Where do we go from here?

I'm exhausted. I've been working non-stop on the script for our documentary film on spiritual discovery at Angkor Wat. I have never been there, but from imagining the place I feel I have walked amid the ruins for centuries.

The idea of the movie is to show a travel-weary professor who meets a mysterious Russian Swami and his film crew in Angkor Wat and undergoes a spiritual transformation. I'm not sure how much more transformation I can do.

It's been more than a month since I said goodbye to Aurora in Mexico.

Hopped a plane to Cancun...

And saw my long-lost sister-in-law, Lourdes.

It was a quick meeting in the airport, but well worth it. I was happy to restore old family ties.

With Lourdes in Cancun

24 hours later I was in Lahta, Petersburg, with the Chaitanya Saraswat Math, lecturing on the disappearance of Govinda Maharaja.

Airport in St. Petersburg, Russia

Lahta St. Petersburg

The talks were well-received...

With Prithu translating...

And I even had time to visit the Samurai exhibit with Vijay Raman Prabhu...

Cool Samurai Helmet

After some more talks...

After the talks were finished, there were couple of Russian bear hugs, and I took the Sapspan train to Moscow.

Moscow is a great, muscular metropolis. We also delivered a couple of lectures here.

After a ride in the famous Tilak-wagon, I settled into the palatial accommodations at our Vedic Cultural Yoga Center across the street from the offices of the KGB. (they don't call it that anymore. It doesn't exist. No one is watching you.)

friends in moscow

I can't believe it.

It's hard to believe I met all those wonderful people and made all those friends. After Moscow it was off to Kiev for more lectures.

But first we said goodbye to our friends in Moscow, from left to right there's me, Muralishwar my translator. Across the table near the window is Chintamani, another translator, Prithu Das, one of the masterminds of the operation and wearing a green sweater is Gokula Taruni, driver of the famous Tilak Wagon. I'll put up some more photos tomorrow, folks. Thanks for tuning in.

The Highest Mountain

Today we visited the waterfalls above Chiang Mai, Wachiratan Waterfall with friends, Paramananda, Russian and Narottama a Hungarian. They're technical experts working on the movie.

Wachiratan Waterfalls

Rugged climbers, they've seen some of the Himalayas. But our main concern today was to take a break from all the writing and get some fresh air.

Fresh air, blue skies. Up in the  mountains near Burma.

You can walk to Myan-mar or Burma from here.

the King's temple

The golden spire of a Buddhist temple dedicated to the King of Thailand dominates the mountain here at the highest point in Thailand.

At 2,142 meters it's not much of a mountain. San Miguel de Allende is at a higher altitude. But it's impressive nonetheless with a temple for the King and Queen, shady places and flowering gardens.

the queen's temple

roadside flowers

flowers in a stream

Queen's temple

A bridge to nowhere.

It was nice to get out and get some fresh air by the waterfall. It looks like we leave for Cambodia on the 13th now. I'm working hard on getting a final shooting script that we can use and it's on to Siem reap  and Angkor Wat. That's all for now. Thanks for checking in. Mahayogi.