Moving slow, as would befit the pace in a very warm climate. For some reason I'm still surprised every morning when I leave the guest house and am struck by the daily heat wave which is Malaysia. I tried a pithy quote on Facebook to try and capture the idea....
"Weather forecast for Malaysia: Yesterday-Hot, Today-Freakin' Hot, Tomorrow-Hot as a mofo, Next day, Extraordinarily warm, Day after-Holy Crap, Next day, Hades-like, Day after-Sweltering.... followed by 'Lord a Mighty Steamin'... I think I get the pattern" It's reminiscent of Eugene where you can sometimes look at the 5 day forecast in the paper to see, rain, showers, precipitation, wet periods and storms, as if there's a difference.
Here people just accept it, I suppose, and I do too, (somewhat reluctantly), it's just the way it is. For people who have lived here always, it's normal, and most wear long pants, although some of the locals are starting to sport shorts. And of course the Muslim women have to wear the black head scarf. Maybe that's why they're so hot. bad joke.
I have slight regret that I'm not still living in that paradise of Than Sadet where I swam every day and felt phenomenal. I still feel great, but there's nothing like being in the ocean and the jungle. Here it's a busy seaport so I'd have to find a different place on the island to enjoy that sort of thing. The city is interesting but you can't replace what I was experiencing a week ago.
Part of the good vibe here is that I've totally shed the western layer of bread and pasta and I'm now brown and trim, like a whole new guy. I think it has to do with not having a car and TV to lull me into that lazy stupor. Gracias a Dios, it's way better this way, and hey, if I have to go around the world for the SE Asia diet, so be it. Feels worth it to eat light and keep active. (semi active anyhow, it's still hot as a mofo)
I laid low today, took a walk to the shore and hung out in the shade watching the ferries, grabbed a little Indian food and coffee for breakfast, then back to the room for the fan and the rest of my book. I'm also working on the next tune, this one for my friend whose party I'll play at next Saturday night in Chiang Mai. I don't know enough about him to write the lyrics yet (got a few), but I do have the progression and the melody, and it's another of those ragtime things that I've been digging the past few years. (very American).
At this point, I've written so many songs, but I don't want to repeat myself, so I keep searching for that little variation, trick, riff which will make it unique. It's something I do frequently on the road, pick up my guitar and dig in to try and find something upon which to build a composition. Sometimes I'll take a trick from a song I like and see if I can use it in a new way. I did that for my first composition on this trip, used a chord and weird interval that I've heard in Jobim's 'Desafinado' as well as Duke Ellington's 'Take the A Train'. And now it's in one of mine as well. We all get to use this clay.
So I'm into my third week and my third new song and that's a good average. More than that, it's a reflection of what it really means to be on the road. Everyone does it differently; some like to go place to place, others crave ziplines and 'adventure'. Me, I like to just live, have something good to read, an instrument to create with, new things to see and taste, and a chance to really think and reflect about stuff. When I'm outside of the US and away from television, I find that my mind slows down and goes deeper, my breathing gets slower, thoughts more clear. There is a certain quasi-religious thing that happens when I strip myself away from pop culture and bullshit 'news'. I feel like a better person, in fact.
I hear there is a National park that is an hour and a quarter away by bus, and I plan on visiting tomorrow to get a break from the city. Everyone talks about the monkeys and how they'll grab your stuff if you're not careful. I kinda want to see some monkeys, so off I'll go tomorrow (in a quasi religious way, naturally)
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