Reflections of this trip

A few things I learned on my travels....as I reflected in the night, sat and looked out the window, took time to breath...etc. Like my last trip, I spent much less time talking to strangers or just finding a place and sitting for hours...


When I write about my life and how I see the passage, I am clear that we are all made from the same spit and that if someone sneezes in Tibet, it will affect me. I am clear that we control little but have choices about how we approach life and how we react to the movie that is call...this is my life. I intellectually know that nothing is permanent and that I will cause suffering to myself if I believe otherwise and that everything is perfect for this time, players and place.....BUT when I see my life changing, people coming and going, things not happening the way I think they should, or I get a case of my own drama of being able to fix things, make other’s lives happy, do things to “perfection” etc... I hurt.

Life is simple – do the best you can at every second, be mindful knowing that nothing is permanent, you are not the creator nor the controller, and that spending a Nano second thinking “would have, should have, could have”....is a waste of precious time. Things are just things and it is your personal integrity and compassion that matters. If there is any regret about anything, take the knowledge and intent with you....for surely, there will be other opportunities to practice what has been learned..... and so bonny’s life journey goes on.

ps

read Monikawithk.blogspot.com if you want more coherent info.
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three hrs until bus time

I have been "forced" to drink several beers.  but that is not my excuse.  I think this is the first time I can say... not ready to come home.  I am ready to go to the beach.. but my pockets are not full.   The last days in BKK have been as they should be.  We got fleeced by a tuk tuk driver.. who wanted to take us to a gem shop, a silk shop, a carpet shop, another gem shop... we said no to the carpet and then NO NO to the second gem.. and found another tuk home.    A good dinner in the place Page and I liked..  but first... we started the day with an oil massage and then a tuk to Duriet museum.  We know the Red shirts were out since we could not buy a bus ticket... they have taken over the airport... oh well ....so we went to the royal museum and found that we were again in the midst of the protest.. this time.. the Assembly of the poor...   when I asked to take a pic of the sign, they offered rice... go figure.  In the communist county.. they keep what they have.. in this country.. the share what they have.  The museum was very interesting.  Then we went with a tuk tuk driver to several important Buddhas only to find that we were taken to one and then to be taken to several fleece the tourist places... we went to one.. stepped not another and the then... we were out of there...    We are not sure we will get home tonight since the red shirts were on their way to take over the airport.. oh well.. might have to say another month... we are prepared to sacrifice to do that.... :)
We had a great dinner and  2 beer.. and then a great watch Kroad... and 2 beer... and now... 7:45 and one more foot massage... wiill I make it home?    

Where am I

First, this is a Buddhist day and the bars are not serving...can you imagine that.  Kroad and no brew.   We ordered lunch today..Curry, cashews and a tall Chang and the woman said...only small and then brought me a coffee cup and poured the beer in it....When I ordered the second one, she again poured it in the cup and then put the bottle on the floor.  So tonight, when we walked to a Krd bar, no beer is served because it is a holiday.   I had been to the Wat earlier and made merit by walking around the outside and then getting incense, candle, flower.  I walked about and then came back to put the candle on the spot and couldn't get it to stay and then knocked someone else's candle off and then the guy said...put it in with the incense.. which I did and then put the incenses in with the incense and was left holding the candle...I went in to see what others were doing with the candle and saw that some of the folks were getting to the font... but I did not have the ability so I took it outside and was about to give it back to the seller when I found a pail for them.  I think that was punishment for the beer.  W found a public Internet and when I went to sit down the woman in the next chair felt that I was rude to her when I asked her to pull her chair in....20 bt doesn't give you the right to be rude... and then said that if I continued, she would put my head on the keyboard.  I thought it was rather funny to think of two grey haired women in BKK getting it on in the back road of the Internet.   I was then humming which also did not set well...   She is chatting on an IM and I guess I am not her type since her site is gay.com... oh well... no more beers on Buddha day.
We have had an interesting day otherwise....a good massage earlier and then toes and fingers..and then face.  I also got to go the long way on the river boat... it is a long way.   On the way back a little girl say on my lap and watched the water...finally had my first sticky rice and mango and also a mango lasse since no beer.  This is the last night and I hope to take a look at the pictures and maybe use my puter to put some of the shots that I have taken here in BKK.  I am not sure if I am happy to be coming home or not.. I will get back into the swing of things and there is several things to do...but I like the sun and the massage and just ambling about ... 
As you might have heard a boat lost it's bottom on HaLong Bay.... and two AM appear to have lost their life.  The boyfriends had to identify the bodies... when we heard the incident, we were concerned that whoever is reading this might have thought we were still there... fortunately, we were not.  They leave a hammer in the roam and there were life preservers but I think I might have perished if the bottom fell of the boat and I was in bed sleeping and disoriented and non swimmer.   Must be I was saving myself for the grumpy woman to threaten me with a smack to the keyboard.   When she left, I said...be well... she got to the end to the line... and then turned back... thought I was still in for a smack...  
If you have ever been in one of these... there 7 puters in 4 lines.. many people taking on snipe ( in several languages)...and one is crying that she is lonely and alone and out of money and and ....etc.. and banging the keyboards.  I am not sure where she got it...but I think she also got a brew on Buddha Day...   If you never hear from me again, it is because she is waiting for me in the bushes.  oh well.    Tomorrow a couple more massage...one oil... and more ambling about.   It is full moon and the full moon ceremony is tomorrow.  We have to take the airport bus at 9 so we can get our gear and get organized...  enough.... it is 9...and time for a 7/11 stop... (for a brew)

Luxury

We slept in a great bed with a wonderful shower and hot water... and could hear the ocean.  This morning we could also hear the little fishing boats the size of the bathroom putting out for another day of fish farming or trowling ...and thought..wonder if they have ever had a shower with warm water.  How lucky I am to be able to see one thing and live another... I will probably not return to this area of Dao Cat Ba...but I will remember.... we are off to visit the village this morning and then check our and return to Hanoi.  My head is processing more than my hands are typing.  it is another day in the global paradise with the good the bad and the ugly.   I will long remember the basket of dogs...pushed into a small create on the way to the restaurant... there pet days are over....bon appetite..

post dinner

We have been to two remote areas of VN.  Yes there are some areas where the western plastic is not well tended...but in general, the folks get up in the morning and exercise, eat lots of veggies and fish and look very healthy.  Sapa and and the little villiages is very north and at the border of China.  We stood next to the check point and watched the "porters" drag product accross.  When they get it to the VN side, it is dumped out and then repacted for resale.  
Halong Bay is now a world herritge site with limestone rock formations coming out of the water.  We kayaked to villages and saw folks living on boats about the size of my bathroom... a man and woman and children... cooking, eating, fishing, scraping to get money for clothing. The live, eat, work, and poop on the water... no education opportunities so the children will be on a boat... etc..
 The fuel is purchased from corner stores and is sold in bottles.  The corn whisky which is made at home, is also bottled in plastic bottles... 
In some ways it is not a hard life....since there is always a roof... even in the moonsoon..when many hundreds die... but there is always fish, rice, and food....   who amoung us can spend day after day in my bathroom...  no place to say... take a hike...   every minute is hard.
Then there are the dogs that guard the houses, boats, and water village until they are old... and they they are on the plate.   
It is appropriate that the beauty is in the rocks rising out of the sea...   tommorrow we are in Hanoi and then back to BKK...

contraditions

When we walked with the hilltribe women the other day, we only had so much money with us and there were more of them than us.  When we asked whether they might share the money, oh no, they keep what they are given.  It appers that they children of people who have been educated get an education.  The children of farmers are farmers.  The hilltribe are subsidized and they can have as many children as they are able.  The people of Sapa...can have 2 but if they have more, they must pay a tax.   The car can be purchased for $15K but there is a 100% tax...so it will cost you $30K.  You can borrow money to buy a house, but first you must own the property.  When I think of a commune, I think more equal or sharing.   not the case.  This poor developing country offers health insurance for $10 a year... and US?  We have gotten snatches of TV and news and followed CNN for a little in Sapa.  This is a remote coastal area so the electricity went off and with it...the TV..   The electric came back but not the cable.  It is strange...and just a few minutes ago, the room went dark but not the computer.  This is the most luxurious place we have stayed and it is almost time for dinner.   I do not wish to say more until we are back in BKK....  

cold and rain

This is the grey season in Halong bay.  Not too nice but still interesting.  We were on the boat last night...and it was great to get out of dirty clothing and shower and sleep soundly.   The train ride back was much more pleasant... two men...one older than the other were in the car and they slept soundly and without snoring.   When we got into the city at 5am...there were some amazing sites... a man on a bike came with a cow or buffalo carcas and proceeded to put down a block and start hacking at the bones.  Sometimes he just threw them on the street until they were more supple.. like the back bone... after he chopped them up, he put them in a bag or bags, weighed them an then  packed up and was gone.   The trip to the water had several tours and ours included a family from Seatle (Loren, Bob and little 5 yr Stella.) fun to be with such friendly folks.   We got up early and travelled to an area to kayak.  I am pleased to say the camera is sorta working... I can reveiw or delete or use the menu...but some functions are working and the pics look ok.   The day does not encourage any pictures ...grey, cold and misty.  So I am sitting waiting for a massage... I will have to go to treatment for withdraw... $15 for an hour oil massage.    We are booked into a hotel in Hanoi for tomorrow and will try to get a good dinner and repack before our return for the last 3 days in BKK.   I am sorry I can't add pictures... but I had to try several times to get into the blog and can't read my mail... rochester.rr.com is a questionable website.    and so it goes.   I will be ready to come back but not ready to return... I feel I have made some good gains toward some things I want to do....  I am well ...rested... and I will come back next year for the dentist... but this is the last for VN....   bye for now

a few funny catch ups

When we left the elephants, it looked like I had much of the dust on my shoes...so for 2.50 I had my shows shined on the street.  This mean that some young man put soap in a lid and used a tooth brush to scrub my shoes.  Ok, they were dirt..but passable.  When we walked today, I ended up with about 3 inches of goop clinging to the bottom and top... we washed the shoes in a creek...but it did little..  we tried scraping it and that did little....so for 30,000 dong.... we had them washed a nd dried... while I had a beer in slippers.... I am exhausted.....zzzz 

OMG

Two years ago, I came to Sapa with Page and we hiked an "intermediate" walk.  Over time, your mine does tricks and you remember that you could not get down to use the squat in AM and you remember the hill tribe folks helping you ....but the seriousness of the "intermediate" leaves you.  We got up after a great sleep and good breakfast ready to go... 1st my guardians said...this woman will kill herself if she is walking with a camera... so we will disable it ...I had my stick and a small pack with a bottle of water.  The early walk was thru the villages and it was pleasant and repetitively easy.... There was a difference...the mist or haze or fog or whatever was so think it was like chowder and it was spritzing on us..   M used my buff to make a flimsy raincoat for her camera.  She took many pictures of the mist/fog/haze and will probably tell you that it is rice fields... anyone's guess what was out there...but I remembered some of the way.   We had a nice lunch cooked in the homestead and I found out the garlic french fries are the way of the walk... salad, soup, spring rolls,,,,and I had a beer.  The toilet was not squat but a hover... (porcelain with no toilet seat... ) hey... there was a flush... we left there only to find the hill tribe people who had been walking with us... where you from, what is your name, how old are you, buy something from me....were still there.  Well... we found out quickly why... we turned the corner and the path which had been a wide road with some rocks was now only for mountain goats...the rain/mist/fog had left the center of the path the kind of mud that goes slurp and tries to capture your shoes...soon I was staring at the mud and trying to find 2-3 inches that was sorta flat while either going up and down the hills.  The terrain came back to me and I thought I could see my foot print in the mud.  We did this for almost 2 hours... the ht woman...who I know know as Sue... foot here...foot there...careful...ooops... my toes were tired from trying to hold on to my shoes... so OMG .  I stuck my stick in the mud and grabed a bamboo tree as I was about to fall backwards but the ht and the stick and the bamboo...all worked together to keep my pants clean.   I saw Michael, the fish eater from last night waving his arms in the air to catch himself and giving a hoot... Inga..the Swed was also grabbing on to a small ht woman who was watching in bathroom slippers... It was something that we always remember and I made a note to read this blog every week so no matter who says they want to be to VN and hike in Sapa....I will say... not me... been there...done that.... but you know me...I will forget and what is life if not an adventure.

bang bang and hot pot

Friday night there..Sat am here. There is a great mist over the valley which we learned burned off around 10 yesterday. Still no camera working correctly. The shutter is not shuttering and the menu is not available...etc. I have been doing a great deal of reading ( about 20-30 pages) while M marches thru her 3^rd book. Same Same but different. The Buddhist interpretation of greed is wanting what you don't have now... and now I don't have a camera. It maybe giving me more opportunity to process and reflect as a I see...but if I had a choice..I would do both. But back to the travel story. We had a good lunch and then checked in and a shower. After many hours in the same shirt etc it was a great treat. After we started up the mountain.. steps...I can't imagine how many but many...not too bad..step step...garden...step step...grotto..etc. The venture took a couple of hours. It is always hard to be in another s culture and to just observe. Out judgement comes to the top quickly. There was a baby monkey who had been snatched from her mother (probably killed)..he was very scared and wanted to stick her head under the towel that she was sitting on. I gave it a little stoke...but I believe the poor thing will either be a tourest invitation, her brains eaten for viagra or made into monkey palm. I am giving new thought to tiger balm. You look...you pass...you let go. We are a short distance from the Chinese border. The police station has our passports...and I am in no hurry to spend my days on the street selling fake silver. M & I had another good foot massage which involved putting your toes in red herb water and being beaten with hands, elbows, fingers. Arms etc. It think there was a blow for every step. By the way, when we were on top of the mountain... he told us that 20 yrs ago, this was just forest, jungle... and hilltribes. It gets many visitors today and the industry is tourism. (time to eat.).So after the beating...we went to dinner to a hot bot place...we ordered the mixed hot pot which is chicken ...some thigh, feet, and good stuff. And a plate of red meat...which was some pork and buffalo and what ever. The pot was boiling water with some seasoning and then they brought a plate of greens, and we chopped them all up and tossed them in with the pinapple, tomato and other floating stuff.... and it boiled away and then we added packaged noodles... and it boiled away and then you put it into your bowl and ate it while drinking tiger beer. It was more fun than delicious but we were the only “white” people according to the Swiss woman. We left there and stopped and had flaming banana crepe without the flame and a tea...which cost more than the pot. I should also say, Micheal, the Polish man thought the stuff in the boal did not look good so he ordered snipe.... a plate of little fish....now that did not look good. It was nice not to have a moving train...and to wake to a great breakfast....must quit to post.....

I am alive...I think

We left the Hanspan office last night at 8 to get to the train by 9:10..with 2 polish people and a swed.  When we got to the train, the Polish couple went to car 4 with lots of tourest... the Swed went to car 10 with lots of tourest and we went to car 11 with Vietnamese folks.   For a long time we thought we were going to be alone until a man sweating from running, his wife and 2 yr old climbed on board with all of their belongings.  Before they came, we discovered that there was no air in the car, only one of the four bed lights worked and the lamp for the table had no bulb and was not connected.   Needless to say, we were ready for sleep since the hot rock massage and being up at 4.   How bad could this be....and we are going native.  Monika took the upper bunk and started her reading.   I made a nest on the bottome bed and started reading.  The couple started eating and the young spoiled child started screaming when she spoke to her parents.   Oh where were the young children from the Chiangdao School.   Father now had his shirt rolled up over his belly and was whipping the sweat from his brow.  It was hot but I think he had run from the center of the city....the train pulled away at 9:10.  There was several rounds of treats and more screeming.   I turned out my lamp... Monika turned out her lamp...but nothing turned off the child....mother played games... the girl screamed with giggles and comments... father crawled up to the top.... mothe played games...girl TALKED TO HER MOTHER.... who knows maybe she is deaf... the lite went out... mother sang and girl TALKED TO HER MOTHER....   On my deaf side... it was more muffled and so I meditated and went to sleep....   I woke up thinking I was at the elephant camp....girl was sleeping... mother was sleeping.. and father who suffers from sleep apnia...was SNORING......silence....GASP FOR BREATH....SNORE.... at 5am...the porter knocked on the door...and we packed up and left.    I dropped my bottle of water and in my haste put it into my bag with the camera.....MISTAKE ....I have spent an hour at the hand dryer and finnally have some believe that it might work again...    We had a great walk this am.. and I could have made the walk up...but one of the lads offered a ride on a motorbike....MISTAKE 2...he could not see where the restaurant was...so he was looking at the card and bus appeared in our bath.... I don't screem...but I SCREAMED..... look out and he looked up just in time to miss the bus...but almost but the bike down.  I am sure that because I can ride I helped him balance... scare some children almost hit a dog... and get off the sidewalk...away from the plate glass window...and back on the street....    so..now I am waiting for the rest and to eat at Buffalo Bill's...which I found by getting off the bike and walking...   I am alive...   great trip.. all is well and when I am back with the camera...you will be seeking more.... bye for now

ww keyboard

This will be even more of a challenge for you to read than usual.  First I have to type the w twice and then back up and take one out.  Then every word appears in yellow since the spell check is in Vietnamese.  But enough.  For whatever reason.  blogging has been more òf a challenge,  Having my puter with me has not made it easier.
But to go back.  We had our first bad meal last night at the "resỏrt" by the airport.  No complaints..The price was about $25 and it was 7min from the airport.  We ordered one thing...out... the next...out...I finally said, spagehetti with meat sauce... A 1/4 of a cup ò noodlé came with some kind of cream sauce and canned ham chopped up into small piecé.  I picked out the noodlé and went to mini-mart to get some cashéws... and a chang... found they have light chang... which ís really strange since it is already pretty light.   You know hơw great you sleep when you have to get up at 4... but we were off to the airport and then in one line after another.  Finnaly the airline put up a sign for Hanoi and we went to another line.   I am not teriffic without coffee... and Monika reads all the intructión and follows them...so when it said... boarding at 6:10...she went into olympic walk and moved from one end of the airport to the othẻr in record breaking time.    The plane left at 7:10... and I did not get yellow bag tea until 8:10....Next time I will beat to my own pace.
After a grumpy custom experience...we found a cabbie who has a rooster as his ring tone.   It rang many many timé.. and I thought of Thai Marti.. and looked out the window.
The day was the usual and I found the great dessert place for "lunch" and we had a terrific hot rocks massage ...the young many that did my feet could hold steaming towels and microwave rocks much longer than my feet could tolerate.  I am discovering how many timé you type the ư  <<

last day in CM

Picture inclusion has been a little hard.  I am now at an Internet cafe while M gets a foot massage.  I had a great Thai massage and wanted a herb massage but not enough time.  I checked out the hotel that Michele suggested and it is very good.  It will be 300 bt a night and there is about $3 a 100...so this will be about $8.75.  The room has a bath and two beds and a fan.   It is directly behind the Wat that has the best massage and across from a restaurant that serves very good food and down from a laundry for 20bt a kilo (washed and ironed). So, even if the air is $1300... the room $300 and the dental $2300....that will be $3700 vs $5-6K in the US...and I will be warm and at home.
I got up early this am and let M get her shower and organize.   No one was up and after hearing the monks ring their bell at 3 and then chant.. it was magical to sit in the quiet and just think about life.  The leaves are slowly falling and at 7:45..."I" the old man with the broom who is 79 comes to sweep the same grass area that he swept the day before... The sun is slowing come around the mountain and the rooster crowing.   Same same as five years ago.   "Ay".. is still serving the meals at Nest 1 and "Oh" is still doing her thing at Nest 2.  The eggplant and Themph is still wonderful and the hot plate and hot comes make the breakfast a treat.   Only a little glance at the headline news....Egypt is doing this.. Obama quit smoking...and it is still cold in upstate new york.  This AM, my phone did not work so who knows if it will again.  the Internet here is not accepting my SD card...and so.. that is that.. and if it is to be it will be. We will leave Chiangmai soon on the 5:30pm plane...to BKK and a motel and then in the am to Vietnam.  I will miss the food...but I am coming home with an apron and a desire to cook more.  There are so many things about the country that I enjoy.  The temperature, the beer, the food, the people, the massage.  about $6 for an hour..and live is good.  I have some good plans for myself... hope to get some income...but next time, I am going to opt for a three month visa.... so...poof and out of here.

at Nest

market fish

a butterfly we found on the road

a hill tribe woman with beetle-nut lips

I am sorry if some of you do not get enough of the elephants...but you have no idea how long it takes to upload and save and upload...so far...5 hrs for the last 2 blogs.  I could stay home and blog from the kitchen.. so we are now at the Nest.  It was important for Monika and I to have some process time... and as it turns out, we have connected to several people who have helped me to feel more grounded.  I like to be still and look and reflect... not just tour and see something new ..and then something new with reflecting on the meaning.   I have just discovered that I can only type and not put in the pictures... this is a challenged.

We left the ENP just before the others and took a songthew to the Nest... and arrived in time for a wonderful dinner.  
We slept well, although I ate too much and felt like my body was leaving me.   A few little pills and I am back to normal..   Nest 2 and Oh for breakfast.  Yes the old man is still picking up the leaves... he is slower and more deliberate but still here.   Yesterday was mainly catch up with ourselves and our life and Internet.  Monika tried to swim, but the water was freezing and got out quickly.  It takes little to make me discouraged about the water,  We are in the same cabin as Monika was in 5 years ago.  Yesterday we went to town... the school cafeteria is double with more chairs and a greater kitchen... there also appears to be a preschool for the little ones. 
We we came back we ate at Oh's but after 2 hrs of Internet... I came back and we ate dinner at nest 1.  The goat cheese souffle was devine..as was the Chang.  We walked up the road to see the stars and then to bed..

Today we and others took a songthew to town and the weekly market... wonder faces, colors and bargains...

We have just had lunch and I will toss some pictures in and call it a day.  We will walk up the hill and to the other monastery and then to Oh..for dinner.

In the morning.. we will do a songthew to the city...with 3 others.  Leave our stuff at the airport and then get a massage.. I will find the $9 guest house.. and relax be\fore the plane....amen

guess who

ele park catch up 2



ele's walking back from bath





Ele's crossing the river



Monika on raft crossing the river...I am falling off the other end

 We thought Tuesday was harandfull, but it was a preparation for Weds. But let me tell you a little about the groups and how we are divided. As it turns out Joe and Cheryl are on the A team and Joe/Ro and Monika/bonny are on the C team. Joe has been sick with a cold and has spent some time in his room resting. So the Joe/Cheryl team has been the Cheryl team. Monika, Honey-bunch (other Joe) and I have been really working hard. Ro is more sensitive to the sun and has been helping when she can Since we work in our groups and the work time is several hours in the morning and the afternoon. I think this has been a little hard on Cheryl. This morning we cleaned up the poo and then got on old clothes and took buckets to empty the mud pond. When we were almost finished, there wads a mud fight.

walking up the hill with ele



dinner spread


 I only got sprayed but many were pushed down and ended very muddy. It was very interesting how fast we emptied the water and the staff took a hose and filled the pond.. some went for a swim and others took a shower I was in the later.



In the afternoon we were hard at work at digging a hole that would eventually hold some cement cylinders . Digging 16x43x43 pits in the blazing sun in clay is hard work. We used a small chisel, shovel, and sharp edge hoe. Amazingly, three of us got one hole almost completed. It was hot sweaty work and when we were finished, some went tubing.



On Thursday, we went to a small Christian school in the nearby village. The children were making “donuts” bracelets and giving massage. They had some things to by and we all took something. I took pictures and the younger folks played soccer with the kids. Some were very good... and of our crew both the men and women had some very good players. After lunch we prepared to go off on the overnight. At 2:45, we gathered our stuff and went in a truck to the river when three ele's were waiting. The day before, Joe and Cheryl had walked them down and stayed overnight with them and then left them.

Some of the folks stopped to buy beer to carry up the hill. The first venture was to get across the creek on a bamboo boat. If you put too many in the boat it sank a little and then your feet got wet. Walking up hill with three ele's is an experience....walk, eat, poo, walk, stop, walk eat... toss mud ..etc. It took about an hour and half but we made it up. There was a lean-to type shelter and an area with a large mat and a cooking fire and a few other areas.. but it was open and had “PRIMATIVE” squat... two boards to stand on and hole. We had a good dinner with chicken legs and other items and the beer folks a beer. I had some tea which was wonderful. Bun told some fireside stories of the early days, the mahouts, the difficulty getting the place going etc.. At about 8 when it was dark, we got our lights and started out in to the jungle to find three grey ele's who were grazing someplace. Going out wasn't too bad, but coming back... the group almost ran and soon I could not see them and felt a little panicked. After we called help, someone came over the edge with a flash and we at least know which direction to go....

I can tell you, when someone says pitch black... you know it when your eyes are shut or open....it is the same.



sleeping area



elephant one

feeding

 It is now 2/7...the following Monday...I have had my beloved eggplant tempura and 2 large Chang....and it is after elephants... Monika and I have ventured out and I am sitting at Nest 2 finishing my beer and pasting....so here goes..

The boy in heavan





honnybunch is good...
but this is heaven



Cheryl & ele with earrings

HB & ele bell

This is Wednesday and if I knew where the time has gone, I would share. I have tried to keep track of all that we have done and seen and experienced. It is not easy getting time while you are awake enough to enjoy writing... so let's go bac We were all up and anxious to go at 8am..I came home early and was getting organized, Monika has a foot massage and Cheryl shopped...but we were all up...



We saw the video in the van and did one pringle and peanut stop on the way. When we got here..with our volunteer shirts and water bottles..we had the usual great lunch.. I will spare repeating the lunch every day..but it is a multi-dish with some chicken or fish... Of course they have Chang here.... more instructions...etc.. and elephant feeding and dinner and then a welcome ceremony. I had reason to believe that Cheryl would be one of the four to volunteer. The women of the village had prepared flowers and ceremonial offerings. There were six school children who played traditional music on traditional instruments.



The shaman sang in multi-tones and changed long chants and the sprinkled the four and the rest of us with water in a cup with greens for sprinkling. My hip felt like it belonged to someone else..and the “old ladies” who were probably much older than I, sat quietly and then after a few chuckles between then pointed to the chairs on the side..I of course said no and continued to fidget... In reality, I am not sure at 20 I could have done much better..but sitting in the second row, you are noticed. After a long chant and more sprinkles..it was out turn to go up and get a string on our wrist. After dinner we had a introduction ceremonial in which we all introduced yourself to the group... most are young and Aussies. But also Dutch, England, Wales, etc. The language is English. We were all tired and there is a hot shower.. not a big sprinkle but warm and steady...

Joe and Cheryl are staying in the room that Ann/Sheila/Bonny said in the first time. I was away a few times during the night since we were in bet before 9:30....up down awake asleep and then asleep....just in time for the roar. Our bed is very close to a group of ele's.



The night was still...quiet... all of a sudden...roar..growl... trumpet.. three of them started...we thought it might be a lion... it was scary beyond scary..but it was such a trust the universe type of thing..what are you going to do... these big animals can plow right through.... we later found that this is unusual and when I saw the mahouts getting up with torches... I figured something is unusual. As we found out..it was a friend from the logging camp that was calling and this ele was calling back...and when she called.. everyone in the family ...the \big and little ones trumped... I will tell you that at 3 am in your jammies...it is scary.



Some how,I got a little more sleep and was up again when I should have been. So now what will the day bring



After breakfast of granola, egg, coffee, etc. we line up for assignment. Monika and I and Honeybunch/Ro were assigned the grass cutting. So we get long pants, shirts water and hats and get into the back of a truck...some sat down...but that looked like a way to brake your butt. A few miles down the road we stopped to pick up some locals who would help with the process. We road in the back of the truck for about ½ hr and then disem\barked.



Now we had gloves and machete along with the hats, long pants and long sleeves... The first hurdle was a narrow plant to cross the creek.... then when you walked to the grass, you found the ground was not always where it should be...missing. I looked at the native folks who were grabbing hands full of the grass and cutting..and then say myself one or two strands of grass...and chop chop chop and only cutting one or two. I took a few moments but I got the hang of it and cutting my share. When you cut, you stack it neatly in the same direction. As a group, we cut 150 bundles. And after we cut, Ro and I got into the truck and tossed the bundles into the truck... when we got home, we were all with small reed cuts, dirty and tried....but another beautiful day in paradise. Again a great lunch and afternoon tasks. Out task was just to take a walk around where the ele's were..... The hot shower was wonderful.... and then a Thai massage was in order.



Laying on the ground on a thin mat with a woman about the attack you who can only speak Thai is about to attack you body. As you know, I have been pushed in many direction but this woman found places on my body that I did not know existed. After dinner, we went to learn about Thai culture and language. The young Thai's that were leading the evening were hysterical. And we learned the banana dance...pick your banana, .peal your banana, mash your banana, dance your banana...... well there were many ways to use your body to do that..and I will let your imagination go with that.....

it is a slow internet and I have spent many hours here...so I will just add photos and captions

ele's walking freely in the compound

lek feeding one of her family



kwan chang ( an elephant tender)

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monika cutting grass



going off in tghe truck to the haven