I have to get the hang of this posting frequently business. I thought that I would be lazy on blogging because I had nothing to say. It turns out, the busier you are and the more you do things, the less often you blog. I’m not sure if it is because of the time commitment, the attention span, or something else.
A lot has happened since the last post, and since before then too. In fact, a lot has happened in the past year, which lends credence to the whole “a lot can happen in a year” cliche. Because, you know, it’s so true. Let me serve as an example.
This time last year, I was sitting on a beach in Kerala thinking about which book I wanted to read next and whether I’d wake up early enough for morning yoga. I had a “routine” of sorts: wake up, maybe take yoga, grab a late breakfast (kerala coffee, whole wheat toast with pb, maybe fruit and yogurt, or even an omelette), sit on a terrace, watch the ocean, check some email, window shop, dip my toes in the water, take another yoga class, rinse, repeat. On March 2nd, I left India for Malaysia, where I spent 3 weeks in Borneo pretty much doing the same thing (minus the yoga, plus more alcohol).
That was my life, basically until late May. I did return to the US in early April, but, with no job as yet, I headed back to Asia for a couple more weeks – a last hurrah maybe – before finally returning and settling into the 9-5. And so, right around Memorial Day weekend, I started a job, which, for the second half of 2010, basically consumed my life.
But it wasn’t the only thing – the end of the year was also marked with the entry into a yoga teacher training program, which proceeded to eat up any leftover free time I had (after work sucked most of it). What a change from counting coconuts in palm trees from the second floor terrace of a beachside hotel.
The beginning of 2011 saw the end of teacher training, which I suppose means I am now a yoga teacher. It also saw more long work hours, and in a few days, will see the move back into a permanent home of sorts.
And I’m leaving out a couple of trips to Ireland, two other moves, and a gym membership that I definitely do not make the most of
So, in a year I went from wandering aimlessly for several months around Asia, to taking on an important and intensive work committment, to moving and moving again, to starting and completing yoga teacher training, to the beginning of a nest.
A lot certainly can happen in a year.
Seoul is my city. I could live here. I think people do nothing but shop, eat, and hike mountains. And work, of course. Maybe a lot more than I’d like. But that’s just to earn money for the shopping and the eating, and the shopping required to go hiking.
The city is plugged in and wired up, and everything is easy and comfortable and convenient. Of everything, I think my biggest culture shock will come from trying to navigate the DC metro, after the pampering on the Seoul subway (and I was only here for 6 days!).
The food is phenomenal. Traditional Korean food is probably one of the world’s best cuisines, a culture that has poured its heart into the kitchen and produced some amazing culinary delights. But modern Korean fusion is fantastic too, and the same care and vision that goes into Korean fashion and design finds its way into food too. After a year in Mongolia, where it sometimes feels like taste is an afterthought, it’s welcoming to spend a week in a country that pampers the taste buds, along with your soul.
So of course, I ate. A lot. And I shopped. Not a lot, though enough. You could spend hours exploring the cute little neighborhoods, each with their own personality, finding little stores in hideaway alleys where handmade jewelry, tea sets, and other knickknacks made by someone’s sister abound.
I didn’t hike any mountains, though I did visit the DMZ, which deserves its own post (if only for the space required for my ramblings on foreign policy and history). I think, as I end my travels, that I’ve hit a bit of travel fatigue. I could continue traveling, of course, but probably can’t muster the energy to do more than eat and shop and maybe relax in the spa. Which, really, is the perfect type of activity for Seoul.
And, in direct opposition to the previous post, here’s a little shout-out to decadence. Brunei isn’t tops on most people’s travel lists. It’s a small country, there’s no alcohol, and it’s a bit expensive to get to and be in. Unless, of course, you are already in Borneo and the border lies only an hour or so away.
So to Brunei, I went. And stayed at what is probably the nicest place I’ve ever been in. It wasn’t phenomenol by today’s standards – I imagine most swanky hotels in Dubai would blow it away. But for a 25-year-old hotel, it still manages to awe, and holds a charm that modern hotels have yet still to earn.
The hotel is the Empire, and it hearkens back to a nonexistent colonial era. It’s thoroughly European (as this American would picture it), but with a distinct Asian flare. The service is impeccable, the decor is gold-plated and ivory, and the rooms are furnished in an outdated whimsy that somehow manages to charm, despite being distinctly unstylish. It helps of course, that the bathroom is the size of a small apartment, the balconies face the ocean, and the pool is a lagoon, complete with white sand covering all 11000 sq m of the floor. Stunning is an understatement.
But the sultan’s brother didn’t stop there; the hotel also boasts several shops, 5-6 restaurants, water sports rental (for kayaking in the aforementioned lagoon), 2 private beaches, 2 lookout points, a full golf course, spa, and probably a bit more. It’s a miniature city, and is it any wonder I never actually got to see the rest of Brunei?
Not entirely true – I did see some oil rigs, and Shell Oil-owned homes. But the highlight, of course, is the Empire.
I think until you travel, you never really know how the little things you do can have such an effect on others. In Borneo, I got a stark reminder of that. Do you know what palm oil is? Most people don’t. But it’s an ingredient found in a lot of processed food, in its refined form. It has little nutritional value, and might even promote high levels of unhealthy of bad cholesterol.
Pure palm oil isn’t bad, of course. It’s high in beta-carotene, and many other vitamins. It has a high smoking point, and when sustainably harvested can be a significant source of income for small shareholder farmers.
But since when do we (by that I tend to mean, Americans) like to leave a good thing alone? Instead, we’ve mass-produced palm oil and turned it into a lucrative commodity, refining it down to the point where it adds a requisite texture to processed foods. and not much in the way of nutritional value. Not to mention, the social and environmental impact – farmers selling their valuable (to themselves and to the global community) tropical forest land for palm oil companies to grow sterile unpretty tracts of palm trees.
The reminder is glaring in Borneo. As you drive deeper into the rainforest, you see rows and rows of palm trees, neatly lined up and clearly artificial, devoid of life and a major disappointment for those of us who are keen to see a bit of mother nature at her most turbulently beautiful. You see palm fruit lying on the ground. Perfectly manicured palm fronds swaying in the breeze. But no undergrowth. No birds. No monkeys. No elephants. In sum, no jungle at all, but a massive commercial farm like you’d see in Iowa or Ohio, but with a slightly more exotic plant.
When you do see jungle, it’s astonishing in its savage finery. Riots of green, ropey vines, mixed vegetation, a dozen or so birdcalls, and occaisonal flashes of hands? feet? tails? trunks? Something is visible amidst the dense growth of flora that has grown unchecked and unchanged for eons. But sadly, this true forest is dwindling swiftly, and more and more of the jungle of Borneo (particuarly along the large rivers) is losing ground to commercial greed, for which we all share a little bit of blame.
Wow. So. 2 weeks since my last post. I have no really good excuse for that, except that things slowed down a bit (though still just as fun) once I left Sabah. In Sarawak, I headed straight for Kuching, spent about a day in the city and then booked for the countryside.
I ended up at a little place in a village called Santubong, right on the South China Sea. It’s really quite astonishing to go from living in a land-locked country to seeing so much water. I’ve pretty much spent the past 2 months near (or right on) the ocean, and I’m still overwhelmed by the vastness. In Santubong I stayed in a cute little retreat, far away from the real world and quite idyllic. It was the perfect getaway and soooo relaxing after running around Sabah.
Then it was off to Mulu Caves to meet my cousin. Mulu is a World Heritage site, and while it’s something to see, it’s not quite as phenomenal as I was expecting. Partly, it’s been built up for tourism, so you feel a bit like cattled being herded through the caves. I realize, of course, that you can get off the beaten path (go to the Pinnacles for example), but it’s kind of a lot of effort. And since Borneo is such an easy place to travel, and perfect for the lazy traveler, it’s a bit hard to muster the energy to attempt a trek through the jungle. And yes, I realize how silly that sounds. The whole point of going to Borneo is to trek through the jungle, but since when have I been the typical traveler?
So I did the spa tour of Borneo instead. Starting in Mulu, heading to Miri, and then Bandar Seri Begawan. The hotels are beautiful, the ocean views gorgeous, the beds enormous, the sunsets fantastic, the spas blissful. Nothing like a scrub/soak/massage/facial extravaganza to make life goooood.
This is the nice part of traveling (not-so-nice part: so sick of my clothes!) – being able to change up your plans and, on a whim, check into a fancy-schmancy hotel (with a movie theatre!!) and eat nachos by an 11000 sq m pool.
In Seoul now. More spas. But sadly, it’s cold. I miss the warmth of Borneo already.
So a week in Borneo, and I’m finally getting around to an update here. It’s been pretty hectic – we really packed it in this time, mostly because my friend is only here for the week. And I want to spend more time in Sarawak, so we planned back-t0-back adventures here in sabah.
And adventures they were. First, we climbed Mt Kinabalu, all 4000+ meters of it. As usual, I didn’t quite know what I was getting into, and the 2 am ascent to summit before sunrise was a bit of a surprise for me. But totally doable, because we were just coming off a full moon so the landscape was lit up beautifully (once we cleared the jungle and were on the bare granite). It was not the easiest climb, but coming back down was much much harder (still waiting for that bionic knee surgery.).The sunrise was stunning. I got a few decent pictures, tried not to freeze, and generally just enjoyed being on top of the world (or, at least, Sabah).
Then back to KK, in time to pack, drop off laundry, and get some sleep before an early wake-up to head to the airport to fly to Sandakan. In Sandakan, bleary-eyed and quite sore, we cabbed to Sepilok, and Uncle Tan’s B&B, where we dropped our bags and headed out to see the orangutans at the sanctuary.
My little secret: I LOVE LOVE LOVE orangutans. They are absolutely adorable, like little orange grumpy old men. If they wore clothes, you know it would be golf pants pulled waaaaay up. Too cute. Got a couple good pix, and then headed back to Uncle Tan’s for some lunch, and our transfer out to the Sungai Kinabatangan.
The Kinabatangan is the largest river in Sabah, and used to be deep in the jungle. Nowadays it’s more like deep in the palm plantations (let me take this minute to note: palm oil = bad! stop buying it!). Still you really feel like you are far away from civilization, sitting in a jungle camp in the middle of nowhere next to a muddy river.
But Uncle Tan’s Wildlife Camp likes to make you feel like home. Though sometimes, I felt a bit like I was back in UB, what with the karaoke singalong. Minus the absurd humidity. And heat. And bugs. And water. And, ok, not like UB at all.
It’s a lot like summer camp, in that the guys that work there act a lot like camp counselors – singing songs, taking you on nature walks, boating around running into sandbars, and cooking some pretty freakin’ awesome food. Also, they told me I look like Preity Zinta, and who doesn’t love a guy who says things like that?
We saw lots of wildlife, and got really lucky on our expeditions. Plus my group of “elephants” was pretty damn cool.
Tomorrow. Kuching! Goodbye Sabah!
Two weeks. Beach. Lots of yoga. Yummy food. Nice people. It doesn’t get better than this. Here’s to India, and my 5 weeks here. Yogashala was a fabulous place, and I am so happy to have met Padma and spent time in her glowing presence. She is a wonderful person and a great teacher. My practice has deepened so much.
Tomorrow, Kota Kinabalu and the mountains and jungles of Borneo.
Now that I’m wrapping up in Kerala, I thought I would do a quick overview of some of the wonderful places I’ve stayed and eaten while here.
Kollam – We called the DTPC and arranged a homestay through them, at either Summer Home or Summer House (can’t remember) run by Shashi. It’s right on the beach and was a relaxing getaway. Shashi also owns a seafood restaurant, so dinner is not to be missed! We also did a canoe toe of Munroe Island in Astamundi Lake. Also quite nice.
Alleppey – Our first night was in Alleppey, where we stayed at the Palmy Residency. VERY nice people, very nice place. Then our second night we went out to Chennamkary to stay at GreenPalm Homes. An amazing experience.
Kochi – We bucked tradition and stayed in Ernakulam, instead of Ft. Chchin, at a cute little place called John’s Residency. Very basic, but clean, and John is a nice guy. Dinner was at a great place called Hotel Aryas. We also had lunch at a great place in Fort Cochin called Dal Roti. Yum. And to top off a wonderful time, we found a women’s collective spice shop in Fort Cochin. and a great bookstore in Ernakulam.
Kannur – I went up specifically to see the theyyam. A must-see, I think. Stayed at Costa Malabari, right on the beach. Food was great.
Periyar – I stayed at Chitrasala Homestay. The family is soooo nice. I really enjoyed the tea factory tour and spice garden.
Kovalam – I was here for 2 weeks, so lots going on. First of, I’m staying at Pink Flower, which hosts Yoga Shala. Padma is really super nice and a fantastic teacher. I’ve been having meals all over the beach – everything is great. Going off the boardwalk and further back from the beach nets some bette
Jack Kornfield has this amazing book called After the Ecstasy, the Laundry. It is about what it sounds like – life after enlightenment, and all the little things you still have to do to lead your life.
In some ways, I’m reminded of that book right now as I sit here in an internet cafe. I’m halfway through my decadent yoga holiday, in which, for two weeks, I do nothing but sit on the beach, do yoga, and eat fish curry.
All of which I am doing (though less fish curry and more banana lassi and thoran, I find). But that’s not all. I also diligently sweep my room and clean my bathroom every day, and wash my clothes (by hand) every few days. I’m also planning next moves (ie, Borneo and Korea), job hunting, getting my eyebrows threaded, figuring out how to pack everything, working out my finances, and basically everything else I do when I’m not on yoga holiday.
Which all leads me to think two somewhat different but in some ways similar things: 1) that “vacation” is an exotic-sounding term we use to describe something that is NOT our regular lives (and therefore, in some ways, an unattainable nirvana), and 2) who needs vacation when we can transform our seemingly mundane daily lives into something more profound? I mean, if I still have to do laundry and wash my hair and assess my finances in nirvana, why wait til nirvana to feel like I’m on holiday?
The laundry has to get done anyway. And on vacation, I have to wash by hand – far more work than my washing machine back home. So instead of making some false distinction that makes more sense in fantasy than in reality, maybe instead I’ll take my normal, every day life and turn it into a permanent vacation.
Which I guess is a long-winded way of saying that instead of waiting for some idealized perfection in some distant future that will never happen anyway, we can just enjoy how things are in the moment, because you know, enlightenment isn’t that great. You still have to do laundry.
It has come to my attention that I adapt to change too easily. This isn’t to say there is some amount of adjustment period required, but rather that I shift into a new lifestyle far more readily than one would expect. And far more quickly, hence, my slight amount of shock upon landing in Incheon. With a permanent look of startlement on my face, I made my way to the Korean Air counter and picked up my hotel voucher.
It turns out, Korean Air doesn’t leave you hanging. I did have to leave the airport (therefore getting another stamp in my passport), but only went about a 10 minutes drive to the Hyatt Regency. It was, as all American chains are abroad, fancy and swanky, and my room was almost the size of my apartment. And to top it off, they gave me food vouchers – breakfast (which I slept through), lunch, and then dinner at the airport. Not bad at all.
Of course, leaving UB was a production – the temperatures dropped drastically, heading into the deepest of winter. I got out in time, it seems, but was hardly dressed for running around at the airport trying to find an open door. They say it will be a dzud this year. Don’t doubt it.
So, 4 hours after my ticketed departure, we were in the air, fighting strong tail winds to arrive at Incheon at 1 am. Today, there is massive amounts of fog, so I expect tonight’s flight to be delayed somewhat too. But I have a 6 hour layover in Mumbai, so I’m not too concerned.
Korea is warm and humid and populated. It feels bizarre. I had a delicious tofu miso kimchi soup with grilled fish, all of which tasted fresh and flavorful. Then I slept in a large warm comfortable bed and stole hotel toiletries on my way back to the airport.
Tomorrow, I arrive in Ahmedabad to meet my brother and sister-in-law, then off to stay with family for a week. And maybe even see Avatar again.
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