Hello everyone. Katie and I are doing well. We have spent the last 3 months living in northwest Thailand. Near the Burmese border is a small little town called Pai (pronounced pie). We found a small jungle house and have adapted quite well to the "sabai sabai" lifestyle. ("sabai" is Thai for 'easy going, happy, comfortable'). This is a picture of our home.
We arrived in Thailand the beginning of September. We spent a month in Chiang Mai. Which isn't nearly as big as Bangkok, but compared to our current home, Chiang Mai is somewhat of a bigger city. We spent a considerable amount of time living in the backpacker hostels. They're relatively cheap ($5 - $6) a night. one thing I realized, Katie and I keep getting older and the backpackers stay the same age.
Katie and I were super excited to get back to Asia. The thing we love most about traveling is culture. Which SE Asia is rich in. Even though we got burned out on traveling, there is nothing like getting off an airplane and being in a world that is completely different than the one you came from.
 | One of our favorite things to do is walk around at the night markets. It's a place where everybody goes once the sun goes down (bringing the heat with it). Another one of the greatest things about Thailand (and SE Asia in general) is that it is super affordable. $1 is roughly 36 Baht. Eating out, for example, costs about $1 - $3 per person. If you want to eat the street food (which is super yummy) it can cost half that. You can rent a house for as little as 4000B - 5000B ($110 - $140) per month. (Not bad). Many mornings, while we were in Chiang Mai, Katie and I would sit up on the balcony of a coffee shop. Early in the mornings we would see the monks walking the streets, collecting their alms. |
Both of us were extremely exhausted when we left the USA. The last thing I thought I would be doing is playing guitar and writing music. I suppose what goes in, must come out.
I picked four new songs and started recording a small EP. It's going to be called Spirit Song. I can't wait to share it with all of you. It'll sound same same, but different (compared to my other albums).
The one thing we love to do more than anything is go on a motorbike ride. You can rent a cheap/slow scooter ($41/month) and take off in any direction you like. Pai is in a valley. It almost looks like a fishbowl. There are gorgeous mountains, waterfalls and hot springs anywhere you go. Petrol is also affordable. We spend about $2/week in fuel.
2 miles down the road from our house are the elephant camps. It's an odd thing to see. First and foremost, these elephants are magnificent creatures. So wise and powerful. And although you can literally drive right up to them and pet/feed them bananas (which is really entertaining if you're a westerner) they are slave animals. The greater majority (meaning almost every single one) of the elephant camps illegally buy the elephants from Burma/Myanmar and force them to give rides to tourists on the trails.
The baby elephants are taken away from their mothers at birth and are then subjected to brutal torture so that they can be trained to listen to humans. Although it's nice to be able to pet and feed these elephants, you can't ignore the pain you see in their eyes.
There was one day that we did a sunset drive and found an elephant just standing on the side of a mountain grazing. We kept distance between the three of us. It was beautiful watching her just stand and try to eat in peace.
Katie and I are really enjoying our time in Pai. After going through craziness (that as been our life) for the last 8 years, this is exactly what we needed.
We have a few ideas of where and how we'll tour when we get back. It's hard for us to justify fixing our bus and trying to tour on the back of 20 year old school bus.
It's been one hell of a run, that's for sure. I am grateful that we've been able to tour (and meet so many people) from all over the world.
I have been really focused on finishing this EP so I can start practicing all my other new material.
We'll try to do a better job blogging and keeping everyone up to date with our situation. As always, thank you for all the love and support. Sincerely, Brian & Katie.
We have a few ideas of where and how we'll tour when we get back. It's hard for us to justify fixing our bus and trying to tour on the back of 20 year old school bus.
It's been one hell of a run, that's for sure. I am grateful that we've been able to tour (and meet so many people) from all over the world.
I have been really focused on finishing this EP so I can start practicing all my other new material.
We'll try to do a better job blogging and keeping everyone up to date with our situation. As always, thank you for all the love and support. Sincerely, Brian & Katie.
RSS Feed