1 week in India- Some things I have noticed

1 week in India and some things I have noticed.

1. I have yet to see any cockroaches or rats in Culcutta yet- whereas I had seen them every day in Asia and India is suppose to be dirtier.
2. The dogs are not your friends
3. Honking is part of their culture
4. They don't really have a word for 'please'
5. Cab drivers will Avoid using the meter at any cost and ultimately screw you over with the price asked. If you do get one with a meter, the price will be doubled (I have yet to find out why). Also, if you are carrying your backpack expect to pay double what that journey would normally cost.
6. Everyone will stare at you, get used to it. Although Indian men are generally shy and usually won't cat-call or touch you
7. Going on the internet is a process. Bring your passport and expect to get your photo taken
8. Buying a train ticket is a process. Bring your passport. Try and go to the tourist quota 2 days before departure. Use cleartrip.com or planmytrip.com. Don't get MB (middle berth). I prefer the UB (upper berth) or SB (the side). This works good for sleeper class. If you don't want the hagglers and chai wallahs in your carriage, go for the AC section. Those get booked up months in advance, but there's something called Tatda (please someone correct me here because I forgot the spelling) that holds back AC tickets. If you go to the train station the day before at 8am, you can get one of these tickets for 200-300 Rps more expensive. If I'm with a friend I just go for sleeper class. It's really not so bad! Unless you're sick.
9. Getting accommodation is a process. Bring your passport. Try and call to make reservation because places get booked quick.
10. Don't let 9 year old girls give you henna. Even if it's cute at the time it is ugly for the next 30 days
11. Everything is interesting. If you give a drunk monkey a camera he will eventually snap a good photo, but give a camera to a drunk monkey in India and they will all be good photos.
12. Everyday you wake up and you play the game of India. Some days you win, most you lose, and some days you are really moody and just don't feel like playing their game. Those are days you should stay in your hotel/hostel.
13. If you plan on going higher up in altitude, bring appropriate clothes.
14. I can't believe how much pushing and shoving goes on at some of the places of worship. I was at the Kali temple in Culcutta and it was everyone for themselves. You would think that their religions- or any religious place anywhere, you would try and be respectful of others. But no. I guess they don't call Kali the God of Destruction for no reason!

15. Anytime you don't want something, like chai for example, a chai wallah is always around. But, anytime you actually want something like chai, you can't actually find it!
16. Everything sucks mad donkey balls when you're sick. And it's not a matter of if you will get sick, but when. YOU WILL GET SICK. And everything that was once interesting, will become tiring and horrible. Especially getting sick on a train. Not fun! Prepare to be in bed for a few days, so look for a good hotel with a tv. (They have Indian Discovery Chanel!) If you have antibiotics, and you should, just take them. It's definitely not the best approach, but it will put you back on your feet much faster than anything else. Don't take cloggers that block you up. There's obviously something that needs to come out.

Not Recommended by the Lonely Planet!

Side note here: everywhere in Asia has stupid advertisements saying "recommended by Lonely Planet". Everyone walks around clutching the lonely planet, therefore leading almost the entire 'n00b' backpacker community to the exact same destinations and to have the exact same experiences. Furthermore, it's not even for backpackers! Yes they have the Southeast Asia on a Budget and those books, but for the most part it has high end eats and comfy posh sleeps. The reality comes in 2 parts. One being the fact that as soon as they leave their "westernized" fanciness and hit the street, they will inevitably be even more culture shocked than stepping off the plane! And the second thing is that I would say 90% of travelers are between 20-35 and probably don't have that kind of money- especially if they are on extended trips. Then you get those people who take holidays, but let's be honest, most people get 2-3 weeks a year holiday and why would you need an 1000 page book for 21 days? So why is the lonely planet so damn popular? I scrapped reading those even before I left home! My advice: talk to people!!! Not only will you have a conversation starter, meet new friends, but get valuable CURRENT information regarding the place of your choosing, and you might even find out about something that wasn't on your radar! Also, buy local maps from local people. Don't be afraid to throw your lonely planet out and eat where YOU want. Eat street food with the locals (watch them cook it and you should be good)! Sleep in dorms with other backpackers to share experiences with them! Go on a walk and discover something new! Excuse my blasphemy but screw the lonely planet and be an Adventurer and explore these places for the first time- not through second hand knowledge!

If you haven't traveled before, and still want to buy a lonely planet after reading this than this is what Bob has to say "Sayin' don't worry, about a thing. Cuz every little thing's, gonna be alright!" Okay, but all jokes aside, the hardest part about traveling is deciding to go and booking your first ticket. The rest is easy, piece of cake, walk in the park. Seriously! The wonderful thing about backpackers is the friendliness and openness- especially if you are on your own. I could walk into the middle of a conversation and be welcomed instantly. It is amazingly easy to meet new friends, make connections, and hear advice. The best part is that all these people you meet are on your brain wavelength of experiencing new cultures, food, people, etc. No, no, the best part is that generally backpackers all have a similar route and you can see eachother again down the line. I met this girl in Airlie Beach, Australia last April, and then I saw her in Kuala Lumpur at the end of November! It was so random and pleasantly unexpected. Actually no, I changed my mind again. The best part of meeting backpackers is having a free place to stay everywhere in the world and potentially meeting invaluable business partners ;)

Anyways, I've gone on a huge tangent when all I really wanted to say was that I personally think a better advertisement for tourists and cool backpackers is "Not recommended by Lonely Planet". Or better yet "Not even in the Lonely Planet!"

Ahka Villages in Phongsaly

Phongsaly- www.ecotourismlaos.com/phongsaly.htm

I've had the greatest pleasure to welcome you to Phongsaly, Laos. The Northernmost state that borders both China and Vietnam. Now, this whole experience has a little bit of a story leading into an incredible experience so bear with me. I have known Phil Hendry since I started traveling in December 2010. We met on the boat from the North Island to the South of New Zealand. We had also met briefly twice in Australia after that. Needless to say, he is a great friend of mine. So, we had plans to meet in Chiang Mai, Thailand at the beginning of February, however, I had sent him a message when I got to Luang Prabang telling him that I still had two weeks left on my Visa and that I wasn't leaving Laos yet due to the EPIC time I had in the country thus far. (More on Laos in another post I promise). Anyways, he agreed to meet me out there with a girl he had met in Chiang Mai from Australia, Tahlia, in a few days time. During that time I had considered going north in the country on a trekking tour. What enticed me is all of the shops promoting eco-tourism trekking packages. One place in particular caught my eye, called Phongsaly. Maybe it was because it was so far away, or maybe someone had mentioned it to me in passing, but regardless I wanted to go! Now, Phil was on a bit of a budget (who isn't really?) and the tours got up to about $255 USD for 5 days, so I figured that if it's a local bus and we figured it out ourselves it could be much cheaper!

Haha, so I pitched the idea to Tahlia and Phil and they loved it! Everyone does a trek to the minority villages in Chiang Mai, this would be something really different and personalized. The next day we departed at 6pm for our 17 hour local bus ride up north. To my surprise Phil introduced me to this lovely English boy named Jack. He's like "Kailey, Jack, Jack, Kailey. Do you think he could catch the bus up with us?" Apparently Tahlia and Phil had told Jack the night before and he was completely down with the idea. Now, that is my kind of person always up for a random adventure and see where it takes you! Plus, in my experience, local Laos busses are very easy to hitch a ride on. They don't care how many people they take by the end of it. And that couldn't be more true as the end result. By the time the bus had left Vientiene and traveled to Luang Prabang there must have been about 60 passengers on the seats, another 5 in the aisle already, not to mention piles of rice and coconuts everywhere, and chickens in the boot to boot! As we snuggled in the aisle I was wondering if I dragged 3 unsuspecting people to the most horrible journey of their lives. I have to give it up to them though because they were troopers on the bus as the high-pitched Laos music came on blaring from the speakers. All. Night. Long. I'm not gonna lie, I took 2 Valiums and they did nothing! At one point I must have dozed for half an hour and when I woke up again, there were another 6 or 8 new people in the aisle! It got so packed that I was climbing out the window and back in just to use the bathroom!!



By the time we got there it was mid afternoon and we were starving. Instead of going to eat right away we checked out the prices at the one and only travel centre in the village. They were pretty astronomical and everyone was a little bummed. We decided to go eat then when we heard lots of music and decided to walk past this Laos party. Well, didn't they just about drag us off the street to come party with them. There was a cute girl singing Kareoke and then all of a sudden we each had beers in our hands and were damanded to drink them. Well, okay! Pretty soon the ladies had cooked us about 5 fresh dishes, and the men had cut us some fresh sugarcane, and we were learning the locals dance and everything! No one spoke any english, but it was such pleasant company nonetheless. We found out they were celebrating the Chinese New Year- which lasts for a month and makes everyday seem like a holiday. I spotted the first westerner across the street and I had to go ask him if he had done any of the treks. He gave me some useful info that the tourism office offered better prices and more selection on their treks. The office happened to be right next to the party, but they were closed. No worries for the Laos people! They simply called them and asked one of the guys to come and see us right away! As a Thank-you, we performed a little Beatles Kareoke for them. I think they loved it!

We decided to do a 2 day trip to the Ahka villages that were close in the area. The Ahka people are known for their handicrafts and for being former opium growing villages. They are a very large tribe and diversify all over northern Thailand and Laos. The trek ended up costing us $25 USD per day which includes guides, food, and accommodation . So on top of the $16 USD paid for the local bus there and double it for back, we really ended up only paying $100 or so for the whole trip! We saved over $150 USD from doing it on our own.

The next morning we met our guide, Souli, at the tuk-tuk stand nice and early. Then we had a short 24km local bus ride through the morning mist of the mountains to our destination in Boun Neua. After a quick photo op, we started our trek. At first the terrain was all trees with a dirt track that we followed over some small streams. We then started to climb a little on this track and ended up seeing a King Cobra! Cool! At this point I spotted this huge cut down tree stump about 10 meters off the ground and decided to go and sit on it during our little break. I literally couldn't figure out where we were going to trek to, there didn't seem to be any path! I soon figured out that we were so far off the beaten track, that there wasn't even a track to follow!!



We were hand over hand, knees and feet on the ground, dragging ourselves up a steep 45' angle and I was taking the lead behind our monkey-like guide who was so far away he might as well have not existed! So, there I am, gripping for dear life with one hand on a banana plant, one hand on the dirt, and feet precariously slipping, slipping. CRASH! I fell anywhere from 2-3 meters down with the whole banana tree hitting me in the head. My friends thght they were going to have to carry me out on a bamboo stretcher, but I got up and was basically fine. Well okay, my shoulder dislocated, but that happens fairly often and I can pop it back into place! The feeling of accomplishment of getting to the top of that hill will last me the rest of my days alone. And all before 12pm! All I can say is that they don't call it 'hill' tribe treks for nothing!

Our first encounter with the Ahka tribe was mixed. The dogs were going wild barking at us, the kids were alternately 'Sabaidee'-ing us nd running away, and there wasn't a single adult in sight. We were taking to the chief's home to leave our stuff. All the kids gathered around us and we bent down to show them photos of themselves. They LOVED it! They probably have never seen themselves on film before and squealed with delight at the digital. How I wish I wish I had an old-skool Polaroid camera!! We all sat down to lunch together and ate fresh veggies, eggs, soup, and sticky rice while enjoying Lao-Lao whisky made from the fermentation of sticky rice every 3 minutes. I had to use the toilet after a while and he motioned out towards the back of the house. So I just squatted and peed on the ground. And these little piglets came up and started drinking my PEE! EWWWW but funny. I have to say the highlight of the meal was when the chief gave his baby daughter the cigarette to play with!

I completely thought we were done for the day, but oh no! We had to climb yet more hills (right after all that Lao-Lao) and trek for another 3 hours before arriving at our final destination for the evening. We ended up at another Ahka village and I spent the remaining daylight hours teaching the kids to play hockey with sticks and oranges. They were so funny, copying exactly what I said "GOAL" and "SAFE". Pretty soon I was telling about 30 of them to say "KAILEY IS THE QUEEN" and "JACK SMELLS FUNNY". It was hilarious and so sweet. We had a lovely meal with the chief including more Lao-Lao! Yay! We decided after dinner to give our presents to the children. We brought up toothbrushes and toothpaste and taught them how to brush their teeth! I bet they were so excited... On a side note, we had this game we played where as they didn't speak English and we didn't speak Laos, so we created voice-over dialogue. When the kids ran away with the 'presents', 2 ladies came up and said something in Laos. Phil goes "Why did these crazy foreigners give white stuff to the kids? Now it's all over the dogs!". Haha and on it went from Phil all night and the next day after that! I decided to bust out this crazy lamb hat I've carried around with me since New Zealand and see if any of the kids would wear it. No chance, they were all afraid and so I put it on the chief's head! Well he was just admiring himself so much in the mirror that I decided to give it to him as a gift. I also saw the Laos ladies admiring the stitching. Wouldn't it be so great to open a National Geographic in a few years and seeing all the Ahka peoples wearing lamb hats?

The roosters sound like they all have smoker's cough at 6:30am the next morning. I think we were all awake, but pretty lazy and sore from the day before to get up that early. I pulled my blanket over my head to try and catch a few more hours' sleep. When we eventually woke up at 9am or so, breakfast was ready for us, as well as a mini-trek to the river to catch our own lunch. Now, when I mean catch, I mean we sat down and played with the rocks, because it was next to impossible to move over those rocks and catch anything. Even the chief and our guide had some problems and didn't catch much. So we had fresh veggies, sticky rice, more Lao Lao! and hot dogs?? for lunch. Yum!

What really blew my socks off was when we were about to leave the chief of the village said "I'm sorry I didn't have more to offer you". (Translated by our guide). It was so overwhelmingly humble that that one moment will stay with me for a long time. When I get back home and get envious of the more material things in life I will remember that this man who lived so simply, had so much to offer. I wish I could've expressed that to him he offered more than I ever dreamt possible from this trip. It was the single most enriching experience I have ever had in life and the absolute epitome of my traveling thus far! The perfect combination of people, nature, circumstance, and luck came together for us all.