Sunday, June 25, 2006
How much longer to feel New York's wet breath against my neck?
It's been rather exciting lately, go go go, and i've found myself walking the city streets, ears and eyes wide open, taking in the extraordinary unconscious performance that is New York; new appreciation for a place is always found as one's routines break up -- unfettered by the filters of habit, our senses can freshly perceive data uncolored by schematic expectations. As the summer breezes roll off the water, depositing their moist onus and renewing the City's birthright of uncomfortably humid summers, just payment for construction of a coastal megalopolis of asphalt and steel, they also wipe clean my sensory organs and I hear the City's heartbeat, see her breast gently rise and fall, as for the first time.
Yes, the school year is (thankfully) wrapping to a close -- it's been a great year for me at school [thanks in part to following through on my promise of doing lots of hands-on science activities with my students this year, I have the (sometimes begrudging) respect of four out of the five classes that I teach, which ain't bad], yet it is always a pleasure to feel it wind down, for the countdown to shift from the number of days til summer to the number of periods left (thirteen) until I am again sole proprietor of my days (for the length of two moons' cycles, anyway).
And preparations are thick for another summer adventure -- I have the prescription for malaria prophylaxis (always a turning point in my perception of planning, it makes me realize that i really don't have many days left til i'm on the plane, and that if anything's going to get done, it's gotta happen now. The rough game plan is as follows -- going to montreal for a long holiday weekend (canada day til the fourth) a couple of days after i get back to nyc, i fly out to sanfran, spend a few nights with friends la bas, and embark for (surprise) bangkok. I swear that this time I'm not staying any longer than it takes to get a visa and an overnight train ticket for laos (do you hear me Thai whiskey?). Maybe ten days in the Republic of Lao, spelunking, bicycling, gawking at temple architecture, and reabsorbing the pineapple vibrations of the tropics. That ought to be enough to get my fix, so sometime around the end of July I should be on a bus navigating red dirt roads (well, maybe mud if the monsoon has any say) across the border to China. A month in the Himalaya of Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces -- get some real glacial action before they're gone. Stay tuned, dear readers, and if you've been to this part of the world, why aren't you giving me recommendations? I want to know about Mama's Guesthouse! What's that awesome hike you went on? How do I order the noodle soup? (actually, I know that one -- I point and smile like I'm mentally challenged -- it's allowed me to vault many language barriers).
I still don't know how to end blog entries. You don't say goodbye, right? I always want to wish peace unto the paths of my loved ones. How bout a quote?
"Curiosity is the cure for boredom. There is no cure for curiosity." - Dorothy Parker
Yes, the school year is (thankfully) wrapping to a close -- it's been a great year for me at school [thanks in part to following through on my promise of doing lots of hands-on science activities with my students this year, I have the (sometimes begrudging) respect of four out of the five classes that I teach, which ain't bad], yet it is always a pleasure to feel it wind down, for the countdown to shift from the number of days til summer to the number of periods left (thirteen) until I am again sole proprietor of my days (for the length of two moons' cycles, anyway).
And preparations are thick for another summer adventure -- I have the prescription for malaria prophylaxis (always a turning point in my perception of planning, it makes me realize that i really don't have many days left til i'm on the plane, and that if anything's going to get done, it's gotta happen now. The rough game plan is as follows -- going to montreal for a long holiday weekend (canada day til the fourth) a couple of days after i get back to nyc, i fly out to sanfran, spend a few nights with friends la bas, and embark for (surprise) bangkok. I swear that this time I'm not staying any longer than it takes to get a visa and an overnight train ticket for laos (do you hear me Thai whiskey?). Maybe ten days in the Republic of Lao, spelunking, bicycling, gawking at temple architecture, and reabsorbing the pineapple vibrations of the tropics. That ought to be enough to get my fix, so sometime around the end of July I should be on a bus navigating red dirt roads (well, maybe mud if the monsoon has any say) across the border to China. A month in the Himalaya of Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces -- get some real glacial action before they're gone. Stay tuned, dear readers, and if you've been to this part of the world, why aren't you giving me recommendations? I want to know about Mama's Guesthouse! What's that awesome hike you went on? How do I order the noodle soup? (actually, I know that one -- I point and smile like I'm mentally challenged -- it's allowed me to vault many language barriers).
I still don't know how to end blog entries. You don't say goodbye, right? I always want to wish peace unto the paths of my loved ones. How bout a quote?
"Curiosity is the cure for boredom. There is no cure for curiosity." - Dorothy Parker
Comments:
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Are you planning to climb Emei Shan? I made the pilgrimage in 1983 (damn, am I that old?) when China first opened up to foreigners. It was mind blowing, particularly hang with the pilgrimaging tibetian monks and be part of their rituals at such heights. You walk ancient paths and sleep in temples. One spot is renowned for people diving into the clouds--upon sighting an image of the buddah (a realistic refection from the nearby cliffs?). Don't do that. Go to Leshan after to see the giant buddah.
I can't comment on Yunnan much as back then it was impossible to get to Dalih (unless you looked Chinese) and I never saw much more than Kunming. I look forward to detailed reports on the border areas and "hill tribes". I hear that they are getting good at selling their ethnicity to tourists (mostly domentic Chinese tourists).
I highly recomment NOT staying at Khao San Road. Just see another part of Bangkok sans Whiskey.
EAT LOTS OF DURIAN FRUIT!!!!!!!!
I can't comment on Yunnan much as back then it was impossible to get to Dalih (unless you looked Chinese) and I never saw much more than Kunming. I look forward to detailed reports on the border areas and "hill tribes". I hear that they are getting good at selling their ethnicity to tourists (mostly domentic Chinese tourists).
I highly recomment NOT staying at Khao San Road. Just see another part of Bangkok sans Whiskey.
EAT LOTS OF DURIAN FRUIT!!!!!!!!
# posted by 
: Jun 25, 2006, 12:16:00 PM
: Jun 25, 2006, 12:16:00 PM
staying somewhere other than khaosan? is it possible? but that's where all the freaky people are at, and i mean innocent freaks, not the scary expat pedophiles you find downtown, off sukhamvit and in patpong. seriously, i don't stay right on the strip, but where can you find a decent room for 200B that's got cool cheap eats and nightlife outside of banglamphu?
the major holy mountains (emei shan and gonga shan) sound incredible, though i hear they're a bit blown up with tourists (han chinese and western). really looking foward to trailblazing down to chenresig and the other peaks along the sichuan-yunnan border that are said to embody the tibetan buddhist pantheon.
as for the hill tribes, i'll probably max out on them in laos proper (maybe rent a bike for a day or two and putter about, going to villages and chilling out), but yunnan's got a ton of diverse ethnicities and i'll do my best to break them down for all of the anthropological folks in the house.
and i'm loving the smoky-sweet fecundity of durian in my daydream rightnow. maybe i should rename the blog...
the major holy mountains (emei shan and gonga shan) sound incredible, though i hear they're a bit blown up with tourists (han chinese and western). really looking foward to trailblazing down to chenresig and the other peaks along the sichuan-yunnan border that are said to embody the tibetan buddhist pantheon.
as for the hill tribes, i'll probably max out on them in laos proper (maybe rent a bike for a day or two and putter about, going to villages and chilling out), but yunnan's got a ton of diverse ethnicities and i'll do my best to break them down for all of the anthropological folks in the house.
and i'm loving the smoky-sweet fecundity of durian in my daydream rightnow. maybe i should rename the blog...
I thought the authorities had put a stop to your "hands-on science activities".
# posted by : Jun 25, 2006, 10:45:00 PM
: Jun 25, 2006, 10:45:00 PM
oh, when you work in the ghetto, the authorities barely check up on you. as they say, so long as the kids are in line, keep the door closed and do what you want...
Justin!
Sawasdee......
If you're going back to Thailand this summer.....YOU ROCK!
Feel free to use my house, motorbike and family to guide you through Laos.( They speak the language and woul LOVE to meet you) I bought a house a few months after you left last year ago..please use it!!! I wish I could!!
Miss you!
Topher
Hok Mai
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Sawasdee......
If you're going back to Thailand this summer.....YOU ROCK!
Feel free to use my house, motorbike and family to guide you through Laos.( They speak the language and woul LOVE to meet you) I bought a house a few months after you left last year ago..please use it!!! I wish I could!!
Miss you!
Topher
Hok Mai
# posted by : Jun 26, 2006, 4:09:00 AM
: Jun 26, 2006, 4:09:00 AM << Home
