Thats All Folks!

Not Treading Water

So there was a bold generalization made by my dear mother that I was just "treading water" for my final two weeks in India and I would like to make it clear that while that is often literally true since I am doing lots of swimming it is not true in the sense that I am just sitting around waiting to come home. Gokarna was a crazy beautiful beach but a bit too quiet and isolated for how long I stayed there. It was nice though cause I had a bit of a cold so I was able to recover in a beautiful and quiet setting. The town of Gokarna was pretty chill, lots of Hindu temples that I wasn't allowed in as a non-Hindu but it was very pleasant to walk around. One of the best parts of going to the beach in India is watching the huge groups of young Indian men who will literally spend a full hour taking photos of each other in every imaginable pose. The only other people that I have seen get so absorbed in photographing themselves would be 16 year old girls. Its kind of like watching a swimsuit editorial being shot only with dudes but with all the same poses.
So besides relaxing on the beach, swimming, eating, drinking, making friends and all that I am occupied alternately by dreading going home and getting really excited. I am dreading it as I will eventually have to deal with real life and think about getting a job and will have to give up my wildly indulgent lifestyle of doing whatever I want when I wake up every morning. Most of all I am dreading the two question that I know I will be pelted with the moment I set my feet on American soil: How was Korea and you traveling? So what are you going to do now? Two worst questions ever. In regards to the first one how am I supposed to sum up a year in Korea and seven months of travel in a sentence and why should I? No one actually wants to hear a real answer when they ask that so they shouldn't ask unless they are prepared for a full on conversation. Next, I have slight ideas for my future but I don't really want to share them with people until I have actually started doing them. So essentially if you love me don't ask me these questions.
On the other hand I am very excited to come home for the obvious reason that I haven't been in America or seen my family and friends in 19 months! I am also extremely excited for all the amazing food and drink that I will be able to have again.
Anyway, my final week is being spent in Palolem in Goa and so far it is beautiful here and the food is delicious so I think it is going to be a good final week. Today is the first day of the Ganesh festival so I think there is supposed to be some excitement on the beach this evening!

Hampi

So I don't know if it is the people I am with or the place itself but Hampi is by far the best place I have been in India...probably in this whole trip actually. Hampi is yet another Hindu holy city as well as an UNESCO site of an ancient Hindu empire where much of the Ramayana is meant to take place. Pretty much the scenery is very flat with huge red boulders creating little mountains. Throughout all this is scattered the ruins of this ancient city that looks like and Indian version of ancient Greece. On top of all of this there are tons of palm trees and banana plantations and a giant river. Its pretty picturesque, google it. In terms of people, to my two Australians we have added a guy from Montreal and a guy from Norway. The five of us have pretty much spent the last couple of days cruising around the ruins and eating tons of amazing food. At one of the active temples there is a beautiful and quite happy looking elephant that will bless you for Rs. 10 (totally worth it). We hiked to the top of this mountain/rock hill where we found a young naked sadhu, though he was actually wearing clothes. He had only been a monk for four years but had grown up in Rajasthan and had studied science in University. He says he spends most of his time in the Himalayas and with his guru and other naked monks. It was pretty cool to get the chance to talk to him and drink some chai. Since he has only been a sadhu for four years he was still able to relate to us and spoke great English. When we left he asked us to come back and bring him some suger (for the chai) which some of us did yesterday.
Other excitement included renting motorbikes and driving through a banana plantation to get to a mini little waterfall. I was on the back of the bike and inevitably we got into a bit of a crash so I know have two of the main traveler injuries (the first being branding myself with the tailpipe of a scotter in Vietnam). We were going quite slow so I only sustained minor injuries and more importantly the bike wasn't hurt at all. A super nice Indian guy helped us out and then lead us through the plantation to get to the waterfall.
The locals in Hampi are the nicest and least pushy of anywhere I have been in India. They all seem so happy and proud to live here and it is just so wonderful to stay in a place where no one is bugging you to buy things or begging. The family that runs our guesthouse is adorable and last night the mother gave Jordan (the Australian girl) and I henna on our hands. There is also the cutest little six month old girl next door that I like to visit. Yesterday I saw a whole class of little kids come out of school in their uniforms and before I knew it the entire pack was peeing in the road. It was hysterical but I didn't think it would be appropriate to photograph. The restaurants and food here are excellent and there has been lots of eating and lounging about.
Tonight we all go our separate ways, I will be taking a bus to the cost to Gokarna, yet another Hindu holy city where their are apparently some very nice beaches. I can't believe I only have two weeks left in India, it will be very sad to leave. 

Panaji and Old Goa

Spent the last two days in the beautiful capital city Panaji and visited the old capital, Old Goa for an afternoon. The Portuguese influence is amazing, Panaji is like a little European city with small streets and beautiful old houses and lots of churches. The city is pretty mellow and quite small so mostly just walking around and then eating delicious Goan food. We took the bus to Old Goa today where there are some crazy huge cathedrals from when the Portuguese had their capital there and it is super quiet with lots of huge palm trees and not much going on. Again it was pretty much walk around, check out some churches and then eat awesome food. Goa really feels different form the rest of India, especially the parts of India where I have been traveling. There is tons of cheap alcohol and you can get beef and pork which I had never seen on a menu before. Everything is super chilled out and for some reason I am reminded of Cuba back in the day, I think its because the women all where these beautiful floral fifties dresses and all the palm trees. The weather has been really nice so I am looking forward to coming back to the beaches after Hampi.

GOA: Arambol

So completed my first week in Goa. If you weren't aware this is very off-season for Goa as it is the end of the monsoon period and things don't really get crazy until Nov./Dec. (which is best as I have pretty much had my fill of beach raves in Thailand). Anyway, despite things being very mellow and there being some rain its been really nice to be back by the ocean and feels totally different from the North. First of all its a proper ocean with real waves unlike Thailand and Cambodia which was just lovely still water. I much prefer the waves but the lifeguards are quite strict about not going out too far, I think because most Indians that I have seen swimming don't show much of an aptitude for it. Either way it was great to get in the ocean. The food is awesome, my two months of being a vegetarian went right out the window along with my two months without drinking alcohol. Both were well worth it. Arambol was super chill, mostly just a few restaurants right on the beach where I would hang out, eat delicious food, meet people, and read. There were some crazy storms but I love watching them so the weather hasn't bothered me. And when you are sitting outside the Goans will know a good five minutes before the rain is coming. At first I wouldn't believe them as it was still beautiful and didn't want to go inside but sure enough the rain would always come. Its their fifth sense.
Anyway, after a week I was reading for a new scene so I am now in Anjuna a bit down the cost. I was planning on spending a week or so here but there isn't much of a beach and the restaurants aren't as nice to spend days in so I am going to go with some people to Hampi for however long and then come back to Goa for some final beach time but head to the South.

My Life is Too Exciting to Blog

So I know you all have been daily checking for more updates from me but my life has just been too exciting to take the time to sit in an internet cafe. I left Rishikesh yesterday and am now in Goa! Over my three weeks in Goa I went to yoga every single day, often twice a day which is pretty much more yoga or physical activity than I have done in well over a year. Needless to say I started pretty out of shape but I was able to make quite a lot of improvements due in no small part to having a brilliant teacher. I really lucked out in finding his class. In the morning I would take Ashtanga Vinyassa which would be about 2-2.5 hours and was quite a workout. It is pretty much the same moves that I was used to doing in yoga but done in a specific order and with great focus on the breath and dristi (where you look for each pose). Our teacher was super traditional so I felt like I really got to learn about Indian yoga as apposed to the western yoga that I was familiar with. The evening yoga was Hatha which would be another two hours but was much more relaxed and slow. We would pretty much just work on a couple of poses and make sure that we were doing them exactly correctly. One of my favorite things that we did a couple of times was doing a sun salutation where we would chant a different name for the sun with each posture, very traditional apparently. Our teacher really emphasized the important of the whole philosophy of yoga and how it is really meant to be a way of living you life with one pointed-ness rather than the western emphasis on the physical aspect of it. It was really interesting to listen to him when he would get going on yoga as a whole. Even though he was only 24 I feel like I learned so much from him. The classes were generally pretty small, there was one woman who was doing the teacher training when I was there so she would be at every class but other than her there usually wouldn't be more than 6 of us. With such small classes, we were able to get really helpful corrections and assistance in each class.
Other than yoga Rishikesh was a pretty quiet city/town, especially since it was low season. There were lots of nice cafes along the Ganges where it was great to sit and hang out for the afternoon. I finally made it to the Beatles ashram last week and the highlight there was that completely randomly I walked into a room to find a whole wall covered by the amazing artwork of Eva Donnelly who had been there over a year ago! The ashram was pretty cool, very overgrown since it has been closed for a while but with tons of beautiful little meditation huts made of stone that various travelers have painted inside with references to the Beatles. One huge hall had been completely covered with portraits of the Beatles as well as other leading spiritual people in India like the Dalai Lama, Amma, Sivanada and Yogananda.
It was great to spend so long in Rishikesh and I was able to meet some really interesting and fun people but I was ready to move on and see a little of the South before I go home. I can't believe I only have one more month here, its going to go by so quickly!

Rishikesh

I am now in Rishikesh where people come for three reasons: because it is one of the Hindu holy cities (so thats the main motivation for Indians), because the Beatles wrote the White Album here (thats for all the white kids) and because it is the "yoga capital of the world" (again all the white kids). So far all that I have done here is yoga though before I leave apparently it is very important to swim in the Ganges which makes me a little nervous because the monsoon has turned it into a really high and really terrifying river and also to visit the Maharishi Ashram where the Beatles staid. I am planning on being here for a while though so I have time to check off all those boxes. For now the focus is yoga and getting myself back in shape after a year of eating fried chicken and beer in Korea. After trying out a few classes I was recommended to this one instructor who is great and since it is low season its just me and one other girl in the classes. Now my darling mother immediately worried that the instructor would try and put the moves on me in the studio but unlike the majority of young Indian men it seems that those that practice yoga are extremely spiritual and not at all creepy. Anyway, the yoga is very traditional and therefore very different from what I was used to in the US. For proper practitioners the physical aspect of yoga is only a minor step on the way to meditation and full self-realization and its just us westerners who stay on that first step. The classes have been great as he is really specific about each pose and getting us to perform them just right. With only two of us we get lots of help and corrections and also don't get to slack off in the back of the class the way I usually do. I am have been going everyday for almost a week and even though I am super out of shape I can tell that I am getting a bit stronger and have better endurance.
Besides yoga and all the other new age crap that hippies bring with them wherever they go there isn't much to do here besides hang out in cafes and read. I have been meeting some interesting people though so I am not going crazy being alone. One of the benefits of being in a super new agey hippy area is that there is awesome food that is also super healthy so its been over a month since I have eaten meat or drunk any alcohol. Don't be too worried that I am going to come home a changed person I plan on order a rare steak and a dirty martini the first chance I get when I come home...which by the way is September 27th so get ready!

Karmapa

A few days ago my friend Emma asked if I would like to go see a Lama and I responded, "Why would I want to see a llama?" Once we had cleared up that we would be seeing a Buddhist Lama and not the animal I was on board. The Lama we were to visit, along with a bunch of other Tushita people still hanging around, was His Holiness Karmapa who is the 17th reincarnation of the Karmapa Lama. Before leaving and even now I don't really know anything about him except that he is an extremely big deal in Tibetan Buddhism and that my 5 seconds in front of him were amazing.
We were led on our expedition by Ruth, an New Zealander, who randomly walked into a Tushita meditation a few years ago and stayed on for two and a half years. She had been in our Tushita course and she is just amazing to hang out with and tons of fun. She also has a huge New Zealand accent which I like to listen to. Anyway, we took a public bus way down the mountain. It was great to get out of Mcleod and see the actual Dharamshala and the surrounding countryside. The minute we started to descend the mountain the temperature must have risen 10 degrees. After two entertaining bus rides we arrived at the monastery where Karmapa lives when he is not traveling. It was questionable whether I would get to actually see him as I had not been told that I was supposed to bring my passport. Luckily I am very convincing and I have my passport number memorized so I was let in (it was fate). We sat in the beautiful and huge main hall along with hundreds of other devotees waiting to receive a blessing. Most people seemed far more informed that I am about Karmapa and I saw lots of T-shirts celebrating the 900th year of the Karmapa from 2010. I wasn't really expecting anything as I didn't really know who he was and was mostly just interested in getting to see somewhere new. He came in and the process started immediately. You would walk up to a monk who after receiving your white scarf (they have an official name that I don't know) would drape it over your head, then you would have your few seconds in front of His Holiness during which he gave you a red nylon string with a knot in it and you would accept it and bow. It looked like it would be over in mere seconds. First went monks from all over the world, then the men and then women. I was mostly worried that I would do something wrong and it did happen really fast. I tried to really look into his eyes but before I new it I was shuffling out the door. Despite being so brief I, along with everyone else who exited came out beaming with happiness. I just felt some kind of elation and couldn't stop smiling. The happiness was just all consuming and has remained until right this minute! I didn't really think I felt or saw anything when I looked into his eyes but something happened there that was wonderful.
Afterwards we made our way back up to Mcleod in a bus and a jeep this time and then all sat down for a quick tea which turned into a full meal (though mine was just steamed veggies). It has been so wonderful to spend time with other Tushita people. I'm sure everyone feels this way after their course but its just so nice to be able to connect with people and skip the same conversation about where we are from and where we've been and where we're going and actually talk to people about real things. The day was honestly the best that I have had in India and left me with the most wonderful feeling. It was a perfect end to the cleanse and perfect way to say goodbye to Emma and many of the other Tushita people who were leaving in a few days. My last couple of weeks here have just left me with a wonderful feeling and with such excitement for the rest of my travels on my own.

Cleansing

I am so happy with my decision to give up my plane ticket for Goa and spend two more weeks here doing the panchakarma cleanse. I found a super nice and very cheap guest house where my neighbor was an adorable baby cow and where at night I wasn't kept awake by the honking of horns and people talking. I am staying about 20 minutes straight up the hill from Mcleod in the little village of Dharmkot and there are still a good number of people from my Tushita group to spend time with. Its been a really nice way to ease into traveling on my own and figuring out what I want to do with my remaining months. I am doing all I can to resist my urge to plan everything in advance and haven't let myself make any concrete plans or book any tickets anywhere until I am completely done with my cleanse. So you are all probably dying to know the details of my 14 days of cleansing which will be completed tomorrow and will be celebrated with lots of delicious food.
So generally, Panchakarma is an ancient Ayurvadic treatment that is meant to cleanse the mind as well as the body. It is not a cleanse where you just sit around and drink lemon juice and syrup all day and lose a ton of weight. My routine consists of breakfast with whomever is at the restaurant in town, usually Emma or Shay the two girls from Tushita that were also doing the cleanse. For breakfast we could have porridge with honey which was my favorite meal of the day. Then if I had time before treatment I would go to Tushita for their drop in meditations every morning. Treatment was about 15 minutes down the hill (not fun walking back up) and lasted for three hours everyday. It would always start with an amazing full body ayurvadic oil message which was then followed by about 20 minutes in either the sauna or steam room. Once we were nice and relaxed the less pleasant part began. For five of the days the doctor targeted our marma points to unblock emotional and physical blockage. Most of the points were on our feet or legs and correspond to different organs where different emotions are stored. While he was doing this sometimes excruciating therapy we were told to meditate on release all the negative emotions and breathing in all the positive ones to whichever organ he was targeting. Some of these points would make you cry from a combination of pain and who knows what. Other treatments include vomiting in which I had to chug cups of licorice tea until I threw up and repeat four times. It reminded me of college. We also had purgation days which was a nice way of saying diarrhea days and last but not least no less then four herb enemas. While all of this may be quite unpleasant to read we became so comfortable discussing our progress that a chat over dinner about the diarrhea day and how many times each of us went (we had to keep track) was quite common- and quite strange for those not in the program. I have been super lucky in my treatment as everything seemed to go quite well- I attribute this not to my eating healthy and working out because I don't, but to the fabulous genes that I have inherited.
By far the best part about the cleanse, and the only thing that made the diet of super boring, easy to digest food bearable was this wonderful restaurant/guesthouse where we, and all the other panchakarma people would have dinner. The house was owned by a German woman and her Indian husband and there three beautiful trilingual daughters, two amazing dogs (one of which is pregnant) and cute kitty. Every night everyone would arrive for dinner of panchakarma soup, rice and chapatti which I would smother in ghee (our butter substitute). It was great to meet new, usually very interesting people, and not have to watch our other friends down pizza.
So far the concrete results that I have seen from the cleanse include super soft skin and hair and feeling about a million times healthier than I have since I last lived with the mother. It is so hard to be healthy when you are traveling and even though I am really excited to have more food options starting tomorrow it was amazing to not feel sickeningly full after meals or just plain sick. In terms of other developments I don't really know what to attribute them to- Tushita, panchakarma or just staying in one place for so long and giving myself time to just be. Whatever the cause, I am feeling so much more grounded and I have so much less anxiety about everything from traveling alone to getting home and finding a job. I just feel so much more secure and comfortable letting whatever happens happen and not trying to control everything. Wherever this is coming from it feels wonderful. I feel truly relaxed for the first time traveling and want to continue to spend longer amounts of time in the next places I go.
So since I finish my cleanse tomorrow I am going to move back down to Mcleod because I can't face walking up and down the mountain everyday and I am ready to eat some delicious food and be near a little more action. I will probably spend a few days in town getting myself together and then I am going to set out for Rishikesh for some yoga!

Don't Worry I Haven't Become a Buddhist

So Danielle and I completed a 10 day silent Introduction to Buddhism course in Dharamsala last Thursday. While some of you may be shocked that I was able to stay silent for 10 days it ended up being an incredibly wonderful and significant experience. I learned a huge amount about both Buddhism and mediation. Our meditation leader was particularly wonderful as was able to lead us through some very challenging subjects in such a way that the exercises were extremely beneficial. Ultimately it was a pretty intense experience and we all know that blogs are not the place for those so to hear more details you will just have to talk to me when I come home.
After leaving the course I found out that the friend that I was going to meet in Goa had a family emergency and had to fly back to England. This left me in a bit of a confusing position as I had a flight to Goa but didn't really know if thats where I should be going. I decided to cancel my flight and will be spending some time here. Danielle leaves tonight (very sad) and I will be moving up to the little town of Dharamkot which is much quieter and trying to figure out what my next move will be. While I am contemplating where I will head next I am going to join some of my friends in doing a Ayurvadic cleanse for 14 days. I met with the doctor today and it sounds like it will be quite the experience and will hopefully remove all of my physical and emotional blocks. It feels strange to be traveling alone and its the first time that I have really been challenged to think only about myself and actually figure out what I want from my time traveling, where I want to go, and when I want to come home. At this point I can't answer any of those questions but I am hoping that after some time I will know what the next step should be. Until that time I've started reading James Joyce's Ulysses so that should keep me well occupied (and confused).

I Cannot Emphasize Enough How Amazing Kashmir Is

Final place in Kashmir has been Leh in Ledakh and just like Srinigar it has been amazing. I honestly have never been anywhere this amazing in my entire life- and remember I am incredibly worldly and well traveled. Anyway, Leh is the first place in all of India where we have seen more than 3-4 whiteys ever. And now there are tons of them! Leh is a huge hub of outdoor activities like trekking, fishing, rafting as well as volunteering (lots of Tibetan refugees) as well as yoga and mediation. So pretty much its got it all and the people that are here are all interesting and not just looking for the next party (Thailand and all the 18 year olds). The town is nice and small with tons of awesome food and good shopping (too much good shopping). The altitude here is 3500 meters and thinking I was super tough and cool I did not expect it to effect me. Boy was I wrong as I spent the first two days here being dizzy and nauseous (I may have thrown up once). So our first two days were pretty mild as we got adjusted, mostly just cruising around town and eating delicious Tibetan food (see facebook for some photos of momos, Tibetan dumplings that were amazing). It is also way colder here than we expected so we had to buy some warm clothes- especially Danielle.
On our third day we were able to have an activity day! We didn't have enough time to do a full trek but instead we hired a jeep to take us up to the highest motorable pass in the WORLD! It was 34 km north of Leh and it took us about two and half hours to get up. The road was pretty much single lane with tons of crazy switchbacks. I have seen some pretty big mountains before but nothing compares to the mountains here. We went from a green valley, through desert mountains all the way to full on snowstorm! The last 10 km took us the longest as the road is pretty miserable but we got to get out a bunch and Danielle got to play (fall) in the snow. The top was at 18,380 feet and even being up there for only about an hour made me super dizzy. When we reached the top the weather was beautiful but about 15 min later a storm blew in and we were in a total white out snow storm! Luckily we had an excellent driver that didn't speak a word of English and we made it down nice and safely. Once we got below the storm the sun was beautiful and we had amazing views all around us. I have never seen such incredible scenery.
Today we had quite the shopping day as there is an amazing Tibetan Refugee market with lots of cool trinkets and whatnot. Tonight we get to hop in a jeep around midnight for a 22 hour drive through the mountains down to Manali. We are going to stock up on some delicious yak cheese to make the journey less painful. We will be passing through the Himalayas for the second time so that should be exciting.
So once again I have taken hours of my time and tons of rupees to upload some photos to facebook. Mother, may I suggest you visit your darling god daughter and have Elaine show them to you?

Longest Drive Ever

So travel in Kashmir only consists of jeeps or buses because the terrain is so crazy. Yesterday we took a jeep from Srinigar to Leh in Ledakh and it was both amazing and horrible. Pretty much there are seven people total in the jeep which is quite cozy, yesterday I was next to a man that was way too large for the car and kept squishing me. Anyway the entire drive has the most amazing scenery. First we drove through huge mountains all covered with snow and ice. In some parts the road was perfectly paved and in other places water would be washing away the gravel road form melting snow. We were driving along a rive that was just rushing with what looked like freezing water. I can imagine it would be quite exciting for someone to raft or kayak down. Not so much for me but it was exciting to look at. As we kept driving we left the crazy snow covered mountains behind and the mountains began to all be tan and just massive piles of rocks, it looked kinda like Colorado or somewhere out west? So pretty much the whole time you are driving you are just staring out the window looking at the most amazing scenery ever but also being bounced all around and super uncomfortable. Sleeping is pretty much impossible. Yesterdays trip was maybe about 400 km but it took us about 16 hours. It was pretty cool to drive through the tiny villages all along the road. In some places it was freezing cold and I can't even imagine how hard life would be there. While driving we would stop every couple of hours for a chai break which is always delicious and a good chance to stretch broken limbs. When we leave Leh in a few days the trip down to Manali will be a total of about 25 hours of driving...we will probably break that into two days if its not too expensive but it should be pretty intense.

Srinigar

After our wonderfully relaxing couple of days on our luxurious boat we were met by our Khajuraho connection who goes by Super Mario for the foreigners because he looks just like Super Mario. Anyway, he said that he would take us sightseeing and invited us to lunch at his house! He walked us around the old town of Srinigar and we got to see so much that we never would have on our own. I loved looking into the little shops and seeing people making food, smoking hookah or running their tiny shops. Unlike the rest of India people do not stare at you in Kashmir, we got lots of friendly smiles but no one stalking us with their camera or anything else gross. We happened to pass a Muslim wedding and everyone insisted that we go behind the tent and see the food being prepared. There must have been at least 50 men cooking tons of food in huge black cauldrons over big fires. There is tons of good meat in Kashmir and we were given a taste of everything. More of those lamb kebabs that we had had the night before and some other kind of lamb meatball that was amazing. All of the food was amazingly flavored and there was soooo much of it! All the men doing to the cooking were so nice and not at all creepy. The entire day I waited for someone to do something creepy or for Mario to start taking us to his friends shops but not once did I feel like anyone was trying to get something from us. When we got back to Mario's house we had to beg him to show us some of his rugs and scarves. His family has sold Kashmiri goods since like 1840 or something and we had seen his shop in Khajuraho and knew that if we were going to buy anything in Kashmir we wanted to buy it from him. The rugs were all handmade and absolutely beautiful. We looked at tons and each found a perfect one. After going through the rugs we went to a room filled with pashminas and I got a little carried away. They all were so beautiful I couldn't resist.
After all our shopping we were served a traditional Kashmiri lunch by one of his nieces (he lives with both his brothers and all their kids). First the girl came around with water and a dish for us to wash our right hand. She then served out rice, two dishes of lamb and one of chicken. We ate the meal with our right hands which for Danielle and I was definitely a new skill. The food was delicious and all the meat was really good. In the rest of India meat has been hard to find and the little bit of chicken we have had has not been good. We were totally stuffed after lunch and were then served like our fifth cup of kashmiri tea and then Mario insisted that we would stay with him and his family for the next two nights! His family was about to move into a new house out in the country and it was huge and amazing. All our meals were prepared and we were treated just like family. It was really amazing to experience such hospitality from someone that we had just met and to truly not feel like they wanted anything from us. We got to play with all the little kids and eat way too much amazing food.
Being in Srinigar, which is pretty much entirely Muslim, I wasn't sure how it would be different from the rest of India. Frankly I haven't spent any amount of time with Muslims and wasn't sure how I would be viewed or treated both as a woman and as an American. In Srinigar for the first time both Danielle and I felt totally comfortable talking with people. People seemed truly honest and it didn't feel like everyone was out to get money from you. While I was still bothered by the position of women in society- we barely got a chance to interact with the women in Mario's family as they were never invited to eat with us- but Danielle and I were treated wonderfully.
Staying with a family was a really amazing opportunity and I am so thankful that we were able to meet such generous and wonderful people in Srinigar.

On A Boat!

So after a huge amount of travel Danielle and I have made it to Kashmir! Our first stop was Srinigar and I absolutely loved it. I don't know if it was just being in a place where the temperature wasn't melting my insides or what but Srinigar was an amazing place. To get there we took a 9-10 hour jeep ride to go about 300 km which was insanely bumpy but had the most incredible scenery.
Anyway, first place we stayed in Srinigar was on a houseboat because thats what you do there. Most tourists stay on Dal Lake which is right in town but due to a super sweet hook up from some guys we met in Khajuraho we knew to stay on the much more peaceful and beautiful Nageen Lake. They set us up with a hosueboat that was wayyyyy too nice for us but because it turns out Kashmiris are the nicest people in the world we were allowed to name our price and it turned out to be such a fraction of the real price that I can't even write it out! The boat was beautiful, all carved pine wood and tons of carpets everywhere. We spent two nights there and it was like heaven. For the first time since being in India I really felt like I could relax. It was nice and warm during the day and cool at night so no more dying of the heat. There was a beautiful deck on the back of the boat and we would sit there, be served delicious tea and read. We also had a little canoe that we took out a couple of times, once for the sunset and once during the day. We were some of the only people out on the lake when we did and we watched huge Kingfisher birds flying all around and great herons. At night we would sit on top of the boat and there were amazing stars.
Meals were included on the boat and we were given the best food that I have had in India. First night was fresh brook trout that was just perfect along with veggies and rice and fruit. Next night we had the most amazing lamb kebab things where the lamb had been minced up with amazing spices and then cooked around a metal spike. It was amazing. Our time on the boat was a very needed break from the craziness of India. It was wonderful to just do nothing but read and look at beautiful scenery.

The Internet Is Slower Than Death Here

The internet is the worst in India, I didn't know how good I had it in SEA with free wifi at every restaurant and speedy internet cafes on every corner. Anyway, heres a recap of my last two cities:
Khajuraho was a tiny town with pretty much nothing to do but we had a nice relaxing time there. Pretty much the only  reason people go there are to see a bunch of temple built around 900 AD that have become know as the Karma Sutra temples due to a few erotic carvings. The temples were quiet beautiful, very reminiscent of Angkor Wat in some of their imagery and shape. They were all carved out of sandstone which made them look like they would crumble if you touched them but all the carvings had help up incredibly well. Frankly the erotic carvings were not such a big deal as people make it out to be. They are only a fraction of the carvings of people and animals and only a couple are actually dirty (beasteality). Anyway, since Danielle and I are now expert tourists we got the audio guide which we have discovered is pretty much the best way to learn a ton without putting any effort in. Its also ideal when its a million degrees out and trying to read anything makes you just want to go back to your room and curl up with the AC. So our visit to the temples was quite nice. Our second day there we hopped a fence into a lovely little garden and spent the day reading and hanging out.
We have also now ridden on two trains! As our first train from Agra to Khujaraho pulled into the station the first section you see is the lowest class and I am not kidding when I say that people were literally falling out the windows and doors. People were piled on top of each other and there didn't look like there was even enough room to breath. There is literally no way I could spend an entire night in that position. Just looking at it almost gave me a panic attack. Luckily we, along with all the other white people, get to ride in the princes section where we have AC, sheets, blankets and pillows. Sleeping on the train is no problem, the only problem is that you cant sit up in your tiny little bed but it could be worse.
So now we are in Varanasi which has been awesome. Pretty quiet city and lots of good people watching. Yesterday we walked all along the ghats (where people bath in the Ganges) and it was wonderful. We past one of the two burning ghats where people are cremated. When we were there there was one body that had been burning for a couple of hours and two bodies waiting to be burned. The waiting bodies were wrapped tightly in cloth and lying on bamboo stretchers. The bodies burn for 24 hours and then the ashes are scattered in the river. Pregnant women, children, holy men, and lepers are not burned because their bodies are already pure. Instead they are tied to a rock and dropped into the middle of the river. Last night we watch a ceremony that they do every night involving a lot of chanting and fire that was very beautiful. Many people take boats out and light candles so the river is beautiful. This morning we got up at 5 to take a boat ride on the river. We didn't see much that was new but it was beautiful light and very peaceful.
Next up is Bodhigaya which should be pretty chill as it is tiny. After that we will be done with our tour and head up to Kashmir!

Rowdy Rathore!

The one good thing about Jaipur was that we got to see a Bollywood movie! It was absolutely rediculous. I don't know how people think they are cool. Pretty much it was two and a half hours long which is a long time to sit in a movie theater when you aren't really sure whats going on. It was a bit of action, a bit comedy (i think) and a bit romance. The best part was the very enthusiastic crowd. Whenever something exciting happened the whole auditorium would start shouting and clapping. The main character, which I guess was supposed to be some babe(?), was not a babe. He looked like a cross between Peter Sellers and Sasha Baron Cohen and acted just as foolishly. The women were babes and all the dance scenes were awesome but I just couldn't take it seriously. But maybe that was the point? I'm really not sure but it was fun and a nice way to spend the afternoon. Even better, afterwards we went to a McDonalds and got McFlurries and fries and they were SO GOOD. So good that I was a super fat American and refused to give my half finished McFlurry to a poor little street urchin. Can't take the American out of me!

Still Hot

So in the past week or so we have covered Udaipur, Pushkar, Jaipur and Agra! Tonight we leave Agra and have finally left our grumpy grandpa driver. Of all of those places Pushkar was by far my favorite. It was nice and small, and there was lots of good food and shopping and the hasseling wasn't too bad. My least favorite was Jaipur. I disliked Jaipur for the number one thing that I hate about India: constant sexual harassment. Its a huge bummer and I hate to generalize because we have met many very nice Indian men but overall our experiences have been pretty negative. It ranges from the minor (constant rude staring that is clearly not just out of curiosity) to the totally upsetting (being felt up in a temple). Mostly young men will follow us, take pictures without permission and my favorite is to follow us and film us! My tolerance for this kind of treatment is pretty fucking low. Its clear that they don't see us as people that deserve their respect and coming from a country where gender equality is about as good as it gets it is very hard to take. In Jaipur it was so constant that we didn't even want to leave our hotel rooms. Now let me be clear, neither of us is dressing like western whores, we are both tending more toward the mormon look despite the raging heat and we aren't going out drinking late into the night. There doesn't really seem to be anything to do about it but it is frustrating that I have such a negative impression of such a large portion of the population. I wish we were able to interact with women more but they seem super shy and are never working in restaurants or shops. I knew this was the reputation of India when I came but I didn't realize that it would be so constant and overwhelming. I think it would be really awesome to travel here as a guy, you would be able to interact with people with so much more confidence and trust.
In other less depressing news, we saw the Taj Mahal today!!! We went at sunrise because we hate other people and it was just as pretty as it looks in pictures (huge relief). It was nice and quiet when we were there and there wasn't anyone bugging us for money (yay!). As we were leaving lots of tour groups began to arrive so I am glad we got out before it got too crowded. Another highlight was all the monkeys and monkey babies we saw on the walk there. I may have taken more pictures of the monkeys than the Taj but we all know what the Taj looks like and not everyone knows how cute it is when a baby monkey clings to its parents tummy.
Next up is the Karma Sutra temples so that should be weird. 

And the Emotional Rollercoaster continues

This time on an upswing luckily. We have spent a wonderful two days in Jodhpur and have done quite a bit of shopping. Today we were dropped off in town at a spice shop and the owner of the shop fell completely in love with Danielle (it wasn't creepy he was old). Less of a fan of me probably because I was a bit grumpy in the morning. Anyway he took us to a wholesale textile shop where we ended up spending around two hours! They showed us some of the most beautiful fabrics I have ever seen! We both got some major purchases which made us feel very grown up. Pretty much everything that I have bought in SEA was cheap random stuff but it is nice to buy things that are actually things that I will keep for ever. I keep thinking of the rug my mother has from Iran in her bedroom to remind myself that I should invest in some quality things. While we were there we were given chai, lassis and told all about Jodhpur. Overall it was a great experience and I feel like the things that I bought from them were not only of good quality but came from a positive experience. 

HOT

Did I mention that for the last week it has been between 115 and 120 degrees? I am literally melting. You can barely eat any food cause it just sits in you and makes you feel ill. I can't wait to go North anything will feel cool after this.

Two Glasses of Lemonade!

So Danielle and I are currently on a "tour" or Rajasthan which pretty much just means that we have a driver between all the cities and our hotels are all booked for us. Conveniently there are two British girls doing the same thing so we have some other people to hang out with (its low season so there aren't a lot of other tourists to befriend). Anyhoo, we've all seen Lawrence of Arabia right? Good, I'm glad I am writing to such a sophisticated audience. Well two nights ago I got to live out all of my Lawrence of Arabia fantasies on a camel safari in the desert of Jaiselmer (I have no Lawrence of Arabia fantasies that movie makes the desert look horrible). We spent one afternoon riding camels and a night in the desert. First of all, camels are amazing. They are both super cute and super weird looking. They have big eyes with really long eyelashes and they always look very relaxed. On the other hand, their lips are super stretchy and they stretch them about a lot in weird faces. Their feet are crazy- they look like slippers and kinda smoosh down with each step. Getting on and off is the most exciting as they get up in stages, first the back almost dumping your forward, then the front. Riding them is pretty uneventful as people were leading them and all around us was just sand so all I thought about was Lawrence and him ordering lemonade after crossing that crazy desert. It was funny at first but after two hours when my water had run out it got less and less funny. We watched the sunrise from a dune and then were sent back to the base for dinner. After dinner we were put in carts drawn by the camels and taken out to the desert to sleep. When we went to sleep the moon was super bright so we couldn't see too many stars but it was beautiful. When I woke up in the middle of the night the moon had gone down and the stars were amazing. While no stars are better than Vermont stars these were some of the brightest I have ever seen. The next morning we watched the sunrise and then rode back for breakfast.

DELHI!

So we haven't been in India a week yet and already it is an emotional roller coaster. One minute it is the most amazing place I have ever been with the nicest people and the next I feel like everyone is just trying to fuck us over. We only spent two and a half days in Delhi but they were quite busy. First day was lots of sight seeing and at every sight it was like we were the biggest celebrities ever. It would take us forever to get anywhere because everyone was asking to take pictures with us. Entertaining at first and then supper annoying by the end of the day when we were tired and hot and ready to go home. I went from super friendly to Lindsey Lohan with my water bottle in front of my face to avoid all the cameras.
Second day in Delhi was even more intense. We got in a tuk tuk intending to go to a park to read and relax but our driver, a Sikh, said that he wanted us to love his country and wanted to take us to his temple. He told us this was something that he wanted to do and we could pay him whatever we wanted. This old man was so sincere and wonderful that we couldn't say no. At the temple we were the only white people and again attracted many looks. He gave us the grand tour of the temple, leading us to the front where people were making offerings and men were singing prayers. We were washed in water from the holy spring and then we were taken through a massive crowd of people into an huge empty auditorium. We were told to stand at the far end of the hall and all the doors were opened and 1000 people streamed in, sat in rows and were fed a huge lunch. We ate with them and then were led back in the kitchen to see them prepare the food and help make the nan (harder than it looks). At this temple they serve free breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day for anyone. At the end he presented us with silk from the temple as a gift as well as two books on the Sikh religion. The whole experience was incredibly intense. When he took us back to our hotel we gave him 1000 rupees (like $20) and he says that he expected double that! We were so tired, overwhelmed and shocked that after standing in silence for a few minutes looking confused we just gave it to him.
There often seems to be hidden agendas, expectations and costs so far. Its the first country we have been in were tipping is expected and people are quite rude if you don't tip or don't tip enough. There is definitely a lot to get used to but so far it has been pretty wonderful. My absolute favorite thing is all the women in their beautiful saris and I can't stop staring at them!

Bangkok!

So Danielle and I have had a wonderful two days in Bangkok before we head to India (tomorrow will involve doing nothing but swimming in our pool and getting a message to prepare us for our flight). Yesterday we decided that we needed to get back into sight seeing as we have pretty much been lying around on beaches for the last two months (minus Angkor Wat). Anyway, we were looking a bit lost apparently and this wonderful man that I guess worked for some tourist agency came up and set out a whole plan for the afternoon for us and then escorted us to a tuk tuk driver and got him to drive us around for the day for only 59 bhat (less than two dollars). I am pretty much sure that if Danielle and I had asked for the same thing we would have paid like 300. So our super nice driver takes us around to all these amazing temples. It also happened to be a Buddhist holiday so lots of people were visiting temples to pray and give offerings which I really like to watch cause Buddhist people just seem better than everyone else. Anyway, we saw this amazing Standing Buddha which must have been at least 30 meters high and everyone was covering his feet with flowers and gold leaf. We saw a couple other temples and then took a river taxi a couple of stops to see the Royal Palace and Wat Pho where the famous reclining Buddha is. Before those sights we drank some delicious red dragonfruit juice and had a sweet lunch. First we went to see the reclining Buddha which is 46 meters long and 15 meters high. Its made of brick covered in plaster and then coated in gold. His feet are inlaid with mother of pearl showing the 108 characteristics of Buddha. It was absolutely amazing. Pretty much the whole temple complex, which was huge, was covered in gold and sparkling glass. It was actually kind of blinding in the afternoon sun. We ended up spending quite a while at the temple as it was so big and so beautiful so by the time we left the Royal Palace was already closed. Today we went to MBK which is a massive mall. Mostly just wandered around, got pedicures and ate some delicious food. I am currently adding a bunch of pictures to facebook so everyone that is hip head over there and check them out. Those of you who are not on the book I guess your shit out of luck. Or go find someone young.

Anyhoo SEA has been absolutely amazing and I am really sad so be leaving but incredibly excited for our next adventure in India.

The End of Beaches

Our last two beach experiences were my favorite by far. We started on Koh Mook which couldn't have had more than 20 other foreigners as it was the low season. I think we were the only people staying at our place though the woman was super nice and had four amazingly cute puppies for me to play with. It was also the first beach we've been to that had proper waves and I had forgotten how much more fun that can be...except also super tiring cause I'm lazy. There was only one restaurant but luckily it served amazing and super cheap food. We ate every single meal there. And they had two cute kitties to play with. The beach was facing west so we had two amazing sunsets where we were the only people on the beach.
We then had to come to Bangkok for a few days to get out visa for India sorted out which was not very fun but we happened to run into our friend Sihanoukville and decided to go with her and her brother to Koh Tao for the weekend instead of waiting in Bangkok for 7 days for our visa. Koh Tao is on the east coast of Thailand and the beaches there were some of the best of our entire trip. The water was completely clear and the sand was like cornstarch. We spent and entire day laying in the water as it is shallow for the first 4 meters and almost completely still. We had a great hotel and also had a great restaurant and bar. Koh Tao is famous for its diving certification programs and it was nice to hang out with older people who were doing something a little more interesting than the standard 18 year olds partying route. The second day Danielle and I went on a snorkeling trip around the island and got to see some amazing fish and coral. I was shocked how deep the ocean was where we were swimming and how huge some of the coral is. Also the fish are crazy looking. All in all the beaches here have been amazing and we have met some great people in Thailand. I am going to be very sad to leave but I am getting super excited/scared for India (we just bought our Lonely Planet tonight so we have some research to do).
More on Bangkok later.

Best thing in Thailand

You wanna know what the best thing in Thailand is?? 7/11 Toasties. They're only 24 bhat which is less than a dollar and are the perfect early morning food or late night after too much redbull snack. So if they have those in America go get one.

Beaches Make Me Lazy

So Danielle and I have pretty much been living at the beach since our arrival in Thailand last Wednesday. Our first stop was Koh Phangan where the Full Moon Party is held. We were a little concerned about our lodgings as we had booked a little late and not a lot of places were free. We were staying at the poorly named Party Hostel which turned out to be a lovely place with lots of entertaining people to...party with. It was our first time staying in a dorm at a hostel and while I wouldn't want to do it that often it wasn't so bad as we were positioned right under the air conditioner. In fact I wore most of my clothes to bed but I got some amazing sleep. The Full Moon Party and all the parties leading up to it were more of what we had seen in Laos and Cambodia but with a whole lot more neon clothing, body paint, and dangerous fire activities. After the full moon party the town looked like a war zone with nearly everyone bandaged, limping or on crutches. Luckily since Danielle and I are so mature we made it out with only a few scrapes and bruises from an ill thought out climbing adventure early in the morning. Anyway, lots of fun was had and then we were ready for some peace and quiet so we got a boat taxi to the next beach over where I pretty much spent each day laying in the perfectly clear shallow water and getting nice and tan/sunburned.
Now we are at a beach a little ways away from Krabi on the west coast. This area is famous for rock climbing and the scenery is crazy. Thailand really is one of the most beautiful places I have seen. Definitely more travelers and things are more expensive but you can see why.
Tomorrow we are headed to Koh Muk which I believe was Pete's favorite when he was hear. Then its on to Bangkok to finally get my debit card and get our visa for India! I can't believe we will be there so soon!

24 Hours of Buses Till the Full Moon Party

So Danielle and I left Sihanoukville empty handed (my card never came) Friday night and have been in Siem Reap since. As a second time visitor to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat I have been super surprised by how much has changed in seven years. The town of Siem Reap is huge and super busy! When we were here I remember there not being a ton of restaurants or shops and now there are giant restaurants and clubs! The temples were also much more crowded than I remember. Even though nothing can take away from how amazing all the temples are I am really glad that I was able to visit them when they were not that crowded or controlled. Now there are tons of package Asian tourists, I kinda felt like I was back in Korea and lots of the stairs are either roped off or they have built wooden stairs over them. When we came last time I remember climbing to the top of one of the big tower things at Angkor Wat and then being completely terrified at the prospect of coming down. Now the route that I took is roped off and you can only get up by a nice set of not terrifying wooden stairs. Our first morning we watched the sun rise behind Angkor Wat and it was extremely beautiful despite the old Korean man snoring next to us. I swear Koreans can and do sleep anywhere. We had a great tuk tuk driver for the temples who took us to some that were much further away and much less crowded on our second day. It was really wonderful to get to see some of the temples in the quiet that I remember from my last visit.
Tonight we get the bus to Bangkok around 1 am and then tomorrow night we get another bus and then boat to take us to Ko Pha- Ngan for the full moon party on Saturday. I recall pete being very sick following the same itinerary so hopefully I will make it through ok. I
It has officially been over two months of travel so far and it seems like it has gone by super fast...I can see how people get stuck in this life style, though you never get a good nights rest.

Sihanoukville: still waiting for my debit card

So Danielle and I are still in Sihanoukville waiting for my debit card...hopefully this wont be true in another week. Its a fairly good place to be stuck as we pretty much just spend our days at the beach and out nights out on the town...or like tonight going to bed at 9 because I am so exhausted. This is Cambodia's main beach resort which is good and bad. Good in that there are tons of awesomely comfy chairs on the beach and people bringing you food and drink whenever. Bad because people selling stuff on the beach and just generally bugging you never stops. I was trying to take a nap and a woman came over and just started giving me a message and only after about 4 minutes of me insisting I would not be paying for this and I did not want a message did she leave. There are lots of kids selling bracelets and whatnot and some of them are cute and funny while others are super rude and annoying. The beach can be a bit dirty some days too which is a bummer.
The party scene seems to be the same as any other backpacker party place where people just drink tons of red bull and stay out all night. The red bull here is like straight speed and is actually illegal in America. Needless to say pretty much everyone is super pumped up and chatty until about 5 am. The first weekend were were here was Khmere New Year which I thought would just be one fun night like our New Year...it was a full three nights and I did not feel well at the end. The tradition is that people just run around all day dumping baby powder and water on people. Quite fun the first day and then makes you want to strangle small children when you are hungover and soaking. On Saturday we went on a booze cruise that one of the foreign bars was putting on which was quite fun. Got to make lots of new friends. When I meet people not from America I generally just tell them I am from New York because it is such a pain to try an explain Vermont to people and no one really cares anyway. So I met some girl and told here I was from New York and she goes, "Every American I meet is from New York! You guys must all travel so much!" I didn't have the heart to tell her that not only was I lying but at least half of the other people probably were too.
After all the excitement of the New Year we needed some r and r so we went to an island about 2 hours away by boat. The island (Koh Rung) has no electricity except generators between 6 and 10. The beaches are completely white and the water is crystal clear. Pretty much what you imagine when you imagine a perfect beach. The Australian guy who owned the guesthouse we were in would go fishing every day and then let you select your fish for him to grill. We have had some of the best seafood here its all so fresh and they cook it amazingly. Unlike the kids in Sihanoukville who are always trying to get you to give them money the kids on the island weren't selling anything and just wanted to play with you. It was super cute. One little kid came up to me at night when I was listening to my ipod and just snuggled up to me and put one of the headphones in his ear. He didn't say anything to me and just sat there for like 15 min before running away. It was adorable. There were also lots of puppies.

Hoi An sunrise

dont know how to rotate but...Nin Bin Vietnam

Hiked up all of those

Riiice

Amazing street crab in Hanoi, Danielle's first!

Luang Prabang on the Mekong

creepy

Night Market in Luang Prabang

Just as amazing as this looks

Phnom Penh

Tuk Tuk???

Genocide Musem

Kep fresh crab dinner

Ate 4 amazing crabs

Danielle made some friends

Seafood that was caught that day fresh on the grill

Beach was lovely

Tonights sunset

Debbie Downer

So Danielle and I have made it to Cambodia! Two days in Phnom Penh and now relaxing by the beach in Kip. Minor downer is that I lost my debit card in Laos...luckily Mascoma and my mother are super helpful so assuming the Cambodian mail service doesn't totally suck I should be all set in a few days. Other major downer was our genocide day in Phnom Penh. Started off light with a school that was turned into a prison in Phnom Penh and then hit up some lovely Killing Fields. Pretty intense day but it had to be done. Our first stop, S-21 as it was known has been turned into a museum that is quite large and quite exhausting both emotionally and physically. Its where they kept, tortured and interrogated prisoners until they were all eventually sent to be killed. It seems they left the prison quickly when the Vietnamese invaded as they found 14 bodies beaten and dead in their cells. There graves are now in the center of 3 buildings. The museum had some interesting information besides leaving most of the rooms as they were found. In particular every prisoner was photographed as the entered the prison and many after being killed or tortured. Made for some very upsetting viewing. The museum could definitely do with considerable more money and more information regarding the prison and the Khmere Rouge regime. The Killing Fields were absolutely horrible but came with an incredibily informative and well done audio guide. It included many personal accounts as well as a confession of guilt and sorrow from the head of S-21 prison. Not only is there a stupa with 17 shelves of skulls and bones but as you walk you will still come across pieces of bone, teeth and scraps of clothing. Needless to say it was an extremely exhausting and sad day but something that we definitely needed to see. I think one of the saddest things I saw as I was leaving S-21 was a boy about 12 sitting between his parents sobbing. I can only imagine that it was his first contact with that kind of evil and it must have been a huge shock.

On a more lighter note we spent the day swimming in beautifully warm water and getting nice and sunburned on the beach. For dinner we went to an area that specializes in crab. We had grilled crab and watched them picked them out of the traps right in front of us! It was delicious. Tomorrow we will spend the day on an island about 7 km from here. From there it is on to some more beaches and then Ankor Watt!

Made It Out of Vang Vieng Alive!!

Our last stop in Laos was Vang Vieng where everyone seems to be focused on getting drunk, doing drugs and having sex with strangers (I only did two out of the three). Anyhoo pretty much the deal is that people go tubing on the Mekong and there are tons of bars along the river to stop at on your way. At night there is an island in the middle of the river with lots more bars. The river is super low right now so we didn't rent tubes but just swam/ walked between the bars. At each bar there are Laos guys who will through a rope to you and pull you across the river at an alarming pace. At each bar when you arrive you are presented with a niffty friendship bracelet and a shot of Laos whiskey. There is lots of load music, various games and rope swings. The people that work at most of the bars are foreign and then get free alcohol and housing and there job requirements seem to consist of getting people to drink with them, also draw all over people with paint and markers which I was tricked into my first day but then avoided like the plague my second day. At the bars that open on the island at night in addition to their drink menus there are also drug menus and you can help yourself to weed, opium, shrooms or whippits (for those not in the know nitrus oxide/the drug Demi Moore ODed on). Definitely saw some pretty gross behavior but since I'm such a classy lady I had an excellent and fairly safe time. Its pretty bizarre that places like this spring up in every country but pretty entertaining for a few days.
Needless to say after four days I was definitely ready to head out and we are spending our last days in Laos in the capital, Vientiane.

I have to go pee

Well this wont be too long because I have to go pee due to too many Bier Laos at lunch. Anyhoo, we finished with Vietnam two days ago and flew to Laos yesterday. Our final week of Vietnam was going to Ninh Binh where we saw some great scenery and village life (pretty similar to Ha Long Bay but no tourists). Ha Noi was great. Right next to our hotel there was a place where you could just sit and drink keg beer and eat good food. One night we met a Vietnamese girl and she was eating crab from a few stands down so we each ordered one and they were the most delicious things ever. I have great photos but that will have to wait for later. We went to the womens museum which was really interesting and Ho Chi Minh's Mosoleum which was just as creepy as I remember.
We flew into Laos yesterday and so far there are a few differences that I have notices: its much less humid which is excellent for my hair, there are lots more dope fiends here than families. Not really but there are a lot more white people with dreplocks and we all know what those people like (dope). Also its definitely poorer. But so far I have really enjoyed being here, much less hassle than Vietnam. There is a great night market and lots of good food. Next up is partyville on the Makong fingers crossed I make it out alive!

fotos

artichoke season in Da Lat

Well these are totally out of order but this was this morning, My Son about an hour away from Hoi An, too early

I couldn't really tell which photos I was adding so this isn't the good one of this family but anyway a minority group origonally from loas, we had some bananas and the mother suggested that we trade skin about 10 times. Apparently my pasty pale (turning to tan) is all the rage here

Some cute kids that we had to bribe with candy before they would pose for us

From our cooking class yesterday. We made a delicious lunch of spring rolls, money bags (pork and veggies fried in rice paper), eggplant in a hot pot and fish grilled in a banana leaf. It was a great morning followed by a great afternoon on the beach

One of the best meals yet: Vietnamese pancakes and spring rolls.

I think I have identified the origin of the muffin dog: vietnam

More Vietnamese pancakes

Cute kids never get old

This family raised pythons for their oil or something but their daughter clearly does this whenevr visitors come. This picture is also hugely zoomed in as I refuse to get within 15 feet of such a monster

From our first tour on motorbikes around Da Lat

Danielle and Dan

Quy and I before the 6 day trip