6/13/2008
Hi Guys!
I'm in Bangkok right now, on my way back to Chiang Mai tonight to meet my second group this season....and to start a whole new 2 week adventure tour!
I'll be saying goodbye to my first group this afternoon, and I can honestly say I'll be sad to see some go. I'll also be glad to see some go....
Thanks for all the birthday wishes, I've been partying hard the past 3 nights in a row in honor of my ageing (aging??). The day before my birthday was coming off of the 3 day hike we do up to the indigenous hill tribes in the northern mountains. We went white water rafting, and the water was so high (class 5!) I got thrown out of my boat with about 20 other students a few hundred times...best rafting trip ever! That night we went to a bar/club called riverside for drinks, live music, and....tequila shots....yugh!
The next day, my birthday, was the 13 hour overnight train to Bangkok so I slept the tequila off and caught up on some much needed downtime. The day we got into Bangkok we went out that night again to a nightlife hotspot in the SW corner of the city called Khao San Road. More live music, cover bands, beer towers (4 liters of beer at once!) shooting pool, and dancing....good times good times, until....the PING PONG SHOW!
At 2:30 in the am I saw a group of 12 or so of my students wandering off into the night, very very drunk. Somehow they got the bright idea to go to a ping-pong show, and even though I told them the girls were all Burmese sex slaves, they still wanted to go 'check it out!' I wasn't getting through to them, so I started grabbing them and dragged them to another dance club, telling them that the ping-pong shows were all closed for the night (which of course is a total lie...)
Point is, disaster averted! They were too drunk to fight with me, so we went to a dance club for another hour or so until they were too tired to stay out anymore.
Bangkok....always trouble in Bangkok.....
The past few days have been rough celebrations for my birthday, and end of tour with my students. Looking forward to sleeping on the plane tonight and catching up on my reading....I'm definitely feeling older, and my body is definitely not up to the same party stamina it used to be in college!
Safe and sound, and still deliriously happy in life :)
Stef
Mar 19, 2008
Namaste India!
Hi guys,
The picture with the camel 'Lucky' was taken behind the Taj Mahal. There's a dry riverbed that runs behind the Taj, and its where the gypsies bring their children and cattle to 'roam free'. It's also the first time I was able to find a place of peace and quiet, coming to Agra direct from New Delhi...so needless to say it was a huge breath of fresh air hanging out back here! Ialso got my first Hindi lesson from a kind, though strict! camel man.
Camping 3 days 2 nights on the sand dunes, India-Pakistan border. 
Udaipur, known famously as the city where 'Octopussy' was filmed. Every guesthouse was showing the James Bond movie, 7 pm sharp, 7 days a week.
Varanasi, the holiest city in India. Where pilgrimage is made to the Ganges River. Hindus believe that the water from the Ganges can cleanse a person's soul of all past sins, and that it can also cure the ill. It's also where families from all over the country bring the bodies of their loved ones, for immersion sends the soul to heaven and will stop reincarnation, making the life cycle complete. 
The Ghat closest to frame is a famous burning pyre, where after bodies are bathed in the holy river they're cremated here in the hopes of stopping reincarnation. Bodies are burned all morning and all throughout the night...and it's one hell of an intimate ceremony to experience. 
Udaipur, and all throughout the country this is a common sight: cows waiting for chapati, and essentially begging for food.
India: a country that celebrates color.
Namaste India!!!!
I'm new to this blogging world, so be gentle...I just wanted to upload some of my favorite photos from India.
The picture with the camel 'Lucky' was taken behind the Taj Mahal. There's a dry riverbed that runs behind the Taj, and its where the gypsies bring their children and cattle to 'roam free'. It's also the first time I was able to find a place of peace and quiet, coming to Agra direct from New Delhi...so needless to say it was a huge breath of fresh air hanging out back here! Ialso got my first Hindi lesson from a kind, though strict! camel man.
...India... a country of nonsense. A country where even the simplest of tasks requires the efforts of 2-3 men, each of whom expect a tip (baksheesh). Despite the neglect suffered from its own countrymen, India has the potential to be one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited.
This is Pushkar's Holy Lake, taken from a rooftop at sunset. This is the lake where Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were scattered, and appropriately known as Gandhi Ghat.
Rajasthan villages we visited while on our camel safari. These kids were distracted by their cricket game, but do not be deceived...the village children were essentially a mob waiting to pounce on the 'white tourists.'
Camping 3 days 2 nights on the sand dunes, India-Pakistan border. 
Udaipur, known famously as the city where 'Octopussy' was filmed. Every guesthouse was showing the James Bond movie, 7 pm sharp, 7 days a week.
Varanasi, the holiest city in India. Where pilgrimage is made to the Ganges River. Hindus believe that the water from the Ganges can cleanse a person's soul of all past sins, and that it can also cure the ill. It's also where families from all over the country bring the bodies of their loved ones, for immersion sends the soul to heaven and will stop reincarnation, making the life cycle complete. 
The Ghat closest to frame is a famous burning pyre, where after bodies are bathed in the holy river they're cremated here in the hopes of stopping reincarnation. Bodies are burned all morning and all throughout the night...and it's one hell of an intimate ceremony to experience. 
Udaipur, and all throughout the country this is a common sight: cows waiting for chapati, and essentially begging for food.
India: a country that celebrates color.
Jaisalmer desert nights, colors in the sky like I've never seen before!
Namaste India!!!!
Love Stef
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