Traveling Jew

Namaste, I've spent the last few weeks in a much quieter environment than the 3 previous months and have a lot of time to reflect on the events of this trip....it left me with lots to share! But I think rather than bore you with details of where I've been these past few weeks, I'll summarize for you what India means to me...the positive and negative experiences and emotions I've had in this crazy place. For the most part (as I'm sure you can ascertain from my previous blogs) I am in love with this country. but that doesn't mean my trip hasn't also come with frustration, anger and even sadness. I don't want to leave anything out. So...my India is... -chai shops; they are on every corner, there are more of them than there are ... read more

This trip has been somewhat surreal. I can't really explain why, it has just felt different from past travels. I came here with the aspiration to travel the north of the country, which wasn't possible until summertime. The cold Canadian winter kicked me out in JAnuary, so I came here early basically to pass time in the sun until the snow melted and the weather warmed up in the mountains. Having traveleld the south twice already, I ended up spending 2 months working and volunteering before spending the past month traveling, mostly to palaces Ive already been. Its always nice revisiting cities, seeing how they've changed, finding familiarity in an otherwise foreign place. But all of this has made the trip feel as though I am living here, repeating past experences. The familiairity of it is ... read more

Some people have had problems viewing my video. If you haven't been able to see and still want to, you can watch it on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scu_LBqchkM It's called backpacking through India (incase that link doesn't work). Hope you like it :)... read more

Now that I'm home, I had time to put together a video of my trip to India....for your viewing pleasure! It's everything I could manage to video while I was there to show you exactly what I experienced backpacking through the country. Enjoy!... read more

Everything is possible in India.....Sab Kuch Milega. You'll find it on t-shirts all over the country and whenever you ask a local a question they reply with those 3 words. You can go anywhere, eat anything and encounter every experience possible in India. I've been welcomed into locals' homes and slept on the floor of hotel lobbies; I've eaten street food wrapped in newspapers and dined at overpriced 5-star restaurants; I've hung out with wild monkeys, cuddled with stray dogs and squished with 8 people on a 3-person seat on a 5 hour train; I've climbed Himalayan mountains in flip flops and swam in holy water; I studied yoga, reiki, meditation, Buddhism, Hinduism, Ayurvedic medicine and Indian cooking...all with a tiny backpack and an even smaller budget! Unfortunately the one inevitable that India can't change is ... read more

Another month has passed. It goes so quickly when I'm traveling, although I dont feel like I've done that much in the past 5 weeks! That could be because I spent 2 weeks on Varkala beach...a gorgeous cliff town with the beach down below. I spent 2 weeks there last year too and just couldn't tear myself away again. I also met up with a British Ayurvedic doctor I met there last year and he spent some of the 2 weeks with me teaching me Ayurveda. It was great incentive to stay and I learnt a lot from him. Plus....the food in this town was AMAZING! and after a month of eating very bland "sattvic"food, it was great to have options and go to a restaurant and order whatever I wanted. Aside from the food and ... read more

This is a few months late, but I just realized I never published it. I'm sure you all miss me though and can't wait to hear about my last month in Kenya...it includes a dog attack, so you might wanna read it!!!! It's a good thing I learned in India to surrender to the fact that you cannot control anything and that life is just easier when you go with the flow...it made it much easier to deal with the disorganization of Kenya! And it didn't hurt when upon arriving at the school, I found out that my plans were useless and had to be changed. It turned out the school takes a 3 week break in April! I only arrived mid March and was planning on leaving mid June. So instead of traveling at the ... read more