DACMan

The World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang, in the country of Laos, is one of my favorite towns on Earth. Its authenticity is subtle, yet deep. It seems the foundation of the culture in this area is so strong, it is unshaken by the visitors passing through. The visitors are changed, not the town or its people.

Luang Prabang’s location above the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers gives it an almost magical feel. Defined by the two rivers, much of the older part of town is only 3 blocks wide, so it’s easy to know your way around Luang Prabang in an afternoon’s walk. 

Because of its French colonial history, most of the four to six-room hotels are former French residences. This adds a certain intimacy to the whole friendly Luang Prabang experience. There are approximately 30 Buddhist temple/monasteries in town, lending their sweet, peaceful flavor to the mix. At certain times of day, the monks far outnumber other people on the streets.

In some indefinable way, I feel more at home here than anywhere I’ve ever visited. The people are gentle and generous. The pace is slow and the land is subtly beautiful. I found it remarkably easy here to talk with people anywhere, anytime; at the next table in a restaurant, on the street, or in a hotel lobby. When I’m in Luang Prabang, the world seems to be populated with friends, even before we’ve met.

“How can I capture Burma in words, as it has captured me?” This was the mantra question that played through my mind last December during the first of three happy and exciting weeks we spent in Burma. Beyond being one of the most photogenic places on planet Earth, Burma touched me in ways I don’t yet understand. There are things that could explain this affinity, like the enduring sweetness of the people or that the towns and cities have not been spoiled by the sudden world wide explosion of growth that makes most places look more and more alike. Although these are good explanations, there is something indefinable in the air. Burma is what it is, not trying to be something else. It remains whatever the current government names it (Myanmar) or does to it. Currently it isn’t madly pursuing the global hunger for MORE. Perhaps what Burma can better be defined by is by what isn’t there.

I hadn’t seen a billboard, heard a loudspeaker or been in a traffic jam even in the capital at rush hour. I hadn’t seen a smokestack, sports car, or a super highway. There are probably a thousand other things missing that give Burma this quality. It’s a time machine that is set in the 1940′s in some places and in the 15th c. in others. There’s time here to simply be, to live life, not to try to catch up to it. It feels good.

One can see “development” around the corner. Burma will change. The Burmese will rid themselves of their brutal dictatorship, be free from fear, have better health care, schools, and perhaps have a real university once again. There will probably also be more cars, bluejeans, and taller buildings. I just hope that they will still be able to see the Milky Way, breathe the air and will still want to meet at the local pagoda on Sunday to play and pray. For now, I just thank my lucky stars I discovered Burma and wish these sweet people happiness.

Boatmen Launching

Why Travel? I mean really travel, the kind of travel where you actually get to know someone truly different from you and find friendship, kinship or just plain old affinity. Travel … in which you are deeply touched by the beauty, courage or devotion of people you would have not imagined that you would have anything in common ground with. Travel … with an open heart, mind and spirit. Travel … which expands your passion for life.

You’ve probably guessed I’m not writing about resort travel, the kind where you’re trying to get even more comfortable than you are at home, without cooking, cleaning or washing clothes. I’m not knocking it, just taking another look. We all tend to work too much, take care of too many things, and feel we need someone to take care of us once in a while. What I am suggesting is there are other ways to revive a lagging spirit. Life’s too short to spend a week playing dead. How about taking a vacation with real travel and enough time to relax and let it all in?

On a trip it seems to be difficult to completely “arrive” until you’ve been away 4-5 days and your “real life” drifts into the background. You are suddenly (or finally) IN Chang Mai or Bali, or on the Tibetan Plateau. You can recognize that turning point when the trees stop being a concept and have individual leaves that move, catch light and have individual beauty. If that hasn’t happened, jump in a lake, a river, an ocean or a swimming pool – really! Get a massage, meditate or whatever you do to empty your mind.

I absolutely believe that we need to regularly spend some time outside our culture to be reminded that there are other ways to live, to think, to be, other than how we do in California or America.

Children at Pagoda

In every part of the world people have their beliefs, problems, solutions, traditions and standards. We know all this intellectually, but we don’t KNOW it. Reading a menu is not the same as eating a meal. Intellect is not the same as experience. Travel allows us to explore, share, consider, learn about, respect and gain affinity for other ways. One of our greatest dangers and greatest arrogance’s is to believe we are right, and to be right about what we believe.

There are multiple, equally right, beliefs in the world. Travel is the best antidote I know for being habitually “right” and trying on other points of view.

After a good travel time, you will return home with renewed energy and creativity, and a new appreciation of our world and our common humanity, as well as new perspectives, more depth, freedom to think and act, and the ability be more ourselves. I promise! I do realize that none of the above is “news,” but I know I need reminders…

Travel ! You get from it what you put in. You reap what you sow. Give it your all and the rewards are staggering!

There are lots of reasons for travel and lots of ways to do it. I have found that one of the most satisfying way to travel is to create a quest, a quest to see the highest mountains, deepest lakes, the oldest inns or the most remote monasteries, whatever you want to make up. It doesn’t have to be significant, just a reason to get out of town, get off the beaten track, be a bit more vulnerable, open, available, and in the end, be a lot more nourished and alive.

My overriding, underlying, undying quest in travel and life is to find beauty, real beauty. Beautiful cultures, beautiful places, people, objects, etc. Like a bloodhound, it’s in my nature to sniff out beauty and return home with it in my heart, soul and suitcase. Lately, it’s been partly in the guise of “adventure collecting” for David Alan Collection.

We all have our quests. Some of them are more likely to be fulfilled when we step out of our routines. Travel is fertile ground for experiencing growth, joy and our own humanity; whether it’s going to a village in Java, up on the Tibetan Plateau or for a weekend in Idyllwild.

It’s all in the intent…

Food Preparation Implements in the Home have perhaps the best energy, flavor, and patina of anything in the Collection.  Food preparation is the heart and soul of home and village life.  It is done with care, love, and thoughtful attention.  One can taste the love in the food and feel the care from the tools used to cook and serve it.

Small, scooped out cutting boards with animal head handles that have been in use for 75 years or more, are included in the collection of implements from Java and other Indonesian islands. The wooden sticky rice trays from Thailand have been used for generations, and the serving bowls and trays from the tribes of the outer islands of Indonesia come to us after 100 to 150 years of family use.

All of these pieces were used for everyday meals as well as celebrations. They represent family and community sharing the most joyous time to the day — mealtime.  Their beauty and symbolic nature are lovely reminders for us to honor what’s truly important in life.

Perhaps most interesting of this group are the wood and stone herb and medicinal mortars.  Our collection of stone mortars from northern Thailand, China, and the islands of Indonesia are usually 200 to 400 years old and sculpturally beautiful.  The wonderfully eroded, small wood mortars are all shapes, sizes, and ages and have a similar feel.

Hi Folks,

Thank you for your enthusiastic and encouraging response to our first newsletter.  Through 2007, I will continue writing the series and presenting some of the most fascinating finds and fun places in the Far East and inviting you to shows, lectures, gatherings and parties.

In this, our second newsletter, I will focus on two subjects.  First, is the stunningly beautiful underwater life in the Bali Barat National Park and a glimpse of the only resort within its boundaries.  Second, is the main feature about our upcoming show, “Works of Clay – 3,000 Years of Form and Function,” which begins March 22nd, 2007.  This show will offer a broader perspective on how pottery has developed and bein then used in parts of the East in the past 30 centuries.

I hope it will be as compelling and inspiring for you as it has been for us.

Live well, give thanks, and be happy.

Works of Clay – 3,000 Years of Form and Function

This show is intended to elicit pleasure in and appreciation for the diverse uses and forms of fired clay from China, Thailand, and Indonesia over the past 3,000 years.  This is not a pinpoint or scholarly exhibit, rather a broad brushstroke of beautiful shapes, intriguing techniques and common and surprising functions of handmade clay work.

Most pieces in the show I personally collected over the past few years in Asia.  Though I have worked with clay on and off for 35 years, I have been awestruck by what I’ve found and brought back to the David Alan Collection.  I hope you will be similarly intrigued and inspired.  The pieces in the show fall roughly into five categories:

1) Ancient Chinese 11th C. B.C. – 10th C. A.D. — Most of these terracotta pieces were made specifically to be placed in tombs of royalty or other persons of great wealth.  The people to be buried wished to be surrounded by everything they wanted to have in the next life including food, wine, animals (pigs, horses, etc.), musicians, homes and fortresses…etc.  Many of these original pieces are shown in this collection.

2) Shipwreck Chinese 11th – 15th C. — There have been many merchant shipwreck discoveries in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the past 2 or 3 decades.  The cargo (heading to middle class markets around the world) included Chinese ceramics dating from the 11th to 15th Century.  Our shipwreck collection includes mercury bottles, water jars, and plate and bowls with celadon glazes from S. China.  All pieces are high fired and glazed.

3) Utilitarian Chinese and Thai 17th – 19th C. — I have found these medium and large storage jars across the East, from China to Java.  Many were brought to Borneo to trade for exotic hardwoods, bird feathers, nests, etc. and later found their way to Java.  They were used on merchant vessels for water, food storage and ballast, though upon arrival in Indonesia they were perceived to have almost magical qualities because of their strength, beauty and color.

4) Sculptural/Architectural, Chinese and Indonesian 16th – 20th C. — These folk art pieces range from 16th C. folk sculptures to 18th C. terracotta roof tiles with animals perched atop, to early 20th C. porcelain.  The fun and the fantastic earmark this latter group, and many of these have nearly unfathomable uses.

5) Contemporary Thai and Indonesian — These larger vessels exemplify the creativity and innovation of contemporary artists from Lombok, Bali, and N. Thailand.  We believe that their creative spirit and high level of craftsmanship will endure for centuries to come.

Snorkeling at Bali’s Waka Shorea Eco-Getaway

After a heavenly 3 hour drive from Ubud through the rice fields and misty mountains of Bali, we arrived at the reception and boat launch of Waka Shorea, an eco-resort within the Bali Barat National Park in Northwest Bali.  Only a 20-minute boat ride away, but truly in a world of its own.  Waka’s 14 bungalows and 2 villas make it an intimate and private retreat.  The grounds are intentionally under-maintained and blend right into the park itself.  There is no attempt at “perfection,” with fallen leaves everywhere except on your private deck.  The bungalows are comfortable and the staff is pure Balinese – effortlessly sweet, friendly and helpful.

Every evening we all dined by pure candlelight on a deck, only a short walking distance from the resort’s buildings.  A great breakfast and afternoon tea and treats are also provided.

Aside from the sweet serenity of unhurried days, magical evenings, and a great cache of like-minded fellow travelers from all over the world to trade tales with, the real attraction here is the life teeming under the surface of the water.  Reaching far out into the deliciously warm water, the steps of the resort’s pier descend into an unearthly world of moving color.  There is no other access than Waka’s own launch, and they retain their own dive masters as well as keep an on-site dive shop.  Not only is this area regarded as one of the greatest snorkeling spots on Earth, but you will probably have theis stretch of coastline all to yourself.  While at Waka Shorea, do not miss the chance for a day trip to Menjangan Island, another shockingly beautiful underwater preserve whose island remains uninhabited.