Tham Chiang Diao Road Trip

 Having got the hang of two wheels in Thailand, we decided to get a little more adventurous – I had really wanted to see Chiang Diao, a scenic mountain spot about 2hrs scootering from Chiang Mai. We swapped our hard-seated scooter for an automatic with a very comfortable gel seat for the longer trip, and were very grateful for it. Arriving in nearby Chiang Diao, a mountain loomed above us. A quick turn left brought us even deeper into the shadow of the mountain, and out of city existence. This area is beautiful, with sub-tropical trees all over, as well as extensive gum tree forests. However, we were almost out of petrol. After asking directions to the nearest petrol station, we at first didn't recognise it - glass jugs with tubes coming out of them suspended at head height. It was the most interesting petrol station we have come across, even better than the roadside glass bottles of petrol for scooters in Bali! Once we were fueled, we checked out a few bungalows (justifiably all booked out, they were gorgeous!) we found a place called the Nest, with the most comfortable bed in 2 months, as well as a pool and views of the mountain.

Nearby, a buddhist temple is nestled in the rainforest part way up the mountain, with views out over the verdant region. After exploring it, we headed back to the hotel's restaurant for dinner (we were ravenous after the road trip), and while eating our meals, we could hear the bells resounding throughout the mountain pass, calling the monks to meditation. My steamed fish with chilli and lime sounded amazing but turned out to be less flavoursome than anticipated. We'll have to explore the other restaurants tomorrow! The pool here is the perfect temperature to laze around in whilst reading, looking out at the mountains looming overhead, or gazing at the orchid nursery.

    Tomorrow we plan to explore the extensive cave system within Chiang Diao, where it is rumoured a hermit lived for a thousand years, and cursed anyone who tries to steal a stone from the mountain to lose their ways in its passageways forever.

Charming Chiang Mai

 Chiang Mai is like Bangkok without the overdose – the night bazaar is medium sized, but similar to the Khao Sanh markets in the products sold except that there isn't so much rushing and over-hawking. It's a lovely place, based on a square grid with a moat surrounding the central township.Unfortunately Bec got sick, so once she was settled in to the hotel room I went exploring in the aim of finding a supermarket. Everything's clearer in hindsight, but had I known that the nearest supermarket was 6km away I may not have engaged in such a task. Anyway after an hour of walking I found this place, and was in heaven – anything I could have wanted at the Rim Ping Supermarkets including cordial, peanut butter, teabags and fresh baked bread. More than that, I wanted something to go with the bottle of red that Bec had brought over, and managed to find gruyere cheese and fresh green olives. The hour walk to the hotel in the midday heat left the olives slightly worse for wear but nothing ever tasted better than gruyere cheese on baguette with wine than eating it in the courtyard of my hotel in Thailand, surrounded by flowering orchids.

The next day we rented a manual scooter for 150baht, which gave us the freedom to check out Chiang mai at a slightly faster pace. After a quick zip around, we headed up to Mae Rim, a valley half an hour to the north of Chiang Mai. First stop was the Tiger Temple, where Bec had found out you can pat live tigers. She wanted to pat the cubs and the big ones, while I settled for just the big ones. They were so beautiful that I want one for a pet, although they seemed a bit too docile (I felt sorry that their killer instincts had been toned down so much!). We then headed up to a snake tamer show, which looked too tacky to enter, and to the waterfalls nearby, which turned out to be 220baht just to look at, which seemed too steep so we turned back (I was offended – in Australia, waterfalls are free; I feel like you shouldn't be able to put a price on natural attractions). On the way back, Bec pointed out a lovely cafe, which had freshly baked cakes, organic coffee and... Scones! I was over the moon, I'd been looking for scones since I was in India. That afternoon tea, although expensive by Thai standards, was the loveliest I have had in a long time, sipping my Darjeeling tea and savouring scones with organic blueberry jam and whipped cream in the shadow of a Thai villa with a beautiful tropical-themed garden surrounding it. We stopped by an orchid farm on the way back; it was stunning to see the sheer mass of orchids; and the different hybrids and colours were awesome. What a day!

Partying in Bangkok

My girlfriend Bec who will be travelling with me for the next months was to arrive in Bangkok late at night on the 21st, so as I had day before she arrived I decided it would be nice to do something romantic. I spent the day hunting out the flowermarkets, which ended up being around the bottom of Triphet road. Asking a gentleman how to say 'flowermarkets' in Thai, I went down streets demanding 'Bac Hong Dalat?' and getting pointed in various directions, each time getting closer to my destination. Finally reaching them, I was completely awed at the sheer mass of flowers covering every inch of space... and the markets were supposed to be closed! Fresh cut roses, gerberas, and chrysanthemums were     everywhere, for rock-bottom prices.

 I bought around a hundred roses and some candles from a store, and with some vases from my lovely hotel hostess, set up a candlelit hotel room with roses in seperate vases around the two-storey apartment and rose petals leading up the stairs. Naturally suspicious, she guessed that something was up by my excitement when she arrived. Bec was speechless when she saw the hotel room. I couldn't wait to give her my last surprise, an ice-cream cake I had bought as I had missed her birthday whilst travelling in India. Lighting the birthday candles, I sang happy birthday to her and presented her with the massive amount of chocolate ice-cream adorned with fresh strawberries I had found at the local market. I have so much fun organising things like this!

The next day, we were free to set upon Bangkok. It's easy to get used to life in Bangkok, with the street vendors selling all the fresh pineapple, watermelon, paw-paw and mango you could ever want in between meals, as well as sit-down places with fresh fruit salad, muesli and yoghurt, and for lunch and dinner delicious Thai stir fries with basil and soups with noodles - yum! But it's not only the daytime that has its upsides in Bangkok. The night-time seems to last even longer than the day, with Khao Sanh Road still as the main partying area for the young hooligan, but the nearby Soi Rambuttri rivaling Khao Sanh for partying flare, especially due to the much improved aesthetics of Soi Rambuttri. These take the form of beautiful lanterns lighting the streets and clubs, as well as fairy lights in the trees. We found a cool place selling apple Sheesha to smoke for 300baht per pipe, as well as cocktails - I had the best long island ice tea I've ever tried at an amazing looking bar halfway up Soi Rambuttri. That was a fun night, although I blew my 30 dollar-a-day budget on 3 dishes for dinner as well as a bucket of vodka and lemon.

The next day we explored the flower markets again, and this time when they weren't supposedly closed, there were even more flowers crammed into every inch of space. It was once again amazingly beautiful, with even amazingly coloured blue orchids adorning the pavement. I also got to check out a great cafe I had been itching to go to called Ethos. Whoever conceived this joint should be very proud of themselves - just behing the Burger King off Khao Sanh Rd, it has the most delicious fruit shakes I've ever tasted, perfectly spruced up with a fresh purple orchid flower atop the glass. I had a pineapple and coconut shake, while Bec had a couple of lemon and ginger shakes, both of which were superb. Looking at the menu, I was excited to try the apple crumble with coconut cream custard. It was the most delicious dessert I've had in months, with rolled oats in the crumble and the coconut cream custard the most ingenious idea I've heard of in a long while. I highly recommend Ethos to anyone, the atmosphere is also superb, with floor cushions or chairs and tables, as well as free wifi and electricity.

Back in Bangkok!

Six weeks and I'd had enough of India. I have got the hang of travelling around and the Indian railway system, but the touts and small children's demands of "hello... rupee!" made me feel more like a banknote on legs than a person. I will miss the outstanding food; I probably learnt more Hindi through words for different curries than any other way. Like Kung Fu Panda, the way to learning languages for me is through food :P India has taught me the importance of savouring every moment hedonistically - even if a million other people are doing the same things as me, I am experiencing that thing in a different way, and can have an individual perspective of the experience, which is what gives that experience importance. I've been taught greater tolerance, even though I can't understand what motivates the constant rushing to get somewhere, which includes pushing in in queues, when it seems to me everyone is rushing to get somewhere but noone is moving at all. The class barriers/income brackets in India seem to have the highest walls of any country.

Now I'm in Bangkok. I arrived early; at 0515 - with barely any sleep the night before, I stumbled around trying to find a hotel to fall into bed in. Everywhere was full! It was so difficult to find a place, I think I walked around with my full pack for 2 or 3 hours, managing to steal into a room in a hotel in the pretence of staying there for the night (it was far too expensive) to change out of my long pants and go to the toilet (I'd been busting for an hour!). Finally, when I'd almost given up, I went back to the first place I'd been and a double room had opened up. I think a large part of why it took so long to find a room was that I had to get used to how comparitively expensive Thailand is, coming from India. Not that anyone can call Thailand an expensive country by any means - I ended up settling on a dingy double room with shared bathroom for 6.70AUD per night. Once I'd spent the morning catching up on sleep, I could finally leave my bags at the hotel and check out the area properly. Now that I was awake and unburdened, I could fully appreciate the beauty of the area. My place was called Merry V guesthouse, on Soi Rambuttri, a road near to Khao Sanh Road, which is the tourist/hooligan hangout in Bangkok. Soi Rambuttri strongly contrasts with Khao Sanh Road during the daytime; it has beautiful paved roads with trees hanging over the street, which is lined with lovely guesthouses replete with water features. After India, this area felt so clean that I was astounded. I walked around for hours, getting a feel for the place and my bearings, stopping to grab some of the street pad thai on Khao Sanh Road (which costs less than an Australian dollar for a serving) and some satays, as well as dropping by a street stall for a minced pork omelette with rice for 40 baht - meat, I'd missed you so! Sated, I grabbed a Chang beer and wandered through the start of the nightlife on Khao Sanh Road until I felt tired again, and crashed, excited for the next day when I could explore some more!

Wintry Mussourie

Last night it snowed in Mussourie! My bus trip up from the Dehra Dun train station saw me as excited as a little boy once a lovely sociologist I met on the bus told me about last night's snowfall. We arrived to find cars and roofs covered in 4 inches of snow! Snow this late in Winter is a freak of nature - it's been getting warmer for the last month here in Mussourie. I am very happy that it snowed on the exact day that I arrived here! It's a really beautiful town, with ornate iron lamp-posts and mossy trees everywhere, the most beautiful town I have seen in India yet. Snowfights abound, although thus far I have managed to dodge all the snowballs thrown my way. This place has some great looking restaurants and I even found locally made peanut butter! Gulab Jamun and chai are the perfect remedies to the cold, they make you feel warm and lovely!

Erotic Khajuraho

I had a great trip to Khajuraho with the cheese, mango jam, and fresh bread I had bought in Varanasi. I met a group of Scottish guys who are travelling around India after finishing high school, so together we shared a great train picnic. Once off the train, I realised that it was not only the temples that were erotic at Khajuraho - Marie and Stacey, the two girls I travelled with in Khajuraho, were constantly getting a lot of attention from the local guys. Khajuraho itself is a nice little town, and having the Western group of temples set right in the middle of town is amazing. The first day there, we had lunch in a tree - there is a restaurant called the Blue Star in Khajuraho that actually has a table set up in the branches of a mango tree overlooking the temples. It was great fun, although quite expensive! Their Dum Aloo (stuffed potato curry) was delicious. On day two I checked out the eastern group of temples, and found a local antiques dealer, from whom I bought two old jewellery molds he claims are 500-600 years old. Whether they are or not, I intend to use them as a unique wax seal.

One thing that I discovered in Khajuraho was Indian sweets! Previously I had stereotyped them as all rose-water tasting over-sweet treats but in fact there are many different delectables, with all sorts of ingredients including pistachio and white chocolate. After lunch I have been getting a daily serve of curd/yoghurt, which is great for digestion (my answer to Yakult) and some sweets to try. Now that I am no longer sick, my appetite has soared through the roof! It's like when I was growing, I must need to get my strength back.

After a nice three days at Khajuraho, I decided that the original plan of 4 days was too much. Despite a grumpy ticket salesman, I managed to get a waitlisted ticket for the train that night - which was upgraded to a confirmed berth before we boarded (yey!). Amazingly, the same Scottish guys I spent the trip to Khajuraho with were in my group of bunks again. This time they had brought bread, cheese and honey, to which I added my leftover mango jam - another great train picnic!

Mother Ganga

"The Ganga is our sacred mother, very important to us" my guide/boat rower claimed as he ripped open a tobacco packet, emptied it's contents into his mouth and threw the wrapper over his shoulder. The wrapper floated past me near to where people were bathing, sipping the water, and brushing their teeth with it. I was very surprised when a decomposed baby floated by, knocking against the boat on its way downstream. (Babies aren't cremated because they have not had a chance in life to generate bad karma). We were on our way to see the burning ghats, where bodies burned in the open air. Surprisingly, there is no bad smell from the wood, as it is wood from a mango tree, meaning that the odour is actually quite nice and fragrant. Having been shown around, as well as a sacred fire that has never gone out in thousands of years, we headed back downstream as people washed their clothes in the river. A very interesting experience, although decidedly not for the squeamish!

With that morbid start to the day, I packed my bags to check out - I'm leaving for Khajuraho tonight. I found out I was missing my favourite shirt; apart from my shoes it was the only other clothing item that I would have been sad to lose, and now it is gone. We had some good times, green shirt, beginning when my sister gave it to me for my birthday. I'll never have another shirt like you! Trying to decide my next step, I knew exactly what would cheer me up after losing the shirt - the bakery I had found yesterday! I had been highly pleased to find the Bread of Life Bakery and Restaurant, where I had a cheesecake and coffee - yum! Although not nearly as good as mum's baked cheesecake, just the fact that I found it here cheered me immensely. More than a bakery, this is also a fully-fledged restaurant, I realised, and checked out the menu. One thing I have been missing greatly is pancakes with maple syrup - all these banana pancakes I've been having, so dry and missing what they really need - a good dousing of maple syrup! So this morning I went along and bought a stack of pancakes with butter melting over the top of them and maple syrup oozing down the stack - yum! Just what I needed. I'm sad I didn't find this place earlier, as they also have eggs Royale - hollandaise sauce, in India! Alas, I will have to leave this place without ever trying their eggs with hollandaise sauce.

Fatehpur Sikri, Agra and Banares

I have been all over since I last posted; I didn't get a chance to go online in Fatehpur Sikri because I was staying right next to the ruins, which are removed from town. My time at the Sunset view guesthouse was an amazing experience. The rooftop restaurant has grape vines growing around the balustrades, and the name is correct, the view of the sunset really is stunning at dusk each day. I was lucky to be there at the same time as Lin, a Korean wine taster on holiday for two months in India. While she has travelled all around northern India, she has returned 5 times to this one guesthouse, so she is very well received by the host. The first night I was there was her unofficial birthday, so at night after dinner we all celebrated with a party, consisting of many fruits, ice-cream... and birthday cake, candles and all! I was amazed and very warmed by the experience. The next night she informed me that she was leaving, and was once again having a party - this time a going-away party! Any excuse for celebration, I say! Her friend also happened to drop in at the same time, Hun-Chon (don't quote me on the precise name or spelling), a 25 year old Korean IT student, so we all had a massive dinner consisting of Bruno (buffalo, delicious and the closest I will get to beef in India, I savoured every bite!) in a curry, as well as Tandoori Chicken, Chilli Paneer (Paneer is indian cheese made from goat's milk), and tandoori roti. Before the dinner we indulged in Kingfisher beers and chocolate, both things I had been missing from home (well beer, not specifically Kingfisher). After dinner once again there were bountiful fruits and ice-cream! I was so pleased to have been here to experience this, it made what had been a difficult time in India much improved!

Thoroughly warmed and thankful for my great experience, I headed to Agra by bus. After having arrived, I dropped my bags at the train station (I was to leave for Varanasi at 23.30), and went to discover Agra! I ran into Mustaq, a rickshaw driver who I ignored until he offered me a rock-bottom price for a trip around Agra (which I initially didn't want). I'm very glad that I took that opportunity, as I got to see how Persian rugs were made, how marble inlay work was done, and the local jewellers, where amazing jewelled tapestries were on display. I bought a lovely peacock tapestry, and then went on to find the Taj Mahal. Apprehensive at the enormous entry fee (750Rp per person, 3/4 of my daily budget!) I entered thinking... this better be worth it! It was more than worth it, and I was awed by the experience... all that marble!

Since then I have arrived in Varanasi, which seems a little more tourist-friendly than other sites. My happiest discovery thus far has been a bakery, which I intend to visit tomorrow morning for pancakes with maple syrup... all these pancakes with no maple syrup was making me a very sad person! One step closer to my dream of having tea with scones and jam (my Imperialist side coming out, no doubt). Tomorrow morning, I will go for a dawn cruise of the Ganges to experience the life on the river!!

All deserts are Tharred with the same brush

Like Jodhpur, a majestic fort presides over the township of Jaisalmer. Apparently it is the oldest fortified town still in use. This town is the gateway to the Thar Desert, which I have just spent three days in riding a camel. The desert trek was led by Tiger, who is from a desert village about 100kms from where we roamed. More flatulent than his camels (Mr Magoo, Johnny and Michael Jackson), he was a wellspring of both information on the Thar desert and funny phrases, such as "no chai, no power" and "Camel college, plenty knowledge!"; and in relation to his flatulence; "in desert, you are eating and farting as much as you like" and "Dhal powered fart!". I

was joined on the trip by three legendary Argentinians called Emelio, Sophia, and Fernando. Emelio and Sophia are engaged, while Fernando is Sophia's brother - before travelling in India, they were in Egypt just before the civil strife that is happening at the moment. Emelio recently graduated from psychology just like me. They have convinced me that my next trip should be to South America, and agreed that my plan to do a che-guevara-esque bike trip around argentina and chile in the summer is a great idea. After mostly vegetarianism for the last month, the biggest beef country in the world (which also has cheap beer) is sounding very good to me! The trip

itself was quite difficult for me as I was hit with gastro at the worst possible time - the very night before the trek. It lasted through the whole trip, only improving on the third (and last day). Combined with jolting camel rides, it was painful! One good thing to come from the trip is that my previously weak, virginal upper thighs have now turned into veritable vice grips by the camel riding - camels are a lot harder to ride than horses! The first night in the desert, we camped in the sand dunes, which look amazing at sunset and sunrise. Both nights, we camped under the stars. It was so nice being somewhere that the stars still have power over the night sky, I could see so many compared to the 7 or so stars visible under the city lights! All in all, a worthwhile trip - I'm looking forward to a camel trek in the Sahara desert if I get to Morocco!!