Since arriving in India I think I have asked myself a hundred questions about myself, my reason for travel, my reason for organised fun, my map of where we must be when and most importantly if I am strong enough to manage a whole eleven months away from family and friends , now some of you may laugh at this last statement but for me it’s probably why I have never travelled longer than five months before and why every time I move away from home I always pulled back to where my family is and where I feel I belong. Being close to my family is so important and when on my last trip my step grandmother passed and for me there was no question I needed to be at home and be there for my family, in our family there has always been things occurring and being apart from my Moomin is like losing a limb, she has always been my rock and sometimes I do wonder without her I may just crumble, luckily with wifi and skype its working out alright, with the aid of viber I have been able to speak to family and friends weekly, kept up to date with the Grandparents and kept in the loop with anything going on, it’s also important for me to be able to offer an ear to those friends going through difficulties and even if I am not there in person I can be there on the phone.
So in answer to the other questions, I have been reading a book lately and have been able to answer a number of these questions and I realise my structure comes down to the fact I need to make sure (in my mind) things won’t fall through, there is a plan and this plan makes me feel safe. Its most probably the first time in my life where I actually do feel fully safe in who I am and therefore I have come to realise why I am questioning my sense of organisation when it’s got me to where I am, in a place of commitment, contentment, happiness and safety. I guess which then leads me to another question of why have I chose this journey of travel, does there have to be a why? For me yes, it makes sense to have one and I hope over the next eleven months it comes to me, it’s interesting, you hear people talk of finding themselves, meeting likeminded people and obviously experiencing new cultures. I think the latter definitely holds strong for me, as for the others I am not sure how much of a journey to find myself I am on anymore, I think a number of hours in a counseling room in Streatham helped me with that journey, but also my own learning in becoming a counselor myself has defiantly allowed me to find an inner peace within my soul and with others who I have had challenging relationships with, where peace has either been made or I have removed their toxicity from my life, allowing a deeper sense of happiness is found. Spiritually I believe I am always on that journey, working out where my faith lies, when I told a friend once I didn’t believe in god, she asked me why not, I told her I just didn’t believe someone created the world and don’t believe a lot of the bible, she told me she was shocked I could think so one way when god can be anything, this friend told me she too didn’t believe in god as the bible states but she said for how spiritual she felt I was didn’t I believe in a higher power, to which I replied yes, to which she said, well there’s your god. I was slightly dumbfounded by such an easy explanation but it really got me thinking and I realized there is something in me that does believe in something, what that is maybe this travel trip will help me find out. I read an amazing book a few weeks back it was called the colour purple (Alice Walker) and in it a character explains god as the colour purple, this I like, there has been times when I have felt a strong sense of peace and whatever that is maybe that’s my god, to actually finally feel peace within myself at 30 is a pretty beautiful thing and maybe this whole trip is being took as I am eventually happy and free to do it, so why not.
Let’s begin.
We decided to start this trip in India, somewhere we had both been before, I had only travelled a small part of India so was excited to get right into the heart of it and have our first few months taking in the delight of what it had to offer. We headed down to Pondicherry, somewhere I had always wanted to go, Sam constantly asking me why, my reply, I just want, it sounds so beautiful and that was what we found. Pondicherry has a mix of French, Indian citizens and has a real diverse experience when you go there; you have this idealistic French part of the town then across the road a manic Indian way of life. We spent two days wandering the streets, taking in the sites, people watching and smiling at the colours of the houses around us. It felt nice to be there and a real sense of relaxed from the typical entry into India, the hustle and bustle was quite calming and we were left to enjoy our days humbling and bumbling.
On our second day we went to a beach side café and whilst there, I bumped into a friend who is very close to me, I sadly haven’t seen her for a number of years due to certain circumstances but it felt like that was why I was meant to be there, the madness is this friend lives around the corner from my Mums house but due to it being too difficult to see one another on a personal level it finally felt right to see each other, here in India, in beautiful Pondicherry. We embraced and chatted for some time and agreed that on my return we would be in contact again, my heartfelt warm and happy knowing she would be back in my life, I couldn’t believe this was the start of my journey, wow what a beautiful way to begin.
We moved on from Pondicherry to meet our friends Beth and Cian for Beth’s 30th birthday, 6 days in and meeting friends, I felt very lucky, how could I miss home when home was with me in India. We spent the day looking for our houseboat and making sure it had a sun deck (Ms Liddle's must have) in order to experience the Kerala’s backwaters the way they should be. Our mission was completed and we managed to get a bargain price, a crew and a beautiful houseboat for 2 days and 2 nights. The next 2 days were a highlight of the trip so far, we chatted the days away, enjoying the true beauty of what was in front of us, there was so many amazing birds and people watching was just beautiful, to see everyone getting along in their day to day doings, using the backwaters as we use motorways, it was another world and a world I was so pleased to be exploring. The crew were a treat and we enjoyed so many wondrous treats when on the boat, being pescaterian is definitely worth it in South India, the food prepared is amazing and every bite is just a spice delight, we ate like kings and queens and all felt satisfied with our money being well spent. Sam and I had lugged a bottle of Moet for Beth’s birthday and it was joy to see how happy she was with the gift, we cooled it and had it lunch, giggling at us ‘travelers’ dining on Moet on our boat at lunch time. Our evenings were taking up playing scrabble and stop the bus, with raucous laughs and giggles at who needed a cuddle and who/why would you smack in the face (celebrities this is) – all in the name of a stop the bus category, it was true friendship at its best and I felt so lucky to be sharing this experience with my adorable husband and two very good friends.
Our trip sadly had to come to an end and Beth and Cian moved onto Sri Lanka and us to Varkarla, we spent a week in Varkarla, literally just relaxing on the beach, eating amazing food and enjoying the sun’s rays underneath our sun shelter. It was a good week, with extra lbs put on and happy smiley faces. On our last day, whilst having breakfast at our favorite restaurant we were told a pod of dolphins had come close to the shore, we went onto the cliff in anticipation and managed to see them, swimming, bobbing and enjoying the currents, it was a sight of beautiful nature at its best and I couldn’t have asked for a greater gift as we left the Varkarla cliffs.
From Varkarla we moved to Periyar, again another highlight and took a trek to Periyar National Park, we met a really lovely man who used to work at the park who advised us to take the border trekking trail around the park. What a result, the trek was amazing, we were told we may see no wildlife and to look at the trek as a beautiful walk around an amazing park, it seemed our luck was in though, throughout the whole day we came across 18 elephants, ahhh, amazing and a number of other wonderful wildlife. It’s strange in India, animals are worshipped/used in so many different ways, I watched a dog die yesterday and no one would help (apart from me and two other tourists) dogs are literally like feral foxes and nobody has any care or concern for them, but cows are worshipped??!! The other thing I hadn’t realized before coming to India was how elephants are used; yes I had seen pictures but closed my eyes as didn’t like it. Since being here though I have defiantly found how strong I feel about the use of elephants as working and tourist means, they offer elephant rides everywhere and it breaks my heart that people think it’s acceptable to ride/use these beautiful animals. I just don’t get it, seeing these animals in the wild was where they belonged and not for the use of entertainment or work. One thing India is bringing out is definitely my sense of being pescaterian and how animals should be treated whatever animal – I now lie with the argument around camels, as a friend said are camels not used the same as horses, I need to sit with this one.
After the amazement of Periyar we moved to Munnar and stayed in the hills in a lovely home stay, it was really nice to just be in and a home stay and not eating out every night, this is something I knew would be a struggle for me as I love being in my home doing the things I like and cooking, to have to eat out every night feels like such a burden and Munnar offered what I needed in staying in and enjoying the tranquility of eating with a family. The Munnar hills were beautiful, being surrounded by tea and spice plantations was kind of surreal but it was lovely blissfully wandering around and soaking in the atmosphere of workers and tea smells.
From Munnar we made our way to Hampi which was definitely where the love/hate relationship started, Hampi is a place so many people have talked about to me, telling me how much I would love it, how tranquil it is and beautiful. I did find it to be this but also I found it to be a place I didn’t enjoy and felt it had lost its beauty by catering for the stereotypical backpackers dream – nightmare to me, where we stayed was literally full of travelers, there was no culture, beauty just everyone smoking weed, talking of how drugs should be legalized and how many bang lassi people had had, really? Is this what it’s about??!! After a second night of random rubbish school disco music we decided to pack our bags and get out of there.
It did however offer one day of blissful tidings, where we hired a moped and enjoyed a number of temples, we climbed to the Hanuman Temple on the evening and it was total beauty, we enjoyed the chanting of the Sadhus, watching young boys learn prayer and took in the beauty of Hampi from the skyline, another highlight to add to the travel bank. We then climbed across a number of boulders and enjoyed watching sunset over the beautiful town. At this point Hampi was what I had been told, peaceful, and beautiful and a delight to enjoy.
Our next jaunt on the trip was to our favorite beach in India, Kudle beach in Gokarna, We arrived Saturday and managed to get a room in our favorite basic beach huts, Kudle beach is a dream beach with a few cafes, a relaxed vibe and a strong sense of peacefulness in the air. Since Saturday I have been practicing my yoga in the morning, reading most of the afternoon, submerging in the warm sea and enjoying the rays, we have over a week here and with approaching our first month yesterday I feel were celebrating in the perfect curly way.
Photos so far…
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152079324491716.1073741835.513626715&type=1&l=5257e9689a
enjoy (even without a facebook account you should be able to see these snaps - copy and paste into tool bar and fingers crossed)
So in answer to the other questions, I have been reading a book lately and have been able to answer a number of these questions and I realise my structure comes down to the fact I need to make sure (in my mind) things won’t fall through, there is a plan and this plan makes me feel safe. Its most probably the first time in my life where I actually do feel fully safe in who I am and therefore I have come to realise why I am questioning my sense of organisation when it’s got me to where I am, in a place of commitment, contentment, happiness and safety. I guess which then leads me to another question of why have I chose this journey of travel, does there have to be a why? For me yes, it makes sense to have one and I hope over the next eleven months it comes to me, it’s interesting, you hear people talk of finding themselves, meeting likeminded people and obviously experiencing new cultures. I think the latter definitely holds strong for me, as for the others I am not sure how much of a journey to find myself I am on anymore, I think a number of hours in a counseling room in Streatham helped me with that journey, but also my own learning in becoming a counselor myself has defiantly allowed me to find an inner peace within my soul and with others who I have had challenging relationships with, where peace has either been made or I have removed their toxicity from my life, allowing a deeper sense of happiness is found. Spiritually I believe I am always on that journey, working out where my faith lies, when I told a friend once I didn’t believe in god, she asked me why not, I told her I just didn’t believe someone created the world and don’t believe a lot of the bible, she told me she was shocked I could think so one way when god can be anything, this friend told me she too didn’t believe in god as the bible states but she said for how spiritual she felt I was didn’t I believe in a higher power, to which I replied yes, to which she said, well there’s your god. I was slightly dumbfounded by such an easy explanation but it really got me thinking and I realized there is something in me that does believe in something, what that is maybe this travel trip will help me find out. I read an amazing book a few weeks back it was called the colour purple (Alice Walker) and in it a character explains god as the colour purple, this I like, there has been times when I have felt a strong sense of peace and whatever that is maybe that’s my god, to actually finally feel peace within myself at 30 is a pretty beautiful thing and maybe this whole trip is being took as I am eventually happy and free to do it, so why not.
Let’s begin.
We decided to start this trip in India, somewhere we had both been before, I had only travelled a small part of India so was excited to get right into the heart of it and have our first few months taking in the delight of what it had to offer. We headed down to Pondicherry, somewhere I had always wanted to go, Sam constantly asking me why, my reply, I just want, it sounds so beautiful and that was what we found. Pondicherry has a mix of French, Indian citizens and has a real diverse experience when you go there; you have this idealistic French part of the town then across the road a manic Indian way of life. We spent two days wandering the streets, taking in the sites, people watching and smiling at the colours of the houses around us. It felt nice to be there and a real sense of relaxed from the typical entry into India, the hustle and bustle was quite calming and we were left to enjoy our days humbling and bumbling.
On our second day we went to a beach side café and whilst there, I bumped into a friend who is very close to me, I sadly haven’t seen her for a number of years due to certain circumstances but it felt like that was why I was meant to be there, the madness is this friend lives around the corner from my Mums house but due to it being too difficult to see one another on a personal level it finally felt right to see each other, here in India, in beautiful Pondicherry. We embraced and chatted for some time and agreed that on my return we would be in contact again, my heartfelt warm and happy knowing she would be back in my life, I couldn’t believe this was the start of my journey, wow what a beautiful way to begin.
We moved on from Pondicherry to meet our friends Beth and Cian for Beth’s 30th birthday, 6 days in and meeting friends, I felt very lucky, how could I miss home when home was with me in India. We spent the day looking for our houseboat and making sure it had a sun deck (Ms Liddle's must have) in order to experience the Kerala’s backwaters the way they should be. Our mission was completed and we managed to get a bargain price, a crew and a beautiful houseboat for 2 days and 2 nights. The next 2 days were a highlight of the trip so far, we chatted the days away, enjoying the true beauty of what was in front of us, there was so many amazing birds and people watching was just beautiful, to see everyone getting along in their day to day doings, using the backwaters as we use motorways, it was another world and a world I was so pleased to be exploring. The crew were a treat and we enjoyed so many wondrous treats when on the boat, being pescaterian is definitely worth it in South India, the food prepared is amazing and every bite is just a spice delight, we ate like kings and queens and all felt satisfied with our money being well spent. Sam and I had lugged a bottle of Moet for Beth’s birthday and it was joy to see how happy she was with the gift, we cooled it and had it lunch, giggling at us ‘travelers’ dining on Moet on our boat at lunch time. Our evenings were taking up playing scrabble and stop the bus, with raucous laughs and giggles at who needed a cuddle and who/why would you smack in the face (celebrities this is) – all in the name of a stop the bus category, it was true friendship at its best and I felt so lucky to be sharing this experience with my adorable husband and two very good friends.
Our trip sadly had to come to an end and Beth and Cian moved onto Sri Lanka and us to Varkarla, we spent a week in Varkarla, literally just relaxing on the beach, eating amazing food and enjoying the sun’s rays underneath our sun shelter. It was a good week, with extra lbs put on and happy smiley faces. On our last day, whilst having breakfast at our favorite restaurant we were told a pod of dolphins had come close to the shore, we went onto the cliff in anticipation and managed to see them, swimming, bobbing and enjoying the currents, it was a sight of beautiful nature at its best and I couldn’t have asked for a greater gift as we left the Varkarla cliffs.
From Varkarla we moved to Periyar, again another highlight and took a trek to Periyar National Park, we met a really lovely man who used to work at the park who advised us to take the border trekking trail around the park. What a result, the trek was amazing, we were told we may see no wildlife and to look at the trek as a beautiful walk around an amazing park, it seemed our luck was in though, throughout the whole day we came across 18 elephants, ahhh, amazing and a number of other wonderful wildlife. It’s strange in India, animals are worshipped/used in so many different ways, I watched a dog die yesterday and no one would help (apart from me and two other tourists) dogs are literally like feral foxes and nobody has any care or concern for them, but cows are worshipped??!! The other thing I hadn’t realized before coming to India was how elephants are used; yes I had seen pictures but closed my eyes as didn’t like it. Since being here though I have defiantly found how strong I feel about the use of elephants as working and tourist means, they offer elephant rides everywhere and it breaks my heart that people think it’s acceptable to ride/use these beautiful animals. I just don’t get it, seeing these animals in the wild was where they belonged and not for the use of entertainment or work. One thing India is bringing out is definitely my sense of being pescaterian and how animals should be treated whatever animal – I now lie with the argument around camels, as a friend said are camels not used the same as horses, I need to sit with this one.
After the amazement of Periyar we moved to Munnar and stayed in the hills in a lovely home stay, it was really nice to just be in and a home stay and not eating out every night, this is something I knew would be a struggle for me as I love being in my home doing the things I like and cooking, to have to eat out every night feels like such a burden and Munnar offered what I needed in staying in and enjoying the tranquility of eating with a family. The Munnar hills were beautiful, being surrounded by tea and spice plantations was kind of surreal but it was lovely blissfully wandering around and soaking in the atmosphere of workers and tea smells.
From Munnar we made our way to Hampi which was definitely where the love/hate relationship started, Hampi is a place so many people have talked about to me, telling me how much I would love it, how tranquil it is and beautiful. I did find it to be this but also I found it to be a place I didn’t enjoy and felt it had lost its beauty by catering for the stereotypical backpackers dream – nightmare to me, where we stayed was literally full of travelers, there was no culture, beauty just everyone smoking weed, talking of how drugs should be legalized and how many bang lassi people had had, really? Is this what it’s about??!! After a second night of random rubbish school disco music we decided to pack our bags and get out of there.
It did however offer one day of blissful tidings, where we hired a moped and enjoyed a number of temples, we climbed to the Hanuman Temple on the evening and it was total beauty, we enjoyed the chanting of the Sadhus, watching young boys learn prayer and took in the beauty of Hampi from the skyline, another highlight to add to the travel bank. We then climbed across a number of boulders and enjoyed watching sunset over the beautiful town. At this point Hampi was what I had been told, peaceful, and beautiful and a delight to enjoy.
Our next jaunt on the trip was to our favorite beach in India, Kudle beach in Gokarna, We arrived Saturday and managed to get a room in our favorite basic beach huts, Kudle beach is a dream beach with a few cafes, a relaxed vibe and a strong sense of peacefulness in the air. Since Saturday I have been practicing my yoga in the morning, reading most of the afternoon, submerging in the warm sea and enjoying the rays, we have over a week here and with approaching our first month yesterday I feel were celebrating in the perfect curly way.
Photos so far…
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152079324491716.1073741835.513626715&type=1&l=5257e9689a
enjoy (even without a facebook account you should be able to see these snaps - copy and paste into tool bar and fingers crossed)
