Loving and Hating India

Basic Ashram Schedule 0520 hrs WAKE UP BELL 0600 hrs SATSANG (Meditation/Chanting) 0730 hrs TEA TIME 0800 hrs ASANA CLASS (Yoga) 1000 hrs BRUNCH 1100 hrs KARMA YOGA (Doing a chore) 1230 hrs COACHING CLASS (optional) 1330 hrs TEA TIME 1400 hrs LECTURE 1600 hrs ASANA CLASS 1800 hrs DINNER 2000 hrs SATSANG 2200 hrs LIGHTS OUT The entire schedule is mandatory. I knew heading into the ashram my days would be busy and there was a unique strictness that I would need to abide by. I was fine with the yoga, meditation, and karma yoga. In a weird twist of fate my karma yoga was hauling wood, which I'm sure upon hearing that my bonus dad will break into smile and and exclaim "good, I've got plenty of karma yoga for her here." I thought no problem I can do this for 2 weeks, I lasted 3 days. Was it the lack of hot water, the un-hygienic bathrooms or did my rebellious streak make a reappearance? I'm guessing it was a combo of all three and I naively thought once I escaped the ashram I would be rewarded with copious amounts of hot water and toilets with toilet paper or at the very least hoses. Yes I can be high maintenance at times. We advise the ashram we will be leaving the following morning and are handed 2 exit passes which we were told not to lose or we will not be allowed to leave. After the wake up bell with our precious exit passes in hand we catch a bus to the train station and so begins our journey through India. After being warned that it can be difficult to obtain same day train tickets we were delighted to have 2 tickets to Mandurai. Unbeknown to us these tickets to freedom were the worst possible tickets a foreigner could have. There are 7 different train classes in India 1AC/2AC being the best where you're in groups of 4 and the seats convert to bunks and the worst being unreserved 2nd class with less seats than people. One guess which class we were in? The train journey in unreserved 2nd class is one I won't forget and will be quite happy to never experience again, while there are parts of it I enjoyed there are parts I loathed. Making small talk with the men across from us, seeing the locals reaction to a picture I showed them of snow, and interacting with the children were moments that in the end made the train ride worth it. The gut wrenching moments were when the women and children would smile up at me from the cramped floor. I wanted to offer up my seats to them but didn't want to be even closer to the men that were staring at me or worse have another body part squeezed (earlier I had my ass pinched by an older man). The sad reality is that in the time it would take the closest woman to get to my seat a man would have likely stolen the seat. When I mentioned I was headed to India fellow travellers would often advise me that in their experiences men often treated women like second class citizens. There would be times when I will get ignored and need my friend to communicate for me, other times I will be stared so intently with a look that you know is not pure or they will accidentally on purpose grope you. There not all bad though I was told, often you will be greeted warmly, smiled at politely and treated with respect. I can attest to having experienced all three interactions, and while the first two are annoying and unnerving respectively, it's a whole different ball game over here and it's best to ignore the bad, focus on the good, and accept the cultural difference of the country you are travelling in. For every disheartening moment there is another moment not to far that fills your heart with joy. At the time of writing this I've been in India a week I had a difficult time adjusting to the culture, and the low level of hygiene was making my homesickness even more prevalent. I could have said fuck this and book my ticket home, and trust me I was been on the verge of doing exactly that but for now I am holding off. I will continue riding the roller coaster of emotions going back and forth between loving India and hating it.

Expect the Unexpected in Thailand

When I saw how cheap it was to fly to Bangkok while on this side of the world, I knew it would be a matter of when, not if I'd be returning to Thailand while on this adventure. I spend my first few days revisiting some of my favorite sights in Bangkok such as the Malls, Koahsan Road, and Lumphuni Park as well as finding new favorites like Sky Bar and the Soi 38 night market. After a memorable New Years in BKK I set off to explore Chiang Mai accompanied by a fellow wander luster who I will affectionately refer to as Cheech. We spend our days searching for the best of everything whether it's a fruit smoothie combo (pineapple and banana), pad thai stall, thai massage, or tuk tuk price. In the in-between time we have lunch with a friend of a friend and while I wouldn't trust his salad recommendations (I forgive you) he is well travelled and a wealth of knowledge, so I bombarded him with questions on India and enjoyed hearing about his various adventures. While in Thailand you will undoubtedly come across a few temples, my personal favourite is Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai. Way back in the day a white elephant climbed up a mountain trumped his horn 3x and then died on the spot, King Nu Naone ordered that Doi Suthep be built in this sacred spot. The aura of this temple left us feeling calm, and while there we were splashed with holy water, blessed by a monk, found out our birthday Buddha, given our fortune, and granted 1 wish. Legend has it that your wish will be granted if you are able to elevate an elephant statue with your pinky two times consecutively. Cheech decides to rent a scooter for a day and I decide I have had my thrill of scooters and do not want to tempt fate anymore than I have already, so we set out on our separate ways for the day. I return to the hostel a few hours later and am told by the hostel manager that Cheech has been in an accident I search her face for a smile, something to tell me she's joking, but she's serious. I feel sick and am not given any reassurance that she is ok. Finding the hospital she was taken to proves to be a bit of a challenge as there are "many, many hospitals" in Chiang Mai. I finally track her down and rush to be by her side, I am relieved to see no casts or body parts hoisted in the air, there is an ice pack over her eyes, a bandage on her cheek, and a few stitches under her lip. The first words out of my mouth are "Cheech what the fuck dude", she smiles and lifts up the ice pack and I see the baddest black eye I have ever come across. Cheech gives me the low down on what happened and true to form she is all zen about the incident. The next morning I head back to the hospital to pick her up, before she can be released the bill needs to be taken care of. We are both unsure of what to expect but in Thailand expect the unexpected, the ENTIRE medical bill came to $1350 baht, which is about $45 Canadian. A few days later I choke back tears, bid Cheech farewell and head to Ayutthaya. My cousin and his wife have graciously offered to let me stay with them for a few days. Despite not remembering the last time I have seen my cousin (he's been out of Canada since '91) it's easy to spot them at the train station. They take me out to eat and then back to their house which after months in dorms feels and looks like a palace. The next day we embark on an overnight road trip to visit the Amphawa Floating Market. After a 4hr car ride were on a boat exploring the market and surrounding area. Later that evening we enjoy an amazing dinner at the hotel and eat river prawn that is as big as my hand. With a bottle of wine in hand we board another boat for a night river cruise hoping to see fire flies. What an incredible sight it was to see them, it was like twinkling lights. Once back at the hotel I say goodnight and decide to go for a little walk. As I exit the hotel property a golf cart comes racing towards me with a hotel employee in it, he asks where I'm going I let him know that I'm just going for a walk and I'll be ok. He looks hesitant and asks if I want a ride anywhere, I decline and he heads back. 5 minutes later another golf cart comes towards me with two employees in it, they insist I come back with them, I'm taken aback by their caring nature and like a true Canadian I apologize and hop into the golf cart. I casually mention this to my cousin the next morning, he laughs and tells me they told him all about it last night, how awkward to be ratted out by hotel employees. We end our adventure with a visit to the morning market, which is a must do while in Thailand, even for just the food alone. I very tearfully say goodbye to my cousin (I'm terrible at goodbyes) and head to Bangkok for my last night in Thailand. Despite the many reports on how anti government protesters in a bid to get the current prime minster to step down will shut down Bangkok today (Jan 13) I manage to get in and to my hostel with no problems. I have to admire their tenacity and their ability to protest peacefully, they were all smiles as I walked through the crowds with my monster backpack. If this is successful perhaps Albertans should take note, maybe we can rid ourselves of Alison Redford. After consuming a bit to many fruit smoothies I go for a walk, I happen to enjoy walking and exploring cities this way but after the preceding and following incident I may have to rethink this. I notice a shifty individual up ahead, I move to one side of the sidewalk he shadows my move. Not sure what to expect but not entirely fearful as he looks to be about 14, I clutch my wallet and give him a "don't fuck with me" look, as he passes me he pinches my boob. This I was not expecting, with a shocked look I yell out some choice curse words and flip him the bird. I walk a bit further determined to not less this end my night early and notice a rat, a girl can only handle so much I change course and speed walk home. Despite its cockroaches, rats, and perverts! Bangkok is one of my favorite cities in the world and I know I'll be back.

It's not me Yogyakarta, it's you.

I leave blissful Bali and head for Yogyakarta, I assumed a city that almost has the word "yoga" in it, would be blissful as well. Oh how naïveté I can be, Yogyakarta is an assault on all 5 senses. It smells of rotting garbage and sewer, there's people bumping into you or in most cases rubbing up against you, the streets are filled with the never ending sounds of traffic, the amount of garbage laying around is a sight that drove me bananas (one of my biggest pet peeves is litter), and finally there is so much pollution that you can actually taste it. There will be no twist at the end where I write how I learned to love Yogyakarta, I appreciate it for what it is and was over the moon with happiness when I left. Those of you in need of a geography refresher, Yogyakarta is on the island Java, which is north-ish of Bali. Indonesia is comprised of approximately 17,000 islands, 135 million people reside in Java making it the worlds most populous island and one of the most densely populated places in the world. My purpose for coming to Yogyakarta, Java was so I could explore Borobudur which is the single largest Buddhist structure in the world and considered to be one of the greatest ancient monuments in the world as well. We booked a tour for Christmas Day foolishly thinking that perhaps it would be quiet, as you can imagine we were very wrong. We wake up at 3:30am and jump in a van with 5 others. Our first stop on the tour is to see the sunrise overlooking Borobudur. Once we climb the hill we are greeted by grey skies, despite it being rainy the past few days we were hoping that the sun would make an appearance. It disappointedly did not, we were however treated to some more rain which made climbing down the now muddy hill in flip flops a real treat. After breakfast we explore the 8th century temple along with the crowds. It was interesting to see the wall reliefs (sculptures) which recount the life story of buddha, his teachings, and his progress to nirvana. While exploring this spectacular site we were shocked at how many people seemed more interested in us. Countless times we were asked to have our picture taken and some took matters into their own hands snapping away when they thought we weren't looking. I asked one girl why she wanted my picture, to which she screamed "because I love you." This was a theme in Java, everywhere I went I was constantly being stared at and asked to have my picture taken. I began to feel very uncomfortable with the situation, I don't like the idea of people putting me up on this pedestal because of my skin color. I'd like the think I'm pretty conscientious when I snap pictures of others, I try to focus on what they are doing rather than them, and I ask permission if possible. This experience will defiantly keep me more mindful in the future. It's not all bad I linked up with a wonderful woman from Argentina whom I was fortunate to spend Christmas with and together we spent 3 days seeing much of Yogyakarta's sights, and eating delicious Pizza Hut.