In a final attempt to entertain my readers before leaving India I present to you 'Incredible India'.

Fist things first, I recommend anyone and everyone at one time or another in their life to come to India. This country I have grown so fond of over the past three months will be part of an ongoing love affair with the east which will span the entirety of my life. I plan to return numerous times beginning as soon as later this year -when it start to get cold AGAIN in Canada next fall. Who knows if that will be the case, but I want you all to know that I loved it so much I would return that soon. If that isn't a good enough argument to get you out of the chair in front of your computer and come, I don't know what is. Like I said who knows if that will be the case, there are so many other place to travel to, so many extrenuous factors at large that I cannot begin to fathom the possibilties and opportunites that will arise in the coming months. Old friends may tell me of other lands which I must then visit. Money is always a big factor but lets no go there.

I am in Alleppey. It is known as the Venice of the east and would look like that if some of the canals were not filled with garbage and plastic bottles. I will break from the topic of the Venice of the east to rant about sustainable living.
Sustainable Living, part one of a series of lectures I will be giving on this blog. First though, I must say that although this blog is about my travels and the places I see it is also an outlet for me, it is a way in which I can attempt to change things I see and dislike. A way for me to change peoples perspective on the foreign countries that I visit (pronounced Wisit by Indians) and to try to make a difference for the growth and development of a country which I adore.

Lets begin by pointing the finger, no, not the middle one, I have been asked to tone down the swearing though I see little wrong with it. Lets point the finger at myself. I have come to this country as many many people have, with the intent of seeing it and living it. Of being right there, right in the heart of the culture. I have changed my dress to fit in better, I ring the bell when entering a temple. I stayed at an ashram in order to come into tune with the people here, BUT I also have to keep myself healthy. I do not drink tap water. I drink bottled water, it is treated water and will keep me healthy. The tap water contains numerous diseases which, given my immune system's upbringing, would hurt me immensely. What I am getting at is that we have westernized the east to the point where frequent short visits are convenient. The drinking water is there for us. Very few Indian drink bottled water, and I mean very few. The point I am driving at is, we have brought plastic bottles thinking only of ourselves. When we leave the country we do not take our bottles with us. The most important point to note here is although we have kept ourselves healthy we have littered all over the country and made other unhealthy as well as their living environemnt. I do not want this to be misinterpreted so I will clarify now. The Indian people have not done much in regard to garbage clean up, they are lazy and unorganized when it comes to this. WE have not helped. You can hold a piece of garbage in your hand for hours on end and not see a trash bin. The street is the trash bin for Indians, at times they seem to have no respect for their own environment, but that does not give me, the visitor, the right to litter in the street. The same old logic prevails, 'if you saw someone jumping off a bridge would you do it?' Hell yes I would do it, no no, that is not where this is going. With the introduction of new materials and new 'packaging' for goods must come instruction in sustaining the natural surrounding's. WE should not bring plastic bottles and not recycling. Just because we made that mistake at the beginning does not mean we should even remotely allow it to happen here. I will try elaborate on these thoughts later on. For the record and to protect myself from being called a hypocrite I must make it known that I have done little to help the recycling progress. I do buy the largest bottles I can carry and drink tap water when I know it has been filtered but that is not enough..
NEXT !

I have some great picture to add here but I cannot get this computer to work so you will have to wait, I hope you find it in your hearts to forgive me.

I am in Alleppey, I arrived a few hours ago but lets backtrack a moment. Four days ago I took a ferry from Varkala, a beach/temple town very close to the most souther tip of India, to the Amritapuri ashram. Amma, the guru at this ashram also known as hugging mother, is one of the most known gurus in India. She is also one of the only female gurus in India. I received darshan from Amma , which is a hug and a few words of 'wisdom'. People come from all over the world to recieve darshan and people cue for hours. Amma has been known to give darshan (hugs) for 22 hours straight without break. The ashram itself was nice, you have free and open mediation classes which I attended. You can do yoga on the temple roof which I did but I instead of attending a class I instructed one for four other people. This was my first real Yoga instruction and it went very well. I was given many praises after and was asked to lead the class again the next morning, which I did, with a few more attendants. As a side note, I think I will be giving classes in North Hatley this summer for a small fee, if I am living there, and recommend all to attend. The ashram was nice for this but it was also overwhelming. The events that took place at certain times were just like ones held in churches. The quest for peace went out the window and the worshiping of another flew in -at this moment I went out the window, figuratively speaking. It is too hard to explain but I realize if I am to find any answers they will all come from me. I think it is more a coming to terms with what I already know. I am here for a given time, I make up my own mind and my own destiny, I am the maker of my future and I should act ethically because it is what I think is the right thing to do not because I am forced or feared in any way but because it is what I want. This is becoming easier by the day, I spend hours thinking about things, about people, about what I wish to be (not as in occupation), about the things I have done in the past which I will not repeat. We should all take time to figure shit like that out. No more hanging on, no more thinking what if, no more defining yourselves by the things you own or the people who once cared about you or that you care about..I will stop now but I could go on for hours, I have spent hours thinking about it all.

Take that with a grain of salt!

I left Amma's ashram today to board the same ferry, three days later, to go further north to Alleppey. The ferry goes through many canals, the backwater of Kerala. The water is not all dirty just when arriving in cities like Alleppey. I saw hundreds of jelly fish and jumping fish aside the boast as we progressed through this tropic paradise. The south of India is a different country that the north, again not literally. It is littered with beautiful coconut palms and white sandy beaches.
Shanti, shanti, shanti.


Next stop Indonesia. Stay Tuned.

It is 10:52 p.m. I have till 11:00 to get this thing written, edited and sent to print. Okay maybe I only have to hit send and all you folks will have a copy at the click of a button. Science!

This is part rant, part happy birthday to Tuna. I'll be miles high on or around, depending on where you stand, my sister's birthday, my flight to Indonesia is on the same day (Eastern Standard Time).

I am in Varkala. It is very close to the most southern tip of India. I was at the most southern tip, but my stay was very brief. It was more to say that I had done it, which in hind sight is silly. Varkala is beautiful, similar to Goa in that sense. It has a smaller beach than Goa does but it has many other perks to compensate. The waves are much bigger. Imagine, I am standing in lovely warm sea water up to my thigh, a massive wave towering over my head comes crashing over me. I wish at that last moment, just as the wave peaks and crashes down, I could snap a picture. The time is 11:00. I must go. I will continues this soon.

The Next Few Steps

Shalom, It is only funny to me because sometimes I feel like I am in Israel due to the wondrous amounts of Israeli travellers I have encountered. I came to Hampi three days ago and met up with two girls (Israeli) that I had met in Ahmadabad. They tell me it is too much and they want to leave, there are only Israeli's here. I, myself, do not mind although I do sympathise with them. If I had left Canada for a foreign country and ended up being surrounded with thousands of Canadians, I might want to get away too. One the other hand some days I wish I could run into someone I knew. Just chill out and speak normally. I mean anyone who has travelled or gone to a new place knows that you are asked 101 times, where you are from, what is your favorite colour, what is your job, and all the while you just don't care. We are all out here trying to reinvent ourselves. In some mad crazy attempt we are out here try to find out what our favorite colour is, honestly. Trying to find something. I am not getting all philosophical by stating that we are all out here lacking something and in hot pursuit of finding that missing piece, that sense of self we all seek. Rather it is a simple fact: We are here because we put ourselves here and are not where we were because we left. Usually when you leave and go somewhere there is a reason for it, whether it be the grocery story or the moon, your are either looking, seeking or just damn curious but curiosity is fueled by a seeking of answers.

Who cares where you are from and what you were before? What you are out here becoming is what I am interested in. Don't get me wrong, the other day I longed for a day on the couch, for a comfortable bed and not a rock with a yoga mat on it, which is what I am sleeping on now. It blows, and I don't mean like the wind, which is nice and refreshing. I mean like a vacuum that's gone haywire and blows all that dust back onto the surface it was removed from. Where was I going with this? Who knows. What I mean to say is that I do care where people are from. I have learned more about Israel, Australia, Slovenia, France and their history than in all my years of 'formal' education. But at some point it is exhausting and I would just like to chill out with a few Canadians, shoot the shit and drink a very very cold Canadian brew. So, although I do sympathise with the two girls, Yael and Nur, about wanting to be away from all the other Israeli's, I also don't because they never feel that longing for comfort that I have.

(above the women in the rice fields, so beautiful in their saris.)

I am not trying to sound like so lone ranger out here, there are many people who I have met and drank and sung and danced with, but that is different than what I am talking about. They are all in the same boat as I am. In Hampi though the people, often Israeli, come and stay for weeks, weeks. So it does in a sense become their home. Great people, they all are great people.

Okay, so I am staying in a small hut again. This one is made of clay and big palm leaves. It is dirty, dark, it has roaches and frogs in it and like I said it blows like a defunct vacuum. It is only 100 Rupees and I am, in a desperate attempt, trying to get on track with my planned budget. Most of the accommodation in Hampi is 450 for a single. So, I've got quite a bargain! "Woooo, shitty living condition save me 3 dollars, woooo!"

What a joke, but at the same time, what way to save and experience at the same time.

(Above is at a Monkey temple in Hampi.)

Hampi is beautiful. Is it a world heritage site. Most of the pictures throughout this post are from Hampi. For miles massive boulders are naturally piled, sometimes forming mountains. The area is surrounded by rice patties and banana plantations. If you have known me for the past 4-5 years you will know about my curious fascination that bananas grow upside down. I knew it, I had read it, but I had never seen it until yesterday. Bananas grow upside down.

I think, right now after seeing the upside down banana growing, I peel a bit smarter and more worldly. Poor joke, I apologize.

Back to Hampi. I rented a bike, not a scooter this time, and not a pedal bike, gears baby, gears. So sweet. Although riding a motorbike is not directly related to India, it is definitely part of the experience. There is probably 1000 to 1 ratio of bikes over cars.

I was planning on doing some serious sight seeing today but it proved to be impossible. Hampi is divided by a river that splits the town in two. There is only one ferry that can take you across and by ferry I mean small river boat. Getting to the side which I am staying was a breeze. What is it with the blowing and the breeze today, I should be more versatile in my adjective usage. Yes sticklers, I know that sentence is incorrect.

Anyway, today is like the new year for Hampi and I was told there is no possibility that I was going to get across, why, with the thousands of Indian's that do not cue- Good luck, Chris.

I left that area and decided to get a few other things out of the way today. A blog post was one and a plan for the coming weeks is second. The boat I have since heard has capsized and is being repaired, fucking crazy Indians.

I am heading to Indonesia on the 6th of February, one day after my sister Tuna's birthday. Before that I will spend 2 days in Malaysia and the weeks prior to that in Kerala. I am going to come back to India around mid-March and go north. It is much too cold in the north at present. Then back to SE Asia for a month before I return to the CDN summer at the spot I hold so dearly to me heart. The cottage, North Hatley, Quebec, Canada.

Above is one of the numerous sunsets I saw while in Palolem, Goa.

Below is your truly, yea baby, yea :)

Goa

I have come to a small, and so I thought, more secluded part of Goa. It has proven to be not so secluded nor that quiet, but still the most beautiful place I have ever been. I have seen perfect, breathtaking sunsets every evening. I have been doing yoga on the top of a hill which overlooks the beach and the ocean. Parts of the platform are shaded by tall palm tress.







I have been living in a small bamboo hut. The hut does not have a bathroom but it does have a small fan that keeps me dry- I say dry because I am constantly wet from either sweating or bathing in the azure colored ocean. The only time I am dry is when under this fan.


I rented a scooter again, only for a day though, then I met a local who simply lends me his when I need it. These scooter have balls, not like the ones in Diu. I got goin' about 85 kms. I drove for an hour or so yesterday to get to a beach which is a nesting spot for turtles. The beach is protected, you can not swim, or are advised not to. I drove for another few hours the day before just exploring the surrounding environment and forest. It is beautiful.

Oh, is it winter where you are?

I have a sick tan, shit.


This little girl and her mom. Potentially her mom, I have no clue, either way it is not relevant, so moving on. This little girl and her 'mom' set up this tight-rope apparatus in seconds. The little girl must be 9, maybe 11, again, I have no clue, but I do find this a bit more relevant. For what reason I can not say for I have not figured it out. Maybe it is not more relevant, moving on. This small girl ago 10, we'll say, for the simplicity of the story, does a small dance and then climbs up upon the rope. I wish to say here that I have no idea how she does this. The rope is twice as high as she is tall and there is no ladder. She scurries, I guess I could say, or shimmies up these poles you see at the end of the rope and then her 'mom' hands her a stick for balance. Both the poles and the balance stick can be seen in the picture below. She then walks back and forth a few times doing different tricks. In the picture I took she has two pots balanced on her head, again see below. If someone, some little girl could do this in Montreal or any other city or country, (which I am not naive, I am sure these people exist elsewhere) she would be famous. This young girl walks, while balancing on a tire, a tight rope with pots balances on her head. Maybe famous is an exaggeration but she certainly would not be dirt poor working on a beach everyday, or everyday that I've been here, in the blazing sun. She does take some breaks. I saw her crouched behind a sunbed with her 'mom'. On the sunbed were two tourists minding their business but behind it were crouched a mom and her daughter breaking from their daily routine of tight rope walking. Only in India. I will be back to Goa this is for sure.


Also, in order to cut down living cost and food , I got a job serving at the Thai place behind my hut. The people are very hospitable. They needed some help one night , so I helped, I had met the owner the day before on the beach and offered when he took me up on my offer I was glad. The meal and few beer I got in return were ample compensation for the work I had done. All is good here. Shantee shantee. Peaceful place.

Ramblings

Today I have found myself not only in a new year, 2010, but also in a new section of my journey. I have parted with Sarah and Kristina and now find myself alone with not too much of a plan. I had panned the first 7 weeks, and then with them, decided to come to Mumbai for Christmas and New Years. I hadn't though much about after I parted with Sarah because I did not have to or at least it did not seem like I had to. I guess I did, and so, I am heading to Pune (pronounced poona) on a bus tonight. There is not much to see or do in Pune but I've got to keep moving and it is on the way to the beautiful beaches of Goa. I mean, I don't really have to keep going but there is not much here and, well, why not. So Pune it is and a long night bus ahead. I'll stay there for a day or three and see what it is like. From what I have heard it is a university place, with much academia and tennis.


I've spent the last few days in Auragabad. There is not much here but it is a close and convenient place to stay when visit the Elora caves near by. The caves are beautiful. Most of the pictures are of the caves or surrounding area. There are 34 caves in all, they belong to the Jain, Hindu and buddist religions. There are different caves that belong to each different religion with their own theme. The pictures do most of the telling. I cannot describe them much better than telling you they are from the 7th century, and that they are big and beautiful. The caves are actually temples that have been carved out of the rocks.




The picture above is the main temple, cave #16. Is it is Hindu, I wanted to get a picture with me riding giant stone elephant in the bottom left corner but I don't think would have like me climbing it. The temple is beautiful and the patients it would take to carve all of their Gods out of the stone is unbelievable.


I am not going to lie, I do not feel much like writing today. At least not in a informative, tell all of my journey type tone. I might want to ramble about the people and about the differences between traveling with women and men. I do not mean one or the other is better or worse to travel with but rather the attention you get while in India. The looks, the treatment you get when you travel with either vary. When I was traveling with Taylor we got a lot of attention, but nothing compared to when you are traveling with two beautiful young women with blond hair. The men stare so much. I can only imagine what it must feel like to be a women in this country. I mean everyone is safe (knock on wood) but the staring is unbelievable. India is a culture of starers, they have no shame, they do not try to hide it. They simply stare at you and the people you are with. I have learned to ignore it but, really sometimes it is too much.

The picture below is of Zelda (Sarah) and I in Mumbai at the Gateway to India. We walked around a bit and then went to have a beer at Leopold Cafe where one of the terror attacks took place November 26, 2008. Is is a famous cafe and now after what happened it is even more famous.


New Years Eve was filled with lots of kingfisher. Seeing there is no night life in India we sat in our room played some cards and laughed. It was good, we all felt like shit this morning and maybe that is why I am not in the mood to write. I think there is more to it than that but I'll let that thought go for now.



Happy 2010 blog followers.








I really liked this tree, it doesn't have much to do with India other than the tree is in India. I think it's pretty though so I thought I'd share it with you.