In a Trance

"Now that vacation is over, back to the real world." You hear that a lot. I've said it too. And you can see that I acted on it - my only two clusters of posts on this blog were from Indonesia and Thailand.

But Julia being here has reminded me, even more than usual, to open my eyes and appreciate all the beauty there is all around us - magic happens everywhere, and you don't need to be a tourist to appreciate that. It can happen every day. 

Spotted on 5th Ave

And so, I was priveleged to explore my own city through hungry, open eyes, and man oh man was it the best 3 day vacation I've had in a while. 

I studied real hard the week before Julia got here. Like realll hard - went to all the lectures and everything! So that I could excuse myself from school and enjoy my time exploring with Julia. 

We went to Stardust diner on Broadway where waiters sang as they served; we went vintage shopping, used books/record hunting, 5th ave window shopping; tried Indian food, Korean food, soul food, Smorgasburg food; saw a musical, went to the MoMA, Brooklyn Bridge, flea markets; freedom tower, rooftop bars, ran into old friends; walked through Harlem, and experienced a gospel worship. 

The last one I'll talk a little more about. I think Julia would agree with me that it was legitimately the most spiritual experience we've had. I mean yes, Bali is spiritual, you can argue that. But, the change you feel there is within you. Don't get me wrong, that is a good thing - a deep form of self realization and growth, something that helps shape people. But what we felt today, was a whole other kind of spirit. 

I guess they would call it the holy spirit - some powerful force that descended upon all the trembling men and women, dressed in their Sunday best, falling to the ground or shaking in jerky movements to the music. I don't know if I believe the existence of a holy spirit right now, but I definitely felt something - an energy that moved me, almost connecting me with them. I didn't act the same way, but I could almost feel what they were feeling, and understand the force that urged them to act that way. It wasn't a spirituality from within; it was spirituality that spilled out. 

We weren't allowed to take pictures throughout the event, but we took one outside - dressed in our Sunday best:

We had the most delicious soul/Caribbean food after, and was surprised by live music during it :)

For the first time in days, Julia and I took it easy - after walking around in beautiful Harlem:

We headed home. Just in time for yoga.

Then it was 7pm. After having spent the last 3 days walking 30,000 steps a day late into the night, I didn't know what to do with myself.

So, "what do we do with ourselves, it's only 7pm!"

"Drink tea?" Julia responded.

And drink tea is what we did. (You see why I like her?:) )

Rose bud tea from an Indian supermarket we went to with friends in the kitchen

Bangkok

The weekend market, Chatuchak, should not be allowed - a market that could take a day just to walk through, selling anything from souvenirs, food, clothes, pets, decorations, paintings, to plants.....I have trouble holding on to my money when the market is only ONE street long. So naturally this market was the death of my wallet.

But back to this morning - after an uneventful (but pretty long) journey from the beach where Renee stayed, to Bangkok, I decided to check out their famous weekend market. Mario from the hostel told me how to get there by bus - for a fee of only 14 baht (40 cents!).

Let me first talk about Mario for a second. Mario is Burmese; he is 21 and works at the hostel. We chatted for a bit when he came into my room to check the beds. He studied Botany for his Bachelor's degree in Myanmar, and is passionate about it. But unfortunately, in Myanmar you either get a Bachelor's, or a Master's - not both. The kids with higher grades get to earn their Master's, and the rest get to earn a Bachelor's. After that, that's it. You either find a job in your field, or you can't. In Mario's case, you can imagine that it is hard for a Botanist major to find a job.

Mario said he wants to be a researcher. He was introduced to the labs in his last year of school, and fell in love with experiments. But that's not in the cards for him - he cannot get his Master's, and thus cannot go into academia. It was heartbreaking for me to hear this story. Here I am in my cradle of opportunities, having had a quarter life crisis not so long ago, about which field I wanted to pursue - I had SO many options; the hard part was narrowing it down. But there he is, with such a clear passion, but no way to realizing it, at least not in his own country. So he left, traveling to Thailand first, and getting the first job he could find - working at the front desk of a hostel.

Chase your dream, Mario. I'm rooting for you!

He is good at his job though - seeing as he got me to and back from the big weekend market for 28 baht, so I used the bulk of my money to buy clothes, drinks, more clothes, food, painting, lights, etc.etc. In my defense, everything was cheap...:p

I was so exhausted after this, but dragged myself out to check out to see Khao San road (the road where Hangover 2 took place) - it was my last night in Thailand! And I did not regret it -

I did not have the courage to eat this on my own though. This was something I needed friends to do it with hahaha.

At some point that night, I stupidly lost my debit card (I walked away from an ATM without taking it out, and by the time I ran back 20 seconds later it was gone - either someone took it or it was swallowed). This was a good enough reason for me to call it a night and go back to the hostel to try to cancel my debit card.

The next morning I got up bright and early to try to hit up the Grand Palace before the toxic sun and hordes of tourists set in.

OK it's been a month and I still haven't found the time to finish this post. I'm going to put what I have up first, and add to it later. But just briefly: the palace was brightly beautiful and hot, I found my med school crew and it was a good day with them at the floating market, and then we got a Thai massage so good i regretted not getting one every day. I ate a cricket and a frog, and then went to the airport to find my flight delayed. Met up with Christian and had a great time despite not being able to see a ping pong show. Thailand has been great.

Oh yeah also got stuck in Beijing for another day, hung out with Greg and roamed around the beautiful hometown :)