Amazing Lakes and Palaces

We went for a boat cruise tonight around sunset.........Lake Pichola.

Very beautiful.

JB Movies

I left everyone at the restaurant as they are all into one of the James Bond movies that was filmed here in Udaipur.........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopussy

I'm just not into the 007 movies.

Warriors

I'm meeting loads of warriors!

Easily identified by the men wearing earrings...both ears..usually of a flower type shape.

This is one of the hereditary castes of Hindu people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kshatriya

I've got so much to learn about India and it's people!

Life of an Indian Boy

Lourdes and I spent a few hours talking with Tej last night about his culture.

He is on the hotseat right now as his parents are wanting him to get married.

Tej is 30.

He explained how he lives at home with his parents, grandmother, brother and his wife. Indian boys and their families live with the boys parents.

Once his parents decide that Tej is to marry, they go and consult a xxxxx who does his horoscope to see if this is what it tells him.

If it does, the next step would be for the mother to put the word out with some of the aunts. From there a match is made and the process continues with plans to marry. A dowry would be paid from the girls parents to the boys....with the boys parents deciding how much and what they would like. The boy that is getting married has no say in anything. He actually would not even see or meet the bride until the day of the wedding.

This is the very traditional way of a Northern Indian family.

After marriage, the new couple would live with the boys parents. The bride would not work....just tend to the house....cooking and sewing. Babies are expected soon.

Tej is not ready right now...but he says he will do what his parents expect of him.

Wow is all I could say.

Where am I? is what I was thinking.

Art Classes in India

I signed up for an art class this morning. 2 hours....200 rupees...less than $6.00.

I drew and painted an elephant.

Elephants are the symbol of good luck here.

Camels mean love.....(if you love a camel you can love anything)

Horses mean power.

The art teacher really didn't explain much due to his lack of english skills.

Basically he drew one....you then copied him........he then painted a bit on the one he drew and you copied that.....and on and on until artwork finished.

I might frame my piece when I get home.

It ended up really looking like an elephant.

India Desert Beauty

I'm in beautiful Udaipur right now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udaipur,_Rajasthan

This place is amazing!

Another Magical Place

Jodhpur.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodhpur

To Be Or Not To Be

India is what you want it to be and what you don't want it to be.

Magical Moments

Our two female dancers at the camel safari were with two male musicans.

The males were dressed in typical desert attire.....plain white shirts, baggy pants and turbans.

The females were dressed with very bright makeup and beautiful colored sari's and jewellery.

I spent a bit of time trying to talk to them prior to the performance.

Both so cute. Smiled all the time.

They didn't speak much english...only their names.....and a few words....'make up' and 'oh la la'.

I asked one of them how old she was. She replied 'twenty'. I'm thinking she looked great for that as she looked about twelve.

I find out later when talking to Tej that most of the people in the desert really have no idea about birthdays so they don't know how old they are....even in their own language.

The young girl really only answered me what she knew in english...not even understanding what it meant.

It was a magical evening watching them perform.

Reading and Writing

It still always shocks me to meet people in the world that cannot read or write.

I imagine it to be a bit like living in a very foreign place all the time and trying to understand and be understood.

A very scary world.

Camels and Me

Last time I was on a camel I remember being very sore....and it's still like that!

I must say though that the overnight safari was simply amazing!

We left our guest house around 2 pm and made a quick stop at the Royal Cenotpahs before starting our safari.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thar_Desert

Our camels were waiting for us.

We each had our own camel.

I had the only camel that was not attached to others...so I really 'drove' it on my own. Very scary at times.

All the camels were male. Mine was 7 years old. Rata was his name.

We rode for about 2.5 hours..braving all the desert elements of wind, sun and then the cold.

Once we got to our spot....part of Sam's dunes....we had beers and snacks waiting for us which we drank and ate while watching the sun go down. Beautiful!

Our camel guides cooked dinner for us....dahl with naan bread....yummy! We were all very hungry...so dinner did not take that long.

After dinner we all sat by the fire and enjoyed the local dancers and music from one of the villages nearby who came to entertain us.

Our beds were set up under the moon.....no shelter....so we all bundled up in our blankets and went to sleep in the freezing freezing cold.

The next morning around 7 am we had a quick breakfast and rode back. Boy that hurt.

I'm not a big fan of camel riding.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel

They sure are odd animals.

Chillaxing

That's what we are all doing tonight in the blue city of Jodhpur.

Tej made up that word.

Sari's and Me

Boy I look great in a sari!

I rented one last night for 100 rupees..........jewelry, bindi and all (less than $3.00).

A bright pink one with gold embroidery.

Hanna and Joe also dressed up in traditional Indian attire.

We were treated like rock stars everywhere we went.

I looked especially cute with my footwear.

My granny apple converse runners.

Chai Lattes

No need for Starbucks here.

They sell chai lattes everywhere.

5 rupees a cup.

That's less than 15 CENTS.

I need to stop going to Starbucks.

Speaking of Cows

Don't ever joke around and say this to a Hindu...........

'What would happen right now if I shot your cow?'

Very bad.

Tej was not laughing.

Sorry.....I come from Alberta.

Alberta beef.

Peas and Cows

I bought a pile of peas this morning at the market.

No need to throw the pod away.

Just give them to the cows.

They eat everything.

Big garbage disposals.

Camels and Me

I'll be on an overnight camel safari tomorrow.

We get to sleep right under the stars.

No tent.

I'm going to freeze my ass off.

Joe's Adventures

I need to comment on Joe's experience when he first arrived in Delhi.

He was telling me this story and I just could not stop laughing. I even saw some pictures to validate what he was telling me.

I'll make it shorter than it really is.

Joe is flying from England and is sitting next to an older Indian women. She talks the whole way. Joe finds himself filling out all her forms for customs. Joe also finds himself carrying her super big and heavy carry on bag in customs. Joe asks her what she has in the bag. The old lady replies that she has bacon in the bag. Joe is worried.

Joe arrives from England. While the taxi driver is driving him to his hotel, he informs Joe that the hotel is overbooked. Joe asks him what he should do. The driver advises that he has a room at his house if Joe wanted to stay there. Trusting Joe says sure. For 1,000 rupees a night($25.00), Joe finds himself on the floor...sharing a room with this driver and his brother. Conveniently the driver also sells drugs. Hash. Joe likes hash. Even more convenient is how the driver always discusses money when Joe is stoned.

Joe also advised me that these type of things always happen to him. I asked him to give me an example. Quickly he responds.....oh...like this year while going to school....I always seemed to be late for class. The teacher was always not believing me on why I was late. Like the time my cat brought in a live bird into the house and I had to keep chasing it to catch it and let it out of the house. The teacher just told me to say that I slept in...when really I didn't.

It's going to be funny travelling with Joe.

Last night he had both a beer and a rum on the go.

Underground Military Strips

We kept seeing fast military planes in the air last night and asked Teg what that was all about.

He advised that we are very close to the Pakistanian border.

I need to research what his "underground landing strips" all means.

It's Real and Not a Mirage

A lake...............right near the city!

I woke up early this morning to go see it.

Beautiful.

"Gadsisar Lake is one of the major tourist attractions of Jaisalmer. Contrary to the popular belief, it is not an oasis but a water conservation tank made around 1400 A.D. by the then maharaja of Jaisalmer, Maharwal Gadsi Singh. You will find whole varieties of temples and shrines surrounding the lake. In later years it became more of a pilgrimage spot. The beautiful gateway that arches across the road down to the Lake was built by royal courtesan named Tillon in the end of 19th century, known as Tillon Ki prol (Gate of Tillon). Lord Vishnu's statue was installed in the year 1908 A.D. or the gate by the courtesan & declared Krishna Temple to save it from demolition by the then Maharawal."

Indian Massages

I went for a one hour massage last night...just before bed.

400 rupees.....that's a little over $10.00.

I much prefer the Thai massages.

Might have to do with me being almost naked and FREEZING in the room.

The desert sure is cold.

I Love India

So this is the India I came to see!

Nice people.
Markets and more markets.
Cows everywhere.
Great food.

The color is back.

Giant Sandcastle

We arrived in Jaisalmer early afternoon and boarded our jeeps to bring us to this awesome guesthouse.

Deepak Rest House. I'm in room 14...sharing with Jessica. Our view is AMAZING!

We are in the desert..........but you sure wouldn't know it..............it's freezing here. Brrrr.....

The nights are crazy cold.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaisalmer

India Overnight Train

Our overnight train actually left on time.............but was delayed 1.5 hours along the way.

Supposedly this is good.

The train system in India is the largest in the world. Never on time and always late.

I prefer the Thailand trains over Indian trains.

Probably because I didn't see any rats on the train tracks of Thailand...and there were no mice on board.

AND...........no alcohol is served on trains in India.

Sleeping Bags

Tej has warned us that we need very warm clothing and a sleeping bag for our overnight camel safari.

I set out with Hanna to go and purchase a sleeping bag in the market in Karol Bagh...just before we headed out on our overnight train.

Rushing around .....as we had no idea where the guy walking around the market with the sleeping bags attached to his arm was.....I stop to buy a cheap winter wool hat and here comes the guy with all the sleeping bags! Great.

He started out at 1,250 rupees per bag....$32.00 per bag.

We ended up getting 3 bags for 700 rupees.

That's less than $7.00 per bag.

Peaceful Delhi

I can't believe how much different it is touring around with a group and not on your own in a country like this!

Such a different experience. All good.

We started out in the morning of day one on public transportation. A local city bus. Yippee!!

It was crazy busy on the street and we had to let a few buses go by as they were very full...but once we got on it was great. We were the only tourists on the bus. Most tourists take taxi's or get private drivers.

Everyone was staring at us. Most of the locals on the bus were men.

We first went to visit Jama Masjid:

"The Masjid-i-Jahan Numa, commonly known as Jama Masjid of Delhi is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and completed in the year 1656 AD, it is the largest and best known mosque in India. (There are also Jama Masjids in many other cities with a history of Islamic rule, or large Muslim populations.)Masjid-i-Jahan Numa means "the mosque commanding a view of the world", and the name Jama Masjid is a reference to the weekly congregation observed on Friday (the yaum al-jum`a) at the mosque. The courtyard of the mosque can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshippers. The mosque also houses several relics in a closet in the north gate, including a copy of the Qur'an written on deer skin."

Next we went to this huge Sikh Temple and had a tour that included us also visting their kitchen that makes and feeds thousands of street people during lunch and dinner. Our Sikh guide also explained what a Sikh is.....a person who believes in One God and teachings of the Ten Gurus.

After this we stopped at a spice and nut market. I ended up buying a pile of cashews, peanuts and almonds. Yummy.

Some of us then went to the Connaught area for lunch...making our way back by ourselves on the Metro.....AND...we didn't get lost.

It was interesting how we all had to go thru a medal detector before boarding the Metro.

My New Buddies

I was looking forward to my tour meeting on Sunday as I really wanted to get out of Delhi.....or....to see it with other people and not just me walking around in the land of men.

This part of the tour goes for 22 days. Northern India- visiting Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Pushkar, Jaipur, Bharatpur, Agra, Varanasi and ending in Kolkata.

Our group leader is Tejendra (Tej)....a 30 year old local guy.

My new buddies are.....

Leland (Colorado) & Jim (Hawaii).....retired school teachers...Japanese cousins.
Terese & Joel...Young Swedish couple living in Norway
Hanna (England)...photographer
Lourdes (Australia)...student in International Studies doing her Masters
Jo (England).....writer (law company industry)
Jessica (American)....married & living in Germany- husband in the Armed Forces
Hanna (England)...Accountant...travelling around the world...4 months
Joe (England).....young guy...very funny

It's going to be an interesting mix!

Not all Aussies for once..........

Pedal Rickshaws

Man people work hard here for just a few pennies............

This morning when I had to move hotels, I hopped on a pedal rickshaw to take me down the road as I didn't want to walk with all my stuff.

The cost was 10 rupees. That's 25 cents.

I was embarrassed to give him so little for him hauling my fat ass and heavy bag down the road pedalling a bike.

This is what I find hard.

I paid him double.

I know that I'm not supposed to do this as this then drives up the prices and expectations- especially for the tourists.

But.........I can't help myself when you see them working really hard to make a living.

It's not his fault he was born in India.

Delhi Living

The area that I'm staying in is full of outdoor markets.

Stalls everywhere.

Just this morning as I was leaving my hotel, I saw a man sitting in a chair with shaving cream on his face getting a shave from the barber.

You see tailors busy at work.......little food booths......guys selling stuff......it's amazing how you can find ANYTHING you want just a few steps away.

The noise is loud. You mostly hear car horns beeping and bicycle bells.

They honk as they drive....constantly.

I haven't seen a cow wondering around the streets today.

Maybe they don't come out on Sundays.

Thought of the Day

I saw another poster today with the following quote:

"Work hard and you might get lucky"

It's so weird that I'm seeing all these signs.

Are they for meant for me????????

Luxury Living

I've moved into my new hotel for the night- Grand President. This is where my tour group meets up tonight at 6 pm.

WOW! It's almost a 5 star compared to the dump I was at.

I was able to borrow an Indian plug convertor and get the hot water working in the room.

The hotel staff even walked me to this internet spot.

I feel like a princess.

Say No to Shoe Shiners

There are these little boys...maybe 5 or 6 years old....that work in the market as shoe shiners.

They wonder the streets in dirty clothes and no shoes....carrying their small supplies.

Some of them insist on shining my green CLOTH converse runners.

Kids are the best at asking for the impossible.

Rude Begging

So far my experience with the Indian people has been that I find a lot of them very aggressive and rude.

One of the things that really bugs me is these begging women that carry small children and ask you for food. They say "no money" just point to the food vendors and their mouths saying "baby" "baby".

I decided to buy a few loaves of bread yesterday morning to hand out with some left over food I had. This was the test. Would they appreciate it. Nope. No 'thank you'.....just more pestering and more aggressiveness.

This morning I tested another one....gave her some money just to see what she would say. Nothing. Just more pointing and more pestering.

In Thailand the people were very appreciative of ANYTHING you gave them.

Here so far they aren't.

I really think it has to do with being in this big city...Delhi...

Hopefully the Indian people will get much nicer as I tour other spots.

Beautiful Sari's

You sure see some beautiful Sari's and Sari shops here!

I might have to buy one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sari

Indian Movies

They are all happy movies....or so I think....as I have no idea what they are singing or dancing to.

So cheesy but I love them!

Peas in the World

I was wondering the markets and what do I see..........PEAS!

The old guy selling them had no idea what I was saying and trying to figure out how much they cost was way to difficult...so I took out 10 rupees and pointed to the peas.

He takes a whole bunch and puts them on one of those old fashioned weight scales with the actual weights and loads it up.

WOW...tons of peas!

I was so happy.

Too bad they had no flavour.

My Hair in India

Yesterday morning while walking around in one of the Delhi markets, I was referred to as "Hey...you...lady with the 'different' hair..."

I take this to mean:

Differing from all others; unusual

I like it.

Yelling at People

I really loved Thailand. The people are what made it so extra great!

I must say though that their English really sucks. They seem to only know words a certain way and you can't make a full sentence. It will confuse them. So will action verbs.

I was often saying...."toilet?" "restaurant?" "how much?" My sentences were no more than 3 words at the most.

Porn's english was really bad (my Thai massage teacher) . Her instructions of 'push the feet' really meant 'pull the feet'. I had to explain that push and pull really were very different- especially when giving a massage. She also would comment "tree times"....meaning "three lines". Yup very interesting.

I also had an experience in Bangkok at this travel desk when I asked for an airport bus service. "No- we no do". Hmm.....I was directed there...so thought a bit strange. I turned around and went to the front desk of the hotel....which was right in front of them. I had to wait for a check in and check out. After 15 minutes of waiting I asked the same thing....and the girl pointed back to the travel desk. The travel desk girl was watching me the whole time and when I went back to her and yelled "AIRPORT"....she goes to me..."Yes...we have. Mini Van." I guess van and bus are different when going to the airport.

I'm trying to not yell when I speak to people that don't understand English.

It's very hard....because for some strange reason yelling really does help them understand a bit more than they first understood.

Red Dots and Nose Rings

Why do you often see a Indian women with a red dot on her forehead?

The red dot "tika" (bindi) is a symbol of her marriage. A North Indian woman wears a red streak on the parting of her hair. An unmarried woman sometimes wears a black dot on her forehead. This black colour is used to counteract the effect of the evil eye. If a lovely young girl gets too many compliments, Indians feel that some kind of harm may come to her, so this dot repels evil influences. Modern young misses match the dots on their foreheads with the colour of their saris today. This is not traditional but only a fashionable act. A North Indian woman wears a red streak on the parting of her hair. An unmarried woman sometimes wears a black dot on her forehead. This black colour is used to counteract the effect of the evil eye. If a lovely young girl gets too many compliments, Indians feel that some kind of harm may come to her, so this dot repels evil influences. Modern young misses match the dots on their foreheads with the colour of their saris today. This is not traditional but only a fashionable act.

http://library.thinkquest.org/11518/rites/indian.htm

It is a traditional custom for Hindu married women to wear a stud or a nose ring. Women pierce their nose either on one side or on both sides. Gold or silver studs embedded with stones of different sizes and shapes are worn. Small rings instead of studs are also used. The nose ring is considered as a symbol of marriage. Nowadays it is also worn by unmarried girls

Massage Course Update

I didn't do that great on my course in Bangkok.

Way too much to remember when one is in a non thinking mood.

How you position your body. How to position receivers body. How to hold your hands. How to apply pressure. Order of the massage.

It was insane.

The course is 20 hours. I completed 4 hours the first day. 3.5 hours the next and 3 on my third day. Total of 10.5 hours. I will need to finish on my return to Bangkok....April.

I know I won't remember one single thing by then.

Porn....my teacher....and yes that's a shortened version of her real name.....agreed that I won't remember a thing.

I paid 7,000 Baht ($230.00) for this course.

That's 35 massages in Thailand.

Only 2 in Canada.

Money well spent in my opinion.

Thought of the Day

I read this on a poster today....just out of the blue...hanging on the side of a building.

"Worry is the darkroom where negatives develop".

Thank You My Friends

Monica....for listening to me vent and giving me all sorts of great advice.

Heather....my travel agent....who keeps me positive during trying travel times.

Thank you my friends.

Leave Me ALONE

I made some serious errors yesterday morning....my first day in Delhi.

I was nice and polite to people.

Within the first hour I had some very aggressive men stalking me. It was insane!

Now....I understand when it's business and you are trying to rip off the tourist by overcharging them.............but when you downright lie and trick people...that's a big NO NO in my books.

I've learnt to not look ANYONE in the eye.......look down and YELL 'NO'....'LEAVE ME ALONE'. The simple thing to do is be very very rude and just as aggressive.

I am now NOT being driven by tuk tuk to the wrong place and then re-directed by other people...still to the wrong place to be upsold or sold on something I'm not interested in.

I also do not need to get in the middle of two men fighting over who's 'job' I am.......explaining to the tourist police what just happened.

It's been a tough go travelling solo as a women in this country so far. I feel safe due to the number of people on the street....but due to all the men (surely a good 200 or so for every 1 women I see)....it's been crazy with them all staring and trying to talk to me.

The only place I've ever seen anything so crazy was in Cairo.

Good thing I'm a bitch.

Dating In India

I had no one to go out with last night.....so I took John up on part of his offers.

Dinner and drinks. Plus....dancing....movie...massage...anything I wanted.

John is this 28 year old hottie Indian that works at my hotel. He has these killer green eyes.

His role is to 'keep the guests happy'.

John is a gigolo.

Not a very good one....his super smooth moves didn't make it far.

His friend kept phoning him to see if he was having sex with the foreigner.

A very funny night.

India Tid Bits

• You get about 38 rupees to a Canadian dollar.
• Men pee and spit anywhere they like.
• It would appear that most men do not wear body deodorant.
• The pollution will kill you here. Exhaust fumes are everywhere.
• Drivers will kill you here when you are a pedestrian. They rule the road.
• McDonald's does exist in this country....just no beef products. I had a chicken wrap, fries and a pop for 119 rupees ($3.25). Foreign restaurants are expensive in this part of the world.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/in.html

Art Galleries in Delhi

There are actually quite a few art galleries in this city.

I made my way via tuk tuk (70 rupees) to the National Gallery of Modern Art near the India Gate (which is all closed up right now- they do this 10 days prior to the Jan 26th National Holiday-Republic Day).

Entrance fee to enter the Gallery was 150 rupees for tourists (10 rupees for Nationals). There are always two separate prices like this in most foreign countries.

Small but enjoyable.

I love going to art galleries.

Another Installment from the Aussies

Chook: Chicken

http://www.famie.com/australia/australianslang2.htm

More Surprizes from the Aussies

I'm always learning new stuff from the Australians!

Karen & Tim were teaching me about ryhming slang.

• 'Hit the Frog' means hit the road
• 'A bag of fruit' means wearing a suit

I had to google all this strangeness:

"Nearly two generations of “settlers” after the First Fleet arrived in Australia 1788, 87 per cent of the population were either Convicts, ex-Convicts or of Convict descent. With such strong convict foundations, it was inevitable that Australia's linguistic traditions would be Convict inspired. By 1869, Marcus Clarke described how locals devised language to `convey a more full and humorous notion of all his thoughts' or to conceal `the idea he wishes to convey from all save his own particular friends'.

One of the most notable methods of concealment was rhyming slang. Originally invented by the cockney English, it was brought to Australia by Convicts. Basically, rhyming slang is the use of two or more words, the last of which rhymes with the intended word. For example, plates of meat are feet. However there are some variations. The most common variation is to drop the rhyming word altogether. So you could simply ava captains (have a look). Sometimes when the rhyming word is dropped, the remaining word takes on a plural form for no logical reason. A third step is to abbreviate (or corrupt) the first word, so that not only is the rhyming word gone but the first word in the phrase is corrupted.

Apples and pears - Stairs.
Bat and ball - Stall (your car).
Billy lid - Kid.
Burke and Wills - Dills.
Don't be a Burke - Don't be a dill
Butchers - Crook or look. (From butcher's hook.)
Charlie - Woman.
Dog's eye - Meat pie.
Ducks and drakes - The shakes.
Farmer Giles - Piles (haemorrhoids).
Gin sling - Ring. (Yeah, gimme a gin on the dog. )
Goose neck. - Cheque.
Horse's hoof - Poof (homosexual).
Jack and Jill - Restaurant bill or, depending on context, contraceptive pill.
Joey Blake - Snake.
Johnny Horner - Corner.
Loaf -Head. (From loaf of bread. )
Morton Bay fig - Wig.
Oxford scholar - Dollar.
Pot of good cheer - Beer.
Reg Grundys - Undies.
Steak and kidney - Sydney.
Seppo - Yank. (From Septic Tank)
Trouble & strife - Wife.
Scarce as rocking-horse manure
About as welcome as a turd in a swimming pool
Rattle your dags (get a move on)
A feed, a frostie and a feature (food, beer and sex)

Half Day Tour

I had to get out of the craziness my first day so I went on a half day tour....155 rupees...less than $5.00.

The bus stopped at Lal Qila (Red Fort).....Jama Masjid (principal Mosque of Old Delhi)...Rajghat (memorial to Gandi) and Safdarjung's tomb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Fort

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jama_Masjid,_Delhi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raj_Ghat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safdarjung's_Tomb

Nice if you like this sort of stuff.

Colorless Delhi

I'm in India now. Got here Thursday night. Jet Airways (best airline food ever).....4.5 hour flight from Bangkok.

I'm staying in the Karol Bagh area of Delhi- very Central.

Hotel Western Palace. Room 102. $16.00 a night. It's a dump- but I didn't expect much for that price. I wanted to be where all the locals are. Touristy hotels are a bit more expensive.

I'd been warned that Delhi is not a place you want to stay in for long. I can see why. It's a huge city- 14 million people.

There is a lot of pollution here from all the vehicles on the road...cars, trucks, tuk tuk's, and motorcycles. Crossing the road is a nightmare as pedestrians have no right of way.

I saw only 2 cows yesterday...both on the road...working.....pulling a wagon with an old guy on it.

Today I saw 3 cows just hanging around.

This is the India I came to see.

Courses and Me

I'm taking another 'just for fun' course.

It starts in the morning.

Thai Massage.

I'll even get an official certificate.

Being a student of life is awesome!

Interesting Cabaret Shows

I went to a lady boy cabaret show tonight with Karen & Tim (they are here until Wed night).

http://www.calypsocabaret.com/show.html

500 Baht.

Pretty lame entertainment.

But I will say that some of those transvestites are much better looking than some real girls in the world.

http://www.bangkok.com/nightlife-ladyboy-shows/index.html

Almost Updated

My blog is almost up to date!

It's been difficult due to me not writing at the end of each day.

Details and all the funny stuff are hard to remember.

I just know I'm having a great time even though my stories might seem a bit dull.

Smart Girls

I've come to the conclusion that Thai girls are much smarter than Western girls.

Western girls often get drunk...with their own money..... and give it up for free.

Thai girls get the boys to pay for everything.

Who's the smart one now?

Hellfire Pass

I went here.........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellfire_Pass

Opium and Me

I went to the House of Opium the other day in the Golden Triangle.

This was a museum set up to teach you about opium.

We all wanted a sample.

http://www.houseofopium.com/

Loud Music

This internet spot at my hotel is full of Aussie's.

The girl 3 spots over is listening to AC/DC over earphones.

Very loud.

Good thing I like Australia's favorite band.

Green, Green and More Green

Irish Pubs are everywhere in the world.

Expensive places when overseas.

I had a small long island iced tea for 193 baht............that's $ 7.00.

It's cheaper at home.

http://mollymalonesbangkok.com/

Representing Canada

I seem to be the representative of Canada on these tours I've been taking lately.

I hope I represent us well to all these Australians I've been meeting.

Oh oh.

Floating Markets

I was here the other day!

http://www.thailandguidebook.com/floatingmarket.html

Amazing.

Negative People

I hate being around negative people.

We had one girl on the trip...Melissa the Vet.... that fell into this category.

She's been travelling for 6 weeks ........with her 17 year old son (who cancelled this portion of the trip and went back home to Australia).

Her comments centered around "I'm so over this".

She still has the other 9 days of the tour (going South) and then another 7 days or so on some beach by herself.

I don't know how she is going to do it....as she doesn't want to go home...her plane ticket cannot be changed without paying for it.

I don't really understand why some people do things when they are so miserable doing it.

Why don't these people just change their situation that is within their control to change?

I just don't get it.

Bye Bye Bunditto

I've got to say that Bunditto was definitely one of the best tour guides/leaders I've had so far.

He was always smiling and very approachable...making sure we were having a good time doing stuff we liked.

We also found out that he went to Israel for some farm studies (Thai government sent him).....that he had a girlfriend there.....he speaks Hebrew.......owned a restaurant.....went to Scadinavia for a bit....is now married to a Thai girl and has 2 small girls.

We voted him as the most interesting person on our trip one night after we went around listening to each others brief life story.

It was the speaking Hebrew that did it.

Shisha Pipes and Dance Clubs

Last night a few of us kept partying after the crazy show we saw by going to the Khao San road area.

We took several tuk tuk's and then sat around this one illegally set up bar to drink 'buckets'. I had a long island iced tea.....300 baht ($11.00). It was pretty funny how we had to all get up and just stand when the police came by as the owner of this make shift bar would take away the little stools we were sitting on.

The young girls wanted to smoke a shisha pipe so we wondered off looking for one. It didn't take long to find one. They wanted a 300 Baht cover each...but I negotiated for us 5 girls and got us in for free. Brent had to pay. We then had to pay for the shisha pipe....350 Baht....strawberry flavor.

It was pretty funny teaching the girls how to smoke. They thought they were going to get high.

They didn't....but we sure laughed like they were.

We then went to some dance club near by closing it down at 2 am. From there we went with some tuk tuk guy to another club. 300 Baht (includes a drink)....not negotiable.

I have no idea where we were....somewhere by our hotel.......but it once again catered to the boys with all the Asian girl dancers/prostitutes.

We had to call it a night by 4 am.

We'd seen enough groping by then.

Oh My Buddha

We all started saying this instead of saying "Oh my God".

It's quite funny when you hear a Thai person say it.

Sha kept saying it when we were in the jungle and we just copied it.

Oh my Buddha.

Ping Pong Balls and Cigarettes

Last night we made Bunditto take us to the Patpong area of Bangkok.

"One of the world's most (in)famous red-light districts, Patpong is where it all started (Thailand's Go-Go culture) and has even been immortalised in a James Bond chase-sequence. Its two parallel side-streets, found between Silom and Surawongse Roads, house around 100 neon-lit strip bars offering risque sex shows, purchasable pole-dancers and post-op ladyboys. But while for men Patpong is likely to mean 'adult', for women, families and the kids Patpong definitely means 'market'. At night this teems with hawkers and humble stalls selling what is mostly tourist tat."

We were walking around outside checking out all the possible shows and then decided on one that had no cover charge, but made you purchase one drink each when you were inside. 100 Baht for one beer.

All I can I say about this crazy place is that it's amazing what a girl can do with:

• ping pong balls
• cigarettes
• bowling sticks...don't ask!
• bottle rings
• banana's

It's also amazing how some old foreign guy sitting near us with 3 of the girls could just get off in public while getting a hand and blow job plus a lap dance.

They don't even take these stupid guys in a private room to do their business.

Sex sure is a money making business.

Hanging Out

My tour ended after breakfast this morning..... bye bye everyone.

I spent the morning at Siam Centre....a huge shopping area. Very American....no cheap stuff there....all brand names and expensive.

Right now I'm sitting at this 24 hour internet shop in the complex of my new home for the next few days. D & D Inn on Khao San Road (Backpackers Alley). Very small room. No window. Very hard bed....all for the great price of 550 baht a night ($16.00)!

I'm going to try and update my blog and then figure out if I stay in Bangkok or go somewhere else until my flight leaves on Thursday to India.

All these tough decisions I have to make.

River Kwai

I went here:

http://www.blue-you.co.uk/riverkwai.htm

Tigers and Me

A few of us took a 1.5 hour trip to Kanchanaburi Tiger Temple to see all the amazing tigers.

The place was full of tourists- but I managed to stand in line and wait my turn to be walked over to several tigers and pet them as well as get my picture taken.

I even walked with the monk and the tigers as they left the canyon to go back to their sleeping area.

They had a few baby tigers playing around and we were able to pet them quickly and take pictures.

The place was full of Aussie volunteers who help organize us tourists in this safe environment.

I loved it there.

http://www.tigertemple.org/Eng/index.php

Waterfalls and Monkeys # 2

I've been here:

http://www.discoverythailand.com/Kanchanaburi_Erawan_Waterfalls.asp

The park had a few monkeys running around stealing peoples food.

I hate monkeys.

Thai People Rock

I love Thai people.

They are very friendly and very accomodating.

Such great people.

Always smiling.

Foreign Movies

Nothing beats watching a foreign movie on a bus for a good laugh.

This happened to us the other day and we still can't stop laughing.

We were making up the story line as we were watching the movie and even had a few of the local people laughing with us.

One lady finally started translating it for us...she was married to an Aussie....just to get us in tune with the movie.

We were way off.

Do Over Again

I'm in Kanchanaburi right now. A cheap area to be in. Laundry only costs 15 Baht a kg (55 cents) compared to Chaing Mai which was 40 Baht a kg.

Taking advantage of these great prices.... I walk into a hair salon to get my hair colored. The cost was 250 Baht....$9.00.....and they even use Loreal products.

Well...lets just say I ended up being in the shop for 2.5 hours........with 3 girls scrambling around for dictionaries to try and make me understand "do over again".

You have to laugh......especially when they all repeated after me when I said OH NO while I was looking at myself in the mirror on their first try.

I must say that they sure know how to wash hair here. Three shampoo applications.....massage.....conditioner......all taking a good half hour,

All in the lying down postion....not with your neck bent over a sink.

I Love Elephants

Our group stayed at the Lampang Elephant Conservatory in these cool huts as our homestay was full from tourists taking the 'mahout' training courses:

http://www.changthai.com/mahout/three.php

We were able to join them one day when they were up at 6 am to go get the elephants from the jungle, brush them and then wash them in the river.

We stayed for the elephant show as well.

I will definitely be taking the mahout 3 day training course next time I'm in this part of the world.

I love elephants!

Overnight Train # 2

What a freaky night that was!

We had an overnight train from Lampang to Bangkok.

This was an older train with loads of delays.

Luckily I had the lower bunk.....but still a sleepless night!

I Hate Monkeys

What can I say about those ugly little creatures other than I hate monkeys.

My last vivid experience with them was in Cambodia when Olivia was bit by one and we had to rush over for rabie shots.

Remembering this caused me to be a bit apprehensive while we were visiting the 'Monkey Temple'.

Noone in my group wanted to believe me on how DANGEROUS these freaks of the world are.

Well.....here we are..... watching all the small little monkeys swinging from trees.... "oh....how cute" ...."are you sure you know what you are talking about" ...directed at me of course.

I stick to my story.

Not even 15 minutes go by and EVERYONE was screaming and running from the monkeys.

It started with one of them coming for me when they saw me with a plastic bag. I screamed and threw what was in there in the air. The red faced monkey went for it. This caused all the others to start circling around us for food. They wanted banana's...that the banana boy was selling. How convenient. Bunditto bought some and started throwing them at them to get them off our backs.

I can safely report that the Aussies now believe the Canadian.

Orange and Red

Most of the monks around here are in orange attire.

We saw some in red in Burma.

Tibetan monks.

Laos and Me

On the same day we were at the Golden Triangle, some of us took an old wooden speed type boat over to Laos late in the day.

The boat cost us 1,000 Bhat ($35.00)......5 of us plus Bunditto.

The boat ride was fast. We were flying. I was scared. All the Aussies were laughing.

We stop and see all this moonshine being sold.......with SNAKES in the bottles. There was even a guy there giving out free shots. I passed.

There was even a small bear just walking back and forth in a small area. Supposedly the mother was killed and noone knew what to do with it. Poor thing.

Burma and Me

What an awesome day that was.

We went to the border town of Mai Sai, and had the opportunity to go into Burma for the morning. Unreal. I just finished reading an awesome book (The Lizard Cage) a story that took place in Burma. I had no idea that I would have a chance to go anywhere near there.

The military state likes to refer to it as Myanmar.

The border crossing was similar to the Cambodia/Thailand entry....you just walk over.....leave one country and enter another. Simple.

The Thai's stamp your passport for your exit (which would then give you 30 days from that date to stay in the country without a visa).......and the Burmese take your passport on their side...with your photo and $10 US. You are only allowed in for the day....AND...you cannot go further than 15 kms into the city we entered.

The people there look very East Indian and Chinese. Short people. Most are dark skinned. You see a lot of the women with face whitening cream on their faces (along with their kids). Funny how some of these countries think that white skin is beautiful. Dark skin to them is peasant/farmer skin. Westerners are opposite and think dark skin affords you the luxory of a nice beach vacation!

We each had our own rickshaw and went for a small tour......stopping at a temple and at a few shopping areas.

I even had a chance to buy some fava beans from the market.

Yummy!

Knock Offs

It's everywhere in this part of the world. You've got to love it!

DVD movies in Thailand go for around 100 to 150 baht each....depends where you get them from. Sometimes you can negotiate for lower if you buy a lot of them from the same spot.

I just picked up 10 DVD movies for 40 Baht each......that's $1.40 each....wow!!

I purchased them in Burma.....very nicely packaged. They look like the real thing.

Things are super cheap in Burma.

I had to pick up a few even if it's the start of my trip.

Itinerary

• Bangkok (First Hotel)
• Ayuthaya
• Chiang Mai (Chiang Mai Travel Lodge)
• Chiang Rai (Baan Warabordee)
• Golden Triangle
• Lampang (Lampang Thai Elephant Conservation Centre)
• Kanchanaburi (Sam's House)
• Bangkok

Blogging is Difficult

I'm trying to fill in all my days in a few hours.

Difficult to do as I have not been jotting anything down.

Far too busy.

Belly Dancing Flip Flops

My black havana's went missing at the spa.

The owner gave me a gold pair with purple soles.

Great.

Spa'ing in Thailand

I'm cheap....I like these hole in the wall massage places.

Some of the girls were going to a spa while we were in Chiang Mai....so....I thought why not....I'll splurge as well.

I took a 2.5 hour package. 1,600 Baht ($55.00)......that's A LOT of money here.

Half an hour foot massage. One hour facial. One hour aroma body massage.

The oil massages in Thailand are a FULL body massage.

This includes your breasts.

Thai Cooking Class

I took a cooking class the other day in Chiang Mai. 700 Baht ($25.00). 9 am to 1 pm. This also included a cookbook.

They came to pick us up at the hotel to take us to the market. Once there we all carried around these baskets to put our groceries in. Our cook talked about the different veggies, rice and meat that Thai people eat. I had no idea what over half the stuff at the market was. I just know most of it would be shut down by the health board in Canada. That's what makes coming to these parts of the world so much more exciting!!

With our groceries all purchased, we head to the school and put on our aprons and chief hats.

Our first dish was demonstrated by the cook and we then had to go to our cook station and make it. Chicken Pad Thai.

I burnt the first ingredients. Garlic and onion. Oops. I had the burner on too high.

Second dish was Kun Tom Yam (hot & sour prawn soup). Very yummy.

Third dish was a green curry chicken. Not so good. I messed up and put my basil in too early.

Last dish was banana in coconut milk. No brainer.

I rock as a Thai cook!

Kick Boxers and Me

Muay Thai Boxing is super popular here...so...without me knowing a thing about it, I go to a show in Chiang Mai. 400 Bhat (less than $15.00).

First match started at 8:45 pm...goes until about midnight.

A few of us got there around 9 pm....I stayed until about 10 pm. 1 hour. 3 matches. I would of stayed longer if I knew what they were doing AND if that stupid live band was not playing the same song over and over and over again....really loud!

One of the matches I was at had boys that looked like they were 10 or 12. Bunditto said they were 14 or 15 years old.... .. 33 kgs (73 pounds). The heavest competitors that evening were 55 kgs (121 pounds).

Our side of the ring had all the tourists watching in bewilderment......unsure of what was going on.

The fun side was on the opposite. All the locals......betting on the winner.

A world of mafia money...according to Bunditto.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muay_Thai

Bamboo Rafting Rocks

I've never been bamboo rafting so I was looking forward to our 3 hours on the river.

We had 3 to a raft......plus the 2 paddlers.

You wear a life jacket and stand the whole trip.... ducking only when you are going under a tree or branches.

The river was quite smooth over than a few rocky patches. Felt like I was white water rafting.

I didn't think that was possible on a bamboo raft and you live to tell about.

Bamboo rafting rocks!!

Bicycle Tours

On our first day of the tour, we took a 2 hour bus ride to Ayuthaya....which used to be the capital of Siam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayutthaya_kingdom

We had bicycles to tour around in so we went to see one temple: Wut Pra Maha.

Most of the people were dressed in yellow or pink t-shirts....yellow meaning long life and pink meaning good health.

At the temple I had my chinese fortune stick come out to prediction #22.

"The 22nd number tells you that your luck is enough. It is too long to get a lover. Hard to win in lawsuit, and difficult to find the lost things. Middle luck."

My first try at the predictions had them all scattered over the floor.

Maybe these only work for Chinese people.

Elephants and Me

I didn't know that I liked elephants.

I've seen them before...even been on a few elephant rides.....but I've never spent any time with them like I did at this elephant camp we went to the other day.

This camp takes care of elephants and gets income from us tourists visiting the camp. The tourists pay for elephant rides, taking pictures with them, watching the show and also buying their promo stuff.

When you first get there, you get to see the elephants taking a bath in the river. This was pretty cool as some of them were very funny just playing and splashing around.

You then go see the elephant show...they play soccer, paint, roll logs, play instruments and just make you laugh.

After this you can walk around the camp and just see the different things they are up to.

We spent some time getting photos with 2 elephants and then we went to see one elephant and their bad baby who was chained up when the tourists are there. We also saw one elephant who is ready to deliver her baby in 2 weeks (they are pregnant for 22 months....eeks!).

I never thought I really liked elephants....but they sure are cool animals now that I've seen them in their own environment.

They get to go in the jungle overnight with the elephant boys making sure they get back to camp during the day.

I was so impressed that I even bought a painting from one of the elephants. 1,000 Baht ($35.00).

It's a beautiful painting of 2 flowers.

Welcome to the Jungle

Our tour spent 2 nights and 3 days in the jungle...Northern Thailand......with some of the Hilltribe people.

On our first day we hiked for a little over 1 hour....very hilly.....but not too tough. We slept in one big hut on bamboo with sleeping bags. No mats. It was SUPER COLD. I thought I would be frozen in the morning. None of us got any sleep.

On the second day we hiked for over 4 hours. Super big hills. Very tough. We had to carry everything so it made it harder for everyone. It was another cold night and once again we slept in one big hut on bamboo with sleeping bags. This time with very thin sleeping mats.

This was also the night that we were down 4 people. We quarantined them to one side of the room....Both Laurens, Holly and Tim. They spent most of the night throwing up. The upside was us trying to sing and communicate with Shark...one of the Thai guys that helped us on the trek. Talk about lost in translation.

Our guide replacement.....Tip....was amazing. He was up all night helping all the thrower upers.

It was pretty gross the next morning.....all the chickens and pigs were in the throw up eating it. Yuck!

Makes you want to be a vegetarian.

Massages and Me

I love this country!

You can get a 1 hour thai massage for 180 baht ($6.00). Most go for about 200 to 300 Baht....depends on what area of town you are in.

I've gone for one massage almost every day so far.

I'm super relaxed and super flexible now.

Overnight Train

We travelled on an overnight train from Ayuthaya to Chiang Mai the evening of Dec 31st.

Our cabin was full of Gecko travellers so there was a big party on board.

The cabin had about 30 sleepers....one on top of the other on the sides of the train...very different to what I've seen in Europe.

I can't even remember what time we left....I think it was around 7 pm. We arrived in Chiang Mai around 10 am the next day.

A few of our group took sleeping pills..........you don't need a prescription here to get any sort of pill..........so they slept fine.

A few stayed up late...... until about 1 am.

It was a very long day.

Happy New Year 2008!

The World According to Bunditto

Our tour leader rocks!

He is this tiny little guy always smiling and laughing.

Good thing........as he has been super unlucky so far.

1. He drank a coconut shake and got food poisioning from it.
2. He shit his pants on the overnight train. Long story but very funny. His clothes are scattered along a train track in Thailand.
3. He got bite by a dog near our hotel and had to then go for rabie shots. This caused him to miss out on the trek with us.

ALL this happened in the first 3 days of us being together! Yup.....very funny.

OH.........he is okay now and his 4 rules in life are:

1. Have good sleeps
2. Have good foods
3. Have good shits
4. Have good fucks

Bunditto rocks!!

The Australians and Me

My tour consists of the following people:

Bunditto: Tour Leader. Thai. 41 years old. Over 6 years experience.

Melissa: Vet. Has been travelling last 6 weeks with son who bailed on her for this portion. Melbourne.
Brent: Mrs Max pie Manager. Going thru a divorce. Perth.
Tim & Karen: Teachers. Celebrating 16 years being married. Left 10 & 12 year old at home with sitters. Gold Coast.
Lauren & Holly: Second year university students. Brisbane.
Lauren & Hanna: Second year university students. Sydney.

I've lucked out with my own room seeing as Melissa didn't get a refund on the cancellation for her son.

I'm re-learning my Australian slangs..........