There are few things in the world that don’t bring me joy these days. Living in Chiang Mai has that effect on me. But one of the main givers recently is tiny, potted plants. Tiny, potted, hanging-by-beaded-strings plants, even. One or two will do, though every Sunday evening I find myself strolling Chiang Mai’s Sunday... Continue Reading →
The Answer to the Universe
Listen instead 😉 I have about 10 books on the go at the moment. Passing by my favourite book shop in Chiang Mai, I stop in “just to look” and admire the heavenly stacks of all-the-answers-to-my-questions, the panacea to my spiritual angst, the antidote to my existential restlessness. (I know I’m not the only one).... Continue Reading →
close enough
the sound of devotion released to city streets knitted into urban life cast out into soupy air that hangs like a blanket on a line and holds a golden hum aum mani padme hum aum mani padme hum deep, monotonous, real enough to almost stroke with my fingertips but not quite held in by mountains... Continue Reading →
Road Trippin’
There are few things I love as much as I love riding my bike. When I was 8 years old, I’d spend whole summer days riding my bike, making up destinations just to have an excuse to push pedal my way down empty roads spotted with afternoon sun and the promise of something magical. The... Continue Reading →
Are Random Acts of Kindness Really That Random?
I have a favourite breakfast spot in Chiang Mai. As we’ve been living out of a kitchenless hotel/guesthouse for the past few months, I’ve been forced to obtain sustenance in restaurants in lieu of making my own meals. Hard life, right? I actually inwardly complained about it at first, until I realized how nice it... Continue Reading →
There Are Good Monks And There Are Bad Monks
A long time ago, in what seems like another life, I sat at a temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand chatting with a young monk. The experience was part of an initiative called “Monk Chat”, offered at several Buddhist temples around Thailand’s northern urban darling. The city’s novice monks––the young, and effectively in-training monks––sit with interested... Continue Reading →
Domesticated Cockroaches and Other Fascinations in This Darling City
Have you ever noticed that as you’re about to leave a place, really good things happen? As I near the end of my stay in Chiang Mai again, and feeling ready for a change of scenery, I begin to notice, once again, everything awesome about this place. I LOVE Chiang Mai. I have since the... Continue Reading →
Freedom and the Digital Nomad
I’ve met all kinds of people in all kinds of places. One of my favourite places in the world is Chiang Mai. My favourite because I don’t need a point of reference to know that I love it. I’m just free to love it. It doesn’t inspire me to travel to yet unexplored parts, it... Continue Reading →
Be careful what you ask for: The Law of Attraction
Be careful what you ask for. Not just because you might get exactly what you want and few things are more heartbreaking than that, but you may not actually know what it is you’re asking for. That’s the heartbreak bit. I drive like a bit of an asshole. I don’t drive like I own the... Continue Reading →
Why do we travel? Part two
It’s uncomfortable, dangerous, and it costs money. But it will take you under the seas, over the mountains, and through yourself. To travel is the best decision I’ve ever made and I’ll make it a thousand times more. Because of travel, I’ve managed to cram about a hundred mini lives into my given one. When... Continue Reading →