Home

Alright, I'm home. Home is greatly under-rated, a lot of the time, especially by me. It feels so good to be home. To just lay around the house and cook and clean and... sleep in my own bed (aaaaaah, so comfortable). Family, friends, everyone is being so sweet and i am so happy to see everyone again. I love this honeymoon period, when you first get home, and you are so grateful and appreciative of everything and everything is new and wonderful. One of the great things about going away from home for a long period of time is it makes you really appreciate the simple things about your life, and all the gifts and.... luxuries.

Still a bit of jetlag. Still waking up in the middle of the night, bright eyed and bushy tailed. Still crashing in the middle of the afternoon with eyes i can't keep open. Today brother and i went snowboarding. Last day of the season that the ski hill was open. Snowed HARD while we were there, it was awesome.
Slush cup was going on. very funny. That is where they build a big water pit with slush floating around in it... a moat of sorts, and then the idea is that people have to ski or board down and try to ride across the top of the water to the other side.
No one makes it, of course, and volunteer fire fighters are there in the water in dry suits to catch you when you land on your face in the freezing water and help you to get your board or skis off and get you out of the water before you freeze to death. Very good idea sun peaks. how to keep the event safe. and then... and then there is a hot tub, donated by sun peaks aquatics, for all the competitors to soak in after they get out of the slush pit, boots and clothes and all, goes into the hot tub soup. hilarious. oh, and they are all in costume too. so there was like ... you know.... someone in a bird costume, an rcmp officer, a guy in a suit, a guy in a purple one piece, someone else dressed as super man, another as jesus... all in there, fully clothed, boots on. what a picture, i wish we would have gotten a picture.
man, the things we do for entertainment in this country.
haha
good to be home.

vivacious vancouver

Vancouver is SO BEAUTIFUL!!!
oh my gosh. fall in love with it all over again. And it is my favourite time of year here. When the sun is shining and the sky is blue and there is fresh snow on the North Shore mountains, and the air has a smell that is a blend of fresh snowfall, cherry blossoms and new buds on the trees. Intoxicating!
I have posted some pictures of what it looks like here right now. Granted, i have cheated, they are not my own photos since i am without a camera at the moment. But still, this is what it looks like here right now. wow!

i'm home!

hi all,
i'm home in canada, safe and sound.
staying in vancouver for a couple days to visit friends, then home to kamloops.
what a TRIP!!

earthquake

We just had an earthquake!!!!

omg.
we're in delhi. my flight leaves tonight.
we just had a 5.4 with the epicentre 363kms away on the India-Nepal border.
eek.
we felt it here. Just felt like two little....tremors. i have been in only one earthquake before in japan. it is the weirdest feeling. get me outta here.
ok,
well,
see you all in canada soon.
all my love

the truth about temple day

Back at Moonpeak Espresso. Can't get enough of this place i guess. Its the jazz. Its the chocolate drizzle cake, its the cappucino, the people watching and the free wi-fi. haha. Can you tell its time for me to come home? haha

I am feeling so at home in India these days i don't even feel like i'm "travelling" anymore. Canada will seem more exotic by the time i get there. haha.
lots to laugh about.

So, winding down my last... 3 days in the Motherland. Then Beijing, then Vancouver.

I always look forward to being on the road, or in the sky, as the case may be. Its that feeling of being in between worlds. Timeless. Light. And the airports are these temporary autonomous zones where anything can happen, you can be anybody, from anywhere and there are people from all over the world converging together in these places, and it can be any time of day for them too. I don't know. I just find it...exciting.
Plus its the anticipation of arriving at your new destination where all routine is disrupted and again.... ANYTHING can happen, and usually does. I celebrate landing on my feet where ever i go, reinforcing my faith in the universe continuously.

Of course i am leaving behind some very special people here. That is always the problem with travelling. Of course you make friends, you fall in love, with whole families sometimes, and then you have to go home. Its ok. we will meet again. I am lucky that i meet such amazing people everywhere i go.

The cricket world cup finals game is today. India vs. Sri Lanka. I have snuck out to have a coffee and an internet session. Looking forward to returning to watch it.

Weather is coolish today, and partially cloudy. The air pressure always seems high here, so it is always energizing. Just like any mountain town, Whistler, Sun Peaks.
Perhaps it will rain our last night here.
Tomorrow we take the train to Delhi where it will be 33 degrees in the daytime. ouch. that's hot.
my plane leaves at a convenient 3am in the morning, as do all international incoming and outgoing flights. not sure why that is. i have never seen delhi airport in the day. oh, no, that's not true, i flew in domestic from Chennai in the afternoon once.

So I have washed the last of my laundry by hand. Funny how you get used to washing your clothes by hand and it doesn't even phase you after awhile. That said, i will be revelling in the luxury of a washing machine when i get home, for sure. To be honest though i did send out my laundry 2 or 3 times in rishikesh just when i was feeling too lazy to do it myself. costs about 2.50cad for a load.

the temples yesterday left us feeling tired and wiped out. So many people. It really was a cultural submersion for me, and even i felt challenged by the pressing crowds and noise and heat. But it was fascinating and an honour to be involved and included in such a sacred tradition as going to temple. The devotion and religious fervour felt by the masses is intense. Their belief so strong. It sweeps you up and washes you away. I followed along best I could. The first temple we visited we got out of the taxi and walked up this long hill and narrow pedestrian street lined with shops selling trinkets and treats to offer at temple. We passed people doing prostrations all the way to the temple. I had mistakenly thought that this was a strictly Buddhist practice but no, we saw two devout Hindus pressing their bodies all the way to the ground, arms outstretched in front, forehead touching earth and a friend or relative helping them by marking the line where their fingertips reached so that when they stood up again they lined their toes up with that line and laid down again, stretching fingers forward and in that manner, covering the distance between their starting point and the temple steps. Undoubtedly an arduous way to make your way, but this practice has been known for centuries as a spiritual purification process and an act of spiritual devotion.

We chose to walk on our own two feet but at one kiosk as we neared the temple we placed our sandals under the shop counter as no shoes are worn inside the temple complex. So we two, and everyone else, feet bare, made our way inside. Once inside there is a courtyard and then the temple is within this. At the door we touch the steps with fingertips of our right hands, then touched them to our heads, then our hearts; some bring their forehead to touch the temple steps in reverence and respect to the gods. In typical Indian fashion, security shuffles and shoves us inside until we are packed like sardines and he shuts the door behind us. locked in. We are in there with maybe 20 other people and space is tight. Nakul tells me to stick close. Ya, easy for you to say. As a Canadian I am not used to having anyone within 3 feet of me let alone pressed up against me on all sides. I manage to stay amongst women, so that at least it is women's bodies pressed against me and not men's, which i figure is good enough. Each person jostles to make their offering to the priest and receive their blessing. It is intense. I watch, I follow, I am last. After Nakul offers and receives and bows his head to the floor I am desirous to follow, but i have a split moment of indecision because I myself have nothing to offer so I think: "then should i bow my head and receive the blessing anyway? or what?". it all happens so fast and with my indecision, i miss my chance and am ushered on.
Next time, I decide, I am not going to be so wishy washy.

As many of you know, I follow no strict religious discipline. I am a chameleon and tend to the follow the advice "when in Rome...." so that leaves me a lot of creative and religious freedom to partake in whatever I like. Luckily Hinduism is a very open and forgiving faith. If you do, or if you don't, no one cares. Everyone is just there to do their thing, because they want to, and if you want to too, then great, but there is no pressure or expectation. So it makes it kind of fun.

But I soon realized that this whole temple excursion was really a whole other cultural experience. I mean, I've been blessed at ashrams, I've been to temple in Canada (woah, totally different experience by the way, huh Stephanie?) and i've even touched my forehead to marble in abeisance and respect (am i using that word right?)
but i have never experienced this group..... frenzy of devotion before.

I think the second temple we went to, a short car ride away later, was even more crazy.
Again, shoes off, we waited in a long line with many people. These temples are famous nationwide as pilgrimage destinations so whole families from all over India travel here to pray and receive blessing. As we approached the temples steps the energy was building. I was the only foreigner that i saw the whole day. It is one thing to be seen travelling with an Indian man, as Nakul and I were, but I always get a kick out of the once-over many Indian women give me. They check out my dress, from head to toe, and i am certain by the expression on their faces that they disapprove: "How can she go out in public looking like that, so plain, no gold, no jewelery, no makeup and that plain cotton kurta, ugh" (the type of long shirt i wear in India is not what Indian women traditionally wear). It was even worse when i wore running shoes. Gods forbid. But i am used to all this by now and take it all in stride. I only feel mildly uncomfortable with the fact that i am tagging along on this religious pilgrimmage when I am clearly not there for my own spiritual salvation. But no one judges. It is open.
So where was I, oh ya, so as we reach the temple steps the energy begins to build as each person is so eager to enter. The woman behind me has been persistently pushing into my back for the last 20 feet of the line. It annoys me only for a millisecond as my Canadian cultural conditioning kicks. But I relax and allow and the feeling just passes. I remember what i learned in Sociology 101 at Cap College that no countries ways or better or worse, only .... different, without judgment.
Outside musicians play religious hymns loudly and the temple bells ring out as each who passes underneath must reach up and ring them. There are several bells to be rung.
Finally it is our turn. Eager not to miss my opportunity, following Nakul i bow and press my third eye to the cool marble step. The feel of it is calming, reassuring, grounding. I leave my rupee at the door and step up, ring the bells and step inside.
Inside it is mayhem. This temple is famous for its fire. There is fire spontaneously emerging from different places in the rock. The temple has been built around this phenomenon. There are many stories of supernatural occurences explained away as work of the pantheon of gods. Again Nakul instructs to stick close. well, short of stapling myself to his backpack, i don't know how i am going to do that as people are consistently and determinedly prying themselves between us. i don't even bother to get close to the priest and instead, just try and focus on keeping some space between me and the male body behind me that is being crushed into mine. I find some space beside my friend, even though it is away from the central fire and happenings. I say a few quick prayers and then wait off to the side until he is through. I admire and respect his devotion. I find it endearing. Finally we exit. I breathe again.

There is one more place to visit here. A few steps away there is another room where a religiuos relic is held and a statue of one of the goddesses. In the room many people are seated and chanting and singing. We make our way to the front and it is the same story, more pushing, more shoving, and i fight against my own cultural mores and norms that scream at me to get out, get out fast.
The religious relic is an ancient brass umbrella, or some kind of metal umbrella and it is encased in glass around which everyone is gathered. I try to move in too but find myself getting swept into a flow of people going the other way. Without strength of my own to fight the human wave, i move with it for awhile before finally finding a hole where the riptide is less strong and i can swim parallel to the shore and make my way around back to Nakul.
I really considered bolting. I had a small moment of panic, of total overwhelm, because of the crowd, the intensity of their fervour, all the noise.... i suddenly felt incredibly clausterphobic and thought i needed to run outside, but i took a deep breath and just relaxed. i realized that this is humanity, this is all of beautiful humanity. These people are not different than you, and they are certainly not dangerous, these are just a bunch of friendly Hindus. Just relax. So funny.
So funny how those cultural.... prejudices and beliefs are just so there. Anything that is different or unfamiliar or unknown is deemed as bad, as dangerous, as a threat. When really it is just a matter of point of view.

It was fun to spend a day in that world. barefoot. walking the streets of india with no shoes, down narrow winding lanes. If you let go, it is really really delightful.

So that was that day. hmm, i didn't mean to talk about all that, but it really was so intense. it was like... you become one with all those people, and all those people who come to temple together, they have very little sense of separateness, of you vs. me, or us against them. The feeling of common humanity was heart warming. we are all one. The separation is truly an illusion.
and i must say, by the time i left the second temple i felt different. i felt.... lighter, i felt stronger, calmer, truer, somehow. something about bowing down to something greater than yourself. Giving up your sense of self importance just for a moment.
We spend all our days wondering how we are going to make a living, pay the rent, pay the bills, what we are going to retire on, how we are going to rearrange everything in our lives to be happier, healthier. and the truth is... all that rearranging and mental gymnastics is a total waste of time. It feels good and such a relief to let go of that once in awhile, that tension, that planning, that holding, that worrying. just for a moment.

peace and blessings to all of you.
loving you,
and seeing you very soon,
ang

hi

hi there.
one more day after today here in dharamsala. then on to delhi.
we did the temple circuit today. hired a car and went temple hopping. wonderful dip into Hindu culture. wow.
fabulous.
hmmmm,
what else to write? um.
ya,
nothing else to say about that.
except the few from down the valley was awesome. looking up you can see a whole range of the Himalayas reaching up to the heavens from the plains.
the change in elevation is extreme, from the plains where we were sweating it out in the midday sun, up to the snowy peaks. They seem so close. It is hard to imagine taht you are eating pineapples and existing in a subtropical climate, looking up at those snow capped mountains so close to you.
but... that is how it is.

will write again soon,
love
and
kisses
me

Check out new pics at bottom of this page!!

Alright, i came through... with the pics. So i am not completely and totally negligent as a blogger.
So.
So... what is there to say now?
I am sitting at a place called Moonpeak Espresso. Isn't that a lovely name? Free wi-fi and a real, honest to goodness cappucino on the way. aaaah. the simple things. Dharamsala has a wide range of great cafes and coffee houses. Not sure why. In Rishikesh you can't get a good pull of espresso anywhere that i know of. And, indeed, there are maybe only a small handful of espresso machines there. For some reason Dharamsala is over-run with world class coffee shops. Reminds me that i will be home in....5 days and totally able to get a decent coffee anywhere.
So i figure i have been roughing it for 5 months, i deserve a coffee break today (and a piece of cheesecake.... old habits die hard). And free wi-fi. its always nice to clickety clack away on your own laptop, whilst sipping a fresh espresso drink.

Today we were going to go to the lake nearby, but it turns out the lake is dry. So we just sort of wandered around aimlessly until we ended up back at home. Kinda lazy. I figured i better get these photos up here before i get back to canada or it will kind of defeat the purpose.

Last night India won against Pakistan. cricket. it was a tense game. Now on to face Sri Lanka for the finals on saturday. so exciting.

well, i can't think of anything else to say right now so... i guess i will sign off.
all my love,
ang

dharamsala dreaming

hey there!

How is everyone.
its the countdown until i come home. I am so absorbed in the dream of Dharamsala right now though, I'm not even thinking about home and it seems very far away, even though in only one week i will be touching down in vancouver.

Today we went to see the Dalai Lama. Well, not the Dalai Lama as such. He is not giving any talks at the moment. But we went to his residence.... and knocked on the door and ran away. haha! no. i'm being silly. We did go to his "residence". It is a complex of buildings somewhere within which he stays. We saw the place where he sits and the area the visitors sit when he does give talks. Went to the temple, and to the Tibet museum and learned all about the story of their invasion and exile to India. What a story. What a truly horrible story of violence against a totally innocent people just living their lives and practicing their religion in peace until the Chinese came along. So the museum visit was sobering to say the least.

Dharamsala is this funky quaint little mountain town. I like the vibe here. It is like... Shambhala.

Today is the big cricket game, semi-finals against pakistan. we came out of the gate on fire, but then we cooled off a bit and haven't been batting as well the second half of our turn at bat.
i know, right. Cricket? really? well... you sort of get caught up in the national sport when everyone else around you is so excited about it. it is an interesting game. very civilized. and i get a kick out of the british commentary. they say the funniest things. actually i get a kick out of any sports commentary pretty much, except maybe golf or tennis. but it all depends.

ya, anyway. The food has been mostly Indian since our foray into Tibetan cuisine.

it snowed last night. not right here in the village, but up on the mountain peaks that can be seen from our window. rained down below here. view is spectacular.

well, that is all to report for today.

loving and missing you all back home.
ang

pics

am working on the pictures... .hopefully some will come up soon.
kisses!

dharamsala

well, dharamsala continues to delight and surprise. I awake in wonderment over the sheer beauty of the place. snowy himalayan peaks peek over the foothills to soothe our aching eyes. Eyes that ache for sacred places and pristine natural views.
The weather is soothingly cloudy and stormy. Rainclouds threaten but the air remains comfortably warm. If it rains, it will be cozy.
This morning we moved to a new room. This room is awesome. Truly awesome. It reminds me of staying in a ski resort. There is full glass windows on the whole view side of the room so the room is so full of light and a whole wall that is open to the sky and the mountains. its a treat. didn't cost much more than a cheapy room either. $10cad per night, instead of $7.50. I think its worth the extra $2.50 per night to have the view, private balcony, marble floors and all-pine wood finishing, don't you? There is also a t.v. to watch the big cricket game on wednesday. India could win the world cup! i mean.... India is GOING to win the world cup!
Yesterday's dining adventures led to a version of Delhi Belly we will call Tibetan Tummy. As it turns out, after weeks of eating homecooked authentic north Indian dahl, vegetables and rice, doughy Tibetan momos (vegetable dumplings) and noodles are NOT what the doctor ordered. haha.
nothing as serious as full-blown Delhi belly, but just... a slightly grumpy tummy and indigestion.
Anyhow, digestive woes update aside, all is well. Sab thikkhe, as they say in Hindi.
If the weather clears there will be some hiking to lakes and waterfalls and temples on the agenda, but for now, just enjoying the view.

all my love
home in just over a week!

love and kisses
ang

dharamsala

Dharamsala is absolutely enchanting, and not just because it is where the Dalai Lama chose to set up house after being exiled by the Chinese from Tibet. Or perhaps it IS partially because of that. It is quaint and peaceful.
It is beautiful. My friend and I arrived early this morning at 4. It was dark so we found a guesthouse completely blind. When the sun came up I went outside and it was like a dream. As i stood in my pajamas at the edge of a steep hill, taking in the mountainous scenery, snowy peeks and green trees, a maroon robed monk made her way up from the path below, followed by two dogs in tow.
The scene was like something out of a movie. For sure.
I look forward to exploring more over the next 6 days.

holi

WEll Holi is over. Holi was fun. A very fun holiday. one big party and every one, every single person you meet on the street is covered in bright coloured powder or water from head to toe. no one is safe. it is literally a war zone. it is the one day that you forget yourself, friends and enemies are equal, all grudges wiped clean. a chance to forgive and forget and start over. what a fabulous holiday.
India is full of these opportunities to let go, wipe the slate clean and start over, anew, reborn.
Between my hotel, my hotel's restaurant and my Bengali families house, i got completely doused in colour. it is funny and fabulous. you have to totally give up your ego, give up taking yourself so serious, give up control, basically. it is a very liberating day.
how do i explain?
it was so much fun.
everyone i met on my way, covered me with handfuls of coloured powder and let me do the same to them.
so fun.
we all get to be kids for a day and play.

happy holi!

Holi festival. Festival of colours. today is what is called "small Holi". Tomorrow is "Big" Holi. I suspect that small Holi is a precursor of what's to come tomorrow, probably a result of not being able to wait until the main event tomorrow and wanting to get a jump start on the festivities a day early.
Celebration of colour. Look out! colours literally are flying through the air.
My friend's nephew who is eleven is already died pink on half his face and both his hands. He has scrubbed and scrubbed but it will last a week or more anyways.
Pink, yellow, green, red and blue. No one is safe. Coloured water balloons, coloured water guns and handfuls of bright colour powder. Even though its only small Holi, the streets are already filled with brilliant casualties of the colour war. I was on my way over to the other side of the river to buy my grandma a gift when i ran into the owner of Ramanas orphanage. She was plastered, head to toe, with colour. "Watch out on the other side of the bridge" she warned, "they really got me". "They" being the kids hanging off balconies and streaking through the streets below with colour warfare.
I didn't think i'd have to worry about it until tomorrow. i had been warned but i thought today i'd be safe. i am not dressed for this permanent dye job, nor is my hair or skin sufficiently oiled to withstand the onslaught.
Tomorrow I will plan to wear my old clothes, clothes that i don't mind getting ruined. sesame or apricot oil in my hair and on my skin so that i have a chance of being able to wash off the colours. i know i won't be able to say no to the neice and nephew of my Bengali family. They have been asking me for days if i will play with them on Holi ("play" being a euphamism for "be their target")
I have to admire the Indian people, for their utter ability to revert to children on such occasions. Grown men dance and laugh in the street like kids, ambushing eachother and slathering colour all over eachothers faces and clothes and then collapsing into eachothers' arms in hysterics. I am a little envious of the celebratory and carefree attitude that comes so easily to them.
For a day, they are free. For a day, we are all free.
Happy Holi!

Yesterday i tried to make aloo palak subji for lunch. potato and spinach vegetable dish. it came out ok i guess except waaaay too much salt. eeek! There is a certain knack and art to making Indian food, and somehow, i just can't get it right. There is like... a feeling to it, like something you would just absorb by living here your whole life. you really have to cook the spices well until the flavours fully develop and release, and it never hurts to crisp the bottom of the pan a bit for that extra roasted flavour. i am still working on it. but at least i did it. i cooked Indian for Indians and no one got hurt. Yay!
I have been watching Ritu for weeks. She is the new bride to my friend's brother and has just moved in with the family. She is amazing! i LOVE Ritu. We all do. I have been skulking around her kitchen, watching her kneed chapati dough, sort rice, make dahl and subji (vegetables) and asking dozens of annoying questions. I watch and watch her add the spices, when and how much, but it still baffles me how she decides which ones to add on which day cause its different every time. It always turns out delicious, and when i do it, the spices are grainy and underdeveloped and either there is too much or too little flavour. sigh. back to the drawing board.
She and I have a hoot! She speaks a little English and is teaching me a little Hindi. She is so sweet.
Right now she and Nirmal are in Delhi visiting her family. Her first visit back since they married in November. She was so excited to go, and so beautiful when they left. Decked out in a beautiful sari and glittering slippers, she looked like an Indian Cinderella.
She called yesterday to see how we were and i talked to her. I told her we missed her and to come home soon and then i meant to say to her "hurry hurry" which is "jaldi jaldi" in Hindi, but i forgot and said "haldi, haldi" instead, which means "turmeric, turmeric". So that sent us all into peals of laughter for about 10 minutes. ya, we miss you, please come back soon, turmeric, turmeric!! Everyone keeps bugging me about it every time they see me now. i laugh too, anytime i think of it. so hilarious.

well, its now one week exactly til dharamsala. counting down the days, excited to come home, but know i am going to be so incredibly sad to say goodbye to my family here. i don't even want to think about it now. They have shown me the most unbelievable hospitality, at first as a guest, and now as family. The openness, acceptance, generosity and tolerance they have shown me is unparalleled. i have not experienced anything like it in my whole life. In just a few short weeks they have completely won over my heart. What will i do?

all my love to all at home.
be well, love well
and feel peace.

hi

hi,
got inspired. have stored up enough semi-interesting things to warrant a report on them.
10 days. 10 day until i leave rishikesh and go to dharamsala in the mountains, to spend my last week before coming home.
it is really heating up in rishikesh. the mornings and evenings are so beautiful right now, as the temperature is just perfect. but the afternoons are starting to get such that wearing the long sleeves and head scarf that i usually don is becoming a tad uncomfortable. get ready to sweat.

so i am beginning to tie up some last minute details. getting my gift shopping done, pay my rent, things fixed, things packed off in mail to myself, things i don't want to lug home in my suitcase.

tomorrow i will go with a woman i met whose from Norway up to a temple in the hills here. we will go by car and return on foot. she said it takes 4 hours to walk back down to rishikesh and we will take our breakfast with us because we will leave at 5am so that we can be at the top to watch the sunrise over the Himalayas. Totally sounds like something I'd be interested in and I was sold on the idea the moment she suggested it. So i made a new friend. Her name is Marielle and she is a bit older than me and absolutely delightful. quite looking forward.

though i am truly savouring my last few days here in rishi, i am excited about the return home, as usual. Can't wait to see my mom, my dad, my dog, my friends....even my brother will be a sight for sore eyes (you'd think the 17 years difference between us would eliminate the sibling rivalry but somehow it still exists, haha).

it is just always so fun, that re-entry period, when everything is so new and shiny in canada and fun.
its sort of like that nice feeling i get when my plane touches down in india and i get through the airport and out the doors and take my first breath of indian air....so intoxicating. (or is that burning plastic, hahah). No, i joke.
Something in those first few breaths tastes like i am home again and parts of my body relax that i didn't even know i was holding.

and canada, well canada is like the land of milk and honey. after the austerity of india, the return to canada always brings unexpected luxuries and comforts that i had forgotten all about, like... washing machines and... air conditioning and uninterrupted power and internet.
i wonder if i go back and forth between india and canada enough times if this awe and appreciation will lessen.

hmmm,
so lets see,
what else.
.......mmmmm.....
ya, nothing else.
so not as exciting as i thought.
hahaha.
that's life.
love to all
ang

hi

well.

folks.

i think i'm done blogging.

it hasn't been that spectacular of a blog this trip anyways, probably due to the "been there done that" syndrome that permeated it.

the trip is almost over anyhow, just a few more weeks.

i may log in from time to time and say a few words but i think in general, its all been said. haha.

the wedding trip i went on with my friend rajni... well i ended up coming home early, before the wedding in fact. due to illness. i woke up after the first morning (after sleeping 4 to a bed) with some great allergy to something, dust or mould, and a killer headache, sharp pains in my stomach and nausea. i was bummed, so i came home early. felt great the minute i got back to rishikesh. had a good nights' sleep and i was good to go the next day. so i still haven't been to an indian wedding. better luck next time.
the bus trip there and back was so bumpy i thought i might have shaken a tooth loose (just kidding).

i am thinking these days of taking the last week of march in dharamsala. the place where the dalai lama lives. i've checked his schedule and unfortunately there are no teachings or talks he is giving during that time but i hear it is a super fabulous place to visit, up in the mountains a bit.

alright so, hope you are all enjoying february so far (haha) and had a good valentines day....ate lots of chocolate.

all my love and many kisses,
ang

february 7

well.
it is a long time between entries these days, isn't it? it takes that long to store up some stories or events to write about these days. the days seem to run one in another lately.
i'll be perfectly frank today. what the heck. i'm getting a little bored.
i just don't have enough to fill my days and am beginning to wonder what it is exactly i am doing here at the moment.
true, i have my teachers class every morning at 6, and that is wonderful. but that is only 2 hours of my day. what do i do with the rest of my day. i have friends, and a friends' family to hang out with, but still, i find myself bored, without purpose, just wandering.
rishikesh has completely normalized for me, so there is no novelty left in it. just regular things and routine events.
it makes me realize how much of my life has been about questing after new and exciting experience and stimuli.

on the upside, the weather is getting really nice. the evenings have lost their bitter cold edge and the days get quite hot. its pretty beautiful this time of year, before the real heat begins to hit.
i just don't know what to do with my days.
hmmm.
maybe i need to start teaching or something.
or volunteering.
everyday i help my friend Rajni at the ashram with her yoga english. she is studying to become a yoga teacher but is brushing up on her english yoga terminology.
actually, in a couple of days i am going with her home to her village for a wedding.
we will be gone 5 days in total. we were discussing the details today. she is going to lend me clothes for the event and she wants to know "sari or salwar kameez suit?". good question. finally we decided that we would do one day in a sari and one day in salwar kameez. these are fun clothes to wear and i am grateful that she is going to dress me up, since i have no fancy clothes of my own.
plus i thought it would be a good experience and education for me, going with her to a village, attending a wedding. i've never been before but i know they are quite the affair, so maybe i will learn something. plus i love rajni, she is the biggest sweetheart and so excited to take me home to her family. we will go by bus, i think its about 4-5 hours away, east of here, towards nanital (a hill station) if any of you know where that is.

so that should break up the boredom a bit.
i don't know what else to do.
hmmm.
maybe i could tie into the rest of my yoga therapy internship. i finished the first 500 hours, but have an optional other 500 that i can do, if i am so motivated.

what IS it with me? i am just not so motivated.
lazy is i think the word.

should have had 5 kids, that would have kept me motivated. haha.
just joking.

ok, well, i gotta run,
hang in there you little snow bunnies. one more month until spring.

love and kisses,
ang

brief hiatus there

sorry,
brief hiatus there as i relocated.
still finding my feet again in rishikesh.
mom flew home on the 27th. now its just me. miss her.
it is a beautiful time of year in rishikesh, because its winter and its very quiet. so you have the whole place to yourself, no crowds.
it was a relief to be back. but it also feels strange, somehow. can't explain it.
it is so peaceful here, by comparison to goa. which is nice.

i had a little flood in my room this morning. i emptied a big bucket of water on the floor in the bathroom (its the asian kind where the bathroom floor has a drain and the whole bathroom becomes a shower) but i forgot that the door doesn't seal and so the bucket that i poured ran out under the door and out into the rest of my room. haha.
so i had a little impromptu mopping up. floors are all nice and clean now.

so little to report.
it is cold. i am piled under blankets at night with no central heating of course.
sun doesn't come up over the hill here until 9am, just like last time.
but all is well. it is good to get back to good food and good water again, both of which were kind of lacking in goa.
looking forward to getting back into yoga class too, starting tomorrow.

the trip here was alright. we flew to delhi and spent the night and watched movies in our hotel room, then the next day i hopped on the train and mom headed to the airport. the train ride was only 4 hours but felt longer. really cramped in there. train was full.

alright well,
hope everyone is well and happy at home.
much love to all,
miss you
ang

second to last day here

oooo,
almost a whole week since my last entry. my apologies. just nothing exciting to tell about. days are pretty much the same, day in, day out. We finished our 12 day course yesterday and had a dinner and open mic night last night. which was a lot of fun. lemon meringue pie folks! wow, what a treat. and what a talented bunch of people. we had some amazing performances, people singing, playing guitars and other cool instruments, and a good time had by all. lots of fun.
today was our first free day and it felt so odd to have no structure to the day. just to come and go when you pleased. i ended up taking a big old nap in the afternoon. it was very hot out so i just turned the fan on and had a little sleep. then mom and i had a beautiful sunset dinner on the beach. the second to last night that we can do that. it was so beautiful, with the stars and the surf. and so we just sat and reflected back on this crazy journey. she has been gone for almost 3 months. that is a long trip you know. so she is more than ready to return home, but so glad she made the trip too. i am going to miss her company. it has been a real learning experience for both of us, and i feel so blessed that i have a mother that is so... daring and adventurous in her 59 years!
what a woman!
so my hats off to her.
nothing else really to report.
one more day here, tomorrow, and then the 25th we fly to delhi and stay a night there, then i will head back to rishikesh by train, and she will head to the airport to catch her flight to beijing and home.
so tomorrow i will pick up my laundry, go for a swim, maybe get a pedicure (i know, i know, since when do i get pedicures) and just enjoy the last day on the beach.
Most of you know of my great love of the ocean. so i am acutely aware that tomorrow may be the last time in a long while that i get to enjoy a tropical sea. it may be years before i am back beside a tropical ocean. we shall see. but i will soak her up, because i will miss the ocean when i leave. something about it so .... expansive and vast. just being near it makes me feel at ease, like i can breathe a little deeper with the sea air in my lungs.
hmmm.
alright well,
i hope the snow is treating you all well. i love snow.
please go make a snow angel for me in the next fresh fall. we are so blessed to live in such a beautiful place as canada.

all my love and kisses,
ang

moving day

hi all,
just a little update.
we finally moved house.
the beach hut was my dream and all about location, location, location, view.
But it was so.... "rustic".
the picture of the outside of the hut makes it look fancy compared to the inside. haha.
so we finally moved.
away from the beach, away from the thumping bass at night (there were 3 or 4 nights in there that were quiet) and into the town.

We have a lovely 2 bedroom, with kitchen and hot shower for the same price as the beach hut on the beach. but no view, and no sound of the ocean waves.
Its warmer though at night, which is good, and there is no morning dew from the sea, so its not damp in the morning.
its a pretty great place, centrally located.
the only drawback is that it shares a roof with a small family next door who are quite noisy in the evening and again at 7am. i think we'll get used to that.
hot water is hard to find anywhere, and now that we have it... i kinda like that.
luxury.
you don't need hot water if you shower in the middle of the heat of the day here.
but if you want to shower in the morning, or the evening, it is pretty nibbly for a canadian girl like me. You'd think that coming from a cold climate that i would have a thicker skin, but the indians have way higher tolerance for extreme temperatures than i will ever have. i know my family in rishikesh has cold water bucket baths all through the winter. although i think this is temporary while they are renting and waiting for their new house to be built. that is just amazing to me, that you can strip down and stand it, the cold water in cold weather, long enough to get clean!!
i am not that tough.
haha

so i have a feeling we will stay where we are at.
no place is perfect.
every place will have some downside... so its just a matter of enjoying it anyway.

we are booking our flights back to delhi on the 25th.
we have abandoned the idea of taking the 38hour train ride from goa to delhi in favour of a more sane approach: the same way we came here, by 2 hour flight.
it just makes sense people.
both mom and i are into this idea. The thought of 38hrs on the train, after how homesick and just plain sick she has been, isn't so appealing. she's ever the trooper though. we have one week left here and then we go.

hmmm,
what other news...
thats about it for now.
missing everyone.
hope you are enjoying a lovely winter.
i miss the snow.
peace and hugs and kisses
ang

I have a dog

I have a dog.

I have named him Suno (pronounced "soono"). "Suno" is the command for "listen" in Hindi. I have named him so, because he is such a good listener, and also because others listen to him. He is the beach police. The friendly cop on the block. He sees all and hears all. He is a delightful chestnut brown with a white neck. Skinny as a pole but in good shape.

I wasn't sure he was a "he" in the beginning as he lacked the required testicles to call him such. Yet the other "equipment" was intact, so I was a bit confused at first. Because in India, dogs are not neutered or spade, they are allowed to run free and wild and no one owns them or is responsible for their well being.
So his condition confused me at first and so consequently I was calling him "her" for the first few days of our acquaintance.

There is no mistake. He chose me. Hanging around my yoga "space" in the morning, napping on the corner of my blanket. Soon he found out where I lived and started visiting me in the morning, inviting me out for my morning yoga time. Just like a domestic dog in Canada summons its owner for her morning walk.

Suno was instantly charming and had something special about him from the get go. He had this all-pervading calm and sweet demeanour, unparalleled on the beaches of Arambol (canine or homeo sapien). All the other dogs are fighting and rough and territorial. Scarred up and beaten up and living a hard life on the streets. Somehow, Suno, maintains some semblance of dignity and grace, although as his ribs can attest, living conditions are not easy. He makes it look like easy.

I was instantly won over the first time he approached me, so calmly, confidently and just sat, nearby, without being pushy, without forcing his acquaintance on me. How could i not be won over. Yes, his charm was immediate. With those soft brown eyes and knowing smile, he just stayed nearby until i couldn't resist a pat. Starting first at his head, i patted tentatively. Soon i moved down to his neck and throat and discovered his soft and surprisingly clean fur. How he manages to look so good under the circumstances, is beyond me. Actually, scratch that... I think I have it figured out.

Somehow, because he is neutered, obviously his demeanour and behavour as a male dog is unnaturally altered. So he is unlike any other dog on the beach. He is not like the female dogs, and he is not like the male dogs. He is a eunich, like he can move between both worlds.
On the beach everyday it is dog politics. The constant organizing and working out of who is friends with whom, whose is allied with whom and whose territory belongs to whom. In a world of constant fighting and vying for territory, Suno is taking a pacificist approach. I have seen him diffuse many tense situations between several dogs simultaneously.

His technique is unique. He somehow manages to assert his dominance, without violence, and then coerces the other dogs into a playful romp, thus allying them as friends, and distracting them all from their violent tendencies. Before you know it, Suno has taken an aggressive and potentially dangerous situation into a situation where all the dogs just kind of lay down and take a nap not a short distance away from their previous enemy of five minutes ago. And then Suno just sits there with a warm knowing glow in his eye, observing the whole scene and approving of his peacemaking work. It is uncanny.

i am impressed.

So I have a dog. or he has me, i'm not sure which one.

8 minutes

quick post.
i have 8 minutes.
("we only got 4 minutes to save the world")

oh dear, did i just quote a madonna and justin timberlake song? which probably neither of them even wrote. haha.

anyhow.
pop culture references aside.
i am in fine form today. not so much. headachey, hot, and grumpy. that is my condition.
i am enjoying the fan in this internet cafe though, it is attempting some semblance of "cool".
the course continues on. its good.

mmmmm.... what else.
i am amazed at how each day looks so much like the last. doesn't matter where you are... in kamloops, or in some tropical paradise in south india... routine sets in.
:)
not that i am adverse to routine (ok, i am.) but it can get a bit boring when you are trying to write a blog.
haha.

the highlights of my day continue to be my morning yoga and swim. especially the swim part.
i would not be displeased if every morning of every day for the rest of my life, i could start it with a swim in a nice warm ocean. There is a swimming lane (i don't use it).... not a formal lane, per se, but when you sit and eat your breakfast and you watch, you see that there regulars who swim just a little ways off shore, parallel to the beach, all the way down and all the way back, every day. who knows how far it is that they swim, could be a long ways. this is the best way to do "laps". forget pools. the ocean super charges you with its ions and lifeforce. Surging and flowing over the whole planet, the worlds oceans carry the very essence of the source of life. A huge powerhouse of energy.

This morning i just went for a quick "dip", because yesterday i washed my hair.
"what does that have to do with it?" you ask? well, the salt water of the ocean is a natural anti-bacterial. Bathing daily in the ocean naturally cleans your body and purifies, no soap is needed. Your hair doesn't smell or anything.... you can go days. but yesterday... just for kicks, i had a proper shower and washed my hair with shampoo. it was all shiny and smooth, so i thought i'd keep it that way for a couple of days.
one of the effects of salt water is that that it stays in your hair and so it makes your hair look a little dull. but what do i care? i am not trying to impress anyone here. As long as i am clean and smell good, i'm happy. hahaha.
(many of you know this is true :) (a true hippy at heart hey).

well,
all,
sending yoiu all my love
gotta run,
8 minutes is up.
love
ang

raving

hi ho all!
i'm still here.
our training started yesterday, and it is going fabulously so far. so i'm glad we went through all the trouble to come this far south to take it. for those of you who are interested and haven't checked it out yet... its the real deal,... and the "easy" way, the effective way, the way that works (don't i sound like a preacher, haha)
go to www.balancedview.com and just start listening to the downloads. start with the basics for beginners (probably under media) or introductory training, and just take a listen. put it on your ipod and listen to it before you go to bed. its good for making you fall asleep, haha. see if it speaks to you at all. its just about taking short moments of awareness or clarity, throughout your day, whenever you remember to, repeated many time, becomes continuous. so simple, but this is the practice and through doing just this, we can come to rely on the power of our own natural clarity to find stability, satisfaction and relief in life from all the crazy ups and downs. It is based on the teachings of the ancient tibetans, but it has been modernized by the founder: candice o'denver, who started this non-porfit organization to share the teaching.
I am finding that it is helping my life to become so much easier and pleasurable.
You know those mornings when you wake up and all the things you need to do, all the things that are going on in your life, come crashing into your mind when you first wake up and become aware? and then sometimes you feel good, depending on what is happening, and sometimes you feel bad, sometimes really bad, stressed, anxious, tense or perhaps depressed, or angry, as you remember all these things going on in your life ... well by using this teaching, i am finding that my feeling of wellbeing or happiness is not dependent on the circumstances or things that are going on or not going on in my life, whatever the case may be.
I used to wake up some mornings... feeling naturally good for a second, a split second, before all the things i needed to think about came crashing into my mind, like uninvited party crashers, and then the wheels would begin to turn "oh, what am i going to do about this? what am i going to do about that? how to fix this problem? oh, it is such a big problem. How did i get here?" and on and on. constant tension. Unless i woke up with favourable points of view, maybe i just got that job that i had been wanting, wanting, trying for for so long, and i got it, and so i wake up and the first thought in my mind is like "oh good, i got that job, oh i feel good about myself, i did it, i accomplished something, i am so good" like that. but then that feeling of wellbeing never lasts. the job goes stale, or the relationship goes stale or loses its spark, or that new car you are so excited about got a dent or lost that new car smell.... the good feelings pass too, and then we are looking for the next fix, the next thing that can bring us a sense of wellbeing and calm and happiness. so life is this constant roller coaster, up, down, all around. with relying on clarity or your own natural awareness, for short moments whenever you remember to, until it becomes automatic.... this ability to rely on clarity soon becomes the basis of your wellbeing. So for me, i can take a short moment when i wake up, acknowledge my own perfect awareness just for a moment, it feels like just relaxing, taking a short time out, just for a second stop the thinking and rest. hmmmm
i am going on and on about this here.
i am already starting to notice changes in my state of being. They say you can start by just taking short moments, or listening to downloads, or both and let the practice slowly gradually build, and naturally your confidence will build.
I was first introduced to it 2 years ago when i was in india and i was like.. ya, this is cool, but i don't really get it. i told mom about it and then pretty much just forgot about it, until she started to really pick up the practice last year. and they have tons of media and tele-conferences and stuff online, so you can access it from anywhere in the world. so she was doing that. so i picked it up again, and now we have come all the way to goa to visit the centre they just built here (all volunteer driven and open financial contribution funded by participants who received value from the trainings). and this time, going through the course, is really sinking in for me.

so i wanted to share.
that is what is going on. hee hee.

so if all that totally doesn't interest you...
this is what else is going on....
we are still staying in the same place, eating the same food (haha). walking the same red dusty pathways from the beach to the "town", which consists of just one paved street with shops along each side that meanders along until it just peters out at the end of the trail. This is the northern-most beach and community in the state of goa, so this really is the end of the trail here. it is kinda funny to see the road go and go, and it just gets smaller and smaller and quieter and quieter until finally it just turns into a dirt footpath between buildings and empties out onto the beach.
haha.
the dirt here is red, so it gets on everything. my feet have turned a permanent dark red colour, as have everyone elses here. we remove sandals when going into internet cafes or someplaces where you eat and sit, so you get to see that everyone's feet are the same. everywhere you go. its kind of funny.

the parties continue at night. i only have been out dancing one time, for like 15 minutes, then their power went out so i went home to bed. :)
two bars over from us was reggae night last night, so i put my earplugs in and drifted off to dreamyland. sometimes it keeps us awake at night, but we are far too lazy to move houses at this point. we are just gonna stick it out.
it is only 2 more weeks until we leave. mom goes home and me, back up to rishikesh.
i don't fly home until april 5. so i have a bit more time in the motherland.

ok well,
wishing everyone well.
and much love!!
ang

the circus is town

well, to be perfectly honest about it... i'm starting to get tired of the weirdos. I know that is just a point of view but...
Rob, you would think it was a circus here. i've seen it all, and all on one beach, often in the same day, or the same hour: a guy doing lunges.... all the way down to the waters edge, another one does cartwheels and handstands all the way down to the water's edge (ok, i admit, that was me) . another guy does "sun" yoga everyday, where it looks like he is doing some kind of weird voodoo to harness sun energy in his body, lets just say its weird and leave it at that (and my tolerance or definition for weird is waaaay loose). there are hoola hoopers, fire twirlers, drummers, people tattood head to toe, women wearing thongs.... men wearing thongs, people with something against tanlines, wearing as little as humanly possible, jugglers, tai chi-ers, then there is the gawkers, the topless bathers, the dancers, the saxophone player, the human mandala drawer, people in various stages of undress, or dress, crazy clothes, crazy hair, crazy tattoos, ( mentioned that already) .... My fire twirling, knife throwing circus performer brother Jack would be right at home here. haha

everybody's got a trip here. its almost to see who can outdo themselves being the most creative, the most bizarre, the most "out there" that they can be, just for the sake of "expressing" themselves, and proving that there are no rules or limits, and this seems to be the purpose of their existence.
ya, so that is getting boring. but that is just my point of view of today.
how are you?

So we have 2 days off between courses, then we start another 12 days course. Its not that it is such a rigorous schedule or anything, but in the morning I have to get up, yoga, swim and breakfast and be at the centre by 10:30 on the dot. And we have a two hour lunch break but that is spent on eating and homework assignments. We finish around 5pm and so then its dinner and internet and pretty much bedtime. So its a busy - full day.... by indian standards. ha ha.

Its still a little surreal to me when... on our two hour lunch break, i can leave town and saunter down to the beach, strip down to my bathing suit and walk into the ocean. its so hot, this is a welcome respite in the middle of the day. It doesn't escape me that i spend my lunchbreak in paradise. some school. haha. if school was actually like this... i might have enjoyed it a bit more. haha. seafood salads and swims at lunch..... on the other hand... if i had grown up in hawaii or someplace like that... it would have been difficult to keep me in school, I would have been out surfing.

Wish i had a board here. it is perfect beginner waves on a beach break.

anyhow.
that's all the whining from me.
hope the hill is getting lots of snow for you skiers and boarders out there. Rip it up for me, would ya?

thanks!
peace, from Goa (aka: hippie land)

no new news

hello armchair travellers....
well, i am back to full power after my little "episode" with the prawns and all. haha.
this will be a very short entry because apparently this keyboard is VERY sticky and the cafe is full so there is no changing to another.

the course we are in goes well. all is well. no more mice or other pests (although i'm sure mom thinks i'm a pest sometimes. haha)

it is very hot.
yoga is good, swimming is good.
oh, what a boring blog!!

hmmm,
ya,
i will write again when the keyboard isnot so frusterating.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
love
ang

a bad prawn

Hello good morning all!
Just having a few minutes before my course starts this morning. The Great Freedom - Balanced View course (www.greatfreedom.org) with my mom. already, it is so good.
it is going to do wonders for hers and my relationship, i can tell. plus probably all my other relationships too. wink wink. we will see....

So... i am day 3 of recovering from... yeah, ok, i have to admit... it was food poisoning. different from just funny water... this was food born for sure. I ate a bad prawn. (did i tell you all this already?? don't think i did ) anyhow. So ya. went to the chinese restaurant for lunch (i know, what was i thinking??) and had the garlic chili prawn noodle stirfry. hmmm. That was 2 days ago. .... sicker than a dog that day, yesterday i was at about half power only, and today i am back to full power. Pretty amazing, really, considering how violently my body was dispelling the offending substance, that i have recovered so completely so quickly. hahaha.
aaaahhhh, adventures in paradise.

but hey, you know, i've had food poisoning in canada, lots of times..... an undercooked pork chop (i was the bbq-er, hahahaha, my fault), some potato salad in the summer....you know mayonnaise can kill you? haha.
more laughter.

aaah, its all fun and games.
anyhow.
i am fine. Feel great. back to my yoga and swim this morning and feel wonderful. The body is amazing how it cleanses, purifies and heals and rebalances itself. wow.

My swim this morning was a little extra special. there was a bit of a nip in the air... because i was out a little earlier than usual. and so after yoga when i stripped down to swim, it was a little chilly, so then the water.... oh my god, was so warm! it was like a nice bath. i slipped in and didn't want to get back out it was so nice and warm in there. mmmm.
i don't know if the sea was just extra warm today (i don't know why or how it could be) or if the morning was just a little extra cold by comparison. probably the latter.

anyhow.
all is well in paradise.
lots of love to you all,
and missing you.
ang

magical morning

There is a bit of magic in the air today. The sea was the same colour as the sky this morning and you couldn't see the line where the sea and sky meet. The horizon was gone. Boats in the air. I love it when this happens. It leaves you with a feeling of spaciousness, like... you are not seperate from all of the cosmos.
And then...as if that wasn't enough......my morning swim was accommpanied by live saxophone music! Someone was out there early, standing on the beach, playing beautiful music with their sax and when i swam, it carried over the water to my ears. Very surreal. And then, as if THAT wasn't enough... there were dolphins while I ate my breakfast! Dolphins, jumping in the ocean! wow! i feel so spoiled/blessed/lucky/grateful.

helloo

Ok, i’m back to writing on the beach on my own computer, and then pen driving it to the internet cafe. I have to start cutting some money corners here. Haha. And being on the internet for 2 hours a day is not helping my pocket book.\
Also its nice, on our front porch, to watch the sunset while i type,
Haha.
Well, so, another blissful day in paradise. I’m sure you’re all getting tired of hearing that.
I suppose i do have an interesting story to tell you from the night before last.... hmmmm, where to begin? Well, its not gonna be a good story for some of you... but here goes: i was in my bed the other night, right (lol).... and my bed is surrounded by a mosquito net that is tucked in on all sides. Now this particular night i had woken up at 1am, thinking it was just before dawn, for some reason, i didn’t bother to check a clock or anything, i just got up and came outside and laid down on my back to watch the stars... i put on my hoody cause it was kind of cold and i was just laying there, enjoying the view, and waiting for the sun to come up. Except the sun didn’t come up, and suddenly the thought occurred to me... maybe i oughta really check the time, right? And so i got up and looked... haha, its only 1am, so i went back to bed. I wore my hoody. I fell asleep. Next thing i know, there is a tickle in my sleeve. You know the feeling like when there is a spider on your skin? Well, this sensation sort of woke me up and then i just sort of ignored it and was just starting to drift off again when again, i felt it. This time it was definitely something walking across my feet on top of my covers! More like ....skittering across. Oh god! What is it this time? I’ve had crabs on my tent in costa rica.... scorpions on my pillow in the Nicaraguan Bay Islands.... I just couldn’t, didn’t want to imagine, what i was up against here. But since i am enclosed INSIDE this mosquito net with whatever it is, I am pretty eager to find out what IT is. I jump up, i flick the light on and i just stand there.... watching. Mom sleeps on....
Finally i see a little twitch or flicker of my mosquito net in the one corner, so i move the chair away from the bed, and as i do this is see..... a tail disappearing under the mattress. Oh god again. I’m thinking maybe its just a gecko (baby lizard, no biggy). But i still don’t want to sleep with it. Lol. So i gingerly remove all my blankets and pillows from inside. I don’t want what ever it is, making a run for it and getting tangled up in my blankets. Ugh. And then i look, and he peeks back at me.... its a small cute mouse, looking more disconcerted and panicky than i feel.
How’re we gonna get you out of there little guy? I start to untuck the netting out from under the mattress all around, to give him a chance to escape. No, he is scared and running away from me, deeper into the netting and then finally UP the inside of the netting up to the top and now he is staring down at me as he stands on top of the bambook crossbars that spread the net apart at the top. I shake it and i shake it and he holds on for dear life. Mom sleeps on even after i start talking to the little guy, thinking maybe he will listen if i tell him what to do. Hahaha.
Finally he falls down onto the bed again and tries to bury under the mattress again and make himself invisible. He buries his head and just hopes i’ll go away. He is closer to the opening in the net now, and so... i figure with a brave flick of my hand i can send him airborn towards the opening. IT WORKS! The little bugger is now on his feet and flying along the floor and up the nearest wall and out of the hut.
Phew! We both exclaim with relief. That was a close one.
I figured that he must have either been inside my hoody when i put it on, or climbed inside when i was laying on my back watching the stars outside, because the mosquito net is sealed on all sides, apparently it serves to keep out more than just the mosquitos eh. Sheesh. The mosquitos are kind of a joke anyways. Each dawn and each dusk, it seems like there are exactly 4 mosquitos that come out for about ... 10 minutes, fly around lackadaisically and then disappear. They don’t seem particularily hungry or driven to bite, although they do, i have been bitten. But they are not thick and ferocious and relentless the way they are in Canada when you are camping in the summer. Kamloops is great rrfor that, we don’t have so many mosquitoes ya.
It is sunset and everyone is making there sunset pilgrimage from one location to another. The beach becomes a highway as people move from one location to another along the beach, using it as a road.
The crowds have dropped off, now that new years is over. It is nice, a little strange to be so quiet, but i’m not complaining.
Well, there goes the sun, not much of a sunset tonight, other than the sun itself turning bright bright red. As it likes to do in Asian countries. The rest of the sky stays a muted grey as the world loses colour until tomorrow.
Hope all had a happy new year. Love, peace.