Farah's Travels

Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia

2009-07-25T03:31:00.000-07:00

First I have to finish telling you about Siem Reap. Most people come here for the temples - well worth it and kinda the only thing to do....until you get to "Bar Street" and then it's like we turned the corner into Cabo. Needless to say, it was cra-zee! Bars, clubs, $.50 draft beers, bumpin music and the entire town's tourist population cruising around. This is where everyone goes after a long day at the temples. I was actually glad to sit and luxuriate w/ a few Beer Laos, b/c I let Josh convince me that bike riding through the park was a good idea. Actually it was, but I haven't owned a bike since 1992, much the less ridden one (seriously) since then. We biked for h.o.u.r.s. The distance wasn't long, maybe 20k or so, but damn, I was sore.

So we jumped on the overnight bus to the beach Friday night, which was just about as good as an overnight bus can be. Other than they oversold the seats, so 4 poor english guys had to sit in plastic chairs in the aisle for half of the journey. Every time someone had to use the loo, all 4 of them would have to move.

We got in about 6:30 this morning and the ground was still fresh from an early morning rain. Turns out it's been raining here for 2 weeks! but today there's a break in the weather, lucky us. I decided that after several days of being "in it" with other tourists, that we'd stay off the beaten path. I'm so glad we did. We negotiated our own bungalows for $3.50 a night, right on the beach! Best part: there are probably only 15 other "gringos" staying along this beach..

Looking forward to more of the same tomorrow - hammock naps, leisurely dips in the ocean, great seafood and of course, a beer lao or two.

I'm headed home on Monday and will be back Tuesday morning. So, that's it for the posts on this trip. thanks again for keeping track of me... with much love ~Farah

Siem Reap, Cambodia

2009-07-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

It is pissing down rain. Like flash flood style.

We didn't stay long in Phnom Penh, less than 24 hours, but I loved the city on first sight. I was hoping to get back after siem reap, but the call of the ocean is overwhelming and I've convinced Josh that a 10 hour overnight bus on Friday is a good idea.

We took a 6 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh and arrived in Siem Reap around 2pm and were immediately accosted at the bus station...ahh nothing like being back in a developing country, negotiating every-little-thing. Walter yelled the loudest and spoke the best english, so for a dollar each, brought us to his 'friend's' guesthouse. Oh, yeah...they use US dollars here. I think it's b/c their riel is 4000 to $1, which makes the math long, and you have to carry around like a million.

Our main objective is to spend a few days in the Angkor temple "park"". It kinda reminds me of Petra in Jordan, there's so much, it takes a few days. Around 5, walter picked us up in his tuk tuk, which is a semi automatic moped with a hitch pulling a "wagon". Super safe and maneuverable. We get to the park and climb up a little hill to this ahh-ma-zing stone temple. We scramble up the steepest set of stairs to be greeted by 360 views of Cambodia. Breath taking. And seven hundred other tourists. Awesome. So I'm cruising around, enjoying being in my own thoughts when the first rumble of thunder comes rolling across the sky. People are leaving. The first drops of rain start to fall and there's a mass exodus down the path. Josh and I are sitting watching, both of us thinking, "should we, shouldn't we?" walter tossed me an umbrella before we left, so I'm feeling confident. And then the sky opened up. there are 11 of us left at the top. so we sit and wait; sorta dry from the umbrella but not really. And then it really starts raining and I'm just laughing like a crazy lady...ask and you shall receive. we wanted less crowds and we got it :)

20 minutes later, soaked to the bone, walter greets us at the bottom and whisks us away for a steamy ride back. His tuk tuk is the delux model - it's got roll down plastic doors. Hell ya. Nothing but style, baby.

Chiang Mai

2009-07-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

I think we've gotten bored. There are 300 temples in Chiang Mai, plus mountain biking, rafting, monkeys, bungee jumping, spelunking, tigers...every packaged tour you can think of...and yet I've been wandering aimlessly for 2 days. Plus this guesthouse we're staying in, while it has a very cool common/social area, is hosting the most dour-est of travelers. That's the word Josh and I have decided best describes this crabby bunch: dour. Even typing the word is sad.

However, I did have a pretty fantastic 1/2 day at the spa today and we've eaten our way through most of the town. So not all bad :) But I haven't felt the pull of this place like some have. So, just to spice it up a bit, we're heading to Cambodia! We got to talking (well he did most of the talking) to Captain Nick, a London-California-Thai transplant, who owns the only piano bar in town, and he sold us on a Cambodian trek he did, so we're off! This means I'm giving up island life at the end of my trip, but hopefully we'll make up for it on the Cambodian coast next weekend.

More when I get to CAMBODIA!

Bangkok to Chaing Mai

2009-07-18T20:32:00.001-07:00

Glad to be moving out of Bangkok. That place seriously gave me the black lung.

Josh and I headed out on a 13-hour overnight train ride to Chiang Mai, northwest of Bangkok. The train was pretty luxurious for being '2nd class'. But just before 8pm, one of the stewards comes over and points to our bunks and says "sleep". Really? It's 7:45...we just cracked a Singha, we're chillin'. That was the look. He's obviously no dummy to this game, so he goes on and starts making other people's bunks. Which is kinda nice b/c my experience on overnight trains is getting linen tossed at me.

So we're drinking and carrying on, it's 8:10 and he's back. Josh and I have the 2 upper bunks and of course our lower bunkmates are ready to call it a night and have been evil eyeing us for the past 20 minutes. Really? again, it's barely 8pm. Fine. One of the servers tells us there's a dining car we can sit in - 'you can't miss it', he tells us. Well, duh, it's the next car over! So we slide the doors open and wouldn't you know, the place is jumpin'. Classic 70's jams, people carrying on over whiskeys and beers. It was - awesome.

We couldn't leave. We talked about it, we tried, we were sucked in.

And then this morning around 6am the steward comes around just as people are stirring and I'm peeking out from my curtain to see what the fuss is all about and he points to my bunk and says, "finished". Really? I guess that's good morning in Thai.

Needless to say, I need a nap.

Bangkok

2009-07-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! I'm here!

I woke up Tuesday morning with a fever and sore throat - sweet! 17 hour flight ahead of me into the land of, "we are thermally scanning your body temperature even before you hit immigration b/c damn it if another person dies of swine flu on my watch". Okay.

Again, but not surprising, I slept most of flight to Tokyo. Was awake and coherent long enough to make my connection. And passed out again. All this without one cocktail. Segway into: screw United International! $6 for an alcoholic beverage in Economy? After strolling through the 'suites' of first class and the luxury of business class, only to find that you and the rest of the herd have to fight for overhead bin space AND have to pay for booze? wtf

Anyway, both flights were uneventful (I think) and on time (shocking). I landed in Bangkok around 11pm on Wednesday and it was 80 degrees. Hell ya.

As soon as I got here, everything calmed down. I don't know if it's 24 hours of traveling, or just having the space and time to check out. I feel like I'm on the verge of being in this state all the time, but I never quite make it. It's so frustrating, b/c I know this one, and I can be good at it...what keeps me from getting there?

I'm meeting Josh, by bud who I traveled with in Turkey last year. I've heard from other travelers, that often times when you meet someone on the road and then see them in their home country the energy isn't the same. Well, not the case for Josh and I. He lives in SF and we hang out every so often and it's just as easy as I remember. Plus, it's hard to be in anyone's space 24/7, especially while traveling in a foreign country. So I knew when he said he'd be in Thailand, that 1) I had to come and 2) we are going to have a crazy good time.

The hotel he's staying in is RIDICULOUS. Swanky, modern, fabulous. Just what I need. We have dark hardwood floors in our room, washer/dryer, kitchenette, tub that I'm pretty sure I can stretch out in (which, if you're over 5'5" is a big deal). I'm looking out over downtown Bangkok right now, thinking about chillin by the pool this afternoon.

I'll be in Bangkok until Saturday, and then the adventure really starts...stay tuned.

Pre-Bangkok

2009-07-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

I'm making a huge assumption, that you actually want to hear about my travels in Thailand. And if you don't...well that's too bad, you're on the list. Plus it's only 2 weeks, I mean how much will there be, right? The blog seemed like too much for this trip, but the requests were overwhelming, so I'm giving in.

It took me a while to get excited for this trip...I had too much going on, I was burning the candle from both ends and I was tired. Remember how much I learned last year about balance, about being grounded, about learning how to center? Yeah, me too. But it's hard to do when 'real' life happens. Between working full time, spending time with friends, going to the gym or having a night of the Weeds, I inadvertently neglect the part of me that keeps my feet on the ground, my head on right and everything in between connected. And, it's not like I don't want to do any of these fun things (work excluded), but remembering to take time out for me is easier said than done. But, the good news is that I'm aware of it and I know when it's time to take a break.

Now I'm excited.

California Dreamin'

2008-10-17T10:50:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe it, much the less write it, but this will be my last blog entry on this amazing journey of mine. I've had a fantastic couple of days chilling with long time friends: Aaron, Kim and Eli in Seattle. Being here has helped me prepare for the journey home. I plan to take a week to drive from Seattle to the Bay and I want it to be me and the road home. So before I get into the finality of it, I want to tell you how much I have enjoyed writing this blog. Not only do I have a new found love of writing, but the more I hear that you've enjoyed reading it and traveling with me, the easier it is to share. And I needed to share with you...I needed to know you were out there. You've helped me focus on me (which is weird to say), to not be afraid of sharing my thoughts and voice my feelings. It's definitely been therapeutic for me...so thank you for keeping me going.

There is so much that I've learned and discovered on this trip, it's hard to put my feelings into words, but let's see if I can get it out :) Now that I've started learning more about myself, I am aware of my place in the world. But learning about other people's beliefs, culture and religion has given me direction, made me more understanding and increased my tolerance. I'm much more patient, but at the same time I am confident and powerful.

Although I'm nervous and, honestly, a little scared of coming home, I know good things await me when I get there...just as good things were awaiting out in the world. I won't lose perspective because I know what's important. I'll take chances because I know what it's like to be inspired and to be an inspiration.

I have met some incredible people on the road, but it didn't happen right away. I remember in the beginning, I barely spoke with anyone. I had to go inside myself and figure out what the hell was I doing and how I ended up here. And, I'll tell you, it was one of the toughest things I've had to do. But the reward is that I know what it means to have soul mates and I'm so lucky to have met a few men and women who will always be connected to my soul. In considering all these new connections and relationships, the thing that I admire most about myself is that I know how to be alone. So, very clearly from my body, heart and soul, I can tell you that I am finally happy.

I'm glad you've been with me to experience this life changing trip. I'm looking forward seeing you and hearing your thoughts about my journey and the changes I've made.

So keep the champagne chilled...because I'm finally coming home.

Vancouver, Canada

2008-10-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

Who knew Canada had Thanksgiving?! Yeah, and it's tomorrow! So I'll get 2 Thanksgivings this year, lucky me. Zahra and Matt came up to Van for a quick holiday, which I'm super stoked about and we're going to fix a feast! I'm staying at my friend Al-Riaz's place downtown. Yet another long time homie, we met back in '92 when he lived in California. Crazy, I know. Anyway, Van is a super cool city, I feel very urban chic here. It's definitely a lifestyle city, as Al-Riaz puts it. People work to have a good time. Therefore it's not unusual to go out dancing on Tuesday night, which we did last week. The local gay bar had straight night, whatever that means. I couldn't tell. But fun nonetheless.

Van is yet another city I could live in. Surrounded by water on 3 sides, cute happenin' neighborhoods, very walkable, tons of outdoor activities...just up my alley, all except the Canadian part. LOL, ok, just kidding - sort of.

It's been pretty chill the last few days. I signed up for some yoga classes which have kicked my ass, walked around English Bay, checked out the view from my the 32nd floor roof top deck and have eaten ridiculously well. Not a bad way to wrap up a world wide tour. Yes, I did say wrapping up, as in the end of my trip is in sight. I'll be leaving for Seattle for a few days and then I'm going to drive back home. The plan is to take a week to drive down the Washington, Oregon and NCal coasts and be back in the Bay on October 26th. I know, take a deep breath...it's even a lot of detail and planning for me :) But, as I've told you before, even the best laid plans have a way of getting twisted around, so I can't make any promises, but I hope to see you soon.

Whistler, Canada

2008-10-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

2 words - ZIP LINE!

Rez and I zipped through Whistler at 60km/hr on zip lines threaded throughout the trees in between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. What a rush! At first I was a little nervous, I mean who wouldn't be? Clicked onto a cable by a paperclip and then to willingly step off a platform 50m (at least!) above the forest floor. Yeah, I was a little nervous. But after the first zip, you think you're bloody James Bond, hanging upside down, spinning around Look, ma...No hands! It was so cool.

Whistler definitely made me miss home. Especially my girlfriends and our weekends in South Lake Tahoe! It's a super cute, fun, active village just like the village at Heavenly or Squaw Valley with tons of fantastic restaurants, bars, people watching patios and great, overpriced shopping. The weather, although rainy and cold, made for perfect autumn days. The leaves were changing color and the first snows of the season dusted the highest peaks overnight.

Rez and I bonded, again, and caught up on the last 10 years. We just picked up like it was yesterday. Funny how time and distance don't really effect relationships that are important to you. These special people never leave your heart because they've touched your soul. I feel very fortunate to have the friendships that I do...all around the world I've been looked after and thought of by my friends at home and the ones I've met along the way. And the great thing is that these relationships work without effort, whether I'm near or far, we are always connected.

Victoria, Canada

2008-10-01T19:48:00.001-07:00

I'm in the Pacific Standard Time Zone! OMG, it's been great to be able to talk to my sister and friends and not have to calculate the time difference. See, it's the little things that make me happy.

So anyway, it was a very very teary good bye to my aunt...her and I are so similar, now all my weird quirks make sense. I'm so glad that I had a chance to spent 3 wonderful weeks with her. We had such a fabulous time. I haven't laughed that much, well, ever. We were like 2 giggly kids, with our inappropriate comments, and juvenile sense of humor. She's really the only one I can be like that with and I like it. It makes her that much more special to me.

I left for Vancouver at the crack of dawn on Tuesday, had a quick stop downtown to unload some of my pack (which has reached a ridiculous 31 lbs even after the shameful amount of stuff I sent home with Zahra), and then took the bus to the ferry and sailed over to Victoria to spend some time with my aunt and uncle on my mom's side. The ride over was stunning. Have you been anywhere in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle, San Juan Islands? It is breathtaking. I'm glad to be here in the fall...all the leaves are changing, the crowds are gone and it's very peaceful. Plus the weather has turned a little cool and it's nice to bundle up!

My Aunt and Uncle have a great place 10 minutes from quaint downtown Victoria. We've been doing a lot of walking around the waterfront, having lazy mornings and overall just relaxing. I'll be here for a few days before heading back to Vancouver to whoop it up with my long time friend, Rez, who's coming in from Atlanta. We've been friends for 20 years - damn, when you can reminisce in decades, well, you know you're not 10 anymore. He and I are also going to check out Whistler for a few days and I'm super excited, b/c it's somewhere I've always wanted to go. I am just squeezing out every last bit of fun on this trip that I can :)

Montreal, Canada

2008-09-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

I'm in Canada - did I mention that? But, in Montreal, and I'm pretty sure the entire province of Quebec, think they're a European country. I'll give you a clue...it starts with an 'F' and ends with 'rance'. For-The-Love. Not one sign for anything is in English. This is a first for me and I've been to a lot of places and seen a lot of signs. Unfortunately there is also a bit of 'tude going on here. Let me see if I can sum it up: irritable; I can't be bothered; just try and ask me for help; you obviously don't speak French; where the hell do you think you are, Canada?

Did I mention I'm in CANADA?

Ok, besides that, Montreal is a super cute city :) It was my cousin's birthday and I got spoiled. We stayed on the 32nd floor of the Sheraton downtown, overlooking the entire city. Hello - the bathroom had a hairdryer and room for dance lessons. (I'm so easily impressed these days - I mean if I don't have to share a bathroom with 10 others, I'm stoked) Anyway, we went to the BEST steakhouse for dinner...translated, it's called The Horse's Tail. I haven't had a steak since I left, so I totally indulged. That with a bottle of wine and a ridiculously decadent dessert and I was ready to be rolled out of the restaurant. But I pulled it together and we hit the happenin' part of town. My cousin and I showed our faces at a few hip spots before settling in to shake our groove thang at a multi level club. Good times with the family.

Ottawa, Canada

2008-09-25T08:00:00.001-07:00

So did anyone catch the NHL pre-season Ottawa Senators vs. the Philadelphia Flyers game Wednesday night? Of course you did. So you must have seen me on TV - club level, center ice, 4 rows up from the penalty box...yeah, that was the top of my head! I had a little understanding of the game from last year, but watching it live was so fun! Hockey players are tough dudes. There were 3 pretty good fights...gloves off...helmets off...totally going for it. I think that's why people enjoy hockey, that and the body slamming into the boards, b/c trying to follow the puck, well that's just pointless.

My aunt and I are visiting my cousins for a long weekend in Ottawa. We're headed to Montreal for a few days. Better brush up on my French. I was totally surprised when driving over here from Toronto...it's absolutely beautiful. It reminds me of New England, lots of trees/forests..and the leaves are changing color, it's just stunning. Although it's the capital, it's a small town with a small town feel. Downtown is super cute, with tons of restaurants and shops, beautiful churches with turquoise domes, and their Parliament buildings could have been picked right out from London. Can you tell...I'm impressed. And I'm in Canada.

Toronto, Canada

2008-09-17T12:57:00.001-07:00

Toronto is such a cool city - I never really had a chance to check it out. Every time I've been here, it's to spend a quick weekend with my family and all I see is the airport and the inside of my aunt's apartment. It's quite diverse and cosmopolitan, which makes for an easy re-entry back into the western world.

I rented a car when I got here and it's been nice having the freedom to roll wherever I want. Although I've been a little scared of driving. I really have a hard time with what side of the road other cars are coming from, what side I should be on, can I turn left on red...you know, the usual concerns. But I'm managing :)

The highlight for me was seeing my sister! My parents and sister came to Toronto for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. We had family and friends over for dinner and they wanted a run down of what I've been doing for the last 8 months. No small task let me tell you. So I started off in New Zealand and worked my way through Turkey. I think I spoke for an hour (or so it felt). It was humbling, yet again, to reminisce on the things I've done, places I've been and people I've met. I'll never stop feeling how lucky I am.

Overall I've been chilling...my aunt and I laugh until we cry pretty much everyday - we don't even have to say anything! We're headed to Ottowa tomorrow to visit my cousin and his fam and then I'm off to Vancouver for 2-3 weeks. My oldest friend, I've known him for 20 years (!) will be in Van as well and I can't wait to catch up with him.

It's been months, but my US cell phone is back in working order! This is huge for me b/c I've had about 10 phone numbers over the last 7 months. I got a new sim card in almost every country which means that my number changed constantly. Yet another step closer to being back home.

Westward Bound

2008-09-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

Even though I won't be back in California for several weeks, I still feel like I'm coming home. My extended family is in Canada and I'm really looking forward to be pampered and looked after for a bit :) Plus my sister and parents will be here to celebrate my b-day next weekend, and I can't wait to see them. I flew straight from Istanbul to JFK on Tuesday. I thought I would be more emotional about leaving Turkey, because I really did fall in love with the country, but when the customs officer in NY said 'welcome home', I almost cried. I've found that my 'special traveler' status is gone...when you're traveling the world everyone wants to talk to you, find out where you're from and where you've been. But in America (and I'm assuming in Canada as well) I'm just another American traveler. No one wants to hear my story or talk to me about my adventures. But I know that all of you will be anxiously awaiting... :)

I can't believe that my travels are coming to an end. I have had the most amazing journey - I am grateful everyday for this experience. I still feel so lucky and humbled most days. And the best part is that I've finally found who I really am - and man, I am so cool :)

So, I'll be in Toronto for a few weeks. My Internet access is limited, so the blogging will be minimal. Plus all I'll be doing is eating and drinking more chai with my aunt. Not a bad way to live :)

Istanbul

2008-09-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Back in İstanbul after a RIDICULOUS bus journey. I started in Savur on Sunday a 10am and took a 1 hour minibus ride to Mardin. Of course I hadn't planned out my journey and I was just hoping that there would be a bus to Istanbul...and wouldn't you know it - there is. I was supposed to leave at 1pm but the bus was late and we left at 2pm. After stopping, oh I don't know, somewhere in the range of 7 times in an hour, we filled the bus and we're off. I already understood that the trip would be 18-21 hours and I'm ok with this b/c I really have nothing but time. So we start late, no problem; we stop frequently, also no problem; but then one of our drivers (we have 2 and 3 flight attendants) gets into a fight with one of the passengers - ok, small problem. Actually I have no idea what happened, but it was 7am and we are close to Istanbul and all hell breaks out at this bus stop.The next thing İ see is the passenger running after the driver with an orange construction cone...İ should have taped it b/c İ would have won the $10K prize from America's Funniest Home Video. Holy shit, I'm still laughing.

But what's not funny is that this spectacle adds at least an hour onto my journey. I get into the Istanbul bus station or rather JFK airport around 12pm. The bus station is crazy - there are least 150 platforms with buses coming and going from every direction. Did İ mention pedestrians do not have the right of way here? Yeah, good to know.

3 more buses and 2 hours later, I am back in Istinye with Sercan and Jim. Tıme passes easily with these two and we are constantly laughing, talking, sharing... they have become my dear frıends, and the next thing you know another week ın Istanbul has passed. I am headed to Edirne tomorrow for a few days, and, get ready for this...I'm crossing the pond on Tuesday and headed to Toronto for a month ın Canada. When I bought my ticket, I thought I would have been a little more emotional about ıt, but surprisingly, I wasn't. What really choked me was the price of the ticket.

I'm on my way...

Mt. Nemrut, Mardin, Savur

2008-08-30T05:28:00.000-07:00

I just came back from a week in Eastern Turkey and it was absolutely stunning. I was quite surprised to hear warnings from many western Turks about traveling to the East alone. But all the other travelers that I spoke with, said that the east is not to be missed. I started in Mt. Nemrut from Capadoccia, a 12 hour bus ride. I tell you, I'd take a 12 hour bus ride in Turkey over an hour in an Indian bus any day. They have bus attendants, similar to flight attendants that serve beverages, cake and ice cream! But my ride did suck because I had to sit in the jump seat next to the driver for almost the entire overnight journey. So I got to Khata and was totally jacked. I stayed in a little village called Karadut about 12km from the top of Nemrut. The pension owner told me to find the Karadut Market and talk to Mustafa and he'll help me get a minibus (this is the local transport) to Karadut. Ok, so İ'm a little nervous and skeptical about this, but quickly realize that this is the old me thinking. İ consciously change my energy and wouldn't you know, I meet Mustafa right away and end up having breakfast with him and his son at the shop. We took a ton of pictures and he gave me the shop address so I can mail them to him. İ am constantly amazed at what happens when İ stop to think about the energy that I put out into the world. It doesn't happen like a wish, but rather, it is something that İ truly feel in my heart. Sometimes İ think that İ'm thinking positively, only to realize that my thought is really negative and İ'm just 'hoping' things will work out. Funny how life has a way of discerning these things.

So, Mt. Nemrut has these massive statues at the top of the mountain, but the heads have fallen off and now they sit at the feet of their bodies. İ didn't get many pictures b/c the batteries in my - camera died - damn it. But İ did watch an amazing sunset in the desert.

From Mt. Nemrut I headed southeast, I think I was 70km from the Syrian border, to Mardin. What an amazing little town. Kurds, Turks, Arabs and Christians all live peacefully in this beautiful place. For 2 days I sat in a chai shop and looked out at the honey colored desert that stretched to Syria. It was a surreal experience...the desert is mesmerizing.

One more minibus ride and İ was in the sweet town of Savur. İ splurged on a place to stay b/c it had an amazing view of the valley below. There is a river that runs through the valley, but you can't see it because of the trees that grow around it. So from my perch all you see is a river of green snaking through the mountains. The town is smaller than Mardin and they don't see many tourists, especially women travelling alone. But after being stared at for a good long while (İ have just come to accept this - with my big sunglasses, short hair, height.. and lets face it, İ'm damn cute, well: people stare), İ was welcomed into every tea shop. The family İ stayed with treated me like a long lost relative and it was good to be looked after for a night. And let me tell you, İ needed a good night's sleep because İ was about to embark on an epic bus journey that would last 30 hours....

Capadoccıa

2008-08-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've been having a bout of writers block about Capadoccia. I don't know why...I think it's because I've had a travel partner for the last 10 days. And instead of talking to you, I've been talking to him. But we parted ways in Goreme and I was more emotional than I thought I would be. It just came to be that we traveled for so long together, but I think that's why it worked, because it was easy. In my mind I thought that it would be good to do the last bit of traveling alone, but along with the rest of my planning, that didn't happen. Almost the entire time I've been in Turkey, I've been with other travelers. Sometimes I would insta-bond just because they were from California or the States or just spoke English! Only to find out that our travel styles, outlook on life, perspective on reality was different, so after an hour or a day, we'd part ways. As you know it's hard to travel with someone 24/7 and really hard when you don't know the person. So I consider myself lucky to have made a new friend and even luckier that Josh and I had such a great time exploring Turkey together... sometimes it's nice not being the driver and the navigator. So thanks, Josh, for helping me find the words when my English was limited, for listening to my crazy stories, for making great Nescafe, for calling me a hippie and for sometimes being the driver and sometimes being the navigator.

So, Capadoccia! What a fairy tale of a place. This is an area of crazy rock formations, some look like melting ice cream with caves and carvings (have you ever seen any of Gaudi's work? Look him up, check out the buildings in Barcelona), some like giant penis' (is that the plural? when have i ever had to type that word), some like mushrooms. It's unreal. We stayed in Goreme, which is a great town that blends old village with modern tourism, at the Flintstones. Yes, in a cave! It was so cool. We had tea in a tea garden where the same groups of old men gather to place backgammon and drink endless cups of tea. Oh, speaking of, I must drink like 7 cups a day, they're so small and cute, and it's such an easy thing to stop and do when your tired of cruising around. Anyway, we did an all-day tour which was fantastic except for the obligatory stop at the onyx factory. I swear, anything to get you to buy something.

I left on the overnight train to Mt. Nemrut and Josh is now sleeping in his own bed in San Francisco, I'm so jealous.

Konya

2008-08-26T02:39:00.000-07:00

We decided to couch surf in Konya, the final resting place of the Sufi, Rumi, and home to the whirling dervishes. We found George, new to couchsurfing, and we were his first guests. OMG - he was great, generous and eager to show us his town. We arrived around 6pm and from that moment until about 1am we were non stop. We went for dinner, coffee, tea, downtown, uptown, the river, if there was a sight to be seen, he showed us. He played photographer with my camera and the results are priceless.

One thing he didn't mention was that he lives with his family, who just happened to be on vacation...except for dad whom we had breakfast with the following morning :)

Konya is the first city that I've been to (so far) where I really felt a religious presence. Women cover their heads, there wasn't a drop of beer to be found, and the city pretty much shuts down around 11pm. Ok, you're right, where there is beer to be had, we will find it. We just happened to spy an Efes sign (local turkish beer) down an alley, so we walk towards it, only to find 3 guys kind of lurking in front of a small shop that has one cooler full of Efes in a can or bottle. I mean I thought that some shit was going down! All this to buy beer. The guy almost wrapped it in newspaper but then gave it to us in a dark plastic bag. I thought for sure the beer police would hear the bottles clanking away in my bag, but we made it back to the hotel and couldn't help but laugh at yet another adventure in Konya.

Olympos, Turkey

2008-08-25T08:48:00.001-07:00

Talk about getting sucked in...Olympos is that kind of place. Its hardly a town, more like a village or giant campsite with mostly backpackers and a smattering of locals thrown in. Its claim to fame are the tree houses; some of them are pretty cool, but most are just wood structures without a roof on stilts. I opted for the dorm and a/c. Josh and I spent 3 nights in Olympos and honestly, I don't know where the time went. It was so ridiculously hot, that even walking the 10 minutes to the beach took me 2 days. Most of my time was spent lounging and reading, trying not to move too much. After 4 days on the boat I wasn't about to break the relaxation spell. However, the one super cool thing I did was get up at the crack of dawn to watch a baby turtle, just hatched, make it's way to the sea...

I ran into a couple that I met on one of my many bus rides and we were immediately invited into the 'cool' group. They had taken over one of the harem areas and we carried on laughing and drinking until the wee hours. And so 3 days passed...I could have easily spent the rest of my time in Turkey here.

Selcuk, Fethiye, Blue Cruise, Turkey

2008-08-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

I took the overnight bus from Istanbul to Selcuk (say: Sal-chuk). The bus system here is very easy, but we stopped like 5 times on a 10 hour journey. I stayed in Selcuk to see the ancient ruins in Ephesus, but, and this sounds so bad, after being in Petra I wasn't as 'wow-ed' as I should have been. But the place I stayed, Atilla's Getaway was well worth the trip out there. It's an oasis with a pool and tons of places to chill out with a good book. I spent 2 very lazy days lounging in a Turkish sitting area (harem), you know, carpets, pillows, no shoes, nargile (hooka). I really can't complain.

I've been surprised to meet so many Americans traveling in Turkey. In fact, I think I've met more Americans here than I have in the last 6 months. I met Josh from San Francisco and we decided that if the timing worked out with our travels we'd take the Blue Cruise together. So from Selcuk I headed to the Mediterranean Coast to Fethiye (say: Fet-ee-ya) where the boat was leaving on Saturday to Olympos. The boat is actually a gullet, but we never sailed, which was a little disappointing, but I got over it right quick after my daily morning swim in the Med. Ok, so if you haven't had a twinge of jealousy yet, now is the time to stop reading.

After 2 nights in Fethiye and 2 nights in Faralya in a bungalow overlooking butterfly valley, I met Josh on the dock and we set off for 4 days cruising the Med. I don't think I've mentioned, but it is hot here - I'd say close to 100 every day. Even being on the water it was crazy hot. So everyone took their bedding from the staterooms and slept on the deck on lounge cushions. It was so fun, like one giant slumber party. We used our stateroom as a big closet with shower and toilet. Ok, right, so there were 2 couples from Turkey, 4 people from Spain and a family of 4 from Libya.

In the beginning our group was a little shy, but by day 2 we were all friends. It was really easy to talk to everyone, even when english was limited. I absolutely fell in love with the Libyan family, and have promised that I will visit one day.

On the last night the captain promised us an evening of fun and shortly after dinner a boat pulled up to take us to the Smugglers Inn - a disco/bar on the beach. OMG, what a riot! Each gulet's passengers had taken over a harem to chill in, but our group hit the dance floor like banshees and we didn't stop until everyone had left.

One of my 'must do's' on this trip was this cruise and I'm so glad that I was able to! 4 days of looking out at the beautiful blue Mediterranean, swimming, reading and meeting new friends...this is what vacation is all about. Now if I could just stop rocking...

6 months

2008-08-13T02:57:00.001-07:00

Has ıt really been 6 months?

I've been sitting here in this hot as hell Internet cafe in Fethiye, Turkey, reflecting on my last 6 months and I feel like you know everything already. I've shared with you what I've seen, how I've traveled, my doubts, my perspective, in fact I've been more open on this blog than I thought I would. But I'm glad you've been following me...it's nice having a bit of home while on the road

So, I think I'll try something new and tell you about my gear. I know it's not deep, but it's been with me the entire journey, so I think it deserves some mention. My pack started off at 20lbs when I weighed it at SFO way back in February. If I do say so, I packed brilliantly. Everything I brought I used. From the zip off pants-to-shorts to the sleeping sack. I had 2 pairs of shoes: Reef platform flip-flops and Clarks walking shoes. I flattened the flip flops by May, but continued to wear them until July, which was a bad call, because I've jacked my hip (but nothing that a week at the spa won't fix). So one pair of new flips later, and I'm good to go until I get home. I think I told you that I sent my rain coat home with Jennifer when I was in Greece and that wasn't a good call either, b/c 2 weeks later I was in torrential downpours in Croatia. I've changed out all my t-shirts I had in India because of the laundry situation. Washing clothes on a rock using a rock to beat them clean tends to shorten the life of your clothing, you know? I have all 8 pairs of underwear I started out with. And I know you're thinking that having chonies for 6 months is not unreasonable, but when you wash them weekly... the cuteness fades away.

Now this is not to say that I haven't done my fair share of shopping, because let me tell you London has some fabulous shopping...to date (and what I can remember) I've bought 5 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of pants, a leather jacket, several shirts/tanks, and many gift-y items. But many thanks to Zahra, Dad, Jennifer, Kelsey and Mom for taking my purchases home. On average now, I carry 12 kilos, which is about 26lbs. I have acquired 3 skirts, 2 dresses, 1 pair of jeans but I've gotten rid of 2 pairs of pants, rain coat and 3 t-shirts (replaced by tanks). The stupidest thing I'm carrying is a bottle of my perfume (Gucci II). I was missing a little bit of girly-ness, so now have this ridiculous glass bottle of fragrance. The thing I hate the most is my bag of electronics - phone charger, iPod charger, universal converter, camera cord, battery charger. I can never fold it small enough. And recently I've acquired a Kurdish rug which I'll have to carry around for the next 3 weeks, but it's manageable.

But now I'm missing my friends and family and I think that's a good indication of being ready to come home. Not to say that you haven't been on my mind the last 6 months, but rather I've had other things rattling around in there that have taken up residence lately. So I'll finish up Turkey and am thinking of a side trip to Syria (but it's so f-ing hot right now so we'll see) and move westward beginning of September. But, by now you have come to know the erratic nature of my traveling, so all I can say is we'll see :)

So, with much love...thank you for keeping track of me via the blog and for all your comments and well wishes along the way. I thought that I was on this trip alone and I needed time away, but really, you have been with me the entire journey. I am looking forward to coming home.

Istanbul, Turkey

2008-08-10T03:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I've been in Istanbul for a week! I stayed in a great youth hostel in Sultanamet for the first 3 nights and took in all the touristy sights: Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, riding the tram, kebabs, baklava, etc. The Big Apple hostel had a great rooftop terrace, where after a long day of sights, the beer tasted even better. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia were definitely my highlights, each domed and outrageously ornate. Going into the Blue Mosque, you have to cover your head and legs and take your shoes off. When I got in, I was totally overwhelmed...by the smell of feet. It was a hot day and holy shit, it was horrible. But after my eyes stopped watering, I was able to sit and reflect. Even though there were a maddening number of tourist groups, I found it quite peaceful.

Istanbul is such a cool city - half of it is on the European side and half in Asia. The Bosphoros Straight is the dividing line. I cruised out to an island one day...I swear I'm going to buy a boat one day...and worked on my tan :) The city has great energy. I had dinner with some people from the hostel and we ended up in an area where block after block are restaurants, bars and clubs with cafe style seating spilling out onto the sidewalk and cobblestone streets. All kinds of music competes with one another, guys are selling stuffed mussles and grilled corn on carts and persistent turkish men try to lure you into their rug shops with promises of tea.

I heard about this website called couch surfing and decided to try it out in Istanbul. Basically, its a reciprocal hospitality website where you offer your couch, meet and greet, night out, coffee/drinks to travelers from around the world and in turn you do the same when you're out in the world. The basic idea is to promote peace through learning and understanding of other cultures. So I've done my research, bc you know that's how i am, and I find Sercan (say: Ser-jan). He seems like just the type of person that I want to have in my life and I wasn't disappointed. He has hosted over 400 couchsurfers over the last 4 years and somehow always has room in his house, whether for 1 or 15. Jim and Matt, Sercan's friends, greeted me and I felt like I had know these guys forever. I was so quickly welcomed and included, I felt like I was home. We joked non stop, cooked dinner together and celebrated Jim's birthday, it was one of the most memorable experiences on my trip. I really wanted to experience how locals live, local culture and just be in it, and that's exactly what I got.

Geneva, Switzerland

2008-08-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

Finally out of the UK! I meandered down to Geneva to visit Misty and Manfred who had baby Finn just over 2 months ago. I don't know what I was expecting of Geneva, but it blew my mind. It is absolutely beautiful. From their house on the French side, you could see Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc (the highest peak in Europe). It's so green with vineyards climbing up the steep mountains that surround the lake. I have been absolutely spoiled with my accommodations, when it comes to my friends. And Misty & Manfred's house is no exception. They are in the foothills of some massive mountains with a ski run right above them. The property is sprawling with lots of trees and yard space and they have done beautiful work to the yard. Actually props to Manfred who has rediscovered his primal roots and took down a few trees for firewood. Oh, and just to add to the atmosphere, there were cows grazing in their back yard. It was very tranquil and I found myself loosing track of time.

Misty & Manfred have always been gracious hosts and this time was no exception. Besides myself, Misty's mom was visiting for a few months. The day after I arrived, friends of theirs and their children stayed for the weekend, and the day before I left 7 of Misty's family came through. I had such a good time reconnecting with them. We chilled at Lake Geneva for an afternoon, visited the vineyards, cooked amazing meals, and lounged at the house in the sun. It was an absolutely perfect week.

Baby Finn is ridiculously cute and just along for the ride. Slept well, ate well, hardly fussed. If we could all be that lucky. Even I complain more than Finn :)

Off to Turkey for a month and if I'm lucky, Syria as well. But don't worry, I really am on my way home :) ha ha, I know what you're thinking....

Exeter, England

2008-07-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last 5 days in Exeter with a great friend, Annika, who I met in India. Exeter is in Devon, southwest of London near the coast. It is quintessential English countryside with the green rolling hills and tons of sheep. The town is very quaint, very English with a massive cathedral and the Exe River river flowing through. I have been exposed to proper English tea with clotted cream and scones, fish and chips, and Sunday roastie. Spending time with Annika and her friends has really made me miss my friends back home!

I've been 'wankering' on (i have learned some interesting English words which I'll try to incorporate) about being in the UK for so long, but I've come to realize that this time is preparing me for when I come home. I have been so busy running around, visiting friends, spending time with family, that I haven't spent any time alone. I have barely written in my journal or on the blog. And when I do get to it, I find it difficult to get inside my brain and heart and write about what's going on. I have to practice listening so I can understand my feelings and thoughts and connect them with what's happening in my life and in my environment. I know it sounds like I'm over thinking things, but for me it's much more rewarding (albeit challenging) to be able to listen and understand my feelings and write about them, than it is to ignore.

It's been a challenge for me to incorporate the 'new' me with the 'old' me. But I think I've found my way and the feeling of coming home is stronger than it has been in months. I have really missed connecting with my friends. Part of that, of course, is because I've been gone, but I think a bigger part is b/c I understand myself so much better. My priorities have changed. For me, there is more to life than I previously thought. My decisions, thoughts and feelings come from a different place. I do things differently, I have new perspective, I feel whole, but yet not complete. But that's ok, because it gives me something to look forward to. And, as crazy as it sounds, there are times when I have really missed having a companion. For the times when my journeys are frustrating and for when they are extraordinary an arm around the shoulder would be enough. But, I realize for that to happen, I have to be a little more stationary, but just a little :)

So, as I said before, I'm getting ready to come home, but I'm not quite done yet. I really want to end this trip on my own, just like I started. So I think another 2 months should do it.

I know what you're thinking: 'bollucks'.

Lisbon and Northern Portugal

2008-07-17T08:55:00.001-07:00

Lisbon, like many European cities, is full of plazas, pedestrian streets and old churches. But what's a little different in Lisbon is the Moorish influence in the architecture and neighborhood. So lots of tile work with intricate designs, symmetrical patters, etc. Mom and I meandered through the narrowest winding streets in the Alfama area, relaxed with some fantastic Portuguese pastries at an outdoor cafe and window shopped throughout the city.

But, Lisbon is a big city, and one day is enough and we were there for 3, so I was done.
I did buy some great shoes.
I learned that Obrigada/o is thank you in Portuguese.

Northern Portugal was beautiful. Very green and mountainous. We took a day long river cruise through the Port wine growing region in Porto and saw Europe's oldest university in Coimbra.
We were staying in some luxurious hotels, with swimming pools and hair dryers (thanks mom!) until I saw the room rate and then it was back to the Lonely Planet. Actually we stayed in some very quaint guest houses that included breakfast. I think even mom was impressed. Breakfast wasn't usually a feast. But the Portuguese must really love their baked goods b/c most mornings we would have freshly baked pastries and bread. Except once, we must have had some day old bread b/c I look up and mom is chasing her pat of butter around the bread with her knife. The coffee is hit or miss. And actually I haven't written about this b/c I think I'm blocking it out. But most of the world thinks that Nescafe is coffee. Not many people understand the beast that lurks within coffee drinkers and how we need beans not granules or powder. Now, I'm by no means undermining Nescafe b/c I realize that some people are fiendish about it. But I swear I have had enough Nescafe to last a lifetime, so I'm always on the look out for the real stuff. A few times in Jordan I ordered a Turkish coffee, but I used my teeth as a sieve and that kinda sucked.

The Algarve, Portugal

2008-07-14T03:10:00.000-07:00

Just my luck that Mom wanted to go to Portugal, so here we are! We spent 4 days driving around the southern coast and up the west coast to Lisbon. I've been driving, which is hysterical, bc the last time I drove was in New Zealand and I was on the left side of the road in a giant SUV. Now I´m back on the right side of the road, in a tiny, manual transmission VW Polo. Half the time I´m questioning what side of the road should I be on and looking left when I should be looking right - scary, right? I also find the street signs really confusing. For example, there´s a round red sign with a red car and a black car - WTF, am I red, am I black? And once I figure out what color, what do I do? The roundabouts are MASSIVE and make me sweat. That coupled with mom navigating from the passenger seat, yelling to turn right, (well it´s a circle, mom, what does turn right mean?), driving will be the end of me. And if we don't die on the city roads, we'll for sure meet our demise while on the highway. The suggested speed is 120 km/hr (75mph). I am the only one going 120. So I bump it up to 130 so at least I can pass the trucks.

We flew into Faro which is the main city in the south. Neither one of us were really interested in the city, so we headed east to Tavira. A very quaint town with a river running through it to the ocean. We only had 4 days to make our way to Lisbon, so we hopped around a lot, but we did manage to spend a few quality days on the beach. The weather was gorgeous and I've brought new meaning to the word tan :) We stayed in Sagres and Vila do Milfontes, two sleepy surf towns...did you know that the west coast of Portugal is a great surf spot? Neither did I and was looking forward to checking out the action (come on now, everyone is a sucker for a surfer) but the surf was blown out by the wind. Regardless, just chillin' was good enough.

Mom and I are headed to Lisbon for 3 days...

London, England

2008-07-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

London is stupid expensive. If things were equal, pounds to dollars, then it would be manageable, but when you double the price of everything it gets ridiculous. For example...a prepackaged sandwich is £4 (that's $8 for the challenged), train and tube all day card is £7, a beer is £3.60, jeans that I really wanted were £88, shoes I bought were £99. For the love.

Anyway, enough complaining!
I spent 4 days in London before Nairobi and I'll be here for a week, before Mom and I head to Portugal. London is a very hip, chic city. Everyone is well dressed, well groomed, well everything. Even the men take time to pimp themselves out. I think I've seen more hair product on men than women. The 'do' that's really popular is the grown out mohawk, it's actually very sexy when done right, but laughable b/c you know that the man sporting this ´do, spent way too much time on it. In most department stores, the men´s skin care products rival the women´s counter. I heard two men talking about moisturizer. I think the term is 'metro-sexual'. However, ridiculous it may seem to us, Californians, it´s refreshing to see some effort being put into appearance :) I, on the other hand, have nothing to say, since I wear the same thing 5 days in a row, until it stands up on it´s own, and then just one more day, bc I can´t be bothered to do laundry. HA! Ok, not that bad, but when you only have 5 shirts, options are limited.

Nairobi, Kenya

2008-06-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, back in Africa and I love it! I was invited to tag along and help at a Sports Festival for my religious community. Most of you know that I grew up Ismaili Muslim, but I have been 'out of practice' for the past 15 years (or so). So why did I decided to come to the Games? It took me a while to figure it out, but I realize that I miss the sense of community. Aside from the religious aspect, Ismailis are very involved in volunteering and in third world development. Which is something that has become more and more important to me as I gain insight on myself during this trip. But again, what was I doing spending a week with 5000 other Ismaili's? I won't lie, it was a little overwhelming at times. But I took my time outs to regroup and it was a very rewarding experience.

I didn't see much of Nairobi, since most of my time was spent in a cab or bus to and from the 'Village' and the Kasarani Sports Center. Did you know that Nairobi is the 3rd most dangerous city in Africa? Yeah, I didn't know either until I got into town. Probably would have helped to do a bit of research before just jumping on a plane. I mean even walking across the street is dangerous. Security at the hotel was tight, especially since we stayed downtown. I never felt targeted, but we heard stories, and that was enough for me to keep my solo meanderings to a minimum.

The Games were amazing. There were athletes from 20 countries, including Syria, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, UK, US, Canada, Uganda, Tanzania and of course, Kenya. All together about 1200, participating in volleyball, basketball, soccer, swimming, track & field, table tennis, badminton & chess (is this really a sport? no offense). I knew that I would be recruited to help and I was all for it. I volunteered to help with the player's uniforms. We pressed flags and numbers on thousands of jerseys. Although the majority of the work was done the week before, we repressed all of the Syrian athletes shirts at least twice. Logistics were great but something always falls through the cracks.

I was overwhelmed by the Kenyan hospitality and the coordination effort of countless volunteers, who worked 18+ months, in addition to their regular jobs, who made the Games such a success. On the first day I met Laila, from the UK, who knew about half of the people at the games. Therefore, I was introduced to about 2000 people in a week - no joke. Her and I meeting wasn't an accident. I was in need of the community and she brought me to it. By the end of the week, people were greeting me like we were old friends. I made some friends for life, in a week (!). As far as connecting with others, this trip has been the most rewarding thing I've done.

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina

2008-06-19T04:50:00.000-07:00

The bus ride from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo was absolutely beautiful. Bosnia-Herzcegovina (BH) is lush and green, contrary to what I thought. The coast is more rock than green, but traveling inland, the landscape turned almost rainforest like. We drove along a dark emerald green river with mountains climbing up either side. The water was so still in some places you could see the leaves reflected. The towns are very small with white buildings and red tile roofs. Most of the stone/brick buildings were destroyed in the war, remnants of which we saw on the drive.

Sarajevo is a great city, lots of energy and a good vibe. But again with the war damaged buildings! Ten story apartment buildings that have bullet holes (still!) and in some places where something larger hit, the concrete is crumbled down to the re-bar. There is also a street called 'sniper alley' where I'm sure you can guess what happened. The Holiday Inn where all the journalists holed up covering the war is now a tourist spot and the tunnels they used to get people and goods in and out of the city is a museum.

I think being in these countries makes such an impact on me because the war started when I was in high school, so old enough to read about it, watch it on the news and understand what was happening. It's completely overwhelming to actually see the damage. But they are independent now and people love their country. It's a very welcoming and beautiful feeling when you come to a country where the people are happy just being citizens, where family and friends come first and everything else is the means to being able to spend time with those you love.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

2008-06-15T03:08:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Dubrovnik yesterday...it's a stunning city. The old city is walled in complete with turrets, clock tower and the oldest running pharmacy in all of Europe, I think. It's hard to think that this city, this country, was at war just 17 years ago. I met a Croatian who said the 'worst things' were the grenades coming over the wall and the sniper fire. He said the entire Old City was on fire and the walls crumbling from attack, right where we were sitting. You can still see bullet holes in the sides of buildings and part of structures that they just never rebuilt. It's pretty intense.

So, I don't think I've mentioned, but it's been raining for the past few days, not all day, but there are a few hours when it's thunder, lightening and a torrential downpour. Of course I sent my rain coat back with Zahra, thinking the worst of it was over. But today is beautiful and I'm headed to the beach. The beaches along the Adriatic are mostly just rocks, sometimes small and sometimes boulders. I just end up pushing them around until I get them to support me. Believe me, I'm definitely not complaining!

I'm headed to Sarajevo tomorrow for a quick 2 night stay because I'm flying to London on Wednesday and then back to Africa on Sunday! I've had a little change in travel plans. I got in touch with an old friend who is volunteering at a sports festival in Nairobi and invited me along. So I'm heading out on Sunday for a week :) I know, crazy me.

Korcula, Croatia

2008-06-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

So I have managed my way from Rovinj to Rijeka to Zadar to Split and finally to the island of Korcula. Wow - it's ridiculously beautiful here. I arrived by ferry from Split and met another woman traveling alone. We stayed at the only backpackers, called One Love (OK!) last night. The Lonely Planet describes it as a well run, fun management, but not a place to get much sleep. So true :) I checked into a private room in an lady's house this morning. This is the norm, more than hostels and backpackers. The little old ladies come accosting you at the bus and ferry stations with pictures and maps of their places. For the most part you can negotiate a good deal, especially since it is only mid-season. And with all the negotiating I have under my belt, you can be sure I am getting a good deal.

You know, it's been interesting for me the last several weeks, being back in "western" culture. I struggled to find myself, because I felt like I couldn't go back to the 'old' me - the one before this trip - but I've found it hard to maintain the 'new' me in this part of the world. I know eventually I will be back in the US and I will have to adjust, and I wonder how that will play out. I check in with myself and really think about: ˝is what I'm doing making me happy?˝ Sometimes the answer isn't as clear or as easy as you'd think.

As I grapple with the adjustment, I've come to understand that regardless of where I am and what I'm doing, I am already different and I feel good about who I am. I understand that life isn't about having your environment dictate who you are, but knowing yourself well enough to be true to who you are and flexible enough to appreciate your environment. I really didn't think about how much I would be effected by being back in 'western' culture, but because I've changed, I am already make a difference in the world.

Rovinj

2008-06-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

Say: Rovin. The j is silent, why even have it? whatever
Ok, so I have just met the tallest person in my life. 7 feet 2 inches - are you joking? I had to squint to talk to him b/c I was burning my retinas looking up at the sun. No joke. Our chance meeting happened due to the bus breaking down from Zagreb to Rovinj. It's already a 6 hour journey, made longer b/c of mechanical problems. But everyone on the bus was very friendly, and luckily we broke down in front of a cafe. I also met Jake and Millie, Croatian Americans who have been living in the US for 40 years or so. I think they learned english in New Jersey, b/c Millie was full of "whaddaya, crazy?" She complained about her fellow countrymen tinkering with the bus, while her husband threw back 3 or 4 beers and kept telling her to chill out. It was very endearing.
Rovinj is a great coastal city, it really reminds me of Venice with the narrow cobblestone alleyways and laundry hanging from building to building. I've been here for 3 days and am reluctantly leaving tomorrow. And for all my friends who have been waiting for me to announce: yes, there is a mega yacht docked here and yes I am trying my damnedest to get an invite (where are my gold shoes!) This thing must be 300 feet and has a helicopter parked on deck 3. Plus their version of the 'zodiac' to get them from ship to shore, is just a regular 'ole yacht. More to come on that. Keep your fingers crossed :)

Zagreb, Croatia

2008-06-02T22:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks for your patience while I partied it up with my girlfriends. Here is a quick, G-rated summary of my last few weeks:
Greece was amazing and beautiful. Jen and I hit Athens and the islands of Paros and Santorini. My favorite was Paros, its very laid back and quaint. Definitely quintessential Greece with the white buildings, blue roof tops and cobblestone alleyways.
I forgot how much I love Italy! Venice was beautiful, beyond what I expected. Spending time with Kelsey was unforgettable. The wedding we went to at Lake Garda was spectacular, minus the torrential downpour all day.
And that's all I'll say about that.

I took the train to Zagreb, Croatia from Venice, its a quick 7 hour ride...I arrived at 4am, which at the rate I´d been going, was no big deal. But the late nights caught up with me and I got sick :( I feel bad for the people in my dorm room, b/c I have been coughing up a lung these last few days. I think a guy actually requested to move to a different room b/c of me...sorry! Anyway, I cruised around Zagreb for two days, it's an interesting city, lots of eastern and western European architecture, but overall unremarkable. The best, or worst, thing about this city is everyone parties, all day, every day. I swear people were drinking beers at 10:30 in the morning, like people who live-work here...not just me! HA

Ok, really, I waited until 11am, I mean its 5 somewhere right?

But it's really laid back, you can linger over a cup of coffee, or beer for hours and no one pressures you with the bill, or gives you the eye to get on.

Greece/Italy

2008-05-24T23:45:00.000-07:00

Farah Dunn is on vacation until June 2, 2008. There will be no blogging during this time, as all the stories are too scandalous to publish.

I am off to Italy tomorrow to meet up with Kelsey for a week. Spending time with Jennifer in Greece was beyond fantastic.

more to come.
Miss you all!

3 Months!

2008-05-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe 3 months have passed since I left California. I feel grounded, secure, strong, confident and at the same time, I feel calm and peaceful. Navigating part of the world, alone, has put all my emotions to the test. I am better than before, I feel better, I think I look better. Or it could be that I finally got a hair cut and an eyebrow wax. The lady at the salon said I looked "lighter". Not sure if she meant physically or spiritually, but it's a good description of how I feel.

I'm in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, visiting my very good friend Masha and her family. Her children are beautiful and even though we don't speak the same language, throwing the ball, chocolate and hugs are universal. I'm getting primed for my jaunt to Europe, other than having my hair cut, I'm trading in my convertible pants-to-shorts, my scruffy t-shirts, and all my 'roughin' in gear' for some European appropriate attire. Which means, jeans! And maybe a dress! And some shoes!

From here I'm meeting my best friend in Greece for a 10-day holiday during my holiday and then a quick trip to Italy for a wedding (since I'm in the area and all). And then I head back to Eastern Europe: Turkey, Czech Republic, Romania, and potentially Russia. I'm trying to stay away from countries on the Euro, since the dollar is doing so poorly...
But you know, this could all change in a minute, given I have no set plan. And given the way things have gone so far, I'm rather expecting that what I expect to do, will change. So for all of my lovely friends who are anxiously awaiting my return, I can only say that it will most likely be sometime this year, but no promises :) However, I will give you plenty of advanced notice so you have time to chill the drinks and draft your toasts to how much you missed me. Thank you for your well wishes. I enjoy reading your comments on my blog...and that you actually read it and like it! That's to much :) I miss you too!

Jerusalem, Israel

2008-05-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

I crossed the border into Israel yesterday. I wish I could say that it was easy, but it wasn't. I thought for sure my US passport would be the golden ticket, but Farahana Shiraz Dunn was not allowed in without an hour's worth of questioning. The custom's girl (she could not have been over 25) asked me about my name, my last name, my maiden name, where I'm from, where my family is from, what religion am I, why did I decide on this trip, how did I decide on the countries, why did I quit my job, do I have enough money, when am I leaving. I think she confused herself with all the questions. In the end, I got through, although they did raise their eyebrows again when I asked them not to stamp my passport. But I guess this is all part of the fun :)

It is Israeli Independence day! And I found out how much Israeli's like to celebrate. When I finally arrived in Jerusalem around 8pm, people were filling the streets. I headed out with another traveler I met from San Francisco and we came upon a huge street party. A concert style stage was set up for, what I assume, were popular Israeli bands, at least 50 spotlights accompanied the laser show and fireworks, I mean it was going OFF! Families were out, old and young were dancing in the streets. I saw only one young man get carted off by the police, otherwise, it was a pretty civil event given the throngs of people - this would never happen at home!

Because of the holiday, the museums were free today, so we head out. Half way there a police car pulls over and asks Steve for his passport. Next thing you know, the police have asked the poor guy to empty his pockets, dump his bag out and the entire time I'm just sitting here, totally ignored. There is no reason other than 'security'. It's a little nerve racking because these are kids, no joke, under the age of 25, wielding machine guns, questioning you.

But security aside, Israel is a beautiful country. Jerusalem is so unique with Muslims, Christians and Jews all coming together to visit the myriad of holy sites. Even if you're not religious, to walk through a town that's written about in holy books and see the Dead Sea Scrolls from the 1st Century (!) is a pretty humbling experience.

Petra, Jordan

2008-05-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

I flew from Dar to Dubai, overnight in the airport, then to Amman, Jordan on Saturday morning. I have had my fair share of 24+ hour travel days and I have done some hard traveling, but there is nothing worse than spending the night in the airport. Trying to curl up around the armrests of a plastic chair is no fun. But, the Dubai airport has 24/7 Duty Free shopping, so i spent my time and money wisely :)

I arrived in Amman, obviously haggard from my journey, and still had a 3+ hour bus ride to Petra. I took the bus from the airport to one of the 3 bus stations, only to find out it wasn't the right station. But Jordanians are notoriously friendly, and I was headed in the right direction in no time. The Jordan I saw is desert, and not the sandy kind, but the rocky kind with mountains and scrub brush - its very desolate but beautiful. The only reason I'm in Jordan is for Petra and now I cannot find any words to describe it. Dramatic, breath taking, intense, overwhelming... they don't even come close to what I saw and what I felt. This place is magical. I spent 19 hours in Petra over 2 days. I met a Bedouin, Ahmed, who took me around on his Bedouin Ferrari, aka, mule and I got a local's point of view. Ahmed and his family live in Petra, there is a Bedouin village not far from the ruins, but he lives in a cave. I drank tea with his family and looked after their jewelery shop while they chatted with their neighbors.

If you've ever seen pictures of Petra, it's probably been of the Treasury, think Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. But what you don't see is the miles and miles and miles of carved sandstone, wind and rain eroded rocks, cave formations, it's brilliant. Once past the Treasury, Petra opens up into an ancient town, with a street of facades, monastery, cemeteries...it can easily take a week to explore all of it. But I did my best with 2 days. This is one of those things you must see in your lifetime...I am truly at a loss for words.

I have been promising pictures for a month! I know, but the Internet connections have not been great and one picture can take up to 30 minutes. I'll keep trying :)

Ngorogoro Crater, Serengeti, Lake Manyara

2008-04-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in updating my blog - internet is sloooow in Africa.
Ok, so I have had quite an exciting week...first the safari:

Ngorogoro Crater
Dad and I met Richard, our safari driver, in Arusha. We had the limo of all jeeps! 4 rows, GIANT 4 wheel drive, let me tell you we needed it, and a pop up roof. Again, I'm blessed with a former Indy car driver, well actually more like a Baja desert racing driver. I swear he could not drive below 50mph, and we were on some serious dirt/boulder/rock/sand/mud/crater roads, made worse by the rains! But it was so fun! What added to my experience is that you could stand up, in the car and pop out the roof, holding on for dear life of course, b/c Richard couldn't find the brake. I felt like a kid on a roller coaster ride! It was exhilarating and scary at the same time, like riding in the back of a pick-up, or being on a motorcycle w/ no helmet! LOL

So our first day we drive to Ngorogoro Crater. The rim is at 7500 feet and we descended 2000 feet to the crater floor. We saw flamingos in the lake, a rino and it's baby, elephants dominating the landscape, it was unreal. At one point we stopped the car to watch a lioness chase down a zebra - I swear I'm on National Geographic!! She wasn't successful, but it was thrilling to watch. She and her family came right by the car and drank out of a puddle we were stopped by. I mean they were so close - I-Could-Hear-Them-Drinking. holy shit.

Dad and I went all out and stayed at the Serena lodges (thank you, dad!) throughout our safari. Our room opened up onto a balcony overlooking the crater. Again I'm pinching myself.

Serengeti
The next day we drove to Serengeti. Hello, I'm in AFRICA, and in the SERENGETI, are you kidding me?! Ok, can you tell I'm completely overwhelmed? We drove through thousands of wildebeasts and zebras migrating south, I mean through, we had to wait for them to clear off the road. We saw every animal there is to see - lions, cheetahs, leopards, a million types of antelope, hyenas, buffalo, giraffes, I mean I could go on and on.

The scenery was amazing, I will definitely get some pictures up when I get to a faster connection.

Lake Manyara
The Serena lodge in Manyara was my favorite, it overlooked the lake, which is like 260km across or something ridiculous like that. Richard took us to the game park where we pissed off an elephant (ok!) and it came charging after us. For the love! Richard threw the jeep in reverse and we were flying out of there - it was a half-assed charge, but you don't mess around with elephants.

After 4 days in the car with Richard behind the wheel, my core muscles are toned and my arms bruised from holding onto the roof. What an incredible experience.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

2008-04-18T01:03:00.000-07:00

Holy Shit, I'm in Africa.
I swear I have to pinch myself 3 times a day - I cannot believe the things that I'm doing.
I have been here for 5 days or so, just taking it easy. My cousin lives here and owns/operates the community swimming pool where the local schools send their children for swimming lessons - it's so ridiculously cute, I can't tell you. I promise to put some pictures up!

As many of you know, my family is from Dar es Salaam. My parents left in 1969 and my dad, who's flying in today, hasn't been back since. So I'm really looking forward to sharing this experience with him.

Dar is a big city, I think 4 million or so, and is much cleaner than India :) For those of you who are looking on the map - its on the East Coast, right under Kenya and the equator. So needless to say it's HOT! April is the rainy season, so we get massive downpours for 15 minutes or so and then blue sky. Africans are a beautiful people, they are always smiling, laughing and singing. No one is in a hurry to do anything, it's all very laid back...

I've had some amazing food here. The other day my cousin took me to the Kaytee shop (I'm not sure that's how you spell it, but whatever). It's a TINY shop with 3 tables 9 chairs and you just sit where it's open. We had had kebabs, oh my god, I ate 7, at least. I think it was ground lamb, deep fried with coconut chuntey and chai so sweet your spoon stands up. Wow.
The fruit here is unreal, some of it I've never seen before. Everyday I've had something new and you know that's new for me, b/c I eat just about everything.

So Dad and I are going on a safari next week and then spending a few days in Zanzibar. Sounds fantastically exotic, doesn't it? lol. Pictures for sure next time.

Farewell to India

2008-04-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

India offered me every emotion and I took advantage of it. Now that my time here is over, I've had a few days to think back on my almost 2 months in this country. When I started planning my journey, I remember thinking, India will be easy, 6 weeks will pass quickly. But I could not have been more wrong. It's not just the traveling that was difficult, I was difficult. Within the first 2 weeks I became Farah the Traveler. I had my game face and my suit of armor on, nothing was going to get in...but that's not the point, is it? How do you experience a culture so vastly different than what you know, when you have a wall up? I mean, I had to navigate train stations, find places to stay & negotiate purchasing toilet paper, while 1 billion people are breathing down my neck and my personal space isn't my own anymore because I'm sharing it with a family of 7, their goat and a crate of chickens. How do you let that in? I don't know either, but you do, and not because you have to, but because you want to. I thought I knew myself but I never thought I was capable of the things I've done. It's not just India I've let in, but a side of me I've let out.

I am Farah the Traveler, but I'm softer. I have learned to open & follow my heart while my brain takes a break. And let me tell you, that is harder for me than you can imagine. I SO want to make lists, call ahead, check the reviews on line & get the best deal. Those of you who know me, know I am a planner! This is where meeting other travelers becomes invaluable. Adventures, advice, and proper English become good tales and the people attached to those tales become family. That's why I extended my trip for a week. It didn't feel right to be leaving when I had just met these people...I felt like my adventures were just beginning.

India wasn't ready to let me go, and when I needed friends, companionship & a reason to stay, they were all delivered...I will always be grateful for that.

Munnar

2008-04-06T23:56:00.000-07:00

What a change of pace and weather I've just had! I traveled from Alleppey to Kottayam by ferry and then took a bus to Munnar. This 'hill station' is at 1500m, and we are very close to the highest point in India, I think 2600m...I have no idea how high that is, but it took us 5 hours to get from the ocean, at a steady climb, here. And what a ride that was, the bus driver was a former Indy car driver, I'm sure. There's a torrential downpour, thunder, lightening, the whole bit, and we are bobbing and weaving all through traffic up this 2 lane, crazy, windy road, hugging the mountain wall one minute and breaking off asphalt on the cliff side the next minute. Of course I'm seated, again, at the front right across from the driver. About 3 hours in, while my toes are curled around the bar in front of me to prevent me from eating windshield, the driver turns to me with a rag and says 'clean'. Which means I'm to pry my clenched butt cheeks off the seat, actually lean forward and de-fog the side mirror and window. Is he insane?! For the love. But you know, when you have that seat, there is some responsibility...so I take a deep breath and lean forward.

I do get a chance to enjoy the scenery on the drive and it is stunning! Tea and cardamon plantations everywhere, they've planted tea like napa is planted with grapes. The bushes are tightly packed with teeny tiny rows between for the pickers to walk and they undulate with the contours of the landscape. I feel like climbing up onto the bushes and barrel-rolling down, just like when you were a kid!

It's finally cool. I dont' know if I've mentioned, but the stifiling heat/humidity has been a little ridiculous. However, for the first time since I've been in India, I wore my fleece the other night. Lovely...there's actually FOG in the morning, and it cools down at night. Definitely my kind of place!

I'm having so much fun and I've met so many fantastic people that I've decided to extend my trip in India for a week, so more to come....

The Backwaters

2008-04-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

I've just come off the backwaters in Kerela and it was absolutely stunning. The Backwaters is a maze of rivers/channels/lakes that wind through the towns of Alleppy, Kottayam & Kollam. One of the girls I've met, Sue,and I decided to do a punted canoe ride, instead of the houseboat, and we got to travel through channels that are only accessable by small boat. The ride was amazing...the scenery is so lush, it's like what I picture the Amazon to be like, but without the anacondas and piranhas. We went through villages, women harvesting rice & washing clothing at the river's edge, kids swimming and every now and then we would surprise a bather :) The ride was very peaceful and relaxing and I really got a feel for village life. Our guide took us to his village and we met his family, we drank right out of a coconut and shared mangos. It's all been surreal.

Random tid-bit: The men in Kerela all wear sarongs, but instead of having them long, they take the ends of the cloth at the bottom, bring them up and wrap it around their waists, the effect is like a mini-skirt. So all you see is Indian men with their little legs sticking out of a skirt LOL - and of course, they're constantly adjusting it so you never know what kind of show you're going to get.

Varkala part 2

2008-03-31T00:27:00.000-07:00

I am having an fantastic time here! I've met up with a few travelers, one from California, 2 from England, and a few from Sweden. This is exactly the sort of traveling I thought and hoped I would encounter in India! It's been so much fun, and everyone is in the same travel mode as i am. We took the local bus into town yesterday b/c we heard that there was a festival with elephants. The bus is crazy, you just flag it down and hope that it slows down enough for you to jump on (and off). The parade was interesting. There were tons of people in the street and floats with giant hindu gods driving by. We got to the elephant part and it was so sad to see them chained like they were that we couldn't watch all 51 go by so we headed back to the beach for a sunset beer.

Tomorrow 6 of us are going to do the houseboat trip through the backwaters. I'm so glad, b/c I wouldn't have gone on my own, but just opted for the touristy day trip. So now we'll get to see village life along the rivers, which should be very cool. This has really been a highlight of my trip to India and I'm so bummed that it's coming to an end next week! But I am definitely coming back to tour more of the South.

Varkala

2008-03-28T02:18:00.000-07:00

I flew to Trivandrum yesterday which is in Kerala...my ticket said leaving Goa at 1:45 and arriving at 6:40 and I'm thinking: is it really that far, have I misjudged the distance? Well no. We stopped like 4 TIMES, for the love. My whole day was take offs and landings.
Anyway, I finally made it to Varkala which is about 45km north. The area I'm in is called North Cliff and it's just that...there is a foot path that goes along the cliff where the hotels, restaurants, shops & yoga studios are and then it's a really steep long climb down the cliff to the beach.
Today I signed up for some yoga classes and I had an aruvedyic massage. It was not what I was expecting. The table was carved wood, no padding, no towel, no soft music playing, no ambiance. But, you know, this is what it's all about, so I'm down. The massage was not very relaxing, needless to say. I also had a scalp massage, which involves warm oil drizzled across your forehead for 45 minutes. I'm a little skeptical, plus, all that oil is going right into my hair and hot water is not a given. But again, I tough it out. Well the oil is BURNING, and I'm trying to tell her that it's too hot and she's just drizzling away, finally, I'm practically to the door and she's like, too hot, madame? UGH - That lasted about 10 minutes too long, I think I'll stick to yoga.
I'm going to stay here for 5-6 days and just chillax on the beach in between yoga classes. I haven't had any physical activity in a month, so we'll see how this goes :)

Goa

2008-03-25T06:08:00.000-07:00

Why didn't I come here first?! Goa is absolutely beautiful! Tropical, beach-y, hot...everything that I love. I've been in South Goa for 3 days, it's more mellow and chill-axed than the North. If you've ever heard anything about Goa it's usually related to the crazy partying, which happens in the North. In the South it's mostly Indian families that come for the weekend, so it's pretty quiet.

Six of us came down on Saturday for the club opening. Three of them designed the club and were doing the event management for the opening. I guess it was kind of a big deal b/c South Goa doesn't have any clubs much the less a night life, so there were belly dancers, scantily clad ladies welcoming guests, a DJ from Bombay, even an Indian celebrity! I think the media was there so I'll be sure to save the front page paper w/ my picture.

Today I've taken the bus, actually 2 buses, to the North and I'm going to spend 2 days here before heading to Kerela. The bus was an experience...There's no time table, they just leave when the bus is full. It cost me 30Rs, which isn't even a $1, so I'm not complaining.

The beach town I'm at is called Baga...most of the hippies hang out in Anjuna which is further north and that's where the drug scene is big. I guess it's gotten out of hand and there are rumors that the police are corrupt (surprising? not really) and that the Russian mafia is somehow involved. On Wednesday's there's a big flea market in Anjuna, I can only imagine what's being sold :) I'll let you know what I find.

Bombay-Pune-Lonavla

2008-03-24T06:26:00.000-07:00

i decided not to stay in Bombay but I flew there from Udaipur on my way to Pune. To tell you the truth, I'm glad I didn't stay, b/c I got enough of Bombay on the drive from the airport to the train station which goes right through town. It's wall to wall taxis, buildings and people. 2/3 of the population live in slums...does anyone know the population of Bombay? suffice it to say that it's A LOT. You know, I've read the word 'squalor', but the meaning comes to life when you see how these people live. Corrigated metal, tarps and rocks form the walls and roofs of shacks that are strung together for miles. Garbage burns in piles 4 feet high and 30 feet long right where children are running around half naked, relieving themselves in the same spot they're playing in. It's unreal to see the conditions these people live it.

I would give my skin, if I thought it would help.

But Bombay is resilient and these people have come from villages where they are worse off (if you can believe it). They've come to Bombay for a chance that something positive will happen...that their lives will be transformed...and if anything is going to happen, it will happen in Bombay.

I hopped on a train from Bombay to Pune. The train station was a scene! 15 trains, 40 windows to buy tickets to all over the country. And you have to stand in a particular line depending on where you're heading - for the love. Where are the directions? I must have looked particularly pathetic, b/c a man came up to me and asked if I wanted help. Well, knowing that I'm a target (tourist, female, traveling alone - hello), I said no, I'm fine, I'll figure this out. He must have seen the look on my face b/c he proceeded to tell me that he wasn't there to scam me and that he's waiting for a friend and he genuinely wanted to help and see to it that I have a good experience in India. So I very cautiously followed this man and what do you know, he didn't scam me and he really did want to help. He helped me with my ticket and showed me where the train was and then he said good bye. And I was skeptical!

I spent 4 days in Pune with family friends. It was so nice to just chill. OH, I almost forgot to tell you this new word I heard: chillaxing. LOVE IT! Ok, so I'm chillaxing in Pune (say poona) regrouping for my 3 weeks in South India. We take a trip to Lonavla which is a hill station 90 min from Pune to visit family. The next thing you know, I've been invited to Goa for a club opening on Monday. Well I politely decline b/c I'm heading to Kerela, but they insist - so much so that they cancel my flight to kerela, purchase me a ticket to goa and pay for my hotel. So here I am in Goa, funny how things work out.

Udaipur

2008-03-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

To the dismay of my new family in the desert, I finally left and headed to the lake town of Udaipur. They really wanted me to stay and celebrate Holi on March 21 - which is the festival when everyone throws (powdered or liquid) color in the air and you come out looking like a clown. But I couldn't do a week in the desert...so I'm headed for the ocean.

You'll know Udaipur from the James Bond movie, Octopussy. Definitely go out and rent it. Almost every hotel/restaurant/bar has a daily showing of the movie - but being the 007 buff that I am, I have seen the movie at least 7 times. The town is very cute, with lots of winding roads around the lake. At sunset, I went to a roof top terrace and ordered a beer, but this place doesn't have a license, so they brought it out in a teapot!

Tomorrow I'm flying to Mumbai and then taking the train to Pune. I'll stay a few days w/ mom's friend and enjoy some home cooking and some family love before setting off to Goa.

The Desert

2008-03-14T22:49:00.000-07:00

I just spent two days on a camel in the desert, what was I thinking?? For the love, everything hurts. But what an amazing experience, I've never been to the desert and it was absolutely incredible. So camels are interesting animals...when they sit down, it's like folding up a chair, the front legs go down first and get tucked under their body and then the back legs go down, much like how people sit on their heels. It was a little sketchy the first time Polo, my camel, went down for me to get off. You have to lean WAY back, since they go down front first, you're really pitched forward, but the back follows quickly.

There were only 3 of us on the safari, a very likable Irishman, Connor, our guide, Nan and me. We rode for 2 hours or so and then stopped for a long lunch break to wait out the heat of the day. The camels get to roam around freely, which is a little concerning when it's time to ride again. But Nan seems to know exactly where they are and brings them back in no time. After lunch we rode for 3-4 hours, so it seemed, my sit bones and the area around was on fire. I was practically holding myself up w/ my arms on the saddle to stop myself from rocking in the seat. We finally make it to the sand dunes about an hour before sunset and I can barely walk - but all is forgotten when I watch the sunset - what an incredible sight. The sand is rippled from the wind, and below us is a flat desert that stretches as far as you can see. The sun goes down behind a distant mountain range, it's the most perfect day. We sleep in a row under the stars, and watch the shooting star show.

The next day I'm dreading getting back on that camel, but Nan assures me that it wont hurt as much as the first day, and you know he was right. But by 4pm that day, Connor and I were anxiously awaiting the cold beer that was to arrive with our transport back to town. that totally ranked up there with one of the coolest things I've ever done.

Jaisalmer, India

2008-03-12T02:47:00.000-07:00

I left Jodhpur last night on the 11:15pm train to Jaisalmer, it's a 5-6hour ride. If you're looking on the map, I'm practically in the desert near the Pakistan border. The train ride was interesting, I booked a sleeper, AC car. B/c god forbid you get stuck in a car or a train w/o AC! (lol). SO anyway, I've got myself an upper bunk, and I'm tired, from being sick and waiting around all day for my train. I'm lumbering my way down the aisle of my car, b/c at this point not only have I done some shopping so my pack is bursting, but I've accumulated another small piece of hand luggage. I get to my # and i'm the top of 3 bunks. Shit. Not only that but there are 2 sets of 3 bunks facing one another, then a small aisle and then 3 additional bunks facing us. I heave my bag up there b/c there's no way it's fitting under the lower bunk, and scramble up. I can sit up but hunched over w/ my head almost in my lap. There are all kinds of people getting on and I'm relieved that most of them are tourists. What dumbass would take only a 6 hour journey in the middle of the night. Anyway, across from me is a guy from SF, of all places! So nice to speak english gramatically correct. I'm always telling people, no marriage, i have small sister only, more cheaper, you get my point. 5 or 6 hours goes by pretty quick and i'm surprised that I slept. The guy from the Shahi Palace picks me up w/ a couple from Scottland and we head out. What they didnt' tell me when booking is that checkout for the current guests isn't until 9am. OK. It's now 6am. So our option is the roof top terrace, and at first i'm a little skeptical, but it turns out to be absolutely stunning and the guy sets up beds for us on these built in daybed benches and we're looking at this glorious fort lit up right in front of us and the sky is turning that most amazing blue color right before sunrise, and all is good.

My room is awesome! This place is built outof sand stone w/ intricate lattice work and carvings and I'm paying $20 a night. A family owns this place and they are very warm and welcoming. I was invited to help make an authentic indian meal at the owners house w/ some other guests tonight! yey!!! I'll let you know how that goes b/c we're having mutton (goat).
Hope all is well!

Rajastan Part 2

2008-03-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm feeling so much better!
Rajastan is a state in India & Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur are all cities in Rajastan. Zahra and I went to Jaipur and Pushkar, today I'm in Jodhpur and leaving tonight for Jaisalmer. I've been staying at the Havali Inn Palace, this place is so cool. A Havali is a palace, this building is 200 years old and has been converted into 2 hotels. There's a roof top terrace restaurant where I've spent a lot of time trying to get better w/ views of the fort and the town. Once the sun sets, the noises that come up from the town transport you to another time. In one corner you'll hear drums for a while, then someone will turn hindi singing on from a loud speaker and right now, the muslim call to prayer just started, so beautiful arabic is being sung throughout the city. All this of course amongst the constant horn honking :)

Most of the cities in India are similar, but it's when you get outside the bigger towns is where the character of India shines. I think that's why I like Jodhpur...and Rajastan for that matter. The towns are smaller and have more character, people are friendlier although I still get hassled and stared at but so does every tourist :) and everyone is selling the 'best' textiles and spices in town, so shop keepers are constantly trying to draw you into their stores...but you get used to it. Jodhpur is also known as the blue city b/c so many of the buildings are painted blue. I'd like to tell you some romantic story about it, but there's not - it's actually a termite deterrent that they've used on the buildings - lol!

Rajastan, India

2008-03-11T01:03:00.000-07:00

Oh, I'm so sorry it's been so long between my posts! I've come down w/ a cold and fever for the last 3 days so have been pretty out of it. But hopefully I'm on the mend :)
So I've been in Jodhpur for the last several days. I went to an amazing fort yesterday...all the architecture here is just amazing. I'm hoping to get some photos up in the next day or so.

This will just be a short one, as I'm still not feeling my creative juices flow :)

Jaipur, India

2008-03-05T02:17:00.000-08:00

India is amazing. Zahra and I saw the Taj Mahal at sunrise on Monday morning...it's absolutely breathtaking. And what makes it even more spectacular is that it was built out of love :)
The Taj is in a town called Agra, and we spent 2 nights there before driving to Jaipur yesterday. We've seen more forts, temples and palaces than you can imagine. Everything is 500+ years old and just amazing. Today we went to the Amer Fort and City Palace in Jaipur. We had a guide for a few hours and he opted to join us for some shopping after the tour. He bargained down 2 shirts I'm having made (!) to $15/piece. Handmade, personally, for me!

It's interesting, the 2 of us traveling together. Indian people stare with reckless abandon - there is no shame. So, needless to say, we get stared at alot. Plus we are the only 2 people in all of India, so far, that wear sunglasses. I think people think we're movie stars! Not only are they staring but I've caught a few people taking our picture. LOL

But for the most part people are friendly and always asking if we want to buy whatever it is that they're selling b/c it's "more cheaper".

The food here is off the hook. Z and I can have dinner for $10-$12 and be stuffed and we order 2 or 3 things! Most of the dishes are vegetarian, but you can find non-veg, as they call it. We had a great tandoori lamb yesterday!

Tomorrow we're off to Pushkar, there is a famous Brahman temple there and a lake, which everyone is referring to as a pond, so I'll let you know how that is. Z leaves on Sunday, and I'll be on my own for 4 weeks. I'm so glad that my first introduction to India was with her - it has definitely been a little overwhelming at times.

Ok, so one story...my stories never seem to deviate from this topic...the toilet.
Today, our guide invited us to have chai w/ him and his brother at his brothers 'office'. The 'office' is a tiny room in a building. So we sit on the floor and are chatting and I have to go - so I ask where the toilet is and the brother goes to ask the owner if we can use theirs - in their house. Ok, no problem (they say that alot here too :) So we get the ok and are led to this room with a spigot, bucket and a cup w/ a handle. WTF. no toilet, no squatting hole in the ground (which we come across often) and it's dark in there. I spot a drain in the corner and a little moat that runs around 2 walls of the room - ARE YOU KIDDING! What if you have to go #2?? I won't tell you what we did, but you can guess.

Ganges River

2008-03-02T04:01:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, Zahra and I hopped on the Shatbadi Express to Haridwar. We were off on our adventures rafting the Ganga (say: Gung-a) River. The train was great, it was a little hectic at the train station - but once we were on, it was a great ride. Four hours later, we arrived in Haridwar and our driver from Himalayan River Runners (HRR) picked us up for the 1.5 hr drive to the camp. Hardiwar and neighboring town, Rishikesh, are very holy b/c of the River, which is cleaner here than anywhere else in India (only 500km from the beginning). There are many temples & ashrams, and people from all over the world come to study sanskrit and get water from the holy river. You'll have to read on line why it's holy - the story is too long to tell. But in a nutshell: the last of 100 brothers wanted a place for their souls on earth, so he asked Shiva for such a place and from the part in his hair the Ganga river flow out and onto the earth.

So we arrive at HRR and it is a beautiful camp set up along the river. They have 'tents' with 2 cots, 2 chairs and a reed mat set up in the sand facing the river. It's absolutely stunning. The river flows an emerald green color with high mountains rising up out of it....beautiful. We get settled and find out that we are the only clients for the next few days! It was fantastic. There were 12 guides/staff and us! LOL Our guide, Ram, is an Nepali and his brother Vijay is the camp manager. We rafted for a few hours on the first day, just Ram, Z & I and did rapids like 3 blind mice, roller coaster and the wall - I know what you're thinking b/c I was thinking the same thing - holy shit. But it was so fun! Ram was telling us that after the monsoon season, the water level is like 10-15 feet higher and the rapids are crazy. I don't know if I could do much more crazier than we did. That night we had a campfire and all the staff came out to sing Bollywood songs and dance, I haven't laughed that hard in a while.
Friday everyone was asking what we wanted to do, since it was just us we controlled the schedule :) So we kayaked in the morning and then climbed up a rockwall, with just a rope for guidance and then repelled down. That was ridiculous. It's so against everything in your body and mind to lean backwards off a cliff! I've got a few good bruises from that. Then in the afternoon, most of the crew went rafting with us - 5 kayakers and 9 rafters. We had the time of our lives!! The rafting is hard when the water gets white, but having 4 guides in the raft really helped :)
We ate well the entire trip, and Friday night the catering manager/chef trainer invited us to dinner at the Himalayan Hideaway (it's part of the HRR camp). Saturday we got up early and rafted for 4 hours before we had to leave. I took a holy dip on the first of the three blind mice rapids, so I'm good to go for the rest of my trip :)

That was a great experience, and we really feel like part of the HRR family. I'm already looking to come back for more!

Delhi, India

2008-03-01T21:02:00.000-08:00

Oh, where to start! I can't believe I've been in India for almost a week! I arrived in Delhi on Tuesday last week. Delhi is crazy, that's all I can say. From the airport to the driving to the city, it's all hectic. Zahra and I got an Auto-Rickshaw, which is a 3-wheeler with a covered carriage on the back. Usually it's meant for 2-3, but we have seen up to 10 inside. Anyway, these things arent' very fast, but very maneuverable. Which is important because you're sharing the road with cars, trucks, scooters, cows, dogs, people, motorcycles, bicycles...you get the point. The lanes on the road are just for show and red lights are an option. If you didnt grow up in India there is no way you could drive here. The horn is used in the most polite ways, as a blinker, when you want to pass, to let drivers know you're behind and want to pass, to let others know to move out of the way b/c you want to pass, hows the weather up there b/c I want to pass, you get the idea. Needless to say, horns are blowing constantly.

Anyway, back to the Auto. We cruise through Delhi and Old Delhi, taking all the sights and smells...Old Delhi is, well, old. There is a lot of poverty, buildings are really run down, things are much dirtier, you can see why they had to build New Delhi :( I wasn't a fan of Delhi, it's just too crowded - I can only imagine how Mumbai is going to be.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2008-02-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

I'm in KL today, I had a 24 hour layover on my way to India. I'm so glad I've had a chance to check out the city - I'm definitely coming back! Malay people, so far, are the friendliest and politest people I've met! I hired a taxi, they call them 'limos' (ha) to take me around since my time is short. I've seen about everything there is to see in 3 hours. Raj dropped me off at the twin towers and I'm going to take the train from here to the airport.

I tell you, I have never been more ill prepared for a city! I had no idea where the hotel was in relation to the city center or what the exchange rate is. I asked my bus driver how much it would cost for a round trip to the city from the hotel and he said $200. Holy shit! Is that US dollars? I dont' even know what the Malaysian money is called...well now I do, but at the time I was a little taken aback. But I worked it out, got some cash & figured out I was 45 min away from the city, unless you drive like a true Malay, which is right up on people's bumpers, weaving in and out, cutting off scooters and flashing your lights, then it's only like 30 mins.

I met a girl in Auckland from Malaysia, she was going to the University of NZ. So I told her about my layover and she quickly made a list of places I had to go and where I had to eat. Most of the places I covered on my tour and for lunch I'm at the Twin Towers. Inside is like the San Francisco Shopping Center - layers of super upscale shopping and tons of people. But I made my way to Madame Kwan Restaurant and it's totally packed. Everyone that works in the towers eats in the food court or in the many restaurants, so I had to wait for a table of 1! Oh and did I tell you that I've been carrying around my pack, so I really look like a tourist not to mention I've taken out half of dozen people. Everyone walks really close together - the amount of personal space is a lot smaller than what I'm used to. Anyway, I order Nasi Lemak, b/c that's what's written on my list of things to eat in KL. I look at the picture - chicken, rice, I should be ok. The food comes and it's a PLATE of food. Chicken curry, just like mom makes, w/ a huge mound of coconut rice, some pickled onion things, two huge slices of cucumber, half a boiled egg, what tastes like powdered peanuts and a side dish of pickled/spiced cucumbers. OMG, I was in heaven! I licked my plate clean and it was less than $5 (US)! I had to watch the people on either side of me, b/c all I got was a fork and a spoon. They use the spoon instead of a knife, and eat w/ it rather than the fork, which is just used to push the food onto the spoon or hold it in place while you pull or cut w/ the spoon. There was a lot of clanking b/c the cucumber was so thick that you really had to put some pressure on the spoon to cut it - but everyone was doing it so I didn't feel eyes on me when my spoon hit the plate. What would have really sucked is if my cucumber had gone flying out from under my spoon. Which is definitely something that would have happened to me.

Christchurch

2008-02-23T17:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I drove from Queenstown to Christchurch. I wish I had a couple more days there, b/c I would have loved to gone to Millford Sound, but that will have to wait until next time.

The drive was beautiful, this time green rolling hills & lots of sheep. It took about 6 hours, which passed fairly quickly, except for the last hour. The landscape turned flat and the wind was ridiculous, I wrestled with the car the entire time. Speaking of the car, I had to return it yesterday and I was kinda sad - that beast and I had been thru a lot together :)

I found my backpackers, New Excelsior, there's a sports bar on the first floor and then the rooms above. I was a little skeptical b/c yesterday was the final cricket match btwn the New Zealand Blacks and, I think, England. The whole country is way into cricket and rugby so I thought it might have been a little out of hand, but it was all very civilized.

I met a family from Israel who are vacationing together and all staying in a room here, mom, dad, brother, sister and cousin. They invited me to have dinner with them, but I had already eaten, considering it was 10pm when sat down. But the 'kids' invited me out, and we went to a place called Shooters. The drinking age here is 18, so everyone is super young. And the short skirts and daisy duke shorts were in full effect. Nonetheless it was fun, they played all the hip hop and house you could endure w/ videos. But I was tired from my drive and called it an early night at 1:30. I think that place stays open until 4 or 5 - of course I have to be in RARE form & with my girlfriends to stay out that late :)

I went to an outdoor market today and ran into Halee and Ray who design and make clothing. There stuff is super cool - and I told them that we would help get them started in the US :) so check them out at www.morphiccreations.com. It's a little spendy, but everything is unique.

I'm leaving for India tomorrow, well actually I have an overnight in Kuala Lumpur and then I'll be in India on Tuesday. Zahra is meeting me & I'm super excited to see her. So I probably wont have a chance to post for a few days.

Hope you guys are well! I miss you!

Queenstown

2008-02-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

I just climbed a mountain.

I'm in Queenstown, land of extreme sports, and I climbed a mountain. I just couldn't hurl myself, willingly out of a plane or off a bridge.

My backpackers is walking distance from town. I'm on the second story flat, so it's me in my single room and then a 6-bed room. Last night 4 boys (and I purposely use that word b/c they're all 20!) from Sweden were my flatmates. We chatted after I got back from dinner for hours - they are just too sweet. For those of you who hae been to Europe, don't you find that people are so much more emotional and passionate? These 4 guys went to school together, grew up together and now have been living together for the last several months. They're always looking out for one another, it's just very sweet and endearing.
But getting on. So we talked about Sweden, California, music, surfing, I mean you name it, they were very engaging. At about midnight, they're putting their shoes on to go out, while I'm yawning and getting ready to go to bed. But they invite me along and I find myself accepting. So we head downtown and I'm so glad that I went b/c I had wanted to go to the World Bar, voted best bar in NZ by someone, b/c they serve their drinks in teapots! There's probably the equivalent of a drink or drink & a half, but they give you these teeny tiny shot glasses to drink out of. So the 5 of us split a teapot - it was so fun! The music was loud and they played a variety of stuff. The boys knew all the words to the songs (so did I :) so we sang and laughed til 2:30 (!)

I'm definitely becoming more comfortable in the backpackers accomodations, which is great b/c they're so cheap!

Oh, and I figured out how to get pictures up, I just need to find a place to plug in my camera, so hopefully by next post, I'll have visual aids :)

Franz Josef

2008-02-20T20:24:00.000-08:00

OMG, I have done a ridiculous amount since my last post. I left Hokitika on Wednesday morning and drove to Franz Josef glacier (Say: gla-see-ier). As soon I got into town I went on a scenic flight over the glaciers and Mt. Cook. The plane looked like a sea plane w/ 8 seats including the pilot. So, lucky me, I got to sit in the cockpit w/ the pilot - It was so cool, I had like 5 seatbelts and got to wear the ridiculously large headseat. It was amazing, I must have snapped off 50 pictures of the glaciers and mountains....As if that wasnt enough, I did a quick hike to the glacier, it puts you 150m from the end of it. The path takes you through the dried river bed that was once the glacier, so there was a lot of traversing over rocks and boulders, it was so cool.

Back in town, yet again a 1 street town, I had a beer with views of the glaciers and mountains. It was stunning. Especially b/c at the lower elevation, and we were pretty much at sea level in town, the scenery is dense green forest and then as you look up, there are less trees and more snow, it's all very dramatic.

Today, I drove to Queenstown, and this was probably the best driving day I've had. I went through some of the BIGGEST & tallest mountain ranges. I think they look so big b/c you're driving right at the base of them, they're not in the distance, they're right outside the window! And then just as you think this can't get anymore amazing, a sapphire lake appears around the corner. I must have stopped 12 times in 4 hours - it's complete sensory overload. On my way, I stopped in Waneka, a little town right on the lake, and spent a few hours reading on the beach.

I've finally made it to Queenstown, I'm staying in a Backpackers called Alpine (or Aspen) Lodge and the first thing the reception guy asks is what am I going to do here? Well, get a beer for starters, but then after that I'm not sure. Well he gets into every extreme sport there is, b/c apparently that's what you do in Queenstown. I mean he gave me brochures for skydiving, river boarding (that's going down a river on a boogie board), bungee jumping, you name it, they have it here and really crazy stuff that they've invented just for Queenstown. Like the ZORB - you get into a giant plastic bubble and they roll you down a hill, right after they throw a bucket of water in the bubble just to make it even more thrilling. Oh, and YOU pay THEM.

Anyway, I'll let you know how crazy I get.

Hokitiki

2008-02-18T21:10:00.000-08:00

I heard this on the radio this morning:
A mom and her kids are driving to school and from the car in front of them flies a huge dildo - it hits the windshield with a 'thonk' and then bounces off. Mom, not wanting to have to explain says, 'don't worry, that was just an insect'. And the little boy from the back responds 'Wow, can't believe that it could fly with a dick that big!"

I drove today from Motueke to Hikitiki which is on the west coast. It took pretty much all day, but the drive was amazing. It was definitely Lord of the Rings scenery. Huge, beautiful mountain ranges that plummeted down to valleys with wide, dark rivers running through them. Absoulutely amazing. It makes you feel pretty insignificant driving among such giants. I can't remember if I told you but the New Zealand PM during the depression, commissioned the planting of a zillion trees to generate work. There were about 170 varieties including the California Redwood, Austrailian Eucalyptus and some sort of Pine (these are just the ones I remember and can identify) anyway the result are these incredible hills with rows of trees! Logging is big here - I didnt know, but most of the wood goes to China. So you'll have these lush forests along side of a bare patch where they've cut down all the trees. They do, however, wait until the trees are 25 - 30 years old...so at least they're thinking. Almost 90% of NZ used to be covered in this amazing Rainforest type environment and it's really diminished over the last 100 years - to like 30% or something. I saw a topo map in the Te Papa museum in Wellington, it was pretty significant :(

I haven't really talked to you about the food here b/c its' kinda unremarkable. But what is remarkable is the variety. Even in a small, one street town, there will definitely be Thai & Indian, sometimes 2 of one kind! In the bigger towns/cities there is even more variety w/ Moroccan/Algerian, Ethiopian, Chinese, Japanese, you name it! So whatever I'm craving, I can usually find something. It's more expensive than I thought - they call appetizers, entrees and then 'dinners' are bigger plates. Everyone here eats w/ a fork and knife, no matter what is ont he plate - sandwiches, dinner roll, you name it. So here I go to pick up a sandwich, when everyone around me is clanking their silverware...it's all very civilized :)

So, I'm off to the glacier -Franz Josef. I'm thinking about splurging and taking a fixed wing flight over the glaciers and Mt. Cook. Everyone says thats the best way to see the glaciers - other than climbing over them which I'm not sure if I'm up to, but I'll let you know.

I'm still trying to figure out how to put pictures up on this blog, well I haven't tried that hard, but someone's working on a 1pg summary on how to do it -

Abel Tasman, NZ

2008-02-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

I'd planned to stay in Nelson for 2 days while I explored Abel Tasman National Park, but I ended up in a little town called Motueka - another one street town. I'm so glad that things worked out like this b/c I'm closer to the park. Im staying in a backpackers called Happy Apples or something like that. I'm finding that if I tell the people at the I-Site (Visitor center) the type of backpacker place I'm looking for, they have just the thing, instead of me searching through my books. This place is great, only 20 rooms, a variety of ages and nationalities, and everyone is easy to talk to - definitley not my experience in the past.

I spent the day kayaking and walking in the Abel Tasman Park - absolutely unbeliveable. The landscapte is so beautiful that it brings tears to your eyes. The sea is the color of that crayon - I think its called aqua marine...it reminds me of the tropics, crystal clear and blue-green and the beaches have the perfect sand with perfect seashells to search for. Right behind, the mountains start and Abel Tasman Park practically shoots right out of the ocean. Its breathtaking. There are numerous multi-day hikes to take and when I come back I'm definitely doing one. Backpacking here is different than what I think of in that there are little huts to stay in overnight, instead of tent camping. Sounds doable!

I'm cutting this a little short b/c the computer is showing my letters 10seconds after I type and it's super annoying. More tomorrow!

Picton

2008-02-16T13:04:00.000-08:00

So, I've spent 2 nights in this super cute town called Picton - I know it's a little premature, but of all the places in NZ I've vistited so far, i could totally live here :)
So yesterday I had a full day wine tasting tour. In the morning it was just 3 of us and then a bigger group joined us in the afternoon. Our bus driver/tour guide was George and I really think our paths were meant to cross. He's one of those people you meet and you feel like you've known them forever. George is barrel chested guy, around 60 or so. Apparently he just grew a fantastic beard in like 3 weeks b/c everywhere we went people would put their hands to their own faces and say "georgie, what happened?" Poor guy. But let's get back to the facial hair - so not only does he have this beard that amost reaches his eyes, but also tufts of white hair coming out of his ears, and a uni-brow that comes partly down the nose and has one or two really long squiggly ones. But it all added to his character...He had borderline inappropriate humor, which you know me, I just latched on to. So we had a good day of bantering back and forth. We tasted at about 6-7 wineries w/ a lunch in the middle. It was a great day :)
I was all about the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, but they do a fair amount of Reisling and Chardonnay. Like a trooper, I sampled everything.

So today, I'm driving from picton to Nelson along the Queen Charlotte Track - which is actually a 3-5 day backpacking trail. And tomorrow I'mhoping to get on a kayak/walk adventure in Able Tasman Park.

I dont know why this just popped into my head, but I've been meaning to tell you guys about it. So the first time I went to the bathroom at the Airport in NZ, I'm done w/ my business and I'm looking high and low for the flush and I'm thinking why is this so hard to find! Its not on the side or on top or on the floor. Damn. But I look up and on the wall behind the toilet is a panel that of course says 'push' and sure enough everything goes down. Ok, something new to get used to - but easy enough. Well that's not the end of it. In residences and hotels, the flush is on the top of the toilet and there are usually 2 buttons. Get this - a Half flush and a Full flush. GENIOUS! I haven't figured out which is which, b/c it doesn't look like there's more or less water, but what do i know, i just guess and cross my fingers all goes down :)

Feb 15, 2008 South Island, New Zealand

2008-02-14T20:11:00.000-08:00

So I arrived by GIANT ferry today from Wellington in the North Island to Picton in the South Island.
(Wellington, if you didnt know, is the capital of New Zealand). I dove my car onto the ferry - oh did I tell you I was driving? :) very well I might add! After my first day of horror, everything just came together. I still have to think about little lefts and big rights, but for the most part I'm doing great. I have tried to enter the car from the left side about 3 times now - which is pretty good considering I've been driving for 5 days! No one seemed to notice and I totally played it off like I was getting something from the passenger seat - wink wink. Oh, but I did want to tell you a story about my drive in Coromendel. So it's day 2 of driving on this narrow, windy crazy road, where I'm on the left and I'm driving a huge SUV, and generally still uncomfortable. So I'm going east from Coromendel to the next town over on the east coast and then heading south. So i take this little road b/c it's shorter than taking the main road and about 10 minutes in, the sign says gravel next 20 km - seriously? I didn't know how long 20km was going to take me but at 40km/hr - well you do the math - on a dirt/gravel road. So i drive, 10 min go by and I'm thinking, 'what the hell am i doing?' logging trucks are squeezing me into the side of a mountain and dirt and gravel is flying everywhere and god forbid I get a flat or get stuck or freak out. But I'm breathing thru it and I get into the swing of the road - literally. I'm doing well until I come to a bright orangy-red reflective sign w/ a big exclamation point (!) on it. WTF - ! is right. what does that mean? Like 'oh shit - run for cover', 'or what is your dumbass doing out here?', or 'can i get a woop woop?' More to come when you see the picture.

Anyway, it's absolutely stunning here. Picton is a picturesque little town right on the water. This is where the Marlborough Sounds are - it totally reminds me of the San Juan Islands in Washington state. The huge mountains are only accentuated by the blue/green sea. I can't even take enough pictures to capture the beauty. I'm staying a a little B&B in Waikawa Bay - it's so cute, the owner, Rosemary asked if I wanted a spot of tea when I arrived...of course I said yes, b/c I'm just trying to soak it in and do the right thing. So she brings this tray down w/ the pot of tea and a slice of cake served with the most amazing yogurt I've ever tasted. Plain yogurt and cake, I know it sounds weird, but it was perfectly delicious.

I drove around for a bit, (b/c now I can do that w/o breaking into a sweat) and I'm in downtown Picton, which is one street about 6 blocks long :) Tomorrow I booked myself on an all day winetasting tour - hell ya! Because that's what they do here - they grow grapes! there are about 50 wineries in the area, I'm hoping we'll hit half.
So now that my blog is official, I'll try to update more often. Check back for more news from down unda'