JIM MEL TRAVELS

Following our visit in Rishikesh we boarded a train to head to Dharamsala. We arrive in the morning to find ourselves in Jammu, Kashmir, 20 kilometers from the Pakistan boarder. It happens that our stop was in the middle of the night, and we slept right through it. We spent some time at the train station, waiting for the train to take us back down south. We had a man ask us, “is this your first visit here?” We replied that, “yes this was our first time in India.’ The man laughed and said, “ your not in India anymore, you are in Kashmir.” Ever since partition in 1947 the status of this land has caused much dispute between India and Pakistan. The conflict that is still going on and can be seen everywhere, from the ... read more

Nameste Well after many days of agony I finally made it to a computer to update our past days of travel. Our arrival and stay in Delhi was not as bad as I thought. I was prepared to enter into the most polluted city in the world with mobs of people haggling us for money and our business. Though there was quite a bit I did not find it nearly as polluted or annoying as Bangkok, Thailand. I did not feel the cultural shock I was expecting. None the less we left there shortly and are now in Rishikesh. Upon our arrival at 6 am in the morning, and with our first steps of the bus, we were encountered with a mob of rickshaw drivers yelling and grabbing at our bags, trying to get our business. ... read more

This may not be for the light stomach. In Asia there are two types of toilets: the asian squatter, and the one were used to. They call it in Thai the "Farang" toilet. Farang meaning foreign. A study was conducted to see which toilet was better for you and it came down to incontinence during your later years. The squatter allows the elderly in Thailand to remain continent whereas the foreigners must resort to diapers. For some reason the elderly Westerners who wear diapers are better at crossword puzzles and are more up to date with current events. Not sure if this has anything to do with the squat/sit study but its interesting nontheless. So choose your destiny. Most likely you won't have to change your own diapers anyways. Another thing on bathrooms. The standard set ... read more

The last few days were spent exploring the mountains near the northern Thai burma border. The surrounding towns are called Na paek, Mae Aw, and Rumthai. We stayed in Rum Thai, literally meaning "mixed people", because residing in this town are chinese, Karen, Thai, Burmese, and Shan. All choosen to end there migratory lives and become care takers of this village. Many of these people were involved in some type of illegal trade or just living in very poor conditions. Twenty years ago Mr. Hillary, the man who runs the guesthouse, was involved in opium and marijuana farming. Today he runs a guesthouse in a town that is totally provided for by the queen but theres a catch. He owns nothing, so if he leaves he has no money. Also he can only have four ... read more

Yesterday was incredible. We began the day with rice porage that contained large strips of potent ginger along with scallions and other spices. Topped off with a raw egg it was a hardy breakfast for 20 baht. Equivalent to 50 cents. So next we find John getting the motorbikes ready and wants to give Brad a little tuturial about riding a motorcycle, because brads never ridden before. Quick once over and it seems simple. Brad jumps on the bike, puts it in first gear and twist the throttle. The bike goes straight but doesn't stop, brad goes through the bamboo fence and bangs into a tree while at the same time knocking into another motorcycle. For a few more seconds brad is holding on to his life and the throttle in the acelerated position, and trying ... read more