Paradiso

MMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... un poco de civilizacion... un poquito de polucion.... no habia escuchado el sonido de un carro en una semana... solo el grrr grrr grrr de los grillos y el cshhhhhh cshhhhhh de las olas....

Beach, sand, jungle... if I was inmune to mosquito bites I think this is the closest to paradise I would ever be. I came to the nearest city for a day trip.

Tha gathring is amazing, such an experience... we are almost 500 people camping in the nature, most of them (us?) hippies. Food is prepared twice a day (and is not bad...) and music is being played everywhere. I am tryiong to ask for a USB conection to dowload my pictures but I think they are not understanding me cause' they smile at me and then continue what they were doing... anyway next time...

I think I will be staying till' new years and then heading north. The gathring is fun... but too much peace and love is driving me crazy...

Peace ... and love... andre ;)

pD. Excelentes comentarios amigos, hermanos, tios, sobrinos, padres...
Mrda, las clases de cocina thai estan en mi To Do list asi que tranqui que ya te pasare las recetas.... dicho sea de paso, mi estamago esta completamente recuperado de la "Indian crisis" acccha!!!

Bangkok

Bangkok's Highways

With Olivier and Pu

Estoy oficialmente al otro lado del mundo! 12 horas de diferencia con Lima... si empiezo a ir mas lejos me empiezo a acercar...

The flight was perfect. Thai Airways just become my favorite airline... however the VAranassi airport was just like any other Indian train station. No ques, just fighting your way into inmigrations... and almost into the plane!! crazy crazy....

Olivier was waiting for me in the airport (thank you primo!) ... we went to the hostel... we ate some wonderful noodles and today we went shopping.

Arriving to Bangkok is kind of like arriving to Miami... the airport is 2 months old... amazing!!!!! better than any other airport I've been to. The city is so modern, there is an awesome night life, and at the same time you can see the culture and traditions... foooooooooooood delicious in every corner, chicken!!!!! meat!!!!

2.5 hours in a plane and I am again in another world...........................


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Cuestion Comunicacion: Atencion, me voy con Olivier al Raibow Gathering... es un campamento en el sur de Tailandia, cerca de la playa y cerca de un pueblito llamado Ranong. Lo mas probable es que no halla senal, asi que por mas que compre un chip thai no podremos comunicarnos. No me movere de ahi, prometo no portarme mal y espero que esten tranquilos sin noticias mias por unas 2 o 3 semanas. De todas formas tratare de ir al pueblo y si es que hay internet mandar senales de vida. En caso de cualquier urgencia el telefono movil de Pu (novia de Olivier) es: +66 897571560 y viceversa obviamente si tengo alguna emergencia podre usar su telefono... (supongo que en el pueblo si hay senal)

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Farewell to India

Today is my last day in India…

India es “efervescente”, todo se multiplica por mil en este pais, las cosas buenas y obviamente las malas. Desde el caos, hasta la bondad de la gente….

Visiting India is an experience… every single minute you are confronted to situations where you are taken out from your comfort zone… and that’s exactly when you learn. It is also because of that that you meet so many people.

India is a place where you experience rather than visit… if I had to choose between the few visits to temples, Taj Mahal and historical sites, and the experiences (traveling by train, bus, talking to locals, being harassed by autorickshaws, etc…) I would choose the second. It is like having a time machine and traveling 100 years back in time.

People asking you for things can be veeeery disturbing… and at the beginning you don’t know how to handle it. My very first time I went out of my Hotel in Delhi I was followed by a guy (for over 30 mins.) who’s “pick up line” was… “nice shoes, where did you buy them?. Now I am used to it, you follow their game. It is the way they make a living… (and its very annoying most of the time). I mean… everybody wants to rip you off… it is a real patience test.
Looking no charge!!!!... if you like you buy if you don't like you done't buy.... hello my friend boat? rickshaw? silk? hash? Manali? Call? Internet? etc... etc... etc...

At the same time the sense of security when you walk on the streets is something amazing, even the most sketchy and dark alley is save. (with limits of course)… muy diferente a Latino-Amercia. Es lamentable porque es esta una de las razones que auyenta tantos turistas. Si vieran los lugares por donde me he metido, las calles, callejones... cuando recien llegas siente que te van a calatear al instante... todos te miran... pero luego te das cuenta que el ambiente es muy tranquilo.

My english is deffinitely getting worse. First of all cause' I donde have Jamye around and second cause' you have to speak Indian english here to be understood... a phrase like: "IS this the way to Shanti Guesthouse" turns into "shanti Guest house... There?" or... "How much is it to go to Goudalia" -> "Goudalia... how much??"

For all this... Thank you India.

Budhahood

Last day in Bodhgaya... sorry to say that I didn't become a budha not even buddhist monk...

Not too much to say really... I have been walking around town, talking to people hanging out with friends, mostly at Mohamads cafe... great tibetan food!! tanthuks, thupkas (both really tasty soups) , momos... and meditating (or at least trying to)... at the mahabodhi temple and yesterday at the Japanese temple (zen meditation... good experience).

Gracias por los comentarios ... y a los timidos que entran y no escriben... haganlo!!!

Iluminacion

Gran Estatua de Buda... (Bodhgaya)

De vuelta a Varanassi el Viernes 15, luego el 16 avion hacia Bangkok...

Bodhgaya

Bodhgaya is peaceful...

Today I went to the Mahbodhi Temple, where Buda was iluminated under de bodhi tree. I didn't get a leave but I will work on that... anyways there were hundreds of monks praying (it was early in the morning). Really nice athmosphere... and peaceful...
I say my friend Misha again... really nice guy 78 years old, he travels 6 months and the other 6 he writes a book. He has so many stories!

Tomorrow I might go to some caves with my friend Tinku... he is my chai buddy and offer me to go with his motorcycle to the caves.

I will stay here for a week and then go to Thailand to meet Olivier.

Banares III

"ghats" in the ganges

Last day in Varanassi... tomorrow morning heading to Bodhgaya...

Banares II

Varanassi is insane… not the typical city. By that I mean… you have on the same 100m radius: kids playing cricket, buffalos taking a bath in the river, people getting massages and haircuts, kids playing with kites, cows taking a shit, bodies being cremated, people taking a holy bath in the ganges (the holy brown waters full of everything you can imagine) , etc…etc… etc….

Entonces si me entienden bien … (dificil sin estar aca) … es lo mas loco que he visto en mi vida. La atraccion principal son los crematorios. Es muy loco ver la nocion de la muerte que se tiene aca. Como explicaba, los ninos juegan con sus cometas al lado de una zona llena de ‘fogatas’ que en realidad son cuerpos ardiendo. Se calcula que se creman 300 cuerpos al dia en Varanassi. En la sociedad occidental la muerte es un tema tabu… aca como podran entender es algo de todos los dias.
Dicen que los monjes budistas , cada noche vacian sus copas de agua y las voltean, apagan todas las velas de su habitacion y dejan todo listo, cada noche antes de irse a dormir como si no fueran a despertar al dia sigueinte, en realidad... no saben si estaran vivos el dia siguiente.

To die in Varanassi means to get out of the cycle of reencarnations, therefore lots of people come here to be cremated, and also to die.
Two nights ago I met a Spanish guy (another one…) he took me (in his words)… to an excellent place to see the cremations. It was the top of the house where people who want to die in Varanassi come. They stay there, stop eating, drinking and everything and just wait to die… my heart was beating booboom booboom…

Banares

Coming to Varanassi is like coming to India... at first glance it is HORRIBLE, but then you start getting used to it and you find it exciting and extraordinary.

The way to Varanassi...

Left Kajuraho at 3pm. the bus was just like the one from ORcha to Kajuraho (meaning... packed... smelly and uncorfortable). Four hours, being in a bus full of Indian people is like being ET, everybody looks at you... no disimuladamente... no no no... te miran fijamente y te analizan como diciendo, que raro este blanco!. at 7pm we arrived to Satna walked to the train station, again, walking in an Indian city is not like walking in Las Ramblas, is about ducking all kinds of animals, vehicles, people, everybody saying helo, helo my friend, helo. (by now... after three weeks in India, yes, I am a son of a bitch, I don't wanna talk to you, I don't wanna be your friend , sorry , I just wanna get to the fucking train station!!!!).
We get to the station and we find the Tourist Office... HEaven!... the guy that works there welcomes us with his eyes wide open... I am gonna rip off these guys! (actually, 99.99999% of Indian look at tourists like that). The train would leave at midnight so we had a long wait. HE offers us everything from chains to attach our bags in the train, to food. He shows us a menu of a really fancy restaurant and of course brings the food from the corner nasty joint (so... well.. we payed 5 times more for sitting in the tourist office, away from the crowds...).
Train arrives, we had sleeper class, everybody was sleeping, the train was FULL, and there were 3 people sleeping in my sleeper!!!! I try to wake them up ... they do , but after coursing me in Hindi they continue to sleep... mmm... fortunatelly two Indian guys who spoke english helped us and woke the guys up and finally I could sleep, hugging my backpack... and 8 hours later we were in the Holy Shiva's city of Banares!

Varanassi (Banares) is the dirtiest city I have ever been in my life... it is like a zoo where you can find: cows, goats, ducks, buffalos, dogs, mice, tons of cow shit all over, and people performing all kinds of rituals and doing all kinds of things. It is unbelievable... really amazing... and as I said, once you get use to it, to its small streets... you really enjoy it.
I have three more days here and then going to Bodhgaya, the place where Budda was iluminated (hopefully I will be too...)

From then maybe I will take some days of vacation in Thailand... I deserve it, India is too stresfull hahaha...

Holy Ganges

Just arrived to Varanassi... loooooooooooooooong trip... bus... train...

This city is surreal... amazing...

More details on next post, I am very tired now.

Kajuraho

View from the hotel in Orcha

This morning we went to see the temples of Kajuraho... and I was really really impressed. They are amazing , full of details, and very well taken care of... you can see in the picture the details of how they passed their free time in those days (well, the poor people worked building the temples, so they didn't have free time... )

Details of Kajuraho temples (having fun with the horse!!)

Tomorrow midnight train to Varanassi...

Orcha -> Kajuraho

No internet in Orcha... something was wron with a cable I don't know where... but anyway, now I am in Kajuraho where there is Internet (and millions of tourists...).

Orcha was really relaxing ... after Jaipur and Agra (big, caotic and polluted cities), Orcha was like a present from heaven. Small, peaceful and quiet. There are lots of temples and a beautiful river where me, Luz, Agustin and Tatiana had a day of enjoying nature. Now I am still traveling with Luz and Bertrand et Fraderique, a French couple who joined us in the bus to Kajuraho.
For the statistics... the worst bus I have ever taken... 4 hours that looked like a whole day... but a good experience always.

Tomorrow we will visit the temples here and then the day after tomorrow head to Varanassi...

I met Adji an hour ago... a really nice guy who invited me to his farm house tomorrow... he grows potatoes and tomatoes... we'll see ... now I'm tired... I am going to sleep in the cheapest hotel that I have found in my trip (50 rp!! 1 Euro... clean, big room, hot shower... unbelievable!)

+Marianne, exclente lo de la maleta, debe haber otra en camino jajaja!!
+Julia... je practique mon francais mantenant avec mes amis parisiens...
+Lee, learn spanish! is the language of the future... ;)
+Pilar y familia, gracias por sus comentarios!