Tag Archives: adventure

The Taboo of Nakedness

1 Jul

I really want to write about something happy, you know, one of those happy-go-lucky kind of reads that gets you laughing out loud to yourself. Reality is that is just not where I am at right now. I know I will be there again one day.

Instead I am going to share with you my recent experience with vulnerability. Vulnerability is one of those words that sends a shock down our spine when we hear the word, it shakes our soul to the core. I am going to knock down taboos and come face-to-face with vulnerability. Why, because I am actually okay with it now.

I’ve always been a “tough girl”, the type that doesn’t cry when I fall, a tom-boy of sorts, and the type that just gets back-up and keeps going. I developed that persona growing-up through both good and bad circumstances. In other words I have very tough skin, skin of metal armor. I have finally come to the point that I know it and I’m okay with it.

Recently  I’ve experienced some of the hardest, and most difficult situations in my life. Ever. I’ve been through a lot of sh*t before but nothing comes close to this. I am not going to get into all of the gory details, because it’s just not necessary and through it all I sincerely believe that every cloud has a silver lining. I don’t know all that I have to learn, and grow, from these life changing events but day-by-day I will uncover the secrets they hold that will help me become a better person. The one thing I’ve learned about more than ever before is vulnerability.

Because I have a natural suit of metal armor, I rarely felt and internalized vulnerability. I am that girl who hitchhiked solo in southern Turkey, who took a shipping boat for over 24 hours to cross Lake Nicaragua, and gallivanted through remote jungles all over the World. There were moments in those experiences that I did feel vulnerable, and they were also trust building exercises with myself. Opportunities to build confidence, self-worth, and trust in myself, but also in other people – complete strangers. Not everything about those experiences was perfect and pretty. I ended up with Montezuma’s Revenge countless times. I stumbled across a 3-meter long snake that was as big around as my thigh in the middle of the jungle. I got lost in a remote rainforest and spent the night huddled under some fallen palm leaves with no flashlight or food. I also remember those professional experiences in my 20s when I sat before sat before conservative State law makers in Capital buildings feeling like a complete fraud – what the hell did I know at 25 years old? Those are light experience with vulnerability I will never forget. They were moments that I was having a wrestling match with vulnerability.

I recently came face-to-face with vulnerability again, not by choice, and in a very different context. Instead of snakes, hitch hiking, and conservative law makers, I confronted vulnerability in one of the most intimate aspects of my life – my home. I felt so physically and emotionally vulnerable and scared, I didn’t sleep for days. Yes, days and days. It doesn’t matter what led to this confrontation with vulnerability, its just that circumstances were what they were. I suddenly felt powerless, unprotected, and downright vulnerable. I lost all that I knew and defined as my safe place in the world. That suit of metal armor had suddenly vanished before my eyes. I did what I needed to do. Redefine a safe place in the world for me and my son. It doesn’t make our suits of metal armor magically reappear. Instead it taught me to be okay with a certain level of vulnerability, and that I must define what that means for me and what my boundaries are.

Instead of fearing vulnerability I’ve come to understand vulnerability in ways I never thought of before. Its risk, uncertainty, and emotional exposure. Coming face-to-face with vulnerability is to find ourselves naked and unintentionally exposed, and neck deep in our misery. To be vulnerable is to be human. It is a deep part of the human experience. Things happen in our lives that force us to look within in ways we never have considered before. What we might experience, feel, and see are not always roses – and often times its quite the contrary. However, if we embrace those moments of introspection, in the darkest and toughest of times, we can see the beauty and innocence that lies in our individual vulnerability. Embrace it. And learn from it.

I am not 100% there, and I don’t think I ever will be. The destination is not the goal. What I have learned is that I must commit myself to living my most genuine and authentic life. Living my most genuine and authentic life is not something I can compromise. I also don’t know exactly what that looks like and in time it will take shape if I continue to ensure that I check-in with authenticity in making decisions along the way. I don’t know what life has in-store but the new found acceptance with vulnerability has led me to go further in my commitment to living my most genuine and authentic life.

Here I end with a photo I took high-up in the mountains of Ecuador. It represents a moment that natural beauty took my breath away, but a moment that I found myself physically face-to-face with vulnerability. There I was perched high on a mountain, on a narrow wobbly trail with steep cliffs on both sides of me, where layers upon layers of the Earth took form. The kind of place where the Earth is so deep, that if you fall you don’t know how far you will go, nor where you will end-up.

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All Roads Lead to Rome

7 Feb

Many different paths can take one to the same goal.  I think that reasonably sums up our time in Rome.  Tourism abounds and is clearly at the core of the Roman economy.  Somehow Rome retains its mystique amid the chaos of people who flock to iconic city center and wander along its ancient walls in search of secrets from a civilization past.  You can so easily loose yourself in the grandeur of the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, and all the legends that are a part of the experience.  My imagination gets the best of me and I am taken back in time.

I wonder… does Kai also slip back in time with me?  Without knowing the history, having read the books, or seen images of what life was like in ancient Rome, is it possible?  Is there something innate within us that gives us the ability to ‘live’ history? One will never know.

Photo of the ancient Roman Colosseum

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We walked and walked.  Explored the ubiquitous Roman Colosseum from the outside in.  We felt the crevices of the cold smooth stone carvings with out fingers.  Kai touched – and felt – everything we did.  I even think he may have found an opportunity (or two) to taste the walls of the Colosseum, after all it is through the sense of taste that babies (and adults) experience the World.  Just as the heavens opened up and brought down the rain, we found ourselves a quaint café for a dry lunch, warmth, and rest.  I had my first real Italian lasagna and it was divine… followed by the most satisfying (and huge!) cappuccino a jet lagged Mama could ask for.  And I got to savor every moment of the cappuccino as Kai decided to take his afternoon nap right there in the café, and my husband and I enjoyed good conversation (in Spanish) with a couple traveling from Germany.

afternoon Roman cappuccino

Roman pizzas

The sun came out.  We walked and walked.  We pondered the half buried ruin throughout the expansive Palatine Hill, temples, and the Roman Forum.  It was magical.  We even took some time to play in a grassy knoll amidst the ruins.  It was a lovely afternoon in Rome.  One breathtaking moment after another.  As the sun went down we walked and we walked.  We continued past down the main roads where people posed in the most bizarre costumes and statue-like positions.  Yogi that “magically” hold themselves cross-legged and floating mid-air.  Perfectly poised people draped in gold spandex looking like the perfect Egyptian mummies.  I can only imagine what is going through Kai’s mind.

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We proceeded past the Piazza Venezia adorned in much gold and the intricacies of more modern architecture.   On some small cobblestone side road we found ourselves inside a truly ancient Church and it just happened to be evening mass.  Then we headed to the Pantheon – the structure known as the temple to all of the Gods.  We walked and we walked.  Stopping in a dozen little shops selling everything from Italian spices and olive oil to Absinthe and leather bags.  We walked all the way to Trevi Fountain where we stopped for a while.  Kai was completely mesmerized by the statutes and of course the water all lit up against the night sky.

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Finally our adrenaline began to wear off and we realized just how exciting the day had been.  We found our way back to the subway and headed towards the hotel.  We had done enough for the day.  On our “home” to the hotel we stopped to see if our favorite family run Italian eatery was open – Osteria Gran Sasso.  Much to our disappointment it was closed, so on we walked some more until we found our selves at the Ristorante Mimosa Fiorita.  Kai loved this place too, and couldn’t get enough of the waiter and the chef.  It was another  r authentic and divine Italian indulgence.  Freshly made cheesy risotto balls.  Pork cheeks cooked in a delicate sauce. Fresh tagliatelle pasta with vegetables in the chef’s special sauce.  And of course a half bottle of Chianti to wash it down.  Another magical day in Rome came to a close.

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Welcome to the Dolci Vita!

27 Jan

This is the first post in the series – Kai’s Travel Adventures.  More to come!

Some 10 hours after we departed cold Washington, DC we felt the plane hit the tarmac in none other than Rome, Italy.  It was a cool December day and the sun was shining.  Kai was bright-eyed and excited as he peered out the airplane window and marveled at the vista, he had no idea what lay ahead for the next 10 days.  In fact none of us knew what would lie ahead, this was our first real adventure to an unknown land since Kai was born just 10 months ago.

Just getting off the plane, I got a sense of the food that Italy had in store for us.  There was a picture perfect antipasta bar with fresh buffalo mozzarella, plump red tomatoes, white bean salad, and perfectly grilled fresh artichokes dressed with lemon.  A food lovers dream come true!  And this is just airport dining.

We travelled light (which made it so much easier!) with one backpack for each of us (which included Kai’s stuff), plus Kai’s car seat & diaper back pack.  So in no time we met our driver and headed across Rome to our hotel.  The hotel (Villa Morgagni) was great, historic and very accommodating to families – we’d stay there again. Despite the jet lag, we were so excited to be in Rome and were operating on adrenaline, so off we went by foot walking the streets of Rome.  First we stopped for lunch at this amazing local restaurant that became our favorite eatery in Rome.  We feasted on a plate of house made meatballs in marinera, giant prawns (with the head on! Yum!) cooked in garlic and sherry, and of course a caprese salad – simple and completely delicious!  They don’t call Italy the ‘Dolci Vita’ (Sweet Life) for nothing!

Rome Day 1 by Foot

Our journey continued on foot towards city center, Kai was mesmerized by the all the new scents, people, new language, and really everything that we were just as equally fascinated by.  It made me realize that we really aren’t any different after thirty than we are at just 10 months.  We wandered and wandered, found ancient city walls dating back before Christ.  Ancient stone churches in every niche of the city that are still operating today, with centuries of family tradition still attending weekly mass at the same churches their ancestors did.  We made our way to the train station, got our Roma Pass’ and spent some time checking out the map and subway.  Kai and I found a little kiosk selling nothing better than authentic gelato, and there in the chaos of the train station we devoured out first (of many) real Italian gelato.  Yes, we literally ate our way through Italy… more to come on the food.  Then we headed to the iconic ancient Roman Colosseum right in the heart of Rome.  In all its grandeur and magic.  All its windows and crevices were lit up against the indigo sky just after dusk.  This is Rome…  We were all breath taken.

We strolled around the grounds of the Colosseum for a while, admired the Arch of Constantine, and a few of ruins in Palatine that were within sight. We knew the day ahead so much yet to be discovered.  We headed back towards our hotel, grabbed a couple of glasses of Chianti and our first authentic Pizza, which was also divine!

It occurred to me that evening as we found our way back to the hotel via subway that travel has a different meaning now than it had before baby Kai.  Now traveling is more about showing Kai the world, its about guiding him in truly experiencing the world.  He is also teaching me how to look at the world differently.  I pick-up on the very things he marvels at, and in turn marvel with him at things that would otherwise be unseen.  And with that, it was time to rest.  More on Kai’s Italian Adventures to come!

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Streets Come Alive!

11 Oct

Dancers break it down during H Street Festival

With wonder that is!

Have you ever wished that you could time travel?  Like in the old Star Trek when they had those automatic transporters?  Imagine if you could just snap your fingers and a few seconds later you could find yourself in any place in the world you desired to be.  How cool that would be.  So I haven’t quite figured out how to time travel yet, but I’ll let you know the secret when I do.  In the meantime I did find a way to escape to another country and culture right here from my home base.

As I’ve mentioned, I like to find a sense of “adventure” in every-day life, which is not a hard thing to do in my hometown of Washington, DC.  Tis the season of street festivals in this eclectic urban metropolis.  Every weekend for the past month has been characterized by a different street, with different smells, tastes, and sounds.  It is one of the amazing things about this great city I call home and I love it.  Last week was the 8th Street Festival AND Turkish Festival.  I opted for Turkish Festival, and glad I did, it rocked.  Doner kebab, baklava, folkloric dancing, Turkish rock, art, history, and all the rest.  The week before that was the H Street Festival, which was a mere 1 block from house, and let me tell you how fun that was.  It’s the epicenter for all things DC-hipster, literally!  There were crazy artists painting & building their masterpieces.  Rythym fusions from all around the world.  Local designers sharing their wears on the runway.  And the food… well I don’t know where to begin… suckling pork pops, curry mussels, Maine lobster rolls, grilled oysters, BBQ ribs – name your favorite street food and bam there it was.

Mama Vacarros Showing off the Cannoli shells

This weekend was even better in some ways.  It was Italian Festival!  Festa Italiana!  Yup, that is right.  We got to “travel” to Italy for a few hours right here in DC.  You enter this (what is usually sleepy) little street near Judiciary Square, in what used to be “Little Italy” and there it was before you, any Italy lovers dream come true.  It was filled with mostly Italians too, most even speaking Italian.  There was a stage with Italian artists, singing, and playing their instruments.  Casa Italiana was filled with booths & tables showcasing Italian-inspired books, music, crafts, jewelry, and all the rest.  There was even a showcase of Italian automobiles and a traditional puppet show.  I must say, that Fiat 500C is likely in my future at some point…

Suckling pig fresh off the spit at Italian Fest in Washington DC

And then there was the food… the best part of all.  Food stations were set-up all throughout the street.  Pizza, Pasta, Italian Sausage & Peppers, Gelato, Porcetta Sandwiches, Cannoli, Espresso…. every Italian delight your heart can possibly imagine.  After eyeing all of the food stations we opted to give the homemade cannoli a try and I am glad that I did.  Mama Vaccaros was out there squeezing the cannoli cream into the crispy baked shells.  And at 2 bucks each, who could resist giving the sweet indulgence a try?  Meanwhile my husband went over to the “adult beverage” tent to try some authentic Italian wine, also just 2 bucks a glass, to wash down all the delicious eats with.  Then we went back to the Porcetta station to find that the whole suckling pig was ready to be taken off the spit and made into sandwiches.  Yes indeed, a whole suckling pig on the spit ready to be sliced-up for Porcetta sandwiches.  Create a vision in your mind for this one… a freshly baked Ciabatta roll is sliced open.  Then it is given a generous shmear of salsa verde (an intoxicating concoction of fresh parsley, basil, garlic, salt, and olive oil).  And last but not least, it is stuffed with a heap of sliced juicy pork.  The flavors marry to perfection… it’s a sandwich fit for a king (or queen).  And how divine it was!

Making the fresh Porcetta sandwiches at Italian Fest in DC

Enjoying the taste of Italy alongside “everything Italian” in Washington, DC really was like “traveling” to Italy for a few hours.  I may not have figured out the magic behind the automatic transporters but these little adventures in the streets of DC come pretty close!  Till next Time.  Ciao!

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Virtues from Asia

15 Aug

Color photo of Author Walking through the forest in Thailand

My time traveling through Asia has come to end.  So much to absorb, its almost sensory overload… I’ve only shared just a few ounces with you through this blog but I am sure I will “travel to Asia” again through my writing.  I have just one word to sum up the experience – Gratitude.  I could go on to list the multitude of moments during this trip that have taken my breath away, that I am forever grateful for.  However, here are 5  Buddhist words of wisdom that I learned in more ways than one during this adventure through Southeast Asia.  I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey!

  1. Personal Growth – He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.
  2. Family & Love – A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden.
  3. Paradigm – Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.
  4. Life Philosophy – I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done…There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind, and there is nothing so obedient as a disciplined mind.
  5. Professional Growth – An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.
Khop Chai Lai Lai Deu – ຂອບໃຈຫຼາຍໆເດີ

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Exploring the Golden Triangle

13 Aug

color photo at the golden temple reflection in a window

In less than 5 minutes I crossed the transient waterway of the Mekong River and entered into an entirely new land, and delved into an entirely different culture and way of life.  Welcome to Thailand and the heart of the Golden Triangle!

As soon as I stepped out of the wooden canoe and onto land, I could feel the difference.  You could feel progress & motivation in the air.  In just a couple of minutes we found an air conditioned truck serving as a taxi to take us to Chiang Rai – and to top it off the taxi driver (and owner) was a woman.  I could hardly believe it a female taxi driver, who speaks English, in a comfortable air conditioned truck – wow!  This is Thailand alright.  We are still at the Thai-Lao border and we try to buy some provisions using our left over Lao Kipp (the Lao currency) and they don’t accept it.  We tried for days to use our Kipp all over Northern Thailand, and no one would take it.  That is communisim for you! it was the same way with the Cuban Peso.

The scenery on our two hour drive from the Lao-Thai border to Chiang Rai was spectacular – an expansive fertile river valley dotted with humble homes and farms.  I noticed that here the average rice farmer uses some mechanical agricultural equipment whereas in rural Laos everything was done by hand.  We passed by a few dozen children dressed in their school uniforms, their hair neatly cared for, bright white socks & polished shoes, all riding their bikes home from school.  Northern Thailand is lovely.

Color photo of rice paddy and farmer in Thailand

We arrive in Chiang Rai, a fairly industrious city in the heart of the revered Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia.  I’m exhausted.  By this time I’ve spent several days and sleepless nights in the tree houses in Laos, long days on a long slow boat, several nights in hostels.  And to top it off, today alone, I’ve hiked about 10 kilometers with a heavy pack, zipped through the tree tops, and dealt with a couple of border crossings on water & foot.  Just when I’m ready to take a deep breadth, I’ve found we’ve arrived at a much needed destination – Laluna Hotel – the urban oasis – in Chiang Rai.  It is the prefect time and place to decompress & chill out.  Freshly prepared passion fruit juice and a shrimp & papaya salad – yes please!  Freshly shredded & pounded green papaya, tossed in a broth of fish sauce, lime & chili, topped with some fresh veggies, peanuts, & jumbo shrimp.  Fresh, clean, and delicious…  One of Thailand’s special treats!     –  Try this recipe  –

color photo of a papaya and shrimp salad

This kind of ultimate relaxation lasted a couple of days.  Enjoying the garden oasis swimming pool.  Meandering through the streets of Chiang Rai.  And like the icing on a cake – a full day at the spa – aromatherapy cleansing sauna, ayurvedic massage, and some reflexology.  There is no better way to rejuvenate at the tail end of a long & arduous adventure through Laos.  This is exactly what my body needed.  It brought my body and soul back into alignment, balancing my chakras.

After a couple of nights of good sleep and days filled with warm sunshine & refreshing dunks in the pool we were ready for another challenge.  This time mountain biking throughout the greater Chiang Rai area – 50 kilometer bike trip with the best tour service I’ve ever used Chiangrai Cycling Tours.  And I do mean it was the best tour – and day overall – in my life.  Everything about it was amazing.  Bee (one of the tour company owners) picked us up from our hotel and we headed out a couple of kilometer to where the got fitted with mountain bikes and helmets.  Off we went… biking through small neighborhoods then onto dirt road through the Northern Thailand country side.  Complete serenity.

Color photo biking through the country side in Chiang Rai Thailand

We stopped every several kilometers to check out some of the wonderous little intricacies along the way.  Our guides, Bee and his brothers, gave us the “inside scoop” on life in the Golden Triangle.  We stopped at a neighborhood crematorium – every neighborhood (even in rural areas) has their own crematorium, which is a central part of their Buddhist ways ( referred to in Thai as Lankavamsa.  We continued on stopping at a nearby temple.  There were many temples, one in each of the little towns we passed through, much like you have a church.  Except “going” to temple is different than “going” to church.  The temple is a sacred place and people come to visit when they choose to come to visit, no particular time.  There aren’t daily mass services like in Christianity.  Like all spiritual “houses”, these temples are equally ornate and cherished by the people.  Many of the temples also have pagodas surrounding them that serve as Wats for all the monks.  It is very typical for young men to spend anywhere from 1 to 20 years studying monkhood in a Wat.  Our guide and his brothers were all Monks for several years.  I appreciate all the special little factoids they bestowed on me about Therevada Buddhism and their cultural practices.

color photo of a local temple in Northern Thailand

As we biked through rural areas, forests, and farms we’d also stop along the way to check out neat little “treasures” in the Golden Triangle.  At one stop Bee stopped to show us the birds nests that hang from the trees like woven sacks.  Its so facinating how something so unique also exists in Costa Rica, some 17,000 kilometers away.  Nature impresses me at every turn – here in the “utopia” of Northern Thailand and in the humble tranquility of Laos.

Color photo of guide holding-up the birds nests

I know what some of you are probably thinking… our guide “stole” the nests from the birds, how horrible!  Well actually the birds abandon the nests after a season and the old nests eventually fall to the ground.  Bee was showing us the structure of fallen birds nests.  So no sad birds without homes on our trip!  This is just one of those little things about this bike trip that made is just awesome.

We biked onwards, another 15 kilometers or so, until we reached the revered White Temple – known as Wat Rong Khun.  It is modernly majestic & totally unconventional – its a Buddhist AND Hindu temple – how cool!  It is all white, representing the Lord Buddha’s purity and the use of glass in it’s design represents Buddha’s wisdom.  It is a piece of modern spiritual history and is still a work in progress today, much like La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.   Its design is both dark and enlightening, each reflecting a facet of life on Earth.  Ornate sculpture of all sorts of dreams and mysteries surrounds the temple.

photo of the white temple in Thailand

Sculpture at the White Temple in Thailand

We spent several hours walking through the White Temple.  Its interior is floor to ceiling mural artwork all over the walls with some of the most intricate and socially & politically profound messages.  The interior painting glows, and brigs forth issues of nuclear security, resource wars, and ideological wars between Islam and the Western world.  It also ties-in the spiritual aspects of Buddhism.  There are paintings of fish (water), elephants (earth), swans (wind), lions (fire), and simply nature.  We continued through the temple and even had a chance to walk through the “workshop” where the artist and his teams continue to build sculptures for the continued development of the temple.  It is an incredible feat for humanity.

color photo of the workshop at the White Temple in Thailand

Then, the best part of all, we were walking through the village surrounding the temple and we go to stop by a small museum, and standing right there is the artist responsible for this living masterpiece – Chalermchai Kositpipat.  Our guide, Bee, introduced us and we were able to talk with him for a few moments.  He is a very spiritual person, also formerly a monk, and was born & raised in Chiang Rai.  He is a renowned artist in Southeast Asia and much of the world for his painting and sculpture.  Much of his work is “not for sale”… even several million dollars can not buy you one of his paintings for he prefers them to stay in Chiang Rai where visitors from around the world can come and enjoy them in the museum.  I feel so blessed for having had the opportunity to be here, to see, feel and live this remarkable treasure in rural Northern Thailand.

Our bicycle trip didn’t stop here… we stopped to enjoy a traditional Northern Thai lunch.  I enjoyed a bowl of delicious chicken soup cooked in coconut milk broth with lemon grass, veggies, hot peppers, and rice noodles.  It really was divine, and it cost just $1 – that is not a typo!  Life is Good here in more ways than one!

color photo of Thai soup

Another 15 or so kilometers to go, most of which were uphill into the mountains outside of Chiang Rai – we were headed for Doi Luang National Park.  Just a few kilometers into the final uphill stretch and the heavens decided to open up, like they never had before.  It was pouring cats and dogs – like a brief monsoon rain.  The roads will filled with water.  That didn’t stop us.  We kept peddling away.  Its almost like the thai special soup and the white temple had also given us an extra dose of energy.  A feeling of rejuvenation came over me as I peddled up into the mountains with the rain pouring down.  I couldn’t stop smiling.  About an hour later, and totally sopping wet, we entered the boundary of the park… just 5 more kilometers to climb.  It was enduring.  I was tired but determined and strangely energized at the same time.  Then we reached the place where we stop and hike into the park.  Yes… after biking nearly 50 kilometers, we are now heading out for a 1.5 hour long hike into the mountain.  The cherry on top of the day, was a visit to one of the grandest waterfalls in the world.

color photo of waterfall

It was beautiful and so worth the hike.  Oh… and there were NO leeches.  This did make is it so much more enjoyable.  Hiking back out from the waterfall, I realized how deprived of energy I was feeling.  And then we arrived at our Guide’s truck and there was a spread of delicious Thai snacks for us… tempura sweet potatos, banana bread, and my new favorite thing – mangosteen!

Color photo of Thai snacks from our great guides!

After enjoying these delicious Thai treats it was time to hop on the truck and head back to Chiang Rai.

All I can say, is WOW!  This was one of the best days of my life.  I feel so blessed.

color photo of white buddha statue in Thailand

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All Shall Be Revealed!

7 Aug

I can’t believe its been over a month since I came back from my “once in a lifetime” rendezvous in Southeast Asia, and I regret to report that I’ve been in overdrive running a million miles. Needless to say that is my life in the “202”, that 68 square mile diamond-shaped swath of land, where my life revolves around all the seemingly irrelevant facts of life – politics, money, power, and a dose of healthy intellectual stimulation every now and then. Basically when I landed at Dulles Airport, I bounced right back into the groove of this rat race almost like I had never left, except for the 200 or so people that were waiting for responses to emails or returned calls. Yikes! No time for reflection.

Letting your mind travel back in time is such a fun escape from the madness. So amidst the organized chaos of my daily life I chose today to get back where I left off… Northern Laos.

I woke up this morning to, what I thought, was some major parade and festival filling the streets with music and people celebrating. All I can hear is a myriad of different instruments and people singing and talking from my second floor hostel room. Its about 6:00am and the sun has just risen, I scurried about the room to get myself together and ran out the door and down the hall to the front balcony of the hostel. There is no parade or festival in the slightest way. Instead a group of 3 Lao men are simply celebrating life. there they are in the front yard area of the little house next to the hostel making music! They are just having a good ol’ time (seemingly sober too) singing, playing guitar, hitting the kong, and playing a few other instruments. And this I suppose is just daily life in Laos being revealed to me in yet another color. At this very moment, I realize that (much like the 20+ hour boat ride) I really had no idea what was ahead of me. Hence the title of this blog – All Shall be Revealed!

After a short 5-10 minute video on “safety” at the headquarters of the Gibbon Experience (but don’t be misguided by the website, be sure to checkout these reviews on Trip Advisor, they are most accurate) I hopped in back of a pick-up truck with my backpack and we were off. We sped through curvy mountain roads along what appeared to be the only paved road around. We passed through beautiful rice patties and terraces, swaths of forest, and occassionally we came to a halting stop for some cows that were basking in the sun in the middle of the road. After about an hour we made a short pit stop at a little road-side hut selling basic provisions, then back in the truck and we were off down a dirt road driving through small rivers and all the rest. We had just picked-up a young man as well (whose name is Yia Lao) who we learn is our “guide” for the our jungle tree house adventure.

After about an hour and a half we arrived at a small village surrounded by astute lush & green mountains. This is where we grab our packs and get with the five or so other travelers in the truck – and we are off by foot following our guide into the thick mysterious jungles of Northern Laos. We walked through some streams, rice paddies, and lots of thick rich mud. We stopped at a little bamboo & wood shelter that is the equivalent of a “base camp”. We drank water, ate a sandwich, and then strapped on a bulky old harness that would become our “life line” as we fly through the tree tops. And there it was, the only “map” we ever saw of the trails and zip lines we would be spending the next several days on. Eventually we entered trails in the forest and that is where the fun began. I wasn’t more than a few hundred feet into the forest when I became lunch for the leeches. With my every step they “jumped aboard” my hiking shoes, some went right through my shoes & socks, and others climbed up my shoes and onto my legs where they latched on for a meal. At any given point I’d have 1-5 of these blood sucking leeches on my legs. Totally gross squirmy parasites! Now I’ve backpacked a lot in many other tropical rainforest in very undeveloped countries but I have NEVER had to deal with this quantity of nasty persistent leeches. And well its fair to say that this was my welcome to the Gibbon Experience…

I continued onwards, leeches and all, hiking up hills in dense bamboo forests. The hiking was beautiful, energizing, and challenging all at the same – I love the feeling of nature testing my limits. The forest was mostly “secondary” forest, meaning that it had once been clear-cut pasture land and natural succession brought forth new forest growth. Most of the trees stood tall and swaths of bamboo bent and swayed with the winds. It was enchanting.

After a few hours of hiking we arrived at the first platform. Yia Lao gave a 30 second refresher on the procedure for “clipping” onto the line & the minimum safety basics on checking your harness and caribeaner. That was the first & last time we even did so much as talk about safety. Its a case of, here you are and here you go. Live it or loose it. Here we gave our harnesses one last blessing and one at a time we clipped the carribeaner to the metal cable waiting for the person ahead of us to reach the next platform, said a prayer, lifted our legs into the air. And vavoom – there I was flying across a valley of dense foliage, some 800+ feet in the air, at a speed of somewhere between 20-30 miles/hour, for nearly an entire kilometer or more. I was careful to keep my legs poised upwards so to keep my body (weighed down with a heavy pack) perfectly postured and balanced with the cable. I did not want to even do so much as risk stopping (or spinning) mid way across the zipline. It was exhilerating… I looked around and all I could see were these vast tropical forested mountains. Below me I could see a small river valley and a herd of water buffalo. Here I am in Northern Laos, flying through the landscape. A reality beyond my wildest dreams.

A dozen or so zips later, each time counting my blessings, and we arrived at our tree house. Yes, a real treehouse perched 600 feet on a beautiful tree in the Bokeo Nature Reserve. Its the kind of tree house I dreamt about as a child. Its incredibly rustic and beautiful. I am in complete awe at my surroundings. So far from anything remotely considered civilization. No cell phone signal, no signs of even a near-by village. Just this group of adventurous spirits, Yia Lao, and the flora & fauna of Bokeo. If you’re having a hard time visualizing it, think of the landscape of Pandora in the movie Avatar. Yup, that is Bokeo, and that is what you come to the Gibbon Experience to feel and be one with.

We laid thin sleeping pads out onto the wooden planked floor of the tree house, chilled out and ate some fresh mango. This is not what you would envision as a “luxury” tree house by any stretch of the imagination. All that separates you from the tree house and falling out is a mediocre wooden guardrail. There is no safety net to catch you if you are careless or a ladder to come down if the metal zip cable breaks from a tree that feel in the night after it was struck by lightening (just think about that for a couple of minutes and you will get what I am insinuating). I eat a piece of juicy mango and pop a lyche fruit into my mouth, Life is Good for now. Then I decided to explore the bathroom. I push back the little curtain and viola – Asian squat toilet, why of course! Only this time its 600 feet up in the air. The best thing of all was taking a shower. Here I was, totally isolated, high in a tree house, surrounded by nature. I reached over the wooden rail to turn the water lever on and glorious rainwater poured over my body. I starred out into the lush hills. I looked down and saw the rainwater sprinkling down into the tree and there were also water buffalo grazing in the valley. This was the best, most cleansing, outdoor shower of my life!

A couple of hours later it was dinner time. Yia Lao graciously zipped into the tree house with a bag carrying our food. A bamboo rice carrier was filled with sticky rice and a stack of 4 metal tins contained our food. Each tin had a different dish. Forest gathered mushrooms stewed in broth & spice, sauteed greens from a local garden, and morsels of succulent pork with chile. It was divine.

As the sun began to go down the clouds rolled in and skies opened-up. Rain poured down all around us. Lightening and thunder also roared in. There were some leaks in the thatched tree house roof but it didn’t matter. The sound of the rain pattering on all of the trees and leaves took over the ambience. It was so peaceful and cleansing. There we were in the clouds as they fed the forest with life energy. We sat around on the wooden tree house floor and played a few games of cards, talked, and drank a cup of funky Lao wine. We then pulled out these large pieces of black fabric and draped them over our sleeping pads, like the kind of tents or shelters you make with blankets & boxes as kids. We each slept below these draped fabrics to keep the mosquitos, spiders, and tree rats out. I slept just a few inches from the edge of the tree house, next to the railing. No rolling over too far, or well, you may just roll out of the tree house. It was just fine. And I slept wondefully listening to the music of the birds and the bees.

I awoke at sunrise, pulled the fabric up, and looked over the railing. There before my eyes was an incredible sunrise. Clouds hung in the trees & valleys below and around me. In the distance the sun slowly revealed her life force to all that remained in Northern Laos. Complete serenity. It was magical.

I don’t really know what to say next. The next several days were filled with much the same. “Same same but different” as they say in Asia. It was breathtaking, spiritual, challenging, fun, uncomfortable, really freaking scary all at the same time. Each moment revealed something new and unexpected. I “graciously” overcame my fear of heights and enjoyed it in the process. I developed a new appreciation for safety and the safety regulations of the “developed” world. I learned that I am no longer the fearless 20 year old I used to be. I am not invincible. I realized that cherish life more now than I used to. I spent time in nature a way I never had before. And well I gave a few ounces of my blood to the leeches of Bokeo Nature Reserve.

Was it worth the long boat ride, tests of patience & sheer discomfort. Absolutely YES. But I am honest in sharing that as glorious as the Gibbon Experience was, I will never do it again. Why? Simply because I know that I am not invincible. And it was NOT safe at all. I take risks all the time. But relying on worn-out harnesses & equipment as your life line to fly through the forest – and a complete lack of basic safety & first aid by your “guide” – made it glaringly obvious that safety was hardly a consideration. So lack of safety revealed, Bokeo was incredible and I am forever changed by all it has taught me.

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