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Monday, Jun. 17, 2024

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On The Write Path

by Kåre Enga in Montana

Rated: 13+ · Book · Travel · #2032403

ON THE WRITE PATH: travel journal for Around-the-World in 2015, 16, 18.

For there are many paths.

Visitor's Center of Woolaroc in Oklahoma, Osage Nation. Tribute to Native America.

A tlog. A travel blog. A keeping-track of my trials, er.. travels.

February 26, 2015 until ... June 18,2015.
January 12, 2016 until February 15, 2016.
November 13 to 30 2018 ... 2019,

2020: Taiwain.

I went nowhere in 2021.

2022: Portugal, Thailand.

Will include: Hawai'i, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Untied Arab Emirates, Portugal, Norway, Ireland and... (2015) ... Norway and Estonia (2016), México (2018), Taiwan, Balkans, Baltics, Turkey, Costa Rica, Nicaragua.

Vi får se.

"Where I have traveled, stayed and visited. Over 181 places."

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Kåre Enga in Montana

Mar 22, 2024 at 10:27pm
In response to "Ides of August "

Wordsmitty ✍️ Many people seek thrills. Boring moments are quickly forgotten. I try to look deeper... still boring. But... someone was born that day and someone died. All days matter to someone. We're all just passing through...

Wordsmitty ✍️

Mar 22, 2024 at 1:45pm
In response to "Ides of August "

I remember reading this. Seven months later I comment (reminder comment from "333 steps"

)

I also like watching the scenery and people as I pass through or over. The open land always says so much in its shades of green, trimmed here and there stretching across its curves and hills with man's intrusions popping up once in a while.

Never thought of what the day tastes like. Sound and smell, yeah. I'll have to think about that more and see what I come up with.

Thanks for taking us along with you, but without being in the heat.

Kåre Enga in Montana

Mar 22, 2024 at 4:11am
In response to "January 2024 angst"

Wordsmitty ✍️ Forgot to check... Tokyo? I could visit you in Japan? Cherry Blossom Time. Don't miss it!

Of course, as you know, I went back to Montana for two weeks and returned via Taiwan.

Kåre Enga in Montana

Jan 25, 2024 at 11:53am
In response to "Expatriation? "

Sumojo Thanks for reminding me to read this article in full. I wonder about the flip side... there's also an urge to nest in a safe cave... kinda like a hobbit.

My experiences living in Costa Rica and Thailand have remolded me.

Yet, at this moment I just want to curl up and nest.

1 Like

Sumojo

Jan 23, 2024 at 10:02pm
In response to "Expatriation? "

Thanks for the link Kare. I read and agreed with every word especially This journey, sometimes difficult and lonely, is also a journey towards understanding and acceptance. It teaches us humility, patience, and open-mindedness.

Kåre Enga in Montana

Jan 20, 2024 at 8:01am
In response to "Orange is a color of winter."

Lyn's a Witchy Woman Yes and no. Country people are poor. Survival is #1, not health. Think of factory towns in the Great Lakes in the 50s and 60s.

The problem last year included Laos and Myanmar. The burning is sugarcane and corn. The governments made a mistake by allowing burning in February and in Thailand there was an uproar because it affected tourism in Chiang Mai... $$$ is king.

There are solutions but local people need to be consulted and big-money corporations that buy up the products and encourage production at any cost must be regulated or reined in. Education and consequences... right now there isn't much of either.

Lyn's a Witchy Woman

Jan 18, 2024 at 3:29pm
In response to "Orange is a color of winter."

Aren't they worried about putting all that smoke into the air, how it will affect other growth as well as the people who reside there.

Kåre Enga in Montana

Jan 18, 2024 at 12:23pm
In response to "Paradise has pitfalls "

Legerdemain I don't fit in. And yes, that's frustrating. If I'm traveling I try to act respectful but I usually don't have time to learn enough to do better. That said, I'm living in Thailand. Living in a place is an entirely different experience.

Locals don't always want needy greedy visitors that disrupt their peaceful lives. Some places are overrun by traveling hoards. Prague comes to mind.

Legerdemain

Jan 2, 2024 at 12:03pm
In response to "Paradise has pitfalls "

I feel like any time an american tries to insert themselves into another culture, it's looked at as being a bull in a china shop. They say when visiting another place, ask the locals where they eat and hang out, but honestly they really don't want us there.
I'd love to visit all the places you do, but I don't think I'd ever fit in.

Wordsmitty ✍️

Dec 26, 2023 at 12:39pm
In response to "January 2024 angst"

For me, it's Japan the first two weeks of April. Only in Tokyo Mar31 and Apr13-16 to get on and off planes. Whatever you decide, it will be a good break. Enjoy yourself.

August 15, 2023 at 12:19pm

#1054142

Ides of August

I tuck a pink napkin into the pocket of my pink shirt. It's Tuesday in Barbieland. Pan eats a soup of rice and pork. He's been sick all evening, lying in bed, holding his stomach and my hand like a whimpering puppy. Now he wants to eat. We go next door and he orders a huge bowl of soup. He looks at me as if to beg. It's too much for him. I'm not hungry but he puts some rice and pork in a small pink bowl and places it before me. I have no choice.

Pink bowls. Pink napkins. On a red tablecloth no less. 6 months after Valentine's day.

It's been an interesting day. I wanted to go to Chaiyaphum. This means getting up early. We manage to get a ticket for the 9 a.m. mini-van. We aren't the first to get on. It comes from Nong Khai. It's packed. The luggage makes it worse. I find a seat by the door. I like to look out at the countryside. Pan looks at his smart phone. For me the "getting there" is part of any trip. I take photos and videos of a green landscape, a flat green landscape of sugarcane and rice. Large hills loom a darker green. The river bottom-land is fertile. No one lives in the hills.

4 hours on the bus. I've never been through this part of Isan. It's as boring as the parts I've visited... maybe more so. There are no stops long enough to get water or food. We've packed some in our bags and vendors do approach the buses at a couple of sad shabby terminals along the way. People live in these dreary towns strung out like beads on the roads that connect north and south. We leave Udon Thani. We leave Nong Bua Lamphu. We cross Khon Kaen. We enter Chaiyaphum. Another hour to go.

4 hours on the bus is... tiring. The stations are... forgettable. There is no pretense, no money, no sense of pride. In Chaiyaphum, Pan takes a tuk-tuk to Hop Inn. I walk, a "short walk" in the heavy heat, stopping for photos along the way. I arrive soaked. Pan waits for me... impatiently; but, I don't want to waste money on a tuk-tuk that may hurt my back. I've been there, done that.

What does the day smell like? Chocolate and donuts, sausages, and pork. The a/c dries the mouth and nostrils. What does the day sound like? Elevators, bus stations, but basically quiet. Thais can be super quiet. Most everyone was quiet today. What does the day taste like? Sweet, sour, salty, umami. I'm too worn out for bitter. Now, I touch the smooth desk. Hop Inn is known for smooth easy-to-clean surfaces. The place is sterile like a hospital.

I usually marvel at the character of the places I visit, the characters I meet. Today was devoid of character. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

© Copyright 2023 Kåre Enga [180.96] (15.august.2023)

~ 493 words.

1 Like • Comment • View 4 comments

August 15, 2023 at 9:08am

#1054130

Disculpe 🇨🇷 A15 [95] 40w 'freedom'

In Costa Rica take the freedom to "do as you want". Lie if you must, but always smile. If you happen to hurt someone's feelings, or run over their dog, remember that "disculpe" means "I'm sorry." That should fix it.

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