Redwood National Park, Siuslaw National Forest, and Olympia National Park

The journey continues, this time it’s a road trip to Alaska. For those of you out of the immediate loop, I sold my house in California this past January and bought a camper van that has become my home on the road. I circumnavigated the states during the winter months spending time with family and friends back east and Christmas at my parents in North Carolina. In my spare time, I have been writing as much as possible, working on a memoir about my journey through South East Asia. Still lots of writing left to do, but it’s coming along surprisingly well.

I left the Bay Area on April 7^th, crossing the Golden Gate and heading up the coast. My first major stop was Redwood National Park in the northwestern part of California. Walking through the towering spires of ancient redwoods, I found myself humbled by the magnitude of the woods. Near San Francisco, it’s possible to find small groves of old-growth redwoods, but they’re small and easily traversed in a few minutes of hiking. Here in Redwood National Park, there are miles and miles of old-growth forests and it’s possible to hike for hours without discovering their limits. Wonderful. There is a certain reverence and majesty to the redwood forest and as I wondered through their lofty heights, I felt as if I was walking through a great cathedral – surely, this is nature’s church. (more…)

March 20th, Saturday morning, I rolled over sleepily unwilling to rouse myself from the comfort of bed. I had planed to attend the Peace March in San Francisco that morning, marking the one-year anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, making clear my resistance to policies of preemptive action. Now that the time had come to act, I really didn’t feel like going. My friends Caroline and Andre had asked me to go hiking that afternoon – promises of single unattached women sparking my interest. It would be easier to lie in bed, do some reading and go hiking in the afternoon – why bother with the trek up to the city.I had never attended a public demonstration before, and I didn’t know what to expect. I recalled television news reports over the years, brief images and sound bites of angry people filling the streets. I felt strongly that our countries actions in Iraq were not just, but wasn’t sure I wanted to express my opinion in this way. The previous day I heard a radio report that the city was going to be a mad house due to the demonstrations, the announcer warned people to stay away.

I hadn’t planned to meet anyone at the march, so I was free to blow it off without letting anyone else down. I roused myself out of bed and wondered into the living room of Andre and Caroline’s house to check my email. My van was in the shop for repairs and I was staying with them for a few days while it was being fixed. I booted up my laptop and logged on.

One of the messages was from the Dennis Kucinich presidential campaign – I had voted for Dennis in the California primary. I agreed with his message and plans, happy that a candidate was taking an idealistic approach. I tried to stay in touch with the campaign through their email list; they usually sent so many that I never read them all, but I read this one. (more…)

The following is a letter I wrote to the editor for Tikkun Magazine after reading an online article on Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ – A plea to Christians to Respond with a Gospel of Love and Hope in place of this new fundamentalism” You can find the original article here.
Michael,

Thank you so much for your article “Gibson’s the Passion”. I see the mainstream media’s portrayal of this movie as an effort to create controversy between Christians and Jews, to create a story that will drive ratings, with no thoughts to the consequences. I appreciate your efforts to try to channel this energy into a message of hope.

Jesus’ teachings were radical for their time – this created a fear based fundamentalist movement among the Jews that played a role in his crucifixion. The actions of the Christian fundamentalist in their persecution of Jews came from this same fear based worldview – just as now Muslim Fundamentalism strikes out around the world in acts of terrorism. These actions of small subgroups of any faith – never represent the feelings of the masses – and I believe the real evil portrayed in the movie is fundamentalism, not Judaism. (more…)

Re-Entry & Burning Man

A few months have fled into history since my last update and in an effort to ward off any illusion or misconception that I am settling into a normal lifestyle I thought it best to get an adventure update out the door and set the record straight. Although I find myself in familiar surroundings it is not an indication that my adventures have come to a close – far from it – the journey continues, a new chapter unfolds, and amazing things can happen even under the veil of the familiar, you just have to be open to it…

I shifted back into life in the US fairly easily – I think it helped that I was not coming back to a job, able to take my time to adjust and relax, intently ease back into the relentless current of life in the States that can so often sweep us up and carry us along though life. It was surprisingly easy to be back at home, more so then I imagined, but there were subtle differences in my actions and attitudes that I noticed. First my diet, both mental and physical has shifted over the last six months. On the mental front television is off my consumption list, it no longer has the ability to hold my attention and after all that I have been through and seen, I find that TV is a thin shadow compared to true life experience and I would rather just head out to experience life rather then watching someone else’s on television. Physically I was surprised to learn that I had lost over 20 pounds on my trip – my diet has shifted more into the vegetarian realm, although I live by no hard and fast rule and still eat meat a few times a week – it’s more about being in tune with your body and figure out what it is asking for. I feel great and have lots of energy to invest in projects that spark my interest. (more…)

Cambodia – Siem Reap
Thailand – Bangkok, Koh Nangyuan

Moving west from Phnom Penh by bus and bumpy dirt road I reached the town of Siem Reap and the famed Temples of Angkor. This is one stop on a tour of South East Asia that is not to be missed. Ancient stone temples rising out of the ever-encroaching jungle certainly spark the imagination and bring up visions of a once great culture. Built mainly between the 9th and 14th centuries, the vast complex of temples around Siem Reap cover an area the size of Los Angeles. It is estimated that the city center contained over 150,000 people at its height, if you count the surrounding villages and lesser temple areas the population was an estimated 1.5 million people; all at a time when the population of London was a mere 30,000 people. I spent three full days riding around on the back of a motor bike, roaming from temple to temple. Walking through ancient doorways and corridors, scrambling up steep crumbling steps to platforms and towers that rise above the surrounding jungle, all the time trying to imagine what inspired these people to build such monuments; what life may have been like at that time. Some of my most favorite moments were watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat, and seeing it’s reflection in the ponds built for capturing the structure in their shimmering surface at the dawn of each new day. The temple of Bayon with its imposing 54 towers decorated with over 200 giant carved faces creates a very striking presence. And Thang Prom, a wonderful crumbling temple, which for the most part has been left to the slowly destructive forces of the jungle. Banyon trees grow right out of the tops of walls with roots twisting their way down to find soil, both destroying and hold together the walls all at the same time, a wondrous sight.

After Siem Reap, I braved the bus ride to Bangkok leaving Cambodia Behind. The bus only broke down twice, once with over heating and another with a flat tire – which by many accounts was on the low side of typical. It was nice to come back to Bangkok for a few days – my fifth arrival here, everything is familiar and the town feels more like home for me now then California. Spent a few nights out on the town, having fun and saying good by to some long term friends – Chris and Sabine a German couple that I have been hanging around with ever since Vietnam. Every town I went to, I would always run into them randomly and they have become good friends. Our last night out on the town together, Chris and I drank sufficient quantities of beer to brave a trip to the bug cart. The bug cart serves up various kind fried insects for your culinary pleasures. We started with the crickets – they look least imposing if that makes any sense – you peel off the ends of the legs, kind of like shrimp, and pop the whole sucker in your mouth – chew? – taste? – wow! – they were surprisingly good – we ordered more. It’s hard to compare the taste with anything, but I would have to put them in the category of perfect drinking snack right along side beer nuts. After a few bags of crickets we moved on to sample several different kinds of grubs which were equally tasty, but I drew the line with the water beetles. They were big and you had to pull the shells off of them before you could eat em’ – even with my beer induced bravery it was a little too much for me. (more…)

Vietnam – Dalat, Mui Ne, Saigon, Mekong Delta
Cambodia – Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville

Leaving Nha Trang behind, I traveled southwest and up into the mountains to the small mountain town of Dalat. Sitting at about 4,500 feet above sea level, I found a welcome relief from the heat – it even got cold enough at night to break out my sweatshirt – a first. I wanted to get out in the woods, so I hooked up with a local adventure tour company and did a few day trips. The first trip was canyoning; a rough and tumble adventure, not your normal tourist fare that I am still sporting a few scrapes and bruises from. We repelled down six different cliffs two of them directly over waterfalls in the middle of the falling water. Another the rope did not reach all the way down, so you had to free-fall the last 20 feet into a crystal clear pool of water below. We hiked down through a canyon located just out of town, wading or floating down the river more often then not, sliding down rocks, floating through water chutes – what a rush!! Because it had been raining the last couple of days the water was really flowing, and that kicked everything up just a notch. Very, very, fun! I went hiking to a nearby mountain top the following day with great views of the town and surrounding county side, although not long after we got to the top, the weather shifted and it started raining like there was no tomorrow. This made getting back down the mountain very tricky as the trail became one big mud slide, soaked, muddy and cold we threaded our way back down the mountain with lightning striking close by and thunder bombing in our ears. I found myself attacked by leaches, one on each foot, didn’t even know it until I looked down and one foot was covered with blood and the other one had a slimy slug attached completely bloated with my blood. Nice! I feel like I really earned those adventures and despite the damage to my body, I had the best time – life in it’s fullest… Yes!

From Dalat I headed to the seaside resort town of Mui Ne – just three hours north of Saigon. Mui Ne consists of a small fishing village along with a long stretch of beach were many resorts and bungalow guesthouses have set up shop. Really low key, there is not much to do here other then sit on the beach and stare out across your navel. Never the less I had a great time relaxing and checking out the local sand dunes. The dunes range from about twenty to two hundred feet high, and are spread out over quite a large area. The local kids hang around and rent out hard plastic sheet that you can sit on and sled-ride down the dunes – very, very fun – and a lot like sled riding in the snow when I was a kid. Nights were very laid back, but one of note had me sitting at a bar right on the beach, looking out over the sand, watching the lightning from thunderstorms out over the ocean, and large cockroaches fighting small crabs on the beach at my feet – nature can put on a good show if you pay attention. All and all – a really nice place to relax for a few days…

I don’t think I was mentally ready for the big city reality of Saigon after my quite days in Mui Ne, but I adjusted quickly after arrival taking it all in stride. Horns from motorbikes threading their way through traffic, neon lights of countless bars welcoming you in for a drink, shops decorated with posters of the latest bands selling pirated CD’s for $.60 each, music coming from restaurants with second floor internet cafes, the cyclo drivers pushing opium and pot, “hey mister, you want something?” the come-on from the working girls hanging out on the corner; “you want go boom, boom?” Ahhh the excitement of the city… Definitely a culture shock, and Pham Ngu Lao the local backpacker ghetto, is quickly becoming another Kao San Road in Bangkok. I really liked Saigon as a city, nice easy feel, not too much air pollution, good sites nearby – the War Crimes Museum is a very emotional place that documents human rights violations that occurred during the Vietnam war, sometimes in graphic detail. I also visited the Chu Chi Tunnels, which were used by the Vietcong so successfully to fight American troops during the war. You can’t help but be amazed by the ingenuity of the people here to fight in this manner, the elaborate network of small tunnels, winding around, sometime doubling back on themselves, loaded with booby traps, with multiple levels and exits some underwater into streams. The tunnels are small, which the smaller in stature Vietnamese could run through them somehow, but larger American troops would struggle to negotiate, as I did; they go on for miles and miles, incredibly fascinating and complex.

From Saigon, I headed south to the Mekong Delta for two days touring around the river and local industries in the area, saw a coconut candy factory where they did everything by hand, from boiling the coconut in iron kettles, forming and cutting, to wrapping the individual pieces of candy and packaging. Visited a local weaving village where women weave sarongs and towels by hand on a loom. Most interesting was a floating fish farm village where the government has a contract to supply an American company with catfish. Each floating house is about 30ft X 60ft and they build a fence under the house to the river bottom 30ft below to the river bottom to contain the catfish. They claim there are 10,000 fish under each of these homes, something I find hard to comprehend and the government funds over 10,000 of these homes on the river that individual Vietnamese families manage as part of the contract. Very interesting…

I continued up the Mekong and into Cambodia – interesting doing this via the river, as it was really impossible to discern any difference when moving between Vietnam and Cambodia, other then the passport stamps at the border; this section of the river is very remote, and the farms look the same in either country. The Mekong has been a constant companion through the whole journey winding it’s way through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam – interesting to see it’s many personalities – at the border it is nearly a mile wide, before splitting into nine main channels in Vietnam and seeking the Pacific Ocean. On another adventure I would like to visit it’s source in the mountains of Tibet.

I arrived in Phnom Penh via boat, the capitol of Cambodia and found it to be such an interesting place. One can easily imagine a once thriving city that is now working hard at a come back. Situated along a broad stretch of the Mekong River the city has a wonderful river front park with tree lined walkways lit at night by classic styled streetlamps, lined with sidewalk cafes with wicker furniture, serving up a wide range of delicious food and rounding things out with some low key live music. The whole place is very laid back; bars are fun – cool without trying to be. Generally a great place just to settle-in and relax; you can almost feel the city starting to come alive in a rebirth of the culture and economy. But there is a darker side that is not even under the surface, but right there in your face. The former Khmer Rouge government is recent history (late 1970s), but the genocide of two million Cambodians committed by them has not been swept under the rug. A trip to the S21 prison, a former school set in a residential neighborhood – now a museum – is like a raw wound, with many of the cells still containing chains, leg shackles, and various implements used to torture inmates complete with blood stains on the ceiling if you can believe it. There are many graphic photos of victims, some before and after they were tortured and I was struck by the same haunted look in all of their eyes – it’s the stuff nightmares are made from. After torture, most prisoners where taken out of town to the now dubbed “Killing Fields” for execution. Thousands of bodies have been disinterred from mass graves and the monument erected there is a chilling site. A fifteen-foot square tower rises a hundred feet in the air with glass sides and ten or twelve platforms inside which contain thousands of human skulls from the bodies they have recovered so far. Surrounding the monument is twenty or so depressions in the earth – the remnants of the mass graves. Heavy stuff. At first I felt that having the victim’s on display like th

at was disrespectful, but soon realized that it would be even more disrespectful to shield anyone who came here from the brutal reality of what occurred.

After about five days in Phnom Penh, I was ready to move on, so I headed south for the beach town of Sihanoukville where you can find beautiful white sand beaches, warm blue waters, and not much else – including other people. I mostly spent my days hanging out on the beach, catching some rays, and playing tick-tack-toe in the sand with local teenage girls who come around selling fruit. If you loose – you have to buy fruit from them – if you win, you get some free fruit – if you tie which is most often the case, you get some interesting conversation and play again. It’s raining most days now, definitely into the raining season, although it only last about 1-2 hours and does not impact the day too much. I am feeling ready to come home now – it’s hard to put my finger on why, more a feeling then anything else, but I know the time is drawing near, and I am just relaxing and enjoying my last few weeks.

I am back in Phnom Penh now – got some bad food somewhere along the way, the first time the whole trip and have been laid up in my hotel waiting to get better. On the mend now, and will be heading next to the amazing temples of Angkor next. Stay tuned…

Matt

Laos – Vientiane, Savannakhet
Vietnam – Dong Ha, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang

Vientiane, the capital of Laos may well be the lowest key capital city in the world. It feels like a small town even when you are in the heart of the downtown area. My visit happened to coincide with the Laos New Year celebration, also known as the water festival. The whole city – as well as the rest of Laos – shuts down for three days and everyone, young and old get into a big water battle. No one is exempt, I found myself soaking wet for the better part of three days – hit by water balloons, mobbed by roving groups of children armed with super soaker squirt guns, buckets of water thrown from passing cars – it was impossible to escape. The only means of retaliation is to join in the fun and get a good squirt gun.

After the big water war, I moved on to Savannakhet a town right on the Mekong River, which acts as the border with Thailand. Savannakhet is a hub for trade between Thailand and Vietnam as route 9 runs straight through the middle of Laos and into Vietnam. Not lots to write home about regarding Savannakhet, it was mostly a stop over on my journey to Vietnam. I did get a great preview of Vietnamese cuisine at one of the local shops – a very tasty dish called Baw Ban. Made up of rice noodles mixed with chopped, fried spring rolls, barbecued strips of beef, bean sprouts and lettuce, covered in a sweet tangy sauce. Yum, Yum. You must time your arrival at the shop just right because the lady only makes so much everyday and when she sells out, she closes the shop. Typically she opens around 11AM and closes at Noon. Yes! It is that good. I can’t believe it’s already been almost a month since I entered Laos, my visa is running out and I’m bound for Vietnam.

I entered Vietnam by land at the Laos city of Lao Bo. The border crossing was very relaxed – just a couple of stamps on both sides and you are on your way. They were doing screening for SARS – just a simple questionnaire you fill out checking for any symptoms. Hanoi has been the only place in Vietnam with local transmission (and even that is under control now) but I decided to skip the north and only visit southern Vietnam, bypassing Hanoi just to be safe and not worry my Mother too much. Vietnam is more developed then Laos by far, close to Thailand, but not so over-run with tourists – possibly due to the SARS media scare. The drive from the border to Dong Ha was through a very beautiful river valley – with lush vegetation, banana and palm trees growing everywhere – very scenic. Overall the country is very lush and beautiful, much more so then Thailand and Laos – I guess all the best chemists in America’s war department can’t put mother earth down for long. The people are friendly, quick to strike up conversations, but also very aggressive about trying to sell you just about anything they may think you want; I was warned of this by fellow travelers, so no surprises.

Dong Ha is the first reasonable sized town you come to after crossing into Vietnam. Just an overnight stay here, but a good spot from which to explore some of the war sites in central Vietnam – mostly focused around the former Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the dividing line between north and south Vietnam during the war. I checked out a local day tour of a few former military bases and sites of battles. It’s more a history lesson then anything else, not much to see anymore since most visible traces of the war have been wiped clean, the highlight was the Vinh Moc tunnels just north of the DMZ. The 2km long tunnels have 18 different entrances and three levels (some opening up to the ocean). Farmers built the tunnels for protection after bombs from American B52’s raised their village. Inside they are really cramped, not more then five and a half feet high and a foot and a half wide, with little cubbyholes no bigger then a folding table carved out of the walls where whole families lived. I didn’t spend more then a fifteen minutes in these tunnels before the walls felt like they were closing in, hard to believe the villagers lived in them for six long years – Eighteen babies were born in the tunnels during this time.

From Dong Ha I headed to Hue, a really nice city that used to serve as the capitol of Vietnam for several centuries, prior to the communist era. The inner city sits cradled by a bend in the Perfume River and surrounded by a moat and stone fortifications. It has the feel of a capital city, kind of hard to put your finger on exactly what it is, but still there non-the-less. Tree lined avenues, bridges over the river that are lit at night, museums, and monuments give this city a really nice feel. I visited the Vietnam War museum and the citadel ruins – home to Emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). Overall a nice stop for a few days; I found it was nice to get back to civilization after my Laos adventure – plenty of traveler-oriented services in Hue along with AC and satellite TV in my hotel – what a luxury!

After a few days in Hue, I beat a path to Hoi An – which by many accounts is the nicest place to visit along the central and southern coasts of Vietnam. The town is spread across a small grid of narrow streets, crammed with excellent restaurants, small bars, art galleries, book stores and more then anything else, tailor shops where they will make any kind of clothes you want, cheep and with a custom fit. The town presents lots of opportunities to spend some money and just linger around for a few days. I really enjoyed the art galleries and met one particular artist, Hoang Trong Tien, who I spent many hours getting to know, talking about art and life in general. I bought a couple of his paintings and they are riding around in a plastic tube in my backpack. Been spending most of my time hanging out with two Canadian guys and three gals from Ireland – you meet such good people out here traveling around, and you’re only alone when you want to be.

Nha Trang, next stop heading south, also my current location, is Vietnam’s quintessential seaside party town. The beaches are really nice here – broad stretches of sand, framed on either side by mountains and a blue sea. For a buck you can rent a wooden lounge on the beach under a grass roof umbrella (excellent for sleeping). Drinks and food will show up when you call for it and you have a great view of the islands off the coast where you can find Vietnam’s best diving. I have been out two days so far and really enjoyed the diving. Not as many fish here as Thailand, but the coral reefs are spectacular – over 300 different kinds of hard and soft coral – really, really nice.

Hard to believe it is May already, starting my fifth month on the road. Things are going well and I am happy, but thoughts of returning home come into my mind more and more these days. Another month or two may bring this adventure to a close, but if I have my way, there will be many others yet to come. Hope this update finds you all well.

Until we meet again!

Matt

Laos – Huay Xai, Mekong River, Luang Prabang, Muang Ngoi, Sam Neua, Phonsavan, Vang Vieng

And then there was Laos. What an amazing county. I entered Laos crossing the Mekong at the northern most border crossing with Thailand – Chaing Kong on the Thai side and Huay Xai on the Lao side. Immediately one could perceive the differences between the two countries. Laos is similar to Thailand in many ways, but the pace is dialed way, way back. It is very quaint and simple, not many developed roads or modern infrastructure in place. The people live simple lives, but are quick to give you a saba-dee (hello) and a smile… Spent one night in Huay Xai – sampled some local cuisine saw a band playing traditional Lao music. Instruments included a hand drum, triangle, bamboo xylophone, a four string instrument played like a guitar and two string instrument with a skin covered resonating chamber and played with a bow. Very interesting…

The next morning Lorraine and I jumped on boat for two-day trip down the Mekong to Luang Prabang, with an overnight stay in Pakbeng. The boat was about sixty feet long and about eight feet wide, like all transport in Laos; it was short on elbowroom, but long in character. Up until recently, the Mekong was the key transport artery of the country, and between Huey Xai and Luang Prabang, it still is, as there is no direct road between the two. It was a fascinating trip, passing by lots of tall limestone rock formations, tiny little villages, men out fishing in homemade canoes, women doing laundry in the river, naked children playing along the bank. It was a unique glimpse into the heartland of Laos.

Luang Prabang sits right along the Mekong and has retained the 1920’s French colonial architecture mixed in with 500 year old monasteries – just named a world heritage site, local people are working to maintain and preserve the unique charm of this small town. The street markets here were interesting, with a wide mix of Lao food and local crafts. I was amazed by how inexpensive Laos is, deluxe rooms (with bathroom) – $3, dinner – $1, Beer Lao the local brew – very drinkable I might add – $.60 a liter – almost free! Spent four or five days here in Luang Prabang enjoying the atmosphere before Lorraine headed home, and I went north to the village of Muang Ngoi.

Muang Ngoi was possibly my favorite stop in Laos so far; it is a small village along the Nam Ou River an hour’s journey by boat from the nearest road. As yet there are no motorized vehicles in the village, just a couple of footpaths lined with coconut palms that take you from place to place. The guesthouse I stayed in was a simple bamboo hut with shared bathrooms. I spent most of my time sitting in a hammock, reading books and soaking up the river views. The village has a real south seas feel to it, men mending fishing nets, lots of children playing in the river, really quiet and laid back – a nice place to relax for a couple of days.

After relaxing for a few days, I decided to get off the beaten path and head east to Sam Nuea – very close to the Vietnam border. Not many tourist get out there as transportation is a little sketchy and they are not geared up for tourists, I had a hard time communicating with the guy at the transport hut, as he didn’t speak any English, so I just jumped in a truck heading the right way figuring I would get there eventually. My truck made it about two hours down the road and dropped me off in a small village – luckily there was a guesthouse there and the owner spoke some English. Found out that the bus came through at night, and I had 12 hours to kill – so we talked for hours about the war in Iraq and the Lao Government and drank plenty of Beer Lao. The bus ended up being late, around 10PM we were outside waiting when a couple of guys showed up with AK 47 assault rifles asking questions – the guesthouse owner talked to them, and they left without incident, but after that he suggested we go inside to wait. “Well, Toto, I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore.” I laid down on a makeshift bed to wait, and was soon fast asleep – I woke to sound of the bus roaring down the road, grabbed my backpack and ran out into the street flagging down the bus, jumped on and was whisked away. As I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and looked around, the bus was completely full, people sitting in seats, in the isles, on each other, I never saw so many people inside a bus before. I was the only foreigner and to top it all off the radio was blasting Lao pop music at a volume loud enough to make your ears bleed. I dropped my backpack on the floor inside the door, as people cleared a small spot for me and sat down on my bag, elbowing my way in and laughing as I knew this was my fate for the next twelve hours – maybe it was all just a dream…

Arrived in Sam Nuea the next day after the grueling bus journey – a dusty non-descript town that is closer to the capital of Vietnam then it is to that of Laos. Mix of Chinese, Laos and Vietnam culture – not much to speak of in the town itself, but there are two great sights nearby. The first is Suan Hin, an archeological sight that is called the Lao Stonehenge – spread out over five different sights – large stone monoliths at much as ten feet tall, are found sticking up out of ground surrounded by large stone discs eight feet in diameter, laying on the ground all around them. No one is really sure how old they are or why they were made – very mysterious and very cool. The second site was the caves in Vieng Xai – they were used to protect the revolutionary Pathet Lao (PL) government officials and thousands of troops during the secret war and bombing campaigns conducted by the American Government during and after the Vietnam war in Laos. An amazing collection of caves, rooms, and tunnels – a major stronghold virtually unassailable by air that was only recently declassified by the Lao government.

From Sam Neua, I headed south to Phonsavan where I visited another ancient site that may be related to Suin Hin. Plains de jars, is a collection of 54 sites where large stone jars carved from solid rock can be found on hilltops in the local countryside. Some of the jars are as large a seven feet tall and five feet across. I rented a motorbike and headed out into the hills to visit the three sites that are safe to see, as the local area and much of Laos is covered with UXO (unexploded ordinance) from American bombs. Seeing the jars was really amazing – there are hundreds at each site, and there is no explanation for what they were used for – another mystery. There were so many bomb craters in the area, some of them right beside the jars, it was surreal. The left-over six foot long casings of cluster bombs are so plentiful in the area that local people use them as building material, fence posts, pillars for buildings, even planters – you see thousands of them everywhere you look.

I am now in Vang Vieng relaxing for a couple of days – checking out some of the local caves – there are hundreds around – some of them quite large extending a mile or more underground, some you can even swim through. Next stop Vientiane – the capital of Laos. A great poet once asked the following question: “How does it feel, to be on your own, with no direction home, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone?” Well Bob, I have to say that it feels absolutely great!

Until next time…

Matt

PS – If you want to learn more about the UXO in Laos and the secret war conducted by the US, which the US has still not taken complete responsibility for, check out the following online article. It mentions the owner of the guesthouse where I stayed in Phonsavan who was nearly killed by UXO when he was a child. “Remnants of War”

Thailand – Suan Mokkh, Kanchanaburi, Chaing Mai, Chaing Rai

Well when we last heard from our hero, he was headed for a ten day meditation retreat at Suan Mokkh monastery near Chaiya. The retreat ended up being a great overall experience, although it was a little tough both mentally and physically. Conditions mirror that of the monks. You can’t speak – you can’t eat after lunch and before dawn – most of the time you are sitting around meditating – which can get very boring, causing your mind to wander and making meditation very difficult. Accommodations are sparse – a little 8×8 cell, a concrete bed, with a thin palm leaf mat to lay on, a wool blanket and a wooden pillow. The sleeping conditions certainly made getting up at 4AM every day a little easier. Meals where entirely vegetarian – with rice porage every morning some lettuce to chew on and tea. Lunch was about the same, but they would add some fruit and an extra vegetarian dish. After lunch no food – only tea for dinner. The first two days were the hardest – all I could think about was – how am I going to stay here for ten days. On the third day – I changed my thinking and asked myself if I needed to leave right this second, the answer was always no, so only by keeping my mind 100% in the present, did I make it through the whole ten days.

The retreat featured a lot of training on how to meditate and the basics philosophy of Buddhism – which is all about how to live life with more mindfulness – removing the unsatisfactory conditions that exist in our lives by reducing/eliminating ignorance, craving and clinging. Daily meditation practice that results in a calm mind is central to Buddhist way of life. A great opportunity to learn about other cultures and religions – definitely recommend this type of retreat to anyone who is interested and can take the time… Personally, I really enjoyed the deep look inside myself, and the retreat helped solidify a desire for me to simplify my life and to attempt to leave behind the frightening world of consumerism that I have been rolling around in for the past few years.

From the retreat, I headed back to Bangkok in the train with friends I made at the end of the retreat. After applying for visas to Laos and Vietnam, I went west to Kanchanaburi – a famous WW2 historic town where 16,000 allied POWs and 100,000 Asian laborers died building the Thai-Burmese railway during the war. Kanchanaburi was made famous by the 1957 movie – Bridge on the River Kwai – the bridge, now repaired still stands today. I met a fun gal from France on the train and we hung around together for a few days. Spent a day touring around town, seeing all the museums, POW cemeteries and walked the Bridge over the River Kwai. On the following day, we went up into the mountains to see some of the passes that were cut through the hills with picks and shovels and visited a couple of great local waterfalls. So strange to be reminded of the terrible loss of life and the brutal treatment of Allied POWs during WWII while we hung on the brink of war with Iraq – it just made our current situation feel all wrong in so many different ways. Now that we have fallen over the brink and are bombarded with daily news of senseless fighting and Americans being captured – I can only hope for a swift end to the war. I still believe there was a better way…

After Kanchanaburi, I headed back to Bangkok again to pick up visas and my friend Lorraine from SF who met up with me for a two week trip. We spent a few days in Bangkok doing temple runs and a few days on the island of Ko Samet working on the tan, then headed to Chaing Mai by overnight train. Chaing Mai located in the north, is the second largest city in Thailand, but much smaller then Bangkok which is forty times it’s size. It really has a nice laid back small town feel – definitly a nice place to relax for a couple of days – there are lots of great shops, street stalls, and markets displaying lots of local crafts – some really nice quality stuff. We did some shopping and checked out the local museums and temples. Visited the night market and sampled lots of different types of Thai food – still have not worked up the nerve to eat the grubs, beetles, or crickets yet, but maybe I will before I come home…

Today we headed north toward Chaing Rai, took a long tail boat up the river (saw a wild elephant grazing along the river!) – and did some trekking to local hill tribes in the area. There are five different tribes in northern Thailand and most have migrated to Thailand over the last 100 years from Burma, China, and Laos – they live very simply in bamboo huts, practice slash and burn farming, and sell handmade crafts for extra money. Great experience to get out of the city and into the hills and see their way of life. Enjoyed the hike, talking with our guide, and of course swimming at the ubiquitous end of hike waterfall. A very cool experience.

I am putting the finishing touches on this email in Chaing Rai and planning to leave Thailand behind tomorrow and head into Laos for a river journey down the Mekhong – stay tuned…

Love from the road,

Matt

Thailand – Ko Tao, Ko Phangan, Kho Suk National Park

Hello All,

Been on the ground here for about five weeks now and things are going just fine – I can’t believe how fast the time is going. When I last wrote, I was headed to Ko Tao – a small island in the gulf of Thailand for a few days of diving. Ko Tao was a great place – but the focus there is definitely diving with over 30 different dive companies on the island. I dove three separate days – the reefs were in pretty good shape and saw lots of marine and different types of coral – Blue Spotted Rays, Jenkins Wip Rays, Barracuda, Tuna, a pair of Moray Eels, Angle Fish, Parrot Fish, Butterfly Fish, Trigger Fish and lots of others – definitely a worthwhile stop – and cheep. A boat dive cost about $20 including all equipment compared to about $50+ in Monterey Bay and the rental equipment was in good shape.

From there I headed to Ko Phangan another island just to the south with really nice beaches, cool people and great night life. I stayed on Had Rin beach on the south part of the island – a nice wide stretch of fine white sand – bordered by mountains and palm trees, along with a long line of clubs right on the beach. Had Rin is home to the full moon party – considered to be one of the top ten parties in the world. Every month when the moon is full, about 10,000 people show up to celebrate the event and dance the night away on the beach. I got there about six days prior to the full moon, and it was interesting watching the excitement build for the big night with more and more people arriving everyday. The night of the full moon, the beach was packed, and all the clubs were pumping out all different kinds of music – very fun. I ended up staying out all night until the sun came up over the ocean at which point the party got a second wind, and continued well into the next day. I called it quits around 9AM and caught some sleep in my air-conditioned bungalow. I stayed on Ko Phangan about 12 days in total, a few days after the party, things quieted down and it was a very chilled out place. I am still not sure how all those days went by so quickly.

On Feb 22nd, I left the islands behind and went west back to the mainland for five days to check out Kho Suk one of the Thai National Parks located among tall limestone spires and tropical jungle. For once I didn’t show up to a new place all on my own – Sharon a friend I made in Ko Phangan is from London and also traveling on her own and she decided to come with me to check out the park. Did lots of hiking through lush tropical jungle – most of the hikes were three to five miles long and all ended at a swimming hole under a waterfall – I can’t describe in words how satisfying it is to leave the hot muggy jungle behind after a long hike, and dive into a cool pool of water – wonderful. Saw lots of lizards and monkeys, my fair share of spiders and snakes, and an unknown number of insects making all kinds of strange noises both day and night. Sharon even had her first leach experience, but held up pretty well considering she’s a city girl

Now I am off on my own again, cooling my heals for two days in Surat Thani at a hotel with a pool, getting my laundry done, and catching up on email. On the 28th, I am headed to Chaiya for a ten day meditation retreat at a forest temple – during this time, I will not have email access till about the March 11th, so feel free to email me, but you may not hear back from me until then.

Hope you all are well…

Matt