So, we're back by-the-way. Deke hit the tarmac running. There's no telling where he's at now, living out of that Mercury Sable. As for me, I'm back in Chapel Hill, though it seems only physically. My heart is somewhere else, longing for another adventure. I started dreaming again while I was on the other side of the world. Its hard coming back to an environment and culture where those dreams can be easily stifled. I think I can speak for the both of us in that we felt so alive in the midst of the adventure. The trick is to living life adventurous just the same. The way of life Christ calls us to is no less invigorating. It comes promising difficult times and unknown journeys. In faith, He will lead us. It was evident in Thailand and is no less true for us now. The risks are, however, different. Here we risk everything to accept the journey and be willing to say
"here i am, send me." Too high is the risk that we often settle for apathy and complacency. The American dream is a dead end road. How long will it take, how many hearts must be broken, how much will it cost us before we realize this?
We are back from Thailand seeking to understand what was taught to us during our trip. Our prayer is for wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I'm letting go of seeking answers. Christ was not about laying out answers for us in a way a GPS unit tells us to turn right or left. Wisdom is a life lived well and is the wealth of knowledge called up in a moment with which we interpret life's happenings and give guidance.
Go in Christ and go in peace.
Monday, January 29
Monday, January 15
Island life
Location: Loong Dum Hut - Ko Samet
A picture says a thousand words yeah? Well I accidentally deleted 90 pictures this evening. So I want to tell of a few in not so many words but those adequate to pull the picture from my memory. Sadly all can not be shared as they would have been available to tell a more detailed story.
1- This picture was taken in the back of a truck-taxi during the dark of the night traveling down a horrible road to a place unknown with 3 french-canadians and a korean aussie. It made for a very interesting trip.
2- oh, the picture which came before the previous is one taken on our boat out to the island. To avoid paying a 400 baht national park fee, 14 "foregns" (foreigners)- Deke and I the only Americans accompanied by 2 norwegian girls, 2 canadians who just graduated from aeronautical engineering together, one with his girlfriend, a young british couple, an older German couple, and others- were all herded onto a speedboat and "smuggled" to a beach half-way down the eastern coast of the island. The boat backed up to the beach and we all jumped out in the water and walked to shore with luggage in hand. The difficulty in finding a place to stay led us to the taxi ride further south of the island.
3- I can only summarize in one account what all the pictures of the beauty at sea could say. We, with our new aussie friend who we've been sharing a bungalow with, went scuba diving today. We took a boat out to 2 separate small islands which we circled underwater, exploring the sealife. Many pictures were of the coastline: blue water, white beaches with jungle to backdrop, all laid in front of the tall hills of the island. 2 Thais took us out, the main guy Pom was our divemaster. He is a great guy- very friendly and a lot of fun to talk with. I commented on his pants and told him I wanted a pair. I asked him how to say its name, known as fisherman pants. "Kang Keng Jen." At the conclusion of our trip he actually gave me his pair as a gift. The gesture alone speaks words. I have been thinking about it ever since. The shirt off your back would be one thing. To offer your pants... The gift was acepted very graciously, then Pom and I exchanged a hug (which I don't think is a common exchange among Thais). I struggle with the idea of giving away any of my stuff. The whole concept of "our stuff" is an issue. I notice that a decrease in stuff = an increase in freedom. I need to become detached from stuff! and willing to give any of it away when a need or want arises. Pom is a small man with ruffled curly hair, aviators, and a smile. Kon, our Korean Aussie friend let us borrow his waterproof camera case, which allowed me to take some really cool pictures. Pom held up a sea urchin, a very dark purple creature with silver eyes it seemed and a white-yellow mouth, long spikes. Kon said they are a favored dish among Koreans. They cut them in half and eat them raw. We also saw a 15" puffer fish. Beautiful. I had a little 1" puffer once, I bet they could have been friends. My favorite fish were rather curious schooling fish which showed orange and white horizontal strips and large dark spots around their eyes. I might also add that we spotted a barracuda nearby also. I had taken a few good pictures of us diving too, one I took of myself upclose with all my gear and bubbles floating up both sides of my face. We spent a total of 1:30 underwater between the two dives.
4- the last set of pictures and even video that I shall briefly depict in words were taken after scuba, when Pom offered to take us further north on the island and drop us off at the shore where it was more develope. After walking around town, shortly stopping by the local hospital/clinic (a double roomed clinic with basic first aid) to talk with the staff, Deke and I decided to head back via walking on the beaches. We didn't realize how far we were from our bungalow and walked straight for about 3 hours. Further- between every 75 or so meters of beach were rocks that we decided to take on. There is one point where Deke took to swimming the coastline were I was sitting on some large rocks up against the water. With my legs in the water I sat looking to my left at this small rock wall that was getting pounded by the water. Every wave would crash up against the rock, splashing up and out back into the ocean in both large and small beads of water. At times the water shot out moreso as fingers. It was a calming view- one I tried to capture in video also (but lost).
5- oh, I almost forgot. There was one more picture that I didn't want to forget- that of my new favorite animal of the day- the small Ko Samet beach crab. This particular type of crab is very small, the largest probably the size of a penny, and there were thousands on the beaches, their presence known by holes in the sand surrounded by little balls of sand. On some beaches these holes with sand balls could be seen 10 meters wide extending the length of the beach. I sat and watched them. To dig, or rather sculpt their holes, they would scrape the sand up with their feet and roll it into a ball, bringing it forward towards its claws. It looked like it was playing a 3-on-3 game of soccer with its legs. It would then push the ball off to the side and begin again. This happened so long as it didn't get spooked and run back in its hole. one even gathered a few sand balls and pulled them in over itself to hide. I saw one crab pull a McGuiver when it went out close to the water. A wave came up too far and washed up the crab. To keep from being swept to sea, it dug its right legs, those facing the beach, into the sand to anchor itself, thus allowing water to rush over him, leaving it unharmed.
That about sums up my pictures I deleted. We went over to the west coast (Ko Samet is a long, skinny, T-shaped island) to watch the sunset. It was quite beautiful. I'll let those pictures speak for themselves. They communicate more clearly on matters of natural beauty anyway. Plus, Deke and Kon are passed out, I need to cut the light and attempt some shuteye. The last thought for the day- I realize I'm made for water. I feel more alive when I'm around large bodies of it. Goodnight.
A picture says a thousand words yeah? Well I accidentally deleted 90 pictures this evening. So I want to tell of a few in not so many words but those adequate to pull the picture from my memory. Sadly all can not be shared as they would have been available to tell a more detailed story.
1- This picture was taken in the back of a truck-taxi during the dark of the night traveling down a horrible road to a place unknown with 3 french-canadians and a korean aussie. It made for a very interesting trip.
2- oh, the picture which came before the previous is one taken on our boat out to the island. To avoid paying a 400 baht national park fee, 14 "foregns" (foreigners)- Deke and I the only Americans accompanied by 2 norwegian girls, 2 canadians who just graduated from aeronautical engineering together, one with his girlfriend, a young british couple, an older German couple, and others- were all herded onto a speedboat and "smuggled" to a beach half-way down the eastern coast of the island. The boat backed up to the beach and we all jumped out in the water and walked to shore with luggage in hand. The difficulty in finding a place to stay led us to the taxi ride further south of the island.
3- I can only summarize in one account what all the pictures of the beauty at sea could say. We, with our new aussie friend who we've been sharing a bungalow with, went scuba diving today. We took a boat out to 2 separate small islands which we circled underwater, exploring the sealife. Many pictures were of the coastline: blue water, white beaches with jungle to backdrop, all laid in front of the tall hills of the island. 2 Thais took us out, the main guy Pom was our divemaster. He is a great guy- very friendly and a lot of fun to talk with. I commented on his pants and told him I wanted a pair. I asked him how to say its name, known as fisherman pants. "Kang Keng Jen." At the conclusion of our trip he actually gave me his pair as a gift. The gesture alone speaks words. I have been thinking about it ever since. The shirt off your back would be one thing. To offer your pants... The gift was acepted very graciously, then Pom and I exchanged a hug (which I don't think is a common exchange among Thais). I struggle with the idea of giving away any of my stuff. The whole concept of "our stuff" is an issue. I notice that a decrease in stuff = an increase in freedom. I need to become detached from stuff! and willing to give any of it away when a need or want arises. Pom is a small man with ruffled curly hair, aviators, and a smile. Kon, our Korean Aussie friend let us borrow his waterproof camera case, which allowed me to take some really cool pictures. Pom held up a sea urchin, a very dark purple creature with silver eyes it seemed and a white-yellow mouth, long spikes. Kon said they are a favored dish among Koreans. They cut them in half and eat them raw. We also saw a 15" puffer fish. Beautiful. I had a little 1" puffer once, I bet they could have been friends. My favorite fish were rather curious schooling fish which showed orange and white horizontal strips and large dark spots around their eyes. I might also add that we spotted a barracuda nearby also. I had taken a few good pictures of us diving too, one I took of myself upclose with all my gear and bubbles floating up both sides of my face. We spent a total of 1:30 underwater between the two dives.
4- the last set of pictures and even video that I shall briefly depict in words were taken after scuba, when Pom offered to take us further north on the island and drop us off at the shore where it was more develope. After walking around town, shortly stopping by the local hospital/clinic (a double roomed clinic with basic first aid) to talk with the staff, Deke and I decided to head back via walking on the beaches. We didn't realize how far we were from our bungalow and walked straight for about 3 hours. Further- between every 75 or so meters of beach were rocks that we decided to take on. There is one point where Deke took to swimming the coastline were I was sitting on some large rocks up against the water. With my legs in the water I sat looking to my left at this small rock wall that was getting pounded by the water. Every wave would crash up against the rock, splashing up and out back into the ocean in both large and small beads of water. At times the water shot out moreso as fingers. It was a calming view- one I tried to capture in video also (but lost).
5- oh, I almost forgot. There was one more picture that I didn't want to forget- that of my new favorite animal of the day- the small Ko Samet beach crab. This particular type of crab is very small, the largest probably the size of a penny, and there were thousands on the beaches, their presence known by holes in the sand surrounded by little balls of sand. On some beaches these holes with sand balls could be seen 10 meters wide extending the length of the beach. I sat and watched them. To dig, or rather sculpt their holes, they would scrape the sand up with their feet and roll it into a ball, bringing it forward towards its claws. It looked like it was playing a 3-on-3 game of soccer with its legs. It would then push the ball off to the side and begin again. This happened so long as it didn't get spooked and run back in its hole. one even gathered a few sand balls and pulled them in over itself to hide. I saw one crab pull a McGuiver when it went out close to the water. A wave came up too far and washed up the crab. To keep from being swept to sea, it dug its right legs, those facing the beach, into the sand to anchor itself, thus allowing water to rush over him, leaving it unharmed.
That about sums up my pictures I deleted. We went over to the west coast (Ko Samet is a long, skinny, T-shaped island) to watch the sunset. It was quite beautiful. I'll let those pictures speak for themselves. They communicate more clearly on matters of natural beauty anyway. Plus, Deke and Kon are passed out, I need to cut the light and attempt some shuteye. The last thought for the day- I realize I'm made for water. I feel more alive when I'm around large bodies of it. Goodnight.
Sunday, January 14
Back in Bangkok
Greetings. We are back in Bangkok now, but not for long.
Yesterday we rode the train back from Ayutthaya. The countryside was beautiful. The train landed us on the south end of Bangkok, near ChinaTown. We found a place to stay for 250 baht... a double bed with a straw mattress and cold shower. Deke doesn't mind it, but I haven't been able to sleep, it seems, since we've been here. Yesterday afternoon we went down to the market to do some shopping. It was a pretty cool experience. Its a locals thing that happens only on the weekends that our friend KJ took us to. Dinner happened at a side street "restaurant" with "steak" and sticky rice, all for 45 baht ($1.50). I prefer to just think of it as steak. It tasted really good.
This morning we walked around ChinaTown. Now we're getting ready to head back to the "hotel" and grab our stuff so we can board our minibus to Ko Samet, an island 4 hours southeast of Bangkok. We're going to stay down there for a couple days and do some Scuba Diving until we have to head back up to Bangkok in preparation for departure.
I'm sure there are some stories to tell, which we will add in later. Its been interesting. We want to talk more about how we've journeyed. For example, the priority of finding a place to sleep usually tops the list. More to come on all that later.
Peace from around the globe.
Yesterday we rode the train back from Ayutthaya. The countryside was beautiful. The train landed us on the south end of Bangkok, near ChinaTown. We found a place to stay for 250 baht... a double bed with a straw mattress and cold shower. Deke doesn't mind it, but I haven't been able to sleep, it seems, since we've been here. Yesterday afternoon we went down to the market to do some shopping. It was a pretty cool experience. Its a locals thing that happens only on the weekends that our friend KJ took us to. Dinner happened at a side street "restaurant" with "steak" and sticky rice, all for 45 baht ($1.50). I prefer to just think of it as steak. It tasted really good.
This morning we walked around ChinaTown. Now we're getting ready to head back to the "hotel" and grab our stuff so we can board our minibus to Ko Samet, an island 4 hours southeast of Bangkok. We're going to stay down there for a couple days and do some Scuba Diving until we have to head back up to Bangkok in preparation for departure.
I'm sure there are some stories to tell, which we will add in later. Its been interesting. We want to talk more about how we've journeyed. For example, the priority of finding a place to sleep usually tops the list. More to come on all that later.
Peace from around the globe.
Friday, January 12
Ayutthaya! Bless you.
So today we spent some time in Ayutthaya, which is the ancient capital of Bangkok. There is beauty and mystery to this place as ancient temple and city ruins are scattered throughout the town. We hired a tuktuk driver for the day to take us around the town and see the ruins, which were amazing. The mystery comes in imagining the places as they were during their period of vitality. What were the people like? You think of them, imagining the ground on which you stand being shared with those who walked it hundreds of years ago. The other highlights of the day included an elephant trek. yeah, i said that right. Deke and I have now ridden an elephant. We also sat and talked with a Buddhist monk for a while, learning about the history of Thailand and a bit about Buddhism. He was great to talk with. It is sad to see a religion that is so empty, however. So lifeless, yet erected on such beautiful images and symbols. I can't fathom the beauty of Christ, however. It just stinks that it requires so much faith, as sight alone cannot mearly to the Kingdom of God justice.
Alright, we think its back to Bangkok tomorrow. We want to plan a trip to the coastline, so far it looks like the island Koh Samet, where the Thais and Bangkok ex-patriots go on their weekend.
Until next time...
Alright, we think its back to Bangkok tomorrow. We want to plan a trip to the coastline, so far it looks like the island Koh Samet, where the Thais and Bangkok ex-patriots go on their weekend.
Until next time...
Faith in the Adventure
Location: Ayutthaya, 2 hours north of Bangkok (Chantana House)
I read Thomas Merton this morning and received a gentle conviction to accept all things with love and joy because they are gifts. The will of god is fulfilled in my joyful response. if I am to complete a task it is to be purposeful, diligent and joyful. There is no place for hurried or frivilous work. I need to accept with joy situations that are not optimal to my plan or normal, routine way of life. I think this is what has been so enlightening about Thailand, it is so far from a routine way of life. By sticking to normalcy, I limit myself to a faithless life characterized by the shackles I bind myself with. Yesterday was such a situation in which a choice had to be made, normalcy or adventure. We travelled to Rangsit in hopes of meeting the missionaries there and renting a room for a night at an apartment complex. We travelled to Victory Monument in northern Bangkok via water taxi then Skytrain, at which point we boarded a minibus with our packs on our laps for 45minutes to Thammasat University where KJ (a friend from Milligan College) and the other missionaries are. We were welcomed by KJ but only to be frustrated by the unwelcoming message from the others that we were not allowed to stay in Rangsit and were to keep away from the ministry. After much frustration and deliberation, we thought we'd stay in a local hotel, only to be dissuaded by the 1400 baht (appx. $40.00) pricetag. It was late in the evening at this time, we were both tired and frustrated. Our only option was to backtrack to Bangkok or head north to Ayutthaya, which we thought we'd travel to today. I was willing to go ahead and stay, give in to normalcy for fear of difficulty ahead and no place to stay had we departed for Ayutthaya. We did, however, decide to partake in the unknown adventure. We sent a motorcyclist out to find us a taxi, the driver to whom we'd offer the destination of "rot meh" (bus) at Future Park mall. He repeated Future park, thus giving us assurance of agreement. Through feeble attempts at conversation, we shared that we wanted to take a bus to Ayutthaya tonight. How much of that he got, we are unsure, but when we drove into Ayutthaya, with no signs of buses, I repeated "rot meh"
to which he answered "bus meh."
"Yes, bus meh to Ayutthaya."
"Ahh, Ayutthaya. You go to Ayutthaya?"
"Yes."
"Oh, no taxi to Ayutthaya."
"rot meh?"
"Bus meh to Ayutthaya?"
"Yes. Do they run tonight?"
"Oh, ok. nooo."
And we drove through and then past Future park. Or faith increased in this moment, in both God and the taxi driver, that God would provide and the taxi driver would take us to the bus stop. Now our former assurance that we could get to Ayuttaya by bus was shaken. Five minutes later, "taxi to Ayutthaya 400 baht."
"Oh, no."
"bus meh, 35 baht," he replied with a smile and a nod.
"yes."
"ah, ok." (whatever that conversation meant.)
Sure enough, he dropped us at the bus stop, a dirt shoulder on the side of the highway with a few food vendors. As buses stopped, we would point and ask "Ayutthaya?" only to hear "no no" with a shake of the head. One man holding a megaphone, when asked, held his hand up as if to say "wait here, I will take care of you. I'll get you on the right bus." We sat and waited. We waited long enough for me to struggle with and accept the peace that comes with faith of God's will and provision. Sure enough, he pointed to a bus that just arrived. We jumped on for 35 baht and rested, passing in and out of sleep, relying on the bus attendant to wake us, and knowing it would be interesting trying to find a place to sleep at 9-10 o'clock at night. I had faith, but also began accepting that it might mean sleeping on the ground with our packs as pillows in an alleyway. The bus attendent indicated our stop- "Ayutthaya!"
We pointed toward the door, "Ayutthaya?"
to which he nodded and repeated what he had just said.
We deboarded and began walking down the main road, making the gesture to the locals with our hands to the side of our head as if to say "sleep." They pointed down the road and gave us directions, in Thai of course, but I caught the hand motions- left at a road past the flashing lights. We walked from one full guesthouse to the next... until we found BJ's. 160 baht (appx. $4.50) got us a rickety double bed with a fan. We were definitely the only Americans there, which is has actually been the case most of our trip thus far. One guy came out of his room in a speedo.
Interesting. The place had character. You should see the bathroom. Neither of us took showers. Deke woke up in the morning and set out to find another place to stay while I tried to sleep a little more to balance the failed attempts from past nights. Sure enough, here we are now at Chantana House, wich is very nice and only 350 baht (appx. $10) a night. I'm learning how to fight back complacency, normalcy in search of adventure and freedom. It requires faith and a joyful response to situations, whatever they may be, to carry out God's will.
I read Thomas Merton this morning and received a gentle conviction to accept all things with love and joy because they are gifts. The will of god is fulfilled in my joyful response. if I am to complete a task it is to be purposeful, diligent and joyful. There is no place for hurried or frivilous work. I need to accept with joy situations that are not optimal to my plan or normal, routine way of life. I think this is what has been so enlightening about Thailand, it is so far from a routine way of life. By sticking to normalcy, I limit myself to a faithless life characterized by the shackles I bind myself with. Yesterday was such a situation in which a choice had to be made, normalcy or adventure. We travelled to Rangsit in hopes of meeting the missionaries there and renting a room for a night at an apartment complex. We travelled to Victory Monument in northern Bangkok via water taxi then Skytrain, at which point we boarded a minibus with our packs on our laps for 45minutes to Thammasat University where KJ (a friend from Milligan College) and the other missionaries are. We were welcomed by KJ but only to be frustrated by the unwelcoming message from the others that we were not allowed to stay in Rangsit and were to keep away from the ministry. After much frustration and deliberation, we thought we'd stay in a local hotel, only to be dissuaded by the 1400 baht (appx. $40.00) pricetag. It was late in the evening at this time, we were both tired and frustrated. Our only option was to backtrack to Bangkok or head north to Ayutthaya, which we thought we'd travel to today. I was willing to go ahead and stay, give in to normalcy for fear of difficulty ahead and no place to stay had we departed for Ayutthaya. We did, however, decide to partake in the unknown adventure. We sent a motorcyclist out to find us a taxi, the driver to whom we'd offer the destination of "rot meh" (bus) at Future Park mall. He repeated Future park, thus giving us assurance of agreement. Through feeble attempts at conversation, we shared that we wanted to take a bus to Ayutthaya tonight. How much of that he got, we are unsure, but when we drove into Ayutthaya, with no signs of buses, I repeated "rot meh"
to which he answered "bus meh."
"Yes, bus meh to Ayutthaya."
"Ahh, Ayutthaya. You go to Ayutthaya?"
"Yes."
"Oh, no taxi to Ayutthaya."
"rot meh?"
"Bus meh to Ayutthaya?"
"Yes. Do they run tonight?"
"Oh, ok. nooo."
And we drove through and then past Future park. Or faith increased in this moment, in both God and the taxi driver, that God would provide and the taxi driver would take us to the bus stop. Now our former assurance that we could get to Ayuttaya by bus was shaken. Five minutes later, "taxi to Ayutthaya 400 baht."
"Oh, no."
"bus meh, 35 baht," he replied with a smile and a nod.
"yes."
"ah, ok." (whatever that conversation meant.)
Sure enough, he dropped us at the bus stop, a dirt shoulder on the side of the highway with a few food vendors. As buses stopped, we would point and ask "Ayutthaya?" only to hear "no no" with a shake of the head. One man holding a megaphone, when asked, held his hand up as if to say "wait here, I will take care of you. I'll get you on the right bus." We sat and waited. We waited long enough for me to struggle with and accept the peace that comes with faith of God's will and provision. Sure enough, he pointed to a bus that just arrived. We jumped on for 35 baht and rested, passing in and out of sleep, relying on the bus attendant to wake us, and knowing it would be interesting trying to find a place to sleep at 9-10 o'clock at night. I had faith, but also began accepting that it might mean sleeping on the ground with our packs as pillows in an alleyway. The bus attendent indicated our stop- "Ayutthaya!"
We pointed toward the door, "Ayutthaya?"
to which he nodded and repeated what he had just said.
We deboarded and began walking down the main road, making the gesture to the locals with our hands to the side of our head as if to say "sleep." They pointed down the road and gave us directions, in Thai of course, but I caught the hand motions- left at a road past the flashing lights. We walked from one full guesthouse to the next... until we found BJ's. 160 baht (appx. $4.50) got us a rickety double bed with a fan. We were definitely the only Americans there, which is has actually been the case most of our trip thus far. One guy came out of his room in a speedo.
Interesting. The place had character. You should see the bathroom. Neither of us took showers. Deke woke up in the morning and set out to find another place to stay while I tried to sleep a little more to balance the failed attempts from past nights. Sure enough, here we are now at Chantana House, wich is very nice and only 350 baht (appx. $10) a night. I'm learning how to fight back complacency, normalcy in search of adventure and freedom. It requires faith and a joyful response to situations, whatever they may be, to carry out God's will.
Thursday, January 11
Beauty
Location: Bunglamphu area, Bangkok (Baan Sabai Guesthouse)
Today marks our third day in Thailand. Going straight and hard for the past two days has started wearing on us. We are in need of pursuing our goal for rest/retreat. The trip has consisted of much sightseeing thus far. All has been well up through yesterday, in the name of orientation and acclimation. Deke and I have had to learn to more clearly communicate with each other. One of the two major lessons of this trip so far has centered on communication. I am learning, at least thinking more about communicating more clearly, with purpose and with humility, through both talking with Deke and Thais. I am enjoying this trip very much though. I enjoy talking to locals as they are very friendly. Beautiful smiles. I'm confronted with the truth that I need to smile more. I keep thinking about my brother Rhett when I think about smiles. Rhett always has a smile on his face. You see so much joy in his life. The same is true with Thai people. We have so much to exercise a joyful response to.
There is a beauty to this place.
I'm sitting here in a wooden chair, with a fan overhead, looking out at an aged wall. Before it lies a beautifully worn brick road. You see two phone booths with orange trim and blue roofs, but only after the lush green trees direct your eyes back down to the wall. A mesh of phone lines are stretched before them, spanning the distance of the eye, which is, regrettably, always beyond that which the camera can capture. It looks as if there is a jungle imprisoned behind the wall. A beautiful yet simple sight.
Today we make way for Rangsit, a city north of Bangkok where Thammasat University is. There we hope to meet with a missionary team working with Thai students. It will be good to get outside of Bangkok for a time.
Today marks our third day in Thailand. Going straight and hard for the past two days has started wearing on us. We are in need of pursuing our goal for rest/retreat. The trip has consisted of much sightseeing thus far. All has been well up through yesterday, in the name of orientation and acclimation. Deke and I have had to learn to more clearly communicate with each other. One of the two major lessons of this trip so far has centered on communication. I am learning, at least thinking more about communicating more clearly, with purpose and with humility, through both talking with Deke and Thais. I am enjoying this trip very much though. I enjoy talking to locals as they are very friendly. Beautiful smiles. I'm confronted with the truth that I need to smile more. I keep thinking about my brother Rhett when I think about smiles. Rhett always has a smile on his face. You see so much joy in his life. The same is true with Thai people. We have so much to exercise a joyful response to.
There is a beauty to this place.
I'm sitting here in a wooden chair, with a fan overhead, looking out at an aged wall. Before it lies a beautifully worn brick road. You see two phone booths with orange trim and blue roofs, but only after the lush green trees direct your eyes back down to the wall. A mesh of phone lines are stretched before them, spanning the distance of the eye, which is, regrettably, always beyond that which the camera can capture. It looks as if there is a jungle imprisoned behind the wall. A beautiful yet simple sight.Today we make way for Rangsit, a city north of Bangkok where Thammasat University is. There we hope to meet with a missionary team working with Thai students. It will be good to get outside of Bangkok for a time.
Tuesday, January 9
City Sightseekers
Location: Sukhumvit area, Bangkok (Sukhumvit On Nut Guesthouse)
Day one is now coming to a close. We went into central Bangkok today, taking the Skytrain into Siam, then walking all over town. Today we thought it would be good to orient ourselves to Bangkok. Siam is the shopping center it seems for Bangkok. Once off the skytrain malls were everywhere. The city definitely had a western feel to it, downtown New York style. Deke and I pondered the evident westernization of Thailand and wondered the effects its had on Thai culture. I should say it still held a distinct Asian feel still yet. There are quite a few foreigners that visit Bangkok. That in-and-of-itself is an interesting dynamic. I guess its supply and demand that speaks to other cultures more than the Thai culture. The Thai culture seems to be assimilating more and more to foreign cultures. None-the-less we wanted to get outside of the shopping frenzy and walk into more cultural areas, we started walking north until we found a cannel and then followed it for a ways, often in what seemed like the back walkway behind houses. It was better than following the main roads because of the pollution. You could just feel your lungs crapping up, developing a nice layer of smog over them as you breathed. Many people wore masks to filter the air. I think that could be a good investment. I should have grabbed a couple from work! After a while, we decided to trek down to the East part of Bangkok, where the Central Palace, temples, and government buildings are. Our goal is to leave Sukhumvit tomorrow morning for a place to stay just outside of the temple area. I think it might become our way to get out of Bangkok soon and visit either Ayuthaya, the ancient capital or travel to the coast for some scuba diving. I can't handle the smog! Thais are, however, very nice, and very quick to offer their help should they catch you with a lost look on your face holding a map. Being two weary travelers, we thought it best to rest... so we got a 30min. Thai massage to encourage relaxation. I must say that goal was met.
By this time it had gotten dark outside, so we started making our way back. We wanted to take a water taxi south to a Skytrain stop, but didn't see any boats. We opted for a tuktuk (motorcycle with a passenger cab) to drive us back to Siam where we started. Its been a long day, and so many experiences. I'm realizing the difficulty in trying to write about it all. There is just so much! and to reflect on it all would take an entire day itself. All is well, though, and we are gearing up for a new day. We hope to settle a little more downtown, closer to the central palace for some time, and begin trying to meet people there. It is crazy to go each day not really knowing where your head will rest when the sun goes down. I'm taken back to thinking of Paul's journeys, and the life of Christ. The Son of Man had no place to rest his head, yet he had faith, as did Paul. And I'm reminded of the birds of the air and flowers of the fields and how they are cared for. Put in perspective, there is an incredible support to have faith in being led, if you will follow. It is our continued prayer that we are open to following where Christ would have us go.Currency exchange rate: 38 Thai baht = 1 US dollar
purchased today: Thai massage(100baht), 2 waters(15baht,6baht), reverse osmosis water refill (1baht), coke(20baht), Pad Thai(20baht), mango and sticky rice(20baht), pineapple(20baht), BTS tickets (35bahtx2), Tuktuk taxi (100baht/2), 1 night stay dormatory (400baht/2)
Late night arrival
Greetings,
We did make it to Bangkok tonight and arrived at our hostel this morning it is pretty nice. We met some cool people on the plane who gave us some tips and also first time travelers who we will hopefully connect with for some of our journey. Anyway it is late and I am pretty tired I know this is short but I will post more clearly when I am awake and clearly thinking. Depsite any of that out trip has been amazing thus far and we are already meeting some really awsome people who are in the same situation as us or are just really nice people.
Peace and grace to you all,
Deke
We did make it to Bangkok tonight and arrived at our hostel this morning it is pretty nice. We met some cool people on the plane who gave us some tips and also first time travelers who we will hopefully connect with for some of our journey. Anyway it is late and I am pretty tired I know this is short but I will post more clearly when I am awake and clearly thinking. Depsite any of that out trip has been amazing thus far and we are already meeting some really awsome people who are in the same situation as us or are just really nice people.
Peace and grace to you all,
Deke
Arrival
We're here! Now sitting in our guesthouse room in Bangkok, Thailand (which happens to have internet access). It was a long plane ride. We're tired for sure. Customs was a breeze to get through. Afterwards, and after taking off our jackets because its 80 F!!!, we walked out and caught a taxi. Thankfully, the driver spoke little english, enough to get us to our guesthouse. It was scary, though, driving through town, not knowing in the least bit where you are, and wondering if the communication between you and the driver was adequate to convey the destination.
We got here though, easy and safe. The people here are very nice and accomodating. We're tired, so we're off to bed now. Good night, actually it would be good day to you!
Monday, January 8
Where it began and where we're going
Location: Narita International Airport, Japan.
In the beginning of spring 2007 a few seniors from Milligan College began talking about taking a trip upon graduation. Grand plans sent us across the world, starting with a tour of Asia, shifting foci and destinations at times. Interest continued to draw us to Asia, I think, partly, due to the culture and lifestyle. Original plans were to leave over the summer, take a month to travel. The reality of finances and obligations inhibited the trek. We rescheduled for winter. Over time different factors weaned our interest group down to two, Deke Bowman and myself. Our time became limited to two weeks (its all we could ask off from work). We were determined, still, to have an adventure. We began seeing it as a sort of right of passage into adulthood, thus heightening our determination. Discussions between Deke and myself led to ideas of creating a documentary, reflecting on the culture. Planning has been kept to a minimum to allow for a more organic growth of our journey. Christian Missionary Fellowship (CMF), the organization Deke works for has a ministry based in Bangkok, Thailand. Original plans were to spend significant time at the ministry, shooting footage for CMF. Upon contacting the head missionary, our hopes were deterred. For a time the entire trip came into question. I think we felt, to an extent, that we could not fail on this. Determination prevailed. We said we'd go anyways and set our sights on Thailand. We want to see our friend who works with the ministry, visit for a short time, then be on our way, following wherever we're led. Later discussions yielded certain goals we hoped would mold our trip, rather than attempting a hard and outlined itinerary. I must say its difficult, more-so for me than Deke I must say. I like to have things planned, have an idea of what's going on. I think its out of fear of missing an opportunity. To take a moment and examine this thinking would show the backwardness of it. First of all, fear becomes our director, not trust. Can we have faith and trust in Christ to lead us and to provide through our offering of ourselves to be taken where he wants us? Further, to plan out the trip would disallow opportunities unknown to us prior to the journey. Its a lesson of trust for me. It is, therefore, one of our goals to keep this trip organic in nature, hoping we are fields ready to be cultivated to yield fruit from this seed, the journey seed. We have with us video equipment because we want to tell a story. We don't know what story this will be yet. Though tempting to try to outline one, it is against our first goal to do so at this time. We're learning. Thirdly, we want to incorporate an element of rest and retreat. This is a vacation of sorts, with slightly different goals. Thomas Merton is accompanying us on this trip. Our hope is for reflection to occur while outside of our own culture and amidst another. The last goal is to enjoy God's creating, both humanity and nature. We hope to go down to the coast for some scuba diving as well as travel slightly north of Bangkok to explore the old capital containing ancient ruins.
In short:
Goal 1: keep it organic
Goal 2: discover and tell a story
Goal 3: incorporate an element of rest/retreat
Goal 4: enjoy God's creation, both humanity and nature
In the beginning of spring 2007 a few seniors from Milligan College began talking about taking a trip upon graduation. Grand plans sent us across the world, starting with a tour of Asia, shifting foci and destinations at times. Interest continued to draw us to Asia, I think, partly, due to the culture and lifestyle. Original plans were to leave over the summer, take a month to travel. The reality of finances and obligations inhibited the trek. We rescheduled for winter. Over time different factors weaned our interest group down to two, Deke Bowman and myself. Our time became limited to two weeks (its all we could ask off from work). We were determined, still, to have an adventure. We began seeing it as a sort of right of passage into adulthood, thus heightening our determination. Discussions between Deke and myself led to ideas of creating a documentary, reflecting on the culture. Planning has been kept to a minimum to allow for a more organic growth of our journey. Christian Missionary Fellowship (CMF), the organization Deke works for has a ministry based in Bangkok, Thailand. Original plans were to spend significant time at the ministry, shooting footage for CMF. Upon contacting the head missionary, our hopes were deterred. For a time the entire trip came into question. I think we felt, to an extent, that we could not fail on this. Determination prevailed. We said we'd go anyways and set our sights on Thailand. We want to see our friend who works with the ministry, visit for a short time, then be on our way, following wherever we're led. Later discussions yielded certain goals we hoped would mold our trip, rather than attempting a hard and outlined itinerary. I must say its difficult, more-so for me than Deke I must say. I like to have things planned, have an idea of what's going on. I think its out of fear of missing an opportunity. To take a moment and examine this thinking would show the backwardness of it. First of all, fear becomes our director, not trust. Can we have faith and trust in Christ to lead us and to provide through our offering of ourselves to be taken where he wants us? Further, to plan out the trip would disallow opportunities unknown to us prior to the journey. Its a lesson of trust for me. It is, therefore, one of our goals to keep this trip organic in nature, hoping we are fields ready to be cultivated to yield fruit from this seed, the journey seed. We have with us video equipment because we want to tell a story. We don't know what story this will be yet. Though tempting to try to outline one, it is against our first goal to do so at this time. We're learning. Thirdly, we want to incorporate an element of rest and retreat. This is a vacation of sorts, with slightly different goals. Thomas Merton is accompanying us on this trip. Our hope is for reflection to occur while outside of our own culture and amidst another. The last goal is to enjoy God's creating, both humanity and nature. We hope to go down to the coast for some scuba diving as well as travel slightly north of Bangkok to explore the old capital containing ancient ruins.
In short:
Goal 1: keep it organic
Goal 2: discover and tell a story
Goal 3: incorporate an element of rest/retreat
Goal 4: enjoy God's creation, both humanity and nature
Sunday, January 7
Early morning
We leave for the airport today. Rise and shine was at 0645 to gather with Aaron and Grete to read from the book of common prayer. One of the passages was Isaiah 52:7-12- "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.' This would seem to be a omen for our trip to Thailand. As the trip develops it seems more and more that there is a message we are to carry. I am interested in what that message looks like crossing cultural lines. The concept of culture continues to arise in conversations regarding the trip. We don't know what that will look like yet. I'm sure we'll share.
Community
And so the trip begins. We're in Chicago, IL for the evening, watching the Colts v. Chiefs while eating pizza at Aaron and Grete Scott's. Deke's mother drove us up this morning. I slept. Good now.
I enjoy every moment in Chicago with the Scotts. We spent most of the day talking about Reba Place, an intentional Christian community. The ideas presented in the Bible and taught by Christ are radical. Our response, however, tends to remain apathetic and ambivilant to such truths. They go against so much of what we hold to in American culture. It will be interesting to witness and be submerged in another culture for 2 weeks.
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