I am back in Toronto. My 2006 Expedition entitled Aneil 2K6 is over. Today is Christmas day and there is less than 1 week remaining in this year. I have had an amazing year filled with so many wonderful experiences. I have grown so much closer to my family and met a tonne of new people from all sorts of countries along the way.

 

- I flew on 33 different airplanes in 2006

- I visited 9 different countries in 2006

- I summited a mountain (Mera Peak) at a height of approximately 6,400 metres, jumped out of a plane from 12,000 feet, white water rafted in Grade 5 rapids, sailed for 3 days on an America's Cup yacht, snorkelled in the Great Barrier Reef, climbed Ayers Rock, hiked around on a glacier, snowboarded on Canada Day, sheared a sheep, rode a horse along the beach, kayaked in a Rain Forest and slept overnight in a desert

- I went to Wimbledon, saw an All Blacks rugby match in New Zealand, attended an English Premiership Football match in London, went to an ICC Cricket Tournament match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, watched an AFL Footy match in Melbourne and the State of Origin Rugby match in Sydney

- I took part and attended my brother's tri-continental wedding in India, Australia and Canada

- I saw at least 10 wonderfully beautiful sunrises and sunsets from various vantage points around the world (including the far east coast of New Zealand where I was one of the first people in the world to see the sunrise)

- I encountered camels, crocodiles, alligators, monkeys, huge fish, dingos, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, koalas, horses, dogs and cats

- I rode on several different modes of transport including planes (large and small), trains, buses, cars, motorcycles, scooters, horses, camels, canoes, yachts and 4X4 vehicles

- I ate sev puri, haggis, strawberries and cream, deep fried prawns, "fush and chups", neeps and tatties, masala dosa, kangaroo steaks, corn fritters, pav bhaji, momos, shwarma, Naturals ice cream, Pooran Polee/Kata Amtee, Yak steaks, fresh sashimi, fresh jilabi and several other amazing types of cuisine

- I read 4 books (Down Under by Bill Bryson, Londonstani by Gautam Malkani, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich and am on the verge of completing 2 more - Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts and Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

- I volunteered with an excellent organization and got to help about 20 under-privledged students with computer skills, grammer skills and preparing for job interviews

 

I think I will always look back at this year and never regret one second of it. Okay, well maybe a couple seconds here and there but we don't have to get into that ;o) Overall, this has been just an amazing experience and it's come at the perfect time. 2007 will be a new challenge and I know that I'm up for all it has to offer.

 

Thanks for coming with me on this journey.

I hope you enjoyed the ride.

I know I certainly did.

 

Happy Holidays everyone!

Sorry, the last post was cut short a little abruptly. But just to finish that thought...

 

At the end of the 30-day course that the students are enrolled in, they will be appearing for job interviews with companies like ICICI and other banks, telecoms. The jobs being offered are call centre jobs (the booming market here in India at the moment). So all of these students are really focused on improving and practicing their English. For them, hearing my Canadian accent is good because they are exposed to something different from the regular Indian English that they normally hear. I've started to develop quite a rapport with some of them so it will be sad to leave and unfortunately, my time with them was so short. I hope that I can stay in touch with many of them though and now, I have new people to visit and see the next time I come back here.

 

So over the past 4 weeks (since I got back from Nepal), I have just been visiting relatives and chilling out. I was hanging out with Vas a lot as I mentioned earlier and we got up to no good at a few places, most notably trekking (yeah I did do some more climbing) at an old fort called Sinhagad and playing golf at the Poona Golf Club where we refused Caddies (our stupid mistake) and carried our bags for 4 hours in the blistering heat! In any case, a few Kingfishers made the pain go away so there was no problem with that and then of course, we made the obligatory visit to MacDonald's for a Maharajah Mac. I also saw a few movies over the past few weeks - Casino Royale, Dhoom 2 and Lage Raho Munnabhai. In case you haven't seen them, I won't say much but let's just say that I probably won't be watching the first two ever again. I really want to see Lage Raho again cause I saw it on a small screen in a bus so the sound was bad. Also, there were no subtitles and I didn't have one my cousins with me to do any translating. My hindi still isn't that great so I sometimes miss what is going on (especially in the intricate dialogue). I've also eaten a lot and I think I've managed to put back on some of that weight that I lost while in Nepal. I'm still at a nice and sound 70 kg though so I'm happy. I hope I can maintain this when I return home so it'll be back to the gym asap (well, after the fun of Christmas and New Years of course). I have been eating all sorts of chaat (well, especially Bhel Puri and Sev Puri) like it's going out of style. I can't get enough of it. And to top it off - at our final Gokhale get together tomorrow night, we have a chaat wala coming to make for us at my cousin Saroj's place. I am really looking forward to that!!!

 

Funny story from yesterday. I had to go and meet someone in a subarb called Malad. I was going to take the train but my cousin Shekhar offered his car and driver. Sounded perfect but there was only one catch. The driver (Kasim) wasn't from Mumbai - he's from Gujurat. Also, he doesn't speak Marathi - only Hindi and Gujrathi. I only speak Marathi and English. Somehow, someway - we managed to get to Malad and back and run the errands I needed to get done. It was the blind leading the blind so to speak but it seemed to work out.

 

Yesterday was also my nephew Ashvin's Munj ceremony. It was a blast to see all of my "Gokhale" relatives at the event - always a good time with all of them and of course, I am the brunt of most of the jokes these days because I am pretty much the only one left who is still "available for marriage" as they say. The two questions I get asked the most are "When are you getting married?" and that is followed quickly by "When is your next trip to India?". I guess for them, the two are going to be hand in hand... We'll have to wait and see.

 

I can't believe that I am leaving India and heading home in a couple days. Well, I won't be going straight home as I'm stopping in Dubai for 3 days to check out that crazy, rich, oppulent city (where I'll be staying in a YHA youth hostel). Gotta save the cash for all the shopping and shisha, right?

I've had a great few weeks since returning from Nepal. It has felt quite comfortable here in Mumbai just chilling out and doing regular stuff. Vas (my buddy from home) has been here pretty much the whole time and we've hung out quite a bit, ate at some great restaurants and generally done some fun exploring.

 

I've become a regular Mumbai commuter over the past two weeks so that has been quite amusing. The reason I've been commuting regularly is because I have a job. It's a volunteer job with an organization called the Sujaya Foundation. One of my goals when I came on this crazy trip was to do some work with an NGO while I'm here in India. After returning from Nepal, I started searching for NGO's around Mumbai and I ended up finding an organization called iVolunteer in Vile Parle (the subarb where I'm staying with my aunt). I contacted them and after a little time, I was put in touch with Sujaya Foundation. The work I'm doing is with 20 - 25 year olds who come from underprivledged situations. They are enrolled in an intensive 30-day course that focuses on their english and computer skills.

November 13 at 1:30am we got our wake up call. We ate some soup, had some breakfast and started changing/getting ready. We left our campsite just before 3:00am. The group was Nima in the front, me second, Vik third and Kaji at the back end. We were all tied together (with about 5 metres in between each of us) and the rope tied to our harnesses. It was pitch black when we started, cold and windy. We were going very slowly because our toes and fingers were frozen. The other guys had started about 30 minutes before us. As we were going, we started seeing lights coming towards us. It turns out that 3 from the English group had decided to turn back an hour into their ascent because it was just too cold and they couldn't do it. That was quite disheartening. Somehow, Vik and I managed to maintain our wits and help each other get through the next few hours. We just took it literally one step at a time and really slowed things down to ensure we were breathing correctly and getting enough rest. Going slowly and not stopping is much better than going quickly but stopping for 2 minutes every 5 minutes. At one point Nima turned around and said "Are we going up or down? to me in a very sarcastic tone so I could tell he was getting annoyed with how fast, sorry slow, we were going. He even started yanking the rope so I would speed up but I did my best to keep the pace slow and steady.

 

 

Vik and I pretty much both collapsed at the top for a few seconds (actually probably minutes) just to collect our breath. We weren't even ready to take in the scenery and views around us - it was just way too much all at once. We were both experiencing relief, triumph, tiredness, deliria. It was such a mix of emotions but something neither of us will every feel again I'm sure. That feeling of being "on top of the world" is pretty damn cool. I know we weren't b/c obviously Everest and other peaks are higher but for those 10 minutes on the Mera Peak summit, staring at the other peaks in the distance - it truly felt like we were at the highest point.

 

The descent from the summit just felt like a chore. Both of us were hurting, had bad headaches and no appetites. We had to walk all the way down to Khare that day too, past High Camp and past Base Camp. That afternoon of walking was really a test of will and determination. Both of us were struggling and just wanted it to end. In total, we must have walked for about 10 hours that day and we finally reached Khare at around 3:00 pm in the afternoon. We celebrated with the English lads (congrats to Mark and Damian for summitting as well) and had a nice feast that night to celebrate our triumph. We slept very well that night and woke up the next morning both thinking the same thing. Let's get back to Lukla as fast as we can - we want this to be over and we are finished with camping!

 

The next 3 days was spent walking back to Lukla. We were retracing ground that we had already covered so it made the walk a tad boring most of the time. I just found my mind wandering a lot because the hard work was already behind us. The problem with a wandering mind though is that you lose focus and then you tend to trip, fall, etc and the downhills make things even crazier. Attempting the Zetra La pass again was also scary. The first part of the descent, we used a harness and rope. The rest of the way, we were just doing free climbing and I was sure I was going to fall. Well, I did fall several times but luckily I didn't hurt myself too bad as the snow was pretty soft. Other parts though weren't as forgiving so that made for an interesting afternoon.

 

Vik and I finally returned to Lukla on November 17 and managed to get an earlier flight back to Kathmandu on November 18. Arriving in Kathmandu and getting to our hotel was definitely a treat. My first shower in 17 days! Grooming by beard was a chore because it had grown quite long in the 25 days. Wow, it was so nice to just sit around and watch TV and order room service for that first day. We both completely relaxed and chilled out. That night we met up with the English lads and had some Indian food.

 

So, the trek is done. I'm back in India now and I wonder - "Would I ever do anything like that again?" The short answer is no. I think it's a been there done that thing. I can cross it off my list and find something else to tackle. Overall I enjoyed it but it could have been so miserable if the weather hadn't cooperated (just based on all those other people we met along the way). I am really proud of my accomplishment and I've especially glad I was able to experience it all with somebody else. Vik and I really enjoyed ourselves and helped each other through rough stretches so all in all, I think we are both very satisfied with our accomplishments.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this entries and peruse my photos. I hope that maybe some of this will inspire you all to do something like this and experience a trip like this. Taking yourself outside of your natural environment, stretching your limits and just testing your self are all great things to do from time to time. I'm glad I did it and glad that I passed the test with flying colours.

So on Day 8 of the trek (November 3 to be exact), Vik and I set off in an easterly direction towards our target - Mera Peak. With us was our crew: Nima (our sherpa), Chirring (our cook), Prem (one of our guides), Kaji (another guide), Passang (kitchen helper and porter) and 3 porters who were carrying our gear, the tents and various other supplies. Our first stop was Chitanga (3200m) where we enjoyed a nice night's sleep and then we made our way to Khar-ke-Tang (4000m) where we were met with our only foul weather of the trip. From Khar-ke-Tang, our intention was to attempt the Zetra La pass (4600m) that afternoon but there was way too much fog and the mountain was very icy so we decided to have a rest afternoon in Khar-ke-Tang and let the bad weather pass. To kill the time, Vik and I managed to learn and play a Nepali card game called Dhumal with a bunch of our staff (that we have now become addicted to playing). We also made up a game of horizontal darts with rocks and a hand drawn dartboard in the dirt. Then, we decided to make a snowman as well. Overall, it was a fun afternoon and actually I think we were both happy not to walk in that fog and slipperiness. That would have been chaotic. That night however was VERY cold - minus 8 actually in the tent and that's with our bodyheat too.

 

We successfully crossed the pass the next day but the annoying part was after going up and over 4600m, we had to come all the way back down to 3200 for our next night's camp. These constant up and downs are what really kill you while trekking because they take a toll both mentally and physically. The downhills really started to affect my knees and I then we both started getting some more severe headaches. Almost every day actually - especially whenever we would stop activity for a prolonged period of time (lunch, end of day, etc).

 

The next few nights, we slept in Tachtor, Kote (3800m), Tangnag (4600m) mixing with locals and primarily staying in guest houses. Our guide Nima was arranging for us to sleep indoors rather than in the tents. We weren't complaining at all b/c it's much warmer in the guesthouses and you just have more space for your bag, to pack up, etc.

 

We had a rest day in Tangnag and we made a couple of acclimatization walks as a result. Rest days interspersed throughout our itinerary were good because they gave our bodies time to breath but they also helped us to get acclimatized because we were making some pretty quick ascents from day to day. During our walk in the afternoon, we were sitting peacefully enjoying the view of a glacial lake when all of a sudden, we started hearing this heavy rumbling. We still couldn't see anything but within a few more seconds, started to see tonnes of snow rolling down the side of one of the mountains into the lake (luckily this was opposite where we were sitting). We were witnessing an avalanche and it was absolutely crazy just to see how loud and powerful it was.

 

On these days as we started rising more, we started encountering more groups of people who were on their down from Mera Peak. Most were actually in quite negative moods because they had horrible weather, minimal visibility, lots of snow and cold, windy nights. Our fingers were crossed that the weather would change and if every day until now was any indication, our prayers were going to be answered.

 

The next morning we made our way to Khare (4900m) which took about 3 hours. Once there, we met an English group trekking with another company. They seemed to be on the same schedule as us and they were some really good guys so Vik and I hung out with Damian, Rich and Mark quite a bit. We had a rest day in Khare where we did another acclimatization walk but this time in our plastic boots and crampons. We rented this gear in Khare and had to try it out to make sure it all fit, worked, etc. Overall, I wasn't very satisfied at all with my gear or with the safety it was going to provide me but I didn't have much of a choice b/c that's all they had. Initially, I don't think Vik or I had any clue we would be attempting the summit so we didn't even consider hiring crampons for climbing etc but I definitely would have preferred to have my own gear or at least better rental gear than the crap that I got stuck with.

 

On November 11, we made our way to Base Camp and passed the Mera La pass (5300m). Now we were in territory that was almost entirely covered in snow and ice. Everything was looking beautiful and we were experiencing perfect sunny bright blue skies so you couldn't complain at all. There was no longer any fresh water available in lakes and streams so we had to find ice to melt and then boil for our drinking/cooking water. We arrived at Mera High Camp (5800m) on the afternoon of November 12 and unfortunately, Vik and I didn't get the prime location behind the big rock. Our tent was kind of out in the open in the howling wind and it made for a very scary evening and night. Both of us had bad headaches when we arrived at camp and neither of us really had an appetite at all but we both had to force ourselves to eat because we needed the energy as we would be attempting the summit EARLY the next morning.

Hello folks. Sorry it's taken me so long to write this blog. I returned back from my Nepal trip a week ago. I'm now here in India just relaxing and trying to remember all the great memories from my 25 days in Nepal. I just uploaded my photos from the trek and I really think you will enjoy them - sorry in advance that there are so many but I (and Vik) just couldn't stop pushing the trigger on our cameras. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking and we were totally blessed with amazing weather throughout the entire journey so you can't complain at all about that.

 

I honestly don't even know where to begin telling you about this journey. The word I could use to sum it up is Triumph. It was a pretty grueling trek, my first in fact. There were many moments where I thought about turning back but in the end - Vik and I have a great story to tell.

 

I flew to Kathmandu (via Delhi) over a month ago on October 26th. Arriving in Kathmandu was beautiful as the scenery was immediately everywhere you looked. Mountain views from the plane ride in greeted us and well, the rest just gets better from there.

 

Niv, Atul and I were on the same flight to Kathmandu (1800m) and Vik arrived earlier that day so we all met at our swanky hotel - the Hyatt. It was a really nice and VERY expensive place but one good thing is that we managed to sneak all 4 of us into one room (much the hotel's chagrin) but there was no way we were paying for 2 rooms at that place!!! We had this palace as our home for less than 10 hours and in that time; we packed and re-packed, showered and tried to get a little sleep. Kathmandu is a nice city with quite friendly people. Nepal generally feels a lot like India but it isn't as crowded and the climate is a lot nicer. There are Indian looking people, Chinese looking people and a bunch of mixes (probably closely resembling Thai or Philipino people). That night at the hotel, we met the owner of our trekking company (Karma Lama) and also our Climbing Guide, Nima Sherpa. Nima has a lot of experience - he's summited Mera about 7 times, other peaks as well and has also made it to Everest Camp 6 as well. Overall, we all got a very good vibe from Nima and had confidence that he knew what to do and where to take us.

 

On October 27 we flew to Lukla (2600m) on a small plane (about a 15 - 20 seater). The ride was quite smooth and throughout it we were greeted with amazing views of the surrounding scenery including snow covered peaks on either side of the plane. The airport in Lukla is a site to be seen as the runway is quite small and angled up. This helps planes decelerate quickly when they land and accelerate quickly during take off. The planes fly in and out of the airport like clockwork, unloading goods and people so quickly and then re-loading and taking off just like that. These pilots navigate around the tightest corners and overall are very skilled (in my opinion, possibly more so that those that fly big commercial airlines).

 

We headed out along the way and started walking. Walking was going to be what we did for the next 25 days. Up, down, sideways, you name it. Walking, Walking and more Walking. Essentially that's what trekking is and in Nepal, it's also navigating around Yaks, other tourists and porters too. Our first 7 days of the trek was strictly for acclimatization and we were taking the Everest Base Camp route up to Tengboche. That route is VERY busy with tourists as well as commercial traffic. Porters are carrying heavy loads as are yaks and as a result, stretches of the track can be very slow and log jammed (especially the precarious bridges we had to cross to get over the slinking river throughout the terrain).

 

On day 2 in the afternoon, we arrived in Namche Bazaar, a bit of a tourist oasis (or trap) as there are multiple restaurants, shops, bars, internet, phones, etc. It's a lot more built up in Namche compared to other parts we saw and it seems to be pretty much the final place to buy supplies, gear, etc on your way to Everest. It's at an altitude of 3400m so for us, it was good to make that climb and definitely helped with our acclimatization. There is a museum in Namche that talks about the history of climbing - has plenty of stats about tourism, the environment, etc. The country who sends the largest number of tourists to Nepal is Germany, followed by England and then Japan. Canada is something like 7th I believe. From Namche, it was a one day walk to Tengboche (3800m) where there is a beautiful Buddhist Monastery that we were able to see and then go in for some prayers before dinner in the evening. The setting of this place is absolutely gorgeous and our campsite was nothing short of brilliant. Nestled on a little spot of land with mountains almost all around us for 360 degrees.

 

The next morning we started our way back to Namche and then eventually back to Lukla. The whole purpose of this first 7 days was to get our bodies, hearts, lungs, etc used to higher altitudes and used to the lower amount of oxygen. Overall, Vik and I were in pretty good shape (minus a mild cough and the odd headache). Unfortunately, Niv's knee wasn't doing too well and Atul was suffering from a bad case of AMS (Altitude Sickness). Upon returning back to Lukla, Niv and Atul decided that they would forego the rest of the trip and return back to Kathmandu.

 

Vik and I wanted to continue in hopes of reaching our final destination - Mera Peak.

Back home in Scarborough. Wow. 4.5 months have come and gone just like that. I've been to desserts in Rajasthan and the Australian outback, snowcapped mountains in New Zealand, castles in Edinburgh in modern beautiful cities like Mumbai, London, Sydney, Melbourne, Aucland, Wellington, Christchurch and Edinburgh. What a fantastic way to spend the last few months. Met some cool people. Had a lot of Amazing experiences and ate some Delicious food.

 

I must say though - it's really nice to be home with people that I've missed for a long time. I can't wait to catch up with everyone and I think I might have a couple final entries still pending on this site. Unfortunately, I can't upoload the rest of my photos because I've exceeded my monthly upload limit for July. So, come August 1 - you will all see the final shots (some of the best ones actually at Milford Sound, Snowboarding at Coronet peak, Christchurch city, London city and the Edinburgh castle)

 

Thanks for coming along on the ride - it's officially done and this site will be officially finished soon too.

 

 

I arrived in London 2 calender days after I left New Zealand but because of the wonders of the date line, I was able to push back time and I literarlly got about 24 extra hours which was REALLY cool. It's like large chunks of that plane journey don't really exist. So, how did I pass the time on the Air New Zealand flights? Well for starters, I watched A LOT of movies. 5 in total. Then, a bunch of tv shows and finally, I played a lot of Tetris. I really can't imagine a long hall flight without your own tv and on demand movies and shows. It just helps the time pass by so much.

 

The weather here is nuts! And definitely a stark contrast from the winter I was experiencing in the Southern hemisphere. Some people were saying it's probably the first time someone has flown from New Zealand to London and exclaimed that the weather in London was nicer than in New Zealand. I went from 5 degrees and sunsets at 5:00 pm to 33 degrees and sunsets at 10:00 pm. I'm not a big fan of the heat and humidity but I'll take the ~16 hours of daylight anyday!

 

I've been in London now for a week and it's been cool cause I've absolutely just been chilling out. Each day, I don't get up till about 9:00 or 10:00 am and then I eat some breakfast, watch some tv, read a bit and get planning on my day. My days have been pretty good and relatively busy. Last week, I finally saw the Lion King musical which was such an amazing show! The colours, costumes, music were all wonderful. I also went to Wimbledon and got some amazing court 1 action where I saw Rafael Nadal beat Jarko Niemenan. Wimbledon is full of so much tradition and it's just such an amazing event - I'm really glad I went and got to experience that. And honestly, live tennis is quite exciting to watch. Oh yeah, did I mention I was sitting in the 5th row as well? Yeah, I did all right with that.

 

On the weekend, Raj, Pari and I went to Edinburgh in Scotland. It's a cheap flight we bought back in January for like £19 or somethign. (As an aside, air travel in Europe is AWESOME). Edinburgh is a charming city with amazing architecture, cool night spots, friendly people and yummy food. You honestly can't ask for much more (other than slightly warmer weather). Over the 2 days, I did a tonne of walking and exploring the castles, parliament buildings, gardens and galleries. We also did a nightime Edinburgh Ghost and Torture tour which was entertaining. Edinburgh actually has quite a dark past from a couple centuries ago with an entire "underground city" below the bowels of the main city core. In the past, all of the homeless and less fortunate souls had to live down there in very undesireable conditions. Most died of disease and famine and if they managed to survive, they were probably murdered by others. It was really a scary past that we learned about. I defintely enjoyed Edinburgh and would love to go back as I just got a taste of it. We stayed in a cosy b&b within walking distance of the city core. I also tried haggis. I won't describe what's inside but if you are extra interested, just click here to be grossed out.

 

Seeing as we bought this flight back in January, we obviously weren't thinking about the World Cup at the time. And it cost us because our flight was at 7:30 pm Edinburgh time. So, we saw the first 25 minutes of the game (both goals actually) at the airport before boarding our flight. Then, once we landed in London - we RAN to the bar on the departures lounge to catch the game (if it was in extra time). Luckily we got there just as Extra Time was starting and we managed to see eveything (including the very unfortunate Zizo/Matarazzi clash). I don't excuse Zidane at all for what he did because he is a captain and a professional athlete and should know better and if he was being insulted, berrated, etc - he should have risen above it. I guess it is easier said than done though. What really sucks though is that a lot of people will only remember this incident when they think of his career. They aren't true fans though and don't totally understand what he has done for the game of football. The sad image of him walking past the World Cup with his head bowed in shame will appear in mind for a long long time.

 

I've had a good couple of days in London since getting back from Edinburgh. On Monday, Sam and I met up for some yummy turkish food for lunch and yesterday, Clara and I met for a fun picnic/siteseeing expedition in the park. I got to see Suhas last night as well so that was GREAT and then a bunch of Raj's mates came over for dinner so all in all, it's been good times with friends and feasts.

 

All I can say is "Wow, that was quick". I can't believe I'm already back here in London at my brother's place. It doesn't seem like too long ago that I was at his old flat and I had started this blog. That date was February 27 to be exact. And now, roughly 125 days later, I am back here almost ready to go home. Before I get there though, I've gotta have some fun here in the UK don't I?

 

And before I get to that, I suppose I should let you know about the end of my trip in NZ. I told you all about snowboarding on Canada Day which was an absolute blast and once I get onto a highspeed connection, I'll upload a bunch of pics from that glorious day. That night, it was a lot of fun because the gang all went out for some drinks at a couple local bars in Queenstown. I wore my Canada hat and a red and white t-shirt in honour of the day and there were actually several Canadians all around the place. After the fun evening, everyone stayed up because the England - Portugal quarterfinal World Cup match was on at like 3:00 in the morning. I stayed up as much as I could but I'm afraid I just couldn't make it past the 1st half so I went to bed and found out the result in the morning (In some ways, I'm kinda glad I was tired because seeing how pissed off English fans were after that game would have been kinda bad).

 

The next day, I left for Christchurch which was an aboslutely spectacular drive through mountains, over passes and beside enormous lakes. The snow was pretty much lightly dusted everywhere so it was really pretty - especially when the sun would shine through the clouds and sparkle on the finely dusted snow. Christchurch is quite a pretty city with a TONNE of gardens and green space all snaking around right through the city. I enjoyed my day there and did a lot of walking and breathing in the fresh air.

 

Why you ask? Well, I was getting ready for the grueling 24+ flights ahead of me. In total, there were 3: Christchurch to Auckland (1 hour but delayed by 1 hour). Auckland to Los Angeles (12 hours). Los Angeles to London (11 hours). And yeah, you did see that correctly - last Tuesday at around 6:00 pm, I flew right over Toronto and waved at a lot of you. Too bad I didn't get a chance to stop.

 

Overall, I had really good impressions of New Zealand primarily because of the scenery and most of the locals that I met. I found them to be very genuine and hospitable. The scenery absolutely speaks for itself. I don't think I've been on so many scenic modes of transport whether it was flights, bus rides or boat rides. And it was always tough for me because I wanted to capture everything on camera which wasn't always an easy task. There are parts of New Zealand that I missed so I have a reason to go back. Who knows - maybe some day I'll be back in the south.

Sorry about my lack of attentiveness to this site. It hasn't been for lack of trying. It's just that Internet of late hasn't been easy to come by and then when I do find it, the computers are really crappy and coin operated and you can't plug in cameras, memory card readers, etc. So for starters - I've uploaded HEAPS of new photos from my time in NZ so please check those out.

 

I've only got 2 days left in NZ and then it's back to London to spend some time with Raj and Pari and then, home in about two weeks (I can't believe it).

 

The last 10 or so days have been great. Franz Josef was definitely a huge highlight. The downside of the last while has been that I was quite sick (with what I think was food poisoning) for a while... But, I'm much better now and eating everything again. I've met some really cool people in the last little while so that has made it a lot more fun. Two of them were Canadians.

 

Speaking of Canada - today is CANADA DAY so happy Canada Day to all. Guess how I spent it??? I went snowboarding today at Coronet Peak. It was absolutely brilliant. We had a flag on the hill and it was a blast.

 

I'm leaving for Christchurch tomorrow and my 22 hour flight is looming in a couple of days. A belated happy father's day to all out there and also a special shoutout to my parents who have both celebrated birthdays this week.

 

See you all soon!

Hey everyone, sorry that it's been so long since my last post. I haven't been feeling too well of late so I have been resting. Anyway, I feel 100% better tonight so here I am...

 

The East Coast of the North Island of NZ was quite a nice chance of pace. I drank some good wine and had some nice relazing time. I met local NZers and a few local Maori people which was quite nice. The places that we stayed were definitely the highlight though. The first night, we were at a place called the Surf Chalet in a town called Gisborne. I was in a really nice hostel with a huge kitchen right on the coast facing the ocean - got a great view of the sunset so it was awesome. The next night, we stayed in a place called Rangitukia and it was on the far east coast. We stayed at a Maori farm and my friends and I were the first in the world to see the sunrise that day. It was a really cool experience. We climbed up this hill at around 6:00 am to do it but it was well worth it. While at the farm stay, I also went horseriding for the first time which was quite the experience. My horse's name was Brownie and she was really tame and good. Just a little slow - but that's actually pretty good since it was my first time... The final night of our trip was at a place called East Cape where we stayed in a Home stay with a Maori family. They had a hottub right on the beach by the ocean so we could sit in the hot tub and watch the sunset. Actually, it was quite cool cause I ended up seeing the sunrise and set in the same day which was pretty sweet.

 

Got back to Taupo after the East coast trip and chilled out for a few days before going to a place called River Valley for some Grade 5 White Water Rafting which was pretty fun. The hostel at River Valley was literally in the middle of nowhere. There were a bunch of Canadian people working there too which was kinda cool. After River Valley, it was off to Wellington (NZ's capital city) which was definitely really nice. I did an awesome Lord of the Rings movie tour while in Wellington which requires a separate blog to tell you everything I learned. The museum in Wellington is called Te Papa and they have a Lord of the Rings exhitbit there right now too - it's so amazing. I didn't have enough time to properly see it though :o(

 

I crossed the Bass Straight from Welliington to Picton last Monday and now I'm on the South Island. More stories to come...

 

Kia Ora for starters which means hello or welcome or is generally just a nice greeting that maoris give to each other. So far, my time here in New Zealand has been quite action packed and pretty fun. I am travelling with a tour company designed specifically for backpackers called Kiwi Experience. I am enjoying it but at the same time, if someone else was here with me or if I had befriended a couple of fellow passengers before the trip began, I would have preferred to hire a car and drive around myself because then I could just go at my own pace and not have to rush through things or spend too much time in other places.
 
The Maori culture is so alive and thriving in this country. It is actually quite refreshing to see, especially after seeing how the Aboriginal culture is treated in Australia. A lot of the good aspects of the Maori way of life and attitude are generally permeated throughout everything that is done here. I flew into Auckland, which was quite a cute city. I wasn't there too long at all so unfortunately, didn't get a very good feel for it. That said - I think I would enjoy it if I was there longer. However, it was VERY COLD there. I'm pretty sure the South Island of New Zealand is going to be even colder because it's the dead of their winter so that should be interesting.
 
So, while I'm in New Zealand - what is there to do??? It pretty much comes down to 3 things. Lord of the Rings, Rugby/Adventure Sports and Maori Culture
 
1) Lord of the Rings
For this, I went to Matamata which is the home of the private farm that Peter Jackson used to build the "Shire" for the hobbits. Unfortunately, virtually all of the sets are gone now and the only thing left is the "Welcome to Hobbitton" sign. The town actually renamed itself Hobbitton but too many locals or tourists couldn't find signs anymore pointing in the correct direction so they changed it back to Matamata. There might be more LOTR stuff to see on the South Island but all the formal tours are VERY expensive so we'll see what happens.
 
2) Rugby/Adventure Sports
I saw the New Zealand National team (the All Blacks) play an international test match against Ireland last night at Waikato stadium in Hamilton. It was a lot of fun and quite a fun sport to watch live, especially because the All Blacks came back and one the match in the end. I definitely liked watching this brand of Rugby (Union) over the match I saw in Australia two weeks ago (League).
 
As far as Adventure sports go, well I've already done a few and have a few more yet to experience. For starters, I went Sea Kayaking in the Corundal region in a place called Mercury Bay. It was a beautiful afternoon. We got to see some sea lions and enjoyed hot chocolates on the beach (which were amazing especially when the sun went down) And man, when the sun went down, it got COLD.
 
I also tried a relatively new activity. Something called Zorbing. Check out the link. Yep, that's right - I rolled down a hill in a ball filled with water. I did it with 2 other people - a couple of UW engineers that I met on my tour. The cool part is that I went to school at UW with Jess' sister Amanda about 4 years ago but the two of us had never met before.
 
I also did an amazing trip called the Black Abyss in the Waitomo Caves. It included Absailing down a narrow 35 metre cave in the dark (with only a headlamp). I was quite scared during this because you are literally just hanging from a rope the whole way down. Once inside the cave, we got to do some Zip Lining, which basically meant that our harness was connected to a line and we went for a 50 metre ride over the water. Doesn't sound that bad does it? Try doing that in complete Pitch Black Darkness. Absolutely scary but totally beautiful especially with all the bioluminescent glowworms hanging around on the ceiling, The trip ended with us climibing up 3 waterfalls. No ropes, no nothing. Just old school climbing on slippery rocks to get out. Simply amazing!
 
AND TODAY, I jumped off a plane at 12,000 feet above the ground. Yep that's right. I WENT SKY DIVING!!! I experienced 45 seconds of freefall. It was absolutely amazing. I think I built it up in my head to be a lot scarier than it actually ended up being. But wow, it was such a cool experience. Definitely a once in a lifetime thing. Words can't describe the freefall feeling. Once the chute was opened, I was just sitting back and enjoying the view. What a beautiful way to experience the lovely scenery around here. I saw snowcapped mountains, a great lake and amazing greenery for miles and miles.

 

I attended a traditional Maori dinner and experienced first hand the feast called a Hungi and the concert. It was a site to be seen and definitely worth it if you ever come here. As I said earlier, the culture is so rich and beautiful.

I'm off to the East Coast tomorrow for a few days to experience true Maori culture. I'm definitely looking forward to it. And seeing Whale Rider last week has defintiely made me more pumped.

Wow, two months come and go just like that. I can't believe it. I arrived here back in early April and have really enjoyed my time here in Australia. I leave for New Zealand tomorrow morning and I am definitely feeling a little bittersweet. It will be very nice to move on and experience something new but leaving Australia and all the new friends I've made here in Sydney is going to be difficult.

 

Overall, my impressions of Australia are quite good. I definitely think I'll be back here again at some point in the future. There is still so much I didn't see and get to experience. In fact, I missed out on several key touristy things here in Sydney alone like Manley beach, a daytime harbour cruise, touring inside the Opera House and the Aquarium. Well, I guess it gives me something good to look forward to whenever it is that I return.

 

It's late and I'm not as introspective as I thought I'd be so I'll keep this farewell short and sweet. Waiting for me is a new adventure in a really cool country. I'm keen to go to New Zealand - it should be great! By the way, if you haven't seen Whale Rider yet - you should definitely check it out!!! What an amazing movie.

 

Kia Ora!

 

I last spoke with you guys when I was in Hervay Bay, just after my brilliant trip sailing in the Whitsundays and the day before I left for a 2-day excursion to Fraser Island. Fraser is the largest completely sand island in the world. From the photos, you can see that you can do a lot of cool driving around on the sand right by the water. But, you need special 4x4 vehicles because it's difficult to drive in the sand and you can get stuck very easily. I travelled with a cool group of people from all around (Canada, the Netherlands, England and Ireland). We had a lot of fun travelling through the rainforests, seeing Dingos and checking out all the sites (including Lake Birraben, where we did some exfoliating with the sand).

 

On this trip, I've met a tonne of travellers along the way and one central thing is common, they are almost all quite young in the 19 - 21 age group. I'm not saying that I'm an old guy or anything but when I'm talking to these other backpackers and find out that they were born in 1985 or 1986, it really makes me feel like a grandpa amongst them. Oh well, it makes for fun times and I've enjoyed meeting most (certainly not all) of them.

 

From Fraser island, I took an overnight bus to Brisbane and hung out with some familiar faces. First, it was with my cousin Ashwini. She's studying in Brisbane at the moment but it was cool that we got to spend some time together, especially cause I missed her at the wedding in India back in March. We saw some sites, randomly ran into one of the guys (Andrew from Calgary) from my Whitsundays trip on a bus in the city). We also went to the Australia Zoo, home of the famous Crocodile Hunter - Mr. Steve Irwin. That was quite a neat experience. Definitely a bit on the commercialized side with the "Crocoseum" and all but still fun and educational nonetheless. While in Brisbane, I also spent some time with my friend Jacelyn. That was cool and her and I cooked some good meals together so it was definitely nice to get back in the kitchen for a little while.

 

I got back to Sydney last week (May 24) and it felt like I was "home". I think Sydney is quite comfortable for me cause I have a lot of friends there now. I went to this huge Rugby match last week at Sydney Olympic Stadium. It's called the State of Origin. It's a match between New South Wales and Queensland and it's a battle to see which is the better state at rugby. NSW was winning the match 16-0 going into the second half so it was quite boring. Queensland came back and tied it with 2 minutes left and then NSW kicked a single and won the game 17-16 with 30 seconds left. All 76,000 fans left quite excited by the ending so it was definitely a cool experience.

 

I also met up with some friends from Toronto last week while I was in Sydney. I got to spend the day with Bobby on Thursday which was a blast. He'e here right now visiting his fiance and it was really good to catch up with him and that really brought back good memories of home. I also got to see Brenda again and we chilled out and made some good meals too. And I got to see Kulvir who is also working in Sydney. So, last week was a mini Toronto reunion of sorts so that was kinda cool.

 

The last couple days, I went to Australia's capital - Canberra. It is pretty much just like you'd expect a Capital city to be. Kinda boring, a few scenic sites to check out and generally just a place to chill out for a bit. We did a lot of walking. I was there with two buddies, Vik and Niv - both of whom are really solid guys. I'm really glad I've gotten to know them well during this trip. I can see us staying good friends for years and who knows, it looks like there might be future trips down the road... And probably more "man tests of strength" as well.

 

I'm back in Melbourne right now. I came to meet up with a couple friends and check out some parts of the city that I missed last time. I have gotten a good vibe of Melbourne in both of my visits here. That could be primarily because of all the excellent food I've eaten. In these two days alone I've had Mexican, Greek, Italian, Vietnamese and Japanese. Who knows what tomorrow has in store. Thanks a lot to Erica and Joel who have been such amazing hosts while I'm here in Melbourne.

 

I must say though - the best part of travelling is the food you get to enjoy. A close second is the people you meet. The stories you can share and the things you learn. It's really neet cause everyone has a really cools story. I've met probably close to 30 or 40 people who quit there jobs to go travelling. They've bought around the world tickets and are just doing similar things to what I'm doing. They are from all walks of life and varied ages (most are in their early to mid 20's). And the careers that people have are so cool too. I've met lawyers, doctors, restaurant owners, musicians, costume designers and actors.

 

That's it for now.

I'm off to New Zealand next week so that should be a blast!

 

Last week, I was at that point of my trip where I was starting to get a little home sick. 2.5 months have passed and now, it's officially the longest I've been away (more than Asia 2002). That said, things have changed and I am now feeling rejuvenated.

 

Cairns was my stop after my tour in the Red Centre. Cairns is a huge tourist trap with tonnes of info centres and tour agencies trying to tell you where to go and what to spend your money on. There are so many options and it's downright confusing (on purpose I'm sure). The bad thing is though that Australians generally are not very helpful. As an aside, the service industry in this country stinks. Whether your getting some coffee, lunch or trying on some clothes - no one really cares and NO one will ever go that extra mile to help you out or be accomodating for a slightly different request. Cairns reminded me a lot of Miami actually with the water close by and because it's the starting point for so many different activities. It also has that seedy nightlife and lots of not so savoury characters.

 

I tried to minimize my time in Cairns but while I was there, I took in a few sites. Notably, me and some friends from my Uluru tour rented a car and drove up to Cape Tribulation, Port Douglas and Daintree National Park. Cape Trib was really cool and we stayed in hostel right in the middle of the rain forest. That was definitely a very neat experience. Getting to that hostel (Cape Trib Beach House) was a whole other story though. When we arrived, it was pouring rain and pitch black. The street signs were terrible and trying to figure out where to go and how to get there was basically impossible. We also didn't want to get into any trouble in the rental car and some of the roads were so muddy and steep, we weren't sure we were gonna get through them okay. In the end, it all worked out but I was definitely stressed and I had to do all the driving because I was the only one over 25 in the car. Port Douglas was a really cute little city with a great vibe to it. I definitely enjoyed it and would love to go back some time.

 

Once back in Cairns, I made a couple day trips. First, to Kuranda where I saw Barron Falls and rode on the Skyrail and Scenic Kuranda railway. Kuranda is a cute little village but it is just about as tacky as Niagara Falls when it comes to touristy stuff. Next, I went to Green Island for my first snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef. I think I've solidified it now that I am not a very comfortable diver or snorkeller. I think it's the salt water that gets to me most. I just don't like the taste at all and when I swallow even a tsp full, it's too much and I start coughing and spitting everything up. I saw some fish but definitely not as much as I would have liked but I'm told the conditions weren't that great so I'm not too upset.

 

From Cairns, I went down to Townsville and took a ferry across to a place called Magnetic Island. While there for a couple days, I met a bunch of Canadians (a guy from Victoria and two sisters from Edmonton). Magnetic Island was a pretty chilled out place. I was sick of doing the hostel thing so I decided to splurge a little and stayed at a Bed & Breakfast. I left Magnetic and got to Airlie Beach on Saturday the 13th.

 

Sunday the 14th is when my trip took a nice turn upwards. I started my sailing adventure in the Whitsunday islands. It was such a great experience and I'm so glad I did it. It's definitely one of my highlights of this trip so far. The weather was perfect. The snorkelling was pretty good (and I was feeling a lot more comfortable underwater). The food was yummy too and all the peeps I met were pretty cool. We even got to sail through really horrible rainy weather yesterday on our way home so that made the experience more complete. The sea-sickness pills I took helped as well since I didn't feel any symptoms at all so that was great.

 

I'm in Hervey Bay right now, the gateway to Frasor Island. I'm heading to Frasor on a tour for the next couple of days. Then on Saturday, I'm going to Brisbane to spend a couple days with my cousin Ashwini. Time for some dinner. I might go for some Indian food cause I'm craving...

 

Finally, a belated Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there. Especially Sharavati, Jennifer and Gina, some of the most recent moms.

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I decided to go to Uluru, the Olgas and King's Canyon on a tour. It was with a company called Outback Safari and the tour I went on was a 3.5 day camping trip around the outback. It was a really great experience and I met some pretty interesting people from all parts of the world. There were 7 English people, 2 South Koreans, 6 Germans, 1 Japanese, 3 French, 1 Italian and myself on the tour and it was a blast. Our guide (Mika) was quite knowledgeable because he's originally from Alice Springs and he's 1/2 aboriginal so he knew a lot of the history and reasoning behind certain practices and customs.

 

The major highlight of the trip was definitely climbing Uluru. It is frowned upon by the local Aboriginal people because it is a sacred site and only certain people are supposed to climb it. I decided to do it anyway because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and more importantly - I disagree with the ruling at present. Basically, the local aboriginal people DON'T want non-Aboriginals to climb it but at the same time, they won't close it completely to tourists. Instead, they still give us that option. Why you ask? Because of these - $$$$$$. If they closed it completely, they would face a sharp drop in tourists and then what could they do? So really it's a catch-22 situation for sure.

 

The major lowlight had to be the flies. I just can't imagine how bad the flies would be if it was summer and +40 degrees out there. Those fly masks worked from time to time but definitely didn't do that great a job.

 

We slept outside in Australian sleeping bags called swags. It was brilliant cause we were under the stars for three days. There was absolutely no light polution. It's too bad I don't know much about the sky in the Southern Hemisphere - I would have really liked to know what we were looking at. Each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, we cooked together and prepared our meals as well so that was quite a lot of fun.

 

After the tour concluded, we headed back to Alice Springs and stayed one night. Alice Springs is quite a boring little town but for one night/day I guess it's okay. I definitely wouldn't want to spend an extended period of time there. One funny thing happened to me at our hostel... They ran out of rooms and couldn't offer me any other dorms, so I got my own bed in a private room (apparently, it's called the "Romance Room". Needless to say, I had a good nights sleep.

 

The next day, after receiving a text message from Qantas at 5:00 am telling me that the flight was delayed, we visited the Baby Kangaroo Rescue Centre which was an absolutely brilliant thing to do. The kangaroos are so cute and I learned a lot from the guide. He used to work in zoos and now, he does this full time and nurses young orphaned kangaroos until they are ready to be released to the wild. Also, people can "adopt" them but they have to take care of them for the whole time. They take them home, bring them to work - basically like a little kid - they have several needs.

 

Got to the airport late and made our way to Cairns to begin my journey down the East Coast.

 

Well, my week in Adelaide is now finished and tomorrow morning (in about 8 hours), I'm flying to Alice Springs to start my Northern Territory adventure. From there, it's up to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.

 

Just a quick recap of my last 9 days. After Melbourne, I drove along the Great Ocean Road with Brenda. We had a really good time getting to know each other and seeing all the scenery. Both of us were pretty good with our driving skills as well so I guess that was a good thing. AT times, it's a bit of a treacherous drive cause you are pretty much going along a cliff but the views are breathtaking especially for the passenger. And, since it's right side drive here - and we were driving west, the passenger always had a great view. The first stop along the way (actually before the Great Ocean Road) was Bell's Beach. That's the place where the last scene in Point Break was supposedly filmed (where Patrick Swayze goes to surf the 50-Year-Storm, a weather pattern that yields 200-ft high waves). There was a Rip Curl surfing competition going on but I think we just missed it. We stopped in Apollo Bay for a music festival. I was quite amused b/c tourist operators in Melbourne were making me think this was some huge festival with road closures, etc like Live 8 or Woodstock or something. Turns out that it was pretty rinky-dink but all the people in town were pretty excited. The 12 Apostles (actually there are only 7 of them now) were a pretty cool site so that was nice to see them. We spent the night in Port Fairy at a really nice B&B and had dinner at this local seafood restaurant. Brenda and I shared the Captain's Choice - $90 of seafood goodness (prawns, oysters, calamari, fish and chips, bugs, scallops and salad). It was A LOT of food but in retrospect, probably not a wise $90 spent. In any case, we enjoyed it and pretty much rolled back to our room tired and drunk.

 

Sunday morning came and after a nice breakfast in our room overlooking the bay and the sound of the crashing water on the beach, we started the drive for Adelaide with a stop in Mount Gambier for lunch. This drive was less scenic although by mid-afternoon, we did end up going through the Coonawara Wine Region and we passed Wolf Blass, Lindemens and some other vineyards.

 

We arrived in Adelaide at my uncle's place that night and hung out with the family before hitting the sac. The next day, we had to get up really early to catch a cab into the city for our bus tour to Kangaroo island. At 6:15 am, we sat waiting for the cab driver. No sign of him. My uncle got up and we were a little frantic trying to figure out what was going on. Turns out that there is a 30 minute time differnece b/w South Australia (the state Adelaide is in) and the Eastern states (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria). So, we were actually early by 30 minutes. Actually, we had lost out on 30 minutes of sleep - that's the other way to look at it.

 

Kangaroo Island was a pleasant surprise and it was really great cause we saw a lot of wildlife including kangaroos (if we didn't see those, that would have just been silly), koalas, seals and even little penguins that do this march from the beach to their home every night at dusk.

 

The rest of my week in Adelaide was quite relaxing with my uncle's family. It was definitely nice to just chill here for a few days and enjoy the luxuries at this beautiful house. I had a lot of fun and it was great to spend time with family.

 

Now, the rest of my journey begins...

Wish me luck.

 

Folks, I'm in Adelaide right now - tired and frustrated.

The trip is going really well but technical difficulties are really starting to annoy me.

 

1. MSN Spaces has an upload limit for photos and I've exceeded it so I have to wait till next month (May 1) to continue uploading photos. I managed to get some of my Tasmania photos up but that's it. Also, I deleted a bunch of older photos from my early India albums (Rajasthan specifically) because I thought I needed to make room since it wasn't letting me upload photos.

 

2. I have typed this blog entry 3 times now and this PC I'm on keeps turning off on it's own and giving me the wonderful Windows Blue Screen of death so that is not a good thing at all.

 

Anyway, let me try to briefly outline what I had already written. For starters, my departure from Tasmania was a bit of an adventure. I was taking a ferry (the Spirit of Tasmania) from Tasmania to Melbourne. Sounds easy enough right? Well, I was in Launceston and had booked a bus ticket to take me to Devonport (where the boat departs from). I got to the bus station about 20 minutes early and was just chilling waiting for my bus. All of a sudden, I realize that it's past 5:30 and I never got called for my bus. I went to the counter and asked the lady and she said "I made a call for passengers 5 minutes ago - where were you???" I didn't hear her. Anyway, the bus had already left the parking lot so I went running after him and managed to flag him down at the next intersection. I got inside because she called the bus driver in the mean time to tell him that someone had missed the bus. Wow, that was quite a stressful way to start my journey.

 

In Melbourne, I stayed with my buddy Quincy from high school. He's working as a teacher out there. I had a blast hanging at Quincy's place so thanks a lot for your excellent hospitality man! Melbourne itself is a really great city. There seems to be a huge arts and athletics culture which makes it have a really nice vibe. Melbourne is a really tourist-friendly city too with an AMAZING visitor's centre and great maps/signage all round the downtown core. For me, whether it was hanging out at Queen Victoria Market, Federation Square, Flinders Station, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, touring MCG or checking out a Footy match, I had so many great experiences. Melbourians (at least that's what I'm gonna call them) really love their footy. The obsession is definitely like hockey is for us back home in Canada. Overall, I got a really good vibe from Melbourne and I think I'd love to go back and check it out again in more detail sometime.

 

On Saturday the 22nd, Brenda flew into Melbourne and I picked her up in our upgraded rental car. We started the Great Ocean Road drive that morning... So plenty more to come in the next little while.