Zen in the art of motorcycle and jungle journey's

Taking the title from Robert Pirsig's 1974 philosophical non fiction book 'Zen in the art of motorcycle maintenance'....

Taking the title from Robert Pirsig's 1974 philosophical non fiction book 'Zen in the art of motorcycle maintenance'. A special book - it tells the story of the author and son's motorcycle touring journey through back-country roads of north west USA. The descriptions of the direct relationship between self and landscape that can come on motorcycle journeys is clear in my mind. The philosophical would perhaps need another re-reading to glean more lessons and learning. Anyway, I digress....

We are now in the jungle at Khao Sok National Park. Being a outdoor kind of family we have had two epic days of different varieties. Armed with 2 packets of oreos (yep chocolate biscuits = the entire scope of our trip planning...and you thought we were experienced outdoor folk!) both days were long, with lots of water and minimal food and highlighted what legends our two children really are!

Epic No.1: Walkabout in the jungle. Looking at the available walking trails and judging the heat of the day we knew a early start would be in our favour. 7am saw us heading off up the trail. Giggles and shrieks from the children joined the morning calls of jungle life as the  debris of breakfasting monkeys rained down upon us. Fantastic fun and greatly enjoyed.

Shortly after we took off on a overgrown trail and wound our way to the river. Luckily we were in quiet mode because a family of otters were having a morning frolic.  Splash and play were interrupted by a magnificent eagle landing in a nearby tree and alarming the otters.It was superb - just like being in the David Attenborough wildlife documentaries that we love so much.

We wound our way up the river jungle path, with swims breaking up the heat of the day. We had the jungle largely to ourselves for the morning. The kids paused, intensely observing lizards, geckos, birds, spiders. Again, they seemed to merge into the environment at times. The tour groups increased in the afternoon. Although, in general, the crowds took a quick glance, clicked a photo and moved on. We felt empathy for the hot and puffing faces of our fellow tourists and we were all grateful for our early morning efforts.

2 pkts of oreos and lots of water later, we guessed it might be 1pm or so. A quick check of the clock revealed the actual time to be 3:30pm and saw us still walking strongly to the park exit. No implosions - not even from Dave who struggled with the food quantity and selection the most of all!


Epic No. 2: Motorcycle adventure. From one fun adventure to another - albeit a slightly different mode of transport. We love hiring motorcycles - so much freedom, exploration and so cheap.

Leaving around 9am: again with a pkt of choc biscuits as our contribution to food planning; and envisaging easy access to food stalls en-route we let loose on the highway and secondary roads and explored the broader area. Travelling over 100km in our little 'put put' motorbikes, it proved to be a long day.
We were glad for morning 'wins': discovering and exploring a great cave at the end of a winding bush track and discovering the best coffee in Thailand. We were grateful for late afternoon enjoyment, beautiful landscapes and fresh breeze in the hair. However, the hot middle of the day saw us a little strung out.

To begin with, I had my anxious mind and wobbly body to settle. I had to put to the side the images of Wirra's bare legs zooming along so very close to the bitchumun. Inanay's wriggling seemed to cause massive swaying and potential swerving on the bike. As my mind skipped ahead to disaster scenarios the wobbles increased. 

Breath. Deeply. Breath.

Some of The Natural Space to Be experiences of 2016 saw our group pondering and integrating meditative movement practices into their day to day - horse riding, walking the dog, pushing a baby's pram. Bringing a gentle strength of posture through energetic awareness of the breath and subtle movements of the body. I took these practices to the motorbike. 

Breath in. Stable energy from the sit bones, up the spine. Breath out. Settling energy radiating through the arms and body. Much of the realities stayed the same. But the comfort increased. The mind games lessened. The wobbles decreased and stability and increased safety on the bike ensued. And I enjoyed it a whole lot more too! Zen in the art of motorcycle journeying.

Strung out? The heat of the middle of the day approached and we still had a way to go to our destination. A lake which we were sure would give us a much anticipated swimming respite. The distance ended up being longer than ideal. Hot dehydrated bodies arrived to the sight of stop signs everywhere. No access to the beautiful blue waters in our view. All signs pointed to the tourist boats that transported to overnight accommodation further up the lake. Our timelines didn't extend that far. No sneak down access points. We went round and round and checked! A drink and ice-cream sufficed for nourishment - the pre-cooked chicken sweltering on the shop bench gave us pause. 

In the mid-afternoon we gave up our search for a swim point and turned for the long homeward journey. A tropical thunderstorms cooled us off and gave us our swim. But in turn it slowed us down just when we were thinking we should probably speed up. We gave up this type of thinking as the rain came down harder, we zoomed to shelter with the locals.  

​And then, as can be the way with storms, the clouds cleared. The freshness of the surrounds enlivened us. Settling in the knowledge that our trusty motorbikes would get us there eventually  (and we did have headlights) we whooped off into the late afternoon evening enjoying the soft light, a settled energy and refreshed smiles.