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Hi everyone...well I left a plush life behind in Dubai 12 days ago to start a new living out my backpack for the next god knows how long. I have a fairly loose plan - to travel as much as Asia as possible, and to stop when I feel like it....maybe next year, maybe never!
My starting address for the first 6 weeks is Mysore India, where I'm living with a guru who is teaching me to become a yoga teacher. His teaching is based on the original Classical yoga of Patanjali who wrote the syllabus 4000 years ago based on the ancient Hindu texts of approx 10,000 years.
The excellent Gems of Yoga school in Dubai, who have been my sanctuary for the last 2 years have been great at getting me ready to start this trip. All the teachers there helped train me, and Bhama my friend and teacher recommended I stay with her guru who coached her through International yoga championships representing India.
HAGGLING
I landed in Bangalore 9th May at 4 am and edged my way to Mysore, showing off my fine tuned haggling skills immediately after I left the airport to the
army of male TukTuk drivers waiting outside. As soon as they see Westerner they see $$$$$. After 20 minutes of arguing and shouting I eventually get the price I want to the train station. 'Great' I think 'I'm an hour early.' 'I can get my ticket and chill'....2 hours later I'm almost at the front of the ticket queue, my bags are now being dragged on the dirty floor behind me as I can't carry them anymore. Everyone looking at me as if I'm being really unsanitary. IN INDIA!!! Luckily public transport is notoriously late here as the train turns up 1 1/2 behind schedule... I'm just in time at 7.30 am. I arrive 3 1/2 hours later and make my way to the studio
FAMILY WELCOME
I have landed on my feet...I have a bedroom in their house full of cool ancient books, ensuite bathroom and shower. Didn't expect this at all...had got myself mentally prepared for squlaor. The studio is upstairs. This makes the 5 am starts easier, especially since I have been working in nightlife for the past 5 years and my sleeping pattern is nocturnally trained. I manage though, beroca and cod liver oil
gets the blood flowing at 4.30 am as I stumble up the stairs to start the first 3 hours of class.
I'm not the only student living in the family home. There are 2 other girls from Mysore who are staying here for a year. They're both excellent and clicked with them straight away. Ganesh my teacher lives with his wife, an ayurvedic doctor and his 2 little girls 8 and 12, both yoga medallists. We eat together at least once everyday, and go out every few days together. They're really intelligent people and have brilliant sense of humour. Life is still traditional here, women are the homemakers (and that's a big job out here) and get married off young. I don't think they've met anyone like me before. They keep saying I'm a very bold girl while smiling.
MYSORE
Called the garden City as it's so green like...a garden!'. I think it's the best place to be at the moment. Temp is 31 degrees and sunny with a light breeze. It's mango season this month and every few yards there are carts selling mangoes, jackfruit, pineapples. Loving fresh produce after living in the arrid lands of UAE
for so long, where everything is flown in and taste frozen out.
I Hired and taught myself to ride a scooter from a guy called Shiva. It's costing me 60p a day. The city is medium sized and fairly easy to navigate if you have an internal sense of direction. The main market in the centre is a hub of bright colours, incense smells and activity....
Have seen some interesting places, like the art museum in a colonial palace (turned gallery in 1875, amazing had original Rembrandt and Peter Paul Reubens aswell as colonial and period paintings from all over India and Asia) The Raj's palace (enoromous and lit up with 1000's of lights every Sunday night), Chamundi Hills (big hill overlooking the city with massive temple on top) and lots of lakes and parks. There's not so much poverty in Mysore compared to most cities in India, most people seem working-middle class....Happy people happy days
TRIP AWAY
I'm off to the Southern most tip of India for the next few days with a few of us from the yoga centre. We're leaving tomorrow night to reach Kanniyakumari, where the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian
Sea meet up. Miss the beach, Should be awesome
Until next time...
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Damien
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Hey Girl!
hi Felix awsome girl! looks amazing. quite a differnce to Longs! stay away and have a blast. keep us updated. PS James born 3 months ago. amazing wee man. will send photos. Cheers Damien