Another Day, Another Adventure!

Uttarayan - The Kite Flying Festival

2009-01-16T23:59:00.017-05:00

Ahmedabad, India: We made it back to Ahmedabad just in time for the festival of Uttarayan (The Kite Flying Festival). Alan and Xavi were suppose to get to Ahmedabad in the morning of Jan. 14th, the first day of Uttarayan.

Uttarayan is a festival to celebrate the change in wind direction and the beginning of spring. We fly kites in that celebration for 2 days. January 14th is an official holiday when everyone gets involved in flying kites. Jan 15th is not unfortunately an official holiday, but people still manage to celebrate the festival.

The idea is to fly the kite and cut other people's kite. The more you can cut other people's kite without getting your kite cut shows how skilled you are. The string is also of special kind. There is bits of glass coated on the string. You have to be skilled enough to cut kites without getting your fingers cut. It really does take some serious skills to be good at it. The only festival in India, I think, that requires that much skill. It is fun nonetheless. The only thing that can spoil the fun is the lack of wind. Everyone keeps their fingers crossed for good wind. We had ours crossed!

Kids start flying kites days before Uttarayan. Some start practicing their skills and make sure they ready for the big day. Women generally aren't that interested in this festival. They do however play a very crucial role of holding the "firki" (a wooden spool with handles). The truly skilled brag about not needing any assistance in flying a kite. There is also special food for the festival. "Udhyu" is made up of 14 different vegetables and takes a very long time to prepare. It is most eaten with "Jalebi". Jalebi is a round circular thing made up of dough that is deep fried in clarified butter, then dipped in sugar syrup. It is fricken good and the combo of Udhyu and Jalebi is amazing. The foodies always look forward to it and that includes me.

The day before Uttarayan, I thought it would be a good idea to go to the terrace and test my skills. Afterall, it had been about 5 years since I've flown a kite. I wasn't too sure of my skills. To my surprise, on my first kite, I cut 10 kites. I think it was one of my best scores. I was hopeful about the next day.

After dinner, my dad, Gin, Devarshi (our neighbor) and I went to buy kite. The best deals you get on kites is in the old city, but my dad didn't want to go that far (far is a very relative term in Ahmedabad, anything past 3 miles is considered too far). So we went close to our house to buy the kites.

Buying kites also require skills. First, your ability to tell how good the kite is: from the paper they've used to the weight and size of the kite. Second, how good you're at bargaining (pretty much required in India for buying anything). We were hopeful that we did a good job at buying the kites. My dad got in an agrument with the guy selling the kite because he didn't want us to check the kites. Everyone knows to check the kites because they sell the kites in bungles of 5 to 10. The sellers put the best kites in the front and the back and in the middle they stick in the damaged kites. So everyone knows to check the kites very well. The seller had to back down and apologize because he was in the wrong. Anyhow, we got our supplies and headed back for home.

It wasn't time to call it a night yet because buying the kites isn't the only thing required. You need to tie the strings to the kites which is a task that requires hours. It also involves multiple people otherwise it would take days to get the job done. The process is too complicated to explain. But the more people there are to help, the better it is. So my dad, my mom, Gin & I got to the task. It took us an hour and half to get half the kites ready for the next day (about 50). It was already late and we wanted to make sure we wake up early in the morning and catch good wind. Generally, mornings are the best time to fly the kite and then late afternoons.

Around 6am I could hear people on their terrace blasting loud music with their boom box. We all got up around 7am and by 8am we were on our terrace ready for some kite action. My first kite didn't last for too long and my lucky streak from yesterday was over. It didn't matter because I wanted Gin to see and enjoy the thousands of kites flying in the sky. It's an amazing site to see thousands of people on their roofs flying kites screaming and yelling every time they cut someone else's kite.

I tried teaching Gin how to fly the kite, but it was too difficult for her to do it. Instead, she chose to takeover the kite that I had gotten up. Everytime the kite took a nose dive, Gin would yell for help and I'd have to takeover the kite again. Few times it was too late for the kite and it would get stuck on someone's roof or in the nearby tree. So unless the kite was very stable, Gin decided not to takeover it.

Alan and Xavi's train was delayed and they arrived around 11am. It's not the best time to fly the kite because it gets very hot and the wind starts dying down. Anyways, since they specially came over for Uttarayan, we flew the kite for a few more hours. The only problem was that they had never flown a kite before. I showed them the basics, but with low wind, it was very difficult for them to get the kite in the air. We decided to take a break and go for lunch.

My dad had gotten the food specially from a place about 100 miles away. It was darn good. There was no Jalebi, but the Udhyu made up for the lack of the sweet dish. Instead, we had Puri (puffed deep fried flat bread) with Udhyu which was a good substitute for Jalebi. Now with our bellies stuffed, we were too lazy to go to the terrace and do the work of flying the kite. Instead, we decided to hangout and my parents took some rest.

When the sun wasn't so bad, we went back to the terrace. This time around with the wind in our favor, Xavi was able to fly the kite. He was very happy about it. Getting the kite up in the air is the easiest part of flying the kite. Keep the kite in the air and not getting it cut by someone is where skills come in. I tried explaining to Xavi how you have to feel the string when someone comes to cut your kite. It's like someone is pulling the string away from you or sometimes like a jittery feeling to the string. Needless to say it was difficult to explain, it would just require practice and a lot of patience. In the end Xavi had good luck with cutting other people's kite. His personal best was cutting 3 kites before his was gone. Soon Alan and Xavi paired up and were having a great time trying to fly the kites.

After dinner, we were going to fly some lanterns in the sky. Yup, Lucy in the sky with lanterns. Instead, of Lucy it's kites that take the lanterns in the sky. Basically, you put a little candle in a paper lantern and attach the lantern to the string of the kite. Up, up and away it goes the lantern in the sky with the kite. It looks really nice in the sky and a little spooky because you can only see the lanterns but not the kite. About 6 paper lanterns are attached to a kite. Since there are people simply waiting to cut the kite with lanterns, you need windmen. One on either side of the kite that's treated like airforce one plane with wingmen. The wingmen's job is to make sure they take care of any kites that want to cut our lanterned kite. Now having explained all this, we actually never flew the kite with lantern because there was no wind. We decided to try again the following night.

The next day we woke up early and had a great morning. Again we rested in the afternoon and headed back up for more kite action. Unfortunately, the wind had totally died out. We decided to go to my dad's friend's apartment because their building is a lot higher. It didn't help. Alan couldn't go with us because he was sick. But Xavi went with us. We also had dinner at their house and Xavi found his favorite food there, Bataka Pauva (potato flakes with boliled potatoes, onions, green chillies, coriender, etc.).

Upon returning from my uncle's place, we regreted not trying to fly the lanterns the night before. At least the night before Gin saw some of the flying lanterns and she had better understanding of what we were talking about.

I was so happy that I was able to share this festival with Gin, my parents and my friends Alan & Xavi from Spain. What are holidays and festivals without friends and family anyways...

The Golden Temple of Amritsar

2009-01-10T23:59:00.004-05:00

Amritsar, India: Finally, we were able to "kidnap" Shani for a few days to Amritsar. We got to Amritsar at the crack of dawn. As soon as we came out of the train station, we were flocked by rickshaw drivers wanting to take us to the downtown area near the golden temple. We refused the guys and decided to go out of the train station. There was one guy who would not take no for an answer. We finally flagged another rickshaw down and took that one. It wasn't how we wanted our 2 days in Amritsar to start.

I had informed the rickshaw driver to take us to a spot which was very close to the golden temple. Once we got off, he wanted to charge us much more than what it should've been. Shani got in an argument with the rickshaw driver and the tourist police got involved. Turned out the rickshaw driver was in the right, so we paid him.

The next step was looking for a hotel to stay. A random guy started following us to show us a room for a "good price". Everywhere we went, he kept on following us. We told him to stop following us several times, but he kept on following us. Finally, Shani got so frustrated, he threatened the guy. It worked! We were able to stay at a nice place specifically made for N.R.I (Non-Resident Indian). They were ok with Gin because she was my wife. No other people could stay there - even Indian Indians. At least, that guaranteed peace and cleanliness. It was the cheapest and cleanest place we'd stayed so far.

After we freshened up, we headed out for the golden temple. People from all faiths are welcome as long as they cover their heads and take off their shoes. It was a very beautiful place and you could feel the spiritual energy. We hung out there for a very long time, but decided not to go inside the main area because it was very crowded. Besides, we were very hungry by this time.

We decided to try the food in the "bhandar", a communal feeding area where the temple serves about 50,000 people free food everyday for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It was by far the most amazing temple experience I've had in my life. About every 15 minutes a flock of new people come in and eat. The food is very simple, but extremely delicious. Dal (lentils), rice, a subgee (vegetable), and chapati (flat bread). They even had a desert, ciro (made from clarified butter, flour, sugar, and maybe some more stuff I don't know about). After the lunch, they also provide tea. Not the best tea in the world, but it's more like a "prasad" (food that was offered to God, which in turn, is distributed to people to eat).

Everyday there are hundred of people that volunteer at the Bhandar. People that help cleaning dishes, serving food, making the food, etc. While we were going for some tea, an old gentleman saw us and directed us where the tea was being distributed. After we had the tea in our metal cups, he started chatting with us and got us a place to sit. He kicked some people out of the sitting area, so that we could sit there. He was talking to us mostly in Punjabi and I could barely understand him. He didn't speak much Hindi.

He offered us to go to his village and stay with his family there. Unfortunately, we had only 2 days in Amritsar, otherwise we could've taken up on his offer. Instead, he took us on a tour of the kitchen where all the food is prepared for 50,000 people everyday. It was a massive undertaking. There were utensils that I did not know even existed to make the food. The dough to make the chapati was being made by an extremely complicated machine, then taken to people where they made the dough flat and cooked it on a huge grill. It was absolutely amazing to be able to see something like this. Normally people aren't allowed in the kitchen area, but since we were with the old gentleman, no on questioned us. Besides, my Nikon camera makes people think I'm a journalist and lets me take as many pics as I want. Actually, there was an audience that wanted me to take their pictures and mail it to them. I took a lot of shots of them cooking food, making the bread, or simply hanging out in the kitchen. Women, as usual, wanted me to take their pictures with Gin. After about an hour or so, we decided to leave the kitchen area. It was a worthwhile experience to be had and now it was time to get some more tea.

We decided to hang out directly outside our hotel where there was a chaiwala (tea maker). We spent hours sitting there and chatting. Shani's phone was dying and he hadn't brought his charger. Luckily, the chaiwala also had a Nokia phone which allowed Shani to charge his phone while sipping his tea.

After chai, we went to the main area of the golden temple. I'd never felt such strong spiritual energy in my life before this incident. The chanting and singing inside the golden temple was so uplifiting, it almost brought me to tears. All I wanted to do was join them in their chanting and spend hours there. It was an experience I'd never had before going into any kind of religious building and that alone made this long journey worth it.

We returned to the hotel hoping to go back to see the temple closing ceremony. However, we were having such good conversation that we decided not to go and see the sacred ceremony of putting the temple's holy book to sleep. Yes, that's correct, putting the holy book to sleep. There is a separate area where the Sikhs bring their holy text every night at about 9pm and bring it back to the main area inside the temple at about 5am.

We did leave for dinner. By the time we left the hotel, almost everything was closed. Since the temple doesn't ever close except the main area, we decided to go and see it at 11pm. It was a beautiful time to visit because there weren't too many people around. It was very cold as well. The marble floor got so cold at night, it felt like walking on bare ice. Fortunately, at some spots they had a carpet where we could walk. Once we had gazed at the temple to our heart's content, we called it a night.

The following morning we woke up late and by the time we got to the temple it was past noon. Again, there were too many people around and we decided not to go inside the main area. We did go to the Bhandar for lunch again. It was an experience we all wanted to have again. Midafternoon we decided to hire a rickshaw driver and go check out the Jaliawala Bagh (a garden where about 2000 Indians were massacared by the British, an important event in history which fueled the fire of India's independence from the British. A scene you may remember from the movie Gandhi.), an imitation of the golden temple and Attari.

Attari is a village at the India-Pakistan border where they perform the border closing ceremony everyday. It's a ceremony where there is a parade on both sides of the border and there is a flag lowering ceremony on both sides. It's suppose to be quite a spectacle. It was quite amusing to see the ceremony. Men and women had separate sections (rightfully so because women get harrassed by men frequently in India, especially in crowded places). Unfortunately, we didn't realize that they had a separate foreign tourist sections until it was too late.

I think our experience would've been much more pleasant had we been in the foreign tourist section. The return journey was pretty terrible considering the sun was down and it was pretty cold. In an open rickshaw, it gets very chilly and the exhaust from the rickshaw was somehow getting in the sitting area which was nauseating after about 5 minutes in to the ride. Unfortunately, it was about an hour ride back to Amritsar. Upon returning back to Amritsar, we decided we could've skipped the border closing ceremony considering how unpleasant experience we had.

Overall, going to the golden temple in Amritsar was a very unique experience. To find such strong spiritual energy is rare these days. I am glad that we had an opportunity to experience it together with Shani.

The New Year in New Delhi!

2009-01-07T23:59:00.001-05:00

New Delhi, India: Being in Rajasthan for so long, Gin & I were looking forward to taking a traveling break. Fortunately, our next destination was New Delhi. One of my childhood friends, Himanshu Shani, moved there from Ahmedabad. I was looking forward to catching up with him.

Shani went to a fashion school in Gujarat and became a fashion designer. All I knew was that he has his workshop in New Delhi and has received some awards for designing. I was looking forward to seeing all that when we got to New Delhi.

Shani's brother, Mehul, and his family were visiting from Chicago. I hadn't seen him for about 12 years. He's the father of 2 lovely kids, Shiv & Reva. I'd never seen them before. Shani's parents live with him, and I was looking forward to seeing them as well. Needless to say, I was excited about catching up with everyone.

Our train from Jaipur was suppose to arrive in New Delhi at 10pm, but it was delayed by 5 hours. We reached Delhi at 3am. Still Shani came to pick us up at the train station. It was good to see him after a few years. We were suppose to stay at Shani's apartment. He told us that there were already about 15 people there because of Mehul's family and some relatives. We would have to crash at his friend's place.

Now from the western standards, you don't go to a stranger's house in the middle of the night and stay with them. I felt a little uncomfortable about it when we got there. Shani introduced us to his friends, Gautam who was in his underwear when he opened the door. Considering this was India, it was very shocking that he didn’t bother putting his pants on even when we were sitting there and hanging out. We hung out 'til 5am and then went to bed. Shani went back to his place.

In the morning, it was awkward because we hadn't met Gautam's wife, Smita. Anyhow, we introduced ourselves and then had breakfast with them. Shani came to pick us up around noon and we went to his place. I told Shani how awkward I felt staying at Gautam's place because we had never met them before. We decided to stay at Shani's even if we had to sleep in the restroom. Luckily, we got the storage room :)

Prior to arriving in New Delhi, Shani had asked me what places we've been in India. I told him that because of my parents, we've mostly seen temples. He laughed and said, "Are you here on a pilgrimage?" The man had a good point; we had seen more temples than places in India.

Ironically, the first place he took us to was a temple, the Akshardham temple in New Delhi. This temple holds the Guiness Book of World Record for the fastest completion of a modern temple for its size, 5 years. We spent the entire day at the temple because it was massive. It certainly was very beautiful in its style and architecture. We stayed for the evening sound & light water fountain show. It was definitely entertaining. The best musical fountain show I’ve ever seen!

It also happened that it was new year’s eve 2009. Everyone was exhausted from being at the temple all day long and it didn’t feel like New Year’s Eve at all. We went to TLR (The Living Room), café & kitchen, which Gautam had started recently. We had no idea how expensive it was go get in and to my surprise it was comparable to New York price. It was about $50/person to get in with all the booze covered in the entry price. Mehul had a very good point when he said, even in the States he’s never gone to a place for New Year’s that had costed him $100 with his wife. Needless to say this was India. Shani had already made plans to go there and was intent on bringing us there. We got to TLR about 10 minutes before midnight. Neither one of us paid for the entrance because of Shani. We didn’t drink alcohol or eat the food there considering we had dinner right before getting there. It was nice spending the New Year’s Eve with Shani and part of his family. It was also Gin’s first New Year’s Eve in India. As Sarah McDonald mentions in The Holy Cow, that Indians can’t handle their alcohol, there were several people at TLR that were puking in the corner, some people drunk and passed out. It was not a scene we wanted to be around for too long. We called it a night soon after they closed around 1am.

In the New Year, we took the kids to the railway museum. They had a lot of fun and truthfully the adults had a good time as well. The following day Mehul and his family were heading back for the States. All of us hungout until they left. Unfortunately, Shani’s mom also had some family matters to take care of and left for Mumbai. So now the entire apartment went from being completely full, to being almost empty.

We were spending a lot of time playing Nintendo Wii which reminded me of Greenfield. I remember last year when, James & Michael got a new Wii, we spent the entire Christmas and New Year’s playing Wii. It was a lot of fun.

Finally we had an opportunity to visit Shani’s workshop/office in Hauz Khas Village. It was a nice workshop and we got an opportunity to see some of his employees in action. Since Shani was so busy at work and we barely spent any time with him alone, we decided to “kidnap” him. We wanted to go to Agra which Shani vetoed because he’d been there a lot of times. Instead, we decided to go to Amritsar for the golden temple. Again, a place very famous in India and a must do on the tourist track. We were looking forward to spending time with Shani and seeing the spectacular golden temple.

A 3 day plan to stay in New Delhi had already turned into a week. We hadn’t seen anything major in New Delhi yet and we felt obligated to go and explore a couple of things before we left for Amritsar. Gin & I decided to check out the Red Fort before we left for Amritsar. After seeing the Red Fort, we both decided we could’ve skipped it especially after seeing the spectacular palaces & forts in Rajasthan.

The night before Shani’s dad had taken us to see Qutb Minar (one of the best examples of architecture in India and definitely a must see). Gin & I both felt we needed more time at Qutb Minar and decided to go back after the Amritsar trip.

We were very happy with the decision we had made about spending the extra days in New Delhi. From our experience so far, the most memorable and fun times we’ve had were with friends and family along the way. Spending those extra days in New Delhi was well worth it.

The Pink City

2008-12-30T07:52:00.009-05:00

Jaipur, India: Our last stop in Rajasthan was Jaipur. Jaipur is supposed to be one of the top cities in Rajasthan to visit. Our first day, we went out to lunch and then planned to do the walking tour as set out by Lonely Planet. About 15 minutes into the walking tour, I told Jigar I wasn’t feeling well. We went back to the hotel and I was sick for the rest of the day. When you are in India, “loose motions”, as they say around here, are a fairly close companion.

Feeling better the next day, we went to check out the city palace. If you thought, as we did, that this was the royal residence, you’d be wrong. It is an old part of the palace that they don’t use anymore. The “royal residence” is, apparently, the cool part, but it costs $40 (that’s dollars, not rupees) to visit. Needless to say, thus far Jaipur was a bit disappointing. As we left the city palace, we stopped at a chaiwalla to get some tea. While there, we met a rickshaw driver who offered to take us to some sights around the city. We are wary of these guys, but decided to give him a try. He took us to the lake palace, which was beautiful.

And then he took us to the obligatory shop (where all rickshaw drivers take you because if you buy something they get a hefty commission). The shop was interesting because they showed us how they do the Rajasthani block printing. But the sales pressure was high and we barely got out of there with our wallets in tact. We decided to steer clear of rickshaw drivers after that! We just had one last stop to make before we parted ways with our driver. We asked him to take us to a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. It was on a rooftop on the fort itself overlooking the city. We thought it’d be cool to check out. We settled in and placed our order. As we waited for our food, Jigar noticed that there was a menu on the wall in Hindi. That menu had different prices on it than the menu we had ordered from, which was in English. He asked the waiter about it. The waiter told him the reason our food was more expensive was that it was “special food”. Jigar told him that we didn’t need any special food, regular food was just fine for us. In the end, we got portions that were half of the size of everyone else in the restaurant – Indian or foreigner. The portions were so small, they had to serve it in different dishes than they used for everyone else. Anway, our visit to Jaipur was not starting out well.

The next day, we finished the walking tour (which involved a large amount of harassment from shopkeepers and rickshawwallas) and decided to take in a movie. The movie theater in Jaipur, called the Raj Mandir, is self proclaimed to be the biggest movie theater in Asia. It has over 1100 seats. While waiting in line, we met two American girls. Christine is working in Delhi for a year for a company that is equipping villages with solar panels so that they have power. Emily was just there for a visit. She was on her way home from working for a hospital in Tanzania for a year. When it turned out that the movie was sold out, we all decided to go hang out together. There weren’t too many options nearby, so we settled for McDonald’s. Jigar and I had been secretly dying to try the McDonald’s masala fries so we didn’t mind. We had our fries and milkshakes and got to know Christine and Emily a bit. Before too long, the manager came over and asked us to sign the guestbook! Who knew McDonald’s had a guestbook?

We hadn’t given up on the sightseeing yet, so our next stop was Amber Fort. Finally, something beautiful to make our time in Jaipur worthwhile! Amber Fort is on the outskirts of the city. It is a majestic old fort on a hill and you can feel the regal history steeped into the stones. There is another fort even further up the hill called Jaigadh Fort. We spent so long at Amber Fort that they told us not to bother going up the hill. It’s a 20 minute walk up and it’d be closed by the time we got there. The main attraction of the second fort is that it has the largest cannon on wheels in the world. Jigar really wanted to show it to me so we decided to take our chances. We made our trek up the hill and we were rewarded. The guards were kind enough to let us in. We went straight to the cannon (more or less) and watched the sunset from the top of the hill.

After our return to the city from the forts, we decided to give Raj Mandir one more try. This time we got tickets to the movie! We saw Rab ni de Bani Jodi starring Shuh Rakh Khan (also known as SRK). It was a typical, but very cute, hindi movie.

Our last day in Jaipur, we went to Jantar Mantar. Jantar Mantar is a weird place where one of the maharajas built all these crazy astronomical instruments. We had seen so many forts lately and heard so many audio guides that we decided to check out this place on our own. Big mistake! These giant gadgets meant nothing to us. Oh well! We had one more place we wanted to see – the Hawa Mahal. It was a palace built for the queens and other female royalty. Since they observed perda in India (which means women may never be seen), they had to build a place that the women could observe celebrations and festivals without being seen. Hawa Mahal was the answer. It was being renovated so the inside was not particularly beautiful, but we did get a nice view of the city.

Overall, we didn’t particularly enjoy our visit to Jaipur. We stayed to see all the sites so that we never have to go back there again. It was far too touristy and the vendors there are extremely pushy. India has some beautiful places, but the super touristy sites tend not to bring the worst of people. We were ready to visit Jigar’s childhood friend Himanshu in Delhi.

MORE PHOTOS: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66548&id=813269869&l=72323c6ab8

Bikaner and the Temple of the Rats

2008-12-27T23:59:00.004-05:00

We arrived in Bikaner at about 5am after a difficult night on an overnight bus. Luckily, we had a hotel reservation and went directly to the hotel. We slept for several hours until we were awoken by our phone ringing. It was my family calling to say merry Christmas! When they had called the day before (while we were racing our camels across the Great Thar Desert of Rajasthan), the call hadn't connected so I didn't get a chance to speak with them. It was a wonderful way to be woken up on Christmas morning. Everyone was there so we took turns talking to all my sisters, my nephews, and my parents.

When we finally got up, we set out to explore the town. We did a bit of walking tour and saw all the havelis (heritage homes) and temples in Bikaner. There is a beautiful Jain temple which is covered in colorful paintings inside (that's really unusual for a Jain temple). During our walk, we noticed that most of the shops were closed for Christmas, which I thought was interesting since most Indians are not Christian.

In the afternoon, we took a bus to Deshnok to the Karni Mata Temple. Otherwise known as the Rat Temple. The story goes that Karni Mata (a 14th century incarnation of the goddess Durga) asked the god of death, Yama, to restore to life the son of a grieving storyteller. When Yama refused, Karni Mata reincarnated all dead storytellers as rats, depriving Yama of human souls. And now the rats are considered holy at this temple.

As we entered, we saw rats scurrying around the floors. A rat running across the path here and there. I took a deep breath and told myself I could do it.

We crossed the temple courtyard and then entered the temple itself. There were hand railings along the entryway and when I looked down at them, I saw that they were lined with rats. Rats were perched all along the railing. And there were many, many more rats scurrying across the temple than there were in the courtyard. I took another deep breath and went for the darshan (which is like the altar where you pray – it is the idol of the god). I took about two steps when a rat ran across one foot and then the other. This is supposed to be a very lucky thing and is considered a blessing. I screamed and ran out of the temple. Jigar, who is much braver than I am when it comes to rats, continued on. He made it to the darshan and even took the prashad (food blessed by the gods). Rats share the same prashad as the people! After a few minutes, Jigar came out to get me. He said they were doing a special pooja inside and that anything you pray for will come true if you come all the way inside the temple and pray. He asked me if I wanted to come. I told him that no, I was just fine where I was outside the temple. He went back inside. I don’t know if his prayers came true or not, but I feel pretty blessed already so I was OK with not going back in..

The next day, we went to see the fort and then we went out for a special lunch in honor of Christmas. It was kind of our Christmas dinner. We went to the Laxmi Niwas Palace and had a feast fit for a king. It was a scrumptious meal in the palace courtyard.

Bikaner was a pleasant surprise for us. We really enjoyed the fort and the palace. The rat temple was an unusual and memorable experience. It was a fun stop in our tour of Rajasthan.

MORE PHOTOS: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55902&id=813269869&l=f670d1d8cb

Desert Safari...

2008-12-24T23:59:00.000-05:00

Jaisalmer, India: I’d heard of the desert safari and was wondering what all the hype was about. It is one of the more expensive things to do in India, but it is suppose to be amazing. The problem with desert safaris is that it is really hot during day time and really cold during night time. You have to consider both extremes while packing your gear. We were only going for one night, so it wasn’t an enormous undertaking.

You have to do a lot of research on your own to make sure that you are getting everything you need to survive a night in the desert. Luckily, when we were at the Deepak Guesthouse, I had mentioned to the manager (Papli) that we were interested in doing the desert safari. There was a group of 14 people with Intrepid Travels that had checked in that morning. There were people from all over the world, some from Australia, some from England, some from USA, some from Poland and some other countries. We were sure that they were most likely to do the desert safari. I spoke to Papli and asked him if it were possible for Gin & I to join this group for the desert safari. It had to be approved by the group leader, Anand, from Intrepid Travels. He was a kid in his 20’s and didn’t mind us joining the group as long as we paid for the trip. I was happy about joining this group because I knew that joining this group meant that quality was guaranteed. Another advantage was that we didn’t have to pay for the folk dance that local villagers were going to do at night in the desert. The group had already paid for it. It was only Rs.50/person extra for the folk dance anyway.

We paid Rs. 850/person for the desert safari. It included a camel ride for 2 hours the first day, snacks at sunset, folk dance after sunset followed by dinner. The following morning, we would have breakfast and another 1.5 hour camel ride back. I was all excited about this adventure.

The following day we left for the safari. They drove us about 1.5 hour into the desert where we had our camels waiting for us. Each person got their own camel to ride. I was happy about that. It does take a little getting used to riding a camel. My camel was very obedient, but Gin’s camel was a renegade. He was a young 'en, a little hot blooded crazy renegade. He had to be tied with my camel, so whenever I went fast, Gin’s camel had to try and catch up to my camel. It was fun! Neither one of us had ridden a camel before for such a length of time and that too in the desert. Now the desert was a little bit of a disappointment. It wasn’t like the pictures I had seen. It was more like barren land with bushes here and there. Lonely Planet did mention this, but I was hoping that it would be wrong. Unfortunately, they were right.

At the end of the camel ride, we finally reached what looked like sand dunes. Yay! I was really happy to see the sand dunes now. I was off my camel and on my camera. It was the best time to take pics because the sun was setting. Once I was satisfied with the pics I had taken, we were ready for some snacks and tea. We took the snacks & the tea on the sand dunes and watched the sun disappear slowly in the horizon. It was one of the most amazing sunsets I’ve ever seen so far.

After the sunset, we hung out a little longer on the sand dunes and went back to our camp site. There was a bonfire the staff had created and we were waiting for the local villagers to come and perform the folk dance & music. Once the mucisians and the dancers came, they put on an excellent show. We were all then forced to join them. The crew made sure that everyone got up and danced along with the villagers. It didn’t matter what kind of dance we did. People from all over the world were drinking and dancing in the middle of the desert with the local villagers from Jaisalmer under a beautiful starry sky. It couldn’t get any better. After everyone was exhausted, the musicians & dancers left. Everyone was hungry and ready for dinner. It was really good food, especially since everyone had spent all their energy dancing. It was starting to get really cold. Everyone started huddling around the bonfire.

We laid on our bed under the open starry sky. Gin & I were counting the number of shooting stars as our eyes started getting heavy. Once the bonfire was over, it got cold. I put on my winter jacket and pulled two layers of thick blankets, but I was still cold. Luckily, I fell asleep.

The following morning everyone woke up early and was ready to see the sunrise in the desert. It was a beautiful sunrise. It was cold, but fortunately the crew had made hot tea and snacks for breakfast. After the sunrise, we packed up and got ready to get back on our camels. Going back we took a different route altogether. Before finishing the camel ride, we had an open field where we raced our camels! While, we were racing our camel, mom & dad called from Greenfield. I barely managed to get the phone out of my pocket and handed it over to Gin. It was really interesting watching Gin try to answer the phone and race her camel at the same time. God bless technology!

Once the camel ride came to an end we stopped to have some tea. I took some pictures of the crew and we started heading back to Jaisalmer. In conclusion, it was one of the most amazing experiences we’ve ever had.

MORE PHOTOS: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51814&id=813269869&l=e15e9b6827

The Golden City

2008-12-23T23:59:00.014-05:00

Jaisalmer, India: Jaisalmer has always been a place that I dreamt of going to since I was a child. Finally, when we left Jodhpur, we were on our way to Jaisalmer. On our way to Jaisalmer on the train, we met a wonderful family of A.K.Bhakta. Their family was from a small place near Kolkata (Calcutta). Mr. Bhakta invited both Gin & I to go and visit their family if we ever made it to Kolkata. We promised to take their invitation if we’d make it to Kolkata.

Once we got to the train station, we had already arranged a pick up to the hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel had already given all their good rooms to the customers that were going on the desert safari. We hadn’t made any arrangements to do the desert safari, but we were planning to do it. We just wanted to do our own research once we got to Jaisalmer. So we didn’t take any rooms at the hotel that we had arranged a pickup with.

While we were walking around looking for a hotel, we came across the Dutch couple that had asked us for a nearest ATM location in Jodhpur. We stopped and asked them what place they were staying at and if they liked the place. They said they were staying at Deepak Guesthouse and they liked it very much. I still went around and looked at many places to stay at and finally decided to stay at Deepak Guesthouse. The room was much better than most places I saw and their rate was very reasonable as well (Rs.500/night).

The hotel was inside the fort and this fort happens to be the only living fort in the world. So we had to experience staying inside the fort. We had a nice balcony in our room with beautiful view overlooking the Jaisalmer city. The hotel also had a lovely rooftop restaurant. They made kickass masala chai & awesome grilled cheese garlic sandwich. Gin & I would spend hours everyday sipping some good chai and enjoying the view.

Jaisalmer was much more than I had expected it to be. In just a day, it had become my favorite city we’d visited so far in India. There wasn’t much to do Jaisalmer, but it was very relaxing and just being in the fort was awesome. Going through the narrow streets of the fort where you can either ride a bicycle, a motorcycle or just walk made it a lot of fun. We preferred walking. There was also a big market outside the fort where you can do tons of shopping. You could buy real camel leather shoes, bags, sandals, etc. We did a fair bit of shopping while we were there.

The restaurants here were also really good. They were a bit pricier than other places we’ve been to, but the food was worth paying the extra money. After we came back from dinner one night, we saw the Dutch couple again and started chatting with them. Their names were Jeroen & Dyonne. They had been traveling for 8 months when we met them. They told us about their travel experience and we told them about our travel experience. They were really a nice couple. It was already getting late so we decided to meet for breakfast the next morning. After breakfast we all went to see the Jain temples, which were spectacular.

The following morning we told them to try the masala chai at the rooftop restaurant. I also told Jeroen to try the grilled cheese garlic sandwich. They certainly enjoyed the masala chai a lot & Jeroen loved his sandwich. While were hanging out in the restaurant, enjoying the beautiful view, we started noticing a bunch of fighter planes taking off from the near by Indian Air force base. It was a bit alarming since we were only 200 kilometers from the Pakistan border. I knew the tensions between the two countries were high because of the Mumbai terrorist attack and that there was a real possibility of a war breaking out between the two countries. After the 13th fighter plane took off, I decided to call my dad and see if there was anything in the news about a war starting between the two countries. Luckily, my father’s response was negative and we continued sipping tea and enjoying the company of Jeroen & Dyonne.

Since neither Jeroen nor Dyonne had tried different Indian cuisines in India, we decided to take them to a nice restaurant. I did all the ordering as usual. I couldn’t believe that Dyonee had been ordering Paneer Butter Masala everyday for meals because she was too scared to try something different. She did have a very weak stomach. Jeroen on the other hand was an adventurous eater. He tried everything we ordered and didn’t mind trying different things. At the end we all enjoyed the food very much. Since they were leaving Jaisalmer the following day, we decided to have lunch together. This time we ordered Indian Chinese. Jeroen loved the food and so did Dyonne, but it was a bit too spicy for her. After the meal, they had to get ready to leave and we took some snaps and exchanged contact information. They both invited us to go to the Netherlands and visit them someday. We’re both looking forward to seeing them in Holland or somewhere else in the world.

We were hanging out often with Dyonne and Jeroen while we were in Jaisalmer and their departure made us sad. Fortunately, we had something exciting to look forward to: we were to head out for the desert safari the following afternoon. Gin & I were really looking forward to the deseret safari.

One thing is for sure; good company makes a place stand out no matter where in the world you are. We were glad to have such an excellent company of Dyonne & Jeroen.

The Blue City

2008-12-21T08:37:00.002-05:00

Our first stop in Rajasthan was Jodhpur. We wanted to stay in the old part of the city near the fort. Rajasthan literally means “land of the kings”. In the time before British rule, Rajasthan was not a state. Each city was its own state with its own king and its own palace. That palace is inside a fort so if any of the neighboring kings decided to attack (which was often), it would slow them down a bit.

We arrived in Jodhpur early in the morning and made the rounds looking for a hotel. We found a lovely place called the Discovery Guest House. If you ever find yourself in Jodhpur, I highly recommend it. It is lovely, clean, and nicely decorated. The rooms are big and airy. And, best of all, it is run by a really nice family who make you feel right at home.

We had grand plans of going to the fort and doing all the other touristy things there were to do around town, but then we saw the roof of our guest house. It had an amazing view of the fort and really amazing tea… so we camped out there for a good chunk of the first day. Eventually, we decided to wander the streets of the old city and get a feel for the city.

Later in the day, we went to the Umaid Palace. It is mostly a hotel now, but the outside is beautiful. The next day we went to Mandore gardens. There are temples and gardens and some kind of ruins. At the end of the day, we were excited to go back and see the view from our rooftop restaurant at night. We were disappointed to find that the fort isn’t lit at night. Apparently, since tourism is so low this year, they aren’t bothering to turn on the lights. We went out into the city for dinner. We ended up having omelets from a street vendor which may have been the best eggs I’ve ever eaten.

Finally, on the last day, we decided we should really go check out Meherangarh Fort. It was a 10 minute walk up the hill from our hotel. We set out after lunch. On our way up, a man sitting a house said hello. We said hi and he asked us where we were from. When Jigar said Ahmedabad, the gentleman lit up. He is also Gujarati. He invited us into his home. We chatted for a while with him and his son. They invited us back for tea in the afternoon and he said that his wife would put mendhi on me (that’s henna designs on your hands).

We said our goodbyes to our new friend and headed for the fort. It was as captivating as we expected it to be. My ticket (the foreigner ticket, that is) which costs about five times what Jigar’s ticket costs, comes with an audio tour. Between the audio tour and the restoration of the fort, we were transported back into the land of the Maharanas and their Maharanis. The view of the city from the fort was spectacular.

For more photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51347&l=eb5d0&id=813269869

Adventures in Ahmedabad

2008-12-17T08:16:00.007-05:00

We spent a total of eight weeks in Ahmedabad. We spent most of our time with Jigar’s friends and family (which was the whole idea). I got the chance to learn about Gujarati culture and Gujarati food. I took Gujarati lessons every morning (which means I can now say, “How are you?”, “I’m fine”, and “Goodbye” in Gujarati). We did a lot of shopping. Jigar watched every cricket match that India played in. We celebrated Diwali. We visited friends. We spent time together as a family, playing cards and watching TV. I learned to make masala chai. We went to the movies. In short, we slowed down, stopped traveling and just lived a regular life (minus the work part) for a few weeks. We did have a few adventures around town. We went and visited Jigar’s old school and he showed me the places they used to live. We visited the old city for the Heritage walk and also visited Ghandi’s ashram. We took a day trip to Lothal – the ruins of a 4500 year old city which seems to have a better drainage system than most present day Indian cities. We had a great time in Ahmedabad. It was the first time in many years that Jigar could just come home and relax, without having to worry about getting back to the States for work or school. I got to see the city I have been hearing about for years from Jigar and his friends and family. Next stop: Delhi, to visit Jigar’s childhood friend, Himanshu Shani… with a few stops in Rajasthan along the way.

For more photos, check out these albums...

Album 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55953&l=a305e&id=813269869

Album 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55961&l=c5287&id=813269869

An Typical Gujarati Weekend Getaway!

2008-12-01T23:59:00.004-05:00

The Mumbai (Bombay) attacks had really dampened everyone’s spirit in India. The media kept on showing the same horrific images over-and-over again which reminded me of 9/11. After a while, my mom, Gin & I were fed up with the media coverage and just felt like getting away for a while. My dad on the other hand was glued to the TV and wanted to get all the media coverage. We finally convinced dad to get away for the weekend.

The idea was to go to Mount Abu, Rajasthan, a popular hill station (a resort town on the hills) via Ambaji (a famous temple 40km from Mt. Abu). I wanted to take Ginnie to the Delwara temple, in Rajasthan, which to me is one of the most remarkable things to see in India.

Growing up in India, our family often visited Mount Abu. I’ve been there at least 5 times before, but every time I go there, it’s a wonderful experience. Full of fun memories.

First we went to the temple at Ambaji and stayed a night there. It was really nice to see the lighting at the temple at night. The temple also holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest flag (abt 4500 feet).

Next morning we left for Mount Abu. We stayed at a great spot overlooking the Nakki Lake. There was a little porch outside our room and the view was so incredible that we didn’t even go anywhere for the day. Just sat outside on the swing and had some food and masala chai (Indian tea). The sunset was incredible! I don’t think I’d seen the sky look the way it did in my entire life. Later in the evening, all of us played cards and had a chillaxed evening.

The following morning we woke up and were surprised to see rain. None of us were expecting it to rain, especially because it was dry season. Anyways, it cleared up and we decided to go up to Guru Shikhar (the highest peak of Mount Abu about 1700mts/5500ft). The view from there was spectacular.

On our way back we went to the much awaited Delwara Temple. Unfortunately, the temple was closed because of some religious ceremony being performed. Luckily, the temple was to reopen again for the day 2 hours before closing hour. So we just went back to the hotel and rested. We wanted to make sure we go back in time. I knew 2 hours wasn’t going to be enough if we doodled around. We all felt the urgency to get there because we were leaving the following day. Unfortunately, no photography or videography is allowed inside the temple. Ginnie thought the carvings were amazing. After the temple, we returned back to our hotel and played more cards after having a leisurely dinner.

The following morning was tight schedule. We had to get back to Ahmedabad, but before we left, we decided to do boating in the Nakki Lake. It was a splendid idea. It was a paddle boat for 4. Gin & I paddled the boat with my parents sitting in the back. It was a great idea and a great end to our weekend getaway.

The Mayhem (otherwise known as the Pushkar Camel Fair)

2008-11-14T21:53:00.016-05:00

We arrived in Pushkar at around 3:30 in the afternoon. Pushkar is essentially a small village about 12 km outside Ajmer. Once a year there is a festival held there. The festival is twofold. It started out as a gathering to sell camels and horses. Of course, it has now become a tourist attraction. The other part of the festival is that the last day coincides with the first full moon after Diwali. As this village contains a holy lake, many Hindus make a pilgrimage to this place on that day. Between the camel sellers and buyers (not to mention all the camels), the devout Hindus, and everyone else who has come along to see all this madness, it is quite a crowd!

The first afternoon was mostly spent trying to navigate the crowds and find ourselves a couple of rooms (after we got some tea, of course). Once that was accomplished, we could relax, get some dinner, and check out the festival. We found the fairground, which was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. There were people everywhere, there were camels, there were camel carts, there was a ferris wheel and other rides, there were people selling everything imaginable, and there were Punjabi dancers. It was amazing!

The funny part was that through all these incredible things to look at everywhere, everyone seemed to think that I was the most interesting spectacle to look at of all. An interesting thing about India is that it isn’t rude to stare. People will stand right in front of you and stare at you. They have no qualms about it. Sometimes (but only occasionally) if you stare back, they will look away. Almost always, if you smile, they will smile back. I was watching the Punjabi dancers, the row of people in front of us were turned around staring at me.

The next day, we got up early to check things out. We had obtained a schedule of events which started with cow milking at 6. We felt comfortable skipping that, but wanted to check out the next event which was wrestling at 8. We got to the fairgrounds at 8:30 because everything here runs on Indian Standard Time (which means nothing is even close to on time). The wrestling hadn’t started. Poppa, Jigar, and I found seats in the shade so we could watch all of the goings on around us. Alan was really excited so he went to go check everything out.

There were some fun events. We saw a parade of camels. There was a matka race (which is when the women carry a matka – a clay water pot – on their heads and race with it). There was a show of small children who were contortionists. There was musical chairs. There was a matka breaking contest – which Alan participated in. It was foreigners against Indians. There were two matkas strung high above the ground. The team that could get to their matka and break it first won. The Indians won, but they gave each of the foreigners a trophy and a certificate of appreciation for participating. The wrestling finally started at about 12.

Since the sun is strong in India, there are no events in the afternoon. We took the opportunity to have some lunch and rest before heading back to the fairgrounds in the evening.

The next morning, Poppa arranged for us to go on a camel ride. It was an odyssey across the desert. We got to see the entire fair, which is much bigger than we realized. We saw the camel sellers and the camels. We saw the horse sellers and the horses. We saw the ladies in the traditional Rajasthani dress. We saw all of the shops and food vendors who were there to sell to the camel sellers and horse sellers. And we got to see all of this from a camel’s eye view. It was definitely the highlight of the fair so far.

That night we skipped the mela (which is what Indians call the fair). On the final night 250,000 people come into this already overcrowded village in anticipation of bathing in the holy lake on the day of the first full moon after Diwali. We decided to take a break and stay at our hotel. We ordered room service (Chinese food, Indian style) and played cards.

The final morning, we made our way through the crowd. Suddenly, our friend Alan felt a very slight brush against his pocket. Sure enough he had been pick pocketed. He reacted quickly by grabbing the boy next to him. Alan started yelling that the boy had his wallet. The boy feigned ignorance for a minute or two. Then he dropped the wallet at his feet and pretended that it had just fallen there. Jigar grabbed the boy and slapped him a couple of times (that’s the Indian way). The boy acted as if he didn’t know anything about the wallet. In the end, the police took him away. It was an adrenaline producing start to our day.

We finally made it to the mela around 9 just as the events were starting. The fairground, which previously had been filled to about 10% of its capacity, was spilling over with people. There were people sitting on the tops of the walls and in the trees. We tried to get in the VIP entrance, but the police told us that you had to have special passes to get in that way. They directed us to the next entrance. It was packed. And I mean packed. As we pushed through the crowd, I had visions of stampedes and I remembered every headline in the paper that mentioned people dying in the crush of the crowd. But we were experiencing a real Indian mela, the way the Indians experience it.

The events began. The last day is a recap of the events of all of the previous days. The first one was a procession of the people in traditional Rajasthani dress followed by decorated camels. Poppa has a habit of making friends with people everywhere we go. Sometimes that habit has benefits. When we first arrived in town, he befriended a policeman. About twenty minutes into the mela, Poppa spotted this policeman. We made our way over to him and he escorted us to the VIP section. There were chairs there and A LOT less people. It made watching the mela a lot more fun.

There was a camel race, parasailing, an award for the cow who gave the most milk (45 liters!), and a matka race. They needed foreigners for the matka race so I volunteered. You run part way, pick up the matka (clay pot filled with water), put it on your head, and run the rest of the race. The trick was there 16 women and 15 matkas. I got a matka, got it on my head, and finished the race. But I broke the matka when I put it down! That event was won by the locals.
Attending my first Indian mela, was quite an experience. I have never seen so many people all in one place. And I quickly realized that the beauty of India is not in the landscape or the shows they put on. The beauty of India is the people. The saris and the heartfelt smiles are India’s true beauty.

MORE PHOTOS: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40374&l=77cab&id=813269869

EVEN MORE: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40394&l=0e9f9&id=813269869

The Palaces of Udaipur

2008-11-09T01:20:00.012-05:00

MORE PHOTOS: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40572&l=5539b&id=813269869

After being in India for a couple of weeks, I felt like I had adjusted a bit. The surreal traffic, the children begging for money for food, the smell, the bright, beautifully colored saris on the women that glitter like jewels in the sun, the sumptuous flavors of the food that bring your mouth to life... I felt like it was all becoming a little more "normal". I was ready to venture out of Ahmedabad to see a bit of the rest of India.

Our friend, Alan, who we met on the diving trip we took at the Great Barrier Reef, was planning to come meet up with us in November. We told him that the Pushkar Fair was November 10th-14th so, if he could, he should try to make it before then. He flew in on the 7th. We left the morning of the 8th.

First, we drove to Udaipur in Rajasthan. It is about a 4 hour drive from our house in Ahmedabad. We got there about lunch time so we stopped for a thali. Technically, a thali is a big silver plate, but it is also the name of a traditional meal served on that plate. The large plate has 4 or 5 small bowls on it. Servers walk around with different containers of food and constantly fill the bowls with different dishes and supply you with fresh roti and chutneys and rice and sweets and anything else you can possibly think of. It is a bit stressful because every time you turn around, they are there to fill up those little bowls. And you have to eat everything. You can't waste food in India where you walk outside and see people starving on the street. You have to be pretty vigilant to fend off these guys who are always at the ready to give you some more subgee (vegetables). The food is so good, but it is pretty easy to overeat.

As we left the restaurant, we met a guy who offered to be our guide for the rest of that day and the following day for 150 rupees (about $3). We agreed and he took us around to some of the sites of the city. We saw the Monuments of the Kings, which are monuments to the kings and queens of Udaipur. The monuments are built on the exact location where the ruler was cremated so they are just kind of scattered around a field. Some are clumped together and some are more set apart. Each one is built by the eldest son of the man or woman the shrine is dedicated to.

We took a little detour by an art shop and then we went to the Monsoon Palace. The art studio was neat, but it is a bit impractical for us to be carrying around paintings so we left empty handed… much to the dismay of our guide. We made it to the Monsoon Palace for sunset (which was our plan). The palace was never finished so it isn’t much to see, but it is on top of a hill and affords a magnificent view for the sunset.

While touring the palace, Poppa (Jigar’s dad) decided that Alan needed an Indian name – since Poppa had decided Alan should marry an Indian girl. Alan was renamed Arvind, I became Jaya, Jigar was renamed Jay (I’m not sure why he needed a new name), and Poppa became Uncle. Any time anyone used our old names, he or she was supposed to pay Poppa $1. Meanwhile, Poppa tried to convince Irvind that it wouldn’t hurt to meet some nice Gujarati girls back in Ahmedabad… He could be married by the end of the month!

We left the palace in search of “ick cutting” (that means one cutting of tea – or about half a cup) and a hotel room. We knew the names of a few hotels we wanted to check out. We got them from Alan’s Lonely Planet. But our guide didn’t want to bring us there. He was becoming less and less cooperative by the minute! Finally, after a harrowing ride through the alleyways of the Old City which was not designed for a Honda to pass through, let alone two way traffic, Poppa found us a beautiful hotel. The rooms were spotless and really nicely decorated. Our room didn’t offer a view of the lake place, so it was Rps. 600 per night (about $12 which is pretty expensive for India). We told our “guide” not to bother coming back the next day.

In the morning, we went to the City Palace. We weren’t sure what to expect, but it ended up taking up most of the day. It was really nice. It is the ancestral home of the royal family of Udaipur. Alan and I learned a lot about the history of Rajasthan, including the story of Maharana Pratap and Chetak. Chetak was a horse who was so fiercely loyal to his owner that he jumped across an entire river to save his life. Chetak did save Maharana Pratap’s life, but, sadly, Chetak himself didn’t survive.

At one point, I finished looking at everything in the room we were in before everyone else. I wandered into the next room and found a place to sit down and wait. Soon after, I noticed a group of Indian ladies gathered nearby. They were whispering and seemed to be pointing at me. Then some of them came over and sat down next to me on the bench and others stood behind me. Then someone started taking pictures of us! This was my first brush with my Indian fame. They love white people! The Indian people just love having their pictures made with me. Alan had a similar experience when a group of young men approached him and asked to have their picture made with him. It is an interesting phenomenon to become an overnight pseudo-celebrity.

The palace was a fun day. Especially since Jigar remembered going there as a child. In the early afternoon we headed out for Pushkar. The camel fair awaited us!

My First Three Days in India

2008-10-29T23:05:00.009-04:00

MORE PHOTOS: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38857&l=02715&id=813269869

Day 1: We woke up in Chennai in the south of India. We had landed about midnight the night before. (When we landed, there were about 500 people outside the airport. Half of them were there to pick up arriving passengers. The other half were taxi drivers. We had gotten a cab and headed to our hotel. The cab ride alone was an overwhelming experience - we passed slums with people sleeping on the roofs and chai stands and people on bicycles and and there were fireworks going off for Diwali and there were piles of rubbish everywhere and, at times, the whole city smelled like poop). Jigar woke me up at 7. He was already dressed and showered. He was so excited to be in India for Diwali that he couldn't sleep. In the south, they celebrate Diwali the day before the north so the celebrations were already underway in Chennai. We could hear the fireworks already. We went downstairs and got some breakfast in our hotel. It was a buffet with idly, uppama, and sambar along with some other things that I don't know the names of. It was by far the best breakfast we have had in our travels thus far. It made our stop in Chennai worthwhile, just for the breakfast.We headed to the airport to catch our flight to Ahmedabad, Jigar's hometown. It was there that I learned that many places in India have what they call "Indian Toilets" (which is a hole in the floor that you squat over) and not many have "European Toilets" (the kind we are accustomed to). After some searching, I found a usable "European Toilet", only to find out that they don't use toilet paper in India! There is a system here that involves a pitcher of water and your left hand... I don't really want to elaborate. Anyway, thank goodness for pocket packs of tissues!

We got to Ahmedabad at about 1:30 in the afternoon. Jigar's dad met us at the airport bearing flowers for me. We drove to their house and some family friends were there to perform the welcoming pooja (ceremony or prayer) to welcome me to the house for the first time. We were both really, really happy to finally be in Ahmedabad.

After visiting with them, we had lunch. Then we had a rest before we got things ready for Diwali the next day. Diwali is like Christmas for Indians. It is the festival of lights so we filled up a whole lot of oil lamps and made the wicks out of special ceremonial cotton.

We lit the lamps and set them up all around the house. A neighbor came over to visit with his son for a bit and helped us with the lamps.

After that, Jigar's dad taught me how to make chai (that's Hindi for tea). Then we headed out to do some shopping. On Diwali, you are supposed to wear new clothes so I needed a new dress. We went out and got me some Indian clothes. They are so comfortable and still so pretty!

We went to the temple and we also stopped by a shop and got some sweets because you are supposed to eat a lot of sweets on Diwali. We finally stopped by and got some sandwiches (bhaji pau) before heading home. We got home after 11, and one of Jigar's friend's (Manish) and his wife (Dhwani) came over to visit. We were hanging out with them until 2am! The good thing is that they speak English so I was able to participate in a conversation for the first time all day.

Day 2: We woke up and Jigar's dad wasn't around. We found out that the neighbor (who had visited the night before), his mom had died in the night. Jigar's dad had gone to help them make arrangements. It was a sad beginning for Diwali. I made some chai for Jigar and some for his dad when he got home. We had a quiet day because everyone was sad. In the evening, we visited a friend of the family and then we went over to Manish's house to set off fireworks. We couldn't set them off around the Jadav house, out of respect for the neighbors.

Diwali is the festival of lights so the entire city is setting off firecrackers. Everywhere you go there is the sight, the sound, the smell, and even the taste of fireworks. By the end of the evening, I was literally dizzy from sensory overload. It was really fun, but really overwhelming.

Day 3: The day after Diwali is New Year's Day. In the morning, you do a special pooja for prosperity in the new year. You have to go to your place of business to do it and it must be done between 7 and 9am. We went to Jigar's dad's office and did the pooja.

You also have to make a rangoli. That is a design that you make outside the house so that Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) doesn't pass you by. Jigar and I made the rangoli.

Later in the day, you go to visit your friends and family or they come visit you. I was napping during the first set of visitors. When some friends of Jigar's dad came over, I had to make them tea (since i am the only woman in the house until Jigar's mom gets back from the states)! The pressure was on! Luckily, everyone said it was really good. After that, we went and visited 3 different families, some friends and some family. We stopped by the temple along the way. I didn't understand a single conversation the whole day. There is no pressure to follow along that way! I can think about whatever I want to and just sit there and smile at people. At every house you go to, they serve you snacks and sweets so there is a lot of eating involved. That part I could do!

It is really amazing to finally be here. India is indescribable. It is the most incredible place I have ever seen. To see so much filth and poverty and yet so much joy at the same time is overwhelming. It is somehow the most beautiful place I have ever seen despite all of its flaws. There are well over a billion people and each of them does whatever they want. If there is a rotary in the road, they go around in either direction! Whatever suits them. There are so many people and animals (camels, oxen, goats, elephants and I can't count how many cows!) and cars and motorbikes and its just chaos. There are entire families on one motorbike. There are ten people in a single rickshaw. The clothes the women wear are beautiful rich colors and designs. They stand out against the backdrop of grime and dirt. They are like jewels. And right now the whole city is lit up because Diwali is the festival of lights. It is beautiful and we are really, really happy.

Singapore... at last!

2008-10-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

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After having our passports held hostage at the Indian embassy in Australia and making it onto the plane by the skin of our teeth, we were relieved to finally be out of Australia and on to Singapore. We loved Australia. We had an amazing time there. But we were ready to move on. It was time for some new energy for our trip… and Singapore has energy in spades.

Singapore is a hodge podge of cultures and Indian culture plays a big part in that. Since it was almost Diwali, we decided to stay in Little India to celebrate the holiday in style. We made it to Little India around 8 AM (our flight had landed at 4) so we had plenty of time to find a place to stay. We checked out a couple of hostels and were able to leave our bags at one while we continued our search. But not before we stopped for our first cup of masala chai. For those who are not familiar with it, masala chai is a delicious concoction created by the Indians in a flash of pure genius. It is a milk based tea with spices (some combination of ginger, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, mint, and/or cardamom – what masalas you get depends on who is making it) and sugar. It is the peak of deliciousness. In Singapore they put their own little twist on it by using condensed milk. Mmmm, mmmm good.

We decided to take a room at the hostel that we left our bags with. Since there was a festival going on, rooms were filling up fast. It seemed like a nice enough place so we just went with it. Then we went to check out the neighborhood. The decorations were beautiful. Singapore really goes all out for a festival – although, it probably doesn’t hurt that the Prime Minister is Indian. The decorations were top notch. Jigar said that the decorations in India aren’t that nice. We stopped by the temple along our way.

We rested in the afternoon because we wanted to go on the evening tour that conveniently started at our hostel. Before the tour, we went to get something to eat. Finally, decent, cheap Indian food! In Australia, Indian food was $20 per plate… far out of our budget. We stopped by Chellas near our hotel for some snacks. Jigar was very excited to find Bhaji Pau. The place was packed so they sat us at a table with a single diner. It turns out she was a college student from Singapore named Tanushree. We had a long, leisurely meal with her but then we had to run or we’d miss our tour!

Our tour guide was really nice. He guided us through the craziness that is Little India on the eve of Diwali. He was very excited to have Jigar on the tour – a real, live Indian person. We went through a market (where we got free garlands and some snacks) and then walked through the neighborhood. The streets were all lit up for Diwali – the festival of lights! Along the way, Elijah (our tour guide) would stop and explain various Indian customs or fill us in on some history. After the tour, we stopped by a restaurant that Elijah had recommended. Jigar got onion baji and I got a dosa. Onion baji is basically onion dipped in chick pea flour and fried. It was really good. Dosa is a big (and I mean big) pancake (or more like a crepe really) stuffed with potato. It is really good. When the bill came, we thought there must be some mistake. My dosa was only $1.50. But there was no mistake. That’s how much it cost. After penny pinching in NZ and Oz for the last four months, our relief was palpable. We knew traveling in Asia would bring its own issues, but it would be nice to not have to worry about money for a while. Exhausted after a long day, we headed back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep. The whirlwind of leaving Darwin and basically not sleeping the whole night was catching up with us.

The next day, we decided to explore some more. We weren’t feeling any pressure to see all of Singapore since we’d be flying back through in March. I was hoping to catch up with my friend from high school, Dotsie, since she lives in Singapore these days. Unfortunately, since we couldn’t give her much notice (as in, "Hi! We're in Sinapore. What are you up to?"), she wasn’t available so we’ll see her in March. With no plans for our last day in Singapore, we headed out on foot.

We thought we’d head toward Clarke Quay. Jigar had been in Singapore a couple of years ago and he had fond memories of the neighborhood. We stopped to ask someone directions and they told us to take public transportation. Singapore has lovely public transportation, but we wanted to walk. The woman we were speaking with told us it was impossible to walk there. It didn’t look impossible according to our map, so we pressed on. Was there some obstacle not on our map that blocked our way? Next we stopped by a camera store because Jigar wanted to price some equipment. As we were leaving, we asked the man who had been helping us how to get to Clarke Quay by foot. He told us that it wasn’t possible. Intrigued, we asked why. He said that it was as if we walked from Little India to his store. I told him we had just walked from Little India to his store. He said, “Well, it is 10 times that long!” It had only taken us about 5 to 10 minutes to make that walk so we weren’t too concerned. We just kind of wandered around the city, heading generally in the right direction. We walked through a Chinese market. We passed a Hindu temple. Then we came across a place to eat that our friend, Tanushree, had recommended the day before. It is called Kopitiam. It is cafeteria style dining with all different types of food – Malay, Chinese, and Indian to name a few. We ordered some sort of flavored ice concoction. They pack a bowl FULL of shaved ice and then pour flavors over it. Ours was rose and pineapple and a few other flavors that were delicious but not easy to identify. Then they cover the whole thing with beans. Underneath the ice is flavorless gelatin and corn. OK, well, we’d give it a try. We figured these people knew what they were doing. And other people seemed to be really enjoying this dessert. We thought that the beans and the corn were probably sweetened and the gelatin would taste like jello. Nope, on both counts. It was pretty much just as you’d expect – if you take away the corn, the beans, and the gelatin, the shaved ice part was quite tasty. We enjoyed it (after scraping the beans off the top). It was a fun experience.

We finally made it to Clarke Quay after about two hours of walking. It would have been a 10 minute subway ride. Maybe that is why everyone was telling us to take the train… It was a cool area, but Jigar says it is a lot more fun at night than on a Sunday afternoon. After checking out the area, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon in the Joo Chiat area.

Joo Chiat/Katong is an area unique to Singapore. The people who settled the area were predominantly of mixed race – wealthy Chinese men and their Malay wives. As a result, there is a mixing of cultures in that neighborhood which gives rise to some particularly delicious food along with some interesting history. Our true goal in visiting this neighborhood was the Laksa – a particularly delicious soup that originates from this neighborhood. After 15 minutes on the train and a 30 minute walk, we found the famous laksa. And it was good! We refreshed ourselves with lime juice and lychee juice and enjoyed big steaming bowls of seafood laksa. Then it was time to go head back to our hostel and pick up our bags and head to the airport. Our 36 hour layover in Singapore was coming to an end. It was a lot of fun. We look forward to going back to Singapore and visiting the world famous zoo and catching up with Dotsie, but we were really excited to get to India in time for Diwali!

The Amazing Race Continues... Darwin

2008-10-25T23:59:00.007-04:00

It seems that the amazing race continues. After we made a sad announcement to our parents that we wouldn't be able to make it to India for Diwali (biggest Hindu festival of the year), we were very sad.

The reason why we weren't going to be able to make it to India was because of our visa situation. In New York in takes only a day to get the Indian visa and with that knowledge in hand, we went to the Sydney Consulate General of India to apply for our visa 2 weeks before leaving Australia. Turns out it takes a minimum of 5 business days and a maximum of 15 business days to process the visa. We also provided our itineraries showing our departure date and flight out of Australia. We were informed that it wouldn't be a problem getting the visa in time. We left our passport with the visa office and continued our travel. The plan was that our new friends in Australia, Tooey & Van, were going to pick up the passports when the visas were ready. The plan was solid, almost fail proof. Unfortunately, we didn't take into consideration on how unreliable any government agency or a consulate is. We were very hopeful to get the visas and stayed optimistic until the end.

Now time was running out. A week before we were going to fly out, I emailed the Indian consulate general inquiring what was the status on our visas and they informed me, "it was still being processed." Two days after that, Gin & I were getting really nervous about not getting any update on visa. Finally, I called the consulate and spoke to some people about how frustrating this entire situation was. They told us that it takes a minimum of 15 business days to process the visas for non-Australian residents. I was outraged that we were totally misinformed. We told them that had we been given that information, we would've never applied for visa in Australia. We would've gotten them in Singapore instead. I told them how important it was for us to get to India for Diwali and that it was my wife's first time visiting my family in India and her first Diwali in India. They made a note to expedite the visas, but told us not to hope for getting the visas anytime soon.

We waited until the day of departure, but we didn't get the visa. Of course, when things go wrong, they go wrong in dozens. We called Tiger Airways to change our departure date to a later date. We were sadly informed that Tiger Airways was no longer flying the route from Darwin to Singapore. To our astonishment, we couldn't believe they wouldn't refund us the money. Our argument was that we don't mind flying with Tiger, but they canceled the route. We felt that we should've been given our money back since they were canceling the route. They told us to fly out of Perth instead. So their idiotic solution was we pay them $100 ticket change fee, plus buy another ticket to Perth just to fly out to Singapore. I was totally outraged with the way Tiger Airways handled the situation and did not refund us anything. Matter of fact, I had to pay an additional $100 to cancel our tickets. The only reason why I did that was because I filed a dispute with my credit card against Tiger Airways and they had told me specifically to cancel the flight and get a confirmation number from them. They were so sketchy about this entire situation that they wouldn't even give me a cancellation number. They told me it would take 3 to 4 weeks for them to email me about the cancellation of the tickets. That was absolutely ridiculous.

When we left Melbourne for Darwin, we forgot our cell phone in our friend's (Ian’s) car. So now we had no means of communication. Luckily, the phone had slipped out of my pocket while we were in the car, so it wasn’t that bad.

We were in Darwin during this entire ordeal. To make matters worse, it was 40 degrees (about 108 degrees Fahrenheit) with high humidity. It was absolutely gross. So we were stuck in Darwin, waiting to hear any news about our visas. Since we were waiting to hear about the visa, we couldn’t even go to Kakadu National Park or any other day trips from Darwin. It wasn’t the most fun time we’ve had in Australia, but we were trying to make the most of it. For the 10 days we were there the daily routine was to wake up and check the status on visa and then come back to the hotel for lunch and then go back to check the status on the visa.

Finally, the visas got done on the 24th of October which made us optimistic about going to India. Unfortunately, there were still quite a few hurdles in our way before that dream would come true. By the time I called Tooey & Van to pick up the visa it was already to late for them to go and pick them up. That was Thursday. So the earliest they would be able to pick up the visa was on Friday. Sadly, we had to pay $300 AUD to get the passports shipped on the same day. The courier service told us they would deliver it in about 8-10 hours on the same day. So now we were waiting in our hotel biting our nails to get our passports delivered. Finally, at 4:30pm I decided to go to the Darwin office to check the status on the package. TNT couriers told me that there was no way we would get the passports on the same day because Darwin is so isolated from the rest of the country and things never arrive on time in Darwin.

It came very close. I was able to get the phone number of the guy who delivered urgent packages 24/7. He informed us that our package would arrive at 10:40pm and it would take him at least 40 minutes to locate the package and deliver it to the airport. Gin & I had checked out of the hotel in the mean time and we were waiting in line without any ticket or without our passports to fly out of Darwin to Singapore. The flight was supposed to leave at 12:50am. Luckily, the courier guy was able to get the package on 11:15pm and I was running around the airport trying to locate the guy. Finally, I was able to locate the guy and we bought our ticket to Singapore all within an hour. We couldn’t believe that we were on our way to India for Diwali. I called my dad to inform him that we were heading that way and good thing I did that because my dad had planned to go to the USA.

After going through a week’s worth of anticipation, Gin & I needed a break from traveling. Fortunately, we were heading to India where I knew would have plenty of time to relax and not worry about anything. But before we get to India, Singapore here we come!

The Great Ocean Road

2008-10-17T23:59:00.001-04:00

We passed through Melbourne on our way to the great ocean road. We had heard from everyone that it was a must see/do in Australia. We had pretty high expectations since everyone we spoke to told us to do it. Even Uncle Ron & Aunty Cathy highly recommended it.

We knew where to start the great ocean road trip; it was in the town of Torquay. The great ocean road is about 300km long from the beginning to the end. We had about 2 days to do it. Since we had our own campervan, we had plenty of food and water supply. On the first day we passed through Geelong where Ian lives. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to call him and hangout with him. We were going to do that on our way back to Melbourne.

Our first stop was Bells beach. This legendary beach is where they had supposedly filmed the end of the movie Point Break. Gin & I had our lunch sitting in our campervan watching the surfers try to catch some good waves. It was awesome to see them from above the cliff. After the lunch we decided to check out the beach, but it was too cold to go in the water. There was absolutely no one around the beach area except the surfers. I couldn’t believe that they were surfing in that cold water. Hats off for even attempting.

We drove onwards towards Lorne and continued towards Apollo Bay. We were going to stay in Apollo Bay, but we were recommended to stay at Blanket Bay since we had our campervan. We kept on driving past Apollo Bay and there were no signs of Blanket Bay anywhere. We came across the sign for Cape Otway and we just decided to go in that direction. It was already getting very dark and we were in the middle of the rainforest. We were getting a little worried since there weren’t any signs of Blanket Bay. Luckily, thanks to Gin’s good eyesight, she spotted a sign for Blanket Bay. We had a similar experience in New Zealand where we were looking for a camp ground and spent a while looking for the camp ground eventually giving up on that idea. We had very little hope about this camp ground at Blanket Bay as well. We continued and got to the camp ground. A right turn led us into a spot where about 20 people were camped out. That was a big sign of relief. Finally, we were relaxed and got ourselves a spot to camp. After dinner I tricked Ginnie into going for a walk. It was absolutely gorgeous. The moonlight hitting the waves and the silhouette of the moon was absolutely mesmerizing. We were glad that we found the spot.

Next morning we continued onwards towards spending a few hours at the Cape Otway light house. It was fun few hours at the light house with some spectacular views of the sea. The history of the lighthouse was also very interesting. It was the oldest light house of Australia and served a very important role in WWII.

We were totally excited about seeing the famous 12 Apostles. It is the hallmark of the great ocean road. We wanted to go see them around sunset because by sunset most of the tourist buses disperse. It was certainly the highlight of the great ocean road. We hung out there until sunset. We met a very nice couple, Tal & Efuat, from Israel. They had also rented their campervan with Jucy rentals. For our last day in the campervan, Gin & I decided to stay in a Holiday Park in Port Campbell. It was the only holiday park close to the 12 Apostles. The reason why we wanted to stay there was because we were going to wake up early for sunrise and go see the 12 Apostles again. We told the Israeli couple to go and stay at the holiday park as well and they did. It was wonderful hanging out with them and we were invited to go to Israel and stay with them in the north of Israel. We’d certainly take them up on that.

The great ocean road was certainly very beautiful and very unique to Australia; however, it didn’t even come close to the beauty of the South Island in New Zealand. Gin & I enjoyed the great ocean road very much, but felt a little gypped, since we had done New Zealand first. The great ocean road is supposed to be the best drive in all of Australia and if it is so, then it’s far from being amazing. If I were to go to the South Pacific again, I’d go to Australia first, and then go to New Zealand because after going to New Zealand, Australia had no chance of coming close to the natural beauty and the picturesque setting of New Zealand.

The Smallest Penguins in the World - Phillip Island

2008-10-13T23:59:00.001-04:00

Sydney was a lot of fun, especially hanging out with Tooey and Van. Unfortunately, we spent more time than we had allotted in Sydney and now we have to power through to Melbourne. The plan was to drive to Melbourne via Phillip Island. We wanted to see the world’s smallest penguins. They’re supposed to be wicked cute.

The drive to Phillip Islands was long from Sydney. We got to Phillip Island and we had enough time to see the cute penguins. We had some idea how big the penguins were, but we didn’t expect them to be so tiny. They were indeed very cute.

Everyone had to sit on the concrete platform and wait for the penguins to return home. Sadly, they had banned any kind of photography or videography. Of course, me being an Indian and have total disregard of the law, I took a video of the penguins returning home and took a few photos of them as well. I had to. They were just so cute!

We waited until they closed the entire reserve for visitors and then had hot chocolate in our campervan in the parking lot. They had informed to double check the bottom of the car to make sure that there were no penguins under the car. We did, but I saw a stray penguin in the parking lot not too far from our campervan. I tried going close to it, but they’re just too shy and scared. I didn’t pursue too much knowing it would stress these little angels. They were by far the cutest penguins I’ve ever seen. It was definitely worth rushing to get there on time.

Adventure in the Blue Mountains

2008-10-12T11:06:00.012-04:00

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We arrived in Katoomba about lunch time. Katoomba is home to the Three Sisters and Echo Point. Echo Point is a beautiful view. The Three Sisters is a rock formation which looks a lot like the Twelve Apostles but on land (see the Great Ocean Road post). It is also very beautiful.

We went into the information center and they recommended a walk for us. We’d walk down the Giant Stairway (about 900 steps) and walk across the valley to the railway. We’d take a short train ride up the other side – to avoid having to walk up the 900 steps. Then, since the train doesn’t drop you at the same place you started, you have to take a cable car back to Echo Point. We went back to our campervan to have some lunch before we headed out.

We started out our journey. Before we even got to the Giants Stairway, we walked down to get a close up view of the Three Sisters. It was pretty, but it was much more breathtaking from a distance. Also, there were a lot of tourists there which really took away from the experience. We headed down the stairs. On our way, we passed a sign that said “Last Train 4:50”. We were a bit concerned because it was 4:00 and there were about 900 stairs and another 2 km between us and the train. If we missed the train, we’d have to walk back… Meanwhile, people were coming back up huffing and puffing, wishing us luck on our journey. It was a bit disconcerting, but we pressed on.

We reached the bottom well past the 4:50 deadline. But we had hope that there must be another way so we pressed on. We hiked across valley. It was a lovely walk, but it was hard to enjoy knowing 900 stairs stood between us and the top. But we kept our spirits high and enjoyed the scenery.

At the other end, we found the Furber Steps. Well, it was another way up and at least it wasn’t named the Giant Steps. We headed up. About a quarter of the way, Jigar saw a side path. He wanted to check it out. I refused so he went to check it out alone. A few minutes later, I heard him calling me. I walked over to find a beautiful private waterfall. We rested there and Jigar enjoyed a stale nutella sandwich.

Then we pressed on. We had barely begun the steps, but we didn’t know that then. We climbed and we climbed and then we climbed some more. Just when you thought you couldn’t possibly go up one more step, there were more steps... at least there were lovely views along the way. Finally, we made it to the top.

We thought we were done which was lucky because the sun was setting. The only problem was the cable car wasn’t running either so now we still had to walk about a mile back to Echo Point. And we had to walk fast because it was rapidly getting dark. You do not want to be caught in the Australian bush after dark.

With about half an hour of walking left to go, darkness fell. My thoughts were on the fact that 9 out of the 10 most poisonous snakes all live in Australia, in addition to about a million other dangerous animals. But luckily, those kinds of creatures tend not to hang around walking paths that people frequent so we made it back safe and sound. When we reached Echo Point, exhausted beyond belief, we were treated to a view of the Three Sisters all lit up. It was a beautiful sight.

Sydney

2008-10-11T01:29:00.015-04:00

We finally made it to Sydney! Sydney is a city you hear a lot about so it was exciting to finally get there. We were dying to see the Opera House. And even more exciting, we were visiting friends there. We met two Aussie girls (Tooey & Van) while we were in Agnes Water and we made plans to hang out with them in Sydney.

In every city, Lonely Planet recommends a city walking tour. We have found that doing the walking tour gives you the lay of the land so we try to do them when we arrive in a city. The Sydney walking tour starts in Manly Beach so we headed there first. We found the information center and they pointed us in the right direction to start our walking tour. OK, Sydney Opera House, here we come!!!!

The beginning of the walk goes from the wharf along the coast. We walked by Ocean World. We walked by some lovely beaches. We walked by more beaches. We walked by some barbeques (they provide barbeques everywhere you go in Oz). We walked by some houses. We walked by more beaches. We walked through trees and up hills. We were in the freakin' bush. Where the hell is the Opera House??? About 5 km (or 3 miles) in, we abandoned our "city walk". How do you end up on a bush walk in Sydney? We found our way out of the jungle and hopped on a bus back to our campervan.

The next day, we met up with Tooey and Van. Unfortunately, we couldn't hang out and go sightseeing like we wanted to because we had to go get our visas to India. Our flight out of Australia was in two weeks so we had to apply for our visas right away. Australia isn't like the U.S. where they give you the visa the same day. And expedited service doesn't exist in Australia.

Tooey and Van dropped us off at the visa services office. Jigar and I went, got our number, and filled out our applications. They told us that we had to have our itinerary to get the visa, even though that wasn't listed online or on any of the documents. We found a nearby internet cafe and printed out our itinerary. We also had to buy an envelope so they could send us the passports when they were done. Luckily, it takes a long time for your number to come up at the visa office, so we were able to do all this and still come back before it was our turn.

As we were sitting around and reading the applications, it came to our attention that the visas take 5 to 15 BUSINESS days to process. Holy crap! Our flight was in 2 weeks. When it was our turn at the window, we told the gentleman our situation, he assured us that the visas never really take that long and that ours would be done in time. Phew! We couldn't have the passports sent to us since we didn't know where we'd be, but we called Tooey and Van and they graciously agreed to pick them up on our behalf.

By the time we finished with all of that, it was late afternoon. Tooey and Van had been waiting around for us. We walked toward Circle Quay (pronounced "Circle Key") to meet up with them. We walked through The Rocks, which is a lovely section of Sydney, and met them by the harbor. We could see the Opera House across the way. FINALLY!!! Two days in Sydney and we finally saw the Opera House. It was really pretty. We took lots of pictures in front of it.

The next day, Tooey had to work and Van had plans, so we were on our own. We headed into the city to get a closer look at the Opera House. We took the tour of the inside and it was worth it! We got to see all four of the theaters. There are two smaller theaters that are designed for dramatic plays and there are two larger theaters, one for operas and one for concerts. They are each designed for the exact acoustics needed for their intended purpose. Not only is the structural engineering that precise, but the architecture of the building is like a sculpture. It is really quite an amazing structure. We were lucky that when we saw the concert hall, they were rehearsing for that night's show so we got to watch for a few minutes. It is an incredibly beautiful hall.

After the Opera House, we walked across the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge. We aren't really sure why Sydneysiders (as they are called) are so all about their bridge. Its alright, but the Brooklyn Bridge is better ;)

We walked back to the Opera House out front. It was really beautiful to eat our tunafish and look up at the world famous Sydney Opera House.

The next day, we caught up with Tooey and Van again. We felt like we had seen almost everything that we wanted to see in Sydney... except for Bondi Beach. It was still early spring in Sydney so it was a bit chilly, but we went to the beach anyway. We laid on the beach and chatted and slept and ate and drank. And somewhere along the way, Tooey decided that we should go swimming. It was a little bit chilly to be laying on the beach, but the water was frickin' freezing!!! It was cold in the beginning, but it was really fun once you got used to it. And we didn't see any of Australia's famous great white sharks so that was good.

After the beach, Tooey and Van took us to one of their favorite Thai restaurants in Newtown. The food was delicious and the neighborhood was cute. We decided to spend the night there rather than driving back to Manly. Tooey and Van were really tired so they wanted to go home. It seemed like it was a bit early (about 9:30), but we understood. We drove to an internet cafe so we could do some blogging and check our email. When we got there, they told us they were closing in 30 minutes. But the sign on the door said they were open until 11:30. Why were they closing an hour early? We asked them what time it was. They said 11:00. It turns out that it isn't the same time in New South Wales (the state Sydney is in) as it is in Queensland (where we had come from). Queensland doesn't do Daylight Savings time.

The next day, Tooey invited us to her house for a proper Aussie barbeque. Since Tooey & Van are Vietnamese, it was an Aussie barbeque with a little Asian flava. Delicious!!! Tooey, her family, and Van were so sweet... Not only did they put on this barbeque but they served no beef and had lots of gluten free options for me. It was very thoughtful and if you have ever seen an Aussie selection of food (every item has beef AND gluten), you will know what a grand gesture this was. After being total gluttons and filling our bellies full of scrumpious barbeque, we spent the night at Tooey's house. It was really nice to sleep in a bed and to have a bathroom to use in the morning. The next morning, we set out for the Blue Mountains.

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Byron Bay & Surfer's Paradise

2008-10-05T00:36:00.001-04:00

Next we drove down to the Gold Coast. We spent the night in Surfer's Paradise which is more like Vegas than any of the cities in Australia. We also visited Byron Bay while we were in the area. It was really pretty.

Check out the photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40567&l=2296a&id=813269869

Mt. Tamborine

2008-10-04T00:54:00.000-04:00

After the zoo, we headed back to Brissy... mostly to visit our Alan. When we got there, we found out he had moved on. We checked out our trusty Lonely Planet, and it suggested that we go to Mt. Tamborine, a lovely area outside the city.

We got there, did a couple of short nature walks and started exploring around in our campervan. Soon enough, Alan called us and it turns out, he was in Mt. Tamborine! Small world. He found a job as a WWOOFer (Willing Working on Organic Farms) there. We went and visited him on his farm. It was a beautiful spot. And we got some great news... Alan decided to join us in India!!! We invited so many people to India - friends and family back home, friends we made along the way - and finally someone took us up on the offer. We made the outlines of a plan and said goodbye until Ahmedabad.

Australia Zoo

2008-10-03T02:52:00.011-04:00

More Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=36630&l=f5640&id=813269869

We set out for the Australia Zoo bright and early. Well, not quite early enough for me. We left Mark's house at about 9:45 and the zoo is a 45 minute drive so we didn't get there until 10:30. I was concerned that we'd be missing valuable zoo time. After reading in Lonely Planet that the Australia Zoo was in the writer's top ten list of overall amazing life experiences, I was itching to get there and see this place.

The Australia Zoo was Steve Irwin's ("The Crocodile Hunter") zoo. It was his life's work and it is his legacy. His wife and kids still run it. We were excited to see the zoo and wanted to pay hommage to Steve Irwin.

We got there just in time for the feeding of the giant tortoises. They are Jigar's favorite animal so that was cool to see. They do a little presentation so you learn a bit about the animal as they feed them.

It was reptile week so the next presentation was on Komodo Dragons. They were surprisingly mild mannered. The zoo keeper giving the presentation was patting the big guy on the head! I wouldn't want to be that close to a Komodo Dragon.

After that, we went to see the main show at the Crocoseum. They have this show twice a day to showcase the animals. First, "The Crocmen" come out and do about 45 minutes of singing and dancing. If Bindy (Steve Irwin's daughter) is around, she is part of the show too. Bindy was away saving the whales the day we were there. The Crocmen show is probably entertaining if you are 5. Otherwise, it gets old pretty quick. We stuck it out, though, so we could see the animals. First they brought out the birds of prey. It was cool, but the Crocoseum is a big outdoor auditorium so you couldn't get a very good look at the birds. We had just seen a similar show at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and it was much better. The Lone Pine show had only about 30 people in the audience so the birds were literally right in front of us. After the birds, they brought out the snakes. Again, they were just too far away. They have 3 elephants at the zoo and they made an appearance in the show as well. But the grande finale, the bit that we were all waiting for, was the salt water crocs. And they were worth it. The zoo keepers brought out a big ol' croc named Mossman. He swam around for a bit and then they got him to jump out of the water for some tucker (that's Aussie for food). When you see these crocs, it is like you are looking at a real life dinosaur. If you are camping in an area with salt water crocs, a crocodile can come up to 140 meters out of the water and pull you out of your tent! Yikes!

After the Crocoseum, we went to Roo Heaven. It is an area with kangaroos and wallabies. You can feed them like at Lone Pine. But there aren't as many 'roos as at Lone Pine and there are a lot more people at the zoo so we didn't stay long.

We took a break and went back to our campervan for some lunch. We went back into the zoo, it was time for the afternoon elephant feeding. The elephants come right up to the edge of their enclosure and stick their heads out and the people walk up and feed them a piece of fruit. We watched for a while and then Jigar convinced me to give it a try. Elephant mouths are slimy! It was fun, though, so Jigar did it, too. After that, we went to check out the tigers. They had a new tiger at the zoo and they were keeping him separate from the other tigers. He came up to the glass right in front of us and jumped right on it! Thank goodness that glass is strong. Then he turned around and sprayed the glass. That is about as close to an irritated tiger as I want to get!

The zoo was about to close by that time so we walked back through the koala enclosure. They were cute as always, but after a month in Australia we have seen so many freakin' koalas that we weren't impressed. I suppose we are a bit jaded.

At the end of the day, we were fine with the high price of admission ($50 each) because it all goes for animal conservation and that is a cause we are happy to support, but we were a bit disappointed with the Australia Zoo. We felt like we saw all the same things at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, and, quite frankly, Lone Pine did it better. We heard a lot about the zoo keepers walking around with animals for people to hold or pet, but we didn't see any. The brochure says that they want to be the world's leading zoological experience. They have a long way to go, but they still provided us with a fun day. It'll just be a long time before they rival a zoo like the San Diego Zoo. But it was fun (even if it was a bit disappointing) and we finally got to see a Tasmanian Devil - which don't look anything like the cartoon character. And if you go to see the crocs, not to see an amazing zoo, you will not be disappointed. They made the whole day worthwhile.

Aussie Hospitality at Its Best - Mark & Jo

2008-10-02T23:59:00.000-04:00

When we had such a fun time at Whitehaven beach with Mark & Jo, we told them we'd take them up on their invitation to go and stay with them in Alexandra Headlands. So we called them and gave them a headsup that we'd love to go and visit them. They welcomed us and we were excited to see them.

When we first got there, Mark & Jo were out for dinner. So we parked our campervan in front of their place and decided to have chocolate milk from our fridge. As we were enjoying the chocolate milk, I saw their car pulling up and both Gin & I felt very embarrassed to have been camped out in front of their place drinking chocolate milk. It didn't phase them a bit. Soon we noticed two more passengers in the back of their car and we thought they were just friends or family members. And they were. It was Jo's dad Dave and his partner Jan.

They all were very impressed by our campervan and were intrigued by it. Mark had a very good way of putting what our campervan was, "A glorified tent." Anyways, we gave them a tour of our campervan and we all went in their house.

Soon we figured out that Dave and Jan were going to stay there as well. Gin & I didn't know how to respond to that because we didn't know if we were intruding their company. They were totally cool about us being there. We all hungout for some time and it was fun chatting with Mark & Jo and Dave & Jan. They're just good people and when you're in company with good people, you know you'll have the best of time.

Since Dave & Jan beat us to the spare bedroom, we had a chance to experience sleeping in "the swags." It's what I would call a "glorified sleeping bag." It was fun sleeping in them as Mark & Jo normally do during their kayaking trips. Gin loved it so much, she wanted us to buy one before we left the country. Needless to say both of us slept really well in them.

Next morning all of us had breakfast together and hungout. Since both Mark & Jo had work to do, Gin & I decided to go explore around the area and check out Noosa and Coolum. First we went to Coolum and had lunch there and then we went to Noosa. The driver, Paul, from Agnes Waters/1770, told us that Noosa was too commercialised and he was totally right about it. Gin definitely didn't like Noosa at all. It was overrun by tourists and there were just too many shopping centers and malls around. Needless to say, things were super overpriced because of that. Internet was $10/hour, just goes to say how expensive it was there. We laid on the beach there for a few hours before heading back to Alexandra Headlands. I wanted to play a joke on them by buying them a boxed wine (cheap wine that comes in a 4 liter cardboard box), but Gin was mortified with the idea. Since we don't know anything about wines, we had to rely on the guy who worked at the store. We got a bottle and didn't have any clue if they liked the kind.

After we reached there and gave them the bottle, turned out that it was the kind that Jo liked. Score! Dave & Jan soon arrived and we all decided to go out for food. I had no idea that Mark was really big on Indian cooking and Indian food. He had several books on Indian recipes. So we decided to go for Indian food. Of course, they made the Indian guy in charge of ordering the food. I took the liberty of ordering enough food so that they could try different dishes. I also showed them how people eat in India, with their hands and not with the cutlery. I ordered medium spicy food, but when the food arrived, it was pretty darn spicy. Everyone was sweating including me. I apologised for the food being so spicy, but they all seem to be enjoying it very much. They also tried Mango Lassi for the first time and they liked it. I say what's not to like ;)...Everyone was done eat, but as always I was still eating and embarrasing my wife. Luckily, Mark had a good appetite as well. We were the last ones holding the fort. We were just having such a splendid time that the food just complemented the experience. I remember telling Mark that Gin & I don't often go to restaurants, especially since we're traveling but when we have good company, it just makes it worthwhile to splurge. And good company it was indeed. Mark was like a ninja in paying for the food. I didn't even realize when he went up and paid, until Gin told me about it. I tried to convince him to at least split the bill, but he was just too nice about it. Come to think of it, not even my very good friends back home do that and here is Mark, who we barely know, picks up the entire tab. It wasn't about the money, it was the gesture of hospitality and kindness that lifted our hearts. Quality company and quality people accompanied by quality food made the experience all too good.

We went back to Mark's place and hungout for more time. Everyone seemed tired, so we decided to call it a night after having a couple of hours of conversation. Dave & Jan were so sweet to let us have the bedroom they were staying in and they went to sleep at Jo's place. It was a very nice gesture from their behalf and we appreciated it very much. Everyone went to sleep and I was online doing research on buying a laptop and a lens for my Nikon D50. After doing research for a couple of hours, I was ready for bed. Unfortunately, the bedroom we were suppose to sleep in was right next to Mark & Jo's and since Gin had already gone to bed, I had no idea which bedroom was ours. I had 50% probability of getting the room right. I stood there for a few minutes thinking which door to open, then I took my chance and opened one door and called out "Gin". No one responded so I thought it was the wrong room. Then I opened the other room and I saw Jo jump out of the bed like the girl from the movie "The Excorcist" and scared the bejesus out of me. I apologised and closed the door within seconds. Of course, now I knew which room was the one we were sleeping in.

Next morning, I apologised at the breakfast table for barging in their bedroom in the middle of the night. They were totally ok, but I was still too embarrased. Everyone was laughing at the breakfast table before I got there and I didn't know what they were laughing about. I found out later that when I had opened their bedroom door last night, Mark was sleeping buck naked. But since I was so embarrased about getting in their bedroom, that I hadn't even noticed that he was buck naked. THANK GOD, I didn't notice, or I would've been embarrased even more. Anyways, we all laughed about it and talked about it the entire day.

After breakfast, we headed out for kayaking. Soon we were in the sea with our kayaks. It reminded me of when Gin & I went to Abel Tasman National Park for her birthday. After a few minutes we saw a turtle emerge on the surface for some air. But what we were looking around for was, whales. We kept looking for them for a while until we kayaked far enough. The sea was pretty rough and I got sick. I started throwing up badly. I had no breakfast in the morning because I was having a sore throat and I didn't want to drink milk. Anyways, my stomach was already empty and I was throwing up. It was getting harder and harder for me to paddle and not seeing the whales made all the effort worthless. Soon as we were about to head back, Jo said she saw something. No on believed her until a couple of minutes later when Mark confirmed her suspicion of seeing a whale. It was so far, that I couldn't see anything. Mark & Jo paddled their way fast to investigate, but returned with bad news that the whales were going in opposite direction and there was no way to catch up to them. Luckily, the whales weren't going in the opposite direction, they were actually heading in our direction. We started paddling towards them. I was rejuvinated by the thought of seeing whales up close. We paddled until we got close to them. There were 4 humpback whales. 3 adults and 1 baby. The adults were huge. I had never seen whales so close before. It was like watching a documentary on humpback whales, except we were in the documentary with the whales. I was still sick and throwing up, but I was having a time of my life. I couldn't believe that we were seeing the whales so close. The only bad part about getting close to them is that you can't tell where they are when they submerge. Well, that's exactly what happened. We got so close and we had no idea where they were until Jo turned around towards our kayak and said, "Gin & Jigar look out, the whale is coming under you." For a split second I thought we were going to go under if the whales surface at that moment. We could see the giant whale directly under our kayak and it was emerging to the surface rapidly. I held the kayak tightly and had one hand on the emergency strap. The whales passed under our kayak flicking it's tail in front of our kayak and barely missing Gin by a foot. That was close! We took that as a warning and stopped persuing the whales. After playing around us for about 15 minutes or so, they decided to continue along their path and we decided to leave them alone. It was an incredible experience. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins just thinking about it. We were heading back when I started vomiting again. I felt so sick that I could hardly paddle. Seeing us in distress, Mark & Jo turned their kayaks back in our direction and asked us if we wanted to be pulled back to the shore. I felt too guilty of not being able to pull my weight and I rejected their offer. They did slow down and kayaked alongside us just to make sure I was ok. Soon we reached the shore and I had barely any energy to keep myself standing. I couldn't help them load the kayaks back on the racks, but I did manage to make their life more difficult by forgetting my slipper in the kayaks. Jo had to fiddle around to get to my slippers and it was all too embarrasing for me. First barging into their bedroom in the middle of the night, then getting sea sick and then leaving my slippers in the kayaks. But they were too sweet not to get bothered by any of those events. I don't know if I would've been so sweet about it myself, but I'm glad that they were.

I had to get something in my stomach, and everyone wanted some hot drinks to warm them up. We hungout at an organic coffee shop. Again I couldn't pay for the drinks because Dave went ahead and paid for it. He stopped me from paying by saying, "you are a guest in our country." Wow, what a beautiful way to put it. I was just blown away by their hospitality and generosity. While we were sipping our beverages, Mark made a very good point, "what are the chances of meeting them at the Whitehaven beach and going to Alexandra Headlands and encountering humpback whales while kayaking." He was absolutely right about that. We felt the same way. It was just incredible. The entire experience of meeting them at Whitehaven beach, then going to their place, followed by kayaking with them and seeing the whales. It was all too good and we enjoyed it to the fullest. The hot beverages were so good that we all went for another round. Before Mark or Dave could get up and pay I ran to the register and paid for the beverages. I couldn't let them do it again and they knew how I felt about it. There was no need to exchange words.

Jan & Dave were heading out soon, so before they left we told them about our scuba diving experience at the great barrier reef and showed them the DVD. They absolutely loved it. Before they left, they invited us to go and stay with them in Sydney. We also took pictures before they left. It's what they call a "human todem pole". I felt bad for Mark since he was the one carrying all the weight. I laughed so much that I thought I was going to get sick all over again. Soon thereafter, Dave & Jan left.

Since I was still a little weak from throwing up my intestines, we decided to rest and not do anything for the rest of the day. We had no idea that Jo was flying out to Sydney to see her friends until she started packing up her stuff. We all hungout for sometime before Mark had to drop her off at the airport. When Mark returned from the airport, we hungout for a few hours talking about our experiences from our lives. It was just fun sitting on the couch and having a good conversation.

We asked Mark if we could stay for one more night so that we could go to Australia zoo the following morning and his response was, "stay as long as you like." That again was a very sweet gesture. We stayed one more night and got up in the morning to visit Australia zoo. Before we left, we invited Mark & Jo to come to India and give us a chance to show them Indian hospitality. It would be a difficult task after the high standards they had set. It reminded us of Poppy & Jamie from Wellington, NZ.

Some people you come across in your journey that you connect so well with, it's remarkable how anything you do with them is fun. And that's exactly how our experience was with Mark & Jo and Dave & Jan in Alexandra Headlands. It was Aussie hospitality at its best!

Brissy

2008-09-27T21:24:00.012-04:00

We finally got to Brissy (that's what Aussie's call Brisbane - they don't like using full words much) at about 6 in the morning. We were picking up our campervan (finally!) so we had to hang around until 9:30 when Jucy, our rental car company, opened. We hung out, had some breakfast at Micky D's, and wrote some blogs. Around 9, I was walking to the ladies room and I heard, "Virginia?". Who do I know in Brisbane? It was our friend Alan who we met on the Taka dive trip! He had gone away for a few days to Surfer's Paradise and Byron Bay and was just on his way back to Brissy. He and Jigar and I all caught up for a few minutes until we had to leave to go pick up our campervan. Alan went back to where he was staying and we agreed to catch up later.
We picked up our Jucy campervan and it was like home, sweet home. We were pretty sick of greyhound buses and staying in hostels. It was nice to have our own space and to have our own transportation so we could get off the beaten track a bit. But before we set out, we wanted to spend a few days in Brissy with Alan.

We didn't do much the first day. Just called our parents, sent some emails, and explored the city a bit. At nightfall, we decided to find a place to sleep. We found a spot on the Q.U.T. Campus. It was quiet and safe. Just as we were getting ready to set up our bed for the first time, Jigar heard some music in the distance. I was exhausted but he convinced me to go with him to investigate. It turns out that it was Navratri which is an Indian festival. There was a celebration going on on the campus. There were tons of people. They were all dressed up and they were dancing. It was fun to watch.

The next day, we picked up Alan and we all headed out to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It is the biggest and oldest koala sanctuary in Australia. They had lots of shows going on like the birds of prey show. The birds would fly right in front of us! We also got to feed the kangaroos. One of them tried to mug me. He came up and stuck his nose right into my food bag and started eating. They were really cute. I also got to hold a koala. They are heavy and they have sharp claws, but he was really cute and cuddly nonetheless. We got to see all of the native Australian animals (even the wombats) except for the Tassy Devil.

We spent a few more days in Brissy. Mostly just hanging out with Alan and enjoying the delicious food there. At the Wok On Inn noodle bar, they have the best chicken satay I have ever tasted! We enjoyed our time in Brissy, but we were ready to head out and visit our friends Mark & Jo whom we met on Whitehaven Beach at the Whitsunday Islands.

Pit Stop in Bundy

2008-09-26T08:45:00.002-04:00

We stopped in Bundaberg (a.k.a "Bundy") on our way to Brisbane. Mostly we stopped there because it was a convenient place to spend the afternoon. From Bundy, we could take an overnight bus to Brisbane rather than spending the whole day on the bus. We enjoyed it because it was the first "real" town we had been to. Every other town was a tourist town, but Bundy is a place where people actually work and live. It was cool to finally experience that side of Australia. We spent a few hours there, before catching the midnight bus to Brissy.

1770/Agnes Water

2008-09-25T08:35:00.004-04:00

After Airlie Beach, we hopped on an overnight Greyhound to the town of 1770. It is named 1770 after the year when Capt. Cook first set foot there. The bus actually drops you off about a half an hour from town and a shuttle picks you up. The shuttle takes you to Agnes Water, the town next to 1770. We ended up staying in Agnes Water, as most people do.

There are 2 hostels in town. "Cool Bananas" was pretty rude and didn't want to show us the room, so we stayed at the other one, "1770 Backpackers". They didn't have any private rooms, but since they weren't too busy, they gave us a dorm room and told us they wouldn't put anyone else in there.

It was pretty early in the day, so we made something to eat and chatted with Janni, a Finnish guy who was on our bus. Then we explored the town a bit (that didn't take long) and headed to the beach.

Paul, the shuttle bus driver, is also the resident surf coach and gives surf lessons every morning on the beach. We opted out since it was pretty windy and it was a bit too chilly for us to hit the waves, but we did hang out and watch the braver souls who were out there attempting it.

Later in the afternoon, we lounged around the hostel and read our books and started talking with some of the other guests and staff. The girl who worked there was so sweet - she gave us each a piece of cake. I couldn't eat it, but the gesture was sweet, nonethelss. She told us about her experience traveling around Uluru and the Olgas. She had an amazing time there.

After dinner, we were loitering in the kitchen and we started chatting with some girls who came in. There was Heather and Grace from the U.K. & Tooey and Van from Sydney. Well, it turns out that they had been in town for a while and they knew the entire hostel. Soon they had brought out the 4 liter cask (we would call it a box) of wine and everyone was hanging out and learning about each other's travels. A huge group of us from the hostel went to the Agnes Water Tavern together for a night out on the town. It was so much fun! It was just cool to hang out with such an interesting mix of people from all over the globe. There was Aurelia from France, Lukas from Germany, Lisa from Ireland and her cousin Sana from Sweden, among others. Of course, Heather & Grace from the UK and Tooey and Van from Sydney were also there. Tooey and Van were actually getting on a bus later that night to start their journey home!

When we left Airlie Beach, we were over hostels. The Whitsundays were amazing, but Airlie Beach was horrible. We were ready to be off the hostel circuit and into our campervan, but we still had one last stop to make in Agnes Water/1770. I am glad that we did. It made us realize that hostels can be fun and they can be good places to meet people. We met a lot of cool people in Agnes Water, but Tooey and Van stood out from the crowd. We look forward to visiting them in Sydney.

Unfortunately, we had to get on a bus the next morning. We would have loved to hang out in Agnes Water for a while longer - it has that laid back beach town kind of vibe that just sucks you in. But we had to be in Brisbane in two days to pick up our campervan. We got on the shuttle that would take us to the Greyhound. We had the same driver, Paul, again. When we got to the bus stop and had all our luggage out, he said, "I want to show you guys something." He got a cloth bag out of the back that had a python in it! He explained that this snake was getting into his boss' chickens. If you call the snake removal people, they are only required to take the snake 1 kilometer away before they release it. The snake will find his way back if you release it that close. So he brings them out to the bus stop because it is 30 k's out of town. He let him go and the snake wriggled away into the grass.

MORE PHOTOS: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=34558&l=23ca6&id=813269869

Whitehaven Beach - Whitsunday Islands

2008-09-23T23:59:00.013-04:00

Magnetic Islands was an excellent getaway, but now Gin & I were ready to get to Airlie Beach (jump off point to the Whitsunday Islands).

Since we had gone for diving at the great barrier reef and had did the live aboard with Taka Dive, we did not have any further intensions on getting on another boat. Sailing in the Whitsunday Islands seemed to be the most common thing all tourist did. Gin & I certainly were tired of being on the silly tourist track and wanted to do something different. We decided to do camping at the Whitehaven beach on the Whitsunday. Since I have virtually no real experience with camping and Gin only remembers her camping experiences from her childhood, we decided to do camping for only 3 days. Fortunately our travel agent got us everything we needed in order to camp at the Whitehaven beach.

We hopped on a barge (a small boat) with all our camping gear and all excited to check out the famous Whitehaven beach. It was almost a 2 hour ride to the Whitehaven beach. The captain of the boat told us to look around for humpback whales since it was that time of the year. Unfortunately, we didn't see any whales.

Once we arrived at the Whiteheaven beach, it was full of daytrippers. I could not believe how many people were around the beach area. Gin & I get an awesome spot to camp on the beach about 50 feet away from the water. Besides a German couple, there was no one around camping at the Whitehaven beach. Once we setup the tent, we were both ready for a nap, especially since there were so many daytrippers at the beach. Being a weekend made it a lot worse and to make matters worse, it was school holidays. So needless to say, everyone wanted to have a piece of "heaven", Whitehaven beach was the answer.

Luckily by the time we woke up from our nap (around 4pm), all the day trippers were leaving and most of them were gone. The entire Whitehaven beach was almost deserted. Now we realized why everyone wanted to be at the Whitehaven beach. It was absolutely gorgeous. The white silica sand and the crystal clear turquoise colored water was absolutely breathtaking. Gin & I laid there watching the sun go down and listening to the sounds of the waves. It was almost a reminder of our little beach resort in Fiji with the beach front bungalow. It was prestine nonetheless.

We hung out until the sun went down and we soon realized that we were being eaten alive by the sandflies. Neither one of us had any experience with sandflies, but boy it was a very itchy experience. We had no idea how many places we were bitten by the sandflies until we started scratching everywhere. I ran back to the tent and grabbed our all-natural-insect-repellent. At this stage it was only damage control. We were informed about the sandfly problem before we left for the Whiteheaven beach, but we had no clue it was that bad. Luckily a woman at the pharmacy told us to buy something for afterbite and boy I'm glad we listened to her. It made a huge difference between a night of scratching vs a night of relatively less scratchy sleep.

Since we watched the sun go down, by the time we got to making dinner it was getting really dark. We had no lantern or substantial light around to cook dinner so we had to use our flash lights. Luckily the camping gear included a flash light, but unluckily it didn't include a lantern. Under these circumstances you have to start improvising and start making mental notes for the following days we had left. We managed to cook some gluten free pasta and it was delicious. The camping gear included everything but food, so we had to buy our own food. We had brought so much food from the supermarket that we could've camped there for a week. So running out of food wasn't a concern at all. We watched the beautiful starry sky and then decided to hangout inside the tent since we were getting bitten left & right. Gin taught me how to play blackjack and I taught her the Indian version of "Rummy" before we scratched ourselves to sleep.

We woke up early the next morning to the sounds of singing birds and the waves. All I had to do was open the tent "door" to get a beautiful view of the beach. Since it was monday and early morning, we had plenty of time to have the entire beach by ourselves before the daytrippers would arrive. We took full advantage of that and took several snaps of the beach and laid around the beach.

Unfortunately, the daytrippers started arriving after a couple of hours in the morning and soon the beach was starting to get crowded. It didn't matter to us since we already had our spot in front of the beach in between our tent and the ocean. Soon it was lunch time, but the stove wasn't having it. It would not ignite and we had no matches or a lighter to ignite the stove. Fortunately, the "scamper" barge that brought us there the previous day arrived there again and we informed the guy (Wayne) about our stove situation. He told us that he'd come back with another stove since he had more people to bring to the island. Unforunately, it brought a big group of people with kayaks to stay at the camp site before they would head out with their kayaks in a couple of days. There was no Whitehaven beach to ourselves. We had to share!

The couple in charge of the kayaking group (Aussie Sea Kayaking, http://www.ausseakayaking.com), Mark & Jo, were the only people we were sharing our camp site with. The rest of the group stayed at a different site. While they were still bringing their stuff from the beach to the camp site, Mark yelled out "Whales!" and told everyone to come quickly. It was the first time we saw whales. Without Mark & Jo being around, we wouldn't have seen them. Later we borrowed some match sticks from them to cook breakfast. Thanks to Mark & Jo we were able to cook our breakfast. As the day progressed, we had to bum a few more things from them besides just the match sticks. As if that wasn't enough generousity, they invited us to stay with them on our way from Whitsunday Islands to Brisbane. We told them we'd take them up on that and they were happy to hear that. It was fun chatting & hanging out with them.

Gin & I went back to our spot on the beach and continued reading our book. I can't believe that I'm still lugging around Shantaram which I started reading 3 years ago and still haven't finished. It has traveled with me to many countries in the hope of being read by me. I have a feeling that I will finish the book in India since the book started in Australia and ends in India it would be very appropriate.

In the evening Mark invited us to join them for a hike to a lookout. They had never done it before, but we were glad to join them. There were beautiful views from the lookout. We hung out there for some time, took some snaps and relaxed. It was a fun short hike.

After the hike, Gin & I cooked and ate dinner. We hung out on the beach looking at the stars and talking about life. I always wonder why we don't make time to do these things back home. Gin had a very good answer to that: "We get too caught up in our daily routine and don't enjoy life." I think it was very well put. Anyways, it was a beautiful starry night and we hadn't had any care in the world. We made a promise to ourselves to enjoy more of life when we return to USA.

Soon we went back to the tent, played cards again and then called it a night. We were contemplating making this camping trip for 5 nights instead of 3. But we were happy with our time spent at the Whitehaven beach and I had my first camping experience here.

Next morning, after eating breakfast, we laid on the beach again reading our books. I decided to go snorkeling and Gin opted out. I put on my stinger suit and went out in the water. We did know that Whitehaven wasn't known for snorkeling, but I wanted to check it out anyways. What you know, they were right. There wasn't much there for snorklers. However, I did get bit by something and I asked Jo what it could've been and she said it probably was a water lice. Soon the day trippers starting arriving, but there weren't quite as many as there were on the first day. The reason we think is because the school holidays were over and it wasn't a weekend.

It was our last day before heading back to Airlie beach. We were told that the scamper would come pick us up anytime from late morning to late afternoon. So we had to stick around the campsite waiting for Wayne to pick us up. While we were waiting for scamper to pick us up, we met a school teacher from Melbourne. His name was Ian. He was informed that they'd come anytime from midmorning to late afternoon, so he was packed and ready to go. We ended up chatting with him until late afternoon when the scamper arrived to pick us up. In the mean time, Ian shared his vegemite with us and after trying it twice, I had to spit it out. He ate crackers and vegemite for lunch. I was impressed by that (also a bit disgusted but that was because I didn't like vegemite). No offence to Aussies, vegemite is NASTY!

When Wayne, the scamper captain, arrived, he informed everyone that came with him for any tour or camping that there was a storm apporaching and it was best that everyone went back. He made no promises of returning to pickup anyone in the middle of the storm. Everyone that was camping was smart enough to leave. It took a lot a longer before we left Whitehaven beach because people that were camping there for more nights had to pick everything up unannounced. We had to do the same with other campers all around the Whitsunday Islands. The process took so long that by the time we arrived at the Airlie beach it was already pitch dark and the last shuttle bus to Airlie beach from the harbor had left 20 minutes before. Thanks to Ian, who was heading back to Airlie beach as well, who picked up the taxi tab. We had left all our luggage with our tour agent and they were already closed. This meant that we'd have to stay an extra night at the Airlie beach instead of heading down to 1770/Agnes Waters. So we hungout with Ian. He introduced us to his buddy Stefan. Both of them had brought students with them from Melbourne University. Stefan is a firefighter in Melbourne and both Ian & Stefan bring college students during their 2 weeks vacation from Melbourne University. It was fun hanging out with them and we decided to meet up again in Melbourne before or after doing the great ocean road trip.

Overall, I was very happy with our decision to camp at the Whitehaven beach instead of falling into the tourist trap of sailing the Whitesunday Islands. It was my first camping experience and I loved every bit of it (maybe not the part with the sandflies). It was also really fun meeting Mark & Jo and hanging out with Ian & Stefan. We look forward to staying with Mark & Jo and hangingout again with Ian & Stefan in Melbourne.

Magnetic Island

2008-09-17T09:54:00.016-04:00

The Taka diving trip was an intense experience. After that, we needed a break. Unfortunately, there weren't any campervans available in Cairns. So we reserved one in Brisbane in 10 days and hopped on a Greyhound.

Our first stop was Townsville. We didn't even know what was in Townsville. It just seemed like a good place to stop. Well, as it turns out, there isn't much in Townsville. We looked out the bus window as we rolled into town and saw "closed" signs in the windows of one business after another.

When we got off the bus, we decided to do a little reading and find out exactly what there was to do in this town. We found out that Magnetic Island is 20 minutes off the coast. It has beaches and laying on the beach was about all we had the energy for. Luckily, the Greyhound station is also the ferry stop so we got our tickets and hopped on the ferry.

When we got to the island, we had to find a place to stay. We called around and couldn't find any private rooms so we had to settle on a dorm room. We found a place called Magnum's (which is a chain here). They had a dorm room that no one else was in so it was a sort of private room. Unfortunately, we realized quickly after we moved in, it had no ventilation (which made it sort of mildewy). We learned to look a little closer before we get the rooms and we missed our campervan a little more.

The next morning we went down the street for a little brekky (that's Aussie for breakfast) and to explore the beaches. The first beach we went to Jigar went into the water about ankle deep. He was joking around, pointing to any shadow or rock in the water and saying, "Oh no! What's that? A saltwater croc? A sting ray?". But one of them really was a sting ray and swam about 2 feet away him. We left that beach.
Across the street from our hostel, there was a beach called Alma Bay, which is supposed to be one of the prettiest on the island. It didn't disappoint us. It was a nice place to lay out and swim without the sting rays. It was school holidays so there were a number of people there, but it wasn't too crowded.

That afternoon we moved to a hostel on the other side of the island. They hadn't had any private rooms the night before, but they had one for us now. It was called Bungalow Bay and the rooms were all little log cabin type things. It was very cute and a huge improvement over the first place. It was in an area called Horseshoe Bay. We walked to the beach and just sat there and enjoyed the view for a bit.

The next day, we lounged around again until the late afternoon. There is a hike on Magnetic Island called The Forts Walk. It is a walk through a eucilyptus forest to a lookout where the Australian army had a base during the second world war. The biggest thing motivating us to do the Forts Walk was that koalas live in the eucilyptus trees that line the trail. They are most active in the early morning or late afternoon which is why we waited for late afternoon to start our walk.

We started out along the path. We looked in the trees. It was hard because we didn't which ones were eucilyptus so we had to look in all the trees. And koalas don't really do anything so you are just looking for a furry grey bum up in the tree. We looked and looked, but we didn't see anything. We thought that maybe the koalas lived in a different part of the walk. Eventually we passed an Aussie family. They asked us if we had seen any koalas. We told them no so they showed us where one was and told us we had just walked past another. The one they pointed out to us was a mama koala and her joey. It was so cute! They were sleeping and they didn't pay any attention to us at all. We walked right up to them and took pictures. We saw a couple more koalas along the way. One was really hard to miss because he was walking around, but they are shy so he scampered away when he saw us coming.

About halfway up the path, we heard what sounded like a wild boar in the woods. We didn't know they had wild boar on this hike! It turns out it was a koala. That is the sound that they make. I thought a giant wild pig was going to come running out of the woods after us!

It was a really pretty walk that culminated in a lookout with a beautiful view, but the highlight was definitely seeing the cute and cuddly koalas along the way. They are so sleepy looking. They look like huggable little teddy bears. We kind of wanted to kidnap one, but we felt a pet koala might hamper us in our travels.

We left Magnetic Island the next morning. We had to catch a morning bus to Airlie Beach so we could check out the Whitsundays. We had a lovely little holiday there and got the rest and recuperation we needed.

More photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33990&l=8d51c&id=813269869

More Diving Photos...

2008-09-16T23:59:00.008-04:00

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33462&l=e5614&id=813269869

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33978&l=7f267&id=813269869

Day 5: Taka Dive, The Great Barrier Reef

2008-09-16T23:59:00.007-04:00

On the last day, everyone was pretty sad that this adventure was coming to an end. We only had 2 more dives left and no more dive briefings left. On the first dive of the last day, we saw a shrimp, puffer fish and a giant butterfly flish. On the last sad dive we saw a huge Napolean Wrasse (Wally) about 1.5 meters in length. As soon as we got in the water, it was hard to miss. It was just hanging out with other divers. The Wally was so used to having people around, that it let both Gin & I touch it. It was really exciting since it was such a big fish and that it felt very comfortable around human company. That concluded all our dives with Taka Dive.

We all got around the sun deck and hung out there until lunch time. At lunch Chriso showed us the final version of the DVD he had made. There was absolutely no doubt we were going to buy the DVD. It was beautifully done. Thanks to our Spanish friends we all chipped in for the cost of the DVD. Trent announced a get together for the evening at Rattle & Hum and it brought us the memories of the night Gin had finished her open water course. After we disembarked the boat, we had a shuttle waiting to take us all to our accomodation. The driver was so upset at our group that he was slamming the door everytime he got out of the bus. Alan, Xavi and Franchesco didn't tell him when they boarded the bus where they were going and the driver later refused to take them to their hostel. Gin told the driver off and told him that he was being extremely rude to people and that there was no need for it. She also told him that he better bring our Spanish friends to their hostel. Everyone was cheering for Ginnie as we went from one hotel/hostel to another. Later when we met for dinner, we found out that the driver did, unhappily, drop Alan, Xavi & Franchesco at their hostel.

At night we got together for dinner/drinks. It was fun. It was also fun dancing at Woolshed with everyone from the trip. Alan, Xavi and Franchesco left with us when we finally left Woolshed. While we were outside wooldshed, we saw Trent getting kicked out of the bar and wasn't allowed a re-entry. He was totally wasted. It was fun hanging outside the bar for some time until we all decided to call it a night.

What an adventure it was, a unique once in a life time opportunity that Gin & I had decided to cease diving at The Great Barrier Reef. It was simply marvelous.

Day 4: Taka Dive, The Great Barrier Reef

2008-09-15T23:59:00.020-04:00

Next morning (day 3) the first dive was at the clam gardens. Very appropriate name for the dive site because there were several giant clams measuring upto 2 meters in length. The neat thing about the clams was that if you put your hand or even a finger on the edge of the clam, it would close rapidly. They'd open up again after a few minutes once they feel the danger has passed. I only did that once because I didn't feel like harrasing them as they are living creatures as well. We also spotted bump headed parrot fish. This dive was also our first encounter of a sting ray. We also saw gobies and christmas tree worm. Again an excellent dive.

The next dive was at Steve's Bommie named after a diver/adventurer who passed away in a motorcycle accident in 1989. His friends laid the placque on the bommie to pay a hommage to this seafarer. This dive we had to complete the "underwater naturalist" portion of the advanced course. We had to spot 3 vertibrates, 3 invertibrates, 5 different types of corals (soft corals, hard corals) and 1 symbiotic relation. This dive was an excellent opportunity to spot stone fish. We saw 3 stone fish. We also saw clown fish, pufferfish and numerous other (we don't know their names.) I also spotted a baby "nemo" and when I tried to show it to Ginnie, I couldn't see it again. It was tiny!

Dive 11, 3rd dive of day 3 was at reef 2 and 2/3 named solely beacause it laid 2/3 of distance between reef 2 and 3. Trent asked a mathematical question when we were on the sun deck to see who could answer what the name of the dive site was based on it's location. Ginnie was quick to get the name before anyone could answer. Anyways, this dive we did our navigation for advanced course. We were all given our own underwater compass and taught how to use it. It was a very simple test which didn't even really require the use of the compass because the visibility was amazing. Once the exercise was over, we went off to see trumpt fish and schools of sweetlips (diagonal banded).

Gin opted out of the last dive. It was a night dive at the Beer Garden. After the dibacle of the first night dive, I couldn't believe I was going for a second night dive. Anyways, Alan and Franchesco also opted out of the night dive. This situation lends itself for Xavi and I to be dive buddies. We were hoping to see a turtle sleeping under a ledge or see something very unique as Trent had so enthusiastically mentioned for the first night dive. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. We neither saw a turtle nor we saw anything unique. We only saw one white tipped reef shark at close proximity and that was it for the night dive. Two pretty uneventful night dives later, Gin, Alan, Xavi, Francheso and I all agreed unanimously that night dives weren't quite as exciting.

Day 3: Taka Dive, The Great Barrier Reef

2008-09-14T23:59:00.007-04:00

The dive on our first day was awesome, but not so much the boat ride to Osprey reef. Trent did warn us about a possible rough ride because we were going past the outer edge of the reef into deep open sea where the depth was about 1000 meters. It was an over night boat ride to reach Osprey reef and boy it was a rough ride. After falling asleep in the bed, somewhere around 11 pm we woke up because we were being literally lifted off the bed and being slammed again on the bed. Sometimes it got so bad that it felt like a freefall. Thank goodness for Trent's warning, I had taken my sea sickness pills. I was actually scared because it felt as if the boat was going to possibly sink the way it was riding the big waves. When I went to use the restroom which was all the way in the back of the boat, I could not stand there for long because I was simply terrified. The water was getting in and out in the back of the boat and it was absolutely terrifying. I quickly made my way stumbling along the way into the lower decks where we had our room. It was extremely hard going back to sleep with the crazy ride.

Next morning everyone was talking about the scary night where everyone only slept for a few hour and some couldn't sleep at all. Aparently, it was a rough night of everyone. Anyways, finally we were at Osprey reef (North Horn). This dive site was what I was most excited about. This is where the sharks were :). After the usual morning routine and dive briefing, we went for our first dive of day 2. I was really excited to see the sharks. After swimming around for a while, I was getting a bit antsy not being able to see any sharks around. Just before Gin & I were finishing our dive, we spotted a white tip shark directly under us. Finally, I was happy! It wasn't as exciting as I had expected it would be, but I was just glad that I at least saw one shark.

The second dive of day 2 was the dive most people were waiting for (at North Horn again). The shark feed. I was totally psyched about the shark feed. This is what I came to dive for at Osprey Reef with Taka Dive. At the usual dive briefing, we all jumped in the water and sat on the dead corals forming a semi circle. Trent was the one who had the frozen tuna heads that were chained together in a barrel. When they lowered the barrel, the sharks had already started coming around the barrel. There were already about 10 sharks (white tip, black tip, grey sharks, and oceanic silver what Gin calls the "big mammas") around along with potato cod fishes and loads of other fishes. As soon as Trent opened the barrel, it was a feeding frenzy. The sharks started doing all the work trying to rip apart the frozen tuna heads that were tied to the thick metal chain. You can hear the tearing and ripping of the flesh even under water as the sharks used all their strength to release the tuna heads from the chain. They were swimming and swirming around in a whirlwind about 10 feet away from us. There were times when some of them would get very close to us, only 2 to 3 feet from us. The last tuna head left was the most interesting one. After a white tip successfully ripped the tuna head out of the chain, it lost it's grip and the tuna head slipped out of it's mount. A potato cod came out of no where and grabbed the tuna head in it's mouth. The potato cod was trying to swim away with it's prized tuna head followed by a trail of sharks behind it. There was one scary moment when that potato cod swam directly towards Gin & I. It almost swam right into me. I had to dodge the potato cod swimming towards my head followed by heaps of sharks. When the potato cod made a sudden turn barely missing my head by inches, one of the sharks chasing the potato cod slammed right into Gin's shins. The shark couldn't turn quite as fast as the potato cod. After that nervous moment, the sharks simply backed away and continued it's chase of the potato cod. It was an awesome moment. Trent, the trip director, who was a couple of feet away from us saw what happened and told us later that over the years they've been doing the shark feed, nothing like that ever happened before. It was an amazing experience and I'm glad that both Gin and I weren't hurt in the process. We wished that Chriso would've captured that moment on video. Unfortunately, soon as the last tuna head was off the chain, he stopped filming. Having it on film, we could've relived that moment over and over again. I guess we'll just have to relive that moment by visiting our memories of it. Once the shark feed was over, we continued our dive and saw the sharks gradually dispersing. It certainly was the highlight of diving at the great barrier reef.

After the shark feed, everyone on board was raving about it. None of us had ever experienced anything like that before. Everyone was going through an adrenaline rush after the dive. Who could blame them!

No one thought that anything could live upto the shark feed dive. So the crew decided to go to a dive site that they had never been before. The dive site was called "Mystery wall". I suppose it was a mystery because no one including the crew had dove there before. It turned out to be one of my favorite dive sites. Gin decided to opt out of this dive because it was getting really tiring. Instead I went diving with Stephen who lived in London but was originally from Germany. His fiance Yani had also decided not to go for the dive. We were accompanied by dive master Daniel whom Gin & I thought as a very good resource for diving. He was a dive master, but always gave us feedback about how to improve. He always made sure we had enough air to get back to the surface with a safety stop at 5 meters for 3 minutes. Anyhow the dive was unique to me in the sense that we passed through an opening which I've never done before. It was kind of like a cave, but wasn't an actual cave. It was also a dive site with excellent visibility. As usual I ran out of air much faster than Stephen did, so I went back on the boat while Stephen continued his dive with Daniel.

The last dive of day 2 was one of the best dives of the trip. The dive site was called "The Entrance" because there was an actual cave entrance which we could swim through. We were accompaniced by an instructor from Japan, Tomo. She was excellent at spotting everything and also an excellent navigator. I was a little nervous about going through the cave because of two reasons. First, I couldn't see where we would swim out of since the exit wasn't in sight. Second, caves get a bit tricky because they're narrow and there is a possibility of one of the equipments to get stuck. Luckily everything went smoothly and we had an awesome dive. Tomo tried showing us the garden eel, but our untrained eyes couldn't spot it. There were lots of other fishes around as usual and the coral was just beautiful. We also spotted barracudas and sea squirts. There was no night dives scheduled and in a way I was happy about it. This meant that we had a lot of time just hanging out with other people from our trip. We go and sit on the sun deck and talk about the dives and chillax.

Day 2: Taka Dive, The Great Barrier Reef

2008-09-13T23:59:00.018-04:00

The real day one was the next morning when we arrived at Cod Hole. The day started at 6:50 am and then 7 am breakfast followed by dive briefing. By 8 am, we were on our first dive at the Cod Hole. The visibility there was absolutely incredible. This was the first time I saw a potato cod fish which was pretty big, about 4 feet long and that one of the small ones. It was a good first dive. It was also my dippest dive yet. We dove up to 30 meters (roughly 100 feet deep). That was one of the 5 required dives in order to get certified as an advanced diver. Deep Dive, Naturalist, Navigation, Night Dive and Peak Performance Bouyancy. It was one down and four more to go before getting certified as an advanced diver.

Our second dive was shortly after lunch. The second dive was an exciting dive because we were going to do a "Cod Feed". Basically, our trip director fed the potato cod fish small fishes under water. Again the visibility was incredible and the cod feed attracted a some big potato cod fishes that were about 5 feet long. On our second dive, we also had to do the peak performance bouyancy test. This required that we swim through a hula-hoop, under water ofcourse, couple of times without touching it. Everyone in our group did it successfully. It was a unique dive because I've never dove with so many fishes and feeding the potato cod fish was extremely exciting.

Next dive was at Pixie's Pinnacle. This dive we saw Flame File Shell which looked as if it was conducting electricity. It was one of the most fascinting things I've ever seen under water. Ofcourse the swimming along other schools of fishes was really exciting. Looking at Angel Fish, Butter Fly fish, Clown Fish, Damsel Fish, Puffer Fish, Lion Fish, and loads of other fishes that I don't know and don't recognize. It was just awesome to be able to swim along all these different types of fishes.

Our last dive of day one was a night dive at the Challenger Bay. Again, this was one of the required dives to get certified. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I was nervous because I was imagining the feeling of walking in a pitch dark room and not knowing what I'd bump into let alone doing this under water. Luckily, it wasn't bad at all. After the dive briefing, we all were given an under water, water proof, flash light. We were also given instructions on how to communicate because communicating underwater during day time is completely different than communicating night time under water. I felt a lot more at ease after the dive briefing. Gin was my dive buddy, so I felt very comfortable getting in the water. Ofcourse, she was nervous as well, but before we jumped in the water, we made sure we were very clear about the signs and signals. The thing I was worried about the most was that Gin & I use the most air under water and always come out of the water before everyone else because we run out of air. This meant that we had to be extremely careful not to run out of air because getting someone's attention during a night dive and calling for help requires more time than usual. Well, I've gotta say that Gin & I were very disappointed after the night dive because of the following reasons. One big reason was that our instructor, Troy, who was suppose to check everyone's air did not do that at all for the entire dive. He was also swimming much faster than anyone else. Because of that when I was running very low on air, I had to swim very fast and all the to the front to get his attention by grabbing his fin and telling him that I was very low on air. Since I had to swim fast and get all the in front of the group to get Troy's attention, I lost track of where Ginnie was. This freaked both of us out. Eventually we found each other. Ginnie was running very low on air as well. Our trip director Trent told us before the dive that you see some really cool things at night that you don't see during day time, but unfortunately, we didn't see anything at all. Maybe it was because of what I mentioned earlier, but Gin & I both felt that the amount of stress and worry we went through it wasn't worth that dive at all. Some other folks in other groups saw a turtle sleeping inside a cave. That might have been worth all the headache, but we didn't see the turtle. Ginnie was sure that she wasn't going to do the next night dive, which was the following night, and I wasn't sure if I was going to do it either.

At the end of the first day of diving, the trip photographer/videographer, Chriso, showed us the pictures he had taken of day one and also showed us the video he had made so far about our trip. It was really cool to see ourselves in the video even though it was only for a few seconds. After dinner we were exhaused and ready for bed. It is very tiring doing 4 dives a day. Trent used to say, "all you have to do is eat, sleep & dive." Now I know what he meant by that because you have to conserve your energy and after 4 dives all you want to do is eat and go to sleep. Anyways, it was a fun first day and diving out in the great barrier reef was just an amazing feeling.

Day 1: Taka Dive, The Great Barrier Reef

2008-09-12T23:59:00.012-04:00

After much cost consideration, Gin & I decided to go for the 5 day live aboard a boat with Taka Dive. I wasn't sure until the last minute if we should do it because it was costing us about $2500 to do the live aboard and getting our advanced dive course.

The final decision rested on the feedback our friend, Fred (whom we had met in New Zealand) was going to give us because he was already on the boat with Taka doing the live aboard. When he finished the live aboard, he told us how amazing it was and showed us the pictures. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that we were going to do the live aboard after Fred showed us the pictures and the stories he told us.

Another factor that came into the decision making was that because of global warming, the rate at which we're going, the great barrier reef will no longer exist within the next 10-15 years. Even a few degrees increase in the water tempreature would mean that the corals would die. This meant that the largest living organism on earth will no longer exist. This also meant that the only living organism you can see from the moon with naked eyes will no longer exist. This also meant that one of the seven natural wonders of the world would not exist. Anyways, the point is well made. So this cleared any doubts that we had about the 5 day live aboard with Taka Dive.

The great barrier reef is about 2500 kilometers long which goes roughly the length from Cooktown all the way down to Fraser Islands. I figured if the great barrier reef wouldn't exist, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself to have lost the opportunity to dive there.

We left the harbour on friday, September 12th at about 5pm. The night before we left, I met up with Fred and his girlfriend Mirela to celebrate their 5 day live aboard with Taka. Their group was really fun and I was a little worried if our group was going to be just as cool. The fun of live aboard, besides the diving, is the people on board the boat.

The first night was literally about eating dinner and then sleeping. It was an overnight trip to cod hole which is on the outer reef on the northern tip of the great barrier reef. We got introduced to our dive instructor, Troy, who already gave us homework for the first night on the boat. We had to read two chapters by next day and answer all the questions on the back of each chapter. God I hate homework :)... I suppose what goes around comes around.

Besides Gin & I there were 3 guys doing their advanced course as well. Alan, Xavier (Xavi, pronounced Chubby) and Franchesco. All three of them were from Barcelona, Spain. We were the only suckers who had to stay awake late until we finished all our work while other people on board went to sleep. There were a total of 17 people in our entire group plus the crew on board the boat.

Wet Cairns & Diving

2008-09-11T23:59:00.004-04:00

Now that we escaped from the neverending winter season and arrive in Cairns, the poured for 3 days in a row. People did tell us that Cairns has two seasons: hot & wet or hot & dry. Unfortunately, for the first 3 days we were there, there was no sign of sunshine.

Luckily for Ginnie she signed up for an open water dive course to get her PADI license. Not so lucky for me I was stuck in the Cairns with the bad weather and practically nothing to do.

I couldn't wait for the rain to stop and see some sunshine which didn't happen until Ginnie finished her dive course and we had signed up for 5 day live aboard Taka and go diving.

Since I felt a bit rusty about diving, I decided to join Ginnie on her last day of her dive course and do a refresher. I signed up for 2 dives before we did the live aboard the boat for 5 days. The truth is that I didn't want to be embarrassed before we were started our advanced dive course with Taka. I felt it would make sense to know the basics before we started the advanced course.

Anyhow, it was a bad idea because the boat took about an hour and half to get to the dive site and the sea was very choppy. Since I don't have my sea legs, I was sick the entire time. The boat rocked like it was going out of style. I threw up like 4 times even before we got to the dive site.

I was excited to go and dive with Ginnie though. I was nervous at the same time because I didn't know if I would be able to do the basics of diving. The last time I had dived was in Thailand in 2006 when I got certified for my PADI open water certificate.

Gin's instructor, Chris, was really cool and allowed me to join their group for the dive. The bad part was that the moment I put on the gear, it was obvious that I had forgotten everything about diving. Plus being sick ofcourse didn't help. Thanks to Gin, she helped me with doing the basic "buddy check" and taught me an easy phrase I can remember to do the buddy check. The phrase is, "Blonde Women Really Are Fun", translates to B as in BCD check, W as in weight check, R as in releases chek, A as in air check and F as in final ok.

The crazy thing was that the was before we got in the water. I totally forgot to hold my mask and regulator with one hand and keep the other hand on the weight before jumping off the boat. Once I got in the water, I wasn't using the BCD correctly and Chris got totally frustrated with me trying to put air in the BCD when I wasn't suppose to. The worse part about scuba diving is that you can't communicate well under water. So it's really had to understand when someone is telling you something.

As if that wasn't enough to get me nervous already, once we got to the bottom, I realised that I had gotten nervous along the way and got my self worked up. That meant I was breathing super heavy under the water and couldn't catch my breath. It took me about 3 minutes before I felt comforable again under the water. Fortunately, I did pass the basic skill test of clearing the mask and doing the bouyancy test. Again, once we came back to the surface, I forgot to give the ok signal. Once we got back on the boat, I was throwing up again. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to go for my 2nd dive.

When Chris came back on the boat, he was furious that most of the people didn't do what he had expected them to do. He was especially mad at me because I was a certified diver. Ofcourse, he had a good laugh once he found out that I was certified in Thailand. Before, I knew, we were getting ready again to go back in the water. I decided to go as well. Unfortunately, the entire time it was raining and the visibility was pretty poor. There wasn't much you could see underwater because of that, but I figured I was getting practice diving besides the fact that I had paid $150 for those two dives.

The second dive was a much better dive because I felt a lot more comfortable and relaxed. This time I didn't even wait to get back on the boat before getting sick. I threw up soon as we got back to the surface. The night before the dive, Gin & I went to Reef Teach, a 2 hour crash course on marine biology. The marine biologist told us that it's perfectly ok to puke in the sea because it's rarely that the fishes get a warm meal. The funny thing is that she was absolutely right. I was quickly surrounded by fishes and they "took care" of the puke. My apologies if this is TMI. I thought it was pretty funny.

After my last dive, which was Gin's 4th dive, she was a certified open water diver. The entire group got together at night to celebrate. Chris, Johnny, Julian, the Canadian guys, Ada, Fabio, Flavio, Gin & I. It was a lot of fun hanging out at Rattle-N-Hum and then at Rhino Bar. I wish I had taken my camera to capture some of the funny moments.

Melbourne Part - I

2008-09-08T01:53:00.008-04:00

Someone along the way told us that Australia feels a lot like United States of America and now that we're here in Melbourne, I couldn't agree more.

From the trendy people to chic restaurants and bars that get packed at night, Melbourne is a great reminder of New York City. As someone once said, "you never fully appreciate something unless it's taken away from you," and that's how we feel about New York. It is incredible talking to people here how many of them want to either visit New York badly or want to live in New York badly. Until Melbourne, I didn't feel like I miss New York so much, but being here in Melbourne certainly reminds me of back home.

We stayed with our family friend Jimit's apartment. A beautiful apartment in the swanky neighbourhood of St. Kilda. The neighbourhood is full of cute cafes, bars and restaurants. Choosing one is a bit difficult, but they all look great. For the 3 days we were here, we mostly doddled around and simply chillaxed.

Our first night in Melbourne we had delicious Thai food at a cheap take away restaurant. The following night we hungout with our new friend Jacinta whom we meet in Fiji. Alex, her boyfriend, got a job in Singapore so he wasn't around, but Jacinta was a good sport in giving us a tour of Carlton neighborhood. Locals always know where to eat and yet again, Jacinta proved that. She took us to a bar, Bimbos, which served $4 delicious pizza. I couldn't believe how good the pizza was for the price they were. The place was packed with foodies. We had to bum a part of the table from a large group of people and I had to sit on a raggedy chair, but it was all good. Later we had dessert at Vegie bar which served delicious food and desserts. I had my first encounter with Sticky Date Pudding and I gotta say it was pretty darn good. Gin had a gluten free chocolate cake and she was utterly pleased with it. We called it a night after that since Jacinta had to go to school the next day. She's almost done with her law degree.

On our last night in Melbourne, Jimit decided to cook for us and he cooked a sumptuous dinner. It was one of the best butter chickens we've had in Australasia (Australia/New Zealand). We realized that this city is totally about food, drinks and having a good time and that's exactly what we did.

We've decided to take a $400 hit and fly to Cairns because Gin and I are tired of wearing our winter jackets. The weather in Melbourne is getting better, it's about 60/65 degrees during day time with a significant drop in temperature at night. So we've decided to fly into Cairns right now while it's still pleasant there, about 80/85 degress. So instead of going from Melbourne and driving up the gold coast, we're going to fly to Cairns and drive down through gold coast and Sydney and come back to Melbourne. We love Melbourne, so we've decided to spend a little more time here in about 4 weeks time. So goodbye Melbourne (for the time being) and hello Cairns. Can't wait to go diving and live aboard at the Great Barrier Reef.

Photos!!!

2008-09-04T00:02:00.000-04:00

Farewell New Zealand

2008-09-03T23:59:00.017-04:00

Wow, we've almost being here for almost 2 months, I can't believe we're leaving. It almost felt like we've been living here forever.

With our trusty campervan that made us feel like we had a studio apartment, to the sights and scenes around the entire country that made us feel like it's the most beautiful place on earth, to the Lord of the Rings filming sights that has made us feel like we're in the movie, to making new friends (Fred, Jamie, Poppy, Cataline, Christian, Catherine) around the world, to the smiling wonderful people of New Zealand that made us feel like it's the most friendliest place on earth, and to the wonderful experiences we have had since we've arrived here that has made this country one of the most special places we've been to.

The standards that New Zealand has set for the start of our trip will be extremely hard for other countries to come close to. We love New Zealand for what it is, and we'll embrace yet another country for it's own beauty and it's culture and people, i.e Australia.

Yarrmon

2008-09-02T19:57:00.004-04:00

We finally arrived in Christchurch - the end of our New Zealand journey. It was a bit sad because we loved New Zealand so much. The people are so friendly and the country is just so beautiful. We knew we would really miss it.

We started looking for a room in a hostel because we had to say goodbye to our campervan. We came across Vagabond Backpackers and decided to reserve a room there. While we were talking to Donna (one of the owners), she mentioned that if it was a nice day the next day, she would be giving her horse a bath. Jigar told her that I like horses and she offered to take us to meet her horse.

The next morning, Donna came by the backpackers' so that we could follow her out to the paddock. When we got there, Donna got together Yarrmon's food and supplements and explained them all to us. Then she took us out to the field to meet Yarrmon. She is a beauty!

First we brushed her to get all the mud off. Donna goes there everyday to brush her! Having a horse takes a lot of dedication. After that, we gave her a bath. She really likes to roll in the mud and she is all black so that mud really shows. And she had her first show coming up. After the bath, we squeegeed (how do you spell that???) because horses get annoyed by the dripping and then we brushed her tail and mane. I was brushing her mane and she turned around and rubber her head on me. I guess she really likes it!

We had a really fun time with Donna and with Yarrmon. It was a great way to spend our last day in New Zealand.

"The Amazing Milford Sound"

2008-08-27T23:59:00.037-04:00

One of the most renouned places to visit in New Zealand is the Milford Sound.

We were very curious to find what the difference was between a Fjord and a Sound and here is the answer: A Fjord is carved out by a glacier and is V-shaped under the water, whereas a Sound is carved out by a river and is U-shaped under the water. Fjords are only on the same latitude both above and below the equator. Hence, New Zealand, Chile and Norway have Fjords. Anyways, that's all technical bobbledy-gook.

One of our friends told us that Milford Sound wasn't all that the night before we left. I was a bit concerned if it would live upto our expectations. We were also told that in the morning it is so misty/foggy that you can't see much. That doubled my concern as Gin and I decided to take the first ferry to see the Milford Sound. The first ferry was at 9:30am, which meant we would have to leave Te Anau at 7:00am.

When we woke up in the morning at Te Anau, it was absolutely misty and we couldn't see much. So our concerns were real. We decided to drive up to Milford Sound anyways. It's about a 2 hour drive to get to Milford Sound from Te Anau. The mist made the visibility extremely poor. As we got closer to Milford Sound, to my surprise, the mist was starting to clear up. The drive to Milford Sound was absolutely stunning as we got closer to it. It reminded me of the Einstein's quote, "I love to travel, but hate to arrive." The journey leading to Milford Sound was so amazing, I was a bit worried if Milford Sound itself would be quite as incredible.

Our rental car company, Jucy, had an awesome 2-for-1 deal with Cruize Milford. Luckily, the first boat leaving at 9:30am had only 9 passangers in total on a boat with a capacity of about 100 people. This was the reason why Gin and I wanted to take the earliest cruise. By noon the place gets overrun by tourist and it spoils the beauty of the Sound.

Anyways, even before the cruise departed the terminal, the views were specticular. There was no mist or fog and it was a clear beautiful day. The cruise took about 90 minutes to complete with some of the most specticular natural beauty I've ever encountered. It was above and beyond both of our expectations. Snow covered mountains around with numerous waterfalls in the short visinity. We encountered seals along the way. It rains in Milford Sound about 160 days for a total of about 7 meters annually making it one of the most wetest places on earth. We lucked out with the clear blue skies with no visible signs of rain for miles. Both Gin and I thought that it was one of the best places on earth.

"Freefalling"

2008-08-25T21:05:00.014-04:00

NOTE: CLICK ON THE PICS TO SEE FULL SIZE!

What can I say, it is the craziest thing I've ever done so far in my life! After much thinking and peer pressure, I decided to do the bungy jump. The jump was from top of the Kawarau Bridge (43 meters, abt. 150ft.). I don't think I have experienced anything close to this before. It was pure adrenaline rush. Standing on the ledge I couldn't believe I was actually doing it. The freefall was incredible and the dip inside the water should've been cold, but I was just so high on adrenaline, I couldn't feel cold water at all.

A Queenstown must do and certainly a New Zealand must do. Thanks to Fred and Gin, I got the entire experience on photo and video. Fred took the pictures and Gin recorded the video. Enjoy the pictures and try to feel the same adrenaline rush if you can!

Skiing in New Zealand

2008-08-23T23:59:00.007-04:00

Today we went upto the Treble Cone ski field. I was really excited about skiing in New Zealand. The best part about coming up to the ski field was that our rental car was paying for the lift, so all I had to do was rent skis, boots and polls. Luckily, renting them in town was the cheapest option ($20 skis, boots and polls). So it was pretty awesome skiing for only $20 instead of paying $125 (Treble one day package with lift and rentals).

The visitor center had informed us that Treble Cone was an intermediate to advanced level mountain. They did not have much of beginner runs. After much consideration, Gin decided not to go because of the level of the mountain. It was a smart decision.

Once I was all geared up and ready to hit the slopes, I came across Russ. He was an instructor at Treble Cone. It's a funny coincidence that he was from Vermont and grew up skiing at Berkshire East, the same place I learned how to ski. He was a totally awesome guy and very friendly. Him and I hit the slopes together and he gave me important tips about my skiing. It was definitely worth it. It was just fun to be skiing with someone and since it was my first time at Treble Cone I was a little nervous. I felt totally at ease and I was totally honest about my level of experience.

We took the lift from the base and got to 1760 meters. The views were incredible. We went down "Twister" and picked up "Easy Rider" (Green circle, beginner level run). Russ was quite impressed with my form and told me I was taught well. Thanks to dad (Doug, my father-in-law), I felt quite at ease on skis. Russ thought I was totally ready for the intermediate level (Blue square, intermediate level run). I wasn't sure if I was, but I trusted his judgement. I was especially not sure about intermediate level because he told me that the intermediate level slopes at Berkshire are like beginner level slopes at Treble Cone. Anyhow, we went to some basic intermediate level slopes and it was awesome. We took the lift once more and this time around we took the Saddle Track to Pete's Treat. Russ' tips really helped me get back to the base of the mountain. I did fall along the way, but it was a "good" fall. The third time around we went from Upper High Street to Raffills Run to Pete's Treat. Raffills' run was more difficult than earlier run. I enjoyed it a lot, especially after falling once more.

Once the lesson was over around noon, I gave Gin all the inside scoop on mountain. We took the base lift together so we could see the beautiful views from the top. She enjoyed it.

I continued skiing and took "Upper High Street" to "Raffills Run" to "Ego Alley". I also tried "Main Street" all on my own and it was incredible. It was scary, but in New Zealand there just means adrenaline. I stayed on the mountain until the last lift and had an awesome time. Just wish I could have done it along with Gin or dad.

First Big New Zealand Disappointment

2008-08-20T23:59:00.006-04:00

Finally, the much awaited Franz Josef Glacier hike. This was one thing I was totally psyched about. So here is the verdict. It was a disappointment to it's fullest. Now that I have some bases to compare the hike with (Tongariro Crossing), I can certainly say that I was disappointed at the tour that wasn't all the hype they make it. Tongariro Crossing was by far the best.

It cost me $130 to hike Franz Josef Glacier ($10 discount of YHA card), whereas Tongariro Crossing cost me $100. Franz Josef we hiked upto about 180 meters (roughly 550 ft.) as opposed to Tongariro Crossing (2000 meters, 6600 ft.). It took about 8.5 hours to do Tongariro Crossing which was 18 kilometers long. Franz Josef wasn't even remotely close to it.

Ofcourse, one would say they're totally different kinds of hikes, one is a glacier (Franz Josef) and the other one is a volcanic mountain (Tongariro Crossing). The views at Tongariro Crossing were breathtaking. The views at Franz Josef weren't bad, but they weren't incredible. I guess Franz Josef was just pretty much about glaciers.

The best thing that happened at Franz Josef Glacier hike was meeting Frederico (Fred) Miranda from Brazil. We had a lot of fun making fun of the guide and just cracking jokes at people. Christian and Catherine we also on the same glacier hike. We meet them when we were kayaking in Abel Tasman Natiional Park on Gin's birthday.

After the hike, we decided to meet at a local bar (Blue Ice Cafe). We hungout until 2am. It was a lot of fun talking and just having a few beers. It was also cool meeting new people and making new friends around the world.

Gin's birthday!!!

2008-08-17T17:56:00.011-04:00

For my birthday, we decided to take a kayaking trip along the coast of Abel Tasman National Park. It is a really beautiful national park on the northern coast of the South Island. We signed up for a half day trip.

When we got there at 8:30, we met our guide Sam. There were three other people in our group: Christian and Katherine from Germany and Julia from France. By the time we got all of our gear and Sam showed us some paddling techniques, it was about 10. We finally set out on our adventure.

The kayaks were two person boats so Jigar and I were in the same one. We are not experienced kayakers so it took us a little while to figure the whole thing out. Once we got going, it was really fun. About that time, Sam told us that it was about time for us to go back. We had just gotten going! We decided to extend to the full day.

We ended up kayaking over to a really beautiful beach with golden sand and blue water to have lunch at. We were the only ones at the beach. In fact, we were close to the only ones in the sea! It was gorgeous. Unfortunately, I forgot to hold the kayak after I got out which meant that Jigar fell out of the boat when he tried to get out. Oops! The water was a bit chilly (8 or 9 degrees Celsius), but he was a good sport about it. Luckily, Sam had some dry clothes for him to change into.

Since we hadn't signed up for the whole day, they didn't have lunch for us. There was a little soup left over that we split and we had granola bars and apples that we had brought. Sam gave Jigar half of his muffin. In the end, we had enough to eat.

After lunch, we paddled over to an island where the seal pups live. They were so cute! They came right up to the kayaks and they were playing on the rocks right next to us. We hung out there for a while and then we headed up the coast some more. We went through some rocks by the coast. It was difficult navigating, but it was so much fun.

By the time we met up with the water taxi that would take us back, we had paddled 17 kilometers! We were a little bit sore the next day, but it was well worth it. It was the best birthday I ever had.

Pictures: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27949&l=bca47&id=813269869

The Snout Track

2008-08-15T23:00:00.007-04:00

We safely arrived in Picton on the South Island after an uneventful three hour ferry crossing. After grabbing a quick lunch, we headed for the snout track. It is supposed to be a really beautiful walk and we weren't disappointed. With all of the mud along the way, it took us about 4 hours. The view was incredible and there were seals along the way just playing and hanging out. Jigar got within a couple of feet of one of them!

Our adventures in Wellington

2008-08-15T19:33:00.004-04:00

We left Wellington this morning. We spent three days with our friends Poppy and Jamie. We had a great time.

On Tuesday, we got to Wellington. It was pouring rain! We decided to go to Te Papa. Its the national museum. That kept us busy the whole day. Its a really good museum.

On Wednesday, we went to visit Poppy's school (she's a teacher). It was very interesting to see a New Zealand high school. High school here goes from year nine through year thirteen, which is the equivalent of our grades 8 through 12. The kids were not so very different than the kids you see in an American high school. The whole atmosphere was so much more relaxed, though. The day starts with a staff meeting at 8:30. The first class is at 9. Each class is an hour long. There is a 20 minute break from 10 to 10:20. Everyone gets lunch from 12:20 to 1:20. The day ends at 3:20. Everyone seemed a lot less stressed than at an American school. We visited 2 math classes of different levels and then we visited Poppy's digital art class. We got a chance to talk to the kids about the differences between the American schools and NZ schools. It was really cool.

After spending the morning at the school, we went to Mt. Victoria to see some more Lord of the Rings filming sites. It took us a while to match the spot described in our book to the actual location, but we found it in the end and then we took lots of pictures. After that we went to the summit to watch the sunset.

On our last day, I don't even know what we did. Just kind of relaxed and didn't do much of anything. We kidnapped Jamie from work and had lunch with him. Then we watched the Fellowship of the Ring (the first LOTR movie) in the afternoon. After looking at so many of the filming sites, we had to watch one of the movies! Then we went out to dinner with Poppy. She took us to an amazing Malaysian place called Satay Village. We went out for ice cream afterwards at our new favorite ice cream place, Kaffee Eis. It is even better than Movenpick (our favorite from Auckland)! NZ has amazing ice cream.

This morning we woke up early, said our goodbyes, and boarded the ferry for the South Island. We are really excited to see what the South Island holds.

More pictures: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27412&l=66ec5&id=813269869

Pictures... finally!

2008-08-14T05:51:00.000-04:00

Wai-O-Tapu 8/7/08 (Jigar's birthday): http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27384&l=90d36&id=813269869

Hangi 8/7/08 (Jigar's birthday dinner): http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27391&l=85e6a&id=813269869

Taupo 8/9/08 and 8/11/08: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27408&l=de9e9&id=813269869

Middle Earth 8/13/08: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27412&l=66ec5&id=813269869

The Road to Wellington: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27411&l=3f28a&id=813269869

Tongariro Crossing - Taupo

2008-08-10T23:59:00.001-04:00

After much talks about Tongariro Crossing being the best one day hike in New Zealand, I had a chance to experience it myself.

Gin and I did some research about doing the Tongariro Crossing and found out that it was a full day hike about 8 hours long. They also said it was a challenging hike, especially around this time of the year when the mountains are covered in snow. So we decided that I will go do the hike and Gin will spend the day in a spa. Unfortunately, beacause of severe wind and bad weather they had canceled all hikes on the mountain for Saturday, August 9th. Sunday was subject to good weather, so we waited until Saturday 2pm and found out that the crossing was open for Sunday August 10th. We booked the hike with Alpine Crossing because you need mountain climbing equipment during winter. I was nervous and excited about the hike.

Jared from Alpine crossing came to pick me up at 6:20am and I almost missed the pickup. After getting on the bus with rest of the crazy people wanting to do the same, we drove towards the town of Turangi before reaching the base camp at the Tongariro Crossing. We were given specific instructions to layer up with clothing as it got extremely cold at about 2000 meters (about 6600 feet high). We also had to bring our own food and water. They did provide us with a guide, crampons (kinda like the shoes soccer players wear with nails in the bottom to dig into ice) and walking stick. Our guides were Sarah and Caroline. Sarah lead the group (25 people) in the front and Caroline stayed in the back.

We started the track with an easy hour walk to the base of the mountain. This was where I saw the beautiful snow covered mountain Mt. Ngauruahoe (Mt. Doom from Lord of The Rings). It was a beautiful view with Mt. Ruapehu, Mt. Ngauruhoe, and Mt. Tongariro covered entirely in snow. Mt. Ngauruhoe is the tallest of the three mountains.

About another hour into the walk, we were required to put the crampons on because the snow was now becoming ice. This was my first time putting the crampons on and I did a terrible job putting them on. Caroline had to stop me along the track and redo my crampons. Thanks to her, otherwise it could have gotten ugly when we were climbing some of the hardest part of the track.

I took so many beautiful pictures of this majestic place that I had to literally keep the camera out almost the entire track. I am glad I did that, but unfortunately, it's impossible the capture the real thing. The pictures don't do justice to how incredible the views were. It was like a desert, except the sand had been replaced with snow. The wind was so strong that it was blowing snow across like sand in desert. It was bone chilling cold with real bad wind chill. The moisture in the air had been converted into ice on the poles where there were markers on the track.

Finally, we reached the summit after about 4 hours. At this point, we were inside the clouds and the visibility was poor. At 2000 meters, on top of the summit, there was barely any snow. Because of the mountain being an active volcano, the top of the mountain there was no snow. Infact, I sat on the ground and it felt like a heated car seat except the seat was at 2000 meters on top of Mt. Tongariro where everything was covered in snow except the top.

It was so cold and so much snow that the emerald lakes were entirely covered in snow. So we couldn't see the emerald lakes from the summit of the Mt. Tongariro.

We started heading back down a few meters before we decided to have lunch. I was starving. I didn't care how cold the sandwich was, it tasted good. At this point we had another 4 hours to go around the mountain and down the mountain.

As we were heading up towards the north face of the mountain, I had a very bad cramp in my upper right thigh. Since I was too busy taking pictures I didn't realize that I was the only one left all the way back and the entire group was beyond my sight. I could barely up the mountain as the cramp got worse. As I was struggling to go up the mountain, another guy who was taking so picutres saw me limping and volunteered some help. He grabbed the front of the walking stick and I grabbed the back of the walking stick as she pulled me up the mountain. I was a little scared and embarrased about the cramp, but after a few meters my cramp was gone. I felt very relieved as I stretched my leg to make sure I didn't feel the cramp anymore.

The north face of the mountain was quite challenging because we were walking on a steep slope. Walking sideways on a steep mountain with crampons wasn't an easy task. The was no margin of error. Sarah made sure that we went extremely slow through this part of the mountain.

Once we went around the mountain, we had an option of either walking down the mountain or sliding down the mountain. I chose to slide down the mountain. It was awesome. It was like sledging with the sledge. I slid to about half way down and then I had to walk the rest of the way down. The views from this point were incredible.

After 7 hours, we reached the end of the crossing. We were back to no snow land. We still had another hour and half walk down the jungle and back to the other side of the mountain where our bus was waiting to pick us up. Nice cold drinks were waiting for us at the end.

I was so exhausted at the end, but the adrenaline was still pumping through my veins. I thought that I could do the entire track again. I realize now why mountain climbers say that you have to respect the mountain because the conditions on these mountains can get worse any moment and you have to be prepared to face the worst. Luckily, the mountain was good to us that day and it was a beautiful clear sky which allowed me to take some incredible pictures. This was my first snow mountain climbing experience and it was one incredible experience.

29th Birthday!

2008-08-07T23:59:00.001-04:00

Ah, 29th birthday. It's like being 19 and waiting to turn 20, except this time it is waiting to turn 30. Well I gotta say it was a pretty awesome birthday.

Gin and I had planned the entire day in advance and we knew exactly what we were going to do. Just didn't know if it'd be fun, but it was. In the morning, we went to Wai-o-Tapu geothermal pools. It was pretty awesome. I had never seen geothermal pools before and I had no idea what beautiful colors you can see. Aparently, the water temperature in these geothermal pools range anywhere from 100 degrees celcius to 300 degrees celcius. Pretty hot to stick your finger in and see if it's hot. No guarantees if you'd get your finger back intact. Luckily, there were signed posted all over the place to stay on track and not to stick your finger in places it shouldn't be :)

In the afternoon Gin and I had a couple of hours to rest before heading out for dinner at the village of Mitai. The tour was suppose to be an insight into how Maori (natives to the land) people lived before the British people arrived. In Maori language New Zealand was called the land of the long white cloud which to me sounds more poetic than New Zealand. A Dutch sailor arrived from Zealand and called it the New Zealand named after the town he came from. Maori people came from Hawaiki (Hawaii) and settled in the south pacific. What is amazing about the Maori people in New Zealand is that throughout New Zealand, all the tribes spoke one language (Maori) unlike other places where different languages evolved with different tribes.

In the evening the tour bus came to pick us up at our campsite and brought us to the village of Mitai. We had a chance to look at a reenactment of how the warriors would arrive in Waka (war canoe) lead by their tribe chief. We also had an opportunity to see their traditional dance of Haka which was interesting. Gin and I personally loved the tribe chief because he did a tremendous job explaining how Maori people used to live their day-to-day life. Dancing, singing, exercising, weapons, etc was demonstrated to give the tribe of 18 nations (our tour group which consisted of 18 different nationalities) a better understanding of the Maori culture. Hongi was also demonstrated where two people greet each other by touching each other's nose gently, kinda like a handshake. After the cultural part of the evening, there was a big feast awaiting. They called it Hangi. The food is prepared by cooking it underground for several hours. It was pretty good. After the dinner, people were taken in different groups to see the glowworms in the forest and a little tour about different types of trees in their village. It was pitch dark, but thanks to little handheld torches, we were able to guide ourselves through the forest without tripping over something.

All in all, I thought this was a pretty awesome birthday. I was reminiscening my 22nd birthday which I spent in Rome, Italy checking our the beautiful old city and enjoying an evening of awesome Italian food and wine. I was also thinking of my 27th birthday which I spent in Koh Tao, Thailand getting my scuba diving license. This birthday would certainly rank high up there among those memorable birthdays.

Rotorua

2008-08-07T00:26:00.000-04:00

We are currently in Rotorua. It is a really cool town in a crazy geothermal setting. That means that there are pools of boiling mud and water that is bright yellow or green or orange. It has to do with the minerals in the ground. It is crazy! For Jigar's birthday yesterday, we went to Wai-O-Tapu which is a geothermal park. We saw a 30 meter geyser and lots of pools of different colored water. The ground is steaming it is so hot. It was beautiful but smelly.

In the evening, we went to a hangi. That is a traditional Maori feast. The Maori are the people who settled New Zealand before the white folks showed up. It was really interesting to see the haka (the traditional dance) and learn about the tattoos and hear some of the songs. The food wasn't bad, either, but a bit bland for our tastes. It needed a little lal marchu (that's cayenne pepper).

This morning, we relaxed at the Polynesian Spa. Our friend Vatsa told us to make sure we went there and she was right! There were 7 different pools of different temperatures. It was very relaxing. We spent 3 hours there. I haven't been this relaxed since we left Fiji :)

We have been very bad bloggers, but we'll do better in the future. We've been so busy doing things that we haven't slowed down long enough to record them. We've gone all the way up to Cape Reinga (at the tip of New Zealand), all the back to Auckland and now down to Rotorua. Our new motto is "Another Day, Another Adventure". We'll make more internet time, though, and I promise to post some photos of all of these adventures soon.

Pictures from our first week in NZ

2008-07-29T17:42:00.000-04:00

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25626&l=1f92a&id=813269869

Oops, I did it again!

2008-07-27T22:00:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately, the day after Cathedral Cove turned out to be a 120 KMH wind storm. We were going to be stuck in our motel.

Butti and I decided to go for a drive in the midst of the storm, while Gin and Vatsa decided to be smart and stay indoors during the storm.

Butti and I drove for about half an hour and it was very gusty. We came across a nice lookout point where we pulled over and took some snaps. Butti forgot to turn off the lights of the car and the car wouldn't start. We tried several times, but no luck.

I was not at all nervous or worried because I was on my vacation and there was nothing that would've phased me. Had this happened in the states I would've been nervous and possibly stressed.

To our disadvantage, we had no cell phone reception, so we couldn't make any phone calls either. We left the car by the jetty and walked up to see if we can get any help. Luckily, there was a truck pulled over on the side because of the bad weather. Butti and I asked the driver, Himesh, for jump cables. Sadly, he didn't have any jump cables on him.

Himesh, the truck driver, had a different cell phone carrier so he had a reception. He called his buddy who called his buddy and got a guy to come over. While we were waiting for the other guy to come, I was wondering if this was a scam. Butti told me that it is common in New Zealand for people to just help other people out. This was a big surprise for me because in New York people go out of their way to make things difficult for you.

Anyways, a car pulled over by the truck and we directed the gentleman towards the jetty. I had my fingers crossed because if this didn't work then we were in big trouble. Fortunately, it just needed a jump start and wallah the car was on. We offered the guy some money and at first he wouldn't take it. Butti and I insisted that he took $50 we were offering him. He finally took it and we continued our adventure. Thanks to Himesh and the unnamed gentleman, we were able to get out of a pretty tight situation easily.

So we continued our journey towards the town of Coromendal. Meanwhile, I told Butti to call send a text message to Vatsa so they wouldn't worry for us. We had told the girls that we would be back in about an hour and it was already 2 hours we were gone. By the time we returned back to the motel, it was the end of the day. When we got back, Gin and I were about to kill us because they didn't know if we were okay. I thought it was a resonable reaction since we made no effort to inform them that we were alive. Anyways, it turned out to be a pretty awesome adventure even though we were admist a storm.