This is not the end my friend.......well actually it is!

Today I begin my long slow journey home.
I have the old eight hour van trip to Colombo to look forward to........then three hours in the airport before my flight to Bangkok. I have a couple of days there and then home again on Wednesday the 10th.
I will miss Sri Lanka, the friendly people, the awesome weather, the great waves and the cheap food....but I am also ready to head back home. . . . . . I think :)

So in overview;
INDIA . . . .i am glad that I went. The history is awesome, some of the temples were fantastic and the food was really really good. But that is balanced by the extreme poverty, the filth everywhere, the lack of motivation / will to change anything....-and while some of the people were lovely there wereso many more that simply wanted to rip you off. India seems to me like a place devoid of hope. It seems like a country and a people simply resigned to its fate. Nothing wrong with that of course butit is not somewhere I plan to visit again.

SPAIN. . . . I loved Spain. It rocks. I could definitely live in Spain ( at least in the north) and I have no doubt that I will go back. The people are awesome, the food is great, the culture is very family and cafe focused and it has a really vibrant and full of life culture.......plus it has good surf.

FRANCE. . . . Been there and done that a few times before. The south is ok but spain is next door....enough said.

SRI LANKA . . . A relaxed country with beautiful scenery and possibly some of the most consistent waves in the world. I had a ball.....and a really good relax......and some brilliant surfing. The people were really friendly and the wildlife was amazing. I probably won't come back but a great place none the less.

Hope you are all well and being kind to each other.

Have fun and goodbye
Ant 

Surf and sun

The title says it all.

Arugam bay is all about the beaches, the waves and the sun. And for the last two weeks all of those have been awesome.

My normal day looks a bit like this;

(1) get up at 5.20am. Have a cigarette, put sun block on my face.
(2) 5.30am. Meet my tuk tuk driver outside my beach hut. Strap the surfboard on the roof and drive to my favorite break.
(3) 5.50am. Paddle out into the sunrise and enjoy the fact that at most there will be only one other person in the waves. Catch lots of waves.
(4) 7.30 or 8am. Paddle in to the beach and order a pot of tea from the beach hut. Drink a few cups of tea and smoke a few cigarettes while talking to the locals and other surfers arriving for their "early morning surf".
(5) 8.30 or so. Paddle back out and surf till either the wind changes or lots of surfers arrive.

Then it is back home for breakfast (coffee and a huge bowl of fruit salad), and then the rest of the days spent reading, snoozing and swimming.
If the surf is good then I may have an afternoon surf before meeting up with some friends and going off for dinner.

It's a tough life.........and I am loving it.

Have fun

Loving Sri Lanka.......

Sri Lanka is awesome. I guess that in a way it is much more like I was expecting India to be. The people are really friendly, kind and laid back, the weather is hot, hot, hot and the water is so warm.......just beautiful.
There is also tons of wildlife. The area that I am staying in is almost surrounded by national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. So I have been seeing wild elephants, deer, pigs, buffalo, crocodile, millions of pea cocks, huge monitor lizards and at least three kinds of monkeys.
Seeing the crocodiles was interesting. The lakes around here all tend to dry up at this time of year and as a result the crocs all head to a local river. The river itself can't be more than 30 feet wide at its widest but it is absolutely chocka with crocs. If you walk quietly along it's banks (about 3 or 4 feet above the water) you can see them everywhere. They re not huge but there were lots around 8 feet or so long.......and I really would not want to take a dip in the river......which would be easy to do as there are no warning signs :)
And the wildlife is not as friendly as you might expect. I took an early morning trip south to the furtherest surf break from here a few days ago. The break itself is a fair way into the national park and we pulled up a little village near the waves to get a cup of tea. While we were standing there a pack of dogs chased a chittagong deer into the middle of the village. One of the local guys decided to intervene ( I am not sure whether he was trying to help the deer or catch it to eat) but the deer did not take it kindly and charged him butting him in the balls again and again. The poor old guy was trying to hang on to it and punching it as hard as he could......meanwhile the rest of the village were rolling around on the ground in fits of laughter. Fortuneately the deer eventually lost interest, and wandered off with the man's pride in tow.........moral of the story..........I'm not sure.
Things have also been interesting here today. We ( western tourists) have been told to stay out of town and keep off the streets. The local Muslims are outraged by some US YouTube video that has offended them and have been marching around chanting death to America all morning. It is interesting times.

Have fun

It's like coming home........

The Sigur Ros concert in Arles France was simply amazing. The setting was inside an ancient (and half ruined) amphitheater  and I guess that it probably held only a couple of thousand people. It took ages cuing to get in but the band themselves (all eleven of them) just blew Susan and I away. We weren't expecting there to be sooooooo much energy and their music was (as expected) rich, beautiful, colorful and multilayered. It must rank right up there with the best concerts I have attend
We also got to stay in the most amazing and characterful bed and breakfast. Probably the cutest and most endearingly funny place that we stayed.

We spent our last two days together in Paris. The highlights included going to hear Vivaldi's four seasons in the beautiful Saint Chapel church, and visits to Sacre Cour and the Pompadieu.
Again we stayed in a hilarious hotel that had a special room of the lobby called the "love capsule". It was done completely in red with a great honesty bar, a fun little library and constant music. Susan and I made sure we went in for a dance every time we passed by!!!

It was very sad saying goodbye to Susan. We had such a great holiday and it was fabulous to spend time together without all the normal daily distractions.

I am now in Sri Lanka! and staying at Argunam (spelling?) bay on the south east coast. It took an eleven hour flight to get to Colombo and then a further eight hours by van to make it here........
However, the countryside is gorgeous, the people are friendly, the weather is hot and the water is a warm 30degrees. I have also managed to hire a surfboard and got my first couple of surfs in today. The waves were average as there is not real swell here at the moment. However, the rumor is that the swell will pick up tomorrow and this place can be awesome when the ocean cooperates. We will see. Either way I have a five am start tomorrow so that I can be surfing at first light ;)

Have fun

Spain is officially freakin awesome

There is no doubt in my mind that Spain is officially freakin awesome. The climate (at least at the moment) is glorious, the people are friendly, kind and helpful, the countryside is gorgeous and the food is beautiful. I would love to live here for a time........maybe I will stay on :)

Our time at Sitges was really lovely. Lots of swimming in a gloriously warm Mediterranean .....lots of beautiful meals.......and tons of shopping for Susan!

We had four days at the beach and then headed north by train to Girona for the night, before hiring a car for two days. We drove further north to Figueres and visited the Dali museum. The museum/exhibition was lovely. It contained some of his major works and was really interesting......particularly the sculptures and installations. I love Dali.....and this visit confirmed that.
Following our stop in Figueres we drove inland through the Spanish Pyrenees. The scenery was just beautiful. Very rugged, and worn but with strong powerful landscapes......a bit like the people I guess. We had a great time driving through the mountains and staying in strange hotels before heading back to Girona.

We crossed into France by train yesterday and are currently staying in Arles. The major attraction here is the Sigur Ros concert that is happening tonight in the ruins of an ancient amphitheater. I can't wait!!!

In the background of all our travels has been a problem with my Indian visa. Despite having a double entry visa........mine has a condition that I must have two months between visits. It makes absolutely no sense but I have got nowhere trying to get it changed..............
So in the spirit of improvisation.......and with a big fuck you to Indian bureaucracy ......I am taking my sunny personality and my money to Sri Lanka for the last part of my holiday. However .....before then we have an amazing concert tonight and a couple of days in Paris.....so life is good.

Have fun and be kind

Back to the beach.......

Time is flying at this end.........so much beautiful food to sample, Sangrias and mojhitos to sip.....sites to see and places to be :)

We have spent the last four days back in Barcelona, visiting the Picasso museum and doing lots of shopping. Susan is good at shopping. My shopping skills need working on.....I am sadly not up to scratch in the shopping department :)

We have also visited a lot of the Gaudi buildings and the Sacrada Familia was just astonishing. If you haven't seen pictures google it as it has been 100 plus years in the making (and is still far from complete) but is such a glorious building.....even in its partially completed state.
Another highlight was a Spanish/classical guitar concert at the  Palau Musica Catalana by Manuel
Gonzalez - who is by all accounts the pre-eminent Spanish guitar master! . . . And he was outstanding. I was slightly underwhelmed by the classical pieces but the Spanish music was really moving and quite beautiful in a slightly sad way.

Today we moved on to a smallish beach town about an hour south of Barcelona called sitges. It has a lovely laid back atmosphere and our hotel is only 40 meters from the beach. So I have been swimming in the med!!!
Susan and I took a walk along the beach to find a restaurant in the town centre today and she laughed when I told her I was surprised to see so many obviously gay men on the beach. I didn't quite understand why until we reached the centre of town........which looked like a gay maradi gras!! It turns out that our little town is quite the gay holiday centre :)

It is really quite beautiful here so we are hoping to stay for a few days to soak up the sun and swim to our hearts content.

Have fun
Ant

Sun, Sangrias, Spain and other S words

I love Spain and I could definitely live here! The weather has been amazing and hovers between 28-35 degrees every day. The Spanish people so far have been really friendly and really helpful, the food is awesome and we have spent our evenings sipping Sangrias..........it's a tough life.
Susan and I spent the first three days in Barcelona. She really wanted to see the Vuelta a Espana....which along with the tour de France and the Giro d'talia is one of the three big cycle races in Europe.........and as it happened the race went right past our hotel on the sprint finish.
We had a ball in Barcelona and have really enjoyed walking the streets (and getting lost) in the old city as well as visiting the museums and galleries.
The pace of life is very relaxed and the people are the same. There is a real outdoor cafe feel to the city......and people seem to take their time with everything :)

The last two days and nights we have spent at Montserrat monastery and have been staying in the hotel / hostel here. The monastery is a most amazing place. It is set high up in the mountains and is reached mostly by cable car or train. The views are breathtaking and the monastery itself is simply gorgeous. The Basilica itself looks impressive enough from the outside but it is simply awe inspiring inside. It's hard to describe how beautiful and how peaceful it is.......simply amazing.

We attended what was described as the "famous and well respected" boys choir singing in the basilica last night. I have to say that I was somewhat surprised when all the old monks entered the church and started their singing.......I thought that calling them a boys choir was stretching things a bit as some of them would have been in their nineties........and the singing was under-whelming. After about 45 mins with our interest seriously waneing........an actual boys choir filed into the basilica.....and just blew us away with the most amazing singing. You felt like you could soar with their voices.

Today we decided to walk up to the top of Monserrat and while the walk was fairly strenuous the views were so beautiful, and breath taking.

So we are loving it here.......and will drink a sangria for you all tonight :)

Have fun
Ant

The Fish eye'd Goddess is hot!

You have to love traveling by train in India. We took the 12hour overnight train from Varkala to Madurai (which is in Tamil Naidu).. . . . Third class as usual...... And these train trips are a microcosm of what the whole country is like. For example ;
(a) they may or may not arrive, and depart on time- but they will get you there
(b) the carriages themselves are falling apart at the seams - but everything that needs to function does . . . And anything that is not essential simply doesn't work.
(c) the people are really friendly. We might not be able to speak to each other but being so close and confined in such a small space . . . We always manage to communicate.
(d) there is no escaping the filth and the smells. Whether it is being perched over a hole in the floor that passes for a toilet, or having to sleep with you head away from the walls so the cockroaches stay out of your hair. The smells and the dirt of India follow you everywhere- and some of the less pleasant smells can imprint themselves in your memory.
(e) you can't escape beggars . . . . Even on the train :) how they manage to get on the train is beyond me but the seem to be able to track down a foreigner with all the stealth and accuracy of a cruise missile.
(f) you can guarantee that there will never be a time when things are quiet. Regardless of the time someone will always be shouting into their cell phone, or the food/lottery/chai man will walk past shouting out what they have for sale...........
(g) despite all of this......there is a charm amidst the chaos. Sometimes you just have to look hard for it:)

We arrived in Madurai early in the morning, and when we washed up at our hotel were surprised to see an elephant standing at the front door (a new form of bouncer perhaps?). Now having an elephant at the front door probably makes you think that the hotel was some former maharaja's palace, no doubt set amidst beautiful grounds and an oasis of peace and calm.
It would probably be stretching the truth to describe this place like that. In reality it was an "ugly mother of a concrete box", overpriced, worn out but offering an air conditioned vegetarian restaurant. And Madurai was hot. We had had plenty of hot weather up till now, but mostly tamed by the sea breeze. Here it was a different kind of heat. Between 35 - 38 each day it made walking around after 10am and before 5pm like taking a sauna.

And yet the Sri Meenakshi temple was awesome. This was the sole reason for coming to Madurai, and it was something that I had built up in my mind, but it was outstanding. According to religious tradition the beautiful Meenakshi was born with three breasts and with a prophecy that the superfluous breast would melt away when she met her husband. This happened when she met the god Shiv and became his consort. The temple itself is a six hectare complex enclosed by four huge gates (the highest Apparantly 52meters) and another 8 gateway towers. All of the gates and towers are carved with hundreds of gods, goddesses, demons and heros. All of which are painted in the most vivid colours. It is a riot of colour, form and fantasy.........and takes the breath away. Inside the complex has thousands of carved stone statues and pillars and a very cool, and subdued atmosphere. One of the things that I loved about the temple is that it is so much more than a beautiful tourist attraction. It is primarily a site of Hindu pilgrimage for everything from wedding blessings, to choosing baby names, to the forgiveness of sins and prayers of every shape and colour. Two parts of the temple are closed to non-Hindus and foreigners, but all around you are people prostrating themselves on the floor, or chanting, or throwing balls of butter at statues, or lighting candles.
It is quite beautiful. History and contemporary culture mixing together quite happily.

The city itself is Apparantly the oldest city in India (which makes it very old indeed in world terms) and it feels like it is. As is the case with all of the cities / towns I have visited. It is simply chaos and carnage. There is no real infrastructure and in Madurai not even any traffic lights :) so crossing the street is a fantastic experience. You simply throw yourself into the mix and hope for the best. If you waited for an opportunity to cross you could be there all day so you need to mix it up with the pedestrians, and motorbikes, and tuk tuks and cabs, and trucks, and cows and a million vehicles all simultaneously blowing their horns.............it's fun :)

I arrived back in Mumbai last night and fly out to Paris and then Barcelona in the early hours of the morning. So the first part of the Indian journey is at an end. I am really looking forward to seeing Susan and it will be good to have a chance to reflect on things away from the maddening crowd.

Be good and be kind to each other
Ant

Cliffs, coffees and sea eagles

I have been in a place called Varkala for the last four or five days. For those of your who are geographically challenged - it is right down near the southern tip of India. Our little traveling band has split up with two heading east while myself and one of the Irishmen carried on southward. Varkala itself is a little town that is built right to the edge of the coastal cliffs. It is divided in two and has a north cliffs section (where we are staying) and a south cliffs section. It is also called the Varanasi of the southas it is the place that Hindu's return the ashes of their loved ones to the sea

The town itself stretches a fair way inland and the cliffs area is quite touristy . . . .with lots of shops and cafes......but the atmosphere is very relaxed and there is no hard selling going on :).

I love it here. All of the cafes and restaurants look out over the sea and as I type this I am drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes and watching the sea eagles swoop along the cliffs. Bliss........the ocean is warm, the people are friendly, the food is great and cheap, as is the accommodation......what is not to like.
The majority of my time here has been spent relaxing :) but I have managed to attend a cooking class. That was brilliant and I am looking forward to knocking up some secret Kerela recipes when I return.

I have changed my travel plans somewhat. I have a couple more days here before catching the train inland to Madurai and the amazing Sri Meenakshi temple complex - the temple of the triple breasted fish eyed goddess. Following that I am heading back to Mumbai and flying to Barcelona for three weeks to meet up with Susan. I am really looking forward to that. Then I will return to India for around three weeks and travel the north. Kashmir is in lock down at the moment so I will probably do Rajasthan and focus my time on Udaipur, Jodhpurs, Jaisalmer and Jaipur.

Have fun

Paradise at last

I loved the train journey down from goa to Kerela.
We traveled third class.....which mean't we were in with the locals.....for 16 hours. It was just how I imagined travelling by train in India.
We boarded the train in the dark at 11pm....and at first it felt like we were in prison cells. The carriages were all sleeper carriages and they had squeezed in a bunk in every possible location. We stumbled around in the dark with our packs until we located our bunks....and evicted the locals who had optimistically taken residence :)
The whole journey was one of confusion, colours, loud Hindi music and a constant stream of vendors walking the aisles selling just about everything. Definitively a journey to remember.
We also shared a mini bus from the train station for another two hour journey to our destination Allepeppy / Alapuzza.
The town itself is great. Typically busy and chaotic but full of colour and amazing spice shops and flower shops. Even though the noise and traffic are chaotic, Kerela province does seem very laid back and is much more fun to be in.
We arrived in time for the Nationally famous Neru Cup "snake boat" races. So we joined the multitudes [10,000 plus] to watch the race from stands on the river bank. The races took place over about six hours and everyone was in the "mood to party". The highlight for me was this enormous Hindu guy with the best mustache I have ever seen who was half naked and danced to the crowds from the front of a boat that cruised up and down the river all day.
the highlight of the trip so far was the overnight house boat trip that we took yesterday. The houseboat itself was amazing. It had a open lounge on the bottom deck and another on the top deck. The rooms were beautiful and we had a cook on board so were fed a constant stream of lovely food while we cruised very sedately around the back waters. we also managed to buy some huge tiger prawns from a local fisherman and had one of the best meals I have had in ages.
It was tremendously difficult to leave the boat this morning........I could get used to that lifestyle :)

be good and have fun

and the rains came......

Things have got much better over the last few days.

Perhaps I am starting to get used to it but baga was much more pleasant than arambol. More things were open, the little hotel was much better, and even though it continues to feel very run down......it was much more relaxed.
Have been sleeping, eating good food and doing lots of reading. The food is awesome and the spices taste so different from what they do at home.
I even managed to convince the life guards to let me swim.....so have been thrashing about in the arabian sea. there is lots of surf and the water is sooooooooo warm.

I am catching an overnight train to Ernakulam [in Kerala province] tonight. The trip should take about 16 hours and maybe another 2 hours afterward to get to Alappuzha. That is the jumping off point for exploring the Kerala backwaters and we will be arriving in time for the annual dragon boat racing!!!
I am really looking forward to this part of the trip, as it will include cruising and staying on a houseboat, a trip up into the western Gnat mountains to stay at the tea plantations and maybe a nature reserve before heading off the to sri meenakshi temple complex at Maduri.

WE have been filling in time today as the train doesn't leave until 11pm and spent some time in Old Goa. The highlight of which was an exhibition in the art museum that included "an accurate life size model of Jesus".....who had only one arm....only one finger on the hand that he did have....and best of all.......had bright ginger hair and beard.....priceless.

Be good and have fun

A scotsman, two irishmen, and a kiwi

Hey there,

Have finally managed to find a net Cafe :)

I am now starting my 3rd day in the south.I have to say that it was with great pleasure and with no small amount of relief that I caught the overnight train South out of Mumbai. I really hated Mumbai, with its filth, and inequality, I hated the sheer scale, confusion and Chaos all around and i found the needs of so so many people simply impossible to deal with. Perhaps i was not looking hard enough.....but i found nothing to admire and even less to like.

The train ride South was fun. we had 8 of us sleeping in our curtained off part of the carriage. it was a great way to travel and the trip took 12 hours. I had met a Irishman at the station and we washed up at the "beach resort" of Arambol the next day. He beautifully described our arrival at our accommodation as "like arriving in Darfur". While we knew that we were travelling in the off season.....we didn't realize that nearly everything is shut for the monsoon season. We managed to get accommodation at our fifth attempt.....in rooms that hadn't been opened since March, and where the smell of damp and mould was overpowering. After a lot of walking around we found a beach Restaurant that was open and where we met up with another Irishman from the train and his scots mate. We make an unlikely travelling party....but everyone felt better after a few beers.

We left the next day for a larger beach town called Baja....which is where we currently are. Again most of the shops and accommodation places are closed but enough are open that it doesn't feel like we are in a ghost town.

The greatest tragedy so far is that all the beaches are closed for swimming.....and patrolled by life guards to ensure they remain closed :(

The journey so far has really been one of hard slog. It has not been relaxing at all. everwhere so far is filthy and run down, the heat is amazing at first but also very draining and the needs of people are always present in their poverty and in their struggle for survival. India seems to require a hardening of the heart.....
A friend told me that India would be good for me.......because i would have to stop saving people and i would have to learn to say no.
Well "No" is now the first word on my lips............but I wonder what will happen to my heart

Like a gracefully aging great aunt

I would like to describe Mumbai as a gracefully aging great aunt. A city that would have been gorgeous in its youth.......but is now showing the signs of age. A city where the wrinkles show, where the skin has started to sag, where the life is starting to fade from its eyes............

However, that is probably not very accurate. It may well have been beautiful once, but if so I doubt that was in living memory. The city is well past the "worn" stage. Everything seems in need of a coat of paint, and a wash, and some green. It is a city of contrasts. Teeming with people, and colour, and dust and the scent of "the great unwashed" (finally that phrase has come to life for me :)), it is also filthy and falling apart and seems to be held together by goodwill alone.

Some thoughts;
(1) Pigeon restaurants.........places where you feed the pigeons rather than eat them. Apparantly feeding pigeons is a respectable religious activity and these "Pigeon restaurants" are scattered all over the city.
(2) Being white......and longhaired............ I haven't felt like this since I worked in the townships in south Africa and it is very stranged to be treated as a curiosity. Everyone seems to do a double take when they see me. It's like WTF......look at that strange white dude. Surprising really as I am sure they see plenty of tourists (although not at the moment as this is the rainy season).
(3) the beach.......I was excited to be encountering a new ocean (in this case the arabian sea) and one that even had waves :). However......it is filthy. I took a long walk along the beach yesterday at low tide and it was just covered in rubbish. Plastic bags by the millions and it is obviously treated a one big garbage dump. Such a tragedy really, and one that reminds me how lucky we are in nz. I took another walk along the beach this morning at high tide as I wanted to walk in the warm waves.....which was all good until i went to put my shoes on and discovered that my feet were black with some kind of dodgy oil like substance........lonely planet does not recommend swimming here and now I know why. A shame really as the water is beautifully warm. I hope it gets better when I head south.

Anyway, enough for now.
Have fun and be kind

Now the journey begins.......

Well I am now in Mumbai (Bombay) and feeling slightly over-awed .

I arrived late last night and had been in the country less than five mins when I experienced the first scam. I am not sure what it is about me......but I do seem to attract the doggiest people. I was trying to find a cab to my hotel when I met a guy who quoted me a price and grabbed,y luggage. It wasn't, cheap but it was late at night and I was buggered so decided  go with him. We ended up walking about two kmsand hopped in a dodgy old cab. We drove about two hundred meters and pulled up under an old bridge where the guy asked for the fare as he was going to go back to the airport and the driver would take me to my hotel. I handed over the money-a 500 note, a100 note, and 3 x 20 notes. I saw him exchange something with the driver and then he asked why I had only given him 160 rupees....he showed me the money and the 500 had disappeared. Now I am not sure if it was the scots in me or the accumulated tiredness.......but i got really pissed off. I am twice the size of those guys and I really resent been ripped off in my first moments of being I the country. So.....there was some shouting, there were some threats, and there was a lecture on how ripping off people brings bad karma. I think they were both a little intimidated :).......and my friend told me there had been a misunderstanding, the 500 had mysteriously re-appeared and all he was trying to do was explain that I had given him too much money!!! Eventually we made it too my hotel and the driver then asked for a tip........so we had another long lecture about how ripping people off brings bad karma....and he left without any extra.

The hotel itself........is disappointing. It was a bad move to start my trip in Bangkok where the hotels are cheap and beautiful :) this one costs the same, has no windows, nowhere to sit outside of your room/cell, the hot water doesn't work, and neither does the safe :)......and......the location is "interesting".

I am booked here for three nights.......but may just take the loss and head south earlier. We will see. I have to organize train tickets today and that means a trip across Mumbai :)

Have fun and be kind........or the bad karma will get you!

into the warm

Ah Bangkok.The weather is awesome, the temperature is lovely, and the people are always scheming ways of getting your money......I went out this morning to go and see the "reclining buddha" and ended up taking a river tour and buying a custom made jacket :). The river tour was actually really fascinating as we essentially just drove around a maze of canals for a hour or so? It is an eye opener to see how so many people live and also how the interact with the river. At this point I would have uploaded so photos but am having no luck.......I love technology :). I am not sure if the above is going to upload so that's all for now. Have fun and be kind. Ant