Jan 2006

Wow. I'm in Thailand. I got about 3 hours of sleep last night and then flew in here. I got in at 10:30am, waited in line at immigration for abuot an hour and a half then got ripped a new one hiring a cab to take me to the hostel. I showered and then got ready to go exploring. I got a map and started walking around. It was really hot outside and I had no idea what I was doing. Then some man started talking to me and informed me that today is some huge tourist attraction day that the government was hosting in order to vamp up tourism after the tsunami. Umm ok. So that meant that I got to hire a rickshaw (here called a tuk tuk) for about $.50 and the guy drove me around all day and waited for me whenever I got out to look at the temples and all the sights. Awesome! The only catch was that I had to get hauled to some export shops and pretent to be interested for a minimum of 5 minutes so that the tuk tuk driver could get his gas for free. Really wierd I know. So for 5 minutes I was fascinated with a pair of star sapphire earrings. I got to see several Buddist Temples and statues. Very interesting stuff. Very glittery and decorated with small pieces of glass and a lot of gold. I was starving because I had no lunch and the driver, who didnt understand English very well kept taking me to one more place and one more place. Finally I got him to drop me off at Khao San Rd which is like the biggest hippie hang out ever. It was pretty cool. I ate some pad thai from a street vendor and watched some talk show being filmed in Thai and browsed all the clothing and jewelery shops. I must say, I did more today than I thought I'd do. Thai people are extremely friendly and there is a nice atmosphere here. Anyway, I'm geting eaten alive by the bugs in the cyber here so I'll be going now. I booked myself for a few tours, tomorrow and the next day. I hope they are easier to understand than my tours in Goa! Ok, love you all, bye

It has already been nearly 4 weeks since I began this Gungula. It seems like more and yet less. "Time flies when you are having fun" and have no sense of of it. It seems to me that it is July or August, not January because of the climate I am in and also the fact that I'm on holiday not working or in school, so it feels like summer to me. I was looking at the pictures on my digital cam last night and was surprised, actually kind of shocked, by all that I had seen and done in the past few weeks. (I'll try to get them up here soon, I'm a step closer, I have them on CD now...anyway...) It doesnt seem possible that I did all that in that short of time, and that I did it recently. It seems like I was in Dubai over a year ago when really it was only 2 weeks ago. My memory is sort of a mystery to me and my memories of the order of things are even stranger. My sister for example could probably give you a run down of everything she ate and did and in the correct order, of a trip that lasted a month, I on the other hand can hardly remember what I had for breakfast this morning. (You can understand the importance of a journal now?) My memories are in feelings mostly. Corny I know, but there is a saying, "People may not remember what you did or what you said but they will remember how you made them feel." If nothing else, I will remember, journal or not, that in India I felt alive.
Tonight I leave for Bangkok. I'm really excited and have no idea what to expect....

The long awaited trip to India is nearing it's end already, which is hard to believe. I found the train yesterday morning with no problems. I took an auto-rick to the station about an hour from my hotel. My butt was numb by the time we reached the station from bouncing on the barely-padded seat as thr driver flew over the bumps and gouges in the roads. I found my seat right away. A nice elderly couple and their maid/servant sat near me and insisted on feeding me. I was handed a strange sandwich with a bright green paste between 2 pieces of bread, which I was told was garlic, mint leaves, cardamom, etc. I choked it down and said thanks. The egg curry and rice they gave me for lunch was much better and very much appreciated! As I sat on the train flying north to Mumbai (Ambernath actually), my jeans sticking to me, my hair a frightful mess from the open windows, I tried to remember if I had ever in my life felt so hot. It was hotter than sitting in a sauna. My train car was located directly behind the pantry car where they were preparing all the food. I really didn't know if I'd make it. It seemed that everyone else was content to sleep most of the day away, but I could not, I felt like my insides were cooking! I found myself praying for more tunnels to go through because the air blasting in from the windows was a few degrees cooler then. The scenery was quite beautful though, lots of mountains, square rice paddies growing (well some were growing others were dried up), lots of shallow rocky creek beds, palm trees that (grew fewer and fewer as we neared Mumbai) and a really nice sunset. The best part of the sunset was that it brought cooler air! Another unique element of train travel is cadances that food vendors sing as they walk hurridly through all the cars on the train. The songs only stop when you are passing through a tunnel and it is too dark for them to see where they are going. "Chai, chai, chai", "coffee, coffeeeee, cold drinks", "ahhhh...cheese sandwish, cheese sandwishhhh", "masala dosa, dosaaaaa, dosa", "alooo parathaaaaa", "pani, pani, paniiiii (water)" etc. I like listening to them Anyway, I made it back to Ambernath safely. Simones mom, Lynn and brother, LuLu found me at the station...eventually! My train came an hour earlier than expected so I got to watch the life of the station while I waited. I came back and had a nice big dinner prepaired by Simons mom, washed the layer of black dirt from my face and slept. Today I may go shop some, may not. It doesn't really matter. I know that I havent seen all of India that I want to see and already desire to come again. Maybe its the place, the people, the culture, of all of it, I'm not sure, but being here is so very wonderfully different. Now in 2 days (the early morning of the 21st), I will be flying out for Bangkok. I really know hardly anything of the place yet, but am curious to get a taste of it!
It is not fair at all that I have all that I have, or that I have the opportunity to travel like I do. I am extremely blessed. Thanks also to all of you who have been writing me emails. Strangely, I feel like even though I am away, I am actually getting to know my friends better than when I was at home. Please write me with ideas of what to write about on here. Sometimes I just start to ramble and I dont know if its making any sense or not. Thats all for now,
love, peace, and curry grease
PS I just finished reading a novel (not something I usually do), so if my writing style is goofy today thats probably why :P (My brain keeps thinking in the style of writing that I just read...wierd huh?!)

Hi All! Things are ok here. I spent the past 2 days doing the same thing as the day before - that being, sunbathing and swimming at Calangute (correct spelling this time) beach, in the Arabian Sea. It got a little easier to just be in my own company each time. And I got a little more accustomed to riding the buses, warding off vendors and just enjoying my time. I am a bit sunburned, but not too bad, I used up an entire bottle of sunscreen in 3 days (so don't yell at me too much for not trying to protect my skin!) The yesterday (my second day at the beach) I spent in front of "Queens Beach Shack" and to my surprise, there was a girl sunbathing topless next to me! This was also to my great advantage, as most of the men passing by chose to stare longer at her than at me! Today I was in front of "Peters Restaurant" yet another one of the many, many beach shacks that line the beach. It is the third longest beach in India (though unfortunately I cant remember exactly how long that is.) It seems to go on forever though. All together, I think I like Goa, but would like to come with family or friends in the future. It is tropical, but yet still everything crazy about India, just a lot more contained than in say, Bombay. There are palm trees and coconut trees, and vineyards, and grass huts, but also cows roaming around everywhere, the smell of incense and various curries, and the chaotic flow of traffic that let you know you are certainly still in India (not to mention the women in sariis and men in...well just the staring eyes of men!) Well, I need to go buy some dinner and some gifts and pack my bags, because in the morning I need to figure out how to find my train back to Bombay! Yikes! I still dont really understand the train system here so it kind of freaks me out, so hopefully I'll figure it out and get on the right one! Thats all for now folks!

Dont know if I spelled that right, but thats the name of the beach I spent the day at. I had a decent day. I was able to follow peoples directions and take 2 different buses to make my way to that beach (about 45 min away) and suprisingly, find the same 2 buses to make my way back! This was a more difficult yet much more affordable option than getting a taxi (I paid about $.50, sweet!) I spent the day camped out on a sun bed next to a grass hut called "The only Spot", which was a restaurant that served fish and some snacks. It was interesting there, lot so European grannies and gramps in speedos. I chose one of the places full of white/wrinkled tan bods of other foriegners like myself (umm accept I was the youngest one there by far!) A few stray dogs and a cow the exact color of the sand also spent the day nearby. I read my book, drank much water, fended off countless vendors selling everything from peanuts and wooden snakes to massages. Oh, I also had a moment of fright when the clasp on the back of my bikini top suddenly snapped. Luckily I was laying on my stomach. I quickly snatched my t-shirt and threw it on, ran to find a bathroom and remedied the situation with an extra hair tie. What did I expect anyway, from a swimsuit bought from a thrift store?!? (Plus the clasp broke once before and I had to replace it. At least that time I was in my own backyard not in Goa!) I'm a bit burned but not too bad. I bought some aloe vera gel to lather up with. Something I havent said much about is the issue of beggars. There are plenty of them here, especially in the touristy places, and of course they migrate to white skin. When I was in India 5 years back, I occassionally would give to them, but this time I havent yet. It's kind of a tricky issue. On one hand you do feel inclined to give, but on the other, you know that this is what they do for a living, they try to sell themselves to your pity so you'll give them money. Many of them could just as easily be selling jewelery and sarongs like other people there. Some of them intentionally mame themselves or try to make theyselves look pitiful (no I'm not joking, I've studied this!) Also some of them will not leave you alone if you give them something and they will watch where you keep your money and steal from you. I feel kind of like a wench when I'm here on my own. I usually naturally smile and laugh all the time but I find that I need to guard myself so as not to attract attention. Not to sound concieted, but there are times I wish I was a bit fat and ugly so that people wouldnt care so much to look at me. (Ok, I really dont want to be that, but it would be nice to have a disguise like that for times like this!) I decided not to switch hotels because I'm already quite moved in where I am, and plus it gives me something to do, riding the buses to other places! I'll probably go back to the same beach tomorrow, but this time sit under an umbrella to avoid further burning. And if you were wondering why I am suddenly writing so much, well its because I have no one to talk to during the day, and being such a social person, I have to get it all out somehow, without running into any more sticky situations. Well, thats all for tonight, time for dinner. I have to go buy more chapattis though - in my haste I dropped mine on the way back to the hotel!