haiku and thoughts

Travel Haiku...a very good friend of mine suggested I write a book. "The Chai Chronicles", he called it. I like that idea. Thank you , LD.....
Do not be surprised if all of these postings change...they are a WIP after all. This post for instance needs to be made into a proper haibun. AND that will take some work.

oriental market
smelling the chai
of my travels

iced tea
on cool marble steps
my bare feet

terracotta tiles
chai with the sent
of fried fish

Where else but Italy and Spain? I will comment later.

my guide
under the flame tree
stirring chai

wet buskers
across the Hapenny bridge
hot tea

I was looking at some old photographs last night and it brought back many memories. I am going to write a series on "tea" and all the places in the world I have enjoyed it. Teas seems to be the one constant in all my travels, so it made sense to me.

The first Haiku is about a trip to Kenya I took when I was 17. I will never forget those trees...it's hard not to fall in love with Africa. I had a guide, an older Swahili gentleman who was so dignified. We sat in the shade under a flame tree and he made tea. At the time, I didn't realize just how much of an honor that was, how poor he was and his "sharing" with me, was truly a gift. In Africa, they drink a lot of their meals. That drink is Chai. Made with 50% water, 50% milk and a good dose of sugar, for those that can afford it. They steep the loose leaves in the just boiled mixture, stirring for a few minutes and then strain the lot. It's unfortunate I was so young, stupid and as green as I was. I never realized just what a moment it was and how fortunate I was to be there. I took a lot for granted back then.

The second Haiku is about Dublin. I used to live there and I loved the place. It was the first place I actually heard the term "buskers". I had seen them in Paris, Rome, Munich and many other places, but no one had ever told me they had a name for street performers. It seemed to be drizzling all the time in Dublin and always on the chilly side. I used to walk from my house on the north side of Dublin, across the Hapenny Bridge, past the buskers, who I always gave something to, even though there were some extremely lean times in Dublin, to Bewleys to buy tea. It was the one and only luxury I could afford. Bewley's tea. I still drink it, only it's now the decaf I drink. I have it shipped from Dublin, twice a year. How times have changed.