Soul Searching

Blog moved

2006-08-03T11:43:00.000-04:00

I've moved my blog to www.frankbutler.net. There are some new posts over there, as well as a whole new look. See you there.

Italian Journalists

2006-06-21T07:37:00.000-04:00

For those of you that read Italian or know how to use babelfish to translate webpages, here's a link to a story that appeared by an Italian journalist I met on an island called Pula Wei...here here is is in English

The history of Tibet

2006-06-18T09:48:00.000-04:00

As some of you may know, the peaceful land of Tibet has not always been so. It has quite a history of violence and tyranny (think karma on a national scale). Just fyi I'm pretty sure that China's current claim to Tibet is actually fueled by an ancient edict in which Tibet declared itself part of China. You may wonder at the incredulity of this radical statement, but Tibet was taking over China at the time - so i'm sure it seemed reasonable to the Tibetans. Anyway, for those of you unaware of Tibet's great history of religious war (one historian told me that the Tibetans in their heyday made the Catholics look like nursery school children...), you might find this video from the NYTimes interesting... the article is here.

Poon Hill

2006-06-15T23:47:00.000-04:00

Here you go. Poon hill is the "must see" spot for people doing the Annapurna circuit. It's pretty obvious why. You've gotta get up at around 3:30am, then trek like a Banshee (well, I guess actually more like a Sherpa) to the top of this "hill." Now I've seen hills and I've seen "hills," but I ain't never seen a hill like this. I was thinking they should have a defibrillator at the top. It's around 45 minutes straight uphill. Luckily you don't have to bring your pack. They have the most delicious piping hot, instant hot chocolate you've ever had. No tiny little dehydrated marshmallows, but hey you're in Nepal!

Wow! Has anyone ever told you...

2006-06-15T23:16:00.000-04:00

...that you should write a book? You should put a contract out on them! It never seems to end! It's like a black hole. The more you give, the more it wants, the more dense it grows, the greater its pull. Lots of excuses for not getting around to THIS for a while. I'll try and update it in the next few weeks. Nepal really threw me off for a couple of reasons. There was NO internet access. It was freezing in the evening when I usually would have written (remember I had just come from Thailand - yeah, don't give me any of that "life is tough" stuff either). And I took WAY too many photos (around 500). Going through them is truly overwhelming. And I'm not even a good photographer... Okay, maybe I'll sneak one post in here for good measure. I'm so bad sometimes... heeheehee...

Clinic

2006-05-03T14:26:00.000-04:00

I forgot to mention, that even though I am back, I'm not seeing patients yet, only emergencies. I plan to reopen my clinic in the beginning of September. If you need someone in the meantime you can look at the web site www.sohoherbs.com. thanks

I'm back!

2006-05-03T14:25:00.000-04:00

Well, I’m back. A good friend of mine sat me down before I left and gave me a serious talking to. It came as a bit of a surprise for me, but as I traveled the essence of the talk slowly began to reverberate through me. It really hit me about midway into the trip. A slow feeling of desperation was beginning to overcome me. I was treating people wherever I went, and I was always left with the feeling of leaving unfinished business behind. I was feeling a frantic need to help. How could I leave when there were so many people who still needed help? I was planning my post-trip vacations and how I would use them to go back to such and such a place. After the fourth place was added to my list I realized that I was going to run into a problem, there's not enough time for me to go everywhere. What could I do? The conversation that had originally seemed absurd started to grow. My friend had told me that he expected me to do something bigger than myself. To use my influence in the community to create something. At the time I didn't understand what the implications of those ideas would be but gradually things began to coalesce – to take form. My experiences in South East Asia helped me reach the realization that Chinese medicine is a perfect match for people suffering in impoverished/medically-underserved areas. It is a "rural" medicine. It needs very few supplies, and it relies mostly on the bodies own healing ability (very low cost). Juxtapose that with Western medicine which is reliant on medications, machines, and operations to achieve its objectives. Let’s take diarrhea for example. What can western medicine due in the absence of antidiarrheal medications? Chinese medicine however, can do a lot, from certain ways to massage the abdomen, to common household substances like salt or eggshells to astringe the bowels. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not knocking Western medicine, just making an honest observation. In a situation where supplies are limited, and access to modern equipment is non-existent, Chinese medicine shines. Just like when I was in Indonesia where the tsunami hit. This group of local traveling doctors would come through once in a while to treat the people. In the beginning they steered as far from me as possible, but every once in a while someone would come in that they couldn’t help and then they’d send them to me. I’d treat them and they’d get better. It only took a few times of that sort of thing to have them start asking me if I could help this person who wasn't responding, or that person that was having difficulties. They were able to observe, firsthand, the power of Chinese medicine and were grudgingly (at least in the beginning) forced to respect and admire it. By the end of my stay they were all seeking treatment. Anyway, I digress. The upshot of the whole thing is that I realized that I could do far more good by setting up a network, where other people can come and help as well, than I could ever do alone. That said, my trip suddenly took a turn for the worse. Whereas before I would just waltz into a place and offer my services, now I need to have actual contacts that I could refer people to. All that became much more difficult as I moved into more developed countries. The bottom line being, more developed equals more bureaucracy. It really hit in South Africa. I arrived and was seeking an opportunity to help, but was stonewalled every way I turned. The need there is enormous. From shelters for battered women, the orphanages were children who have AIDS are left by their families. They all need help. Getting to them, giving them the help they need turns out to be an industry in and of itself. Not as one would expect, a nonprofit industry, but the opposite, a for-profit industry. How crazy is that? You have people arriving with amazing skill sets that are asked to do menial office work, and pay for it. Absolutely ludicrous. My first impulse was to begin traveling north. There, in Kenya, Sudan, where they need is greater, the opportunities for direct aid are numerous. Then I realized, if I really am interested in trying to create something bigger, sooner or later I was going to need to deal with this bureaucratic nightmare. I could choose to only go where the path was easiest, or I could go where they need is greatest. How could I turn away from these people who have such need just because it was a hassle for me? So I decided to stay and try and work my way through the bureaucratic haze. Halfway through that (which was weeks long), I decided that I could do a far better job from home than I could on the road. I already had so many contacts that just to consolidate and organize them would be a handful of work. So home I came, and here I am. Trying to work my way through this pile of rubble, and hoping there some gold in this sand. Wish me luck.

Nepal and poverty

2006-04-27T17:41:00.000-04:00

Nepal seems to be the overall poorest country I’ve visited so far, and although the street urchins are absolutely filthy, the kind of filth that’s hard to imagine, they look pretty healthy.

*beni

2006-04-27T17:38:00.000-04:00

I think I’m missing a day somewhere? Somewhere with a *beni in it…

Don't shoot me...

2006-04-27T17:36:00.000-04:00

Ps – don’t shoot me, but at this point things look a lot like the Alps, without the comfort and food. Maybe with a porter things will look better…

Did I mention cold?

2006-04-27T17:35:00.000-04:00

* – It’s really cold, be prepared. It staying above freezing but since there’s no heat so you never get warm. There are no heaters where you sleep. Even if you find hot water, no matter what you think sitting in your warm room in the west, you’re not getting naked in a room that’s 34 degrees to wash off. Test the hot water, they all say they have it, 90% don’t. That’s not completely true. They have their version. We would call it cool. No where near warm. It’s very high altitude, it takes a few days to acclimate, don’t start by going straight up. Hire a porter and guide. If it’s low season you can get two in one. I’m here at the lowest point in the season. During other months 150 people a day are coming through (I’m glad it’s not that time!)

Cities

2006-04-27T17:34:00.000-04:00

Bangkok – no where near as sleazy as I would have imagined. Malls, movies, and unpaved roads. It was actually really nice. Katmandu – one version of hell, must be ring number three or four from Dante’s Inferno. The sheer pandemonium was kind of shocking. Cars going every way you can imagine, bicycles, and rickshaws on top of that. It made me realize how used to rules we are in the West. Even in Indonesia there were rules, bendable, even option but everyone had a notion of them. Not here. Pokhara – Lakeside district nice, food everywhere sucks and it’s really cold. Like everywhere else here, there’s no heat. That wouldn’t be so bad if you could get a place to warm up once in a while… I saw a cow fall down. You’d think with four legs and all it’s be hard…

Trekking

2006-04-27T17:33:00.000-04:00

Trekking* – first really bad idea to go from Phuket, Thailand where it’s 90° F to Nepal, where it’s 60° F in the daytime and around 32° F at night, really bad. I arrive in Jomsum and make my way to Kagbeni – after harrowing 16 seat airplane ride. The plane was almost grounded due to heavy fog and strong winds. They didn’t tell us until after. The plane took off and everything was fine until we started to land. The small plane had to make a 180° turn to land. The only problem was that it had to make the complete turn in a narrow valley. I swear I could have spit out the window onto the mountainside. That coupled with the wind made for an exciting voyage. Only me and one other trekker arrived that day. No one else was able to get in for another 5 days dues to the winds. No one had come in the previous 3 days because the planes were grounded due to fog. Very low season. I decide no porter, no guide, just me and my 40 pound pack. If anyone had questions about my intelligence, let those be gone. It’s confirmed. I am stupid. Not just stupid, but stupid and stubborn – a deadly combination. Day one – Jomsom to Kagbeni, the first mistake, uphill on my first day. A 2 ½ hour trek takes me six. Not because I’m slow. I was moving at a pace similar to the locals. I just took the “safe” way. The actual path. Then everyone told me afterward that it’s a lot shorter to cut through the dried up river bed. Kagbeni turns out to be my favorite place on the trek. I found a really nice tea house with a family of very clean tea house. The food was good too. A nice place to rest. It’s really cold. Day two – on to Muktinath. Way too cold. The higher the altitude, the colder and thinner the air. Dirty and completely disgusting. The bed the sheets smell, that sour sweet rancid smell of filth from not being washed in ages. Like a bat out of hell. Day three – Muktinath to Kagbeni “take a shortcut” in Nepali means let’s see how stupid this westerner is … the 2 ½ hour shortcut takes six hours, climbs to mountains and goes back to where I started from! At least I get a clean place to sleep. Day four – going down hill now, the hard part is over. So now, of course, hire a porter. Kagbeni to Kalopeni Day five Kalopeni – to Tatopani – hot shower, aaahhh Day six Tatopani to Sikha – famous for its “hot springs” (nasty), no hot water due to hot springs Day seven Sikha to Ghorepani – dirty, nasty place Day eight Ghorepani to Nayapul, 6 ½ hours, met guide, had handkerchief stolen, tasted raxi, a rice wine. If I had any worries about parasites, I’m sure this stuff took care of them… Pokhara – relax and recuperate. Laundry, nice hotel, kind of hot water Back in Katmandu – a 7 hour bus ride back to the mouth of hell

So you want to go trekking in Nepal, eh?

2006-04-27T11:36:00.000-04:00

Ok, so despite my best efforts to dissuade all but the most serious of professional mountain climbers, you still want to visit Nepal. What do you need to make the trip as comfortable, safe, and fun as possible? a guide – $7 a day, make sure that they agree to feed and bed themselves a porter – around the same as a guide, same agreements. The little, skinny guy who came with me on the second half of my trek could eat FIVE heaping plates of rice and dahl four times a day! a sleeping bag – you can rent one in Jomsum a small electric heater with an adapter plug – wow. It would have been a totally different trip with one of these. Way more pleasant. You would have to pick one up stateside or in Europe. This is part of the reason you need a porter ;^) I’ve seen really small, light weight ones. You can just leave it with your guide/porter after… I would get up around 8 am eat, trek, try and get somewhere by 5 or 6 pm, eat again, and then get in bed (under the smelly covers), and wait for the next day. It was so cold I couldn’t even type, or read! My hands would freeze in minutes… warm clothes – yes, warm clothes. I used my super light weight, fast drying, travel clothes. Yes, stupid. So stupid. The Himalayas you say? Yes. So stupid… You can rent some of these in Jomsum as well. Trek for short periods. I think 3 – 4 days would be better than 10. You could do small ones to a bunch of different places, and take breaks in between to recover. Allow some time to acclimate to the altitude. Smart trekkers go DOWN first for a few days when they get to a high altitude location. Unlike me, who went UP… Know that the food is uniformly bad (and you're getting the good stuff!) September, October is prime time with 4,500 people arriving in Jomsum each month. All the hotels, no matter how crappy, are completely booked by 2 pm. That means you have to be done walking every day by that time. The least busy time is now, January and February. The day I arrived there was only one other person, which explains why I got lost all the time – there was no one to follow.

When is a path not a path?

2006-04-27T11:24:00.000-04:00

I don’t know what the word in Nepali is for “shortcut” but it probably is something similar in meaning to “let’s send this guy over a couple of mountains and see if he lives.” Anyway, after the first disastrous day, in which a 2 ½ hour trek took me 6 ½ hours, because I decided I should be able to recognize a marked trail without any help, I decided to ask the locals for directions BEFORE hitting the road. Well needless to say what is a shortcut for some one that is used to walking over mountains regularly isn’t quite the same for a guy with a 40 pound pack on his back. And they do this thing where they just kind of wag their hand in a general direction and say “straight” or “follow the path.” The only problem is there are a million forks in the road, and sometimes the “path” is the wrong way! You’ll be happily walking on a clear “path” and suddenly there’s a sign that points directly away from the path, into nothingness. So which do you choose? I chose to stay on the path. The map said that there was only one town for miles, and I figured the “path” had to lead there. Completely wrong. The “path,” of course, lead to nowhere. Impossible? Not here. I ended up hiking from 4500 meters to 5500 meters (I think that’s around 18,000 feet), and back again. Brutal.

Countries according to Dog rating

2006-04-27T11:07:00.000-04:00

Indonesia – the land of mangy dogs Thailand – dozens of dogs with really short legs, there must be one very busy, short-legged male dog running around Thailand… Nepal – dirty dogs but cute, almost all of them – sleeping…

Tibetans, Nepalese, and Namaste

2006-04-27T11:06:00.000-04:00

It seems there are strained relations between the native Nepalese and the Tibetans. Whenever I talked to a hindu Nepalese, and they would tell me the religious breakdown of the population, they would always say, the king is hindu, 48% of the general population is hindu, 48% is Buddhist and 4% other religions (muslim, Christian, etc.), and that there were more hindus than anyone else. To which I would reply, I thought the proportions were the same? No. hindus are the majority. What’s the percentage? 48%. And the Buddhists? 48%. The same percentage. Yes. Then they’re even? No. more hindus, many more. What are the numbers again? 48% both. Okay. I get it. That said, they both subscribe to a caste system. A minimum of three. Bottom – untouchables, middle – normal blue collar folk, and I never met the third kind, Top – royalty. Even the Buddhists have servants. Which I imagine they look at as an act of grace, and maybe it is here. Who knows? Anyway, that brings us to namaste, which means something like I recognize the light (Buddha) in you, as the same light (Buddha) that shines in me. Now, given a sentiment like that, uttered 100 times a day or more, you’d think that honesty and compassion would rule. Not so. Everyone is trying to rip everyone off and lying in the process. They don’t seem to treat each other with much respect (hey! It’s like NYC!) I was hiking down a dirt lane and there was a guy with a mule. The mule had a broken leg, and I saw the guy kick the mule in the broken leg! I shook my finger at him but all he did was say “namaste.” I don’t know, maybe up there they have a way to heal the mule’s broken leg, and he was just trying to get it to a place where it could get care, but it didn’t really seem like it. It didn’t seem very “namaste” to me. Don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of people that seem hard working, honest, and kind. It’s off season here, so maybe the hawks are trying harder to reach their prey… The very first thing that happened in the airport was a kindly looking taxi driver came up to me and quoted me a price for a ride to the city. I said I wanted to check with official taxi stand to see their price. He told me the price would be the same as his. Then he talked to me of how terrible it would be to live in a world without trust, without integrity, without belief in others. I explained that I was from Brooklyn, and no offense to him or his honesty, but I wanted to check the price anyway. Of course, he was trying to rip me off. It turned out to be a blessing. Those lines were used a couple of times on me (trust me, honesty), and every single time it was some sort of scam. Namaste. It’s like many of the Buddhists all over the world, how many actually practice compassion in their everyday life?

Peanuts anyone?

2006-04-27T10:57:00.000-04:00

The spice of life Okay, so this is REALLY disgusting. Skip it if you’re weak in the gut. I wouldn’t write about it but I’ve seen it, or a version of it three or four times. Walking through the streets of Kathmandu. The sun is shining. The streets are lined with vendors selling all kinds of trinkets. All yelling “just look!” silver bracelets, and earings, colorful scarves and hand bags, tangerines, peanuts, fresh produce. The streets are kind of raucous. Cars seem only a recent addition, and don’t quite fit in yet. Some of the people manning the colorful tapestries laden with goods for sale are clean, some are not. A regular sight for me was seeing a mother with a child that looked to be cleaning lice from their hair. Okay, bad enough in front of food but then imagine this, a woman, crazy with scratching. The blanket before her covered in roasted peanuts. Her hair completely unkempt. Her clothing disheveled. Then her hands, slowly, rhythmically, with savage determination, migrate upwards, weaving a bloody irregular path to their ultimate goal. Her head. A frenzy of scratching ensues. An orgiastic pleasure glides over her face as she digs trenches with her filthy nails into her scalp. Around her a gentle cloud of slowly falling particles descends, like snow, onto the peanuts….

Update

2006-04-27T06:19:00.000-04:00

Okay, it's been awhile since I have written anything. I apologize, but since I got back in the states -- which was in the end of February -- things have been a little bit crazy. The first week after I got back I had to go to Seattle to teach a seminar. Two weeks after that I went to Florida for three weeks. Now I'm back in New York City, and trying to get a handle on things here. Anyway all that is the say, that haven't made any posts in a while I'm going to start to remedy that today. I also have a bunch of beautiful photos I've like to upload, just so you can see what the places I've been look like.

a few posts

2006-01-26T00:30:00.000-05:00

as usual the read from bottom to top... I’m telling you this thing was as big as a dog! So, I’m dutifully marching down the trail that will sooner or later get me to a hot shower (little did I know it would be DAYS before I got a hot shower!) and I’m passing all these very charming little towns. Cows are walking in the streets (as weird as it is this is not just a small town phenomenon, it happens in the big cities as well), chickens running around. Now, as you probably don’t know, I used to have chickens. Not a lot of them, nor for a long time, but I had them for a couple of years and I took the best care of them that I could. For the most part, chickens are cautious creatures. They’re afraid of just about everything, and they run REALLY fast. Anyway back to the story. So I’m sauntering in to this small village, cows are walking around, dogs sleeping in the sun, chickens running to and fro. Sometimes heading in one direction to get away from me and the porter, then changing their little chicken mind and heading in another direction that gets them closer, then freaking out that they’re closer and running twice as fast back in the original direction. And me? I’m just humming to myself, enjoying the sunshine, and strolling along. Then, about one hundred yards down the road, I see this big ole rooster standing on a stone wall. The wall is not high, and the rooster is big, and he’s looking right at me. Not just at me, but right in my eyes. I think to myself “that’s one cocky rooster!” and I keep on looking at it as I get closer. I start to think I’m gonna have a little fun with it, that cocky rooster, and walk up to it, maybe chase it a little. So I keep my eyes on it and pick up the pace. The rooster doesn’t budge. I start to move my arms and talk to it. Still, it doesn’t move a feather. I’m about twenty five yards away and closing fast. DAMN! That’s one REALLY big rooster. HOLY CRAP! I’ve never seen a rooster that big. It’s a friggin freak rooster! The wall it’s standing on comes up to my mid thigh, and the thing is right at my eye level! It’s as big as a dog! A big dog! And it hasn’t moved! Well, we’ll see about this. Who is top predator? Who’s going to be on whose table? That’s right bucko I’m comin’ straight at you! I get within a yard and the rooster is still looking me right in the eye. I’ve never seen any bird, much less a glorified, arrogant chicken stay still for so long, I’m a bit unnerved. But that would never stop me. But boy is that thing big, not just tall, beefy. That looks like muscle under those feathers. It’s like the Hulk Hogan of chickens. Even the dogs walk wide to avoid this bird. Ah! So what? I’m twice as big as the thing. So there I am standing in the middle of the Himalayan mountains eyeball to eyeball with the biggest chicken in this hemisphere, engaged in a life and death staring match. (I can only imagine what the guy carrying my bag was thinking…) I decide to try some serious chicken scare tactics. I do the quickstep (a quick, unexpected shuffling of the feet) guaranteed to make even the bravest of chickens fire off like a rocket in the other direction. His eyes never leave mine. Okay buddy, I got more. You want more? I got it! I do the marionette (moving my arms around WHILE simultaneously doing the quickstep). The bird doesn’t move, doesn’t twitch. Doesn’t even LOOK DOWN! I’m starting to get a little freaked. Maybe the bird had a stroke and is paralyzed? Maybe it’s blind? Inside I know I’m just trying to make myself feel better, I’m scared. This bird is scaring me. It’s psyching me out! It’s not possible! It’s just a bird! Okay, okay, get a hold of yourself. It’s a rooster and you’re a man. Not only a man, but an expert in multiple martial arts. Honed reflexes. Ready to move like the wind. Compose yourself. Seek the void. Be one with the bird. Yes. Yes, there we go. We are in control. There is only one more move. It’s sure fire. They run every time. Reach out to touch the bird. I start raising my hand slowly. There is no reaction. That’s okay, they don’t call it chicken for nothing. My hand is closing in. Two feet away. One foot. Still nothing. Six inches. My head is screaming “something’s wrong! Something’s wrong! Abort! Abort!” My hand feels like it’s moving through Jello. “This isn’t a god-damned bird! It’s some kind of monster!” At around four inches I get the distinct impression that I’m going to lose one of my fingers. That beak looks really sharp. It’s almost as big as my fist. The thing is still looking straight into my eyes. I can’t take it. Those eyes! I look away, pull my hand back, and turn away. Defeated by the biggest rooster I’ve ever seen. I look back over my shoulder as I walk away and it’s just scratching and pecking on top of the wall… Those eyes, those eyes… Orphans, wild dogs, and human hands So it’s my first day in Katmandu and I’m wandering around checking things out, looking for ATM’s, places to eat, what’s in the shops. It’s hard to describe the pandemonium that is here. Within a few hours of landing there’s a blackout. I later learn that these are a common occurrence, pretty much every day. The streets are small. There are no sidewalks. Streams of people walking in the streets with cars passing so close the cars nick their people’s pant legs. Lots of horns and shouting and last minute dodging (on everyone’s part – the people, the cars, the rickshaws, the bicycles). Fires lit in oil drums illuminate the nefarious faces in crowds huddled round for warmth. There is an air of danger, of precariousness, to the whole scene. Black shapes moving against the even blacker surroundings. Candles in some shop fronts lighting up the faces of the patient owner’s who are waiting for the power to come back on. Everyone keeping their eyes open for dubious activity. Crazy. Imagine all that. Then you pass by a group of children, who seem to be orphans, huddled together on a street, under cardboard and a thin blanket. Dirty children, with filthy faces. Their noses dripping, their hair going every which way. Some laying still and asleep, at least you think so. While others chat in a depressed monotone. Right next to them is a mangy dog, chewing on something. Really going to town. It’s half hanging out of its mouth. What’s it eating? You try and look a little harder. It looks familiar. Too familiar. Oh my God! IT’S A CHILD’S HAND! A HUMAN HAND! While it’s sitting next to those poor kids! Well, that’s what one unfortunate young woman thought who happened to be passing them at the same time as me. I thought she was going to be sick on the spot. Luckily I had spied the dog a second before she did and saw the WHOLE thing the dog put in its mouth, a chicken leg (including the foot). I have to admit it looked eerie, and if you didn’t see the leg go in it’s understandable to mistake it – given the circumstances. I told her what I saw and that calmed her down a bit, although I’m not completely sure she believed me… Well, I’ve realized that my tendency to work too much is a real problem. It seems I can’t give myself any downtime without something to do in it. Even the things I’m reading are in some way either clinically oriented or self development oriented. Not good. Action required. I need to learn (re-learn) how to relax. Waterfall Beef Okay, what can you say? When you eat something that makes you remember what your senses are for, that makes your lips tingle, your tongue dance, and your spirit soar. Maybe that’s a little dramatic but it’s pretty much what happened. The dish has a bit of history for me. An old friend of mine, Caroline, had lived in Thailand years ago. She told me of a wonderful dish called “waterfall beef.” We searched NY high and low to find it. All the while she would tell me how delightful it was, spicy, minty, lemony, just incredible. You can imagine that the more she spoke of it, the more obsesses I became. All that was over ten years ago. We finally did find it in NY. It wasn’t on the menu. It was great. According to Caroline the real thing was 1,000 times better. I couldn’t believe it! Not possible! Okay, so I’m in Thailand now. Time is ticking away, and something is lurking in the back of my mind. An itch. I found a great seafood restaurant, Ma Ma Kluong’s. the manager’s name is Won. He’s super nice. I’ve eaten there every other day the whole time I’m in Phuket. (the only reason I didn’t eat every meal there was that I didn’t want to miss anything…) I have mung fish, I have snapper, I have grouper. Mung is my favorite. Grilled with black pepper and garlic. Delicious. Their chicken fried rice is great too. After a week Won knows the deal, grilled fish – to be discussed of course, looked at, poked a little, more discussion, then decision, chicken fried rice, a beer. Utter perfection. Only one day of the 10 or so days I eat there is the food not “excellent” and only good. This I believe is because the cook had off that day (which of course precipitates the first question of every meal, who’s in the kitchen?) It’s two days before I leave and suddenly I remember the “waterfall beef.” Only I don’t quite remember it like that. I remember the Thai name for it (num-tuk-nya), which I can’t really pronounce, and don’t know the meaning of. So I say to Won, my trusted and patient captain of culinary perfection, do you make num-tuk-nya? His face suddenly looks like he just ate something very sour. He cocks his head one way, then the other. I can see he doesn’t want to offend me, but to him I just uttered something completely unintelligible. Nonsense. I can also see that he doesn’t want to offend a good customer by asking “excuse me sir, but what on earth are you trying to say? And in what language? Are you having a seizure of some mind? A bit of tourette’s syndrome perhaps?” But he’s way too polite to let those things escape his mouth. So I say, Won, it’s Thai. To which his genuine surprise and statement of oh really? Add to my confusion. I repeat it. Of course, to maximize the confusion and embarrassment of the situation, he calls everyone over in the restaurant to figure out what this crazy foreigner is trying to say. So there I am repeating this phrase in Thai I don’t understand, as if I’m having some sort of bad attack of gas. No luck. So I say, I think it means mint beef, basil beef or something. Which is of course not even close to the meaning. More confusion amongst the ranks. I get a quick lesson in Thai. How you say mint. How you say basil. None of which sound like the dish I want. Then suddenly the cook, who’s been quietly watching the scene, calmly looks and says “num-tuk-nya.” I say “EXACTLY!.” Won says waterfall beef? I promptly say no! num-tuk-nya! He repeats waterfall beef? I think for a minute, ask what’s in it, and bingo! That’s it. It just so happens that the dish originated in the same area as where the cook is from! He makes it, and low and behold, it is 1,000 times better than what I had in NY! It’s great! For a change of pace I went to this area called Patong Beach here in Phuket. Everyone said to go there. I think it’s because there are lots of foreigners there. Nasty. Pretty much just white trash everywhere. Crowded, claustrophobic. Not very beautiful. I won’t go back. I had an incredibly overpriced meal. Which I wouldn’t have minded if it was at least decent in quality. It sucked. The service, a first for me here, also sucked. I drove at night so I didn’t get to see the scenery but what I could see on the way up there was amazing. The hairpin road, hugging the coastline, over looking the ocean was intense, even in the darkness. The air was very fresh and clean. Bracing. Overall, not a lot of good things to say about Patong, other than the ride there was nice… OK, I’ve been here a few days now and I have to say it’s both beautiful and vile. I would write more but I’m trying to keep this G rated. The food is great, if you like spicy things. The people are warm and kind. The setting is wonderful, but for me, it’s missing something. I can’t quite put my finger on it… I have to thank my friend Ronald. If it weren’t for him I don’t think I’d like it at all. He gave me some tips on where to go to avoid the crowds. Perfect. I got myself an ear infection trying to body surf. The waves looked great, but there were about twenty of us trying for hours. We just kept getting pummeled. Anyway all the pressure changes helped me to get an ear infection. I got a cold at the same time, fever, severe chills. It really bites to be sick while traveling. I think I spent about three days in bed. In beautiful Thailand… Here I am in Phuket, Thailand. The first day was rainy but today is much nicer. It’s Christmas and there are all the expat parties happening everywhere. It’s kind of depressing. The bigger picture Should I consider a new addition to my life? MPH/NGO more research is necessary… Back in London 10 days after going back to ny a second time, even more exhausted than I started. The place I wanted to eat, Simpson’s, was fully booked. I’m on a 10 hour layover on my way to Thailand. I went to some pub not far away and walked in to hear sleazy fusion/jazz from the 70’s. Since I grew up on the stuff I took it as a sign. So much for my ability to use omens to foretell anything other than in retrospect… All right, it’s Christmas time, December 23 to be precise. And I’m in London. As one would expect, it’s cold, really cold. I certainly would enjoy it more if the only things I had in my bag weren’t tissue paper thickness summer clothes. It doesn’t really matter because they checked my bag through to Bangkok anyway. I’m forced to wander the streets in thin clothes with no coat for the next 10 hours. Well, it could be worse. The whole scene is kind of depressing, but not being one to let myself get too down, I go to a bookstore and immediately my spirits lift. Few things could be more dim-witted than carrying around lots of books while traveling. Hey, listen, no one said I was smart! Anyway, what’s a few more pieces of wood in my pack? My not so secret addiction – books. Love ‘em. Love to read them, hold them. Often, I’ll start at the back and read from back to front, jumping in sections. I don’t know why but I’ve done it since I was little. It used to drive my mom crazy. London’s great for book lovers. Lots of book stores of every conceivable size and shape, new book stores, old book stores, giant chain book stores, little boutique book stores. Combine that with a plethora of pubs, and you’ve got a winning combination. The pub scene in London is not as great as the book store scene. Lots of pubs sport microwaves, and the major beer producer’s lines of beverages. So finding a good pub is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but they’re there. Few and far between, but there. A book and a pub, what a great thing… Back to Simpson’s, (you didn’t think I’d give up that easily did you?) I used what I call “benevolent persistence.” Smiling, and not walking away, as if you don’t understand that they want you gone. Every now and then throwing a kind word at them. It worked. Magically a space opened up just at early dinner time, with more than enough time to make my flight. In all fairness to them, it is Christmas time – a busy time for them, and I am dressed like a dog. I’m the only one (other than an older American couple that everyone is eyeballing) not in a suit. The people at the table next to me don’t seem to mind, nor do the waiters. The meal is excellent, as usual. Very traditional English fare, roast beef, potatoes, some poor over cooked vegetables. Delightful. Just what one needs to warm up on a cold winter day. London bridge is… What was supposed to be a relaxing break turns into an exercise in self awareness. I went to London to take a short break from my marathon of work in Indonesia and ny. Getting there I realized that things at the office were not going well (fine for the patients but Abbey was way over committed and she wouldn’t be able to sustain it for much longer), so a new plan needed to be made and implemented. That’s how I spent my vacation, planning and strategizing how to fulfill everyone’s needs responsibly. Unfortunately, the conclusion I came to was to shut soho down for the period that I’m gone. Trying to keep my cool and make sure that I came from a good place during the process was one of the most challenging experiences of my life. I think I did a pretty good job. I referred my patients to good practitioners, and made sure that Abbey filling some need of mine wasn’t going to kill her or put undo strain on her. Very good overall. I certainly handled it better than previous types of crises. I am grateful for the opportunity to work on myself in such a concrete way. -Ch-ch-ch-changes No sooner had I left NY on my way to an orphanage in Cambodia than I had to turn around and come back again. Some poor kids in Cambodia’s lives will never be touched by Chinese medicine now. Would I have saved any lives? I’ll never know. What a weird way to look at life…

an easier way to check in

2006-01-05T23:39:00.000-05:00

since i've been posting so sporadically, i've decided to try and make it easier to follow what's going on with my trip and blog. i'm going to create a mailing list for people that want to be automatically notified of updates to the blog. just email me at franksroadtrip@yahoo.com and i'll put you on the list. ps - i've got some posts i'm working on...

Typical German

2005-12-22T09:50:00.000-05:00

A very good friend of mine named Ronald is afflicted with the terrible German expat disease of self-loathing and national pride (which manifests much more like a supreme defensiveness...). Whenever someone points out the word "schadenfreude," which means "to take pleasure in the misfortune of others." The reference is usually trying to establish an example of the two views towards life that each country has (anyone ever heard of the Order Police?). He points out - albeit slightly rabidly - that the same word exists in the English language (although you can't find it in the OED ;^), "epicaricacy." The difference I would point out is that the German word is in common use, whereas its English counterpart is obscure and obsolete... The entry (yes he keeps a database in order to ensure complete accuracy - how German! LOL) he sent me is as follows: epicaricacy die Schadenfreude taking pleasure in others' misfortune Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual... Words and [Nathan Bailey's An Universal Etymological English Dictionary, which is a very olde dictionary indeed (1721):] 2. Die Anteilnahme der Nebenmenschen an unserem Schicksal ist Schadenfreude, Zudringlichkeit und Besserwisserei in wechselndem Gemisch. [Arthur Schnitzler, Buch der Sprüche und Bedenken] Epicharikaky - from the Greek words or roots for "upon", "joy", and "evil": "A Joy at the Misfortunes of others".

Some Geeky Links

2005-12-22T08:55:00.000-05:00

honey bees help to find land mines math and life why spaghetti breaks into pieces light travels fast than light, and slower than light...

Announcement

2005-12-22T06:56:00.000-05:00

Exciting News at Soho Herbs & Acupuncture! I want to take a moment to congratulate Abbey Fromkin whose hard work and excellent performance have landed her a faculty position at a graduate school for Chinese medicine. We are excited about her having this wonderful opportunity. Her increased focus on this, along with the demands of her burgeoning practice, has led us to the conclusion that the best thing for my practice is for my patients to be referred out. This means that Soho Herbs & Acupuncture is temporarily closed until September of 2006. Below you will find a list of my trusted colleagues if you need to seek out treatment before then. I will do a mailing to inform you of my return. I look forward to seeing you all again soon. Manhattan Kathy Taromina 212 463-0400 xt 783, 33 W 23rd St (5th & 6th), Lower Level Maryanne Travaglione 212 675-9355 xt 116, 166 5th Ave (21st & 22nd St), 2nd Floor Thomas Droge 212 223-1320, 141 E 56th Street (3rd & Lex), Suite 1A Brooklyn Vanessa Scotto 718 246-1806, 401 Court Street (2nd Place) In other news, the first leg of my journey doing aid work has been a great success! Thanks for the incredible donations made by so many of you! Everything regarding my journey is documented on my website www.frankbutler.net. Happy Holidays to All!

more changes

2005-12-06T10:38:00.000-05:00

ok, so i upgraded my firefox browser and the feed thing stopped working. no worries. now, if you'd like the easy way to see what's going on with me you can simply go to my site (www.frankbutler.net), look for the orange icon in the address bar, and drag it to your bookmarks toolbar. the all you have to do is put your mouse over it and click, and you'll see if there's anything new. fyi - if you don't use firefox, you should ;^), out of luck for now if you're an explorer person. if your browser isn't showing your bookmarks toolbar just go to view->toolbars->bookmarks toolbar, and check it.

ok

2005-12-05T11:08:00.000-05:00

so i'm trying this new thing to post directly from my treo to my blog. let's give it a whirl...

i know, i know

2005-12-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

i said there weren't going to be anymore posts for a few days but i just can't help myself... it is totally wild to be in 90 degree weather in sumatra, and then to come to ny and see it covered in snow. it's beautiful. in fact, i'm finding brroklyn very beautiful once again...

Pula Wei

2005-12-03T08:11:00.000-05:00

i forgot to mention that i spent my last three days on an island north of banda aceh called pula wei. it's where a lot of ngo workers go to relax. i completed the first module of my scuba certification course there... it is very beautiful and quite secluded. this is one of the two luca's from italy. they were writing for a peace organization.

Left Out

2005-12-03T07:53:00.000-05:00

here are some photos that had no place anywhere else. the bulk of them were taken on the way to ground zero, near the town of melabeu. it is where most of the aid work is concentrated. many of the agencies are reluctant to go further out, where there is far more need. the roads are outrageously bad and there is little infrastructure to support minimal living standards. interestingly it became clear that the bulk of the aid workers here get paid quite handsomely for their work. some, like the UN people, get paid as much as corporate executives in the US... this was on the way to town i was thinking "this ain't so bad." little did i know what was in store... most of the streets in town are like this god only knows what they're burning this was a typical kitchen outdoors. they make jetfuel, which they call coffee, to which they ad about half a bag of sugar. they also make instant noodles. it's a mainstay in the diet here. almost no nutritional value. some ngo's are trying to support sustainable agriculture and construction. this is part of a project on bamboo construction. there's tons of it in the area, and if there's another earthquake or tsunami it'll be vastly more likely to stay standing. for soem reason all the big ngo's are building brick houses, at far more expense. to quote homer, du'oh!

phase one

2005-12-02T15:40:00.001-05:00

well, phase one of my trip is over, none too soon. it'll be nice to have a break for a couple of days and sleep in a bed that i'm used to. i'm looking forward, very predicatably to a big ole steak, and a bottle of good wine. there's an '85 marcarini they have at cru that sounds mighty appealing, or maybe a '90 produttori di barbaresco, orvello, at the restaurant barolo... anyway, it's nice to be headed home. i guess the main thing i learned was that people get sick the same way all over the world. the difference was one of living conditons and access to the right kinds of healthcare. the people i treated for the most part were very deficient, whereas westerners tend to be excess. other than that it was n't all that different from my practice in ny. i did get to bring my medicine to underserved people who could never otherwise afford it. without question it changed many of their lives, and saved a few as well. where i want to go from here is the question. i have definitely found this very fulfilling, but couldn't i do this kind of thing in ny? or in the states in general? or do i need to think more globally? or is ths enough participation for me? as you can see this is far from resolved for me. i feel like i'm in a good place to consider these things, but i need to reflect a bit more before i come to any conclusions... i'll be here for five days, teach a seminar, see some patients and head off to london for five more before going back into the field. where that'll take me i don't know. i'm supposedto be headed to cambodia, but that could change to some where else in a flash. this will be the last post for the next ten days, but i think i've left you with enough meat for a while... take care

airports

2005-12-02T15:40:00.000-05:00

i'm finally headed back after my first stint. i'm going back to teach a bodywork seminar, and check in on my patients. i have about 15 hours in layovers, and about 20 more in plane time. i'm in the middle of my first of three five hour blocks of waiting. i have just enough money to get out of the country. not enough money to eat. i'm sick of the books i brought with me, and i'm sitting on the floor on my back pack, waiting...

the month

2005-12-02T15:39:00.000-05:00

so i've done about 300 treatments this month. that's more than a busy month in my office in ny! i've helped a bunch of people and i find myself more convinced than ever of the need for chinese medicine all over the world. this month i've treated poor illiterate farmers, royal families, tsunami victims, american expats, the whole gamut. it's been great. the conditions have varied from luxurious, to barely tolerable. i feel like if the journey ended now it would ok. the trip is complete. i can only wonder what the future will bring.

fyi

2005-12-02T15:38:00.000-05:00

in the area that was the most devastated it was 15 minutes between the earthquake and tsunami. it was around 8am in the morning and most people were going about their daily routine. they experience minor earthquakes all of the time - with no tsunami afterwards. apparently the next most fatal tsunami happened in southern italy in 1908. it killed 80,000 people.

progress report

2005-12-02T15:37:00.000-05:00

okay, we saved one life from the scorpion bite, diagnosed at least one person with leperosy, did about one hundred treatments, helped a bunch of headaches that were unresposive to western meds (they were very responsive to chinese medicine), told one woman she had breast cancer and needed immediate treatment, and gave lots of little kids and pregnant moms vitamins. not too shabby for a weeks work...

smiling happy people

2005-12-02T15:36:00.000-05:00

it is amazing the resiliency that some people have. after some of the heart wrenching stories i've heard, that most of these people can even smile is mind boggling. they show up to the clinic wanting chinese medicine treatment for ailments that have not responded to western medicine. they show up with friends smiling, and laughing, and joking around. picking up their lives and starting over. it helps me to put things into perspective in terms of my life. can you imagine losing ALL your relatives in a couple of hours? small children playing in the street? or ripped out of your arms by the unstoppable wave? one guy at the place i worked, swam desperately with his mother in his arms and got to the roof of a mosque (usually 25' above ground) and as he was pushing her up she was taken out of his hands by the current. he swam after her as hard as he could, but couldn't find her. he was saved by other hands that pulled him to the mosque when he could swim no more and had given up on his mother and himself. the guy in the photo is hendra, his story is above. the girl's name is nia, she comes from a town further north that wasn't hit so badly. she wanted to help, so she got a job at this clinic. another little girl was running from the giant wave with her two small sisters, one in her arms (a baby), and the other gripping her hand tightly as the enormous wave struck them and tore them from each other. only she survived. there are many more stories like this. some worse. that's nia sitting with robyn. robyn has saved countless lives in this area. one story of some of the surviving kids is that when asked for months after the tsunami what their dreams were for the future was a blank stare and silence. in their minds there was no future.

scorpion bites

2005-12-02T15:35:00.001-05:00

we saw about fifty patients during the day in two 4-5 hour sessions. the day had ended around 10pm. we were all tired and talking about the crazy cases we saw. then, around 11:30 at nite (we woke up around 6am that morning), a guy walks in. sorry, more like is carried in by his friends. everybody screaming EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! we all (all three of us - the person who set up, runs, and works the clinic, the site coordinator - non medical, and me) run out to see who's walking in. where the boys sleep (the girls sleep downstairs) there's a guy writhing in pain on the front porch. his foot is completely swollen and his big toe looks like it's about to explode (everyone in this area walks around barefoot). we get the story that a scorpion stung him. his buddies (good buddies i might add) carried him AN HOUR overland to the clinic. they put some local herb mixture on it, which from the looks of it was making everything worse. they had also cut the wound with a knife to try and squeeze the venom out. i had heard this was really bad to do because it just increases the circulation in the area and makes the venom do its dirty work more quickly. i didn't have the heart to tell them, just in case the poor fellow croaked, they might feel like they caused it. what was done, was done. i can't say i've treated any scorpion bites before but my teacher had told me how to a long time ago (he's still saving lives!). of course, as usual, at the time i was thinking, when in my life am i going to see a scorpion bite? on sumatra of course! anyway, i had packed this special chinese medicine just in case of a toxic bite (many of my colleagues call me mr doom and gloom). very lucky for this guy. when he got to the our clinic, his foot and toe were very swollen, red, and painful. there was a darker band of red around the ankle joint, with a red line exending a couple inches up the front of the leg towards the knee. now, according to everything i know, if that line reached the knee, the guy is dead. the line was moving up, and you could see it. it was a slow but visible progression. like i said, i'd never treated a scorpion bite before (a couple spider bites, an odd centipede bite, one or two wasp stings). much less a scorpion bite in the middle of the indonesian jungle, deep inside the UN's red zone, in the heart of rebel territory, with no road to speak of. everything my teacher had ever told me had worked exactly as he said it would, but this was rough. one wrong move and the guy was dead. to confirm this i had the clinic manager call a doctor that comes to the clinic twice a week to treat the locals. i had treated him earlier that day, and he seemed pretty competent. we asked him how serious it was. he said not serious, just painful. we all breathed a giant sigh of relief, relaxed a bit, and did our best to clean and care for the wound. five minutes later we get a frantic call from our doctor friend saying he checked with a friend of his, an expert from the hospital, and we had to get the guy to the hospital ASAP! as i had been taught, if the red line gets to the knee it's curtains for our patient. the good news is that there's antivenom at the hospital. the bad news is, it takes over an hour of off road driving to get to the hospital, the regular driver is down for the count with an absessed tooth, it's 11:30pm, pitch black, they drive on the opposite side of the road, and i'm the only one that can do it! i figured that's what i came for anyway so let me have at it. during the brief period before the general panic, i had a chance to clean and dress the wound. after cleaning it, i applied my chinese medicine treatment to it as well. i figured that it couldn't hurt, and if the information my teacher gave me was as reliable as usual, it could save his life. the vehicle anyway, there i was, the exhausted ambulance driver (it's a four wheel drive jeep like contraption). we recruited the local site coordinator to navigate (trying to drive through the jungle at night is hard, even when you know where you're going). we piled the screaming, writhing passenger into the back seat with his steadfast buddy, and sped off. the first thing that happened was i got stuck in the mud. not even out of the driveway! everyone except scorpion man got out and pushed. it was raining lightly. that was bad. not because we were stuck in the mud, but because it floods really easily, and when that happens you can't cross this river that you need to drive through to get to town. what's just as bad, is that if you can get to town maybe you can't get back. we made it out of the driveway, and my poor navigator's night was just beginning. the headlights were barely a help. the rain was obscuring our vision. the humidity had the windshield fogged. and i was driving on the wrong side of the road. countless times the navigator would scream as i avoided a hole in front of us by swerving this way or that, and come perilously close to going over an edge into a ravine, or raging river. the poor guy aged ten years in a single night. i was all business. we drove over a couple of coconut tree bridges (don't ask). and finally made it to town an hour later. we get to the hospital and it's all the worst things you can imagine. filthy, body fluids covering everything, people smoking (the doctors!), a row of patient beds, a motorcyle (in between the beds), all in the emergency room. we put our man, who says he's feeling much better, on one of the wet tables (eeech!), and the doctor comes over to look at him, cigarette dangling from his lips. he takes the dressing of and BAM! all the pain, swelling, and redness are gone! it feels totally normal to the touch. on top of that, the cut they made that was about an inch long was perfectly sealed. no scab, just the tissues starting to mend. incredible! the doc pulls over a big, open plastic garbage can full of medical waste that i won't describe (believe me, be happy about the omission). then he pulls a cart over with a bunch of medical instruments on it. they are all in a kind of tray that's wet with a mixture of blood and what looks like mucus. he pulled out a pair of tweezers, wiped them off, and drove them straight into the perfectly fine and healing wound. he dug around in there for a few minutes, then said it looked good. he squeezed a bunch more blood out (it was already bleeding freely), and then put some antibiotic cream and a bandage on it. he told the guys in a completely derogatory manner that they were obviously not medically trained or they would have known to make the cut on the bite parallel to the ground instead of vertical (as i said earlier this is completely contraindicated). he then went to get the "antivenom." he went in the back and come out with an already filled syringe. i asked to see the vial. he said he lost it. i asked again, he said he threw it away. what can you do? at least the wound was better. my trusty navigator, who HATES to drive, decided that both of our life expectancies would go up considerably if he drove back. that was fine with me. the rain had let up, and the emergency was over. we took our patient and his friend and put him back in the jeep and headed off. when we got to the coconut tree bridge in the jungle, we joined a long line of waiting vehicles. the bridge was out. someone had tried driving a giant truck over it and blew it out. my driving companion called ahead to base camp and had them send a scooter to take us all back one by one. first the patient and his friend, then me. he stayed with the car. i offered to stay with him. he said no, i needed to go back and sleep so i could see patients in the morning. i got back at 2am. he later told me that he was a little nervous being stuck in the middle of the jungle, deep in rebel territory with a white guy and no one else around for miles... ps - the patient came in the next day fine. complete recovery. he brought five of his friends for chinese medicine treatment with him.

what is life about?

2005-12-02T15:35:00.000-05:00

i guess that kind of question is a natural byproduct of this kind of journey, where you see such incredible disparities between what it takes for us in the west to feel "happy" or "fulfilled," versus people that are happy just appreciating the privilege of being alive. for some people in the west it's the accumulation of material wealth, for some status, for others spiritual accomplishments, for me it's been helping others. in the end they all seem pretty much the same, how are you going to feel the most fulfilled having spent your time here. crazy questions for crazy times. what's the difference between me, who's on the ground helping, someone who donates money to the red cross, and someone that doesn't give anything? it all seems kind of the same. you do what makes you feel comfortable. how many lives can you save? you can't save everybody. what to do with one's life?...

people in clothes

2005-12-02T15:34:00.000-05:00

imagine five people living in a 10' x 10' mud covered tent, pitched on wet ground that can't drain after a heavy, tropical rain. then imagine living like that for a year. that's part of every day for these people. what i have trouble comprehending is how these proud people get themselves as cleaned, and pressed as they do, every day, like they are ready for sunday church first thing in the morning! clothes spotless, ironed, sitting outside in front of their mud covered home.

the red zone

2005-12-02T15:33:00.000-05:00

i am deep in the heart of the civil war zone, surrounded by rebel camps and activity. i am far outside the "green zone," the area designated by the UN to be a reasonable security risk. this is the area where people need the most help. for many here, i am providing basic healthcare. western medicine for the most part isn't so useful, because the supplies can't make it here. there are some local doctors and that come through and see patients once or twice a week. their abilities to help are limited by the tools available. chinese medicine has proved far more useful for most of the parients here. it's one year later and this is what people are living in...

the agencies

2005-12-02T15:31:00.000-05:00

catholic and islamic relief services (two seperate groups) apparently have been great. they have been nonsectarian and have helped to rebuild mosques, houses, all kinds of facilities. the UN has been criticized in the usual ways, too slow, too much red tape, too slow too act, they came in the beginning and set up lots of tents and barracks for people but without bathrooms or drinking water. they are not on the front lines. on the flip side, they have provided some structure and organization to the aid effort by coordinating the various ngo's. they also provide air transport for the ngo's, and this has been great. solidarité, a french organization, has done lots in terms of providing people with water by drilling wells. unicef started an orphanage with no bathrooms or running water and then closed it down and threw the kids out after a few months. it denied closing it for months, saying it was still operational. oxfam has done a lot but will only work for christians (in an islamic state!). the red cross/res crescent has been really good and nonsectarian. there's a very low key organization out of singapore called mercy relief that has been really amazing in terms of what they do and provide. then there are lots of small ngo's out there going where the UN and Red Cross won't...

ground zero

2005-12-02T15:30:00.000-05:00

i got here and thought as i travelled through the inland portion that the recovery was going well. things didn't seem great but the town, melabeu, was vibrant and full of activity. there are still people living in thrown together shacks, most of them are trying to rebuild their houses from scratch. the story was quite different as the jeep head towards the shore and ground zero. first, the road was unbelievably bad. any dirt road in the US would have been better. this was more akin to off roading. partially because the ground is saturated from the tsunami, partially because of the local geography, the road gets flooded and reflooded. that breaks it down into its current lunar landscape form. on the way to the clinic we passed ghost towns, the empty shells of buildings, homes completely levelled. it looks as if an atomic bomb went off here. in fact more people died in this area than did when the A bomb was dropped on nagasaki. the total was somewhere around 200,000 to 250,000 people. incredible. 200 miles of coastline, flattened, washed away. i couldn't help but think about the recent bout of hurricanes in the south of the US and compare them to this as i was on my way up here. as we were going through town, i thought they shared some similarity (although it's almost a year later here). that was i got to the shore area. the fact is that there still IS a new orleans, here it's a year later and there's almost nothing. enormous piles of money have poured in - UN, OXFAM, RC, lots of projects but the devastation was so total in its scope that this is what they're left with, people living in tents on wet earth. many have water now, it was the first priority. now roads, electricity, schools, hospitals are the next ones. as far as the geography goes the shore line is from 30 to 100 feet gone, washed away. to put that in perspective that would mean that half of miami beach would have evaporated. the water level 2 miles inland rose to 30 feet! utterly mind boggling. apparently the earthquake that sparked the tsunami moved the tectonic plates so much that sumatra is now 15" lower, and the island off shore, nais, is 6' lower (yes FEET). that would put most of nyc underwater too! up to a half mile inland you can see cars that were carried by the tsunami nestled in the tops of trees. all the rivers flow a red-brown color as the fertile topsoil drains away. one incredible story is that before the tsunami there a 3200 ton barge (that's REALLY big!) that was off shore supplying power to the coastline up here. then the tsuanmi came which lifted it and dropped it 2 miles inland, right on top of a house! and it still works! to compare it to new orleans, it would be as if three atomic bombs had been dropped on the city. totally unfathomable. anyway, words can't describe it. it is remarkable the way aid has poured in. i have met people that have been here since the first week. from grassroots organizations to multimillion dollar agencies. all people willing to help. it is heart warming. i'll write more on the aid agencies later...

by the way

2005-12-02T15:29:00.001-05:00

the water in the toilets goes counter clockwise as it's going down...

*Yes

2005-12-02T15:29:00.000-05:00

on a side note, everyone here says yes first thing, in response to any question. that wouldn't be so bad, if they MEANT yes, but they don't. they just smile really hard and say yes. do you speak english? YES what time is the flight? YES are there seats available on the flight? YES can a buy a seat on the flight? YES i'm waiting... YES do you speak english? YES how do i get my ticket? YES you don't really speak english do you? YES can i speak with some one else please? YES i'm waiting... YES you get the idea...

Medan

2005-12-02T15:28:00.000-05:00

sumatra is much more laid back than either java or bali. more real feeling, foreign, not as western. i like it. the people are still very friendly and as helpful as they can be. the land makes two words come to mind, green, and huge. the place is just plain old BIG. it is by far the greenest, lushest place i've been so far. enormous expanses of dense forests. very intense. much slower than the other islands. i arrived last night at the hotel i booked after a crazy conversation with the front desk of the hotel*. i finally got there and it was fine. not great, but better than most hotels in china i've stayed in. totally acceptable, a/c and hot water for 25 USD. Not bad. it is the last mosquito free, cool, comfortable night for a while. now, i head for the tsunami zone, where comfort is non existant, and even food is hard to come by. i check in, make sure breakfast is included and head out to see an aid worker that had to be medivacked out of melabeu due to an acute abdomen. she needed emergency surgery. luckily for her there was a german surgeon (doing some aid work) in melabeu that fixed her up and sent her to medan to recuperate. anyway, no one had heard anything from the sick woman for days, and they asked me to check up on her. it turned out that the surgeon did a great job (a german woman) and i was the first visitor she had in a while. once that was straightened out i went out to see a little of medan. (i was really tired, due to a run in with the chatty rooster the night before) i found, of all things, a huge MALL! i would say a western style mall but it was much, much nicer. very modern and clean. i had a great dish of pasta and went to a supermarket to get some supplies for the week in the tsunami zone. i got a bunch of groceries (all dry goods) for a total of 7.50 USD. then i had a great dish of pasta, and headed back to the hotel. i packed everything that evening cause i needed to get to the airport early for the UN flight. i went to bed early, got up early, and went to breakfast early. as i was checking out, the hotel was trying to add something to my bill (the breakfast i had paid for). lots of confusion and twenty minutes later i was checked out (i think it was an honest mistake on their part). i got to the airport 15 minutes late and the liason person for the flight left without me! i went inside and found the UN person in charge and he said it was no big problem but i couldn't get on that flight anyway because my liason had never put me on the manifest! anyway, the next flight was supposed to leave at one. it was late due to rerouting because a gas explosion had severely burned three kids. the red cross and UN changed all the flights to get the kids to a hospital and everything had to be redirected. i made it onto the flight at 2:30. we landed in melabeu at 3:30. *please refer to the next entry (Yes)

jakarta

2005-12-02T15:27:00.000-05:00

i was told that jakarta was a pit, a dangerous black hole of nefarious characters, that even savvy indonesians are nervous in. i decided to skip it. that said, it's not so easy to escape the tendrils of what karma has in store for you. more on that in a minute... after visiting two more temples (candi mendut and some other tiny one), my friendly driver guided me back to jogja, and my guest house with the crowing cock. my wonderfully revisionist memory forgot exactly how loud the bird was. REALLY LOUD! i made it til 3am before it finally woke me. that was the beginning of my day... then after calling and confirming my flight, i got to the airport early enough to discover that my flight had been cancelled. the next flight was 6 hours. i complained. they said tough luck. i made a stink and they put me on another flight - standby - 3 hours later. i was fourth or fifth on the waiting list. i went to grab something to eat. an hour later i came back and checked and they had put a group of 13 people in front of me on the standby list! after another 30 minutes of arguing i asked for a refund and went and bought another ticket, from a different airline and finally got out of jakarta.

smog

2005-12-02T15:25:00.000-05:00

it is unreal the amount of pollution there is in the air here in indonesia. it is almost impossible to have a moment where fresh, clean air reaches your lungs, even when you're in the countryside...

Now you can subscribe to my blog as a feed

2005-11-19T06:45:00.000-05:00

I only know how to do it for Firefox so far. I'll keep you posted on how to do it for Explorer. In the firefox browser when you're on www.frankbutler.net, in the lower right hand corner of the browser in an orange icon (a square with a white dot in the corner and waves radiating out of it), left click on it once, then move your mouse over it and click once more. A screen will come up that says "add bookmark." Click on the upside down triangle to the right of "create in," scroll down to "Bookmarks Toolbar Folder," highlight that and click ok. then go to view -> toolbars -> Bookmarks Toolbar and it should appear just above the browser window!

Borobudur

2005-11-19T00:25:00.000-05:00

I treated the royal family once again, and everyone was feeling much better. Whew! They were super nice, the two princesses served me tea personally. I was honored. They sent me all over with their driver for my errands. After all that I headed to an ancient buddhist temple called Borobudur. It's a many tiered temple. As you approach the higher sections there are all these buddhas under these giant bells. You can see through the stone bells (they have lots of large holes). Very beautiful. The hotel i'm staying in is very expensive in terms of what you get for your money. Kind of dingy but it's right next to the temple, and it has a/c - so i'm not going to complain too much. It's just a couple of days until I head to Aceh, where there are no amenities (even food is scarce). Malaria is rampant. All the volunteers sleep on futons on the floor of the clinic, in one big room. I'm doing my best to appreciate what I have now, while I have it...

Candi Sukuh

2005-11-19T00:24:00.000-05:00

Life is full of surprises, and this certainly was one of them. The setting is mind-boggling, absolutely stunning. More on that in a minute. The first amazing thing was that the royal couple I met sent their personal driver to take me here. Truly generous of them. Then I got here and simply can not believe the view. Nestled on a mountain top is a tiny temple. Originally a fertility temple, in Mayan style no less. The moon is full, and this is the temple of the moon. What good fortune! There is a brother temple for the sun an hour's hike away. I am going to try and do it in the morning. The royal couple came up here and had dinner with me before they left back to solo. Back to the view, gorgeous. I love mountains, and this one is stunning. You look down onto the verdant rice fields as the sun pases through the mist. It's magical. One note, apparently this ara was a Taliban stronghold until very recently. Apparently those i spoke with think that this fact makes it a very safe place. They don't want any attention brought here. All I have to say is that everyone has been extremely nice to me. They seem like truly kind, generous, and honest people.

a day off

2005-11-19T00:23:00.000-05:00

I took a much needed break today. Finally a day with no patients. The place I am staying is beautiful. On the side of a mountain, overlooking a green valley of rice fields. Nothing fancy. Running water, the hot water is a trickle. None of the staff speaks English - this is where the well off locals come. The room is two walls of floor to ceiling windows, to help enjoy the view. It cost around 15 USD a night.

the Royal Family

2005-11-19T00:20:00.000-05:00

okay, so I didn't treat the royal family at the palace, but I got an invitation to dinner at their house tha evening instead. they have a wonderful place in the town of Solo and two beautiful sweet kids. We had a scrumptuous dinner (the best food I have had so far) of baby papaya with hot chilis, served on rice steeped in coconut milk. Absolutely delicious. After that I treated the princess and her husband and diagnosed and wrote herbs for two more princesses. I took their pulses and told them the things they weren't telling me, which they greatly enjoyed. In the end, they were happy with their treatment I was happy with my meal, a good day for everyone.

the lorin

2005-11-19T00:17:00.000-05:00

After all that waitng at the palace they wanted to get me set up in a hotel, which they graciously arranged. Actually, now that i'm looking back at it, it is completely possible that they were checking me out. Those two guys, the waiting with seemingly pointless conversation. very possible... In any event I guess I passed the muster because they went to great lengths to ensure my comfort and convenience. The first thing they did was make sure the palace made hotel reservations for me. They booked me a reat room at the local luxury hotel at a super discounted rate. The hotel, called the Lorin, used to be a Hilton, but Hilton pulled out a while ago and the Indonesian government stepped in and took over. Gorgeous, the grounds, the staff, all perfect. It was nice to be mosquito free for a night, especially after my night in Yogyarkata. Anyway no complaints from me on the room. It was just what the doctor ordered. The husband came and picked me up himself from the hotel, and they both brought me back to the hotel. Very sweet of them.

waiting...

2005-11-19T00:16:00.000-05:00

So I get to the royal palace and i'm informed that the princess and her husband are running late. About an hour late. So they kindly fired up the dozen Gamelon musicians that make up the royal musicians (there wasn't a one under 50, and I think most were pushing 80) and let them play. During which a royal guide kept prodding me to take a tour of the palace and its museum. After 15 minutes of constant polite nudging by my friend, I finally acquiesced. (I think the Gamelon guys didn't really want to be playing but I somehow needed to be entertained, so they sent the guide.) The tour was pretty lame but the guy was nice and sincere. At the end two smiling men met me in a palace hall and laughed and joked around with me. After about a half an hour of that I was told the royal couple wouldn't make it this afternoon, but the two guys would drive me to the hotel which had been arranged - kind of. We loaded into the car and proceeded to back out while my two escorts were chatting away (very cheerily and slowly i might add), at which point we promptly ran over a royal tree! Needless to say this was the cause of another furious outburst of joviality (from in the car and out) and we went on our way. In the end I got to see the Gamelon, the palace, the museum, and didn't get to do what i came for...

dokter gigi

2005-11-19T00:15:00.002-05:00

While I was in Ubud I figured out a couple of landmarks to help me navigate around town, while jetting here and there on my scooter. One of them was a doctor's sign by the name of Gigi. I thought it might be some German expat that got sick of the west and came to Bali for the sand and sun. Anyway, it was a great landmark - how many Doctor Gigi's could there be on Gali? Anyway. My memory for directions isn't great but I started to notice that sometimes I turned right at Dokter Gigi's and sometimes left but I always made it back to the place I was staying. I thought maybe Ubud is a big circle? It wasn't until I went up and down the volcano I realized that Dokter Gigi means "tooth doctor," or dentist. And Ubud is full of them!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2005-11-19T00:15:00.001-05:00

I can't say I'm sorry to leave Bali. It was great, and the people were super. It's just that the energy on Bali is kind of frenetic, the scooters, the driving, even the local music - Gamelon - is frantic compared with the music of its neighbors. The people at the local clinic where I was working gave me a sarong as a parting gift. They were very sweet, and warm. It was great to work with them. In true frank form, I was treating patients until the end. I'm going to try and layoff a bit during the next week (although i'm supposed to treat the royal family on Java...). What can you do?

Yogyakarta

2005-11-19T00:15:00.000-05:00

This and solo are supposed to be the intellectual and artisitic capitals of Java. I didn't get to much of either. In Yogja I stayed at a very nice couples' place that was really cheap. About 7.50 USD. You get what you pay for. The room was nice enough, the people were wonderful, but what i didn't know was that the people don't go to sleep until late, and they gt up really early. That combined with a very testosterone ridden rooster (it could have been blind also) that crowed every hour on the hour for about twenty minutes (it was located directly below my window), and some mosquitoes that seemed like kamikaze trained dive bombers (the mosquito net stopped some) led to an almost sleepless night. But it was a place to rest and the people were great. I blew out in the morning to solo and the palace....

La Lune...

2005-11-19T00:14:00.000-05:00

There was one night on Bali where the moon was so bright it looked like a radiant lamp in the sky...

update

2005-11-19T00:13:00.001-05:00

okay, just a simple update on how things are going in the clinic for those who are curious... wWe got one kid walking that was developmentally challenged, and everything else is picking up in their development as well. We put a farner's dislocated knee cap back in place. We got a woman her period back after 10 years of no menstruation. Fixed some backs, some necks, some headaches. Treated one guy for trauma induced blindness (not really sure how that's going. I only saw him once). A couple of cases of epilepsy, lots of painful periods (those should be a breeze). Some allergies, a couple of cases of eczema, all doing better. A bunch of asthma, also doing better. A couple of serious arryhthmias, one congestive heart failure, getting better. All in all, not bad for just two weeks...

The Lake

2005-11-19T00:13:00.000-05:00

I went to visit this outrageously beautiful lake - Danu Batur, absolutely incredible. It is in the center of the volcano that created the island of Bali. The lake was formed by rain water. So, unlike the rivers and streams (which are ridden with parasites), the lake is pristine. I had originally decided to go up there to see these people that live in an isolated section on the opposite side of the lake from civilization. I was told they are the original Balinese. They observe strange customs (which no one would state clearly for me), are reported to be very aggressive, and don't like outsiders. What really got me interested was the story that they lay their dead at the foot of these trees and let the bodies return to nature. Supposedly there is no smell due to a special property of the trees. So you walk through this forest with bodies laying beneath the trees, very strange. Ultimately I was deterred by the stories of their aggressive nature (which I heard later were exagerated). It was a gorgeous ride anyway. On the way up there I went to see the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia. Needless to say part of the reason I went was to see a patient. I was told she was a little eccentric (code word for difficult). A 75 year old british writer/actress. I found her completely charming. She repeatedly mentioned that she was horrified to have just turned 70 - which I found even more endearing. The fact is she looked great, better that most fifty year olds I know, and as if that's not enough, she's in better shape than me! She swims over a kilometer a day, every day!. She was very limber. With no visible signs of her physical abilities being diminished at all. She made a fabulous pesto with many of the ingredients coming from her own organic garden. A great lunch and conversation (it lasted 3 and 1/2 hours). Then i took my leave and headed back. That was the ride up there. On my way out a dense fog rolled in, the temperature dropped, and I began to get pelted with rain. Driving the scooter while only being able to see six feet in front of you on hair pin turns while descending a mountain required my utmost concentration. I was frozen solid by the time i got back to Ubud and dreaming of a nice hot shower and bed. The water wasn't working when i got back...

Poverty Project

2005-11-19T00:12:00.000-05:00

So the whole reason I came up to Tulamben was not for the diving, or the beach, but to treat these little sick children. So I drove a half an hour up the main road at Tulamben and a guy on a dirt bike met me and guided me into the backwoods of east Bali. We went for another twenty minutes into this hills, beyond any blacktop roads to this collection of newish looking houses. Very barebones but clearly well kept and of fairly recent construction It turns out that this "project" is an effort by a bunch of people to create a sustainable environment for the extrememly poor population that lives on the side of this mountain. The total population is around 17,000 people, most are illiterate, virtually no healthcare, many malnourished. So these really smart people decided to teach the local population how to do sustainable, organic farming, built homes, brought in teachers and doctors, and are changing the lives of evryone here. It's truly remarkable. What's the most amazing is how so few people can help so many. Anyway, all 4 of the kids that I saw have developmental disorders, from potentially (likely) fatal to mild. I did what I could, made some prescriptions, taught them how to do moxa, gave the parents basic massage techniques to promote the health of the babies, and we'll see what happens...

the deep blue

2005-11-19T00:11:00.000-05:00

I've been dying to go diving for years and the right opportunity never presented itself. The certification course is 4 days. Who wants to take 4 days out of their vacation to study and work (especially if it's not chinese medicine!)? Anyway, here I was on a beach that you can't lay or walk on, a tiny cold swimming pool, feeling tired (I haven't yet had a day where I'm not treating people), and watching all of these divers going out and back to the ocean. So I meandered down to the dive shop and asked what I could do without being certified or getting certified. The coordinator asked me if I had done any previous diving. I said no, but I've snorkled a bunch. He said, no problem, promptly got me set up with a dive master and suited me up. The dive master asked me if I wanted to go to the pool to train, and I asked him if I needed it. He said we could do it all in the ocean if I wasn't scared. So we went to the beach area and he told me how to breathe and some hand signals and in five minutes we were under the water and heading towards the wreck! The first thing we saw was a black tipped shark. Not especially scary (particularly because it was headed in the opposite direction!). Then we went on to the wreck. It was pretty fun though not spectacular, I've had snorkelling adventures that were much more intense in terms of fish and coral, but it was wonderful and exciting. We dove through the wreck, went down to 16 meters, and made it back in 50 minutes with plenty of air left in the tanks. All in all pretty fun. I went again the next day and this dive guy barely looked at me the whole time, which was fine with me (the other guy was VERY attentive) and we dove at the local reef. Also not that spectacular. We saw lots of different fish. A couple of those rock fish. The ones that paralyze you if brush their fins. The whole experience was exotic. I loved turning circles and looking up above at the surface... at the reef there was a submerged plane wreck from ww2, very bizarre... All in all I wouldn't recommend it. One guy told me that there are a lot of rare fish here and that's one of the draws for people. He was into underwater photography (as were many of the people here). I have to say their apparatus was far scarier than anything i saw under the water...

Tulamben

2005-11-19T00:05:00.000-05:00

i was asked while here, if i would take the time to go and visit a project in the northeast of bali where there were two children that were very sick. of course, given the purpose of my trip, i went. more about that later. tulamben is an area famous for the wreck of the USS Liberty. a ship that was bombed by the japanese during ww2. it was then towed to try and salvage it, but it was taking on too much water and was left in the middle of the ocean. the ride to tulamben was incredible. i drove up to the volcano that created the island of bali, then to the largest hindu temple on bali, then through the richest fields and rice paddies on the island. for those of you that have been to hawaii, the terrain here on bali is very similar to that of the big island. only traditional life is everywhere, from the crazy gamelon music of bali (which apparently is quite different now from how it was 100 years ago) to the temples in every yard. the one glaring difference is the proliferation of scooters. these people drive with complete abandon. it appears as if life is not held in high regard here. people often seem to think looking at the road, or at oncoming traffic is optional. i'll be zooming down a stretch of particularly sinuous road, and somebody will appear adjusting their sandal straps - for what feels like minutes. of course to me this feat is incredible in its own right. i'm pretty sure i couldn't even stay up if i were leaning over on my scooter like that, neck craned down, body weight off center. anyway i don't think anyone has ever used their horn as much as i have been in the history of the whole island. from what i hear, death by scooter is very common here. not surprising. the ride was spectacular. up and over the edge of the volcano, down along its side, through the martian landcape, onto the fertile fields fed by the richness of the soil. very dramatic. tulamben itself was less spectacular. overpriced hotels feeding on the stream of diving dollars. germans, americans, and japanese diving at the wreck and the local reef, the beach is all big rocks, so you can't really walk on it. the water was warm and clean. the hotel was the most expensive i've stayed at here. the food has been the worst. i guess that they've watered everything down for the tourists. bland and barely worth eating. everyone, as usual, is very nice.

Card Reader

2005-11-17T04:48:00.000-05:00

well, i've got a bunch of photos and posts but no one has a card reader for me to get them onto the web! as soon as i can, i will. hopefully this week.

Now anyone can comment...

2005-11-11T06:04:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the confusion. It was my intention that anyone who wants should be able to comment. I think I fixed it. Let me know if you have any trouble (by posting a comment ;^) hehehe...

Angels

2005-11-08T00:39:00.001-05:00

I just sent the email out pleading for aid for those less fortunate and within minutes i get this response from Tom Leung at Kamwo Herb and Tea...

Frank,

Hope all is well. I received a call from Jeanne Atkins today regarding your effort. I would like to support your cause. For every box of needles that people buy at Kamwo to donate, Kamwo will match it. If they are not buying needles, I shall donate 1 box for every $5 purchased toward relief help. How's that for a matching program? Best of luck with this...

god bless,

tom leung

Thomas Leung, B.S. Pharm., MSTOM, L.Ac.

Clinical Director of Grand Meridian Community Clinic

Pharmacy Manager of Kamwo Herbal Pharmacy

Faculty Member of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine

Office Address:

211 Grand Street, New York, NY 10013

Tel. 212-966-6370/212-965-1503 Fax 212-226-4717 Is this guy an angel or what? What more could anyone ask for? Thanks Tom for being there. Hugs, Frank

Paradise

2005-11-07T00:43:00.000-05:00

At the suggestion of my wonderful hostess I decided to motorbike up into eastern Bali for a couple of days. everyone here said that it is amazingly beautiful, and they were right. The first stop was a place called Chandidasa, and the hotel/bungalows were called Ida's Homestay. There were three sizes of bungalow, tiny, medium (with two floors and an ocean view), and large. I opted for the medium for 16 USD a night. The small was REALLY small, kind of claustrophobic. each bungalow had an outdoor toilet and shower (cold water only). Overall extremely charming. Then I proceeded further up the coast to a place called "good karma" run by a jovial guy by the name of Bobbo. This was an hour and a half ride from Chandidasa - basically on the edge of nowhere, but boy was it spectacular. I wanted to stay another day but figured out late in the day that it was Friday not Wednesday, and that I needed to be in the clinic the next day. So it just wasn't in the cards. I drove back to Ubud in three hours flat, making very good time. Dodging dogs, goats, pigs, chickens, women with chickens, even women driving motor scooters while holding onto live chickens! All this and being hyper aware that my helmet was staying on just by virtue of my very large head LOL! Anyway, I made it back after a much needed break (I think I’ve done close to 50 treatments in the week I’ve been here - as much as a normal week in NY). I have clinic tonight. We'll see how it goes.

The Monkey Forest

2005-11-07T00:40:00.000-05:00

I rented a run down scooter from someone at 3 USD a day. it's been great. the only thing is that it seems like traffic rules are optional here, and that makes it slightly dangerous to cruise around nonchalantly when you feel like at any moment anything could happen. that said, I am taking driving the scooter VERY seriously. It is absolutely amazing how resourceful people can be when they have little. these little scooters, not much bigger than a kids bicycle putter around with 4 or 5 people on them. mom on the back with a baby and dad driving with two kids in front of him. on top of that sometimes you see him smoking! that means he's driving with one hand! crazy. All that is just to give you the "scooter" mindset. just up the road from where I am staying is a park called the monkey forest. It's called that because, you guessed it, it chock full o' monkeys. Big monkeys, little monkeys, baby monkeys, mommy and daddy monkeys. Not only are there monkeys EVERYWHERE but they have no fear of humans (or motor scooters). If they think you have food they'll run right up to you and go through your pockets. I was told that there's no rabies on the island but the infection from a monkey bite is still very serious. Anyway, the island of Bali, I have been told, is mostly Hindu, so there are shrines where ever you look. they are beautiful. the Balinese make daily offerings of rice and fruit, which of course the monkeys love. it's a win-win situation.

Anyway this is all going to tie together right about now (scooters, traffic, monkeys - you might think it can't be done but just watch...). As if driving on two way streets that are not wide enough for two very small cars to pass each other side by side is not enough, and driving on the other side of the road doesn't help, not too mention the lack of any road signs, or the fact that most one way streets can be two way (but apparently not all - go figure), there is a tiny road through the monkey forest. Maybe as wide a city side walk (less than 3 feet wide) that is a "scooter" road. Mind you this road goes up and down, makes ninety degree turns right next to sheer drop offs with only a guard rail that would keep a small monkey from falling over, it has pot holes the depth of a basket ball in it, there are monkeys meandering through it with no regard for their own safety or anyone else's (I DO realize that they ARE monkeys but you think there'd be some instinct for self preservation), and this is the most incredible part, IT'S TWO WAY! simply unreal. All that said (and it was a mouthful) the helmet that came with the bike has about the outer strength of a dried eggshell (I’m pretty sure if I accidentally dropped it it would shatter like a Christmas ornament). I think the only thing it could protect me from is a bird crapping on my head, but still given the craziness of the road conditions it did offer some psychological support. well, the chin strap came off, kind of like toilet paper being pulled off the roll, and any illusion I had of safety went with it. Wish me luck...

excuses

2005-11-07T00:38:00.000-05:00

Please excuse all my errors and lack of proper formatting. this entire enterprise is being done on a little hand held palm pilot. I don't even know how it looks. I got myself a prepaid phone card (sim card) and i upload stuff via email to a friend of mine (thanks James!) and he puts it on the website. The money ran out a couple of days ago, so now everything is just being held on the palm until i can refill it. On another note, anyone I write about will only be referred to by their first name unless they have given me express permission to use their name on my site.

Please Help!

2005-11-07T00:36:00.000-05:00

Please Help!

This will probably be the first of many pleas for help, but don't despair! Look at it for what it is, a chance to make a direct contribution to others in need. What I would like to do is have anyone interested NOT donate money, but actually donate supplies. That way everyone can pick something they want to give, and the cost will be small (a box of needles is about 5 - 10 dollars, a box of moxa the same). You could donate one box or ten. It's up to you. You can donate herbs, poultices, patent formulas, what ever you like. Nothing is too small. What I’d like to do is mobilize a shipment quickly (for Aceh) and then one for the Ubud clinic. I’m going to set it up so that you can call Kamwo directly and just tell them what you want to give, or how much (really no amount is too small), and they'll take care of the rest. Then I’ll have one of my assistants ship it out (I’ll cover the cost of international express shipping to Bali). Then YOU get to be part of this wonderful experience directly, in a way that is fulfilling to you. Kamwo's telephone number is 212 966 6370 ask for Ray or Judy.

The Magic Begins

2005-11-07T00:30:00.000-05:00

So through some one I met to whom I mentioned my desire to do aid work for the local people (who have almost no access to local healthcare) I was put in touch with a woman that runs a foundation for sustainable building. she in turn put me in touch with people that run a local free clinic. Originally the clinic was set up as a birthing birthing center for the local population and quickly became a source for all kinds of healthcare. The offer midwife services, homeopathy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, body work. all for free to the people that live in the area (most of whom are extremely poor). As fate would have it the woman that originally sent me to the local clinic (who herself is very involved in local philanthropy) offered me to stay in her place in exchange for treatments for her and her assistant. The first stroke of luck, her place turns out to be a gorgeous resort. Five or six separate cottages, with their own swimming pools, some with jacuzzis all created and designed by her. Truly amazing and wonderful. The second stroke of luck was that the acupuncturist working at the local clinic was going on vacation for a month and they were extremely happy to have someone help out (that would be me). The acupuncturist here, Bobbi, was kind enough to stick around for the first day and show me the ropes. She left a successful practice in the Hamptons to come here and help. She is doing an amazing job. Although the first day was supposed to be really slow because Bobbi had told everyone there would be no clinic (and then I showed up!). It wasn't as busy as usual but we treated at least twenty people, farmers that live outdoors on a mountainside to little kids. It was a great experience. I have two more weeks of clinic before I’m off to java. Then comes the third stroke of luck, it turns out that they are in desperate need of aid in an area known as Aceh (not to be confused with Banda Aceh - a tourist resort). It's in a Muslim area, torn apart by civil war and devastated by the tsunami (yeah, I had totally forgotten about that - I thought if it wasn't in the news any more it can't be that bad... I was wrong). They asked if I would be willing to go and help, warning me that it was slightly dangerous, with miserable living conditions (all of the aid workers sleep in a big open room on top of the clinic), and not a lot in the way of food or personal comfort. Of course, I replied I would be delighted to lend a hand. It is exactly what this trip is about for me. I’ll fly out on a Red Cross plane in two weeks and do a week there before I head back home to New York for a week.

the king of ubud

2005-11-07T00:27:00.000-05:00

I met the king of Ubud, (Ubud is the local Indonesian town I am staying in). I should correct that to say I kind of met the king of Ubud. I’ll explain more in a few minutes. I found out about performance of Balinese dance that was happening in the town performance center. it was particularly special because it was made up of some of the most famous Balinese dancers and musicians of the 20th century. most of whom were in their eighties. it was quite a show. I burned out about halfway through the performance and had to go but what I saw was great. What happened with the king was that when I first arrived at the show there were all of these empty seats in the first row, so I sat there extremely happy with my good fortune. about a quarter of the way through the performance a young man comes up to me and asks me if I wouldn't mind moving my seat back one row. I asked why. he told me because the king of Ubud was there and he usually sat in the front row. of course I immediately began to move seats when the king came up and said "why are you moving?" "for you" I replied. he said "I hope it's not too much trouble." I said "no trouble at all." So it's probably more accurate to say I got booted from my seat by the king of Ubud but there you go.

I'm Here!

2005-11-07T00:25:00.000-05:00

Got here to Bali safe and sound. wrote three post that i will try and upload later. Hugs to all.

reality

2005-11-07T00:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, here we are at entry three and the fun has begun! Reality check #1, planning ahead is great but when you hit the ground is when things count. My wonderful plans to see Tokyo and Nikko were thoroughly trashed (as was the reputation of the Nikko hotel chain) when I arrived at the Narita airport outside of Tokyo. not only was the airport hotel dingy (not dirty per se...) but it takes four hours one way to get to Nikko, and two hours each way plus fifty dollars to get to Tokyo. so having arrived at 4:30 pm I thought I would head to Tokyo for a couple hours, look around and head back to the hotel. I checked in, freshened up, and headed downstairs to the front desk at around 6 pm. the desk clerk informed me that it takes 2 hours to get to Tokyo and 2 more to get back. On top of that, the last train back was at 9 pm which would mean that I would travel for four hours so I could see Tokyo for an hour or so. I decided that was a no go and I would just try again in the morning. so I picked up the schedule for the train into Tokyo and made a new plan for the morning. I got up all excited for the morning and went downstairs to catch the bus to the high speed train to Tokyo. I figured I’d drop off my bag and catch the first one. Then the clerk told me that the first two trains of the day were SOLD OUT (as they are every day)! That meant that if I took the next available one to Tokyo I’d be in the same situation as the night before. I couldn't believe it! Instead I opted to go into the town of Narita. I had a hard time getting oriented and got lost almost immediately (which isn't so bad or stressful for me) and made a bunch of sign language with some locals (they must have found it pretty amusing, one guy let me do my shtick twice before letting me know that he spoke English) but I finally figured out where I was, had an unremarkable sashimi box lunch and headed back to hotel. I arrived just in time to catch the next bus to the airport. All in all Japan was a total bust. Narita was not worth the trip, the hotel wasn't all that nice, and there wasn't enough time to really do anything. c'est la vie...

waiting

2005-11-07T00:22:00.000-05:00

Ok. the reality of travel, to which I am no stranger, is beginning to hit. I've been sitting in the airport for the better part of three hours. Just, of course, so I can sit on a plane for 16 more hours. You would think that "they" (the ubiquitous ones that are the general cause of all evil. some would say the GOP, others would say the white coated faceless scientists - it's only the second entry and already I can see that the white coated scientists are in for a rough ride) would have figured out a better way for folk to do this kind of thing. Excitement puctuated by complete and utter boredom. Well, to be honest i'm not really bored, only tired. i don't normally sleep well on planes. We'll see if this is any different.

dreams

2005-11-07T00:14:00.000-05:00

And so my adventure begins. i am in a taxi on my way to the airport. I was up until 6:30 in the morning preparing my luggage and tying up loose ends - though there are still many left.
I woke at 7:30 am, too nervous to lay in bed. it's just as well, I am hoping it will help me adjust to the new time zone faster. (it's the part I hate most about travelling, changing my sleep habits!)
Although my first destination is Ubud on Bali, it won't be the first place I visit. I have a 24 hour layover at the Tokyo airport (hotel provided by the airline). My plan is to travel to a town called Nikko. Apparently there is an ancient samurai trail that runs through that town. The place is also supposed to be littered with temples of all kinds - Shinto, Buddhist. It's reported to be worth the 175 km ride even tough it's a bit touristy. I would love to get some bodywork or acupuncture while i'm there but time will be short, we'll see.
After that I go on to Bali. I get in at 10:30 at night and head straight to a town called Ubud. I'm super exited to see it and some one I know has put me in touch with a local clinic there where i might be able to see some patients. how exciting! from there I plan to follow my nose. There's an island called Flores, where archeologists found the remains of a tiny branch of our ancestral tree - little people! Three feet tall and using tools! It puts a kink in the whole brain size is relative to intelligence thing (I bet a whole bunch of brainiacs with large craniums came up with that theory!). Then there's Komodo, where the dragons come from. I have been fascinated by them since I was a little boy. How incredible to see one! (I am such a geek!)
Well, my thumbs are getting sore from typing on my palm pilot (no room for a laptop on this trip), so i'm going to stop for now. I wrote all that and I'm still here in nyc in the back of a yellow cab that seems determined to try and break the sound barrier! Hope everyone is well. (The cab driver and I figured out that the trip from Brooklyn to JFK took exactly 32 minutes!)

Dear Patients,

2005-09-29T10:44:00.000-04:00

After 16 years of keeping my nose to the grindstone, focusing on honing my skills, and deepening my knowledge of Chinese Medicine, I have decided to take a sabbatical. By any standards, I have been successful in my practice, and for that I am truly grateful. However, over the last four or five years there has been a growing voice inside me. It started as a whisper, and has grown louder and louder. What about those who are less fortunate than us? Those who have no access to Chinese Medicine? I have kept these words at bay by doing what I can here in NYC, and across the country, by teaching, and helping interested practitioners raise their skill level. It has not been enough. So, after much soul searching, I have decided to take a sabbatical. During this sabbatical I have a number of goals; to look inside myself and see how I want to manifest this need to help others more fully, to see some places in the world I have only dreamed about, and to help those in need with the skills that I have.
The trip will be 6 to 9 months long. Patients will be informed of my exact return date through two mailings, the first 3 months before my return, and the second 1 month before my return. I will visit NYC briefly in December 2005, February 2006, and March 2006. I will be seeing patients during these times for a day or two.
My current itinerary begins in Indonesia and is followed by Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, and a brief stint in India. Then I’ll travel from South Africa, via the eastern coast of Africa to Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt ending in Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and finally Greece.
I am hoping to do aid work where ever I go (I am arranging as much of this now as I can). I don't know if it's possible in each country or area, but I will do my best to find it. If anyone has any connections they are willing to share, it would be greatly appreciated – no matter how grassroots.
I am going to try and set up a website to document the voyage so everyone can keep tabs on me, should they be so inclined. http://www.frankbutler.net
Caring for my patients while I am gone will be my talented colleague Abbey Fromkin, Licensed Acupuncturist. Abbey teaches at some of the local acupuncture graduate programs, tutors students in those programs, and treats patients at Soho Herbs and Acupuncture. She has been assisting me for four years. She knows my methods well, and to them she adds her own special blend of skills. She has years of massage therapy experience, she assists me in teaching my bodywork seminars, and she treats me when I need it. I encourage you to see her in my absence. I believe you will be happy with the results.
Abbey will also have the list of referrals that I use in and around NY, from medical doctors, to specialists, to massage therapists. So please feel free to contact her for more information.
In closing, I want to thank you for being my patients over the years. Much of my learning has come from working with you. It is my hope to take those lessons to the next level. I look forward to seeing you again upon my return. Take care.