Wanderings, hiccups, and wasabi

Weddings

2007-08-14T06:49:00.000-07:00

Well it has certainly been a tumultuous week. I landed in Jakarta to the craziness of planning a wedding, then the bride had a miscarriage scare (but it all turned out to be okay and i got to see the baby kicking and dancing and hear it's strong heartbeat!!@!), then there was a 7.5 richter earthquake on the night of the wedding and the giant chandeliers in the hotel lobby swayed as the poor bride and groom had to run down 31 flights of stairs, and THEN we saw a volcano erupting from the airplane somewhere in Java and then there was a huge reception in Bali which included belly dancers and fire twirlers and everything in between! Am now heading back to Beijing to earn a bit of cash and chill for a bit while I figure out what I really want to be doing....wish me luck with that one!

Catch up

2007-07-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

Back in Changi Airport - my second home...or is it my 3rd or 4th??? I don't know anymore! Anyways, since leaving the tranquility of Laos I spent 3 pampered days in Singapore with Boobie, then 10 days in old Melbourne town for my grandparents' anniversary and to catch up with everyone in the wintry breeze, then to Beijing for 2 weeks to start the mammoth task of updating my resume and finding a job, then to Singapore for 2 more days of snuggling, then to Koh Tao in Thailand with my family for a week of sun, pina coladas, and pad thai, and NOW I'm on my way back to Beijing for yet another week before heading to Indonesia, via Singapore, for Herman's cousin's wedding! Being on a time limit and a very basic computer, I can't add more details or photos just yet (and I can't access this from Beijing), so all of my adoring fans (does ANYONE actually read this anymore???) will just have to be patient and wait. So far it has all been fun, although I must say, rather than slowly figuring my life out I am now more confused than ever!

From Four Thousand Islands (Don Det, specifically) to four million people (Bangkok...actually, it's closer to 8 million)

2007-06-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

After finally getting out of the hole that is Pakse, Rianne and I made it to the quaint old colonial town of Champasak, famous for its Angkor Wat style temple ruins. An easy and peaceful 8km bike ride through rice paddies led us to the ruins, known as Wat Pho. Unfortunately, access to several parts of the temple was restricted and it was much smaller and more dilapidated than Angkor Wat. Despite all this, it was a magical temple, partly set amongst a mossy green forest and a backdrop of sheer rockface, and it had a wonderful view across the Mekong plains of Laos. The next day we made our way south to the Four Thousand Islands, aiming for one particular island called Don Det, but, after lots of miscommunication and a frustrating tuk-tuk ride, we were taken to the wrong island! We were offered a boat ride to the correct island for 2 million kip (US $200) but, obviously, turned it down and discovered that it was only meant to cost 40,000 kip (US $ 4) ! One day late, we finally made it to the little slice of heaven which is Don Det. Here I spent 7 days doing little more than sleeping, reading (i read 3 books in 7 days!!! anyone who knows how slowly i read will surely be impressed by this astronomical figure!), eating, and having sunset Beer Laos. I never really been very good at doing nothing, but I think I became somthing of an expert of it on Don Det!! A major part of the reason I managed to stay so long was a dangerously delicious bakery run by an Aussie guy who would make the most yummy chocolate-banana doughnuts that are famous amongst backpackers throughout Laos! There was also always great, friendly people to hang out with and just chat, including a Chilean couple, an Irish oceanographer, an Isreali guy called Noam, and my bubbly Irish neighbours, Sonya and Aisling, among many others whose names I can't remember! Regrettably, I finally had to leave Don Det and the bakery and my new friends and embark on what felt like an epic journey from Don Det to Pakse to Ubon Ratchatani to Bangkok! I arrived at the Bangkok train station at 5:30 this morning and had to wait 4 hours until even an internet cafe was open (where I found this adorably ugly dog which you will see a photo of here). Since Herman's flight doesn't arrive until 10pm, I plan to spend the day pampering myself with cheap pedicures and massages and maybe catch a movie - all in one air-conditioned mall (ah, gotta love Bangkok!).

Southern Laos

2007-05-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

After five days in Vientiane (and a wonderful massage and herbal sauna treatment in a temple), I finally got myself organised enough to continue my travels further South. After a 6 hour bus ride I found myself in the sleepy little town of Savannakhet and settled in to a very friendly guesthouse. I was hoping to go on one of the many community-based eco-tourism treks around Savannakhet (that don't exploit the local villagers and the environment quite as much as most trekking companies), but there were so few tourists in Savannakhet that no one else had signed up, making it much to expensive for me to do on my own. Instead, I made friends with the handful of other travelers in my guesthouse (a Swiss woman, a Dutch girl, and a Dutch guy) and together we made our way further South (on a bus that played Lao and Thai karaoke music at a huge volume for the whole 5 hours) to the convenient but uninspiring town of Pakse. After a nice (and much-needed) evening of drinking chilled beers while watching the sunset over the Mekong and a delicious Italian dinner, we headed off the next morning to the tiny riverside town of Tat Lo, famous for its waterfalls and relaxed atmosphere. We spent one day just doing nothing - reading, relaxing, eating, eating, eating - and I finished The God of Small Things ( a WONDERFUL book). As I am not very good at doing nothing, however, we decided to do a 4 and a half hour trek the next morning to a couple of waterfalls and through several of the nearby villages with a local guide, which was excellent!! It was just the right amount of walking (not so much that we were completely exhausted but enough to feel like we had done exercise), the right sized group (just us 3 and the guide), and perfect weather (not too hot and not raining!). The scenery was gorgeous and very lush and the villages were very welcoming but not touristy at all. Now we are back in Pakse (minus one), walking the streets looking for other travelers to join us on a 2-day trek in the next day or so...we are keeping our fingers crossed but most of the other tourists here are only in transit or are not willing to pay considerably more to do a non-exploitative trek! Regardless, over the next few days I plan to head South to the Angkor-style temples of Champasak and then have a few relaxing days in Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands) near the Cambodian border.

Koh Chang - mid April...

2007-05-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Until I can find a computer that can read DVDs, these are the only photos of Koh Chang that I have

Journey to Lao(s)

2007-05-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

Having spent about a week total in Chiang Mai, I was more than happy to be on my way to Laos with my little group of travel buddies - Rob & Charlotte, Laureli, and Bee (and, later, Graciella). After struggling with whether to let our hotel manager take all of our passports or to arrange our own visas at the border (and possibly face a 2 hour wait), we finally succumbed to her pressure and handed over our most important documents, hoping that we'd see them (and her) again in the morning!Perhaps, in retrospect (and, seeing as there was NO queue for visas in the morning), it was a bad idea, but all worked out fine and we safely putt-putted across the Mekong to Laos the next day. It was the next part of the journey, however, (a 2 day boat trip from the border to Luang Prabang) that we were completely unprepared for. The seats on the boat consisted of little more than a plank of wood and a cottonwool-stuffed flimsy pillow, which would have been fine for a couple of hours...but after 8 hours of trying unsuccessfully to get comfortable and watching our fellow travellers get progressively more drunk we couldn't stand to be on that boat for another minute. Except we had to get right back on again the next morning for the same amount of time! Needless to say, we were all relieved to finally reach the beautiful old town of Luang Prabang. It has a delicious mix of French architecture (and croissants and coffee) and Lao culture. When you need a break from temple-watching, you just stop somewhere for a latte and a baguette! On our 2nd (or was it 3rd??) day we journeyed out to these beautiful waterfalls about 30kms out of Luang Prabang with the most amazing coloured water and set amongst lush forest - we spent hours climbing, swimming, and swinging off ropes into the crisp water! We also discovered L'Etranger - an adorable bookshop/restaurant/cafe/movie venue - with the most delicious food I have had in months, where we watched Stranger than Fiction (GREAT movie...suprisingly, considering that it has Will Ferrell in it!)! Eventually we had to pull ourselves away from Luang Prabang and get back on the travel-wagon (along with most of the people from our boat trip from the border...they just keep popping up everwhere...I guess most people take to same route through Laos), so we headed for Vang Vien - NOT a cute, charming town at all! In fact, Vang Vien is full of tourists and backpackers under the influences of multiple substances all glued to televisions playing Friends on repeat and at the highest possible volume! However, the AMAZING scenery around Vang Vien almost makes up for the abnoxious travellers and blaring TVs - it is surrounded by huge limestone cliffs that shoot up into the air dramatically...full of caves to explore and a quiet river running through it all. It took us a few days to really get anything out of Vang Vien...partly due to the incessant rain and partly due to the lure of pizzas, internet, and DVDs! When we finally did visit some caves and go tubing down the river (virtually a right of passage in Vang Vien), we were hugely rewarded! Having felt (finally) like we had done some justice to Vang Vien, we hopped back onto a bus (no trains in Laos) to the capital city, Vientiane. Very possibly the quietest capital city in the world, Vientiane is quaint and small, but still a convenient place to hang around in or pass through in between other travels. Although it is much more expensive than the rest of Laos and despite the VERY messy and muddy combination of massive road-works and the rainy season, the cafes and convenience (and, perhaps, waiting for my Chinese visa to be processed) will keep me here for a few more days. Unfortunately all of my fellow travel buddies have now left me - Laureli to Cambodia, Bee to Thailand, Graciella back to the US, and Rob & Charlotte to Thailand and then to Aussie, so I will be on the lookout for more poor souls to latch myself onto over the next few days!

Chiang Mai and Elephant Nature Park

2007-05-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

After a few days of hanging out in Chiang Mai with Tina I hopped onto a mini bus to start my week of volunteering at the Elephant Nature Park. It was such an incredible experience! Every day we woke up to the sounds of elephants trumpeting and roaring (yes, elephants roar!) and fell asleep every night to the sounds of crickets and frogs!!! After waking up at 6:15 to do early morning yoga (we were lucky enough to have a yoga teacher amongst the volunteers) first thing in the morning (after breakfast, of course!) was morning chores - I usually got to shovel elephant poo, which actually isn't half as bad as it sounds. After that we would do various other bits and pieces that needed doing until 10:30 when the food trucks came to deliver tons and tons of fruit and veg for the elephants' lunch. We would make a long line and pass along the huge bags of pumpkins, watermelons, bananas, and cucumbers to the food preparation area. Then there was washing, chopping and disributing of all of the food into each elephant's basket. Finally (and by this stage the elephants are all waiting not-so-patiently to be fed), we would stand on the feeding platform and hand feed whichever elephants we wanted to. It was amazing how picky some of them were - apparently one piece of watermelon tasted much nicer than another piece! Many would try to steal food from other elephants baskets because apparently those watermelons tasted even better!! Even more amazing, however, is how much control they have with their tentacle-like trunks (not surprising, I guess, when you consider that the trunk has about 450 muscles in it!). Only after the elephants had eaten everything in their baskets were we humans allowed to eat - and, ah, the food at the park was so so delicious!! For every meal we piled our plates with a huge variety of delicious dishes. After lunch (and multiple cups of tea) the elephants were bathed in the river and you could see how much they loved being splashed and scrubbed by heaps of hands! After the bathing it was time for projects, which could be anything from taking down old fences through aggressive thorny plants, picking mangoes with crazy mahouts (people who take individual care of each elephant and are responsible for each elephant), collecting bamboo rafts and sitting on top of them on top of a truck (clinging for dear life) and then floating down the river with them, filling in potholes in the road, or 'cleaning' the elephants' mudpit! After projects we usually had time to have a much-needed shower before beer-o'clock (as the kitchen staff called it) and another scrumptious meal for dinner! By about 9pm every night we were completely exhausted, but each day was so amazing and challenging! Probably my favourite thing was just watching the elephants in our free time. They are such intelligent and social creatures - each was part of a family group, usually consisting of a baby and several aunties - and they are also amazingly quiet! Despite their huge size, an elephant can sneak up on you without you having any idea! I also met a lot of great people at the park, a few of whom I will be travelling with to Laos this week! So, all in all it was an excellent week. And if anyone is going to Thailand anytime soon, or knows anyone who is, I highly recommend that they go to the Elephant Nature Park for a very unique and unforgettable experience that doesn't harm elephants (unlike most elephants treks). If you really want to go on an elephant trek, insist that you walk alongside the elephant rather than on top of it (cuz elephants' backs are not designed to carry chairs and people).

Sukhothai and Chiang Mai

2007-04-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

After a day of exploring the Sukhothai temples (once again on a bicycle, in the searing heat!), I headed to Chiang Mai - a laid-back and tidy old city which is the business and government centre for all of Northern Thailand. I found my way to the very cool and comfortable Julie's Guesthouse. Unfortunately, Boobie wasn't able to make it to Chiang Mai to meet me, as we had planned, and an Austrian friend whom I met earlier in Koh Chang also didn't arrive on Friday as she was meant to, so my on first night here I was rather lonely and had my first really bad bout of home-sickness since I have been travelling. To make matters worse, I was woken up at 6:30am by the sound of water gushing out of a broken pipe in my bathroom and, as the guesthouse office doesn't open till 8:00am, there was absolutely NO ONE around to help me and fix the problem...I positioned the pipe so that most of the water went directly down the drain and just closed the door and tried to sleep, hoping that I wouldn't flood the whole hotel! They gave me a teeny tiny discount on the room and moved me to another room where, believe it or not, last night when I was closing the louvre windows to try to shut out some of the outside Saturday night partying noise 2 slats of glass fell out and smashed all over the footpath outside! Being 10:30pm, the office was once again shut so there was again no one to help me out, so I just swept up the glass as best i could and tried to sleep with the now huge gaping hole in the window through which even more sound was coming than before!! Despite all of the problems I have had, though, it is still a very nice and friendly guesthouse! One thing I have still not been able to get used to in Thailand is big, fat, Western men with their temporary Thai "girlfriends." There were several of them on our snorkelling trip in Koh Chang, but you see them everywhere here. I can see why the women do it - a huge amount of money and they get to go on 'holidays' where everything is paid for. But, apart from the obvious physical reasons, what do the men get out of having a woman pretend to be head over heels in love with them for a week or two, knowing that she will be playing the same role with someone else the following week? But then, I guess if these men are not really interested in real, fulfilling relationships! I am also still getting used to how clean and developed Thailand is, compared to India, and how little poverty there is. There are 7-Elevens everywhere and, even in the countryside, there are HUGE villas...of course off the tourist trail I am sure there are much poorer areas but, generally, it seems a very well-off country. The only complaint is that no net cafes seem to be able to read DVD, so I cannot upload any of my photos from Koh Chang or Ayuthaya, which I burnt onto DVD! And, from the sounds of it, I won't have much more luck in Laos either!

From Auroville to Delhi to Bangkok

2007-04-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

After saying goodbye to my German sunyasis (spelling??) and my doggie woggies, I headed back up to Delhi for some last minute administrative things (such as posting yet another big box of stuff that I couldn't fit in my bag!). Then, before I knew it, I was on a jet plane, leaving India - after almost 3 months there, it felt so strange to be finally leaving...I had gotten so used to living in India! So I said goodbye to Tara and Shaggy and all of my Delhi friends and, after a brief stop-over in Singapore, I met up with Boobie in the huge and very badly designed new Bangkok airport!! We had 3 wonderful and luxurious days in the Marriott Hotel and Spa - I was very spoilt and worried that I would not be able to adjust back to the backpacker lifestyle again!! Hahaha! But 5 delicious days on Koh Chang island (3 of which were with Boobie), living in a very simple but beautiful beach shack, sipping on pina coladas, watching the sunset over the water set me straight immediately!!! I was originally only going to stay 2 days, but the Tree House Guest House was so wonderful that we just couldn't tear ourselves away. I also met an Austrian biochemist who just finished her PhD and a Greek-German cross-cultural trainer who spoke Indonesian!!! What a small world! Boobie had to get back to Singapore for work and I headed back to Bangkok and ended up sharing a room on Kao San Road with a very sweet Cambodian woman and then made my way up to the ancient capital of Ayuthaya. It is a very quaint little town, surrounded by a moat and littered with wonderful old temples - many in Khmer style. I met a wonderful bunch of Mexicans - one of whom won Mexican Fear Factor - who I hung out with and explored the temples and night market. It was a very nice place with enchanting temples but it was sometimes a bit hard to keep up the temple-exploring stamina in the scorching heat of the day! Luckily, our hotel organised a late afternoon boat trip to see some of the outer temples and a night tour of a handful of the temples that are lit up at night and both of those experiences were absolutely wonderful - the temples looked so different and mesmerising at night! Then today I spent the day travelling to another ancient capital of Sukhothai and sampled my first Thai train - very clean and sort of old-colonial feeling, but VERY hot and stifling, even in 2nd class! Am just getting my photos burnt onto DVD now, so will try to add some more in the next few days!

Just an update

2007-04-07T02:46:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday I made it into the Central Chamber of the Matrimandir (big golden ball thingy) totally by accident! I was trying to find my way to the Meditation Petals, but someone directed me into this entrance, so I just went in and walked upstairs and found myself at the entrance of the central chamber. These 2 European workers found me there and were baffled as to how I got in and, in exchange for helping them organise the socks that visitors have to wear inside the building, they let me in, avoiding all the usual red tape! Inside it was totally like being on Superman's home planet (not Kryptonite, but the other one where everything is white and crystal...am I thinking of the right movie...hmmmm...). Anyways, everything is white (the carpet, the walls, the pillows to sit on, the socks they make you wear) and most Aurovillians also wear white clothes there too, although that is not a requirement. So, everyone sits on pillows around this huge crystal ball, through which a ray of light from the ceiling shines, and everyone just meditates (or just sits there as I did). Although it was very peaceful staring into this big glass ball, because the room is circular all of the sounds (tummies rumbling, people coughing, legs moving, one person snoring!) are amplified and reverberate throughout the room! What I loved the most, however, was sitting under the big old Banyan tree outside, watching the light change as the sun set...I can see how people have deep, non-materialistic thoughts under Banyan trees! Hehehe! It made me think that all communities would be much better off if there were such peaceful, non-denominational places where citizens could just go and think, reflect, meditate, or just sit peacefully in every town or city. It is very pacifying and calming...good for all that stress we build up in our daily lives!!

Week Eight and Week Nine

2007-03-31T09:30:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful time in Varanasi, I headed to the train station for my journey to Kolkata. As is to be expected from Indian railways, however, my train was delayed 4 hours (plus another 2 hours when we actually reached the outskirts of Kolkata). Luckily I met a great bunch of people on the train - including Manoushka from France and Nancy and Katie from Vancouver Island - so the journey went fairly quickly! In Kolkata, Tara's old school friend, Manish, was a super host, chauffering me around town and keeping me extremely well-fed! Compared to all of the other large Indian cities I have been to Kolkata felt very laid-back and its residents seem to have plenty of time to play cricket and have picnics in the parks. This, combined with the beautiful (and somewhat dilapidated) old colonial architecture, made it a very nice place to explore for a few days. I also discovered that one of my brother's friends from high school in China was living and studying in a town near Kolkata, so I made a short detour to the gorgeous, and aptly-named, university town of Shantiniketan ('peaceful abode'). After catching up on all the ISB gossip with Ivana, I was back on the trains for my journey down to Puri, in Orissa, about half-way down the East coast. In Puri, at the great Z Hotel, I spent 3 days relaxing, eating, swimming, and watching movies with the other guests at the hotel - Jane from Canada, Amy and Teena from England, Silke from Scotland/Germany, and another Silke from Germany! Although we barely did any sightseeing (apart from the Konark Sun Temple), it was nice to just stop for a few days. But eventually I decided that if I wanted to see any more of India I HAD to get out of dear old Z Hotel, so I hopped back on the train for a 28-hour journey to Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu. Despite being quite touristy, Mamallapuram had some great stone carvings and temples and plenty of delicious seafood. But, after several days of spending all of my time with a big group of people, I found it a bit lonely and unfulfilling being by myself, so I quickly packed up and moved 2 hours down the coast to Pondicherry. An old French colonial seaside town, Pondicherry is very charming, with beautiful tree-lined streets and French colonial buildings. All of the streets have French names, most of the restaurants serve French food, and the police even wear the same uniforms as the gendarmeri in France! After two days in Pondicherry I headed 20 minutes back up the coast to the experimental international community of Auroville. This settlement was founded in the '60s as a place where people from around the world could live without class, religious, national, or ethnic divisions. There in no private ownership in Auroville and they basically have a cash-less society, with all transactions debited from accounts, rather than using hard money. The town is run completely (I think) on renewable energy and they produce their own purified drinking water, which is pumped throughout Auroville. The centre of Auroville is the crazy, sci-fi looking golden spherical building, called the Matrimandir, which houses 12 different coloured meditation rooms (each with a different focus/purpose) and one central white meditation room in which sits what is apparently the world's largest crystal ball, which reflects sunlight into the room from an opening in the roof! I have not yet been inside this golden ball, (they make it very difficult for visitors to get in, as it is the holy centre of the whole town) but will try today. It is very interesting observing this attempt at an environmentally-friendly, socialist, unified, equal society. There are many problems, obviously, and I have already witnessed some tensions and divisions amongst the inhabitants but, no matter how much there is to criticise, I guess at least they're trying something different! While I am here I am helping out at a dog sanctuary and cycling (mostly uphill) for several hours everyday in the 38 degree heat! The landscape here is strangely similar to Australia, with orange-red earth and gum trees everwhere!! When Auroville was first founded the whole area was a barren wasteland, so the settlers planted hundreds of thousands of trees, most of them gum trees - I guess because they thrive in the dry heat. Where I am staying is on the outer-edge of Auroville, in a little palm-leaf thatched hut on the beach with an ever-increasing group of German Hindus with whom I discuss philosophy and religion and everything in between every evening! It is a very odd place, indeed, but interesting and though-provoking to say the least! On Monday I head back to Delhi and then, on Friday to Singapore for a few hours of hanging out with Debbie, then on to Bangkok for a few days of catchng up with Boobie! (Am trying to upload more photos, but computer is not playing nice today, so will try in a few days or at another net cafe!)

India - Week 7...I think! And some Week 8 photos...

2007-03-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

Before leaving Delhi I was a bit anxious about travelling alone and spending so much time by myself but, since I stepped onto the Delhi-Jhansi train I have not been alone for a whole week! Sitting next to me on the train was a wonderful older Indian woman who, in her broken English and my non-existent Hindi, told me her life story and wanted my advice on what she should do from here onwards in life. By the end of the journey, she told me that she regarded me as her daughter (even though all I really did for the 6 hours was nod and smile while I listened to her) and that she would love me to come and visit her home. Unfortunately, I already had plans for the rest of India, so we parted ways. When I reached Jhansi I fatefully bumped into a Polish couple, Emi and Memo, and we all managed to save money and stress by sharing a taxi to our destination, Khajuraho. Khajuraho is a quaint little town far away from everything but what draws its tourists (and Emi, Memo, and me) is its ancient temples covered, inside and out, with erotic engravings and sculptures from the Kama Sutra! Architecturally, it has similiarities to Angkor Wat (including the idea that the spires of the temples represent holy mountain peaks - in this case the Himalayas, where the Hindu gods were/are believed to live and the numerous carvings of apsaras, or celestial dancers), but when you look a little closer you realise that those little figurines are NOT just doing incredibly acrobatic yoga positions and that that man is NOT just saying hello to his horse! The erotic carvings are interspersed with depictions of daily life and battles and parties - the jury is still out on whether the erotic figures were just meant to be another (very prominent) aspect of daily life or whether they were meant to serve as some kind of guide or learning tool...Nonetheless, it is a very intruiging place, as the photos will hopefully illustrate. From Khajuraho I travelled with Emi and Memo to Varanasi, via Satna, on bus then overnight train. Varanasi claims to be one of the oldest living cities in the world and is a holy pilgrimage site for Hindus, being situated on the holy Ganges River. It is a truly beautiful and fascinating city with a labyrinth of winding streets and numerous ghats (areas along the water with steps leading down to them) where people wash their bodies and clothes, meditate, swim, and bathe and burn their dead (there are different ghats for different activities)! Every morning that I have been here we have woken up at 5am to watch the city and the Ganges wake up at sunrise and we have been to one of the burning ghats to observe the open-air cremations several times as well. It sounds a bit bizzare, or creepy even, but it is really an amazing process to watch. Yet, even just walking down the street here is an experience (and a wonderful photo opportunity for camera crazy people like me), especially with the eclectic mix of people this city attracts: from long-haired, painted sadhus (holy men) to Hindu-curious foreigners to cows, cows, and cows (and a few goats) all of whom share the tiny 1.5 metre wide roads! It is a very addictive place and I will be sad to leave it tomorrow, but so many other places beckon. Tomorrow I head to Kolkata (Calcutta) where one of Tara's friends has kindly agreed to meet me at the station and show me around. Emi and Memo left earlier this evening headed for Mumbai followed by Goa and I do not envy the 28 hour train ride that they have ahead of them! It was a bit odd saying goodbye to people that I have only known for 1 week but have spent almost 24 hours a day with, but I guess that is the way it goes with travelling! Will try to upload some more photos over the next few days.

2007-03-12T23:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the adorable kids at the DCWA School in Delhi, where I have been teaching. Today was my last day of volunteering here, so the kids gave me a card and all said in unison, 'Goodbye Maam!' Hehehe!

India - Week Three

2007-03-04T06:56:00.000-08:00

When we reached Hampi we decided to take the advice of fellow travellers and stay on the 'other' side of the river - in the peaceful part of town, away from hassling auto drivers and haggling clothes sellers. After watching Laxmi, the temple elephant, indulge in a good scrubbing down in the river we crossed over to the 'other' side and made our way to the aptly-named Shanthi Guesthouse, where our accomodation consisted of individual grass-roofed bungalows set amidst vibrant green rice paddies and Hampi's signature massive, unearthly boulders. On our second day we rented bicycles and explored Hampi's other main attraction: its 16th century temple ruins, scattered throughout the town. These temples, oddly, resemble, in parts, both the temples of Angkor Wat and those of Ancient Greece. Unfortunately there was not much English-language information available, so I can't tell you much about their history or architectural influences! While Bjorn, Emma, and I rambled through the temple ruins (Tomb-Raider/Indiana Jones style, of course), Tara and Eimear shopped, shopped, and when they got tired they shopped some more! Unfortunately we only had 2 and a half days in Hampi...it is so peaceful and there is so much to explore, that we all could have easily stayed for much longer. After a few hours in Bangalore, we quickly bid farewell to Emma (who, via Chennai and Bangkok, headed back to Melbourne to start uni) and the rest of us headed to Alleppey in the beautiful state of Kerala. With the help of the wonderful hotel-owner, Johnson, we relaxed on spotless beaches, ate one of the best meals of the trip, and lazed a day away on the backwaters - the highlight of Alleppey. We opted to take a motorised ketuvalam - or traditional covered boat - as we slowly floated down the rivers, sipping on coconuts...in some ways, at least visually, it was very reminiscent of the descriptions of the Congo River in 'A Heart of Darkness.' On the same night we were invited to a nearby village to celebrate the festival of the goddess Kali (the goddess of war and death...nice!). After being suited up in saris (and a dhoti for Bjorn), we began the beautiful ceremony, where women carry coconut oil lamps to the temple, to the wild, sometimes trance-like, beats of drums. On the bad side, the walk to the temple ended up taking 3 hours and we were bare-foot and hadn't eaten so, by the end of it all, we were completely exhausted! Nonetheless it was an amazing experience (even if Bjorn, as a man, got to rest and sit down while we women had to do the hard work). Our last stop was Cochin (Kochi) where, after a delicious cold coffee in a funky art cafe, we watched an amazingly entertaining performance of Kathakali - the traditional Keralan type of musical. The real drama began, however, when we got to the airport and Tara, Bjorn, and Eimear's flight was delayed for an undisclosed amount of time and, in the last 20 minutes, they had to scramble and fight to get themselves and their bags onto my flight. Having been told in Cochin Airport that they would get a refund as soon as they got to Delhi, all of us were enraged to be told, in Delhi, that they weren't going to give them a refund because Cochin had forgotten to give them each ticket 'coupons'! They were also informed that, rather than buying a very expensive last-minute ticket on my Air Sahara flight, they could have transferred their Indian Airlines ticket to a Air Sahara one for free - and that Cochin should have informed them of this! Almost a week later, none of them have yet received any refund, but Indian Airlines is now saying that the travel agent who sold them the ticket should be the one to pay!!! Aya, it is a big big mess and the lesson to be learned is: never fly Indian Airlines!! I am now staying in Delhi for 2 weeks and am volunteering during the week at a school for under-privileged kids - and I'm loving it! On my 2nd day in Delhi, I attended a Muslim mourning ceremony where everyone ends up crying and today, in contrast, was Holi - a Hindu festival where everyone throws coloured water and powder on each other to celebrate the arrival of spring! Tara and I are both stained pink and purple - even after scrubbing in the shower for ages - and I am sure that all of the school kids will have a lot of laughs at my expense tomorrow!

India - Week Two

2007-02-17T03:46:00.000-08:00

Our second week in India has been just as busy and bizzare as the first! On our last night in Pushkar, there was a freak hail storm which cut power to the whole town and made it impossible to go outdoors for about an hour. When the heavens had subsided, we caught a freezing cold, 8 hour overnight bus to Udaipur - a beautiful lakeside city littered with wonderful old palaces, including a floating palace where parts of the James Bond film, Octopussy, were filmed. It was an amazingly charming place and felt like an Indian Venice! Before catching our next overnight bus, we had a lovely Indian meal in a Parisien-esque garden restaurant, looking over the lake towards the palaces. Unfortunately, we only had one day in Udaipur, but I easily could have stayed there a week and will definitely return in the future! The 16 hour bus ride from Udaipur to Mumbai was probably the most uncomfortable and difficult - we came too late to get sleepers, so we had to sit for the whole journey and, after almost 36 hours without being able to lie down, my feet had swollen beyond recognition by the time we reached Mumbai! As soon as we left the bus station in Mumbai to catch a taxi to our pre-booked hotel we were

caught in a massive downpour of rain and all of our clothes and most of our bags were soaked. To make matters worse, by the time we got to our hotel they had increased the prices of the rooms by 300 rupees, so we had to walk the streets of Mumbai, sopping wet, heaving our luggage, until we found a reasonably-priced (but very very basic) hotel. Nonetheless, I still really enjoyed Mumbai - it is a crazy, huge, and busy city but being by the seaside gives it a relaxed and easy-going feeling. One of Tara's university friends showed us around the city and treated us to a wonderful meal. We were hoping to be able to watch a Bollywood movie while we were there, but we couldn't find a 4 hour block of spare time to do it in! Instead, we went to the post-office where, much like in Chinese government-run stores and offices, you have to go to a different counter to buy stamps, another for weighing your packages, another for buying the envelopes, and another for the final sending off! On our way out of Mumbai (this time on a sleeper bus for 14 hours), we watched the massive city continue to pass by for hours and were very UN-gently rocked to (very little) sleep until we arrived in Goa. For the past few days in Goa we haev just been relaxing by the beach, swimming in the warm ocean, sipping cocktails while watching the sunset, making friends with the cows on the beach, and having long Ayuvedic massages. Tomorrow evening we head off the Hampi, several hours West of Goa, to explore ancient ruins!

India - Week One

2007-02-07T23:35:00.000-08:00

Ah, where to start? I arrived in Delhi to a warm welcome from Tara, Emma, and Eimear on Saturday night and after a few drinks with some of Tara's friends we all had to rush back to Tara's house to get what sleep we could before catching our 6am train to Agra the following morning. After sorting out the kurfuffle with taxis, we finally made it to the Taj Mahal (where, interestingly, women and men had to stand in different lines at the entry gate...and, luckily for us, the women's line was much much shorter!). The Taj Mahal was so so beautiful - so much more than what you see in photographs....it had a very serene feeling, despite the tourists. Agra also houses the huge and stunning Agra Fort, where the man who comissioned the building of the Taj Mahal was imprisoned by his own son but (at least) was given a cell facing the Taj Mahal so that he could look out to where his wife was buried. After an excruciatingly uncomfortable train ride we arrived in Jaipur where, luckily, our hotel was wonderful and clean with a great rooftop restaurant looking over the whole town. On our second day in Jaipur we were taken on a hilarious auto-rickshaw ride by a tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee pair who then took us to their brother-in-law's silver shop and tried to scam us (unsucessfully). That night we also went to a Rajasthani culture park that was set up like a Rajasthani village. We dined on yummy food, rode camels and elephants, watched a traditional magic show, and went on a make-shift ferris wheel. The next day I was feeling ill and the others tried to do some shopping but didn't get very far. Of all of the sights to see in Jaipur we, unfortunately, only saw Tiger Fort, placed high above Jaipur. It was beautiful, and gave a great view of the whole area, but it would have been nice to see more of the palaces and temples. By day 4, however, we were all ready to leave the traffic-jams and constantly beeping horns of Jaipur so, with Bjorn now united with us, we set off for Pushkar on the bus. Pushkar (where, 3 days later, we still are) is a little hippy oasis on the edge of the desert with a beautiful holy lake in the middle said to be created when a god dropped a lotus flower here. It is full of hippy, soul-searching foreigners, but it has heaps of great shopping, internet, and nice cafes, which makes it a very easy place to get stuck in for quite some time. On our first night here we were invited to a jam session by a French-Canadian guy who has been here for a month learning to play the sitar. So, we huddled together under the stars and around a fire and listened to a sometimes bizzare medley of sitars, drums, flutes, songs, and fire dancers, as the music echoed against the surrounding mountains. After a whole day of shopping yesterday (following a free rooftop yoga lesson in the morning by a newly-graduated and very impatient yoga teacher), I have decided that I better not buy too much more here, as all of our bags were already full before we arrived! So, tomorrow evening we push off to Udaipur on the overnight bus.

PNG

2007-01-30T06:13:00.000-08:00

I am just back from a 10-day adventure in PNG with my family and it was absolutely AMAZING! My dad lived there first as a patrol officer and then as a politician in the 60s and 70s...I have grown up listening to his stories of this beautiful country and so we all decided that it was finally time that the rest of us experienced it too. I learned how to shuck corn, dig for peanuts, and carry a 10 kilo string bag on my head, while my brother was appointed village chief! I also, then, experienced the huge gender inequality (at least at the village level) which is such an ingrained part of their lifestyle: the women have to wash downstream in a slow-moving part of the river which men frequently walk past, while the men wash upstream under a secluded waterfall; women have to farm, tend, pick, clean, peel, cook, and serve all the food (except for yams which only men are allowed to dig...but then they hand them over to the women to clean, cook, etc!). Despite this, however, it was a wonderful experience and, because our trip had political undertones, we met so many passionate, outspoken, and intelligent men and women who knew exactly what the problems were in their country and had clear and well-thought out ideas on how to solve these problems and were not afraid to make themselves heard. That, in particular, was truly inspiring and refreshing especially after years in China (where no one is allowed to speak out like that) and Australia (where people are ostensibly allowed to speak out but political apathy is so widespread that no one really seems to). It was easily one of the most memorable weeks in my life and is definitely a place that i would love to return to and, hopefully, see improvements to basic services and infrastructure. When I can, I will add some photos to this post, but until then you'll just have to be imaginative!

Xmas, New Year & everything in between

2007-01-07T22:24:00.000-08:00

Well after a wonderful and unusually calm Xmas, which Boobie spent with my family, i am quietly recovering as my new fat cells (a present to me from the Xmas pudding) sit happily on my belly. I got lots of useful travel-related presents to keep me safe, dry, and healthy, some good books, and a little zippy digital camera which you can thank for the photos accompanying this post ... I am still trying to figure out the clarity tho cuz it seems much more pixelated than it should...but, all you traditionalists out there like me, don't fret - I am not in any way abandoning my good old film camera, which I will be using for all of my good, artsy photos while the digital is just for going out and snappy happy pics when it just isn't convenient to lug my film camera around. We also had a rockin' new year's eve at our spencer st apartment and then we staggered across to Waterfront City (or was it New Quay? or just Docklands?? who knows!) to watch the fireworks by the water. I must admit that I have always dismissed Docklands as a lifeless new development zone without any character, but I was very pleasantly surprised - then again, maybe it just seemed great cuz it was new year's eve and we had been drinking for about 5 hours! But by far the biggest thing that has happened recently is that, as most of you know anyways cuz you were at the airport, Boobie has left Oz and is now working for his uncle in Singapore, but will be traveling to Madagascar and around SE Asia on business for the next 6 months. I don't think he reads my blog very often since we talk on the phone everyday but if you do, Boobie - I love u and miss u so so much! And it is officially his first day of work today so three cheers for Boobie, everyone! Hip hip hooray etc (can't be bothered, but u know the drill). Anyway that is all for the major updates for the moment...apparently I may be going to PNG for 10 days with my family from the 19th-28th of Jan which will be amazing, but also means that everything i had to do in 4 weeks, I now have to do in 2!! fun fun! Ah well, all will work out eventually. Big big xmas and new year hugs to everyone and I will keep you posted on when my going-away party is likely to be but the options right now seem to be either the 30th jan or the 1st feb, so let me know!

Earthcore

2006-11-28T16:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I am just back from a weekend on a random plot of dusty land in Undera, near Shepparton (yes, Andrew and Loui, I went to check out your rockin' new neighbourhood), listening to non-stop duf duf music with an eclectic mix of fluoro-wearing ravers and flowy-skirt-wearing hippies, ranging from white-haired oldies to little babies. It was certainly quite an experience! It was so amazingly dusty there (which only got worse when the ravers all jumped up and down on the dirt) that you could barely breathe and the organisers had to give out free dust masks...when you blew your nose it was like a mudslide from your nostrils - yummy! And on the second day the temperature soared to 38 degrees, so it became too hot to do anything except lie in the tent and wade in the river. So, even though I had had all these good intentions to partake in the many free workshops which were available on Saturday (including making clothes from recycled things, making button jewelery, and something called Freeganism: How to Live for Free), I ended up just dozing through the heat. Despite the repetitive music (which, by the third day, was basically unbearable for all of us) and the array of people on a cocktail of drugs, however, it was still an enjoyable weekend away. I spent most of my time chilling out in the hippy market area, drinking chai under the shade of a tibetan tent and listening to a live band playing the digeridoo and African drums under the stars. As the designated driver, on Sunday morning I had the 2 and a half hour drive home all to myself, with a car-full of passed-out party people. But possibly the best thing about the festival was getting to have a shower at home at the end of it all - I don't think I have ever quite appreciated a shower so much before! Pics will be up as soon as I figure out how to put multiple pics up on here.

U2!!!!

2006-11-19T15:27:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Well, Tara, Boobie, Zal, Cat, and I went to the U2 Vertigo concert last night (courtesy of Boobie) and it was AWESOME! They did 3 encores and had so much energy and played all of their hits and a few new ones. From weird bird "kites" to fire on stage to bringing a girl from the crowd on stage, the concert had everything! So big big squissshle hugs to Boobie for a great night! Also went to the Johnston St Festival and saw Patricia shakin' her booty Chilean style and stuffed ourselves with yummy yummy Latin American food (especially the caramel-filled churros!). Unfortunatley missed the Make Povery History concert (there were no spare tix for the main one where U2 and Pearl Jam opened it together - they called themselves U Jam! Hehehe - but there were a few other free venues around the city)...ah well. Also missed (thankfully) the G-20 riots. I don't know why some people always want to make those demonstrations violent...it totally goes against their cause and gives the impression that everyone who wants to change the uneven distrubution of wealth in the world is a crazed, violent hooligan...it is totally NOT the way to get the message across and I think it just makes it harder for other activists who want to be heard without being violent. Anyways, that is my little rant for today. I better start doing a little bit of work. Big hugs until my next update!

Hellooooo down there!

2006-11-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Welcome to my blog. I am just starting this in preparation for my travels to India and Southeast Asia and beyond next year, but since I am bored at work I thought I would get a head start on it. So, don't hold your breath for exciting travel updates - I don't leave till February - but in the meantime you can just enjoy the slivers of excitement in my, otherwise, mundane life right now. Big hugs!