dark86

my trip has come to an end - the 10 day study of eastern philosophy - mainly tibetan buddhism at a retreat was great - an amazing experience, the dalai lamas translator for 14 years came and gave us a talk too which was tops. in the past few days i went to a sufi concert with about 20 people and another friend from central america turned up and we caught up which was ace. 3 of us also hiked to the mountain nearby to the hillstation at triand, no electricity, no water and 6000ft up and above the clouds, the photos do not do it justice. the hike was tough and had to carry 30kg too. was somuch fun up there. what a great trip - i learned so much and met some amazing people ... read more

i went to katmandu and stayed away from the tourist area and went to freak street next to durba square with its amazin temples. I went and fed the street kids up one of the ancient buddha temples late at night and hung out with them which was fun. I left nepal as the elections start soon and its going to kick off big time and i miss india. In katmandu the tibetans are protesting as the chinese are doing and have been doing horrific things to the tibetans. you dont see this much in the news but it basically a form of genicide and its disgusting how the olympics are being allowed to be held in beijing. also some chinese i met recently told me of the brainwashing and robotic tactics used during schooling ... read more

After a calm'ish train and hellish rickshaws, 2 friends and I arrived in Bodhgaya, this is in the next state Bihar and the town where the Buddha hung out for a few weeks during his nirvana two and a half centuries ago and where the Buddhist philosophies where born. There are many Buddhist temples and Buddhist monasteries from all round the world and allot of Tibetan influence. The famous Buddha tree is here too amongst other things and this is a famous pilgrimage town. It is so so different to Varanasi and the first nights guesthouse was laughable for many reasons so we looked for an ashram, we found a beautiful ashram which housed 50 or so loveable orphan kids, grew its own food and was in the shadow of the massive Mahabodi temple. The kids ... read more

I pulled myself away from palolem beach, from Katarina and Faarta, good food and good times, but if i didn't i would of stayed so i had to move on. I think it is a form of quicksand in palolem, makes it hard to leave. After a 16 hour bus ride out of goa into the maharashtra state i arrived in Arangahbad. The bus driver was nuts and overtook on blind bends, no one else seemed to mind as they where all laughing at this awful bad acting bollywood movie, i was more concerned with imminent death than a bad 80's B movie indian style. Arangabad is a bustling city near the ellora and ajanta caves. the city is hectic, pollution and poor hygeiene rules the land here. On arrival i came down with bad tummy ... read more

At san marcos, a surprise dinner was done for my departure, some good friends where made and much learned including reiki level 1 and 2 - reiki attunements where on a volcano above the lake with eagles circling - pretty cool stuff and so so cheap here. Distance reiki? - now theres a concept and a half! Some amazing people here doing so much for local kids and the local environment, very inspiring. When i left san marcos I went back into mexico (the border was crazy as was the driver for the full 9 hours!) and onto san cristibol - a beautiful mountainous city where all the musicians and creative ppl come. So hot in the day and so freezing in the night. I was planning to fly to the UK but 2 friends from ... read more