pictime

finally! we’re back in kl, i got my laptop back for a day and took the chance to finally upload come of the pics i took in the last month. lean back and enjoy!

greg and me in front of the petronas towers

the petronas and me in our fullsize beauty

the view from our beautiful hideaway on koh lanta for a few days

climbing on koh phi phi

phi phi fireshow

the coolest bar in the world (koh mak – sunset resort)

the two crazy dudes and the princess (from left to right: craig, the nini and greg)

riding elephants in luang prabang, laos

the waterfalls (luang prabang, laos)

after that we went tubing in vang vieng and kayaking on the mekong but gregor has the pics on his camera – i’ll put them online next time

a nice little butcher shop somewhere on the way

sunset on don det (laos)

the famous angkor wat (siem reap, cambodia)

bayon temple, siem reap

L.A.O.S

yes, i fell in love again. this time it’s laos, probably one of the most wonderful places on this planet. we’ve spent 13 days in laos and each day was better than the one before. big smiles, friendly faces, beautiful people, breathtaking landscapes and sunsets, the right amount of chaos, lots of crazy stuff to do, delicious food, time is meaningless and the mekong river ubiquitous. i guess that pretty much sums up our last 2 weeks.

our first destination was the capital of laos, vientiane. for a city it was unbelievably relaxed, quiet and easy going. the next couple of days we had spent in luang prabang, a small town in northern laos that’s even more relaxed and has a lot to offer. we saw some amazing temples, tried some surprisingly delicious food at the local food market, went elephant riding and cruised around town on cute little bicycles. after luang prabang we just followed the mekong river and went further south to vang vieng, a place that would be dead if they hadn’t invented tubing. tubing? yes, tubing. that means that you float down the mekong on the inner tube of a truck tyre passing by (or stopping at) a bar every 50 meters offering attractions like giant waterslides or huge swings into the water. it was a day of madness but hell it was fun! hehe

from vang vieng we made our way down to pakse…and it was a long one! 5 hours on a public bus, 10 on a sleeper bus. from there we started our kayaking tour. after 2 days of meditative paddling down the mekong we ended up on a chilled out island called don det for 3 days of sweet doing nothing. good times!

and now? we left laos yesterday with a big sad sigh and crossed the border to cambodia. after the casual trouble with buses and travel agents we finally made it to ban lung in the east of cambodia last night. the plan for tomorrow: swimming in a crystal clear lake in a volcanic crater and taking a power shower under one of the three big waterfalls arounf town. sounds good to you? well…sounds good to me too. hehe

i actually wanted to upload some pictures but of course something’s not working again so i’ll try it again next time.

so long….till next time!
nini the travelling midget (who feels almost tall in a country like laos…)

4 countries in 7 days…

Wow, I just realised that I haven’t been posting anything for quite a while. But that’s the thing with travelling as I already said – most of the time you’re moving faster than you realise and time just flies by.

So last time I had just said goodbye to beloved India (country number 1 in those 7 days) which hasn’t been that easy. Especially when you end up in Singapore (country number 2). Don’t get me wrong…Singapore’s not that bad (not very interesting either though) but I was a bit overwhelmed finding myself in a huge city that’s cleaner and more modern than all the places I had seen since October and above all the most artificial I have ever seen in my life. It seems like there’s a rule, law or ban on everything. You can’t even buy chewing gum in the whole state! (They must have a flourishing black market for that – who can live a lifetime without chewing gum?)
In the afternoon of day 2 I had found a little hideaway – a beautiful park in the middle of the city full of my favourite plant, the Frangipani tree.  But after spending about 36 hours walking around town feeling like Alice in Wonderland I was glad to move on even though I didn’t even really have the time to take a rest.

At night I met the one and only (almost) Dr. Gregor Buczak at the airport and we were starting our mission to get to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia (country number 3) by midnight. It was New Year’s Eve and we had planned to see the fireworks from the rooftop bar of the hostel that we had booked. But of course nothing worked out as we had planned it and so we spent the turn of the year in a taxi jamming to old skool rap songs with our driver, sipping the vodka that Gregor had brought in wise foresight. The party continued on the roof top of our hostel where (this is to Tom and Gerda) I met good old Chris again. He says hi to you guys.

Well….this is where I stopped writing about a week ago…meanwhile I’m in Laos, and I’ll try to give you a briefsummary of the last weeks.

After KL Greg and I went to Thailand for a couple of days (country number 4 in just a week time) just to relax. First we chilled at a wonderful resort with the right amount of OMMMMM on Koh Lanta, then hopped to Koh Phi Phi for a short partying and climbing trip. 2 days later I dragged my aching body on a plane back to KL, left the Doctor in Thailand and met up with Mr. Craig T-Bone Maxwell Mace from New Zealand who will be travelling with us from now on.
After two days in KL we headed back to Thailand and found the Doctor on a beautiful small island (Koh Mak) at a place called Sunset Resort and I swear I have never been to a place as relaxed, chilled and beautiful as that. I should really upload some pictures soon because it’s hard to describe that place with words. So I’ll just leave it for now and provide you with some visual stimulation soon.

From Koh Mak we made our way back to Bangkok to catch the bus to the north the same day, crossed to border to Laos, took another Tuk Tuk and here we are…Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It’s too early to say something about Laos but our plans are just awesome. The next two weeks will be full of extraordinary culinary experiences in Luang Prabang, some tubing in Vang Vieng (you’ll find out what that is soon), a kayaking trip starting in Pakse and a few relaxed days at our destination called Four thousand Islands before we head to Cambodia.

Hope I’ll find a computer on the way to share some pictures with you and let you know what we are up to.

Until then…cheeeerio!
Nini

moving on

Yes I found it, my true love. The love of my life. And it’s forever. I LOVE INDIA. And it was horribly painful to leave the country the day before yesterday to head to singapore.

Short update: After my last entry my dearest uncle Hari arrived in Arambol – best Christmas present ever!! We had stayed in Goa until Christmas and then headed east to Hampi in company of a crazy englishman called Ashley. And oh yes, we did have a good time.
Hampi was – just like two years ago – breathtaking. (I’d really love to show you some pictures now but some stupid virus doesn’t allow me to upload pics from my camera…)

I only had three days in Hampi but they were just amazing! That made leaving india even harder and made me realise how much I love it. How much I had become a part of it and it bacame part of me.
I just love the country for the things it put me through, for the people I met, for the things I’ve learned about the country and about myself.
I love the indian mentality and how they just don’t give a shit about anything.
I admire them for always being relaxed and patient.
I love how they manage to squeeze 3 people on a bicycle, 4 people on a cycle-rickshaw, 5 people on a motorbike, 8 people into an autorickshaw, 10 people into a passanger car and 15 people into a minivan.
I love them for their openness and for always having a smile on their faces.
I even admire them for their clever tricks to rip tourists off.

I’m in Singapore now, staying in Little India of course but it actually has nothing to do with india and right now all I want to do is go back. I guess you guys should save me from getting a one-way ticket to india next time. I might not come back…

My roommate, best friend, and somehow elder and younger brother Gregor is arriving today and I just can’t wait to see him. We’re moving on to Kuala Lumpur tonight to celebrate New Year’s Eve there. Guess that will ease the pain for a while.
So I wish all of you a very happy new year 2009 and a merry christmas with a bit of delay. hehe

I’ll keep you posted. Big bussis and hugs to all of you.

back to arambol

hello everybody!

As you may have guessed from the headline: I’m back in Goa! Tae wook and I arrived here about 5 days ago after a wonderful trip to pushkar (yes, pics follow) and immediately found a room on the cliffside – even in the same house that we stayed in last time. here’s the view from our balcony:

We really had some relaxed days here. We spent some time at the beach, went to the jungle and saw the sunset from my favourite spot. Sorry – don’t have the pictures because Tae wook took them with his camera. But just imagine watching a nice red-orange sunset on the seaside, some palmtrees in the background and eagles flying by. Yes, it was nice.

Two days ago something pretty cool happened to me. Holger, who had shared the taxi from the ariport to Arambol with us suddenly came up to me on the beach and asked me if I would like to visit our fathers…He had heard about the story of my dad from Andy, an Austrian guy who is living here. His father had as well died from cancer 10 years ago and so he, as an experienced paraglider offered to take me on a flight and we would throw some flowers from the sky for our dads. And so we did the next day. After a damn hot hike up on the hill we finally jumped over the edge of the cliff and glided around arambol beach for about half an hour. Right above the lake we threw our flowers. It was amazing!!

Thank you so much, Holger!! It was an amazing experience!!

It’s great to be back here and meet old friends. So for those who know the place – here’s the newsflash: vishva got married and has a 5 months old daughter, so did his brother but his offspring even came first. Coco has a cute son now too. And Tiffany has another one year-old daughter. Little Tibet closed but I heard Vijay is still working in Arambol, didn’t see him yet though. Eyes of Buddha moved to the main beach but the breakfast is as usual delicious and of course good old Sammy is still running the place. Dilip built a true palace where a dirty backyard had been once and even has rooms to rent now. Deepa is fine and so are the two kids. The place is still full of Israelis but the crazy Russians are slowly taking over-  sad but true. Well guess that’s it for now.
Everybody is asking for family and friends to come and they are always very disappointed when I say it’s just me this time. Seems like that’s not enough hehe  BUT my dearest uncle hari spontaneously decided that there’s no way he can spend the winter in Austra and booked a ticket to India. He’ll join me in Arambol on Monday! That means that other than expected I will celebrate a family-Christmas!

Tae wook left today to go back to Varanasi to continue his work. It was really hard for him to leave – he definitely fell in love with Arambol as well. But his departure also meant that we would have to say good bye. Two months ago he had been my saviour in Varanasi when I arrived and until today we have become close friends. But the dream team has to part now. I’ll miss him a lot and I really hope that Varanasi will not bee to hard on him when he returns.
Good bye Tae wook!!

And me? Well I haven’t decided yet but I might go to Hampi for a couple of days before Hari arrives here. Or maybe I’ll stay and wait for him…we’ll see. Can’t wait to welcome the old man to Arambol!!

Welcome to Pushkar

After 26 hours we had finally arrived in Pushkar and we loved it from the first moment. The place was so calm and peaceful compared to the normal insanity of Varanasi and our Hotel was cheap but awesome.
The first two days we were just walking around, exploring the town and the Ghats around the lake which is said to have emerged after the god Brahma had dropped a lotus flower at that place.

 

 

Pushkar is a holy city with entsprechend strict rules: no alcohol, no drugs, appropriate clothing, couples are not allowed to hug or even kiss in public, no meat and not shoes at the lakeside. The Ghats around the lake are really beautiful and as they are holy places everybody has to take off their shoes as soon as you get closer than about 20 metres to the water. And of course we did so too but soon regretted it. I bet that even some streets in Varanasi are cleaner than the floor of the Ghats of Pushkar. But whatever…we focused on the amazing surrounding.

 

 

On the third day we took the bus to Ajmer to see the famous Jain temple there. It was totally worth the journey! But just see it yourself.

Inside the temple you find a miniature model of how the Jainisten imagined the antique world showing 13 continents, the holy city of Ayodhya, etc. all in gold.

 

The next day we went on a camel/horse safari through the desert. Our guides took us on a ride from 9am to abour 6pm with a lunch stop at a gypsy village and prepared some amazing food for us. It was a lot of fun and even Tae wook became a highly skilled horse pilot. hehe

Our guides and the camel named “Raja”

 

A little race with the guide (I won…what else). The picture was taken by Tae wook by the way when he was riding the camel.

 

But he was doing pretty well on the horse too

 

Camel love

 

That day we came home tired and with aching muscles but Pushkar welcomed us with the most amazing sunset ever. Look at that!

 

For the next days our bodies were horribly aching from the ride but we still menaged to hike up to the Savitri temple (named after Brahmas first wife) and it was totally worth the pain!!

 

Pushkar after the sunset

 

The following day we were shouldering our backpacks on our aching bodies and had to say good bye to the magical town of pushkar to head towards Goa. We were sad to leave but the prospect to a few relaxed days at the beach made it much easier!

 

good bye Varanasi

As I already told you my stay in Varanasi ended with a beautiful sunrise boatride on the Ganges river. At 5 am Tae wook, his friend who came to visit him and me left Pandeypur to take a rickshaw into town and soon found out that we had come far too early. The sun doesn’t rise before 6:30, even if our co-worker Karmanya (thanks, buddy…) thinks the sunrise-time is 5:30. hehe But it was actually pretty nice to sit at the Ghats, drink some chai and watch the city slowly waking up.
Finally around 6:30 we got on the boat and were cruising along the Ghats. It was really wonderful and suddenly it didn’t matter anymore that it was freezing cold and that we had been getting up at 4 am. The whole tour totally rewarded us for our effort. But just look at it yourself.

As we got back to the office after a rich breakfast I was told that I was late for my own farewell-party. The night before our boss had sent out an e-mail that all staff members should meet at 11am for a little celebration. Unfortunately I got that mail when I finally reached the office around 12 but as the VIP of the party it’s alright to be late. hehe After some short speeches, receiving a certificate, a lot of Thank yous and a snack we all lined up for a staff group picture:

The guy with the green pullover is Mr. Chaubey, who had provided me with shelter. Next to him (white shirt) is Upendra, followed by Mr. Manoj, behind me on my right side is Anup, right next to me Dr. Lenin, Shabana to my left, the girl next to Dr. Lenin is Marnie from the US, the guy with the blue shirt standing behind her is Karmanya and I guess you already know the two guys in front: Tae wook and Hemant.

The last night in Varanasi I was celebrating Thanksgiving with a bunch of Americans on a rooftop in Godaulia close to the Ghats. It was really a good last night. The next morning I had to say good bye to my family – a sad moment for all of us. Mr. Chaubey told me that I remind them a lot of their daughter who had died at the age of 26 two years ago. He declared me as an official member of the Chaubey family and said I was like a real daughter to him. That didn’t really make it easier to leave…

Here’s a picture of Mr. Chaubey, his wonderful wife and their son Deepak. Unfortunately Shailesh, their 2nd son had left already.

^{The journey to Pushkar was long but fun. The train ride to Ajmer took us 24 hours and we got there with 5 hours of Delay but the beds were comfortable and it was nice to watch the landscape pass by.}

Another busride and about an hour later, we had finally made it….Pushkar: a peaceful oasis between mountains and deserts.

the wedding

Well it seems like I’m moving faster than I can write about it… That’s why I’ll keep the next entries as short as possible so I can catch up. As the title already tells this one is about the wedding in Varanasi that we’ve been to. There’s actually not much to say about it but that it was a very nice evening with the sweetest kids in the world probably. The next picture shows me with my escort for the wedding and definitely the best and ausdauernd dancer of the night. What a sweetheart!

 

The couple was as well very nice. We hadn’t met them before but they warmly welcomed us as their guests and like every other family, we also took a ‘family’ picture with my boss and his wife.

 

The kids on the wedding party were really unbelievably smart! Most of them were living in Mumbai and spoke a perfect English and had high aspirations for the future. It was a lot of fun to chat with them.

Of course Tae wook and I had dressed up for that event – you can’t go to a wedding without a proper outfit. I decided to do it the indian way and I gotta tell you I actually liked it…

 

4 days in Ayer

Finally…after a long absence I made ot back on the web. I’m trying to stay chronogical and that’s why this entry is dedicated to my stay in the village of Ayer. Four days without electricity and running water. Unforgettable. Not only because of the daily candlelight-dinners or the public morning shower at the handpump but because the people in that town have become so special to me. Sobhnath, an activist of my organisation who is living in the village provided us with shelter and his wife prepared the most delicious lunches and dinners for us. Best indian food ever!! We never ran out of chai and whatever we needed was prepared before we could even ask for it.

Upendra, one of my co-workers agreed to accompany Tae wook and me during the whole time and stayed the full four days. Maybe you remember him from my first entry in Varanasi – he’s the guy that picked me up from the airport. The serious face with the PVCHR-sign. Well the serious face turned into a very friendly one and we really had a lot of fun during those days in Ayer.

 

The days in Ayer haven’t been just fun of course. We were there to work. So I started with my research right on the first day to collect information that I need for my report on the village. The following two days we had one interview after the other to get a detailed insight of the community’s problems, ideas, needs, hopes, etc. and every talk contained ten times more information than I thought I would get. Those 4 days really helped me to understand what should be done and what is possible. Especially Madhu, Sobhnaths younger daughter cared for us a lot. She is a member of the children parliament and such a bright, sweet girl!

The most important thing I learned was that development is a process and above all it needs TIME… It was good to have Upendra there to remind me that there is no magic stick, no abrakadabra-magic spell that makes 3000 years of accepted discrimination disappear and change people’s midsets, makes them feel stronger, raises their awareness. It’s even hard to motivate some of the villagers to take the chances that they are given. There is no way I can learn at university what I experienced through the interaction of the people in Ayer.

The most intense and mostly wordless interaction happened with the kids though. It started at around 7 in the morning when they pushed our windows open from outside to see of we’re still sleeping and ended when they were gathering to see us drink our chai, play cards or brush our teeth.

 

 

The day before I left we did a project for the Indo-German society Remscheid and all kids could paint memory-cards which will be sent to their partner-kindergarden in Germany. The kids had a lot of fun drawing and even the staff from PVCHR became very creative.

 

 

 

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It was really hard for me to leave the village after those four days. Especially because I knew it could be the last time on this trip. About thirty kids escorted me out of the village, held me by my hand, jumped around me, laughing and joking. They really didn’t make it easy for me to say goodbye.

 

Here are some more impressions from our stay in Ayer. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

public washing at the handpump

 

 

 

our home for those 4 days…the guy on the pic is upendra, the brown stuff in front is dried cow dung, used to make fire. yup, it’s clever!

 

 

 

surprising news…remember the girl with the injury on the forehead? well…the girl is a boy named sandeep and he is fine now. well…let’s say he’s better - his wound healed but just by looking at him it is clear that he and his family would still need assistance to improve their condition. here’s a current picture of him.

 

 

 

 

and his little brother…

 

 

 

 

saying goodbye…

 

 

 

 

i’ll miss those kids

 

i’m fine…

…just in case some of you wondered.

what happened in mumbai is horrible but it didn’t affect daily life where i spent my last days. i have not been to mumbai by the time it happened and even if i had been there i fortunately couldn’t afford to stay at the taj hotel anyway…so don’t worry about me, i’m ok

i know i haven’t been writing for a while now but the last working days in varanasi have been prettystressful. i’ll update the blog in the next days, i promise! you can look forward to reading about an indian wedding, 4 adventurous and educational days in ayer village, a sunrise-tour on the ganges, my farewell from varanasi and my arrival at the so far breathtaking city of pushkar. yup, that’s where i am. and i’m fine. and safe.