Friday, July 15. Do or die day for the Vipassana retreat. In full rain gear I walk to the chai shop next to the Vipassana center. Song Mi is there with her friend who is going into the 10 day course. They share a farewell meal together and I stopped to join them for a bit. Later when they get well through the waiting list my number is called. So I picked up my entry ticket and went to retrieve my pack. Said goodbye to Daniel and Yoli as they would most likely be moving on before the end of the course.
I check in at 6 pm. Fill out forms, stow your valuables and leave 200 rupee deposit for laundry (5rps per piece of laundry. At least it's a cheap place to have laundry done!).Got my sheets, found my bed, made it and then went off to dinner. Basic Indian food:Rice, curry veggie, dal and chai.
There about 90 students, a even split between male and female. Additionally there is the head male teacher, a head female teacher, 1 monk, 3 nuns and a handful of Dharma workers voluteering there time. At 7pm we are given an introductory meeting and at 8pm is our first meditation. Noble Silence has taken effect so no more talking for the next 10 days with the exception of questions for the teacher or management.The meditation starts with a 1/2 hour video of S.N. Goenka, founder of the Vipassana Meditation Centers, explaining what the course is and isn't and what we are getting into.
Then he introduces the stundents to the Anapanna meditation technique. In short, awareness of breath with particular focus on the sensations in the area of the upper lip and nose. We worked on that for about 30 minutes, then I brushed my teeth and layed down in a very uncomfortable cot for the night. Or at least some of it, until our early wake bell.
For the record here is the schedule:
4am Morning Bell
4:30-6:30 Hall Meditation
6:30-8 Breakfast (typically an oatmeal/porridge thing with chai.)
8-9am Group Meditation
9-11am Hall Meditation
11-12 Lunch (Our main meal)
12-1pm Rest/interviews with teacher
1-2:30pm Hall Meditation
2:30-3:30 Group Meditation
3:30-5pm Hall Meditation
5-6pm Tea Break (New students get puffed rice)
6-7pm Group Meditation
7-8:30 Teacher's Discourse (Geonka video)
8:30-9pm Group Meaditation
9-9:30 Question the teacher/Retire
There is ~5 minutes to walk/stretch/piss between meditations. Besides shit and shower, that is all you do. In many ways it is stricter than prison!
Vipassana Day I
Fell asleep around 1am. Up at 4am. The first day we just practice Anapanna. A bit uncomfortable sitting all those hours, but I'm sure we will all get used to it.
Vipassana Day II
Tossed and turned again last night. Finally fell asleep ~2am. All day we continue with the Anapanna. Really didn't feel tired although I was a little bored. I have been practicing Anapanna for about two years now so I'm anxious to move onto something new.
Vipassana Day III
All Anapanna, All Day, Again!! Now I'm really not concentrated and I start to wonder about this course. Another distraction is the fact that all the meditations start with a tape Goenka chanting in Pali/Hindu. It's supposed to open the chakras, but it's just kind of annoying to me, especially the way he trails off each line sounding like a sputtering geiger counter. Then he gives a long set of instructions in Hindu and wraps it off with about 10 seconds of instructions in English. Very difficult to concentrate through all of that. One bright spot though is that we learn that tomorrow we actually will begin the Vipassana Technique!
Vipassana Day IV
I awake very excited to start the new technique, but at first light we discover that we will have to wait until 3pm to begin. So I work through the Anapanna for a few more hours and then we are taught Vipassana Technique. With complete equanimity we observe our bodily sensations with a calm mind. Do not desire for pleasant sensations. Do not have aversion towards the unpleasant sensations. Scan the whole body, head to toe, but don't get stuck on the gross sensations. The idea is to discover your more and more subtle sensations which the unconcious mind is constantly aware of, but that the concious mind never realizes.
Buddha's theory and unique gift to the world is that we don't actually react directly to our thoughts and ideas as most people assume. In fact, out thoughts, ideas, feelings create hither-to unknown subtle physical sensations which is what we actually react to without even knowing the process is happening. Unfortunately, these sensations and the way we react unconciously are totally based on past experience. Conditioned experience. Deluded experience and reactions, since they aren't based on the current reality.
So by meditating on these sensations with equanimity, understanding their impermanance (Anicca) as well as their insubstantability we stop supplying the current sensations with fuel. Like someone knocking on your door, if you don't pay them attention they will evertually pass away as all things do. This makes way for older stores of sensations to arise. Again through the meditation we starve them and they burn themselves out.
Eventually, working on more and more subtle sensations we develop true wisdom (Panna) through directly experiencing the only reality we can truly know: our mind/body field. One can stop reacting blindly and cleanse themselves of the their mental defilements.
Vipassana Day V
Happy to practice now, I work hard although the unpleasant gross sensations (Back & Knees) are certainly a challenge. Particularly since during the 3 seperate one hour group meditations we are supposed to maintain our pose without any movement. But by remaining equanimious, their impermenance is realized and I can feel them abating. Satisfied with my progress I go to bed, but there is a strange churning in my stomach which isn't quite right.
Vipassana Day VI
I'm definately sick! It turns out to be a day from Hell! I woke with diahreah, headache and a fever. Up until now the lack of sleep hasn't really affected me, but now I know it's going to come back to haunt me. To stay close to the toilet I take the morning meditation in bed. Skipped eating breakfast and rested. Cold and suffering from chills I wear felt gloves, my hoody pulled over my head and a blanket wrapped around me for the group sitting, but still experience prolonged shivering. I'm truly miserable, but trying my best to remain equanimous! Skipped lunch and rested some more. Tried to take another meditation in bed, but the young Indian Dharma worker told me I must go to the meditation hall or I would be kicked out of the course. What Compassion!?! Now I'm carrying around a water proof stuff sack in case I vomit too. Spent the rest of the day alternating between sweats and chills with absolutely no concentration. Skipped dinner (no food today). Who needs puffed rice anyway. Now I'm suffering from dizziness and all my muscles ache from the shivering. I wonder if I can hang on?? Through the last meditations and the discourse I mostly debate what to do. Going to bed I decide that if I'm not considerably better in the morning I'll be unable to continue and leave the course.
Vipassana Day VII
Luckily I fell asleep right away last night only waking once to a bathroom trip. The sleep helped alot. I still feel I have little control and something could escape out either end at any time. But the fever has broken and my muscles seem to have recovered. Making sure to go to the bathroom right before each meditation I'm actually able to work well. All in all not a bad day. I'm even maintaining my pose for the whole hour, more or less. We go to sleep listening to fireworks going off over Dharamcot.
Vipassana Day VIII
I've stopped carrying my vomit bag, but I'm still having diahreah although it seems to be under control. It's really funny to watch all the students on break. So starved for entertainment you can watch people constantly staring at lady bugs, slugs, mushrooms, anything of even the slightest interest. My gross senssations are completely gone yet, but with a quick equanimious observation they melt away quickly. Took some food today. Getting a little wary of the intense schedule.
Vipassana Day IX
Still have mild stomach problems. I work, but I'm definately quite bored and my concentration and effort suffer for it. It's been a rough time for me and now that I know the technique I just want to go practice on my own without the rigors of the course.
Vipassana Day X
Today things change up a bit. In the morning, to give a little something back we are taught Metta Bhavana. Meditation sending out compassion and Love and general good will. And after that Noble Silence is lifted. It's strange to talk again. Finally get to say hello to my roomate, Diego (Portagul). Small groups of the students now congregate in the common areas. Mostly grouped by their repsective languages. After introductions we all discuss our experiences right through a rather loud lunch. Had a nice conversation with Chris (VT) and we had similar takes on the course. At 1pm we were interupted from our orating orgy to watch the movie "Doing Time, Doing Vipassana (may be available in the US). Afterwards more meditation, more talking, dinner, more meditation, discourse and more talking right until lights out at 10pm.
Vipassana Day XI
Independance Day. Up at 4am for a meditation followed by breakfast. Our last deed is to help clean up. I get kitchen duty. To the belly of the beast that bit me. After about an hour I was furlowed. With the sweet smell of freedom on my now highly sensitized nostrils I took a deep breath and made the short walk back to the Shanti house to secure a room. Shortly thereafter I was enjoying a real breakfast once again at The Sunflower Cafe. Around 9am I met Ofer (Israeli with an American accent), from the retreat, at the Trek & Dine. There we savored all the delicacies we were denied over the past 10 days. Enjoying food, sipping cokes, smoking, playing backgammon, talking surf and we even watched "The Last Samuri" finally calling it a night at 1am.
My Critique on Goenka's Vipassana Course
Ok. Right off the bat let me say that I really like the Vipassana Technique. I think it makes complete sense and works with practice. However, with regard to the Goenka Course, I think that it is seriously flawed.
It's meant to be an introductory course, but it feels like a Masters course. The length and the intensity is couterproductive. Buddha taught the Vipassana as a Universal technique for the benefit of all. Additionally he taught a person in a few minutes and then set them about to practice on their own. I don't ever recall reading an instance when Buddha taught on the condition that the student live and practice as a monk for 10 days.
The technique is actually very simple. It isn't as much learned as it is practiced. Years, decades, lifetimes of practice. Unless you are already on the karmic cusp of Buddhahood 10 days will not bring enlightentment.
In fact, I believe the intensity is harmful. First; only the strong willed and determined will succesfully work thru the course. Conversly, the weaker minds who have the most need and the most to be gained are left out in the cold. Not true Dhamma! Also there is the burnout factor which helps breed a certain amount of disdain. Secondly; Vipassana should reach or at least be accessible to everyone. Ten days is very time prohibative for MOST everyday people.
In addition to aforementioned distracting audio tapes, the video discourses talk a little about how the course is not sectarian, a rite or a ritual. They do however want you to practice 2 hours everyday, do 1 ten day retreat every year, and oh yeah: if you haven't completed the course you are not welcome to meditate at their meditation hall. The Orwellian Doublespeak can not camoflouge the apparent sectarian rituals.
So I really don't believe a person would need more than some coaching from another who knows the technique to effectively practice Vipassana. And once again let me reiteriate that I like the technique. Just not the course. But Hell, some people even really enjoy the course. To each his own.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Dharmasala, Mcleod Ganj or Dharamcot????
So I stalked the American girls from the bus to the hotel where they had reserved a room. I, of course, hadn't reserved anything so the first thing to do is find a room. None available at their hotel and since it's the Dalai Lama's Birthday I am a little concerned with general vacancy in the town. Figuring I'd take the lesser road traveled, I continue climbing a mountain road up and away from the girl's hotel. May be nothing up there at all, but if there is there is a much better chance of securing a vacant room.
After a while things looked very bleek and I was just turning around when I met Vinoed. A young man of twenty-one who said he had a room available. It's just 1 km further. I'm a little dubious of the offer, especially since it requires a further steep ascent in the thin mountain air lugging my backpack. But I go with it and after 2km we arrive. Vinoed shows me a decent enough room with a shared outdoor bathroom and shower and small kitchen in which the guests constantly serve up various teas and Chais. I agree to stay at the Shanti Guest House for $2/day and after finding a bit of a short cut into Mcleod Ganj I decide that it really is a nice place to stay. Its quiet peace is a welcome respite from the horns and bustle of "normal India". The time passes easily here sitting on the terrace staring out at the lush green mountains which attract clouds like magnets to iron filings that flow into or creep over the mountains with remarkable speed.
Dharamcot is the name of the village and you would never guess what nationality dominates the landscape here. Indian? No. Tibetan? Lots of them, but No again. Israelis? Ding,ding,ding, we have a winner!! It's more Israeli here than in Israel. That's there assesment, not mine. Apparently most Israelis like to travel once they get out of the army (3yrs) and India is the most popular destination. Due to the low cost of living it makes it easy to live simply and happily for extended periods of time. In addition to Dharamcot I'm told they are taking over Manali and Leh also!
The family and the guests are all very nice. The guests include 6 Israelis and 1 Korean. After talk and Chai I went down to one of the numerous restaraunts which offer a full array of worldly dishes. Then had dinner and a movie. Pizza and Swordfish (the movie). There was slight rain today, the monsoon is on its way!
The next morning I took a walk down a steep path to Mcleod to explore its offerings. Took a stroll down "Temple Road" and took my turn spinning the 100 Tibetan Mani (prayer) wheels. Spun my way to the temple and after a thorough pat down I was in the temple courtyard poised to watch His Holiness, the Dalai Lama pass through.A veggie burger and a Dosa (Indian crepe with spicy dip and soup) for lunch fueled my tank nicely. I began the climb back to the guest house when a Bikshuni (nun) asked me to deliver a note to the Tushita retreat office on my way. Tibetan monks seem very relaxed in their merlot colored robes. I thought it an odd site when I noticed one wearing an expensive looking gold watch (probably fake) and talking on his cell phone! I wonder who he was talking too. I hope it wasn't a girl friend:)
In the morning I went to where I'd wind up eating most of my breakfasts, The Sunflower Cafe. Lovely Rita and her little helper, Mantoo serve up a mean omelette sandwich. Fellow guests Song Mi and Atun took a richshaw down to Mcleod while Amos and I hoofed it down in the rain. Which quickly brought to my attention that my waterproof boots were in fact not waterproof at all! We entered the temple where they were having performances of song and dance in honor of His Holiess. We saw a couple of acts and then it ended. Rejoining with Song Mi we decided to get some food, but our timing was poor. The eateries were all packed or closed for HH's birthday. After a hour of walking in the rain we finally got into a Korean restaurant where Song Mi ordered us in her native tongue sushi and two other delicious dinners which we all shared. Spent the evening playing a popular card game with the Israelis called Wist.
No rain in the morning which afforded us the opportunity to learn yoga from Song Mi. Gill, who does about 4 hours of yoga a day even set up a hanging belt in her room. It's nice to hang and stretch out the back for a swift 10 minutes that flies by. In the afternoon I took a short hike alone to check out some waterfalls created earlier by falling water:)
Another session of yoga in the morning and off to a late breakfast. I had forgotten that Gill offered to make us lunch and so within an hour of finishing breakfast I was enjoying a fine salad and a very tasty dish whose name escaped me (veggies, cheese, egg and sauch pie thingy).
It's Sunday and Shanti, it's his house, has offered to make us all dinner. So we make it three days in a row of yoga, which really does make you feel good, and spend a lazy day working up our appetites. A tasty classic Indian meal of rice, dal (sauce), aloo (potato), goopy (cauliflower) and bread was enjoyed by all. Followed by our contribution, a local famous dessert called Bhagsu cake which can only be procured in the neighboring village of Bhagsu. With evening faded away to the sounds of Yoli and Jonathon playing Metallica, G&R and various Israeli songs.
We take a rest from yoga today. I help Enzo, a German guest, by speaking to his credit card company for him. His goods were stolen on a bus and since his English isn't strong I provide some translation. Afterwards I take a seat at the Trek & Dine restaurant where I will be spending much of time in the near future. There I'm cornered by Omar who is desperete to talk to someone in English, not Hebrew! It's tough being a minority! During the afternoon I took another hike up towards Triund and Snowline which indeed does still have a snowline on it. I pass a tiny Hindu temple whose remoteness must make it a seldom visited place and wind up on a ridge which provides a wonderful view of the Dharmasala Valley opened wide before ones eyes. Unfortunately, the skys also opened up and caught unprepared, I headed back.
Today I signed up for the 10 day Vipassana meditation retreat. I'm 52 on the waiting list, but I'm told I still have a 70-80% chance of getting in because many people never show up. I'll have to wait and see.The next morning was spent lsitening to an exotic beauty, half Indian, half English who entertained us with her tales of her past lives always escaping some kind of oppression or another. Her Reiki powers and metamorphosous massage sound equally enticing. The most strenuous activity of the day is watching "Ray" (Charles) and good, but long movie.
In the morning we opted for the "End of the World" to recieve breakfast. They made some room for us as we removed our shoes and we filled our bellies while it rained cats and dogs outside. There I started reading a very ominous book on climate change, but quickly erased the gloom with card games and chai. That night we said goodbye to Amos who was headed home to pack up for a short work stint in Boston. That night I also beat Yoli at chess a couple of times followed by cards with a guy who told us to call him either Moses or Dr. Evil! Go figure! Enzo got his replacement credit card today and I go to bed wondering if tomorrow I'll be in Vipassana??
After a while things looked very bleek and I was just turning around when I met Vinoed. A young man of twenty-one who said he had a room available. It's just 1 km further. I'm a little dubious of the offer, especially since it requires a further steep ascent in the thin mountain air lugging my backpack. But I go with it and after 2km we arrive. Vinoed shows me a decent enough room with a shared outdoor bathroom and shower and small kitchen in which the guests constantly serve up various teas and Chais. I agree to stay at the Shanti Guest House for $2/day and after finding a bit of a short cut into Mcleod Ganj I decide that it really is a nice place to stay. Its quiet peace is a welcome respite from the horns and bustle of "normal India". The time passes easily here sitting on the terrace staring out at the lush green mountains which attract clouds like magnets to iron filings that flow into or creep over the mountains with remarkable speed.
Dharamcot is the name of the village and you would never guess what nationality dominates the landscape here. Indian? No. Tibetan? Lots of them, but No again. Israelis? Ding,ding,ding, we have a winner!! It's more Israeli here than in Israel. That's there assesment, not mine. Apparently most Israelis like to travel once they get out of the army (3yrs) and India is the most popular destination. Due to the low cost of living it makes it easy to live simply and happily for extended periods of time. In addition to Dharamcot I'm told they are taking over Manali and Leh also!
The family and the guests are all very nice. The guests include 6 Israelis and 1 Korean. After talk and Chai I went down to one of the numerous restaraunts which offer a full array of worldly dishes. Then had dinner and a movie. Pizza and Swordfish (the movie). There was slight rain today, the monsoon is on its way!
The next morning I took a walk down a steep path to Mcleod to explore its offerings. Took a stroll down "Temple Road" and took my turn spinning the 100 Tibetan Mani (prayer) wheels. Spun my way to the temple and after a thorough pat down I was in the temple courtyard poised to watch His Holiness, the Dalai Lama pass through.A veggie burger and a Dosa (Indian crepe with spicy dip and soup) for lunch fueled my tank nicely. I began the climb back to the guest house when a Bikshuni (nun) asked me to deliver a note to the Tushita retreat office on my way. Tibetan monks seem very relaxed in their merlot colored robes. I thought it an odd site when I noticed one wearing an expensive looking gold watch (probably fake) and talking on his cell phone! I wonder who he was talking too. I hope it wasn't a girl friend:)
In the morning I went to where I'd wind up eating most of my breakfasts, The Sunflower Cafe. Lovely Rita and her little helper, Mantoo serve up a mean omelette sandwich. Fellow guests Song Mi and Atun took a richshaw down to Mcleod while Amos and I hoofed it down in the rain. Which quickly brought to my attention that my waterproof boots were in fact not waterproof at all! We entered the temple where they were having performances of song and dance in honor of His Holiess. We saw a couple of acts and then it ended. Rejoining with Song Mi we decided to get some food, but our timing was poor. The eateries were all packed or closed for HH's birthday. After a hour of walking in the rain we finally got into a Korean restaurant where Song Mi ordered us in her native tongue sushi and two other delicious dinners which we all shared. Spent the evening playing a popular card game with the Israelis called Wist.
No rain in the morning which afforded us the opportunity to learn yoga from Song Mi. Gill, who does about 4 hours of yoga a day even set up a hanging belt in her room. It's nice to hang and stretch out the back for a swift 10 minutes that flies by. In the afternoon I took a short hike alone to check out some waterfalls created earlier by falling water:)
Another session of yoga in the morning and off to a late breakfast. I had forgotten that Gill offered to make us lunch and so within an hour of finishing breakfast I was enjoying a fine salad and a very tasty dish whose name escaped me (veggies, cheese, egg and sauch pie thingy).
It's Sunday and Shanti, it's his house, has offered to make us all dinner. So we make it three days in a row of yoga, which really does make you feel good, and spend a lazy day working up our appetites. A tasty classic Indian meal of rice, dal (sauce), aloo (potato), goopy (cauliflower) and bread was enjoyed by all. Followed by our contribution, a local famous dessert called Bhagsu cake which can only be procured in the neighboring village of Bhagsu. With evening faded away to the sounds of Yoli and Jonathon playing Metallica, G&R and various Israeli songs.
We take a rest from yoga today. I help Enzo, a German guest, by speaking to his credit card company for him. His goods were stolen on a bus and since his English isn't strong I provide some translation. Afterwards I take a seat at the Trek & Dine restaurant where I will be spending much of time in the near future. There I'm cornered by Omar who is desperete to talk to someone in English, not Hebrew! It's tough being a minority! During the afternoon I took another hike up towards Triund and Snowline which indeed does still have a snowline on it. I pass a tiny Hindu temple whose remoteness must make it a seldom visited place and wind up on a ridge which provides a wonderful view of the Dharmasala Valley opened wide before ones eyes. Unfortunately, the skys also opened up and caught unprepared, I headed back.
Today I signed up for the 10 day Vipassana meditation retreat. I'm 52 on the waiting list, but I'm told I still have a 70-80% chance of getting in because many people never show up. I'll have to wait and see.The next morning was spent lsitening to an exotic beauty, half Indian, half English who entertained us with her tales of her past lives always escaping some kind of oppression or another. Her Reiki powers and metamorphosous massage sound equally enticing. The most strenuous activity of the day is watching "Ray" (Charles) and good, but long movie.
In the morning we opted for the "End of the World" to recieve breakfast. They made some room for us as we removed our shoes and we filled our bellies while it rained cats and dogs outside. There I started reading a very ominous book on climate change, but quickly erased the gloom with card games and chai. That night we said goodbye to Amos who was headed home to pack up for a short work stint in Boston. That night I also beat Yoli at chess a couple of times followed by cards with a guy who told us to call him either Moses or Dr. Evil! Go figure! Enzo got his replacement credit card today and I go to bed wondering if tomorrow I'll be in Vipassana??
Monday, August 08, 2005
While sitting on the terrace one evening Daniel asked me if I would like to have children? I said no, but it's nice of him to offer! I actually said, "I'd like to, but don't want to." A little ambiguous. While in Vipassana one sleepless night I thought of this story which I think helps clarify my meaning.
Do Children Make You Uncomfortable??
Magnum Durex flips open his umbrella in a huff as he steps into the Manhattan cityscape bathed in a cool autumn drizzle. With a furrowed brow he walks to lunch contemplating his predicament. The marketplace is stagnant. As CEO the stockholders were looking to him to gain marketshare, but the meeting he just concluded with his advertising agency left much to be desired. He desperetely needed a new marketing angle.
As he approached the corner of 4th Ave and 42nd street his attention was caught by an easy target on which to vent a little steam.
Another "Doomsdayer" perched on this pilfered milk crate donned with signs prophesizing "The End is Near!!!" Magnum engages his silver tongue and yells out sarcastically to the tattered old man, "Gotta date for us?!?"
With a slight nod his calm cool stare preceeded his answer, "By 2599!"
"Oh really! I suppose Jesus told you this?"
"Sir, Jesus is no longer of this Earth and I speak only to the living."
Magnum thought for sure this guy was a Jesus freak. O.K.
"Then I guess God told you?!"
"I don't believe God Almighty wastes his breath on old homeless men like me. No sir, it was not God who told me this prophecy."
"Well then! Who was it that imparted this wisdom!?"
"It was a cripple."
"A Cripple, HA!! You're just another whacko like all the rest!!"
And with that Magnum Durex flung his umbrella around as he spun on his heels and blindly entered the crosswalk. From behind he heard, "That cripple was Stephen Hawkins."
Magnum recognized the name of arguably the worlds most intelligent man. Caught off gaurd, he once again spun around.
A blaring horn in the not far off distance prevented him from hearing the doomsdayers next words, but he didn't fail to notice a uniquely odd expression on his face. Had he spun another 90 degrees he certainly would not have failed to notice the uniquely horrified expression on the face of Metro bus 19's driver as he futilely locked up the brakes of the ten ton rolling transport. One second Magnum was standing in the crosswalk and the next, Puff, gone! Only to reappear prone ten yards down the boulevard. The smoke from the bus tires lending the effect of a grand magic trick gone awry.
Death was instant. As his disembodied spirit floated skyward Magnum felt a pang of ire well up. Not with regard to his death so much as his inability to respond to the living when the Doomsdayer got in the last word, "For some, the End is nearer than others."
The end was here, but as Magnum met his Creator his mind was preoccupied with the idea of such credible genius as Hawkins' prophesizing the End of the World. Without concern for the current circumstances he put the question to God."Did Stephen Hawkins predict the End of the World?"
(In a Jewish accent ala Mel Brooks or Woody Allen.)
God responds:"Vwell, yes and no. He did not predict the End of the World. He did produce population models that show within 600 years the Earth will be so over populated that every square foot of land will be covered by humans standing shoulder to shoulder. Additionally, if power is to be produced for all these humans, it will cause the Earth to glow red hot like the Sun!"
As Magnum pondered this, his deep concentration prevented him from noticing the almost imperceptible sensation of sinking.
It turned out that despite God's Jewish accent he is in fact a staunch Roman Catholic. As CEO of Durex Condoms, Magnum didn't stand the proverbial chance in Hell of entering Heaven.
So Magnum had eternity to agonize over two things mostly. The Paradox and the Irony.The paradox being the choice between not using contraceptions, thus escaping eternal damnation, but at the cost of creating Hell on Earth. Or, using contraception, thus sparing Earth, but damning oneself eternally?The irony being, well in Magnum's own words,"If I had only given that man a few more seconds, not only would I still be alive, but he would have given me on a shiny silver platter the idea for the market grabbing advertising campaign I was looking for so desperately!
To be or not to be, that is the question- Shakespeare
To breed or not to breed, another good question- DJ
Do Children Make You Uncomfortable??
Magnum Durex flips open his umbrella in a huff as he steps into the Manhattan cityscape bathed in a cool autumn drizzle. With a furrowed brow he walks to lunch contemplating his predicament. The marketplace is stagnant. As CEO the stockholders were looking to him to gain marketshare, but the meeting he just concluded with his advertising agency left much to be desired. He desperetely needed a new marketing angle.
As he approached the corner of 4th Ave and 42nd street his attention was caught by an easy target on which to vent a little steam.
Another "Doomsdayer" perched on this pilfered milk crate donned with signs prophesizing "The End is Near!!!" Magnum engages his silver tongue and yells out sarcastically to the tattered old man, "Gotta date for us?!?"
With a slight nod his calm cool stare preceeded his answer, "By 2599!"
"Oh really! I suppose Jesus told you this?"
"Sir, Jesus is no longer of this Earth and I speak only to the living."
Magnum thought for sure this guy was a Jesus freak. O.K.
"Then I guess God told you?!"
"I don't believe God Almighty wastes his breath on old homeless men like me. No sir, it was not God who told me this prophecy."
"Well then! Who was it that imparted this wisdom!?"
"It was a cripple."
"A Cripple, HA!! You're just another whacko like all the rest!!"
And with that Magnum Durex flung his umbrella around as he spun on his heels and blindly entered the crosswalk. From behind he heard, "That cripple was Stephen Hawkins."
Magnum recognized the name of arguably the worlds most intelligent man. Caught off gaurd, he once again spun around.
A blaring horn in the not far off distance prevented him from hearing the doomsdayers next words, but he didn't fail to notice a uniquely odd expression on his face. Had he spun another 90 degrees he certainly would not have failed to notice the uniquely horrified expression on the face of Metro bus 19's driver as he futilely locked up the brakes of the ten ton rolling transport. One second Magnum was standing in the crosswalk and the next, Puff, gone! Only to reappear prone ten yards down the boulevard. The smoke from the bus tires lending the effect of a grand magic trick gone awry.
Death was instant. As his disembodied spirit floated skyward Magnum felt a pang of ire well up. Not with regard to his death so much as his inability to respond to the living when the Doomsdayer got in the last word, "For some, the End is nearer than others."
The end was here, but as Magnum met his Creator his mind was preoccupied with the idea of such credible genius as Hawkins' prophesizing the End of the World. Without concern for the current circumstances he put the question to God."Did Stephen Hawkins predict the End of the World?"
(In a Jewish accent ala Mel Brooks or Woody Allen.)
God responds:"Vwell, yes and no. He did not predict the End of the World. He did produce population models that show within 600 years the Earth will be so over populated that every square foot of land will be covered by humans standing shoulder to shoulder. Additionally, if power is to be produced for all these humans, it will cause the Earth to glow red hot like the Sun!"
As Magnum pondered this, his deep concentration prevented him from noticing the almost imperceptible sensation of sinking.
It turned out that despite God's Jewish accent he is in fact a staunch Roman Catholic. As CEO of Durex Condoms, Magnum didn't stand the proverbial chance in Hell of entering Heaven.
So Magnum had eternity to agonize over two things mostly. The Paradox and the Irony.The paradox being the choice between not using contraceptions, thus escaping eternal damnation, but at the cost of creating Hell on Earth. Or, using contraception, thus sparing Earth, but damning oneself eternally?The irony being, well in Magnum's own words,"If I had only given that man a few more seconds, not only would I still be alive, but he would have given me on a shiny silver platter the idea for the market grabbing advertising campaign I was looking for so desperately!
To be or not to be, that is the question- Shakespeare
To breed or not to breed, another good question- DJ
Friday, July 29, 2005
Kashmir, India (Pakistan??)
So my first day excursion is a tour of Srinagar, home of Nageen Lake. Bashir, general manager of the houseboat, accompanies me and our driver and we begin by taking a peek at a large white-domed Mosk capable of holding 65,000 devotees.
A quick drive brought us to Shalimar Garden which was designed and built by the builder of the Taj Mahal for his wife. A similar garden named Nihalt was visited nearby as we strolled thru each garden.
Now Bashir is from a little village of Kashmir and their claim to fame are their Kashmir rugs. They have formed a corporation of rug families and they have an office here which if I'm interested Bashir would like to show me. Why not. "So that's how you make them, oh yes, very nice, stunning. How much!?!?" Good luck selling those $500 throw rugs. Gotta go! Thank you for the tour.
My next pleasure was the Golden Temple (Hindu-no gold!). They don't allow Muslims into the temple area so I climb a significant amount of steps alone and at the apex I'm greeted by a very small temple. It's about the size of a walkin closet. Eight or so Hindus at a time crambed in the tiny chamber aglow with flashing color lights, making offerings to a small round boulder which I suppose represents their diety. Outside I spent a few minutes trying to get close for pics to some interesting lizards which I later was told are very dangerous.
Drove around Old Town. Stopped at another Mosk and went inside to discover a huge area of prayer. Drove around New Town.
Zoomed in on the Old Castle, currently occupied by the Border Patrol Army. Which by the way has a huge presence around these parts. While entering into Kashmir on the bus I had to wonder what I was getting into. Apparently relations between India and Pakistan are good right now, but it's not the most relaxed atmosphere.
Interesting side note: three years ago, three tourists were kidnapped and killed. Before that they had a nice little tourist trade going, but then it crashed. So now things have calmed down and people are just starting to return. The result is that they were, at least to me, parionoid and overprotective. They barely let me out of their site. Kind of felt like house arrest with travel rights.
Anyway, I finished the evening like I would all my evenings there, with a nice vegetarian Indian dinner. Simple and delicious: rice, bean dish, curry veggie and Kashmir Tea.
Next morning after breakfast we're driving out 100km east for 3 hours to the Sonmarg Glacier Valley. After meeting my guide I meet my pony. Not the finest example of a horse, but they recomended it. We leave the majestic Sindh River behind us as we ascend towards the glacier. After a short trek (really I don't see the need for a pony) we arrived at the bottom of the glacier where some locals are riding wooden sleds down a hill of ice. The area is a base camp where you can stock up on things before heading on a trek or just sip on some tea with lunch.
Later Manzool and Bashir took me for a ride into town and a look at some property he would like to buy? Next they took me to a realator to talk business which I mostly meditated during and which concluded with the realators toking on their hooka. BTW- Marijuana grows like a weed here. Everywhere.
After dropping of a couple of hitching neighbors I figured this adventaurus jaunt through town was over, but I was wrong. Apparently it's Darien's and Ajaz's (from Dehli bus trip) birthday and they've invited us to join them. Wishing them Happy Birthdays we enjoyed birthday cake and juice. I spare Darien the age question, but find out that Ajaz is only 16. Everyone is very lively and having a great time. The females are all gathered together, young and old, beating drums and singing songs. Now they are dancing and they want me to dance, American Style. I respond that I'm really not much of a dancer and without American Music it's really quite impossible. They are rather playfully persistent however and eventually I relent to a little jumping around.
We are just cooling down from the dance when the dinner bell rings. On to the houseboat and a long thin table cloth is laid on the floor in an L configuration to accomadate all the guests. The woman and children are eating in the adjoining room. A beautiful young woman brings around a glistening water urn and collection bowl to cleanse our hands. The men all eat traditionally 4 to a large plate and all share. Darien and I have our own plates. She opts for utensils, I prefer the local custom of using your god given hands. And it's fun!
Next on the docket is a lazy Shikara ride on the lakes of Srinagar. At 11am Yacoob, my Shikara captain, loads me into the skiff and we are off. Yacoob paddles us, gliding silently while I snap pics of water lillies (Lotuses aren't in bloom yet), the floating gardens and fishermen. We reach the quiet calmness of Dal Lake and stop for a swim. The water is warm but seems considerably less buoyant. We are at 8000 ft. and you can feel it. While drying out we make our way to a small island. A small park with a floating restaurant and locals trying on Classic Kashmir Costume and taking pictures. Other Indian tourists start pulling up and as we are having lunch you can pick between three different indian stereos competing for the same sonic space. Quickly the din dies down and we nap in the boat for half an hour. After a cup of tea to wake up we make for the return trip. Half way back his paddle broke, but apparently he had a spare, so no worries. That night some curious boys who all seem to want to be doctors sat with me in the garden bombarding me with questions. The night is greeted with the muslim prayers broadcasted over PA's for the fifth and final time of the day.
The following morning we leave on another 100km drive destined for Pahalgam, home of the Lidder River Valley. Also home of the Holy (Hindu)Cave and also Yatra. A holiday where thousands will come on pligrimage to camp for two days and it starts tomorrow. This time no pony, I go it alone. Finally on my own, if only for 3 hours, I enjoy a nice hike along the river to the quieter areas. Boots off, roll up the pants, dip my feet into the cool clean Lidder River, lounging on smooth rock, soaking up rays cooled by the breeze and misting water element. Nice!
A short drive in the jeep brought us to a nice spot on the river for lunch. Taking in the scenery and food, I was pleasantly greeted by many little curious faces. A group of young school boys came by to bathe. After a quick dip and some frolicking they all got dressed and sat down to watch me eat. Quite amusing. I finished my food and started making faces to entertain them.
On the way home we got caught in some traffic due to a truck accident. I'm really suprised they don't have alot more!
My last two days at Nigeen Lake were pretty quiet. Nothing to do but relax, but on the last day I did see something pretty interesting. They were going to have a party for 500 the next day and I got to watch them preparing for the feast. Ten feet of fire, cooking large pots of food, cooks scurring to and fro, butchers trimming and mincing, and the spectacle of slaughtering 12 sheep!
Around 8am the next morning I was on a cramped mini bus saying goodbye to the Muslims and what is more or less actually Pakistan and I'm off to Jammu. My destination is Dharmasala but after 8hours my ass hurt I didn't feel like continuing on even if there was a bus then, which there wasn't. So I took cover for the night at the Ram Singh Hotel. A horrible place. The kind where you are afraid to touch anything!
Somehow thru all the confusion I managed to catch the bus in the morning to Pathankot passing thru Yud. A small Indian town renowned for it's sweets. Didn't try. From there transferred to the bus for Dharamsala which is where I figured I'd stay. But a Polish guy and two American girls said they were going to Mcleod Ganj. It's actually where the Dalai Lama resides and it happens to be his birthday in two days. What timing!
A quick drive brought us to Shalimar Garden which was designed and built by the builder of the Taj Mahal for his wife. A similar garden named Nihalt was visited nearby as we strolled thru each garden.
Now Bashir is from a little village of Kashmir and their claim to fame are their Kashmir rugs. They have formed a corporation of rug families and they have an office here which if I'm interested Bashir would like to show me. Why not. "So that's how you make them, oh yes, very nice, stunning. How much!?!?" Good luck selling those $500 throw rugs. Gotta go! Thank you for the tour.
My next pleasure was the Golden Temple (Hindu-no gold!). They don't allow Muslims into the temple area so I climb a significant amount of steps alone and at the apex I'm greeted by a very small temple. It's about the size of a walkin closet. Eight or so Hindus at a time crambed in the tiny chamber aglow with flashing color lights, making offerings to a small round boulder which I suppose represents their diety. Outside I spent a few minutes trying to get close for pics to some interesting lizards which I later was told are very dangerous.
Drove around Old Town. Stopped at another Mosk and went inside to discover a huge area of prayer. Drove around New Town.
Zoomed in on the Old Castle, currently occupied by the Border Patrol Army. Which by the way has a huge presence around these parts. While entering into Kashmir on the bus I had to wonder what I was getting into. Apparently relations between India and Pakistan are good right now, but it's not the most relaxed atmosphere.
Interesting side note: three years ago, three tourists were kidnapped and killed. Before that they had a nice little tourist trade going, but then it crashed. So now things have calmed down and people are just starting to return. The result is that they were, at least to me, parionoid and overprotective. They barely let me out of their site. Kind of felt like house arrest with travel rights.
Anyway, I finished the evening like I would all my evenings there, with a nice vegetarian Indian dinner. Simple and delicious: rice, bean dish, curry veggie and Kashmir Tea.
Next morning after breakfast we're driving out 100km east for 3 hours to the Sonmarg Glacier Valley. After meeting my guide I meet my pony. Not the finest example of a horse, but they recomended it. We leave the majestic Sindh River behind us as we ascend towards the glacier. After a short trek (really I don't see the need for a pony) we arrived at the bottom of the glacier where some locals are riding wooden sleds down a hill of ice. The area is a base camp where you can stock up on things before heading on a trek or just sip on some tea with lunch.
Later Manzool and Bashir took me for a ride into town and a look at some property he would like to buy? Next they took me to a realator to talk business which I mostly meditated during and which concluded with the realators toking on their hooka. BTW- Marijuana grows like a weed here. Everywhere.
After dropping of a couple of hitching neighbors I figured this adventaurus jaunt through town was over, but I was wrong. Apparently it's Darien's and Ajaz's (from Dehli bus trip) birthday and they've invited us to join them. Wishing them Happy Birthdays we enjoyed birthday cake and juice. I spare Darien the age question, but find out that Ajaz is only 16. Everyone is very lively and having a great time. The females are all gathered together, young and old, beating drums and singing songs. Now they are dancing and they want me to dance, American Style. I respond that I'm really not much of a dancer and without American Music it's really quite impossible. They are rather playfully persistent however and eventually I relent to a little jumping around.
We are just cooling down from the dance when the dinner bell rings. On to the houseboat and a long thin table cloth is laid on the floor in an L configuration to accomadate all the guests. The woman and children are eating in the adjoining room. A beautiful young woman brings around a glistening water urn and collection bowl to cleanse our hands. The men all eat traditionally 4 to a large plate and all share. Darien and I have our own plates. She opts for utensils, I prefer the local custom of using your god given hands. And it's fun!
Next on the docket is a lazy Shikara ride on the lakes of Srinagar. At 11am Yacoob, my Shikara captain, loads me into the skiff and we are off. Yacoob paddles us, gliding silently while I snap pics of water lillies (Lotuses aren't in bloom yet), the floating gardens and fishermen. We reach the quiet calmness of Dal Lake and stop for a swim. The water is warm but seems considerably less buoyant. We are at 8000 ft. and you can feel it. While drying out we make our way to a small island. A small park with a floating restaurant and locals trying on Classic Kashmir Costume and taking pictures. Other Indian tourists start pulling up and as we are having lunch you can pick between three different indian stereos competing for the same sonic space. Quickly the din dies down and we nap in the boat for half an hour. After a cup of tea to wake up we make for the return trip. Half way back his paddle broke, but apparently he had a spare, so no worries. That night some curious boys who all seem to want to be doctors sat with me in the garden bombarding me with questions. The night is greeted with the muslim prayers broadcasted over PA's for the fifth and final time of the day.
The following morning we leave on another 100km drive destined for Pahalgam, home of the Lidder River Valley. Also home of the Holy (Hindu)Cave and also Yatra. A holiday where thousands will come on pligrimage to camp for two days and it starts tomorrow. This time no pony, I go it alone. Finally on my own, if only for 3 hours, I enjoy a nice hike along the river to the quieter areas. Boots off, roll up the pants, dip my feet into the cool clean Lidder River, lounging on smooth rock, soaking up rays cooled by the breeze and misting water element. Nice!
A short drive in the jeep brought us to a nice spot on the river for lunch. Taking in the scenery and food, I was pleasantly greeted by many little curious faces. A group of young school boys came by to bathe. After a quick dip and some frolicking they all got dressed and sat down to watch me eat. Quite amusing. I finished my food and started making faces to entertain them.
On the way home we got caught in some traffic due to a truck accident. I'm really suprised they don't have alot more!
My last two days at Nigeen Lake were pretty quiet. Nothing to do but relax, but on the last day I did see something pretty interesting. They were going to have a party for 500 the next day and I got to watch them preparing for the feast. Ten feet of fire, cooking large pots of food, cooks scurring to and fro, butchers trimming and mincing, and the spectacle of slaughtering 12 sheep!
Around 8am the next morning I was on a cramped mini bus saying goodbye to the Muslims and what is more or less actually Pakistan and I'm off to Jammu. My destination is Dharmasala but after 8hours my ass hurt I didn't feel like continuing on even if there was a bus then, which there wasn't. So I took cover for the night at the Ram Singh Hotel. A horrible place. The kind where you are afraid to touch anything!
Somehow thru all the confusion I managed to catch the bus in the morning to Pathankot passing thru Yud. A small Indian town renowned for it's sweets. Didn't try. From there transferred to the bus for Dharamsala which is where I figured I'd stay. But a Polish guy and two American girls said they were going to Mcleod Ganj. It's actually where the Dalai Lama resides and it happens to be his birthday in two days. What timing!
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
India- the early days
I step out of the airconditioned airport into the thick Indian air. HOLY HOT PLATE! I think the literal translation of India is "A-Sauna!"A few days prior I learned that the temerature reached a record tying 46C (115F). Luckily today it's a mere 43C (109F)!!
On the suggestion of a stewardess I took a prepaid taxi from the Ghandi Airport to the Main Bazaar/Bus station. Next realization: if you think that driving in Italy is crazy you've never been to India!! The rules are as follows: __none_____________.In fact, I believe the only prerequisite for obtaining a driver's license is the ability to honk the horn. Which they do incessantly! No joke. They use there horns so much you'd think that the horn is what powers the car! Want to make a million bucks. Or 43 million Rupees? Invest heavily in automobile replacement horns! They probably have to replace them more often than petrol.
Somehow I made it alive to the Main Bazaar. Walked thru it a bit and found a place stay. No A/C, but a shower,toilet,tv, and one hell of a kicking ceiling fan.Went out for walk and quickly me Ravi, a "college student";) On alert for the scam I allowed him to walk with me. He told me about Dehli and suggested that I buy some of what they call "travel clothes", a traditional Indian cotton top and bottom so I would fit in. Yeah, OK. Like with the right clothes I'll blend right in here! And I'm not paying your boss 1000 rps for something I'm sure I could get for 400. Next he showed me an underground bizarre which was nice and cool.
But soon we were once again commenting on the extreme heat to which he suggested I spend as little time in Dehli as possible. I really couldn't agree more. I've only been here an hour and I'm ready to split this armpit. He offers to take me to a "Government Tourist Office". Well I'm now sure he's on a payroll, but I have got to get out of here somehow. On thing is for sure. Without prior experience or some well prepared research, navigating India is no easy task. The system is like nothing I've come across. That is if there is a system? I'm not quite sure yet. Even though English is pretty prevalent I feel much more lost here than anywhere in Europe.So at the travel agent I wound up agreeing to pay a much too big a chunk of cash to spend an "all inclusive" week on a houseboat in Kashmir, northern India. At that point I would have sold my soul to the devil for nothing more than an expedient trip straight to the somewhat more tolerable and temperate environment of Hell!!
Later that night I passed a guy spread eagle on his face who looked to be dead. This triggered a memory flash of the hospital when I noticed that in addition to the Emergency Room it had a "Casualty Room". This was possibly why. So I spent a sweltering night waiting for the morn of my escape....
They told me to be at the office at 11am so I was there at 10:15. It turns out that the bus doesn't leave until 12:30. At 12:30 me and the 3 Koreans making the trip with me are taken to the bus stop. Which actually leaves at 1pm! But Wait! Now we are stopping at another bus station to pick up more passengers and the bus really doesn't leave till 3pm! And when we ask what time the bus arrives all we get in reply is, "in the morning".
Well 27 hours later we arrived! Definately my longest, hairiest, scariest bus ride ever! All the roads are of course barely wide enough on each side for one vehicle. People constantly are passing so there is always someone gunning straight at you. And 80% of the vehicles are busses or mackin' trucks. I thought for sure once or twice we were in for it!
On the bus I had met Darien (Ireland) and her young Indian companion, Ajaz. He turns out to be a relative of the Magestic Houseboat owners where I am to stay. This is increbibly fortunate because he was able to guide me to my driver through a incredibly ravenous horde of guys looking for business. So, Manzool drove me in his little black Hyundai to the houseboat on Nigeen Lake, made me feel welcome and made me some delicious Kashmir tea.
I was thoroughly enjoying sipping on the tea and then the sales pitch came. Well yes, a 10-11 day trek in the Himalaya's sounds wonderful, but at $1350 it's a little (Lot)out of my budget, sorry.
I had just finished a nice breakfast of omellet, bread/butter,jam and tea when Manzool started selling again. If the big trek is too much we have smaller treks also. Still not buying. In the end I wind up agreeing again to a much too expensive package of four day trips in and around the area. The first of which starts this very same day. But my time is short so I'll leave it cliff hanger for now......
On the suggestion of a stewardess I took a prepaid taxi from the Ghandi Airport to the Main Bazaar/Bus station. Next realization: if you think that driving in Italy is crazy you've never been to India!! The rules are as follows: __none_____________.In fact, I believe the only prerequisite for obtaining a driver's license is the ability to honk the horn. Which they do incessantly! No joke. They use there horns so much you'd think that the horn is what powers the car! Want to make a million bucks. Or 43 million Rupees? Invest heavily in automobile replacement horns! They probably have to replace them more often than petrol.
Somehow I made it alive to the Main Bazaar. Walked thru it a bit and found a place stay. No A/C, but a shower,toilet,tv, and one hell of a kicking ceiling fan.Went out for walk and quickly me Ravi, a "college student";) On alert for the scam I allowed him to walk with me. He told me about Dehli and suggested that I buy some of what they call "travel clothes", a traditional Indian cotton top and bottom so I would fit in. Yeah, OK. Like with the right clothes I'll blend right in here! And I'm not paying your boss 1000 rps for something I'm sure I could get for 400. Next he showed me an underground bizarre which was nice and cool.
But soon we were once again commenting on the extreme heat to which he suggested I spend as little time in Dehli as possible. I really couldn't agree more. I've only been here an hour and I'm ready to split this armpit. He offers to take me to a "Government Tourist Office". Well I'm now sure he's on a payroll, but I have got to get out of here somehow. On thing is for sure. Without prior experience or some well prepared research, navigating India is no easy task. The system is like nothing I've come across. That is if there is a system? I'm not quite sure yet. Even though English is pretty prevalent I feel much more lost here than anywhere in Europe.So at the travel agent I wound up agreeing to pay a much too big a chunk of cash to spend an "all inclusive" week on a houseboat in Kashmir, northern India. At that point I would have sold my soul to the devil for nothing more than an expedient trip straight to the somewhat more tolerable and temperate environment of Hell!!
Later that night I passed a guy spread eagle on his face who looked to be dead. This triggered a memory flash of the hospital when I noticed that in addition to the Emergency Room it had a "Casualty Room". This was possibly why. So I spent a sweltering night waiting for the morn of my escape....
They told me to be at the office at 11am so I was there at 10:15. It turns out that the bus doesn't leave until 12:30. At 12:30 me and the 3 Koreans making the trip with me are taken to the bus stop. Which actually leaves at 1pm! But Wait! Now we are stopping at another bus station to pick up more passengers and the bus really doesn't leave till 3pm! And when we ask what time the bus arrives all we get in reply is, "in the morning".
Well 27 hours later we arrived! Definately my longest, hairiest, scariest bus ride ever! All the roads are of course barely wide enough on each side for one vehicle. People constantly are passing so there is always someone gunning straight at you. And 80% of the vehicles are busses or mackin' trucks. I thought for sure once or twice we were in for it!
On the bus I had met Darien (Ireland) and her young Indian companion, Ajaz. He turns out to be a relative of the Magestic Houseboat owners where I am to stay. This is increbibly fortunate because he was able to guide me to my driver through a incredibly ravenous horde of guys looking for business. So, Manzool drove me in his little black Hyundai to the houseboat on Nigeen Lake, made me feel welcome and made me some delicious Kashmir tea.
I was thoroughly enjoying sipping on the tea and then the sales pitch came. Well yes, a 10-11 day trek in the Himalaya's sounds wonderful, but at $1350 it's a little (Lot)out of my budget, sorry.
I had just finished a nice breakfast of omellet, bread/butter,jam and tea when Manzool started selling again. If the big trek is too much we have smaller treks also. Still not buying. In the end I wind up agreeing again to a much too expensive package of four day trips in and around the area. The first of which starts this very same day. But my time is short so I'll leave it cliff hanger for now......
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Leaving Germany
Slept thru my alarm, but only by twenty minutes. So I checked out of "The Tent" and caught the tram to the train station. German trains are extremely nice, they even have power outlets for laptops and such. They are also accordingly pricey, however travel tip #23 says book an eticket online three days in advance and it's about half price!! My ticket had me switching trains in Frankfurt, but the train I was already on is going directly there so I arrived in PLENTY of time. So I spent 1.5 hrs on the check-in line for Air India and then the agent tried to send me to Los Angeles!! Luckily I caught her mistake, but then she tells me that my flight has been delayed and that I must go to another counter to check-in. There I see that the delay is a mere 8.5hrs!!! I guess we are on Indian time now! Well I didn't really want to leave my backpack in the hands of Air India eight hours prior to the flight, it would probably end up in LA (if I were lucky), so I didn't check-in. But then it hit me that with such a delay I'm due some kind of compensation. So I went back and checked in and they asked me why I wasn't already at the Hotel?? Cause I'm an idiot! Hopped a bus to a rather posh Indian owned hotel and being famished at this point was happy to arrive just in time to chow down on dinner. A very simple indian meal of salad, rice, potato, veggie, bread and a beer, but I think it was the best meal I have had in about 100 days!! Topped it off with a plum and a piece of marble cake for dessert and thoroughly sated went around to buy some snacks for the plane.OK, now it's time to check out the room. Really very nice! Stayed away from the open snack bar with no prices, others weren't so lucky. Had a nice shower and a shave compliments of the hotel and as luck would have it the "The Manchurian Candidate" was just starting. And it also ended just in time for me to catch the bus back to the airport. There I spent my last euros on a beer and sat to meditate till boarding.
It was not overbooked as I suspected it would be, but it was full. Smooth flight, even got a little sleep. One thing I noticed was that Indians have no concept of space. I thought once or twice while getting off the plane that I might be getting raped! Maybe they're just really in a hurry to get home? So the delay actually turned out to be a good thing. Not only did I get a little pampering, but instead of arriving at 3am I arrived around noon. Now the adventure begins......
It was not overbooked as I suspected it would be, but it was full. Smooth flight, even got a little sleep. One thing I noticed was that Indians have no concept of space. I thought once or twice while getting off the plane that I might be getting raped! Maybe they're just really in a hurry to get home? So the delay actually turned out to be a good thing. Not only did I get a little pampering, but instead of arriving at 3am I arrived around noon. Now the adventure begins......
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Munchen
It was a silent ride and finally he dropped us off, but in the middle of god knows where. It was a subway stop, but I didn't have any Euros yet and I didn't see any ATMs so it was a godsend that Michaela was being picked up by a friend and Sebastian was kind enough to offer me a ride to the main train station. I thanked him profusely and wished them both good luck finding jobs as he was recently laid off and she was going for an interview.I was to stay at The Tent and the directions said to take tram 17 to Bontischer Garten. So I looked on the map and noticed Bontischer Garten was about 2 blocks away. So I walked. I quickly learned that the actual Garden and the actual tram stop are miles apart. So I hopped the tram and checked in. I had the option of a dorm bed in a smaller tent or a spot in "The Tent". I opted for "The Tent" which is gymnasium sized with lockers, a wooden floor and somehow is colder inside than outside. They gave me 2 foam pads, 3 blankets and the option to upgrade. Bought a beer, talked to the fellow campers around the nightly bonfire and turned in.I awoke and used the 2euro credit they give us for a coffee, roll and a danish and then took the tram into the city. Got off at the main train station and walked towards Marieplatz Sq. where the New Gothic Rathus (town hall) is with the tall Glockenspiel. You quickly realize that the Bavarians are very fond of lions. They are found everywhere, each one colorfully painted with different themes. My favorite was Stonehedge Lion. I walked on thru HofGarten and then arrived at the famous Englisher Garten which is the biggest municipal park in Europe. It's also probably the biggest nudest park in the world! So, when in Rome....Laid out for a few hours and then got some movies and pics of guys surfing the standing wave generated by the river which runs thru the park. Pretty cool for being 6 hours from the nearest beach. After all that I was hungry and extremely thirsty so I found the world's most famous beer hall, Hofbrauhaus. But after getting a look at those 1 liter steins of beer I figured on my empty stomach I wouldn't make it out of there on my own two feet so I passed on the beer. Back at "The Tent" I hung with Stacy and her ex-baby sitter Andy(MN) and Kirstee (Perth) till 1:30 when we all turned in. Now my last day in Europe has arrived and I'll be damned if I'm gonna do anything but go back to the park again and lay in the grass!!This semester is over!! Like all students, I got a little lazy and bored at the end (It all starts to look the same after 100 days, at least the cities). But absolutely no regrets and I'm sure I passed this class and I think I did pretty well! Maybe could have done more. Or could have done less, but it doesn't matter. I'm on my own path and I did it. And now I'm very much looking forward to the next course: India 201- 3rd world cultural&spritual studies. It will certainly be more challenging, but I'm sure also more rewarding!!!! :)
Praha
Arrived at the Golden Sickle hostel which was reccomended to me by the Irish guys in Krakow. It's supposed to be a top 10 hostel, but I don't see it. It's ok, but with only one toilet and two showers between three dorms! Maybe the other rooms are better? It does have a nice courtyard to hang out during the day and an excellent pub right next door. It used to be a bomb shelter so like in Krakow when you first enter you think it's the smallest pub in the world, but then it just keeps going and going. The only thing on tap in Pilsner Urquell and that's alright with me! Got in kind off late the first night so I just walked around a bit. Praha is much bigger and urban than I had pictured in my mind.
The next morning it was drizzling so I put on my new rain jacket, but neglected to put on my boots and rain pants since it looked like it would clear. I was wrong. I crossed Kurlov Most brigde and headed up into the hills. I thought I took a wrong turn and wound up in France when I came to the mini Eiffel Tower. Saw the minature museum where you look at everything thru microscopes. Caught site Strahovsky Klaster, Loretta and a couple old churches and museums and the changing of the guard outside of the palace. But the rain was really putting a damper on things so I started to make my way back to the hostel. John (NZ) and AJ (OZ) from Kismet Dao hostel are here also.
At night AJ and I went for some Pilsner Urquel's (The only thing on the tap but that's fine with me) next door. Again deceptively looks small at first, but it was a bomb shelter originally and goes on forever. Beth and Becka (N.H.) joined us and after the drinks I spent from 1-7am on the internet and chatting with Megan (US) and Gordon (Scott) who works the graveyard shift for the hostel. Booked a two day excursion into Czech for the following day. Woke to the sun shining, had the free breakfast and went back to bed. Woke again and arranged my Mitfharzentale German Shared Ride to Munich. Stayed on the Hostel side of the river and walked around taking in the sites including the Jewish Quarter. Made it an early night and went to bed at 3:30am.Packed up and traded The DaVinci Code for Lucky Man-Michael J. Fox. Then hiked to the meeting point for the excursion into Czech.
Peter the trip leader arrived with Varun (NJ), John (FL) and Deserete (CA) and our last stop in Praha was to pick Johan (Sweden). We had a nice 1.5hr drive out of Praha and arrived at Kutna Hora to check out the Bone Church. The story goes: at some point a monk returned from Jerusalem with a couple handfuls of dirt which he spread in the cemetary. Well this made it "Holy Land" and very popular with the rich locals who now all wanted to be buried there. The only problem was that they were full. So they dug up the old poor peoples bones and started burying the new rich ones. (If you don't have alot of money you might want to consider cremation:) Eventually someone figured, "we have all these bones lying around, why not use them to decorate the church?" Well that's exactly what they did. After the church we went for some Czech food at a local pub which for me meant fried cheese and fries! At least the beer was real good!After a little more driving through the beautiful Czech countryside we arrived in Peter's home town of Dalecin where we would spend the night. It's a tiny, picturesque town and there we met Daniel (CA) and Robin (Vancouver/S. Africa) who both were on the last trip but refused to leave because they liked it so much.
We settled in and then strolled along a babbling brook and took some pics of part of an old castle wall. Continued on to Didta's pub for some more local food and drink. This time it meant for me frozen pizza with ketchup!! But again the beer was excellent and we traded shots with the locals while shooting shots of pool. Robin and I won the final 3 game match of the night, but they were gracious losers and invited us to a huge party the next day which unfortunately we couldn't make due to our date with Moravsky Kras Caves. BTW: Robin is a travel journalist for a Vancouver paper and also has a website (Moderngonzo.com). He asks everyone the same three questions and then posts the answers along with a headshot. Finish the following sentances: 1)Today I'm inspired by.... 2)Today I regret... 3)Today I'm thankful for...
Next morning we embarked on our trip to the caves. First a 3km walk thru a nice forest and then a walking tour thru the first part of the caves followed by a boat tour thru the second half. It's 48 degrees in the cave so bundle up and watch your head or you'll come out with lumps! It was nice and worth doing but not particularly mind blowing. I would have been more interesting if the tour had been in English. After the caves it was time for some more authentic Czech food. This time I sampled fried mushrooms and fries. OK I accept that being a vegetarian I have to suck it up with regard to local cuisine, but does it all have to be FRIED!!
A quick jaunt into Brno to drop off Deseret who was going to Vienna and then a peaceful ride back to Praha. Checked into Hostel Levir where I was happy to meet 3 Swedish girls and Dieogo (Brazil). After reading a little (including a Jehovah's Witness pamphlet I turned in.On leaving Diego offered me Angels & Demons which was very nice, but I already read it. Went to a park near the hostel and it took forever to find an entrance. Apparently there is only one.
Layed around in the park for a while and then caught the metro out to the pick up point for my ride to Munich. Had a little time so I wandered thru a mall playing American classic and alternative rock??? I was really hoping for a BMW, Porsche or even a VW since this guy giving us the ride was German and does the trip every week. What did me and Michaela (Czech) get: a 1991 2 dr beat up Ford Escort with no a/c or radio!! Oh Well:( It was a silent ride and finally he dropped us off, but in the middle of god knows where. It was a subway stop, but I didn't have any Euros yet and I didn't see any ATMs so it was a godsend that Michaela was being picked up by a friend and Sebastian was kind enough to offer me a ride to the main train station. I thanked him profusely and wished them both good luck finding jobs as he was recently laid off and she was going for an interview.
I was to stay at The Tent and the directions said to take tram 17 to Bontischer Garten. So I looked on the map and noticed Bontischer Garten was about 2 blocks away. So I walked. Only problem was that the actual Garden and the actual tram stop are miles apart. So I hopped the tram and checked in. I had the option of a dorm bed in a smaller tent or a spot in "The Tent". I opted for "The Tent" which is gymnasium sized with lockers, a wooden floor and somehow is colder inside than outside. They gave me 2 foam pads, 3 blankets and the option to upgrade. Bought a beer, talked to the fellow campers around the nightly bonfire and turned in.
The next morning it was drizzling so I put on my new rain jacket, but neglected to put on my boots and rain pants since it looked like it would clear. I was wrong. I crossed Kurlov Most brigde and headed up into the hills. I thought I took a wrong turn and wound up in France when I came to the mini Eiffel Tower. Saw the minature museum where you look at everything thru microscopes. Caught site Strahovsky Klaster, Loretta and a couple old churches and museums and the changing of the guard outside of the palace. But the rain was really putting a damper on things so I started to make my way back to the hostel. John (NZ) and AJ (OZ) from Kismet Dao hostel are here also.
At night AJ and I went for some Pilsner Urquel's (The only thing on the tap but that's fine with me) next door. Again deceptively looks small at first, but it was a bomb shelter originally and goes on forever. Beth and Becka (N.H.) joined us and after the drinks I spent from 1-7am on the internet and chatting with Megan (US) and Gordon (Scott) who works the graveyard shift for the hostel. Booked a two day excursion into Czech for the following day. Woke to the sun shining, had the free breakfast and went back to bed. Woke again and arranged my Mitfharzentale German Shared Ride to Munich. Stayed on the Hostel side of the river and walked around taking in the sites including the Jewish Quarter. Made it an early night and went to bed at 3:30am.Packed up and traded The DaVinci Code for Lucky Man-Michael J. Fox. Then hiked to the meeting point for the excursion into Czech.
Peter the trip leader arrived with Varun (NJ), John (FL) and Deserete (CA) and our last stop in Praha was to pick Johan (Sweden). We had a nice 1.5hr drive out of Praha and arrived at Kutna Hora to check out the Bone Church. The story goes: at some point a monk returned from Jerusalem with a couple handfuls of dirt which he spread in the cemetary. Well this made it "Holy Land" and very popular with the rich locals who now all wanted to be buried there. The only problem was that they were full. So they dug up the old poor peoples bones and started burying the new rich ones. (If you don't have alot of money you might want to consider cremation:) Eventually someone figured, "we have all these bones lying around, why not use them to decorate the church?" Well that's exactly what they did. After the church we went for some Czech food at a local pub which for me meant fried cheese and fries! At least the beer was real good!After a little more driving through the beautiful Czech countryside we arrived in Peter's home town of Dalecin where we would spend the night. It's a tiny, picturesque town and there we met Daniel (CA) and Robin (Vancouver/S. Africa) who both were on the last trip but refused to leave because they liked it so much.
We settled in and then strolled along a babbling brook and took some pics of part of an old castle wall. Continued on to Didta's pub for some more local food and drink. This time it meant for me frozen pizza with ketchup!! But again the beer was excellent and we traded shots with the locals while shooting shots of pool. Robin and I won the final 3 game match of the night, but they were gracious losers and invited us to a huge party the next day which unfortunately we couldn't make due to our date with Moravsky Kras Caves. BTW: Robin is a travel journalist for a Vancouver paper and also has a website (Moderngonzo.com). He asks everyone the same three questions and then posts the answers along with a headshot. Finish the following sentances: 1)Today I'm inspired by.... 2)Today I regret... 3)Today I'm thankful for...
Next morning we embarked on our trip to the caves. First a 3km walk thru a nice forest and then a walking tour thru the first part of the caves followed by a boat tour thru the second half. It's 48 degrees in the cave so bundle up and watch your head or you'll come out with lumps! It was nice and worth doing but not particularly mind blowing. I would have been more interesting if the tour had been in English. After the caves it was time for some more authentic Czech food. This time I sampled fried mushrooms and fries. OK I accept that being a vegetarian I have to suck it up with regard to local cuisine, but does it all have to be FRIED!!
A quick jaunt into Brno to drop off Deseret who was going to Vienna and then a peaceful ride back to Praha. Checked into Hostel Levir where I was happy to meet 3 Swedish girls and Dieogo (Brazil). After reading a little (including a Jehovah's Witness pamphlet I turned in.On leaving Diego offered me Angels & Demons which was very nice, but I already read it. Went to a park near the hostel and it took forever to find an entrance. Apparently there is only one.
Layed around in the park for a while and then caught the metro out to the pick up point for my ride to Munich. Had a little time so I wandered thru a mall playing American classic and alternative rock??? I was really hoping for a BMW, Porsche or even a VW since this guy giving us the ride was German and does the trip every week. What did me and Michaela (Czech) get: a 1991 2 dr beat up Ford Escort with no a/c or radio!! Oh Well:( It was a silent ride and finally he dropped us off, but in the middle of god knows where. It was a subway stop, but I didn't have any Euros yet and I didn't see any ATMs so it was a godsend that Michaela was being picked up by a friend and Sebastian was kind enough to offer me a ride to the main train station. I thanked him profusely and wished them both good luck finding jobs as he was recently laid off and she was going for an interview.
I was to stay at The Tent and the directions said to take tram 17 to Bontischer Garten. So I looked on the map and noticed Bontischer Garten was about 2 blocks away. So I walked. Only problem was that the actual Garden and the actual tram stop are miles apart. So I hopped the tram and checked in. I had the option of a dorm bed in a smaller tent or a spot in "The Tent". I opted for "The Tent" which is gymnasium sized with lockers, a wooden floor and somehow is colder inside than outside. They gave me 2 foam pads, 3 blankets and the option to upgrade. Bought a beer, talked to the fellow campers around the nightly bonfire and turned in.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Krakow, Poland
It was a cold rainy day when I left Budapest. A good day to travel. Arrived in Budapest without incident and walked to Kismet Dao Hostel. The references to eastern philosophy were what drew me there which turned out to be spot on. Nice staff, Brand new, spotless, free laundry, free breakfast with kitchen, nice common room and a 24\7 supermarket around the corner. The first night I just bonded with the crew of Irish and English travelers.Woke up to rain so I took my time rousing myself. Went for a walk in the on and off rain for about 3 hours, all the time keeping my eye out for a rain shell, but couldn't find any. That night the crew was bigger and around midnight we all decided to check out a club called "Frantic", but a couple of us were denied because we had on sneakers. So we went to "Prozack" instead which was cool. Looked deceptively small at first, but as you start exploring you find little offshoots everywhere. Wound up downstairs on the dancefloor with a couple of good DJ's spinning. Ordered a 7zt beer ($2) and gave the bartender a 20zt bill. "Do you want change?" "What do you think!!"The next day it was raining again, but can't let that get in the way of the necesary history lesson. So I broke out the emeregency rain parka (basically a trash bag with a hood) and after a little searching found the minibus going to Auschwitz. I spent the 1.5 hour trip wishing I could speak Polish so I could talk to the stunning Pole woman sitting next to me!Aushwitz is obviously sobering and depressing, stirring up a lot of anger! About every 3rd barrack has been converted into an exhibition with tons of literature in Polish, Hebrew & English. If you read everthing it would probably take a few days to complete. Each building deals with a particular aspect of the horror. Poles, Jews, Gypsies, etc. They have displayed:prison uniforms, prayer shawls, heaps of eyeglasses, shoes, suitcases and a really spooky room filled with about a ton of womans' hair collected after the gas chambers for sale to the fabric industry. Complete with traces of cyanide! Outside they still have the barbed wire fences and reconstructed part of the firing squad wall as well as a hanging post where 12 Poles suspected of aiding escapees were publicly hung to warn others. In general it's a horrible place, but seemed sterilized somehow?Walked about 30 minutes to the other camp: Birkenau. It's scale is incredibly daunting and dwarfs Aushciwitz in size. Even though its difficult to fully appreciate the size because most of the buildings have been burnt down their brick chimneys still remain and you can make out the huge area of the camp. It's more of a landmark than a museum. Not much literature here, just an opportunity to fathom the scale of the atrocities! Rows and Rows and Rows of barracks. Horrible conditions, horrifying experiments. Pure Evil! Upon disembarking the train the prisoners were lined up for selection. Not sure if it was better to be selected or not? 25% were selected for a slow drawn out death by hard labor, malnutrition and disease. The other 75% unfit for work marched thru a one way gate to the gas chambers. Went back and drowned my sorrows.Another rainy day. Went to check out the city anyway. Walked thru Rynek Glowny Square which is the largest Medieval Square in Europe. They carry on a tradition there where every hour a trumpet player performs a 5 note, two minute song which ends abruptly which represents the moment the original player got shot in throat with an arrow! Headed past various old churches and past Wawel Castle. From there continued souteast to the Jewish Quarter. Visited the Old Synagogue which is now a museum and the oldest synagogue in Europe. Saw a few more synagogues and circle the old cemetary twice, but apparently the entrances are sealed. Or maybe I'm just blind. I finally found a rain jacket at the Jewish flea market and everyone in Krakow can thank me for that because it immediately stopped raining and the sun came out!! :)Later after hanging with the Kismet crew we decided to go out to Prozak again, but they wouldn't let us in. I probably shouldn't have rolled up with 12 rowdy/loud Irish guys! Early that night the square was realy afire with activity because Krakow won their football championship and it brought out the riot police. But by the time we got there it was just a very quiet Sunday night.The next morning it was at least dry so I went to see Wawel Castle, the old Royal residence. Then rolled down again to the Jewish Quarter which is really kind of boring, but I had nothing better to do. Everyone was kind of burnt that night so I just collected my clean laundry (free!, which is nice cause you usually have to pay about $10 for one load in Europe!!) and packed up for Prague.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Budapest
Made the 7:10am train and sat with a couple from Seattle who had rented a sailboat and cruised the Croation islands. Arrived and hooved it 2 metro stops to teh Almos Hostel. Got there and there was a note with a number to call to be let in. Pain in the Ass!! I had no Hungarian money so I went in search of an Atm. Couldn't find one! Apparently I went in the wrong direction because after backtracking I found one 2 blocks away from the hostel. Now all I have to do is break a 10,000huf note($50.00). Tried to buy a coke, but they wouldn't do it so I bought some authentic Hungarian food, Subway:) Made the phone call and the receptionist got there within five minutes. The hostel was tiny! A kitchen, a bath, and two rooms with with eight beds. Good location though. She marked down the sites to see on the map and left. I climbed into bed for a nap, but Konstatine (Clark from L.A.) checked in and we started talking. Two Aussie girls (Kathy & Jo) overheard me talking about Croatia and joined the conversation. Around 10pm we went to a bar recommended to them called Szimpla. It used to be housing, but has been converted to a locals hangout with the courtyard serving as an open air patio. Cool place and cheap. 360huf ($1.75) for a good beer. Sat and talked with an Ex-pat from L.A. and two of his local friends. They shut down at 2am. Jo & Clark were fired up for more action, but it was Sunday and there really weren't any options so we headed back to the hotel. We were barely through the front gate when some old lady yells something in Hungarian from inside her apartment. Presumably, "Shut the hell up!!!". We all turned in and within seconds Clark is sawing logs.Woke up and had a cup of Joe with Jo, Kathy and Clark and we all decided to go to the Hungarian thermal baths. We walked up thru Varosliget Park and Hero's Square. The seven main "hero's" were the leaders of seven tribes who were instrumental in forming\liberating Hungary. From there we made it to the Szechenyi Furdo Baths. Very enjoyable and relaxing. Mulitple mineral pools inside with graduating temperatures, saunas, various outdoor pools, a steam room where I couldn't see my hand in front of my face and even a whirl pool which whisks you around in circles. Lo and behold who do I see in the whirl pool circling behing me, Dave, Alex and Will from Croatia. Something weird is going on behind the cosmic scenes to cause all these paths to cross and recross. $10 for all day, but you get an automatic refund if you use less time. Well worth it! Afterward we tried some Hungarian pretzels. Huge with the salt baked inside and then stopped for some falafel pitas. On the way back we checked the times for "Taming of the Shrew" at the famous opera house, but no shows tonight.The girls left early to continue their journey and Clark and I had some more authentic Hungarian food for breakfast, McDonalds Egg Mcmuffin:) We then went exploring the city. First to Margaret's Island which is essentially a huge park. The story goes: A warring king declared that if Hungary won the war they were fighting he would sacrafice his daughter! Well they won the war, but to avoid sacrafice his daughter became a nun. She lived on the island for over 20 years and when she died they renamed the island after her. We strolled down the Danu river and took in some great views including a climb up "Castle Hill" which was a great place to check out the impressive Parliament building as well as the whole city. Passed the "Citadel" and then I dragged Clark and his blistering feet (he just started his trip and wasn't acclimated to all the walking) back across the river to search for Buddha Beach. We found the area, but I didn't spot one Buddha!!?! Along the way we found a vegetarian restaurant called "Eden" and stopped in for dinner.Clark had a Russian cous-cous kind of thing like his mom used to make and also ordered a walnut pasta dish which he wound up taking to go. I had a "Wheat Beef stew" dish with soy dumplings and a strawberry milk shake. All was great except the drinks cost us 3 times as much as we thougt they would because the menu prices were for 10cl while we got 30cl drinks. I still wound up getting a great meal for about $8.00.After dinner we went back and changed for the Ballet and brought along a newcomer, John (PA). We got a little lost and got there late, but it didn't matter. The show started at 7pm, but the ticket office closed at 6:30pm which is when we left so we would have never made it. So we picked up a couple of English girls and went for a beer. When the bill came the girls didn't have enough to pay so they went off to the Atm while we sat and wondered if they would come back. They didn't seem the type, but you never know. They were taking a long time on a chilly night so we were contemplating a plan to run. Hey, we left our share! They eventually came back though and all ended well. The next morning I planned on going to Krakow, Poland. Well that was the plan. I went and bought my ticket, but didn't specifically ask for the 11:50am train and instead got an overnight ticket. That was no good, especially since I've heard way too many stories of people getting gassed of the Poland/Czech overnight trains and waking up with everything gone. So I got back on to a superslow line and by the time I got up to the window the train had gone! Changed the ticket anyway, emailed to Krakow hostel regarding the delay and searched fpr a bed for the night. Wouldn't you know it, nothing available!!! Uh, Oh!! So I went back to the Hostel I was at hoping for a cancellation and prepared to beg for a couch for the night. Well there weren't any cancellations, but there was a big bed in the office which was offered to me. DONE! Left and went out for pics of the largest synagogue in Europe as well as a nice basilica. Then went back and changed for the opera. Luckily I had bought my tickets earlier in the day because I found myself jogging to the opera to make it on time!! It was interesting. And by interesting I mean bloody awful!!! Of course it was in Hungarian, but it did have subtitles. In Hungarian!?!? Which was ridiculous because I don't speak Hungarian and I could follow it. It was about two guys, one rich and one poor. They apparently both like to sleep in. The rich guy gets awoken very gently and lovingly. The poor guy gets beaten out of bed and cursed at. Poor guy sleeps on a park bench, Rich guy meets a whore and screws her complete with climax scene. Very Slow. Until the last scene of the first act when the whore comes out and does her Aria. No, I don't think it could be called an aria. Let's say solo. Until this it was all very classical, but now changes to Vegas Caberet number complete with 16 guys doing coreographed moves behing her. Very strange!! I enjoyed it most when I closed my eyes, tuned out the singing and just tuned into the orchestra which was very good. Tomorrow I hope to make it to Krakow......??????
Croatia
After getting to stretch out for a while on the train eventually 3 guys from Croatia/Macedonia joined me which turned out to be a good thing since they were able to translate for me the message that we had to unexpectedly change trains upon crossing the border. I got my passport stamped on this trip more times than in all my previous travels combined. We arrived in Zagreb and two of the guys were continuing on to Split and since I didn't think there was much to do or see in Zagreb I tagged along to the bus station. I decided to go all the way to Dubrovnick which is supposed to be the crown jewel of Croatia and then make my back up to coast. After a 9 hour train ride from Venice I wasn't looking forward to the 12.5 hour bus ride, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. It seemed like there weren't any local buses in Croatia, just this one bus hitting every out of the way stop in the country. I think we were on the freeway maybe an hour in total and throughout the night we stopped and picked up rowdy party people going home for the night. More stops upon entering Dubrovnick for ID's. I think they were just making sure no underagers were entering since they didn't take any real interest in my US passport. Travel tip: don't bother trying to book a hostel in Croatia. First of all, there really aren't any (well maybe one). Second of all, as soon as you get off the train you'll be accosted by a group of people running towards you offering rooms. A lady offered me a room for 100kn, but I talked her down to 90kn and saved a whole $1.50! She spoke just enough English to do her business, but her daughters spoke it well and it was a decent enough room with kitchen access and a good location. When we got there she offered me coffee, but I was worn out and declined. Instead I climbed into bed and passed out. Woke up and went straight to the beach. Quite a decent into a nice cove with quite a few people on the beach which was not sand. Rounded stone with splotches of tar! Gotta deduct points for that! The water was nice though and had a good swim while checking out the local kids cliff jumping from some dizzying heights (~11 meters). One of three Brits (Dave) I left my stuff with on the beach did the big jump. Didn't hit it perfectly and hurt his back a little. To add insult to injury his mate (Alex) didn't get the pic because his battery died. After the beach I headed back to the room where I was very excited to cook up a nice veggie/cheese omlette, but between the time I dropped off my groceries and retrieved my knife from the room the lady of the house had poured me a bowl of noodle soup, bread and 2 mysterious fish. Well I couldn't say no so I ate the soup with bread, but put the fish back. My omelette will have to wait. Went for a walk along the coast, briefly me the middle daughter and later that night I finally got to enjoy my eggs.The next day I went for a walk in a state park, but apart from the views and some guys pilfering rocks there wasn't much to see. Back at the residence I met a couple from Perth who were headed to Rome so I gave them some information and in exchange Collin offered me The Davinci Code. "Sweet, Thanks" (Good book, but I think Angels & Demons was better). Repeated the beach scene, started my jogging again and in the after sunset I went for a stroll to check out "Old Town". Which isn't really old since it was bombed to hell and then faithfully rebuilt recently. None the less it was cool to check out even though I'm sure back in the day it wasn't overun with commercialism like it is today. Or maybe it was, just without the flourescent lighting? Later back at the house I met the oldest daughter, but our conversation was cut of abruptly with the arrival of her boyfriend!Repeated everything again the next day. Beach, jog and then pics in Old Town. Next morning I walked to the bus depot for a 4.5 hour bus ride to Split where I was again surrounded by landlords. One actually thought I'd pay 20 euros for a room! Eventually a nice lady offered me a room nearby for 120kn, but I told her 100kn was my limit and she agreed. Nice room with a tv and since I was staying two nights Grandma (thru the husband cause she didn't speak any English) gave me permission to use the kitchen. Dropped of the pack and went wandering along the coast. Hordes of people on the beach and frolicking in the water which is incredibly shallow. It's about knee to thigh deep for a good 120 yards. Croatia is pretty famous for nude beaches designated by "FKK", but I only saw on pair of breasts! Later I learned that there aren't any FKK's in Split:(Went for a jog in the other direction along the coast, came back and met Jeff (England) and the retired to watch a interesting movie called "Blaze". True story of Earl Long (Paul Newman) who is the Governor of Louisiana and gets involved with a stripper. Which along with his progressive stance on civil rights causes him his office. Then he runs for Senate and wins, but dies before the last vote was counted.Next day I skipped breakfast and went straight to the beach. Plenty of cute girls and many older woman, but I'll be damned if I know where they are hiding the 20/30 somethings!! Sitting at a table a group of teenage girls asked me something in Croatian so I smiled and said no comprende. But they, as all young croatians know English so I quickly realized they needed a whole Kuna (~16 cents). I gave it to them and they went off and to probably a soda. Then a teenage boy came up to me and asked for a cigarette. But when I told him I didn't have any he asked if I'd mind talking with him and his friends. I invited them to sit and we discussed politics (Bush/EU), traveling and music. One had travelled quite a bit and another was really into Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, etc. Which was very suprising to me since they were barely out of highschool. After a while they made me promise that if I made it big in music that I'd come back to Split and play a concert. I told them I'd do one better. I'd bring Dylan to open the show. Next day I'm catching the 11:30pm bus back to Zagreb so I spend the day much like the rest and settle in for a 6.5 hour ride. Arrived and asked a couple of students who were walking to school (on Saturday!? that sucks) where I could find an internet connection. They walked me there, but I found no availability in Budapest. Damn! No sleep last night and it looks like I'll be spending another sleepless night in a train station. The internet showed absolutely no hostels in Zagreb, but I went and got a hotel guide and lo and behold there is a hostel and it's only 3 blocks away. It was run down and I couldn't check in untill 2pm, but it was cheap and in a great location. Walked around and chilled in a park till check in and then crashed. Woke, walked, took pics, went for a jog and capped it off with a very cold shower, not by choice! Met a young couple from Oregon who pointed out an earlier train to Budapest than I had seen, went and confirmed the train and finished off the night watching the locals hanging out in the park on a Saturday night.
To conclude: Croatia is a nice place to visit, but regarding Dubrovnick I feel I have to make one last comment. Everyone I spoke to said "YOU HAVE TO GO TO DUBROVNICK!!!". Well for the record I'd put it in the category of: "It's a nice place to visit for a couple of days, but don't make a special trip". It was really overhyped to me, so I just want to adjust the bellcurve a little. :) (However if you happen to be an ant with your own wave generating machine you could have some epic waves all to yourself. So Flat!!)
To conclude: Croatia is a nice place to visit, but regarding Dubrovnick I feel I have to make one last comment. Everyone I spoke to said "YOU HAVE TO GO TO DUBROVNICK!!!". Well for the record I'd put it in the category of: "It's a nice place to visit for a couple of days, but don't make a special trip". It was really overhyped to me, so I just want to adjust the bellcurve a little. :) (However if you happen to be an ant with your own wave generating machine you could have some epic waves all to yourself. So Flat!!)
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Venezia
Shared a compartment on the train with a couple of Italian newlyweds on at the end of their "wedding tour". Arrived in Venice after another long sleepless train ride. Couldn't sleep lest I miss changing trains in Bolgna. Took the shuttle to the camping ground and checked in. Tried to sleep, but the sun was beating down on the tent. Even though I was dead tired I decided to go for a walk. Maybe I can find something interesting or even a good market. Walked a couple of miles in one direction and the only thing I came across was a gas station which didn't even have a soda machine! Headed back and did a mile in the other direction. Again, nothing! I saw a sign for McDonald's and tried to find it since I figured I deserved at least an icecream cone for my efforts, but alas I couldn't find that either. Empty handed, I returned to camp. Took a refreshing swim and relaxed by the pool until the sun abated, but by that time I figured it would be better just to stay up a while longer and go to bed early. So I grabbed my journal, took a table and began sipping wine and writing. Around 9:30 I was just about finishing up and getting ready to head off to bed when an Aussie girl (Collette) came over and asked if I'd like to join there table of about 14 travelers. Well, I couldn't be rude so I accepted. Around an hour later we learned there was to be a Pasta Party (Free food) at midnight. Well so much for getting to bed early. Chatted with everyone and watched the Liverpool vs. Milan football championship (Liv. won in a shootout). I got to the "Pasta Party" at 12:15 and it was all gone! Some Party!!! Danced for a few times and then crashed hard in the tent.
Took the bus to Venice to check things out. Everyone gets lost in Venice. I didn't! Because I didn't really care where I went. Just roamed around and when I saw a sign for San Marco's Plaza (main) I headed in that direction. Finally got a homestyle slices of pizza here. Stopped at the Vivaldi exhibition. They had some interesting historical information and instruments from 17th-20th century. Some bizarre instruments I had never even seen before. With some nice Vivaldi playing in the background I learned that "Four Seasons" is one of the most performed classical pieces ever! And apparently he was from a very poor family and spent his life chasing money. He faired very well in that department, but lived it up and left nothing. Eventually I came to the Grand Canal and San Marco's Plaza. Both nice, big and picturesque. Thousands of pigeons and people posing for pics with them on their arms and shoulders. Suprisingly not much pigeon shit though! After wandering all day I caught the bus back with a young Aussie couple who were on the bus in the morning and looked as tired as I was. The next morning I wanted to meet up with Lisa (Tuscany) so I thought I'd walk to the train station, buy a ticket onward to Croatia and go into Venice again. I thought it would take about an 1hr-1.5hr. I was wrong. After 2.5 hours I was asking for bus directions to the train station. By the time I got back to camp the afternoon was pretty much shot so I hung out at the pool, ate a pizza and then grabbed a table to write in the journal. Shortly a couple of Americans were looking for seats so I offered Mike & Andy (N.C.) a place to sit. Soon their travel buddies: Sarah (Mike's girl), Emily (her sister) and Velvet (Canada) joined us and we all had a nice evening. Venice was nice. But you don't need much time there unless you're doing the romance thing.
Off to Croatia.....
Took the bus to Venice to check things out. Everyone gets lost in Venice. I didn't! Because I didn't really care where I went. Just roamed around and when I saw a sign for San Marco's Plaza (main) I headed in that direction. Finally got a homestyle slices of pizza here. Stopped at the Vivaldi exhibition. They had some interesting historical information and instruments from 17th-20th century. Some bizarre instruments I had never even seen before. With some nice Vivaldi playing in the background I learned that "Four Seasons" is one of the most performed classical pieces ever! And apparently he was from a very poor family and spent his life chasing money. He faired very well in that department, but lived it up and left nothing. Eventually I came to the Grand Canal and San Marco's Plaza. Both nice, big and picturesque. Thousands of pigeons and people posing for pics with them on their arms and shoulders. Suprisingly not much pigeon shit though! After wandering all day I caught the bus back with a young Aussie couple who were on the bus in the morning and looked as tired as I was. The next morning I wanted to meet up with Lisa (Tuscany) so I thought I'd walk to the train station, buy a ticket onward to Croatia and go into Venice again. I thought it would take about an 1hr-1.5hr. I was wrong. After 2.5 hours I was asking for bus directions to the train station. By the time I got back to camp the afternoon was pretty much shot so I hung out at the pool, ate a pizza and then grabbed a table to write in the journal. Shortly a couple of Americans were looking for seats so I offered Mike & Andy (N.C.) a place to sit. Soon their travel buddies: Sarah (Mike's girl), Emily (her sister) and Velvet (Canada) joined us and we all had a nice evening. Venice was nice. But you don't need much time there unless you're doing the romance thing.
Off to Croatia.....
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Rome 2nd time's the charm
Got off the ferry and I'm walking to the train station wondering if I'd make it in time. I forgot that I gained an hour between Greece and Italy. Didn't matter though because the first train out wasn't for a few hours anyway. Caught a very crowded train to Rome and it was slow and kept stopping in the middle of nowhere for some reason. Got in an hour late, but no big deal. Arrived in Rome and the bus to Camping Roma was so jam packed. Tired, there was no way I was waiting for the next bus so a big exhale and the bus doors barely closed. Shared a tent with Wayne, a Mormon from, you guessed it, Utah. Hung out with fellow camp-mates Nina (England), Naomi&Olivia (Sydney) and Tim&Sammy (NY). Reminisced about things we miss from home. Besides family and friends mostly food! Also talked to Sam's new found love of surfing. He's a newbie and is determined to give it a go in Bali. Good luck!!
It's Culture Week in Rome so most things are free to get into this week. Only problem is that it ends Sunday, so instead of relaxing after my taxing travels I went out to see as much as I could. Located a Pyramid on the map which looked like it might be a good place to start. Took a pic and walked towards the Colliseum thru some lesser traveled parts of Rome for an authentic feel. Scored a free bottle of water from the "Race for a Cure" Race crew and came to the Colliseo which really is impressive. How much blood was split there? How much human flesh was devoured there?? Saw the Terme di Caracalla (Huge ruins) and of course the Arco di Constatine leading to the Colliseo. Adjacent to that is the Foro Romano (Roman Forum). Very cool, large Ancient archeological site. Then browsed a couple of museums, Campidoglia and Musei Capotilini. Lots of cool marble statues, ancient Roman coins and a few decent paintings. Followed that up with the Area Sacre (Sacred Site) which are ruins of four temples and the site where Caesar was killed on that fateful Ides of March. Then I did a quick tour thru Crypta Baldi which I thought would be a tomb, but turned out to be a museum about the ancient archeology of the area. Then on to the Pantheon with it's Demon's Hole (largest free standing dome). Very nice inside with intricate murals and statues. From there perused the Fontana di Trevi. Very cool, but way overcrowed. Continued on to Castel Sant Angelo which is an ancient fortress with a large spiraling ramp which I imagine chariots rode up and down in times of siege. Had some cool canyons and catapults which must have reeked havoc back in the day. Excellent view from there also. Then a jaunt into another country, Vatican City. Strolled thru San Pietro's Square, but they wouldn't let me into the Basillica because I was wearing shorts. Hello! It's the 21st century. I don't think I'm gonna invoke any lustful yearnings with my hairy legs. But then again?....priests. Nah, I'm not young enough. Yeah, I know, I'm going to Hell. (No disrespect intended to the good ones! Much disrespect intended to the evil ones). OK back off the soapbox.The next day I just relaxed by the pool and the most interesting thing I came across was a German girl who drank her beer mixed with sprite? Tried it and actually it's not bad. The added lemon might go really well with a Weiss beer. Apparently it's a common thing in Germany.
After yesterday's rest I'm ready to go back to Vatican City. It's a steep 12 euro fee (like they need it!), but you get your moneys worth. It's huge. Lots of religious paintings of course which to me weren't remarkable except for one large scene of Original Sin which was my favorite. In fact, I thought the most interesting paintings there were in the modern section including a rare religious Van Gogh. Many intricate yet boring tapestries. Awesome collection of marble statues, Roman vases and ancient coin collection. What was most impressive to me was actually the building and rooms themselves. Very beautiful and ornate. Almost every ceiling was either mural painted or sculpted in intricate marble or wood. They displayed some ancient bibles, globes and a whole hall of huge ancient maps of the world as it was known (or not so known) back then. They also had a room of some Egyptian artifacts and art including two actual mummies. Near the end of the museum you come to the climax. The Cappella Sistina! No pictures or excessive talking allowed. I complied with the quietness, but I'll be damned (probably am) if I was going to get any pictures. I appologize for any bluriness in the pics, but I didn't want to push it by using a flash. It's all there: The Last Judgement with a self portrait of Michaelangelo as St. Bartholemew. Creation of Man with Adam naked and God Clothed. I guess God has shame??? The Last Supper with the eleven apostles (yes that's right 11. the twelth is Mary Magdelen. Check it out.)(Dan Brown fans know). Sermon on the Mount, The Temptation of Christ, Moses presenting the 10 Commandments, His Last Days and Parting of the Red Sea (Of course, no one in any of these scenes looks even remotely Jewish!). Very impressive, but I wasn't as blown away as I thought I'd be. Probably due to three things: 1. too high an expectation 2. the ceiling is so high you can't appreciate the detail 3. you have to nearly break your neck to view it.
Finished the museum and went into San Pietro's Basilica. WOW!! This one really did blow me away. I had no idea. The scale, attention to detail and workmanship is incredible. So many pic ops, but unfortunately I ran out of batteries after about 5 pics. I was kicking myself! Hard!!! Near the end I came across a scene which I don't know the name of, but it obviously has to do with death since there is a huge bronze skeleton springing forth from it. It totally stood out from the other rather sedate scenes around the church. I had to have a pic so I prayed (what the hell, when in Rome) for enough juice for one more. Miracles do happen! Of course I couldn't use the flash so it came out blurry, but maybe it will be viewable on a monitor. I might have to come back just for the Basilica.Afterwards I passed the Botanical garden and Piazzle Garibaldi before heading back to pick up my backpack. On the return trip I stopped at Flaminio to check out the park and catch sunset from the height with a great view. Very nice park. A Globe Theatre, Piazza di Siena which is an equestrian park, nice plants/trees, open spaces and a couple of ponds. A great place for a bike ride, jog or just to hang out. Saw the sunset over Piazzo del Popol and the walk towards the train station past Piazzo Spagna with the Spanish Steps and Piazzi Barberini and finally past Basilica San Maria Maggiorie. Wayne suggested it because apparently they have a lot of creations made of human bones. Unfortunately it was closed due to the late hour.
But other than that I didn't really see anything:)
Bought a ticket to Venezia on the 12:47 am train. Around 12:15 I noticed the train isn't up on the departure board. Huh? Maybe they're just behind in the update. Better go to the computer and make sure I did everything right. Yep. But it's still not on the departure board. Checked the printed version for departures and it's not there either. Uh Oh! Took a closer look at my ticket and notice the departure station isn't Roma Termini, but Roma-something or other! What the Heck! I inputed everything correctly and it gives me a ticket for a station I didn't even know existed. There's no way I have time to get to another station. Luckily the train info. window is still open. The guys tells me to get on the train at binario 3 which is scheduled to leave at 12:22am. It's now 12:24, but luckily it left late so after a short sprint I made it on with 20 seconds to spare. Two miracles in one day!!! Maybe I'm not damned afterall. Thank YOU!!
It's Culture Week in Rome so most things are free to get into this week. Only problem is that it ends Sunday, so instead of relaxing after my taxing travels I went out to see as much as I could. Located a Pyramid on the map which looked like it might be a good place to start. Took a pic and walked towards the Colliseum thru some lesser traveled parts of Rome for an authentic feel. Scored a free bottle of water from the "Race for a Cure" Race crew and came to the Colliseo which really is impressive. How much blood was split there? How much human flesh was devoured there?? Saw the Terme di Caracalla (Huge ruins) and of course the Arco di Constatine leading to the Colliseo. Adjacent to that is the Foro Romano (Roman Forum). Very cool, large Ancient archeological site. Then browsed a couple of museums, Campidoglia and Musei Capotilini. Lots of cool marble statues, ancient Roman coins and a few decent paintings. Followed that up with the Area Sacre (Sacred Site) which are ruins of four temples and the site where Caesar was killed on that fateful Ides of March. Then I did a quick tour thru Crypta Baldi which I thought would be a tomb, but turned out to be a museum about the ancient archeology of the area. Then on to the Pantheon with it's Demon's Hole (largest free standing dome). Very nice inside with intricate murals and statues. From there perused the Fontana di Trevi. Very cool, but way overcrowed. Continued on to Castel Sant Angelo which is an ancient fortress with a large spiraling ramp which I imagine chariots rode up and down in times of siege. Had some cool canyons and catapults which must have reeked havoc back in the day. Excellent view from there also. Then a jaunt into another country, Vatican City. Strolled thru San Pietro's Square, but they wouldn't let me into the Basillica because I was wearing shorts. Hello! It's the 21st century. I don't think I'm gonna invoke any lustful yearnings with my hairy legs. But then again?....priests. Nah, I'm not young enough. Yeah, I know, I'm going to Hell. (No disrespect intended to the good ones! Much disrespect intended to the evil ones). OK back off the soapbox.The next day I just relaxed by the pool and the most interesting thing I came across was a German girl who drank her beer mixed with sprite? Tried it and actually it's not bad. The added lemon might go really well with a Weiss beer. Apparently it's a common thing in Germany.
After yesterday's rest I'm ready to go back to Vatican City. It's a steep 12 euro fee (like they need it!), but you get your moneys worth. It's huge. Lots of religious paintings of course which to me weren't remarkable except for one large scene of Original Sin which was my favorite. In fact, I thought the most interesting paintings there were in the modern section including a rare religious Van Gogh. Many intricate yet boring tapestries. Awesome collection of marble statues, Roman vases and ancient coin collection. What was most impressive to me was actually the building and rooms themselves. Very beautiful and ornate. Almost every ceiling was either mural painted or sculpted in intricate marble or wood. They displayed some ancient bibles, globes and a whole hall of huge ancient maps of the world as it was known (or not so known) back then. They also had a room of some Egyptian artifacts and art including two actual mummies. Near the end of the museum you come to the climax. The Cappella Sistina! No pictures or excessive talking allowed. I complied with the quietness, but I'll be damned (probably am) if I was going to get any pictures. I appologize for any bluriness in the pics, but I didn't want to push it by using a flash. It's all there: The Last Judgement with a self portrait of Michaelangelo as St. Bartholemew. Creation of Man with Adam naked and God Clothed. I guess God has shame??? The Last Supper with the eleven apostles (yes that's right 11. the twelth is Mary Magdelen. Check it out.)(Dan Brown fans know). Sermon on the Mount, The Temptation of Christ, Moses presenting the 10 Commandments, His Last Days and Parting of the Red Sea (Of course, no one in any of these scenes looks even remotely Jewish!). Very impressive, but I wasn't as blown away as I thought I'd be. Probably due to three things: 1. too high an expectation 2. the ceiling is so high you can't appreciate the detail 3. you have to nearly break your neck to view it.
Finished the museum and went into San Pietro's Basilica. WOW!! This one really did blow me away. I had no idea. The scale, attention to detail and workmanship is incredible. So many pic ops, but unfortunately I ran out of batteries after about 5 pics. I was kicking myself! Hard!!! Near the end I came across a scene which I don't know the name of, but it obviously has to do with death since there is a huge bronze skeleton springing forth from it. It totally stood out from the other rather sedate scenes around the church. I had to have a pic so I prayed (what the hell, when in Rome) for enough juice for one more. Miracles do happen! Of course I couldn't use the flash so it came out blurry, but maybe it will be viewable on a monitor. I might have to come back just for the Basilica.Afterwards I passed the Botanical garden and Piazzle Garibaldi before heading back to pick up my backpack. On the return trip I stopped at Flaminio to check out the park and catch sunset from the height with a great view. Very nice park. A Globe Theatre, Piazza di Siena which is an equestrian park, nice plants/trees, open spaces and a couple of ponds. A great place for a bike ride, jog or just to hang out. Saw the sunset over Piazzo del Popol and the walk towards the train station past Piazzo Spagna with the Spanish Steps and Piazzi Barberini and finally past Basilica San Maria Maggiorie. Wayne suggested it because apparently they have a lot of creations made of human bones. Unfortunately it was closed due to the late hour.
But other than that I didn't really see anything:)
Bought a ticket to Venezia on the 12:47 am train. Around 12:15 I noticed the train isn't up on the departure board. Huh? Maybe they're just behind in the update. Better go to the computer and make sure I did everything right. Yep. But it's still not on the departure board. Checked the printed version for departures and it's not there either. Uh Oh! Took a closer look at my ticket and notice the departure station isn't Roma Termini, but Roma-something or other! What the Heck! I inputed everything correctly and it gives me a ticket for a station I didn't even know existed. There's no way I have time to get to another station. Luckily the train info. window is still open. The guys tells me to get on the train at binario 3 which is scheduled to leave at 12:22am. It's now 12:24, but luckily it left late so after a short sprint I made it on with 20 seconds to spare. Two miracles in one day!!! Maybe I'm not damned afterall. Thank YOU!!
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Greece et al.
Up with the sun and slid the key under the camp office door. Got the 7:22am train to Napoli and then a 6 hour train to Bari, Italy which is the ferry port. Along the way I lucked out and had the train compartment to myself 90 percent of the way so I was able to stretch out, but could only take a short nap. Upon arrival in Bari I partnered up with Henatta (Portugal) and we walked together to the port about 2 miles away. She had a Eurail pass and got a ticket for 6 euros. I didn't and paid 65 euros. Had some time to kill so I went into town and saw Henatta having a beer so I joined her and to get some food for the trip we waited till perhaps the smallest market in the world opened up. The both of us could barely fit inside, maybe 100 sq. feet!Once on the boat I invited a girl who I suspected was American by her dress to join me for a drink. Danielle, studying Greek in Greece. But apparently not very well. Talked some of the night away and though we were do to arrive in Igoumenitsa Port at 7:30am pulled into Corfu at that time. I didn't even realize we were pulling into Corfu! Once we got there Danielle(she luckily knew where the bus station was) and I walked about 3 miles to get bus tickets. The bus was packed, but I finally made it to Athens. Then it really hit home what it's like to be illiterate! Different language, different alphabet! IT'S ALL GREEK TO ME!!!!:)No internet around so I headed to Onomia Sq. since I read that there were hostels in that area. While waiting for the bus I met a Portaguese guy who said he had found a good cheap place to stay in Onomia Sq. so I said I'd check it out. It was decent enough so I paid for the night and we went out for a beer. My spidy sense was tingling though. We were chillin and he told me his brother had a place in Frankfurt I could crash at when I get there. Tingle. He had two cell phones and offered me one. Tingle, Tingle! He puts some money on the table to cover the beer and goes to an ATM for more cash. Then comes back and tells me his card got eaten by the machine. TINGLE, RED FLAGS, BELLS, WHISTLES!!! We headed back to the hotel I went straight to the internet and booked a hostel elsewhere. I don't trust this guy as far as I could throw him! After watching the young local kids playing soccer in the square at nearly midnight?? I went back and fell asleep.Next morning I up and bailing for Zorbas Hotel up the street a bit. Later in the afternoon I went for a stroll down to the Acropolis area to see what there is to see. Took pics of the Acropolis, Panthenon, some Ruins, the Ancient Agora, Socrates' Jail, a monument of the hill and some great views of the city from Mars Hill. Wow, I just saw most of what I wanted to see in a few hours!! I have to say it was a thrill to walk along the same trails that Plato and Socrates had tread 2500 years ago. Strolled a little ways and took some pics of Zeus' Temple and then it happened. Local guys greets me, "Have a beer with me. Ok, one." Get to a bar, order a beer and a hot girl sits down next to me and starts chatting. There goes my Spidy Sense again. "Would you like to buy me a drink?" NO. "But they're only 10 euros!!! F**king theives!! I put up a wall, finished my drink and left. Oh well, it's a 10 Euro lesson in international finance:) I happy to work off some negative Karma, but it's sort of sad to see a group of others accrue so much of it. Each his own path. I then went back to the hotel and warned my roomates (Patrick&Mark bros from Oklahoma/Rob from down under) of the scam. Rob shows me his travel book warning of the scenario verbatim. Too late!The next morning I climbed up Leviticus Hill to check out what I thought was an ancient amphitheatre, but turned out to be made of fiberglass seating. Not very Ancient. But there was a nice whitewashed church and a great view of Athens. Higher than the Acropolis and 360 degrees. Hiked down a took some pics of Parliament and outside is the Tomb of the Unkown Soldier. Two soldiers posted who occasionally do this funny high step kick march. Checked out a park and bought a pair of liteweight zipoff pant/shorts as well a pair of hair clippers because I'm getting a little shaggy. Capped of the night with some nice Santorini wine.Next day I got a few emails from fellow travelers. Ineke says she wants to kill me for suggesting the tough route in Cinque Terre (Actually she liked it very much). Amy&Kate jumped from a plane in Switzerland. I think they had parachutes though:) I'm taking the 10pm ferry to Ios island and have a bunch of time to kill so walked from Athens to the Piraeus Port (8 miles), I eat, walk, chill in a park, read, walk some more, ate again, and walked even more. All in all I think I did at least 10 miles(all with the pack)! I'm beat. 10:30 I'm on the ferry and I'm sure I'll be asleep before long.
Unbelievably I couldn't sleep on the ferry. Maybe I got an hours sleep. I arrived on Ios at 6 am and Matthew was there with a ride for me to Francesco's Hostel. No beds available untill 10:30 so I dropped the pack off and tried to figure out how to kill 4 hours. I Went walking around and before found some entertainment. A group of people still partying from the night before. Marion&Caroline(Ireland), Christopher&Alex(England) and Jin(???). Their drunkness help pass the time. Jin is a character out of some novel. A silly Jesus looking guy who was born in France, lived in 15 countries and speaks at least 8 languages. He got sentanced to 15 yrs in France for cultivating 265 cocoa plants. Six days in he nearly killed six inmates due at least partially to an extreme coke withdrawl (let that be a lesson kids). Got 45 days in solitaire for that. Wound up doing a year and got out. He's also a chemistry student so he cooked up his own batch of LSD. 150 hits worth of liquid. Downed like a shot!! Woke up (amazingly) ten days later in a Bulgarian forest. Remembers nothing. I'm suprised he's alive and functional. Marion is a cutie who thinks she knows me from some where. Maybe a past life? Around 9:30am they call it a night?? I head back to Francesco's and they're cleaning the rooms. Maria (Ms. Francesco) offers me a cup of coffee. I accepted a few minutes later after an older Canadian couple and Megan(San Fran) join me on the terrace. Crashed for a couple of hours and then walked 4 km down to the Mylantopus Beach (1km long)**Side note** Folks back home: don't forget to appreciate LBI. Seriously, I haven't yet come across a beach a nice as ours. Stop for a minute and think about the fact that you have 18 miles of pure white sand and a great ocean which graciously provides countless hours of fun!!! Nothing yet even compares seashore wise!!! We are blessed!OK so I spot Megan and Robin (Canada) on some beach chairs along with another dormmate, Dean(Sydney). I pull up a chair and sit in the sun. Chat it up with some cuties whom I quickly learn are "Floor Whores". Girls whose work for the clubs and basically their job is to look hot, friendly, and attract people into their respective clubs. Oh well, I'm too old for them anyway. At 5:30 there is an Ios Pool tournament @ Farout beachclub. 2 euro entry and everyone gets 3 lives. You shoot, if you miss you lose a life. Sinking the eightball gets you another life as does bearing your breasts (not fair!). Last one in gets the kitty. Back at the hostel I chilled for awhile and later on did a free welcome shot with three girls (Long Island, Chicago, L.A.). People start filling in and the American girls decide to school some Auzzies in Flip Cup. Poor Auzzies (never played), they got absolutely crushed. Lost every game!! At 11:30 they closed the bar and we all went to BlueNote. Dancing and a free shot with every drink. On the way out began talking to Chris (Chef from L.A.) and Mark (Philly). I quickly realize that Mark at only 25 is an old soul. We got philosophical at the bar, I just wish I could hear more of the conversation over the music. I decide to give him Angels & Demons (Highly recommend for you all) since it's a great blend of science, religion and spirit. I know he'll like it (confirmed by a later email). Megan loves to dance and is putting on quite the show (sober too). I, however, am not feeling the groove so I head back to the hostel. Megan comes back a few minutes later and opens up to me regarding her alcoholism and I'm happy for her that she's been sober for 3 years and doing well. We call it a night around 2am.Had a good veggie omlette w/toast at breakfast with Dean, Robin, Megan, Hope (England), & Alex(Canada). Now there really are only 2 things to do on Ios. Go to the beach during the day and party at night. So it's down to the beach for some sun and swimming and then back to the crib. The crew all debates about going to Alibabas for dinner and a movie, but in the end we decide to go to Fiesta's for great cheap food. Fed Francesco's dog "Rosie" on the way to the restaurant. I wasn't hungry, but got a delicious eggplant dip. Showered up and went to "Fun Pub", but it wasn't very fun so went mossied back up the hill and Megan scored us a free tequilla shot at Voodoo. There we say Hope and Alex who had drunk enough shots to earn a free t-shirt. It's a pretty dead night. Apparently there is a ferry strike so alot of people bailed from the island so as to not get stuck there. Cruised over to Satisfaction, but the music wasn't very satisfying. Then to Red Bull. Better crowd and better music. I was about to bust some moves, but we lost Robin&Megan and I didn't want to dance without them so I bailed around 3am and went to bed.Next day it's back to the beach. Later my mouth started watering for a pizza at Fiesta's, but everyone decided instead to go to Alibaba's for dinner and "Team America" on the big screen. Funny movie. Afterwards we hit up BlueNote and I got to break a sweat before hitting Red Bull for some more moves. Enjoyed a delicious crepe with chocolate and nuts and called it a night. Next morning we all did the usual slow wake up on the terrace, but before going to the beach Dean and I decided to check out the windmills and amphitheater. Grabbed another delicious crepe (veggie this time) and walked a steep hill to the amphitheater which must be an awesome place to see a show. (see photo). Left Dean up there and went to change for the beach. After talking to Robin, Trent, Kurt, & Ian(Oz) for awhile I hit the beach. Came back for sunset and found everyone just as I left them. They hadn't moved in like 5 hours. Lazy days in the Greek islands. Showered and finally got to appease my pizza craving. Went to catch "Chopper" (an Aussie cult classic, Roadwarriors kind of flick) at Alibaba's, but when we got there the owner Cookie says no movie due to the fact that he has some couples eating who wouldn't appreciate the Auzzie violence. But since all the Auzzies are leaving the next day he tells us to come back @ 9:30 and he'll put it on. The group splits up; we go to shower, they go to the Fun Pub. Went back for the movie, but the other half of the group never showed. So we had a beer, talked with Cookie, compared scars and were left wondering where the rest of the group were? Two hours later we meet back at the hostel. They had gone to Orange for some harder music. Bas*a*ds!! We chilled on the terrace and watched kids play drinking games. One guy obviously hadn't faired too well and tossed his cookies. Judy the bartender wasn't very happy. The following morning almost everyone except Dean is bailing. Trent&Ian for Athens, Kurt& I for Mykonos. We're on the high speed ferry but it arrives a half hour late. Pulls in only 15 minutes late and we boarded a packed bus to Paradise Beach. It's really windy here. Steady 20mph with 35mph gusts. Luckily it's an offshore wind so the beach is actually the best place to be. Seems like a cool place, but still early in the season so it's kind of slow. Later on Kurt and I are trying to get some shelter from the wind by hanging out between some bungalows. Freezing our butts off and wind up layering up, even donning my wool cap. The temperature isn't bad, but the wind is relentless. A couple of Auzzie girls join us a share their music. Emma & Beck introduce Christie and we head for the beach. Pick a table and shortly thereafter some more Auzzies join us. Then others. Texas, Boston 2 guys from NJ and others. We start putting tables together till there is about 20 of us. Chatted and turned in relatively early.
Up for the free breakfast. OJ, Coffee, croissant, 2 pcs of bread and jam. Kurt decided to check out town, but I decide there is time for that tomorrow and instead opt to hang out with the naked people on the beach (not sharing those pics :) Later on the way to the market I ran into Marion & Caroline from the first night in Ios. That night Kurt and I were hanging out when some Auzzie chick showed up. Sara, Lee and Kara. We all headed to the beach and then the drama started. First the girls brought their own booze to the beach and the bartender had apparently told them earlier they couldn't do that. They didn't take heed. The bartender spotted them pouring drinks, hopped over the bar, grabbed the bottles and poured them out right there on the beach. Pretty rude, but I guess they were warned. (apparently Kara had already been banned from the bar twice!) So we moved down the beach and Alice (Czech) and her boyfriend (Brazil) come along. Also a greek guy who Sara is throwing herself at since she just broke up with her boyfriend. We were having a good time when the drama continued. Sara's ex got piss drunk and wants to go to bed, but Sara won't give him the key. Her friend Lee gets caught in the middle and goes to talk to the Ex. Sara starts making out with the Greek. The Ex comes back 2-3 more times, poor guy. In the end, everyone's had enough and her friends turn on her and tell her to give up the key. We leave them fighting over her purse for the key. (yeah, you guessed it: the next morning they were back together, a happy lovin' couple. Go figure!!??)
Next morning Kurt and I went into town. Took some pics of the windmills and Little Venice, but other than shopping there isn't too much to see. We went back and decided to check out what Super Paradise was like. Supposedly Super Gay, but apparently they really have a good time and aren't predatory. Really windy. Got to the other side of the Cape, but no roads so no way to get down there. Anyway it looked pretty much the same as our beach. Spent the night listening to tunes on Kurt's IPod (I do regret not bringing tunes). He introduced me to some Aussie music and I made him listen to some bands he had accidently downloaded (Soundgarden, Janes, Pearl Jam, etc).
Well, the weather hasn't been so hot so it's time to move on. On the bus to the ferry the happy lovin' couple was present and they showed us pics of Sara's Atv accident. A perfectly straight road, but somehow she still managed to flip the ATV into a drainage ditch. Luckily the only damage was a broken mirror and a bruised ego. It's funny how many people you see walking around bandaged up. You can spot the scooter renters a mile a way. Kurt is heading to Athens and I'm off to Paros so we give each other Bon Voyages and board our respective ferries.
On entering the port I can see the campsites I'm planning on staying at, but a Renter won't take no for an answer. OK, I'll take a look. A short scooter ride later he's showing me a private with it's own Bathroom, a decent view and even a kitchen sink, stove and fridge. SOLD! Hit the beach 300 yards away for awhile. Went for a jog and later went out to check the nightlife, but it's still early in the season here also so it's pretty quiet. Morning: cooked up a killer veggie/cheese omelette and went out looking for some sites. The lame tourist map I got was useless so I couldn't find the sites I was looking for, but stumbled on others. Took a two hour walk up the mountain for the view and got some more beach time afterwards.
Next morning made another great breakfast (it's so nice when you get to cook up some good food) and prepped for the ferry back to Piraeus (Athens). The ferry was two hours late. Got to Athens around 10:15pm. I figure there is a slim to none chance of catching a late bus to Corfu, but I went for it anyway. Took the metro and then a 20 minute to the bus station. The first bus to Corfu is at 7:30am so I hunker down to squat for the night in the bus station. The guy in the store behind me is watching Fear Factor. Greece has me feeling a little guilty. Feels too much like a vacation. Haven't accomplished much besides a tan!
On the bus I was able to crash out hard after a sleepless night. That is until the first stop and hour into the trip when the bus driver chided me for taking up too many seats. So I scrunched up into two seats and continued to doze in and out. Got to Igoumenistu and I thought it a bit strange to take the bus onto the ferry for a 1.5 hour cruise just so it could take us 1 km to the Corfu bus station. I got on to the internet and found absolutely no availability for beds. Winging it is bound to bite you in the butt eventually. So I changed my ferry ticket to leave the next day which wss free except for a 15 euro tax charge?? Then began searching for a place to call home for the night. This proved difficult as Corfu is very developed and much of the area is gated off archelogical sites. Tried finding a beach, but the only one I found was about the size of a large sand box. Probably would have drowned in my sleep if the tide came in! Right after sunset I spotted a hill with some trees. Walked up the hill and found a lot which had recently been cleared and walked towards the trees. Damn! It's fenced off. But wait, a small section is knocked over and I can make out a trail in the fading light. Got out my mini flashlight and followed the trail. Spotted some cardboard which had obviously been someones bed and continued on a little further till I came to a clearing big enough for my tent. Managed to get the tent set up in the pitch black and gave thanks for a decent place to crash for the night. Slept like a rock! Woke up a 8am with the company of at least 20 mosquitoes. But not one bite. My theory is that eggs had been layed in Genoa and they were new borns that had just hatched due to the oxygen supplied after unpacking the tent. But then my mosquito biology is very rusty and I could be completely wrong. Had all day to kill so I went back to sleep for 2 hours. Then broke camp and spent the day people watching in the various parks and taking pics of the sites. Later catch the ferry to back to Bari to head back to Rome.....
Unbelievably I couldn't sleep on the ferry. Maybe I got an hours sleep. I arrived on Ios at 6 am and Matthew was there with a ride for me to Francesco's Hostel. No beds available untill 10:30 so I dropped the pack off and tried to figure out how to kill 4 hours. I Went walking around and before found some entertainment. A group of people still partying from the night before. Marion&Caroline(Ireland), Christopher&Alex(England) and Jin(???). Their drunkness help pass the time. Jin is a character out of some novel. A silly Jesus looking guy who was born in France, lived in 15 countries and speaks at least 8 languages. He got sentanced to 15 yrs in France for cultivating 265 cocoa plants. Six days in he nearly killed six inmates due at least partially to an extreme coke withdrawl (let that be a lesson kids). Got 45 days in solitaire for that. Wound up doing a year and got out. He's also a chemistry student so he cooked up his own batch of LSD. 150 hits worth of liquid. Downed like a shot!! Woke up (amazingly) ten days later in a Bulgarian forest. Remembers nothing. I'm suprised he's alive and functional. Marion is a cutie who thinks she knows me from some where. Maybe a past life? Around 9:30am they call it a night?? I head back to Francesco's and they're cleaning the rooms. Maria (Ms. Francesco) offers me a cup of coffee. I accepted a few minutes later after an older Canadian couple and Megan(San Fran) join me on the terrace. Crashed for a couple of hours and then walked 4 km down to the Mylantopus Beach (1km long)**Side note** Folks back home: don't forget to appreciate LBI. Seriously, I haven't yet come across a beach a nice as ours. Stop for a minute and think about the fact that you have 18 miles of pure white sand and a great ocean which graciously provides countless hours of fun!!! Nothing yet even compares seashore wise!!! We are blessed!OK so I spot Megan and Robin (Canada) on some beach chairs along with another dormmate, Dean(Sydney). I pull up a chair and sit in the sun. Chat it up with some cuties whom I quickly learn are "Floor Whores". Girls whose work for the clubs and basically their job is to look hot, friendly, and attract people into their respective clubs. Oh well, I'm too old for them anyway. At 5:30 there is an Ios Pool tournament @ Farout beachclub. 2 euro entry and everyone gets 3 lives. You shoot, if you miss you lose a life. Sinking the eightball gets you another life as does bearing your breasts (not fair!). Last one in gets the kitty. Back at the hostel I chilled for awhile and later on did a free welcome shot with three girls (Long Island, Chicago, L.A.). People start filling in and the American girls decide to school some Auzzies in Flip Cup. Poor Auzzies (never played), they got absolutely crushed. Lost every game!! At 11:30 they closed the bar and we all went to BlueNote. Dancing and a free shot with every drink. On the way out began talking to Chris (Chef from L.A.) and Mark (Philly). I quickly realize that Mark at only 25 is an old soul. We got philosophical at the bar, I just wish I could hear more of the conversation over the music. I decide to give him Angels & Demons (Highly recommend for you all) since it's a great blend of science, religion and spirit. I know he'll like it (confirmed by a later email). Megan loves to dance and is putting on quite the show (sober too). I, however, am not feeling the groove so I head back to the hostel. Megan comes back a few minutes later and opens up to me regarding her alcoholism and I'm happy for her that she's been sober for 3 years and doing well. We call it a night around 2am.Had a good veggie omlette w/toast at breakfast with Dean, Robin, Megan, Hope (England), & Alex(Canada). Now there really are only 2 things to do on Ios. Go to the beach during the day and party at night. So it's down to the beach for some sun and swimming and then back to the crib. The crew all debates about going to Alibabas for dinner and a movie, but in the end we decide to go to Fiesta's for great cheap food. Fed Francesco's dog "Rosie" on the way to the restaurant. I wasn't hungry, but got a delicious eggplant dip. Showered up and went to "Fun Pub", but it wasn't very fun so went mossied back up the hill and Megan scored us a free tequilla shot at Voodoo. There we say Hope and Alex who had drunk enough shots to earn a free t-shirt. It's a pretty dead night. Apparently there is a ferry strike so alot of people bailed from the island so as to not get stuck there. Cruised over to Satisfaction, but the music wasn't very satisfying. Then to Red Bull. Better crowd and better music. I was about to bust some moves, but we lost Robin&Megan and I didn't want to dance without them so I bailed around 3am and went to bed.Next day it's back to the beach. Later my mouth started watering for a pizza at Fiesta's, but everyone decided instead to go to Alibaba's for dinner and "Team America" on the big screen. Funny movie. Afterwards we hit up BlueNote and I got to break a sweat before hitting Red Bull for some more moves. Enjoyed a delicious crepe with chocolate and nuts and called it a night. Next morning we all did the usual slow wake up on the terrace, but before going to the beach Dean and I decided to check out the windmills and amphitheater. Grabbed another delicious crepe (veggie this time) and walked a steep hill to the amphitheater which must be an awesome place to see a show. (see photo). Left Dean up there and went to change for the beach. After talking to Robin, Trent, Kurt, & Ian(Oz) for awhile I hit the beach. Came back for sunset and found everyone just as I left them. They hadn't moved in like 5 hours. Lazy days in the Greek islands. Showered and finally got to appease my pizza craving. Went to catch "Chopper" (an Aussie cult classic, Roadwarriors kind of flick) at Alibaba's, but when we got there the owner Cookie says no movie due to the fact that he has some couples eating who wouldn't appreciate the Auzzie violence. But since all the Auzzies are leaving the next day he tells us to come back @ 9:30 and he'll put it on. The group splits up; we go to shower, they go to the Fun Pub. Went back for the movie, but the other half of the group never showed. So we had a beer, talked with Cookie, compared scars and were left wondering where the rest of the group were? Two hours later we meet back at the hostel. They had gone to Orange for some harder music. Bas*a*ds!! We chilled on the terrace and watched kids play drinking games. One guy obviously hadn't faired too well and tossed his cookies. Judy the bartender wasn't very happy. The following morning almost everyone except Dean is bailing. Trent&Ian for Athens, Kurt& I for Mykonos. We're on the high speed ferry but it arrives a half hour late. Pulls in only 15 minutes late and we boarded a packed bus to Paradise Beach. It's really windy here. Steady 20mph with 35mph gusts. Luckily it's an offshore wind so the beach is actually the best place to be. Seems like a cool place, but still early in the season so it's kind of slow. Later on Kurt and I are trying to get some shelter from the wind by hanging out between some bungalows. Freezing our butts off and wind up layering up, even donning my wool cap. The temperature isn't bad, but the wind is relentless. A couple of Auzzie girls join us a share their music. Emma & Beck introduce Christie and we head for the beach. Pick a table and shortly thereafter some more Auzzies join us. Then others. Texas, Boston 2 guys from NJ and others. We start putting tables together till there is about 20 of us. Chatted and turned in relatively early.
Up for the free breakfast. OJ, Coffee, croissant, 2 pcs of bread and jam. Kurt decided to check out town, but I decide there is time for that tomorrow and instead opt to hang out with the naked people on the beach (not sharing those pics :) Later on the way to the market I ran into Marion & Caroline from the first night in Ios. That night Kurt and I were hanging out when some Auzzie chick showed up. Sara, Lee and Kara. We all headed to the beach and then the drama started. First the girls brought their own booze to the beach and the bartender had apparently told them earlier they couldn't do that. They didn't take heed. The bartender spotted them pouring drinks, hopped over the bar, grabbed the bottles and poured them out right there on the beach. Pretty rude, but I guess they were warned. (apparently Kara had already been banned from the bar twice!) So we moved down the beach and Alice (Czech) and her boyfriend (Brazil) come along. Also a greek guy who Sara is throwing herself at since she just broke up with her boyfriend. We were having a good time when the drama continued. Sara's ex got piss drunk and wants to go to bed, but Sara won't give him the key. Her friend Lee gets caught in the middle and goes to talk to the Ex. Sara starts making out with the Greek. The Ex comes back 2-3 more times, poor guy. In the end, everyone's had enough and her friends turn on her and tell her to give up the key. We leave them fighting over her purse for the key. (yeah, you guessed it: the next morning they were back together, a happy lovin' couple. Go figure!!??)
Next morning Kurt and I went into town. Took some pics of the windmills and Little Venice, but other than shopping there isn't too much to see. We went back and decided to check out what Super Paradise was like. Supposedly Super Gay, but apparently they really have a good time and aren't predatory. Really windy. Got to the other side of the Cape, but no roads so no way to get down there. Anyway it looked pretty much the same as our beach. Spent the night listening to tunes on Kurt's IPod (I do regret not bringing tunes). He introduced me to some Aussie music and I made him listen to some bands he had accidently downloaded (Soundgarden, Janes, Pearl Jam, etc).
Well, the weather hasn't been so hot so it's time to move on. On the bus to the ferry the happy lovin' couple was present and they showed us pics of Sara's Atv accident. A perfectly straight road, but somehow she still managed to flip the ATV into a drainage ditch. Luckily the only damage was a broken mirror and a bruised ego. It's funny how many people you see walking around bandaged up. You can spot the scooter renters a mile a way. Kurt is heading to Athens and I'm off to Paros so we give each other Bon Voyages and board our respective ferries.
On entering the port I can see the campsites I'm planning on staying at, but a Renter won't take no for an answer. OK, I'll take a look. A short scooter ride later he's showing me a private with it's own Bathroom, a decent view and even a kitchen sink, stove and fridge. SOLD! Hit the beach 300 yards away for awhile. Went for a jog and later went out to check the nightlife, but it's still early in the season here also so it's pretty quiet. Morning: cooked up a killer veggie/cheese omelette and went out looking for some sites. The lame tourist map I got was useless so I couldn't find the sites I was looking for, but stumbled on others. Took a two hour walk up the mountain for the view and got some more beach time afterwards.
Next morning made another great breakfast (it's so nice when you get to cook up some good food) and prepped for the ferry back to Piraeus (Athens). The ferry was two hours late. Got to Athens around 10:15pm. I figure there is a slim to none chance of catching a late bus to Corfu, but I went for it anyway. Took the metro and then a 20 minute to the bus station. The first bus to Corfu is at 7:30am so I hunker down to squat for the night in the bus station. The guy in the store behind me is watching Fear Factor. Greece has me feeling a little guilty. Feels too much like a vacation. Haven't accomplished much besides a tan!
On the bus I was able to crash out hard after a sleepless night. That is until the first stop and hour into the trip when the bus driver chided me for taking up too many seats. So I scrunched up into two seats and continued to doze in and out. Got to Igoumenistu and I thought it a bit strange to take the bus onto the ferry for a 1.5 hour cruise just so it could take us 1 km to the Corfu bus station. I got on to the internet and found absolutely no availability for beds. Winging it is bound to bite you in the butt eventually. So I changed my ferry ticket to leave the next day which wss free except for a 15 euro tax charge?? Then began searching for a place to call home for the night. This proved difficult as Corfu is very developed and much of the area is gated off archelogical sites. Tried finding a beach, but the only one I found was about the size of a large sand box. Probably would have drowned in my sleep if the tide came in! Right after sunset I spotted a hill with some trees. Walked up the hill and found a lot which had recently been cleared and walked towards the trees. Damn! It's fenced off. But wait, a small section is knocked over and I can make out a trail in the fading light. Got out my mini flashlight and followed the trail. Spotted some cardboard which had obviously been someones bed and continued on a little further till I came to a clearing big enough for my tent. Managed to get the tent set up in the pitch black and gave thanks for a decent place to crash for the night. Slept like a rock! Woke up a 8am with the company of at least 20 mosquitoes. But not one bite. My theory is that eggs had been layed in Genoa and they were new borns that had just hatched due to the oxygen supplied after unpacking the tent. But then my mosquito biology is very rusty and I could be completely wrong. Had all day to kill so I went back to sleep for 2 hours. Then broke camp and spent the day people watching in the various parks and taking pics of the sites. Later catch the ferry to back to Bari to head back to Rome.....
Monday, June 06, 2005
Sorrento, Italy
Another beautiful train ride thru Italy. Lush rolling hills with olive and grape trees set off by huge ancient Roman aqueducts. Arrived in Napoli and walked around for a bit, but it seemed every bit the dump that people told me it was. So back on the train and an hour later I'm in Sorrento on the bay of Napoli. So I'm waiting on the bus to camp and start talking to three older couples from North Jersey. The bus doesn't seem to be coming so we all decide to take the alternate bus from Tasso Square a couple of blocks away. Checked into the Campground and got a 1970's caravan all to myself since it's still preseason here. Free breakfast of 2 rolls, jam/butter and coffee is included with the caravan so I woke up at 9am, ate and went back to bed before eventually making it down to the private beach. Actually it's not a beach, but cliff and rock. I laid out in the sun for a few hours and after seeing some people go for a swim I decided I would like to also. Only problem was that I wore my walking shorts instead of my baggies for some reason. Well, I was too lazy to walk all the way up the hill to change so I figured I go in the skinny. I wasn't concerned about the couples or the young ladies on the beach, but a boat with kids just anchored 20 meters away. So I waited it out till they drifted down a bit because I didn't want to bare mi kibels and bits in front of the kids! It was worth the wait. The water was perfect! Although very salty. After a refreshing dip I went for a stroll down into town. Great views here. Really spectacular!! On the way back I ran into the folks from N.Jersey again. The next morning I decided I'd check out Mt. Vesuvius and maybe Pompei. Caught the 10:30 train, but it was slow and I missed the 11:30 bus to the volcanoe. Elaine (England) and I decide to check for a local bus instead, but we are told there are no busses due to a strike. So I didn't miss the bus afterall! So a bunch of us packed into a mini-taxi (actually a mini-van) and twenty minutes later we are paying our entrance fee. All in all, I wouldn't recommend the excursion. It was rather boring, dusty and way too many insects buzzing around. The hike to the top takes about 20 minutes and when you get there, all is still. The only action is the tiniest bit of steam in one little area which you can barely make out in the pictures. Decided I was too tired to do Pompei and blew it off. Went back to camp and cooked up a huge plate of pasta in the communal kitchen and met Mark (Alabama) who was kind enough to lend me his Lonely Planet so I could research my near future (Sicily, Malta, Greece). In the end I'm very keen on Greece, less keen on Sicily: and Malta, although I'm sure is beautiful, seems too conservative and not at all cheap. So I decide I'm going straight to Greece, but since I freed up some time I think I'll stay an extra day here.Today I wake up to what will be a glorious day because I get to go to the Postale Ufficio and mail 7 lbs. of cold weather clothing back home. Ahhh! the pack feels so much better now. After some more beach time I went into town to get some travel information. Ouch!! The train leaves at 9am from Napoli which means I have to be up and out by 6am for the 7am to Napoli. Then a 6 hour train ride to Bari, Italy. Then a 12.5 hour ferry ride to Iqoumenitsa, Greece. Then another 8 hour bus ride to Athens. Oh well, gotta do what ya gotta do!Later that night after cooking up a huge plate of pasta in the communal kitchen I was sitting around digesting when it hit me that I have to pay up tonight because the office won't be open so early in the morning. Only I don't have enough cash on me so it's time for more exercise. A 3 mile roundtrip back into town. On the way down I ran AGAIN into the folks from N. Jersey! They were returning from Capri where they took an open air/single seated sky tram ride to the top and ate at a mountain top restaurant. They said they absolutely loved it. On the way back up, outside a bar watching a football game I just happened to bump into Mark (Alabama) who is my camp caravan neighbor. Sat around for a while waiting for my camera batteries to get a fresh charge and hit the hay around 2 am. Just four hours of sleep is gonna make for a hellaluva long day!
Rome- just passing thru
Made it to the campsite with just enough time to check in and make it across the road the supermercato for food. It's still early in the season and it's pretty quiet. But that's OK, I'm only here for two days to figure out were my next stop will be. I'm coming back to do Rome properly in a few weeks. The only people I met were Chelsea & Nicole (Philly) who are studying in Paris, but getting set to go back home. Another tough day at the pool working on the base tan. Find Chelsea & Nicole later that night, so we talk the night away. Apparently the wolves were circling them all night, so they were very glad for my presence. Cause I'm one big bad as* wolf. Well, at least I kept them at bay!! :) The girls warn me that Napoli (Naples) is a ghetto so I decide to skip it and head another hour south to Sorrento which is on the Bay of Napoli. On the way out I was all to happy to mail some things home that had been weighing me down via Rome's Postale Ufficio. A few pounds lighter and I'm on my way to Sorrento......
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Tuscany
Before leaving Florence I inquired about shuttle service at the Tuscany Campground. Only 1 a day and it's at 8:45. Well I won't make that, "how much for a taxi?" 8 euros. Seems kind of steep, I wonder how far it is. Got online and noted it was less than 2km from the train station. Where they get the gaul to charge 8 euros for a 1 mile cab ride I'll never know!! I can walk that distance quicker than the time it would take to order a taxi!I arrived in the afternoon and was asking two pretty teenagers directions to the road I needed. One gives directions, the other translates for me. Alright, Grazie. I was just about to head off when the shuttle from the camp pulls up. Originally the driver wanted to charge me the 8 euros because I didn't actually make a reservation, but after a bit he agreed to take me for nothing. Which was great because although it was far, it was all uphill. So it's $12.50 to use my tent or $15 for a little mobile home with its own shower/toilet. Tough choice! It's a really beutiful place. Lush Tuscan mountains and not much else to ruin the view. Enjoy the sunset with a bottle of Tuscany Red. Listening to the tunes coming from the bar and chat with Darren (England) who is there with his wife and kid looking for a home. But first he has to spend some time getting in good with the locals or else he'll wind up paying twice as much! A little later I met Rose & Lisa (Cape town) who were in the middle of Tour guide boot camp and just jumped ship after deciding it wasn't their thing. Lisa and I wind up playing Italian 8 ball (ya gotta sink the 8 ball in the last pocket you sunk) with a couple of locals. A student and a restaurant owner who is a big jolly guy and kindly buys us a couple of drinks. They are pretty bad pool players, so I miss a few on purpose just to keep things going and amicable. All the while taking in the scene of the mostly locals (the town is so small that they come up to the campsite for entertainment!!) dancing and singing Kareoke. Normally I hate Kareoke, but their was some talent there so it was alright.Next morning got up and swam some laps in the pool after breakfast. Then went for a walk around the hills towards the horse stables. Passed a babbling brook, some abandoned villas, vineyards and farm animals. Pigs, deer, goats, ostriches, a horse and salamander darting every which way. Chilled again on the terrace with Lisa keeping me company.Next morning is a repeat of yesterday. Only today I nearly break my neck coming out the shower in my slaps. It was worse than walking on ice!! Another lazy day out at the pool and a nice pizza dinner with Lisa in a suprislingly nice restaurant for a camp ground. Later met some guys working at the campground. Three English blokes and an Auzzie. I may run into them again since they're based at the Venice Campsite. Next morning woke up, paid the bill and had a cup of coffee with Lisa sharing my last moments in lovely Tuscany. Just missed the 11:30 train so I got on the 1:30, but it was the wrong one!!! Apparently they switched tracks on me at the last moment. No biggy, it just cost me another 2 hours. Eventually made it Rome, but that's another chapter......Ciao.
Firenze (Florence)
Nice views on the train from La Spezia to Florence. Snow topped mountains in the distance, farmlands in close and hills of marble and limestone in between. Had to switch trains in Pisa. I had about 10 seconds to hop on the connecting train. In fact the train doors closed on my backpack. Tug, Tug,whew.. made it, barely. Nearly fell over in the process. An Aussie couple and I chuckle over it and together hope we are on the correct train. It was.Arrived in Florence and head to the tourist office. Closed?? Huh. (Later I find out there is a new office across the street) While I have a puzzled look on my face and nice old man asks if I need accomadations? Well, by this time I've learned my lesson and don't want to waste time and energy looking around so I get the price/location and say "Let's go". Drop my stuff off and go wandering around. Stumble on the Duomo Cathedral which is huge in size and draw.Next morning I check out and check into Camping Michealangelo. Killer uphill walk with the pack, but it affords an awesome view of Florence. Good facilities, clean, bar, restaurant, open all year and they have 2 person framed tents which are very convenient. Enjoyed the view of Florence just down the road from Piazzle Michaelangelo. Florence just on the other side of the Arno River which is incredibly muddy and not attractive at all. They must photoshop the postcards of the river. There is a historical Monastery further up the road with monks singing beautifully. Back at the camp ground I sat down on the terrace and started easedropping on the conversation 3 girls were having. I chuckle at a comment and they realize I speak english. I fess up and introduce myself, they invite me to join them. Ineke (Oz), Kate and Amy (sisters hailing from the windy city) and I hit it off. We enjoyed a few brews and laughs and then I showed them a spot for some good cheap pizza. The next morning I wanted to check out the museums so I crossed the Vecchio bridge which is jewelers row. I got on line for the main museum, Museum Uffizi, but the line was a 4-5 wait!! Three Canadians and I decide it's a lost cause and walk to the Museum Academia to take a look at Michael. Upon entering we realized that they don't allow any pictures. Bullocks!! It's marble for crying out loud. And skylights right above the thing. Some people just like to break balls I guess. Afterwards I walked around for a while hoping to find a nice park, but couldn't find any. Found myself in the Jewish section of town and got a picture of a nice synagogue which they were cleaning the oxidation off of the copper dome. Back at the campgrounds it's a lot livelier because of the 3 day weekend. Talk the night away with Kate/Amy and they were gracious enough to pass along Dan Brown's Angels & Demons. It's a great blend of Science/Religion/philosophy. Highly recommend it. I spent one more day just wandering the streets and on the way back it started to drizzel. Italians apparently don't leave home without their umbrellas. Not 3 drops fell before a sea of umbrellas appeared. It's crowded enough in Florence, but after you add the umbrellas it gets a little trying. And I'm amazed no one poked my eye out:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)