Wintereventyr

Mombasa beach life

2011-11-20T05:20:00.001-08:00

We arrived on…Tuesday,to a luxurious beach resort called Severin sea lodge. I was I awe the first fewhours. Two nice big pools, one with a slide, a Jacuzzi (it never bobbles and it’scold though..) and a little waterfall. There a two restaurant, a bar and entertainmentarea (a stage). The entrance alone is luxurious. And it’s right on the beach.The white, palmy beach with turquoise, WARM sea water. The first time we wentfor a swim we were all pretty amazed by how the water was even hotter than theair. I felt like I was sweating under water! Luckily it has cooled down a bit J

Since we arrived we have been veging out for the most part, soaking up the sunand swimming. But we’ve also been on a few adventures.

Leah took us to a very nice, seychellianrestaurant surrounded with lush vegetation and exotic sounds like crickets andbirds, the kind of sounds people back home buy on a cd to relax J

Before eating, one of the waitresses camecarrying a big clay bowl on her head and one in her hand and came around tohelp us wash our hands before the meal. We enjoyed a delicious Kenyan meal,eating with our hands from pots and plates of clay and wood. It felt so naturaland wonderfully native.

On Friday wewent to the city of Mombasa. First stop was a sort of village where they makeall kinds of beautiful woodwork: lamps, bowls, cutleries, big and small figuresof animals and masais +++

We walked around and talked to the workers and saw how they made it all, andwent nuts in their shop afterwards.

The cars took us to the see the elephant teeth arch that Mombasa is so famous for,shaped as an M for Mombasa. And on to the old part of town through a marked.The houses in the streets were pretty run down and the alleys were muddy, greyand we passed huge pile of garbage smelling like oh my #¤%&/( ,but that’salso a part of it all and enjoyed walking through, and especially talking topeople.

Our resort is beautiful and very comfortable, but I also feel very isolatedhere, so it was nice to get out and see and talk to people, people who aren’twaiting on us or trying to sell us stuff. But our random, crazy guide came gotme when I stopped to talk to people waving his arms telling me how dangerous itwas walking around there. It felt pretty nice and friendly to me. Hystericalguy. We passed through a food market, and out on crazy street market. I enjoyedthe walk and would’ve liked more time to look around, but the heat got prettyintense, and walking in a big group in a crowded market can be a littleexhausting.

Back at the beach by our resort we’ve rented jetskis (FUN!), gone snorkeling swimming with completely unaffected fish, I feltlike one of them, haha! :D We’ve walked up and down the beach shopping a bitfrom the “market” on the beach. A few nights ago we found a great place to eat,so we’ve gone back there a couple times (vanedyr som vi er).

We’re enjoying the sun, cold beer and white wine by the pool in the evening andthe good life, but honestly I’m getting restless and can’t wait for usto go on the Safari! :D

Hippos!

2011-11-17T12:15:00.001-08:00

Today wepacked our bags and had a long lazy morning, followed by a boat trip along thebank, with the smilest guide ever! He enthusiastically shared his knowledgewith us as we boated our way through a hippofamily (MAN they are huge upclose!!), a little island of trees where some beautiful, yellow birds residesin their nests hanging like lightbulbs from the tree branches. We passed afishing village with fishing men standing in the water throwing fishnets and atlast we went to see the mangroves (trees growing in water), such a strange andawesome phenomenon.

After theboat trip we got our stuff and drove to the city center of Kisumu and checkedinto our hotel for the night. We hung out by and in the pool for hours, eating,talking, playing with the girls and each other. In the evening we all gotdressed to go out to dinner. As we got dressed I hung out in Jenny andAnthony’s balcony and watch yet another beautiful sunset here. The sunsets hereare so, so beautiful! The color are so warm and intense. As we walked out oftheir room on the other side, to meet the others, we were met by the mostamazing lightning storm I ever saw! There was only one majestic cloud on thenight sky, and inside it it lit up for a millisecond every third seconds. Itwas such a spectacular sight. Only nature can be that spectacular!

Maria and her girls: Laura and Alma

Alma

The sunset as you only see it in Africa

We went outfor dinner at an empty, not really charming place called Simba, but the foodwas great! And so was the company J

We moved on to a karaoke bar afterwards, where Leah (Anthony and Linda’s mom)and Petter (Jenny’s dad) ruled the microphone, hahaha! We stayed for a short while before most ofthe group went back to the hotel, except Jenny, Anthony, Nina, Linda and me. We went to check out one last bar,where Anthony and Linda’s cousin and his cousin were at. After a glass we wentback to the hotel and caught some sleep before our early flight to Mombasa theday after.

At Simba: The Gran sisters belly-laughing like the Gran girls do!

Mamas little village

2011-11-16T12:06:00.001-08:00

Today we all drove out to the village where Mama(Anthony and Linda’s grandmother) lives. The first thing we were met by drivingup to mamas house was one of the neighbor boys yelling “MSONGOOOO!!!!!” fromthe top of his lungs, declaring to all that westerners are coming. Hahaha. Onthe bumpy, muddy, red dirt road leading to her house through the village our bus got stuck inthe mud (…this is a mandatory experience to make when you first come all the wayto Africa, in my opinion!! :D). So we took to our feet and walked the rest ofthe way (short walk). As we walked up Mamas driveway she was standing in frontof her house, all matriarchal, wishing us welcome, in another beautiful,African dress, with a choir- her choir- singing, drumming and clapping. A greatway to be welcomed! In return we whipped up a choir of our own and sang themsome Norwegian tunes (kjerringa med staven bla, hahaha).

The choir and Mama, aunts and more aunts wishing us welcome

Mama (second from the right), her sisters and a great aunt (i think..)

The aunties dished up a lovely meal for us all. We were all placed with thechoir on one side and the visitors on the other, sitting on display for each other,haha. I felt a little weird about it, so eventually I walked over to the otherside and held some cute, squishy little babies (who were slightly puzzled bythe color my skin, but none the less trusting) making their mamas laugh andgiggle, going “Msongo with baby!!!”

Hiding behind our bus (that eventually made it all the way up to the house) wefound 5 or 6 of the neighbor boys, curiously peeking from underneath the bus tosee what the msongos were up to. A few of us went over to them after a while,chatting with them. One of the boys led the conversation, being the mostoutgoing and confident. A beautiful happy looking boy. And he told there is noproblem, except they had no football. They wished for a football. They usuallymade it from ropes and pieces of plastic, but would really like an actual ball. Linda and Magnus, being prepared for this, were sweet enough to bring not only aball for them, but also two freebees and clothes for all the boys. They lit upand couldn’t thank us enough. It was so wonderful to see!

So we played withthem for a while, before it was time for the bride and groom to receive presents.My favorite was the live goat (or sheep, we never really agreed on what itreally was..). The first few seconds Jenny and her sister Anna was in terrorfearing they were gonna slaughter the goat (or sheep…) then and there, luckilyit was only a symbolic gift, and was given to an uncle to care for.

After an amazing visit, we made it back to the mainroad and headed forAnthony’s aunt and uncles house (one of the three). We were stopping for aquick drink (African time..) before heading home, which is to say we wereserved drinks and dinner, and stayed until the clock passed 10 pm.

The African sense of time can be somewhat frustrating for the westernclock-slaves, but I find it so wonderful how they invite 20 people over to thehouse, cooking them dinner and serving them drinks, with nothing prepared. Justimpulsively host 20 people at their house.

We made it back to our hotel, tired after a long day full of impressions, andhad a drink by the pool together before crawling into our tents, one last nightat this lovely resort.

Kenyan wedding party

2011-11-16T11:33:00.001-08:00

After a good night sleep in our tents, we all met forbreakfast in the restaurant. We were served eggs, bacon, sausages, fresh fruit,yoghurt, fresh juice and toast in the shade of the burning sun. We spent sometime by the pool afterwards, sunbathing, tanning, chatting and relaxing, beforewe all started to get ready for the Kenyan wedding fest.

(by Linda)

Alma, Laura and Anna

I love our little tent village, andhow we just run next door, two meters away, if we need a pair of scissors, ornail polish, hairdryer or just good company. Which we did, especially thegirls, running from tent to tent borrowing this and that, getting ready for theparty.

Family members of Anthony (and Leah and Linda) startedto arrive around 2pm, with big smiles and hugs for all. Before the Mama arrived, with her traditional,colorful dress and headwear, and her matriarchal aura, we met with aunts,uncles, cousins, great uncles, great aunts, friends, friends of friends andwhatnot. We all introduced ourselves to one another, hugged and chatted untildinner was served. A delicious meal of Indian food (obviously there are a lotof Indians living here, including the owner of the resort we’re staying at).

We ate, we drank and we entertained: the Norwegians with two homemade songsfrom the last wedding- about Jenny and Anthony-, and then all the Africanladies coming out with the wedding cake, dancing in a parade around it, makingJenny and Anthony feed each other and family members with a bite each of thecake. The newlyweds were given wise words and good advice from more experiencedfamily members, like how you should- no matter how angry, and how hard itfeels- put your hand on your spouse’s hand after an argument or such. I lovedthis advice, so simple and such a significant gesture in hard times.

Mama gave a heartwarming, tear dripping speech and Jenny’s father praised hisson in-law and thanked Anthony’s mother and aunts for arranging this party.

Suddenly it started pooring down, making us flee for shelter in the restaurant.We drank some more inside, entertained some more, danced, talked and laughedtil’ late hours and went to bed happy and tired after another wonderfulcelebration of Jenny and Anthony’s love.

Mama and Linda

Friends and family (by Linda)

Anthony and Alma (their niece)

Linda and Brian (their cousin)

Anthony's aunts and mother with the wedding cake

Jenny and Anthony

(by Linda)

Jenny and Anthony in the Kisumu sunset

Kenya: Kisumu!

2011-11-11T13:03:00.001-08:00

So again we're off to an overseas adventure, this time to Kenya to celebrate my friends, Jenny and Anthony's wedding, Kenyan style! :D

All my travelling though has resulted into an intense feeling of boredom when it comes to flying. I no longer feel apprehensive and exited getting onto a plane on my way to a new destination, cause' i know there's a lot of time just waiting before i can start my new adventure. Luckily this flight turned out more interesting than i had expected. I shared my seat row with some random lady and a rather cute and seemingly restless guy. The guy and i got to talking and i found out his name is Nelson. We hit it off and both sense an underlying connection, and before you know it we're having a flight romance. haha. But i see myself as too classy for the mile-high club, so none of that kind of business. ;) But may be we'll meet again...

Nelson and me

An exhausted group of Gran Hansen's waiting at the airport in Nairobi.

First thing that hit me as we got out of the airport in Kisumu is how it smells so much like India. That familiar, friendly smell. As we drive through Kisomo city (more like a town..) with it's layed back atmosphere- people just hanging out everywhere- onto the pumpy red dirtroad (with lush vegetation everywhere around) that took us to Kiboko Bay resort (known as the hippopoint, due to it's location overviewing all the hippos lying around in the water outside the resort), we pass neighborhoods of corrugated iron houses and primitive standards of living; people doing their daily chores, selling stuff from tables at the side of the dirtroad, goats walking around in the streets, kids playing and people going on about their daily business. I always love the first meeting with a new culture, that first ride from the airport where everything outside the window is new and exotic.

We arrive the resort to be met by a very friendly, helpful staff, and by Jenny and Anthony who had allready been here for a few days. We were assigned to each our cabins, or tents to be exact, and got settled in a bit before we all had lunch together by the pool.

Jenny and Alma

Nina

After a day of relaxation: swimming in the pool, eating, sunbathing and napping, we went out with the boats to see Anthony and Linda's (Anthony's beautiful little sister) old home. It was right by airport, with planes taking off overhead, and it was a beautiful, round house surrounded by a very lush exotic garden. The owner let us into the yard and had a friendly chat about the house before we went back at sunset, to the resort for a long, nice evening dinner.

Anthony and Lindas old house in Kisumu

Anthony and Linda

Evening dinner

To top off a wonderfully relaxed start to another great adventure, Nina, Jenny and I sat on the little veranda of our tent (Nina and mine), having a girltalk and a good giggle. Nina is lying next to me now, sound asleep, and i will lie down do the same now. Good night :)

Our little village of fancy tents (brødrene Dahl-style)

Inside our tent

Jenny and me

Last stop: Esfahan

2011-11-09T08:01:00.000-08:00

After an enchanting trip to the desert we made our way to the last stop, Esfahan. Throughout the trip so far people had kept telling us we need to go to Esfahan "It is soo beautiful".

We arrived after sundown, and went out for dinner. I must admit the food in Iran was a bit of a disappointment, i had expected more spices and vegetables and exotic foods, but it seems that they serve kebab and rice for the most part. After dinner we went for a stroll to the famous bridges of esfahan. Beautiful bridges, with the pointy arches that adorn so many of the buildings and houses in Iran. I remember i used to draw big palaces as a kid, with arches and domes done in this shape. Love it! :) And on the bridges people hung out like they were at a cafe. Loads of people. That's one of the things i love about Iran, how pairs and groups of people will have a picnic wherever; in the park, on the bridges, on the sidewalks...and not just sitting on the pavement, real picnics; with persian rugs laid out, teapots, chichas and food. :D

On our stroll we all stopped for a cup of tea in a teahouse under one of the bridges, before we walked back to the hotel and called it a night.

Next day we got up and went to see the minarets. The structure is build so the minarets wobble from side to side, i think because incase of storms and earthquakes, so they don't fall. Two different guys took turn on climbing up into one of the minarets humping away in the air inside it, looking kinda' dirty, to make the tower wobble so the bell would ring. Fun experience.

Afterwards we were taken to the royal palace of Esfahan. When you go sightseeing in esfahan the government require you have a guide working for them, to show you around. So we got this cranky lady, acting like a school teacher, bossing us around and giving us fake smiles afterwards. And she made all the fascinating stories and scenery seem boring with her horrible telling skills. So some of us would stay all the way in the back and listen to Mohammad tell some stories instead, cause he tells them good!

The architecture was amazing, all the arches, beautiful mosaic decorated walls and original decorations, beautiful. The architecture also had speaker-functions some places: the structure was build so the sound was channeled up through the ceiling and down, so you could stand in one corner of a hall and speak with a low voice to someone on the opposite corner. Funny.

We looked around for a good while, and then we went to a fancy carpet store, for the rest of the group to buy some real persian rugs. We were served tea as we came in, and the sellers showed us one carpet after another telling us every little detail about every carpet; what material, what kind of pattern and it's history, where they were from and whatnot. Very impressive, and very beautiful! But i had all ready purchased a persian rug, so i left the shopping to the others.

Before we headed out for our last dinner together, Mohammad took three of us to a dodgy, cramped, fascinating underground tea-house by the palace. We smoked some chicha, drank some tea and shared what felt like a last few laughs together.

Mohammad left us that last night in Esfahan, but met us at the airport the day after to give us some souvenirs he had so thoughtfully put together for each and one of us.

The busride to the airport was long, and a little melancholic. We all sat in our separate seats, looking out the window, letting the last 10 days sink in.

Personally, magical Persia exceeded all my expectations! This was an adventure to remember, and a wonderful group of people to share my memories with.

Camels and sand dunes

2011-10-31T05:36:00.000-07:00

We got up early in the morning at our peaceful guesthouse, got dressed and ready and was served breakfast and tea, outside in the shade of the green arch on persian beds.

After breakfast the group got split, one part going by minibus and one in Mohammad's fourwheeler, driving off into the desert. It took a few hours and we saw the landscape changing, getting more and more bare and dusty. It was a whole new scenery for me, and i took it all in as we drove through.

When we arrived we were met by some traditional musicians who served us tea, played us some fun music we all jumped around and danced to, in the most awkward touristy way you can imagine, and let us ride their camels. It was my first time on a camels back, and i love it! When i go back to Iran next time, i'm definitively going on a camel-safari in the desert!

Nina and me

While we were dancing and riding, the other part of our group, including our chef for the desert adventure, were off to set up our camp by the caravanserai near by.

-Back in the days, when merchants came travelling through the desert, they built 999 forts around the desert, for them to find shelter and be more protected by plunders. The merchants would meet up at these little forts and make deals and keep company on the way. These 999 forts are the caravanserais.-

When our camp was all set up and dinner was ready, we were taken to the caravanserai to the rest of the group. We had tea, dinner, more tea, hung out and relaxed, had some tea, and right before sunset we all headed out to the sand dunes. When we arrived we all struggled our way up on the first sand dune, sliding down 2 steps for every one we took. But somehow we all made it to the top, and the view was breathtaking. So exotic. And with the sun going down, turning the sandcolor into orange, the landscape kept getting more and more enchanting. We walked along the top of the sand dune, over to the next dune where we all sat down on a line, in silence, and watched the sun go down. This was one of my favorite moments on the trip. I felt peaceful, happy, content, and very present.

by Mohammad Hajabolfath (http://www.mountainzone.ir/)

After the sun went down, we walked back to our vehicles, watched the stars and ate some fruit, before we drove back to the caravanserai. We had some more tea and nice conversation before we crawled into our tents (and some into the caravanserai) and fell asleep.

The Norwegian embassy and peaceful Kashan

2011-10-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

Our peaceful guesthouse in Kashan

Before we said our goodbyes to Tehran, we made a visit to the Norwegian embassy. We enter this public building to be greeted by a woman not wearing a hijab, and i felt myself reacting with surprise. Funny how fast you get used to new customs. :)

At the embassy two, fairly young Norwegian guys (in their early thirties) stepping in for the none existing ambassador, told, explained and shared about the situation in Iran from both a political point of view, and how they experience Iran personally as two Norwegian guys.

We had all ready gotten a little insight from Mohammad, and what we learned here in addition is such a contrast, a horrible contrast, to the magic and warm country we experience.

We learned how repressed this beautiful people is by it's government. The dresscodes are one thing, which, by the way, goes for both women and men! All we ever hear about back home is how the women has to wear a hijab, but they don't tell us how the men has to wear long-legged pants and nothing less than a t-skirt. No legs, no shoulders showing. But hijabs and pants are next to nothing compared to the corruption going on in this country (basically robbing people) compared to the public executions where they lift the executed by the neck from the ground, leaving them dangle for 10-15 minutes before they die, rather than dropping them down so they instantly break their necks and die momentarily. And this the government also do to under aged people.

We learned that a week before we arrived the government had sent out helicopters to cut down all satellite dishes they could find, to limit tv-access and foreign (probably mostly western) influence.

Alcohol is forbidden, dancing is forbidden, female artists are not allowed to perform, dress codes are forced upon them with a moral police driving around making sure they're being followed. And obviously religion is forced upon them. At the weekly Friday prayer in the biggest mosque in Tehran, we were told 80% of thousands of people were more or less payed to attend, as they work for the government in one way or another and are therefore required to go.

All the new information and history we were given was a lot to take in, and i'm not gonna give you a full report here, but it was very educational and made my heart burn with anger. Making me want to work with human rights. This whole people is repressed, not only the women.

The big men on top rule the country with an iron hand, putting the peoples money in their own, big pockets.

Luckily, the people won't be completely subjugated; some demonstrate, some fight by getting educated within human rights and such, some are rebels, and the rest of them live through their underground culture, which seem to be much like what we're used to in the west. With drunken parties, where young girls through their hijabs, take out their cleavages and shake what their mamas gave'em ;)

If they get caught, though....

The seemingly grey and dull Tehran turned out to hide more than one pearl of magic and fun, Persian culture at it's most colorful and a people so warm and lovely!

After Tehran we were off to Kashan.

Tehran

Pollution is another big issue in Tehran...

Then we arrive another magical part of this diverse country, Kashan. We arrived in the evening, walking through alleyways taken right out of Aladdin, to enter an oases of peace and harmony. A beautiful guesthouse with traditional architecture and style. In the center of the guesthouse (as in all big traditional Iranian houses) was an open, outdoor space with a long fountain in the middle, an arch of green plants and pomegranates along the walls, lined up with those lovely sitting areas (beds basically) with persian rugs and pillows under it, making it feel like a very exotic spa.

The shutters in front of doors and windows were beautifully carved, dark wood, against the white, clay walls. Inside they keep the color of clay, making it wonderfully mysteries and fairy taily, especially with all the stairs going up, down and around, leading to new doorways and more stairs.. :D

The entrance of the guesthouse

Our guesthouse

After settling in a bit, we all went out for dinner, some by them selves and some together. I always prefer together, so i joined that part of the group. And again i was amazed by the beautiful architecture, interior, lights and colors of another traditional restaurant! This time i felt like i was enjoying it all by myself though, while the rest seemed to have gotten used to the magic of Persia, i was still in my childish, happy little bubble, amazed by it. I mean look:

The entrance;

a little labyrinth we had to work our way through before entering the actual restaurant

The restaurant

Hungry, tired, but very content waiting for our supper :)

A beautiful little girl and her beautiful aunt.

We had a very limited, but very nice chat with them before we left.

A childishly exited Renate exploring the alleyways of Kashan after dark.

The backstreets of Kashan - minus the streetlamp it's JUST like aladdin! :D

After a long, lazy dinner at the beautiful restaurant, and some exploration of the streets and alleyways of Kashan, we made our way back to our retreat.

We curled up on Persian rugs in our little sleeping-den... not really able to fall asleep because it was too freakin' hard to lye on the clay floor and one of the guys wouldn't stop freakin' snoring..!

With the guys in the next room, i actually felt a little shy about removing my hijab, letting them see my hair for the first time. Haha, i felt kind of silly about it, but it turns out i've become very easily influenced by new ways.

The girls sleeping-den. The little tunnel on the right led into one of the boys rooms.

Nina and I hijab-less...IIiiik!

Mountain hiking and "A thousand and one night" with live music

2011-10-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

We started our fourth day by hiking up Kolakchal, one of the mountains around Tehran. I was pretty amazed by these mountains, just because they're so different from any i've seen before. So dry, sandy, stony, and beige, and very limited vegetation, pretty much only along the path up. This is also a retreat for people living here, where the women hiking let their hijabs fall, as there are no police or moral-police.
We had a nice hike up, with a lunch-stop half hour away from the top, before the sporty'er part of the group continued all the way up. Nina and I walked back down instead, having some good one on one time. Back at the bottom we tried to get a cab back to the bazar, to do some shopping. But none of the cab-drivers spoke english and had no idea of where we were trying to go. A handsome, helpful guy came over with his limited english trying to make sense of our eager attempt to communicate with words and gesticulation, but without much luck. I kind of gave up, but stayed just to flirt, laugh and look at this handsome, young man. :) Not much constructive came out of the whole scenario, we never got anywhere, but all the cab drivers were laughing and shouting, and Nina and I joined in on the laugh, sightly confused and amused by it all. We decided to wait for the rest of the group and join them on the bus back.

We met a worker on his donkey, among others

Our group

Pitt-stop

People seemingly living up in the mountains

The amusing cabdriver, the handsome helper and myself

After a quick nap after the hike back at the hotel, Mohammad took us to yet another amazing, traditional Iranian restaurant. Every new one seem to exceed the last! We entered the restaurant, and I immediately felt like i was in a fairy tale from "A thousand and one nights"! We sit down and order our food, and the band for the night comes out and starts to play. Iranian pop, that ALL the other guests in the restaurant (including Mohammad) know the words to, and they ALL (including Mohammad) sang along, clapped their hands and flicked their fingers, smiling and waving at us to join in. Haha, this restaurant was so wonderfully alive!

At our table we talked, joked and belly-laughed all night, feeling intoxicated by the atmosphere! Who needs alcohol!? We witnessed some over-the-top persian barbie dolls, who were so fixed (noses, lips, hair extensions and whatnot) that they looked like a mixture of the sea witch from the little mermaid and a transvestite, and seemed like they were afraid to smile in case their faces would crack. I'm pretty sure their starting out point was much better! But some of the ladies in our group, obviously fascinated by them, started chatting with them, and by the time we left they were all smiling and laughing. :)

After we got served tea, and were about to get ready to leave, the head of parliament of Syria enters and sits at the table next to ours with his little harem and bodyguards. Very surreal, and unpleasant to several.

As we left the restaurant pretty much every table waved us goodbye and through us smiles and kisses! :)
What a magical evening!

I'm also learning so much by talking to Mohammad. He has so much knowledge he loves to share, about politics, history, culture, religion and much more, and his genuine interest is contagious.

"Thousand and one night"-restaurant <3

entrance

the tea kettle

Here they're waving us goodbye (especially the group farthest in the back)

Tehran Grand Bazar and a valley of magic!

2011-10-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

In the garden of the palace, with an Iranian women we stopped to chat with (in the middle).

Water fountains are a symbol of wealth in Iran, and are to be found every "nice" place you go to.

After breakfast we took the subway over to Tehran Gran Bazar to do some shopping and sightseeing.

The subway in Tehran was a new, pleasant experience for us ladies. The Iranians have created a system in favor for women, where the carts are divided into carts for everyone, and two carts for only women :D No sweaty men throwing dirty glances, only curious, friendly, flower-smelling ladies, asking questions like "How do you evaluate Iran?", haha. And there was space (compared to the other carts). They should introduce this system everywhere!

*like*

The entrance of the bazar was beautifully decorated with colorful mosaic (like so many buildings in Iran), and inside was one huge maze of shops, selling anything and everything. One of the things i was set on buying in Iran was of course a persian rug, so we found us a carpet dealer and came with him to his shop. He started pulling our carpets, showing us everything in his little shop, totally unnecessary as i had my heart set on the very first carpet i pulled out (picture below). I made a pretty good deal, and left very content with my new Persian rug! I'm sure it flies! :)

In the middle of the bazar was a big open space where the big mosque of Imam Khomeini was placed, beautifully decorated, as all the mosques we see here are.

Tehran Grand bazar

inside grand bazar

Imam Khomeini mosque

After meeting up with everyone by the mosque, we all went for tea at a tea-house near by.

After the busy bazar and a glas of tea, we went to another one of the pompous palaces, with wild decorations, huge, beautiful persian rugs and extravagant interior. Here i was caught and yelled at for taking a sneak photo of one of the grand rooms, by a guard who 5 min later took a sneak photo of me, with his cell. Yea, okay.

some iranians smoking chicha at the tea-house

mohammad, øyvind and nina drinking tea

On the our way out of the park of the palace, we stopped by another of the many traditional tea-houses in Tehran, and had a tiny glass of tea (or five). The tea-houses are one of my favorite things about Iran; first of all i love tea, second they're all decorated with Persian rugs, pillows and beautiful lamps, making a very cosy atmosphere. And i love the tiny little glasses they serve the tea in, and the fact that they also serve chicha in most of the tea-houses.

traditional tea-house

When it got dark and time for dinner the bus took us up to the foot of the hill, where Mohammad led way to a beautiful, lush valley through a path with shops on the sides, with traditional Iranian restaurants on all different levels on the hillsides, with stone stairs going up and between them, reminding me of the valley where the elfs live in Lord of The rings. There was a river running down, and through some of the resturants, where they had integrated it beautifully by putting there sitting areas (beds of wood, with persian rugs and pillows) in the river, letting the water run underneath where you sit. In the green trees around they had hung strings of light, making it all even more magical.

We were served a nice barbecued meal of kebab (although i must admit persian food is a bit of a disappointment), followed by tea of course, ended with a tasty puff of chicha.

There was a very charismatic group of middle aged men sitting by us, chatting, smoking chicha and drinking tea together, like proper Persian men, who invited me to sit with them (picture below). A very friendly, comfortable group of men, creating an atmosphere reminding me of my father and grandfather, making me want to curl up between them and fall asleep as they kept chatting and laughing in the background.

Instead i talked with them, laughed with them, took pictures with them and was told of my beauty and asked if i was married. They thought it was a shame that i wasn't. :)

This valley, these restaurants and these people has been one of the most magical experiences in my adventures life.

dried fruit with som sweet, gewy stuff on. you find it everywhere here.

the shops on the path going up to the valley of restaurants

The valley of restaurants

river running under the sitting areas

my charismatic group of new friends

Smoking the chicha

here i am puffing away

Finally we got a shot with three of those barbie dolls persian girls we see everywhere, making us feel like nuns in comparison. we even caught one of the many who has just fixed her nose (the blond one has a band aid on her nose still).

Culture in Tehran

2011-10-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

What i love about arriving new places at night, is how you experience it all like for the first time again the next day in daylight, reloaded and energized to take it all in.
At breakfast we looked out of the window and discovered Tehran! We were pretty amazed by the view (and the picture below does not justify!), off-white, square buildings stacked throughout the city, surrounded with sandy, beige, bare-looking mountains in the distance. So different from any other mountains i've seen.

After breakfast our bus took as through a seemingly grey and dull Tehran, to a palace with over-the-top decorated walls with mirror-mosaic, giving the impression of the walls being covered with diamonds.
We lunched at the outdoor cafe in the garden of the palace, in the shade of the sun. As we looked around and lunched, Mohammad shared his knowledge filled with colorful stories, facts and culture, and we were all fascinated and intrigued.

After the grand palaces we spend the afternoon walking around in a beautiful park at the foothill of the mountains- where all families come to hang out on fridays, as it is their sunday- with stone stairs going up, down and around in between trees, bushes, hills and a waterfall with a pond at the bottom. The whole park was packed with families and couples having picnics like only Iranians know how to picnic. First of all the families consist of at least 6 people it seems, and they bring mats, carpets and blankets, those big water heaters for the teapot, including the teapot and cups, chicha (hooka), foods and drinks for eveyone and whatnot. And then they veg out in the park all day.

I looked around and saw so much love. Big families, all ages, truly enjoying each others company, joking, laughing, cuddling and playing. Everywhere families like this. Didn't look like any facade, only genuine enjoyment. They all represent a fellowship i miss in my own culture, where individuality rules to a degree of isolation and loneliness in my eyes. It was beautiful to see. The warmth of this people is one of the things that strikes me the most, never experienced a warmer people.

Several curious people came up to us to talk and ask questions, being so friendly and welcoming. Hardly any other tourists here, so we stand out alright. Everyone we talk to is wishing us welcome to Iran.

In the evening Mohammad took us to two different exhibitions, modern art, one with impressive sculptures of...pappmasje (broken down papir with water...like glue), and another with some photos that at least made an impression on me.
Nina, Ingrid Sina and i had a cup of tea in the cafe before we all went to dinner on a lush terrace with great atmosphere and tasty food.
Our group is really a great gang, the mood is great and everyone seem to be enjoying themselves.

The view from our hotel at breakfast

Nina and Renate aka Frøken fryd :)

The park

Nina and i

One of the groups of picnickers

the pappmasje exhibition

the photo exhibition

one of my favorites from it

outside the exhibition

At dinner with the whole group

half leveled restaurant

on the walk back to the hotel

the streets of tehran at night

me behind bars

Magical Persia Day 1

2011-10-16T14:04:00.000-07:00

At the airport in Stockholm i was stopped by a grumpy, little man in a neon-yellow vest who had a problem with my passport being a little worn at the edges. This passport they wouldn't let me into Russia with, he told me. No, but i'm not going to Russia, so i'm sure i'll be fine, i answered. No, but IF i was going to Russia they wouldn't have let me pass, he continued rather agitated. Yes, but i'm going to Iran, i explained. Then he hissed at me "You're not listening to me; IF you were going to Russia they wouldn't have let you pass with this worn passport!!!" BUT I'M NOT GOING TO RUSSIA!!! What's up with making a hypothetical crises?? At the airport in Russia i was waved pass passport control by a careface who didn't even bother opening my passport. In Iran i was met by a far more friendly guy at customs who's probably seen more worn things than my passport, and joked about my last name and wished me welcome to Iran. Looking around me at the airport i quickly learned that there are several interpretations of the hijab, and the women didn't look nearly as dull as i had imagined. The airport swarmed with Persian beauties with big, fancy hairdos accessoriesed with scarfs hanging by the tip of their ponytails at the back, and framed their beauty more than hiding it..! There were of course the more traditional black, tighter hijabs, and full covering chadores, but not as a majority. In addition to their pompous head decorations, they wore masks of makeup, and they were polished and styled from head to toe, something we had been warned not to do. Vanity, is the first thing that struck me as we arrived Iran. And in comparison i felt very dull-looking. Although i must admit i pull off the hijab-look pretty well. Wearing it gives me a sense of self respect, femininity and female vulnerability that i kind of like. AND it's very practical; don't have to worry about my hair everyday, i can dry my hands off on it (after washing them clean obviously), i put it over my face when i sleep on the buss, cover my face if i feel embarrassed and hide behind it if someone stare more than i feel comfortable with. Now, i'm sort of playing a role here and can enjoy the ups about this garment because i know it's only temporary. How the women of Iran feel about it i can't say.We landed in Tehran (see map) in the middle of the night, and were picked up by our private buss, and our Guide for the trip, Mohammad. The sweetest man on earth, dark Iranian, with green, kind eyes, and the most friendly and sympathetic white smile. He's actually a mountain climber, and takes people on mountain expeditions around the world for a living, which is how he met our group leaders Øyvind and Geir, but agreed to be our guide through our stay in Iran. We were a group of 19 total, from the age of 24 to 60+ A wonderfully random group of people, all positive and social. The buss took us to our hotel where we got a few hours of sleep, before our adventure started..

On our way to the hotel in our karaoke-looking bus

Hotel...(?) The loby

Rooftop of the hotel

Back to Woodstock and then we chello!

2010-03-29T00:57:00.000-07:00

After Rishikesh we went back to good old Woodstock, to Leav, Ofra and their beautiful girls Stavi and Meshy. It felt really good coming back. But we soon discovered that the energy had changed dramatically!
One of our friends lost his marbles after he came to Arambol. He lost complete touch with reality, measuring his energy with his hands out in the thin air and by moving stuff randomly around. He stopped communicating with us, and made us all worried. He would sit still among us, in his own little world and suddenly start sobbing. 10 seconds later he would be smiling like he was seeing an angle. We never saw him do any heavy drugs, but something sure happened. The poor guy got beaten up at the local shop for not paying, so finally his parents came to India and got him.
New people had joined us, crazy, uncomfortable people setting a strange mood. We changed the energy as much as we could, cleaning the place, playing nice music and doing nice things together there, but Woodstock didn't feel the same anymore. The freedom got abused- people were more or less free to do as they pleased, and not all people are good, so some bad things happened. Some rules are neccesary to keep the "peace and love".
My last day i spent some quality time with Ivo, before our time together was over. We went on a last little ride on his bike, and on the bike, with the wind on my face and my arms around his waist all the memories from all our little adventures came back to me. And suddenly i felt really sad about leaving. And i realized i was a little more attached to Ivo than i had let myself believe.
After our ride we had our last dinner at Oliven Garden with our Woodstock family. After the sun had set and we finished our meal, Ivo and i went for a walk on the beach, and went skinnydipping in the moonshine. The waves washed us down the beach and we had to run up and down the beach to find our clothes in the dark afterwords, haha. Back at woodstock we hung out with everyone for a while, before we went to bed. And 4 am the taxi came and got Maja and me to the airport. Big hugs and tears were shared, and off we went. Time to chello.

Next stop- Rishikesh

2010-03-15T05:15:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who know me, you know i am not such a great planer. I make great plans! But i never plan them well. So we were heading to Haridwar near Rishikesh (north india by the foot of the Himalayas) where the Cumba mela is going on right now. The Cumba mela is THE biggest spiritual festival in the world, and millions of people gather together to celebrate. Loads of babas with their long beards and orange dresses travel here for it, and loads of other people. Loads. So obviously, when you don't book a room ahead and you come in the middle of this festival it's not gonna be so easy to find a room. So we have now spent 4 days just moving around trying to find a decent room for a decent price, where we can stay for more than one night (cause' all are booked ahead). We finally found a nice place to stay today, with a big balcony overlooking the turquoise Ganges and the green hills surrounding this busy valley. The Ganges is so much cleaner here than in Varanasi by the way. Varanasi is the dirties place i've ever been. My lungs are done after breathing in dust, cow shit, the smoke from dead people, the smoke from burned garbage and what not. I feel like i've been smoking for 80 years.

I'm loving this place so far, but we still have some exploring to do here. My body and my spirit is getting tired though. Traveling is no vacation. Puh.. it's amazing! ..but exhausting! I'm looking forward to some shanti days back home with family and friends with no exiting things that has to be done or seen. And i can't wait to not have to go out to eat EVERY meal. I miss decent food that doesn't make my mouth burn and my belly rumbling. But i haven't been sick yet, like EVERYONE told me i would get! :) (Knock on wood). We're getting to the end of our trip, and now with all the new impressions and experiences i have made (and i will write a lot more about them), India was not as... traumatizing as everyone prepared me for. In the beginning i was almost dissapointed, i expected more intensity, i expected more of a shock and a stronger reality check. All i have seen and experienced here may have affected me very differently in the west, but this is the reality of India and it's pretty much what i expected. All in all i find India incredibly beautiful filled with contrasts, magic and spirituality. It has been- and still is a great inner journey as much as an outer. I have learned more these three months than i have the last couple of years. And i'm not even done yet! :D

Ivo "Daddy" and kiyo reading a "boo", on the train to Dehli.

On our way to Rishikesh

The view from our balcony- the holy Ganga river

Lunch at Little Buddah cafe

Looking out on the street from our guesthouse gate.

<3

Monkeyfamily with a baby

These guys grabbed my arm as i passed for me to take their picture- hahah

Old indian lady

Kiyo reading her "boo"

The waterfalls

Inbreads and dead people

2010-03-15T04:41:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Varanasi Indie and his russian friend- Sasha, took us to a little village outside Varanasi. They found this little village on their last adventure walking around Varanasi all day. As we came walking down the dusty main street (the only street) the whole village- and i mean THE WHOLE village came and gathered around us, laughing and talking (noone spoke english though). They were all very poor looking with raggeed clothes, natural dreadlocks, poor teeth and dirty faces. Their houses they had made out of clay and hay, but they were all smiling and very cheerfull. They were all very strange looking as they were all inbread. Some had eyes too far apart, some too close together, some were crosseyed like i've never seen and some with heads too big for their bodies. They just looked very asymetrical, short and strange in general. With an exeption of a couple beautiful people. One guy told us he had 45 brothers- from two fathers and one mother. Wether this is true or not i can't say. Sounds a little extreme to me, and for the mothers sake i'm hoping this is not true. But some of the mothers seemed very young, teenagers, so you never know..! She for sure would have had to start early to have had time to have that many children.
We walked done the street of this village with a bunch of kids running around our feet, and curious people smiling as we passed. We took a reststop under a tree as all the older kids were coming out of school for the day, and they all gathered around us, starring, smiling curiously and talking amongst themselves. Haha- all these strange looking inbread people and WE were the freak show, being white and taller than 150cm. And as we allready had an audience Indie took out his juggeling balls and put on a little show. Suddenly it went completely silent! They were all in aw! haha.
We made a couple of films with our camera i will put out later for you to see.
We walked back where we came from and got a boat back down the ganges to our guesthousse. On the way we saw people being burned and as we got closer to the main street of Varanaasi, floating past our boat was the body of a dead child. Mouth open and all. They don't burn children, they tie them to rocks and let them sink to the bottom of Ganges, the holy river, for the fish to eat. And sometimes they come back up half eaten...
If i would have seen this in Norway, or anywhere but in India, i would have been traumatized. But here...it's normal. It didn't really affect me that much. Varanasi is the capital of dead people, so you expect to see a couple.

Samosa and other indian fried foods you can buy everywhere on the streets.

On our way to the village

Ivo and Kiyo

A little temple

Babas showing off, haha

An ashram we passed through on our way to the village

weed

inbread kids..

kids getting water from the well.

kids from the village

A little reststop under the tree, joined by the WHOLE village.

In the boat on our way back from the village.

Maja and Kiyo watching people being burned on the bank of the Ganga

A fishingboat on the Ganga river

Varanasi

2010-03-08T01:32:00.000-08:00

We left Arambol yet again, and our family at woodstock. We drove out in tears and took the plane to Delhi where we were supposed to meet Ivo and his 1 1\2 year old daughter Kiyo. We couldn't find them at the train station and didn't know what train to get on as Ivo had our tickets with all the information. Last minute we jump on a train going in the right direction as it was pulling out of the train station. After a lot worrying, frustration, tears and a fine for not having a ticket, we finally got some beds on the train. Some really sweet spanish guys helped us out, took good care of us and made sure we got off at the right stop.
Driving into Varanasi was dirty, really dusty and not very charming. We arrived our guest house exhausted and over emotional and the sight of Indie made us both break down in tears. There's something so comforting about Indie. He makes me feel so safe, comfortable and accepted. I can go on and on about how amazing i find Indie. I don't know anyone as intelligent AND wise. Most people are usually only one of the two, if any of them. And yet he's humble. I think the world of Indie.
After some relaxation and a hot shower at our very nice guest house looking over the river, Ganges, Indie took us for a walk through the streets of Varanasi, a maze of alleyways. And right away i felt the good energy in this town. Varanasi is one of the most spiritual places in India, and people come here to die so that they can be burned on the Ganges. We walked through the alleyways, down to th stairs by the river, sat down by a small chai shop and went back to the guest house pretty early. All day we tried to get a hold of Ivo, but we couldn't reach him. Not on the phone, not by email, he didn't call woodstock or contact us, so we were getting a little worried. In the evening someone knocks on our door, i open it and there is Ivo and Kiyo. My heart jumped and Maja started boiling her eyes out again. haha. Finally we were all together- safe and sound. Since then we've been exploring Varanasi. Indie introduced us to a very charming 9 year old street girl he has befriended who speaks hindi, english, japanese and spanish. We took her and her friends to a Lassi (smoothie) shop, where you can buy legal bangh lassi (smoothie with pot). Afterwords we went for a walk through one of the markets in these alleyways cramped with people, cows, goats, dogs and mopeds. And as we were standing outside a little shop- a group of people walked buy with two dead bodies on two carriers they carried on their shoulders, decorated with flowers and beautiful fabrics as they were singing, going down to the river to burn them. But noone seemed sad. Very strange.

Varanasi has a lot of beautiful daily rituals- like the evening prayer by the river, with bells, flowers, lights and singing. Loads of people come together every evening, standing on the stairs or sitting in their boats. And along the river there are several substitutes for the jam sessions we're used to from Arambol- people just hanging out, jamming together on the stairs of Ganges. It's so nice to walk along it in the evening.
Another "ritual" here is at sunset, when all the kids go up on their rooftops and fly their kites. So we go up on our rooftop, hang out and watch all the kites in the pink and orange sky above Varanasi. Beautiful.
People are being burned by the river everyday here, 24\7. The same river where all the huge water buffalos cool off, and the same river they bathe themselves and do their laundry in every day. People do all sorts of things in this river, including going to the toilet, but if you SPIT... shame on you! and probably a big fine. It's holy after all! haha. I don't see how spitting is more disrespectful than shitting, but that's me.
Varanasi is beautiful. A maze of alleyways with narrow markets, indian culture at it's most charming, the life along the river and all the holiness you could ever want. Today we found a very charming little bookshop where i finally found a couple books i've been looking for here. A few of those spiritual hippie books i love so much :)

Monkey outside the window.

Boats on the Ganga

The lassi shop

street market

Kiyo flirting with a boy <3

Maja and some cute street kids.

This random, cute old lady sat down next to us, just looking curiously at us smiling.

Varanasi along the Ganga river

Sunset over Varanasi with kites flying in the sky (not so easy to see in this picture..)

Evening market at the main ghat

The daily evening prayer by the river.

Some kids around the corner from our guesthouse, very friendly and curious :)

Ivo and Kiyo testing drums for Maja at the musicshop.

Here i'm diggin' into books in a cute little bookstore we found- where we met a norwegian guy who has opened a coffeeshop bookstore in CA. Nice guy :)

I love and hate India.

2010-03-04T23:43:00.000-08:00

Before i went to India people who had already been here told me i would either hate India or love India. This is not at all true for me. Everyday i go through the emotions of love and hate, back and forth several times a day. The culture, the people, the climate...everything. We have met so many shitty people who only wants to rip us off and fuck us over, and we've been saved more than once by some blessed souls, angles, who will go out of their way to help us, not wanting anything in return. We've seen so much beauty- white palmy beaches, lush jungles, hills with tea plantations, charming little villages, beautiful mansions and exotic markets, as well as filthy, busy cities and towns with people shitting in the streets, beggars with all kinds of dysfunctions and diseases and garbage ALL over. In one day i will feel such joy, strong fury, emptiness and sadness, ecstasy and anxiety. Love and Hate. Never only one. That's the thing about India. Travelling Europe you will "like this" and "not like this so much", but India is full power love and hate. Everyday.

Osho- not so dumb that guy.

2010-03-01T22:46:00.000-08:00

So i just had another, very important realization thanks to Osho. I am reading one of his books- The book of man. And Osho believes that joy, happiness and peace are the essence of our true self. This is who you are, your joy, your happiness and your peace. And if you are sad, be sad. Accept your sadness, don't think of it as something negative that you need to get out of. Don't try to analyse why you're sad. Just accept the feeling, find peace with it, and as soon as you find peace with it joy will come naturally.
About 6 weeks ago i had a very short card reading done. You get to ask one question and my one question was- Will i ever find peace. Inner peace.
Usually you pick six cards and go through them one by one. But i only got to pick one card, and my card was black and red with a woman bent over tangled in strings and ropes, and big letters on top saying- Supression. Instantly i'm thinking i'm supressing pain. I started psychoanalysing it, and start chewing on the past again, like it's not allready chewed up and flavourless by now, and i'm thinking i need to stop supressing my pain and re-feel everything and let it out. It made me very confused and at unease. I didn't like what this card was doing to me. Or what i was doing to myself because of this card.
Now Ivo has become a very close friend of mine. He's fully flawed, pretty avarage and very special. We have had some great moments together, but i think i've only laughed whole heartedly with him maby twice. And both times he has made a comment like "Wow, you're really beautiful when you laugh like this!" or "Why don't i get to see that smile more often?" And when he makes a comment like this i stop right away, affraid to give away too much of myself.
So after reading Osho, i realised that my supression card was not at all about pain. What i'm supressing is joy. Happiness. Peace. I keep psychoanalysing, keep chewing on the past and my issues, thinking that if i can just figure it out, if i can make sence of it and clear it out of the way i will find happiness. But I've realised this is not at all true. So i'm letting go of the chewed up past and i'm gonna enjoy everything that i have to enjoy. Which is a great deal of things! A great deal!! This is how i need to open up.

Dirty hippies in a fancy resort

2010-02-25T02:36:00.000-08:00

So after an amazing ride through Kerala i was getting exhausted and homesick for friends and familiar faces, so we started heading back to Arambol. We bought an open train ticket (the only ticket you can buy last minute)which basically means we didn't have a seat reservation and was suppose to sit in the low class cart. But when we got to the train station and found our cart, it was so full heads and arms were sticking out of the windows. we couldn't fit a foot in there if we tried to. So we walked down looking for another place to sit and as we passed first class we thought "Hmm.. lets see what happens." So we sat down and when the ticketman came all we had to pay was 300Rp ekstra for sleeper ticket on first class (about 40kr/$6). Lucky! So after a little while this business man sits down next to us, the manager of a luxurious ayuverdic (herbal) resort chain in india, and he invites us to one of his resorts. I, paranoid as hell, thought this guy for sure was up to bad business. Why would he ask two dirty hippies to his fancy resort, what did we do to deserve this? But we made a stop on our way back to Arambol and came with him. When we came to the train station in the middle of the night it was dead empty except this minivan with black windows waiting for us. As i got even more paranoid and making up stories in my head about how they will rape me and kill Ivo, we got into the car and i heard the locks go down. We drove through a dark empty town and i was just waiting for the suspicious dirt road. Instead they took us to the most beautiful resort i've ever seen. We were met by two military guys doing the hand on the forhead greeting, and a stab smiling and welcoming us with drinks. Because we are now the managers "family" (aka white and therefor rich) we got the luxury suite. A little house by the pool surrounded with palmtrees and a view over the river, with a bed and mirror with carved out decorations, a big, nicely tiled bathroom with hotwater, tv, minibar, long heavy curtains everywhere making everything look royal. It was beautiful and we felt soo out of place. And my paranoia didn't go away. "Why all this??" They had their own ayuverdic spa, a gym, an organic shaped pool with an artificial waterfall, a badminton court, a cafe with a pool table, a restaurant and a beautiful garden! As we were guests of the manager and almost the only people there, the stab was always ready, always watching us, desperately offering us their services. I found it all too much and very uncomfortable. In this amazing, luxurious resort with everything you could want for a vacation, i could not relax. So after what was suppose to be a two nights stay at this beautiful resort, we left after the first night missing people and hippie life in Arambol.
We arrived Margao 3am, got on Ivos bike that was waiting for us at the train station and drove almost 3 hours in the cold, dark night. We arrived Arambol at sunrise. Everyone was so happy to see us, and i was so happy to see everyone. As it's getting to the end of the season and people have been coming an going while we were gone, the energy here has changed a lot, but it was really good to be back. Now we've spent a couple of days here relaxing, recharging for our next adventure up north.

Lush mountains and tea plantations

2010-02-17T23:10:00.000-08:00

The day after our backwater trip we got back on the bike and headed towards Munnar and it's green, tea plantations. We went through villages, cities and towns. We stopped for one night in a town on the way, and went to the movies to see an indian (hindi) movie. It was not the typical Bollywood movie, no singing or dancing. It was very...american cliche- times three. The most entertaining part was how everyone in the movie theater would clap and cheer when a famous actor came on the screen or whenever there was a good punchline. We didn't understand much of the words, but we didn't really need to.
The next day we kept driving up into the mountains through jungle and spice and tea plantations. We stopped on the way, climbed down a very steep and long hill and went swimming in one of the beautiful waterfalls on the way. Very refreshing. The closer we got to Munnar the bigger and more amazing the plantations got. It was breathtaking. Green hills as far as the eye can see with labyrinths of tea and spice bushes. It was beyond my expectations. No picture i've ever seen justifies the reality of it's beauty.
We got ourselves a fancy apartemnt with hot water, clean sheets and room service, and a balcony overlooking the amazing tea plantations.
We went for a ride up another hill, through the tea and spice plantations, taking in the view and enjoying the present fully. I felt such peace sitting, watching this amazing view. We kept going down hill to a beautiful robin-hood looking waterfall (only a naked Kevin Costner missing). We made a rest stop here, took a nap by the waterfall, close enough to feel the mist before heading back. This is without a doubt the most beautiful spot i've seen in India so far.
Never the less, we're leaving today and are heading back to Arambol to get our stuff to go explore the north of India.

Bollywood

The view from our balcony- tea- and spice plantations

View on the way

The waterfall where we stopped for a swim.

Kerala

2010-02-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

After a tear dripping goodbye with Dan and Tyren, who's gone back to Arambol now, we continued our trip by train down to Kochin. The trip was long and exhausting, as i wasn't feeling so well. I had a little fever and belly ache. But arriving Kochin, or Kerala in general, was very nice. The energy was so different, so good. Because of all the tourism in Goa there are a lot of beggars. A LOT of beggars. But i Kerala there's not as much tourists and therefore less beggars. People here seem better off in general and everyone is so friendly and mild, so beautiful. Keralans have a certain grace about them.
We stayed in Cochin only for one night, and then we rented another bike and headed down the coast to see the Keralan backwaters. Going by bike is by far the best way to travel. You feel the warm wind on your face, you get all the smells on the way- spicy foods, roses, cow shit, garbage being burned, tea or whatever. And there are no doors and windows between you and everything and everyone you pass. You get a whole different connection with people travelling like this, because not a lot of white people do so people take notice of you and are very curious about you. And going by bike you see places you never would have seen going by buss, plain or train.
So in the first little town we got to, called Marari, we were met by all the school kids on their way home from school. Everyone was smiling, yelling, waving and talking to us. It was so much fun, they were so exited to see white people in their little town. We took into a very nice home stay, where the owners took such good care of us and my belly ache. We stayed for a couple of days, just hanging out under the palmtrees at the beach, waiting for my fever and belly ache to pass. As soon as i felt better we drove into Alleppy, checked into a nice place with a bunch of different kinds of huts- treehuts, hobbit looking huts (round), wooden huts, and rooms. Then we went to check out the Keralan backwaters on a little boat with two rowers. We went through small canals with trees and bushes hanging over on each side. We passed people outside their houses doing their laundry in the canal, taking their morning bath in the canal, doing their dishes, rinsing food and pretty much anything they need water to do. Kids were playing and swimming after our boat and people waved and smiled as we passed. There are no roads going to where these people live, so they all paddle away in their canoes whenever they need to go somewhere.
We made a couple of stops to see some rice fields, and spice plants, and to eat at some tiny local "restaurant".
It was a beautiful boat ride, and left us with even more good impressions of the keralans.

An indian restaurant with very nice atmosphere, where we had breakfast for 30Rp (7 cents or 3.5kr)

Asking for the toliet in an indian restaurant can be quite the adventure- through a private residence, the restaurant kitchen (above), 20 indian people and some goats and chickens later you'll find a whole in the ground to pee in.

strange looking fruit outside our room at our guesthouse.

Our "Hobbit-looking" hut at our guesthouse.

The temple across the road

We made a stop at this temple where they were celebrating Ganesha with some local festival- loads of people in their best clothes :)

Workers out in the field
Ivo rowing our boat through the keralan backwaters

The local "cars"- This is what people got around in through the backwaters, as there was no roads on land.

Life along the canals

Here i am climbing a palmtree, with a hysterical indian guy on the ground screaming "NOT HIGHER! COME DOWN!" he had no faith in my climbing skills haha

We made a little stop in one of the villages along the way.

Shanti days in Palolem

2010-02-06T22:30:00.000-08:00

So we finally got on our bikes, Leav, the chief of Woodstock and his 3 year old daughter Stavi, Naor, Ilja, Ivo, Dan, Tyren, Maja and myself. I love going on bike trips, especially as a group. It makes me want to join The Hells Angles or something, haha. So we drove for a couple of hours before we stopped outside Margao to have some dinner, and went on to Palolem. Our first stop here was Leav's friend Shai's house. We hung out, got some rest, and Ivo, Ilja and I went to find some huts we could stay at. It was pitch black out, and no street lights, so it was hard to find anything, but after looking at a couple crappy and expensive huts this indian guy from a restaurant we passed tells us to follow him as he started to jog into the dark waving his arm for us to follow. Walking in the pitch black night on a jungly path that seemed to go nowhere we were just waiting for the guy to pull out a knife and rob us or something. Little did we know he was going to take us to a little paradise on earth. Suddenly we're up on this little hill top, overlooking a valley of lit up beach huts with little staircases going up, down and around connecting them all, and palm trees, bushes and pink flowers, with a private beach at the bottom. The hut we're staying in is at the very top of the hill, right underneath the palm tree tops making me feel like we're living in a tree hut. Like elfs.
The next day we got the offer to go out on a boat and see dolphins. We got all exited and had all these american television pictures in our heads of how the dolphins would come up to our boat and squeak and talk to us, and let us pet them, swim and play with them. Yea...didn't happen. We saw a dolphin back fin every now and then a 100 meters away. Woopi!! It sucked so bad we all couldn't stop laughing of how crap it was. It was a nice little boat trip though. :)
Afterwords we went for a swim at our little beach before we got on our bikes and went to a greek place for dinner. Very nice. I went for a walk by myself after dinner and found a cute little bookstore. I've been looking for a book to read ever since i got to india, and i finally found the right one. I bought this book and a wonderfully corny and colorful hindu picture. Dan, ivo, Tyren and I went down to the beach there for a walk in the sunset. At the end of the beach we climbed up on some big rock where we sat down and watch the sun go down into the ocean. The sunsets here are indescribably beautiful! Walking there i had a great conversation with Tyren and walking back i had a great conversation with Ivo. These people i meet here are amazing! I'm having rewarding conversations with at least one of them every day. I'm learning so much i can't even begin to tell you, but it's all very essential and beautiful. And this place, Palolem, it has such a good energy for me. I'm very shanti here, very calm. I'm finding the space and peace here to contemplate everything i learn, go for nice walks by myself, have deep conversations, read, write, do yoga, meditate- be still. And i'm learning so much from it all. And this place is beautiful. Last night Ivo and i walked up some stone stairs that goes over a little hill over to the main beach. At the top we climbed up on some big rocks overlooking the ocean, with a little tree hanging over with arms like in an enchanted forest. We sat there and watch the sun set and had another good talk, before we all went out for spicy fish cooked in banana leaves, dessert and wine at a restaurant at the sea shore.

Greek restaurant

undried coconuts

Teryn, Ivo and Dan in the sunset

Our cute little Hilltop-hut

The view from our hut

Pizza night!

Dinner at an Italian place.

Naor, Maja, Dan, Ivo and Teryn

Lazy days

2010-02-01T02:12:00.000-08:00

The days here are going by so fast even though we never really do anything but hang out. Yesterday we finally decided to shake things up a bit and go for a ride. So five bikes and 11 of us went for a ride over to paradise beach. kids and all, like one big happy family. we took a crappy little ferry over to the island where the beach is at. We drove through small, rustic indian villages, up and down hills, through the forest, over sand dunes and down to the desert, white beach. The occasional cow and carriage would come by, but other than that we didn't see a soul. All alone on this beach we went for a swim and Dan decided to "free (his) willy", we followed his example and did some skinny dipping "All together now!" as Stavi would say (the 3 year old daughter of the owners of woodstock). I love it, it makes me feel like a kid again, when we would be naked all the time.
After a swim in the sea we went looking for shells, caught some tiny fish for fun, Stavi found a small octopus with her dad, Leav. And Michy (a wonderfully odd and creative girl from germany) made an amazing dragon in the sand.
On our way back, as the sun had started to set we stopped by a very simple restaurant (consisting of dirt floors, two tables and some wooden benches) in one of the little villages and had a simple dinner together, before getting on the ferry back and driving home to our little hippie "sect" at woodstock.
A bunch of us are getting ready to leave, and have been for the last week, but things take time in Arambol "Shanti shanti!" Now we're considering doing a roadtrip together on the bikes. That would have been such great fun! So we'll see...

..and then you become!

2010-01-29T03:45:00.000-08:00

Whenever the guys at woodstock have been smoking the chillum and had a deep discussion they always end it with
'..and then you become!, followed by a good laugh.
Yesterday, i smoked no chillum, but i had a great realization about myself. Dan asked me a very good question at lunch
'Can you love someone without the attachment?,
I love Dan, he's amazing ;) He is so accepting, loving and genuine. And you can talk to him about anything and he'll take you seriously and he'll never judge you.
I spent the rest of the day thinking about this question. At sunset jam i went for a long walk along the beach by myself and realized that love to me has always come with attachment, responsibility and commitment. Which basically means that love to me is the end of freedom. After digesting it a bit, i had a nice talk with Ivo about it as well. And he made me see how it is very possible to love without getting attached. You can give love to anyone really. And i'm not just talking about "that special love". Any kind of love! And he told me, again, as so many others here tell me 'You need to open up, Johanna., I am so tired of hearing this as i feel that i am very open. So i asked him 'What do you mean when you say this?, He said a great deal of things, but mostly he thought i needed to open my heart. Give love. And i heard myself say, without ever realizing this before
'I have no problem giving love, i give love everywhere! I just have a hard time receiving it.,
And after hearing it outloud it hit me how true that is. I don't trust a lot of people to love me. Especially not "That special love". The only one i ever let in is Sofie.
But realizing it is the most important step to untangle from it i guess.
...and then i become! ;)

The little things

2010-01-26T23:57:00.000-08:00

Last night i was lying in my little bamboo beach hut, listening to the crickets outside making their evening music, the waves hitting the beach and the comforting sound of people chatting, singing and playing guitar right outside. And i was thinking of all the little things i love here.
One time, when i was visiting my cousins in the US, i lost my shoes at the beach so i went to the supermarket to get a new pair. But when i came to the supermarket they wouldn't let me in without shoes. I told them i had no shoes as i had just lost them. Didn't make a difference. "So how do you suggest i get new shoes, if you won't let me buy any shoes without waring shoes?" Not his problem.
What could my bare feet possibly do to their floor??
Here, in India, everyone has to remove their shoes before going into any shop. They don't want the dirt inside (which makes a lot more sense then the US way of thinking). Outside every shop you'll see several pairs of shoes waiting for their owners to finish shopping. :)
Other daily differences here would be the monkeys in the trees, goats at the side of the red dirtroads eating garbage, chickens randomly running around. And walking down to the beach, past palm trees and burned piles of garbage, you'll meet stray dogs, wild hogs and holy cows. And the cows sure knows they're holy, just lying down in the middle of a busy street, making everyone loop around them to get past.
Yesterday, on our motorcycles we met a herd of cows in the street, just hanging out not at all bothered by trucks, mopeds or cars. We also passed a couple elephants on our way, with painted flowers on and other decorations. That was a first for me. And man they're big up close! It was fun to see.

We're thinking about doing a group roadtrip down to kerala on our bikes in a couple of days. To an ashram there, by the guru The Hugging Mother. Dan, taran, maja, ivo, naor and me. But i don't know if i'll be able to concentrate with all my friends there, not being aloud to communicate with them in any way. But it would be great fun traveling as a group!

Back to our home away from home

2010-01-25T01:54:00.000-08:00

The train ride back to Arambol from Hampi was one of the highlights of this indian adventure. When we got to the train station 6 am, the floor was covered with people sleeping, waiting for the train. The trains are old looking and rusty, with very simple interior. Every booth has 6 beds (where norwegian trains only fit 4 seats) that they fold down into seats during the day. Every 5th min some guy comes walking through yelling "CHAI, CHAI, COFFEE COFFEE" or "SAMOSA, WATER, ICECREAM..." you name it.
We sat across this indian, obviously poor, couple in their 30s. The woman was tiny and the man had some bone disease making his walk look strange. And they both had such goodness in their eyes it almost made cry. When the guy was off doing something i offered his wife some food as we were buying some for ourselves, but she very humbly said so thanks with a big smile on her face. When her husband came back they pulled out some chapatti (flat bread) and masala (spice) to put on it. That's all they had for their hours long train ride, and they offered us some right away. We ate with them and talked with them. More indians joined us after a while, and we made many friends on this trip. Some young indian guy who lives in dublin with his girlfriend, and his friends he hadn't seen for 6 year who had all gotten married and had kids in the meantime. Some other randome people stop to chat, take pictures and make jokes. Some street musicians stopped and made some awful noise they expected money for haha, and some people even bought us food. That's a first! Most people are just after our money. The sun was flickering in through the windows as we passed villages, jungle, hills and waterfalls. And i felt the most content i had yet on this trip.
Arriving Arambol was truly magical! We arrived in a taxi as the sun was setting making everything orange, warm and welcoming. The taxi driver was playing some cheesy 90s lovesong that made us all teary eyed and sappy. We got out and walked down the sandy path from the mainroad towards the beach to good old Woodstock village. We hadn't told anyone that we were coming back that day, but walking towards us, with the orange sun shining right behind him making him look like a shadow of himself, comes Indie! Like he was coming to meet us! It was a very emotional reunion and my eyes filled up with tears. There's just something about Indie. Whenever he's around i feel so safe and comfortable, he's so accepting and open minded. And whenever i have a question, whether it's about nail polish or evolution, love or science he has an answer. and a good one. Indie is by far one of the smartest people i know, and has such a good heart.
We all walked into Woodstock together and was met with big smiles and hugs from everyone! It felt like coming home.
Since we got back we've just been hanging out, enjoying each others company. Yesterday we all went to the juggling convention, which is this small festival with all different kinds of workshops, poy, staff, hoolahoop, juggling, balancing, massage, dancing, kung fu +++. We did a massage workshop, hung out, ate...chilled out. And in the evening they had put on an amazing show with all the different artists. It was amazing! Sadly we missed half of it.
Yup, it sure feels good to be back. I've totally lost focus, but i'm not even gonna try find it here. This place, these people are giving me so much else! And i'll need it all when i go into and ashram in a few days, doing yoga, meditation and some soul searching.
Peace out!

Woodstock <3

Alex, Kiyo and Indie

Beautiful girls! Maja and Stavi

Indie

Ivo, Kiyo, Maja and Stavi

Shlomo and Naor

Hampi

2010-01-20T03:00:00.000-08:00

After what was supposed to be an 8 hour bussride, but turned into be THE bumpiest 12 hour bussride ever, with several traffic jams, crazy truckdrivers honking like there was no tomorrow all night, and no actual toilet the whole way (i had to pee inbetween some trucks in the middle of the traffic jam,)we finally got to Hampi.
And for the first time on this trip i really felt like i'm in India. This little town is all dirtroads and brick roads, small shacks for shops, loads of temples and ruins, crosslegged indians on the ground selling colorpowder, jewellery, coconuts, bananas and other exotic fruits.
As soon as we'd booked into Shanti guesthouse we rented a moped and went for a ride to check out the temples and ruins. And at the first temple we passed there was an indian guy "hiding" behind a pillar jerking off. What a great welcome! I wasn't sure rather to barf or laugh.
The rest of the temples and ruins were amazing! Carved out gods and animals on every brick and pillar. Beautiful! We drove around the whole town on the little dirtroad going around it between banana palm trees, fields and lots of big, red rocks.
Afterword we walked down the road from our guesthouse along the river, through a banana palm tree field, into a really nice outdoor restaurant viewing the river. We had the best Thali yet on this trip and watched the sunset. After our meal some really nice indian guy walked us back through the trees, lighting our way as we had forgot our tourch. Back at the guesthouse i did my own little session of yoga and went to bed.

This morning we got up pretty early and went down to the river to see everyone who comes there every morning for their morning bath. At one point it seemed as if half the town was there. Men in white skirts, kids, and women in colorful saris cleaning themselves. We were told that they wash "the elephant" every morning in this holy river, but we didn't stay long enough to find out if it was an actual elephant or the statue of it in the river. i'm guessing the statue, doesn't seem like there's any elephants here. We went and had breakfast at the restaurant from last night, took the boat across the river, got a bike and drove through rice fields with people working, little villages with people going on with their daily chores and cows and goats wandering about in the streets. People here generally live in very small, basic brick houses or houses made out of breaded palmleaves, like beach huts. They all look very poor, but healthy. I can't speak for them and tell you they're happy, but they seem to have found peace with their destiny and don't seem to stribe for a "better" way of living.
We drove out to a lake and went for a swim. We met some very nice germans (old hippie types with long hair who's obviously been in india for some time)who shared with us their watermelon and chatted with us. Very nice people! :)
We have finally desided to go back to Arambol for a couple of days and repierce my nose and see our friends one more time before moving on. After that we're heading towards Kerala, to do some yoga there.
Here in Hampi, away from the busy socialness of Arambol and Gokarna i feel like i've finally got some focus as to why i'm here, in India. I just need to keep that focus and peace going back to Arambol and not get caught up in all the buisiness.

Shanti guesthouse

Gokarna

2010-01-17T04:29:00.000-08:00

When we got to Gokarna we had both sunk into a bit of depression leaving Arambol and all our new friends there. We became a part of that little community like we were all a big family. It felt so safe, friendly and good!
We got on a boat and went to a place called paradise beach. Coming in it looked like a beautiful place, and it was. In a bit of the same way as Arambol it had it's own little community (but smaller). We went into the first restaurant and was met by some big angry indian yelling at some customers. Bad start. We got a hut from the same angry indian, and got invited to a barbecue up the hill behind our hut by some of the hippies. We figured we needed to snap out of our depression and try to get to know some people, so we went up and joined them. It was a really nice spot up on the hill and they had the barbecue going when we came, candles everywhere lighting the place up, and some music setting the mood. They served us some really delicious fish with tomato salad and baked potatoes. I felt wonderfully native with my legs crossed on the ground, sitting around the fire with my fingers in this fish digging away and tasting the smoke from the fire eating it. We had a nice time, but people were mostly too stoned to include us in any conversation and obviously they all new each other and had their own little thing going, so we went to bed early still feeling pretty bummbed.
The day after we woke up, and took a deep breath from the sunny ocean view as we opened the door to our hut. We both tried to focus on the positive and really give this place a chance, even though what we really wanted was to go back to Arambol.
Yesterday, on the way to paradise beach i lost my nose ring :( The hole is now almost closed and i need to do it again... @#$%%&*!! It almost made me cry, as i was all ready super bummed. And this morning, as we were trying to enjoy ourselves at paradise beach we went for a morning swim (that was before we saw the "Don't risk your life going swimming. stay out of the sea" sign.) The waves were to big, so it was just exhausting. After a really crappy breakfast (i never even got the juice i ordered) and weird unincluding people we figured we could lie down on the beach and work on our tan. Sensing peace and no harm we suddenly almost got washed off the beach by a wave, getting dragged out towards the sea. Everything got wet and Maja's sandal almost got washed away, and we felt ready to leave. Paradise beach my ass.
We took the boat back to Gokarna Old Town, got a room on Kudle Beach and that's where we're at now. Gokarna Old town is very charming and more indian then our previous destinations. And kudle beach is way nicer than paradise beach. :) Our mood is slowly building up.

Arriving Paradise beach

Writing my journal outside our hut. Our bed was the clay floor...very comfy.

The view from our hut at Paradise Beach.

Old Town Gokarna

"Holy cow!"

Old town Gokarna

Leaving Arambol :(

2010-01-17T03:51:00.000-08:00

Our last day in Arambol Indie, Dan, Ivo, Maja and i took our bikes and went for a ride to Karim beach a half hour away. We had some lunsj, went for a swim and a little walk picking beautiful shells along the beach. Back at Woodstock they were preparing an amazing, jewish meal (sabbath shalom or something like that)for everyone. There are mostly Israelis staying at woodstock, so they decided to make this meal for everyone and celebrate (even though none of them are religious). After the meal we just hung out at Woodstock. It was such a nice evening, with the guys and a new american girl (with an amazing voice) playing guitars and drums, and singing.
The day after we left early in the morning, getting away before it got to hard (like last time). We got on the train, the crazy, cramped indian train. We went through like 20 carts looking for ours, but gave eventually up and settled for the in between part by the doors. We got some nice wind cooling us off and a nice view from the open doors. All of the sudden we were surrounded by about 20 indians starring, laughing and pointing at us (in a very friendly and curious way). I felt like we should get up and do a trick or a dance or something. haha. we had a lot of fun with them talking and taking pictures.

Roadtrip

2010-01-14T01:34:00.000-08:00

We were getting restless and ready to see more of india, so we packed our bags, payed our hut, went down to olive garden for our last breakfast with our friends before leaving yesterday, but didn't get much further. They convinced us to stay for a couple more days, so we checked into a new beach hut at woodstock village, where they all stay (except indie), and went on a little roadtrip to Old Goa on their motorcycles.
It felt so good sitting on the back of the bike, cruising alongside the beach with the warm wind on my face, breathing in India!!
Old Goa was wonderfully peaceful, compared to Arambol with all it's hippie tourists and busy beachlife, night and day.
We walked around in old church ruins and churches still standing, walked along the riverbank and looked around for a bit before heading back to Arambol. On the way back there was a beautiful sunset, so we stopped and had a nice dinner at the beach. Back by the bike, Ivo realized he had lost his keys... we went back looking for them, but try finding a tiny key on a sandy, windy beach. Chances are slim to none. We didn't find them so we left his bike and got a taxi back.

I feel sad to leave all these wonderful new friends we've gotten, but i feel India calling and can't wait to get on with our traveling.

Getting into hippie mode

2010-01-11T04:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was sunday aka rest day, so no yoga. We got some laundry done, hung out at woodstock for a while, just chilling (like we do anything else). maja went off with dan on his bike to get some money from the atm, 30 min away. while they were gone i went for a walk along the bright, sunny beach (it goes on forever), did some juggling in the sand, went for a swim, got some kisses from the sun and went back to our little hut to find maja.
We put on our cutest alibaba pants, put on all our new, fake jewelery and met up with the guys, and went down to the beach for the sunset jam. The beach was packed yesterday. And because everyone here has all the time in the world, they fill it with learning circus activities, like juggling, diablo, poy, staf and all these different, amazing things with sticks and ropes. And it's like a big show down at the beach during sunset jam. It's so wonderful, you see the sun setting into the ocean, turning the sky pink, while we listen to all the different instruments jamming, maby 20-30 people playing and singing, with people dancing, juggling, doing thai chi, yoga, meditating, kids running, dogs playing and everyone is so aware of how good life feels here. Like dan would say "woow, that's so beautiful!!" hahaha, he's a sweetheart.
After the jam we went to a place called Magic park. It's an outdoor restaurant where every sitting group is hidden in the bushes, lit up by a little, creative lamp hanging over each table. Next to the eating area they have an open spot covered with straw mats for yoga, meditation and dancing, surrounded by bushes and palmtrees, and rice lamps hanging down lighting it up. Last night they had this thing called "organic dancing". It was pretty far out! It started with some weird music, drums and a "witch" talking to the music and a few gypsy looking girls rolling around on the floor waving their arms, moving to the music. But after a while the music got... less weird, and everyone joined in, moving to the music (can't really call it dancing.) Eventually Maja and i join in with our friends. It was actually a lot of fun! And i love how all those old and young hippies got out there, not worrying about how silly they looked. Just moving, dancing around with their own, weird moves. No judgments from anyone. It was pretty awesome. Hahaha.
Today we did our daily routine- yoga, a swim, breakfast, tanning, swimming, eating, swimming, tanning, eating, woodstock, market, eating.

Shanti.

2010-01-09T03:49:00.000-08:00

"Shanti Shanti" Indie keeps saying. It means "Peaceful" (relax). Whenever we're stressing out or rushing to get somewhere he goes "shanti shanti, johanna".
So that's what we've been doing today. We started the day with a great session of yoga. Our teacher is the sweetest indian girl you'd ever meet. She has such a good nature and energy. After our two hour yoga session with her, releasing a lot of pain i felt all over my body yesterday, i went for a walk by myself along the beach after a nice swim. Yoga tend to clear up my mind and release a lot of emotions i'm not always aware of. I went through some of them today on my walk, crying a bit, letting it out. it felt good. I had a bit of an a-ha moment. i love those! Me and Oprah! ;)
Other than that i've just been spending a little time for myself today, walking around, checking out the market, taking some pictures, talking to random people, practicing my juggling skills and had lunch with maja on the beach.
Tonight we're invited to a barbecue at a restaurants, where they have chi chas on every table. So we thought we'de go there, smoke some fruity chi cha and eat delicious fish. I'm eating fish, but other than that i'm staying off meat, and alcohol while in india. Feels good to cleans my body. :)

Makeover day

2010-01-09T03:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday i woke up with an india-tummy. i missed our first actual yoga class and a tantra course i wanted to do. after feeling a little better i went down to our regular breakfast place, a bamboo restaurant at the beach, Olive Garden, where the guys working there take great care of us! found some of our new friends and had some breakfast with them. I went for a swim, met up with maja and went off to the market and did something i've been wanting to do since i was ten! I remember getting a fake one, to see mom and dads reaction when i was like 10 or 11... not so good! But now i figured i'm old enough to decide for myself, and what better place to get your nose pierced than india, where it's a part of the whole cuture. I look great!! :D No regrets what so ever. I did almost pass out right after, but i'm gonna blame that on feeling sick allready! ;)
Maja went crazy too, and GOT HER HAIR BRADED!! ;) We had a bit of a makeover day yesterday. In the evening we went over to "Woodstock" where dan is staying in his little beach shack, and where most of the hippies stay and hang out. A very friendly place where people even bring their kids. they're just running around there, among stoned people lying around on pillows and mats, getting attention and love from everyone. Last night they we're putting on a concert there, a very chill, indian music kind of concert. It was nice for meditating for a while, but when i started to fall a sleep, Indie and i got away for a bit, and indie gave me a little juggling lesson.

Mainstreet

The piercing shop

Muddy day

2010-01-07T05:11:00.000-08:00

After feeling really sore from yesterdays yoga, we realized this is something we need to make a daily routine and get back into yoga mode. So we went up on our purple rooftop and did a session of yoga before breakfast.
We met up with Indie and Dan again, and they took us for a walk to Sweet lake, into the forest and down into the little river going through it. This place is known for it's mud. We felt very native, squatting down breaking the stone down, mixing it with water and covering our faces, bodies and hair with the mud. A little indian guy was all ready there, helping us out (especially with covering MY body and hair, haha). We let it dry, walked back to sweet lake and went in to get it all off. Now our skin and hair feels silky smooth. We got some lunch afterwords, got some clothes from the marked, and now we're off for the sunset jam and dinner with Indie, Dan and whoever else who would like to join us. :)

Beach life

2010-01-07T04:44:00.000-08:00

Life is good! After noisy, dirty Mumbai, with either only half way built buildings or buildings falling down, no colors or feel of culture, it was so nice to get down to Goa. Driving in to Arambol on red dirt roads in contrast to the green trees, with indian women in their beautiful saris and gold jewelery with baskets of food on their heads, walking on the side of the road barefoot. The houses here are crazy colorful, two and three colors on one house. Turquoise, purple, yellow, pink, blue and green. I love it! Like i said there's not too much of the indian culture here, but what i have seen i love. Like how indians wobble their heads from side to side just as a friendly gesture. To greet you, agree with you making a deal or to say yes. And you see men, two and two, holding hands walking down the streets (not being gay). The holy cows walk freely everywhere, in the city streets and on the beaches. They just hang out everywhere. And happy stray dogs, all over the place. very friendly. Last night they all got together and started hauling at the moon, waking us up.

Yesterday we got up pretty early, went up on one the rooftop of a purple building, and started the day with a session of yoga under the palmtree tops. After an hour or so we walked down to the beach, went for a swim playing in the waves, and then had a delicious, fruity breakfast at on of the bamboo beach restaurants. (In most of the beach restaurants they've just put mats and pillows on the floor, so you can lie down after stuffing your face. Genius!) We spent hours just lying around in the sun, swimming, reading, doing nothing, until Indie and another friend of his, Dan, met up with us. They took us down to the beach again, where all the hippies get together every evening at sunset, to have a sunset jam. Everyone who knows how to play an instrument bring it and join in. Everyone else just dance with their hippie movements, smoke some weed or just hang out. It was really nice! We went to a little place afterwords, like a bar, but noone really drinks here, had some tea and just hung out for a while before heading back to our huts. Maja and i took a walk on the beach before going to bed. A nice, relaxing day.

Our yoga rooftop

Lunch at cafe hemp

Hippie town

2010-01-05T05:57:00.000-08:00

After two days in Mumbai, checking out the markets and getting a feel of big city life in India, we decided to head south towards Goa. Mumbai was a little to busy for our liking. At least for our loving ;) Two days was enough.
We took the overnight bus to Arambol, a tiny hippie town by the beach. We met up with indie, and met a couple of his new friends here.
This place is amazing. It's packed with hippies from all over the world. They've made their own little community here. The only Indians you see though, are the ones working in the markets, so it doesn't really feel like India, but we're loving it. The whole main street is one big market, and we've spent half the day looking around, buying some stuff and getting a henna tattoo. The other half we've been hanging out at the palmy hippie beach, swimming, working on our tan and eating at one of the restaurants along it. This place is so chill yet full of life. People are very friendly (aka stoned) and the weather is WARM! :) The beach stretches all the way up to the main street, where even the shops in the markets and the restaurant has sand for floors. We're staying at a little straw shack by the beach, for- get this- 28 kroner (about 5 dollars) a night. A meal costs about 10 kroner. I love it here!! But i can't wait to see more of the real India! But we're probably gonna hang out here for a week or so.

Mumbai

2010-01-03T05:42:00.000-08:00

So, we're finally in Mumbai. The flight went great, and arriving was a lot less of a culture chock than i expected. Our original plan was to catch the bus into town, find a little kid-guide from the crazy begging/guiding crowd to help us out find a cheap guesthouse and whatever else we needed to find. But we couldn't figure out where the buses went from, and our only option it seemed was the prepaid taxi, so although it was probably overpaid we went for that. And already someone was trying to rip us off. But my mama'(and papa) didn't raise no fool!! ;) he got nothing from us.
I honestly expected a lot more beggars and disturbing impressions, but on the way into town there were only two kids hanging in our window, and after being ignored by us for 5 minutes he whistled his way to the next car. But there were people EVERYWHERE along the road. Groups of people hanging out in the bushes, sidewalks, shops, streets, everywhere. We passed what to me looked like the slum, but it didn't seem as sad to me as i was prepared for. The "houses" were crap, but all the women wore colorful saris and people looked pretty happy and healthy to me. Kids and dogs running around, people hanging out together, some sleeping on the ground, some making baskets and food on the ground.
But we probably didn't get to see the worst of it. Mumbai is busy, shabby and confusing. But i'm loving it.
Tomorrow we're checking out the markets, before heading towards Goa on Tuesday to meet Indie! i can't wait to meet up with him!

Ready for takeoff!

2009-12-31T06:36:00.000-08:00

We're leaving for India in two days. I'm almost done packing, and i got my little notebook with all the advice former India-travelers have given me. I'm as ready as i'll ever get. I don't think it matters how prepared i feel, it will still be a major culture chock arriving Bombay. It will probably take me a couple of days for it all to sink in, but i'm so exited to go. And a little apprehensive.
I have been waiting for this trip. I believe this trip will teach me so much about myself, about spirituality, people and life. I feel so ready and open for whatever it is that's waiting for me, pulling me, to India.
Here i come! ;)

Here are all the "necessities" i'm bringing. Some hygienic stuff, medicine, handy traveling things, some clothes and shoes, passport, insurance, vaccination card and visa. Hope i got it all.

next adventure: India!

2009-10-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

after indonesia, i was ready for more! i moved back to my moms, to work and save up money. i'm working two jobs now, and january 2nd my friend maja and i are off to india together. we just planned our route, and have started getting all the vaccinations we need, and are getting all pumped up to go! and my good friend indie from our last trip will meet us there. traveling with indie made me feel very safe at the same time as he made our trip more exiting and adventures. he's crazy in a very relaxed and comfortable kind of way. he seems so connected and comfortable with everyone we meet, making it feel so much safer for defenseless, confused blonds from the west. i loved traveling with him, so i can't wait to go on more adventures with him! and i am very exited to experience this trip with maja, i believe her to be a great traveling partner.

the western robot society

2009-09-08T04:40:00.000-07:00

i've been back home now for a while, getting adjusted to the everyday again. the end of summer holiday and asian adventures. fall is setting in with it's colors, smells, fruits, rain and cold. last week i lit the fireplace for the first time this year, sinking into the couch with a cup of tea, while it was poring down outside.
i'm getting into my routines, and enjoy my time with family and friends.
but it was a bit of a culture-shock returning from asia at first, even though we weren't gone for that long. you just see your own culture so much clearer after being a place so different. and honestly, at first, what i saw was all negative. and i could feel myself falling right back into it.
in indonesia, everywhere we went people would wave and smile at us. people turned there heads to greet, smile or just look, acknowledging we were there. and so did i; faced everyone i passed to smile, greet or just look at. coming back home was the exact opposite. i found myself looking away, ignoring them as people passed me. and they would do the same. that's the mentality; looking can be rude, intrusive or at the very least; awkward. God forbid awkwardness! so stupid.
and the traffic. first time driving after i got back was so surreal and robot-like. everyone's on auto. no communication, no consideration for one another, just rules. lights, signs and rules. and the bus station!!
:we all walk into a box with 13 electric doors, that each one lead you directly into a bus.
:the tv screen will tell you what bus, what time, what door.
:the door will open when you can aboard the bus, and there will be a line of people with bus passes, cards, they stick into a box in the bus before they enter.
:the bus will go on it's hourly route and stop whenever you push the red stop- button. and not once during this process do you need to actually talk or get eye contact with anybody. no wonder people feel lonely in the western world.
that's another thing i loved about indonesia, how everyone seem to take care of eachother. noone seemed to be alone anywhere. and i loved they're laziness. the men even had a really long nail on one hand to prove they didn't have to work hard. like a status thing. one of the guys told me in a very can-you-believe-it?? kind of way how he lived in KL for 6 months and had to work from 9am to 4pm 5 TIMES A WEEK!!
(yea.. that's actually not so much.) so he took his long nail and came back to his fishing village in sumatra, where they fish a little and then basically hang out all day, everywhere. mostly at cafes, on a bench somewhere or in doorways. i miss the relaxed mentality, nothings rushed.
i miss the food. all the wonderful spices they use, and the fruit. so much delicious fruits everywhere, all the time.
i miss it all! i believe these people know so much more about enjoying life and staying happy and connected than us westerners.

back to start

2009-08-16T01:28:00.000-07:00

after these last couple of days in this laid back little fishing village and after more tropical adventures, and not least meeting more new, great people, it was very sad to leave. especially leaving our new friends and travel companions througout this whole trip, indie and julia!
but it was time to go.
so nina and i flew back to kuala lumpur, and checked into our first stop in kl- "grocers inn, backpacker hotel". were the magic started. and we were pleased to find two of our first friends, jimmy and miguel, still there, waiting for us (we'll pretend that's what they were doing). and we met a canadian girl there who we met in bukutinggi a week earlier. small backpacker-world.
nina had frog legs for dinner, just to have tried it. throughout our whole adventure she has been trying EVERYTHING. she even ate a fisheye. i'm not sure if i'm impressed or discusted, but she really went into this whole trying-new-food thing wholeheartedly. as she does with everything. including shopping. we spent the last day spending whatever we had left of money. i actually had some left thanks to the very cheap indonesia and a generous uncle.
this trip has been so good for me. i feel like i just started travelling. it's been a great motivation for my next trip. india.
there has been a couple of accidents along the way, thanks to my none existing motorcycling skills and "45 corners" down to lake maninjao. basicly it was my second time driving a scooter in life, and we were driving downhill, u-turn after u-turn and in turn 22 there was oil spilled on the road. we slid. it had to happen. but it was mostly a scare, only a couple bruises. and before that, julia and i had another little accident thanks to me. we were going up hill in second gear, and i shifted to first gear so the bike spun off, up on the back weal and threw us off. we got some bruises, but nothings broken or traumatised. just wanted to spice things up a bit.

it has been truly amazing experiencing all of this with nina. we had our small issues, but they were mostly based on exhaustion and empty stomachs. all in all i have had the time of my life, and i'm so glad she was there to share it with me. can't wait til next time. thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing me, nina!
jeg elsker deg.

lush jungle and hidden away waterfalls

2009-08-16T01:10:00.000-07:00

our last day in bongos it was pooring down. but it was our last day, so that wasn't going to stop us from exploring this place. well...it stopped some of us, but not nina, indie and my self. we walked along the road in the pooring rain, with indonesians smilingly shaking their heads at us for being out in this weather "those crazy westerners!". but never the less waving and cheering at us, inviting us in from the rain.
but we had a waterfall to go see.
along the rainy road, through a charming, muddy, little village and up in the lush jungle. we went uphill, and up, and up, straight up! obs, we went to far. and down again, down til we found the right path through the jungle to the waterfalls. when we finally found it, the sun even came out. and we jumped in..now i'm just lying, it was too shallow to jump. we walked in, and climbed up on some rocks to sit under the waterfalls and shower in this wonderful piece of nature. so nice!
after a required photoshoot, we put our soaking wet clothes back on, and slid (atleast i did..) down hill again, and walked back to losman carlos for lunch.
later that evening, our last evening there, nina and i decided to go for a last midnight swim. the others joined us, and we swam out to the little fishing boat. suddenly someone points out to me all the sparkeling fosefore essence (morill) around us. on us. in every magic movment. i felt like a water fairy. like a mermaid. and the lightening was again flickering across the sky above us.
a magical night.

aahh...

2009-08-16T00:45:00.000-07:00

surprisingly enough, after yesterdays stormy weather, we woke up to a sunny, clear blue sky. we packed our camera bags and swimsuits, carlos & co made a picnic for us all, and we all got in the boat and went out to the reef and the white, palmy islands. we went snorkeling (fun, but not amazing..), splashed around in the turqouise water, played around on the beach, went looking for beautiful shells, made some of those hawaiian flower necklaces, ate lunch- fried rice, tea, cookies and lots of delicios, exotic fruits. we went for a walk around the little tropical island, and basicly just soaked up the sun, and this beautiful scenerie, enjoying eachothers company.
we started heading back right before sunset, so we got to see it from out on the sea. the big, beautiful orange sun going down in the ocean. everyone tired, quiet and very content with our present lifes. watching the sky turn orange, pink and purple. and then the lightning came back, making it all that much more amazing to watch. never seen a sky that magically beautiful before.

the beach!

2009-08-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

so we finally took off and headed towards the coast.
after a hot, humid, cramped, 2 hour busride, or so, we arrived padang. and the traffic there was even crazier than we'd seen allready, haha. the local busses are mini vans, minus a door, pimped up in all kinds of colors and with all kinds of acceccories, with benches along the sides inside. so we got on one of these "busses" and drove about an hour south to bongos. when we arrived our new home for the next couple of days, an appartment/room complex called losman carlos (carlos is the owner), on the beach in a little fishing village, we were again greeted by happy, friendly indonesian faces.
after finally having something to eat, in the open beach restaurant, we heard people on the beach yelling like crazy and saw them all hauling in the fish net. all of the sudden half the village was there helping the fishermen hauling it in (they fish by strapping the fishnet around the waist of three, four, five guys on the beach, that stay there half the day pulling it and feeding it back into the sea, pulling, feeding, pulling..). and the fishnet, when they finally had pulled it all the way in, was FULL of fish. more fish than they'd caught in a very, very long time. everyone who had helped walked away with a couple fish in their hands. and they were all so exited and happy for all this fish. i told them "we bring good luck", and they laughed and agreed.
so in the evening carlos and he's crew made a great meal for us and our new group of friends; four australians, two french and some of the indonesians there.
earlier this day, our friend indie had wished for a thunderstorm when we got to the beach. he missed and amazing, lightening thunderstorm.
and so it will be.
it started pooring down, really pooring, while we were eating. and the whole sky across the ocean lit up by the lightening, followed by the rolling thunder. so powerful and amazing.
after this delicious meal the rain stopped (but the lightening kept flickering on the sky) and they made a fire on the beach and put rugs all around it for everyone to sit. one of the indonesian guys pulled out his guitar and they all started singing and playing for us. indonesian songs. wonderfully corny, heartbreaking, indonesian songs. so we all sat there around the fire, in the warm humid air, happy, full, getting tipsier by the minute while we were getting to know or new friends.
around midnight some of the guys decided to go for a swim in the warm sea. and one by one the girls got thrown in as well, fully dressed. so we all just hung out in the water for like an hour. so nice and warm.
it was the perfect ending to this day. this wonderful day.

a-ha moment

2009-08-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

today we were suppose to head towards the beach, but last night my little group decided to stay for one more day. just to relax, because everyday has been pretty eventful and hectic. my instant reaction was anxious and restless.
and i realized today that it's because i am a total control freak. i didn't decide this, i didn't control it. i've always known that i was, but i didn't realize it until today, if you know what i mean. i just need to let go!
today was good. great. we spent all day reading. and i had another aha-moment thanks to this trip and my book.
we just went for an evening walk, and watched our new spanish friend, albert, have a juggling show by the market. a big circle of people gathered around to watch and cheer. it started poring down, so we came back here to read some more.
tomorrow we're off to the beach for sure! :)

johanna xxx

volcano-lake

2009-08-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

today we rented mopeds again, rode down through the canyon, up the hill, down the hill and to a lake in a volcano. where the volcano used to be anyways, before it blew up.
again; the ride there was so beautiful! this country is so vivid! so full of life and smiles. the nature here is amazing! the traffic is insane, people drive like crazy. but somehow it works a whole lot better than back home. no one follow the actual rules, they've just made their own set of rules. everyone is just so aware of each other, and take their time. everyone's honking constantly, but not in the aggressive kind of way like at home, just as a warning or a hello. i love it. mostly mopeds. and three, four, five people on one bike. whole families. infants even. crazy.
and indonesians are a beautiful people; high cheekbones, beautiful eyes, big white smiles and dark skin. the kids are so so cute!

tomorrow it's time to go to the coast and find one of those perfect, tropical beaches with white sand, palm trees, turquoise sea and beach huts we can stay at. can't wait.

johanna xxx

an adventure

2009-08-06T04:33:00.000-07:00

going on this trip, i didn't really know what to expect. i guess i figured it would be exotic and different, but basically just a vacation. but after meeting indie and julia it turned into a true adventure!
on our way here a french (older) guy named claud joined us, and yesterday another guy (spanish), albert joined us too.
yesterday indie, who has been here before and knows his way around, took us to an underground food market. it was unbelievable, like nothing i've ever seen! and no other tourists, cause' you could never find it if you didn't know where to go.
so much food! fresh fruit of every exotic kind. vegetables, spices, fish (so much fish)and all sorts of exotic foods. and everyone wanted to talk to us with the few words of english they knew. where you from? what your name? big smiles and laughter wherever we looked. and they love having their picture taken, haha.
that market alone was an adventure.

today we rented mopeds and drove down to a tiny village in the jungle where they have a BIG flower. i mean huge! on a good, sunny day it gets up to 90 cm wide.
the flower was amazing to see, but the walk through the village, to me, was the most fascinating part. the scenery..wow! the lush jungle with palm trees, cinnamon trees, mango trees and what not. all the rice fields up the hill sides, with people, old men and women, working. it was like going back in time, the way they work and the way they dress and live. and we stopped buy some locals there and had the only coffee i've ever enjoyed. they make it themselves. the coffee beans are eaten by monkeys and raccoons in the area, and when it comes back out people collect the poop, rinse it off (obviously)and make coffee of it. so good!
afterwords we drove down to the river in the bottom of a canyon and just hung out. it's so beautiful here, i can't even explain it (so i will put out pictures as soon as we can find a faster internet). and it seemed like a whole neighborhood was there, cleaning their clothes, washing their kids and enjoying it while they were doing it. their way of living just seem so happy and healthy to me. everything has more meaning. just the way they clean their clothes; a whole group of people together, talking and laughing while squatting down in the river washing their clothes. kids playing in the river while getting nice and clean with soap.
the way they grow their own food, and do the whole process themselves before eating it, or selling it in the markets. i think they have a whole different relation to what they eat because of this whole process. they seem to enjoy it a whole lot more then we do, the way we just buy it, pretty much ready made, from the store.
and again, they're all so, very friendly!
and what a wonderfully random group of people i'm traveling with, we're having so much fun getting to know each other.
everyday is full of new impressions. i feel exhausted, and so alive.

johanna xxx

change of plans. not hat we had any...

2009-08-04T23:31:00.000-07:00

two of our new friends, indie and julia, invited us to come with them to indonesia. and so we did. after a bus ride down to maleka, a very hot and sticky boat ride over to sumatra, and a 12 hour bus ride up the mountain and into the jungle, we are now in pukutingi. the trip was long, and left a lot of impressions.
indonesians are the sweetest people i've met. everyone we've met so far has been so friendly and welcoming. like julia said "i'm gonna' feel so ignored when i get back home to europe!" no one following us around, no one cheering and waving by the sight of us, no one pointing and laughing at us in a friendly kind of way, and no kids screaming from the top of their lungs out of fear from the sight of white people.
another lovely thing i've noticed here is how people group together. i haven't seen one person looking lonely. or alone at all. people are in groups everywhere! in the shops, in the streets, at work, outside their houses...everywhere. and they all seem to really enjoy each others company. they live in absolute shit holes, but they're all smiling, talking and laughing wherever you look. beautiful.
i'm getting used to the simple way of living faster than i thought i would. like taking a "shower" with cold water from a tub, that you poor over yourself with a tiny bucket thing (not sure what it's called). and the hole in the floor they call a toilet, where you need to squat down and try not to pee on your pants and feet. and the eating with your right hand and wiping your butt with the left. primitive and uncomfortable as it does feel at first, it's kind of fun, this different way of living. i'm enjoying it all.
now we're renting motorcycles to go check out the jungle, a volcano with a lake underneath it, and whatever else we can find up here.

more pictures will come later.

johanna xxx

the start of our asian adventure

2009-08-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

we arrived kuala lumpur, after a 6 hour longer flight than expected, so exhausted, but exited! the heat and humidity rapped around us as soon as we got off the plane. asia!
first stop; china town. (all ready malaysia is the most organized country we've ever been to). after about 5 min in china town, in a dark, slum-looking alley with an outdoor barbershop, outdoor restaurant kitchen and the restaurant itself, in between the garbage bags and neighbors laundry, we found a charming, little backpackers hotel.
after a nap in our 5 square meter room with paint coming off the walls (but air con!), a walk around the markets in china town, and a bite to eat, we bought a bottle of wine and sat down on our roof terrace back at the hotel. up here (where i am sitting as i write) people from the hotel came up and joined us. a wonderful mix of people, nationality wise and personality wise. all of them traveling the world. and soon enough we had a little party going.
after making new, wonderfully vivid yet laid back friends, nina and i decided to spend another day here with them, in this little, simple and slightly dirty piece of heaven.
so today our new friend steven aka indie, took us all to a fish spa. we put our feet in a big tub and little fish gathered around our feet and started nibbling at them. haha, it was an odd and fun experience. like tickling sandpaper.
after refreshing our feet we walked through little-india and had lunch at an indian place with amazing food. so good! and after a walk about, and a sundown later we went up the KL tower. perfect view over the city. beautiful.
now we're all up on the terrace again, having a drink, sharing experiences and stories in the hot, humid KL night. this is what life is all about!

being here...i feel peace and excitement at the same time. when we first got here i couldn't stop turning my head; all the people, the shops and markets. the crazy, but organized traffic. all the neonlights in the poor-looking streets. the fruit-stands with all exotic fruits. the food-stands with foods i've never seen and the flower-stands with sprayed, fake-looking flowers. i love it all! i love every second. i'm being more present than i have for a long time. i'm on holiday.

i will put out pictures as soon as possible, but for now this will have to do.

johanna xxx

first stop: Malaysia!

2009-07-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

Off we go, Nina and I, on our first asian adventure together. Nothing is planned. Anything can happen.