Rajasthan-wow!

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Sometimes I have to wonder where I fit in this whole world. You get used to setting your feet out into places of beauty and the unknown, it's exciting and you learn so much about the world. You have many conversations under stars, over chai, in busy street corners about the world and evaluate the culture you live in and the world around you-where do I belong? The east or the west...

Time passes so fast when you are travelling. It was late in the afternoon when I realized today all I had to eat was drink chai and have great conversation with an older man who has travelled the world. In a courtyard filled with flowers, sitting on cushions with a beautiful german shepherd there to rest her head we laughed and spoke about the things that are important to us. India is like this, it can really suck you in and paffff there goes your day!

Hampi was a wonderful place and the memories there will always be strong in my heart. I did encounter another bout of sickness which brought me to a very high fever and the most sick I have felt on this whole trip. Perhaps next time I won't go and drink 2 Litres of the local drinking water! I got to take my first set of anti-biotics. Good thing I had access to curd on the train to keep the good bacteria going. So with the bad experience of sickness there was also a beautiful experience in Hampi. One in particular is a very touching "Aneko" from Bask country. We met in Arambol and we were surprised to see eachother in Hampi. Our schedule was set to land in the same destinations, however he needed another little stop over in Arambol. Jennifir set off to Pushkar ahead of us and we met here. So here I am off back to Arambol and now with a man travelling in India. Let me tell you, this is a different experience. Now I get to hitchhike! Yipee! There's all sorts of other connotations that come along, like I have to tell people we are married since they don't understand why two people of the opposite sex would travel together. This is an ongoing joke, we get to make up stories and hopefully the other goes along without laughing...It's seemed to work out just fine.

Arambol was so great to see the family again. We had a beautiful day under the palm trees, all 20ish of us got together to paint eachother's faces and make an amazing photo shoot! Imagine a bunch of pixie children playing around under palm trees with an Indian man taking our pictures (he MUST have thought we were tripping!) It was so nice to have another goodbye to all those beautiful people.

So we're off to Mumbai, and another train ride. The train was super energetic with groups of young Indians returning after a week of party in Goa. Lots of dancing, singing, making drums on the walls and horsing around in the train. They really know how to let go and not care about the world around them, or judgements others have- we lack this so often in the west.
Mumbai-let's just put it to some words, expensive, everyone was really trying to scam us, lots of people living on the street, sex trade (we stayed in a random part of the city) and we really got to know eachother allot better after arriving at 11:30pm tired, and wanting a room. It really makes you know if you can tolerate someone if you can travel together. You are pushed to your limits, often I find myself in laughter, and Aneko also often reminds me to "calm my voice and be patient" (in this statement he is so patient with me as well 😊

Finding ourselves on another train ride overnight up to Pushkar, having a man around me I let go of all caution and passed out all night even on the bottom bunk. From the ocean to the dessert we came, camels in the street, women so full of colour, nose rings attached to earings, a beautiful lake, sadhus, temples, soo many cows (I was so happy to see my cows again, we missed eachother), lots of silver, feathers, colour, shopping, earings, and much much more. Yesterday was Shiva's birthday so the whole town was celebrating, this means crazy chanting/singing all day and night (it's very loud when you sleep on the roof), parade in the street with lots of flowers thrown all over your body and wrapped around your neck, and Jennifir even encountered the "special" lassi (perhaps this caused her more excitement than our nights out in Arambol- she was very happy to see me when we ran into eachother in the street!)

I feel like I've embraced parts of me I have supressed living in the west. I feel more free and open than I have in years. Today Jennifir was giggling at me as I was sitting painting my face with beautiful colours, wrapped in strategically wripped shirts, a little dreadlock in my hair, feathers, beautiful random earings, silver, and a twinkle in my eye she said "it's so great to see how much you've changed or how much you are embracing who you really are." I giggled and said what are you talking about! I know what she's talking about, she's talking about how we really care too much of our outward decoration in the west and there was a time in my life I didn't really care and now I feel like I've come full circle back to this place. What does it really matter of my decoration and expression...isn't it really about what's in your heart?

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Comments

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Namaste Jen and Kim! Great to read your stories from this comfy chair here in snowy ( yahoo!) Revvy...though my time in India was so short I know exactly how you feel- tuning into the vibration opens it all up! I am sure I will return one day! Now that I'm home I feel that I need to 'get down to business' , start something new, be of service etc etc- boring??? Huh, another trip, simply THAT! Are you still together? I suspect not as I spoke to Jen's mother the other day (that's right, in Nakusp) and she told me that Jen is solo- but I guess she'll meet Drew soon in Nepal if it hasn't happened already! Anyhoo, I'll keep checking in! Love trace