And a Sigh.

(Journal entry Jan.3rd, 2008: I stand on the terrace of my 'home' in Nepal. I look at Mama and give her a big hug. Neither of us wanted to let go. Even though we have no verbal language, it would not matter as we have been connected beyond words. My eyes started to water and for the first time, I cried when saying goodbye. We broke the embrace and her eyes too had filled with tears. I will miss MaMa.)

And now, I made my way from busy Bangkok, onto a bus, then a ferry, and finally a truck taxi taking me to Lonely Beach. Since being here I have enjoyed a foot massage, had a facial and face massage, got a hair cut and rented bike. I drove all around the island today and loved it. I really admire the simple island life and I have already spotted my next place of stay for whenever I come back to Thailand. The food, by the way, is AMAZING, as expected. I even had fresh crab in yellow curry and a beer for $9. So yummy. The only thing that I could ask for is that all the young drunk foreigners and the sketchy, large men walking with young Thai girls, go home.

I guess, now that I am warm, clean, and comforted by the sun and Thai food, why would I come home? Just kidding, but not really. I will see you all shortly as I venture the 20 hour journey home. Thanks for reading!

Santa's Elephant

It was dark with only the stars and truck lights marking the edge of the road. Passing by all the mountain villages, I tried to keep my stomach calm. Back and forth, stop and go. The sight out the car window was beautiful - specks of light on the hill side were like a reflection of the skies bright stars. I thought, "What is Russia really doing in Nepal." Canada only has a consulate in Nepal, just like Cambodia so what is Russia doing with an Embassy? Not sure, but I was definitely riding in a Russian diplomatic vehicle traveling from my road side hitchhike spot to Kathmandu.

The bus ride from the beautiful Pokhara left at 7:30am. I leave behind great, warm memories of this town. I rented bike and rode to the temple, ate at a Canadian restaurant (lame highlight, but really comforting for me), wandered around the street festival, biked to the top of a hill, called mom, and of course, went paragliding to the height of 2200m. So much fun. Despite the color of my skin turning even whiter than normal, I had the most incredible view of mountains, lake, and eagles by our side.

By the time we had to leave (myself and two English folk), I was full of calming adventure. So when we left for Kathmandu, we had no idea that a tragic event occurring 2 weeks ago would have us in a new adventure. At 10am, the people of a small village blocked the 24-hour highway leaving a 10km parking lot, in each direction. The tragedy is when a truck driver injured two motorcyclists and instead of leaving it at that, the driver reversed with intent to kill. The driver was successful, drove off, and left the bodies and the scene. No wonder there's an outcry. Most of the people in the parking lot did not mind. I did. No way was I going to stay on the bus overnight; it may not be Canada but Nepal is still cold and not so safe when you are labeled a tourist. So, I and three others walked. After already walking 6km, I started walking with my pack to the road block, snuck around it, past the riot police and huge crowd, and crossed to the other side. Now 5pm, we had another 6km to the nearest spot to intercept a mini bus or taxi back to Kathmandu. Things were getting a little dicey with crowds and price and general hunger but to our luck, two young Russians in a diplomatic car stopped. We asked them for a ride, paying any price. He said yes and we jumped in and tried to get out of there as fast as we could see the crowd starting to form around the 'White means the White' luck. We got away. Whew.

The bus did eventually start moving by 10pm and made it back to Kathmandu at 1:30am.

Am I Spinning?

First Cambodia's illegal land grabs, then Nepal's bridge, now Pakistan's female democratic opposition leader? My head is spinning with news from around the world...but yes, I had a fantastic Christmas (which will be in my next post).

Cambodia
I have learned about some of the land grabbing that the government is turning a blind eye to and that corporations are taking advantage of. It is illegal, according to Cambodian law, however there does not seem to be a body that monitors land activity among the poor. Working men leaving their homes for work each day (just like Canada) and leaving the women and children to defend their homes from bulldozers. My friend Lee with Licadho Canada has been standing on the strike line for a couple months (yeah, 2 whole months if not longer), standing beside the locals searching for a peaceful resolution. For Lee, Cambodia, and Licadho, Christmas was not peaceful. We need a government presence in a country where CIDA and dozens of other Canadian agencies and organizations drop millions of dollars doing a whole lot of nothing. Why do we give a country so much money when there is no embassy or even trusted consulate?

Nepal's Bridge
It was a time of full moon celebration. The 24th is with immediate family and the next day is with community and other relatives. The bridge was a route to the temple for offering of this celebration - no different than visiting the church for Christmas Eve or day. Although I taking in the celebration of the Nepalese festivities, I was not close to the bridge that collapsed.

Pakistan
I am completely shocked, but not really. As it has been happening for centuries, a outspoken woman who defends her country in democracy, takes her last breath after delivery a message of hope and a new outlook for the Pakistan people. As the multitude of responses flow into media headlines I think of how too late the effort is. From United States to Canada to any country in Europe, here's my question, "What do you really care?". Or is the question, "Why should developed countries care. As For women who speak out and individuals who stand for injustice, it has already been centuries of struggle. Now that the extremists are freaking out, they resort to what they know best. Murder.

The Swim
Aside from the world, could we truly lived in a society where the people lifted one another to a higher place instead of trying to beat one another to be first in line, to get the highest pay, to have the fastest car or the biggest house? Well, Canada, we have a lot of work to do. Maybe we can be leaders for a change...or maybe I just need a break from Asia.

Hard to imagine but my Christmas was a blast and I am still enjoying it. I have in Pokhara for another day and then back to Kathmandu where I will have more time to write about my past week.

The Christmas Frenzy

Before I start this ramble, I just wanted to follow up on my poop story. Only because the following day offered a new number-one experience with my travels and my pooh. The former number one was the Western Ghats, India and was a good story at that. However, with being pushed to the number two spot, congratulations Nepal, you are now at number one. Ahem...to keep whatever dignity I have left, I will keep this one in the closet for a while.

So, while all the westerners are frantically finding the perfect gift that will gain approval from a friend, daughter, son, father, mother, brother, sister, and whatever, I am enjoying the quiet walks around some of the most ancient grounds of Kathmandu. It's funny to think that back home, this time of year is about finishing work so that we can have time, but not necessary with family, but for shopping. This is my number one reason for not being home during the holidays and because I spent my day like this:

I woke up with a phone call from Kristy (It is so nice to hear a voice from back home). I go up for breaki then try and gather my thoughts for the day (I sit and read and stare out the window). Then off to do laundry, Nepalese style - this means 2 hours of manually washing with mama (Rabindra's mom). I now have a fantastic new appreciation for my oma and what she had to endure with 8 kids on the farm in the 1950's and I will never complain about doing laundry at home again. After a lunch filling me with more rice, potatoes, some spinach thing, lentils, and hot water, I head out the door for my daily walk.

My daily walk is anywhere from 2km to 8km and this is what I experience:
1. Skinned goat head on the open butcher table.
2. Stray puppies and hundreds of dogs.
3. Oranges, bananas, and apples every 20ft.
4. Old men yelling at a younger lady who is simply listening and smiling.
5. The real life version of the old game frogger - dodge the traffic game.
6. Super old brick buildings with building stone layouts.
7. The communal gold fountain where the community retrieves water.
8. The sound of stove carving by dozens of stone carvers (ages 6-35); sounds like a factory.
9. The blue uniformed military men and women who direct traffic or sit and do nothing.
10. The thousands of plastic bags and packaging materials from good ol' China but influenced by Western visitors.

There's so much more and I will try and capture as much as I can. As for Christmas day? Not really sure. I will mostly likely be with foreign friends, have a beautiful turkey meal, drinking Carlsberg beer, and enjoying a good old fashioned gift exchange. Plus, opening my package from co-workers in Canada. Thanks team...I look forward to it.

I hope time preparing for Christmas is all about making sure everyone gets together safely and is warm. That seems to be the key over here.