Nocturne / Dragon Style

9/2551

It was pouring rain today.  I was inside the music school as the rain pounded on the roof, practicing Chopin's Nocturne.  The rain helped me get into the melancholy emotion.

Nocturne in C# minor is really challenging me - but I love the mood and style.  The basslines create a fluid sound in circular motion, steady and legato.  The melody is somber and expressive, in cantabile technique (smooth singing style) with many subtle changes, embellishments and variations.  

The rain cleared up about 2 hours ago.  Now I am listening to "Triumph" by Wu-Tang Clan and getting ready for a Kung-Fu lesson.

I am working on 7 forms and different combinations of punches and kicks.  I am the only American at Kung-Fu now.  Jet - the instructor of Kherliang Healing Arts Center - is Thai, and the students are German, French, and Swiss.  Everyone is completely unique in their personalities, languages, and abilities.  

Jet's a character - for some reason I assumed he was around 25, but it turns out he is just 16 years old.  Still, he has been studying martial arts for 12 years; he says he was a "kung fu baby".  He took over the dojo after his father died and the school was relocated to Chiang Mai.  Jet is also a drummer, so we often talk music and sometimes compare martial arts forms to rhythmic patterns and drum techniques.

Kristof (from France) is very experienced in martial arts.  After 90 minutes of training, when the lesson was technically over, he proceeded to teach Kevin and me some techniques with weapons, which was really exciting...the energy and fluid motion of the movements.  

In Chiang Mai I am focusing on progressing as an individual, expanding my knowledge and discovering new approaches to music and life.

Myanmar

I crossed the border into Myanmar.  The streets were filled with poor mothers and children begging for change.  Uniformed soldiers strapped with machineguns guarded the border.  

In Chiang Mai I bought a publication of reports published by Burmese journalists in exile, describing the brutality and oppression of the military government.  

It was really intense - especially details of the protests of 8/8/88, in which thousands of unarmed pro-democracy protestors were gunned down by the military - solely because of their beliefs and opposition to those in power.  This is very reminiscent of the violent crackdown on protests in Burma led by Buddhist monks last September.

Cobra whiskey, Laos

In Laos coiled cobras, scorpions, and reptiles are preserved in bottles of pungent whiskey.  

Laos

Wat Chedi Luang

Wat Chedi Luang, Chiang Rai.

This Buddhist temple has bright Buddha images in the Lanna (Northern Thai) and Sukothai styles.  

The yellow bands around the ancient tree and stupa indicate that they are considered sacred.  

The shining metallic poles leaning against the tree are changed in a ritual every Songkran festival (Thai New Years)

Golden Triangle

In order to stay in Thailand legally, I had to exit and re-enter the country.  

I took a minivan up to the northernmost region of Thailand - The Golden Triangle - which borders Myanmar (Burma) and Laos.  

I was the only American in the van - the others were Italian, Australian, Malaysian, and Thai.  

We drove through Chiang Rai, a city at the base of the lush green mountains of Northern Thailand.  

We then took a motorboat across the river to a small island of Laos, and then crossed the border to Myanmar.