Postscript first: I wrote this a couple of days ago while I was still in the States, but didn’t get around to including the pictures. I’ve been in Bangkok for a couple of days now and everything is great. More on my so-called adventures later.
Hi everyone. It’s been about 7 weeks since I returned to California from India. Again, it’s been interesting. In some ways it’s like returning home, and in some ways it’s like my life is on the road and this has been a “vacation”. It’s been a time of touching base with my friends and loved ones, and a time of loss as at least one has drifted away. In any case, certainly peripheral friends could be possibly disappearing for good unless I spend a significant time here. Part of me is still a Californian and an American. Part of me is no longer those.
In general, I’ve had a good time here. I got done almost all the things I needed to. Some business and personal matters will always be around, needing attention from time to time. And like I said, I touched bases as well as I could, though I’m leaving for Thailand now with wishes I could have done more. At the same time, I am really excited about hitting the road again and meeting up with Myung in Bangkok. There are always some feelings of ambivalence. It goes with the territory. You can check out any time you like but you can never leave.
I have few specific plans for the foreseeable future. The only thing I really want to do is go the the village on the border with Myanmar north of Chang Mai where I once acted as a health professional for mostly Shan refugees. It must have changed a lot since I was there in 1999. Myung and i have talked about going to Myanmar and Laos. I will of course let you know what is going on.
While I was here, I spent most of the time hanging out with my friend, Barbara, who lives near Sacramento. One of the reasons i came back this time was to replace my expired passport. I gave myself plenty of time for that to be returned from Homeland Surveillance, so we took a two week road trip over the Sierras , back down the east side of those mountains to Death Valley, to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Sedona, Arizona. I’d have forgone Las Vegas, but Barbara hadn’t been there before. Here are some pictures in and from the Sierras.
We had the good fortune to be going over after the roads had been closed for several days due to snowfall.
Death Valley wasn’t quite at it’s “peak” when the most flowers are blooming in the winter ravines and dry out around March. It’s still beautiful.
This last place is the lowest point in North America, 282 ft below sea level, or about 70-something meters.
Just east of Death Valley is a ghost town from a hundred years ago called Rhyolite. They found a little gold there and it boomed for about 20 years. Well, it boomed for about 10 and took 10 more to die.
Most of you have seen pictures of the Grand Canyon, but here are a couple more. It was really pretty in the winter, and not too cold. I’ve been there in the winter when the wind comes across that wide open “sky” above the canyon and chills you to the bone immediately.
And here’s Barbara. She has been such a good friend. I feel lucky to know her.
I will be blogging again as I travel, obviously. I urge you to click on maps to follow the route. If you go to Google Maps, there are all kinds of fun links and other things to click on. I will catch up on drawing my lines ASAPTo those of you who have stayed in contact, thanks. I appreciate your efforts to connect. Be well, all of you.