Fambam in India

It went by too quickly. It felt like I just saw my brother for the first time coming out of the train station yesterday. When I did see him when he came to Goa, I was emotionally overjoyed. I've been having a hard time saying Goodbyes and seeing my brother Brian, the closest human being to me, was one of my best moments. That definitely prepared me well before seeing my mother short time later. The past 2 weeks were wonderful, good times, classic one-liners from my mom, and hilarious videos to post.

Goa...is alright. It isn't 'da bomb!' It was relaxing and kind of romantic. But I did want to go there for the Headphone Party, I heard so much about it traveling. Basically, you go to a club and they give you wireless headphones with 3 LED stations on the sides, and you can click to choose which of the 3 DJ's you want to hear. You can also see what other people were hearing by seeing the color of the light on the headphones. I think they do this so people can dance till 4am without closing the club down cause of the loud music? Who cares, brilliant idea, great music. However...there was a terrorist attack; a bomb went off in a German Bakery in Pune, 13 hours north of where we were. The club had to close at 12 am. My brother and I were already drunk when we got there at 10:30 pm!! So the party was fun while it lasted.

Goa headphone party

Delhi - Brian and I got to our hotel in Connaught Place, way too expensive but I didn't know where else to take my mom. I wanted her to feel comfortable on her first day in India. I knew she wouldn't freak out, cause I think China and India is pretty much the same, but India with Indians. Anyways, she did well throughout the whole trip, but I feel like she didn't like it much. She liked the Taj Mahal, she liked Pushkar, and was very happy when she bought 40 mini door knobs for less than $10. I think that was all of her highlights of India. And seeing of me of course.

mommy

Jaipur - Not so great, didn't like it at all. It was actually the most aggressive place I've ever been to in India. All the touts were crazy...all the rickshaw drivers following us for a ride, it's like 'No! I don't want a rickshaw! I want to walk!' or 'I do not want a peacock feather fan!' or 'I don't want a Pashmina!' Not to mention I am EXTREMELY protective over my mother, but she handled herself well with the aggressiveness. One night walking 2 blocks to a restaurant, about a fazillion rickshaw drivers stopped us, she held on to my brothers arm and said "Are we rabbits in the jungle?" Yes mom...we are, we are rabbits in the jungle, they're going to eat us alive!

Top 10 highlights of the past 2 weeks:
1. Huge lizard in the toilet
2. Brother fainting...you can't hydrate with alcohol!
3. Motor Bike Day "Brian! You have to use your horn!"
4. Great Wall of China sand castle
5. Dirty smelly sock fight with mom
6. Discovering mom will only eat banana pancakes than Indian food
7. The mysterious stolen 20 Thai Bhat from our room
8. Mom getting a really bad henna tattoo
9. I was worried about my bladder infection at the hospital while Mom and Brian were happy to buy 6 prescription glasses for $6 each.
10. Mom letting Brian and I have a Bhang Tea.

Top 10 lines from my mom:
1. "How much does it cost? 10 pesos?"
2. "But I haven't seen any monkeys." - she thought Jaipurs' City Palace was the Monkey Temple
3. "Wow, there's a lot of dogs here too."
4. "This is the NICE city of Delhi?" While walking around Connaught Place
5. "You know, Indians look like Mexicans." while watching t.v.
6. "You look Indian now Mei!" when she saw me at the airport with my dark tan.
7. "If you give me a bad massage, I will kick you." she said to the massagist in Pushkar
8. "I liked to bite your butt when you were little, it looked like...a tiny...cookie."
9. "Where is Brian? I hope he didn't pass out somewhere." Moments after Brian and I taking Bhang Tea.
10. "You're going to look like me!" After I told her she's starting to look like Grandma.

Me & India

Been in India for a few weeks now. Crossed the border by foot, so far so good. I'll recap the cities:

Varanasi: Way cool, cold and foggy. It was still nice, the mist made the whole area mysterious. Visited the burning ghats, saw dead bodies being burnt, smelled gross. Slipped on cow poop, not so great. If you like to walk aimlessly through narrow streets and get lost, this is the best place. Overall enjoyed it!


Kolkata: Met a sweet Bengali family on the night train. The daughter, Ambika called me sister and wanted to sleep with me on my berth. The father didn't mind and he treated me as if I was his daughter. He gave us ice cream! He even dropped me off by taxi to make sure I got to my hotel safely and wouldn't let me pay. OH YEAH...Can't make it out alive in India without traveller's diarrhoea!! Got sick for a few days and missed my 2 day train to Trivandrum, Kerala. Spent 4 days in Kolkata vomiting, pooping, body aching, chills, and fever. All I did was went to the Indian museum and visited Mother Teresa's house.
ambika and taxi driver.


Hampi: WOW! Love this place. It was awesome to get away from the honking, or any street noise. Also, got my first mosquito bites in 5 months, good 5 months it was. Took a day tour around the temples, climbed up a hill, sipped coconut lassis, and read books. A great place to relax and read a book.


OH YEAH, one day I was walking towards the Monkey Temple, which was quite far but willing to walk it. An auto-rickshaw driver passed by me and offered me a free ride cause he was doing deliveries there anyway - sometimes this happens, there are NICE Indian people out there that do give me free rides in the day time when my stop is a long their route.- So I made sure that it was free and that I was not going to give him money, he said Yeah Yeah. Before I got in I told him I was married -I always do this with Indian men, my husband is American, his name is Mark, and we manufacture clothes in Delhi for 6 months.- He then asked where my ring was, I told him that I never wear nice jewelry when travelling in India, he nodded in agreement. Anyways, he takes me to the temple, and then offered me a ride back to where he picked me up, I made sure if it was for free again and he said yes, on the ride back, he asked "You know fucking?" I gazed from outside of the rickshaw towards his eyes and I said "I know what?" he turns his head around and asked again, "You know fuck-ing?" I blurted out "Yes I know what it is, WHAT ABOUT IT!?" He turns back facing to the road and says "Well, I mean...I give you a free ride and-" I cut him off and yell out "No no, stop...STOP!" He stops the rickshaw, I get out, and walked back. What a Madachudh! (Motherfucker in Hindi, ma-da-chood, I love it, gives me the same feeling when I say the English version).


Kerala, Cochin: Another place to relax. But damn it's fucking hot. I arrived at 4am and I was already sweating and getting bitten by mosquitoes, no bueno. I also like the locals, they stare at me in a friendly way. Not in a 'I want to have sex with you' or 'you look like an alien,' type of looks. The food is good, it's by the seashore so I'm eating seafood, Keralan style. In the mornings I eat Masala Dosas, famous South Indian dish, they're like burritos but instead of a tortilla, it's wrapped in a crepe, with curry sauces on the side. In a few days I'll travel through out the backwaters and in the villages, should be grand.

Anyways, got another couple of weeks until my brother comes! Yay, brother!

Nepal Prt 3. Emo Time

I got my visa! Phwoar! It's about time. Now I can start traveling. I wasted a couple of weeks, but oh well, all this is an experience and part of traveling. I'm leaving in a couple days to Varanasi.

So I was a bit emo the past few weeks. Mainly leaving the boys and knowing that I won't come back to Nepal. Nepal is my #2 favorite country. (Cambodia being #1) When I came back I couldn't see the boys. I was told that it would be too difficult to handle another Goodbye when I was there for only a week. I completely agree because it was a tough Goodbye last week. The kids kept asking me if I would come back again, and I had to tell them No. A volunteer from the same house said that the day after my departure, the boys were sad and were in bad moods. I was surprised. Before I came to Asia I was worried that I wouldn't effect anyone. As in, making a difference, even a small one. I remember writing something like this in my cover letters; I'm not trying to change the whole world, if I can help ONE person, inspire them, make them happy, or to even share a friendship, that would be enough for me. One person is good enough.

Now that I'm back and hearing how the boys were when I left. It touched me. I always wanted to know if my time there mattered at all when I left last summer. I thought they would forget me. Now I know...that I had effected most of them, and it became emotional. I was afraid of that part. Saying Goodbye to them was very sad, I felt like we were all trying to fight back our tears. I'm just so glad that my time so far was meaningful to me and to them.

Goodbye Bangladesh

And good riddance. My India visa application was rejected. I'm a tourist! I'm not looking for a job in India! What a douche. I tried calling the foreign visa officer personally and he hangs up on me, not willing to hear me out. The US embassy can't help me because they have a week holiday until Sunday. I'm not waiting anymore.

I could have gone to the Banderbans, the border of Burma, which sounds amazing where there are Burmese tribes. But I couldn't go because of this stupid visa issue. It was either apply for the India visa and wait 3 days to get it and bone out to India right away, or buy a tour package to the Banderbans and wait for my permit (required) in 4 days, and then I'm allowed to enter the Banderbans for an extra few days. But the India visa was more important so I waited out for the visa. Bada Bing Bada Boom, no visa. But no time to go to Banderbans.

I'm going back to Nepal to get my India visa, find a bus/train to Varanasi and that's that.

Bangladesh...okay maybe I should say - Dhaka, the capital. What did I learn in Dhaka? This country has 89.8% Muslims. The people of Bangladesh are called Bangladeshis (Bandladesheeze) and the language is called Bangla. The Bengal Tigers are widely known around the world because they are from the Sunderbans, south of Bangladesh. And the currency is called Taka, US.68 to their 100.

This was a tough city to get around. Primarily because there are no women. I walked down a busy street full of hotels, restaurants, businesses, and a college! I saw an guess-timate of 200 men outside for lunch and a total of 5 women. 2 of them were beggars and the 3 were probably someone's wife and sisters. Even the florist has male employees! So imagine an intersection with 600 men, and 15 women. That is how I saw it.

I can actually count the times that someone was nice to me; The old man fruit seller that gave me 2 extra oranges, and was cool that I didn't have 30 more taka on me to pay for all of my food and water. One rickshaw biker actually watched the road and tried his best to not scare me when crossing the middle of the highway. My hotel manager gave me a new towel and toilet paper without me asking. The representative that helped me get my air ticket back to Nepal, he gave me my first Bangladeshi red tea. And the female security guard at the India embassy, telling me that I was beautiful.

So, I wish I went to the Banderbans and then I could say that Bangladesh ISN'T the worst country I've been to. But it is indeed memorable. I bought a can of Bavaria, non-alcoholic beer, and I will crack it open midnight tonight. Cheers to a dry country!

Family in Nepal?

Receiving an email from my mom telling me that I have a cousin in Nepal was a shock. I was in Nepal for 5 months...how could I not know this?

For real, I found out a few days ago. My first-cousin is 17 years old. My youngest aunt from my mother's side, married a Tibetan and their son grew up in Nepal. His name is Tashi and I was surprised to know that he lives 25 minutes away from me. So it was quite odd for me to call him, tell him who I was and to tell him that I can come visit. He likes basketball, art, and soccer. He wants to be a stock broker, because he's really good in math. I feel so bad, he's in way more shock than I was. He grew up thinking that he was the only child from his mother's side of the family, I told him that he had 5 other cousins living in the US. We got really close and I wish I knew this earlier, I had so much time in Nepal, and he and I could have hung out more often. At least I got to meet him. He calls me sister.
tashi and me.

Nepal Part 2

So it's been 3 weeks already in Nepal and it's been great. I have become closer to the boys than I did when I was here. I'm just here to hang out with the boys, I have no desire to go back to teaching anytime soon. Considering how intense my last months in McLeod Ganj was, I deserve a break, and this is a great place to do nothing and chill out.

few of my boys and his sisters family

Some problems, my main reason coming back to Nepal was that I needed to renew my India visa but my last one expired November 25th. Problem is that I didn't know I had to wait exactly 30 days to get a new one, that means...I can get my India visa December 25th, but that's a holiday, the Indian embassy re-opens the 29th, my Nepal visa ends 23rd. So I can't get the visa! Now guess what? I'm going to Bangladesh, I don't know too much about what's there, but I know it's similar to India. YES DAD, I WILL TRY TO STAY SAFE. I'm only going there so I can get my damn Indian visa. It's so funny to me, I'm so free...to do what I want, but it's not that easy because I don't have any other options to choose from.

Anyways, I have a week to enjoy Nepal, next blog in Bangladesh!

Yoga & Thoughts

I am in Rishikesh. Yoga capital of the world. I left Dharamsala last week and am taking a couple weeks off before I go back to Nepal to renew my Indian visa. Yeah! I'll admit, I'm excited to go back to Nepal. Many things I missed.

Yes yoga, I might as well get into it. It's like going to Saddle Ranch and not riding the mechanical bull...okay that was kind of dumb. I start a Hatha course tomorrow and will do it for one week. Auuuuuuuuuuuum.

What else, some thoughts...I guess I can say I'm lucky, beacuse I'm not working anymore! Many people have told me that I'm lucky. But I see it as me working hard getting what I want, and that's what I did. I worked very hard to be where I am now, plenty of patience added. However that doesn't make me lucky. I'm just like everyone else, with debt to pay, and future career goals. And I left it. Gone. There are moments collected during my trip where I had felt lucky. For example, yesterday I sat on my balcony during sunset and peeled an apple (still can't peel an apple with one long strip) and I was looking at the river flowing. I was just sitting there eating my apple and looking around. That moment, made me feel lucky. To see this, this beauty. It's hard to explain how I feel when I see beauty. The smallest things move me. Which was why I had it tattooed. Take out all the famine, war, and hate...everything man-made. Look at the world, it's so beautiful...and I know I will never see it again.