Kung Fu Movie Capitol

Honestly, I never updated this when I was in Hong Kong or even after I got back home. It's now well into January and I am forced to recap what feels like years ago. I got into Hong Kong after high tailing it out of Thailand with my ass literally in my hands. I got in on a cool evening and there weren't that many cars out on the road. I ended up crashing pretty hard at my hostel, which was tiny, but nice. The next day I laid low and just did some minor walking around. After roaming for a bit I figured out that Hong Kong was going to be real expensive and that I had best find some free stuff to do.

I next day I continued my walking tour but ventured out even further. It is now that I want to take just a minute and talk about that man made wonder that is the Hong Kong skyline. If the Himalayas were in building form, this would be it. Monster buildings lined up one after the other. I remember thinking that New York City was impressive (and it still is, the Yankees suck, but NYC is awesome). I remember being uptown and looking at the WTC in the distance and thinking that it was a marvel to notice that in the distance it looked like a mountain. The thing about it though, it looked like "a" mountain. In Hong Kong, you can look down an ally and see an entire range. And the view at night? Breathtaking. So many lights that I figured the debt of 6 countries in Africa could be wiped out if Hong Kong could chill on the kHz for a couple minutes. I saw the light show that happens here every night at 8pm and as cheesy as it was, it was still pretty cool that they have a light show on their buildings.

I walked down the Ave. Of Stars, a Hollywood type walk of fame of all the Hong Kong film stars of past and present. I took a good long time here as its set next to the water and the view across is amazing. There was a life size statue of Bruce Lee kicking some ass which made me smile thinking of all the times I've watched Hong Kong flicks set in this town. I walked around the rest of the day checking out some random parks and called it a night.

The next day I took the ferry to Lanteau Island in search of the Po Lin Buddha statue. On the way there for just a fleeting moment I saw the big mutha sitting peacefully atop this mountain. It passed and I got very excited to see it close up. When I got up to the top I set my eyes upon what would have to be the biggest Buddha I'd ever seen. I climbed the 438 steps to the top and took a bunch of pictures and soaked in the scenery that this Buddha sees all the time. I walked back down and explored the monastery that the Buddha watches over. It was a modest complex trying to capitalize on the tourism that the big guy brings in but not in a greedy way. It was such a gift to me that I got to spend a little time with some monks here. I was with Tibetan monks, Nepalese monks, Thai monks, Chinese monks. Cool. That night I went to 007:Casino Royale, because if this was my intro back into Western culture, who better to do it than Bond?

The next day I spent the day on Hong Kong island which would be considered the business side between them and Kowloon. Bigger buildings, more suits, less local flare. Hong Kong park was a man made triumph. Green spaces were accented by little ponds, rivers, and fountains. There was a tai chi garden with Bonsai trees and an aviary where I got stuck watching this Great Argus with a red eye. I moved along to the Victoria Peak tram which took me well above the skyline in a tram that went seemingly straight up at points much like the ol' Cog Railway back home. I got up there in enough time to see the skyline during the day and then went to keep busy for a bit until the sun went down. I actually played video games for awhile in the huge mall that sits on the peak. Hadn't done that for about 6 months, which very soon would be a reoccurring theme. After the sun went down I took some pictures and stared dumbfounded at the skyline. I went for some Peking duck (so very, really, really good), and crashed.

My last full day on my trip was very calming and cooling. I had dim sum in the afternoon for the last time. For those of you who don't know dim sum is a lunch time event that Hong Kong is famous for. People come around with a bunch of super good food on rolling trays and stop in front of you while you choose which one you want. Whatever looks good to you will then be marked on your card to paid for at the end of the meal. MMMmmm. After dim sum I went to 10,000 Buddha monastery. When I got there I realized that it wasn't just a clever name. There's actually well over 10,000 Buddhas lining the long walkway up, on the buildings, big ones, small ones, smiling ones, holding things, eyes closed, eyes averted, wise, silly, laughing, standing, leaning, shouting, you name it. I spent a couple hours here and decided to head back and turn in early.

I got up early and set out of Hong Kong with the feeling of exhaustion from being away from home for a long time. Hong Kong was a funny place. A lot of people but organized. I was happy to be there, but wanted to be home. I didn't really meet anyone but I talked to so many people. It made me miss the third world actually. The plane ride was loooooooooooooong across the pacific and landing for a 3 hour layover in Vancouver was torture. No worry though, I would see my lady love in mere minutes.

Short Recap of a Long Time

Ok, here goes. I spent a month in a Buddhist Monestary in Nepal called Kopan and studied Mahayna Buddism with Monks from around the world. It was me and a little over a hundred westerners and three hundred monks. I woke up every day around 7am for the first two weeks and then 5am the last two weeks. The whole time there was split in two in a lot of ways. The whole time there was amazing.

Kopan is on top of a hill (Nepalis call it a hill, in America it would be a small mountain), overlooking Kathmandu Valley. It is a huge complex and comes complete with a giant Stupa Garden, a beautiful Stupa Garden. There are many buildings and one of them is the Chenrezig Gompa where we met everyday for teachings, meditation. There was a shop to buy stuff at, a bookstore/library which came in handy as I continued my reading spree by reading 6 more books. A giant prayer whell that I would use when I wanted to have a smoke and couldn't. I would push this huge thing around and around and the bell rang with every pass and seemed to calm me down. Prayer flags were everywhere and when the wind would blow prayers would be sent out to all living beings. God, theres so much more I could say but...

The first week I was there I was introduced to a place called Travelers Diharealand. It's a miserable place and I hope I never go back there, EVER AGAIN! Once I left that three horse town I really started to warm up to the scedule, whats the scedule?
6:30-Morning Meditation (I admit, I missed this a few times)
7:30-Breakfast (every meal vegitarian)
8:00-Karma Yoga (chores)
9:00-AM Teachings (With Venerable Fedor)
11:30-Lunch/Free Time (up untill lunch there was silence every day)
2:00-Discussion Group
3:00-Free Time
3:30-PM Teachings
5:00-Tea (My addiction to Bamboocha was quickly eclipsed with Milk Tea)
6:00-Evening Meditation
7:00-Dinner
8:00-Night Program/Meditation/Misc.(This was my favorite
9:00-Free Time
10:00-Lights Out (ZZZZZZZzzzzzzz)

The guy who did the teachings was Ven. Fedor who was an acidemic monk from Germany. He has been studying the Dharma for 20 years and knew more than I've forgotten. The only problem was that his voice was so monotone and the subject matter so intense that at times boredom would set in a little. He was a math/science guy, I'm an art/creatyive guy. We also had a few other teachers. Venerable Robina, a woman from Australia was particularly amazing. She works in the prison system in San Fransisco with people who want to take refuge with Buddha (the equivolent to being saved in Christianity). Her talk was moving and it was nice to hear the Dharma come to life.

Ani Karen ran the evening program. She's been at Kopan for many years and hearing her voice was a little slice of Nirvana. The food was amazing. I've never been that big a fan of vegitarian food, untill now. Oh my God it was good! The people there were amazing as well. I met so many people from around the world and it became apparent early on to me that if I had met any of these people back home and they told me they went to Nepal to study Buddhism for a month in Nepal, I'd want to sit down and have cofee with them. I met too many to mention, but trust that I love them.

The last two weeks we took the 8 Mahayana precepts which included; no killing (anything), no lying, no stealing, no sitting on high beds, no sexual misconduct (including anything sexual), no music/dancing (the hardest for me because it included tapping of feet, hands and singing to yourself), no perfumes or jewelry (including deoderant), no intoxicants. We also took a vow to not eat at wrong times which meant no breakfast and no dinner. In the middle of the precepts I decided to take a vow of complete silence for 3 and a half days.

That sounds like a lot but you'll have to believe me when I tell you it was amazing. There were so many things I learned while I was there. So many things that will effect my life in such a positive way. In the interest of time I'm going to withhold that info. Honestly, even if I had the time, a lot of what I learned and shared was for me. Thats the amazing thing about Buddhism that really distinguishes itself from other doctrines. It dosn't impose at all. Buddha taught his "middle way" and if there are parts that you dig, then apply it. If there are parts you don't dig then no worries.

I left Kopan with a heavy heart and said goodbye to a lot of new friends. Some I will see again, some I won't but I will always cherish the time I got to spend with these people. All in all it was so incredible. Bangkok is a far cry from the peace and calm of Kopan. It's loud, crazy, and really sleezy. There are a shitload of tourists here which deadens the experience a little. In all the places I've been sans London, the great thing has been a lack of tourists, at least in these types of numbers. I'l certainly make the most of my time here at any rate.

Truth be told, after Kopan, I'm ready to go home. I miss Bethany. I miss my friends. I miss America. The Pats are 9-3 and I want to watch them today. It'll all be over soon enough and I want to be in the moment as much as possible. I'll send another update as I'm leaving Thailand. I'm going down south to Krabi and then to Koh Phi Phi where they filmed "The Beach". For you Bond fans, I'm going to the place where they shot the crazy rock/laser gun thing in "The Man With The Golden Gun". For you Nathan fans, I love you more than words.

Dig it

Wha' Happened?

Oh Man.

Well, at least I waited until the last leg of my trip to really slack on the updates. I made it down to the southern coast of Thailand. My jaw dropped to the ground and when I first got there I was saying "wow" alot under my breath as to not seem like another awestruck tourist. The tourist.

Lets get this out of the way now. I'd like to go on record by saying that there are two very distinct side of the tourists coin in Thailand. On one side I'd say that they have almost single handedly raised a developing country out of the slums. The amount of money that is pumped into this part of the world from the tourist dollar is awesome (and I don't mean that in a cool way, I'm saying it as like the amount is huge). It's provided better wages, roads, and access to modern technology amongst a host of other things for the local people in southern Thailand. Now the other side.

White people are ruining the world. I saw more white people in southern Thailand than Thais. Most of the tourists don't really give a shit about the people who live there. They are on holiday and expect these people to cater to their every need. What used to be beach communities have transformed into polluted cash cow towns. I use the word polluted for two reasons. 1:The towns can't really keep up with the amount of people roll through on holiday i.e.buses, boats, garbage. 2:The local people have been polluted. I was constantly berraded by people wanting to sell me stuff and they moved us around like cattle from one place to the next. There was little to no chance to get to know a Thai on a level where they could share some stories with you. I had encountered this before in India but not nearly on this scale. If I had gone there on holiday than maybe I would have seen it differently, but I wasn't. I'd seen things at this point that made me sick of people being polluted. Saving the world is going to be really hard. Lets move on.

I got down to Krabi, a beachside community, and checked in at my bungalow. I went down to the beach and went for a swim and walked around. There were boobies on the beach and so that made me happy. Sunbathing topless in the States has yet to really catch on and I'd like to say that its a fine idea. Boooooobies. I walked around and took a path to the next beach over where upon the end of my walk I was surrounded by little monkeys called Gibbons. Monkeys and boobies.

The next day I took a longtail boat (the main type of transport and sound pollution when you're near water) to a secluded peninsula called Rei Lai. When I got there I saw a cave that was frozen in time with quartz bleeding out of the limestone (I forgot to mention the limestone. Huge outcroppings of limestone were everywhere down here. I thought that they were volcanic at first but it turns out they are like old coral that shoot up in the air. Some are 20ft. Some are 200 ft. They are a sight to see for sure {for all the rock climbers in my life, you would have a heart attack if you saw all these faces. I wished you could all be with me}). I went to climb up this little cliff to a lagoon in the middle of the limestone but it started raining that really hard tropical rain and decided with my knees and all that it would be too slippery. I ended up back at my bungalow and began to drink beers with the Irish. Are they actually born with a beer in thier hands?

The next day I set out for the Ko Phi Phi islands. The ferry ride to them lasted about 2 hours and on the way I met some Kiwis (New Zealanders). They ended up being the coolest people I met in Thailand. I hadn't really had the pleasure of traveling with these guys much and the ones I met far outdid my expectations. We landed on the island and the water was what I had been looking for. Terquoise, in every way. I met the Kiwis at the beach and we walked out into the water which never got deeper than our knees which suited us just fine because we waded there on our bellies and backs the whole time. At one point the lady Kiwi pulled her red card (Whats a red card? On thier trip so far whenever one of them pulled a red card no one could be without a drink in thier hand for the rest of the day. I was hanging out with the Kiwis which apparently meant that I was a Kiwi for the rest of the day. Oh shit). Someone brought beers out to us in the water and there we stayed, through a rainstorm that came through, for the next 3 hours drinking beer and laughing. We decided to go and get ready to hit the bars after our hands looked like they had aged 50 years.

The next part is honestly a little hazy. We went to the what will probably be the first and only "Mens Night" that I'll ever go to. Free shots for men. Yay men. Those of you who know drunk Nathan know that he is a singing man. Thats what I remember (and consequently a bunch of people Thai and tourist told me the next day that they, "recognized me from last night because you were the one singing"), singing alot. I sang in the sidewalks (no cars are allowed on the island), in the shops, to people, and at one point in a Thai karaoke bar. They didn't have english songs so I just improved the Thai. After awhile a Thai guy came with a guitar and plugged in. He played "Hotel California" and it went like this..."On a dark dessert highway. Cool wind in my hair. The warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air. On thefgf blahdk diddy blak bluk, nirenioniongonooimn WELCOME TO THE HOTEL CALIFORNIA". Not pretty. I cohersed the guy to give me the guitar and started playing some Ray Charles, Otis Redding, and GNF'R. I ended up on stage playing a hour and a half set completely wasted as the bar to show thier appreciation was feeding more alcohol. Unreal.

It wasn't long after that I passed out in my bed. When I awoke the next morning it felt as though someone with a poison coral fist punched me in the back of the head and then turned me around and punched me in the temple with an oak hammer. Hey speaking of poison coral, I went snorkeling with my new Kiwi friend David the next day. We met our guide and made off for Phi Phi Lei the smaller and uninhabited of the two islands. I could fill a whole other entry with what I saw underneth the water. It was truly amazing. Sharks, different colored fish, eels, everything you could ask for. The visibility under there was like nothing I had ever seen as well. In the middle of it we got to go to Maya Bay which is where they filmed the beach in "The Beach". The water there was probably the clearest I'll ever see in my life. I pretended I was a stud and walked in the water with my best Leo swagger and enjoyed myself for a moment amongst the hundred other people doing the same thing.

We finished the snorkeling and I had to get back to Phi Phi Don to catch my boat back to the mainland. I said goodbye to the Kiwis and as I got onto the ferry and went back to Krabi the weather got to be shitty again. No matter, I laid pretty low for the rest of that day and got a good nights sleep. The next day I awoke to the sunlight and went back to Rei Lai to try to climb the little cliff again. I did it this time and the cliff ended up being a tough little climb. There was a robe there to help but there were points in which I figured I was screwed. I can't really bend my left knee and my right can only take so much abuse until it goes out. The climb down into the lagoon was what really hurt. Small 25ft. rock faces going straight down. Ouch.

When I got down the lagoon was at low tide and so no worth it. I climbed back up, miraculosly without major injury and went to a lookout point. When I made my way off the cliff I cursed myself for doing that and found my way to a restaurant where I enjoyed my last good Thai meal complete with some Thai pancakes for dessert. I was leaving for Bangkok that night on a bus and so I got my stuff together and made my way to the station. The ride up was long and the movie they showed on the bus was by the same guy that did "Kids". It was a terrible movie that included foul language, nudity, rape, drug abuse, and murder. Fucking Thailand.

I got into Bangkok at 5:30am and walked around till Koh San road opened up where I did a little Christmas shopping and went to the airport. Thailand was a trip to say the least. Strikes and gutters in this little kingdom in SE Asia (Inever mentioned it but these people LOVE thier king). I'm in Hong Kong now and what I'll say is that it is big. Mumbai might have been the biggest city in terms of numbers but this place feels bigger. I want to come home now. Back to what I know. Back to Seattle (even though I heard the weather has been nuts lately). Back to my friends. Back to the woman I love. It's time. I'll be home soon. Yay.