a fairy, a dog walker and so it goes.

My next step is to get a tee shirt that answers all these questions and says GET LOST at then bottom. I was going to have it say Fuck Off, but it was pointed out that that might be taken as an invitation. Really what I need is to borrow Harry's invisibility cloak for a few days.