Culture Shock, Christmas and all that jazz

I made it back, alive, in one piece, with all my belongings and a lot of memories!

It was a pleasant flight, thanks for the good 'Indian' chat Andy. I was rather nervous about coming back to the cold streets of London but as I boarded the tube from Heathrow a London Underground employee kindly told me to never lose my huge smile, I don't think I will. Very jetlagged, I arrived home with a fever and yet more Delhi Belly. As with Hotel California - you can check out of India but you can never leave.

It was an even bigger culture shock arriving back here in the height of Christmas shopping season, however it did not take long to warm to the streets of Edinburgh again. What happened to my fame, why do people not greet me in the streets, where are the handshakes .. instead of the usual 'Welcome to India' they couldn't atleast say 'Welcome back'? I have made a big effort to strike up conversations with strangers (even more than usual) and although they are weary at first it always ends well. Citizens of the first world have way so many expectations, people in the developing world accept they have been given a bad deal so they get on with appreciating what they do have. I told an Indian I felt guilty for owning many possessions and getting the chance to see more of their country than they do (many people in India have not travelled more that 20miles from where they were born), he told me I was being rewarded for good deeds in past lives, they are learning a different lesson to me this time round.

This has been a grand year for me, I set myself a goal, did all the fundraising and had a life-changing holiday ... even survived Christmas with no turkey or any other meat!

I took over 600 photos whilst in India, to see a few of my favourites, click on http://www.flickr.com/photos/32697644@N00/sets/1665871/

As the 2006 approaches so will new projects therefore this is my last post on this blog, thank you for joining me on my worldly adventure!
A massive thank you to EVERYONE who sponsored Mind through me and to Mind who made it all possible and who will continue to do the work of angels. To every one of you who is reading this, you have encouraged me in your own way and words cannot possibly describe how much that means to me.

From a very happy and appreciative Shirlz

All the best for the new year!

THANK YOU, YOU ARE WONDERFUL!

"Later" ....

I have started the long trip home, this morning I did a moped ride, flew to Delhi via Mumbai and had auto-rickshaw trip. Time has flown, it always does when you're having fun, I do not yearn to go home, I do not wish to extend my trip .. I'm grateful for the Indian experience.

Goa was out of this world! I have not felt so relaxed for a long time, it gave me the chance to contemplate what's going with me, decide what I like and what's to go. One thing is that I shall be returning to the UK a vegetarian, amongst many others, being very chilled-out and tanned.

The Goan attitude revolves around the word 'Later'. As it still is a province of India no-one understands the word NO, it does not have meaning in this country. However ... the sales people are friendlier than anywhere else I've been, they will happily give you fresh fruit and let you pay however many days later. Even the trucks/goods-carriers are better than other places. On the rear of all Indian trucks are painted the words 'Horn Please'; in Delhi they also say 'Keep Distance', in Himachal Pradesh they state 'Use dipper at night', in Goa they simply say 'OK'.

Baruch, my room-mate, was lovely! It surprised me how things just worked out for us, we met on the train, shared a room and within a week formed a quiet but deep friendship. He was a master on the moped and I enjoyed his confidence in overtaking no matter what side of the road we were on. One night we had dinner with 3 German people, it amazed me to see how well they all got along given their political history. Baruch is into web-design http://www.artlab.co.il/ See you in Isreal next time mate!

This month has just been a taster of what India has on offer, this country is full of contradictions and information is certainly not handed to you in a neatly wrapped box like in Western countries, I like it that way. It has given me much to think about and I probably won't reach any set conclusions, however I will return and next time delve much deeper into it's mystical culture.

There has been plenty reading time and I have managed to get through Long Way Round by Ewan and Charley (emotional), India by V S Naipaul (heavy-going), The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin S Sharma (American quick-fix), In Search of Secret India by Paul Brunton (inspiring), and Holy Cow by Sarah MacDonald (page-turner with good ol' Aussie humour). I have been given 2 other books to read ... DaVinci Code by Dan Brown (guess it will have to happen sometime) and a collection of encounters with the famous Guru Osho - I'm hopeful.

For beachbum's photos visit ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/32697644@N00/sets/1603061/

Sand and sunshine galore

I'm in heaven, each morning I wake up early and go for a swim and a walk along the beach, get back and have fresh tropical fruit salad for breakfast, lie on the beach under a thatched unbrella reading, have an afternoon sleep, have some time to myself when watching breath-taking sunsets, fresh seafood for dinner and great social each evening! So far I have sampled tiger prawns, kingfish, redsnapper and shark ... yum!!!

The sea is beautifully warm and there are starfish and sea-shells all over the show! This morning I watched the fishermen haul in their live catch, mainly sardines but it was a great sight.

My room-mate, Baruch, is very sweet. He's planning on staying here longterm so has hired a scooter and enjoys exploring different places each day. Tomorrow we are heading to Anjuna for one of the biggests craft markets .. good Christmas shopping! I have mastered the art of sitting side-saddle on the motorbikes - quite an experience!

The other night we had a carol'ers stop in at our restaurant, the santa break-danced whilst the kids sang 'We wish you a merry Christmas'!

I wish I was telepathic so could you could all hear the sounds of the waves crashing, tasted the indian delights and experience all the brilliant emotions that come with it!

However, I am still looking forward to returning home next week and for CHRISTMAS =)

Cant upload photos at this internet cafe .... next time.

Please (DO NOT) let this old train break down!

Hooray, I'm finally in Goa, the land of sunshine, warm seas, coconuts and lots of fun! I've have only been here a couple of hours and already I have visited the local travel agent to book a later flight to delhi rather than 2 overnight trains and 2 nights the the hectic city of Mumbai.

The train journey started off like a dream, I had tourist quota tickets so shared a compartment with a Isreali guy and girl, irish guy and 2 Indians, we got on brilliantly. Well after a good night's sleep the next day I was unable to move ... food poisoning! It was not much fun but luckily in the early hours of this morning I started to feel a little better. Nothing a few days on the beach cant solve!
One of the Isreali's and I have decided to share a beach hut and keep costs low, good news is he's a hi-tec backpacker and carries a laptop with music around with him .... couldn't get better after having all the music wiped off my I-pod!

I'll have a cocktail in a coconut for you all! xxx

Lost in translation

Back in Delhi now after a night in my favourite place so far - the holy city of Rishekesh and 2 nights in the buzzing city of Haridwar. In Rishekesh I got my first opportunity to kick back and relax, had an hour long aryurvedic body massage, lay on the white sandy banks of the Ganga river talking to a bunch of nursery school kids, they were the cutest bunch of kids I've ever met. Then enjoyed an afternoon at the local chai (tea) stand chatting to the locals about yoga and the state of mind that accompanies it.



Haridwar was busy! Having a nasty cold, I didnt feel like being in the centre of it all .. but there was no escaping! Yesterday morning I took a walk up to the local temple, I was impressed with the Indians hospitality, I had many different walking partners who all told me their life story, bought me a chai, asked for a photo then said best wishes, it was one of my most pleasant experiences!
Yesterday evening I went down to the daily festival of floating candles and flowers down the Ganga river which was truly moving, the chanting and dedication to their religion is inspiring!
After relaxing and reading in my room for a while I heard a brass band constanly passing up and down the main street, when I finally went down to see what was happening I ended up dancing on the streets and attending a wedding. As soon as I realised, being white and foreign, I was getting more attention than the bride I made a quick exit!

This evening the driver took me to meet his family and have dinner with them, it was brilliant to see how elated they were to see each other after 6 nights of separation! The parents with their 2 young sons live in one small room with a table that serves as a bed too. Rekish said his home might be small but in his heart it's huge!

Tomorrow I'm doing a loooooong train journey to the land of white sand, clear blue water, cheap seafood and feni .. local alcohol!

I have journeyed with Ewan MacGreggor and Charley Boorman so far .. reading Long Way Round. It was been great reading this book as I have experienced similar things as they did :-) travelling certainly does give you the chance to free your mind and live for the very moment!

Photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/32697644@N00/sets/1530855/

Himilayas

Hey from the chilly mountains!

Having a great time, spent 3 nights in Shimla with Laura (english girl from my camel trek) and John (her irish friend). We did a 4hour horse ride to one of the highest peaks, visited temples, wandered about the very colonial city centre etc. The budget hotel where I stayed put me up in the honeymoon suite (by myself .. boohoo), round bed, zebra strip blanket, mirrors everywhere, very surreal!

My friends caught the train back to Delhi today to return to the UK soon. I travelled on to Rishekesh with Rikesh the driver. Indian traffic is not fun, especially when sitting in the front seat, I cant tell you how many times my heart skipped a beat. Worse thing that happened was we hit a cow, the animal of honour! It broke the headlight but mostly injured the driver's pride as its his first accident in 20 years!

Tomorrow I will go to an asbram to meditate then bathe in the Ganges river. Next week I do a 36hr train journey to Goa then Mumbai where I will be meeting up with a few people so will be fun!

India is a mad place, I cant describe it right now as the keys on this keyboard hardly work .... but the country runs on love!
I will post some photos when in Delhi. Missing all of you!

mwah mwah