Sukhothai Ruins

Today I've been having the pleasure to be in Sukhothai, in the ruins of what used to be Thailand's capital in the 13th century. Historical documents suggest it used to be a benevolent rule, according to Theravada Buddhism.

The place has a magic aura. The ruins beautifully mix with trees, palm trees and moats (those purposefully build around the buildings to mark the beginning of a purified area).



On top of all that, I started to find real backpackers, those with a tight budget, not stuck in beach resorts or party areas, and full of great stories and cool travel plans!

Thailand - first impressions

When we are in a very different country, it does feel we are living much more than the days and hours we spend there, right? It's all new and our senses are stimulated all the time. I've been writing a lot since I arrived, but will just publish a small post written yesterday for now.

"After 2 days in Thailand, I obviously don't have a good cultural picture, but I'll try to draw my first impressions.

a) Sense of privacy is very different here. Many times, people have their business at home and consequently naturally ignore the concept of business hours, working much longer (as well, they seem to expect we understand they might be busy at 1p.m. watching their favourite soap opera and therefore will take longer to serve your lunch). In addition, they naturally approach tourist with question like "where are you from?", "where did you buy your scarf?", "how much did you pay to get here?" and so on.

b) Thai people are really friendly. 80% of the time they are genuinely helpful and in 20% of the occasions they expect some benefit from you - it's not only that straight forward to tell one from the other, though.

c) Finally, Thai people tend to be very, very reverent to both religion and the monarchy. We can see mainly Buddhist symbols everywhere - temples, houses and car mirrors. Equally, pictures of the king and queen are commonly seen in public and private buildings, and the anthem is played at 6p.m. in every park and bus station in the country.

After the coast and the big city, I'll head to the rural and mountaneous areas to experiment the simplicity and spirituality of the north (probably some hard time in comfort and communication as well). I'm loving it so far!"

Ready for Southeast Asia

Check list:
- 3 months of readings about Southeast Asia's history, culture and best travel spots
- Health insurance extended
- Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis A and typhoid fever vaccines
- Vietnamese visa
- 1 backpack packed
- (Very flexible) itinerary
- Unmatched excitement general confidence about exploring this amazing part of the globe completely by myself

So… let's get the next flight! If time and infrastructure permit, you will be able to find some posts in this space in the next 45 days.

Time and space

In "The Universe in a Nutshell", Stephen Hawking explains the physics of the inexistence of time and space. In his example, if one twin person would stay on Earth and the other would travel in the universe in the speed of light, when they meet again, at some point in the future, they would have lived different amounts of time.

If I look back, I think I've lived a lot in these almost 14 months. I've worked with very competent people; spoken English all the time; taken part in various outdoors events; spent time in the city, in the desert, in the bush and under the water; eaten great Asian food and TimTams; made friends with people from all around the world; tested my physical limits; and explored my spirituality, all that in an extremely safe environment.

In such a fertile space, I guess I've learnt to appreciate simplicity, to be humble, to engage people without having any title, to understand the world a bit better and specially to be more serene in order to accept the present and make the best from it, without worrying too much - "no worries, mate!"

For all those reasons, it's hard not to have mixed feeling about going back. My intuition tells me I'm doing the right thing, though. So "it should be all right!"

Anyway, my relative time in this abstract Aussie land felt absolutely great! So thank you!

Australian personality #5 - Peter Garrett

Peter Garrett is the ex lead singer of the internationally famous rock back Midnight Oil (1973 - 2002) and current Labor Party Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment & Heritage, Arts.

While a rock star, he was always very committed to environmental causes and a strong critical of United States military and foreign policies.

As a politician, he continues involved in such causes, but is obviously quieter.

Some say he's not the same. Others say he's causing the biggest impact he could. Who am I to judge? Good luck, Garrett!

Feeling Australian #4

It's been a while that I don't post a "feeling Australian" fact, probably because I'm already too Australian. But here is one I didn't think I would post: I finally finished my Vegemite! Hooray! (I know it took me one whole year, but hey!)

A taste of Lebanon in Sydney

Last Sunday I was invited by Manny to visit Punchbowl, the suburb where she lives. I knew it was a mainly Lebanese region, but it's more: it really feel like a little Lebanon in Sydney. People speak Arabic, the markets have a different display, the posters on the walls are from Lebanese singers, Arabic styled clothes are sold and people eat the most yummy Lebanese food and sweets.

In order to live a little bit of all that, Manny showed me around, we bought some really good sweets and went to have lunch with her brother and father. I'm very glad we did, as I learnt a lot of things.

As you might know, Lebanon was created to be the Christian state in the Middle East. So around xxx% of the population is Christian, but another xxx% is Muslim.

Therefore, there's an ongoing tension. Formally, it is one country, but the education people receive at home segregate them into Christian Lebanese and Muslim Lebanese.

Discontent with this situation, Manny's father (who is Christian married to a Muslim wife) joined a political party which advocates the creation of one secular state comprised not only by all of Lebanon, but also Syria and Jordan. The idea is to acknowledge the difference but unite people around a bigger dream and, in his words, "let God decide whose religion was wrong when we die".

Self drive and coincidences

The great feedback session I had today with my company's director made me keep on thinking on a part of the Alice in the Wonder World story, which I remembered earlier this week.
Alice: Which road should I take?
Rabbit: Where are you going to?
Alice: I don't know.
Rabbit: Then it doesn't matter.

I think there's no doubt we need to be very driven and decide the course of our careers and lives. But what about the coincidences?

A couple of weeks ago, I received a bulk mail from an acquaintance I admire asking to fill in a survey. I didn't fill it in, but replied to him. He happily responded telling he was helping to set up a development consulting program focused on governments in Latin America. It obviously made my eyes shine! We exchanged a few more emails and last night had a great skype conversation about the opportunities there, to which I'm likely to apply. All because of a bulk email!

So, do things really happen because we choose or because coincidences guide us there? The Celestine Prophecy (book by James Redfield) would say there are no coincidences and every single person we meet carries a message for us.

I'm not sure about every single person, but I'm getting more and more confident that when we keep our nagging questions in mind and are alert for all the happenings around us, things effectively move fast and amazingly, as if the whole world was conspiring for it!

West Wing - commerce vs. ethics

I’ve been watching quite a lot of the West Wing recently, an American series that shows the routine of a fictitious President of the United States and its close staff.

It’s impressive how arts can subtly introduce messages in our minds. I found myself thinking about commerce solving some important democracy problems, when I would normally defend a less financial and more conscientious approach to the problem.

Anyway, as even the West Wing has its critique moments, look at a dialogue happened in the Chapter 11 of Season 7, discussing exactly this commerce vs. ethics issue.

Context: The White House is negotiating an oil commercial sanction against Sudan in order to avoid genocide. The agreement goes against China’s economic interests.

Chinese Ambassador: You know what I think about a lot? Capitalism vanquished Communism. Obliterated it. And here we are having a discussion where you are trying to restrict our markets.

White House Chief of Staff: We are trying to address a humanitarian situation in the Sudan.

Chinese Ambassador: Exactly. But you have always taught us that liberty is the same thing as Capitalism. As if life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness cannot be crushed by greed. Your American dream is financial, not ethical.

White House Chief of Staff: This is a good deal for the Chinese. I hope you’ll consider it carefully.

Chinese Ambassador: Of course.

White House Chief of Staff: Thank you.

Chinese Ambassador: No, thank you. You have taught us well.