Cambodia - The whirlwind tour

First stop, Siem Reap, the world famous home of Angkor Wat. Before arriving here, we had to make it across the Olympic-styled obstacle course that is know as the Thai-Cambodian border. Many missing papers, returning to the end of the line, extra fees, fake embassies and 42 degrees (no joke) later, we crossed the border. Now, it was time to find transportation for the 2.5 hour journey to Siem Reap.

Option 1 - fake's posing as expensive tourist buses, which are lovely air con buses, which only take you two km, then drop you off for a much older, slower bus.
Option 2 -   fake's posing as a government bus who only take you two km, at a cheaper price, before dropping you at a much older, slower bus.
Option 3 - 'taxi'. and by 'taxi', it means any individual with a car that can speak these 2 words "Siem Reap?"

Mom's first experience getting into a random car (with all luggage on your lap due to lack of space) with a random driver to take you 2.5 hours - check.

Hours later, after awful aircon with windows closed and a wonderful time with a relatively well speaking Khmer (Cambodian) driver we arrived. For dinner, we enjoyed a $1.25 khmer fish curry (most fish is fresh water fish that it caught in the Tonle Sap lake, which is fed by the Mekong and is responsible for a huge portion of the nations fish supply) and enjoyed many 50 cent draft beer. The cold beer was a treat, as it turned out that April truly is the hottest, most dry month in the country. When the locals are sweating and complaining of the heat, you know its hot. We went to bed early, to prep for our day at the temple's.

Instead of taking a tuk tuk (again, who chooses the option that is faster and less sweaty?) we decided that the scenic route would be to rent bicycles and self propel the 6 km to the main temple grounds (which is the arena for the famous three tiered temple that is most well known in photos) After escaping the parking mafia (apparently the grass is owned by locals for parking for a fee more than we paid to rent the bikes - but we were informed that parking anywhere else could lead to a popped tire) and wiping the sweat from our eyes, we took in our first view.

All three of us had previously determined that we weren't 'sight see-ers' and that temples and museums are usually not high on the list - coupled with the heat and the bike ride, we were expecting a short jaunt around the grounds and a quick retreat...... but we spent a few hours (just in one complex) and were amazed at the sight. Well worth the entry fee. We enjoyed lunch at a beautiful cafe on the grounds, and biked home - exhausted and happy.

The next day, we made the journey to Battambang, via local bus. Here, we succumbed to the scam of óooh, nice bus', which nice it was indeed, for the 2 km it took us before dropping us off at the much older, slower, hotter bus.We roasted with our seat mates - which included two young lovebirds that decided this was the time to practice making out - and were greeted at the bus stand by a fever of touts selling their guest houses. Luckily, we made eye contact with a young gentlemen named Somal, who was a fantastic Khmer character that spoke Australian accented English (his teacher was Australian) and he whisked us away to a beautiful hotel (what we would consider a hotel at home) that included two floors rooftop terrace with panoramic views of the city - the perfect place for Amaris to whip out her three new hoola hoops (much to the joy of some local fellas, session abruptly ended.)

Somal spent the entire next day with us, taking us to the sights of Battambang - which included the Bamboo train (a track that is used to transport goods and passengers on platforms powered by tractor engines, which is scheduled for demo next year - a video is soon to be posted) and the Killing Caves, a historic temple that was turned into a place of mass murder during the time of the Khmer Rouge. Nearing the end of the day, the three of us realized that we had invited some Cambodian bacteria to party with the already comfortable Thai bacteria, and everyone decided it was best to relax in the room for the night.

After enjoying the sights of Battambang, and enduring the heat in an urban setting, it was decided that it was time for the vacation portion of Mom's trip, and we headed to Sihanoukville, a small ocean side village in the South of Cambodia.  We arrived a few hours later than planned (might have the been the 50 year old bus, who knows)  and chose a place in the dark. After a long, hot day of traveling (these days are always the hardest) we fed our bellies with the best fish dish we have ever eaten, and crawled into separate bungalows. Lucky for us, trevor had decided that it was time to relax on the bed (a position usually assumed only in the dark) and strum on his guitar while Amaris unpacked - and much to our surprise, a fanfare arrived, in the shape of small, dark tic-looking critters. MMM. Wanting to assume that these critters were just a few bugs (no surprise if they were) Amaris took herself the nearest computer station and typed in google "bud bugs, images". Wouldnt you know it, the little bastards were not there for Trevors sweet sounding music, but his flesh. We woke Mom up (her flesh was saved), checked out, and checked into the closest available hotel (as most in the area were full for the upcoming Khmer New Years) to complete the night (which only had a few hours remaining by this point). Amaris stayed up a few hours later, resulting in a 4 hour sleep night, because the room had a BATHTUB and she couldn't pass up the opportunity. Poor, poor bathtub housekeepers - I am sorry for my backpacker filth.

The next day (after  receiving Mom's passport that was held hostage because we refused to pay for the rooms that were bug infested) we trekked to another (quieter) beach to find where we would call home for 8 days. We settled in and spent the remaining time on the Occhealteal beach, which is extremely popular with Cambodians (mainly from the capital city of Phnom Pehn ) on vacation, which was nice to be surrounded by locals. We read, ate fresh caught ocean fish, read, ate pounds of fresh Papaya, Coconuts, Mangos (its mango season here, nom nom nom) Pineapples and Bananas, suntanned, and read some more (thanks for the books Mandy, they came just in time!)
Within a few days, the area was completely full of Cambodians, arriving for the three day event of Khmer New Years, a large festival style party that is marked by huge amounts of food, fireworks every night (not professional but a show performed by the thousands of people on the beach purchasing illegal-in-Canada fireworks and blowing them up in succession for an hour) and a concert to mark the final night.

After the big party night, it was off to Phnom Pehn, the country's capital, to spend a day before Mom's exit. We spent another entire day shopping shopping shopping and bargaining bargaining bargaining and sweating sweating sweating in the big city, and Mom left us (she made it out of the Cambodian traffic crossings alive!)

We are currently writing from Phnom Pehn, and tomorrow we leave (also) to Laos (not Vietnam, a change of plans). Cambodia has been an amazing experience that wasn't planned to begin with, and has given us more joy than we expected it would. The country has been an adventure, with travel being more difficult (and along the lines we are used to) friendly, beautiful, and emotional. We will miss it.  It is so difficult to express the emotional experiences that happen, and even more so to remember them at all. Each country has given us these amazing moments that have been literally wrapped in brief seconds - a glance of eye contact, a small child's face, a conversation with a woman, the recognition of hardship, the moving moments of realizing why we are alive; each of this passing experiences compound into such a universal, overall change in who we are, our spirits, our person and cannot be expressed as singular events.

We hope to have done the country justice in such a condensed blog - but we are moving to an area with limited to no internet availability and we wanted to keep you informed!
All photos for this portion of the trip were taken with Mom's camera, and she has promised to tag Trevor and Amaris in all the photos so that everyone can see them when they get posted - theres a video, too!

Loads of love -

from the two changelings.





.

phuk phuket

remember when we said that we were going to tough out the rain like the locals?

we didnt. we ran.

After spending two rain filled days in beautiful Phuket town (a quaint, local filled area that is a haven from the resorts and girlie bars that have taken over the island) we decided (with Mom now in tow) to head North, as continual 'major storm' warnings were headed our way (once we had arrived in Bangkok we found out that the major transport bridge to the South had collapsed due to excess rain, and that more that 700 tourists had been evacuated in addition to the 23 local deaths in the area. Needless to say we were grateful for our decision)

After Mom slept off her jet lag, it was decided that she should experience a true, backpacking style journey before she got too comfortable. We decided that the 15 hour second class bus ride to Bangkok was the way to go, and that the day option would be a little bit more comfortable for a first timer.
So, we chose the night bus. 14 hours, multiple flooded roads, some strange all-night market bus stands (there are massive roadside markets that are open all night for buses, local and tourist alike, to stop for food. Think trucker stop minus the sketchiness) many beers combined with many troublesome bus bathroom trips later, we arrived to the light of the day. Trevor and Amaris hadn't seen blue sky in over two weeks, and the sunrise over the city scape couldnt have been more beautiful (not that Trevor knew that, he was passed out in the isle, on the floor)

As we are 'seasoned travelers' by now, we do not think that spending 15 hours on a bus pretending to sleep deserves an expensive, short taxi ride to the centre of the city. Besides, wheres the fun in that? We trek past the multitude of airconditioned taxis and board a local, breezy city bus. 2 hours later (but free) we finally arrive at our guest house destination and were able to squeeze ourselves, and gear, off the pre-work-rush filled bus.

Bangkok hasnt changed much in the last ten years, and therefore hasnt changed much since the last blog we wrote, so go read that if you are wondering what we did there.

3 days in Bangkok, some new digs for Mom (who felt humidity for the first time in her life and realized nothing she owned was appropriate for it) and new renewed energy absorbed from the sun, we decide our next destination is Cambodia. Opting for the slower, hotter method our group chose to travel via the train (which only had wooden seats for a 6 hours journey) on the Thailand side to reach the border, which is where the adventure begun.

the party place, the place of party

We arrived in Koh Phangan with mixed feelings, some apprehension (as we know this island as the 'party place') and some sense of adventure, knowing that we will have to work a little harder to find the vibe we are looking for. Getting off the ferries, here, you are accosted with touts for guesthouses and hotels, and it makes for a great way to strike a deal. We chose the only male tout, topless, with a half burnt cigarette hanging haphazardly from his chatty lips - we thought it a good choice.
We spent 4 days in Haad Yao, which is a relatively touristy area on the west coast of K.P, but the guesthouse we stayed in was nestled on a private beach, which would have been amazing if it didnt rain for four straight days! Feeling a wave of cabin fever, we decided to head to the northern tip of the island (at no fault of our Hunter Thomspon-esque owner, who made for a great first impression of the island) and made a trek to Choloklum, the small fishing pier village at the North of the island. Originally wanting to stay for a night or two, we crashed for 4 days in a bungalow that was on the water, surrounded by a secluded beach, and filled our bellies with great food. The area had a huge array of coffee choices (mmm), a great bookshop and wonderful local food. 

Remember the german couple, Eric and Tina, that we snorkelled with on paradise island? we received a message from them on our 3rd day in Choloklum, saying that they had driven by us in a tuk-tuk! Imagine, we meet again! The next day we met in the town and prepared ourselves for a  hike over the mountain to secluded Bottle Beach (usually reached by boat). The trail was marked by bottles attached to trees with no roads, people, quads, scooters or tourists in sight - and as a group we decided (although we blamed Eric the entire hike for our burning thighs) that it was time for an adventure!

2.5 hours later, we reached Bottle Beach - much to the surprise of everyone that we had hiked! The consensus among the locals was that they had
a) only done the hike once in their lives and
b) we really deserved our beer

Bottle Beach was beautiful, and completely secluded. As this was one of the areas that we had wanted to stay, we were glad to have made a day trip and experienced the beach (but were happy not to stay .... a bit too secluded and the prices of food/drink reflected this)

The next day we needed to decide if we were to stay longer or move on. We enjoyed our hike, after dinner and after drinks to a little bit too late of a time the night before, so we decided that we would stay another night and let the guesthouse know in the morning.
By some twist of fate, the forces did not allow us to stay where we were (prebooked/full? we still dont know what happened, we think she kicked us out because we didnt eat at her restaurant) and all of the other places in the village were full or too close to the locals Temple Festival that was happening all week.

With nowhere to go, we decided to follow our friends and stay at Mae Haad beach ..... and what luck this was! Mae Haad is a cove in the NW, and the bungalows we stayed in were under construction - which meant less formalities (the staff were amazing!) and no one cared that we made our own food and drank our own drinks! On our first night, we treated ourselves to a bonfire - and cooked mixed veggies, potatoes and baked beans on an open fire. The owners BBQ'd squid and made us a big plate to share, and what a treat this was!  The night was completed with Eric's minimal tech DJ set and the soothing sound of waves 25 feet away as the backdrop.

The next night, we headed back up to Choloklum to experience the Temple Festival (a week long party surrounding the village's temple). The scene can only be compared to what we know as a fair, or stampede. Thai's are perpetual snackers and rarely go 2-3 hours without eating small portions of roadside food. The same was at the festival, and the grounds were lined with carts full of fried things of all imagination, sweets, fruit shakes, thai tea shakes and of course the fair-ubiquitous beer garden.Outside the food arena there was about 2 km of walking markets/outdoor markets that sold every piece of plastic tool you could ever want with a few second hand clothing markets and rip off American DVD's  in between.
The first visit to the grounds was on a beautiful day, and the grounds were packed! Starting around 9 pm, there was a concert-style stage set up and bands began to perform....the second night (which was suppose to be the 'big party night') was amidst the 14 days stretch of non stop rain we have had, which unfortunately effected the crowds.....but it made for great plastic bargain shopping and a good excuse to eat hot food under the tarps!
We learned a lesson this night - as the first night we spent at the festival we had decided to end the night early, knowing that we wanted to 'save' some of the experience for the 'big' night. Our friends Eric and Tina stayed out, and we ended up missing out on the performance festivities because of this. Next time, we stay and experience twice if need be!

A few days later our friends left (we were both very sad, as it was nice to spend time with people we had really connected with!) and we were on our own again. Deciding that we didn't want to leave where we were, but wanting to visit the other areas of the island, Amaris and Trevor commenced their first ever SCOOTER EXPERIENCE. As it had been raining heavy for quite some days, many areas were muddy/pot-holie/tourist death traps masked as roads, and it made for an interesting ride at some parts. While Amaris had to hammer the helmet on over her dreads (poor, poor next purple scooter helmet wearer)  Trevor had a Marlon-Brando-on-a-Harley look because of his new long hair, and opting for the non purple helmet offered him the luxury of a chin strap (luuuucky). Trevor experienced ALL the fun -  as he was both completely searched by a Bangkok Police Road Block (oh god, scary, because of the Full Moon Party the night before) and was an apparent magnet for dogs who thought he looked like a good guy to run in front of.
All in the all the day went by accident free, and it turned out to be a beautiful way to see the island without having to work up a sweat!

After many days of rain, reading and more backgammon than you can say 'best out of three' to, we decided it was time to head over to the Andaman side of things to begin the with-mom portion of the trip...... a long day of traveling that include our first 'duped in thailand' adventure (that Trevor was smart enough not to fall for) we have arrived in Phuket and will remain for a few more days before heading South. Apparently the rain is inescapable, and has left the locals bewildered as it neither the season or a normal for this many straight hours and days... but we are toughing it out like the rest.

Nage avec Le Requin

So, we spent a great few days on Turtle Island! The place we stayed was just 15 minutes outside of the hustle bustle of the main village of Sairee. Which was nice because even at this distance we often fell asleep to the sounds of thumpy bass. Thanks to years spent sleeping behind the portal, this was easily tolerable. We had an amazing little cottage style bungalow up the cliff side from the ocean with a spectacular view (and a big tree perfectly blocking the evening sun. This along with the sea breeze kept our evenings made in the shade) and a hammock to laze in! We spent our first day being lazy reading and swimming. The next day we went for a good hike, with the intention of making it to Two View lookout, which is supposed to have a nice view of both the east and the west coast. Somewhere along the way we apparently made a left instead of a right, or something like this, and after about an hour or so realized we were going somewhere else. We eventually did find a lookout and a pretty cool and isolated buddhist monastary with some hiking trails spreading out from it, and settled. The hike down was just as much fun as it was fairly steep. We came across one of the coolest and creepiest looking spiders we've ever seen. Got a good photo too!

The next day we went out on a snorkeling trip around the island. The taxi picked us up at 8:30 and we boarded the boat around 9. The taxi picked up another BC couple from the island and once on the boat we met some more bc islanders. The first stop of the day was in Shark Bay, in which we were told, ironically enough, that there aren't many sharks. Everyone was pretty eager to jump in and right away there was swirls of color moving below us. Amaris even blew my mind and dove right in ahead of most and led the way. About ten minutes in, we hear a guy yell "SHARK", now this is something i didn't think would make me happy to hear, but surprisingly enough i was stoked and off we went in the direction of the yell. Amazingly, right in front of us about 4 meters or so away was a shark. Again, Amaris the Brave, pulling out all the stops, has a huge grin on her face and we both start chasing it. But without fins we had no chance. Pulling our heads out of the water we discussed with the group around us how cool that was. On the way back to the boat, another (or the same, who knows) went by right below me, too quick for me to get others attention in time, and it was gone, leaving me to be the only one to see him. What a priveledge! How cool to be this close. When we got back on the boat and started boasting we realized we were the only ones to see sharks. Our day was made. The rest of the day was filled with beautiful fish and coral. Others of the group actually knew what we were looking at, which made it even more exciting. The last stop was at the island of Koh Nang Yuan. Which was pretty cool scenery but if you google it youv'e seen it and the resort really ruined the vibe (the beer was more expensive than at home). But we found a good hike and took some sweet pictures. The last couple of days were spent doing the usuall, collecting daily groceries, planning our next trip. We even splurged on lunch and found a great pizza place. This being the first pizza (or real cheese even) in four months. It was a reeeallly good pizza.

Next stop Ko Phangan!

Paradise Island - somewhere you've never been before.

Ill start by saying that we made a blood oath to repeat this place to no one. i like my blood, and my life. no names.

Our first Island, our first getaway. An hour and a half ferry ride (after 12 hours on a bus, spent hungover sitting next a group of monks rubbing camphor oil all over themselves, which was surprisingly wonderful) and we arrived to the oasis. Trevor and I decided to 'keep it cheap' and walk to our destination (a couple was waiting at the peir to show us their bamboo huts) instead of taking the 60 ฿ taxi (taxi means old man driving a 25 year old scooter, and 60 baht is roughly $2 dollars).

A few marital squabbles later (are you seeing a pattern? being cheap in 40 degrees after being awake all night doesnt lend well) along with 2km past and 6 litres of sweat each, the owners of our guesthouse worried for our risk of dehydration - and came to pick us up on their personal motorbikes. We werent even halway there.

We arrive to a gorgeous, shaded grounds with 10 huts made completely of bamboo. The walls are thatched stripping of the bark, the beams, studs and floor beams are made from whole bamboo logs and the roof is thatched leafs. Our bed was draped with clean white sheets and a mosquito net. The bathroom was an outdoor oasis, and we got the experience (for the first time) showering outside. We dropped our bags and began to explore the rest of the island.

Koh _______ is a relatively uninhabited, undeveloped island that is small enough to walk from end to end and side to side within a few hours. There is a small village, servicing the tourist action of the island with a few restaurants, a general store and motorbike hire. This is the first (and so far last) area that is devoid of a 7-11 and ATM's (a breath of fresh air). The beer was cheap (40฿ for a large chang, about $1.25, which is two beers in a large bottle) and being able to shop at the local store we were able to eat a wonderful mix of fresh fruit (local, organic papaya, pineapple, watermelon, apples and banans) mixed with muesli and yogurt for breakfast, home made veggie sandwiches for lunch and a local cuisine for supper. At our favorite place to eat, they had a pet girl monkey. At first upset, I asked the owners (a Thai woman and French man) why they had a pet monkey.... the Thai woman told me that she had gone to Burma (Myanmar) to visit friends, and the local people had shot a monkey, which had turned out to have a baby. The village was going to let the baby fend for itself, and she said that when she went to find it, it was malnourished and scared. She has kept the monkey ever since, and the restaurant is adorned with photos of the monkey being raised from a baby (she had her own play area with a large wooden structure to live in... and strangely enough loved being around men, but didnt like women much. competition?)

Our days here were filled with reading, swimming, stretching, reading, swimming, reading.... you get the point. We enjoyed many beautiful walks around the island, and were able to truly relax and spend some time together as a couple (in public) for the first time since leaving home. Exhausted from so much relaxation, our second to last day was spent on a snorkelling trip with a few of the people we had become great friends with during our stay (we call this island stint the 'Commune Experience" as here we met people that we spent a lot of time together in the same common space) .....








Snorkelling was amazing! At first I was afraid (I was petrified) and so in order to remove ourselves from fear Tina and I (the girl in the front right of photo) decided to wear life jackets. These served 3 purposes, for those interested.
1. We couldnt drown during a freak out episode (which happened while accidentally bumping into someone, even seeing rocks under the sand were cause for some seriously scary moments).
2. We were impenetrable to sharks teeth.
3. As Camille (girl, back left) so adequately called us while we swam bright and bulky, "Enforcement Squad" was here to let the ocean know we had arrived, so a shark couldnt 'accidentally bump into us" as we had read happened so often in these 'unusual' cases of man eating sharks.

In truth, we didnt see much ( a few bright fish and some epically scary dark rock formations) but the day was amazing, fun filled and solidified a pretty cool friendship with some pretty cool people.

Tired of relaxing, we decided to leave Koh _______ and head over to Koh Tao, the island famous for diving and snorkelling. To get there first, we spent two night in Chumphon, a 'transfer' type town. Chumphon was fun for the few nights, and we spent the day covering the town by foot, the afternoon shopping in a MASSIVE second hand store (I truly believe that a second hand store is a window to a country's soul) and the night eating fried food in the night market.

The next morning we were off on a 7 am ferry (morning have become the roughest thing to endure), set to arrive in Koh Tao 3 hours later. Safe, sound and an Amaris-wardrobe malfunction later (yup) we are here .... and have much to add in our next blog.

Drum and Bass Bass Bass

it is difficult, for us anyways, to write a blog that we feel is emotional and content. we are unable to use the computer when we feel inspired and are left to remember (often hazy) times sometimes weeks later. this is one of those memories that i forgot until 2 days after writing the last blog - and there have been many others. this is for my bass head friends.

we have heard many 'electronic' beats (its a thing of the backpackers life to listen to thumping beats and try and relive the 60's) most of the trance variety, and many claiming to be electro or drum and bass (but on hearing are just obnoxious trance, worse trance than those being honest about playing trance at their parties). While we are not the 'partying type', we are forced to listen to the bass lines swinging amongst the trees on some nights (mainly in parts of India) and Amaris has been craving some serious bass (bass bass bass).

Flash to Bangkok. Much shameless partying by those around us, none by us (Rhianna anyone?  I can now sing all the words to all Justin Beiber's songs. true fact) and once again Amaris is craving some bass bass bass. A young fella hands me a flyer, saying "Drum and Bass tonight". I ask if it is real drum and bass or trance that wants to be drum and bass. He laughs. Good sign. I force Trevor to run back to our guest house (its already 1130 and i felt, for some reason, that it was necessary to run home) get changed grab a beer and run to the small, dark, cramped coffee house that the flyer is advertised for.

and it was there that i danced my dripping sweat dreadlocks flying shoeless face off to some unknown, thai girl spinning  SICK hard core drum and bass with the man dancing just as hard next to me. it was epic.... and i missed my peeps there for sure!

The "badger" and "burrow" are now famous in both India and Thailand. true fact. It was no Shambhala, but we smiled at the end of it the same.

Bangkok - a hard man now humble

Oh, beauty.

We arrive in Bangkok, and the airport is the first to strike.... it was so clean! Everything is in order, the walls are white, the floor is white, the lines are formed in actual lines, and people are smiling.  We read,  prior to leaving Canada, that first time travellers could be in for a 'culture shock' when first entering Thailand ..... we scoffed at this idea after being in India, thinking that nothing could ever compare. While we were right in the sense that it wasnt a culture shock (nothing could be anymore) but of more a reverse culture shock! We are so used to India that this new, foreign landscape, in all of its cleanliness and order, still allowed for a shock.

We hopped into a 'prepaid taxi' and sped off to Kho San Road (the famous backpackers area of Bangkok) area, where we were staying a few blocks away. The higway sped by with amazing amounts of greenery, gold plated signs devoted to the king and very little air pollution. Things came to a screeching halt once we arrived into "Old Bangkok" where we experience Bangkok Traffic Jams in full force; after India we thought that we would be grateful for line painted roads and street lights, but after the 3rd red light that lasted 25 minutes (NO JOKE!)  we werent happy with our wish being true. 2.5 hours later, a few small marital squabbles and 6 blocks of walking in 95% humidity with our bags to our hostel later (our taxi dropped us off on the wrong road) we had officially 'arrived'.

Stripping down to the basic necessaties of clothing (it is SO hot and humid here), and finally feeling the freedom as a woman to bare my arms and legs again, we began our first stroll through the Old City. How can a person describe the sights, the smells, the sounds without being a novelist? I will try.

Each road has more food stalls, small counters adorned to bikes, mini restaurants and BBQ stands than you would think physically possible. People crowd around plastic chairs, sipping on cheap cold beer in cans (it is legal/tolerated for tourists and locals alike to drink anywhere they find a seat or a beer,  including grabbing a beer out of the cooler in the hardware store to enjoy while shopping for power tools).
The air smells of frying noodles, BBQ pork and chicken, a mixture of raw and cooked seafood, fried egg, soup broth, flowers and open waterways (not sewer, just water from sinks, etc, adding to the fish smell).

On each road, somehow precariously wedged in between all the other food stands, there is a food market. A food market (often running primarily in the morning/afternoon or night) is a delightful mixture of food stalls, an organic produce market and the best sports bar you have ever seen - with a few clothing stalls mixed in.

Then, in between more food stalls you thought possible that are wedged in between massive food markets, there are clothing and trinket shops. I am not sure of the legalities, but it seems that you are able to set up a shop on any stretch of sidewalk that is not already consumed by the aformentioned food stalls and markets. The clothing shops sell everything you could ever want, ranging from childs trinkets, to fire spinning toys, to skanky foreign clothing to dried fish eyeballs hung decoratively from a string. :)

If you have a chance, or remember, to look up to the sky from the physically impossible food stalls, precariously placed food markets and  sidewalk shops you will find streets decorated with rice paper lanterns, streamers and the ever present gold plated monuments for the king.

This was only two blocks! Kho San is a circus, an area much like that of any city on say, Canada Day. It is a travellers circuit on steriods, with so many things to keep the sensations alarmed. The beauty of Bangkok City, though, is that it takes about 4 blcoks to remove yourself from the craziness, and you will find yourself in a local bar, listening to thai kareoke, eating thai beer snacks and smiling at locals.

Outside the tourist area, we are finding here that less people speak English and even less signs are in English than in India (which we had misthought would be the opposite)  This has so far led to some interesting experiences (always safe, though, which is a breath of fresh air) and to some interesting meals!

After 4 days in Bangkok, a great meet up with a fellow friend from my nursing class (which led to the awful 12 hour bus ride with Amaris'  first "ChangOver", as we later found out the cheapest beer uses fermaldehyde as a preservative, giving most tourists and awful hangover) we headed over to 'Paradise Island'.....

time for some sun fun!

MMM MMM FOOD

mmmm...... it is a wonder that we are not gaining weight while travelling! We thought that, as we leave India tomorrow, it would be lovely to share with you what we have sustained our souls and bellies on in this country.

Breakfast usually consists of black tea (or coffee when we find it. The concept of 'coffee' here is instant... and awful instant, so we have become tea drinkers) and either baked beans on toast, or grilled tomato cheese sandwich.... usually paired with some sort of potato (fried, boiled, mashed, hashbrowns,etc) and Trevor drinks a fresh squeezed, no sugar no water orange juice. Not Amaris, she sticks to the caffeine beverages only.

Our 'lunch' is often fresh fruit (there are stands everywhere to buy that which is 'peelable') and nuts/salty mix of some kind. From time to time we will treat ourselves to a street vendor that is whipping up lunch-sized versions of our favorite dinner foods. The only mentionable one that differs from supper is the glorious 'rolls' we have found on the streets of Kolkata - think vegetarian donair. Of course, not to forget the Samosa - a found everywhere, always fresh and for less than 10 cent glorious piece of fried heaven. Trevor ate so many he is sick of them!

and the pice-des-resistances ...... supper food. The food culture varies from South to North, East to West, with the 'Dosa' being the only South Indian food we have not been able to find in many places outside the south. Everything else, though, is found everywhere.....We were able to sample much Tibetan fare, also, while in Bodhgaya. We will start with that, and the rest is what our palates have appreciated in the rest of India.

In Bodhgaya, due to both our tummy episodes and the typical fare, our diet consisted of a variety of soups. The 'staple' bread is called a Thig-mo, which is a steamed bread that resembles a dinner roll/crumpet. Steamed may not sound appealing (it didnt to me) but it surprises with an amazing sourdough like texture (and flavor, now to think of it. A kind of bitterness)

  thigmo

  thukpa - tibetan noodle soup.....

The first 'new' love for Indian flavors that we have found lies in the Paneer, a soft, unfermented cheese. this cheese resembles the chewy texture of tofu, with a subtle cheese flavor that absorbs and compliments a huuuge variety of dishes. Paneer is often used as a 'meat substitute' in what we would know as traditionally meat dishes in Canada (butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, etc) and AMARIS LOVES IT.

  

The dosa (Trevor's favorite). It is a 'pancake' (more crepe thickness but almost cornbread flavor) that is made from rice flour. It is then filled with Masala potatoes (masala is the 'typical' spice mixture when you think Indian food) and served alongside a fresh coconut chutney and tomato chutney. Pieces are ripped off (with one hand) dipped into said sauces and eaten. Delicious!

     

Next is the multitude of masala lentil mixtures - there is chana (chickpeas) dhal (black lentils) dhal fried (yellow lentils, or moong dhal) rajma curry (kidney beans) and many many more. This is often eaten with rice (LOADS of rice) but we prefer to have a few chapati's each and skip the rice (it becomes too much food)

  chana

    moong dhal

   rajma curry

Other 'new' flavors (we always 'cooked Indian' at home, but obviously being here the food is a thousand times more amazing, and we have found a huge variety of vegetarian food/new recipes to take home with us)

Aloo Mutter - Potato and Peas

Palak Paneer -  (spinach and cheese)

chili paneer - the greatest blend of chinese and indian flavors

Paneer Pasanda - stuffed paneer

shahi paneer - gloriously garlicy paneer cheese

malai kofta - a veg 'ball' (much like a meatball) made from

veggies and paneer in a tomato curry sauce

and the list goes on and on, with a variation of veggies, paneer, beans and curry. and always a good rhoti chapati. :)

We are now hungry and going to enjoy our last veg 'donair' from the streets of kolkata. We are off to Thailand tomorrow morning, and we will update the blog when a few days of excitement have passed!

What would it take to feel human again...

The wierd thing about having expectations in India is that no matter what you expect, the reality of the situation is almost always, unexpected. We left Bodhgaya a few days ago feeling worn out and highly dissapointed. Our expectations for Calcutta were pretty low, we were dreading it actually. But, we needed our Visas and Calcutta was the most suitable place to get them done. Having no idea how long it would take, or in other words, if this would be the time for all the good luck and karma we have had over the last while to come to a crashing halt, we wanted to make sure we gave ourselves lots of cushion time for the process. So 8 days in Calcutta it was.

By the time the train finally docked at the station, it was dark outside and we were exhausted. Booking a pre-paid taxi was our favourite option. Luckily we had a room already booked for the evening, and after an hour of crawling through traffic, we made it. The hotel we booked slapped us in the face right away with it's cleanliness and charm, and the room we were givin was like a palace to us. It came with all the trimmings, Television with THREE english channels, a mini fridge, and hot water. Did we ever revel in it! The next morning we got up and at'em nice and early, found a great cafe that serves hot beans on toast, grabbed a taxi and we were off to the Thai consulate. Now as I said, we didn't know what to expect when we got there, so we did our best to have all our paper work and everything else we needed in order. Our only concern was the passport photos we had done in Bodhgaya where the guy litterally cut and pasted our faces on to a white background. We didn't think this was a good idea. When we arrived at the consulate the cab driver asked us if we needed a return fare. We told him that we didn't know how long we would be here, possibly two or three hours we thought. "Oh no, 15 mins" he laughed at us. So I said "Sure if you don't mind waiting". Fifteen minutes later we were back in the cab on our way home. The next morning, just as easily, we picked up our passports with the newly added Visas and we were now the ones laughing. If this is a sign of things to come...

Since then, we have been spending our days walking around the streets soaking in as much as this big metropolis has for us. Eating great food and drinking great coffee. There is a music store close by so I replenished my stock on a years supply of guitar picks and strings. The people of Calcutta are impressively friendly and helpful. The traffic has some sense of organisation, even though we still jeopordize our lives everytime we simply cross the street, but we are used to this by now.

As we have said many times, India is a land of extreme. Some of the most amazing and beautiful, and some of the most unimaginable experiences and sights to have touched our lives have been in the last three months. The other night we witnessed one of the most amazingly heart warming things you could imagine. I don't want to tarnesh the moment by putting unjust words to it. But it was something that put tears on our cheeks and some of lifes greatest lessons in our hearts. After being stipped down to the bone and having our egos beat bloody and torn, it was great to be givin the gift of feeling human again.

And this my beautiful friends and family, is India.

for those of you further interested in the 'truth' of Varanasi, or those that had any
"what are yooou doing to fix the problem" or
"you just didnt look deep enough" or
"you are being pessimistic and its all about the loooove"

please read this -     http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com/2007/02/04/varanasi-shit-hole-of-the-gods/

this blog (and debate that ensues) covers most of the facets of the 'argument', and in a much more intelligent way than I could even attempt.

Bodhgaya

Our trip to Bodhgaya started with a late train ride that ended with a new friendship (Hi Todd and Anise!) and a rickshaw ride along a dried up river bed. We arrived in Bodhgaya in time to find a room, drink a beer and eat a portion of food we thought was satisfactory.

We woke the next day to frequent trips to the bathroom and nausea. Hey, at least we spent our first days here in a nice, clean room. :)

After recuperating, it was time to see the town. Bodhgaya (as mentioned) is the original birth place of Buddhism, where Buddha attained enlightenment after a long term meditation under the Bodhi tree. In the high season (winter) the majority of the town is populated by Tibetan refugees (that are finding solace from the harsh winters in the summer town, Dharmsala) and Buddhist monks of many ethnicity's. There are monasteries of many cultures and countries (Tibet, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Darjeeling, Bhurma etc) all situated around the grand park and stupa  (monument of remembrance) around the Bodhi tree (a secondary original, planted a few hundred years ago from a seedling of the original, now resides in Sri Lanka) Restaurants are primarily temporary tent structures erected to feed the masses of monks/refuges/tourists in the high season, and most serve Tibetan/Chinese/Indian. We were looking forward to the new culinary experience to be had here! The city is flocked with colors of burgundy, orange and yellow as the monks walk from place to place, from monastery to the park.

The inside of the park (Bodhi tree and area) is a wonderful, peaceful and clean place of an oasis. We spent many hours on many days within this compound, reading and writing. As Buddha's path to enlightenment was completed over many weeks, there are areas designated within the park that are in remembrance of his steps. Throughout the day you can watch monks (and others) recreate his path while in meditation. We visited the monument at dark/dusk, and were treated to an amazing experience of sight, sound and smell. Hoards of individuals from many of the monasteries/classrooms come during this time to light incense, sit in groups and chant. The air is thick with religion, with belief - and peace.

...

Bodhgaya's spiritual centre and spiritual side of life was that of beauty - but the outskirts were just as heavy, just as daunting. We have already covered the 'negatives', so there is no need to repeat.... but it is a theme that has repeated itself in our surroundings. No good without the bad, they say.


After a few days of studying, walking the outskirts of the village and daily exercise we were headed to Kolkata (which is where we are currently writing from) We were nervous, as Kolkata is a city of 12 million people and we are here for 7 days (in order to arrange our Visa's) prior to flying to Thailand on Feb 9th. We hadn't had the best experiences with cities - and Kolkata is known for its destitution and difficulties (with a huge portion of the population living below India's poverty line, made up of the multitudes of immigrants/refugees created by the Pakistan (now Bangladesh war) on the border of West Bengal (Kolkata). We are here, and enjoying it. We will update that soon

It's time for some truth sauce

Varanasi is a huge pit stop on the traveller's trail, an auspicious city lining the holy Ganges with over 60 ghats (steps cascading into a river). There are the famous 'burning ghats' where bodies are cremated and their ashes spread into the river (dying in Varanasi is said to fast track the individual out of the cycle of rebirth to another human existence), and each ghat has it's own sense of 'personality' and characteristics that are usually formed around the majority of practices happening at each one (some are used primarily for washing clothes, some for dipping into the river to wash away sins, some have been turned into impromptu cricket grounds while others hold tourists who pay large sums of money to sleep next to the river and do 'yoga' on the ghats)

The 'city' itself (the area that most backpackers stay and eat) is lined along what is known as the Old City that is an array of almost under ground mazes, formed by the tall buildings and narrow alleyways between them. Here it is packed to the nines with shops, restaurants and backpacker joints - and in the midst a funeral procession of a body followed by a chanting family will squeeze past you. The city is ferocious, busy and thousands flock here to watch the religious ceremonies and take part in the cultural aspects in the place revered as the most holy place of pilgrimage for Hindus.

Varanasi has been our least favorite place. It's amazing (and  true) that the places you thought would be your favorite aren't, and the ones you dreaded become your favorite. We were really ..... disappointed and slightly disgusted at the state of the city . It has become difficult to grasp the concept that a place considered so holy is literally shit on by thousands upon thousands of people. By this, I dont meant the general age and cultural differences of  a typical third world country (we no longer cringe at bugs in the room, squat toilets or a stray hair in the food from time to time) but..... each ghat was so putrid that it was difficult to walk the length of the river along them. The river is polluted (an ongoing issue in India and around the world), there is mass amounts of garbage (more so than the usual) and the steps are currently being used as a toilet by those that can stand and urinate. It reeked of urine, feces and rotting garbage everywhere (not just in one place, but the entirety) - and the only spiritual people we saw were attempting to hide from the bus loads of day tourists coming to take photos. It was .... awful. Mix this with our only interaction with locals were of ones attempting to sell hash, boat rides, guest houses, rickshaws, clothing, more hash and the occasional back rub (something we have been able to avoid, even in bigger cities. If you look past the 'tourist market' you can meet amazing, genuine locals and truly connect - something we have found easy everywhere else) and we were ready to leave before we actually settled.

Off to Bodhgaya next - a small (er) place that is the birthplace of Buddhism. It is here that Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree and gained enlightenment... perhaps we will too.

I cannot feel guilty for that which I have, but only feel grateful.

Is this possible? You cannot imagine.... this.

The Taj

A long train ride, 2 hours of sleep and the most expensive rikshaw ride we've taken later ... we arrived in Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal at 3 pm. Our itinerary was a short one, with only the one night to spend and having to wake at 4 am again the next day to catch our train to Varanasi. As mentioned, we hadn't planned on visiting Agra, and this combined with the the lack of sleep, our lack of 'sightseeing' personalities and the price of admission to the Taj (our daily budget) we had decided to bunker down in a guest house (which all have views of the Taj) and get a free Taj experience with a bottle of beer, head to bed early and move on.

Two bottles of beer later, we realized that we could never face our families with the truth of negating the Taj, and decided to go for it. By this time, the gates were closing within 20 minutes - we had to take a rishshw to an ATM (we hadnt planned on this train ride, so we had minimal money with us for the overnight train we were originally planning on taking) and reached the gates with minutes to spare.and you know what? we arrived just as the soft light of sunset was enveloping the white masterpiece of the 8th wonder of the world - and we were immediately grateful for our decision. The universe has its ways, doesnt it?

 The Taj is worth the hype, the entry fee and the milling of thousands of people on the grounds. We spent the remainder of the day walking around the beautifully manicured gardens, attempting to take photos with digital camera my parents bought for me 6 years ago, and soaking in the atmosphere.
(we will post pictures when our memory card is full, all at once)

When the day was done, we returned to our guest house to enjoy the BEST FOOD WE HAVE HAD IN INDIA while enjoying a continued view of the Taj. Another 4 am start, and we were on our way to Varanasi.

We are now in Varanasi after experiencing a most uplitfing train ride (in a berth with 6 english speaking Indian chaps) and will post again when our experience here is complete.

Makar Sankranti - Kite Festival

The grande finale of the kite festival in Bundi - well worth the wait and the tears shed.

We spent the day floating from house to house (as described from before all have flat, terrace style roofs) drinking copious amounts of good things, eating copious amounts of good fried things, and attempting to fly kites but essentially destroying copious amounts of kites. :)

The festival is based around the religious practice for Nandi, who is the cow that carries/is the vehicle for Lord Shiva. Sunrise is met with prayers (as usual) and the morning (early) is spent preparing food for the day and feeding the plethora of roaming cows with fresh greens and food scraps. After the morning warms up (8 ish) the festivities begin.

If one was to walk through the alleyways of Bundi on this day, besides the blaring music, you would think that it was a ghost town. Shops are closed, and there is not a person in sight (they are all on their roofs!). Every single man, woman and child is flying kites, listening to traditional music and enjoying the company of eachother. From the roof top terrace, you ca see people for miles - a massive, elevated block party!

After spending the majority of the day with different familes, we were whisked away by one of the many people we had become friends with to an epic countryside adventure..... because the shops were closed for the day, our shop owner friend had the entire day off (his last one was last makar sakranti!) and wanted to spend the day doing something fun, with us! What an honor! The three of us spent the afternoon roaming the countryside squished on a scooter, visiting temples and lakes. Our last stop was an ancient 'resort' nestled on Bundi lake, where Kipling and royalty visited in its hayday. It was a beautiful place that was closed for the holy day, but our trusty friend had served the caretaker many times in his shop - and we were granted  private access! We were a small group of three, free to wander around normally locked rooms and sanctioned grounds. What an honor!

The day ended with an array of fireworks, more drinks and many laughs. The goal of finding a home a way from home was completed - and left us with our first travel experience of not wanting to leave the new people and places that find their way into our hearts.

Many tears and chais later, we retired to bed at 1 oclock in the morning to have 2 fitful hours of sleep before rising at 3 to catch our transportation - the beginning of the long journey to varanasi. Due to the epic circuit of the India Rail and the millions of people using it for transport each day, our goal of 'direct' to varanasi was not reached, and we had to reroute through Agra. The hyped  city of the Taj Mahal, we had never planned a trip here...... but the universe has its ways.








Bundi - our  blue home away from home.




A view of the kite festival, with the beautiful palace in the background.

The "Bundi Incident"

We have been experiencing the definition of true relaxed lifestyle - although a tad bit of a cold one at night (hot in the day, reaallly cold in the night)

We travelled from Okmareshwar to a town (100,000 pop) of Bundi. Bundi is a town set around a huge palace, and the old part of the city is built within the fort walls. Outside the past Christmas holiday travellers, there are a fewer number of tourists here - but enough that it is comfortable for socializing. There arent any big stores, all food comes from the market, which houses local food/dairy/vegetables and grain shops (rice/dal) with some 'corner store' type places that sell smokes, chewing tobacco, hand rolled cigarettes, chocolate bars, chips (munchie food) and white bread (from the next big town)....

We will have been here for a total of almost 1 month the day of the international kite festival on January 14. We have been staying with of a 4 - family housing unit (called a Haveli, a large, decorated house with a little inner courtyard/garden) whom we have fallen in love with. We play cards all day with the kids (who we were able to have fun with on christmas and new years) and alternate between being out and about with days of complete nothingness.  The house/haveli (as all of the homes here) have a roof top terrace (where our room is situated) and the entire village and surrounding areas come to Bundi to fly kites, thousands over 12 hours. The families practice every day, and we are excited to be here to spend the day with them and 'party' at night. (by party we drink orange pop, listen to really loud Hindi music and dance. and its aweeesome)

We attempted to go to Pushkar last week for a few days to grab some supplies/see the town (larger, more touristy area that is apparently beautiful. we can enjoy the place and we are still looking for coffee options and have been told we can find it here!) but we were blocked due to the Gujarat protests that have blocked traffic and trains in the state we are in (the debate is between the state we are in and theirs). The protest itself is safe/non violent, more a workers strike (which includes busses/toll workers/train stations) so we spent five hours on a bus, and 45 minutes away from our destination we were turned around and had to spent the same 5 hours back. Did you read the post about bus seats and the pain illicited into the bottom region from them? yes. returned on said bus.

So, we are still in Bundi and have just planned to do another attempt to Pushkar this week and return just before the kite festival (we are having to backtrack to go East as planned, so we will return here befoer heading East). We are safe, relatively healthy (Amaris just finished major antiobitoic treatment for the "Aurangabad Episodes", and today is trevor's first day out of the hostel room in 4 days ( now dubbed the "Bundi Incident".

We will report back after our visit to Pushkar! We are collecting great photos (although few and far between) and will post them to appropriate sections when we get them all uploaded together!

lots of love, stay safe in the snow out there.