I Wonder What Nehrwan Chering is Doing Today?

Lately I've been thinking about the contrasts in my life in the Western world and the glimmer of life that I experienced while in India.

Love it or hate it, India left an unforgettable impression. It is a place full of struggles but equally full of hope. Poverty, overpopulation, poor infrastructure and social services, caste discrimination, and droughts balanced with spirituality, happiness, entrepreneurial spirit, diversity, love, and pride.

In the West, we have all that most Indians can only dream of yet some of us are lost when it comes to human spirit. We stress about the latest pandemic, work, school, relationships, minor injustices, mortgages, money, etc. Some of this stress is legitimate and necessary but all in all we have it pretty easy. So why is it so challenging to think about the upside? If we divert some of the energy we spend on stress to harnessing the energy of our inner spirit, we could become incredibly positive forces.

In the Himilayas, we stayed in an area that had just emerged from 8 months of being snowed in. We were fortunate to stay at a guesthouse where the owners lived on the 2nd floor. They had a daunting task ahead of them: capitalize the small window of good weather to grow and gather their food and wood for the rest of the year and make a bit of money from tourists coming through on their way to a greater destination. The women toiled on the fields each morning. The elder's body was L-shaped from years of hunching over. Perhaps I was blissfully unaware of their true feelings due to the communication gap but I like to believe that they were truly grateful and happy. Their smiles could melt the coldest of hearts. In particular, the little 10 year old boy in the family Nehrwan Chering was so full of pure spirit and joy. I often wonder how he's doing.

On this beautiful Remembrance Day, it's probably pretty cold and snowy where he is. The pipes are frozen, water needs to be boiled for a quick splash bath, wood is burning in their poorly ventilated communal unit, and they're carefully conserving their food. Yet I am almost certain that there is great love in his family and community, and that Nehrwan is blazing the most uplifting and brightest light from the core of his inner spirit.

If it's so easy for this family in such an adverse situation, it should be just as easy for us to drop what we're doing, take a moment, and share our brightest within to everyone around.

Namaste.

Picture 1- Super kiddo/ master entertainer Nehrwan
Picture 2- Enjoying the beauty of fall

All Good Things Come to An End But There Are Always More Around the Corner

China pics (above), HK pics (below)





Quebec pics







This is a tough blog to write because it IS the end of this journey. It was the most interesting, eye-opening, and awesome journey I've had so far. Blissful and lasting memories of incredible landscapes, kind people, weird people, moments of heat-induced insanity, and first-times (scooters, exotic dishes, and I didn't mention this in my Indonesia entry but seeing the BIGGEST lizard EVER..swear it was 3 ft long, 200 lbs). Thailand, India, Indonesia, and China did not disappoint at all! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to do this and all the people who supported me (especially my family) and followed along on this blog. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it (If you have any feedback, I would love to hear it).

I have been procrastinating on updating you on where I've been since mid-July partly because of internet access , denial that I am going back to my 'normal' life, and a feeling that those of you who may still be following along are probably busy enjoying the last of summer. I have certainly felt heartily embraced by the energy of our beautiful BC summer in the couple of days since returning home.

Here is one of my final on-the-road entries from our last Asian destination, China. Also a bonus entry from an unfrequented gem in Quebec, the Gaspe.

China is Impressive

Two big chinese beers and a spicy chicken meal later at a 100 percent mandarin speaking restaurant in Beijing just puts me in a great mood to write! Getting off the beaten track to do as the locals do is what makes me love to travel. We went to a back alley restaurant and struggled to order but ended up having a good meal at a fraction of the cost of mainstream restaurants (a big beer is $1.50 Cdn!) and a memorable experience.

Based on this recent attempt to order food with a purely chinese menu (no pretty pictures, no English, no Cantonese speakers around), I have concluded that:

1) My Mandarin is awful. I speak Cantonese, another dialect of Chinese. The written language is the same but tones, words, etc. of the spoken language are quite distinct. So, using my marginal Cantonese, I bumbled my way around China with Nick who was learning from me (eek). Some words I blurted were accurate but there were more times where I was just making up a mandarin sounding word. I need help. Xu, are you interested in being a mentor?

2) I did not pay attention to reading Chinese characters during Chinese lessons. I would love to learn them now. I was captivated with reading or just mostly looking at Chinese characters. This skill is buried so deep in my pre-teens that I was really excited to know some characters. It actually felt much easier to learn the characters than what I remembered from school where we had to memorize and dictate a story every week.


Beijing is a great city that I was really impressed with. I have traveled to many parts of Asia. Beijing is a place I would recommend to everyone, especially to those who have never been to Asia. It offers modern comforts, amazing site-seeing opportunities, the magnetic energy of Asia, and a glimpse of old ways of life and traditions. In the span of 3.5 days, we powered through the Forbidden City, Tian'namen Square, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Great Wall, Ming Tombs, old neighborhoods (hutongs) by bike during a flash rainstorm, ridiculously cheap shopping for fake name brand goods and quality Chinese goods, and eating at numerous tasty street stalls.

Most of the sites were very busy with a constant flow of tour groups and visitors from all over China. This was especially true at the Forbidden City which frankly had less to offer than the Summer Palace. To avoid the crowds at the Great Wall, we paired up with another couple and rented a car that got us there at 5am. Although we were tired, getting there early was worth it as you can see from the picture with no people around. On a side note, we took a bobsled ride to descend. It was so fun to race down and manoeuvre hairpin corners at full speed! Based on this whole trip, I conclude that I love speed!

There was one thing that was quite unusual with Beijing. The sky is constantly white and misty. I am not sure if it was a cloud of pollution and/or a result of the high level of humidity. Aside from feeling sticky all the time and some fuzzy photos, it didn't bother me. If it was poor air quality, we did not notice it but that might have something to do with a two month lead up of pollution.

So Beijing was cool but now onto Hong Kong which is awesome partially because it runs through my blood. I loved speaking Cantonese. It made me feel like I was part of the culture and it was a traveling advantage. I was so happy to eat HK style Chinese food (cha sui/ BBQ pork, wonton noodles, choi/ green leafed veggies, congee). HK is modern. The public transit takes you everywhere with internet access at each station and wi-fi while riding if you want.

There are some interesting sites including the world's largest seated Buddha and the nightly light show. But what HK seems to be best at is non-stop shopping. You can also shop til you puke! There's a variety to spots to go to from street markets to mega malls some cheap, others chic.

We also stopped by Macau, the Las Vegas of the East located near Hong Kong. The cheapest table started at $20 so with little money to spare, gambling was not on our agenda. What was on the agenda was seeing our 13th and final UNESCO World Heritage site (wow!) of this trip. Macau itself is a UNESCO site as it was once a Portugese colony and has retained some of this flare in its buildings and streets. Unfortunately, the Portugese culture did not have as much sticking power.

Sitting at my computer in Vancouver, it blows my mind that I even went on this trip because it feels like three months flew by so quickly. Yet while I was away, time felt like an eternity; every single minute of which I treasured. Enjoy the moment as it presents itself and you'll find happiness and creativity. That's as far as I'll go with my philosophical rant...

Quebec Knows How to Play

Free Cirque show in Quebec City, friends in Riviere Du Loup (Nico's hometown), good food, hugs and double cheek kisses, and family in Capucin which is in the Gaspe Pennisula. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Salut!

Taking it Easy in Indonesia

It's 6:30am in Ubud as I'm composing this entry off-line. I can't sleep. The demented, soloist rooster has been practising his opera in a very off key squawk since about 4am - 8am for the past three days. I would like him if he was served as KFC right now (ha!). Although I despise him now, I know I'll miss these types of 'slice of life' noises after I return.

Since India, we did a full 180. We went from a crazy and hectic environment where locals outnumbered foreigners to a more mellow setting in Indonesia where there seems to be foreigners everywhere. From the spots we went to in Bali and Lombok which may be the more touristy ones, it feels like Indo is to the Europeans and Aussies what Mexico is to North Americans. It happened to be high season so everything was double the price. In these ways, it did not meet my backpacker mindset. Quickly though, with the inspiring, serene scenery and friendly people, I was quite okay with taking a vacation from my vacation. The highlights include the Gili Islands and Ubud. At the Gilis, we were so seduced by the beaches, the clear turqoise water, complete lack of motorized transport, and fresh seafood (yum..baby tuna) that we just became blobs and parked ourselves there with our books for what seemed like a blissful eternity.

When I started to get bored of tanning, I knew it was time for a change so we headed to the artisan town of Ubud. It's a busy little place with lots of interesting window shopping for hand crafted things including jewellery, textiles, paintings, and woodwork. Just a stone's throw away are rice paddies and jungles. The main highlight in Ubud was my first time driving a scooter and first time driving in Asian traffic. In most parts of Asia, there are simply no rules to driving and very few traffic lights. They follow the philosophy of flow and keep their focus in front of them (like skiing). I was so nervous the night before with visions of falling over, crashing, etc. Driving that scooter turned out to be the BEST thing ever! Within 20 minutes, I felt like a pro pinning my scooter at full throttle. There was so much freedom and so much to see. Along our way to some volcanoes (Gunung Batur and Gunung Agung), we passed by small villages, farmers, and rice paddies. It was so nice to get off the beaten path to see the real heart of the Balinese culture. I loved the pace of Ubud and would definately go again.

We stayed in Ubud right to the end which was great because we did not have to go back to Kuta. Kuta has a good surf break but it is super busy with its proximity to the airport. It is like one big college frat party. At one time, I would have liked it but now it would be like babysitting myself in my party years (horror!).
Our next stop is China as we wind down. I am so excited to go to Hong Kong to get in touch with my heritage that I so easily brushed off growing up self-defined as a Canadian.

I see that Vancouver is getting prime time sun. Hope everyone is enjoying summer!

Caving, Slapping, Meltdown, and a Parting Gift from India

For the same price of leaving Delhi for Bangkok, we could go to Mumbai and depart from there. Althought both of us were feeling fatigued by India, we decided to push on so that we could see some ancient caves south of Mumbai in Aurangabad.

On our train ride there, we witnessed our second incident of vigilante justice. A drunken guy offended a lady so her son sought justice by slapping him silly. All of this happened in broad daylight in an overcrowded train. Just as soon as the commotion started, it ended. In a way, it was quite effective to express the anger right away rather than suppress it. Imagine this happening at home or at work. It could definately get ugly!

At Aurangabad, we met a cool British couple Patty and Gary who we went with to the Ellora Caves. The World Heritage Caves were built between 600AD to 1000AD. The 30 plus caves represent the Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain religions each of which have intricately carved sculptures. The Kailasa Temple in one of the caves covers twice the area of the Parthenon in Anthens, is 1.5 times larger, and was hand built starting from the top to the bottom. The caves are definately one of the most impressive sites I have ever seen!

After an "ace" (awesome in Brit slang) day at the caves, we went back to Mumbai for our final 2 days. I was hoping to finish on a high note but that wasn't on in our destiny. I had a major heat stress meltdown walking around the city. I was in near tears as I grappled with the heat, a disgusting feeling of stickiness, and a sense that my brain was cooking in my head. I could not have survived the day without Nico who put up with my craziness and escorted me to the nearest a/c restaurant where we had one of our best Indian thalis (meals)!

Just as we were back on a high, we had dinner at a kebab stand that we had eaten at before. Either it was the kebab or water from our breakfast chai teas that put us flat on our backs with traveller's diarrhea. I was not as sick as my first bout in the Himilayas but Nico was violently ill all night. We spent the next day in bed within a stone's throw from the toilet. So that was the lovely kick ass parting gift that India surprised us with. Merci et tabernac from the Chungs!

Now that I am at the end of this leg of the trip, you may wonder whether India is a place that you should go to. Despite the lows, I would still recommend it. But just as I was excited to arrive, I was even more excited to depart. I felt that it was a really tough trip. Mentally, there was the constant action and sheer volume of people (mostly men) to deal with. Physically, I got sick a few times but met some traveller's who did not get sick once. The heat and the frequent sight and smell of human shit, piss, and garbage are also barriers to overcome. On the flip side, I saw some of the most amazing things and met some of the happiest, helpful, and soulful people.

If you decide to visit, I am sure that your experience will be interesting at the very least and uniquely different from mine.

So that's a wrap India. Now it's back to the creature comforts of Thailand before we head to Indonesia.

Pic 1-4 Ellora Caves

Pic 5 Killer Kebabs

Pic 6 Thali Meal Post-Meltdown. I think I've lost about 5-10 pounds...not good!

From Buddhism to Sikhism

Many people are drawn to Dharamsala to immerse themselves in Buddhism and other forms of spiritual practise. It is the home of the exhiled Tibetan government, its people, and arguably one of the most influential spiritual leaders the Dalai Lama. I found the Tibetan people to be very hospitable, friendly, and soothingly mellow. Getting to eat their regional food was a treat since it's a lot closer to mom's home cooking than Indian food. For about $0.25, you can get 4 freshly steamed 'momos' which are bit sized rice buns stuffed with asian green leaf vegetables, onions, and sometimes mutton or chicken.

With the zen aura of the Buddhist monks, the misty surrounding mountains, and my hope that the Dalai Lama was in town (in this case, it was his aura since physically he was out west) and snippets of philosophical discussions about 'ego' at the cafes, it seemed a very fitting place for me to conclude my first read of 'A New Earth' by Eckhart Tolle. My buddy Jo and I have been using his simple teachings to break down our life issues in the past 8 months. Referring to pieces of different religions including Buddhism and Christianity, he advocates the need to be present in our everyday actions to live more fulfilling and creative lives. A simple example from his book is when you walk, your focus should only be on that rather than the destination. This is not an easy thing for my wee little overactive mind! In so many ways, it has started to rewire me. I've probably already recommended the book to you but if not, think about getting a copy or download one of his podcasts.

Shifting gears, we went from Buddhism to Sikhism with a visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. It is the holiest temple in the Sikh religion. The religion was founded by Guru Nanak Devi who could not find fulfillment in Hinduism, particularly the caste system. The religion welcomes all castes to worship together and it emphasizes rebirth and karma. The temple is guilded with let's say lots of gold and a constant live chant echoes throughout the temple from 8 to 8. The whole experience was really pleasant and uplifting.

I'm on the train to Delhi now. I'm quite unsure of where this journey will take me next. 'Today is what matters now with tomorrow being the next today' as told to me by a very random encounter with a body reader in Shimla.

Shallow side notes:
-There were some extreme new age hippies in Dharamsala, one who was dressed like a hobbit with the haircut of Gollum.
-We stayed in our worstguest house in Amritsar. It smelled and tasted like fart.
-I've been wearing the same hammer pants for the 4th day in a row because I've been too lazy to get my other pants from the bottom of my pack. Cleanliness has disappeared from my vocabulary. At a public toilet, my feet feel dirty even though I am wearing shoes!

A Can-Indian Experience

The Himilayan mountain range is breathtaking. There's no other word to describe it.

First, I'll bring you up to speed since my last entry a couple of weeks ago. We arrived in Shimla, a hillstation/ monkey terrorist base at the start of the month. It was our first taste of milder weather with temperatures in the low 20's during the day and dropping to 10-ish in the evening. Shimla is a very frequented mountain town so it was quite overpriced and packed with the usual crowds. Notable to the town are it's Simian monkey terrorists. These monkeys are so naughty because they have been fed too much so they now attack passing tourists and break into any open entry in search of snacks. I was very freaked out about being rushed by a pack of monkeys but fortunately was spared. The monkeys did however break into our hotel room. When I entered our hotel room the first night out, I jokingly chuffed about monkeys breaking in. To my surprise, the balcony door was open and the monkey had gone straight for some sweets. We were so lucky that they did not tear through the I-Pod, cameras, and clothes conveniently next to the sweets as we witnessed the next day when a guy was trying to retrieve his wife's purse off a branch about 20 feet above him. Another case of monkey terrorism!

From Shimla, we went to Manali which is where I am writing from. Manali has every convenience a traveller needs including awesome internet connection, western food, etc. It's a primary lauching spot for further touring up north and it also happens to be a major tourist destination. Set against a beautiful mountain backdrop, it is tainted by constant traffic. Ironically, the car emissions seem a lot worse than Delhi! I'll comment more on that later. We are in Old Manali where the backpackers converge. It is the peaceful part of town unlike New Manali which might as well be New Delhi.

Just today, we returned from the most worthwhile motorbiking experience on the road to Leh. Although we did not make it to Leh due to the early season road conditions and a general lack of preparation, we were able to hang out in a little town Keylong which has yet to see massive tourism. On route to Keylong, we were surrounded by mountains soaring to 6000 metres, waterfalls, and valleys dotted with terraces ready to unleash the fruitful bounty of the Himilayas. It reminded us so much of home but at a magnitude I have never experienced until now.

Our trusty ride was our rented Royal Enfield. It could be compared to the Volvo of motorbikes; heavy, sturdy, reliable, and not so agile but more tank like. There were some pretty funny moments on this bike starting with loading it up with far to much weight, precariously teetering and wobbling down the steep path from our guesthouse, and then crashing at slow motion. This all happened at 7am when everyone was just waking up so immediately we were surrounded by a bunch of helpful locals. Aside from bruised egos, we escaped unscathed. The other funny moment was following a zen experience visiting an unfrequented fort in a hill town at around 4500 metres. It was about 20 minutes away from Keylong in possibly one of the most mellow places you could picture yourself being so of all places, it was a pretty ideal one to get a flat tire and we were able to roll ourselves down to the highway. I felt pretty relaxed but Nick on the other hand was delusional from the thin air or something. He was on high stress as he was changing the tire. The final straw was when he thought the mechanic did not give him the right tool. The mechanic Johnny, who had been his buddy two days ago was a yell outloud "COCKSUCKER" at that moment and with that, Nick accidentally thumped a hole in the seat of the Enfield. And the tire? Well, it popped out without the tool he thought he needed. Karma's a bitch when she's rubbed the wrong way!! Afterwards, we had a good laugh about how ridiculous the whole situation was.

Back to my earlier comment about car emissions. I saw some of the most amazing landscape in the past few days. I also inhaled the most emission ever and probably burned a loonie sized whole in my lung at a place called Rohtang (aka HELL!). Rohtang is a glacier that many tourists flock to. It's on the route to Leh and Keylong so it's absolutely unavoidable. For about an hour, we are subjected to following a non-stop lineup of cars to Rohtang. At the destination, there is a ridiculous parking lot of idling cars inching up a 200 metres stretch. Okay, so maybe I am spoiled because I have grown up with snow but really, where is the joy in driving up to this spot where all there is a dirty patch of snow that is black because of pollution? The sad thing is that this glacier will probably not exist in the next 5 years with the amount of car emissions just from the tourists. There is no drama here. On 3 seperate days, there was the same steady stream of cars.

Next stop is Dharamsala, the home of the exhiled Tibetan government and the Dalai Lama. Our time in India is drawing to close so stay tuned as we savor more moments from our wild ride!

Narinder Singh, Me, and a Serious Side of India

Our plans to go to Varanasi went sideways as we were not able to get on the train. We were on the wait list however with summer holidays in India, being on this list is pretty much useless.

So, we scrambled and made a quick decision to head north to the Punjab region and then further on to the Himilayas. This decision proved to be well worth it for a number of reasons. First, in Vancouver, with our large Punjab population, getting to see where they are from and experience their regional foods and traditions are insightful. Secondly, it seems that in this region, they are more accustomed to foreigners so we are not subjected to stares, touts, etc. as we had previously experienced. Thirdly, we are in Chandigarh, the capital of the region where it is unlike any city we have been too.

Chandigarh is an experimental city built in the 1950s by a French architect. It is very well organized for living, traffic, and green space so for the weary traveller, it is a welcoming calm oasis. It is here that I met Mr. Narinder Singh. When we arrived at our guesthouse, Narinder struck up a conversation with us right away. He is a jolly retiree who's hobby is to just help out tourists. He welcomed us with a necklace of marigolds and a petite scented rose bud. We made plans to meet him for chai tea the next morning. He brought us to a local diner, explained what each menu was, showed us a rooftop view of the city, and taught then grilled me on Hindi.

The special thing about him is his sincerity. I could look into his eyes and see the pure goodness of his soul come through. I feel grateful to have met someone with such a unique gift. We ended off our visit with a hug and his signature wish of good luck to me as his "daughter" after only knowing me for a short time.

The next part of this blog is the polar opposite of the above. In one of my earlier entries, I made a statement about not being surprised about the poverty. I still stick by this statement in general with child poverty being the exception. In most of the places we have visited, there are children under the age of 10 who freely wander the streets barefoot with tattered dirty clothing. Some have a garbage bag slung over their shoulder, some carry their baby brother/ sister, others have one limb intentionally chopped off to help them beg better, etc (you can gain more insight on this by reading "A Fine Balance by Rohinton Minstry"). In our side of the world, most children are in school. These kids are not and are destined for a life of poverty. It's so sad to see. I am not the social crusader type but I think it's important to be aware. When I look at all that I have, I know that it will be difficult to complain about what I wish I want but can't have. When I was growing up, my parents would always reference the starvation in Ethiopia when I left a bite of rice on my plate. In the 80's, that was the social cause. Well, my reference now are the impoverished children in India.