Acadian Driftwood

(White Mountains in New Hampshire, photo credit: Siri IPhone 6) 

If there is such thing as an ending, it happened Friday October 10th. Erin and I returned to Colorado where we plan to assimilate back into reality. However, it may be some time before I can reflect upon the past ten months nostalgically. Quitting our jobs, selling everything and hitting the road for an indefinite amount of time isn't so much a plan as it is a theory. In theory we would look back without feeling we made unnecessary sacrifices. Right now it's a bit difficult to gather the data and write a conclusion. Without a job, money, posessions or a place of my own it's easy to feel lost. Right now the big picture includes a lot more questions about the future than my decisions in the last year. But I think it's important to remember the advice Dr. Leo Marvin gave to Bob Wiley. "Don't think about everything you have to do in order to get out of the building, just think of what you must do to get out of this room, and when you get to the hall, deal with the hall, and so... You see? Baby-steps!"

(Hmmm... Pennsylvania, I think?)

Travelling in Asia and experiencing new cultures was one of the more enlightening experiences of my life. To see how the undeveloped world functions makes me thankful for the conveniences I am afforded as an American. So what better way to take advantage of those opportunities than a 10,000 mile, 9 week, 23 state roadtrip?! As many of you know, 2 weeks after returning from Asia we embarked on another once-in-a-lifetime trip across the great US. When we weren't driving we spent our time hiking, biking, camping and enjoying beers with friends. We slept 20+ nights in the tent, all but 2 nights were car camping, which I no longer think of as a cop-out.The remainder of our days we spent staying with friends and relatives, to whom we owe many thanks and favors. If you've hosted Erin and I this year (there is a list of about 20 of you) let me take this chance to extend my gratitude, you've helped make this the year of my dreams. 

(Crashing with other "homeless" friends.)

For the first time in a few years I do not have a flight booked sometime in the future, my record year looks like it will end at 16 flights (quite a few when you consider they were all for leisure (If Erin counts working trips she has me beat by 5 flights))! It feels good to be setting some roots and start filling my life with all the things I've forgone in order to save and travel. It's also great being able to end conversations with "See you tomorrow!" Please, please be in touch. I have a lot of favors to pay forward, come to Colorado to pay a visit, if you are reading this I can assure you I would be more than happy to host. 

(Cabin owned by family friends where we stayed in upstate New York.) 

This will likely be the last entry for quite some time. It's been an incredible year and I hope you've enjoyed reading along, or just looking at the pictures. I figured close family and friends would appreciate knowing my whereabouts but I haven't found many people this year that were unaware of what I was up to. So, it's time for me to keep some experiences to myself until we have a chance to talk and catch-up, hopefully that's sooner than later.

(Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, Maine. First sunlight to reach North America.)

The Search Never Ends

Backpacking is and excellent way to travel, but there is a reason people call me Evan "Roadtrip" Butteris. Our self guided tour of the United States has finally gotten us to the Atlantic Ocean after being in San Francisco on the Pacific 5 weeks ago. We left Boulder a total of 7 weeks ago and I have not regretted the choice once. 2 weeks of working and attending a music festival in Golden Gate park, 5 nights of camping and mountain biking in southern Oregon, 3 nights of world class beer in Portland, Labor Day weekend at an amazing cabin in the mountains of Montana with 20 friends, 4 nights camping and hiking in Glacier National Park, a weekend of catching up in Minneapolis, a week with my parents who once again live in my hometown of Dodgeville Wisconsin, then another 2 day drive to make it to our grand finale, Boston Mass. Tomorrow Erin, Joe Timm and I are headed to New Hampshire for a couple days of backcountry livin. We are expecting at least another week in town before we head west in search of a home in the Rocky Mountains. 

There isn't much about this year that's been difficult. In fact, it's hard not to feel a bit irresponsible and naive when explaining myself to friends and relatives. I was especially anxious when meeting with my 93 year old grandmother Mary Jane. Growing up in the depression she has never grown out of her practical, self reliant mindset. She's an outspoken conservative so I also know how much she values financial responsibility. What would she have to say to her jobless, homeless, unwed, bearded, travelling grandson? "When I was your age," she started predictably, "I never even thought of the idea to go to other countries. But today, with the way things are I think you did a great thing with your time while you are young." Hearing that from a stubborn great grandmother is like receiving the ultimate approval.

(Carving up the hog in Montana.) 

I've always enjoyed bike riding, but traveling through Asia I realized how much I missed going out on rides for so many different reasons. My goal was to get back to the states and commit myself completely to mountain biking, even though I owned no bike and hadn't mountain biked for years. Erin had a different plan, she wanted to make this current roadtrip a reality. So in a compromise without sacrifice we both bought new bikes to use while on the road. After some coaxing from Erin and a friendly salesman in Denver I got a bike I'm truly excited to ride. Being in the west I was able to ride on some of the most renowned trails in the country including Marin County, Bend Oregon and Whitefish Montana. However, after a mishap with the bike rack that resulted in a shattered rear window, we decided to leave the bikes in the Midwest with my parents. I'm really excited to continue riding when I get back and am pretty happy that I didn't put it off any longer.

At the beginning of this trip I was excited to cut loose and have nothing to tie me down. However, after visiting friends and family it's hard not to feel nostalgic about stability and routine. I'm glad this retirement is only temporary and look forward to an income sometime in the near future. Having a home is another luxury I greatly anticipate. We have excellent friends that have made us more than comfortable in their homes; I'm looking forward to returning the hospitality or paying it forward when I finally have the ability to do so. Independent travel is great, but nothing is quite as satisfying as having friends and family to share the experience with. If I haven't had the chance to see you while on the road, I hope to see you soon! I don't know where I will find myself in the weeks to come, but if you hear of my whereabouts feel free to get in touch and invite yourself along. 

Permanent Vacation

As some of you already know, Erin and I returned the the states this past week. Although, the final journey home felt more like a gauntlet than a homecoming, it is still awesome to be back in the greatest country on Earth (just kidding.... but seriously). By the time we landed in Colorado we had been in an airplane or an airport for the previous 38 hours. My good friend Ryan Pelton once again picked us up from Denver International to take us straight to breakfast. It's been 6 months since we packed up and left Portland and I have once again found myself in Boulder, Colorado. I've spent the last few days catching up and seeing, hearing, tasting some of the best sights, sounds and flavors this nation has to offer. Not surprisingly, many people have been curious to hear about the trip, "how was it?" is a pretty broad question to answer, just as I'm sure you'd find difficulty in picking your favorite part of the last 6 months. But the genuine curiousity has made for more thoughtful personal reflection, continuously creating original dialogue on the same couple topics. 

The other big question everyone has been asking is, "What's next?". Well I'm here to announce the 2014 Great Expectations North America Coast to Coast Road Trip featuring Evan Butteris and Erin Luck! In about a weeks time we will be packed up saying goodbye once again. We will head straight to California for 2 weeks, then work our way east to New York and Boston. We expect to be on the road for 2 months and I'm excited to have a pretty open schedule the whole time, so I will pencil you in for a beer when I'm in your town. Living out of a backpack was fun, but living in a Toyota Corolla sounds palatial. 

Also, the trip ended really well. After spending 3 weeks hiking and beaching in Indonesia, we flew to Malaysia Borneo for a week. We were able to see and do a lot in 6 months, but we also had a lot of down time which I spent repeatedly trying to predict my future. Luckily I am usually wrong. I expected the last few days to be a time of deep reflection, a flashback montage of highlights like the videos I watch on youtube. However, it was more like changing the channel mid-movie, not having much time to find the message. Maybe in the near future, the hindsight will set in, but now I'm just living one day at a time.

Well, hopefully I will be seeing you soon. It's been interesting to run into people who mention they've been reading along, I appreciate your enthusiasm and hope I was able to communicate the thoughts and feelings that come along with an experience like this. Throughout my time in Asia I met a lot of people from around the world making a similar decision to spend time overseas. What I learned is that there is no typical traveller, the most common trait amongst them (us) is the willingness to accept the unknown. I described our itinerary to many people that would blame either time or money for their inability to achieve a similar goal of theirs. However, every person has just as many hours in a day, and you have your whole life to work and make money, why save these things for retirement? It may seem reckless to put so much on hold, but when I am old and grey I'm certain I will look back and laugh at the times I didn't compromise. 

That's all I have to say about that. 

Woke up Laughing.

This post marks the longest duration I've gone without giving an update on my whereabouts. Traveling for this long has sent me through several different mind sets and attitudes. After getting to Vietnam I was already beginning to feel like this whole experience was wrapping up. 3 weeks in Vietnam and 3 in Indonesia felt like no time at all. It wasn't that I was feeling rushed, but with every stop a weight was lifted, like a marathon runner counts down the last few miles. And at this time I feel more present and aware of myself than at any point in the previous few months. While I've been feeling fulfilled, some of the wonderment has washed away, a certain detachment from myself, viewing this journey and everything that lead to it in the 3rd person. Something about this made refrain from sharing, as if I was a hunter falling silent in the blind when the target finally comes into view. 

Also, we have been traveling quickly. I've seen the most memorable sights since last writing. In northern Vietnam we went to several massive caves in a park that is home to the world's largest known cave. The first we visited was 18km long, but was only accessible for the first 1.5km by boat before the passage became too narrow. The other was reached by foot, climbing one flight of stairs to the mouth of the cave then descending deep within on another staircase. Both caves were astonishing in size, a scale I can only liken to the Yosemite Valley of interior space. 

From north Vietnam, we took a 24 hour bus to Saigon. One day to relax then a flight to Singapore, where we spent a day and a half hanging out with the Timm-Kerns fam. Then a flight to Jakarta, then one day to relax. Then to Yogyakarta, home of Mt. Merapi and Borabadur. Mt. Merapi is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has killed over 500 people in the last 5 years. Borabadur is the largest buddhist monument in the world. A huge stupa, built like the bottom third of a pyramid, covered with hundreds of small stupas and Buddha statues, it was built over 1000 years ago and has been restored to nearly perfect condition. 

From Yogya we got into a packed van that drove 14 hours to the peak of Mt. Bromo, another active volcano on the island of Java. We slept 5 hours and woke up at 4 am to be at the rim of the crater during sunrise. The hike in the dark was disorienting and I was convinced we were in the wrong place until the sun finally shed some light and a white staircase appeared before us leading to the final 200m ascent to the summit. We returned to our little home before setting out on an 8 hour drive. 

We arrived in Sembol Village just before sunset. We had time to rest our legs and stretch. There was nothing in the village but a hydroelectric plant, employee housing and our hotel. There was only one option for dinner that was too expensive for my liking. So we went and found a local selling some peanuts. We got 2 beers, also expensive, and shelled peanuts while the 50 other guests sat nearby eating their buffet dinner. The next morning wake up call was at 1am. We drove another hour before making a 4 hour hike down inside the crater of Kawah Ijen. If you've ever seen the BBC series "Human Planet" you may recognize the name. It's known not only as the home to the most acidic lake in the world, but to some of the most dangerous mining too. Miners hike into the crater where there are huge sulphur deposits, they collect 2 huge baskets full and hike back out. We were there before sunrise which ment we could see the "Blue Fire". A natural phenomenon caused by volatile gasses seeping out between the rocks producing an electric blue flame. As dangerous as all this is, we were permitted to walk right in, getting as close as we pleased. We walked past miners carrying their morning loads. We reached the rim before sunrise, the light finally revealed our surroundings. An amazing range of peaks isolated by on ocean of billowing clouds. Amazing!

We hiked out then drove another 6 hours to Bali. We hit the beach for a day before heading to Ubud, which feels like yoga capital of the world. It shouldn't surprise you then that the first people we talked to off the bus were from Boulder. There are many people here who are obviously seeking some enlightenment, so it should also not be surprising that the movie "Eat, Pray, Love." was filmed here. Picturesque is putting in modestly, I think a set designer may have constructed this entire town. Our guest house feels like we are staying inside a temple and everyone is beautiful.

Well, talk to you soon! 

“Adventure in life is good; consistency in coffee even better.”

Alright, time again for a little travel update. Lots of highs and lows over the past couple weeks. Erin and I both got sick for a couple days and had to lay low for a couple days to recoup. But we also made it to Vietnam! You'd think after a couple months I would have gotten over the whole culture shock thing, but each country has it's nuances that takes some figuring out. It's kept me on my toes even after I think I'm getting everything figured out. 

So, Erin and I had planned to head north of Phnom Penh for a couple stops along the Mekong, but our first day in Kampong Cham Erin spent the whole day in bed. I convinced her to come with me the following day touring the countryside with our driver Chai. I hadn't been drinking but I still felt hungover when I woke up the following day, my good-health streak had ended. By that time our room was feeling more like a cell, so we bought huge bottles of water, put on sunglasses and ventured out in the tuk-tuk. We drove around seeing village life and stopping at 5 different temples, one with over 200 steps that felt like a real summit push. 

We made it back to Phnom Penh for a couple more down days. By the time we made it to Saigon my sinuses and throat were clear. Saigon is no doubt crowded, but less claustrophobic than other large Asian cities. Wide sidewalks, parks and trees made it easy to just walk around. We were able to meet up with our old Boulder friends Rob and Ella, too. They have lived in Ho Chi Minh City for 2 years teaching. They travel home for the first time since they moved in three weeks, in fact they will be moving again and living in the states again. First they took us out for dinner, then a few nights later we met up to get a guided tour of the Ho Chi Minh nightlife. 

Our time in the city was close to a world tour. We had met a guy in Loas who told us about a number of huge, Czech style brewpubs filled with Vietnamese businessmen. So we got our beer fix stopping at 3 different breweries. Not only did we get a taste of Central Europe but we also went out for some legitimate Mexican food & margaritas. We also stopped at an Aussie bar a few times. Oh, and French too, baguettes and coffee are everywhere. Cafés sell 50¢ espresso and banh mi sandwiches are available on every corner for 75¢, it's an easy choice for lunch every day. Then on to Dalat.

Dalat is a 9 hour drive from Saigon. Rather than taking coastal route and hitting the beaches, we wanted to cool off in the central highlands. Dalat is a fairly popular tourist destination for the Vietnamese, they come for the cool weather and spend their time buying sweaters, fleece blankets and dried fruit. It'd be interesting to take some of those people to Colorado in winter since it was about 70 degrees and they were dressed like Harry and Lloyd going skiing in Aspen. 

We took a day tour by motorcycle one day, checking out coffee plantations, temples and waterfalls. I finally got a chance to try a cup of weasel coffee. While it's incredibly expensive in the states, here it comes at $2.50 a cup. The plantation owns weasels that eat coffee beans, then the digested beans are collected from their turds and roasted to mellow perfection! Then we spent a couple nights stopping at 2 other small mountain towns to the north on our way to the coast at Hoi An.

(Ate some silk worms too!)

We are stayin put for a couple days. Partially because we have been moving quick and riding in minivans packed full of puking kids for the past week. Also, it's Erin's 25th birthday. So we got ourselves a comfy spot here and we are gonna take in the sights and indochine architechture at a leisurely pace. 

Stuck in the Middle

Once again a lot has happened since my last dispatch. Not only have there been memorable experiences but also some developments regarding my future plans (which may include you, should you so choose); this vision quest may never end! (More on this later!) For now, I'll do what I came here to do, to let you know what it has been like hangin out in Cambodia for the past 2 weeks. Last we talked, I was in northern Thailand. Erin and I took the sleeper train once again, easily my favorite place to spend a night. The day after arriving in Bangkok, there was an earthquake in the north. Then we took our first flight in 3 months to get to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The following day the Prime Minister of Thailand was ousted and now there is a military coup! I'd say our timing has worked out quite favorably in the last 2 weeks. 

The day after arriving in Phnom Penh, Erin's mother Maggie arrived from Colorado. As a highly qualified traveller, she provided some much needed veteran leadership. The main attractions in PP are a prison and the killing fields, memorials dedicated to some of the 3 million people killed here in the late 70's under the rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. The country was torn to shreds about 35 years ago and only stabilized in the early 90's. Maggie had visited SE Asia in the early 80's and for obvious reasons couldn't make it to Cambodia. While the US was focused on the war in Vietnam, the Khmer Rouge flew under the radar of global attention. Several of the drivers we met shared their first hand experience of the attrocities. It really shows how futile our differences are in the US and how appreciative I am to live in a stable society. It's amazing how positive the people of Cambodia are despite the turmoil, especially knowing how defensive reactionary Americans get when people encroach on their "freedom". But, let's not get too far down that road, there is a lot to learn about national identity here and I'd be happy to talk about it in person if you care to ask. 

Next stop, Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat! This is also where we met with Nick again. We hired a tuk-tuk to pick us up at 5:30am and take us to the famous temples for sunrise. It was pretty cool seeing Angkor Wat for the first time silhouetted by the dawn from across the surrounding moat. We took our time exploring the fine details of the temple which was built in the 9th century. While the area is known for, and referred to as Angkor Wat, there are actually more than 20 ancient temples and monuments to explore. So many in fact that we hired our driver for a second day of exploring. Each site is unique and it is definitely worthwhile to see all you can.

However, Maggie had only 2 weeks in Cambodia and Nick was flying to Laos in 2 days. So we booked a bus to the sleepy town of Battambang the following day to see what the countryside is like. We arrived in the early afternoon and were soon on our way to the Bamboo Train; A dilapidated old train track that was now only ridden on rudimentary bamboo platforms powered by a 6hp engine. If you met another cart driving in the opposite direction, the vehicle with less passengers got up and removed their cart from the track, allowing the others to pass. While the ride was scenic, it was also pretty rough. Later, our driver took us to several other landmarks including a bat cave that is home to 3 million bats. After breaking down twice, we reached the mouth of the cave as the sun was setting and watched for a while as the bats funneled out. Our driver Chin-Chin said it takes up to an hour and a half to empty. That's all I've got to say about that.

Our next stop will be one of the most memorable of the trips, there are a lot of details that made it an interesting stop, but I only have time for the most important ones, and even those will take me a while to explain. A day after Nick left for Laos, the three of us moved to Kampong Chhnang. Being a very small town there was only one tuk-tuk driver that greeted us when we got of the bus (and us being the only people that got off in town). He drove us to a hotel and planned to pick us up the following morning for a tour of the pottery villages the province is known for. That evening, we walked around finding the market and dinner. Our driver, Chamrong, passed us several times making sure we didn't need a lift anywhere. He was unassuming and was really helpful even when we wanted to walk. 

The following morning he took us to the river where a woman paddled us around in her tiny boat. For 2 hours we weaved in and out of houses, fisheries, churches and businesses all of which were floating on the Tonle Sap river (the only river in the world that flows in both directions!(check out Wikipedia for an explanation)). Then Chamrong told us we would head to the pottery village. Along the way he stopped, turned around and asked, here is a place where they make very strong pottery (in perfect English) would you like to stop? Of course we did, and were surprised to find a group of young men working the kiln. They were the only place around that glazed their pottery, they showed us the entire process using our driver as a translator. That place was incredible and I took the opportunity to finally buy the perfect coffee mug, something I've been waiting to do for some time. Next we stopped at several other homes. The village makes a majority of it's dry season income on pottery, during the wet season everybody is in the rice fields. So, under each house, all built on stilts, families produce specialized products. One family makes jars, others make pots, stoves and much more, all made by hand before being fired and sold around the country. One place we stopped happened to be the home of one of Chamrong's friend. The whole family was hanging out having lunch and they were happy to share some with us. 

As we relaxed under their house I asked Chamrong where he learned to speak English so well. He explained that when he was six he followed his mother to the Thai border to escape the Khmer Rouge. For 10 years Chamrong lived in resistance camps in the jungle. There, he taught himself English and Thai. When he returned to his home he was reunited with his 3 siblings that hadn't escaped. A few years later he began working as a driver. While we ate, he also ate, but did so quickly by himself. Although he was now about 40 he was unable to break that habit he developed living in fear for so long. He shared his story so matter-of-factly that it made me realize it was not unusual for middle aged people of Cambodia.

After that heavy discussion we walked across the street to a house where the family collected palm sugar and reduced it to a gooey, gritty, molasses that tastes like caramel. Chamrong dressed us up in traditional garb and showed me how to collect the sap. Finally, it was back to our guesthouse. Chamrong told us where to go for the best sunset. Out on a dirt road, past the Methodist church, we watched the sun set before heading to town for dinner. Chamrong passed us once again and stopped to chat. I asked where he lived and he told us we were close. He invited us to come see his home. We were welcomed onto his porch by his entire family where we all sat while his daughter cut up some mangos from their front yard. The darkness set in as Chamrong elaborated on national moral and the unstable history of Cambodia. We sat for over an hour before he gave us a lift to a friends restaurant. We thanked him again and really  tried to communicate our gratitude; nicest guy in Cambodia. 

The following morning we had to catch a bus to get to the coast, a ride that will live in infamy. The connector bus would take us the first 2 hours, unfortunately it was 100 degrees, the air conditioning wasn't working, there were no windows, and the bus was over booked. Didn't really surprise me, but I did sweat through all my clothes. After a second, cooler bus ride we were at the coast. The following day we would catch a boat to the island of Koh Rong. Turned out to be pretty beautiful. The island had just a few bunglows and guesthouses. There was locals cooking up cheap food and our end of the beach was hardly touched. Easily the best beach location of the trip. We took a boat out to do some fishing. We used nothing but fishing line, water bottles for reels and bolts for a weight. Plus our driver grilled all we caught while the sun set behind the island. Otherwise we relaxed, read, played cards, napped in the hammocks, drank Klang and swam. Pretty great lifestyle even for 3 days. 

Next was Kampot. A small river town that has a laid back vibe. We spent our only day exploring the countryside, some caves and a pepper plantation. We ended the day by hanging out by the river in huts and hammocks frequented by locals. We got some durian and swam in the cool water. Then seafood dinner on the river.

Now we are back in Phnom Penh. Maggie flies home tomorrow and Erin and I head north to soak in the Mekong once again. Then Vietnam next week! This post got pretty lenghthy, but there are some very memorable details that have made Cambodia one of the most enjoyable places to visit. 

This Must Be The Place.

In the mid 1850s, gold prospectors in Colorado ventured into current day Boulder valley to stake a claim in the Rocky Mountain foothills. The dream was to strike it rich mining the river that flowed from from the continental divide into the eastern plains. The area was sacred grounds for the natives of the Arapahoe nation, and the arrival of Europeans was met with hostility. However, Chief Niwot, after consulting the dreams of an elder, chose to cooperate and befriend the settlers rather than resist the inevitable demise of the land they cherished. Revered as an ally, he was referred to as Chief Left Hand, the English translation of his Arapahoe name. The town of Niwot, geographic features, city parks, roads and Left Hand Brewing are named in his honor. This story was part of the reason I chose to get a tattoo of a left hand last year. Not only as a memory of the beautiful place I called home for 3 years, but also due to the symbology associated with the left hand in many cultures throughout human history.

While there are many mythologies that reference the right and left hand path, a definitive definition is hard to find. My personal interpretation is based on a the ideas of mythologist Joseph Campbell who compares the different paths we choose to follow in life. In summary "he says the first kind is that of “The Right-Hand Path.”  This is the mythology of the village compound. It is specific to the culture. It helps keep you fixed in the context of your world.  It helps you live as expected, live with dignity, respect, etc.

Then he says, “On the other hand, you may flip out!”  He calls this the mythology of “The Left-Hand Path.”  These stories help you when you have begun to develop a sense of incongruity with the right-hand path.  He says that one moves out into a realm of danger, where there are no rules.  People on this path may live a life of danger and creativity, but perhaps not a “respected” life, according to the culture.  This “left-hand” or “general” mythology is that of the Hero journey (or individuation), that which helps a person fulfill his or her own potentialities." While I have never faced any real danger, I do draw some parallels between these themes and my own life.

For me, Colorado is the location I associate with my own journey down a more left handed path. At a time when college was overwhelming and options seemed limited, an offer to move to Colorado from my brother and good friends felt like the only way to get out of an unhappy lifestyle. It turned out to be exactly what I needed, openning my eyes to the many possibilities and options I was not considering before turning 21 years old. Many people undergo the same transition, my personal journey was so dramatic that I was very aware of how my mentality had changed in just several months. How fitting that my journey down the left handed path started in a place named Left Hand!

I am not very superstitious but I do perceive this coincidence as a sign that I was in the right place at the right time. Now I catogorize many of the choices I make into either the right or left hand path. My current travels definitely qualify as the latter. Sometimes I question these choices and what they bring to my life. Recently in northern Thailand I was doubting myself, wondering if my energy would have a greater impact if focused on something more "right-handed". 

These doubts were quickly cast aside due to a chance encounter with a tuk-tuk driver in Chiang Mai. After seeing no trace of craft beer for months I literally ran into a man wearing a Left Hand Brewing hat. Through limited words I communicated my excitement about his hat. He apparently got it from a friend and had no idea what it said or ment. I showed him my tattoo and repeated "Left hand hat, left hand tattoo, same same, same place!" This omen rassured me that I had made the right choices and was once again moving in the right direction. I didn't have my camera but I caught up with him again 2 weeks later, he remembered me and allowed me to take a photo of him next to his tuk-tuk. 

That coincidence has stuck with me and has comforted me repeatedly. Then, 2 days ago, while standing in a busy intersection of Siem Reap, Cambodia (1000k away from Chiang Mai) I stared in amazement as a tuk-tuk drove by with a fresh coat of paint and a solitary sticker on the side. It was the Left Hand Brewing logo, bouncing down a bumpy road with passengers returning from Angkor Wat. What are the odds that the only brewery being represented throughout my travels happens to be Left Hand? It's an amazing coincidence that I am happy to over interpret.

There are many people who follow the left hand path much more bravely than I, but I'm proud to know that I walk it from time to time. I'm excited to get back to see friends and family, perhaps being more selfless with my time. Those times bring me happiness and a deep sense of contentment, but I do not know if I would be as appreciative of those blessings without wondering down the left hand path and understanding what it's like to live without.