Home Sweet Home

And so, after my 10 week mini tour of the world I'm finally back home :) I know I haven't really updated the blog since I got to Europe but that is because we barely ever had time for dinner so finding time to write about my experiences wasn't easy. But now that I'm home and am job hunting - have plenty of time for dinner & writing, among other things!

I thought I'd just give you a quick little recap of my time in Europe. Dad and I started off in Ireland which was definitely a tribute to the nice people and the beer! We met some great people and drank a lot of beer! That really is about all we did!! Next we went to Lisbon, which is a city I would love to return to, and we were mesmerized by the beauty of the city. It has such an old European feel to it that is exactly what I was looking for. The people proved to be more than helpful but the language barrier was the one thing that made the trip difficult. Definitely need to learn some Portuguese before I go back!

Barcelona is another place that is on my 'must return' list! I saw absolutely no sights!!! But I met some amazing people who I am now glad to call my friends! I did get a chance to explore the party scene and it was great! The party culture is very obvious! The real sightseeing began in Paris with Krysten! Its such a beautiful city! Along with the sights came champagne! And lots of it :) Paris is an incredible city that has this kind of energy you feel as you walk around! But I will admit it was very easy to get lost (we, oddly, got stuck in park across the street from our hotel)! My only regret is that I didn't get more of a chance to exercise my (currently terrible) french!!

Dublin was just one crazy party! Met the worlds best bartender who was the real reason we had a blast! My only qualm would be the cobblestone!! Its safe to say Dublin was not made for girls in high heels! And finally there was London! Which was lacking after the experiences in the two amazing cities we were in! The best part of London was seeing an old friend, Jill! But that's not to say that we didn't party our butts off (quite literally by the way! We both came back a wee bit slimmer!).

Anyhow, that's my quick roundup of my crazy few weeks around Europe! Now that I'm home its not quite as fun since I spend most of my time stuck in front of my laptop looking for jobs! But just because I'm home doesn't mean my crazy (mis)adventures will end! With my birthday & new years right around the corner, check back soon to see what else I get myself into!
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

In the land of sand & shawarmas

*** please note that due to a lack of a laptop or desktop I'm blogging via email so I have no idea how the pictures are going to pan out - sorry in advance if all I do is confuse you!!! ***

My trip to the UAE has surprisingly been a relaxed one! That's probably due to the fact that we're not staying Dubai but another one of the Emirates (Ajman to be precise) so I've had some time to lounge around. But for the last two days Dad and I have been making trips to explore the city which was once very familiar to me.

We started off in the Mall of the Emirates (MOE). I enjoying shopping so I was looking forward to it immensely (especially after spending so much time in Ajman - the people we were staying with were amazing hosts but sadly the same could not be said for the Emirate).
Upon arriving at the mall and glancing at the directory, I was filled with the realization that over 75% of these stores were 'luxury retailers' (translation: things I can't afford on a random shopping trip - these purchases would require lots of planning and saving). So instead of shopping we settled for mall walking (/hopelessly wishing I had set aside much more spending money for this trip!) The mall walking was a nice change of pace from all the eating we'd been doing (yep, my jeans are definitely more snug..sigh).

Since the motto of the UAE is 'bigger is always better'(...okay so maybe it isn't, but it should be) in the mall there is a..theme park (for lack of a better description) called Ski Dubai. Yes, that's ski, as in on snow. Yep, they created a mini snow park within a mall in the desert. See my motto totally fits. Also! Right beside Ski Dubai is a vending machine, but this (of course) is no ordinary vending machine, this is a gold vending machine (not gold as in its made of gold - although it is painted gold - but this machine sells you gold!)

The next day we decided to visit the Burj Khalifa (the tallest tower in ze world!!) and the Dubai Mall. The isn't much to say about the Burj Khalifa (which always makes me think of Wiz Khalifa!) except for the fact that its huge-mun-gous!! I couldn't get a picture of the whole building on my phone so here is the top portion of it

Its so big that it casts a shadow in the sky!!! I also learned that Saudi is planning on building a tower that is taller than the Burj Khalifa! It will be 1001 m tall! All these stories make me think of when Mr Burns tried to block out the sun!!!

Anyways, back to my 3D memories. Dad said that the Dubai Mall is smaller than MOE so I thought maybe I can do some actual shopping here!! Yeah, not the case. Within these two malls I'm fairly sure that you can find every luxury brand you can think of! So my wallet remained safely tucked away in my bag. The most exciting part of the mall was the aquarium! Its huge!

After staring at the fish for a while and roaming through the mall, we went out for a bite and a stroll. Dad thought it would be a fun experience to take a boat over the creek instead of the metro so 60 cents (!!!) later we on a boat (m*****f******!). ...don't ask, it just felt necessary, instead look at some pictures! (Also this now means that I have traveled by air, land and water!! The travel trifecta!)

It takes about an hour on the bus to get to Dubai from Ajman so it gave me some time to take in some sights and sounds. In my opinion, Dubai has become a city juxtaposed against itself; so many buildings in the skyline reek of opulence and excess yet they are all half empty. Also beside these 'should be palaces' are half built sky scrapers in which the owners decided their wallets could no longer harbour the burden! From the looks of it, this is not the Dubai I remember at all! But after closer inspection (after running around the streets for a while) I realize that the Dubai I knew still alive; after the recession hit, a lot of the nations floating population left, leaving behind the handful of people who have always known this Emirate as home (well, they also left behind multitudes of empty shop fronts!). Leaving Dubai on our way to Ajman, the sense of familiarity that I had been waiting for had finally arrived :)

All in all, it was a good trip. I definitely want to come back to city on my next trip to India (even if its just for the shawarmas!). But next time I'll be better prepared for the shopping experiences!! For now, I'm off to get some rest before we fly off to Dublin (one the best perks of traveling with my Dad is the access to the airport lounges-this I could get used to!).

Until next time,
-Arlene

p.s. look what I found on our first day in Dubai (they also have Second Cup here as well!)

p.p.s on the topic of coffee, how is it that Dubai & Sri Lanka have 'The Coffee Bean' but Toronto doesn't?! What the poop?!

Kevin Bacon, wherefore art thou?!

Yes, that is in reference to Kevin Bacon the actor. Why am I in search for him you may ask? There seems to be a problem of epic Hollywood proportions which I believe he can solve! But more on that later.

My time in India has come to an end and what an end it was! I was completely knackered (I like this word!) for my last few days in the country because of all the traveling! But for all of the reunions I experienced, it was definitely worth it. And just a heads up, this entry is a wee bit long!!

Last week I went back to my Mom's hometown and had the chance to see most of my cousins! All of them are now married with kids!! I am the only one on my Mom's side who is single; having said that, I am also the youngest one of my cousins so it makes sense.

Apparently in my part of Kerala the big tourist thing to do is go down to Jew Street (yes you read that right and yes it is real) and visit an ancient Synagogue. Now, I didn't know that there were people of the Jewish faith in that part of India but lone behold I was proven wrong. So off in the rain we went only to discover that the Synagogue is closed on Fridays & Saturdays :( I guess it will just have to wait for my next trip to Kerala!

We were thinking of spending a night on a house boat but I decided against it because of the thought of the number of bugs that would be lurking around the waters *shudder* that experience will have to wait for my next trip (where I will be wearing every sort of insect repellent known to man!!). Apart for catching up with cousins, I did a lot of eating!! Its rare that I get to eat this food so I indulged! Maybe a bit too much though, my jeans are starting to feel a bit snug!!!

Anyways, after Kerala we spent a few days back home in Ooty and then we were off to Bangalore for the weekend! We arrived in the wee hours of the morning but thankfully we were able to check into our guest house (which I later found out is run by my friend's boy friend's aunt & uncle-small world eh?!). After a quick nap, my Dad and I went for a quick stroll to the pubs! We had two pitchers (of very average Indian beer) and a side dish for only $10! I forgot how much I loved the conversion rates! :) For dinner, I met up with one of my closest friends from high school and we reminisced about all the crazy things we used to do!

The next day, my Dad and I met one of my 'cousins' (not by blood but there is no better way to explain how we know each other) for a drink and a bite. We went to a micro-brewery for some beer (which was really good!) and then went to a restaurant called Touche for lunch. Touche was awesome because, not only was the food delicious, but you order everything through a touch screen menu embedded into your dining table! There are also games you can play on the screen while you wait for your food to arrive! It was definitely more high tech than I had expected from Bangalore but I guess since it is an IT hub of India I should have given it more credit!

In tribute to our high school days my friend and I decided that we would go out on Saturday night and have some fun (and if it was anything like high school we'd spend a lot of Sunday regretting that fun!). Another one of our old friends met up with us and we headed to Shiro's. Now this lounge is located on the top floor of a high end complex of apartments, stores and other things so I knew it was going to be a much classier version of our high school nights, what I didn't expect was to be spending $20 (USD!) on a double gin & tonic! But the crowd was much nicer than what I was used to and the view was gorgeous so it was worth it.

Anyhoo, as I'm blabbing on about what I ate and drank you must still be wondering 'what the heck does any of this have to do with Kevin Bacon?!'. Well here it is. As I expected, Bangalore had changed. Most of it was for the better (it was much more modern) but then I found out about these two rules which completely baffle me; (1) bars & clubs cannot stay open past 11 30 pm and (2) you can no longer dance in bars, clubs, or restaurants. I swear I felt as it they were filming Footloose in the entire city(now do you get the Kevin Bacon reference?)!! And here I thought that making a remake of the movie was so dumb since a ban on dancing would never happen in our modern world! There was a girl who was doing a very simple two step, nothing outrageous at all, when she was approached by the bouncer and asked to stop! So Kevin Bacon, if you are reading this (which I highly doubt but would be pleasantly surprised if you were) please come to Banaglore and help them find their dancing shoes again!!

Nevertheless, even though I wasn't able to break out the jazz hands, it was great to be back in the city and catch up with old friends. Another trip is a must (and hopefully it won't take me another six and a half years!) But for now, I'm focused on what I'll be doing in the next few days! I am in UAE right now enjoying the heat and the shawarmas so I will update you again in the next few days.

Be safe and have fun! Miss you lots!

Love,
Arlene
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Taste the clouds!

Have you ever wondered what clouds taste like? I have. I always thought they'd be like cotton candy :) well this past week I had the opportunity to taste a cloud (kind of)! We were driving to the Malabar coast in Kerala and while in the mountains there were some really low clouds. So I opened my window, and now I can say I've tasted the clouds. What do they taste like? Absolutely nothing. I must admit, I was quite disappointed. Now I'm wondering if a rainbow really taste like Skittles?? But that experiment will have to wait for another day.

I had the chance to visit St Stephen's church here in Ooty last week and it is amazing. It was built in 1831 and it has definitely stood the test of time! I had the opportunity to not only take some pictures (only on my phone so they arent the best) of the beautifal staind glass windows but I was also able to go up to the bell & clock tower (part of me hoped to find Quasimodo up there but that wish will have to wait for the churches of Europe).

Dad and I finally confimed our plans for Europe and booked most of our tickets. We're going to spend a few days in the UAE and then its off to Europe! When I told him that Krysten and I would be travelling to Dublin I could sense that he was thinking of how much he would enjoy Dublin but wouldn't want to cramp our style (do people still say that?!). So now I will be going to Dublin twice (not that I'm complaining! I do love me some Guiness!). After Dublin we'll spend a few days in Lisbon and then end up in Barcelona. Honestly, I am exausted from all the travelling I have done so far and I am starting to get a little home-sick but the trips I have coming up are the ones I am looking forward to the most!

Will try and keep you updated as much as possible!

Miss and love you lots!
-Arlene

p.s. let me know if you want something specific from any of the places I will be visiting!!

p.p.s. here is a random picture of a dosa I had! (a dosa is like a savory crepe for lack of a better description)

The uphill battles of Sri Lanka

Hi!

Once again, sorry for the delay in posting!! After getting back from Sri Lanka I was so busy trying to finalize plans for the rest of our trips (some of which are still up in the air :s ) that I have had very little time to write!! Nevertheless, I have a few free hours right now so I’m going to take full advantage! Also I know I promised pictures but I forgot to bring one of my memory card readers so it might be a while before any pictures off my camera gets posted (thank God I stilly carry my phone with me though!)

Sri Lanka was an interesting and tiresome journey. We got into Colombo pretty late (sidebar, the airport is called Colombo International but its almost two hours away from Colombo! Wtf?!) on the 11^th, but I wasn’t too stressed; this was my second trip to Sri Lanka and last time we spent a lot of time in Colombo so I knew I wasn’t missing much. After a good night sleep in the city we left bright and early for our hotel in Sigiriya. What we didn’t realize was how far Sigiriya was from Colombo and ended up spending close to 5 hours on a bus. As if my derrier was not already frustrated with the amount of time I spent sitting down on my journey to India. Anyways, by the time we got off the bus we were a little worried since we were in the middle of no where but a short tuk-tuk ride (it’s a three wheeler or auto-rickshaw, pronounced took-took for some reason) we were instantly relieved upon arriving at the resort. It was beautiful and peaceful! We had our own villa which had a very cool open air shower (don’t worry, there was mesh so no bugs could fly in but sadly you had to make sure you showered before the rain otherwise you’d never get dry!).



Dad just chilling :)

The bathroom!

The next morning we decided to check out some of the sites. During our last visit, my Dad and I spent most of our time in the southern part of the country so this time we decided to go a bit more north. Our first stop was the Sigiriya Rock Palace. When I read up on this UNESCO World Heritage Site online it sounded like something I wouldn’t want to miss; the ruins of a King’s palace situated on the top of a giant rock sounded pretty cool and they said it gives you amazing views of the surrounding areas. What I didn’t totally realize was how much pain I’d be in after climbing 1,200 steps. We started out ascent and after it a few steps it all went downhill (…or uphill??). Needless to say I don’t plan on ever doing that again in my life!! It took us about 3 hours to get up and get back down!! Looking back, it was pretty cool and the views were breathtaking but that could just have been because I was so out of shape I could hardly breathe at the top. Sadly most of the pictures are on my camera so here is one random shot I took on my phone.

And this was only half way up!!

Once we were back on solid ground we grabbed a quick bite and were off to our second site, the Dambulla Rock Temple. I had heard a lot about Dambulla and was quite eager to see it. It is essentially a series of caves each of which contains a dozen statues of Buddha. I don’t know exactly how many caves there are but most people say the first three are the most amazing. As tired (and sweaty) as I was, Dambulla seemed like a good idea to me; not only would we be underground but the caves would have cooler temperatures! Boy was I wrong. For some reason, Sri Lankans in the past liked to put everything up a hill. And so we began to climb again (by this time my Dad had sworn that he’d never travel with me again if I kept making him walk up hills! But I really thought that the caves would be underground!!!). After multiple stops and some time wasted watching monkeys run around, we got to the temple caves.  Shoes off, we headed inside with my phone in had (I was too tried to pull out my camera so I just settled for my phone. Later I learned that we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the caves…oopsies!)



This picture isnt the best but check out the ceiling!





When we finally returned to the resort (after my Dad once again vowed never to travel with me), we decided that we would not do any more sightseeing because neither of us could move. Instead tomorrow, we’d spend some time getting ayurvedic massages to help our sore muscles recover. The massage was a nice change of pace. After a full body rubdown and some time in the sauna we felt like whole new people (whole new people with the smarts not to climb 1,200 steps ever again!) We spent the rest of the day lounging at the resort.

We decided to spend out last night closer to the airport so we wouldn’t have to rush to catch our flight the next day. So after we checkout of the resort, we headed down to Negombo, a quiet little tourist beach town that was right on the beach. It was an amazingly relaxing way to end the trip. We spent quite a few hours just lying on the beach chairs (people kept looking at us because we were the only people in the shade!).

The beach was just steps away :)

My view from the beach chair!

 We strolled around the city before dinner and it became evident that this part of Sri Lanka was huge attraction for German tourists! I have no idea why but almost every storefront had something written in Sinhala (one of two of the national languages-the other being Tamil), English and German! We also noticed that everyone was kind of fascinated by me and I couldn’t figure out why for the life of me! I think it was because people thought I looked Sri Lankan but definitely didn’t dress Sri Lankan (either that or I may resemble a Sri Lankan star of some kind??).

We arrived back at my Dad’s place on the evening of the 17^th and I was so thankful for be back home! But as much as I was glad to be out of the super heat and in cooler weather, getting all the way up to Ooty from Chennai is such a pain in the butt!! That is the part of travelling which I hate the most right now. Thankfully I believe our next few mini trips leave from Ooty so that a relief! I think in the next two weeks we’ll be going to Kerala (to visit my Mom’s family), Bangalore (to visit my friends from high school) and maybe Pondicherry (it used to be a French colony and I’ve wanted to visit for a while) or maybe Goa!

Well, that is what I’ve been upto for the last little while! Hope everything is going well back home! Don’t forget to email me and update me with all the exciting happenings of your life as well!!

Love & miss you lots,

-Arlene

I'm alive!!!

Hi hi!

I have decided to start blogging on this trip as I figured it is a much for effective way to let you know what I am up to while on adventure. Hopefully this is will be something you find entertaining and not what you decide to read when you realize you can’t fall asleep and need some help (I mean I am always glad I could be of help but it this turns out to be the sole purpose of this blog in your life just lie to me and tell me how amazing my trip was when I get back okay? Thanks!).

First of all, sorry it has taken me so long to let you know that I am alive but one of the things you learn when you come to India is that most things don’t happen when you want them to! The internet was supposed be active about six days ago but then again, six days Canadian time does not equal sixdays Indian time. Nevertheless, it is (finally) up and running and you all now know that I am alive and have not been eaten by a rouge goat (*please note that this will be one of many random references to rogue wildlife). I have only been gone for about ten-ish days but it feels like I’ve been away for weeks! I guess the beginning of this trip is a good place to start the updates!

Day one: New York (ish)

The ish is because the trip really started off at the bus terminal in Toronto when the Megabus pulled away from the station. The bus ride was fairly non eventful. The seat I had chosen for the ride was permanently stuck in its reclined position so it lessened the guilt of reclining your seat while an old man was sitting in the row behind me. Luckily, I did not have any one sitting beside me so most of the bus ride was spent falling in and out of sleep (more in than out thanks to the neck pillow-no longer do I understand how I was able to sleep in buses or cars before this!). Anyways, I arrived in New York at about 9 am, hopped in a cab, dropped off my luggage and was ready to start exploring.

Anyone who has taken a bus for travelling knows that you do not come out of it looking like (or smelling like for that matter) a bouquet of roses, instead you more likely resemble a bunch of cheap store bought flowers who have been sitting on the counter for a few days; in short, not so pretty. I decided that what I needed was a bathroom (to freshen up) and some coffee (to waken up) so off in the search for a Starbucks I went. Now, we all know that Starbucks are around every street corner in the US, but apparently either they have become invisible or I am getting blinder by the day (sadly the latter seems to be the more likely option). After what felt like a long ass time walking around the city and passing a number of delicious smelling breakfast places I found a Starbucks (the free wifi was what I was looking for so I could let you know that I was alive). A quick bathroom trip and a coffee later I sat down to send so I could whatsapp you only to have my phone freeze and require a restart. Great. (You Iphone users may not know this but the Blackberry takes about a year (okay maybe I’m exaggerating a little) to restart.)

The rest of my day involved a lot of aimless roaming through the city, some shopping and some eating. I spent most of my time in SoHo since its one of those areas I haven’t really explored. Found an awesome Kimchi Taco food truck (definitely recommend their Korean beef tacos-soo good!!)

had a really delicious cup of wicked hot chocolate (hot chocolate spiked with a few different chili peppers) from Jacques Torres

and finished off my indulgent day with the main reason I went to New York, a waffle from the Waffle Truck!!! I finally got the chance to sink my teeth into this piece of heaven I had been craving for so long; a liege waffle with speckuloos spead (it is like peanut butter but made from graham crackers) and let me tell you, it was most certainly worth the wait.

By this time I was kind of bored (really full but a little bored) and it was pouring rain so I had decided to grab my bags and head to the airport. I had strategically chosen this luggage storage facility (there were three different locations) as it was quite close to Grand Central which is, conveniently, where the bus to the airport leaves from. Unfortunately this turned out to be a terrible idea as no cabbie was wiling to take me the 5 blocks to Grand Central. I was left lugging around two suitcases through the busy streets of New York (the trip turned out to be more like 6ish blocks because I managed to get lost along the way). But with the help of a new found friend (a nice little old woman) I was eventually able to get myself to the bus and was on my way to the airport. Check in was pretty easy once you got past the giant line up and to the counter. Boarding pass in hand I headed to the gate and eagerly waited for the next chapter to begin.

Day Two: some where up in the air

The 13 hour flight seemed like a nightmare upon boarding the flight-what the hell was I going to do for thirteen hours?! But thankfully my time in New York solved that problem for me; I was so exhausted from running around the city (and I later realized that the burning pain in my arms was not from sleeping funny but from dragging my suitcases around the city!) that I pretty much slept through most of the flight. When I finally woke up I decided to make use of the great in flight entertainment system Etihad has. I watched Midnight in Paris (I liked it but only as much as one could like a Woody Allen movie…if that makes any sense), Something Borrowed (I know, I know, you were right, it wasn’t that good and kind of made me mad), and Kung Fu Panda 2 (c’mon, it’s a panda who does kung fu, how can you not love it!). Before I knew it, I was in Abu Dhabi waiting for my next flight. The Abu Dhabi airport is tiny compared to the Dubai airport (which is what I had in mind when I found out I’d be stopping in Abu Dhabi). After a quick 5 min self guided tour of my terminal I settled into a seat and waited for my next flight.

It wasn’t long before I was back in the air but it was quite uncanny as I ended up sitting beside the same person as in my flight from New York! Sadly he was neither good looking nor close to my age (I know you all were thinking that question). Anyways, the service on this flight was totally lacking when compared with the previous flight but then again after seeing how obnoxious some of the passengers really were I don’t blame the attendants! If I ever become a flight attendant I am never doing Indian sectors!! I just spent my time watching more movies; Rio and Limitless (which I sadly only got to see half and now really wants to know what happens next!!) A couple hours later (the flight was only about 3.5 hours), as the sun slowly began to peek out, the plane touched ground.

Day Three: Chennai, India (pronounced Chen-neigh)

I landed in Chennai at about 4 30 in the morning. Customs was a breeze but waiting for my luggage to come out took a while-the whole time I was praying that they hadn’t lost my luggage! About half an hour later I was in the back of cab with my dad racing though the streets and bracing myself for the coming heat as the sun was rising.

Dad suggested a quick breakfast and I (naturally at the thought of caffeine) obliged. Little did I know he meant an Indian breakfast (which tends to be one of their biggest meals of the day). A dosa and a cup of chai later we were on our way to the hotel. My Dad’s house is over 10 hours away from Chennai (which is one of the major cities in the south of India) so we decided to spend the night in Chennai and hop on a train in the morning to Coimbatore (pronounced Coim (like coin but with an m)- baa-tour).

Days Four to Ten: Ooty (pronounced ooooh! Tea!! J )

You would think I’d have all the time in the world to update you (since I basically spend my days sitting in the chill air, sipping my tea and enjoying the scenery) but we’re off to Sri Lanka tonight so I will give you a fairly concise rendition of these last few days.

The train ride to Coimbatore was actually kind of nice because they serve you food! (Which is much more I can say for most flights these days!) Anyways so we had some breakfast and lunch on the train, and while eating some breadsticks and soup check out this lovely Indian spelling flub (look at the name of the company on the top and then look at the email address!).

J

Once we reached Coimbatore one of Dad’s friends picked us up and we began the 4ish hour drive up the mountains to my Dad’s place.

At this point my legs were asking me a multitude of questions; ‘Why don’t you love us anymore? Are we no longer useful for you that you must sit on your ass for a ridiculous numbers of hours?!’ Let me tell you, in the span of four days I spent so much time sitting down (bus, plane, train, car) that I’m pretty sure I’ve flattened what little ass I had!

When we finally reached my Dad’s place (it’s a quaint little old English bungalow) I was really not prepared for what I was to face-I was freezing cold! Now my dada had warned me about this, he said ‘temperatures can dip below 10^oC during the night so bring sweaters’ but me being the Canadian that I am said, ‘below 10?! Psssh, nothing new!’ It was most certainly new as I didn’t fully realize old English bungalow = no heating! See in Toronto, when its that cold outside, you are a) dressed appropriately and b) in and out of heated areas. Totally not the case here. After a quick shower to freshen up I was wrapped in my pjs, a hoodie and wool socks.

These past few days have just been spent exploring the town and meeting some of my Dad’s friends. He took me to the charity home that he helps out and it was truly a humbling experience. It’s a home for children with mental disabilities that is run by two brothers and their families. I had the opportunity to interact with some of the kids and I definitely think they took a liking to me J on the ride down to the charity home we drove through animal reserve areas and I had the opportunity to see deer, monkeys, peacocks and elephants!! It was very cool!

A couple days later we drove to one of my Dad’s friend’s tea estates and he took me on a tour of the factory which involved a lot more processes than I had imagined. Makes me appreciate my cup of chai all the more! Later we drove around the mountains and saw some amazing views! Honestly with these views you wouldn’t believe you were in India; it looked like the forests that you could find in BC. It was so easy to get lost in the beauty of the greenery that would totally forget where you are but then you are quickly brought back to reality by a rouge cow (*rouge wildlife reference number two) just non-chalantly sitting in the middle of the road (since cows are viewed sacred by Hindus they are allowed to roam free most of the time). I wanted to take so many pictures but these roads were definitely not made for stopping; they can comfortably accommodate one car and I would be terrified to see what happens when there is two way traffic and a stopped car! There were also what seemed like a bajillion hairpin bends and some of these bus drivers (yes the Indians are crazy enough to operate buses up steep ass mountains and insanely bendy turns) take these turns at some high speeds!! That experience had me holding my breath at every turn.

That’s about it so far! I’ve been trying to master the art of doing nothing and simply just enjoying my surroundings which my father continuously points out I cannot do. My Dad keeps trying to convince me to go out on morning walks with him but I cannot seem to find the motivation to get out of my warm bed and trek 3 km every morning!! Anyways I will try my best to keep you updated on my livelihood (and encounters with rogue wildlife) now that the internet is active.

Love and miss you lots,

Arlene

Correction!

I just realized that the smiley faces on word come out as 'J's on the blog so every time you see a random J just think :)