I'm in  , Pho soup anyone? Email me. -- TheLoneRider

Ca Tru Hanoi at the Dinh Kim Ngan Temple

(Jan 18, 2019) Ca Tru is a long-enduring Vietnamese musical genre reminiscent of an opera. As a musical tradition, its future shakes in precarious balance as veteran performers age and younger people turn to more popular music. But Ca Tru comes alive in Hanoi at the Dinh Kim Ngan Temple through the tireless efforts of the Hanoi Ca Tru Club....more »»

Hanoi Food Tour with Harry

(Jan 16, 2019) Searching on Google for events in Hanoi, I stumbled-upon Harry's Free Hanoi Food Tour. I like food and I like a free tour. I was in! After a satisfying broth dish, coffee at an ancient cafe and meeting amazing people, I was a happy traveler....more »»

Hanoi Revisited

(Jan 6, 2019) Having exhausted my visa days in Thailand, the cheapest destination was Vietnam. Since I'd been to HCMC and DaNang recently, I chose Hanoi. It's been 4 years since the last time I visited. Then, I was traveling with a local and stayed with a Vietnamese host. This time, I'm alone and winging it like I always do. I wonder what awaits...more »»

4 Days in Chiang Mai at Nawa Saraan Hotel

(Jan 2-6, 2019) After Pai, Mike and I headed to Chiang Mai where he checked me in at his luxurious Nawa Saraan Hotel. With 4 days before my Thailand visa expiration, I had to plan out my next move. Mike suggested I apply for a 60-day tourist visa with Thai Embassy in Hanoi and I could stay at a room in Nawa Saraan. Whoa!....more »»

Overnight in Pai with Mike

(Jan 1, 2019) New Year's day, Mike and I left Wat Pa Tam Wua Forest Monastery to head back to Chiang Mai. En route, we stopped-by Pai for an overnight. Pai hasn't lost its quaint hippie charm. We met many people from the monastery as Pai was a logical destination for a decompression from all that meditative bliss from the wat.....more »»

2018: A Year In Review

(Dec 31, 2018) In mid-March 2018, I left Loboc (Philippines) to start traveling again. I haven't been back since. 9 1/2 months of continuous travel with no end in sight as of this writing. The adventure has taken me to Malaysia, Nepal, India, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. For the most part of my travel this year, I was really just hovering on 'no cash'. I've arrived Bangkok twice with just less than $100 but had to survive 30 days. Strangely, not once have I missed a meal or slept on a sidewalk...more »»

20 Days of Monastic Life at Wat Pa Tam Wua
Goodbye and Thank You

(Dec 12, 2018 - Jan 1, 2019) 20 days of monastic life can be surreal to most people - a daily routine of meditation, Dhamma talks by Buddhist monks, 2 vegetarian meals/day, confinement within the monastic grounds and internalization of all the lessons, teachings and practice. After all that immersion, what exactly did I come away with?....more »»

Peoplescape at the Wat Pa Tam Wua Forest Monastery

(Dec 12 - Jan , 2019) People connection in the meditative atmosphere of Wat Pa Tam Wua Forest Monastery is usually intense. Even short episodes. I was there for 20 days meeting wonderful souls of all kinds. Our common ground was we were all seekers in search of truth. 6 years of travel and I haven't gotton used to the heaviness when someone dear packs up to leave this Shangrila.....more »»

Goenka and the Theravada Forest Monastery Vipassana Traditions

(Dec 25, 2018) Vipassana between the Goenka and Theravada Forest Monastery traditions are both anchored on the words of the Buddha and both have the same ultimate objective - enlightenment. They have many differences (from my limited lenses) but they are more similar than they are different.....more »»

The Knower

(Dec 24, 2018) A new and powerful concept introduced to me here at Wat Tam Wua's Vipassana course is the existence of the Knower. The monkey mind is the Thinker. But when you catch yourself thinking about painful events in the past or worries of the future, then the Thinker becomes The Knower. The Knower is aware of the body, the thoughts, the feelings in the here-and-now with the full understanding of impermanence.....more »»

10-Day Meditation at Wat Pa Tam Wua Forest Monastery

(Dec 9, 2018) As a general rule, I do a Vipassana course once every 6 months. Meditating for 10 days brings me back on the rails, gives me a sense of bearing, calms my racing mind and reboots my entire system. This has been overdue. Meditation at Wat Pa Tam Wua is Vipassana in the Theravada tradition. This is different from the Goenka tradition. But Dhamma is dhamma - simply a different interpretation of Buddha's same words.....more »»

Bangkok with $19

(Dec 8-11, 2018) Arriving Bangkok from DaNang with just $19, first thing was to get free lodging and pawn my GPS. Now with $119, I could prepare for my trip north to a forest monastery for a 10-day meditation retreat....more »»

The Universe Provides

(Dec 8, 2018) Whatever happens, wherever I end up, I fully accept with sound thinking that everything that happens needed to happen as part of my karmic process. Or, put it another way, whatever happens, heppened because I caused/allowed it to happen - that it was my doing. I alone am responsible for my lot - it's never 'them'.....more »»

Coming to Terms with Donations

(Oct 14, 2018) I have survived 6 years on the open road with very little money - but I've managed to survive. It means I can take this indefinitely. So why would I open up now for a donation? I'll call it an epiphany. And it happened just moments ago...more »»

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