Melanie and Gavin's Travels

Back to Burlington

2007-03-28T10:38:00.000+10:00

Just a quick update from Canada. Gavin and I are in Burlington, which is my hometown and about 40 minutes outside of Toronto. We have been splitting our time between here and Toronto (divorced parents and all). It's really wonderful to be back home. The weather has been warm the last few days and not much snow left in these parts. Gavin is coping well with meeting my family for the second time and listening to lots of wedding talk, I won't have too many chanced since I am moving back to Banff! We are going to Niagara Falls on Thursday as he's never been. This weekend is our engagement party so I'm pretty excited about that. I've been feeling pretty jet lagged, after travelling for about 50 hours in 4 days and 14 time zones. Finally today I slept past 5am and made it up past 9pm last night. Let's hope it gets better.

London Baby!

2007-03-21T18:07:00.000+11:00

We made it! The plane rides went pretty quickly. I made it through 4 movies and slept for nearly 8 hours. We had a 3 hour stopover in Singapore and the rumours about them having an area with showers/massages/beds are true, plus they had tons of shopping. That was all within the transfer hall since so many people have layovers there. When we got to London however Gavin and I were the last ones left waiting at the bag carasole. And waiting.... We found Gavin's, it was in transfers by accident. Mine was a no show though, so we had to leave and wait for it to be delivered. My bag arrived 12 hours after me (apparently it was stuck somewhere between Term 1 & 4, someone thought it was meant to be transferred again) which was not all that fun to arrive in london wearing a light long sleeved top in 0 degrees. It's bloody cold here! I'm Canadian, I should be able to walk back into the cold and feel fine. But since we've been in +30 degree heat since November I guess it's understandable.

We are staying with yet another generous traveller, James who we worked with Sunshine. He lives in a beautiful apartment at Liverpool Street. It's safe to say I've never been in a place this big in London before, who knew people had this much room? He's supplied us with maps, extra cell phone, internet and a futon in the living room; sweet! Yesterday we had a nap and met up with friends. Actually I got to see my cousin Dan! That was great, he's studying at the London Business School and took us on a little tour of that too. Then it was off to All Bar One for dinner and drinks with a few people and I came back to meet the baggage people (thank god) and an early night. Today we are going for a big sightseeing day, The British Museum and lunch and dinner with different friends. We're trying to squeeze it all in! Tomorrow it's up to Darby to see Simon and Lucy and relive Nepal memories, then Fridya it's CANADA.

So... until we get to Canada I will say goodbye.

TRIP FACTS

2007-03-21T17:50:00.000+11:00

Between 22 hours on the plane, them losing my luggage at Heathrow and a 3 hour stopover in Singapore I had some time to think about our trip over the last few days, 36 hours to be precise. Below are a few tidbits for you guys.

# of Airports - 15
Calgary, Toronto, London Heathrow, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Lukla, Mumbai, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Alice Springs, Auckland, Brisbane, Singapore, Gatwick

# of Flights - 18

# of Countries - 7
England, Scotland, Thailand, Nepal, India, Australia, New Zealand

Time Away from Banff - 6.5 months or 196 days

Favourite Place - Nepal mountains/The Himalayas

Least Fav - Day 1 in India, the city of Gorakphur with about 10 million people crowding the streets (and the train station) and 10 hours to waste. Yikes.

Coldest Place - Hiking & Sleeping at 18,000 feet in Nepal and attempting to have a shower/bucket wash or sleep. I slept in a -12 degree C bag, hat, long pants etc and was still cold.

Hottest Place - Alice Springs, middle of Australia and 42 degrees Celcius. Seriously, SO HOT it was like a sauna.

You know you have travelled to long when:
-You know your passport number by memory from writing it down so many times.
-You are excited to start working again
-The left/other side of the road looks normal to drive on
-You've replaced all of the shampoo, toothpaste, cream etc you brought with you more than once.
-Half of your bag is filled with new clothes and souvenirs
-Even the lure of a London visit doesn't compare with the thought of hearing 'welcome to Canada' announced by the pilot as the plane lands on home soil
-It's winter at home and you've pretty much missed 2 entire seasons. Everyone at home will be white and tanless and I have a sandal tan of brown stripes on my feet!

Goodbye Australia, hello London and Canada.

2007-03-18T18:33:00.000+11:00

Just an update from Brisbane. We fly out tomorrow, Mon 19th at 1:45pm and arrive in London on Tues 20th at 5AM. That is about 22 hours of flying time - ouch! I'm not entirely sure where we are staying in London yet, with a friend of Gavin's though. We are going up to Derby on Thursday to see our trekking friends Simon & Lucy, that should be a laugh. Then we leave London on Fri 23rd March and get to Toronto that evening. OH CANADA. Very exciting but also sad to be ending this amazing adventure.

I was going through our photos last night to downsize and make a bit of a photo album/slideshow thing to show people at home. We sure have seen a lot of amazing things. Nepal was by far my favourite (hence the most photos!) but I enjoyed everywhere. Sure there was 3 hard weeks in India at the beginning, and I likely wouldn't go back there BUT I am glad we did it. We saw some cool things, learned a bit more about ourselves and humanity and tested our patience levels. Australia has been wonderful, I've loved catching up with friends and getting to know them on their own territory. It's a great country with some super friendly and funny people. There are more Australian sayings and short forms for things than you could ever imagine though.

So goodbye to Australia - to Cass & Pete, Rowan, Emma, Andy, Kelly & Trent, Fiona & Curt & Murphy, Kathryn, Serina & Adam and all of the friends I met along the way. We hope to have our own place at some point where we can return the favour of your wonderful hospitality, Rocky Mountain style.

And to all of those in Ontario and Alberta - we will see you soon! I'm smiling at the thought of the old "Welcome to Canada" announcement over the plane speaker. Ketchup chips, Tim Horton's, opposite side of the road for driving, snow, friends and family all await us. Oh and I suppose some stability and a wedding to plan!!!

I will update again from Toronto and include engagement party photos too.

Photos of Serina & Adam's engagement party

2007-03-18T15:27:00.000+11:00

Agh... aren't they cute. It was a great party, and on St. Patty's Day to boot. Surprisingly there is a lot of booze left. The one on the bottom is Serina with her 2 sisters. And lest we not forget Gavin showing off his big fish, he ended up carrying that photo around with him all night cuz everyone who had heard about it kept asking him about it! too funny.

Photos of the Gold Coast

2007-03-16T01:11:00.000+11:00

A few days in the Gold Coast

2007-03-14T13:58:00.000+11:00

Hey people,
It's my last day at the beach today. Gavin and I are in the Gold Coast (known for Surfer's Paradise if any of you have heard of it) at his friends Steele and Alex's house. I must say, we definitely have friends in good places! We are about 1 hour away from downtown Brisbane, and will go back to Serina and Adam's when we leave. Gavin is here for the week and I'm here for 2 nights. Last night we sat on the porch and had an awesome bbq. Today Gavin and I went for a jog on the beach, it's beautiful down there. We're going to hang out there today for the rest of the afternoon. Tonight we are having dinner with another old work friend, Beth from the Body Shop a few summer's ago. Small world! :) In a week we'll be in London, i'm getting really excited to get back to Canada too. Might just be in need for a borrowed winter coat for the few weeks I'm in Toronto though! I'll be seeing some of you soon. Love from Melanie

Crikey, she's a real beauty!!

2007-03-11T22:17:00.000+11:00

This weekend we went out to the 'country' with Serina and Adam for some good old country fun. Serina's parents live about 3 hours away from Brissy and have a 1200 acre plot of land. It's like going to a national park! We stayed for two nights and were blessed with clear skies, a cool breeze blowing through the old Queenslander house, and Gavin's big catch in the dam! We spent the morning doing some clay pigeon shooting (okay not me, I fired the big shotgun once and hated it. That's the 2nd time I have fired a gun and not liked it, lesson learned). Then we drove the ute (low truck in Aussie terms) for 15 minutes across the property to go fishing.

We brought out some rods, and since we didn't have any real bait thought it was pretty unlikely we would catch anything. Well Gavin had thrown the line out about 5 times when I asked him to show me how to do it. I'd never fished before, so he threw the line out again and then it started to pull and out came this massive yellow belly! Serina and Adam were really surprised, they don't see fish that big in the dam. It was about 6 kilos and nearly 2 feet long. That just added to our great weekend away, although it did take ages to cook!

Last Australian stop: BRISBANE

2007-03-05T17:14:00.000+11:00

I woke up this morning at 6:30AM and couldn't fall back to sleep. Granted I am a bit jet lagged from the 3 hour time difference between Brisbane and Auckland. But 2 weeks from today we will be flying to London and then a few days after that, back to CANADA. Needless to say this morning Gavin and I both felt really excited and slightly overwhelmed that our big trip is nearly over.

We arrived in Brisbane on Saturday morning. I flew in from Auckland and Gavin took the bus from the Sunshine Coast, to coincide with my flight arrival. Serina and Gavin both met me off the plane. I last saw Serina Oct 2005, she was leaving Canada after we'd had a year working at Sunshine Village together and hanging out. We were sad then but knew we'd meet up in Brisbane on our trip, so it was really exciting to see her!

The weekend was fun. Saturday night Serina and Adam had a bbq with a few people and so we chilled out and had some laughs. On Sunday we drove out to Glasshouse Mountain, the hinterland of the Brisbane area. Not exactly mountains by our standards but really pretty nonetheless. Another friend I worked with in Banff was Kathryn, she and I spent most of last summer together between hiking and chatting to The Body Shop customers. She lives in Brissy too, so we went with her on our Sunday outing. How lucky am I to get to see all these wonderful people again? Very, I must say there are so many beautiful people in the world. The scenery on our day trip was greener than I would have thought, and so pretty too. There were a lot of rolling hills and cute towns like Maleny and Moreton with little cafes and parks. We did a bit of a hike and those are the views with Kathryn in the pink and Serina on the other side of me. After a stop at the cheese factory, lunch and a walk through some forests(where i got a bit scared after some boys mentioned they'd seen a big snake moments before crossing the path) we drove back.

We are just trying to make plans for the next 2 weeks here. Surfers Paradise and The Gold Coast are about an hour south on the train line, so we'll visit a few friends there and make use of the beautiful beaches. Tomorrow we are going downtown (about 30 mins by train) to explore the city and meet Kathryn for dinner and a walk. I might also go to the Australian Zoo, the one Steve Irwin worked at, everyone raves about it. It looks pricy though, so we have to see if it's worth it. This coming weekend Serina is taking us to her parents farm, we can see how the locals live! I love doing that. Then on St. Patty's Day they are having their Engagement party. I'm really happy that we are here to celebrate that with them. There will be about 60 people at their house with pizza and wine etc, should be fun!

Gavin wants the computer now and I have been hogging it. Today was a day for chilling out though, we made it out for a jog at noon and man was it hot. It's so humid here. I'll see most of you soon!!

Auckland photos

2007-03-05T17:05:00.000+11:00

Hello - here are a few photos of Auckland. That's Fe, Curt and gorgeous little Murphy at Mission Bay on a Friday night. Auckland is right on the water so that's the city from our drive to Mission Bay, with the Sky Tower in the distance. Then that's the Auckland Museum at the Domain, a lovely park that I used to go to a lot when I lived there too. It's quite a pretty city and I had a great time being back.

Beautiful Auckland

2007-02-28T08:48:00.000+11:00

I feel like I am looking at the rainforest at the moment. My friend Fe lives in a beautiful house in Titirangi, about 45 mins from bus to downtown Auckland. There are trees everywhere around here, beautiful silver ferns. It's all so green, if it wasn't for little cicada's singing in the trees (part of why I feel like I am in the rainforest) I could be at home in Canada.

Auckland is turning into a fantastic trip. Poor Fe had to pick me up at 12:30am on Friday, then we stayed up chatting for hours and she had to work on Friday! But we had the weekend to hang out and I enjoyed seeing the local market. My backpack will go back to Canada with a lot of new things and then old things are being chucked along the way. It's nice to pick up jewellry as souvenirs though and those are small and light! The Hugo Boss perfume I picked up at Duty Free was a bit of a treat - but after 5 months of nothing pretty to smell on myself I decided it had become more of a necessity... I'm so rational ;)

Most of my friends have their own homes now, so it's wonderful to see them all settled and happy. It also inspires Gavin and I even more to save for a condo when we get back to Banff. We would like to buy in Banff or Canmore 2-3 years after we move back, we'll see how the finances go. I think I'll work p/t for at least a year to put extra money away for that and the wedding. After 6 months travelling I think I can take it and make the sacrifice in time! I can't tell you how great it feels after 7 years of travelling and making that my #1 priority to finally feel a switch in my mind and heart, I feel ready for the next stage of our lives and really ready for it with my fiance. After working at Sunshine Village for the last 6 weeks of the season I will work f/t at the Body Shop for the summer again. I'm trying to formulate a bit of a five year plan for myself in terms of jobs and what I want in life, but nothing concrete has appeared in my mind yet. Although I am pretty sure I will make 2008 the year to run a Marathon! Gavin and I are running a 10km race called Melissa's Road Race in Banff in September. I wanted to do the Half marathon but it fills up quickly.

Today I am going downtown to the Viaduct (right on the ocean) and to have a bit of a wander. One night this week Fe, Curt and I are going to get takeaway Burger Fuel (the best burger joint around) and go down to the beach at Mission Bay to enjoy the views. Auckland has some great spots. I even got to see my old house in Parnell, agh the memories. Gavin would love the weather too if he was here, but he's off doing bush walks and hanging out with his friends Mick and Jo and their 2 little girls in Rockhampton (north of Brisbane). I will see him on the weekend when I fly back to Brisbane to stay with my friend Serina.

Until later skaters.

Kings Canyon

2007-02-21T20:01:00.000+11:00

You can go for camel rides out near Kings Canyon. By the time we got there it was 41 degree Celcius, the proof is in the photo. the Canyon was gorgeous. We did a 6 km walk around the rim of it, you hike up to the top bit and then walk around and look down on it. A river used to flow through there many millions of years ago. The flies were horrible and at 41C you can bet we moved rather quickly!

Ayers Rock/Uluru

2007-02-21T19:34:00.000+11:00

Here are some photos from my road trip with Kelly and Trent yesterday and today. We drove out to Ayers Rock, it's about 4 hours along a straight road with flat dry land in every direction. Due to the heat and flies we opted to stay in a hotel and man was I glad. We drove to the Olgas first (see photo of Kelly and Trent) for a view and then up close for a walk. See how many flies were on my pack!!

Then we went to the Cultural Center for Ayers Rock, which is called Uluru by the Aboriginals who own the land and technically the rock i guess. They have many spiritual connections to it and ask for people not to climb it, i was quite happy to oblige. Actually it is closed when it's hotter than 36C. There was an old drawing from 1930 in one of the caves as well. We had come prepared to watch the sunset and brought out a great picnic of cheese, crackers, dip and wine. There weren't any stunning colours last night over THE ROCK, but it was still beautiful and a special memory. Today we drove to Kings Canyon so we were in the car for 7 odd hours, see the next blog for that. Overall we had a great 2 days and I feel i got to see some unique landscape, beautiful old & big rocks and learned more about the Aboriginal culture.

By tomorrow night I will be with Fe in Auckland, New Zealand. For those of you that don't know Gavin and I lived there for one year so it will be awesome to see it again and also visit a few other friends. Gavin is leaving Sydney for Rockhampton, which is north of Brisbane.

Oh and the photo with white on the flat land is a salt field we found along the way.

Bad as it seems?

2007-02-19T18:14:00.000+11:00

Now I have some questions for all of you living in the real world at the moment, as I'm simply browsing news sites and such as I hopscotch across continents.

It seems to be likely that in the next year;
- either that idiot Bush is going to invade Iran or Iran is going to blow someone up
- many more major polar ice caps are seriously going to start fading away (but at least the higher powers in the world are finally realizing how serious global warming is as this climate change report seems to have been released around the world?)and we are all doomed much sooner than we thought?
- Canada is about to have an election after having one just last year?

Seriously, what's going on? THANKS.

The Desert Park

2007-02-19T16:58:00.000+11:00

I spent this morning at The Desert Park. It's a large outdoor/indoor park that really teaches you about the ecosystems and animals in the desert, really interesting. I love the red sand! I also saw an emu and a kangaroo, they were enclosed but just with mesh and lots of room to run around.

Tomorrow Kelly, Trent and I are going on a road trip. We were just going to the Kings Canyon which is 4 hours away, but since we can spend the night out there we are going to deal with all the hours in a car (it's about another 5-6 hours I think) and go to Ayers Rock too! I'm pretty excited, they both look beautiful.

The West McDonnell Ranges & Alice

2007-02-19T16:31:00.000+11:00

A few days ago Kelly and I went driving outside of Alice Springs, it's pretty rural and quite stark and beautiful. We went to Simpson's Gap (that's me with a fly net over my face!) and Glen Helen. The landscape is orange mostly, with rock lines along the horizon however far you look. That Range runs through Alice Springs and then East again, it was caused from water millions of years ago. That's Kelly with the gum trees behind her, out at the first Telegraph Station.

Alice is in the middle of Australia so it became a major route between Darwin in the north and Adelaide in the south. It takes about 20 hours to drive in either direction and 4 days to drive East to the Coast with Brisbane etc. There are about 23,000 people in the town and a very large Aboriginal population. I hadn't experienced a lot of the country's original culture before and have been checking out the art galleries and asking a lot of questions. There are still some Aboriginals who live in the Outback and survive off the land and old customs but most don't. They have a similar history to our Natives in Canada - some were slaughtered, others were part of the 'stolen generation' and moved away from their families when children and sent to schools. Considering they lived here first they were treated horrendously. There have been a lot of problems and controversy with the cultures mixing (mostly in smaller places like here I think) and most people will agree the government needs to come up with a better idea for a long term solution.

Surviving the heat in Alice Springs

2007-02-16T19:40:00.000+11:00

Alice Springs is in the desert so I knew it would be hot, but I don't think I was quite prepared for HOW hot. Yesterday it was 42 degrees C, today it's 40 but I tell you it feels even hotter than that. I had the day with Kelly yesterday and we wandered around the small downtown area, into a few of the Aboriginal art galleries.
There is also a bit of a fly problem here so a few people walk around with mesh face masks to stop them from getting on your face. I even wore one today.

Unfortunately I have picked up some kind of cough and cold and it's gotten nasty in a hurry. I have nearly lost my voice already. Kelly was working today so I walked into town (40 minutes return) thinking that the whole sweating a cold idea might have some merit. Well I don't know about that yet but in 10mins I felt like I was getting burned and was glad we weren't on a hike as we plan to do so soon. We will have to see how hot it is i think. I decided against doing the long day trip to see Ayers Rock/Uluru because it's 9 hours in one day and costs $150. Now I'm really glad as it's so hot and with also being sick. Funny how things work out! I'm sure I will survive though and I'm pretty happy air conditioning is nearly everywhere here.

Tomorrow we are going on a road trip to the West McDonnell Ranges, and might get to go swimming in a water hole along the way.

3 days left in Melbourne

2007-02-12T11:48:00.000+11:00

Here is my pregnant friend Andy, looking beautiful and happy on the beach by her house. We went down there for 2 nights to visit, it's in the Mornington Peninsula which is where we went with Cass and Pete for our wine tasting weekend. I like the rugged beaches near her house. It rained soon after we were there, which is good as they are having a big drought in these parts.

Yesterday we caught up with some friends who I lived with in London (Cass and Pete included). I think Gavin just assumes every Australian I know from the UK now is from 31 Anson Road, as there were 27 people living there at once! And of course not everyone stays the whole time you were there so there are a lot of crossovers.

Tonight Cass and I are having a girls night out - look out Melbourne! Gavin and I leave early Thursday morning so we've got some packing to do, Emma's to visit for a bbq, a museum to wander around and cheap movies on Tuesday to possibly take advantage of before we leave. I'm also getting pretty excited about returning to CANADA in 6 weeks time, wow how the last 4 1/2 months have flown by. We are loving it though. I'll be in 38degree heat in Alice Springs on Thursday.

Photos of Tasmania

2007-02-08T12:07:00.000+11:00

Here are some pictures of our one week in Tasmania. We camped for a few nights, had a few in a hostel in Hobart and then another with Gavin's friend Ben. The roads are wide open with pretty clouds. The beaches are beautiful. The rugged looking beach is Friendly Beach, we camped on the road just there and the curved one is Wineglass Bay. We did a hike for that view. You''ll also notice Gavin at the bar, that is Lark's Distillery, Tasmania's first distillery. The one of the 2 of us is hiking at Cradle Mountain, it's gorgeous there. And can you believe in Australia they have drive through liquor stores? Or bottle shops as they call them here.

On the road in Tasmania

2007-02-04T22:44:00.000+11:00

Life in Tasmania is ticking along nicely - it's slow and friendly, beautiful and full of farmlands, signs of locals selling fresh fruit and veg and stunning beaches. We arrived into Hobart on Wednesday. It was quite late but we had the fastest luggage pick up ever at the airport, and were whisked off in the airporter to our hostel. The hostel was great and we will stay there again on Tuesday before we fly out. The next morning we picked up our car. A cute little Kia that Gavin has become friendly with, since I didn't want to drive on the other side of the road.

We decided to travel up the East Coast and after stopping at Kate's Berry Farm for a delicious berry milkshake, seeing hundreds of sheep, big gum trees and wide open skies with beautiful clouds we made it to Freycinet National Park. I'd wanted to go there for awhile, the photos look stunning. We borrowed a tent, air mattress and sleeping bags from Cass and Pete and tried to find a tent site, but they were all full. But then one of the park rangers told us about the nearby Friendly Beaches where we could camp for free. Hello, for free!? Yep. So 20 minutes later we were pitching camp and and were about a 3 minute walk from one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. Wild rocks and grass, white sand, long empty beaches. It was amazing. Way too cold and windy to swim but we took photos and went for a walk. Had some sandwiches for dinner and realized how great life is on the road!

In the morning we entered the National park grounds, this was $20 for the 2 of us and definitely worth it. One of the top 10 beaches in the world was there, called Wineglass Bay. There were a few ways to approach it and we decided to hike Mt Amos to get a view of it. You had to hike 2 hours (to get to the beach - beauty sometimes takes hard work!) there anyways and we knew we weren't going to swim if we went. Mt Amos is about 500 meters above sea level and a 3 hour return hike. It was about the level I assumed it would be physically for a 3 hour hike uphill, hard but not too difficult. But then we started climbing up big boulders (I didn't expect that part of it), they were okay to grip with normal running shoes but I still get freaked out on steep bits. I made it 3/4 to the top, Gavin then continued on without me for views of Wineglass Bay. I was more worried about climbing up really steeply and then getting down again! It would have been nice to see it, but after Friendly Beach I knew it would be similar and I'd seen that up close.

After that adventure we had a picnic on another beautiful beach and then we drove to St Helens, further Northwest up the Coast. I found the scenery still pretty but a little more ordinary there. This time we found a proper caravan park, which we needed because our free camp didn't have showers! Setting up camp was a little difficult with the gale force winds blowing through, but with careful negotiation of the tent, a large tree and the car we managed it okay. then we drove to Bay of Fires, another gorgeous beach. By this time we were tired so we opted to eat at a pizzeria in little St Helens and then go to sleep.

We kept driving in a circle around Tasmania from there, heading West from the Coast inland. The forests became more rugged and the roads very windy. Passing through a lavender farm, forests affected by the wildfires and stopping at a cheese factory we made our way to Devonport, a large town in the North. Gavin's friend Ben lives here and we are now spending our second night here. He lives on his parents property and they own a B&B, we have been treated very well and eating like royalty! Last night it was a big BBQ and tonight local fish. The fish is divine. Ben took us touring around the local areas today, the farming industry is really large in Tasmania. The locals are nice and there is still that small town feel even in large places. Of course there aren't a lot of large places in Tasmania anyways.

I think we will try and go to Cradle Mountain tomorrow as we head back down to Hobart. That's in a National Park too and looks stunning. There is also a Cadbury's chocolate factory in Hobart that we might be able to make time for! We get back to Melbourne on Wednesday and I think one week is good enough for this trip.

Toronto on March 23rd

2007-01-31T17:23:00.000+11:00

I booked my flight to Toronto today, and I'm excited at the thought of getting back to Canada. We are having a great time in OZ of course but it's been 4 months already so it will be nice to be home. I fly into London March 20th and fly to Toronto March 23rd. So I don't have much time in London but I won't have much money either, plus this will give me 3 whole weeks between Burlington and Toronto with family and friends which I'd really like. Gavin is going to book his flight for a few days after me to visit a few more people in the UK. When I get back to Banff mid-April I have lucked out with timing and will be back at the ski resort of Sunshine Village until end of May. So I have a job for a bit and then a summer job will come along. Must go, off to Tasmania now.

Mornington Peninsula

2007-01-29T13:08:00.000+11:00

We just had a fantastic long weekend here in OZ. Cass and Pete had Thursday and Friday off so the 4 of us drove down to the Mornington Peninsula. It's about 1.5 hours away, right on the Ocean and full of wineries. We rented a little house which was on someone's property. It was fantastic, roomy with a full kitchen and bbq and 5 minutes from the beach. They even had a tennis court. We drove to about 5 different wineries and did tastings. The tastings are usually free, you get a few sips of whichever wine you want to try. We bought a beautiful bottle of Paringa Estates Pinot Noir. The area has rolling hills, many vineyards and windy roads. It was really pretty. Along with wine we also found a cheese farm and had a cheese tasting platter and bought some of that too. Cass and Pete taught us a few moves in tenni too which caused many a laugh.

The Australian Open (tennis) has been on since we arrived and we've been watching it on tv. It's been really cool to watch. Last night the men's final was on - Federer from Switzerland VS. Gonzolaz from Chile. I was cheering for Gonzolaz as he's the undercard and played so well all week. We went to the big stadium where the final was on and paid $20 for ground tickets, this meant we could watch the game on a big tv along with other fans. What a great atmosphere! Federer won but it was a really good match.

The photos are from the wineries and at the Open last night, you can see all the Chilean fans up the front!

We fly to Tasmania on Wednesday night and will be there for a week.

Our Australian plans, for those curious folks.

2007-01-23T15:45:00.000+11:00

I've been busy planning the rest of our time here in Australia since we now have 2 months, instead of the original 4 weeks.

While in Melbourne we are going to the Mornington Peninsula twice, once in a rented cottage with Cass and Pete for the upcoming long weekend and then another few days to visit my girlfriend Andy. There are beaches and wineries there. Then (probably) next week we will go to Tasmania for one week. We're going to rent a car and camp around the island, it looks so beautiful. Tasmania is an island (but a state of Australia) so we will catch a cheap flight from Melbourne to Hobart.

Feb 15th - Feb 22nd: I am flying Melbourne to Alice Springs (middle of OZ) to stay with my friend Kelly. She's going to take me around to Ayers Rock/Uluru, The Outack etc.

Feb 22 - March 3rd: I'm going to Auckland! A little last minute but it works out best for me to see Fe there so I'm staying with her for a week and visiting other friends too. It will be nice to see the city again after living there for one year. Gavin will be in Sydney and probably Rockhampton (north of Brissy) visiting his friends when I'm off galavanting around.

March 3rd - March 19th: I'll meet Gavin in Brisbane, we will also hit the Gold Coast for a day or two. We're staying with Serina and seeing Kathryn and Beth, all friends I met in Banff.

March 20th: Arrive London. We still have to book the leaving London bit but one step at a time, aiming to be home in Toronto end of Mar/early April and then Banff by end of April (Gav earlier than that).

So that's it, now you all have an idea where we will be the next few months. Except for camping in Tasmania we will be staying with friends everywhere which is just awesome. Makes it more comfortable, fun and of course better for us in the money department.

Happy in Melbourne

2007-01-21T21:33:00.000+11:00

I'm in a house, with a Toronto radio station playing over the Internet, a glass of milk and some Timtams (delicious Australian chocolate cookies) beside me; I feel like I could be at home! It's great to feel relaxed and at home somewhere after nearly four months on the road. We are staying at Cassandra and Pete's place which is in Melbourne and Gavin and I have a lovely spare bedroom. The beds in Asia are all really hard so it's very luxurious to be on a normal bed again. We can open a fridge when we feel like it and eat apples without soaking them in filtered water to make sure they are clean!

Last night we had Emma and Rowan over, 2 friends that lived with Cass, Pete and I in London. It was time for a BBQ and it was devine. The photo is of Cass (left), Me and Emma. Today we went downtown to St Kilda which is by the Ocean and full of funky cafes and people hanging out.

On Thursday Gavin and I are going away with Cass & Pete for 3 nights to the Mornington Peninsula. It's about one hour away and we've rented a little place by the beach, close to the wineries too. I've never been there before, should be a lot of fun. They might even convince us to play some tennis with them.

In the next week we are going to try and make plans for the rest of our time here. I am going to Alice Springs to stay with Kelly, that is pretty much right in the middle of Australia so it will be very different scenery. I'll get to see Ayers Rock and some 'Outback.' I've also got a friend (Fe) from Auckland coming over and have to make plans for Gavin and I to go to Tasmania too. We have a lot of people to catch up here which is so much fun.

Thoughts from the road... (previously written)

2007-01-21T20:51:00.000+11:00

We are somewhere over Northwest Australia, having left Bangkok earlier tonight. We were ready to leave, it's been about one month of relative daily stillness and that is enough for Gavin and I. So we are excited for new places and old friends in the land down under.

Our bus ride to the airport was uneventful which I found reassuring. In India and Nepal we got used to an element of drama which was usually added to the days' affairs, especially where travel was concerned. Traffic delays and tuktuk drivers pretending they knew where they were going were the usual problems, but others prevailed as well.

I suppose two of the wierdest were the following;

1) In Southern Nepal our local bus was stopped by a road strike, or bandh as they are called there. This occurred because a student was killed in a road accident. Since the bureaucracy is apparently untrustworthy in most Asian countries the people (locals) tend to take certain things into their own hands. In this instance they got a large truck, parked it sideways across the road and used it to block advancing traffic. The result can be miles of cars/buses/trucks stuck along the road. I only figured out what was going on because I'd read about something similar in the paper the week previous, as no one around us really spoke English. We were lucky to only be stuck for a few hours. I read in the paper they can last for days. An added element of strangeness for us Westerners was when car tires were put in front of the truck and lit on fire. A few Europeans were with us and were equally shocked at the blatant pollution, it smelled horrible too. The truck was finally moved when policeman showed up on the scene.

2) Of course the worst incident happened in India, Mumbai to be precise. We had booked an overnight tourist bus from Mumbai (previously and still mostly called Bombay, which I prefer) to Goa. The ticket was rather pricey by Indian standards at 650 Rupees ($17Cdn) but there was A/C and it was a Volvo bus (all the travel agents tell you about them with excitement as they are new and bouncy, with air ride for comfort). Anyways we needed to get to the bus, which we were told was near a specific hospital and quite close to the beautiful VT train station. We got a taxi from outside of our hotel, it was a metered taxi so we didn't have to negotiate a price. The bus would not be at a bus station per se but close to the above reference points and parked along the road with all of the other big buses. The taxi driver said he knew where the hospital was, however his English was limited.
A short time later we saw the train station, then we got on the entrance ramp for the highway which was past the station. At first I thought 'okay maybe it's a short ride to the next exit where the hospital/bus road is' but Gavin caught on right away. He started asking the driver what he was doing and where he was taking us, getting upset as he thought the driver was trying to cheat us when he was really lost. Well he was right. My stomach started to turn in knots (a usual phenomenon in India, I feel so calm now I've left!), Gavin became furious and the driver then pulled over to ask for directions. We were then driven back in the direction we had come from and taken to the right spot, worried by now we might miss our bus to Goa. When we got there we could clearly see the name of the hospital from the road, it was so frustrating and of course we didn't want to pay him the full metered amount. He'd literally driven us twice as far as we'd needed to go, AND we were now running late.
It turned into a road side show with me dragging both of our packs out of the taxi, as i was afraid he would drive off with them. The driver was threatening to get the police so we would pay and Gavin was agreeing as we felt we were in the right here. By this point we needed to find our bus on a long street full of buses that looked the same and we were getting angry. A bus conductor with fluent English came over to try and help us. We explained the situation and he sorted us out to pay a lower amount, the driver was reluctant but seemed to agree. We paid him, found out our bus was actually a street over (seriously, how are people supposed to know these things?!) so we started running for it.
While this new 'might miss the bus' drama took shape, the damned taxi driver started following us in his taxi and demanded we pay him the 30 rupees he felt he deserved, for driving us completely in the wrong direction! In retrospect it's nearly comical; us running down a Mumbai street with backpacks on, looking for one bus in dozens with a specific name on it and this taxi driver nearly stopping traffic chasing us down. But then my adreneline was on high alert, I'd already yelled at him for trying to cheat him so badly I'd started shaking. These travel experiences really get you to explore all of your emotions and reactions I must say... Well we ran across the 6 lanes of crazy Mumbai traffic, lost the taxi and found our bus with the help of a very nice shopkeeper and then in typical Indian style we waited... it left an hour late of course. I spent the first half hour waiting for the driver to find us on the bus and make a scene. This was the bus that I was then very sick on all night, so one might understand why we were so happy to get to Goa!

So many people in India live in slums beside the train tracks. I was reading this book by the Economist Jeffrey Sachs recently called The End of Poverty. He mentions this situation and was shocked by it as well. A lot of these people have organized into groups throughout the cities to fight for their rights and make the slums safer. I found it interesting that a lot of these shacks have tv's in them. No matter where I have travelled in the world I seem to see tv's and Coca Cola, even in extreme poverty. The people living beside these train tracks were a real mix, we saw girls with wild hair and hunger in their eyes as our train whistled by. I saw children dancing and men getting ready for work wearing dress pants no less. Women washing their hair in buckets and babies being changed. I suppose what amazed me is how their lives were really quite normal on a daily basis, how people everywhere live such similar lives at the basic level. We laugh, we cry, we love, we die, we sleep and we eat - and at the end of the day it's mostly only the variation or extremes we do it in that defines us. The size and quality of our house, the amount of food, the availability of water change but as people we are similar. I suppose that is one of the reasons I love travelling so much, it makes me feel so connected to the rest of the world.

Last big stop: AUSTRALIA

2007-01-20T18:22:00.000+11:00

We made it to Australia in one piece. All is well. The flight was pretty good as Qantas has this entertainment system where you can pick about 60 different movies to watch. Cass and Pete picked us up at the airport which was awesome. Apparently it's been about 40 degrees but today it's 26 and raining which is beautiful, we haven't seen rain or below 30 in months! So now we are in our new home for a few weeks and drinking tap water, sleeping in a soft bed and having a bbq with some old London friends (Emma and Rowan) tonight, LIFE IS GOOD! I am getting a bit sick of flying though, i know, poor me.

Also, I now have both an engagement ring and a wedding ring on my finger! They are BEAUTIFUL. Very shiny and perfect. I'm really happy with the quality and of course the diamond. We ordered them on Sat and picked them up on Thursday so I thought that was pretty good. The safest place for the wedding band is on my finger so now i'm getting used to 2 rings and now just one, very cool.

Bangkok photos

2007-01-15T18:06:00.000+11:00

I love the taxi's here that are called tuk-tuks. The night photo of the street with a lot of lights is Khao San Road, the main backpacker street with awesome cheap food, clothes, books, bars, travel shops etc. We took a boat tour one day to get to the mall and it's a nice way to see new things too.

The one of Gavin with all the bright lights behind him is at the Siam Paragon mall, it's one year old and really modern and huge. Lots of fun! We bought my engagement ring there this week. It's beautiful - white gold with a solitaire princess cut for all the ladies who are asking ;)We did quite a bit of research, looked in dozens of shops here in Bangkok and decided we would get a good value and quality ring here. They are making my ring now and I can pick it up on Thurs. While the diamond is from Africa (as most are) it's from a company that assures it's clients they are 'conflict free' on the certificate and through where they buy their diamonds. This was a hard decision, as we could have bought a Canadian diamond as well have been 100% sure it was conflict free. But for the price, the memory of out trip and getting a ring personally made we are happy we bought it in Thailand, as well as feel fairly confident no blood was shed for the diamond.

Sweet, sweet Bangkok

2007-01-10T23:49:00.000+11:00

We made it! I think we are in a state of shock here in Bangkok. It's clean, people are wearing shorts and tank tops, there are real lights everywhere and NO power outages. I usually carried my head light with me in Nepal and India.

The last few days have had their ups and downs though. First Gavin was sick, then I was sick. In fact I spent most of the flight here in the toilet nearly throwing up, only to get off the plane and within 20 feet have a good go at it. Good thing I had that plastic bag with me. Hopefully that is the last of our random tummy aches etc now that we have left India, you can pick up anything there and never know how you got it. Yuck. We did enjoy some last minute shopping in Mumbai and I feel like I am a lady again with Lee jeans for $25 and lipstick.

The taxi ride from the airport to Khao San Road (the main backpacker street) was awesome - no honking, we drove 100km on the highway (the average speed in Mumbai is 12km/hr i read. It took us 2hrs to drive 30km to the airport yesterday), everyone stayed in their lanes AND we had no worries about being taken to where we needed to go!

I must add here that I did not dislike all of India and I am definitely glad I went. I loved Goa and had such a great time in Benaulim and met some lovely locals. Overall it was just a hard country and I didn't like it. The things some people find charming I found annoying and hard day after day. We might have had a better time if we did the South first and then the North, but still I wouldn't have liked it much.

As for Nepal, well I would say it's one of my favourite countries. I loved it, it was amazing, inspiring, beautiful, life changing and the kind of place that I just have to go back to one day or my heart won't be content. I miss the mountains but can cope since in the spring I will be moving back to an equally beautiful but different version in Banff.

We have over a week in Bangkok. We are in a nice room with a tv and our bathroom and it's right on Khaosan Road, Khaosan Palace I think it's called. Most of you by now would have heard about the bombings in Bangkok on New Years Day. Strangely I was worried about that happening while we were in Goa and it happened here. Since Khaosan is a busy area with tourists everywhere the street has been blocked off to cars and to get on the street you have to pass through a bag check. The check wasn't there in the morning mind you when i brought my big pack here, but still it's reassuring.

I will probably stuff my bag more with things here, so much shopping to do and so little room (and okay, money...). But in the meantime we will enjoy taking it all in, listening to Western music again, and generally being back in the Western World as I guess you would call Thailand.

It's so clean and this is probably the biggest and best thing for Gavin and I after India and parts of Nepal. This bring a smile to my face, nearly as big as the one I had when I finally crawled into bed at noon today after 2 nights of travelling to get here from Goa. Wow was I shattered. I slept for 5 hours this afternoon and I'm sure will have a great sleep tonight. I'll get some photos of Bangkok and post those this week for you guys.

Random India PHOTOS

2007-01-06T16:54:00.000+11:00

PHOTOS of Benaulim, Goa. Finally!

2007-01-06T15:53:00.000+11:00

Hello! I finally can download some photos. These are all in Goa. We've got sunsets, me on a bike ride, the lobster Gavin had for Christmas dinner, us at a beach restaurant one night, one of part of our current room (the white thing on the ceiling is a mosquito net) and also the outside area we eat breakfast (with the Swiss flags). The big orange house is an extravagent Goan house, I like the bright colours. The photo of me with 2 other girls was taken on Christmas night. That's Lily and Jesse, friends of my cousins in Vancouver who happened to be here at the same time and we hung out with. Small world!

The price of things in India

2007-01-05T19:18:00.000+11:00

A few people have asked me how much things cost here. We are sticking to about $20 US a day per person. We always pay in Rupees but I will just do the conversion to dollars.

- Rooms range from $2 a night to our current room at $14 a night. This depends on the city (Mumbai was ridiculously expensive), the time of season you are travelling and of course the room. The $2 room in Varanasi was decent, our $14 room here in Goa is amazing. Then of course Gavin and I split that cost so it helps travelling with someone.

- A 20 minute taxi ride is about $2 in a local rickshaw

- Most of our overnight trains have been SUPER CHEAP, $12 for 2 tickets to travel 765 kms over about 12 hours. It's insane. Buses tend to be more if you have A/C or lean back seats.

- Food is pretty cheap, especially local dishes. We tend to spend the most on dinners. Last night we had an Indian dish with rice, naan bread, salad and calamari plus 1 beer, 1 juice, 1 pop and 1 water between us and it was $8 including a tip (about 10%). We can get local meals for $1. Our breakfast at the hotel now is $1 for all you can eat fresh bread, papaya, pineapple, cornflakes, tea/coffee and eggs. We LOVE it. Today I mentioned I was excited to have hash browns again and she said "I'm Swiss, I will cook you some before you go!"

- Bottle of Coke up to 50 cents
- 1 Liter of Water 30 cents, 5L $1
- 1 kilo of fruit approx $1
- Lobster fresh from the sea $20
- Regular dinner dish $2
- Beer is $1
- Wine is more and Indian wine which is okay but only worth the $1.50 at home!
- A strawberry smoothie at an actual cafe in the next town is $1 and darn good too

- Internet $1 an hour usually

- The movies were about $3 in a good cinema and we have seen 2 Western films

- Postcard with a stamp 30 cents

- Phone calls are wickedly cheap and most through and internet line. 10 cents a minute here in Goa is the cheapest we have found them. I've made a lot of calls here over the holidays and guess I haven't spent more than $10 in total.

And that's all I can think of! Now that we are leaving Goa soon I am taking more photos, which is quite funny as all the local men want to be in them. It's so peaceful and relaxed here, I will miss my favourite Indian city. The other night we found an authentic Italian place for dinner and had the most delicious pizza.

We arrive in Bangkok on Jan 10th so I will write more from there. Oh and speaking of Bangkok... here's hoping there are no more bombs! I can't believe all of these things that are following us around. Here is my list 1) Before we flew to Bangkok the PM was ousted in a coup 2) When we went to Nepal they were still having problems with the Maoists and then the peace deal was signed when we were there 3) Before coming to Goa the Israeli government put out the warning of a possible terrorist attack here over the Christmas holidays and now... 4) 1 week before we go to Bangkok there are bombings (ironic it happened there since we thought it might happen at a bigger Goan beach). So I can only hope we will be safe and stay out of trouble.

AUSTRALIA HERE WE COME

2006-12-31T21:13:00.000+11:00

Right after I last wrote Gavin and i decided that we were more than ready to get to Australia in January, instead of the planned April. Since then we have spent way too much time on the phone with British Airways in India and the US and finally made it happen today. So now we are flying from Bangkok to Melbourne on Jan 19th and arrive Jan 20th! I am very excited!

We are leaving Goa on Jan 8th for Mumbai and got the last 2 train tickets for about one week, luck is finally turning our way. By tomorrow we will have our flight from Mumbai to Bangkok and aim to spend about one week there. Our list of things to do in Bangkok contains: eat a hamburger in a Western restaurant, go to the movies and an A/C mall, eat street food and shop on Khao San Road, hit the market, do a day trip, possible cooking class, eat more Thai food. You get the idea, we are missing the Western way of life! You might all think I am funny but until you have been away from modern conveniences for 3 months you just can't understand how much you miss them.

The annoying thing is that we had to pay to upgrade our seats, and I'm sure we will still be in the same class. But we decided that since they had no seats in our class until March 11th it was worth it. We are still loving Goa and still in the same spot but just don't have a lot of desire to explore more of India. We have also changed our return ticket from Brisbane to London and get to London on March 20th. From there (depending on money and how we feel) we would like to spend about one month in Eastern Europe as we've both always wanted to go there. I am hoping to spend 2-3 weeks in Toronto/Burlington in April or May at the end of our trip, before heading to Banff for the summer and long term. Gavin will come to Ontario for about one week too.

It's New Years Eve here now. Nothing major going on with us, just dinner and drinks on the beach and we will celebrate the dramas of our flight change being over (I'm pretty sure we have talked to BA 10x in the last 3 days but i'll leave it at that) and all of the wonderful things 2007 holds.

Happy New Years to everyone.

Not much going on

2006-12-27T19:56:00.000+11:00

Christmas in the tropics has come and gone. I say tropics because it is generally about 90 degrees F here everyday. It's never rained and there is pretty much no A/C. but we do have a fan in our room and it cools down at night and first thing in the morning.

Most of the celebrating here is done on Christmas Eve. During the day we rented bicycles and rode around the area for a few hours. On the way back to Benaulim we took the beach route, it was great fun but harder than it looks to find sand hard enough to not sink in!

That night we had booked a table at Palm Resort Restaurant which has a lovely courtyard and there were even a few fireworks. Gavin and I had lobster and tiger prawns (the length of my hand) as a treat and they were delicious. Even with treating ourselves for the night it was still a good deal at about $40Cdn between us including drinks and all of the rest of it.

Walking to the restaurant was lovely, all of the villagers had put Christmas lights up and only lit them up that evening. They are very last minute here compared to North Americans at christmas time, but it made it more special. We also realized they probably only lit them for the one night because they don't have enough power otherwise! There was a lot of flickering power during the evening.

Since then I am sorry to say I have had a bit of a stomachache and upset stomach. Nothing compared to my time in Nepal but enough to make me do a whole lot of nothing and eat pretty plainly. We did have a fun Christmas night though. We made some friends down here so there ended up being 8 of us who had dinner by the beach. Mostly Canadians! Two of the girls are sisters from Vancouver (Hi Jesse & lily!) that I met a few years ago visiting my cousins. They happened to be here at the same time so we managed to meet up, now I must say it's such a small world that they are even on the same beach as us. So it's been fun to hang out with some other travellers.

Gavin and I are now feeling sufficiently relaxed and nearly really to start deciding where we might go to next. Our thoughts are either Kerala which is south, back to Mumbai and then to Bangkok and OZ or??? So I'm surfing the web a bit today to look up transport info and the Indian websites. Apparently the south is this nice everywhere so we might be tempted to explore more of it. Or our frustrations might come out again and we'll fly out of here!

Comments:
Someone told me recently they had a hard time leaving a comment on my blog. Since no one has ever left a comment on my blog (which i did think was a little unusual) I decided to check into. When I set my blog up i clicked something I probably didn't need to click! So the comments people had tried to leave were still saved, I just needed to tick off that it was okay to publish them. So I have done that now, I did that originally because I didn't want people trying to sell things etc to put comments on there. All should be well now and if I have to change it back then I know how to check for comments and publish them on there.

Merry Christmas everyone

2006-12-23T20:20:00.000+11:00

We are gearing up for Christmas here in Benaulim. At night on the beach there are kids in red and white singing Christmas carols. They do a fast little melody and their leader is of course a very short and thin Santa Claus with a red suit and scary looking mask (I have no idea where he would have picked up around here). Locals are making what seems to be nativity scenes out of sand and spray painting them white. But they aren't quite finished yet so it's hard to envision where their artistic talent is taking them.

Gavin and I aren't getting each other gifts this year, but will be enjoying some yummy seafood instead. Last night we had an awesome dinner at the Palm Resort so we have made reservations there on the 24th Dec, when all the places seem to be planning parties. For dinner I had pomfret, properly grilled with garlic lemon butter and it was devine. We tried a Goan dessert that is coconut based - very good. So for Christmas I guess we will find a place on the beach. On Christmas Eve everyone seems to be promising fireworks and music too!

Today we moved into our new place 'Heaven Goa', the room is gorgeous. There are clean white tiles, a large double bed (they usually push 2 singles together in Nepal and India) with a wooden headboards and closet space. I have 5 hangers!!! This is big news. There is even FREE TOILET PAPER, trust me this is even bigger news. They wash themselves with water here so things you don't leave home without consist of passport, flashlight (for frequent power outages), toilet paper etc...

Gavin is currently lounging in one of the wicker chairs that is on the balcony overlooking the rice paddies. He got a bad sunburn the other day and is avoiding the sun. He looks a bit like a red tomato one might say. We bought suntan lotion in Mumbai and let's just say that "Indian herbal" and "sunscreen" should never be put on the same bottle! We have ditched the stuff and will buy Nivea or something that works.

I'm looking forward to talking to my family on either Christmas Eve or Day. There could be a big line for the phone but i hope the Canadian time change is on my side, as most people here are European. We will be here until at least Jan 5th and maybe one week after that. I think we are leaning on maybe one week somewhere else in Goa, get a night train (NO BUS) up to Mumbai and then hightail out of here! We will have to book a flight to Bangkok and change our flights to Australia first, I think we'll get there late Jan/early Feb and I'm really excited to be in a 1st world country and see some very close girlfriends. In the meantime I will sign off and relax and enjoy the life of riley here in Goa.

Happy Holidays everyone.

Our rooms are sorted - it's time to relax!

2006-12-19T22:27:00.000+11:00

Agh relief! After 2 days of looking around Benaulim we have found accommodation for Dec 23rd and onwards. Where we are staying now is lovely but he's booked up over Christmas. The town next to us is Colva and it's horrible, we don't want to stay there. Today we went and checked out The Taj Exotica for kicks, it's a 5 star resort but we couldn't get a proper look until we went inside of it to check prices. Woah! It's 56 acres and beautiful, but at $650 US a night there is no way we can afford even one night as a treat.

We found a few okay places and wandered down a little road and then found a beautiful guesthouse, and amazingly they had a cancellation and therefore a room for when we want it. It's 10mins from the beach and the room is beautiful. The price is pretty good and the couple who run it are lovely. Gavin and I are really happy with it and finally now we can relax. Theyhave a website which is www.heavengoa.co.in if you want to look. They don't have a restaurant yet but do have a lovely area for sitting down and serve breakfast which is fine for us. We will eat seafood and yummy beach shack food the rest of the time. So from Dec 23rd to about Jan 5th that is where we will be. There is a photo of the beach in goa on there and that is really what it looks like.

It's so nice to be enjoying ourselves finally in India. A few people have asked about our plans after Goa. We haven't totally ruled out going further South to Kerala. But to be honest most of India has been a lot of work and frustration and anger for not much in return, so I'm not sure we want to put any hard work in after a month here. this town is lovely, the people are really friendly and we are getting to know a few locals with hello's etc which we didn't do at all anywhere else, it just barely seemed possible (except a bit in Udaipur).

This morning we went for a jog along the beach, it was so blissful. Gavin seems intent on joining me everyday which is awesome. The views are beautiful so 35 mins passed quickly even though i haven't run in forever.

We heard that Christmas Eve is tradionally a time when people celebrate a lot here so I think we are going to book in at a nice restaurant on the beach for lobster! We were shown a huge one for 900 Rupees ($20) which is a great deal by normal standards but not something we would splash out on everyday. I've had kingfish, tuna and calamari so far. We've only gone swimming for a bit yesterday but now that our accommodation is sorted we can start RELAXING!

Chilling out in Goa

2006-12-18T23:30:00.000+11:00

Internet seems to be a hot commodity here in Goa and dinner is calling so this will be kind of short. I also want to download some photos as the beach is gorgeous!

We are staying in Benaulim, South Goa. It's a lovely place that has enough restaurants and little shops to keep us occupied but it nearly litter free, has a beautiful long gorgeous beach and friendly people. Gavin and I had more dramas leaving Mumbai but I am sure you are all sick of me bitching about India... so I will skip to the 14hr bus ride and say it was the worst ever as I threw up at least 5x during the night, barely got any sleep and was wishing for a gorgeous bed that didn't move. After the bus we took a rickshaw to Benaulim, as we'd decided from the guidebook it looked relaxed, slow but not too slow and the beach sounded great.

It's the busy season here but we managed to score a beautiful little hotel for only 250 Rupees a night ($6) a total bargain here, and the owner is lovely. It's called Antonette's Guesthouse. The downside is we can only stay until Dec 23rd because then he is booked. We went to the next town over today which is Colva, we had grand dreams of finding a resort and treating ourselves for a week but the place was horrible. So we will look around Benaulim tomorrow.

The beach - it's heaven. It's very clean, the sand and water are great and last night we had fresh seafood at a restaurant on the beach. I haven't smiled this much in ages.

More to follow and pictures when I can get the computer to read them. There are only 2 Internet places in town but lots of people. But it's more of an older crowd or couples, haven't seen too many party hippy types which was our plan!

Going to Goa....

2006-12-16T19:29:00.000+11:00

We are in Mumbai, or Bombay as it was once called. It is smoking hot here, about 33 degrees C, and I haven't been somewhere this hot in a few years. We arrived after another eventful bus journey. I usually try to avoid the bus and take trains but the train was going to be much longer. So we got a bus with semi reclining seats and it wasn't too bad. Halfway through the night I awoke to a loud noise, just another day in India with a spare tire in the middle of nowhere! Luckily the driver was adapt at changing it, so Gavin went out to offer my headlamp and 45mins later off we went again. (By the way my headlamp is a real novelty here in India and sparks excited gasps whenever I pull it out.)

Our bus arrived at 11am, a mere 4 hours late. It took about 3 hours to get through Mumbai traffic, this city is massive! And along the way we saw more slums then I've seen in one place before. There are a lot of homeless people here. We found a half decent hotel for 500 Rupees ($12) which is an absolute fortune for what we got but that's this city I hear.

The city is quite pretty architecture wise. A lot of old English style buildings in Colaba where we are situated. I'm impressed. Since we are in a big city we of course had to go see a movie, and THE GUARDIAN won out. Nothing like an English movie, A/C theatre and popcorn to put a smile on our faces. We walked to our hotel after and enjoyed the buildings in the moonlight.

We have decided to go to Goa. Thanks to all who have emailed me back after my panicky email. I have checked the US and Canadian travel advisories and there are none for Goa. The Israeli government has the warning to its citizens and the Indian government apparently has no intelligence on it. Gavin was looking online and they have made statements like this before too. I think of course it's likely it might happen BUT Goa has a lot of beaches and only a few that are the large party types the Israelis say are likely to be targeted. Anjuna for example. We would want to stay away from there anyways but now we definitely will until after New Years when a lot of people clear out. So we'll stay in a quiet area and out of large crowds and if we feel it's unsafe we will leave. We are going on the overnight bus tonight and will arrive in Goa tomorrow on Dec 17th. Once we get there I will write where we are staying and stay in touch frequently. Goa is a pretty small state but it's not just one city (as it sounds like) so we can definitely avoid the areas the Israeli's are suggesting to avoid. We won't be out clubbing at 2am with thousands of people and I feel good about us going. If anything changes I'll update you guys.

I must say I am excited for the beach. I think it will be the only time in India that Gavin and I truly relax (terrorist threats withstanding of course). The photos of the beaches look gorgeous and we plan to laze the days away swimming, reading, eating seafood and going for runs. We bought some new suntan lotion today and opted for SPF40 as our legs are pasty white. The Christmas spirit has arrived to Mumbai with snowflake stickers in shop windows and gingerbread cookies in the bakeries, so I'm sure it will be the same in Goa.

From Udaipur to Mumbai

2006-12-14T17:04:00.000+11:00

We've had a nice time in Udaipur. Gavin is still sick so we've been taking it easy, but it's a relaxing kind of place. We took a sunset boat cruise and saw the old palace and buildings changing colours as the sun disappeared, as well as a tour in the City Palace.

Tonight we are taking a 16hour bus ride to Mumbai or Bombay (the old name for the city and will spend a few days there. All of the trains are full from there to Goa so I think we will have to bus it again. Although I have just noticed on MSN India that there is the possibility of a terrorist attack in Goa over Christmas and New Years, directed at the thousands of Israeli's that will be there. We will have to check that out and hope it will be safe to be there. It's the happening spot in India over the holidays as it's on the beach. If anyone reads or hears anything about this please let me know, it could be something similar to the Bali attack a few years ago and I would hate to be near there if that is the case.

The Jewel of Rajasthan - Udaipur

2006-12-11T16:55:00.001+11:00

We have arrived in the most beautiful city I've seen in months, Udaipur. It's such a delight, like a little Indian Venice! It is so refreshing to be in India and have something not just meet, but exceed my expectations. We are on Lake Pichhola and all of the buildings are old and charming. Our hotel is so cute, with a lovely rooftop restaurants with views of the lake (looks like a river by Ontario standards) and the City Palace. The people seem more relaxed and the streets are calmer, I actually feel like I am on vacation. This photo I took from the rooftop this morning just to give you an idea.

It's funny but whenever we arrive in a place we quickly have to decide how long we are going to stay and then book our ticket on the train within a day or two. Luckily the Indian Rail system has a website so I always look up the times and train numbers because we have to fill in a reservation sheet when we go to the station to book it. Looks like a tourist bus (ie no locals in aisles and actual legroom) can get us to Mumbai-Bombay in 12 hours instead of about 24hours and 2 trains. We are also going to have to book our train to Goa from there asap as it's going to be swamped with everyone heading to the beach for Christmas.

I am feeling better today and less homesick, being somewhere really nice and enjoying India helps. Let's hope it lasts!

A bit homesick in Jaipur

2006-12-10T19:42:00.000+11:00

After two weeks in India it's easy to see why so many people have mixed feelings about it here. While we've met people who love it we've also met people who want to leave and just don't like it. Today we met a guy from Western Canada who loves it, he wakes up everyday with a smile on his face and thinking "I'm still in India." Gavin and I wake up with more of a grimace when we think the same thing.

I think it's safe to say that while we may move south and love parts of it, the country as a whole is just not for us. And I'm okay with that, I was expecting that and I feel alright telling people that. Of course I am a little disappointed, and also feel a little stuck. Part of me wants to fly to Australia tomorrow for a month, fly back to Toronto and then to Banff. But we don't have jobs and we don't have a place to live. Going back in May was going to work so well for us - a place to live for the summer and perfect timing to pick up 'summer jobs.' But not everything always works out timing wise and plans change. We knew they likely would when we booked our flights. If/when we go home a few months earlier that stuff will sort itself out and we will probably be happier for it though. Also, we aren't quite ready to give up on India.

We have spent the last few days in Jaipur, the state of Rajasthan. It's nice here. We did a bit of walking around and saw the Pink City, an area that was painted pink a few hundred years ago when a Prince from England came to visit. A lot of the buildings still hold a redish/pink colour. The architecture is cool. We went to the City Palace and relaxed away from the street traffic. I thought I might be brave and look at diamond rings. We went into 2 of the fanciest stores we could find and they literally did not even have one that was remotely of my taste. I have normal taste in North America but it's not very Indian. I thought that might be likely but stil wanted to try. So I don't think we will be buying an engagement ring here but maybe it's for the best.

At the train station we booked our ticket for today to Udaipur. We met a lovely local couple in line. The woman asked how i found it here in terms of being a woman, I told her I hated the staring and was waiting for a boy to fall off his bike as he'd turned his head to check me out. They cracked up laughing and said yes it was a lot more open here and with less privacy. I don't mean to sound big headed, it's just I'm a Western woman and so they look and it happens to all of the girls. One told me she was looking to buy a water gun and shoot it at them!

I've heard rave reviews about Udaipur. It looks beautiful and that's where a James Bond move Octopussy was filmed. From there we are going to hightail it to Goa, via Mumbai. We will likely fly from Mumbai to Bankok in a month or two so we'll spend longer there later. I think it will be a long journey, at least 20 hours to Mumbai and then a few days there and then over 12 hours to Goa. THE BEACH. A lot of our train rides are 12 hours and the train is pretty good.

I think it's mostly that Gavin and I feel homesick. Christmas is approaching and I miss my family, friends and Canada. In the north of India (where we are) people wouldn't celebrate Christmas and I miss hearing carols and getting excited for it. I think it will be different in Goa as there are Christians and tons of locals who go there for Christmas holidays. After so many years of travelling we both feel so ready to be at home that I think it's affecting our trip. It's easy to think that I'll have all of that stuff soon enough and not to rush it, but it's harder to feel that way. Nepal was the main destination for us so now we are ready to get to Australia. Our culture shock of India has subsided at least.

Gavin still has his cold. We don't have to check out of our room until 4pm so he's having a nap. Our train is at 10:30pm tonight so we will have quite a few hours to kill. Bye for now.

PHOTOS of the Taj Mahal

2006-12-06T17:19:00.000+11:00

The Taj mahal is in Agra, India, about 3 hours by train from Delhi. It was beautiful to see it in person. As you can see from the photos there were a lot of people there, but then we expected that. It was also 750 Rupees/ $17US to get in for foreigners and only 20 Rupees for Indians - I guess we make that much more?! The Taj was made by a man (King, I think) who lost his 'favourite' wife and wanted a monument to her. They are now both buried there. These photos are at different times of the day, so you can see it a little bit with the colour changing as the sun is setting.

A rant from Delhi about India

2006-12-04T18:07:00.000+11:00

We went to the Taj Mahal and it was beautiful. We went in the afternoon to watch the sun setting on it. The colour of the building then changes from white to cream to a light yellow. I'll post a photo later. It's stunning, but also packed with people.

This is day 8 in India and things are getting both better and worse. Every day in India is a battle between us and; the train ticketing collector, the fruit seller on the corner who wants to charge us double to proper rate, the men who stare at me, the rickshaw (a pushbike with an attached double seater for passengers behind them) drivers who slow to our speed for 10 minutes on the road in an attempt to get our business, and the loud horns and busy traffic everywhere. Men constantly chew a red substance, talk to you with spit saved up in their mouth and then unleash it quite close to our feet. In the morning there is a cacophony of men coughing so much you think they might throw up but instead they hack up phlegm. I think it's from the pollution, but it's enough to make me gag slightly.

The homeless situation and shanty towns on the side of the railways are out of control. I have seen more garbage lined up at the side of the road here than any amount of garbage I have seen in my whole life in total. Because cows are sacred to Hindus, the majority religion here, all are free to roam the streets. Yes, the streets. They aren't sitting happily chewing grass in a big field somewhere living the dream of all vegetarians, but instead being 'homeless cows' eating through garbage piles (the garbage is not in bags, it's just loose), walking in the street and stopping traffic and occasionally head butting tourists (Gavin was a victim in Varanasi) and locals alike. They also unleash urine 2 feet away from you that stays on the street and joins the rest of the dirt and garbage.

We are attempting to go into a relaxed and time is of no concern mode, because things always take longer than you think. Our train from Varanasi to Agra was meant to arrive at 6:30am, but pulled in at 11:50am with no obvious reason why.

The hardest thing is being somewhere we automatically don't trust many people in. You always want to be cautious when you travel, but when you trust in people they will help guide your way. Many of the tourist touts (the locals who work in the tourist industry which is where we are, who always want you to see their hotel or restaurant or rip you off, they follow you on the street and crowd around us when we get out of a bus/train/airport) are everywhere. Even the locals admit they are usually horrible people. At the moment my enjoyable moments in India consist of the Ganges River in Varanasi in the morning and visiting the Taj Mahal. That's discouraging when we thought we would spend two months here.

Although it is not all bad I swear. And I know that "This is India," and this is what Gavin and I were expecting. But living in it and expecting it are two different things. We have met a few nice locals who are ashamed of all of those other peope trying to cheat us and they take great pride in their country. On the train from Agra to Delhi (3 hours and a very popular route to see the Taj Mahal) we got cheated by someone who WORKS for the train company (long story). It just gets me down and the enjoyable moments become jaded too.

I was worried about coming to Delhi and it's a lot better than I thought it would be, we must have been prepared for it after our previous 3 cities or something. We met 4 backpackers on the train and together negotiated a taxi cab to the main hotel area. Gavin and I were surprised to see wide roads, sidewalks, and relatively clean streets. We are staying at Hotel Starview for 350 Rupees ($8Cdn, the most we have paid so far on our trip but Delhi is more expensive) and we have a clean room, TV with CNN (the real clincher) and a bathroom with a Western toilet. Today we are going to get our bearings in the city as well as find the rumoured PIZZA HUT. We have been trying a lot of Indian food and it's great usually.

I think we started out in one of the hardest parts of India so it's probably giong to get easier and more enjoyable. But we are definitely not alone in our thinking, which is both reassuring and sad. Everyone says the Southern part of India is a lot nicer and less hectic so we may head to Goa and Kerala faster than originally planned. I also don't know if we feel confident in attempting to buy my engagement ring here, its a bit of a drama just to get the right price for a kilogram of fruit. A lot of people do speak English here (usually the educated) so it's easier than travelling in China. It's not a horrible place, and I'm sure it will grown on me. But this is my 35th country and Gavin's 40 something and neither of us have felt this way about a place before.

Sorry for the rant, but sometimes it just needs to be done!

PHOTOS - VARANASI, INDIA

2006-11-30T17:02:00.000+11:00

I'm on a roll, so here are some photos of India so far. You can see all of the crazy street traffic but would have to be here to really believe it. There are some of the Ganges River and Gavin and I on the boat this morning as the sun was rising.

This morning we went for a 5:30am boat ride along the Ganges. It was free with our hotel, probably because we had a 12 year old rowing us along and didn't get very far! But, it was very interesting to see everyone getting going with their morning rituals such as bathing and laundry as the sun rose. The sunrise here is a bright red ball in the sky, along the River with other boats rowing merrily along. It's nice as it's a lot quieter than other times of the day.

Life in India? Well the communications are more advanced than Nepal (I had assumed) and the phones here are awesome and I've been calling home to have chats on a normal phone line that is only 15cents a minute, sweet! The weather here is warm but not hot. I bought a light scarf yesterday to keep over my chest and help prevent the perverted men here from staring at me. Although even totally covered and with loose clothing I am still a Western woman and a novelty and likely loose, apparently they get this idea from movies etc. Who knows, it's not too bad for me as I'm with Gavin all of the time.

Yesterday was bit more overwhelming. It took us about 5 hours to change money and buy train tickets. We made the walk to the main road and it was CRAZY. You would have thought there was a grand city evacuation or something, there were people and rickshaws and cars everywhere. I think I had my first "Oh my God we are in India and it's a little insane and can I cope for over 2 months?" moment. But after a few hours it passed and now I'm okay.

We are going out jewellry shopping today, they have awesome stuff everywhere. Tonight we are going to the movies to see a Hindi action movie which will be a laugh. Tomorrow (Dec 1st - wow) we will be on the night train to Agra and then seeing the Taj Mahal! So I will write again from there. Bye everyone.

PHOTOS - RHINO + CHITWAN NTL PARK, NEPAL

2006-11-30T16:48:00.000+11:00

Here are the last photos from Nepal. I love the elephants and enjoyed watching them have a bath, and getting close to the little (well not so little...) 3yr old one. The one of the grass is our jungle incident with the rhino. If you can see the rhino up ahead of the guy, we were on that path about 2 minutes before that. So we heard the grass, ran back and then out popped this 2tonne (guessing) rhino!! There is also a photo of me, our 2 guides and our only protection against the rhino as a bamboo stick.

http://www.worldwildlife.org/rhinos/photos.cfm
This website has a close up photo of a rhino if you are interested.

Varanasi - INDIA as I'd hoped.

2006-11-28T22:05:00.000+11:00

Wow, Day 2 in this country is going a lot better than Day 1! We figured it would, but that is always a relief. After killing time at the internet cafe we only had one hour to wait at the train station. When we first went in I was surprised to see the hundreds of people sleeping there waiting for trains, no Melanie they are the homeless.... Although quite a lot were waiting for trains too.

When our train came into the station I was very relieved we had booked seats in the sleeper class. The masses who crushed into each other in the cheap seats deserves a video Gavin and I figure. They were trying to crawl through the windows! We managed to get some sleep, we were on upper berths and I felt very safe. I was cold though and need to buy a blanket to go with my sleep sheet since we sent our sleeping bags home.

The train arrived in Varanasi just before 5am. We caught an autorickshaw 15minutes to the old town. They tried to get us to stay at their hotel of course, but we just wanted to see the sunrise over the Ganges. With some help we found our way through the old winding streets in the dark to the river of life (and death) and a place held so holy by so many people here. Within a short while the sun started to rise and the river came to life. It was amazing, really like I had hoped and thought it would be! The best time of day to rent a boat and float along to witness it all is in the morning apparently, we are waiting until we are rested but there were dozens of foreigners doing it. I don't know where all the tourists came from, we hadn't seen any until that point! The Indians wash their clothes and the body in the dirty river, men in their brief underwear and not a care in the world. It's pretty neat to see. The buildings are hundreds of years old and are crawling with monkeys, cows remained sleeping outside and you had to be careful where you walked due to their morning 'offerings' shall we say.

After a few hours we found a hotel, had a long nap, a shower to wash 2 days of travelling dirt off of me, and now find ourselves rested on a rooftop terrace with a lovely view beyond us. I think we will wait until tomorrow to resume exploring the sights though.

INDIA - Hour 9 and counting.....

2006-11-27T20:55:00.000+11:00

We have made it to India. And before I go any further I would just like to say that this is the fastest computer I have been on in months, it's a welcome relief. And for 23Rupees (70cents Canadian I think) an hour it's well worth it.

Yesterday we had a hell of a day leaving Chitwan and getting to the town on the Nepali side of the Nepal/india border. 1 jeep and 3 buses. When we got on the longest bus and started driving off within about 10 minutes it turned back around! I had spotted a big truck parked sideways up ahead and assumed there had been an accident. But no, in typical Nepali style there was a strike! A school child had been killed on the road and so the road was blocked until the driver admitted that he was at fault and would pay money to the family. I'd read about this bizarre way of doing things and hoped that it cleared soon, they were known to last for up to 24hours. We then went back to the scene and started lining up with people to cross, the strikers had lit tires and their polluted smoke could be seen from aways away. Within an hour we had past which was good.

Last night we ate our last momo's and dal bhats for a traditional Nepali meal, read our books and woke up at 5:30AM to cross the border. I know you are all thinking "That's early, aren't you supposed to be on holiday?" Well it's not always easy... and now we are wishing we slept in.

Upon hopping on a very overcrowded jeep we drove the 5km to the border. It's the most relaxed border crossing I've ever done. And so we arrived in INDIA, at 7am this morning with not a gun in sight, minimal signs of where to stamp out of Nepal and into India and garbage and dust everywhere. The place is dirty and loud and well we have just arrived so I shall try not to be too judgemental.

After waiting for one hour on an idling bus (polluted with one billion people, the planet has no hope!) we took off for the 2 1/2 hour bus ride to a city called Gorakhpur, a major transit zone. At one point the driver went off roading on a dusty hole filled road to pick up what appeared to be a passengers wife who couldn't have walked the 5 minutes? Seriously it took us on a 20minute dangerous detour since he then couldn't turn around.

Gavin and I are only slightly shell shocked, since Nepal is a lighter version of India. We went to the train station to book a ticket to Varanasi and the only one is at 10:45pm tonight, better than tomorrow I guess. The train station wasn't quite as bad as I'd imagined but the pollution, craziness of it all, the way the men are openly staring at me, the toilet in the train station, the hagglers on the street - well they are all living up to their reputation.

Our train is about 6 hours so we will arrive in Varanasi very early. We are riding Second Class sleeper which apparently a cheap way to travel but the backpacker way, we will have a cabin with about 6 people i think and bunks. I'm sure it will be a whole new blog, along with Varanasi!

It's nearly December and I hear it's between -17 and -28 between Calgary and Banff. Yikes! It's about 25 here I think, but I'm keeping modestly covered so we'll see how that goes. I figure we'll be here about 2 months, maybe hit Australia in February and Canada in March but it's all guesswork until the New Year I think.

I'll report again when I have seen something of interest.

Scary close calls in the Nepali Jungle

2006-11-25T20:02:00.000+11:00

Hi from Chitwan National Park,

We are in Southern Nepal, only 5 hours away from the Indian border. We have been having a very exciting time here. yes I think exciting would be the correct word to use.

The Park is a Jungle, about 930square km and you can only enter with 2 guides. We are staying just outside of the park in a nice lodge. It's hot here, it's a nice switch. So we had signed up to do numerous activities and went for a few walks. The first main thing we did was an elephant ride into the jungle, it's about 2 1/2 hours long. I LOVE the elephants, they are such gorgeous creatures. Most of them are from India, but they do have a breeding center where there are babies too. We saw that and they are beautiful.

On the elephant ride we went into the jungle and sat on top of him, with a guide or leader at the front directing the elephant. The trees were very lush and snarly. The elephant was pretty big so we were sitting quite high up. We managed to see a rhino, monkeys, and a lot of spotted deer. Out elephant was fearless and just kept cutting through bushes and trees and broke off some large branches for fun too. While this was cool because we got to see more it also meant I felt I was being attacked by the jungle, bushes and branches were flinging me in the arms and legs. Ouch my legs! A thorny branch wanted to take my North Face trekking pants with it and the pants lost and ripped holes below the knees, as well as leaving some cuts on my skin. All in all a fun adventure. Then we watched the elephants being bathed in the river, it was beautiful.

Our next adventure was slightly more in the 'terrifying, scared for my life' range of things. It started out innocently enough, on a canoe down the peaceful river. We were accompanied by the man rowing the boat, 2 other tourists and 2 guides from our hotel to lead us. After the canoe ride we had been given the option of a 3hour jungle walk or going to the elephant breeding center, we picked the breeding center. I had read that on the walk there is you and the guides and one big stick but if you came across some animals you had little protection. Well after the canoe ride we came up to a large grassy area and still had a short walk out of the jungle area. The guide (with said long bamboo stick and in green parks uniform) warned us we may see some animals but it was unlikely. There followed no safety talk etc. I started to get a bit nervous but figured I would have nothing to worry about.

i was wrong!!!!!

After about 5 minutes of walking along the open path (I will post photos when I hit a faster computer, we were on cut grass, about 5feet across, with the tall grass on either side of us) with the proper guide at the front, us tourists in the middle and our 2nd guide in a white top (he was the waiter at the restaurant but training to be a guide) behind us we heard a large noise in the grass to the left of us. It's not normal grass, its large jungle grass that is about 8 feet high, literally. We all stopped with our cameras ready, slightly oblivious to the danger that could possibly lie in the tall grass. Suddently the green shirted guide in front RAN, VERY QUICKLY. He just bolted off ahead. I was stunned for a second and wasn't sure if something was chasing him or he was leading something away from him so we all froze. Then the guide behind us walked up and realized that there was a RHINO in the grass, about 10 feet away judging from the grass noises. He turned and ran in the other direction the one we had come from, I am pretty sure he said rhino and run but now it's all a blur. At this point us 4 tourists turned and followed him, fear slowly catching up to me. We stopped after about 60 feet because we could tell nothing was behind us. So now 5 of us were in the open path, with the one guide far up ahead.

We waited. Within 1 minute a massive scary beautiful rhino walked onto the path where we had just been. He was pretty oblivious to us and started munching on the grass. We all just froze in disbelief. I should let you know at this point (not to alarm my family, although i was TERRIFIED, I REPEAT TERRIFIED) that rhinos can kill people and are very large animals. I knew little about them except they have a big horn and might not attack or hunt a human like a tiger but if they get close to you they will probably attack and seriously injure or kill you.

So... There we were with a rhino on the path where we needed to go. the guy who had dropped us off in the canoe was long gone. It was river or path with rhino, we had no choice. We waited and gavin took a photo without moving closer. We kept waiting, the rhino kept chewing on the grass and the 2 separated guides (the one with big stick was not with us, not like that would have saved us if the rhino charged) were mouthing instructions and swapping hand signals to each other. In a way it was like a comedy, a scene from Jurassic Park or a bad movie on how tourists get hurt in the jungle in a 3rd country with not nearly enough safety standards set up. but really I was petrified and everyone else was scared. We calmed when we knew it was not charging us, but it still COULD. Gavin looked at me and asked if i was okay, my white face and a no indicated I was not!

The Rhino started going into the grass, we eventually started going into the grass too. We were trying to avoid it and they can't see well so we hid a bit. It was pretty far away but it was so hard to tell which direction it was heading, except for the grass crunching noises as the large animal walked along. Then the guide started leading us in the direction we thought the rhino was!!! None of us knew what was going on, we thought the other guide maybe had signalled it had moved or something. Gavin put some space between us and the guides and let the other 2 tourists go first. We walked 20 meters and then stopped and ran back. We stopped in front of a tree and the guide went UP the tree. Before I realized he was checking to see the rhino i thought he was trying to get away from it and my fear was such that i knew why people wet their pants when terrified (I didn't!). He viewed the area and then we went back to the open path. Slowly we started heading towards guide #1 (the one who had bolted and told us NOTHING!!) as the rhino was out of sight.

It was nearly the scariest moment of my life. I was actually thinking at one point how I was not nearly ready to die and hoping I could outrun all the others except my lovely fiance. The rhino never charged us and so we were not actually in danger, but if he wanted to he could have. Another 10mins of walking brought us out of the area and i wanted a hard drink to calm my nerves. We watched the elephants at the breeding center instead. An hour later we had calmed down, watched the sunset and could kind of laugh about it. The 1st guide said he was attacked by a rhino once, he had let his guest up the tree but he didn't make it and was left in the hospital for a week and took 2 months to recover.

We were lucky. Today we are in the same place but taking it easy and will take a bus to start the first step of crossing into India tomorrow.

I'm hoping that's my worst travel story for this trip!

Peace deal in Nepal signed

2006-11-22T20:27:00.000+11:00

Last night there were a lot of cars out honking their horns and the streets were really busy, and today as we walked around we noticed it seemed like a mid-week holiday for some reason. Well it would seem after 10yrs after civil war the peace deal here has officially been signed. People have been having parades and hooting and hollering and there is a sign of hope in the air. I'm happy for Nepal, and hope this means some improvements in their country.

PHOTOS in Kathmandu

2006-11-21T21:10:00.000+11:00

A few more photos for everyone. We've got; me on out hotel balcony with a new long skirt for India, kids from our off the beaten track walk near Durbar Square, the Monkey Temple and a little monkey!

Leaving Kathmandu shortly

2006-11-20T22:48:00.000+11:00

Today we booked another trip! Very exciting news indeed. We are going to Royal Chitwan National Park and leave on Thurs, so in 2 days. It was so hard to find a tour, there are travel agents who book them everywhere here. But then they tell you prices ranging between $60 - $95 for what looks to be essentially the same thing. We didn't want to just go with the cheapest if it meant a lower quality. So we booked at an agent we had previously used, and are paying $65 US for 2 nights/3 days and that includes our bus down to Chitwan, elephant ride to see rhinos, a canoe trip and jungle walk, some bird watching, a cultural night and visit to the elephant breeding center! I am excited about it, Chitwan is one of the places a lot of people go to in Nepal and it looks really cool.

From there we will make our way into India, we expect to be there on Sunday or Monday. So within one week which is great. I have been looking at photos of Varanasi online and it looks amazing, i am losing my nervousness and getting ready to hit India.

Online I've also been searching out places to get diamond rings in India. Apparently it's a diamond mecca, so I'm hoping the shops are professional with certificates and all of that jazz. Sometimes shopping in these countries can give you a headache. We will probably look in Mumbai, that seems to be the place.

I will upload more photos on here after our wildlife adventure and when we get to Varanasi. Thanks for the updates from everyone, I love hearing from people as it makes me feel so connected and not very homesick. Yes, believe it or not the girl who goes travelling so often does get homesick!

Off the beaten track

2006-11-19T01:58:00.000+11:00

Looking at the news online I see that Vancouver is in a water crisis. It's funny how at home that would seem like big news, but here it's normal for people to not be able to drink the water. We add chlorine drops to our water and in Kathmandu at the hotel we are lucky that we have access to clean water to a tap (we still add drops). While hiking we often had to use the local water tap in the center of town, or people use big buckets and go to the clean river source and collect their clean water. If only everyone in the water had access to clean and drinkable water.

Last night we went to the largest ghat in Nepal and witnessed some funerals/cremations. By the time we left the Indian Embassy (hurray, we now have our visas!) and took a taxi to the area it was dusk. The benefit is there was at least 4 cremations occuring, but of course they haven't installed street lights yet so we couldn't see too much. The families burn the bodies on large stone pillars. The family members by this point have all shaved their heads, with the exception of a small tuft in the back. They also have to wear all white. Once the body is totally burned the ashes go into the river. The rivers are even dirtier than you might imagine, I saw a dead cow in the river today. The ghat area also had a lot of monkeys climbing all over the place.

Today we wandered down to DURBAR SQUARE, the old palace and main area of town. Some of the buildings are from the 1500's. It was very interesting. The buildings themselves often have intricate woodwork on them and are homes to some of the local God's. The area is not blocked off to locals so it's a real people watching area too. Homeless children playing games, guides trying to get your business and show you the area (but Mister I am cheap for you to hire me!), cows and pigeons hanging out on the street, Sadu's (Indian holy men) trying to get you to take their photo for a fee and ladies selling postcards.

From there we thought we would walk to MONKEY TEMPLE, a very holy temple for Hindu's. It is quite high on a hill and about 3km from where we were, we figured we could find it on our own. We started walking down by the river and soon realized that this was the 'real' Kathmandu. The city of distended bellies, of ladies washing their hair on the street. Of children so eager to see you and happy to give you a wave and not just ask for money. A city by the river full of garbage and dead cows and of other dead people who might not have had enough money for a real cremation. There were dogs fighting, houses full of squalor and a mother washing the bottom of her small child with a plastic bag on the street. Today was special for some reason we could not discern and a lot of animals were slaughtered, so we also saw dead animals drying in the sun. While it was sad and slightly shockening it was also more of an eye opener as to why this is one of the poorest countries in the world. Sometimes you get so much more out of getting off the beaten path while travelling. If doing a trip like this doesn't make someone realize how lucky they are to live in a wonderful country like Canada, then i don't know what does.

After our walk by the river we made it to the Monkey Temple. There was 365 stairs to climb to the top and a great view of the city once we got there. The Temple was packed with people and MONKEYS! Monkeys everywhere, including a few cute baby monkeys.

It looks like we might aim to leave here on Tuesday and get the bus to Chitwan National Park to see more of Nepal. When we have our tickets I will let you know.

We have been reading the local paper nearly daily, as well as talking to quite a few of the locals about what is going on here at the moment. There seem to be so many mixed reviews about the MAOISTS and the government in general. Most people no longer want a King to be governing them. The govt seems to do a lot of bad and underhanded things, which is what caused the Maoists to come into effect. At the same time while hiking we talked to a lot of locals in the hillsides, many had to move from other areas because they would not pay the local Maoist bully a 'tax' and therefore their business was closed down. Quite a few schools in Nepal are run privately or by organizations like the Sir Edmund Hillary fund. Well for whatever reason the Maoists don't like this. They try and charge the teachers and tax them and when they don't pay they close down the school. We met this lovely man in Phortse, and his brother was killed by the Maoists because he was fighting against their beliefs. But in Kathmandu the locals don't always see this. They know it happens but they think it only happens to people who may possibly deserve it, for example greedy landowners. In the meantime the Maoists are trying to set up a local Union so people are more evenly paid, then you see them driving down the street in a massive truck and some have guns. Or you read about how 15 young people have been 'recruited' from their school in the countryside to fight for the maoists. But these boys were not recruited, they were kidnapped! Reading the paper can be confusing because they word things differently, due to their translation of the English language I suppose.

We are currently in a country undergoing massive change. It is a beautiful country with people who are wanting to better themselves and change the way they are governed. They go out on a limb and protest against wrongdoings and at the Universites and the bookstores there is evidence of people who care and want change and are willing to speak out against the government. But at the moment it seems their best hope is an organization the US government terms as 'terrorist' and franly from what i have seen and heard that is correct. These guys are soon going to be sharing power with the government, so I have to wonder: is Nepal heading for a revolution? Or a dangerous path where the Maoists who hold weapons, a rather large army and scary views that resemble previous regimes like Mao in China and Pol Pot in Cambodia wins out? It's a time for change, and Gavin and I are curious to see what will happen.

That's my rant for today.

Not much new

2006-11-17T20:38:00.000+11:00

This morning I was walking down the street and saw a homeless boy. He was sleeping on the sidewalk, his little arms tucked into his t-shirt for warmth. The saddest part was all of the flies swarming his face and and people walking by him, and yet he slept through it all. I was not surprised, there are quite a few homeless people here in Kathmandu. Although it will be nothing compared to India. On the other hand there are so many differences in 3rd world countries compared to our own, just with the work ethic you sometimes see. I am sure there are dozens of books written on the subject of pulling a country out of poverty. I am currently reading Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, which is a real testament to India so I'm gearing up for it.

We now have a plan: be tourists here all weekend and leave for Royal Chitwan National Park early next week. While there we can ride elephants, see rhinos and some cultural shows on Nepal. From there we will go to Varanasi, INDIA. I am definitely getting more excited and ready to go there. I feel ready to keep travelling and both Gavin and I are feeling good health wise now. Tonight we are going to see the temple and area called a ghat, where they burn/cremate the dead bodies by the river. I have never seen anything like that before.

Clarifying some things RE trekking

2006-11-15T17:46:00.000+11:00

Hi,

I just thought I would clear a few things up about our travels. We originally thought we would go trekking for at least 2 months in Nepal. We have spent about one month trekking so far. A few things have changed our mind about not doing the 2nd trek we intended to do which was Annapurna Circuit, this is in the West of Nepal.

1) While the Nepal Government and the Maoists have reached a peace agreement and this is ground breaking stuff here in Nepal, the Maoists are still in the countryside. While we had to pay them a fee to trek, and didn't really have a choice as one of the young girls had a gun on her, it is really the moral issue behind it. We paid the first time so we could continue our trek but if we hiked Annapurna we would have to pay again, and we do not want to support these guys. They collect 'taxes' from the locals and have for years in areas. The taxes only go to support them and their weapons, they are an outlaw terrorist group basically and 13,000 people have died in Nepal in the last 10yrs because of it.

2) A new law has been brought into effect here, it's called the Trekking Regulation Certificate (TRC). We started our trek before it was brought in and were able to trek on our own. But now they have checkpoints along the routes which means you have to pay a porter or a guide to trek with you. while paying an additional $10 a day is doable for us we don't really want to hike this way. The govt has said they are doing this for safety in part too. It's a long story.

3) After nearly 3 weeks of a cough, cold, sore ribs from coughing and a bout with severe bacterial diarrhoea I am feeling near to 100%. So many people get sick up north as it's cold etc, so i don't want to get sick again as we are going to India next.

Anyways those are some thoughts even though I would love to trek more and will come back here again one day.

Also as for the geography of our trek. We hiked from Jiri to Namche Bazaar,the mountain town. From there it's basically the shape of an upside down A. You can either to West/left and go to Gokyo. At Gokyo when you go up the Peak you get amazing and clear views of Everest and the whole valley. Gavin did this but I got altitude sickness and with the cold etc didn't feel strong enough. i only got about 30mins up and felt horrible, so gavin walked me back down and then he went up on his own. I'm upset I missed it but made the right decision. Also from Namche you can to East or to the right, this leads you up to Everest Base Camp or another mountain called Kala Patar. You can get a closer view of Everest from here but not necessarily better. Most people say Gokyo is better so we went up there first. As for the upside down A. Well there is a pass called the Cho La which connects those 2 high points, but it's dangerous with snow and is a very long and hard day. So some people cross that and others go back down to Namche and up the other side. We planned to do both then due to me being sick and also one month of trekking we were getting tired! We came back down.

Photos of the trek!

2006-11-15T17:01:00.000+11:00

Here are a few photos - Gavin and I after he proposed, Mt Everest from Gokyo Peak, Gavin with the mountains and Everest behind him and the lush valleys from the beginning of the trek.

Chilling out in Kathmandu

2006-11-15T16:47:00.000+11:00

I feel like I am on vacation at the moment. Which I know is funny since I haven't worked since end of September. But hiking through the mountains or arranging travel is not always relaxing. So now we are taking our time and reading, checking out the shops (there is tons to buy here so I'm mostly resisting), eating a nice dinner every night and doing some errands.

Yesterday we even had sushi for lunch! We were so excited to find a sushi restaurant and it was really good too. it's also a luxury to buy fruit on the corner and have that for breakfast. Our room at the guesthouse is good as it's on the top floor and there is a little garden terrace there.

Along with doing laundry we also had to go to the Indian Embassy. Oh boy. It's pretty close to Thamel, which is the backpacker's area we are staying at in Kathmandu. There were about 30 people there also applying for visas. It's a long string of events. You have to find a 'telex' form (they aren't just sitting out waiting to be filled in of course) and fill that out. Then you get in this long line and after an hour get to the front. The man takes the form and they have to fax it to the Indian Embassy in Canada to make sure it's okay you go into India. So we have to go back in 3 days, get the clearance, then hand in our actual visa application form. then go back AGAIN (3rd time) to pick up the visa. This is given me an indication about the length of time it is going to take to do things in India, and it's going to drive me nuts!

Either way we are going, and I know that it's going to amaze me, incite me, frustrate me and at times make me fall in love with the place. So early next week we will go to Southern Nepal to Royal Chitwan National Park and see the elephants and rhinos etc. Then we will take a 5hr bus ride to the border, cross over into India and take a 10hr bus ride to Varanasi. Sounds simple enough but I will tell you now that it won't be. Varanasi is the holiest city in India, and they actually cremate people by the river by the dozen. I'm sure it will be fascinating. From there we will go to the Taj Mahal in Agra, possibly Delhi and then to Rajasthan (Jaipur etc), down to Bombay and Goa and Kerala which are all on the West Coast. for Christmas we would like to be somewhere where we can treat ourselves to a nice hotel for 2 nights. I can't believe Christmas is next month already. I doubt we will get a turkey dinner though.

Last night we went to a steak house here called K2. It was excellent, I had a hamburger. My first meal of meat in one month and I seem to be fine today.

We are going to go to Darbur Square and the monkey temple today and tomorrow to check out Kathmandu's sites. I also just finished downloading photos from our trek on the sacko website we have. I hope everyone enjoys them and can live some of the adventures we had!

Kathmandu the 2nd time around

2006-11-13T21:13:00.000+11:00

It's been nearly a month and we are back in Kathmandu. It sure looks different both 1) the second time you get here and 2) after 25 days in the mountains. We haven't seen a car for nearly a month, let alone a PROPER shower. So there are good and bad points to it!

This morning we went to the airport at 6am. Which meant we walked to the end of the small road in town and there we were. The doors to the airport were locked (I have never seen an airport locked) but within a few minutes about 50 people had gathered and were also waiting. All of the porters were there with the expedition gear too. When they let us in 15mins later it was pretty chaotic. There is one small room with 4 little desks for the little airlines there. there were no lights on and no line ups or anything. So we checked in, gave them our bag and went through some version of Nepali security. And then? Well we waited. We waited for a plane to arrive. Because along with never seeing an airport locked before I have also never seen an airport with NO planes. We had to wait until after 9am as there was fog in Kathmandu and none of the planes had taken off yet. So the plane flies onto the runway, a very short runway with a brick wall at the end, and then they take the luggage off super quickly, everyone hops off the plane, the new luggage goes on and then the new people hop on. Within 5minutes of landing it took off again.

The flight was great! There were only 15 seats in the whole thing and we could see what the pilots were doing and everything. The views were brilliant, and we could see some of the trails we had walked to get to that same place over 3 weeks beforehand.

We are back at the same hotel in Kathmandu. Things are less alarming and I am walking around looking at all of the shops and restaurants like a kid in a candy store. It's so much warmer here which is awesome! We had beautiful showers and are anxiously awaiting an early dinner hour to go to this great Mexian restaurant we went to last month. over the next few days we need to get some laundry done, find the Indian Embassy to apply for our visas and start being tourists in Kathmandu. There is much to see so it should be good. I plan to spend some time catching up on news here on the net and downloading some photos for people to see as well. We looked through the papers earlier and along with the Maoists and Gvernment reaching an agreement here for the first time in 10yrs (these are promising times for Nepal, fingers crossed!) the Nepal paper had a piece about Brittany divorcing Kevin! I was kind of surprised to see that in there.

I am getting a bit more excited for India too. It is somewhere Gavin and I want to go, but added it on as we would already be in Nepal and it's also cheap as chips. But we have just heard so many things from travellers that make us very aware that we are going to love AND hate it. So I'm prepared for that but it doesn't make me dying to get there if you know what I mean. so we will see how it goes. And if we don't want up to 4 months there we can speed up our flights to Oz and either go home early or do something else like maybe some time in Eastern Europe. Our flight goes back through London anyways and we both want to go there.

Last day of the trek

2006-11-12T21:39:00.000+11:00

It's so wierd to think, but today was officially our last day of trekking. We are now in Lukla and tomorrow morning will be on a flight to Kathmandu. It's been 25 amazing days and it's sad we are done, but I have loved it all (okay, almost all).

Our last day was a nice one, very hot and sunny and the skies were clear. We hiked just over 4 hours and upon arriving in Lukla went to the Seti Air office to get our names on the list for the flight. The plane is so small there are only about 15 people on it. We went to the airport (field really, covered with ashphalt) and the runway is VERY short and slanted too. Should be an interesting flight. I am excited, I love little airplanes. We will take only 35mins to fly what took us 9 days to walk!

And so for me this has been an incredible adventure. I have wanted to come here for so long and I'm really happy that the trekking lived up to my expectations. The scenery was stunning, the people were beautiful and I felt really happy the whole time. I hated the being sick part but that still didn't ruin it for me. Part of why it was so great was getting to know some of the locals and seeing the little kids on the trails. We talked with people quite a bit, and i want to see other areas of Nepal at some point. I have to check out the news online but i know the government and Maoists have come to some agreement. Well the Maoists make us SO angry, I will dedicate a blog to them in the near future. But I will not pay them any more money and also there are new trekking regulations in place so we would have to pay a porter if we wanted to do the Annapurna trek, I think we are done trekking for this trip.

Anyways more from Kathmandu shortly. Hopefully the weather is clear tomorrow, they fly by vision only so if it's cloudy/stormy then no flight.

Nearly done the trek - big update

2006-11-10T16:06:00.000+11:00

Oh no! I just typed a big blog and then the computer crashed. Appparently a
problem with the power site in the next town. Oh well...

I am in Namche Bazar again, the town that I last wrote from and the biggest
town in these mountains. I guess about 3000 people live here, but it's hard
to tell. When we left here we headed northwest to Gokyo, I could immediately
feel the altitude on my breathing. At 3500metres and over 10,000 feet there
is a lot less oxygen in the air so breathing becomes more difficult. Because
we walked in from jiri and took our time we were in pretty good shape. But
when we started going up the high hills here i had to stop every 15minutes
and the feeling in your heart is quite scary. Out of the 4 of us I was the
only one who really felt it. So we took our time and got to the next town

Altitude sickness is very serious and about this many metres you can really
only go 300m up a day and then you have to sleep at that altitude. If you go
higher than 600m then you are meant to sleep there an extra night to
acclimitize. Otherwise you can get fluid on your lungs or your brain, about
3-4 people a year die just in this valley from it. When you get light
symptoms like my breathing, a headache or loss of appetite you have to take
it easy, if they get stronger then the golden rule is to go down to a lower
altitude and you will usually feel better. So we were good trekkers and took
things slow and didn't get too sick from the altitude.

Another big change on this part of the trek (i think of part 1 from last
time i wrote as they are so different) is the landscape. things changed
dramatically. the mountains became massive and snow covered, instead of
green high valleys with lush areas. It was beautiful in a different and more
dramatic way. There are way more people now, as a lot of people fly to lukla
(1-2 days before here) instead of hiking from Jiri. the trail opens right
up, instead of it being a little goat trail wide enough for one person it
became at least 6 feet wide the majority of the time. this was great for the
most part! We hiked about 2-3 hrs a day and could feel it more in our lungs
than our legs. then there was the cold...

It's cold at this height. And it is quite sunny during the day but at night
the sun sets pretty early behind the mountains or when the clouds come in.
The guesthouses don't have heaters, they have stoves in the kitchens and the
dining areas. So the bedrooms are cold. I usually slept in my -12 degree bag
with thick socks, long johns, yoga pants, t-shirt, 2 long sleeve tops and my
hat. Then I could sleep! The stove in this part of the trek can't be fed by
wood because they are trying to not cut down the forests, so instead they
use the dung/shit from yaks! It's amazing, they yaks do their thing outside
then people collect it and dry it in the sun. they collect bags of it for
the winter time and use it to keep the fires lit. Doesn't smell too
offensive at least but I"m not a fan of breathing too much of it in, it's
smoky.

So as we hiked higher I developed a cold and cough that I have not been able
to shake. It's called the Khumbu cough (for the valley we are in) as so many
people get it. It's just hard to get better. We needed to take some extra
rest days for me but I have been cautious and getting better. Gavin has been
very understanding and helpful! As we got higher up the trail we spent a
night in Macchermo, 4300meters. There we went to an altitude talk which was
really interesting. The clinic is new, the DR is there from Wales for 3
months. they have a helicopter landing pad there for anyone who needs to be
taken away, it lets you know the seriousness of the situations up there. We
have been very fortunate. Also they have a porter shelter. Porters carry the
bags of trekkers, they also carry food and goods between villages. these
guys are STRONG, i mean they carry about 60-80kg at 4000metres for 6 hours a
day. And they usually do it with support over there heads. Photos to follow
in Kathmandu when we get more on our site. So when people here travel in
large groups and camp (which is just craziness if you ask me) some of the
porters sleep outside. If we hired a porter then they would sleep in the
guesthouse dining area. It's horrible they have to sleep outside. So this
one shelter gets them out of the cold for one night at least.

Along the way we also saw a school built by the Sir Edmund Hillary
Foundation, it's pretty amazing in this mountain village of Khunding (sp?).
360 children attend, many walk more than 1hr through the hills to get there.
Others stay there through the week in hostels or dorms that their parents
have to pay for boarding for them. It's hard for the parents to afford it. I
will write more about the socio-economic situation of Nepal another day
though.

And then we got closer to Gokyo!! the mountains got wider, we saw Ama Dablam
(such a pretty mountain!) and Lhotse, beautiful clear blue rivers raging
through the valleys. The yaks joined us on our trails with their heavy loads
of rice and cargo and the guesthouses usually had names like Namaste or
Everest View. the area of Gokyo has 5 lakes and we even had to climb a
little bit over a waterfall at the beginning. Gavin stopped to help a porter
whose heavy load had fallen over and we kept having to add more clothing to
ourselves with the wind and cold increasing. As we got to Gokyo the 3rd lake
appeared and Gavin let out a huge yell through the valley that echoed! I was
truly exhausted. A heavy cold and lots of hiking at altitude makes for using
your mental abilities and a big "I think I can" attitide that I have not
experienced that often before.

The town has about 5 lodges. Lucy and Simon has hiked a day ahead of us (we
had a rest day in Dole for me) so we found them in the Gokyo Resort. After
tea and my first shower in a week i was happy. There aren't a lot of showers
here, usually there is a bucket fully of hot water above the shower room
filled with water and that is streamed through a shower head. But it's
better than nothing. And when it's cold you don't want one anyways. But my
hair was screaming out to be washed, I was happy to be clean. the Resort was
nice and even had a small mirror in the room! There was a sit down toilet
and everything, the norm is squat toilets here so that was nice.

We attempted to climb up Gokyo Ri/Peak on Sat Nov 4th but the clouds came in
so we only got 100m up it. We descended and Gavin and I went to the
morraine/cliffy area behind the lodge. At the top was a beautiful view of
where a glacier once was. I think part of it still is a glacier, it was
massive. We could see mountain views through the clouds. Gavin started to
get a bit funny about me wanting to head back down and when we sat on a rock
he proposed!!! (short version of course!). It was a beautiful moment and I
kept saying yes and we were both so excited. He said he'd planned to ask me
since we planned the trip over a year ago. He gave me a ring he bought me
here in Nepal, it's silver and pretty with a tiger stone. Then in India we
are going to pick out or get a proper engagment ring made. i love the idea.
So I am now an engaged woman!!! We went back to the lodge and celebrated
with cheese sandwiches, french fries and lemon tea.

The next day we attempted to climb the peak again, the skies were bright
blue and all the trekkers were heading up there. The views at the top were
to be of Everest and the area - spectacular. Unfortunately as I walked up I
felt sick - both faint and like I might be sick. So gavin walked me back
down and I slept and relaxed as he walked to the top. I watched him from a
rock outside for a bit and got pretty upset that I wouldn't get to see the
acclaimed view we had longed for. but my health is more important. The
photos were amazing, it looked brilliant.

We have taken about 5 days from then to get back here to Namche. I got
stomach problems in Phortse and after 48hrs of it took some drugs which
fixed me up. but I still have the cold and feel I must have pulled something
under my lower rib from coughing so much. So rest it is!! We will probably
leave here in 2 days and walk down to Lukla then fly to Kathmandu. We had
originally planned to go to Kala Pathar on the northeast side for more views
but I just can't do it!!

Life is good, I am getting my health back and love these mountains and the
people have been wonderful. We probably won't hike the Annapurna due to:
coldness of temps, me being sick, us having to pay the Maoists... But we'll
see.

There is more to say but this update is long enough. the rest of the day
will be spent eating at the bakery, shopping for a few gifts, reading my
book in the sun and possibly going for an hour hike to see everest for a
clear view. Thanks to all for the congrats on our engagement!!!! Love to
everyone, I think of home often

Off to Goyko

2006-10-29T15:01:00.001+11:00

we have decided to start hiking again today, instead of having a rest day. we are all (us and the brits) pretty acclimitized from the last 10 days and will just hike for one hour today. it's a beautiful day here in Namche bazar. I'm going to attempt to mail some postcards home, buy some stuff for our trek and get a sandwich on the go!

i just looked online at the news and it appears there has been another bus accident in nepal, bit scary. we are nowhere near there and the bus from kathmandu to jiri we took was not overcrowded which was a relief. we will be flying from lukla to kath when we finish the trek.

so we are heading northwest to goyko, a place with beautiful lakes and glaciers and a great view of everest. i think we will be there in about 4 days, depending on the weather etc. from there we will go to kala patar, the closest view of everest. hopefully the weather holds up, there has been some snow. buty tyhis morning it was nice enough for me to wash my hair outside in a silver pot, with the mountains around me, the porters having a giggle and the sun on my back. lovely! a lot of people have only just gotten up in the mountains so we feel like old hats, and have earned more respect from the locals since our hike from jiri was rather difficult. so that's a neat feeling.

i better go, they are waiting for me. might be another few weeks before i get internet access again. but we are safe and sound and happy and ALIVE and smiling1

11 days on the trail

2006-10-28T18:43:00.000+10:00

hello all, apologies for the computer if it's making me spell funny. internet is pricey here too but i couldn't resist. we are having anamazing time. we left jiri
11 days ago. we took a 9hr bus there from kathmandu and it wassn't fun but
we survived. the next day we started the hike and along withfeeling tired
and overwhelmed i just felt HAPPY to be up inthe hills.

the people here are mostly beautiful and kind. i love the country and
getting to know them. the first 10 days we spent was innan area where
not many tourists hike these days. most fly directly to lukla and save
time. so we had the trails to ourselves and made some new friends too. we
have been hiking with an english couple lucy and simon for some laughs as
well.

everyday we hike between 5-8 hours not including breaks. my body is now
used to it and i could probably run a marathon, i feel strong and healthy
and proud of how we are doing. i am currently in namche bazar, we are
alarmed by computers, markets, big hotels, phones, food etc. we have been
doing it rustic style. we have slept in some pretty basic areas but then
had dinner with the family over a fire pit in an open area so it'sall been
worthit. some nights we stay at places for free,t hey are excited we are
eating meals there. it's been a bit cold some nightsss but not bad yet. we
had 5 days of rain to start with ad then beautiful days. gavin is in his
elemant. in the city it's hard for me to walk without telling him to hurry
up. here we have christened him the himalayn goat as he scoots up and down
steep trails.

and the trails are steep. it helps we hiked in banff etc this summer and
from running but we hike up and down minimum 1000 meters a day. that's
over 3000 feet. i did my highest peak - lamjura pass at 3500meters, that was
about 2000meters of hiking over 2 days. there was snow and slush at the
top. i was excited to doit though.

i get scard on the steep bits, with hundreds of feet below us and on a skinny trail!
we haven't had any problems so far, fingers crossed. one big problem is
the maoists. they are against the current government and therefore ask for a
donation when you hike here. we knnew where to expect them but it didn't
make us feelbetter. if you don't pay them you don't go forwad..not a
donation is it? we had lunch and saw this 20yr old girl witha gun at her
side, so we paid. it's so frustrating and another discussion entirely. that
has made me nervous. now we are in the busy area and wwwill be free of
them.

the scenery is brilliant. big sweeping, green valleys. we can see where
we have walkedwhich is awwesome. if anyone looks on a map ofnepal we walked
from jiri to namche bazar and will headnorth from here. maybe to goyko
maybe to kala pattar, we have to decidee but will do both. we might just
spend time here and not do annapurna trek, in part because of how we feel
about giving money to the maoists.

we are carrying our own packs which makes it harder but more rewarding as
well. ssore shoulders at first but feel good now. we have a rest day
tomorrow and then head north. i had a sandwich today!!! i miss fruits and
veg as it's' mostly starch stuff here. but i eat enough and okay and have a
snickers everyday and gavin and i are bothlosing weight and gaining
muscle.

there was a market in this town today. the tibetans sneak across the
border withnorth face etc ands eel it cheap, it's a sight to see. ijust
bought a gorgeous turquoise ring for $8us. sweet!!

we miss home but love it here. another few weeks of hiking. this is the
first computer in awhile but i will get online tomorrow if anyone emails
me. thanks for all the messages, i've read most of them. i could write
more but i'm sure this is long enough. love to all. melanie (and gavin says hi too)

Namaste

2006-10-18T01:01:00.000+10:00

Namaste is a greeting in Nepali, it's used quite often here.

It's official, we are leaving tomorrow for the mountains. THIS IS IT! I am so excited. Kathmandu is another world, and then I think the mountains/Himalayas will be another world again.

Today we walked to the bus station. It wasn't as scary as the bus station in Jakarta, Indonesia and is just an extension of the streets here. So it consisted of old crazy buses, garbage, begging kids, a few goats, laundry out someone's back yard, people cooking and other weird sites. Many more photos were taken. We are taking the express bus to Jiri, it's $7 and 8-9 hours, this shaves a good few hours off the other bus. We will have to sit with our packs on our laps, otherwise they go on the roof (along with some locals) and may be picked open. Mine seems pretty light, but I need to go back to the hotel and finish packing it up. Jiri is only 200 kms away, I am expecting a lot of winding roads.

Upon leaving the bus station Gavin and I decided to take a detour. We were on a mission for packing tape, as we are leaving some of our belongings at the hotel while we are out hiking. We didn't find any, but did wander into the locals markets. This was a wonderful experience. They had a lottery in one section, giving out tvs and such. Then there was brightly coloured goods, copper, spices, clothing, all sorts of neat stuff. Since there weren't any locals in that area we were actually left pretty much alone. That was a refreshing feeling!

After a lovely Italian meal this evening Gavin and I are going back to the hotel to get ready for tomorrow, the bus leaves at 7am. I will check my email once or twice in the next 3-4 weeks but I think it might be expensive up in the mountains. Feel free to email me and I'll check when i can or when we are done the trek. If it's something urgent please write it in the subject.

Thanks to everyone so far to staying in touch. Lots of love to all.

Life in Kathmandu

2006-10-17T00:51:00.000+10:00

There are fireworks going off around here. I'm getting so used to hearing the thousands of noises that this city creates. Kids partying, horns hocking, people screaming or talking and dogs barking. There are no roads on the hiking trails, I am looking forward to that. (Well, I think they are fireworks, as I hear another one)

It's taken me about an hour but I have nearly finished downloading some photos to our photo site, so I will email that link out soon. Just a few from Bangkok and Kathmandu. I will add more again in a month, after our hike.

Today we took nearly all day just walked to the Canadian Consulate to register and change money. The Consulate is a pretty low key affair (compared to the Vietnamese one, the only one I can compare it to) but we filled out a sheet with emergency contact (Dad - that's you!) details etc, read a printed copy of the Globe and Mail that was one week old and walked home again. This was past numerous UN vehicles, the UNICEF building behind a big fence and a soccer field. It's nice to get out and see the locals having fun. At the money changer we got about 35000 Nepali Rupees for our hike. For the next month the villages will not change US or traveller's cheques and there are no ATM's. So we have to carry it on us, it's thick!

For anyone who is interested for $1US we get 71 N RS. Our room is about $5US (we split it), dinner at a nice restaurant last night was about $15 between us, internet 50cents an hour. The 10hour bus ride we will book tomorrow will be about $7 too. But they quote you in Rupees, it's just easier for us to translate it. We spend about $20US a day without budgeting too hard or buying any souvenirs yet.

It's past dinner time here, I better go. When you see a photo of the street meat you will understand why I am staying vegetarian for the next little while. But I love veg momos (dumplings) and they are everywhere here. I miss normal and fresh food already, I will be pigging out by the time we get to OZ!

Oh and I wasn't feeling the best today so we are looking at leaving Wed 18th Oct for our hike now.

Getting ready for our trek

2006-10-15T17:27:00.000+10:00

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to both Renee And Summer from today and in 4 days time.

I'm online at the moment doing a bit of trek planning. Yesterday we hung out with Gavin's friend who just finished the Everest Base Camp trek, so it was exciting to hear her and her friends speak about it. It sounds amazing. Most people fly into Lukla and spend about 12-14 days doing the circuit. A lot of people don't go to the Base Camp as it's just tents and mountaineers getting ready to go up, and you can't see Everest from there. We plan to hike Kala Patar, like most people, this is one day away and gives you an amazing view of Everest. So I think we will leave here on Tues AM by taking a bus to Jiri. That is 10 hours away and very bumpy, so I hear. There is also internet on the trails, quite high up so i won't be out of contact for a month or anything.

From Jiri we have an extra week or so added on, but it will help us acclimatize and strengthen our leg muscles. A lot of people use porters to carry their bags but we are trying it on our own! Wish me luck! We also plan to see some lakes in the Goykyo area, that is another few days added on. So in effect we could be on this big hike 24-28 days i think. That is away from any cars and honking (which there are a lot of here) and me in only 2 pairs of pants, 1 to sleep in and 1 to hike in. Should be an adventure like I've never had before!

We keep hearing different things about the trekking rules here. Apparently they are changing them and possibly from Oct 21st onward any individual trekker not with an organization will have to hire a porter (carries the bag, knows basic english) or a guide. We may do that for our next hike, which will be Annapurna Circuit by mid-end of November. The rules are hard to figure out and we are going to try and sort it out today. There is also the off shoot of government called the Maoists to contend with. They are sitting with the government now and talking but still are up in the hills and have check points and tourists have to pay them money. It's basically you pay or you don't go forward. I am a bit nervous about that and hate the idea of supporting someone because I have to. Who knows what they are doing with the money.

Kathmandu is an interesting city. We have been doing errands and just checking out the scene so I haven't seen any temples yet. We want to get hiking so we might do the temples etc after this trek. I think I am going to be mostly vegetarian while I am here as we saw the Nepali version of a butchers shop yesterday - chopped up animals parts including a head etc just sitting on a bench or in someone's living space with flies buzzing around waiting to be sold. No thank you! They have veg dumplings here which i love, and they call them momo's.

We also looked into doing an overland tour to TIBET for 8 days. It would be around $800 US so it's too expensive for us but we thought we would check it out. We have a 60 day visa to stay here and can extend it.

I am also trying hard not to buy anything, there are beautiful handicrafts here. A lot of wool sweaters, silver jewellry, Tibetan influenced goods (prayer wheels for ex), swords, books on the area, clothes. I will shop when we stop hiking as we will be sending stuff home from here anyways.

Okay, that's enough rambling from me today.

1st night in Nepal - WOAH

2006-10-14T02:15:00.000+10:00

I am attempting to update my blog from my email account, we'll see if it
works. I think the computers in Nepal are a little slower. Yes, Nepal. We
made it. It has been a very emotional day and I think I might actually have
a drink before bed to relax more.

We left Bangkok this morning and caught a taxi to the airport. The airport
is only a few weeks old and is totally amazing. Gavin and I were worried
about traffic so we ended up getting there early. The place is huge, and
kind of futuristic. The architecture is spectacular, there are massive glass
window and large steel buttresses and so many connecting levels. You could
bring your kids there for a day out I think! I was super excited for the
flight and we were on Royal Nepal Airlines so the ladies had on neat uniforms.
I sat on the right side, a window seat. We flew over Burma and all
these forests and dark muddy rivers.

As we flew over Nepal I looked onto the horizon and saw... The Himalayas!!!
I think one of the peaks was Everest. Just imagine flying above the clouds
and actually seeing the mountains ABOVE the clouds, those peaks are high. It
was incredible. The last 10 minutes before we landed in Kathmandu the pilot
was in a holding pattern so we circled over valleys, hills and terraced
fields. It was the most beautiful flight I've ever had. [Oh and as an aside
when we flew from London to Bangkok about 4 of us become mesmorized looking
out the window at the exit door - there was hundreds of miles of mountains
that were covered in sand. We were flying over Afghanistan. It was like
flying over another planet, also amazing, no wonder you can't find anyone
there...]

Okay so we finally landed and got to the airport. You have to pay $30US to
buy a visa and they stamp your passport with it and you can only stay in
Nepal for 60 days or you need another one. Luckily $1US = 71 Rupees in here
so our money will stretch pretty far.

Out of the airport we come and wham! there are men and taxis were everywhere. The first few hours we were here i felt scared and overwhelmed and like I did when I first got to Morocco, Indonesia and Turkey. Some thoughts running through my head were "What am I doing here? This place is nuts! There are people everywhere. Calm down, you have done this before and loved it. And then.. Thank God Gavin is here and he's been here before." All of those places I loved after the first day, it just comes as a shock.

We got this seemingly great deal from the airport to Thamel, the main
backpacker area in town. We wanted to go this one place because Gavin wasn't
sure if his friend was arriving tonight. So as I'm gazing out the window at
a cow on the sidewalk, traffic every which way, buildings with business'
super small under apartments etc Gavin realizes the guy wants to take us to
a different hotel. Long story short we see the hotel, it's nice, but we
don't like being scammed into going somewhere and wanted to check out places
on our own. By this time it is dark and places are full, expensive or down
dark alleys that are really freaking me out. So we walked back to the hotel
and so far it's lovely. It's off the main street and has a courtyard so I
have calmed down.

I'm sure I will love Nepal. But for anyone who has travelled somewhere like
this before it's an assault on your senses, your comfort zones and takes
some getting used to. The main tourist area looks cool, there are
hiking/outdoor shops everywhere, lots of bakeries and restaurants and signs
up shouting out info about going into Tibet or hiking the hills here. We
think we will be here around 5 days to relax and explore. From here we will
go to Jiri. That is about a 10 day hike to Lukla, in North-Eastern (slightly
Eastern) Nepal and we will keep going to do the Everest Base Camp. Some people fly to Lukla but we want the buildup fitness wise and to experience the whole thing. I will be finding out more info soon. We will also check into the Canadian embassy for anyone who is worried, but things seem very safe here now after their crazy spring

Off to bed for me. But first, a vodka and sprite.

Bumming around Bangkok

2006-10-12T16:29:00.000+10:00

We've arrived in Bangkok and have joined the throng of backpackers on the Khaosan Road area. For $6 per night for our room (this is how we can afford to travel for so long!) and English everywhere it's kind of worth the insanity of it all. Khaosan road is a brightly lit street featuring bars, cheap clothes, used book stores, street venders selling yummy food (pad thai, corn on the cob, bbq chicken, etc) and tailors galore. This is where I got my favourite Chinese silk stuff made last time, so I'm scoping out the scene for when we return in April.

From London it took us over 15 hours to get here and definitely feels like a world away. We flew British Airways which was such a treat to our usual charter airlines. Free food, booze, and my knees weren't squished against the seats! The security leaving london was pretty intense though. Flying into Bangkok we arrived at the brand new airport, it's only been open a few weeks. It's pretty cool, BUT is further outside of the city and when we hoped on a bus to come downtown we got caught in rush hour. It literally took us 2hrs 15mins to get here. Needless to say after finding a guesthouse and having a shower I was excited to hit a street vendor for some pad thai! We even met a guy from Calgary on the bus so he came with us. then when i was in a store I ran into one of the guys who worked at the warehouse at Sunshine last year. Small world!

Today we have walked around a bit to try and find a room for the same price as ours with a decent bed, didn't happen. Then we checked out 3 travel agents for flights to Kathmandu, NEPAL. We were told they were full for weeks and only had 1st class, then they didn't take credit cards... so finally we found a good one. We fly out TOMORROW to Nepal!!!!!!!!!

For me this IS the trip, for 6 years I have heard the wonders and seen the photos and now I am about to get there myself. We are flying Royal Nepal Airlines where I hope to get a window seat, and we'll get in around 3:30pm Nepal time. Which is probably about 4 or 5 hours ahead of London (so 9 or 10 ahead of Calgary) but I'm not sure. I'm sure we will be in Kathmandu for at least 4 days, that will be nice since I've been moving around a lot in the last 2 weeks.

Other than a leg waxing (for me - HA) on the busy streets with signs shouting out "Thai massage! Waxing! Haircuts!" we plan on chilling out and having a fresh seafood dinner for a few dollars tonight. It's hot here, hot and sweaty and a bit dirty. I can feel I'm getting a bit older as my enthusiasm for these things is waning. Having said that we are having a great time and I'm so happy to be travelling again. This is what I do best, and I'm so lucky that I've got Gavin to do it with.

I will write again soon from Nepal, but that will be in a city. I wonder if I can see the mountains from there. Don't worry Dad, I'm going to try and get a window seat.

From London to Bangkok

2006-10-11T00:17:00.000+10:00

This evening we will be leaving London and flying to Bangkok! I'm pretty excited to get further into our trip, and to fly back to Asia. Gavin and I enjoyed ourselves so much on our last trip, which was over two years ago now. After a few fun filled days in London I feel ready to move on. Yesterday we went to see Big Ben and the Parliament buildings and the streets were surrounded by 800 police officers, paddy wagons up and down the streets and motorcycles whizzing by. It was the first day that Parliament had reopened after the summer break and there was rumour of a large protest. I got a giggle out of seeing in the paper later that day that only 50 protesters turned up! Something about banning democracy and being an anarchist, ya, that will work... Until Bangkok then.

The London life

2006-10-09T02:33:00.000+10:00

Today is a day to be drawn back into my love of London. I went for a morning run in the South end, near Clapham, where I am staying. After taking a train into Waterloo I decided to spend a few hours walking along the River Thames. This included stopping at the booksellers outside, hearing some live music, seeing happy couples gazing at each other by the water, picking up a fresh sandwich from the market and relaxing by Tower Bridge with my book.

I feel blessed to be here and love this feel of the old city - with stunning architecture and spirit everywhere. I'm by Covent Garden right now and will be meeting up with Jess and Jonny for dinner at a noodle house, Wagamama, one of my fav's. Then we are off to a comedy show in Leicester Square. They are a lovely couple and last night I was spoiled with a homecooked curry and a long sleep in their cozy spare room.

Gavin and I have been apart for the last few days, as i spent a night with my cousins in Manchester and he visited friends elsewhere in England. I am ready for us to start this adventure together though and will see him tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada. Feel free to write comments on here or to email me! Love to everyone. Hey is there any more snow in Banff yet anyone?

Cheers from Edinburgh

2006-10-05T23:30:00.000+10:00

It's rainy and a bit chilly here in Edinburgh today. I feel like I am falling back into the swing of things travelwise, especially after doing a night flight to get to London and then bumming around for an afternoon before catching a train to Edinburgh. I was tired and forgot how heavy my backpack felt. Good thing I don't need to take all of it trekking thousands of meters and hundreds of kilometers in Nepal, we can leave things at the guesthouse there.

When I got to Edinburgh on Tues at 10pm I wasn't expecting to see Gavin until the next day, but he and Stevely and Dave were at the train station waiting for me. So I walked off the train with a big smile on my face. We have been having fun since then. Yesterday was a real tour around kind of day - up Arthur's Seat for some fantastic views of the city and a picnic lunch, a tour around the gorgeous Edinburgh Castle and dinner out on the town with some friends. We actually ate at the restaurant where Gavin and I had our first date too, agh the memories.... Tonight we are going on a ghost tour of the underground tunnels here in town and out to hear some live music. That's always been one of my favourite things about this city.

Gavin and I are both getting emails from random people who are going to be in the same places as us while we are on the road (Nepal for example). It's a small world I tell you. Stevely is trying to book himself a flight home next week. Dave flew back this morning, with many a whiskey bottle of course.

Adios.

About to leave Canada

2006-10-02T22:56:00.000+10:00

Hello all. I'm in Burlington (Ontario) now and am nearly finished a visit with my family and friends here. It's been great, as usual.

I expected to see more trees turning red and golden orange, but I suppose the fact that I haven't seen any more snow is a bonus. Gavin appears to have been designated driver for most of the boys' self proclaimed whiskey tour in Scotland, so I can only hope that I meet them all safely in Edinburgh on Wednesday! They lost his baggage in Glasgow for a day, thank god they found his only real possessions for the next 7 months. Things seem to be pretty calm politically in Thailand and Nepal and I'm feeling relaxed about our trip. Oh and did I mention I am also EXCITED?!

When I write again it will be from across the Ocean and I'll already have eaten my favourite thing in England (a Boost chocolate bar) and had a good few hours to wander around some of London. Then it's up north to charming Edinburgh.

Thanks to all for the lovely goodbye's in Alberta and Ontario. Love Melanie

Coup in Thailand

2006-09-20T13:31:00.000+10:00

With only one week to go until our trip starts I was more than slightly alarmed to log onto the Internet today and see that the army had staged a coup against the Prime Minister in Thailand. We land in Bangkok on Oct 11th, and while things are non-violent and appear civilized at the moment I can only hope they stay that way. Apparently their PM is a little too rich for his own good, so with the backing of the King this coup from the Military may be deserved. Doesn't calm the travelling nerves though! We got snow here in Banff last week so I will be well prepared for some cold nights in the Nepali mountains. 8 days to go! Lots of packing and organizing to do....

Timeline of my trip

2006-08-20T08:57:00.000+10:00

For those wondering where I will (likely) be and when....

Sept 27th Flight Calgary to Toronto
Oct 2nd Flight Toronto to London, arrive Oct 3rd in am
Oct 10th Flight London to Bangkok, arrive Oct 11th
Within 1 week, get ourselves to Nepal
Mid-Oct to mid/end December Nepal - Kathmandu, 3-4 weeks hike to Everest Base Camp, 3-4 weeks hike Annapurna Circuit, Chitwan National Park
Late 2006/Early 2007 - March or April see India then back to Bangkok, Thailand
April 10th Flight Bangkok to Melbourne, Australia, arrive Apr 11th am
May 7th Flight Brisbane to London, arrive May 8th
Book a flight London to Canada and move back to the Banff area for next summer.

Getting Ready

2006-08-20T08:35:00.000+10:00

It's hard to believe that our trip starts in just over 5 weeks. Pretty exciting, but also a little overwhelming. I have gained a new appreciation for the Internet at home with all of the little things it's helping me do in preparation for this long trip. And now I have my own blog! My main reason for doing this is so I can write long entries at times without feeling like I'm overwhelming people I am emailing. So I think I will do both this time around. Feel free to email me or write comments on here while I am away. I'm sure when I am trekking in Nepal I will only get to email or blog occasionally but there is still access.

Yesterday I realized that I did 8 hours of hiking over about 4 days this week, but that when we get to Nepal I will be doing 6-8hrs a DAY. I am destined for sore legs, back, shoulders, feet etc. but am sure the scenery and locals will more than make up for it. Before we leave I also need to get my anti-malaria pills and a few shots, buy traveller's insurance, pack our summer house up and try to do a lot more hiking. I hope they change some of the traveller's restrictions for what we can bring onboard too, Gavin and I have about 10 flights in the next 8 months!

That's all for now.
Melanie