kristinonthego's Journal

another year
another year has come and gone. christmas with the stress and the happiness is over, and i am setting myself to do something major in the coming year. not too sure what that is.

seeing that i have now spent another year in taiwan, i am thinking that, by far, the biggest change next year will be my leaving here. i am planning on moving in with david in about a month, which although scary, has been hummed and hawed upon enough. between working myself up over things that are inevitable, and things that might not even happen, it has occurred to me that this could just be one of those things that you don't know until you try. so going to go for it.

he has said that he will leave with me. that five years to the chinese here is enough. we'll see.

yesterday i went to buy a cover for my ipod (what says i love you more than an ipod eh?). i was settling into my helmet and an old 'tai-ke' man strode up to me scooter grabbed my shopping bag with the cover and the a new book and raced onto his scooter. when i tried to snatch it he slapped my hand and drove off yelling in chinese. now my ex-expats of taiwan, does that shock the socks of you or what? i went back to eslite and got another one, no book though...will try to find a lender.

also have confession to make about jealousy. boo. why do people feel jealous? why do i feel jealous? this old hag of a girl came to my Christmas party and hit on my boyfriend in front of my face, after she was told not to. and i seriously couldn't take it. anyone have suggestions about dealing with my green eyes?

...happy new year my friends.

Pause.
Sitting in an internet cafe considering the future.

Wondering what has left me here in Taiwan watching other leave. There have been many close to me that have gone. I feel at times that I don't know so many people in the same way that I did before. So why am I still here? I have my days of love and hate for this country that is for sure, and it is my fate that the last few have been not so good ones.

So I got a job offer this morning in Vancouver and that could be a large part of just exactly what is bothering me! I don't really feel that I want to take it, but I don't really know what I do want. The only thing for sure is not looking back and wondering what if.

After pondering I realize that I have found some security here. I am scared that I may be losing my ambition. I found love, a home of my own, and a sense of myself that I have always chased. Is that enough?

Often times I wonder, just what is it that I want to chase. Everybody wants something, of this I am sure. And definitely the things that we want change all the time. So what is it that I want at this exact moment. And what is it that I am going to want in the future. Should I take time to consider all of that in deciding what I do now?? Does the future really matter, if all we have is today? And, if the future does matter, than should the decisions that I make today take into consideration what I may or may not want for the future?

Burning questions. I shall stop here and contemplate more.

Life is alright. I do love being alive and seeing what each day will bring, it just seems that I spend more time wishing that the days were over than I do enjoying them! What up with that? I need a change...

Restlessness is a whole new topic. I have heard it said that as you get older, you tend to relax and settle into comfort. I wonder when this will happen as I am restless for something that I don't know what it is.

As Homer once said, "I am somewhere where I don't know where I am."

travels.
So I was off to Singapore for Ollie's wedding and it was absolutely beautiful. Although I may not want to be married, I am slowly understanding why people might want to do it. I spent some time hanging out with Ollie, Jean, John. It was a gorgeous city and although slightly expensive for my tastes, it is hardly over-rated.

After that it was off for a whirlwind tour of Indonesia. What a huge country. Getting around is slightly painful and we had some memorable experiences. My best one was being alone and puking on the bus that was full of smoking men and not a single window open. Yuck.

At various stages of the travels I was joined by my sister and her friend Matt, and later by Rhiannon. We saw temples, volcanoes, and more shops than I care to recall! It was a very inexpensive country and the diversity of it is quite astounding. After a week on Java it was off to Bali to see what all the fuss was about. My oh my. Amazing beaches, cheap everything, and countless memories. It is DEFINTIELY on my recommended list of places to go in Asia. I know that this hardly does justice to my trip, but I am using the free internet in Singapore and it is going to kick me off right away...

back to work tomorrow.

chinese invasion...
So many people have been saying over the years that the Chinese are really going to take over the world.

I am not going to talk about that here. A Chinese invasion of my house. A 30-35 year old Chinese man that is. And a 30-35 year old man that no one knows! Yikes.

It all began one lovely humid night in Taipei. I was not home. The other girls were in various stages of going to sleep and the cat began making some crazy sounds like when she is stuck behind the fridge. Rhi went out to see what all the ruckus was about. She tried to open the door to show the cat that what she wanted behind it was only a massive cockroach. As she turned the door handle and pulled it open, she was met with some resistance as someone held the door shut from the other side. Clad only in a towel she didn't pursue the person and came to the reasonable conclusion that it was likely someone embarrassed cause he had the wrong apartment.

Then Rhiannon went to Canada.

Karen, Twyla, and I went out for dinner one night. We came back together. Opened the doors as usual, came in. I locked them. Karen when to sleep and Twyla and I chatted for awhile. We got ready for bed and were in our rooms, when the cat started making a horrible noise. Twyla opened her door first and SAW A STRANGE CHINESE MAN IN OUR HOUSE.

He ran away.

We were a bit scared as the doors were locked. After bolting the door we went to sleep.

We reported it too the landlord who said he would get a new door made and put it on the outside. The following week.

Twyla left a couple of days later and it was just Karen and I left in the house. We bolted the doors from the inside every night. Then the night before Karen was going to go Hong Kong, we locked the door and bolted it as normal. When I woke up the next morning, Karen was already one for work. She texted me and asked me if I had unlocked the doors after we locked them the night before. Obviously I hadn't. Freaked out that the only thing between us and an intruder was a bolt, we called the landlord again and emphasized our 'freaked-out-ness'.

Karen left for Hong Kong. I, newly armed with pepper spray thanks to David, decided that I would call someone everyday when I was going home and search the place prepared to blast someone in the face with the stuff (I was secretly hoping that I would find him peering up at me from under a table with brown eyes opened wide...).

I came home on three separate occasions that day and found all of my doors unlocked and opened each time. Freaky.

Too scared, I called the police (well I had a friend call the police). The landlord said he would try to rush the door. I asked the third floor people to come upstairs with me when I was coming home. That's when I made the final discovery. One of the girls downstairs had had four pairs of underwear stolen from her washing!! AHHH!

That was it. I slept with scissors and pepper spray that night. I wished for friends and David. Didn't get either, but didn't wake up to someone going through my underwear either, so I guess it was a success.

The next day, I climbed the stairs to find that the door had been changed and the lock replaced with a far superior one.

No problems since...

I still check with pepper spray when I come home...

A recollection of romance
Looking back.

It is quite strange to think that i have stopped being on the move for the last year and found myself back in the land of Taiwan. It was strange at first and difficult to imagine that someone could miss something quite as much as I missed this place when I was gone. And then, it seems that once everything falls into place, it is like one never left at all. That is how it went. I have worked out my job schedules, figured out the beat of life here again, and made new memories to last a lifetime.

Strange also to think that I haven't gone anywhere in the last year. Maybe that isn't so strange, but when I think about last year and the traveling and moving beds every few nights, I find myself missing it. Maybe that is always the way and we miss what we don't have.

I found love in Taiwan. As I returned here and found that the only thing that had really changed was inside myself, I resided myself not to look for love. Rather, just to accept that it might not ever happen and that that was alright. And then it did. Is this always the way?

Some friends host an open mic night at a bar in Taipei. People, mostly foreigners, go there to do comedy, spoken word, play music, etc to an audience every week. I would go there with some friends to see people I knew, and didn't know. Around halloween, Rhiannon got a text message that we were invited to a party and that the senders name was David and he would like it if she could bring her friend. Haha, of course curiousity got the best of me and I texted him back so that I could learn more. I was going away that weekend to a party in the south of Taiwan, but was interested in who this guy was. He said that he wasn't able to get my number but found Rhiannons from a friend. He sounded alright on the phone and I agreed to meet him at the same place he had seen me.

Now I have never been on a blind date before. I was slightly freaked that it was only blind for one of us. But I knew that this sort of situation would have a very small chance of actually working out and so was consoled with the fact that I would have a hilarious story to look back on.

Then I walked in and asked the bartender where I could find a man named David (the ex-pat community is quite small here and it seems that everyone knows everyone). He pointed me in the right direction and I came upon a strikingly cute boy sitting with a girl. Turns out he was playing in a band with her and she had no idea that we hadn't met before. We all chatted for a bit and things seemed really cool. I found out later that he thought my hat wearing to first meeting was somewhat dodgey, but afterwards we parted and a few days later spoke again.

We met up for a deadly romantic trip up to the top of to tallest building in the world. And, yes, gag me with a spoon, that is when I knew that I wanted something more with him. David was just really easy to be around. He has had a very interesting life and is very open minded. He has left me to go to the Philippines on vacation so it could be that I am missing him a tad, but he is still ALMOST perfect.

There is the story of David and Kristin. We are going on nine months so that everyone can update their record books...just search under "Kristin's longest relationship" and get the white-out ready!

I will updae this with a less gushy story about a Canadian girl freaked out to go in her own apartment...all that to come one day soon!

love ya.

x

kristin

Phi Phi, Bangkok
Koh Phi Phi
August 22- August 30

So I left in search of a quieter spot to do some yoga and meditation away from the party land of Koh Pha Ngan. I headed for the west coast of Thailand to the island that was desimated by the tsunami at the end of last year.

On the ferry ride there I met two interesting people who were enroute to Taipei to try their hand at teaching. I am sure that our paths shall cross again sometime in the future.

The bus was overbooked and there were people strewn across the aisles in stacks of baggage and bodies. I was there earlier and had a nice spot next to the window. hehe...there was no inclination to share either!

On the long journey there seemed to be a gradual accumulation of people until the next ferry was so packed that I seriously wondered if Phi Phi was to be any different than Pha Ngan. I got off the ferry and found the accomodation prices to be out of this country expensive. Hmm...I found a nice place for a significant amount of money and set off to do some exploration.

The next few days were filled with scuba diving, snorkelling, jogging on the beach, lotsa yoga, and lotsa of cool people. Rhiannon spent some time here and told me that she loved it, and I have got to say that I agree with her (except for the price tag that comes with it!)

Ran into Phil and some of the people whom we met at the full moon party the previous week. Spent some time partying a little (the dedication to health lasted only for the daylight hours) and fell in love with this place. Spinning fire, boating, dancing, swimming... I was sad to leave it all behind but determined to spend my birthday in the north.

I found a very cheap airline and learned that it would cost me about 20 more dollars and 40 hours less to fly to Chiang Mai. So I booked the ticket to Bangkok and then the one to Chiang Mai on the 30th. I was off early in the morning to Phuket. I waited in the airport to learn that the flight was about 4 hours late.

Bangkok
August 30

I was in the Phuket airport for a long while and learned that the airline would pay for me to stay somewhere in Bangkok and then I could take a flight the next day. As it was a budget airline I was a bit alarmed at the prospect of accomodations.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that I would be staying at the Amari Hotel at the Bangkok Airport. They gave me an executive suite and all you could eat, drink, exercise, etc. I had a lovely massage after a long swim, a gorgeous buffet, a few drinks, free movies on demand, a jacuzzi...stayed up all night to get the most of my $500 free value. Then got on a plane the next morning to Chiang Mai.

CANADA, BANGKOK, KOH PHA NGAN
I don't understand how I can continue to leave things forever and ever before finding some motivation to write. The link between procrastination and determination...it is seemingly getting further away...

CANADA
August 02- August 16

How to even being to express the shock about going home? I don't know.

I eventually sussed out how to get there and everything went surprisingly smoothly after a few rough times in Bangkok. Even the pain at Canadian customs as the officer for some reason didn't believe that I could live in Taipei and somehow resist the temptation of working there. I had to continue to tell him how much I loved studying chinese and about how wonderful it was that I had parents who wished nothing more than to fund their daughters vacation for years on end. After about 20 minutes I think he was just as frustrated with me and let me through with a dirty look.

Canada was wonderful. At first everything truly seemed so foreign and unbelievable that I seemed to be floating through the whole experience. It was kind of like all the things that you can't really remember become so vivid and you are overstimulated by things that at one point you didn't even notice. It was super to see my Grandfather and the rest of my family and to be able to connect with them like I used to. Everyone seems to have changed so much, and yet somethings never changed. Friends were all cool...again it was a learning experience to go through some of the relationships that will likely last a very long time.

I ate alot. Everything seemed so great. I will miss that, but likely my body won't. I shopped alot. I will miss that, but likely my money won't. Sent alot of stuff to Taipei and lugged alot back to Thailand with me. There is no way I am going through missing having something different to wear again. I have suffered long enough I think! So much for denouncing materialism...but that smile on my face will be unmatchable!

BANGKOK
August 18th

The flight back was much more painful. Hours of layovers, countless minutes spent doing nothing (especially in the very boring Taipei airport). Surprisingly ran into Cara from Taipei in the Vancouver airport. It was nice to catch up a little with her.

Landed in Bangkok at 2am. Had to work out where to leave some of the stuff that I dragged back here. Wheely luggage and backpacking for some reason just don't go together. It is going to cost me a small fortune when I finally retrieve it, but as I said before, it will be worth it.

Headed to Kos San. For the first time I was stopped in the taxi by the Thai police. They said that the cabi wasn't using the meter which was illegal. They demanded my passport. They demanded that I give them some money. Ahh...welcome back to Asia. I looked around and decided that it wasn't too likely that I would get shot. Grabbed my passport back and sat in the car. Nothing happened. I asked if I should find a new taxi. They reluctantly said no that it would be ok if I went. But maybe I should give them 500 baht...nope.

Found a guesthouse. Went to sleep. Woke up later and went to see if I couldn't find the laundry that I left last time I was in Bangkok. The lady tried to tell me something...then she dragged me over to another booth and the lady said that my friend had been there after I left and got it for me. Sure enough he did...and I have even more clothes now.

Had a bus ticket. The agent told me to wait at her shop. I headed there to find no one. The thing was closed. So the ticket said 6pm. It was 6:15. I went to the place that the bus had always left from before. After checking it out I learned that apparently my bus wasn't coming. Had to flash the pearly whites and suck up to a Thai boy to convince him to let me use his phone. The travel agent said she would hold the bus for me if I ran over there. By 7pm I had convinced a man to drive me to where the bus was waiting. Oh life.

There was a plus to this though. As there were so many people heading to the full moon party I was able to be the last one of the bus. This might sound bad, and I thought so too. But I walked on to the lower part of the bus, which apparently is where it is at! I sat next to a sweet boy from London called Mark. We chatted the whole way there (as we both had done a lot of daytime sleeping!) and rocked up to the boat in time to grab a beer and relax on the boat for the next 3 hours.

Kos Pha Ngan
August 19- August 21

Called Phil from the pier and learned that he had found a kind of cheap place in Haad Rin. It was cheap because it was a room for two, and in it was Phil, Bas, Mark and I...cozy. Mark and I headed there and then spent a day chilling with the boys and walking on the beach. We went to see some Thai boxing that night. It was pissing rain unlike anything I have ever seen before. Eventually it was a drizzle and we were herded to the stadium soaking wet. Halfway through I couldn't take it anymore and went back with Phil in search of a blanket and some much deserved sleep (he had a recurrance of tonsilitis and the rain wasn't helping).

Next morning I was up for a quick jog on the beach. Then it was a day of sussing out the place and doing some catching up with friends. We then headed to the infamous full moon party. Other than 4000 people on the beach, buckets of Sangsom and Coke, and amazing drum 'n bass music all night I don't think I need to say more. Mark and I were devotees to this particular bar, and later on the rest straggled over. Phil insisted that we stay on the beach until the music ended. Well...we did, but the others eventually left. We walked back at about 10 am to sleep for a few hours.

Woke up and then struggled to stay awake for the next bit so that we could resume some sort of normalcy to the sleeping pattern. Woke Mark up (who didn't care too much for his patterns apparently) and went to have some Indian food. Had to say goodbye to the boys...sad, but it was time to go. I hadn't worked out where, but after convincing myself that it would be very lazy to stay or go to Koh Tao, I booked a ticket to Phi Phi where I plan to do some much needed health regaining. Meditation, yoga, and running on the beach will be in order for the next bit. After that...who knows?

Mei Kong, Luang Prabang, Bangkok
Mei Kong River trip
July 29-30

So we began the trip to Laos. Again it was very well guided and there were no bumps to negotiate along the way. We got driven to the border. Took a boat across to the Laos customs. Then we boarded our boat that set off for the next 6 hours.
This was not an ordinary boat. It was likely designed for about 40 people. They had packed 80 tourists on there. Quite uncomfortable indeed.
We overnighted at a small village. This is where all the people from the boat trip have to stay and as a result they are able to offer expensive and crappy lodging (as the people are guaranteed to leave the next morning anyway). Ours was a seemingly fine establishment. Then the power cut in the village and we went to sleep...the rats came out of hiding and we had to quickly implement the use of a mosquito net after chasing them out of our beds. Sick.
The next morning we were the last ones on the boat again so this time we scouted out a spot in the luggage room. The fumes from the engine took some getting used to, as did the heat, but we managed to pass the next 9 hours relatively incident free.

Luang Prabang
July 30- 31

We arrived in Luang Prabang for our first taste of Laos. Found a guesthouse and headed for the market. I checked my email and quickly learned that my first taste of Laos was to be my last.
My grandpa is quite ill and I decided that it is better to spend time with him while he is alive than to wait and demonstrate to other people that I respected him at his death. I booked a flight to Bangkok to work out how to change my ticket to Canada.
Very strange feelings about going home.
We went out for our last night together...strange to think about leaving Twyla after so long! Checked out a few places with some dudes that we met and called it a night at about 1am.
Next morning I headed to the airport. Met a cool Swiss chick there who was heading to Bangkok.

Bangkok
July 31- August 02

Arrived in Bangkok and started the long list of things to do. Got pictures in for developing, dropped of laundry, booked a few things, learned about the plane ticket.
Headed out for some drinks with the Swiss girl and a few others. Got home early in the morning and settled in for a few hours of sleep before awaking at 7am to be the first person in the China Airlines office. It is on the other side of Bangkok and was a bit of a gong show to get there and back in rush hour. For a bit of cash though it seems that the airline will do anything! So I got the ticket (standby for all the Canadian flights). Got back to Kos San and learned that my family was going south. Headed back to China Airlines and changed the standby yet again...err...
Went out to 7-11 and ran into Rhiannon. Strange the things that happen! Then we went out for a bit and caught up a little.
Up at 5 am for a flight to Canada. The joys of air travel. Actually going back I made up about 40 hours of time. I arrived only 4 hours after I left! I think the other way might be a tad more shocking!

Udorn Thali, Pai, Chiang Mai 2, Chiang Kong
Udorn Thali
July 21- July 22

We spent our last day getting ready to leave Thailand. Chillin with some friends and nursing our new tattoos.

When we finally made it to the bus stop, Bas made a split second decision to go and join Phil in Pai. We stayed strong and boarded the bus to Udorn. It would take a mere 14 hours to reach one of two entry points for Laos from Thailand. This one was closer to Vien Tienne so we chose it and made the journey. The bus ride was quite plush and we arrived feeling not too shabby.

Then we boarded the next bus. It was only a 2hour ride to the spot where we were supposed to transfer to the actual bus that went over the border.

Try to imagine the look on my face at 11am in the morning as I am looking for an English board or person and run into a Thai sign where someone has nicely written in English : Laos Border Closed. I had told about 30 people up to this point that these were our plans...how could no one have known?? It was laugh or cry. I chose the first option. We decided to hang out in Udorn Thali (the first bus place) and wait for another night bus to Chaing Mai. This city had a ridiculous feel of Taipei to it. Very trendy and Japanesey. Wierd. Makes me wonder how Taipei round 2 will go!

Pai
July 23-July 26

We arrived in Chiang Mai with swollen ankles from sitting on a bus for the better part of two days. No rest for the wicked. We caught the next local bus to Pai. It was packed and hot and small. Four hours later we arrived in Pai. Rumored to be the hippie town of Thailand.

Found a guest house. Had a shower. Went to buy an umbrella. Instead I found Chris (for those of you who don't know, I he was my roommate for about 4 months in Taipei. He had been going through a bit of a nightmare with a Thai girl here...culminating with her being in Germany and he having to give her dad about 1000$ for surgery. I don't know about boys these days but this seems a bit strange. Anyhow it was good to see a familiar face.

Then we called up Phil and Bas from Chiang Mai and spent the next few days hanging out with them and two guys they knew (Will and Rick). There is really not a whole lot to do in this town when it is raining. We managed to get in a bit of clubbing and movie watching and some great conversations. There was also a very good falafel stand next door...

Alas we had to book our bus to Chiang Kong. If we didn't we never would have left. The socks we washed hadn't dried in 3 days and so we went to find a dryer. Had a last lunch. Said bye to Phil (who was coming down with a variety of sicknesses). And got on the bus.

Chiang Mai
July 27- July 28

The bus was better. It was a mini bus and about double the price. Worth every penny I think.

We got a good deal on a guest house for one night. Had a nap. And then went back to the night market where we had frequented just a few days ago. Watched Simpsons in an Israeli cafe. Went to bed.

Chiang Kong
July 28- July 29

We took the bus at 10am. It didn't stop!! I couldn't believe that I couldn't have peanut butter oreos even if I wanted them! err!!

This is an example of the joy of traveling here though. We had a huge beautiful bus and only 6 people on the 6 hour journey. Sweet!

We arrived and sent the visas off for processing. Then booked a two day boat ride down the Meikong to Louang Prabang in Laos. It is going to be a gond show on that boat. But you could take the slow boat, or you could risk your life in a speed boat that requires you to sit in a bomb-shelter like position for 6 straight hours for fear of tipping the boat (many people die like this...I am too afraid of water snakes to risk it).

There is no food provided on this journey and so tonight Twyla and I shall embark to find some provisions. We leave at 9am to secure a visa...about time I say!

Chang Mai
Chang Mai.
July 15-July 21

The bus ride was so different from anything i could have imagined. We booked our tickets and were picked up by a guide and walked to the bus. It was air conditioned. They provided blankets. A movie was showing (it was horrible and on repeat until Twyla caved and stopped it before succumbing to watching it for the fourth time). Someone made announcements that we were stopping. We didn't have to pee on the street while keeping an eye out for random Indian men. They don't stop there, but that is an overview at least.

We arrived in Chang Mai at 6am and were hearded to a guest house with the promise of a tea while we waited for people to check out. It turned out to be a forceful sales pitch by a Thai 'ladyboy' enticing us to go trekking in the jungle for three days. I don't know why but there I was convinced that this was a fabulous idea. So we signed up and paid the money.

When we woke up a few hours later we kinda looked at each other and pondered the committment we had just made.

There were some people at the guest house who were testament to the fun they had had. Our traveling crew wasn't exactly the party party type and we were bound to have a different experience.

The first day was about 5 hours of walking through water and mud. We arrived to learn that there were no showers at this particular village. A 10 baht bottle of water used sparingly had to suffice. After a meal in the jungle we were treated to a dance show by some of the children. Despite the fact that they were dressed up in cultural gear they were bickering and pushing...some things transcend urbaness i suppose!

I stayed up very late talking about theories on the meaning of life, the human mind, spirituality, and the like with these two young guys (one from London, the other from Holland).

As I was roused about 4 hours later to go for another climb, these three loud and abnoxious Dutch chicks proclaimed that we should really take the short walk. (The day before they were bragging about their hot hiking skills...don't know what happened to em and don't really care) It was short and we ended up in a camp next to a wicked waterfall. After some swimming and heavenly usage of soap, we settled in to some great conversation.

Again I stayed up and discussed philosohpy and spirituality with the two guys. And again went to sleep way to late. Err...

Next day was a two hour walk, nearly all going down slippery hills of mud. Good times. Surprisingly I managed not to fall. We rode some captive elephants (never again...it is sad), went for a white water raft and then floated along the sludgy me kong river for an hour.

It was a great experience. A bit more organized than we normally are, but we wouldn't have been able to orchestrate the accomodation in the jungle, so it was worth it.

The night we got back we headed out to some of the clubs with the two guys and again had some great conversation. At about 5am we headed back with an appointment to meet them at 12 the next day to photograph them at the shooting range. It was two kids in a candy store. Hilarious.

Twyla and I chilled and talked for a bit and then, after a deserved pedicure we headed to a roof top bar nearby. Twyla decided that she deserved rest. I decided to stay. Met up with the guys again and had our last wonderful conversation until about 630 this morning (this was interupted as we wandered about in search of different bars, cheese, rivers, our hotel...)

Both Phil and Bas left this morning and we leave tomorrow. Miss them already. We'll see if our paths cross again.

Twyla and I spent the day preparing to leave tomorrow (although i haven't packed a single thing yet...) We went to see this wicked tattoo artist whom we had visited pre-trek.

As I am typing this I have been, only minutes ago, poked repeatedly with a needle in the cells of my skin to permanently alter the pigment there. I love it. That is all that I am going to say...you will have to see it to love it yourself.

We are heading to Lao tomorrow...hopefully the Vietnam visas are in to facilitate this journey.

Chang Mai.
July 15-July 21

The bus ride was so different from anything i could have imagined. We booked our tickets and were picked up by a guide and walked to the bus. It was air conditioned. They provided blankets. A movie was showing (it was horrible and on repeat until Twyla caved and stopped it before succumbing to watching it for the fourth time). Someone made announcements that we were stopping. We didn't have to pee on the street while keeping an eye out for random Indian men. They don't stop there, but that is an overview at least.

We arrived in Chang Mai at 6am and were hearded to a guest house with the promise of a tea while we waited for people to check out. It turned out to be a forceful sales pitch by a Thai 'ladyboy' enticing us to go trekking in the jungle for three days. I don't know why but there I was convinced that this was a fabulous idea. So we signed up and paid the money.

When we woke up a few hours later we kinda looked at each other and pondered the committment we had just made.

There were some people at the guest house who were testament to the fun they had had. Our traveling crew wasn't exactly the party party type and we were bound to have a different experience.

The first day was about 5 hours of walking through water and mud. We arrived to learn that there were no showers at this particular village. A 10 baht bottle of water used sparingly had to suffice. After a meal in the jungle we were treated to a dance show by some of the children. Despite the fact that they were dressed up in cultural gear they were bickering and pushing...some things transcend urbaness i suppose!

I stayed up very late talking about theories on the meaning of life, the human mind, spirituality, and the like with these two young guys (one from London, the other from Holland).

As I was roused about 4 hours later to go for another climb, these three loud and abnoxious Dutch chicks proclaimed that we should really take the short walk. (The day before they were bragging about their hot hiking skills...don't know what happened to em and don't really care) It was short and we ended up in a camp next to a wicked waterfall. After some swimming and heavenly usage of soap, we settled in to some great conversation.

Again I stayed up and discussed philosohpy and spirituality with the two guys. And again went to sleep way to late. Err...

Next day was a two hour walk, nearly all going down slippery hills of mud. Good times. Surprisingly I managed not to fall. We rode some captive elephants (never again...it is sad), went for a white water raft and then floated along the sludgy me kong river for an hour.

It was a great experience. A bit more organized than we normally are, but we wouldn't have been able to orchestrate the accomodation in the jungle, so it was worth it.

The night we got back we headed out to some of the clubs with the two guys and again had some great conversation. At about 5am we headed back with an appointment to meet them at 12 the next day to photograph them at the shooting range. It was two kids in a candy store. Hilarious.

Twyla and I chilled and talked for a bit and then, after a deserved pedicure we headed to a roof top bar nearby. Twyla decided that she deserved rest. I decided to stay. Met up with the guys again and had our last wonderful conversation until about 630 this morning (this was interupted as we wandered about in search of different bars, cheese, rivers, our hotel...)

Both Phil and Bas left this morning and we leave tomorrow. Miss them already. We'll see if our paths cross again.

Twyla and I spent the day preparing to leave tomorrow (although i haven't packed a single thing yet...) We went to see this wicked tattoo artist whom we had visited pre-trek.

As I am typing this I have been, only minutes ago, poked repeatedly with a needle in the cells of my skin to permanently alter the pigment there. I love it. That is all that I am going to say...you will have to see it to love it yourself.

We are heading to Lao tomorrow...hopefully the Vietnam visas are in to facilitate this journey.

Bangkok
Bangkok
July 12-July 14

We said goodbye to India in style with a lovely meal in a classier restaurant complete with Indian karaoke. Honestly I wonder, in the push to westernize, if Asians will ever learn to copy completely.

Bought some more stuff in India that we thought we might miss and then we set off for our last night in the glorious country. (Although it was in Calcutta we had some decent digs!)

We woke up early in the morning to catch our flight. The door was locked and we couldn't get out of the hotel. I knocked on the door of a room where the precious day we had seen the hotel manager sleeping. Well...no one answered. Banged on it a couple more times. Oh dear! A cute foreign boy answered with messy hair...like maybe he had been roused from a sleep at 6am! Oops!

The manager was camped out on the floor in a little room next to the entrance. sigh.

We escaped and made it the airport. We tried to get into the check-in section of this really small airport. Nope. Your flight doesn't actually exist!! WHAT??? We would have had to travel 2 days back to Manali where we bought the tickets. Thankfully it was just an error on the part of the travel agent.

These are the things that I won't miss about India. Although there is a certain element of entertainment!

After boarding the plane and having a questionable meal the captain made the landing announcement. Twyla and I looked at each other with surprise. It had only been an hour...and we didn't understand the name of the city we would soon be touching down in.

It was somewhere in India still. Everyone involved in the flight plan had negated to tell us that this was not a thru flight and that we could add an hour to our time of arrival (in addition to the 45 min that the flight was late leaving India). This was compunded when we arrived to the Immigration line ups in Bangkok. We were right after a flight from Taipei and it seemed more than a bit wierd to be amongst short Chinese people yammering away in Mandarin again.

All the delay may not have mattered had we not arranged to meet Daniel (from Taiwan) in Bangkok about 2 hours earlier than we arrived.

We checked into a guesthouse and then headed off to try our luck in finding him. As this area of the city isn't too big it took about 10 min for him to spot us. We had a few drinks, caught up, then called it a night.

Next morning I left Twyla sleeping and headed for the salon. Spent 5 hours getting my hair done and am feeling sufficiently more human than I was when I left India. We did some shopping and arranged a few travel plans. We were wandering around with grasshoppers (duty free liquor is a beautiful thing) when we stumbled upon a restaurant that played movies and an interesting South African writer. He writes travel and experience columns for Vogue and such, has been all over, lives in Bangkok, and has some interesting insights into life.

Today we are leaving Bangkok and heading to Chang Mai on an overnight bus. It will be interesting to compare the travel conditions of India and Thailand! Bangkok just doesn't do it for me and we learned that we can get our visas in Chang Mai for just a smidgen more (which we will save by not staying in Bangkok).

Varanasi, Calcutta
Varanasi
July 07- July 09

We arrived off of the train to the insane temperatures of Varanasi and staked out a well-reputed guesthouse in the maze-like alleys of this holy town. We had a bit of a bite to eat and then settled into our new temporary, and very cheap (the one benefit of coming as off-season as you can get!) home.

The next morning we were roused by Lala. He was to be our guide for the day. A 5 am start to the river for a short boat trip on the flooded waters.

The town is built on the sacred river of the Ganges. It doesn't look all that sacred to this Canuck though as it is full of filth and the water had risen 60 feet in the 6 days prior to our arrival. We were ready to see dead bodies floating down (this is a very aspicious place to die and many people come here for that very reason)...unfortunately the only corpse to reach our eyes belonged (formerly) to a water buffalo.

We then hit the temples. In style. 3 people packed into a cycle rickshaw built for about 1.5. We are cheap...but then you already knew that didn't you?? Three temples later and a bit of color to the shoulders we retreated to the shade. After a short break it was out to the pooja ceremony. A bunch of peeps get together and worship the river. Although on our visit they had to do it sans loud and annoying music as the power cut out!

Next morning we headed off to an ashram for a brief look. It seemed a bit morbid with dark statues and offerings to skulls...don't really know what it was about but it was interesting none-the-less.

It was back for a shower in preparation for our last train ride in India. The water tank was empty though and so we headed to the train journey stinky and sweaty...Indian style!

Our train was pretty late. (we were catching the same one that we took to varanasi on its next leg onto Calcutta so I don't know why we were surprised) We roasted on the train platform with the flith for a couple of hours and then boarded the train for a good nights rest.

Calcutta
July 10- July 12

Our arrival into Calcutta was matched with our awakening on the train. I hate it when that happens...no warning...just collect your bags and get off the train before it goes to some unknown place.

Calcutta has a subway station. A note to all those of you who might attempt to ride this on a Sunday...it isn't open until 2 pm. We took a taxi. With three Indians that our driver rounded up from somewhere. Now things like this may have thrown us off a bit at one point...now we don't bat an eye.

On to Sutter Street. This is a travelers haven...who knew?? We found the last guesthouse that we will call home in India. At least for a while! After a shower to wash out the grime accumulated over the last day and night we hit the streets.

They are absolutely packed with merchants selling EVERYTHING! Unfortunately the prices are astronomical and we faced a difficult day of bargaining with the wallahs. Got some cool stuff though!

Then we were off to do the touristy things in this town. First was the crazy god of power. Her name is Kali. So we heard that the temple was a bit crazy (they do sacrifices every morning after all), but, alas, the only crazy thing besides all the people pushing were the mis directions that everyone seemed to give us. It seems that anything in this city could be within a 3 km radius of anywhere else. Its precise location just depends on the person that you ask.

Then it was back on the subway to the Victoria Memorial. This was a bit more impressive and it recounts a high period in the time of Britsh rule. Again there were a variety of directions, but by now we were ready for them!

Back on the subway to our turf. A bit more haggling for some sweet watches and then we headed to a restaurant that seemed a bit grungy and out of the way, but was absolutely packed with peeps sampling the tasty cheap food. Then Twyla got an ameoba...maybe it was something she ate??

We slept in for our last day in India and made it to the post office so that we could send one last round of post cards and Twyla could post the Manali clothes that she has no use for in the 40 degree heat. Do they have tax forms at the post office? (that we received 4 differing sets of diretions to?) of course not...it was another search for the main post office. A little line pushing and confusion and the 2 hour excursion was over.

Also I made a 'quick' phone call to Taipei. I wanted to check on the status of my tax return and see if I was going to make any money off of them to mark my return. I forgot the joys of dealing with the Chinese. If they weren't speaking Chinese, they were trying a variation of the Japanese language, and then didn't understand that I wasn't Japanese if I was speaking Japanese back to them. The phone call turned into 6 as I tried to track down the proper office and a person who would try to speak English to me. But it was successful...I only have to find the place when I get back to try to get my check...more on this in October!

Going to chill out and maybe look for another watch or two...then we fly in the early morning. To Bangkok and cheap cocktails...and maybe even a bit of CHICKEN!

This is Kristin...signing off from India (sigh)

McLeod Ganj
McLeod Ganj
June 26- July 06

Actually the name of this place is deceiving. To the world Dharamsala is the head of the Tibet government in exile...actually he is in McLeod Ganj (about 5 km away). This town is crazy busy with monks and travelers from EVERYWHERE, and they are EVERYWHERE.

We came out from the Vipasana course and headed for the nearby village of Bhagsu. It is also a travelers' haven, but without the amount of chaos of McLeod Ganj.

After hailing a rickshaw (after the long walk from the course site to McLeod Ganj) we headed for Bhagsu. It is built on a hill and the rickshaw will refuse to go up any of this. We saw a hill (later it turned out that we had the wrong hill) and headed up it in search of the rumored zillions of guesthouses. All that we could find was a dinky little place at the top of the hill. Basically the lodging for the next 10 days had a roof that was open to the giant spiders who seemed to develop a particular affection for my mosquito net! The woman who ran the place was an absolute doll though, and we got to know a couple of the characters who also resided in (the nicer part of) the guesthouse.

Basically we spent a lot of time chilling here and working out a new focus for ourselves. It was very strange to be thrust back into the world of India, but it was wonderful at the same time.

We met up with Harry (from Manali) who said that we seemed more outwardly reserved. Don't think that this is really true...but who am I to judge??

After coming to terms with the crucial things in life (like internet, chocolate, momos--tibetan dumplings, and the mini-disk player) we embarked on a bit of an adventure to check out the Dalai Lama who made a surprise appearance for 3 weeks of teachings. Normally this would attract zillions of people, but as it was unadvertised it was a managable crowd of, most notably, monks. He is getting quite old, but he radiates this sort of peace and love that is unlike anyone I have ever encountered. Quite an experience, and definitely one to remember.

There is really good cake here. It is called Bhagsu cake. Cookie, caramel and chocolate. Good thing you have to walk about 500m uphill and then home (even further uphill after you come down the 500m) to get it!

We took a one night trip to Bir. It is a small Tibetan settlement about 4 hours away from McLeod Ganj. There was a fantastic feel to this place. Terraced rice patties, the most beautiful and breathtaking temples, and a wicked monestary about an hours walk from the town. This is the most remote place that I have been to in India...there is ONE street through the town...it's small by even Canada's standards.

On the way back I had the sad story of falling out of a bus! Into a puddle! On one knee! I don't know that my knee will ever be the same.

We accomplished a lot in terms of shopping here. I have been so good about the budget while in India...I have killed that goodness now with a good dose of purchasing. Some of the stuff is just so amazing that I couldn't say no. The lady at the post office tried to rip us off by printing the lines of the receipt overtop of each other. Twyla went back and flexed her muscles for the refund! (REALLY...I was talking about 200$ CDN...why rip me off??)

Also there were a lot of movies playing here. We seemed to miss them all the time, but it was nice to catch up on a couple of films! Strange the things you miss when you are scouring the streets in search of popcorn!

I was walking home from the guesthouse next door after coming down a mountain from the most delicious pizza in the dark. I fell. And twisted the ankle which had some how made it through the 'hill incident' at the meditation course. I am a wreck. It is sad.

There are a lotsa cool peeps around these parts. Many people have been here for a long time and everyone is up to something cool. We checked out quite a few 'chillin' spots, a couple of music nights, and some delicious restaurants. Combined with the shopping this has been a very 'western' experience in India...just what we needed before the last week of re-introduction to the insano heat and hecticness as we cross the country to Calcutta for the final time.

Manali, Vipassana
Manali
June 02- June 14

At last I have found my paradise. After the early morning arrival we were greeted by a man who showed us to a beautiful and actually cheap guesthouse in Old Manali. Every morning that we spent here I opened my eyes to a glorious, uninterupted view of the Himalayas. I felt like I was in Banff.

We spent many days hiking around in the forests. Taking day trips with various other travelers that we met here. It is a travelers paradise and there was a mixture of awesome people, shopping and food. This was what the doctor ordered after such a long time of traveling around.

The plan was to stay for only about a week. The road up to Ladakh was still closed due to the snow so we ended up staying around and doing a couple of day trips and many many hikes. This is one place that I will return to...it is really too wonderful for me to describe.

We booked our bus ticket to Dharamsala (the place that we came from). This time we were a little more prepared and booked onto the delux bus. The night of no sleep on the local bus just wasn't worth the couple of dollars that it ended up saving us.

Vipassana
June 15- June 26

We thought that the bus would be a good idea. Then we learned that there was a party going on the Dharamsala that was bringing about 3000 people to the area. The bus was packed with people willing to stand for the 14 hour overnight ride. We arrived in Dharamsala to find no accomodation and ended up camping out behind a hotel to await the beginning of our course.

The waiting list numbers were 26 and 27. We had registered for a hard core meditation course when we were down south. Part of me was hoping that I wouldn't get in.

Alas our numbers were called and we signed away our lives for the following 11 days.

It was the most intense experience that I could have ever imagined. There was no talking allowed. I mean no eye contact, gestures, singing, anything. On top of this there were no sensory inputs allowed. I mean no touching, reading, music, exercising, etc.

We were awoken at 4 am to begin meditation that meant sitting cross-legged on a cushion in a room with 80 people that you weren't allowed to speak with. You were to focus on your body and the sensations that arose on it. That was it. It sounds very easy. It is not. You are not to think about anything else. In this way all of the notions of pleasure and pain, craving and aversion rise to the surface and disappear. This continued with a break for breakfast and lunch until 9:30pm.

I understand if you are skeptical. No one was more skeptical than me. There were a few days when I can't describe the feeling really. It was like the very things which were engrained in your personality were emerging and leaving and you were left with a clean slate. Crying, laughing, depression, elation...they all happened spontaneously.

When we were released back into the world I felt a sense of clarity that I have never had before. As well as a sense of peace that I couldn't ever have imagined.

Amritsar
Amritsar
June 01

We took the train overnight to Amritsar from Delhi and went early in the morning to visit the Sikh Temple that is at the heart of the religion. It was an amazing structure put up in the middle of a bathing gaht (pool of water). The Sikh religion is very warm and welcoming and we were given tea as well as some strange communion like food that more closly resembled porriage than any communion I have ever known. We made a wish on the wishing tree and then headed back out into the heat for the last time.

After locating the bus station we found that there were no buses direct to Manali (the place we were trying to get to) but there was one going to a connecting place. We got on the bus and took the 7 hour journey. Then we changed buses again for another 4 hours. We arrived in Dharamsala and found that we were still 14 hours from where we wanted to be. We took the overnight bus.

Settle in for one of the longest bus rides EVER. The mountain roads in India bear no resemblance to those of any I have ever seen. They are wide enough for one vehicle and often built on sheer drops of hundreds of meters...scary. But this was a night bus. The second night we didn't sleep in a row... to the disgust of many of the passengers the bus driver wanted to stop and sleep at every opportunity. It was a very bumpy ride but when we got off the bus we were in Manali. It was about 10 degrees and there were mountains all around.

Mamallapuram, Madras, Puri, Delhi
MAMALLAPURAM
May 21- May 24

We took the bus from Pondicherry to Mamallapuram. It was supposed to be yet another beach town in the sweltering land of Southern India.

When we arrived off of the crazy bus, we headed for...well, anywhere. We encountered a man who said that we could stay on the roof of his house. It was a pretty sweet spot and we bunked up there for the next couple of nights.

There were some very delicious mangos here, some pretty decent fish, and that is about it. There was a famous shore temple here that got a lot of coverage after the tsunami...it wasn't worth the astronomical entry fee...we could see it from the road and thus were satisfied to take a shot of it from the outside. There was a particularily disgusting man just a bit further down the beach. The men here often have the wrong idea about foreign women...this one was one of 'em.

MADRAS
May 24-May 25

Due to the heat we decided to spend only one night in this hot land.

We arrived off an insanely crowded bus into a very spread out city. We headed (as usual) for the cheap area of town close to the central railway station. After finding a very dirty, but cheap, room we set about to see the sights. Upon coming to India we always stayed away from the rickshaw drivers who promised to show you things for very cheap but then you have to go to the comission shops with them. We have since changed the opinion about these...as long as you are strong and pretend to be interested, the driver gets his commission, you don't spend any money, and the shop had some people in it...EVERYBODY WINS!

There was a pretty cool snake farm with lotsa different kinds of animals. Huge tourtise which was my favorite thing!

We headed to the train station the following afternoon to loiter through the crowds until our night train headed for Bubaneshwar on the east side of india about 1000km north.

After getting on the train we realized that we didn't have too many snacks, and that 24 hours on a train is, in case there was doubt, a long time. There are 3 beds stacked up on each side of a partition, we get the top beds and then just recede from the world for a bit.

We arrived at a stop that happened to be ours at 22:00 the next day! The joys.

It gets better. We decided not to stay in the city, but instead head for the nearest beach called Puri. We caught the last bus making the 2 hours journey. So did every other person in India it seemed. There were people on the roof, hanging out of the sides, piled up on each other. We were the only 2 women on the bus...a very joyous occasion...and we were jammed up in the front amongst the people who were yelling and pushing and whatnot for the next 2 bumpy hours.

After arriving at precisely 01:00, we enlisted the aid of a cycle rickshaw driver. The fact that he, like his buddies, seemed to have stumbled out of a beer bottle didn't make too much difference on the traffic deserted streets of Puri...until I fell out of the precariously packed rickshaw that is.

We arrived at a guest house. In my fatigued state I managed to bargain up the price from 100 rupees to 150 rupees. We slept on it.

PURI
May 26- May 29
Were awoken very early the next morning by a woman who was beating the dirt out of her laundry.

Walking about in the inferno was excellent. It was amazingly hot, but there was a kinda cool forest with many many thorny trees. Cool to look at, but not so cool to touch! And upon one of our ventures to find a faster train to Delhi (after waiting in a pushy line at the train station to find out there wasn't), we got a bit lost on the way back. Ended up in the hard-core India part of the town which was kinda interesting, but sun inducing inferno prompted us to escape...after we worked out where exactly we were and where we wanted to be going!

We found a better hotel for our last night here and it was sweet. There were a lot of mosis in the mosi net, but the garden (with the spider that loved Twyla with all the hate she had for it) was worth it.

Our train left Bubaneshwar on a 33 hour train journey that basically crosses the country. We rocked up to the train station and went on some missions to secure the proper provisions of reading materials and food for the epic journey. Upon entering the train we realized that we were to banished to the top of the carriage for the entire time...there was a large family who was monopolizing the bottom seats.

The train, it must be said is considerably better than the bus. The only problem is that we have to reserve the tickets ahead of time and we don't usually know what is happening...fortunately we stumbled upon a reservation office in Mamallapuram and booked tickets for the next 3 train journies. I will write a parallel to the bus adventure and post it for your reading pleasure shortly.

Delhi
May 30- May 31

We arrived in Delhi off the train to be greeted by the mayhem that we had so happily left behind four months prior. It was late at night and Delhi is not really the 'place to be' at this time of the day...if ever.

Lugging bags around the seedy area of Delhi isn't the best option. We checked them at the train station and hoped that they would be there upon our return.

Walking down the flith infested streets with only a small bag while searching for a place to stay...no preference really. We spot a hotel and decide to try our luck. There was a man in his pajamas in one of the room who said that we could get set up with a room for 200 rupees no worries. We had a nice cup of tea with him and then discovered that we were lucky he was there, as he didn't work there, and the gentleman who did was lacking in the English department.

There was no water in our room. The power cut out early in the morning. We showered in a spider infested cavernous room with water drizzling out of a faucet on the roof...it was glorious. Thankfully Twyla had brought the price down to 150 rupees the night before so we weren't too pissy about it.

We headed down the most amazing shopping street imaginable and stopped to pick up a few essentials as well as go to our favorite restaurant. Star Wars was playing in a swanky theatre and we headed there to soak up some of the A/C. Little did we know that the security at a theatre is tighter than the airport. After an enthusiastic frisking by the security woman, and a surrender of various peices of the electronic equipment, we were told that we weren't allowed to bring anything into the theatre and that instead we could leave it with the man outside. After some arguing we managed to get our small bags left in a room...imagine if we had had whole packs!

After the movies we headed back to the bazaar and got some fruit that would leave us sitting on the train platform eating leechi fruit and waiting for the last train. This one was packed full of guys wearing turbans...we were on the move to Amritsar.

Coimbatore, Ooty, Coimbatore, Pondicherry
Coimbatore
May 15-May 17

We arrived in Coimbatore very early in the morning. After being deposited on the street we made a phone call to Auntie Bina and Uncle Ragu. They are Twyla's Aunt's Aunt and Uncle. They graciously arrived to pick us up and take us to their lovely home.

I don't think that one can fully appreciate the wonders of a home until they are without one for four months! We are talking luxury here...A/C, hot water, Auntie Bina's cooking (and honestly it was a non-stop parade of the most delidious things you have ever laid eyes on!), great conversation, a driver who took us around...heaven.

We were indulged for three glorious days and then the driver took us up to Ooty....

Ooty
May 17- May 18

After the long journey to Ooty (it doesn't seem so long in a car as opposed to a bus!) we arrived at the tourist packed hill station. Uncle Ragu had arranged for us to stay in a convent as the majority of the accomodations were full due to the 109th flower show! I didn't know that so many Indians liked flowers! It seemed that the little town was about to burst at the seams.

We saw some amazing views, the beautiful and vast gardens, and found the homemade chocolate shop. It was a not-good evening after seeing just how much chocolate a body can handle.

As the town is in the hills there was a lovely break from the scorching heat of India. At times I wonder how I could have minimized the insane temperatures that we would be placing ourselves in when we were here...

We awoke very early the next morning as the altar boys had arrived from Kerela. 47 of 'em and they used the bathrooms on the floor of the convent that we were staying in. We got up and were fed breakfast by the sisters...then they gave us the bill...it was more than we had paid anywhere else in India! Shocking!

The bus back to heaven was long, crowded, and hot. It wouldn't have been so bad if not for the long stop that left us wondering if the bus was broken. We have heard that these breakdowns are very common...we are experienced bus travellers...is our time due??

Coimbatore Part 2
May 18- May 19

We arrived back in Coimbatore and booked our ticket for Pondicherry the next day. Auntie Bina welcomed us back with, again, more food than 16 girls could have handled!

It was our last wonderful night in paradise. We spent the day doing some serious planning for the remainder of our trip in India. Auntie Bina is horrified that we aren't traveling through the four star resorts...she is threatening to call our mothers and have them come and drag us from our dig's, as she calls em, back to our homes!

Auntie and Uncle drove us to the bus stand and we boarded the night bus to Pondicherry. It wasn't the best bus, nor was it the worst.

Pondicherry
May 20-May 21

When we arrived the next morning we were shuttled about looking for accomodation that was not full. Honestly I don't know why people come here when it is so hot!

Eventually we arrived at an Ashram. (The accomodation is getting weirder and weirder). We took the cheap room sans the sea breeze and then went about hiring a bicycle to get around the town. It was hot did I mention? And the bicycles in the Indian traffic were an adventure. We aren't talking well maintained stable ountain bikes here either! It was a 50's model, gearless, spring loaded seat, and questionable in the breaks department. The wheel was a bit crooked I began to notice while veering through the traffic trying not to stop in fear of the gearlessness. An adventure that lasted a few hours. It was too hot. I took a nap.

We woke up as the sun was going down and went for a brief walk to see all the people who come out when there is no sun. Had a lovely dinner and then sat in the cool breeze of the Ashram's garden until it was time to go to sleep again...

We woke up early and made our 830 check out time. Then we haggled the rickshaw to take us to the bus stand to catch the next bus going to Mamallapuram. We had forgotten what it was like to take an Indian public bus...and were quickly reminded.

Kovalum
KOVALUM
May 10- May 14

We landed in Trivendrum and got an autorickshaw to Kovalum. It was apparently the hippie paradise that Goa now is...about fifteen years ago.

We arrived to a well-developed beach geared for the package tourists that fly in from the UK every week. But it is down season everywhere in southern India and we are loving the economic kickback of this. We found a sweet room in a nice hotel for about a quarter of the price that we would have to have paid if it were busy. That said there were few tourists around and this was offset by huge numbers of muslims coming during some holiday in the nearby town. When I say offset I mean in the thousands! It made for some interesting times as they came primarily to see foreigners.

The food was fantastic. Off season prices for seafood that made me forget my vegetarianism for a few days! Heaven on a plate really when you can have a huge fish cooked anyway with a meal for 4$...doesn't get too much better than that I don't think!

We met some interesting people in Kovalum including a couple from the Maldives. Niyaz is an aspiring film director and his girlfriend Riyaza (the name coincidence is definitely funny) has a painful and inspiring life story. She has been married twice and has three children. Because of the increasing money that is kicking around the Maldives there is an increase in drug use. Both of her ex-husbands are heroine junkies and her older two children are living with her ex-mother-in-law, while her youngest son is living with her. She had to flee from the Maldives because of the harsh treatment and judgement that she felt after divorcing. It is very sad that a religion can completely destroy a womans life if she is protecting herself. She is Muslim and she believes in her religion, yet she can't be around those of the same faith for fear of persecution??? We hung out with them a few nights and had some good laughs.

I also stumbled upon an amazing artist in Kovalum. Seriously I haven't seen paintings that I have been so drawn to before. They are quite expensive, but I will keep thinking about it! Perhaps I shall just take up the artist (who is quite an interesting and self-aware man) on his marriage proposal and have unlimited paintings...it's an idea for sure!

We chilled out a lot. This didn't mean sleep as the power would be out from about 8 am to 7pm everyday! quite irritating as you can't sleep without a fan and you can't have a fan without power.

There was a guy who was working in our hotel...Ageet (spell?) who kept insisting that he would get us tickets out of Kovalum, but then at the last minute he would say they were all booked, etc, etc. Quite annoying. Finally I had had enough and went to a travel agent and found the most amazing bus that took us to Coimbatore. It was the picture of relaxation. You could recline your seat with ample leg room, no honking, darkness, only one person snoring...bliss I tell you.

We woke up to someone talking and then we realized that no one else was on the bus...hmm...oh this is our stop? convenient...groggy but out of the bus and sitting on the street in Coimbatore.

ALL ABOARD! For the ride of a lifetime.
IN TRANSPORT
(May 09)

Awaking to the sweet sounds of mosquitos abuzz at 6am in the briskly cool climate of Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka to seee out a mode of transportation to the distant coastal city of Galle, is an experience not to be forgotten.

Upon arriving, via autorickshaw (trishad as the Sri Lankans have dubbed 'em), one is greeted with the hustle and bustle so characteristic of an early morning ruch of confusion to search out and board the correct bus (in the absence of English signage of course). With the difficult identification under control, and the subsequent confirmation with at least 3 people, the stowage of luggage presents itself as the next hurdle. Wrestling a 15 kg bag into position at the front of the ramshackle 60's school bus style vehicle amongst the potatoes, old TV's, blender, green onions, marigold prayer offerings, and various other brown paper packages tied up in strings, is no easy task! Finally, one can relax in the plush comfort offered by the relatively (maybe 1/2 full) empty bus, and the relatively (maybe 15 degrees) cool climate. Of course the flashing lights around the various dieties at the front, and the various balloons and other ornaments, provide fantastic eye-candy during that relaxation.

The engine rumbles to a start on the third try and suddenly a band of Sri Lankans storm the pus, desending like ants on a cockroach. They bumble aboard with various other packages that are being precariously pearched upon the vegetation, backpacks, and household appliances. It is standing room only now for those who missed the pre-departure 'search and destroy'. The bus heads, full bore, out of the bus station heading for the winding, one land, bi-directional roads of the Highlands. Speeding around the corners with the passengers and cargo seeking some sort of balance during the insestant stopping to allow others to clamber aboard. They have barely one foot off the ground before the fare man yells 'Hare Hare' (sounds like Harry Harry) and the driver floors the accelerator yet again. (Of oourse one never knows if we are picking up a passenger or allowing the fare man to disembark and put some money on a temple and do a quick prayer session!)

There are some interesting people who can be viewed when one has a seat next to the door. The fashion is out of a by-gone era, one realizes, as three twenty-something men board the bus in matching bell-bottom striped black jeans and slightly differing coloured, atterned, long-sleeved, button down, collared shirts. Another character climbs aboard who seems to have forgotten to fasten the buttons that would otherwise be securing his pants. If one is unlucky enough to have that coveted aisle seat, they would find this quite revolting as the gentleman leans in to negotiate the weaving of the bus (of course, it should be noted, a patronizing "I'm sorry sir, could you please fasten your pants?" does the trick quite nicely). A woman in traditional clothing with three school-aged children is next on the bus, she elbows her was on and selects a suitable foreigner as a leaning post. Unfortunately, as she leans over to give the fare man a few rupees, the money is blown out of the window. The fare man and the woman both stare at each other in confusion, until it apparently dawns on him that the bus is packed and no-one is going to know the difference between 123 people and 127 people anyway. She acknowledges his kindness with a toothless smile and continues to whiteknuckle grip the seat with an eye on the kids. One may also like to note that as they are watching all of these people, they are being watched by ALL of them as well!

Now at this point, one may notice that the air is quit pungent. The first thought would be to glance toward the stack of onion, until the realization that during the last 5 hrs the temperature has risen with the falling elevation. 127 people (roughly) in a bus in 35 degree weather doesn't bode well with the senses!

And just like that, as one is in the depths of despair that the journey will never end, 8 hours have passed and the buses engines die, there is a quick pushing session to escape the confines and wrestle the cargo onto the parched earth outside. A quick look around to identify the next connecting bas (as always, lacking English) and settle the frazzled, overstimulated mind, and sweaty reeking body into an airconditioned, limited capacity, 80's model mini-bus that cost twice the price, and one realizes there is nothing that can quite compare to the beauty of experience...no matter how hard you have to search.

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