India is full on! Or...Here a cow, there a cow, everywhere a cow cow.

From the minute we walked on the plane we knew that going to India was going to be FULL ON!  The plane ride itself was exhausting , and not in the I've been traveling I am so tired kind of way.  I mean everything was a new experience, and nothing came easy.  We were the only 2 non-Indian people on the plane, and boy did we get all the stares; and not just because we are so cute...they just stare.  The driving is insane, the honking non-stop, and the cows plentiful!  We arrived late in the eve in the city of Bangalore.  The first task was trying to get to a cash machine which turned out to be the first of many hilarious mishaps that would occur.  Everyone we asked sent us on a wild goose chase, and we never did find it, at one point someone told us to go behind some building in the airport and when we got there, the entire wall was torn down and open to the street, so no cash machine there. We decided to just forget it and and got in cab with a guy that spoke no english whatsoever.  We asked him to take us to the nearest cash machine, which he never did, so we gave him some US dollars, and a good amount I might add, poor guy had no idea what it was or how much it was and since it was one bill he looked so disappointed, we tried to explain how much it was in rupees and show him on our handy converter app, finally we hope he understood.  Mind you we have been in this country now for less than an hour.  Let me just say the cab ride was crazy!  Driving like mad, full speed, honking to no end, driving on side streets, medians and curbs.  It was wild.  I gotta say that when I got to India I knew it would be llike nothing else, but it most def has a similiar vibe to Cairo.  I was totally having so many Egypt flashback moments.  Except exchange the wandering cow for a donkey and it's basically the same street.  

We rested our weary heads for the night and anticipated what this city would be all about.  The next morning we had a big day walking through Bangalore.  Now from what I understand it's supposed to be a softer city in India...well it was pretty hectic to say the least.  So much going on, and so much to see; the crowds of people, the cows that walked by zooming cars, the dogs sleeping in the streets, the massive stares we got  (we saw hardly any tourists) the dirt, the garbage, the incessant honking, the scooters with a family of 4 on them, the awesome food, the colors, the shopping, the crow eating the rat, and good lord the hilariousness of the bobbles.  You get a bobble nod for everything, apparently it means many things; thank you, you're welcome, it's ok, no problem, yes, no.  It's amazing.  By the full first day I was getting bobble nods from Debbie.  Oh India...so so funny.  We went to the market shops to buy some scarfs, and shirts, and look at all the beautiful things.  Well I found a lovely shirt that I wanted, but it was sleeveless, and I wanted sleeves on it so I was wasn't going to get it.  The little man who worked in the shop would not have that, so he said to give him 5 minutes.  He had some kid pick up the shirt and run off with it, and within 5 or so minutes the shirt arrived back and presto SLEEVES! 

In India we would learn things were no problem and that anything is possible.  The funny thing about that is that things were indeed very difficult at times, and while it seemed to be no problem for them, it became huge problems for us.  I will get to that...we ended our day with spa treatments and massages.  Much needed I might add.  

The following day we had grand plans to take a day trip to a new city calle Mysore.  We heard and read that this was a calmer city, a beautiful place to visit, and getting there would be easy. 

We arranged with our hotel a driver and we set off for a ridiculously difficult day.  The drive we were told would be an easy 2 hours...nope it was a horrid 4.  With so much traffic, stop and go, and honking..MY GOD The honking!  Debs got car sick and we both got terribly irritable.  Once we arrived we had no idea what was in store for us, and it was insane!  So many Indian tourists staring at us, trying to touch our hair, and asking to get pictures of us with them.  Seems that we were more of the attraction than the marvelous palace we were there to see.  After that we decided to explore this palace, it was amazing!  The driver then took us to a famous church, an temple on a hill, and a market place.  I got some beautiful photos that day.  It was so wonderful to see all these places, but it was a whirlwind and everything was very intense.  It is a very busy city, and by the time we left it was late and we were so tired.  Drive home was just as insane and as we finally (4 hours later)  approached our hotel we got stuck in the most craziest traffic jam i have ever seen.  Well let me back up, it started to rain, and rain, and rain, and the traffic jam was caused by people all driving in all directions, not paying attention to the floods that were starting to happen in the roads, and then before we knew it there were cars stuck, rickshaws tipped over or completely under water with only the tops of the roofs showing.  We were 5 minutes away from our hotel and stuck in this flood for over an hour.  People were starting to flee their vehicles and walk.  A huge bus was stuck and no one was letting anyone in, and the honking...MY GOD THE HONKING.  Some guy jumped out of the bus and tried to direct traffic, but no one was listening.  It was absolute maddness. Did i mention the driver spoke zero to no english, so all day was one misunderstanding after another, and the funniest thing was that he communicated that this was big rain and it would be in the paper in the morning, and low and behold it was on the front page of the Bangalore Times.  Biggest rain storm they have had in 20 years.  Yup I was there.  

Our last day in Bangalore was a relaxing one.  We needed rest and needed to not be in a car.  

We had a flight to Goa that evening, and we were so ready to be beach bound!  

 

Farewell for now Thailand...on to Sri Lanka

After an entire day of traveling out of Thailand which included more boat rides, buses, airplane rides, taxis, shuttles that we thought were 10 minutes away that really turned out to be over an hour.  It felt like we got an entire tour of Bangkok from that shuttle ride that never ended.  Finally we reached the airport for another plane heading to Sri Lanka.  Here is what the itinerary of our journey looked like by the time we arrived in Sri Lanka.  Basically that is also how we felt.  

We arrived very late in the evening to our little lodge in Sri Lanka, had a good nights sleep and decided to make the most of our stop since we only had one full day to explore it.  We had a full day of sight seeing in Colombo.  We hired a hilarious Tuk Tuk driver to take us around for the day.  We went to beautiful sacred temples, museums, we wandered the streets, ate amazing fish curry at this little hole in the wall resturant where we were literally the only 2 women in there.  They were so amazingly friendly and nice to the 2 western women who wandered into this place wondering if the food would make them sick or not.  (It did not)  Not to mention they gave us newspaper to wipe our hands instead of napkins.  

Our driver for the day thought he needed to be our tour guide and talked non-stop the entire time.  He led us to the ocean where we were introduced to the Arabian Sea for our final destination before we decided no more tuk tuk times.  We took the streets after that on foot, had a lot of stares, wrong turns, and lots of beautiful and strange things in our path, and wandered back to our lodge where a cab was waiting for us to be taken to the airport for our flight into india.  

I must mention the temple we visited felt so ancient and spiritual.  It was a beautiful place.  

The photos just cannot do it justice but here are some I am sharing.  All the Buddhas!  

Debbie and I loved our time in Sri Lanka and although it was short lived, we really covered some ground and got a good sense of the culture and the beautiful people, and we felt it was a good introduction into the intensity of India that would be our existence for the next month.  Also one more thing...bobble heads...Stay tuned! 

Off to Ko Phangan...OH MY BUDDAH!

Getting from one place to another sure takes a long time.  When you expect to arrive somewhere or leave someplace, it's never quite how you thought it would go.  After an hour flight out of Bangkok to Suratani, a 2 hour bus ride to the ferry boat and then another 2 1/2 hour boat ride which we thought was leaving at 2 pm...nope!  (it left at 4:30) and then finally arriving in Ko Phangan, our official destination, then of course a ride in a songthaew (basically a back of a truck, a version of a taxi) to our little bungalow.  Phew what a day!  Ko Phangan is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in South East Thailand.  It is mostly famous for its full moon party at Haad Rin Beach (which I will get to later)

 

The good news is we are staying here for about 6 days so we can relax and take in the beauty of this lovely place.  Our bungalow is perfect, with an ocean view and a gorgeous and somewhat challenging trek to the beach.  We basically have to wade through the water to get to the beach.  

Every morning we are greeted by the family parrot, enjoying banana pancakes, and coconut rice pudding, not to mention the amazing coconut shakes, and of course the clear blue warm waters and sandy beaches that go for miles.  Our first day was gloriously lovely.  Sunny, warm, care-free and relaxing, then the weather changed.  We woke up the following morning to thunder/rain showers and a downpour that would not stop.  The tiny roads were starting to flood and the little stores had to stack sand bags so the water wouldn't flood the stores.  Luckily for me Deb had brought us ponchos!  No rain will stop us!!  I mean come on we are from Seattle!  We put those ponchos on and wandered the streets on the search for delicious food and beverages which of course we always found.  

We have been getting so much needed rest and relaxation even with all the rain it has been so wonderful to be here.  

Another hilarious and amazing feat of facebook found us again.  Some high school friends of Debbie's were on the same island as we were at the same time, of course we were bound to meet up.  We all decided to attend the full moon party together on Haad Rin Beach.  It was a great crew of people, and Debbie and I were so glad to have some humorous and fun folk to share the experience with.  The full moon party happens every month on the full moon and is bascially a bunch of people dancing on the beach, eating awesome street food, jumping through jump ropes and hula hoops that are on fire, and enjoying the full moon with "special shakes."  

The next few days consisted of swimming, foot massages, night markets, scooter rides, amazing views, and lots of relaxing.  Which we need for the next leg of our journey.  

You TUK TUK me all night long, and other tales in Thailand

This is a Tuk Tuk.  You WANT and MUST ride in one of these.  It is quite an experience.  

Let me condense these next few days of my Bangkok time for you with some of my favorite things about Thailand; Coconut shakes, Thai massage (everyday), this crazy heat which makes jumping in a pool the most delightful, tuk tuk rides, shopping, amazing street food, sky train, river boat rides, Thai omelets, and of course the majestic Grand Palace.  

Thailand is magical.  The people are beautiful and my time here has been more than amazing.  Deb and I met up with another friend Emily who is also from Seattle, but was already in Thailand!  We had no idea she was here, but the magic of facebook brings us together.  We met up with Emily and had an amazing day touring the Grand Palace.  This place is gigantic, majestic beyond words, and seeing it's beauty is overwhelming.  We had a gorgeous day in the heat exploring and photographing this palace.  We ended our day with a swim and foot massages, not a bad life.  

The next morning we had the most wonderful day.  Emily joined Debbie and I again and we had a private river boat tour that included stopping in many places along the way.  (so we thought)  The thing about being in another country of course is how things get translated, or lack of translation.  This river boat did not stop once, just drove on and on.  The driver spoke no english, and our understanding was to get out of the boat at certain points to explore temples and gardens.  Oh well, this will be one of many little misunderstandings along the journey.  Regardless it was a fantastic boat ride and we had a lovely time on the water.  

Afterwards we took the Bangkok sky train to a part of town called Siam which has a very modern and strange mall.  For instance these photos were to let you know who goes in what bathroom.  

There were also movies playing in the bathroom, and profound quotes on the stalls.  

Later that evening we connected with another friend of Debbie's; Ishya who was visiting her mother.  She lives in a suburb of Bangkok.  We were able to see a real Thai home, this one was fancy.  It was pretty surreal to be there.  We had dinner at this very nice resturant on a popular street called the Sukumvitt (the crab salad was amazing!)  and then headed to one of the tallest and best views in the city.  It was a perfect way to end a perfect day.