rainshine

Time and travel have brought me to my five month mark. I constantly think about what I have done in my little time here and my long time away from my friends and family. For every tough or hesitant decision I have made, I'd say it has brought me to where I need to be.  However, last weekend caught me a little off guard.  I wasn't sure how I felt about it. Therefore I needed some time to reevaluate things before I could send the experience to you.

I'll say that it was a rough week/weekend for me. I was not feeling well off and on, carried into my weekend as well.  Not only that, monsoon fun decided to add itself to the mix.  I love rain, but all day, strong rains makes for uneasy navigating at times.  I was caught a bit off guard as it was the weekend and I needed to do something to enjoy myself, right?  Not to mention I was in need of some food, bare kitchen.  Well, the rain didn't seem to want to let off completely, so I set out in what I thought was going to be the mildest downfall. Five minutes in I had to pull over in an intersection and put on my poncho.  It was nearly lunch time and I was hungry.  I decided that I would head to the small side street market near the Tippi River.  I walked around a bit, but didn't see much that appealed to me. I decided I would just walk over to the river and check out the scene. The day was quiet, a few men were out fishing along the banks.  Soon enough I went to my bike to see if I could find something down one of the main roads.  As I was about to turn to my anticipated road, I noticed a narrow alley way ahead. I never noticed this alleyway before. Assume what happened next.  A tall sign  had a picture of a vehicle on it, with a line through it. I took this as, no vehicles, only pedestrians and bikes.  Yet, I saw several cars squeezing there way through the one way narrow path.  I made my way around the core of the commotion, bypassing puddles and potholes. 

As soon as started off through the foreign road, I decided I would just go until it ended. I figured the road wouldn't follow the river exactly.  However, the road just seemed to keep going.  I started to feel like I wasn't in the city anymore.  The houses seemed to be getting a little more run down and tiny shops were crammed alongside the narrow pathway.  I saw several C-stores, mechanic shops, and shanty homes along the way.  Every mechanic shop I passes had men fast at work. Kids were playing under awnings, catching a break from the rain.  I drove and drove until a busier highway.  I turned back at some point and drove til I came to some cute little roads that I took note off my first time around.  I parked and set out down a small road. Just as I was about to turn I saw three little girls playing on some stacked wooded crates.  I observed them at a distance.  They soon spotted me.  I guess I was not as invisible as I thought I was, wearing a giant green, plastic poncho.  Wait for it, wait for you...yep, there it is, "farang." They then giggled and repeated this a few times.  All in good heart. I waved at them, said hello, smiled, and carried on.

Back to the little road I went. There were several run-down buildings. They kind of stopped my in my tracks.  The rain wasn't much at this point, but leaves were filled enough to through several hundred drops at me with any given breeze.  Water thumped down the rooftops and meek sunlight was creeping through the tallest of branches. Though I very much wanted to have the scene to myself, I very much welcomed the random roosters, chickens, and stray dogs around the rustic scene. I saw some monks in golden rod robes down an alley in the distance.

You're now going to get a glimpse of a few moments. You may not understand it, and that is ok.  Sometimes 1 physical sense isn't enough.  All in all it's a piece of reality that I chose to interpret in my own way. It's perspective, it's beauty, it's that little bit of something.

Love this!

One beautiful tree.

The picture that captures my whole weekend. With a little of my touch.