Katy's Travel Log

Well, that's it!

Well, that's it...I'm home! I'm back in Madison, Wisconsin and am making the transition into having a home, having my friends nearby and olding down a steady job once again! Since arriving in Madison just in time for Christmas, being treated to an unexpected, glorous WHITE Christmas and making it through the food-and-presents bonanza, I have officially set up shop and started life anew.

My trip?  A wonderful 16 months passed, in which I was able to explore far corners, be it on my own or with new friends. The one main result of doing and seeing so much is that I want to do and see that much more!! I am so grateful that I had the opportunity and the means to take so much time off and to have such an adventure. Before I left, people kept saying to me how brave I must be to embark on a trip like this, and at the time I kept telling me that no, no, it wasn't brave, it was just something I wanted to do. Now I've learned to accept that it did, in fact, take bravery and bravery is something I now know I have! I arrive home a mere month ago and I already feel well on my way into my next phase, feeling like I took advantage of all the possibilities open to me in my previous phase -- it's a very satisfying feeling.

The most surprising part about being home? How everything seems more or less the same. Before I left and while travelling I always the same sense of 16 months being a decently long amount of time, but now that I'm here and inserting myself back into the lives of my friends and family, i'm feeling like 16 months really isn't beyr muhc time at all. Sure a baby was born here or there, new friends were made, a few new buildings were built, but celebrating New Years with friends I hadn't even talked to in over an year, it was like I'd never missed a beat. It's actually comforting in many ways, if surprising.

What's on the agenda now that I'm back? Well, I had planned on returning and looking for restaurant jobs, but as it turns out January is the slow season for restaurants and no one was hiring, so I found my way into the best bakery in town and landed myself a pastry apprenticehsip! So, my new life starts with a veyr new schedule: I rise at 3:10 in the morning, work from 3:45 until noon and then have the whole afternoon to do whatever (so far afternoons have been chock full with other various odd jobs from firneds and family) and then bedtime is somewhere between 7 and 9. An interesting schedule to say the least, but I'm finding that I'm much more productive with my free afternoons than I ever was with my free evenings, even though they amount to roughly the same number of hours. So, I'm adjusting and I'm really excited about what I'm learning and am thirlled that in a year or so I will have learned a trade that will make me emplyable anywhere in the world! Woo-hoo!

So, that's that! I'm back! I survived! It was great! The world is a big place and my list of places to go and things to do is longer than ever! But, it's good to be back!

Drawing to a close

Ahh, well my time in Lyon has drawn to a close, which signifies also the very near end of my trip.

My time in Lyon was an interesting period filled with lots of juxtapositions. It is the place where I was the most settled, with an apartment, a roommate, classes and yet I can't say that I ever felt completely at home. (Incidentally, I spent about the same amount of time studying in Norway while in college and had a very similar experience; for me, 4 months just ain't nothin' if I want to something ressembling a life.) At times in Lyon I felt possibly the most lonely than any other time on my trip, and at others I felt like I had (and did have) throngs of family and friends surrounding me. Lyon is oft described as the gastronomic capital of France and while I was able to partake of the Lyonnais delicacies on particular occasions, more often than not I was living on pasta and peas; which is also to say (though not a juxtaposition at all) that my time in France, one of the most expensive spots and one of the last spots on my itinerary, was definitely my poorest time (imagine the blow when I realized my meager 14 Euro a day budget was pushing the envelope). On my way to school every day I walked through the St. Antoine market on the banks of the Saone surrounded by incredible smells of flowers, cheese and olives, admiring all types of gorgeous fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, nuts, pastries, meats, fish, shellfish, smiling at the vendors I saw everyday, maybe accepting a free Clementine here or there, and I then spent much of the rest of the walk avoiding dog shit and wincing at whiffs of urine. Lyonnais people are often described as being cold, un-welcoming and reserved and while I encountered plenty of people who fit that bill, I also met a few wonderfully open, warm and welcoming French people, who opened their doors to me, fed me, showed me things they loved about their city and their food.

My apartment in Lyon was often the butt of jokes, and after being introduced to someone who had already met my roommate, it was inevitable to next hear: "oh, YOU're the one without the toilet!" Well, the apartment was in a very old building (I have no idea how old I just realized, how terrible is that) and for the most part filled with lovely, large, rennovated apartments, but in our little aerie on the top floor (think 8th floor and no elevator), time had pretty much stood still for the last, I don't know, 30 years and our toilet was still a "Turkish" deal (a hole with places for your feet) out in the hallway to which you had to bring a bucket of water from the apartment. Truth be told, if I hadn't just spent the previous year travelling to places where a toilet like that might be luxury, I'm not sure I would've known what to do, but as it was, it was no big deal; a little chilly maybe towards the end there, but no big deal. The apartment itself had one little main room with the kitchen and an eating table and not much else, then there was one bedroom off that room and a small, red ladder/staircase brought you up to my room, the ceiling of which was formed by the eaves of the roof, making the room to short to stand up in, but also making it seem ever so cozy and charming to the likes of me. The main window in the apartment had a wonderful view of the rooftops of our neighborhood (the oldest part of town, now protected by the UN from any modernization), over to one of the cathedrals and on again further to another church steeple (we could hear 3 sets of church bells from the apartment). It was the perfect place for sitting in the sun for hours, catching a tiny glimpse of life here or there, but otherwise just soaking in how very French it all seemed.

After a month or so I'd say I definitely got into the French swing of things food-wise, at least as far as lunch was concerned (I don't think any French person would lower themselves to eating pasta and peas for dinner as much as I did). But, because the budget was tight and because my French class was over everyday at noon, my general routine was to buy a round of Camembert and two tomatoes on Monday and then everyday after school I would buy half a baguette, get home crisp it up in the oven, make my Camembert sandwiches and maybe spread the last of the bread with a little jam for dessert. In colder months, this got replaced by vegetable soup, but still with my warm, crispy half-baguette. I suppose my dinners got impeccably French when my mother arrived -- which is to say, we always managed to pull off a salad, open a bottle of wine, relax, have something interesting that we'd picked out that day and top it all off with a fresh treat from the patisserie.

Which brings me to the definite highlight of my time in Lyon: friends and family. A long time ago I had begun to wonder if it would be possible to pull of a Thanksgiving in France with my friends and family from home. It turns out, thanks to my mother more than anyone else, that it was possible and it was even better than I could have imagined. For almost the whole month of November I went from being a solitary wanderer and explorer to being surrounded by familiarity and friendship. First, my wonderful rowing buddies Claire and Katy showed up and we had a wonderful few days catching up, eating, shopping and oggling ridiculously expensive shoes! Then the day after they left my mother arrived for almost 3 weeks, shortly thereafter her friend and daughter joined us, and then my grandmother and her boyfriend and then my brother and then another friend of my mother's and a friend of mine. It was all made possible by the fruits of a desperate search for a place to stay; in the end, my mother managed to locate a wonderful house, owned by one of the most lovely couples ever, not too far out of town, where everyone could stay and it worked out perfectly. The house was comfortable and charming and was the perfect setting catching up with my family, which would have otherwise happened amid rush of Christmas.

Thanksgiving itself raised the bar of our expectations forever more and it I don't think that we'll be going to back to the old style of Thanksgiving any time soon (our Madison family around the table at my mother's house). We had 12-15 people, depending on how and when you counted, a mix of Americans, Canadians, French, Swedish and Scottish and an all-American Thanksgiving spread (per my strict orders, missing one Thanksgiving was enough for me). Wine and conversation flowed quickly and easily; most everyone didn't know most everyone else and it worked beautifully. It was a new kind of Thanksgiving for my family, and I, for one, vote to keep it that way!! (Granted, once State-side it could be a little hard to replicate an atmosphere flooded with different cultural perspectives and the relaxation that comes with being far away from the responsabilities of home.) Anyway, it was a good time, and definitely my best evening in Lyon!

After things had wound down from Thanksgiving, most everyone headed back in their respective directions and my brother and I spent a few days in Paris with the express intent of adding Disneyland Paris to our illustrious list of Disneyland experiences! That done (on a chilly, chilly day when a couple big attractions were closed, but one on which we had "snow"!), we bummed around Paris a bit, walked a lot, had a few good meals and then headed off on our own ways once again. I had one more week to prepare for my Lyon departure and filled it with lots of errands and cleaning and packing, but more importantly with some really good eating and some wonderful evenings thanks to a couple of generous invitations! And then, that was it! Au revoir Lyon! Until next time....

So, now that the Lyon chapter is behind me, I find myself with about 2 more weeks before I am back in Madisonm, Wisconsin -- a weird, but comforting thought. I am ready and excited to start a new, semi-normal, non-nomadic life!!! A little jaunt to England, a couple of nights in New York and that's officially it! The pack will be un-packed one last time!! I think it'll be good to be home...

France

Well, well, well! For those of you who don't know, I'm in France and unlike other logs this one does not mark the end of my time here. Instead this log marks the beginning of a whole new phase of my trip.

I've spent the last year (well, almost a year) galavanting about in all these wonderful places, seeing new things, finding new places to stay, meeting new people, getting to understand a different country's infrastructure and rules and while I've had enough pit stops along the way that I'm not exhausted, I think I do qualify as a weary traveler (oh how I long for a West of the Andes sandwich from old Weary). I'm two weeks short of a year and my wonderful Papermate pen has finally run out of ink; my handy, dandy notebook from Ecuador is finally full; my round-the-world ticket is set to expire and I am well sick and tired of having to find a new place to stay every night -- SO! I have decided to stay where I am, to spend my remaining 3-4 months living something inbetween home life and traveling life.

Almost as soon as I'd officially decided what I wanted all the pieces started falling into place. After arriving in Paris (and marvelling at the fact that it is as beautiful as all the stories make it seem), I headed to Lyon to check it out as a possible place to hang around for a while and was pleasantly surprised by a city built at the meeting of two rivers, with tons to do and a not-too-expensive French school and lots of students looking for apatments. My first day of looking I met a Swedish girl who will be studying Economics until Christmas and we had the very good fortune of finding the apartment of our dreams. And while there were a few significant bumps along the way and we thought the dream apartment was simply to good to be true, it finally worked out and we have moved in and made ourselves quite at home!

So, picture this, if you will: standing at a wide-open window with little lace curtains looking out over red tile roofs and chimneys (think chimney-sweep scene from Mary Poppins, but more colorful); there's a cathedral straight ahead, a smaller kind of gothic church futher on, and a big thing up the hill that vaguely resembles the big castle at Disneyland; there's and a river and a city off to your left, of which you mostly see more tiled roofs; there's some ratatouille stewing on the stove behind you; a few strains from the accordion player down on the street mixes with the music from Amelie as as the sun sets and you sip your wine and wonder how it was that you got to be so very lucky. It promises to be a very good life here in Lyon.

I am officially a student again for the next three months. I have registered and paid for my classes, taken a test for the first time in many years, bought my books and await my student card. A life with some semblance of routine lies not too far ahead of me and I relish the thought, the thought of getting up at the same time everyday in the same bed and getting into the same perfectly normal shower with guaranteed hot water, the thought of buying something in the large size because it's cheaper and I will actually have the opportunity to both store it and eat it, the thought of cooking in my own kitchen when I want to and grabbing something to eat in my own neighborhood if I don't, the thought of walking around Old Lyon and knowing that I'm one of the people strolling on the cobblestone alleys and gazing at diners on the sidewalks who can call this little part of Lyon their own. I don't have a phone, but I do have a mailbox. I also have keys and seven flights of old stone stairs to walk up/down every day. I have an old Italian landlady who speaks with such a thick Italian accent I can just barely understand her. I have unpacked my bag and do not plan on filling it back up again until the journey homeward in December. Maybe this all seems very undramatic to you, but to me they are all signs of a different life and a very dramatic change in my standard of living. (It does bear mentioning though that the toilette for this particular apartment seems to have been imported from India - something Martina, my Swedish roommate, and I have yet to fully accept.)

So, for the next few months, Lyon is the place to be! I have a bunch of family and might-as-well-be-family folk coming around the last two weeks of November and a few other friends also coming for a French holiday and their one chance to see what promises to be the best apartment of my life (in character, if not grandeur) and this lovely city filled with culture and fantastic food! Anyone else who's interested drop me a line! The apartment is fairly tiny, but there's floor space for one or two, plus there's accomodation for all budgets in Lyon. So, I hope to be a good excuse for anyone who needs an extra nudge to head to France this fall!

NEXT STOP? Nowhere! I'm staying right here!

Norway

Well, believe it or not, another chapter has fairly quickly come to pass. I arrived in Norway from China/Hong Kong about two weeks ago and have been enjoying the gross over-abundance of stunning natural beauty while also feeling personally offended by the sky-high prices. (It seems almost legend here among travelers; "it's more expensive than Switzerland;" "it's more expensive than Japan," etc.) So, I've decided that I have appreciated enough fjords and eaten enough Gudbransdalost and recognized enough of the country I knew (which really hasn't changed) and so onward I go!

I feel like much of my time has either been on a boat or a bus. Either way they were perfect ways for sailing by perfect vistas and still feeling like you got to see them and enjoy them -- between the fjords and mountains and Caribbean-blue water and forests and lakes, it is clear that Norway got more than its lion's share of natural wonders.

I will fill you in on more later, but just wanted to let you know I'm off to...

NEXT STOP: France!

Details:

Fly Oslo to Kirkenes (not much in town, decided to cathc boat out next afternoon, Midnight Sun)
Hurtigruten Kirkenes to Tromsø (2 days on boat, last of the official Midnight Sun)
Tromsø (Tromsø musem, Samis, Polaria with bearded seals, walking)
Hurtigruten to Risøyhamn
Bus to Andenes
Andenes whale watching (only bad weather day, saw three sperm whales)
Bus to Risøyhamn
Hurtigruten to Bodø
Bus to Trondheim
Trondheim (Olavsdag festene, Nidaros domkirke, walking, perfect little neighborhoods with cafes and apt.s)
Bus to Ålesund
Ålesund (Atlantic Ocean aquarium, walking)
Bus to Oslo
Oslo (walking, Vigelands park, Slottsparken, Nasjonalgaleriet, Karl Johans gata)

Hong Kong

Well, I spent no more than three days in Hong Kong, but felt that it was such a drastically different place than China that it deserved its own entry. [Unfortunately I don't have the most time in the world at the moment, so it's going to be brief.] I didn't expect to enjoy Hong Kong at all; I expected just another city. And I suppose it is just another city, but with all the individual character and distinction that makes great cities great. It was clearly a richly international city with influences from all over; there were parks and markets and lots of pleasant walking, plus museums and art houses and theaters. It had an entirely different feel than I expected and while in some senses you could have been walking down the streets of New York or London, in others you were clearly in a different place. I found everything to be very approachable and easy -- which I think is a feat for a city of that size!

So, Pam and I did a bit of walking around looking for markets and just checking things out, we had a traditional tea at the Penninsula, went up the train to the top of the hill (have forgotten the name already) and walked around there, and walked around the Beijing Park and checked out the art museum down by the water on the Kowloon side. One evening we happened upon a big, public light-and-water show and we were both amazed by having that many people crammed into a public area all very happily just being there and having a nice evening. Once Pam was on her way, I busied myself buying a pair of shoes (I am embarrassed to say, but feel I must admit, that I now have 5 pairs of shoes with me -- but still with some empty space in my bag!) and then headed off to see "Mamma Mia!" -- which ended up being the perfect way to pass my last afternoon in Hong Kong (although I lamented not having someone there to laugh with).

So, that was my three days in Hong Kong! Surprisingly nice!

NEXT STOP: Norway (aka Easy Street)

China

So, one month in China has gone by faster than any other month so far. While China is clearly a whole different world in the way that India is also unlike any other place, from what I saw that's where the similarity ends. Each of the three cities I saw (Guangzhou, Beijing, Xi'An) were clean, organized and with plenty of green, open spaces to just hang out. It's almost hard to fathom how much history is there and how much there could be to learn and explore. One month (where the first week was spent sleeping) was barely even enough to open my eyes to all the possibilities.

The main headline of my time in China is that Pam and Jim Greaney are wonderful hosts and a joy to be around! And, considering how much time I spent lounging around their apartment doing nothing at all, I feel very lucky that they didn't just get sick of me! Instead we had good meals, a few evenings out (or in) with friends, probably more movies than they've watched in ages, more ice cream than they've eaten in ages, a few good games of Canasta and lots of nice time together! I am so grateful 1) that they were so welcoming and made me feel so at home in every way and 2) that they're such a fun couple to be around and to learn from!

China-wise, I experienced much of what Beijing has to offer by way of a whirlwind rock-em-sock-em tour put together by someone in Jim's Beijing office that included all the major Beijing highlights -- unfortunately I think we sorely disappointed him every once in a while when we simply had to cry "uncle" and pass on an attraction or two. The things from Beijing that made the biggest impression on me were going to the flag-lowering at Tien An'Men Square with a ton of people there and kites flying and just to see this living, breathing place that has had a major role in modern Chinese history. Of course, the Great Wall is impressive and astounding, BUT even more impressive and astounding is the number of people who cram themselves onto the wall at one time, a sea of umbrellas curling over the ridge top. The thing I enjoyed seeing the most at the Wall was once you got to the end of the rennovated section and could see the original wall itself, more of a crumbling, rocky path than anything else. The Summer Palace also, while teeming with people in some parts, was full of gorgeous views and quiet places set back in the trees just for admiring both the natural and the architectural beauties.

The main attraction in Xi'An is the Terracotta Soldiers and I found them to be as impressive as people say they are. Even more though I enjoyed just walking around Xi'An and happening upon this place or another. One of the spots I just happened upon was the Forest of the Stone Tablets, which I was floored by. They have these big stone tablets with calligraphy on them, some from the time of Confuscious and some stone figurines from the year 300 -- the age of everything (like the world's first dictionary) was awe-inspiring.

I keep forgetting to add my only real story-worthy story from Xi'An. So, so far on this trip everything has gone veyr smoothly, sure a few bumps here and there, but no cancelled flights, no wars breaking out (where I've been anyway), nothing stolen, nothing. And then, in Xi'An, in a matter of two days I foiled two attempts of robbery! About Xi'An in particular the books make sure to mention pickpockets and the need to be aware and I'd already been in the habit of keeping my bag zipped and in front of me, so no problem. Then I was getting on a particularly busy bus, feeling the pushing of the throng of people behind me trying to get on the bus, as I open my bag to get my wallet and get my one yuan and then start to put it away and close my bag when I feel another hand in my bag with mine! I slowly picked up the pickpocket's hand, not really realizing what was going on and stared at him dumbly for a few seconds without saying anything (thinking what can I say? He doesn't speak English and I don't speak Chinese) and then the throng behind me finally won out and I was on the bus all of a sudden. All I had managed was a very pathetic little shove and an injured expression -- I have to say it was a very unsatisfactory pickpocket-foiling experience (though certainly much more satisfactory than it would have been had he succeeded). So, obviously a very amateur pickpocket attempt, but one nonetheless. The very next day, I'm walking down the street with my normal bag set-up (zipped and in front of me) and a bag of groceries. As I stepped onto the street out of the grocery store there were two guys who sort broke out of their huddle and started walking almost as soon as I passed them; immediately I was thinking how stupid it was when people do that because a) they're usually not doing it on purpose but makes them automatically look suspicious and b) it brings attention to them right away. So, I was keepin my eye on these guys who were behind me, and then one passed ahead of me and as they would sort of back and forth (I had a good 20-25 mintue walk ahead of me, so there was plenty of time for all this to play out), I started to try to make eye contact with them and say hello and just let them know that i had noticed them and then one would duck into a store for a second and so I would wait outside the store until he had moved on trying to make sure that they weren't ever behind me. Then one guy made a fatal error in their exercise, he started oh so casually talking to a third guy (who was dressed in the same white-shirt-khakis combo as the other two) and then they oh so casually separated and made their moves to circulate around me again -- thus glaringly announcing the entrance of a third guy. Finally, after getting a little more concerned and remembering a quip from one man's experience in China that Chinese people are often very reluctant to intervene in a situation of public criminality, I got more bold in staring them down while they tried so hard to ignore me and pretend they didn't see me and waving hello and stopping dead in my tracks to watch one walk by me so that they weren't behind me and finally, they absically gave me a big smile and a wave (how ennervating was that let me tell you) and basically told me I could move on without fear -- attempt number two, also with a strong amateur feel, had been thwarted.

More than anything else my month in China has served to whet my appetite for even the littlest bit of understanding of Chinese culture and history -- some day!

****************

Details:
- Fly to Hong Kong, Bus to Guangzhou, pick up at China Hotel by Pam, Jim and Jackson
- Sleep for a week in P&J's apartment (VERY hot in Guangzhou), a couple of dinners out with P&J's friends
- Walk around Shamian (French concession in Guangzhou), White Swan Hotel
- Fly to Beijing with P&J, shown around by Benson (Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Tien An'Men Square, Beijing duck, Beijing Zoo, Great Wall, fantastic Szechuan meal, Back Lakes, Forbidden City (sort of), hutong)
- Fly to Xi'An (first night at official hotel at cheap rate which they woke me up at 1:00 in the morning to discuss, then to good youth hostel by South Gate, lots of walking around town, Terracotta Soldiers (beautiful), Drum Tower, lots of markets, Forest of Stone Tablets, walking the city wall, dumpling banquet with Tand Dynasty show (think historical Chinese music and dance crossed with a Las Vegas show))
- Fly to Guangzhou in time to shop and cook for Indian dinner with P&J, Khrystina, Kelly and Oliver, Jim and Marilyn and their two daughters -- and then Canasta!
- Go to Chan family home/museum with Jim and Jackson, get caught in big rain
- Drive around Guangzhou with Pam and Jackson (go to gorgeous Temple of Six Banyan Trees)
- Go market-hopping with Khrystina and Oliver

NEXT STOP: Hong Kong

India

Well, my time in India was exactly how everyone else had described their time in India to me: INTENSE. It seems to be right what everyone says that there is truly no other place like it in the world. Sure, there are McDonald's and movie theaters and taxis, but they serve McCurry (which is FOUL, by the way) and not Big Macs, and they show crazy singing, dancing Hindi movies and very few of the Western hits and the taxis? Just one more fight to try not to get ripped off. I think some people really revel in the different-ness of India and relish every moment of it, but I think the rest of us never lose our deer-in-the-headlights glazed-over look and just try to make it through.

In all fairness, I did see many, many wonderful and beautiful and even peaceful things in India AND many of my experiences were tainted by the fact that I was there at the worst time of year for visiting much of the country (i.e., summer).

I was in India for two months (May and June), and am quickly coming to view those two months as the apex of this entire journey. I feel older; I feel wiser; I feel more tired; I feel more travelled, cultured, road weary and bad ass. I feel like I have earned some stripes. AND, all this whilst having a travel partner and good friend with whom to commiserate and muddle through. Everyday men and women, more capable than I, brave the rickshaws and the buses of India on their own -- and I salute them. It's just difficult, and each person's different approach/style/attitude makes it that much easier or that much more difficult. I'm not 100% sure yet where I fall on that scale. Luckily, my friend and I have remarkably similar travelling styles (with me leaning slightly more towards to anal, overplanning side, and he towards the just-let-it-be side), and while I think we successfully achieved the roll-with-the-punches, what-will-be-will-be, I-guess-this-is-what-travelling-in-India-is-all-about attitude; neither one of us ever truly passed into the realm of actually enjoying rolling with the punches or arguing for a rickshaw fare.

*****

So, here I am looking back on two months that I expect/hope to be the most intense of my trip, and I am overhwelmed by the number of stories there are to tell and the number of pictures to share and the number of feelings to describe. I think I'll just be muddling through, same as in India itself, and see what happens.

Best horror story: To Manali and back
Due to poor planning, Justin and I rented a tent in Manali (which obviously had to be returned to Manali at some point) and then went to McLeod Ganj, where we ended up wanting to stay for a while. We used the tent on a trip up into the mountains near McLeod Ganj (where it suffered some damage in a storm, by the way, ripped fly, two broken poles), and then it was time to face the reality of having to go all the way back to Manali (11 hours by bus) simply to return the tent to the very nice man who made an exception to rent it to us in the first place and to get our security deposit back.
So, we're already prepared for this to be a difficult trip: 11 hours on an overnight bus there, do what we need to do during the day in Manali, 11 hours on an overnight bus back.
We get a cheap, local bus to Manali and it's a long, bumpy, crowded, noisy night, arriving in Manali about two hours early, just before sunrise, leaving us with even more time to kill in a town we don't particularly care for. We manage to kill the day and make it through, sheepishly explaining abut the damage to our tent, getting our full security deposit back anyway (phew, since not getting it back would have made this entire ordeal completely futile) and eating and reading (and, in Justin's case, playing chess). In making our return arrangements, we decide that it's worth it to pay up and take a deluxe bus back to Dharamsala (from where we will have to take a cab back to McLeod Ganj), which should mean more comfortable seats and fewer people crowded into the aisles. Unfortunately the only seats left on the bus are in the very back row (which, if you don't remember from your elementary shcool days, are the bumpiest seats on the bus, any bus). Of course, Justin's seat is broken and so with every bump the seat portion of it comes loose and slides forward. Once we're underway this appears to be the only problem set to plague us and there is a pair of seats still empty further up -- even better. We slip into those seats and rest easy for maybe an hour; I think I even get a wink or two of sleep at this point. Well, that reverie ended when a couple came on the bus whose seats we were sitting in, so it was time to move back to our designated seats, which were now being occupied by a sleeping child accompanied by a monk and another sleeping child, who the conductor (very unnecessarily) starts yelling at and makes a huge scene to get them out of our seats so we could get back in them. Turns out, the monk and his two sleeping boys do not have seats, plural; the three of them have A seat, namely the middle seat in the back row, next to me. All I know is that I have half of a very large, soft monk smushing against me and raising the side of my body up and out of my seat. This goes on with some adjusting and maneuvering (never making anyone's situation any better) for...a while. Finally, I fake sleep and all I know is that at some point I don't feel this huge body pushing up against me any more. When I do finally brave opening my eyes, I see this monk grinning up at me from the floor of the aisle with his two charges dead asleep in the middle seat. I feel like a complete idiot now, feleing responsible for the fact that this grinning, obviously none too bright, monk is sitting on the floor of an Indian bus (deluxe or no, the floor of an Indian bus is never a good place to be). BUT, I'm not prepared to switch with him, so that's that. (Meanwhile Justin is having a tussle of his own with the woman in front of him who sadistically has the whole back of her chair in his lap -- and being one of those guys who doesn't really fit on one of these buses built for small people to begin with, there's a tussle.)
It seems like things have reached some sort of equilibrium...until I notice that these two dead-asleep kids next to me are either smothering themselves in their too big jackets (on the already hot bus), sliding down into the small space between the monk and the seat (where I am sure they are going to get squashed) or being smothered by the next man over who is dead asleep himself and can't seem to sleep straight up or lean on his own wife. I find myself alternating between trying to lift sleeping kids up into slightly safe sleeping positions and nudging the next man over onto the other side; I guess now that the monk is fast asleep on the floor and I'm feeling responsible for him being there in the first place, somehow I think it necessary to shepherd his charges (but, really, he clearly had no idea about anything, so it was the only thing to be done).
Things once again have reached a sort of equilibrium; Justin and I are both stewing in our own discomfort; I've got my arm around this one little boy to keep him from obliterating the boy I assume is his brother; the bumps just keep on coming (the kind that make you think you're going to hit your head on the ceiling) and we've got at least 7 hours to go.
Things could have stayed like this the rest of the way, and for the most part did, with one blazing exception: as the road continued to twist and turn and bump, Justin and I suddenly found ourselves with vomit in our laps. One of the dead-asleep kids, suddenly woke up, bolted upright and vomitted directly into my lap and, by virtue of being my neighbor, Justin's lap as well. Back of the bus, nice and steamy, each jammed into our seats, middle of the night, with 4 more hours to go, there is absolutely nothing to be done. This is what I keep having to tell myself. I hear myself thinking: no, this isn't possible, there has to be someway to improve something right now. And I would dejectedly have to intervene in my own thoughts to remind myself to look around and admit: there was nothing to be done. I was tired, cranky, uncomfortable and covered in vomit and there wasn't a thing I could do about it until I was off that bus.
From here the story really takes its expected downward curve in drama, though it does take a while for the drama to end all together (it wasn't until about 11:00 the next morning that I got to take my vomit-encrusted jeans off -- which had at least one official dingleberry hanging off the calf). The bus arrived at 2:00 in the morning (early, again), leaving us stranded without a place to stay and everything closed; we slept on a couch in the courtyard of a guesthouse (after searching in vain for a bed), collected our belongings from our original guesthouse, got some sustenance and made our way up to our new home, in Bhagsu (all in vomit-y jeans); walked to our new guest house and collapsed and finally took a shower.
The cherry on the vomit for me? My beloved, lime-green REI fleece jacket was left on that wretched bus and I miss it very much.

Best happy story: Cooking classes with lovely Rita!

Justin and I took about 4 classes with lovely Rita in Bhagsu (outside of Dharamsala) to learn North Indian cooking and it was the best food we ate on our whole trip. As it turned out, we were really just in the kitchen watching her make these wonderful dishes and helping every once in a while, but mostly just trying to keep up with what she was doing and making sure we were writing it down correctly. The highlight of the classes though was Rita herself. She turned out to be this perfectly blunt, un-self-conscious, hilarious woman who seemed to find us pretty amusing. So, with her eyebrow raises and her funny Punjabi imitations (ap ke se ho?), she made us the smoothest, richest Malai Kofta ever, the heartiest Shahi Paneer and I was very sad when we ran out of things to make and it was time to say goodbye to Rita.

Best purchase: My marble tabletop

Yep, that's it. [I'm hoping you're seeing a picture of me holding my new inlaid marble tabletop.] While visiting the Taj Mahal I was taken by how beautiful some of the artwork is done today by descendants of the men who originally did all the marble and stone work on the Taj Mahal. After looking around their studios, I just couldn't keep myself from this exquisitely intricate and fine piece, most likely to be something that will live a lot longer than I will.

Best transportation: Bus from Dehradun to Rishikesh, Motorbike in Hampi
Despite all my bitching and moaning about transportation, I did have two wonderful transportation experiences. The first was when Justin and I rented a motorbike in Hampi for an afternoon and finally had some freedom!! Not to mention some breeze. We were able to just cruise around the sights, drive right by the touts trying to sell us whatever and then explore all the little villages strewn out across that area, where it seemed that we were an unusual and welcome sight. Everyone we passsed in one of these villages had to look up and smile and say hi or hello or wave or chase after us; it was a very bright, happy, free afternoon in the middle of facing a lot of poverty and sadness and depravity, really.
To get to Rishikesh we (Justin, a new friend, Chris, and I) had to take a second bus to get the last 45 kilometers or so, and none of us was looking forward to cramming into one more steamy bus after just sitting in one for the last 15 hours. Solution: the roof! Talk about breeze! And, just like with the motorbike, we were making happy spectacles of ourselves and most everyone had a wave or a smile or a laugh for us. It just made everything that much more bearable.

Best picture spot: Triund

The hike Justin and I took up out of McLeod Ganj had us headed towards a pass we were going to cross out and over to another ridge. The pass had too much snow on it, so we ended up staying 5 days at the site we reached on day 1: Triund. It was almost to the highest point of a ridge and had spectacular views all around; plus there were a couple of tea stalls up there with basic supplies, so we could stay there without having to worry about food and whatnot. Anyway, it was just the most picturesque and quiet setting I encountered in India, including its own host of characters who came and went. As you started to follow the ridge straight down, it was like being on the Sound of Music set. And as you continued to follow the ridge all the way to the top it became more and more mountainy, rocky and simply stunning.

*****

Itinerary and notes:
- Mumbai HOT, dirty, loud, crowded, got a cold, tried to get out out out of there, took 3 days
- Bus to Goa HOT, dirty, loud, crowded, had a cold, 16 hours
- Palolem, Goa HOT, nice water for swimming and waves for playing, loud with Indian tourists, still have a cold, rainstorm and no solid roof waterlogged everything we owned and our bed for the night, misery, switch to swank room, yeah!, found yummy german apple cake, yeah!, 3 days
- Train to Hampi finally off the bus track and onto train, HOT, dirty, loud, crowded, still have a cold, ~6 hours
- Hampi HOT, strikingly gorgeous surroundings, reddish brown boulders form the horizon, ruins of temples and cities, lots of beggars, still have a cold, rented a motorbike and had some freedom (and breeze) for a day, yeah!, 3 days
- Train to Bangalore finally have the train system figured out and both get a good night's sleep and arrive in Bangalore in the morning!, 12 hours
- Bangalore just killing time until our flight, still have a cold, 12 hours in Bangalore was probably 6 hours too many, saw The Passion
- Fly to Leh via Delhi bit the bullet and bought plane ticket out of boiling heat, one overnight in the hot, noisy Delhi airport, and then the most amazing flight ever into the Himalayas to the highest airport in the world, get off the plane in flip-flops into just-above-feezing temperatures, CAN FINALLY BRETAHE AGAIN! (and cold finally going away)
- Leh main city in Ladakh, region just East of Kashmir though without its political unrest, just West of Tibet, strong Tibetan cultural influences without strong political agenda regarding refugees, cool nights and warm days, surrounded by the Himalayas on all sides, beautiful Shanti Stupa built on mountainside which can see out our window, prayer flags everywhere, friendly people everywhere, beggars nowhere, not considered India at all and for good reason, very few travellers as the only way in is to fly until the snow melts on the mountain passes, 2 weeks
- Likir trek short 2-day, 3-night trek through desert-y mountains and between teeny, tiny villages (from Likir to Temisgam), left Leh with no map and little food due to (slightly misguided) advice, got VERY lucky our first night and ran into a German guy teaching English in a monastery who led us to a family guest house, best accomodation experiences (from cultural perspective) on this trek
- Jeep to Manali the highest motorable pass in the world (Tanglangla, 5,300 meters), it was truly like being on the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland for 16 hours, no buses going because the passes still have a bit of snow, 5 jeeps practically racing each through the night on these twisty, narrow mountain "roads," one jeep rolled onto its side after taking a curve too quickly (everyone was ok)
- Manali town near mountains further South in Himmachal Pradesh, LOTS of travelers, LOTS of Israelis (though true in most places), just a place to hang out, 2 days
- Jeep to Dharamsala/McLeod Ganj two strange drivers who let the jeep coast most of the 8-hour ride, very annoying
- McLeod Ganj Dalai Lama's current home base, large Tibetan refugee population, politically charged atmosphere, lots of markets and crafts and movies(!), lots of people and cars and trucks and honking, 6 days
- Triund trek hike out of McLeod Ganj to nearby ridge, planning to make a long trek over nearby pass and onto other range, but too much snow to cross without equipment, just stay up on the ridge top for ~ 4 days to savor the quiet and finally be able to just relax outdoors and enjoy, amazingly beautiful
- Bhagsu smaller town just up the hill from McLeod Ganj, quieter place to spend time than McLeod Ganj, total hippie enclave, took cooking class with lovely Rita!!, took a little yoga and meditation with (it turns out) a sort of shady swami, 2 weeks
- Bus to Rishikesh picked up another co-traveler along the way for the 15-hour bumpy, local bus ride, possible nerve damage to my ass :)
- Rishikesh HOT, loud, dirty, center for yoga on the Ganges (supposedly clean enough to swim in there, but I certainly wasn't going to find out), high season for Indian tourists so crowded, very carnival/Disney-like atmosphere, 3 days
- Delhi HOT, loud, dirty, preparing to leave (getting Chinese visa in order), killing time, coffee shops, crazy traffic, good food (when you pay up for it), 1 week
- Train to/from Agra HOT, crowded, uncomfortable, home of the Taj Mahal, 3 hours
- Taj Mahal yes, it's beautiful, not the inspiring event I've heard others talk about, just like everyhwere else too many people can be a real distraction from a good thing, although beautiful enough to inspire me to drop a wad of cash on a small inlaid marble tabletop made in the same method/style, 1 day
- Out of Delhi and onto Hong Kong! (and, of course, got a cold)

NEXT STOP: China!!

Thailand

Well, while most of you were out basking in the glories of spring in the US (the splendor of which I am perfectly aware), I managed to while away the month of April in one of the most scenic places I have ever seen, surrounded by some of the most happy people I have ever met, eating some of the most fantastic food I ever hope to eat and all for the low, low price of having to put up with a few tourists along the way. Yes, Thailand (or what I experienced of it anyway) was...wonderful.

Little did I know beforehand, April is the hottest month of the year in Thailand, the end of the hot season just before the wet season. So, where better to spend the month than down on the beach, with the sea breeze preventing total system meltdown. So, that's what we did! (oh, sorry, remember my friend Justin who I met in Ecuador? well, he's done with peace Corps now and met up with me in Thailand and we will continue to travel together for a couple of months in India.) And, we didn't head to just any old beach, but the peninsula in the Andaman Sea which is home to umpteen world-class rock climbing routes! So, it was a month of basking in the Thai sun (not nearly as intense as the NZ sun), and then getting back into the shade as quickly as possible, and venturing into the world of rock climbing, surrounded by some of the world's best climbers and some of the world's best climbing! While my climbing is well short of world class, I am a lot better now than I was to start with, and I'm hoping to do more when I get home.

The rock climbing though was really just a vehicle for experiencing Thailand in a way that allowed us to stay in one spot and get into the Thailand groove -- and what a very nice groove that is. While it is true that Thailand is full of tourists these days, the plus side is that it means there is considerable infrastructure for travel (making it surprisingly eays ot get aorund) and it's all the more rewarding when you do feel like you've gotten a slice of life off the tourist track. Justin and I stayed on a little beach called Ton Sai, and it was really a little haven of rock climbers (Thai and tourist alike) all just hanging out and doing what they love. I imagine that the Thai culture we were surrounded by may be too small of a sample to judge the whole culture by, but what I encountered was happy people who weren't particularly concerned with having/getting any more than what they had. Smiles were broad and quick, and rarely hid any ulterior motive. I've heard that people around Krabi (the largest town nearby) and the coastal area there are meant to be not as friendly as other areas of Thailand, but the vast majority of people I encountered where happy to lend a helping hand if need be and without any expectation of reimbursement. It made for a really relaxed, open atmosphere in which both Justin and I felt very comfortable. There were the odd twinges when we'd see old (usually flabby) men walking around with a pretty, young thing (Thai) on his arm, and we would be forced to remember that there's often a dark side to any real-life Shangri-la.

I suppose that dark side was much more apparent in Bangkok where we had to spend a day or two when we arrived and another day before we left. While it was shockingly clean and unimaginably huge to me, people living in poverty were more apparent and grils sold into the sex industry were openly available for any takers. Obviously, there is A LOT of Thailand that I did not experience, but would very much like to some day (in addition to including Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam -- if you ask me, the world tain't no small place at all).

Let's see, specific highlights of my month in Thailand would include: belaying out of a longtail boat while Justin climbed a pillar of rock rising out of the sea, learning about Thai cooking and ingredients and discovering how easy so much of it is (and how it's even yummier than what we get at home), getting through the crux moves of "Karaoke" a climb that I bombed on the first time I tried it, taking a dive trip in warm, turquoise waters, walking through the red-light district in Bangkok, Tina's! the best and cheapest restaurant on the beach.

I guess that's all I can think of now. It's only been a short while since I left Thailand, but already my head swimmng with all that is India. I've been in Mumbai less than 24 hours and already I feel like I've been put through the wringer! Surely to be a good web post in another couple of months! Stay tuned!

NEXT STOP: India

(You'd better all be enjoying that glorious spring while I'm here trying to survive 105 degrees in the shade! I know, I know, poor me!)

New Zealand

Hi! I am finally closing the New Zealand chapter of my trip. It's been a truly lovely 2 1/2 months here and New Zealand has lived up to every expectation created by movies and travelers' tall tales.

I'm on my way to the airport in a few hours to fly to Thailand and there's a lot of ground to cover, so I'm just going to get the highlights out and then maybe make something coherent out of it...later.

HIGHLIGHTS

Biking! I spent a good bit of time on my bike (about half of which with a biking partner! Angi from UK) and covered just over 1,000 kilometers. Yes, there are a loit of hills in New Zealand, but either you prepare for them and get used to them, or you just skip the really big ones! The cars and trucks and campervans weren't so very bad, but they weren't great either (it seems like there's just not enough general education about what courtesy to a cyclist means) -- only had one minor altercation with a car and that was enough for me!

Rain! Rain! Rain! Hundred-year floods on the North Island (just after we left); early evacuation from Abel Tasman kayaking trip because of HUGE swells in sea; a few rain delays from biking -- just an excuse to laze around really.

Ice climbing on the Franz Josef glacier! Really just rock climbing with different tools and very cold hands, but in a surreal ice environment, very cool!

Christchurch! I only spent half of a day there, but I fell in love instantly. never have I ever felt such a strong urge to live in a particular place -- absolutely gorgeous with lots of people out running and biking and wonderful parks and lots of life going on -- maybe someday...

The East Cape! Our first biking adventure, just getting up the learning crve of what's what on the bike, but while riding along pristine coastline with huge, old trees eveyrhwere you look and the blkuest of blue water.

DOC huts! On all their paths in the National Parks, the New Zealand Department of Conservation has built huts for hikers to stay at, for a fee. This means you don't have to bring a tent, a stove, water or a sleeping mat (if you don't want to) and it's a nice warm place to end the day. It also keeps our impact on the tracks as low as possible by keeping us all in one place. On the busier paths (like Milford and Routeburn), it also allows them to limit the amount of traffic on the track by requiring hut reservtaions.

The Heaphy track! In the Kongariro National park at the north end of the South Island, the walk took 4 days and ecah day was perfectly beautiful. I walked it heading west which meant starting inland and ending up on the west coast, and by the end of day 2 you could see the sea and the mouth of the river where the end of day 3 was, breathtaking really; then of course the end of day 3 is awesome, right on the beach where the sea and the river meet. there were lots of great people on the track, and they were mainly New Zealanders - yeah! Plus, I had perfect, perfect weather the whole time, which was very unexpected.

The Routeburn track! My second backpacking trip on my own, considerably more difficult than the Heaphy track, but the weather wasn't cooperating and the spectacular views of day 2 (when you spend the day climbing up steep grades and then climbing back down the other side) were all clouded in. But, still a good trip (with a cool couple from Montana)!

Queen Charlotte Sound! This was a bit of a haphazard effort. Angi and I were meant to bike most of the track (in Marlborough Sounds), but on a whim decided to walk the first part of the track (which we couldn't bike on anyway) and got more than we bargained for; it turned into a 7-hour walk for which we were not really prepared and it was really muddy. Because of the mud, biking was out for day 2 so Angi caught the boat to the next stop, but for some reason I thought walking the next section sounded like a good idea, despite the threatening weather conditions. I ended up walking for 6 hours in torrential rains with gale-force winds and near-freezing temperatures (this was the same storm that brought hundred-year floods to the North island) and all this in my jeans and without enough clothes on, but it was a challenge I proved worthy of and I made it in one piece, aminly by not stopping and running when I felt like I was getting too cold. Then we did bike the last section which was my first taste of off-road biking (with a crappy rental bike with bald tires), and only had one mishap of Angi slipping in the mud off the path (and landing with her bike on top of her, no injuries though), and all in all I thought it was great fun, although I can imagine how better tires would have made a big difference!

Smurf houses! Another highlight from Queen Charlotte track (and one of the main reasons my spirits stayed so high in all that rain) was that there were Smurf house mushrooms all along the way!! You know, the white stems with the big red caps and white dots -- they made all the difference between laughing at the ludicrousnesss of my situation and just getting pissed about it!

Mt. Cook! My time in Mt. Cook was very rewarding. Mt. Cook itself is the highest mountain in New Zealand and climbing it is a serious mountainering effort (Sir Edmund Hilary climbed in prep for Everest), so I just did a coupleof the dya hikes in that range of mountains. But the one up to Mueller hut was a definite thrill -- for the most part you just climb straight up for a few hours, at first on a normal path, then on stone steps and then the path just keeps diminishing form there until you're walking straight up on the slide of loose rocks and boulders (which actually wasn't quite as bad as it looked like it was going to be). BUT, you are well rewarded once you get to the top and look across the valley to the other mountains and there's a glacier right in front of you and you can hear it shifting and creaking, and big, booming avalanches echo through the valley -- truly thrilling!

MISSES

Tongariro National Park

Biking to Lake Tekapo and up to Mt. Cook (was absolutely gorgeous and peaceful and would have been a breathtaking ride; the winds would have been awful, but tolerable if I hadn't already been battling strong winds for 3 days)

Whale watching in Kaikoura (thought it would've been too commercial for my taste, but word on the street is that it's really worthwhile)

Spending more time in Christchurch

The way South of the South Island (incl. Hump Ridge and Stewart Island)

NEXT STOP: Thailand!!

New Zealand: Week 1

Well, I'm in New Zealand now (phew! finally caught up with my logs!) and I'm probably not going to get another update in until I'm done, which might be another 8 weeks, so I'll get a little heads-up in here ahead of time!

I've spent the last week in Auckland, imposing on my very generous hosts (thanks Jennifer!), and getting my act together for the rest of my stay here. Here's what I'm thinking: I want to do a bike trip, but I haven't done ANY biking lately, certainly not enough to qualify as training for a trip like I'm thinking about, SO the plan is to get my bike (probably rent becasue I found a good deal) and spend 4 weeks on the North island traveling around by bus/train with my bike, but use those 4 weeks to get on the bike wherever I am get some training in, and then take another 4 weeks on the South Island (which I hear is safer for bikers anyway) to do an official biking trip and actually use my bike as my main transport. SO I've got my first 4 weeks on the North Island planned out and my first week or so on the South Island and after that I'll decide how strong I feel, blah, blah, blah and go from there.

In the meantime I have to get this bike and all my gear ($$$ oy!) and on Friday (hopefully) I'll be going to Big Day Out -- a big day of concerts which they have in Auckland and a number of cities in Australia (I say hopefully because I don't have a ticket yet, and it's tomorrow) -- what am I going to see? The Flaming Lips (sorry Justin)! Then I'm off!

That's all for now!