Indonesia

So I normally leave my blog posting until after I have left the country I am blogging about, however with leaving Indonesia straight after my yoga course finishes, and deciding I would write a separate blog for my teacher training I decided it would be nice to get a few things down of our visits so far into the depths of Indonesia. 

Our Indonesian part of the trip didn’t go as planned, which I guess is part of the beauty of travelling in terms of route change, everything happens for a reason and I totally believe this with our next few weeks we had planned. When we left Derawan (Indonesian Borneo) we had planned to dive into the thick of Indonesia, exploring the rainforest of Kalimantan and driving hours overland to glimpse that unknown village and beautiful primate, what we hadn’t realised was the lack of transport due to bad roads and therefore the distance overland journeys would take. We sat down and realistically looked at how much time we wanted to spend in this part of Indonesia, realizing we only had a week planned for this part of the journey we realistically didn’t believe we had the time and didn’t think it would be worthwhile stressing ourselves with the journeys for a few days here and there, for me that wouldn’t be an experience and would just be a headache, so with that in mind we headed to the nearest airport and jumped on a plane to Java and prepared ourselves for a journey to Bromo Volcano. 

We flew into Surabaya and chose to stay there for one evening, arriving at night left us slightly disorientated but I felt a real city feeling when driving through the bright lights and fast pace of the hustle and bustle. We only had one night planned so after a long days travel from Derawan we settled for a sound sleep, excited to be heading to Bromo earlier than planned.  We woke early the next morning and knew it would take around a day to get across to East Java where Bromo is situated, we had done quite a lot of research around Bromo as wanted to climb without a guide, the internet is amazing for its wealth of personal information and we found one women’s blog which was just an incredible guide for the climb. After a few buses from Surabaya we arrived at Problingo and shared a taxi with another English couple and Swiss couple, the journey was a short one too Cemoro Lawang, which is the small village next to Bromo, where you stay before the climb. 

It was early evening so we decided to climb to the crater rim, it was such an incredible sight, I was really taken aback, this being my first experience of being so close to a volcano, the vast beauty and landscape surrounding were just dazzling to the eye and the dusk time walk just felt the perfect way to head to Mt Bromo. We took the path down the hill from Cemoro Lawang, missing out walking through the main Bromo office, we started our walk across the volcanic sands, it was incredible in the middle of the sands was the most beautiful Hindu Temple, sat lonesome but with such stature and magnificence, it was a treat to witness but also wonder who visited as it felt far from any main town or village. After about an hrs walk we arrived at the steps to make our ascent up to the crater rim and with determination, I managed to make it to the top, huffing and puffing. It was amazing up there, with the smoke billowing out and the sun setting, it felt a really beautiful time to see the crater and experience this natural wonder, we took some time out up the top and watched the sun come down over the sands and turn the sky beautiful colours of orange.  As night started to approach we realised we had a long walk back and only a small torch, we managed to get about half way across the sands before it turned pitch black, with a little bit of confusion we managed to join the back of some other trekkers and followed their lead back to Cemoro Lawang. After eating another plate of Mie Goreng we took to our beds, ready to wake at 2am to climb to the viewing point to watch sunrise over Bromo. 

We woke without problem and started the climb in the dark, we had mapped out our route and grouped with the others staying in our home stay, we decided to take the climb at our pace due to my knee, this worked fine for the first bit and after about an hour and a bit of walking we arrived at the first viewing point. We could see the option of higher viewing points but sadly the path had become over run and wasn’t as clear as we hoped, after about 30mins of rustling around and taking a number of dead ends we managed to find the trail again and we then really started to climb, as you can imagine at 4am this wasn’t the easiest thing and with a number of trips, skips and a huge face plant I finally broke, the tears came and my knee felt like it was about to explode. At this point I will admit I did feel like giving up and telling Sam to go on, but after 5mins of sorting my thinking out and believing in myself I managed to hobble on, making it to the viewing point just as sun was rising. When we arrived here I suddenly realised why I had needed to carry on, the view was astounding and like something I have never seen before, it really was truly beautiful and Mt Bromo just looked spectacular, the dreamy mist that surrounded the volcano, the smoke circling out, the clouds in front of us, it was a dream like scene and I felt proud of my own ability but it felt magical to be sharing it with such a wonderful group of people. We sat snuggled, eating our morning treats and silenced ourselves at the views spanning out in front of us. After sun rose we took the time to wander around, drink some coffee with some locals and then attempt the descent back down, amazed at how we had just climbed it in the dark. 

We snoozed the rest of the morning away then the 6 of us took the taxi back down to Probilingo, going our separate ways, not without some great hugs, facebook befriending and well wishes for the end of our travels. We decided to make the long journey across to Bali, we were going to head to Ijen but with my knee in a bad way we decided to take on the trek on the way back (however this has now changed again and Sam will be doing this whilst I am training). Without going into it we had a bit of a nightmare journey, Indonesia seems to be good for this and had to stay in a random hotel in a random town for the night, starting again the next morning and marvelously making it to Bali and our very nice accommodation in Ubud. 

We had decided to take some time out in Ubud and stay for 5/7 days to really recuperate and get back to us after all the disjointed travel, unwanted stress and smelly hotel rooms. I had always wanted to visit Ubud as heard a lot of good things about it, Sam wasn’t too fussed but decided it would be nice to just relax for a bit instead of being on the move. Ubud really did live up to its vision I had, although touristy it has such a beautiful feeling about it and with Bali meaning offering you could feel the sense of community in the air. Our accommodation was back from the main street which was amazing for us as gave us the feeling of not being in the main tourist hub and also allowed us to feel it was okay just to do nothing for a few days. Before coming to Ubud I had looked into the Yogabarn which is highly recommended for its variations of classes it holds, I picked out  YIN Yoga class and took to the 1.5hr session ready and willing for some rejuvenation, the class was incredible and really got me going, the teaching was so great and I just knew at that moment I had to engage in this further, after speaking with the class teacher, Denise she informed me she was running a teacher training course on the 18th June, at that instant I knew I had to book a place on the course and before I knew it I was signed up to start the month long training, with this decided Sam and I chose to head to an Island off Bali for a week before the course started.

(I am going to blog about my course when finished so will leave the details above at that).

We headed off to Nusa Lembongan and it really felt a holiday from a holiday, ridiculous right, we took a small bag, leaving our main ones at our accommodation in Ubud and took the boat across to Nusa. Nusa is a small island off the Southeast coast of Bali and is a really popular surfing and diving spot, it has different parts to the island for different activities but is really beautiful place to just relax. We managed to find a beautiful quiet nook of one the beaches away from the surfing zone, we spent most days enjoying our time reading and swimming, and just getting back into our bodies preparing me for the hard work ahead over the next month. 

We also took one day out to snorkel, but as we called it extreme snorkeling as the sea was so choppy and at points I couldn’t even enter the water as the current was so strong, I did however enjoy a few moments and dared the water at times. Sam had a great day however and really got in there, enjoying all five different spots we snorkeled at. 

With our week coming to an end we spent our last night with new friends celebrating their engagement and enjoying the sounds of the open mic night. We fell asleep that night ready to head back to Ubud in the morning fully satisfied with our week away on Nusa Island.

My course started that week and I was a bag of nerves and excitement at the prospect of committing myself to a month’s training, I went and purchased myself a notebook and prepared myself like the first day of school, knowing we would be in Ubud 1 month we did some shopping and fell into Ubud life pretty quickly, Sam finding his local haunt to watch the world cup and me working out the best shortcut to get to class each day. I have blogged separately about my training so won’t start writing a full blog here but will include my time in Ubud as we joined in a number of things outside of the course and both become firm friends with two heartwarming Canadians, Ash and Mike, eating many a weekly meal with them and enjoying their company greatly. 

Ubud is an interesting place, I througherly enjoyed every minute there and miss it so much, it has definitely been a highlight of my trip and maybe that’s because we become nested there it felt like home from home (with a lot more sun). There is talk of an ‘Ubud community’ and being at the yoga barn you totally see and feel this as you become part of the everyday rituals and routines for some. There is a lot of expacts living in Bali and even attending a few nights about love and togetherness you could feel people had found something important to them and a sense of belonging in a spiritual community. For me I could go with this, I could understand it and sit back and enjoy watching it, for Sam at times I think he found it a bit much, obviously being Sam and unspiritual as they come, however what was beautiful to see was even Sam letting go, sharing things he would never share at chakra day and even letting go of a lantern with a meaningful message on instead of asking for Fulham to win the league (or something football related). 

I have went through my thoughts on the yogabarn constantly, how it is a ‘yoga business’ how it doesn’t bring in the type of communities I wish to work with now qualified, how it is a money making enterprise but something draws me back to the love of it and how it is a community, when writing an email to a friend the other day I explained it as a community of yoga, it’s a place where there are so many different types of people attending but one thing is that there all there for yoga and isn’t that in itself just beautiful? 

Ubud has so many great eateries, cafes, and local restaurants, organic supermarkets and everything you could need for being based there for a month, we ate the most sumptuous food every night and even relaxed in some nights, using the kitchen at our guesthouse and catching up on some tv series or other. We also spent our 2nd year anniversary in Ubud and went to an amazing resturant called Kebun, it was recommended by my yoga teacher and we ate like royalty, with the gift from our families we had a nice amount of money to spend and ordered the most delicious lamb shanks (for Sam) and salmon for me, a carafe of the most tasty red wine turned up (a present from my yoga teacher, amazing right?) and we even had millie feuille slices, it was such a nice evening and even though the rain poured we couldnt have been anywhere more special at that time. Sam even bought me some flowers, now that's saying something!

Sam took a couple of days away with Mike, (my friend Ashley’s husband) and they went and climbed Kawah Ijen, on his return he stated it was one of the best experiences he has had travelling as talking with the sulpher miners and being in a working volcano was just a mind blowing experience. 

For both of us though one of our main highlights was spending 1hr 30mins sweating and dancing at ecstatic dance, there’s one rule, no talking just dancing, it’s a place to totally let yourself go and do what your body tells you, the upstairs room at the yogabarn is full to the brim of smiling sweaty humans just having the most beautiful uplifting time, we both agreed we have never felt so free and so at one just letting ourselves and our bodies just go where the music wanted, we dance so much at festivals, gigs and clubs but in this space at Sunday at 11am there really was no one else watching allowing our souls to be in the time and space and be whoever we wanted to be. 

We left Ubud with our hearts contented, Ubud and Ijen will forever be special to us both, were so thankful of our time there  and we both had the most wonderful life changing experiences there, I have never felt so lucky to be having this experience and opportunity to travel as we are, blessed.
 

 

Beautiful Borneo

Our flight from India to Borneo didn’t go as smoothly as we had hoped and with a few delays and three flights later we arrived in Kuching (Malaysian part of Borneo), what a shock to the system it was, coming from Delhi I still imagined Kuching would be filled with the chaos of an Asian city, how wrong I was though, it was clean and felt rather wealthy, this I had not expected. It was nice to have an air of ease and calmness when we arrived, we weren’t haggled into a taxi or informed of a better hotel, we were just took straight to our hostel, money paid, sorted. 

We were staying on the waterfront at a really nice hostel; it felt strange arriving somewhere and the room being clean and feeling comfortable to just lie down and snooze off the long travel. We were using Kuching as our base to head to a few attractions; however we enjoyed our first evening wandering the riverside and indulging on the top of a car park at the local seafood market, topspot. After manically working our way through the Malaysian menu we ordered some juicy prawns, vegetables and rice and yum, what a tasty feast it was. The next day we used it to explore Kuching and amble around the streets, tasty the yummy food on offer and seeing how the people of Kuching live. What we found was the opposite to our time in India and instead of workworkwork, open all hours that everywhere in Kuching closed from 2pm and didn’t open again until 6pm, meaning after our beasty line in our wandering didn’t get us tasty any food until later that day, we were so confused at the reasons for all the closures that until we spoke to someone we were informed of the ways of Kuching, it felt a pretty perfect city to have arrived in and a nice ease into Malaysian lifestyle. That night we decided to head to another food market Sam had found out about and enjoyed another tasty meal of prawns but ordered a local dish of midi (scrumptious greens), the meal was washed down with some local beer and two very satisfied smiles. 

We were planning on waiting to head to Semengoh nature reserve but chose to use the Monday to head off and gaze at some Orangutans, now those of you that know me know I am not great at zoos and have that whole debate in my head about the positives and negatives of wildlife conservation centre’s etc. Semengoh started this debate also but we had planned to go so stuck with our plan, Semengoh is called a semi wild nature reserve and is for Orangutans who have been handed in as they were kept as pets, injured or saved from captivity, there are also younger ones who have been born there. So I understood this and think yes this is good, it’s like Monkey World in Dorset (if you don’t know about this place check it out, watch a programme called monkey business (its based on monkey world)  and then get yourself there, it has the same principles as Semengoh and is a great place for monkey conservation, the owners Jim and Alison are also amazing, sadly Jim died a number of years ago but the work they have achieved together is huge in the primate world and I was amazed when I last went in 2006ish). Semengoh is open for tourists and charges a small amount entrance fee, once in they operate two feeding times, 9am and 3pm, tourists are then allowed to observe the Orangutans feeding at each time (during tourists can’t stay in the park and the Orangutans go back into the rainforest). My problem was feeding platforms, tourism, eek but actually when there I had two very different experiences in one day. Firstly the first feed is the main one tourists come too, large groups and a lot of ipads (grrr) people pushing, shoving wanting that perfect photo, it made me slightly mad that people were watching these beautiful ginger creatures through there lenses rather than their eyes, anyway crowds started to disperse after about 45mins and Sam and I stayed behind and observed how they behaved with less people, it was amazing watching their tomfoolery and playful behavior and experiences what felt like them being natural and not ‘playing to a tourist crowd’. We also took this time to read more at the park info board about how many Orangutans they had and the feeding operation, what changed my view to a more positive one was the fact that they have around 27 Orangutans living in the rainforest surrounding the nature reserve office, now when we were there we saw around 6 come out to eat, which then made me look into the other 21 more, on the info board the office had a list of each Orangutan and how often they come to feed and what I enjoyed seeing was over half never actually come back to the feeding platforms and have chose to live wild in the rainforest, the ones who do come back tend to be the oldest lady there and a few younger ones. Why did this change my mind, well it made me feel happy that yes some do come back and they obviously like that human interaction but actually a number have chose to carry on being wild as they rightly should be and fend for themselves, surviving in the Borneo rainforest they call home.

We headed back for the afternoon feed and experienced a completely different feeling from the mornings experience, less people and the ‘main man, big Richie’ came out, wow, what a beautiful primate, his structure, the way he walked and his enormous cheeks showed he was the boss. When speaking with a women she informed us a journalist had bought him and brought him to Semengoh as was disgraced he was being sold on the street/shop, to think that an animal of this structure could be sold to a silly human just astounds me and this made me feel happy that he was somewhere that was a safe home for him and somewhere he was able to be the Orangutan he should be.

My 31st birthday also arrived whilst in Borneo, I had wanted to be in Borneo for my birthday as wanted to do some trekking and see monkeys, Bako was my chosen National Park and we had booked two nights in the hostel and had 3 full days there, we woke the morning of my birthday early and Sam had found an amazing proboscis monkey postcard and wrote some special words, he also gave me a book called The Glass Palace, which had been recommend by a book keeper in India, it’s a fiction book about Burma, I was super chuffed as was reading another book by the same author and liked the style of writing.

With an early morning start we found the bus to take us and started our journey to the rainforest. Once off the bus you get a speedboat across to Bako, it’s a quick 20min journey across, it felt so free and exciting to be headed somewhere new and into a national park renowned for its beauty. We were already aware of the treks we wanted to do so checking in was easy. One of the main top stars of Bako is that you can trek with and without a guide, obviously not wanting to the cookie cutter way of travel we independently did our treks, however Bako do make it easier as the trails are marked out and although the terrain can be rough the guideline is marked on trees etc. We were also very excited to see some proboscis monkeys which are a species of primate only found in Borneo, there very distinctive as the males have large noses that move when they make a trumpet like noise. Whilst walking to our hostel cabin we heard a rustle in the trees and were so lucky to be greeted by 3 proboscises, it was like they were coming out to give a birthday welcome, with this being our first sighting we were raring to go and full of excited beans. 

We had decided with getting there at midday to do a shorter trek that would end on a beach, we chose the Kecil trail which took around 1.5hrs each way, the trek was great and although the weather peaked and we sweated it was great being in the rainforest, we also spotted a few more proboscis and macaques and a huge lizard (3-4m long), we also went through other vegetation but for me the rainforest was just incredible and the sounds were immense. The trail came to a view point where you see the sea stack which is an amazing land formation where the sea has eroded the rock and sculpted a serpent like figure, from the beach below the stack is hard to see but we had great view up on the viewing point. We then took the hike down to the beach and were amazed to find we had it to ourselves, obviously this called for Sam to demand a skinny dip so we stripped down and went for a swim, the sun was beating down nicely and the water was welcomed after such a sweaty walk. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and reading and enjoying our secluded ‘private’ beach.

We headed back to the park entrance for evening so we could shower, eat some cake and head out on a night trek. 

The night trek was fun, very basic but a great way to see Bako by night, we mainly saw sleeping birds and a number of insects but the main attraction for me was the sounds of the rainforest by evening and indulge on the unknown of the animals around us, we were told by the rangers owls and slow loris would be around but sadly none were seen. 

The next day we headed to a longer trek to Tajor Waterfall, this trek was a lot more strenuous and took us through a number of different twists and turns, part of Bako’s beauty is the feeling of being out in the rainforest alone and able to wander so freely, we didn’t get lost but at times the trail was sparse on its direction and it felt nice nature had taken its control back and crept back across the walkways allowing the rainforest to live as it choose. We made it to Tajor and I can honestly say I have never sweated so much but had such a brilliant challenging trek, we did head further than the waterfall but turned back after a steep dangerous climb, we decided the beauty of the waterfall would fill us for today. We took our boots off, snacked on some treats and started dozing, two hours later we woke, the sound of the water, the rustle of the trees and the insect life around us was bewitching to hear and I felt so relaxed in natures arms. We headed back soon after 3ish, arriving back at the hostel that evening, Sam had decided to go look for some proboscis monkeys and what a treat we were given, after sitting watching a few monkeys swinging bashfully from the trees and trumpeting away we were suddenly greeted by around 20 monkeys, we had only joined them at evening feed time, the surge of happiness I felt right from my toes to my smile was beholding and I couldn’t believe what  we were witnessing, they were encircled around us and were just chilling out, eating away and making some of the most incredible noises. We sat for ages in awe of these brilliant monkeys, if our time at Bako had ended there I would have felt we had got everything we had wanted from the experience, but luckily for us we still had another day. 

The following day was a shorter one as we had the 2pm boat booked to take us back to the mainland, we chose to take a shorter trail and headed for a more popular trek, meaning we did see more people along the way, however we did have a up close encounter with a number of macaques who are fearless to humans and pretty much barricaded the path we needed to take, after a few steps closer they took their cue to leave and we headed on through the dense rainforest, ending out on another beautiful beach. We watched some amusing fish for some time and paddled in the pristine blue waters before having to make our ascent back to head office to say goodbye to a wondrous park. We couldn’t have asked for more from our time here and it’s definitely a place I will head back too, there is so much to do and see and even without the trails the park holds such beauty. 

Our next stop was Gunung Mulu National Park; we had a small stop off in Miri for the night and flew the next morning on a twin otter plane to Mulu. Mulu is situated in the middle of Borneo Malaysia and can only be accessed by plane due to the roads being so bad. We planned 3 days 2 nights there, most people stay for longer as once you ticket is purchased its valid for 5 days. Gunung Mulu is a UNESCO site and as soon as we arrived you could see and feel why, sadly it’s also owned privately as well as by the Government which for me took a tiny bit of the magic away. Taking that side away though you could really sense an awe of professionalism that was different from Bako, unlike Bako you are not able to do a lot of the treks without a guide as the trails require you to go into different caves and certain areas of the park that can be dangerous, now due to the fact that you need a guide you of course have to pay, the cost isn’t that much (and we had budgeted for it) we managed to pick four different treks that were not too strenuous, the pinnacles is a really tough famous walk at Mulu which takes around 3 days, the end is so steep and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it, Sam wasn’t up for doing it alone so we made our decisions and paid up, we then headed to the hostel to set up our beds for the next few nights. 

We had a night walk planned for that night so had the rest of the afternoon to soak in the parks beauty, we decided to take one of the free trails to Paku Waterfall and go for a dip as we were told we could swim there, the walk was really beautiful and felt different to Bako as we hiked through the rainforest, there was no sound of honking monkeys but the insect life was incredible and we stood at points just amazed by the sounds that were coming from such small creatures. When we got to the waterfall, we dipped in and had an hour of reading listening to the water run freely, sadly though the heavens opened and the rains came. We chose to take a different route back to the hostel though and took another free trail that was around 3km, through the rainforest we trudged, enjoying the coolness of the rain as we sweated and beat our way through the dense undergrowth. Sadly the evening night trek was cancelled due to the rains but we did however enjoy the company of two Canadians who were so well travelled listening to their stories was incredible, in the 80’s they were working as school teachers and took a group of school leavers away travelling around Europe for 2/3 months as part of their job, imagine if schools could do that now and imagine how amazing that experience would be. 

The next day we set out on two cave treks, the first was interesting but didn’t ball me over, it reminded me of similar caves I had seen already and although it was fun to see them I didn’t get the wow factor I had hoped for. However driving up to the caves in long boats was pretty fun and was great to see the park from a different point.

That afternoon the rains started again and we took another trip to Lang and Deer cave, the walk was nice and there were only 5 of us (including Sam and I) in the group which was great as it was really personal and meant we could talk with our guide along the way. Deer cave turned out to be so amazing, and I am still shocked at how excited I was to be there. Deer cave is home to around 3 to 4 million bats, so as we ventured through the cave it was a bit stinky but seeing the groups of bats, was pretty immense and rather unlike any other experience. Deer Cave has the longest walk way in the world so it’s a good hour walk through the cave, our guide did the classic of showing of rocks that looked like men’s bits and laughed at his own jokes along the way, he was harmless though and got us laughing at how excited he was at a joke he must use every day. The cave itself leads into numerous nooks and crooks of the cave and really did take you to so many new places and sights as you walked through. There was two ‘showers’ as the guide called them which were basically were water sprayed from certain shower head rocks, it was so strange, the water was coming from nowhere else but these two round head like stones, I was just amazed at the incredibleness of nature and how things form.   We also saw part of the Garden of Eden walk which if we had had more time we may have done, the walk was a two day walk though and we sadly didn’t have time. The walk takes you through certain parts of the cave that are adventuring caving and it just looks really fun and a real trip to see areas of the cave closed off to over visitors. The most amazing part of Deer cave was afterwards though when we sat waiting for the bats to leave, I didn’t know what to expect and soon felt downhearted as our guide stated the bats didn’t seem to be coming out, they normally leave around 5pm-6pm, it was now approaching 6.15pm, as we started to pack to leave another guide shouted it was starting, that the bats were leaving, at this point I seen a few bats fly off but then suddenly the most amazing black lines appeared from the cave and 100’s of bats came twirling out, it was spectacular and the noises of excitement I was making showed how utterly amazed I was at what was in front of me. It last about 30mins and it felt like a scene from David Attenborough, it was truly incredible, watching all 4 million leave for feeding, the swirls they made and the amount that took flight blew me away and I doubt any experience will amaze me like that (well unless I see a Narwhal), I couldn’t believe bats were exciting me more than monkeys, ha! I fell asleep that night very happy and fulfilled with our time here and can honestly say it was one of the highlights of the trip so far. 

The next day was our last in Mulu and we planned to head to the Canopy Walk, to walk in the trees. The canopy was loads of fun and although we did it with others it felt we were on our own a lot of the time as only two people could be on the canopy at any one time. The canopy is the longest walkway in the world and at times reaches 30m high, it was beautiful experiencing the park from another viewpoint and feeling like monkeys in the trees, we walked so far through the park and enjoyed being over the lake, right in the trees and seeing some interesting insects. It was a perfect way to end the day and we had a real giggle at the rockiness of the walk ways and swinging of the bridges. 

Our flight took us to Kota Kinabalu next where we had booked a lovely private room in a hostel, we had loads to do in KK so decided to use the time to restock on goodies, get our Indonesian visa, wash our clothes and see the city. It worked perfect for us as because we had so much to do we managed to walk all over really soaking in different parts of city life. KK had a different feel to Kuching and although it still felt quite wealthy it did feel a bit rougher city like, with everyone going about their ways, people selling stuff and open cafes selling street food. We gorged at the Filipino BBQ market both nights and enjoyed the bustle of the fish market afterwards, watching everyone go crazy for fish at 9pm. I would definitely recommend it as a stop off but unless you’re visiting the nearby islands you don’t need more than a day here to see the sights.

We took a night bus that night to Tawau and started our long descent to Derawan Island (aka Paradise), Indonesia Borneo, I am not going to go into the hell that was the journey as you will want to come and collect us and bring us home but basically it was tough, tiresome and a real challenge, after three days travel though we made it to Derawan Island…. Only to find out it was an Indonesian holiday and there was no accommodation on the island, paradise was feeling further and further away.  After hours of checking every losman, cabana, home stay and hotel (twice) we finally got a skanky room and paid a stupid price to rest our heads and try not to cry. After a good night’s sleep I woke the next morning and headed out early, with a few Indonesian words in tow, somehow we managed to get a room in the losman we wanted and to make it all the better it was a great room, balcony, en suite and was the perfect price, things were starting to look up. 

Derawan was a great stay but as I try to be as honest as I can I will admit was probably not worth the time and money we paid to get there as sadly I felt it was quite built up and had lost that paradise feel that I had read, researched and imagined. However it wasn’t all bad and we stayed for 6 days, we managed to find a stretch of beach that was idyllic and untouched, no tourists came around here so we enjoyed a couple of days snorkeling and relaxing here and most evenings we snorkeled round by our losman with 3 incredible giant turtles. Derawan is known for its sea turtles and the first time we both saw one we were thrown back with their size and stature. Each night it was great to get right into the water and amble near them, just taking it all in as they ate the grass at the bottom of the sea and aimlessly swam along. We also took a day trip with 3 lovely ladies (one being a Geordie girl) and snorkeled at some great spots and went to a lake and swam with loads of jellyfish, the jellyfish have been there for thousands of years and due to their being no predators they have lost their sting over time, meaning you can jump right in and swim with them. At first I was happy to sit on the side but after some gentle persuasion I jumped in and really enjoyed it, it was like a scene out of finding nemo at one point, they were all over me and felt like chicken fillets to touch but I didn’t feel scared which was the biggest shock and actually enjoyed the experience. 

I was really pleased we had gone to Derawan but sadly there was more being built as it’s a tourist hot spot for Indonesians, it did make me sad paradise wasn’t as I had hoped but the experiences we had there were great and some stuff I will never get to do again, so even with the changes and travel nightmare it was a great week and becoming stronger at snorkeling was a definite plus. 

Our Borneo trip was meant to have another week of adventure but due to price rises at Tajung Putting national park we changed our plans and decided to move on, with only a small amount of time left for Borneo we chose to head to Java and use the time more efficiently there than spending hours and hours in ‘private taxis’ (basically smoky hell holes), with our decision made we booked a flight and headed out of Berau to Surabaya, next stop Bromo Volcano. 

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North India – into the Himalayas

We moved on from Jaisalmer to Amritsar, somewhere Sam was dying to get too, a place I was hit and miss about. Amritsar is where the Golden Temple is which is a the holiest Sikh pilgrimage site, now I think this was my first problem, I do enjoy seeing temples/places of worship but there is something in me that also feels rather uncomfortable about me visiting, like I don’t believe places like this should be used as a tourist attraction, if that makes sense? I can see why they are and for others it maybe amazing to see a place that means so much to another but there is an air of unease within myself when I am there, it’s like I have entered someone’s house uninvited. However even with all these thoughts it was spectacular to see and did hold a real sense of pure beauty about it, its grand statue was incredible and the place was buzzing with prayer and believers that it did hold a fame of magic around it, with my thinking shifting I could see why this was a place of awe and beauty and I felt rather privileged to have visited somewhere others are dying to see.

That evening we did the standard border parade, which it seemed everyone there was going to do, in my mind I had that it would be a normal border with a few guards and a military style patrol, oh how wrong I was, it was a spectacle even Walt Disney would have been proud of, the ‘wind the crowd up guy’, the theatrical uniforms, the music and dancing, the stalls which everyone was ushered too, the whole thing was a performance that could have been performed at a theme park. The border parade happens every evening when India and Pakistan close the border to each other for the night, somehow this day to day occurrence has become a show in to itself and for two countries that are enemy’s the whole thing felt quite jovial. Sam had this on one of his top things to do so I was pleased we had been able to enjoy it and it had lived up to more than it could have expected, all in all our day in Amritsar was jam packed but full of beauty and hilarity.

The next morning we left early for our bus to McLeod Ganj (Dharamshala), sadly we had to do a bit of a journey as we couldn’t get a direct bus and had to stop off and then get onto a night bus, so with a full day of travel we arrived into the mountains and our breaths were taken away with the beauty in front of us, snow capped mountains, tasty Tibetan street food snug woolen wear, after all that heat we were ready to get wrapped up and enjoy ambling the mountain streets. We had planned 7 days in McLeod but ended staying 10 due to an unexpected meeting with the Dalai Lama, we had chosen a beautiful guesthouse that offered the most spectacular views, we had a top star balcony that overlooked the Kangra Valley and a bed that eventually looked comfy, for £7.70 (a night) we couldn’t complain. Our first day when we arrived it rained down and we bought some new yak woolen scarf’s and nestled into our jackets, we found a café that served cake and tea and I enjoyed an earl grey and delicious slice of chocolate cake, with the rain beating down It really did feel home from home, and you know what, I liked it.
We enjoyed a beautiful thunder storm that night that kept us at our window and eyes ablaze as the whole sky lit up then boomed down upon our heads, it felt magic being in the mountains, the weather felt so fierce and loud and the sky was just amazing to watch, we eventually drifted into our beds in the early hours and woke the next day to bright skies and a spring in our step for exploration.

McLeod is around 1850m above sea level, it’s classed as part of the Himalayan range and although is part of India its population is mainly Tibetan as its where the Tibetans took refuge when China invaded, then occupied Tibet (1950’s), the Dalai Lama escaped the Chinese occupation in 1959 and fled to McLeod taking with him a number of Tibetans, although they are classed as refugees the Indian government welcome the Tibetans and have offered them a place where they can still be who they are and not reform to what the Chinese government wants.

It was refreshing to have new foods to eat, new religion to understand and new conversations to have, we knew with our time there we wanted to do a couple of treks, visit the Buddhist temple complex, hear a talk in the museum and enjoy Bhagsu Falls, we managed all this and more, although some days were spent wandering, eating and indulging in the views around us.

Our main trek we did was Triund Hill, we climbed from 1850m – 2900m, we were able to do the trek alone which was amazing, as with my knees I knew my pace would be slow and it allowed me to plod, my favorite way of trekking. The trek took us from McLeod – Dharamakot, where we had a delicious breakfast getting us ready for the trek ahead, as we set off all pumped and ready we were amazed at the beautiful prayer flags in front of us and the ease of the wind around the hills, after 30minutes we asked someone the way and they informed us ‘you’re going the wrong way’ grumble, we took ourselves back and realized we had just walked straight past the uphill climb to start the trek, oops, we took a positive from it though and were pleased we had seen the amazing prayer flags and seen a part of Dharamakot we would have missed if we had gone straight onto Triund. We then started the ascent and the sweat started, basically from the start to end it was an incline, there was no letting go, 4hrs of uphill climb, we stopped at beautiful tea shops on a couple of occasions and enjoyed looking at how far we had climbed (not looking at how far we had to go), the sites around were of true beauty and looking at all the little villages nestled into the mountains felt incredibly serene, I couldn’t believe how high we were up and how proud I was to be challenging myself to such a arduous climb. I can’t deny I went all the way without a moan and there was a point where I stated to Sam ‘no more, I can’t do it’ but with his cheerful smile, sweaty kiss,  good words and hand in hand he encouraged me on and I couldn’t thank him more when we reached the top I welled with tears, it was beauty beyond thinking, the snow capped mountains lay directly in my vision, we sat for some time just taking in the mountain air and being chuffed at our achievement, we drank chai, chatted with others and took the mandatory pictures before making the decent downhill. That night we both slept with smiles on our faces, it felt special achieving something so large and knowing I didn’t give up but carried on right to the end, and what an end it was.

We used the next few days to relax, recover and read planning what other delights McLeod had in store for us, on one of our bumbles down to the Buddhist temple complex we spotted a poster stating the Dalai Lama was holding a receiving ceremony that Saturday in McLeod, we couldn’t believe our luck, Sam had stated he hoped to meet him but I had laughed at the remark never believing an opportunity like this would or could arise. The poster informed us to take our passports and register the Dalai Lama office, then turn up on Saturday, we couldn’t believe it could be so easy but it was, once we registered we were told to be in line for 7am and the line would go as planned. Our next day was a bit of a haze, filled with excitement we rang our parents and informed them what would be happening, much to my mother’s disbelief (and ours really), it just didn’t feel real, we speculated about what it would be like and how the day would go, if he would speak to us, shake our hand or just bless us, it all just felt an excited dream.
On the Friday we went to the Tibetan Museum and went to a talk on the missing Panchem Lama, it was really interesting and due to it being the Panchem Lama birthday there was a lot of awareness talks and information sharing occurring in the museum. The Panchem Lama is like the son of the Dalai Lama and China have stolen him and replaced him with their own Panchem Lama, due to China wanting Tibetans to stop believing in the Dalai Lama and pushing their own beliefs onto the Tibetan population. The afternoon was so informative and afterwards we had chai and biscuits with a few of the speakers and others listening, we got talking to one women who moved to McLeod from American some 14yrs ago and one conversation led to another and we started talking about the meeting with the Dalai Lama, she informed us he hadn’t done something like he was tomorrow for around 20yrs, so we were very lucky, she told us we had good karma and her warming smile and interesting talks just got us more prepped for the big day.

Saturday came around and we joined the long line of people arriving to meet his high holiness, the queue was hyped with excitement and you could see the smiling faces of a long line of tourists and locals, the line moved quite quickly and we soon found ourselves in the main hall, there was around 2-3k people, a lot more then I imagined they thought they would have sign up and my guess was the receiving line wasn’t to happen as expected. After some time we were informed that they only expected around 500 but 2500 had signed up therefore meaning the proceedings had changed and instead of a receiving line, group photos would be taken then a talk. We were grouped into different countries, ours being a brilliant mix of different countries (as organization went a bit hay wire), when he came out from his home it was magical, the swarms of people left there photo group to get a glimpse but I decided to wait until he came over our side so instead of a stolen glace I could see him in his whole. After around 15 minutes, he came tottering over, smiling, happy and full of jubilation, he had around 5 body guards and stumbled into the middle of our group, reaching for hands and sharing smiles, my body filled with warmth I haven’t felt before when meeting someone and it was just this heightened sense of overwhelmed happiness. I looked at Sam and his eyes had welled, there was such a strong sense of spirituality in the room and people were awe struck at how laid back the whole event was and how the Dalai Lama just took it all in his stride. Our photos were taken in such a quick shot and it was time for him to move on, but wow, that feeling, that magic of him standing right in front of me will never leave me and it days like this that reminded me the importance of travel, new experiences and looking into the hearts of others.

The talk after was about the importance of making peace through our actions and not through prayer, I think this is an element a I love Buddhism so much as that even though its classed as a religion it is more of a teaching and I think the essence of learning rather than preaching is so important, something I feel this talk really opened my eyes and ears too. A lot of what was being said really rang home to my learning I have just completed back home around feminism and sharing the message and I think the power of sharing thoughts and feelings is so important as it spreads the word and allows it to be brought to the surface. The talk last around 30mins and was just inspirational, there were laughs, tears and just a lot of very happy listeners. When he finished and left he walked straight past Sam and I, it felt a welcome goodbye and I couldn’t have been more thankful for the experience had.

In all of India I have never felt as welcome as what I did when in McLeod, the smiles on people’s faces, the daily hellos from locals, knitting with the women on the street and talking about wool, eating the most delicious street food (momos), dining on pumpkin pie and caramel lattes in my favorite café, eating at the same restaurant four nights in a row, the whole place just made me feel so comfortable and Sam and I both agreed it would be a place we were sad to leave but would definitely come back too many times again. 

We left the following day and heading on an early morning bus to Manali, Manali was totally different to McLeod and although we enjoyed it didn’t feel near as beautiful or community based and it did feel more like we had arrived at a skiing/activity town rather than a place people lived. The beautiful snow capped mountains had buildings upon buildings on top of each other and it felt more like a construction site with all the work being carried out. Besides all this though we did get on one amazing trek to Solong Valley and although the end result was as amazing as Triund, the walk there was really special and was a brilliant trek to undertake. We chose to take the route through the forest rather than the road and enjoyed trekking through a number of apple orchards, sadly the apples weren’t in bloom but the trees had started to flower and it was just amazing being so far up and all these incredible fruit trees around us. We came across a beautiful waterfall and used it to bathe our faces and cool down, we also managed to get stuck on the wrong side of the river, thinking we could take a short cut and sadly couldn’t, it was great to explore though and see the locals working away and watch the fast flowing currents. When we came to the end of our trek we found a nice grassy knowl and enjoyed the sun before catching the last bus home.
We enjoyed an amazing day down by the river the following day, the sun come out so we took advantage and went for a dip in the mountain water, and we found a sandy nook and spent the day, reading, relaxing and enjoying the scenery that surrounded us. Our second trek was sadly cancelled because of me falling ill, so a day of bed rest and sleep took over as Sam planned our last week in India.

We knew we had to be in Rishikesh for the Saturday as our long awaited reunion with Ben and Claire was to take place, we were filled with nerves and excitement at the prospect of seeing them both after a year and a half. It felt weird as even though we have spoke over the last few years when they were in Oz, it was just the sense of seeing them and maybe those nerves were just pure excitement. When we saw them it felt we were all overwhelmed with emotion and group hugged on the side of the road spreading the love and holding each other with sheer delight to be in each others company again.

The next four days were filled with a highlight of our trip so far, we spent pretty much every moment with each other, talking, listening, hearing of each others adventures and experiences over the last years and filling each other in on tales of home and plans for when back.

We used our time in Rishikesh well and felt it was a perfect setting (apart from the lack of alcohol for a glass of vino or a beer), we explored abandoned ashrams, swam in the clear blue ganges, losing hours of time in cafes, drinking numerous amounts of tea and coffee, swimming in waterfalls, eating tasty food and shared travelling tips and do's and dont's, Rishikesh held an awe of beauty and peacefulness about it and it was brilliant for wandering around aimlessly enjoying each other’s company and being in each other’s presence. We even managed a few sneaky drinks on the beach before being asked to go home by the police, oops. All in all we couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend our last few days and I felt our relationships hadn’t just strengthened but had grown also at this sense of newness about us all, we have all grown and changed and it felt great to still have that sameness when together, I always feel it’s the element of true friendship.

We said our goodbyes on our last night, knowing it wouldn’t be long before we saw each again but still feeling sad the last four days had passed like a flash, it started with a group hug and ended with one, our loves were said and it was time to head to Delhi for our last India stop.

We got an early bus the next morning and arrived in Delhi for the cricket, with no time to stop and think we dropped our bags off and headed straight to the cricket. I am not a big sports fan and cricket is certainly not one sport I love but Sam was dying to go as he had followed the IPL whilst being in India, it was a fun atmosphere and I actually found myself enjoying the four hours we spent there, sadly the Delhi dare devils lost but I so learnt cricket is not like football and you cheer for the runs not for your team. We headed back to the hotel that night and had news of some very exciting news back home, making me miss the homelands but being reminded of how important this adventure is now, the news left us falling asleep with happy hearts and big smiles knowing we were on our journey and what a journey it was.

We used our next day well and did our last bit of shopping, sent our last post and headed to the airport ready for the next 24hrs to Kuching, Borneo, Malaysia. With India at an end I felt relived but also sad; my body was ready for cleanliness and some sort of order, rather than the manic times of Indian ways. The first 3 months of the trip have been beautiful in every way and however challenging India didn’t throw as many curveballs as I expected, I left knowing it would be a place that will always be in my heart and will always be a place I travel back too, now there is just more places I will want to visit and those 3wk holidays will become a bit more crammed. 

Link for North India pictures:
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A North Indian Fairytale

We arrived in Udaipur at the beginning of April, after our last few relaxing months in South India; we prepared ourselves for the hustle and bustle of the Indian city and for the new found sights of Rajasthan. How pleasantly surprised we were when we arrived and found a different world to what we had prepared for and imagined, the city felt calm with an air of beauty around it. We arrived in the evening and came into the city with the sound of beautiful prayers and Indian music being played, I instantly felt I was in an Indian fairytale and could see why Rajasthan was described as the land of the kings and a place where maharajas once settled. We had planned two weeks for exploring Rajasthan, as mentioned in a previous post the weather was starting to bake during the day and between 12-5pm you really have to hide inside as its too hot to do anything, therefore we felt longer than two weeks maybe silly as we didn’t want to spend every afternoon inside when in beautiful India.  We worked out where we both wanted to explore, due to Rajasthan being new to both of us and what we wanted out of this part of the trip. Rajasthan is full of forts, deserts, palaces and lakes and we knew our next few weeks would be filled with wonder and beauty.
Udaipur was our first stop in royal Rajasthan, we arrived at our guesthouse and secured a beautiful room looking out onto lake Pichola, (giving its name by the flooding of Pichola Village to make the lake, when thinking of a village at the bottom of a lake it always feels a bit fairy tale esk, as to think of hidden homes and another world once lived before the lake was made). Lake Pichola is the main attraction in Udaipur, all the hotels are centered around it and everywhere has roof top restaurants with the most magnificent views, luckily our new abode being one of these. We enjoyed our first fine feast on top of our guesthouse and felt very satisfied, taking in the sounds and sights before us preparing us for our next few days in this magical city. We secured three days in Udaipur and spent them mainly wandering around the streets purchasing lovely miniature Rajasthan art, buying beautiful home wares and generally just talking with locals and learning more about how the city works, we made friends with a little boy who was crying one morning as he wanted a banana and not an orange, Sam kindly went and purchased a banana for him and from this he and his family waved and smiled every morning at us when heading into the cities walls. We found an amazing spot for watching sunset with the locals and although the ever persistent ‘dress up as a prince photo’ was demanded we managed to enjoy the beauty of the sun setting over the land of fairytale dreams. We enjoyed wandering around the city palace and relaxing in the bathing room under the heat of the morning sun, sadly the palace is one of the main tourist hot spots so a number of tour operators work the floors with their translation and audio tapes, we jumped onto a couple of English tours but overall made up our own stories of the Maharaja that once lived there and took what we saw from the beauty of the Palace. My favorite room was the peacock room where magnificent tiled mosaics of peacocks stood strong on the walls making the room glisten and gleam from the vibrant colorful tiles. One afternoon we took some time out and went and lazed at a lovely hotel using the pool facilities, which was ever needed in the 40 degree heat. We used our second last evening to attend a cooking course that had been recommended to us by both our brothers and good friends, Shashi cooking class. We searched for where we thought she was based but found a derelict building with a haggard sign up, after speaking with a local business man he informed us she had moved and called her son who arranged the class for us. On arrival at Shashi home she informed us she had moved due to renovating works and was now renting this new flat (very different to the ‘typical’ Indian kitchen I had seen in family and friends photos) this place was a new build well to do spacious living area, we assumed the classes were paying off! I must admit I was a little nervous at the start of the class as didn’t really know what to expect but it turned out perfect and for the £6 we paid we definitely got our money’s worth. The class was made up of Sam and I and a group of others, we learnt how to cook so many different dishes but in the most simplest and basic form, it was great to be part of such a basic class but feeling that you were learning something new and exciting. We cooked nans, parathas and my favorite panner dishes, even being told how to make panner when home, (yes please), the energy was brilliant and it was such an experience to be part of. Shashi herself is an incredible woman and up to a number of years ago she couldn’t even speak English, after the death of her husband she started the cooking classes and now is one of the most recommended activities in Udaipur, her beauty is outstanding and her passion shines through as she teaches. When we finished the 5hrs of kitchen time we all sat down and embraced the feast we had just prepared, there was so much food it was a kings and queens feast and it was enjoyed just as much as cooking it had been.
With our time coming to an end we spent the following day walking the city and indulging in the splendor that had been given to us in our few days exploring Udaipur.

Our next stop on our Rajasthan trail was Pushkar, a good friend of mine had told me about the beauty Pushkar had to hold and my vision of this Aladdin like world with bazaars, lakes and religion was embraced into my mind, on reading up about Pushkar I read descriptions and similarities to that of Varanasi (another part of India in which we visited in 2011), Varanasi is a very religious part of India and my experience had been slightly surreal and daunting, the difference I read about Pushkar was that it was smaller and the element of death was not so prevalent as in Varanasi (people go here to die and are carried through the streets and burnt at the Ghats, meaning you see a lot of dead bodies, which is very moving but also for one who isn’t comfortable with death, it’s hard to cope with). We arrived in Pushkar in the evening, which I realized over the next two days is the best time to be in Pushkar, we headed to the lake and sat listening to the evening prayers, the sound was beautiful and so enchanting I felt I had just arrived in a land of an Indian fairy tale. We sat watching sunset around the lake for over an hour and the beauty of people bathing, believing and embracing one another was a very special moment, one I felt privileged to be able to watch and share. Our first full day in Pushkar we spent wandering the streets, looking at the local market stalls and hiding from the midday sun drinking cold coffees, the town is busy with tourists, shoppers and sellers during the day and has a completely different feel to that of an evening, it was great to be part of the hustle but with Pushkar being so small by the afternoon we were ready to head back to the lake as we had seen the sights of the town and enjoyed our bumble around. The lake again was as magical as the day before, this time we walked further around and enjoyed watching the scene from another lakeside angle.

The following day we decided to hire a scooter and head out around Pushkar, something we are delighted we did as we had the most enjoyable day getting lost in the Pushkar desert. We had been told to head to two Shiva temples and through a few local villages, we attempted to do this but got completely lost and managed to clock up around 40miles on the scooter, luckily we found petrol, as always in India it’s just a man in a village with a two litre plastic bottle full for £2, score.  Getting lost however was not a bad thing as we managed to see peacocks roaming around in the wild, we talked with a group of men at their chai stall for over an hour (bearing in mind they spoke little English and us no Hindi) in the end we decided to leave when conversations became so mixed up they thought Sam played in the IPL (we were trying to explain we are going to watch a game of the IPL). We basked in the sunshine of the roadside and met a man and his camel along the way, we drove through villages with children that became so excited at two white people one attempted to pull me off the scooter in excitement and enjoyed the open desert roads with amazing plants growing wild. At the end of the day we were so tired, we treated ourselves to a nice meal at a swanky hotel and listened to the evening prayers from the rooftop, that evening as we headed for our night bus we felt blessed at our time in Pushkar and felt a special something at the beauty it beholds.

Our next stop was Jaisalmer and we arrived in the early morning to a hoard of camel safari sellers and hotel pushers, Sam and I had only just woken so were still a bit dreamy when we jumped into a 4x4 stating they would take us to our hotel, luckily for us they did but after a few minutes of ‘no I don’t want your hotel’ we escaped to our exquisite hotel, after waking the owner up we got our room and rolled into shower, we decided we would head out and explore that morning as we knew by afternoon the desert heat of 40+ would not be our friend and sleep could be welcomed nicely at this point. We spoke with the owner and booked our camel safari for the following day so used this day to enjoy the walls of the Jaisalmer fort, Jaisalmer is renowned for its camel safaris, it’s basically where everyone comes to head out for that unique experience, Jaisalmer is also centered around an old fort, where in which people now live inside the walls of the fort with home, shops and business. We visited the fort both in the morning and afternoon and found the inside of the fort so different to how I had imagined, I wanted their to be more of a magic about it but sadly the structure had been damaged with homes being made and the sewerage system was so bad the whole place stunk of toilet, which for me was not how the inside of a castle fort would have smelt! We did however stop and talk to a man who owned a bookshop inside the fort and after taking up a chair and chatting for around an hour, the smell subsided and the interest of watching people live inside the walls took over and an understanding of how people lived became apparent. One of the main challenges with being in India is the puzzlement and attempted understanding of how people live, and not just the people with no money but the ones who do have money, no one seems to care where they rest their head and sense of living seems to be just something that happens rather than embracing the beauty of living. I challenge my thoughts with this, as is it just because I am now in a place where I lead a comfortable life and can have the things I need that make me ‘comfortable and content’, maybe for some Indian people they can’t imagine this therefore live with what they have, whereas for me being comfortable is more than one room in a cramped living environment. It then leads me to the question of how I believe I am not materialistic but are we all materialistic in a modern day society where things essentially do make us happy?! It’s a question I think I will ask throughout my whole time away, and hopefully I can find an answer I become more comfortable with, allowing me to carry on learning and developing as a 30yr old women.

We enjoyed that evening on the roof of our hotel, looking over at the fort with its stature and beauty. The next morning we woke early to head out onto our camel safari, now as blogged earlier I was unsure about doing this but after a lot of reading, speaking with like minded friends and questions to the man at our hotel I decided to go for it. It was an experience I will never forget but one that left me with uncertainty afterwards whether I agreed with camel riding. We were luckily in our group to only have three people (Sam and I being two of those three), we took a 2hr trip through the desert and it was just magical, the silence, the antelopes/spring bok prancing around, the passing goats, the stature and beauty of the camels and the prettiness of the open desert was just a sight I couldn’t have imagined or wished for, I felt so happy inside it was pure joy to be experiencing. My camel was six and was a male named babalou, he was the smallest of the camels and was definitely a bit uncertain at taking instruction, he looked after me well though and enjoyed taking his own journey whilst trotting through the desert (he also enjoyed licking Sam’s camel, which to our child like amusement was hilarious). We took shade from the blazing sun and enjoyed chai and a tasty (spicy) lunch, read our books and snoozed, the camels enjoyed a roll around in the sand and eating a bush (that we were told was like chocolate for them). After our rest we took back to our camels, the gormless beauties that they were and rode for another hour or so onto the Sam Sand dunes, I could have yelped with happiness when I saw them, I have never experienced sand dunes like it and felt in awe at the clear untouched sand lying in front of us. The camels plodded onto the dunes and with a humpty bumbty ride we arrived at our evening rest spot, we were told that five more people were joining us for the evening, which although I had enjoyed the day alone it felt safer knowing more people would be camping out with us.

Sam and I went to do the obvious in sand dunes and attempted to play in front of the setting sun, me unsuccessfully falling on my face, Sam managing a few pristine hand stands and of course the camera was capturing all the fun. It felt surreal being out on the Thar desert (the Thar desert borders India and Pakistan), my insides were so excited and I just felt I was definitely having one of those experiences that I couldn’t have at home. We enjoyed our evening meal and chatted with the others, getting handy travelling tips from a lady that lived in Indonesia and talking with others about their experiences of volunteering in India. We sneaked into our beds at around 10pm and Sam and I smiled gleefully at the magnificence of camping in the desert, under the stars in India, I fell asleep fully aware of why I had wanted to go traveling, for days and nights like this.

We awoke the next morning early, ate an interesting breakfast and started making our way back, we were on the camels for another hour, before arriving back at our 4x4 to take us back to our hotel. I was so ready to get off by the end, my bum was sore, my ribs felt like they had been on a workout and my thighs, let’s just say ouch. I also wondered at this point how the camels felt, the main man told me they would be back out this afternoon as had another safari and from talking with him it seemed over busy season it was daily safaris that occurred. I understand camels are used like horses for transporting goods but something inside of me felt uneasy at how much these camels were used and how tired they must get at the daily carrying of tourists and all the equipment/food needed for the safari. I decided that because I was asking these questions I obviously wasn’t comfortable with the camels being over worked and therefore decided that although the experience was out of this world I would think twice about riding a camel as a tourist attraction. 

What was weird after coming to this was the overwhelming sense of sadness I felt that the experience was over, I felt like what I feel like after an amazing holiday/festival and that it really was a once in a lifetime experience, so although I felt sad about the camels I was pleased I had done it (yes, contradictory I know) but this blog is about honesty and that’s how I felt. We enjoyed our last evening on the rooftop again, enjoying our last evening in this magical city, sleep took us well that night and we woke up early ready for our next stop, Punjab. 

Photos for those who are not on facebook:
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South India cont..

As the midday sun comes out and the temperature becomes uncomfortable I thought I would hide away and update you all on a new blog entry, and our travels since my last writing. 

We ended up staying twelve days in Gokarna, Kudle beach really is a dream and the beach is so pristine and idilic it just seemed silly to head elsewhere, with our basic hut and our adopted puppies we felt right at home and did nothing more then bask in the sun, eat, read and enjoy having the restaurants dogs around us. It felt nice to be based somewhere and not be on the move but also somewhere that doesn’t have that over the top traveler feel. Om beach seems to pull more of this crowd in and we did venture there for a day but soon left as was craving the quietness of Kudle and the comforts of our hut. We celebrated the Indian festival of colour, Holi festival when on Kudle and were covered like rainbows in vibrant colours, it was nice to enjoy the energy from others and smile and celebrate in the jovial way a festival of such beauty should. 

We eventually packed our bags and moved from Gokarna, heading to Goa, we felt it was time to move on and experience another part of India rather then getting too settled at Sunset Café beach huts. We got the train up to Goa and decided our first stop would be Palolem, we arrived at Palolem and sadly it was totally different to what my view of this idyllic peaceful beach would be, I knew Goa was a tourist spot for package holidays but had been told Palolem was different to the more popular beaches, my first thought was the opposite to this, the beach was lined with bars and restaurants and everywhere was offers of buy one get one free and nasty music. We managed to find a coco hut in budget that was set back from the beach, the room was clean with a comfy bed and suited us both, we spent our first few days on the beach and tried to soak into the palm lined beach, sadly I started to really dislike the place though and the general vibe was just so different to what was in my head, we decided that the following day we take a trip to old Goa to get away from the beach and the general feeling of drinkdrinkdrink. That afternoon though we decided to take a stroll to the right side of the beach and came across a treat of a stay, the cozynook www.cozynookgoa.com, stood nestled in the corner at the very end of the beach, its general feel was of beauty and its rooms were gorgeous, it reminded me of Mango Bay in Vietnam mangobayphuquoc.com, the rooms were basic but stood strong and just looked a dream to stay in, we decided to enquire but on our budget we just felt we couldn’t splash out so agreed we would enjoy the rest of the afternoon there and come hang out here for the remainder of our Palolem stay. The rest of the afternoon was blissful with good sounds, cocktails and comfort. Whilst lazing we noticed across the tide a bar on the far corner, we couldn’t work out how to get across as the tide was high, we watched throughout the day as people took the venture across and then vanished, we decided at about 5pm to take our chances, like a magical night time Glastonbury stroll we ventured across and with water up to our waist we came across the Sundowner, it was amazing, one coconut tree bar selling beers and cocktails and the most serene sunset views. My vision of Palolem was suddenly coming into view and I was feeling very very happy. 
The next day we still decided to head to old Goa, heading out on the bus we enjoyed the bangra music and windy streets on our journey there and a bus ride is India is always an experience you wont forget, when we reached old Goa it was a totally different atmosphere from the hustle and bustle of the left side of the beach, there was a relaxed sense with a real European vibe, we bumbled around the streets and basked in the midday sun, visiting the churches and really soaking in the bliss and beauty. 
The following day we headed back to cozynook and after a delightful morning took the plunge and decided to move in, we booked three nights to start off with, but with the enjoyment of the place and the smiles on our faces we ended up staying four, it was a treat and a half, we ate good food, drank amazing drinks and just generally buzzed around totally chuffed at finding this dream haven. Were already planning our next trip and definitely staying in one of the deluxe rooms. 

Our next stop was to Arambol where I was doing a five day yoga course with Himalayan Iyengor Yoga Centre www.hiyogacentre.com, the course was a real self journey and was 4hrs over 5 days, yoga started at 7.30am each morning and was a different yoga to the usual Ashtanga yoga I practice, it was a overwhelming experience and definitely allowed me to learn certain aspects of the yoga I would bring into my own practice. The group was really nice and my northern bonds brought me to a new friend from Glasgow, it always helps having someone you can talk over the class with and we enjoyed our daily discussion of what we had learnt and what we will take away. The course brought up a range of emotions as certain asanas were really moving and took me to a new place in my yoga practice, the inner quietness I felt was really powerful and something I defiantly a feeling I still felt after the course completed. Iynegor Yoga uses a lot of props which is something I sadly won’t use as much of but did enjoy learning more around grounding oneself and trying out something that challenged me to another level, I even managed a full wheel unassisted, which is something I have been practicing and unsuccessfully failing at, so yeah to me. I was really proud of being part of something like this and felt experiencing it in India just made the time more special. 

Arambol itself was quite interesting, the same as Ajuna which is where we ventured after Arambol, because everything was starting to close down it really felt as if our time in South India was coming to an end, like there was no need to stay, as there wasn’t much to be staying for, with the closing of season soon approaching we enjoyed our last few days on the beach and prepared for our beast of a train journey up to North India.

We arrived in Rajasthan last night, sadly we didn’t plan this part of the trip as well as we hoped, its turning into Summer time in India meaning throughout the day its blazing and not the best for ambling around the dreamy streets and bazaars, we have managed to get an adorable room with lake view so have decided to use this as our hideaway and then spend the mornings and afternoons exploring, the city has such a beautiful feeling and I am so excited for the next three days here and the next few weeks in fairytale Rajasthan.

Link to photos - i have added more to the old album so scroll down to the new ones:

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India - A Love/Hate Affair

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…    

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enjoy (even without a facebook account you should be able to see these snaps - copy and paste into tool bar and fingers crossed)

A brief hello - India time.

I have realised it's been a few weeks since I have blogged and thought this morning it will be a few weeks more before I get a proper one uploaded as wanna do the first month of our trip justice with a nice juicy post. Therefore I felt I would just do a quick update and a few phone photos I have taken. We decided not to bring a computer away (which now being away we have realised could have had its plus's with the ease of uploading pictures) but heyho Internet cafés it is! 

We arrived with a smooth journey and actually the first two weeks has been really easy (I say easy for India, them words don't normally work together from my last experience of travelling in India). We have moved around a few places and are enjoying a week at the beach this week, moving on Tuesday to see some elephants in one of India's beautiful national parks. 

I promise a big blog soon but for now enjoy a few simple shots.