Myanmar in the rain

rain,
humid,
crumbling city
tea houses,
great places to sit and zone out.
smells sounds...
nuns in pink drift past.
My mind is full of things... to think about but no work pressure,
gentle nibbling of things I like to do, write....
man what a life....
can i do this for longer ?

is this legal ? moral ? allowed ?

This guy loved posing for a picture, he really got into the fun of it all. a HUGE wok with prawns 21July Bukit Bintang area, Kuala Lumpur

writing from air asia LCCT KL: next to McDonalds is one of 2 or 3 power points that are not turned off or locked.
wifi is free.

I did my first real "on the road, writing my books" stint today.... worked really well. love this life....
I found an area in KL that is like the one I stayed in in Saigon, long term livable at retiree level, nice clean simple room, lots of cafe's and actions and a good vibe....
I reckon I could do this in almost any major city in SE Asia now... inc Japan and Taiwan... find retiree/backpacker area, settle in..... write.....

feels strange, here  I am wandering around the world wherever the wind blows while  others are "working"
I'm working too, but it's my kind of lifestyle and work.... finally after 51 years... :-)
feels like I'm cheating... shouldn't this be harder ?
shouldn't there be more pain and angst ?
is this legal ? moral ? to wander about on my savings and rental income... ?
amazing....

Kuala Lumpur - the journey begins...

12 months of leave without pay.... week 3: Kuala Lumpur, the journey begins....

I arrived in KL, the smell, the people, so different. ( 20Jul11 )
Something in me relaxed.
KL is nothing as clean or organized as Melbourne, but the tropical warmth, the smile on the people, - or is it just me ? Smile and world smiles with you ?

Something in me changed.
I'm more relaxed.
I belong here, - well right now, I belong here...

I wander the streets like a sleepwalker, soaking in the atmosphere like a man drinking water after weeks in the desert.
Don't know what I'm soaking in but it is something.
something like this:

A planet spinning around a gaseous ball doing nuclear fission in space.
For millions and millions of years things slowly move and grow. ....and then one day like a flash a whole lot of people are around, and a Heiko is born,  he wanders about the planet.
"Worry about old age, worry about jobs, worry about ...." his mind tells him....others tell him, he tells himself....
and in all those millions of years,.... this one moment,
this one instant, where Heiko writes this email.
This evening where he walks through the tropical atmosphere of restaurants and guest houses....
this evening is like none other, in the history of millions of millions of years.... and will never come again.
This moment, this evening, is unique, and will never come again like it is now....
and his little pea brain thinks he understands the why and wherefore's of it all.
This little creature with his money and credit cards and and computer skills thinks he's a shit hot dude .... (and he is in a manner of speaking)
But what does this Heiko really know ?
He is a part of all that is, and all that is is a part of him.
A grain of sand, on huge beach.... and one of billions upon billions of grains...
and that thought no longer bothers him... he's fine with it.

Every person he meets, he will never meet them again, each moment is unique, precious.... something about it....

when I travel and pass through a place like this... these thoughts come to me....
when i stay in one place... it leaves me....
I'd like to have that awareness 24/7 .... thats my urban monk's dream

Abba sings "SOS....." next door as I write this,
there is life and people and atmosphere all around,
The Unintterruptable power supply beeps every few minutes...
Gmail saves my drafts....
the planet spins around the nuclear fission gas ball,
Heiko types an email....
life
existence...
being....


friends told me my morroccan writings were really good.
http://heikorudolph.com/travel/morocco10.htm
they wanted more like that.
hm...there's a challenge.




.my first born book of short stories #1 Tengra Ngiam

He operates on conscious patients, asks them to sing, walks the hills of Burma - Dr Naga, walking surgeon of the hilltribes.

'dance me to the children who are asking to be born....'  - Leonard Cohen

 . 
When I get too serious I remind myself of Music , life - & 'getting there'    cool career advice http://youtu.be/FY50vvMjX_o

12 months leave without pay: week 1

I've turned 50+. If I don't do stuff NOW, I never will. 

Doing things "one day" is not going to work. One day == never. 

So I've taken a year off. Leave without pay for 12 months. 

Week1: 4Jul11 to 10Jul11

• visit colleagues at former workplace, - very nice, we had the most fun and relaxing time in 8 years, drinking coffee together and just hanging out. Took me leaving to get us all together.
• Write, copy Hard drive data, make backups of everything I have so far, in preparation for travelling.... . 
• Visit my sister and brother in law in Tasmania, Hobart. :-)  7Jul11.
• write, sort out my crap, 
• love this rant about Myanmar :-) http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=412&post=9339133

Week 2.... wait n see.