G'day from sunny Male! Before you curse my name for being in paradise, let it be known that right at the moment, there are places I'd rather be!!! My tour finished this morning and I had grand plans of catching a water taxi to Male to have a look around (the rest of my tour group had 1:30pm flights, how civilized!) however my ATM card has decided not to work and despite being just an hour from India, I can't exchange my Indian rupees for local currency, so I am stuck at Male airport (which is a separate island) trying to kill time (10 hours to go!).
Enough of my moaning, now it's time to make you jelous!!! I'll start where I left off. We boarded the train bound for Trivandrum. The journey was suprisingly bearable! It was fascinating watching the changing countryside, seeing the changing faces and listening to the changin dialects. We had 2 nights on board. My sleeper was a teensy little cubby hole which I shared with my massive bag and my day pack. It wasn't the most comfy sleep, but the rocking motion of a moving train is quite soothing!!! We stayed a night in Trivandrum, which reminded me a lot of Darwin, humid, palm trees and pretty laid back, before jetting out to Male.
So I need not tell you that the Maldives is a truly beautiful place! The water is beatiful turquoise, the sand is pure white and the people are pretty friendly. We were on a reasonable sized boat (9 of us) with a crew of 3. To be honest, I have spent the last 4 days doing a whole lot of nothing!!! Lots of reading, writing in my journal, a bit of swimming and snorkelling and a heap of eating! (The chef was a MACHINE! He was awesome!) Needless to say, all the hard work of trekking and cycling is not overly evident now!!! None of you need tell me that I am looking "well" when I return! We also got fairly close to some dolphins. A lot smaller than bottle noses, but just as playful! I saw a sea turtle while I was snorkelling one day, he was pretty cute, he was unfortunatly missing a flipper, but seemed to be managing ok with 3.
Well, I think I might go and try and find something else to entertain myself and pass the time!!! See you all very very soon!!!
Annie
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Friday, November 16, 2007
Oh Crazy Train!!!
Hello from India!!! I am currently in Agra, killing time until our driver comes and picks us up to drop us on the train to Trivandrum. Since I last wrote, I have ridden a push bike halfway across Rajasthan and seen the Taj Mahal. The bike ride was good, apart from crazy drivers wanting to take a closer look at the white folk. Not many westerners go through those parts, so we were a bit of a novelty! The kids were really cute, greeting us with "Good a morrrning" or "Ta-ta!!!" accompanied by frenzied waving!!!
We went to Fatepur Sikri yesterday which is an old Mogul town built by a guy who believed that all religions could work together. To that end, he married a Christian, a Muslim and a Hindu. It was the Hindu wife that got the nicest bedroom though as she bore him a son! It was crazy with people trying to sell stuff, including one guy who came running up to me saying "Pliz, pliz! This is my shop! Pliz, I have a pregnant elephant!!!" Well, he should have thought about contraception before having such a tryst!!! ;-)
Later in the evening, we visited the Red Fort, which was pretty amazing, not unlike Fatepur Sikri (all red sandstone), but I was feeling a little more awake, so I enjoyed it more.
This morning, we crawled out of bed at 5:15 to go and see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. It is pretty stunning! So much work! And to think that he built it for love and the woman was already dead! That is pretty full on!!!
So today, we board the Kerala express for the 2 day journey south to Trivandrum. After that, we hit the Maldives and then it will be home time. As much as I am having a great time, I am looking forward to the comfort and familiarity of home, family and friends and of course, Andy! :-)
Once again, not sure where my next internet stop will be, possibly Singapore at this stage! Hope everyone is fit and well! Catch ya all when I get back!!!
We went to Fatepur Sikri yesterday which is an old Mogul town built by a guy who believed that all religions could work together. To that end, he married a Christian, a Muslim and a Hindu. It was the Hindu wife that got the nicest bedroom though as she bore him a son! It was crazy with people trying to sell stuff, including one guy who came running up to me saying "Pliz, pliz! This is my shop! Pliz, I have a pregnant elephant!!!" Well, he should have thought about contraception before having such a tryst!!! ;-)
Later in the evening, we visited the Red Fort, which was pretty amazing, not unlike Fatepur Sikri (all red sandstone), but I was feeling a little more awake, so I enjoyed it more.
This morning, we crawled out of bed at 5:15 to go and see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. It is pretty stunning! So much work! And to think that he built it for love and the woman was already dead! That is pretty full on!!!
So today, we board the Kerala express for the 2 day journey south to Trivandrum. After that, we hit the Maldives and then it will be home time. As much as I am having a great time, I am looking forward to the comfort and familiarity of home, family and friends and of course, Andy! :-)
Once again, not sure where my next internet stop will be, possibly Singapore at this stage! Hope everyone is fit and well! Catch ya all when I get back!!!
Friday, November 9, 2007
Half Way!
Namaste Everyone!
Well, I am now half way through my trip! The trek was, well, huge! We were walking for 7 days up massive hills, thousands and thousands of stairs! I saw some amazing things. Entire villages all made by hand (there are no roads for machinery to get into these places, it is all carried in and built by very dedicated people!). I suffered a bit of a cold for most of the trek which was a bit of a downer. I also had some trouble with my foot, a bit of swelling and a fair bit of pain, but the main thing is that I made it and I have lots of memories and photographs to share!
Our crew was fantastic! Every afternoon we would arrive at the campsite, all our tents set up in a neat little row, tea and bikkies served at 4 after having a bowl of warm water delivered to our tent for "washie-washie". In the mornings, we were woken at 6 by cheerful voices saying "Good morning! Teeeeaaa!" We'd poke our heads out of the tent and there would be 2 smiling faces, one holding the cups, one holding the teapot! "With sooga? One or two?" That was followed a little while later with the clang of the metal bowls and the cry of "washie-washie!" I must confess, I was a little over washing in a bowl of water by the end of 7 days! Coming back to the hotel for a full shower, with shampoo, conditioner, soap and unlimited water was fantastic!!!
After the trek, we went to Chitwan National Park where I got to ride an elephant, twice!!! Riding elephants is great! It is a little bumpy, but beautifully silent, with only the occasional elephant fart sound emanating from the rear of the vehicle! We also went on a canoe ride, which was fantastic. We didn't get to see all that much wildlife in the park, but I got a great photo of a fresh tiger paw print and we saw some monkeys and a few interesting birds.
I am in Kathmandu at the moment, but later today, I fly to Delhi for a night, then we catch the early train to Jaipur in the morning. From there I start the cycling leg of the tour, on Tuesday.
Exploring Kathmandu has been fun. It is a very colourful city with lots to see and do. Everyone wants to sell you something which can be a bit much at times, but I have certainly weakened on more than one occasion and have bought a lot of stuff!!! The pollution is a bit much though, however, it makes for beautiful sunrises!
Well, I must be off now to finish packing up all my goods and chattels before heading to my next destination! Thanks for all the comments on the last posting! Not sure when I will be able to post again as we are moving about a fair bit over the next couple of weeks, but I'll do my best!
Annie
Well, I am now half way through my trip! The trek was, well, huge! We were walking for 7 days up massive hills, thousands and thousands of stairs! I saw some amazing things. Entire villages all made by hand (there are no roads for machinery to get into these places, it is all carried in and built by very dedicated people!). I suffered a bit of a cold for most of the trek which was a bit of a downer. I also had some trouble with my foot, a bit of swelling and a fair bit of pain, but the main thing is that I made it and I have lots of memories and photographs to share!
Our crew was fantastic! Every afternoon we would arrive at the campsite, all our tents set up in a neat little row, tea and bikkies served at 4 after having a bowl of warm water delivered to our tent for "washie-washie". In the mornings, we were woken at 6 by cheerful voices saying "Good morning! Teeeeaaa!" We'd poke our heads out of the tent and there would be 2 smiling faces, one holding the cups, one holding the teapot! "With sooga? One or two?" That was followed a little while later with the clang of the metal bowls and the cry of "washie-washie!" I must confess, I was a little over washing in a bowl of water by the end of 7 days! Coming back to the hotel for a full shower, with shampoo, conditioner, soap and unlimited water was fantastic!!!
After the trek, we went to Chitwan National Park where I got to ride an elephant, twice!!! Riding elephants is great! It is a little bumpy, but beautifully silent, with only the occasional elephant fart sound emanating from the rear of the vehicle! We also went on a canoe ride, which was fantastic. We didn't get to see all that much wildlife in the park, but I got a great photo of a fresh tiger paw print and we saw some monkeys and a few interesting birds.
I am in Kathmandu at the moment, but later today, I fly to Delhi for a night, then we catch the early train to Jaipur in the morning. From there I start the cycling leg of the tour, on Tuesday.
Exploring Kathmandu has been fun. It is a very colourful city with lots to see and do. Everyone wants to sell you something which can be a bit much at times, but I have certainly weakened on more than one occasion and have bought a lot of stuff!!! The pollution is a bit much though, however, it makes for beautiful sunrises!
Well, I must be off now to finish packing up all my goods and chattels before heading to my next destination! Thanks for all the comments on the last posting! Not sure when I will be able to post again as we are moving about a fair bit over the next couple of weeks, but I'll do my best!
Annie
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