Across the Island and Back

So I did end up going to Long Beach last weekend, with a nice long stop at Cathedal Grove... Don't quite know what to say about the whole trip, except of course that it's definitely worthwhile if you've never been yourself. I took a borrowed Bronica camera with me, but I suspicion that somehow I loaded the film wrong, I suppose it'll all come out in the wash. If there are no pictures when I develop it I'll know I did something wrong... I did bring my little digi though so there are pictures, sad and pathetic though they may be (it occurs to me I should quit putting crappy assed pictures I took on this blog). In any case. I'm just gonna say that it's impossible to capture the scope of that place on a point and shoot anyways. The picture above is a big assed dead tree at Cathedral Grove...
I'm happy to say that I'm growing fond of Comox, although more than anything else I think it's the island itself that I like. This town is full of really, really old people (not that I have anything against that per se as I plan to get there myself someday) who take naps at four way stops in their cars (seriously). That in fact is perhaps the most annoying thing about this town. It's full of four way stops, and no one seems to have the slightest clue exactly how they work. They just sit there. And sit there. And sit there. So I just go anyways, because I figure fortune favours the bold, and I always seem to be in a great tearing hurry. There are also alot of deer wandering around town, which seems perfectly normal to me now, although it took a bit of getting used to. They're not at all afraid of people or cars. Last week on the way to a shoot I watched a six point buck stop at the side of the road, look both ways, and then use a designated crosswalk to get to the other side. No word of a lie...
In any case, I should probably be somewhere taking pictures, or developing pictures, or printing pictures... As for this weekend's trip, I've got a line on a camera in Esquimalt that I really want, so I guess it's a journey down south for me. Maybe I'll stop in Coombs on the way back to see the goats on the roof...

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Chasing the Fraser

So. Last week I made my annual trip north up to Prince George. It has been so long since I travelled anywhere (not including last week's rather insane 21 hour round-trip jaunt to Comox to secure lodgings for the year...) that I was happy to embark upon a full day's drive. My two eldest sisters both live in the PG area (hence the annual pilgrimage) and I wanted to see them before making the leap to Vancouver Island in two weeks. As I am currently overwhelmed with tasks to complete before moving, I had to keep it short and sweet. I slept in on Friday, so didn't get on the road terribly early, and of course ended up taking no pictures on the way up. I raced the Fraser all the way back down to Deroche (it's kinda cool we live on the same river, even though it's an 8 hour drive to get there), but did stop once or twice (and occasionally just slowed down) to snap some pics. So for those of you who wonder where the world-travelling, picture taking Solomon disappeared to, she's back! O.K, so this isn't as exotic as Ecuador, as intriguing as India, as novel as Nepal... Sorry, got a little carried away there... Still, it is travel related... After a fashion. Feel free to ignore all family pictures.

Saturday night was sushi night

My sister Anita with her husband Yvon, and their daughter Michelle with her new guy Mike


My nephew Danny stopped by his mommy's on his way to a wedding so she could iron his shirt... oh, and to see me too. He let me drive his brand new 2007 Mustang.

Nita's dog Sophie

My sister Becky and her hubby-to-be Randy
on Sunday night (which turned out to be steak night)

Her boys Evan and Gavyn

Their seriously drooly and one-eyed dog Angel

Two rather rude looking mushrooms in Becky's yard. Sorry. Couldn't help myself.

Moose poo. Sorry. Once again. It's just that when I saw it
I thought of those little cans of "moose turd" candies that
Parks Canada sells in their souvenir shops.

Ahhh... Is there anything more beautiful than a pulp-mill sunset?

I love the long drive through ranch land...
Which reminds me, I was at the StupidStore with my sister,
where they were playing "Where have all the cowboys gone?".
While the song was on, I counted no less than 7 guys wearing either
cowboy boots or hats, or both. Apparently the answer to that question is PG.

One of my favourite stops, The Chasm near Clinton B.C.

There's a row of these old buildings near the Ashcroft junction. I have no idea what they were used for or when they were built.

Marble Mountain, just above the town of Lytton where the Thompson and Fraser Rivers join.

The mountains at the south end of the Fraser Canyon.

This tree has been defying gravity my entire life...
Every time I drive past I expect it to be gone.

Ruby Creek, as seen at a speed of about 80 km/hr. It is the scene of one of the most infamous Sasquatch encounters ever recorded... So I didn't linger. Or slow down too much.

And on a final note, just to make this feel more travel-ish here is a video of the road through the canyon...

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Everyone Keeps Asking

People keep asking me about my pictures from my trip. I did do a slideshow on Snapfish, but for some reason that's just too complicated for certain individuals... So here's a slideshow for my blog, and also all the emails I wrote home while I was away, for those who didn't get them but (oddly enough) wanted to.

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First Email Home...

Hi everyone,
This actually the second time I've tried sending an email to you all, the power went out just as I was finishing my last sentence this a.m... But hey, now I have even more fascinating details to relate about my trip... Just kidding, nothing too exciting yet. By some miracle of god (by the by, I have been informed that the Hindu religion has more than 36000 deities and gods -can this be true???) I have yet to be killed in traffic. It is quite possible that it is the plethora of gods that prevents more people from being killed here in traffic. Note to all those who might be considering a trip to India: before going in an auto-rickshaw at dusk, make the driver turn on the headlights so you know for sure they work... Lesson learned... Scariest 56 minutes of my life to date... So far I've seen a Jain temple, Sikh temple, and more mosques and tombs than I can count. Rode a Delhi bus, and only one guy tried to grope me. Don't know if I should be insulted or grateful... Met a nice guy today who has "travelled many times to Vancouver kind mam". He even told the name and address of some dude he knows on Schoolhouse rd in Vancouver. An odd moment to say the least... Also got totally ripped off by a rickshaw driver, started to get angry, and then realized that it amounted to about 20 cents difference in the price... Nothing much else to report at this time. Leaving for Agra tomorrow at a hideously early hour.
I shall attempt to write something fascinating and infinitely more intriguing than this next time.
Cheers,
Solomon

Second Email

Greetings one and all,
Well I am still alive and kicking. I'm having a good time so far. Everything here is dirt-cheap (and oddly enough usually quite dirty). I am currently in Kajuraho, famous for it's "erotic" temples (if you call a man having sex with a horse erotic - I would call it horse abuse but hey...probably just being all hung-up and western). I had my birthday in Orchha yesterday, and my guide Vinit (about three feet tall and far too energetic than can easily be explained) somehow conjured up a cake for me. The weather is hotter than is normal for this time of year. Most days it's up over 30 and the humidity is high. Not much else to report. I am right sick of eating curry, so tonight we're going out for Italian "spegetti" cooked by a real live Italian "chef" supervised by some dutch guy (if the restaurant sign is to be believed). I just hope it doesn't turn out to be noodles cooked in some weird cumin sauce... I had chicken chowmein in Agra that was made with curry-chicken... Only in India.
I better go, this is costing my a whole 40 rupees per hour...So until next time everyone. Feel free to write me if you are bored, or want to waste time at work. All contact fro home is appreciated.
Cheers,

Solomon

Third Email

Hello one and all,
Not too much to report from this side of the globe... I am at the end of my first tour, tomorrow I head back to Delhi, and the next day I fly on to Kathmandu. I have absolutely fallen in love with India, and all the chaos and madness of the cities here. Went on a cycle rickshaw down to the ghats last night, almost tipped over twice and (as is par for the course here) got rear ended countless times... Just stepping out onto the streets here is an act of faith... Varanasi is by far the most polluted place I've been so far on the trip. We went on a sunset cruise, and then a sunrise boat trip this morning. Everyone knows how polluted the Ganges is, but until you see it you cannot possibly fathom how disgusting the water is. We passed by all the ghats, watched people at their morning prayers, all the wash-wallahs, and people preoccupied with mundane daily tasks like brushing their teeth... While on the other side of the boat a dead water buffalo floated past, a crow picking out it's eye... Nette that nice little visual was for you (you did mention something about capturing a moment for you)... Nowhere else in the world but India.
Sorry this email is short on humour, but I am a bit sad to be moving on to Nepal. I'm glad I'll be coming back to India again before I go home. I can't for the life of me remember why it is I didn't feel like leaving home to come here (as I did feel as I got on the plane in Vancouver).
I shall try to write more when I get to Kathmandu.
In case I miss the opportunity to write again before the 21st, a very special mention to my brother Gabriel and his wife Leah who are celebrating their wedding on October 21st. Congratulations to both of you, please know that you are in my thoughts. I love you both.
So cheers until the next time, the next email will be funnier (I hope), and filled with my (slightly censored as this is going to my mom too) adventures,

Solomon

Fourth Email

Hello one and all,
I hope that this email finds you well. I am having a superlative time over here in Nepal. I have by some strange co-incidence arrived right smack in the middle of Dipawali, which I gather is some sort of religious ceremony that requires devotees to crowd into public places, ride their motorcycles in circles, bang drums and cymbals loudly at random hours, and set off fire crackers at 3:47 in the morning... Oh, and I've seen some painted dogs, which would have seemed normal in India but I thought I'd left that kind of craziness behind...
The trip to Nepal was stressful to say the least, I'm glad I was able to travel with someone from my first tour, otherwise I'm sure I'd be huddled in a corner of Delhi Airport having a nervous breakdown... What an absolutely insane place. We must have passed through at least 5 security checks before we got on the plane... And lest you think this makes air travel in India super-safe, they let an old biddy onto the plane with no less than three exceedingly sharp-looking pairs of scissors...
Tomorrow I am heading off at an ungodly hour to go to Chitwan National Park, where I shall have the opportunity to ride an olly-phant and look at rhinos... I know, I know... You're all burning with jealousy... I'll bring back photos.
Ooh... I'm sitting in a cyber cafe (Namaste Cyber) that overlooks the main square in town here, and apparently Dipawali also includes people doing Kung-Fu/Karate type demos to loud music and a rapping/chanting child... Wish I'd thought to bring my camera... but it looks like he's done now anyways... back to the cymbals... no wait it looks like he's going to break some bricks with his pinky or something... I feel compelled to head out there and have a closer look... I shall write more later, although I can't say exactly when that might be... I'm not sure the olly-phants will have email access.
cheers,

Solomon

Fifth Email

Hello one and all,
I am now in Pokhara which, if you believe the guidebooks, is the second most visited place in Nepal. I guess it's a nice enough place... There's a lake here, this afternoon I plan to rent a kayak and paddle off into the blue yonder. I got up at an absolutely ungodly hour this a.m. go watch the sunrise on the mountains (it was very pretty) and then, no doubt as a result of oxygen deficiency, decided that it would be great fun to hike back down the mountain to my hotel... Five hundred million slippery stone steps later...
In any case my time in Nepal is coming to an end, soon I shall be back off to India. I have to confess that overall, I haven't enjoyed Nepal as much as I did India, although I can't exactly say why. I did get to ride an olly-phant, and I did indeed get to see a rhino, which oddly enough didn't seem to mind people sitting on an elephant right next to it... Freaky, if you ask me. I will attempt to add a picture, but make no guarantees. Not much else to add. The entire country seems much quieter now that Dipawali is over. But I suppose even the Nepalese must at some point in time quit painting their dogs and get back to the daily grind...
I guess that's it for now. Sorry this email is neither edifying, nor entertaining. Please feel free to write back if you wish to waste time while at work... Or if you just have nothing better to do in your spare time between two and three in the morning...
Cheers,

Solomon

Sixth Email

Hello one and all,
I can't remember when it was that I last sent out a group email. I am now in Mandi, a small town in Himaschal Pradesh, which has little to recommend it, except that the people are friendly (if not for a kindly Sikh grandfather, I would never have found an internet cafe...)
Northern India is greatly different from down south, particularly in the proliferation of monkeys (they're everywhere). The roads are wind-ee and steep, and frequently blocked by landslides (today I watched three men trying to clear massive rocks by hand....) But I suppose there is no shortage of manual labour here. Wish I had something humourous to write, but can't think of a single even vaguely funny incident to relate. My tour guide this time round is an Aussie named Bill... Most of my tour companions are older... In any case I must go as this is costing me rupees...
Cheers,

Solomon

Seventh Email

Hello one and all, I am now in McLeodganj, home of the Dalai Lama (who isn't here at the moment). I am doing tolerably o.k., although I seem to have picked up a case of flu or food poisoning (whichever it is, I have become far too intimately acquainted with the toilet in my hotel room). I haven't had anything to eat for 24 hours now, and the nausea seems to have passed, maybe I'll try to eat dinner tonight... Just my luck, I get sick in the one town where the food's supposed to be good... Went to some temple that is supposedly attached to the Dalai Lama's residence yesterday. There were some kids playing, I asked one of the boys if he could turn another cartwheel and he punched me in the stomach (just before I got food poisoning... coincidence? I think not...). Apparently "can you turn another cartwheel" means "your mother is a chinese goat" in Tibetan... Live and learn... If the kid hadn't been less than three feet tall I would have smacked him back... So much for peace loving Buddhists... I was going to go and get a blessing form some other high-ranking Lama today, but apparently he went to Sikkim... Must be my winning personality. I come to town and there's an exodus of Tibetan Lamas... In any case I should probably go.. I'm here for another day, then it's off to Dalhousie, trekking for 2 days, Amritsar, and back home... I'm sure I'll write more email before I'm done... Until next time, Cheers,

Solomon

Eighth Email

Greetings one and all,
Well, this is the final update from India.. I am leaving early in the morning to catch my flight, so please think happy flying thoughts for me... I wish I could think of something amusing to write, but after spending all night on a train I just have no energy for that kind of craziness... Thanks to everyone who took the time to write me... There were times when emails from home kept me from giving up on this trip... In any case I'm off to go shop my final day away...
See you all when I'm home.
Cheers,

Solomon

So that's it. Hope you enjoy the slideshow...

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The Grand Master of Indian Trivia

I have come to realise that a lot of people have an overinflated opinion of their own intelligence. Fortunately for the sake of my ego I am forever meeting people who are way smarter than I. In fact, it happens on a pretty regular basis. Just recently I met a fellow by the name of Tim. He is a lawyer from England and was travelling in India, apparently something he had thought of doing for many years. Tim was (in my mind) the quintessential Englishman: quiet and reserved but with an absolutely wicked sense of humour. Tim is also uber-intelligent. Not to say that he was vain in any way. Quite the opposite in fact. Tim's rather uncanny ability to retain information came to light one night when we were having a friendly little game of India trivia. There were very few questions that Tim couldn't answer. How many times does the average Indian driver honk his horn in a kilometre? What, don't know the answer? Ask Tim. I'm sure he would be happy to let you know (the answer is in fact 15). What day did India become a country of one billion? Tim knew that too (sadly I have already forgotten). No matter how obscure the question Tim was rarely without an answer. Needless to say he won the game. Thank God I was on his team. Otherwise my poor fragile ego wouldn't have survived...
The picture here was taken at dinner in Amritsar. We had left Chamba at an ungodly hour and travelled all day, first by jeep and then by train in order to get to there. Upon arrival it was straight off to the Golden Temple. We didn't get back to the hotel until about 10:00 p.m. Tim was looking remarkably fresh, all things considered...

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Bill

I wrote a blog about Bill and sent it off to him to ask if it was o.k. to publish. He never answered. So either:

1. he doesn't check his email all that much
2. he hated what I wrote
3. he really doesn't like me
4. or all of the above.

So I won't say anything about Bill.

I'll let him speak for himself.

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Mountains & Mystics

Well... This was the third and final leg of my trip... Saw alot of mountains. Not so sure about the mystics. I have to say the hellish thing about group tours is travelling with people to whom you would not give the time of day under normal circumstances. Although it is quite possible that I am being exceedingly ungracious. My fellow world travellers were nice people for the most part. In terms of places visited this tour was excellent, with only one town that I didn'tmuch enjoy. I'm not too sure what I expected of this trip (the Dalai Lama? He wasn't in town...), but the people I met along the way were charming and friendly (the glaring exception being the evil Tibetan child who punched me in McLeod Ganj) which I have discovered is the norm in India. Of all the tours I did this is the only one I would consider repeating.
The picture is of Christ Church in Shimla.

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An Indian Education

O.K.

What I learned in India...

• The Vegemite song. Well, most of it anyways...
• To exercise patience.
• Never, ever visit a predominantly Muslim town during Ramadan. Unless you happen to enjoy waking up to the sound of exceedingly loud Muslim prayer and music at 3:30 a.m. In which case, might I recommend Chanderi, India.
• Don't trust the Indian version of the Oxford English Dictionnary. It's not exactly an exhaustive listing of the English language...
• How it feels to really stick out from the crowd.
• No matter where I go, there I am (o.k., I know that sounds cheesy. It is nontheless true)
• British Airways sucks (actually I learned this en route to India, but whatever)
• Never throw a hissy fit in a hotel lobby without first putting on your shirt. You look like a total idiot and lose all credibility... (no, I did not learn this first hand.. it was still a valuable lesson.)
• Threatening to not pay someone is not a good way to get better service...(once again, a lesson learned by watching someone else's bad behaviour...)
• Apparently I am a walking disaster... Injuries /illnesses suffered in a short 6 week span in India and Nepal: cold, food poisoning, blisters, car sickness, scalded hand, sprained ankle, perforated eardrum (although technically speaking this happened on the way home. I think we were flying past Tashkent when I realized my ear was crusted with blood)
• How to play cricket, after a fashion...
• Cricket is not as easy as it appears at first blush...
• I suck at cricket...
• Not all Canadians are nice (o.k., so I knew this before I left. But I was reminded in India...)
• I'm not overly skilled at scrabble.
• Indian men are hot... Well some of them anyways... Honestly, I wouldn't have suspected...
• It is possible to climb a very steep hill with a sprained ankle. Just suck it up, baby...
• Some of the nicest people in this world are American... It's mind boggling, really...
• Australians are pretty damn funny...
• When crossing a busy road in India, don't make direct eye contact with the drivers. They seem to take this as encouragement to aim their vehicles straight at you...
• If you have to take an auto-rickshaw at night make sure the headlights work before you get in. Make sure the driver turns them on...
• There is only one kind of squash in Australia... Everything else is a pumpkin. Go figure.

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Rohit

So... Rohit... Rohit was my guide in Nepal. I'm pretty sure he said he was 29, but maybe it was 31 (apparently I wasn't paying much attention in Nepal). Rohit is the only surviving child in his family. His older brother passed away a few years ago.We found out in Pokhara, a nice little lake-side town. We were all talking about our families. It makes me wonder if he ends up telling all his groups, and how hard it must be to always dredge up a sad part of your life... In any case... Ro has been a tour guide for 5 years, and is the only income earner in his home as his mother is a housewife, and his father is retired. I have to say, he is pretty relaxed, which was a refreshing change after India... About a year ago Ro took vows and became a monk for two days... Apparently it wasn't the life for him (although how you could possibly know that after only two days completely mystifies me... I mean, you'd think that unless you were so inclined you'd never take the vows in the first place...), and it was back to tour guiding. I never asked, but I wonder if he did this on his down time, or if he officially quit his job to become a monk, and then had to ask for his job back...
The picture I have included here is Ro, relaxing on a boat on the lake in Pokhara, while we did all the work and peddled the damn thing across the lake... Try and picture him in monk's robes...

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Best of Nepal

So... Nepal... What to say, what to say... This would be much easier if I wasn't sitting in a cybercafe in Mandi, India, listening to a bad Rick Astley techno remix... Not that I suppose there's anything that could improve Rick Astley... According to Ro, Nepal is the second poorest country in the world, only slightly better off than Somalia. I have to say though that my overall impression of Nepal was of a country that is much less chaotic and poor than India. Maybe I just didn't see the right part of Nepal. The best part of my trip through Nepal was the people I travelled with. God save me, they've switched the music to Randy Travis... I must be praying to the wrong gods... Ten days just wasn't long enough for me to really absorb Nepal. I definitely want to go back again, maybe do some trekking. So that's it... Best of Nepal... Oh, I should add that I really, really liked the olly-phants and rhinos... Ooh... Greenday... Things are looking up.
Picture... Suppose I should explain it as at first glance it would not necessarily appear to have the slightest thing to do with Nepal... I took this picture at Swayambunath, Kathmandu. It was Dipawali. Not too sure if this was supposed to be an offering of some sort, or if someone just threw it away.

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Yak's Guide to Proper Pronunciation

They say that travelling broadens the mind. This may well be true, far be it from me to argue to the contrary. I have (as you will have noticed if you read this blog at all -that's right I'm adressing this to my three quasi-regular readers) been on the road for a short while now, and I shudder to think of the narrow-minded person I was before leaving home on my most recent wanderings. One of the people I have met on my travels is Yak (Yakesh actually), age 36 (or so he claims), an English defense lawyer, youngest of 6 children from Leicester, son of a Kenyan and an Indian. From nearly the very beginning of our trip together, we (the entire group not just Yak and I) have had a bit of a running argument about the proper pronunciation of inummerable words. As we are an international crowd there is rarely much concensus. The greatest bone of contention though concerns two words only: vitamin and yogourt (yes, I know, that is a singularly Canadian way of spelling that word -that would be because it works in both French and English... but I digress...).
In any case, for your edification (and the stretching of your mind -HA! I have come full circle to the beginning of this ramble) I am going to attempt to upload a short video of Yak's guide to the proper pronunciation of these words... If it doesn't work (and it probably won't) you'll just have to wait until I get home...

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Arranged Marriage

So... I've been travelling for four weeks in India and Nepal now. It seems that everyone over here has their marriages arranged for them by their parents... Usually at a very early age, although one must assume that it's not official until a later date... In any case I have met two guys who are both mid-to-late twenties who are being pressured by their families to get married, and should they not light a fire under their respectives arses and pick someone, their families will do the selecting for them... I'm talking two young-ish, reasonably good-looking, really nice (or seemingly so) guys... So ladies, this is maybe the place to come find yourself a nice (or seemingly so), not-butt-ugly guy. And hey they both have jobs!!!! I'll post pictures later... Just dial 1-800-solomon-will-hook-you-up. Small service fee may apply... Just kidding... What makes you think they'd be interested in western women anyways... Heck, for all I know they're not interested in any women... Never asked...

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Unforgettable India...

So, I've just finished my first two weeks in India. I tried to listen to all the advice I was given before I went. Really I did. Some of it actually proved to be true... But at the end of the day, I've discovered that you just have to experience things for yourself, learn a few things the hard way, and go with the flow. This is what I have learned about India

What I loved about India:

1. Boys on bikes
2. Thali (the first time)
3. Sacred Cows
4. Painted goats
5. Elephants
6. The Taj Mahal
7. TRAFFIC!!!!
8. Entire families all squeezed onto a single moped
9. Water Buffaloes
10. Roundabouts

What I hated about India:

1. Children living in absolute squallor
2. Pollution
3. Garbage, garbage everywhere
4. Open sewers
5. Public urination
6. Touts
7. Thali (the millionth time)

What I liked best about India is that everything happens at street level from the mundane (and profane) to the sacred, you can see it all happpen, in every village, town and city. I am so glad I'm going back to India before I go back home... The picture I've included is the sun rising on the Ganges in Varanasi.

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The Not so Sacred Water Buffalo

So I've been traveling in India for about a week now. Everywhere I go there are cows. Sacred cows. Apparently it's the only kind of cow to be found in this country. A cow is the only safe animal in Indian traffic, and even when they go on a rampage in the city injuring people right left and centre, it's not o.k. to shoot them. Oh no, they must be gently tranquilized. Never mind the broken and bleeding bodies in the street. Water buffaloes are also a pretty common sight here. I think the only reason they don't get run over is that they're so damn big that it would be like hitting a moose...
Going by what I've been told, cows are sacred because they provide so much for the people of India. They are beasts of burden, pulling carts, ploughing fields. They provide milk, which of course is a great source of protein. Good reasons for being made sacred. Such good reasons that cows are not considered edible in this corner of the world.
Now consider the plight of the poor water buffalo. Water buffaloes are also beasts of burden. They too must pull and plough. They too provide milk for cheese and sundry dairy products. On top of all these magnificent qualities, according to Hindu religion the death deity Yamraj rides on the water buffalo's back. And yet water buffalo is on the menu. It's what's for dinner...
Does that seem right to you?

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