Ayako Comes To Delhi

Delhi, India, January 7, 2007

This story is from my recent Journey in India

We're walking down the narrow street of the Tibetan settlement when we suddenly spot a young Japanese woman, huddled in a blanket, looking from side to side at the store windows around her. I shout "Ayako san!". Her head comes up and we see a beaming smile on her face. Finally we meet again. Some people really know how to get around. I first met Ayako san in Thailand. Then she visited me in Canada. So when I told Ayako I was coming to India she said 'okay Stevie, I go too'. She was in Bangkok and met Aw. Then she flew to Sri Lanka, on to Delhi, up to Nepal and back here to meet with us. Ayako looks pretty good for a woman who has just spent the last seventy-two hours sick as a dog from food poisoning in Varanasi. We go to a Tibetan restaurant and order a celebration dinner. It's a surreal experience for me to have two of my favorite people in the World, from two different countries (Thailand and Japan) in the same place at the same time. I think of Ayako as a daughter and since Aw is my girlfriend, we all laugh as we discussed whether Ayako should call her 'mom'. It's all I can do to keep up with the accents of the two languages. We have a great meal and even meet up with Joanmarie. Now as we eat our feast, we make a plan to fulfill our common dream to see the Taj Mahal.

Saigon And Sexy Bar Girls

This is Paul from America. He toured the Vietnam War Museum with me.

After looking at the horrifying images and reading the heart-wrenching accounts from the people who of that era, we decided there was only one thing left to do. We went drinking.

Paul is an English teacher working in Japan. As we were sitting in an outdoor restaurant drinking our Tiger beers, we met up with another guy from our tour, who is from Japan. So Paul had a great time conversing with him in Japanese as we all talked about our day and decided what kind of trouble to get into tonight.

I said that as a joke but in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) you just have to sit in one place and trouble with always find you. I happened to glance at this woman and the next thing I knew she was asking me if I wanted to go for a motor bike ride. I thanked her for the invitation but declined. So then she sat down beside me and ordered a beer. I asked her why she wasn't drinking it and she told me she didn't like beer but she said she DID like me and would like to invite me back to her hotel room across the street for the very reasonable sum of three hundred thousand Dong (about twenty dollars Canadian). She sat with us for about twenty minutes and I gave her a small amount of money and she left.

Meanwhile we had many vendors come up to us selling books and cigarettes. This woman wasn't shy. She just figured that if we weren't buying what she was selling, we didn't deserve to get a free photo of her. By the way, the cigarettes here are three dollars a pack, Canadian.

So as the evening is progressing, we are solicited every few minutes by taxi drivers, prostitutes, street vendors, and women and their babies, begging. They're not destitute. They just do it because it's an easy way to get money from tourists. And all the while, right behind us, at Ten at night, these two little guys, are happily playing with the wheel of this motorbike, like it's a big sandbox toy.

The three of us decided to play pool. We were met by some lovely women who work for tips and drinks. They were great company. We left the first bar after about half an hour because we either had to take the women to bed or move along. This is the second bar we went to.

And this is Nguyen Dung. She's twenty-five years old; and a pretty good pool player. We spent a couple of hours with Nguyen and her friends. This is the thing about Vietnam that I'm finding. It is a captivating country. Everything is so intense and vibrant here. The people are so engaging. I find at the end of the day I have experienced a huge range of emotions. It's like being on a roller coaster. In this country the one thing you come to realize is that there are no spectators. We are all participants, one way or the other.

Monkey Temple

Prachuap, Thailand, January 24, 2006

I finally left Hua Hin to explore further down the East Coast of the Thai Peninsula.

Before I left, I picked up some silk scarves for you Mom. Let me know what other colors you're looking for.

This is me at my Guest House, all loaded up and ready to roll.

I took a bus to Prachuap Khiri Khan which is 80km South of Hua Hin. It's a quiet fishing village with a wonderful Temple on a Mountain but I came here for several other reasons; and they were all MONKEYS!

There is a Waterfall Fountain just as you arrive in Town and there are Monkeys everywhere.

On the street...

On the cars (remember African Lion Safari when those monkeys used to love to rip off vinyl roofs?)

Even on the Hydro Wires...

Now I know what the expression 'Barrel of Monkeys' is really all about.

I bought some bananas from this woman and had her feed these guys. The movies I got of this are a riot.

These monkeys live at the base of an ancient Buddhist Temple that is at the top of a Stairway 395 steps up.

The monkeys followed me as I made the climb.

Like old Souls, reincarnated to guard their Spiritual Home with Joy.

And as they messed up the stairs, an orange robed monk quietly swept it all clean again.

You can see the steps from this top view.

The Islands behind me are far away. The view is amazing. As I looked out I tried to imagine what it must have been like for the Thais as they saw the Japanese invasion force come on to their shores here. This was one of the points they chose for their invasion; right into this harbor. As I stood looking out from the top I wrote in my Journal:
"This is the Castle of Prachup Khiri Khan. It does not command as a fortress. It shares its blessings with the World. The people of Thailand have learned a great secret of serenity that we in the West can only hope to catch a glimpse of."

Ayako Explores Calgary

After Ayako san had a well-deserved sleep, I picked her up at Geeta's and we took the LRT (Light Rail Transit) to Calgary's city centre.

Even though Calgary has had some cold weather lately, we managed to find some flowers still in bloom.

I took Ayako to the Calgary Tower so she could get a view of the whole city at once.

We both had the 'Tower Club Sandwich' in the revolving restaurant. Just after we sat down, Ayako san asked: "Is room moving?" When I affirmed that it was she looked very relieved. "Oh, I thought maybe just still too tired from flight."

I have noticed a special glow about Ayako since she's been in Canada, and now I think I know why. I think she's in love. I caught her with her arm around one of our favorite Canadians, the Beaver. Ayako's father would approve I think. He's a dentist. Just look at that tooth!

While we were touring the City, I got a call from my old friend Malcome. He had a car for sale at a great price. So the next thing we knew, we were whisked away to get a safety inspection. So here I am with my new car. It's a 1985 Lincoln Town Car. It runs great.

Then it was a trip to the Supermarket so Ayako could get some treats for her friends and family. She was very excited to find that Safeway carries 'Hamutaro' spaghetti. He's a very popular cartoon character in Japan.

Perhaps the real reason for Ayako to be looking so happy here, is this Thai amulet. My very dear friend Jookie sent me some special amulets for Thailand, a few weeks ago. They have been blessed by the monks. I gave this one to Ayako san to give her the luck of the Buddha and to keep her safe in her travels. This amulet will have been all around the world by the time she returns to Japan.