My international travels

Beach Paradise?

jeseka_jordan — Sat, 6 Dec 2008 17:41:00 GMT

Right now I am sitting in a beautiful open air resaurant. It also serves as the lobby and internet cafe at my current hotel. If I look up I see palm trees and cocnuts all around. A hundred meters in front of me is the ocean. I can hear the calm, yet loud waves crash the here the force of the water pulling back and the sand and sea shells. I'm at Hornbill Bungalows on Ko Payam, Thailand. This is a small island and is not crowded. Most of the time on the beach we can only see a few people in the distance. Occasionally someone will walk by. Everything is so layed back. Crabs are constantly making geometric designs in the sand. I'm having a wonderful time. Chuck and me are renting a bungalow and you can literally see the ocean right out the window.

It is so nice to finally relax. It has been go go go since we left Pai. We took at 3 hour bus down the windiest mountain in the world. Then took a 9 hour overnight bus from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. From there we spent a few hours in Bangkok then got on an 8 hour train to Chumphon. We got a few hours of sleep there and then took another bus to Ranong for 2 hours than got on a 2 hour ferry to Ko Payam. It was a lot.. but this island is just amazing and worth it. We will be here for 5 days.. we think. But things continue to change as life continues to happen.

I actually made it to Thailand!

jeseka_jordan — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 00:37:00 GMT

I have been in Thailand for a week now. I'm used to it now, but coming here was such culture shock after being in India for so long. Here, life is very different. I flew into the northern city of Chiang Mai. My boyfriend and his sister picked us up from the airport. The taxis are red trucks with a big shell on the bed, the back is complety open and there are two benches for many passengers. As a city, Chiang Mai was so much cleaner and didn't smell consistnyl of burning trash, as it did in many places in India. Also, less people speak english than I encountered the rest of traveling. I've learned to rely more on other typs of comunication, like pointing on maps, pointing at food, and using body lanuguage. It was a shock to see how people dressed, partifucalry women. I was so used to covering my shoulders and wearing longer pants and skirts. I forgot what it is like to be in a place where women constantly show their knees, backs and shoulders. It was obvious that peolpe put so much time into their appearance.. their hair, outifit, makup etc.. For the first time since I left the US I was so consious of how I looked. My consumer nature came back to me full force, because all of the clothing stores along the streets near our hotel seemed to draw me in so much. That was weird considering that I spent so much time in India deatching myself from the need and wants of so many "things." I took a Thai massage class in Chiang Mai for a week with Sarah and Chuck-which was great! Having Chucks sister in Chiang Mai was helpful (She has been sutyding abroad there this semester and can speak Thai.)

I'm so happy that I left India before what happened in Mumbai. It has been very intense to watch the news. I was in Mumbai three weeks ago, in many of the places where things happened. What happened is so tragic and upsetting. I also feel fortunate that I was able to leave India and arrive in Bangkok before the aiport was shut down. There was some stroke of luck with my travel planning, where everything for me has just worked out.

Currently I am in Pai, Thailand. Pai is in the northern part of the country. Pai is up in the mountains. We took a nauseating three hour ride up a winding, switch back filled mountian to get here. This town is so cute! Definitely a tourist town. I'm staying in a small bamboo bungalow. Something that is made to look "authentic" but really was built for people like us traveling here to see "real" thailand. The hut is cozy and basic-reminicsent of camping. Chuck Sarah and I are sharing one big, rock hard bed. It is so cold at night. I'm wearing two pairs of pants and a scarf. I've seen so many westerners and nearly all of the menus are in english. I rented motorbikes today and went exploring. It was wonderful to feel the independence and just go. We all stumbled upon a beautiful lake with bamboo fishing huts floating all around it.

I'll write more soon, and hopefullly get a chance to upload photos.

I'm in Love with Cochin

jeseka_jordan — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:51:00 GMT

I just spent the week in Cochin. Cochin is now officially my favorite place in India! Cochin is a place with a mainland area and many little islands. The four of us chose to stay in Fort Cochin, which is a small part of an island. We met someone on the ferry that ran a new homestay and offered for us to stay there for very little money, so we agreed. The beginning of this part of the trip was a bit hectic, as the four of us learned that two of us got scabies. (A horrible mite that burrows into your body and lays eggs. You react and are so intensely itchy-by far a horrible horrible experience. Though funny now that it is over.) I got my first experience going to a doctor in another country, which was totally safe and in total with prescription and consultation cost about $5.

Laurel had to leave due to a family emergency, so her plans for Thailand and her last week in India got cancelled and she went home. We were sad to see her leave under such horrible circumstances.

The three of us were left. What made our stay in Cochin so amazing was that we finally made some friends. We met three guys that were from the area. Quickly they became our close friends and it felt like we had known them forever. It was nice to meet guys that felt like borthers, not creepy men trying to get into our pants. The first night we hung out we ended up at some posh night club, where we danced for hours to bollywood music. The local crowd could dance so well!! It was so nice to spend time with people from the area, and not just tourists.

The next day they hooked us up with a deal to spend the day at "Serahs Farm." We got picked up at our homestay and were driven through small villages. The people were so simple, living and doing only what was necessary. We stopped and got Chai at a roadside hut. We watched a few men hand stitch a fishing canoe out of jack fruit tree and coconut string. Later we made it to the Kerala backwaters, where slow flowing canals of water are connected like mazes to the ocean. The environment was picturesque with palm trees and greenery everywhere. Then we took a slow and relaxing canoe ride through some backwaters, watching chinese fishing nets move in and out of the water (see pictures). Our canoe landed at a small hut at the fish farm, we spent the afternoon chilling in the sun and eating a delicious kerala lunch.

Our new friends decided to plan a road trip to Munnar the next day. They took off from work and took us up four hours to the mountains. Munnar is a small town situated far up winding roads, where tea plantations and estates dominate the entire mountain side. We were so lucky to make friends that drove us in their car. I never would have wanted to be up in those sketchy roads in a huge bus! They took us to a friends house and we hiked around water falls and a stream. Seeing cardamom plants and coffee beans get dried. The hospitality was amazing and the tea was so tasty.

The evening was a trip and a half. We checked into a family run hotel where the six of us had the whole place to ourselves. We bought veggies and the host man was suppose to cook us dinner. When we returned from town we found him drunk. I thought it was taking a long time for dinner, but he insisted on helping us start our camp fire. I never before had seen someone put the kindling on top of the teepee like structure of larger logs. He kept adding tons of newspaper to the bottom and then it wouldn't start. Finally we took over and got it going. Then he came out with chicken on this huge long metal rod. I'm not sure what the drunk man was thinking, but the smoke was never going to cook the chicken. Sarah and I took the food and went into the house and cooked it ourselves. But by that point I was too skeptical to eat anything. We found our nice "fresh" vegetable turned into salty mush in a pan. I never knew that fresh vegetables could taste like they came out of a can. The hotel man passed out in his little room drunk as ever, and we spent the night laughing our asses off and the funny situation. Us three girls slept in a king sized bed, huddled in our own separte cacoon of blankets hoping to not spread the potential scabies that could be around.

The next day we left Munnar and went to Fort cochin. Packed up.. and got ready to leave. Soon enough, Sara learned that the airlines messed up her ticket to Thailand and it was over booked. (She then decided to stay in India until the end of Feb and she also cancelled Thailand.) I lost my Chacos.. :(

Now it is just Sarah and I left. We took an over night train from Cochin to bangalore. We said goodbye to our new friends, which was so hard to do! We also left Sara with them. At least she is in good company and has a support network there. All three of the boys and Sara hung out with us in our train car until it left.

I leave for Thailand tonight at midnight. I'll be in Thailand in the morning, and will finally see my boyfriend. It has been too long!

I'm in South India

jeseka_jordan — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:38:00 GMT

Last night we left Goa, taking an overnight train to Kochi, Kerala in Southern India.

We are staying in a place called Fort Cochin, which is part of a big island off the mainland. Palm trees and connceted water is everwhere. Here it is clean and the people seem friendly. Once again, we are in a tourist area, and I haev seen so many white westerners. It is a bit of culture shock, because the village where the ashram was, was not a tourist destination at all, and we mostly interacted with local people.

On our ferry ride to Fort Cochin we met someone that had a converted house into and homestay/guesthouse/motel called tantraa. We decided to stay there and cancel our reservation at another more expensive place. It is costing us so little (only $3 each) to stay in this cute place with an aewsome rooftop to lounge and hangout out. The bathrooms are so nice. ( I ahve become acustomed to dirty/moldy bathrooms.) In our guesthouse there is a kitchen upstairs on the rooftop/deck where we can cook our own meals. Tonight we are buying some fresh fish a vegetables, and the homestay housekeeper is going to help us cook Kerala Fish Curry.

I am looking forward to spending 6days in the same place. I'll have time to settle, unpack a little, and get to know the area.

I'll post pictures soon!

Goa/Trance/Beaches

jeseka_jordan — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:17:00 GMT

This is from a few days ago..the internet got cut off so I am reposting part of it.

So we rented mopeheads, they are so fun!! Who ever would have thought I'd actually drive in India? The town I was in, Anjuna, was small and easy to navigate so it was safe. We shopped at the flea Market in Anjuna. This market was huge! stalls selling so much stuff everywhere. From swimming turnks, scarves, jewellery, to trance/techno music taht goa is so famous for. I learned that bargaining can be fun, once you get to know the people. I spent time negotiating prices with a little 8 year old. He then walked me around the market shownig me his other family members stalls and getting them some extra business from me.

On our last night we decided t go clubbing, asuming that it wouldn't be right to leave Goa without experiencing some of their, oh so, famous trance music and party scene. Since it was the off season it was slow, but we found ourselves out dancing at a club on the beach until 3 am. For $2 we got admission and unlimted drinks, (which unlimited for us meant about 2 because our systems haven't experienced any alcohol for a while.) Our hotel was a 5min walk away.

The next day, the sweet couple that owned our hotel let us take the mopeheads again for free. We spent some time swimming in the warmest ocean water I have ever felt.

Life is good

jeseka_jordan — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 20:17:00 GMT

Well.. the trip is great. This is our last week at the Ashram. Things are much calmer there. No more getting up at 5 and meditating/chanting. This week we are all just teacher our final lessons, and have time to go not town almost everyday.

The most interesting thing I've done is go to the "Marble Man". He is famous man that is known for sticking a marble stone on your head and then saying everything that is wrong with your health. He is known to predict cancer, AIDS.. you name it. We went with a group of 20 people and we all got to see what he had to say (assuming the translation was correct-he did not speak english.) It was a little hard to witness the amount of privelage we were given. Our of literally hundred of people waiting, our teacher knew the man and we were allowed to cut in front. Most of us being very healthy, it was very strange. I wanted to hear what he had to say so I went ahead and did it. Some people in our group felt too strange and decided to just watch.

He told me to stop eating so much spciy and greasy food-It was causing some of my digestive/sinus trouble. (Funny because the day before I ate a lot of it and I felt so sick!)--but what about all the green chili I was raised on?

Today I got my eyes checked at a wonderful eye doctor and it only cost me $2. I'm going to order glasses this week.

Well, I'm heading back to the ashram to teach my final lesson! After 7pm tonight I will be finished with my yoga studies there.

I'm so curious about the election. Keep me updated!

jess

Gallery: Marble Man

jeseka_jordan — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 20:12:00 GMT

Tribmak Psychic

Gallery: Ashram life

jeseka_jordan — Sun, 2 Nov 2008 18:43:00 GMT

more pics

3rd week in Ashram

jeseka_jordan — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:11:00 GMT

I just drank my first cup of coffee in almost a month. The caffeine makes me feel like I just took a drug. I suppose technically it is.

Over the last few days everyone in India is celebrating Diwali. Diwali is one of the biggest and most significant festivals of the entire year. Each night our Ashram lights rows of candles and for two of the nights set off fire works. It was great to watch the fireworks. The young boys that work at the school lit them off and would kick and run around with them in bare feet. It was funny/scary at one point one of them end up in the bushes. If it was New Mexico the entire thing would have burned down, and I feel like people would have been yelling at how stupid they were. But here... no. People just laughed and watched the boys try to put out the mini fire, even the elders at the ashram. Its interesting- at the ashram we cannot eat any onion, garlic or caffeine, however they have ABSOLUTELY no rules about sugar. Because of the Diwali festival, they have been serving us sugared up candy, even at breakfast!

I've learned that even though I have lived in Taos, NM and went to Hampshire College, where people perpetually joke about being on their own schedule ("Taos Time" and "Hampshire Time")-- it does not even compare to "India Time." Things always work out I suppose. Our late night discussions are suppose to begin at 8:15 sharp, but the bell usually rings about 8:30 or 8:45. We've been trying to get tickets to go to Goa after the program. The travel agents say they will be there at 1 and don't get there until 3. They say they will come back the next day, we've been lucky if they show up within 4 days. It is interesting to see how much of the culture I am from puts so much emphasis on being on time. We want what we want when we want it. Not here so much, there isn't really the option.

So... we finally got hot water. Our little hut apparently was the only bathroom with a broken hot water heater. Although, when I say we get hot water I don't mean a hot shower. We can now get scolding hot water out a a faucet into our shower bucket. We must dilute it with cold water. I have to say, it was amazing to take my first warm bucket shower, after so many cold ones! I felt like I was indulging so much.

On the yoga side of things, we've been learning some interesting techniques. Namely something called Vaman. Vaman is a cleansing technique for the stomach, where you drink 5-8 glasses of warm salt water on an empty stomach and then literally force yourself to vomit it up. The water dilutes your stomach acid so it doesn't burn at all, and your insides get literally washed from the inside.. getting rid of toxins and mucous. (I don't think I'll be teaching Vaman when I get home..most yoga students in the US might go running. Either that or sue me probably.) This morning we did a partial master cleanse. We drank two glasses of warms lemon salt water, then did 6 exercises, drank two more glasses, more exercises. Then we waited for the water to come out the other end. It was interesting, but much less intense than the full master cleanse, where you do the series up to 16 glasses of water and wait until you poop clear water. Oh... the life of a yogi.

We also got to watch our teachers do advanced cleansing techniques of sticking a rubber tube up their nostril and out there mouth, basically flossing the nasal cavity. Another teacher showed us how to swallow and long cotton cloth, and then slowly pull it out of the stomach and mouth.

The program is almost done. We have one more week, which is where we do most of our teaching. Each of have to teach two one-hour classes. I'm so happy to be done with all of our writing exams. We've had three tests, which consist of so much writing for hours! My neck still hasn't recovered fully from holding a pen for so long.

I hope everyone is well. I miss everyone, but I'm busy and exposed to new things everyday.

Living at an Ashram

jeseka_jordan — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:11:00 GMT

For the past week I have been at the ashram. It has been a very internal and personal week. Most of my experiences have been limited to the 28 people in my course and the many volunteers at the Ashram. Practicing this much yoga in such a structured environment has been intense. It brings up a lot for everyone. I have felt challenges in simply living in such close quarters with everyone and never being alone for very long. I'm learning how to let grudges with people, and little things go. I think that is the hardest thing. Some people are having really personal experiences of letting things go, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The practices bring up so much. It is kind of like therapy, but at a much deeper level. People cry here and there all the time. --but it is all positive and transformative. My body feels so strong. I have been fortunate enough not to get sick. Diarhea goes around a lot! There are often snakes. october is the most snaky time of the year. They caught a viper the other day. Some of the most poisonous snakes in the entire world.

I am having a wonderful time!

I posted some pictures. Take a look!

Gallery: India

jeseka_jordan — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:56:00 GMT

Bombay, Nasik, Ashram

India exerpiences

jeseka_jordan — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:42:00 GMT

I have been living at an Ashram in India for a week. I'm about 30 minutes from the city of Nasik in a beautiful place called Trimbak. There are lush green mountains in the distance. The sunsets and sun rises are just breath taking. (I'm up ever day before sunrise, so I see them often.) There are small little houses and farms all around. The flowers and plants are gorgeous. A small elementary school is nearby. The school children walk to school everyday by our ashram. The level of independence they have is amazing. I will see small kids about 2-5 years old walking alone-that would never happen at home. The driving is crazy too. There are no laws that anyone follows and on the streets there is perpetual honking and switching lanes. I've thought I would almost get into a head on collision about twenty or so times. I saw a family of six riding on one mope head. Cows are often in the road. The colors of clothing are just amazing. I love watching the local women carry large baskets on their heads and see their multi-bright colored saris blow in the wind.

It has been a wonderful experience, challenging at times. I'm staying in a hut with my three close friends, Sarah, Sara and Laurel. We have our own sink and bathroom. There is no separation between the toilet and the shower, so the floor gets really wet all the time and we are constantly having to clean it. The hot water heater is broken, so cold showers are becoming the norm. Most of the time we just use a bucket and a water scooper. I'll feel so spoiled once I get a hot shower. I've been doing my laundry by hand. Our beds, are not the beds I'm used to. They consist of a thin mat that is only a little bit larger than half a twin sized bed. It rests on a metal frame with four posts around. Every night I sleep with a mosquito net on the four poles. I've been told the nets aren't even for mosquitoes necessarily, but spiders and scorpions. We had a huge centipede in our room the other day. Our accommodations are simple. It is a nice change from what I'm used to. I've lived my life with such excess. After a week I've found that my bed is becoming more comfortable everyday.

The schedule is full. A bell rings at 5am and we have "soy coffee" at 5:30. There is no real coffee.. no caffeine or anything stimulating for that matter. They don't even cook with onions and garlic. In Ayurveda it is considered too stimulating unless it is used for therapy or medicine. After the drink we chant mantras in Sanskrit and then meditate for a while. This is followed by two hours of yoga asana (postures--the kind of yoga found at a gym in the US. We have breakfast-usually fruit and some kind of potato, rice curry, bean mush. I've never eaten so many pomegranates in my life. They are delicious. We have 2 hours of lecture. Then lunch. We get an hour or two off, then it is karma yoga (cleaning, helping in the kitchen, planting etc...) We have 2 more hours of asana followed by dinner at 7pm. At 8:15 their is question and answers, and sometimes Sanskrit training. By 9:30 we are done and all I can imagine doing is sleep. Their are 28 people in my course, from all over the world.

My body is adjusting, but my hips still hurt after only a few minutes of sitting cross legged, my back aches from sitting up straight. I assume I'm interrupting some flow of energy when I move around, but I just have to always adjust. However, I'm definitely more flexible and postures are already easier. I feel the healthiest I have felt in a long time. I keep wondering what my body will be like when I leave. Or what would happen if a drank a glass of wine?

My yoga teacher was late to class the other day, because he was off catching a cobra. He literally hypnotizes them.

I came into Nasik today, Friday, our only day of for the week. A friend of mine and I decided to get a massage from somewhere we were recommended. I'm still a bit speechless from the experience. I think that every single ethical rule I learned in the US was just thrown out the window. I would never go back. It was the most nasty thing ever. A girl in my school just raved about this place. So a friend and I went. We thought "hey for $10 why not?" They brought us to the back room and there were two tables and you could barely move. They asked us to undress, while their other clients were still on the table. I felt so gross after. They didn't even wipe down the table or wash their hands. I felt like I was sliding on other peoples sweat and muck and oil, cause the table was so slippery. I can't get over how gross it felt, even though the massage itself was relaxing. Hopefully, I will find a place where I can get more authentic Ayurvedic treatments.

I saw moving huge advertisements attached to seven camels walking around the city. A man rode through the city on an elephant.

I went to Old Nasik this morning. It is considered one of the holiest places in the country. At a river we went to there were temples all around. People were bathing in it everywhere. I wasn't sure whether it was for ritual or to take a bath. I'm assuming both. The poverty is heart breaking small children come and beg constantly. They follow us everywhere, knowing that we are different and probably have money to give. If you give a few cents then more children come and it never stops. We have to say no and keep walking.

But the people are so sweet sometimes. A seven year old boy today followed us because he was interested. He wanted us to take his picture and he loved looking at himself on the digital camera. A family with many babies and young kids did the same. The loved posing for us and the children jumped up and down with laughter when we showed them the photo on the camera. A father holding his daughter dressed in pink sparkles loved having us shake her hand and wave.

Well, I'm heading back to the ashram. I'm finding that place a safe haven amongst the cities in place of immense poverty and filth. The smell and pollution in the cities here is unbearable. Although, in a way it is a wonderful to witness. I have lived my life with hardly any chaos, and here it is everywhere.

I'll write again soon.