Ev Star

Holidays have begun and I’ve left the city for a short vacation in Tofino with my parents.  Leaving was tumultuous as always, but this year there was an added layer of stress as the roof of our house sprung a fairly significant leak about 15 minutes before we were supposed to be in the car to get to the ferry terminal.  There was a rush of activity involving ladders, buckets, mops and the like and we managed to leave only a few minutes after our intended time of departure and still catch the early ferry out of Horseshoe Bay. 

The drive up was long and through monsoon like rain.  But with my mother’s expert driving skills, my father’s DJ-ing and my manning of the back seats we made it.  Very strange not to be squashed in with siblings!  We arrived and quickly unpacked our stuff and then headed out to the beach.  It’s always awesome walking on the beach here!  It was still pretty rainy and wet but it was nice to be outside.  When we came back we made use of our large hot tub.  I have never stayed in a place here with a hot tub, but I guess we are just living it up J

For dinner we had turkey burgers as well as yam & sweet potato fries.  The burgers had lots of thyme (I brought a bunch from my dad’s garden), orange zest & juice, hot mustard, garlic, brown sugar & salt and pepper.  They also had a glaze on them involving the same flavours.  I am describing this in so much detail as I had a request to turn this blog into a food blog over Christmas break!!  I tried to take some pictures but they didn’t turn out that great. 

Today was nice and sunny which was awesome.  Went walking in the morning, oh after eating a cinnamon bun that my dad made and also a cup of coffee –I forgot to take pictures.  Hopefully tomorrow!! (I don’t think I was cut out to be a food blogger)  In the afternoon my mom and I went in to the town of Tofino.  We went to the Roy Henry Vickers art gallery which was nice as always.  I bought a card for a friend in Japan.  We also went to a few different little shops.  Most of the places were closed for the winter though so we just did a little walking tour around the town.  We did however stop in at Surf Sisters and if it is sunny tomorrow I might try out surfing.  We’ll see though…it’s pretty cold!

That’s about it for now

xoEv

 **The photos:  beach from the north end, beach from the south end, mom and dad walking, burger

Saturday we took the day to go to Austin.

In the morning, Carlos and I picked up Juan and Betty and we drove to Austin.  It takes about 2 1/2 hours –with lots of music (Carlos is a big music fan, has a large collection & does a good job of picking music to bring on our various outings) and a good tour guide pointing out various sights it was fun.  When we first arrived, we drove to a lake where we had lunch.  It was about a 30 minute wait before we could have lunch so we had drinks by the bar.  I drank something that is apparently quite popular in Mexico which is a bunch of spices and tomato juice with beer.  It was pretty good.  We also got  large basket of tortilla chips & salsa, which apparently you get at every tex-mex restaurant.  When it came time to go inside, carlos recommended we order 2 dishes for the 4 of us & share them because they would probably be huge portions.  He was right!  We still had enough leftovers to eat the next day!  It’s pretty crazy.

After that, we went to the Texas Capitol.  It’s a huge building capped by a large dome (from the inside you see a large texax star at the top of the dome).  On the ground floor we could see statues of Sam Houston and Stephen Austin and a couple of paintings of battles at San Jacinta.  On the second floor we could see the senate chamber and the house of representatives chamber.  Otherwise we could just walk around and look at the building.  I actually greatly enjoyed the security guards because they wear cowboy hats!  I think we could have gone and walked through the grounds, but as it was 106 degrees, no one was overly interested.  Instead, we headed over to some cold springs that Carlos had seen on his last trip to Austin to go for a much needed cool swim.  The one thing my doctor emphasized i should not do (because of an infection in my leg) is go swimming…but it was sooo hot, so I did.  And in ended up being about a 5 minute swim because all of a sudden there were big grey clouds and lightning.  The lifeguards started blowing their whistles & everyone had to get out of the water.  We hung out for a moment on the shore and then went to get changed.  After that we decided to go for a bit of a hike.  It was nice & because it had become completely overcast it wasn’t as hot out.

Our hike last about an hour or an hour and a half & after that we went back into the city for some dinner.  Carlos has a great love of death metal music & so we ended up at a death metal pizza place.  Pizza made by a man covered in tattoos, Slayer posters and loud death metal music.  Carlos was in heaven & the rest of us thought the pizza was pretty good, so it all worked out.  After that we wandered along 6th street which is sort of the happening street in Austin & ended up at a bar called the chugging monkey for a drink.  There was a live band and the girl singing was good so that was fun.  After that we had the long drive home –poor carlos did all the driving!  we dropped betty and juan off, then did a quick detour through river oaks which is where all the richest people in Houston live—think huge houses with columns etc. all light up by groundlights at night time…pretty crazy!

Sunday we slept in a bit & then had some breakfast.  Carlos had leftovers from the previous day’s restaurant and I had a Canadian style breakfast.  Chocolate chip pancake with yogurt.  Carlos ate that at Kaeridwyn’s house while he was there in October and has since taken to making large batches of pancakes and freezing them.  Anyway, after that we went to see the movie Food Inc.  which we both found quite interesting.  We walked around by the Bayou, which apparently outside of the city is home to crocodiles, and then went to carlos’ work.  I got to see his office & the project he is currently working on which was interesting.  Also cool was that because his office is on the 9th floor we had a good view of the city.  After that we collected Juan and Betty and drove out to NASA.  We got to go on a tram ride around the complex –it is HUGE– like it’s own city!  There was a stop at the mission control centre which was neat, there was an older gentleman who talked to us about some of the missions and also one of the men currently working in the conrol centre came to speak with us & to answer some questions from the audience.  Apparently normally you don’t even get to go into the real mission control centre & if you do you just get a spiel from the tourguide, so it seems that we were lucky.  After that we had a stop at the rocket park where we could see a massive rocket.  That was pretty neat to see.  The rest of the tour we saw a variety of things including a space filled with dirt and rocks where astronauts practice working on the moon, a circle of oak trees that serve as a memorial to astronauts who have died while on a mission & so on.  Inside the NASA museum itself we could see inside of a spaceship which was neat & then there were a number of games for children which looked pretty fun.  After that we went to Juan’s house for dinner —he gets food from the hospital he works at!   So we had an assortment of chicken & mashed potatoes, tortillas, pork chops, corn on the cob, chips, drinks & cake!  quite the spread!  After that Carlos and I did some grocery shopping & then came back to the apartment.  Carlos is at work today & I am about to embark on a journey to the natural history museum.

Ev

I’m back on the road again!

This time, i’m in Texas…it’s pretty exciting to be here!

I’m staying with a friend of mine–his name is Carlos and he came on exchange to my highschool when we were in grade 11–we’ve stayed in touch since then, Carlos came up to Vacouver for a visit this past october & then now invited me to come down to check out Houston and then to drive down to Monterrey, Mexico!

Anyway, eventhough I just arrived yesterday evening…we’ve done a lot already!

Carlos picked me up at the airport which was very kind of him.  After dropping off my bags at his place we headed out to the museum of fine arts to see an exhibit on Latin American artists.  It was very interesting…a lot of exhibtits of things that would never cross my mind as ways of making art.  There was one display where, from up close it looked like several images made of sugar cubes coloured a variety of shades of brown (sugar cubes were tinted with coffee)…sort of random…but when you walked back you could see that each image was actually the face of a person who was murdered.  the piece was created by a columbian artist and was touching on political violence.

Another piece was in its own room or was really composed of a series of rooms.  Each room was lit up by a single colour. There was yellow/green, orange/red and blue/purple.  You would walk from one room to the next, each room saturated in its own colour.  It was very interesting to see the effect and the change of your perception of the colours when you moved from room to room.  The colours would seem either way more intense or way paler depending on what room you had been in before.  Also, because of the way the rooms were arranged, there was one sort of corridor wall where you could see a complete progression of the colours.

After our visit at the museum, we went to meet a few of Carlos’ friends for dinner.  I met Juan, he is a doctor and is doing an internship at the medical centre here in Houston, Hector, he works with computers–some sort of programming that generates the prices for airplane tickets and Betty, she is also a chemical engineer and works with Carlos at Worley Parsons.  After dinner we went to a bar where there was an 80s cover band playing.  It was a lot of fun!

Today we did a couple of errands, then we went to check out a holocaust museum.  Interesting to see was outside the museum there was a large old boat which had been used to help jewish people get from Denmark to Sweden.    After that we met up with some other friends of Carlos for lunch.  We had Monika, also from Monterrey, Helmut from Austria and James who is originally from Jersey.  They are all financial consultants at Ernst & Young.  To get lunch, we first met up with the friends inside of their office building, we then travelled up to the 3rd floor and then all the way down to what is called “the tunnels”.  It is essentially an underground food court/mall –more restaurants than anything else–that networks all the way underneath the downtown core of Houston.  It is only open on weekdays and only from mid-morning until mid afternoon as it is designed to cater to the business people working in the office buildings above.  I am surprised that all those franchises can be successful with such short hours, but apparently at peak lunchtime the whole tunnle network gets packed with people, so I guess it must work out.

After that we went for a bit of a walk in downtown.  It is SO hot and humid here…we ended up running through a water park we happened to come across which was pretty fun.  After that we drove out to a GIANT shopping mall –everything really is bigger in Texas!  It was called the Galleria and it had a lot of very up-scale shops in it.

We then came back to the apartment & watched Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.  Well actually Carlos left about half way through because he is seeing the band Incubus tonight.   Currently I am preparing to do a bit of reading

Hopefully there will be another update soon!  On tomorrow’s agenda:  Trip to Austin!

xoEv

Hello again,

Still in New York & still having a great time!

I have done lots of walking and sightseeing the last couple of days as well as a bit of shopping

On Monday I went to the Museum of Modern Art.  Lots of beautiful and interesting things to see.  Very neat was a costume made by Picasso –had never seen a costume like that before or for that matter any costume made by picasso!  It was fun!  I also, as usual, enjoyed seeing the european impressionist pieces –i think they will always be some of my favourite paintings, an appreciation passed on by my mother.  Oh, one special note:  If you are going to the MoMA anytime soon, don’t bring a backpack with a laptop in it…you are not allowed to have a backpack in the museum & you are not allowed to check any electronics -essentially, you will be left with the option of carrying your laptop in your hands…kind of lame although perhaps a good strength building exercise.  Anyway, after my museum visit I wandered over to the Rockefeller Center and looked at the surrounding area until it was time to meet up with Al.  We met up at a cafe called Think Coffee where we had some dinner and then each worked on our own stuff (for Al some online engineering courses, for me some lesson planning for the last 6 weeks of my practicum).

On Tuesday I met up with Gina (from UBC/Templeton).  My plan had been to go to the United Nations first thing, but due to St. Patrick’s day it as IMPOSSIBLE to get there.  8 million marching bands and baton twirlers effectively blocked access to several roads–the outfits they wore were over-the-top!  There were so many people that it was almost impossible not to be forcibly jostled down the sidewalk while being the recipient of ‘free hugs’ from already inebriated celebraters. Neither of us were really into it, so we headed out of the area and went down to little italy and chinatown.  It was fun walking around & checking the area out.  After a couple hours we decided to go back up and try to get to the United Nations.  Luckily the roads had cleared up of parade people and we got there no problem.  After going through airport like security, we bought tickets to join the next English tour (tours run in several languages).  I was super excited to go as I hope to one day work for the UN –had to check out my future site of employment!  The tour was interesting.  We learned about the building a bit as well as the various components of the UN.  Although the tour was pretty basic, I enjoyed it. After the tour I went to meet Al near his work.  We went for dinner at a place called ” Petite Abeille” & the food was pretty nice.  Al had this belgian beer beef stew that was quite tasty…i want to try making it sometime.  I know, beef & i enjoyed it…must be good!  After that we went to a store called Century 21 & Al bought a pair of shoes.

Today Gina and her sister in law took me out to some outlet malls in Jersey.  It was crazy!  So many huge stores it was overwhelming.  I got a few bits & pieces…lots of good deals to be had.  I was exhausted by the end of our day though –I really am not a marathon shopper by nature.  Gina’s brother drove me all the way home which was very nice of him.  He has a GPS system in his car, so that was kind of fun :)  Gina had also given me some philipino food & rice.  When I got back I made some green beans & salad and Al and I and some of his roommates ate - it was pretty good.

That’s about it for now.  It is actually now Thursday morning.  I just finished registering for my last 3 months at UBC…wooo!  and am now going to get some more lesson plans out of the way before going to meet up with a girl we met at the Indian NGO thing a few days ago for coffee.

On tonight’s agenda:  juggling club.  Ok, i probably won’t be juggling –although I do do a mean ‘cascade’  haha.  I can be Al’s guest in the rec centre though, so I’ll probably use the gym.

xoEv

So as the title suggests, I am indeed in New York.  The high school where I am doing my teaching practicum is now enjoying a week long holiday, and I am using the time to visit Al and check out the city.  So far, it has been grand!  Mad was here until this morning so we’ve had some serious sibling bonding time the last couple of days.

I arrived bright and early Saturday morning after taking a red-eye flight from Vancouver.  I am good at sleeping on airplanes, but any way you do it, a 5 hour flight does not provide enough time for a decent amount of rest.  Especially not if one is exhausted to begin with.  Anyway, i slept for the entire 5 hour duration and once at JFK airport made my way to Al’s via public transit –a kind bus driver helping me on my way ….it went something like this:

“ummm excuse me…..I’m trying to get to new lots avenue…?”

“to the train station?”

“umm yes, I think so”

“giiiiirrrrlll!  Y’all don’t even KNOW where ya goin?!!”

and then she proceded to tell me not to pay my bus fare, but to instead wait until I got to the train station (the word train doubles for metro, by the way) where I should walk upstairs, turn to the right, and buy a metro card —sometimes being half asleep and unsure of what you’re doing works out.  I paid $25 for a 7-day card, and I’m pretty sure I have already used the card enough times to have made it an economical purchase.

Anyway,  I made it to Al’s place–large rolling suitcase in tow.  Unfortunately upon my arrival I woke up his roommate…oops but we have since bonded over the watching of Iron Chef America, so I think we’re ok

Al and I made our way to meet Mad at a fair for various Indian NGOs where Shanti Bhavan was being represented by Ajit George, the son of Dr. George (for those who don’t know, Shanti Bhavan is the school Mad and I volunteered at in India last year and for which we put on a fundraising event a few months ago).  Although Al and I missed all the speeches - apparently some of them were hiddeously long so i’m not too upset about missing them- it was very interesting.  I especially enjoyed meeting Ajit.  We talked a lot about Shanti Bhavan and how the fundraising efforts are going.  They are still working on getting some larger corporate funds and grants.  Essentially we learned that they need $20, 000/month for the whole school to run as it should and that they are still really pressed meeting that every month.  We’ve been re-inspired to try to do a bit more for the school.   We hung out at the fair for a while & then went for a coffee with Ajit.

After that the three of us wandered through central park- it was lovely-nice weather, people wandering, the ice skating rink –we briefly debated skating but then all admitted we would only want to do 1 round because it hurts our feet & the novelty wears pretty fast —oh the joys of traveling with family–sometimes you all feel the same way about certain things!  Instead, we walked on and made our way to the carlyle hotel on madison ave.  We went in for a drink- the hotel is very famous as the walls of the bar are decorated with murals by Ludwig Bemelmans (the guy who illustrated the Madeline stories).  We had cocktails, served with an assortment of snacks–macadamia nuts anyone? and took in the artwork (a depiction of central park in various seasons & instead of humans, several animals –rabbits & kangaroos mostly) and the musician.  After that we carried on to a bar called Groove, where we ate a bit of dinner and had more drinks and listened to Raj & band –it was actually lots of fun!  It’s sort of funk music but with lots of covers -Mad saw them last time she was in NY.  We left after the first set and still only got back to Al’s place around 3am —very, very long day, but fun!

Yesterday, we all slept in and then went to Times Square to try to get tickets to the musical Avenue Q for the evening.  We got there about an hour before they went on sale–people line up so early!  Al offered to stay in line while Mad and I went to check things out a bit –what a good host

We went to Sephora (a make-up shop) which was kind of fun.  We looked at the various products & Mado bought a couple things.  We went back to Al and a few minutes later they opened the ticket sales.  We were able to get tickets at 50% off so that was cool.  The rest of the afternoon was spent taking the ferry to Staten Island (you’re able to see the city and also the statue of liberty which is kind of cool) and eating cupcakes at Magnolia bakery.  I ate a red velvet cupcake as that is something we don’t really get in Canada –at least not that I’ve ever seen, but I have seen it on the Food Network, so obviously I had to try it.  It was not particularly good.  In fact it was kind of dry…as were Mad’s and Al’s.  It inspired us to sell our own cupcakes as apparently the ones we ate were significantly better than the ones at “cupcakes” in Vancouver –sort of shocking really.

Anyway, the musical was sort of entertaining.  Mostly as it was done with puppets - we realised that somehow a cheesy puppet is easier to take than a cheesy human.  I’m glad I went to see it, but can’t say that I love musicals enough to go see more and I certainly would not go if it meant paying full price (we already spent $65/ticket!)  But now I can say i’ve seen a broadway musical –check that off the list.  Ok, it never was on my list, but I guess it’s one of those things to do.  After the musical we went to Trader Joe’s –Maddy needed to buy these crazy pretzels for her boss.  I was super excited to finally go to a Trader Joe’s —everyone always talks about how amazing they are and I must say it was sort of fun to go.  Then again, I have an affinity for all grocery stores, so I guess that is to be expected.

Al is at work, Mad has left for toronto and I’m drinking my morning coffee in the apartment.  Al is a coffee nut so I used his fancy coffee making stuff -lovely :)  I am debating what to do today…I am thinking the museum of modern art and then maybe a little walking in the city.  I am meeting Al at 8pm at his favourite coffee shop –I have to do some prep work for the rest of my practicum while I’m here and Al has to take an on-line course while on his work-term so we will get through some of that tonight .

Bis bald,

xo Ev

hello!

Mad and I are currently in Vientiane, Laos. I have been enjoying Laos quite a bit so far! It is extremely laid back, which i love, and the people are friendly. I guess I should backtrack a little bit. After being in Bangkok for a few days, Mad and I took a train up to Korat. There we were able to meet up with one of the teachers I worked with last time I was in Thailand which was fun. He took us to a night market (they sold usual things like food and clothing, but also some more strange things like small caged squirrels (upon inquiry we discovered that Thai squirrels are not wild rodents that ruin your garden, but rather charming house pets…complete with claws and sharp teeth) and then out for dinner which was nice. We were hoping to be able to get in touch with my old host family but that never worked out which was too bad.

On the 22nd of May we took a bus to Mukdahan in Thailand and spent a night there. On the 23rd, Mad’s Birthday, we had the morning in Thailand and then at midday we took a bus over to Laos (i managed to find her a croissant and small pot of nutella for breakfast and even a candle (it was hello kitty dressed up as a mouse, i think, but whatever it’s the thought that counts!)). One birthday in two countries…not bad!

We stayed in the border city of Savannakhet in Laos which I really liked. It felt like an old war town unchanged from the 50s or 60s. It was neat. One of the days there we rented bicycles (complete with big seats, giant baskets in the front and bells…fun!) and rode along the Mekong river (i had been talking about doing that since we started planning our trip, and it was great as i expected!) It was cool because we were riding in Laos but looking out at Thailand across the river. Fun!

After a couple of days in Savannakhet we took a bus ride (long…very long) up to Vientiane where we still are now. My two favourite things so far have been going to a museum called COPE. It is about UXOs in Laos.  I learned things I never knew like that there are about 80 million unexploded bombs in Laos today each filled with hundreds of what are called bombies and only 60 million residents. The 80 million bombs are not even counting the cluster bombs that still remain in the country…it is pretty crazy.  It’s really sad too because most of the injuries and deaths that occur now are from scrap metal collectors.  The people are so poor that it is worth it to try to collect bomb shells for money (1000 kip (10cents) per kilo).  Anyway, the people working at the centre were extremely friendly (i got invited to lunch with them!), there were loads of interesting films to see (i watched 2) and a nice if sad display.

Another favourite thing for me was taking a cooking class. We made Laap with fish (that is a national dish here and is quite tasty), fresh spring rolls (the kind in clear rice paper) and a chicken curry. It was neat because in the morning we went out to a market to gather the ingredients (we used some neat things I’d never seen before like banana flowers!) and then we cooked everything over a bucket of coals style element like people from Laos do in their homes.

I think tomorrow Mad and I will be off to Vang Vieng where we will have the opportunity to volunteer on an organic farm! I’m really excited about that! We can do stuff on the farm (i hear it’s things like feeding piglets and helping milk goats! cool!) and also volunteer at a school.  Maddy is trying to finish making a film so we’ve ended up staying a couple days extra here in Vientienne.  Although i’m keen to get to Vang Vieng, it’s been nice to stay in one place for a few days instead of rushing off after just 1 or 2 nights. I’m also feeling a bit sick today so I don’t regret that we are not spending several hours on a bus.

Oh, there is some other news!   While most people end up seeing fewer places than they had wanted to while traveling, Mad and I have added 2 countries to our itinerary.  We have really been enjoying the places we’ve been in south east asia but the weather has not been particularly nice.  We knew it was going to be monsoon season; however, we had a different impression of what that would entail.  According to our guide book it should be hot and sunny in the mornings and then a couple hours of rain in the afternoon which should come as a great relief after the day’s sunshine.  So far, it has been quite gray and rainy and LOTS of thunder and lightning.  It is fine, but gets to be a bit annoying when you want to go out sightseeing and it is pouring AND when your clothes don’t dry…ever…and STINK like mildew (on par with the stench of a durian).  So, all that said, we have decided to cut out a few days here and there and then spend our last few days south of the equator in indonesia!!  It will be prime season there, so we are pretty excited.

Also, we will now be going to France for a few days as we received a generous offer from Cecil in Frankfurt to drive with him to their place in France.  I’m very excited about this especially as I have never spent time in France (a bus i was on once drove through a small corner of the country to avoid a bad traffic jam…but that hardly counts)

Right, well I think that is about all the news for now.  Time for a fruit shake (passion fruit? mango? pineapple anyone??)!!

xoxoEv

Oooops, I haven’t updated since the beginning of our trek in Nepal!

Well, you will all be happy to know that Mad and I made it!   There is one particularly difficult part of the trek, the Thorong La Pass which is at 5416m.  I don’t know how they figure out the height so specifically, but that is what it claims to be.  In any case, it seems that many people (including 2 out of 3 of the group that went before us) do not make it over the pass, so we were pretty happy!

The trek was very beautiful.  Lots of nice scenery and wildlife.  It was also pretty tiring though!

We finished our trek in Pokhara, and then flew to Kathmandu.  The next 2 days we slept a lot, took hot baths (we had a bathtub!!! first and so far only time on this trip) and generally relaxed.   After that we flew to Delhi and stayed with Lucie and her roommates again for 2 nights.  After that we flew to Singapore and spent one night there and then we flew to Phuket….crazy week for flying!

Neither Mad nor I were particularly taken with Phuket.  I think it would be ok to go there if you were taking a one week vacation to lie on the beach and suntan (the beach is well equipped with lines of chaises longues), but it lacks any sort of charm.  The next day we headed by bus down to southern thailand.  We spent a night in a place called Longu (i think) and then the next day we took a boat out to an island called Koh Tarutao.  The island is a part of a national park, so we knew that there would not be loads of people there or constant motor boats going by.  In an attempt to economize, I suggested we borrow a tent and camp on the beach.  It was rather uncomfortable without mattresses, but we thought we would be able to manage.  The first night was fine, but then the next day it started to get really windy….enough to cause our tent to fold in on itself!  We decided at that point to give up the camping and to rent a bungalow.  It was a good idea as just as we moved into our bungalow the rain started.  I know, coming from Vancouver and all we should be used to the rain and well equipped to deal with it, but these monsoon rains are intense!  We stayed for a week on the island (it would have been six days but the morning we wanted to leave the boat didn’t come due to unfavourable conditions at sea so we spent another night on the island).  I should probably mention that there is not much of anything on the island.  There is a restaurant, a small shop and a sort of welcome centre.  There are a few bungalows and also tents for hire that can be pitched anywhere on the island.  Other than that there is nothing much.  Oh, for those who used to watch the show, it is the island where Survivor Thailand was filmed.

After our week on the island, we took a boat back to the mainland and then shared a mini van with some people we had met on the island to the city of Hat Yai.  In Hat Yai we were able to book a night train ticket to Bangkok for that evening (we thought the train might be fully booked already, but i guess we were lucky!)  Thai trains seem more comfortable that Indian ones, but perhaps (we thought this was impossible) slower. 

We have now been in Bangkok for 4 days.  For the past 3 mornings Mad and I have been attending muay thai boxing classes.  I was scared to go as I haven’t done any martial arts before, but it is actually pretty fun!  Today we are off to see the Emerald Buddha temple and also the royal palace.

xoxo Ev

Hello!

So they do have internet in the middle of the Himalayas…crazy!

We just finished our fourth day of trekking.  In total we’ve done about 65km and we are now at about 2600 m…starting to get cold!  It’s been going well so far though.  We have a guide who speaks english (kind of) and a porter who does not speak english.  Apparently the porter is illiterate but he plays cards with us at night time, so i don’t know.  Actually playing cards with them is kind of funny…because the porter cheats!  It’s like playing with a 4 year old.   He tells other people what cards you have.  It’s mostly funny because he’s really not shy about it…and he’s 40.

That’s about all for now.  The magical internet in the mountains is expensive, so i’ll write more when we get back to kathmandu.

Bye!

xoxoEv

Tonight is our last night in Delhi.  Mad and I have been lucky enough to stay with a friend of a friend who has an apartment here.  The girl we are staying with is Lucie from France.  She’s super nice and it’s been lots of fun staying here.  Lucie has 3 roommates.  One of them has her own room and then the other two share a room.  The rooms are really nice.  Each one has its own bathroom and also its own balcony.  The four of them then share a kitchen, dining area, a living room and a bigger balcony.  Oh and they also have a male maid who comes in 3 times a week to cook, clean and do laundry.  Do you know how much they spend for rent?  $600…..between the 4 of them!!  It’s pretty crazy.  I guess Lucie wasn’t kidding when she said she lives like a princess here.The morning after we arrived in Delhi, Mad and I took the train to Agra.  It was cool to see the Taj Mahal, but we actually preferred the monument known as the baby Taj.  It is accross the river from the Taj Mahal and is in some ways nicer as the walls and ceiling are covered with hand painted murals.  It ended up being quite an expensive day for us.  I guess India has realised that almost no tourist will leave India without seeing the Taj and has decided to seriously capitalize on it.  I think I mentioned it before, but there are always 2 entrance prices for monuments and museums and so on.  One is the tourist price and one is the Indian National price.  The tourist price is always at least 10 times as much as the Indian price.  It’s pretty crazy!  The day was fun and interesting though, but it was also really long!  The train should have been 3 hours each way (long enough already!) but it was delayed both times.  We were totally exhausted by the time we made it back.  We arrived back at the apartment to a chocolate cake baked by Lucie though (we are getting seriously pampered here!) so the late night arrival was not a complete loss. Yesterday we did some sightseeing around Delhi.  It’s sort of like Mumbai in that it is a big city, but it somehow seems more Western to us than Mumbai did…maybe because it is the capital.  It was nice to see the various markets and shops and the different districts of the city as well as the big fort.  Today we took it easy and just did some laundry and packing and that sort of thing as tomorrow we are flying to Nepal (it’s hard to believe our time in India is over)!  We will be starting our trek on the 8th of April (a couple days early) as there will be elections on April 10th and the trek company thought it would be better if we weren’t in Kathmandu for that event (a bit nerve wracking that that should be a worry, but it sounds like it will be fine).  I’m guessing that internet use will be extremely limited while we are on our trek, so this might be it for the next few weeks. I’ve got my silk long johns and matching top packed along with my fleece and hiking boots.  I think it’s going to be quite an adventure! Ev 

Mad and I are now in Jaisalmer, our most westernly destination on this trip.  So far I have really liked it here!  It might have a lot to do with feeling better and also with having a swimming pool at our hostel.  It’s pretty sweet!  It gets super hot here (40 degrees or so) so we have taken to going out in the morning, resting/swimming for a couple hours, and then going out at 4 or 5pm again. 

One of the things that was first obvious upon our arrival here is that half the cow population that normally ambles along the streets has been traded for camels and the palm trees have been exchanged for cactus plants and small shrubbery.  It really is desert like!  Either tonight or tomorrow night Mad and I will go on a camel ride in the sand dunes.  We’ve chosen to do the sunset trip with the hopes that we won’t be in the middle of the desert in the extreme heat of the day.  Although I am not fond of horseback riding or elephant riding, I am still feeling optimistic about camel riding.  We’ll see how it goes.

I’ll just backtrack a little now as it’s been some time since I’ve put up a real post.   Before we arrived in Jaisalmer we spent one evening in Jodhpur.   The city was not really one that either of us was dying to go to, but there was no train directly to Jaisalmer from Udaipur so we had to spend a night somewhere.  We actually both enjoyed our stay in Jodhpur though.  We stayed in a guesthouse located right underneath the city palace/fort.  We spent several hours exploring the palace/fort and altogether enjoyed our day there. 

Prior to Jodhpur, we spent a few days in Udaipur.  I also enjoyed our time in Udaipur.  I took a cooking class there.  I almost didn’t because it was sort of expensive, but I’m glad I did, I got some nice recipes (everyone will have to come over for indian food when we’re back!)  Udaipur’s big claim to fame is that bits of the James Bond film ‘Octopussy’ were filmed there.  Almost all the restaurants play the film every single evening.  Mad and I and Amy and Paul (couple from England) went and watched it one night.  It was actually more entertaining than we expected!  The poor people who work at those restaurants must be SO sick of it though.

bye for now!

Ev