[Safe in India]

I just heard today 27/12/04 of the huge natural disaster that even reached India, in places such as Chennai (Madras) city. I am very much inland, 4 hours away from Chennai so I am blessed not to be affected by any of this....just as shocked though as most other people are.

Thanks for your concerns
with love
Jean-Paul

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[Instead of Water, Try the Fish! - Kerala, Sth India]

In loving dedication to my critics, Ingrid & JaseMeister.

On the 19th November I arrived with 2 Russian friends in Varkala. This is probably my most favorite place since Ive traveled and I certainly have raved about it to all and sundry since. But like any quiet, beautiful, off the beaten tourist path word gets out and soon the place is crawling with half hearted wannabe hippies on holiday. Varkala is fast becoming like that, but its charm is still present, still.

Astute readers will recall that Varkala is the place (last year) where yours truly ate the ice-cream. It was not till after the event of heaving my guts up did people inform me about the dangers of ice-cream on a full stomach...I also remember Varkala, despite my vegetarian pledge, as the place where I ate tandory tikka butterfish. It just melted in the mouth.

After settling into my hotel we were seated in the very same butterfish restaurant, looking forward to our fish meal, sipping beers and watching the sun set.

The fish had a strange taste. But its been a good year since Ive had fish like this, so maybe I forgot the taste I mused. My friends were also bewildered but we ate on. True, there were some wonderful pieces of shish on that skewer, but at the same time afew seemed to be dodgy.

Within minutes of finishing our meal our heart rate doubled. I started to feel feverish and cold. (Unfortunately this is an all to well familiar feeling) I demanded from the waiter to know how old the fish was, but all we got was the "no problem, no problem...", as the waiter shook his head in Indian fashion, half grinned, as if he didnt understand the question or he was glad to finally have sold that week old fish. Im ready to lunge in anger at the waiter for his indifference but my Russian friend distracts me; she starts crying, her fast heart rate is scaring her. It has to come out; there is no other way...

We both walked to the back of the restraint to the dimly lit toilet. Ive never done this before and I imagined it would be easy. I put 2 fingers down my throat, but nothing happened, other than a slight feeling of a dry reach. I had to really put my fingers down, almost playing with my 'boxing bag', and hold it there...and then only a small piece of fish surfaced. 20 minutes I spent, and the dodgy fish pieces tasted even worse the second time. Despite my predicament, I still had time to appreciate the smaller things :-) I was amazed I had some vegetables with my meal but none came up. It seems true we digest the vegetables faster. Luckily I didnt eat carrots (didnt see any either).

Well that was dinner. To add insult to injury they still included the fish meal on the bill. We left ofcourse, without paying for the fish...the waiters chased the girls asking them if they had forgotten to pay for it? In their slight but distinctly Russian accent they clearly expressed their 'feelings'. I barely made it back to my hotel toilet but after my body flushed itself the worse was over. So started my holiday.

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I bummed, I mean, holidayed for 3 weeks long. Varkala is on a westerly cliff which is 50m above the beach. This means I could eat my breakfast and clearly spot the dolphins swim past every morning, or sip chai as the sun drifted away after the hot day. Glorious, orange and pink sunsets, glittering off the ocean.

Plenty of bird life (including the feather kind :) too. Sea and land hawks perched in the coconut trees, which line the cliff, would daily circle above the beach (often and eye level as the beach is 50m below) before swooping into the ocean, clutching its prey. The beach has real waves, great for body surfing. Books to read, beer to drink, grass to smoke, what more do I need?

It was a holiday, a welcomed relief from the seriousness of the ashram.

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[What is an Ashram?- South India]

A common question and its probably a lot more normal than you might have thought...probably.

Think of an ashram as a number of buildings on a property, much like a university complex. The ashram in Puttaparthy (where I am) has all the essentials plus some comforts, including budget hotel styled rooms, dorm beds, a large prayer hall, library, super market, tea stalls, book shop etc. Although what it lacks I reckon is a groovy cafe, night club and a cinema :-)

I stay within a 10min walk from the ashram in the adjacent small town, in a comfy 1 bedroom studio apartment. I can come and go to the ashram as I please, no need to register, pay fees or even chant an ancient password at the gate... However if one stays in the ashram, the front gate is officially closed from 9pm to 4am. (closing time for the zoo I call it :)

What do I do here..? Well everything and nothing, and the 'nothing' is probably the hardest... There are daily spiritual lectures for 1hr which I sometimes attend. The 'guru' (Sai Baba) attends the prayer hall (fits a good few thousand people) twice daily, known as darshan. When he enters the hall, a designated group starts chanting the Vedas, which is Indias oldest wisdom stored in sounds. That is, the sound of the chanting (in Sanskrit I think) is more important than what is actually said.

They say 2 things are dangerous in this world- to be present in front of a great guru (avatar) or a poisonous snake.... you never know what will happen. And strangely, things do happen in darshan, a sort of conscious awakening, sometimes non-existent yet very subtle at other times. I dont know why or how, it just happens. Ive come to accept that there are things I have experienced that my mind cannot understand, such as natural healing, reiki, homeopathy etc.

Ofcourse being here means the topic of god, love, karma, emotions, thoughts, illusion etc is always on our lips. Politics seems so trivial. So when I am not in darshan or discussing the above with friends in a restaurant in town, I am reading books, meditating, checking emails, etc. There is a sort of routine here but there isnt. Each day becomes a new adventure as I pickup the jigsaw pieces to form the bigger picture. A lot of self-introspection, healing, but releasing pain always sucks!

I am finally comfortable in not knowing what I will do next. That took a lot of effort on my behalf to ignore the nagging questions from the mind. I know that when I need to leave and where I will go to and what I will do next will come to me when I need to know. Ive stopped planning as such for "if you want to make god laugh, tell him/her your plan.. :-)" Got tired and even embarrassed of constantly making new plans!

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[Back In India - 11/10/04]

After 2 hot and humid days in Singapore I arrived back in Sai Baba's ashram, South India, on the 11th October.

Singapore is nice and rather like an airport, the entire island seems well presented and well organized, yet it seems dull. A wise Indian lady explained to me why this was so- no one is pushing my buttons in Singapore- air co in every shopping mall (and man, they have so many of them) taxi drivers seem to be honest and its clean, no chewing gum stains on the pathways and toilets are pleasant to visit, every time :-) The illusion that life is an unconscious stream, permanent and predictable is strong here...

But India of course changes that illusion all so quickly. Back to the grind stone I call it. Anything is possible, and usually is. :-) My plans? I just go with the flow and see where god/life takes me. My suspicion is that I will be here some (4 or more) months.

shanti shanti shanti (peace, peace, peace)

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[The Far Side- Australia]

Replaying some old Dutch history, I ventured across the "end of the world" line to reach Perth, Western Australia. In the east we know nothing about the 'other side', its as if it didnt exist, thus we dont even make jokes about 'em!

Freemantle, where I mostly stayed, is one of Australians best kept secrets, dotted with cafes along the harbor with a curious amount of spiritual and alternative healing centers. I fell in love with the place, and the people are even warmer and relaxed than 'slow' Brisbane.

Despite the fact that the west coast gets a constant see breeze, I dared to go out on a boat to see the hump back whales. The day I choose 'happened' to have a larger than usual swell, and the whales were a little further out to sea than normal. After 1 hour of fixating on the horizon and going weak at the knees, we arrived to see 3 male whales flapping on the surface.

I couldnt care, I was yellow (and not from jaundice this time!) I watched with a dull sense of "ooh, look at that.." as a male whale completely jumped clear of the water and made a thunderous splash as 25 tonnes or more of blubber hit the water. Maybe it was all too much for my senses, or was it the energy from the whales, or simply that coffee I had before which had surely turned into a cappuccino by now... Either way, I fed the fish, and was a miserable wreck when I got back to dry land. Always been a land lover....

Jason, the message board phantom, is, by popular demand, returning to the electronic void with his 'witty' (if you can call it that :) 'insights'.... stay tuned fans....

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[Australia]

Almost 4 weeks back in Australia and I must say its great to feel the warmth of the Aussie culture. After the funeral I have been busy in Melbourne selling and giving away nearly all possessions I had in storage. If I had known 6 years ago this would happen I wouldnt have bothered to store it at all!

After catching up with friends for a week in the city and watching films where woman dont sing in Hindi :-), I have flown to Brisbane to visit my brother and sister. Despite the jokes I make about Queensland it is a warm and sunny state and a pleasure to visit in winter.

Off to visit a friend in Perth in 10 days and then we head onto India together, back to the ashram, around the 8th October. It hasnt quite been a holiday to date, with the funeral, garage sale and all. But I sense alot of healing is starting for me and the rest of the family. Subtly, the family hurts of the past are being washed away as we gain greater understanding and compassion.

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[In Dedication]

My Dad passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning on the 8/8/2004. Just as we thought he was getting better he suddenly died in my arms. We often think we have more time than we do...

I spent 4 wonderful days with him and we really connected. I am privileged that he was able to wait for me and that I could help him move on safely in his spiritual journey. To be separated physically from some one so great is terribly painful....

My experience with Dad can best be felt in my following poem-


The Greatness of Being

I knocked on your door
You didn't react
I knocked again
You were not awake

I knocked even harder
Screamed and raved
You said you heard me
But that didn't go far

I wanted to come in
You didn't know how
I couldn't reach you
I didn't know how

I loved you and hated you
I cried 'why me!'
I've always missed you
Couldn't you see?

Time is an illusion
I see that now
And all that you taught
I have learnt 'em now

I realised I could
See you at eye
With all my love
Before you should die

In those 4 days
I have waited a life time
To feel you as me
In gods unity

Thankyou for being
Thankyou for you
I am enriched by your love
As I feel for you.

"with love dad, with love. "

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[Back to Australia]

My father is extremely ill with cancer and the time has come to pay him one more visit, to say the things to each other we always meant but never did...

I will arrive on the 4th August in Melbourne and will be returning to India after a month or so. I think only the people who have experienced an ashram, particularly Sai Baba's, can truly understand when I say that it is hard hard work in an ashram. And my journey has just begun!

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[Conversations with God..]

Yours truly has been in Puttaparthy, next to Sai Baba's ashram, just over 3 weeks now. Reckon I will be staying awhile longer, just moved into a tiny flat that I can call home. Its a learning experience here and it gets harder and harder to clearly explain them in words.

I am busy contemplating the meaning of life and such questions like-
* Do we have free will or is life all pre planned as destiny?
* Is life really a dream, an illusion?
* I am god and you are god. Say what!?

I am safe and well, mentally unbalanced but if you knew me from before then you would know nothing has changed! :-)

hugs

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[Guru Day in India]

As expected, Hampi was incredibly hot in the day but wonderfully quiet at night. The night ski was filled with stars and coupled with the cool breeze, it was just rewards after an enduring day. Then to another extreme, I went into the hill stations (Ooty) where the tea plantations are. About 2600m and I had to wear thermal fleece underwear at night under 2 blankets...in the middle of summer! Very green and lush and when it wasnt raining (reminded me of terrible Melbournes weather (in Oz) it was wonderful to take walks and be away from it all. (which isnt that far before one stumbles across another roadside tea stall)

My definition of the 'worse bus ride' has been updated. Feeling unwell after eating at a Chinese restaurant, I had a night bus down from Ooty to Bangalore. If the astute reader recalls, Ooty is the town on the big hill. Add noisy bus to 'unhappy' stomach plus lack of horizon vision due to the night (astute reader would have already observed this point) plus the irrelevant random error variable I shall define as E (every good formula has one!) EQUALS throwing up 5 times...and a most torturous, nauseas bus ride that lasted for 3 hours as I groaned around each hair pin turn the bus made, fearing another 'hurl' episode, until we reached the flat grounds past 2am.And to boast a personal record, I suffered from food poisoning twice in that week. Oh I am a proud & happy record holder :-)

And for a week now I am in Puttaparthy, (in the middle of no-where India) at the feet of the Guru called Sai Baba. http://www.sathyasai.org He teaches about love and compassion and all the 'boring' things in life. He seems to lack a real scandal (revised 17/7/04- actually there are 'scandals' or allegations galore) and he is very respected by both locals and abroad alike. In his ashram they havent let me look into the big shed yet, but I bet it contains 365 sports cars!

It is a place that has little socializing as people are concentrating on their own spiritual path and as it is an alcohol dry zone, it really is a dull village. Not much happens here, which is a blessing in itself. Basically I attend the morning prayer service where Sai Baba, looking tired and frail at 78, makes an appearance before disappearing into a building, and apart from a one-hour discourse, the rest of my day is generally unallocated. This gives me plenty of time to read an overload of books I have recently purchased and ponder on small questions like- is there really free will..... I expect to be here a few more weeks.

sai ram, as they say here
Jean-Paul

PS- in 2 weeks its Guru day in India, a day to pay homage to your favorite Guru!

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[The Meatrix]

I met a graphics designer during the meditation course in Nepal and I was impressed with his work. Its a spin off from the film 'The Matrix' and it has great graphics and sound too. Check out the following link-> http://themeatrix.com

yours
Jean-Paul the vegetarian

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[Back in the BIG I]

After resting my bony bum in Kathmandu I did a 2 day raft trip in a nearby river. Rather tame compared to my African experience, [see entry 26th February 2003] the highlight being camping on a sandy bend of a river under a starry night sky.

With monsoon hitting Nepal I travelled with a Singaporean south, entering India on the 28th April. On a side note, some interesting points I learnt about that little island called Singapore-
* chewing gum is illegal to sell but legal to buy or 'posses'..
* government 'bribes' people to be in shape by offering free gifts if they run a mere 2.4km...why not 2.5?
* one party politics that seems to have remained in power since independence- kind of explains the above..

Anyways...after days of buses and trains we arrive in Varanasi- & true to form, the rickshaw driver tried to scam us, it happened to me the last time too. We stopped in some obscure alley where 2 porters conveniently appeared and were TOO keen to 'take' us to the hotel. (our hotel and 3 fake copies) Refused to be taken for a ride, I discounted the taxi fare as he didnt take us to the agreed destination. The driver and his side kick, demanded the full amount and became aggressive; it was a fiery standoff- the closest it came to a fist fight on my travels to date. I demanded we go to the police and with luck one magically appeared on a bicycle soon after. He seemed rather apologetic about the whole affair; no doubt he has seen it before. I left the discounted fare with a courteous "F...Off Mate" from the taxi driver. Tourist 1 : Local 0! The incident supports my theory that despite 1 billion 'gentle' people one can always find an extreme in India!

This time I ventured across the Ganges River by boat to visit the sandy flood plains that are varse and could be a desert if it wasnt for the city behind me. Objects get caught on the bends of the river; I was curious. Bits of burial cloth, flowers then my first dead body. Not yet decomposed, with renewed interest I walked on. Bones, skulls, bags containing who knows what..it was ghoulish.

At the point where we stumbled across 2 dogs tearing and eating the leg flesh of a female corpse was when my curiosity was more than fulfilled- & and with a strange stomach feeling I turned back. Passing 2 dead cows half submerged in the water, a corpse nearby, gave a wrenching smell that stunk worse than a colony of seals or the Egyptian train toilets...For the first time in my life I had to fight the urge to puke as the sights and smells got the better of me.

Heading for the beaches in the state of Goa, we stopped for a day in Bombay. My 2nd time here and I actually liked it this time. I guess its all relative. I arrived in India on my first entry into Bombay; but after experiencing India, Bombay is nice. Clean (all relative to India offcourse) tree lined, Victorian influenced architecture..I was amazed I liked it the 2nd time. Celebrated my birthday by buying some educational books to read on the beach.

Palolem, Goa. Ive been here 2 weeks now, my hut is right on the beach, watching the fishermen or the setting sun from the balcony keeps reminding me of the question "why do I need to leave!?". Lazy days reading books, swimming, chatting and generally just avoiding getting hot in the unbelievably high humidity. The monsoon has started now and the days are generally overcast and the heavy rains are mostly at night. The hut leaks in the downpour and as the weather deteriorates it signals time to leave; tomorrow I move inland to Hampi.

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[PRISONER Like - Nepal]

Unlike most inmates I actually volunteered to be here... I just attended a 10 day Vipassana course in Katmandu, which is the same meditation technique that Prince Gautama (Buddha) taught.

It was probably the closest thing I have experienced, other than the casual day trips, to a prison life! We had to hand in our passports and we were not 'expected' (i.e.- permitted) to leave before the 10 days...I can hear the song now by the Eagles "welcome to Hotel California..".

Being a meditation course I expected it to be relaxing....not! It was a grueling and strict schedule; up at 4am, meditating for 10 hours a day till 9pm and sleep by 9:30pm. A strict code of no communication was enforced and I was once quietly told that I was caught smiling at another male 'inmate' and not to do it again.... After 14 months of living my life as I pleased when I pleased this strictness got up my nose REAL FAST.

But the non-communication was not the hardest part as I expected, it was the sitting for 10 hours a day on a cushion that was painful, particularly for westerners like me who hasnt sat in such a position since primary school. My legs and backside hurt so much....constant pain and the only suggestion we were given by the instructors was to 'beat' it....

I actually attended the course because I heard it was 'good' but never actually heard why it was good or what the purpose was. On my first day, I had to sit for 10 hours and just observe my breath through my nose....nothing more or less; to say that is tedious is an understatement. My mind had a will of its own and it wandered onto anything else like a goat in the Himalayas...infact, I challenge any one to sit for 1 minute and actually do this and see if they fully observe their breath without becoming distracted :-)

It was not until the end of the first day that I actually understood why I was here and the purpose of such misery, and it was misery! In essence we were taught that the meditation technique is aimed at removing us from misery by merely observing the body sensations. The body is a flow connected to the universal truths and these can be experienced within our own body. If we learn to experience our subtle body sensations that we normally dont feel we begin to understand the truths in life and become free from our conditioning and stop reacting in life and purposefully act instead. "Great" I thought, that a goal worth sticking around for 10 days.

Well it didnt get easier but I really did begin to feel knots of energy of passed locked up emotions...and they have began to slowly dissolve. I didnt meet anyone who 'enjoyed' the course, after all, it never was intended to be fun. However nearly everyone enjoyed their own progress. By the end of the 10 days my body senses were so heightened, I could smell the perfume of the spring flowers so clearly, hear the birds in the adjacent national park so distinctly and to my surprise, my memory has sharpened. I could never imagine I had such capabilities.

It certainly was an experience and I highly recommend everyone and anyone who is slightly interested to give it a try. Centres are around the world, see the website http://www.dhamma.org

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[THANKYOU!]

Life is a team effort and I have certainly had help from various people who have enabled me to continue traveling. I would like to make a special mention and a big THANKYOU to my good friend (also Aunty), Riet van der Heijden.

She has been a great home support and helped me immensely with the tedious paperwork and other errands that still needs to be attended to in daily life.

Thankyou and thankyou also to all of you who has helped me along the way!

:-)

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[The Trek that Wasnt- NEPAL]

I was supposed to trek the Annapurna Circuit in the Himalayas for 14- 18 days from the 8th of March. Well actually, I did start.

The first day was tough, but thats nothing unusual. On the 2nd day I couldnt find my rhythm and it was even tougher and by lunch on the 3rd day I was just exhausted... and it was then that 2 Belgians pointed out to me in a restaurant that I have yellow eyes...and it was true! I had already had problems with my stomach for the last few days and now it appears Jaundice has set in.

Thus I had to walk 2 days back, and even though I had a porter to carry my pack on the way down...it was very tiring. I arrived at the local town community hospital and I believe I slept in the chair whilst waiting for attention; hours later I was attended to. By now its 7pm and its curfew time, and I was despondently faced to spend a night in the hospital...and we arent talking about a western hospital of course! No food or water available, thats what families are for. I had a room with another really sick guy who was coughing alot and I wondered if I would just get more sick just being here.....

Just as life seemed to get me down...and as I settled to sleep, the 2 doctors from Europe (Dutch and Swiss) who are working here with a Christian NGO offered me a room in their house. That was like winning the lottery for me, I was and am ever so grateful!

Besis Sahar is a village and backs onto the Himalayas and because of the strike forced by Maoists, no transport was coming or going in town...local food prices went up. But I was mostly oblivious to all this as I ate with the doctors and their family and slept most of the days. I had a series of tests but nothing concrete could be drawn, just drink lots of water and take plenty of rest, could take months some say.

I really enjoyed talking with the Swiss family and in a way, despite the circumstances it was a great experience. I also got to learn alot about Nepal that I wouldnt have seen. People were getting edgy and news was spreading about an imminent attack from the Maoists, the doctors were incredibly calm about it. After a week I jumped at a chance to go via a 'tourist' bus back to Pokhara, where I have been since. We passed a burn out bus on the road that the Maoists have attacked, confirming the rumors that spread like wild fire in such small towns.

Last weekend 3000 or so Maoists attacked the Kings army an hour west of Pokhara, I am so glad my friends are safe and unhurt as the attack was far from them. In 2 days the King will visit Pokhara (more strikes) and the city is crawling with armed personnel.

As for me, I am slowly getting better, taking plenty of R & R, ideally I just want to be home now...To say I am so frustrated with the hygiene of developing nations is an UNDERSTATEMENT!

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[Blast it- NEPAL]

Kathmandu and my travelling friend flew home. Walking through the unashamedly tinsel tourist town of the city, I luckily entered an alley to view a shop when a thundering blast deafened my ears as I ducked instinctively, the smell of gun powder hang in the air. It was a sobering thought to realise that hadnt I taken this alleyway I would have walked right into the flying debris of glass as the Maoists (anti monarchy) had bombed a then empty nightclub. A reality check on the problems at hand in Nepal, already 8 years on.

The beckoning whispers of the mountains breaks my resistance and I have returned to Pokhara to start a 14-18 day trek called the Annapunna Circuit, passing through 5400m. This time I am prepared for snow and ice :-)

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[Pokhara, NEPAL]

Leaving Varanasi into a gentler quiet Nepal was a breath of polluted free fresh air. 4 months of India was getting on me. Valentines days was spent in a Korean Buddhist Monastery in Lumbini, the said birthplace of Buddha. Awoken every 3am to the singing monks and the regular gong of the Chinese monastery sounded nearby. It was a place with a different rhythm and a romance of devoted religious followers.

The 2nd most horrible bus ride in my life, full of stop/starts every 2min as locals and their goats got on/off, we arrived 9hours later by a serene lake backdrop by the snow capped Himalayas. Pokhara.

In a few short days we were off trekking, headed for the Annapunna Base Camp at 4200m. Unlike Kilimanjaro in Africa, I vowed not to do it with a guide or porter. My faithful and hard working best friends (my walking shoes since I've started travelling) have let me down... I only realised when I got to the snow line that I have no profile on souls of my shoes. Going up was hard work, one step up, half a step sliding back but on the return journey I slid on most possible extremities- feet, hands bum and even pack! The fact I only walked out with grazes is a testament to divine intervention. It was certainly scary at moments....

For almost 6hours a day we walked, traversing valleys, rivers, passing farmland walking through snow patched trails swirled in clouds. It was in short beautiful; I call it my own personal active meditation. With a tinge of sadness (and screaming hand strings!) we entered the fray of civil life again.

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[Jaislmere to Varanasi, INDIA]

Jaislmere borders on the desert, and has great military aircraft spotting opportunities thanks to an active airforce base located closely to the 'friendly' Pakistan border. Like many before me we did a 2 day camel safari through the dessert region, which for deserts, was rather unimpressive. Never again! My legs ached from hanging unsupported all day and my balls were used as a stopper in the saddle... too much discomfort for the rewards. Camels fart notoriously often, can be a grumpy and rather stubborn beast. Dont keep em as a pet I say.

One of my favourite oddities was when we visited the rat temple in Bikaner. As always, one is required to remove ones shoes before entry, to walk around the stone pathed temple; stepping in rat excrement... But what made me grimace was when rats ran over my feet. And they are big! They feed the buggers, large bowls of milk and grain ensures they reach their full sizes. Probably the most bizarre temple I have ever visited.

South into Pushkar, which is, a peaceful town surrounding a holy lake, the entire banks of the lake are considered to be a temple. A chill out place in north India that attracts like minded people too; marijuana lassies are served in chai (tea) shops.

Agra- the Taj Mahal. I was surprised at how beautiful and huge it was despite having seen many buildings after months of travelling; I gasped when I first caught a glimpse of it. Such extravagance and symmetry for the mere purpose to house 2 coffins (or am I missing the point?)

Eastwards into Khajuraho, delicately restored temples decorated in fine detailed rock carvings. More known for the erotic images of sumptuously curved women in daily poses..to the extreme where a panel depicts a man buggering a horse. The Kiwis and Belgians would like this one! :-)

And my final destination of India, like many Indians (good for your karma if youre cremated by the river), Varanasi. It really is just too intense... which is why many travelers say that it takes many days to notice all the happenings going on. Cows, monkeys, scooters and people weave through the old town streets to the Ganges and every now and then a 6 team stretcher bearer chanting hymns carry a golden cloth corpse to the burning ghats on the river bank. Step outside the old town centre and the streets are overly crowded with traffic, pollution. I heard it as a myth from a guy and I was convinced he was too much on the drink until I saw it myself- fresh water dolphins in the Ganges. Reputable as the most polluted watercourse in the world and there, arching their backs in the early rising sunlight, swam dolphins past....

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[Reflections on the Year Past]

It certainly has been an exciting year for me. Probably the most memorable day was when I crossed into Palestine and had to firstly endure the scrutiny of the Israeli defense force, then educated on the local facts by a UN worker and lastly meeting a zealous, 'the end is nigh' Christian followed by more disturbing stories from some peacekeepers in my hotel. Just as it was my most memorable moment, it soon soured to be my worst nightmare as I suffered for 10 days thereafter with extreme diarrhea, I still havent gained all the weight I lost...

My moment of extreme ecstasy was, no, not on the beach in Goa during New Years but as I reached the mountain peak in Kilimanjaro (5900m) during the colours of a pink sun rise reflecting off the snow. I was fortunate not to get frostbite; I was happily taking photos of the glacier peaks without gloves when my fingers were saved when the sub zero temperatures froze my camera.

My favorite country is still Turkey, its just pure fun and had everything! India gets an honoree mention; despite the many highlights and bizarre (i.e.- non western) twists of culture, there are as many hassles and fights with lurking touts preying on tourists which as a whole, negate my good experiences to leave me with a neutral feeling.

My original plan to travel one year has already elapsed. Asia is so much more affordable than Africa and the Middle East, I can stretch my money further and travel on. My plan is still to reach Japan via south East Asia, how long it will take, lets see! At least another 6 months... And after that, well, I may teach English in Japan for a year or so.

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[ITs A BOY!]

From the 9th of January I have gained the honorable title of Uncle.(doesnt that just make me sound more mature :-) A big congratulations to my brother, Mark and his wife Sarndra for recieving a healthy boy named Alexander. Another big reason for getting myself back to visit Oz someday soon.

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[Into Rajasthan, NORTH INDIA]

Christmas in Hampi was a non event, it went unnoticed by the Indians and the Israelis werent bothered by it either; it was truly a normal day.

My Korean friend, whom I met in the Middle East, decided at the last moment to come and join me travelling in India. Just after Xmas I was seated for 48 hours on a train to be in New Deli on the 31st. Arrived in a cold, grey, polluted with anything you care to think of city where the sun was a mere orange dot in the sky.

New Year, like Christmas, was all but unnoticed by the cold city inhabitants. All this swift changes in landscape and climate zones coupled with a 'weary' travellor has reeked havoc on my health. I am now suffering from the 3rd cold in just 7 weeks, and its painfully slow to get over. The blood tests reveals nothing unusual and I suspect I am just running out of steam. Might work in an ahsram for awhile....

Its my ANNIVERSARY! Thats right, more than 1 year ago I was back in a warm and comfortable appartment in Holland, wondering what the heck I was about to do....Stay tuned for an entry titled "Reflections on the Year Past" on this website soon.

From Deli we have travelled into Rajasthan visiting the very well known cities of Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur with Jaisalmer and Pushka to come. Rajasthan is filled with large forts and big palaces that easily rival Europe's. Stories of kings, war, death before dishonour and defeat fill the arabic styled hallways. Just as the past was turbulent is the north such a big frustration for visitors in comparison with the south. All the dreaded stories I have heard about the evils that prevail tourists have found there incarnation here in the north!

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