What would’ve been on Twitter December 20th-21st...if I had Twitter.
Only 20 more hours in India - excited out of my mind!
I wish the water wasn’t freezing so I could shower and wash all this dead human ash off my body. I will never smell sandalwood again with out thinking of burning human corpse on the edge of the Gangas river.
Only 200K to the boarder, no big deal!
Tractors, food carts going to another location, motorcycles, wagons, camels, dogs, people, bicycles, water buffalo, elephants, rickshaws, cows, tuktuks, and our bus all on this 2 lane road - no wonder it takes 10 hours to go 200K.
I just wish the bus would rattle a little more.
The Nepali customs people are so nice - finally somebody who seems to care. I love Nepal already.
I hate Nepal.
The entire country is on strike? How does that even work? How does that happen?
Why didn’t they tell us BEFORE we left Varanasi that Nepal is on a 3 day strike instead of 2 minutes before we get off the bus to go into Nepal? I love spending extra days at this no place border town.
Moaists? What is going on? Should we even be here?
Good news! “We will definitely, probably, most likely will be leaving for sure at 12:30....maybe”. Huh?
It’s 1:30...shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up on that most convincing statement that we were leaving at 12:30.
Thanks Mr. French Man - I do feel VERY fortunate that we only have to be here for 1 day.
Robyn - we forgot to research lice.
Gotta go - bus is leaving in 20 minutes.
I’m back - the bus will be here in an hour.
On our way to Katmandu! It's only 5pm.
Is it customary for people to clap and sing when the lights go out? - I think usually that indicates it’s time to sleep.
Is this a bathroom break? It seems like we’ve been sitting here for quite some time.
Wait....the bus driver is taking a nap? How long is his nap?
No worries guys - we are back and running 2 and half hours later! He just needed a little nap to keep him going.
Oh good - we’re on our way - how long do we have?
Um....that is my arm rest. I don’t think you can make a bed in the middle of the bus floor with your 7 blankets and then sit up and decide to wrap your entire arm around my arm rest to keep you from sliding around.
Yes that is my hip bone get your elbow off of it!
Seriously - I mean it - get your arm off of my lap. I am pushing against it for a reason.
Wait....wait.....WAIT a minute, we were only 1 and half hours from Katmandu and you pulled over to take a 2 and half hour nap?
So here we are, 4:36am, dropped off on the side of the road, it’s dark, cold, and we have no idea where to go. Welcome to Katmandu.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Meeting an old friend
"Hey! What are you guys doing? I am starting at a call center on Monday and I would love to practice my english with you...Do you want me come with you where you are going? I know the buses so you can go cheap. I am just your friend, I don't want money, just to practice English. You need a sim card? OK, I can help you. Let's just talk. Have you heard of this place? I can take you there. If not, it's OK, I just want to learn more so I can talk to the people who call me".
Our "friend" Rahul showed us around Mumbai all day. I was confused but nobody else seemed to mind so I just kept my mouth shut. Night came and we parted ways. Titus and Caleb gave him a little money as a thank you but we made our way back to the hotel so happy we got to see so much in Mumbai. We missed Rahul at the next day as we tried to make our way through the city alone. What a good friend we made!
Fast forward a month later. Beautiful Goan beach, calm and peaceful water, sunshine, wonderful sand.....and Rahul's face sitting 2 or 3 seats away...next to another white guy! Maybe the call center he was starting the Monday after we met wasn't working out...maybe. I told Robyn it looked like Rahul but she didn't think much of it. As we swam we noticed the old white guy coming into the water with the Rahul look-alike. I mentioned it to the rest of our group it looked like him. We sat in the water trying to decide if it was him or not. Then, out of nowhere he turns around and holds his finger to his mouth to tell us to shhhh and gives us a wink and smile.
We got SCAMMED. Clever Rahul...but I bet you didn't expect to see us again a month later, 600K away, in another state, with your newest victim! I am not sure who got the better end of the deal! The little money he got from us....or us getting to see the look on his face when he realized who we were!
Our "friend" Rahul showed us around Mumbai all day. I was confused but nobody else seemed to mind so I just kept my mouth shut. Night came and we parted ways. Titus and Caleb gave him a little money as a thank you but we made our way back to the hotel so happy we got to see so much in Mumbai. We missed Rahul at the next day as we tried to make our way through the city alone. What a good friend we made!
Fast forward a month later. Beautiful Goan beach, calm and peaceful water, sunshine, wonderful sand.....and Rahul's face sitting 2 or 3 seats away...next to another white guy! Maybe the call center he was starting the Monday after we met wasn't working out...maybe. I told Robyn it looked like Rahul but she didn't think much of it. As we swam we noticed the old white guy coming into the water with the Rahul look-alike. I mentioned it to the rest of our group it looked like him. We sat in the water trying to decide if it was him or not. Then, out of nowhere he turns around and holds his finger to his mouth to tell us to shhhh and gives us a wink and smile.
We got SCAMMED. Clever Rahul...but I bet you didn't expect to see us again a month later, 600K away, in another state, with your newest victim! I am not sure who got the better end of the deal! The little money he got from us....or us getting to see the look on his face when he realized who we were!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
God is here
Sunset. Beautiful beach. Sand between your toes. Fresh and warm ocean air breathing over you. Contentment.
You will walk along the Goan beach of Anjuna and as you saver the splendor of nature around you, you can't help but notice a large gathering of people. Walking closer you begin to see the lives of wandering souls who meet together each evening. Some sing Hindu worship songs to the many gods around, others dance letting their bodies move with the beat, some stare off into the air. A group in the back twirls hula-hoops around their bodies while others sit tranced centering their souls. A man walks up and strips down next to the guitar player while another couple makes out to the music. One girl would sit perfectly still and suddenly start to contort her body into different stretches and then sit quietly back down into her sedated state again as if nothing changed.
The group slowly disappeared as the sun bends behind the earth. We made our way to a restaurant in town to meet our German friends who invited us to listen to a band they liked. Little did we know they were a Christian band from California traveling around SE Asia and India playing at different places and giving out free CDs of their music. After a handful of songs a man walked up front. Shirtless with a knitted vest, baggy pants with a leather belt hung freely around him, and his afro hair looked old and scraggly. His wife dressed as a gypsy walked up front with him followed by his 2 little girls - maybe 4 or 5 - one naked and one dressed. He strummed his guitar and sang songs to the Hindu gods. His little naked girl ran around while he played. After 2 or 3 songs he walked away.....
The christian guys came back up and although they played all their original stuff before they decided to sing a song we knew - "From the Inside Out". Everlasting your light will shine when all else fade, never ending your glory goes beyond all fame . A sweet breath of air but it also an awakening to me that the one true God is still here in the midst of all these people searching.
You will walk along the Goan beach of Anjuna and as you saver the splendor of nature around you, you can't help but notice a large gathering of people. Walking closer you begin to see the lives of wandering souls who meet together each evening. Some sing Hindu worship songs to the many gods around, others dance letting their bodies move with the beat, some stare off into the air. A group in the back twirls hula-hoops around their bodies while others sit tranced centering their souls. A man walks up and strips down next to the guitar player while another couple makes out to the music. One girl would sit perfectly still and suddenly start to contort her body into different stretches and then sit quietly back down into her sedated state again as if nothing changed.
The group slowly disappeared as the sun bends behind the earth. We made our way to a restaurant in town to meet our German friends who invited us to listen to a band they liked. Little did we know they were a Christian band from California traveling around SE Asia and India playing at different places and giving out free CDs of their music. After a handful of songs a man walked up front. Shirtless with a knitted vest, baggy pants with a leather belt hung freely around him, and his afro hair looked old and scraggly. His wife dressed as a gypsy walked up front with him followed by his 2 little girls - maybe 4 or 5 - one naked and one dressed. He strummed his guitar and sang songs to the Hindu gods. His little naked girl ran around while he played. After 2 or 3 songs he walked away.....
The christian guys came back up and although they played all their original stuff before they decided to sing a song we knew - "From the Inside Out". Everlasting your light will shine when all else fade, never ending your glory goes beyond all fame . A sweet breath of air but it also an awakening to me that the one true God is still here in the midst of all these people searching.
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