Bombay

Well the "back end" held on nicely for the flight to Mumbai!

My Stomach needed a little more time to settle though and over the next few days I ate vegetarian dishes, cautiously. I shared a taxi from the airport with a French women who was in the process of setting up a zoo/animal rescue farm in Goa. She knew Mumbai like the back of her hand and offered to have me not only join her for dinner, but to accompany her to the heart of the city for an all day shopping expedition the next morning.

I was actually excited to be lead around the city and we exchanged phone numbers and made some plans. Unfortunately, what she termed in the taxi to be her "serious lack of short term memory" put an end to any made plans. The first time I called her to meet up about an hour after our ride together it took a good long minute for her to remember who I was. After a similar experience on the second call I figured I would be better off on my own rather than being left in the depths of Mumbai in a moment of forgetfulness. It was for the best.

Mumbai is an awesome city. It has all the goings on of Delhi but without the complete insanity. 99% of cars on the road are taxis: really cool old ones with funky colored inner decors. No Rickshaws allowed within the city limits and you're hard pressed to find a cow on the main roads. It's much cleaner too, although I'm not sure how... finding a garbage bin anywhere is impossible... well I shouldn't say that because as any Indian will tell you: "No Problem! Anything Possible!"

The people here are hard core sellers, and walking through the Fashion street market: Stalls lined with jeans and shoes and anything else that goes on the body is an interesting experience... especially for a women. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out that the sound to signal everyone that you are within buying limits is made from a tight pursing of the lips and sucking inwards... as if they are wanting to attract the attention of a dog...a rich, doting, western dog, straight from the groomers. (Which I am obviously not)

"Come look my shirts! Come here!"

and

"You like my Jeans! Just look one! Many types for you!"

are the consistent lines, accompanied by a forward lunge of clothes straight at you and a nice Bomday: "You know you want my clothes" as you keep walking. Actually I wanted to buy some things but the intensity of it all kept me at bay and you are expected to buy without being able to really try things on. The Indian women seem to have no problem with this, as I watch them hold clothes over their bodies with precision and negotiate like professional auctioneers.

I jumped in a cab ($2.50 to go about 10kms) and went to the mall to try my luck. The clothes are very cheap! I pair of jeans will set you back around $2o and guys shirts (I bought some for Sean) go for about $6. All the men in Indian are very skinny so as I'm asking a couple of guys to be my models I realize they are wearing XL shirts but appear to be no bigger than me. It's a little confusing and in the end you just have to "eye it and hope for the best".

It was also Valentines day and couples were lined up at the movie theatre to watch one of 3 films. (2 indian, 1 English)

What a great idea! I'd not seen a movie in 6 weeks and was missing my honey so off to see "Valentines Day" (Garry Marshall) I went. It was the funniest experience! A massive theatre with only popcorn and ice cream on offer, $2 to get in, and a sound system that was seriously over loaded to the point that I had to focus hard to understand what Ashton Kutcher was saying. (Or was it just Ashton Kutcher?).hmmm...

Suddenly, about half way through, in the middle of a crucial Julia Robert's line, the film stopped and the intermission sign came on. I was the only person laughing my ass off. Then 5 minutes later when everyone was back from the bathroom it started exactly where it left off. I don't recommend the movie, but the experience was great fun.

I was staying in a Hotel right near the water where a sea wall ran for miles in each direction. Every night people walked for hours if they wished, with the breeze melting away the heat of the day. It was so beautiful. I would take deep, relaxing breaths of appreciation and contemplate the amazing 5 weeks that had blinked by. I felt so lucky.

For all the "Shantaram" Fans:

For my last night in Mumbai, I headed down to Colaba to walk the street lined markets and get a look at the famous "Leopold's Cafe": The setting for part of the Gregory David Roberts true story that was bombed in recent years and you can still see the bullet holes in the walls. Actually you can do the "Shantaram" Tour through the city, taking you through the slums, and even to the building where Madame Zous notorious high class brothel used to be.

I poked my head in the door of the bustling restaurant/bar manned by 2 policemen with riffles. The book was set in the 80's so the place seemed way cooler than I thought. Before I knew it I was whisked inside to sit at a table with an older Canadian couple from Vancouver. They were fantastic people on a 6 week tour themselves and I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend my last few hours in India. We felt like such rebels, and all agreed that the risk of another bombing at that moment was minimal and totally worth it!

I blew my last RS2000 ($50) on books and art and belts and shirts in the market and went back to the hotel to shower and pack the last of my things for my 3am flight.

The taxi to the airport went through the very poor parts of town, skirting the slums for some of the way. I remembered flying over the slums coming in to Mumbai and being overcome with this strange feeling that even my eyes were an intrusion to that world. There is such a discrepancy between the rich and poor in this country. I don't think you ever get over it, or ever truly know what it's like to live in those conditions.

It's the iron clad thread of love, heart and happiness despite it all that makes me so sad to leave, and excited at the prospect of coming back to experience more. The fact is that if you haven't been, you have zero idea of what it's truly like there. The face of India in Western countries is so far removed from what is, that I encourage all to go see it for yourself. It will crack your heart in two and remake it in ways you cannot imagine.

For this I am forever grateful,

forever changed ,

and forever in love,

with india.

Thank you to all who read and followed this blog. It was amazing to feel your support along the way.

Much love and best wishes to everyone.

And to my new friends in India...

... I'll be seeing you again very soon!!!

Mckenzi***

It's India... Anything is possible!

Flying in India is the best!
Super cheap (Hour long flights cost about $50-and that's booking the day before).
Exactly on time (It's the only instance where this happens in India)
And great food and service(Am I doing a commercial here? No but I could be)

Anyways...

Goa.
First things first,
It was my own fault but I got ripped off with my airport taxi to Arambol Beach. I was sharing with someone but agreed to a charge in a hurry laid down by the taxi buddy. I realised it half way there and proceeded to bring it up with the driver who wanted to turn the car around and take me back to the airport if i didn't pay. I was in the car with a German women and her daughter...lovely people...so I swallowed the venom back down like the good back-washer that I am and made peace. It wasn't the driver's fault but after a while here you kick yourself for falling for the same old tricks.

I digress...

I let it slide also because the first attempt to get to the beach was unsuccessful...our initial driver realised he had the wrong car and turned around on the highway into oncoming traffic to get back to the airport...something I am quite comfortable with now, but the German lady obviously needed more time to get with the program. Poor Women. In the end I thought:

"I don't care, lets just Bloody get there!"

I arrive with no planned accommodations, though it's all guest houses and beach huts for no more than $10 a night so it's no big deal. I call my friend Oda, my Reiki Master from 8 years ago in Thailand, and she meets me at the chai bar. She looks amazing and has shaved her head like the good yogi she is. It's incredible to see her and all the wonderful memories of back then come flooding in. She offered me a room next to where she lives for a couple of nights to settle in before looking for my own place.

Ahhhh, the beach. Nothing feels like home to me more than the beach. I was raised on one. The water here is just the perfect temperature and very clean, no seaweed or jellyfish this time of year. The weather is 28-30 in the day, but not humid and a lovely cool breeze sweeps the village at night. I know...I'm making you all sick!

I feel restless...

Oda lives in an Ashram type situation with a Guru and other Yogi's who are strongly commited to learning and practicing Darma. The focus and intention is obvious, and although she has invited me to spend as much time as possible with them in the 9 days I'm there I feel like a real fish out of water. They are on a very different path than anyone I've ever met and while I feel an attraction and a want to be enlightened about it all, feeling worthy of being there is another thing.

I went with them to meditate on the beach most nights as the sun was going down though
I spent my days questioning myself...
Am I interrupting...
Do they want me there...
...and the millions of thoughts that go through your mind when you are around people who don't need anything from you, and don't care one bit for the ego.

For days I resisted and flipped through the pages of my travel book to look for other beaches to go to....all the while finding my way back to their home. It was strange, but when I was there and managed to let go of my needs and listen to the mind-bending conversations everyone was having it really hit me...

"The George in me was a little more than curious"


I learned some very important lessons in the week, about needing to please and needing to be accepted. As soon as I gave up and accepted myself and dropped the false "Hi I'm here and please like me thing"... a whole new world opened up. (hello acting!!)

Besides all the gems of inspiration that passed my way over those days and the beautiful soul that is my friend Oda, I am so grateful for that lesson. Feels like a chain cut lose from my neck.
Oh and I have booked myself and am waiting for confirmation to attend a Vipassanna retreat in T.O. at the end of April. No talking and 10 days of meditation. Yes!

Hair count :6

I might also add that I had a 4 hour massage from a British x-pat named Nick. This was no ordinary massage...don't be dirty people...

He moved stuck energy, stuck emotions, stuck muscles, stuck past lives...you name it, he moved it. 4 hours later I was throwing up and buckets of water were coming out of the other end yes it was the :

"Which end do I put on the toilet game!"
ALL NIGHT!

Now the actual cause of this episode is a little iffy:
-I had been eating salads at the ashram but they were very careful with their food and no one had ever been sick there
-I had a few sips of some bottled water that I thought had not tasted right so i ditched it.
-I had gotten a little cocky and eaten a small salad at the local health bar/restaurant a couple of days before.

General consensus was the massage was the catylist atleast and I later found out that some aryuvedic massage is done with that intention in mind...to make your body eliminate toxins through vomiting and the other unpleasantry. God I must have been toxic!!!

Unfortunately both my family and Sean called me right at the worst of it and then my phone ran out of time and I was too sick to put some more juice on it. They were worried silly. It's been a few days since and I'm still getting back to normal and have less than 24 hours before I start the long journey back to Canada. So wish me luck...with the butt end of things.

Mumbai is my last port of call...

Sai-Mania

As I walked through the security check and into Sai Baba's Ashram I was hit with an instant feeling of:

"Why am I here?".

I'd walked into a kind of insanity it seemed with hoards of people scurrying about, just as many aimlessly wandering and the rest were enthusiastically engaged in a ritual of of some sort. It dawned on me very quickly that this was not a place where a warm welcome, a neat set of instructions, and a Hawaiian Lei are placed around your neck on arrival. I approached what looked like a nice German fellow who could see my confusion and he thankfully gave me some quick tips.

Did I want to stay in a bare concrete dorm room with 50 other women? because unless I was with 3 others I couldn't get a room in the Ashram. It didn't take me long to head back out of the gates to a hotel to ease my anxiety and get some rest.

The next morning I woke at 6am for the morning Darshan (A very long prayer/ chant/meditation time) followed by Bhajans (Music that everyone sings to and claps without moving). This happens twice a day and at Night Sai baba himself usually joins the proceedings, arriving in his bright orange wheel chair with a 4-5 man entourage.

The line up's for these sessions start about 2 hours before. The women are separated from the men in all aspects of the Ashram. When I joined my first line up I had no idea of what was happening...I turned up blind.

"Is this it?"

I noticed very quickly that I was the only person without a pillow to sit on, and my ass was already screaming obsenities at me. It was too late to go and come back .
Also, you cannot take water into the temple or food or anything but a small purse with your passport and maybe your money and your keys. They give out water in cups for the women, not the men, but everybody drinks from the same cups. I never drank from them. I just told myself:

"You are not thirsty! You are over-Hydrated!"

It seemed to me that this place was also very trendy, a place to be seen and involved in, a place where people who want to be saved come, but they don't necessarily want to give anything in return. The women were fighting over seats and their places in the lines. Some were never happy. All just wanted to see Baba, and would do anything to be close to him. I saw obession all around me, and greed...and a lot of drama!

After about 1 hour to the hatred of the women around me I got up and went to the back to sit in a chair ment for older people or the injured/disabled, and then I left shortly after that.
I wandered around the Ashram for a bit (This place is like a small city with everything you need...Bookstore, supermarket, 3 food canteens, accomodations..the list goes on) and then I got lost. Finding help was challening, one women turning up her nose saying "NO ENGLISH!" and waved me off.

Lets just say when I found my way out, I went to the nearest Internet cafe to book my flight out of there.

Then I started hearing voices...

"Mckenzi?"

I was shocked! It was an old friend "Rhet" who I worked with at the Boathouse Restaurant in Horseshoe Bay, Vancouver, about 9 years ago. He had arrived 5 days before me and was staying at the Ashram for a month or so. A warm happy face was just the elixer I needed! And in the conversation to follow I realised that everyone goes through the same thing when they arrive. It's all about taking care of yourself and being able to focus amidst the mania. Seeing Rhet made me hold off on the flight and give it another try.

I bought a pillow and went to the night Darshan with my expectations flattened on the road behind me and managed to find an appreciation for where I was. Every morning at 5am Rhet and I would go to the Tree that Sai Baba planted outside the Ashram for meditation and quiet, and we would talk about our experiences which was so helpful. I came to feel the power that comes from a mass common focus, no matter what the motivation. After 5 days and some enlightening experiences and a new understanding of how much ego plays a hindering role in everything and how resitance keeps us from walking forward, loving life...I left...with my own driver..

...Another awesome man named Rudy gave me his riveting life story within the 2 hour journey...I'll save that for the book :)...

...and caught a plane to Goa.

Warrior unleashed.

I had decided to skip Varanasi and go straight to Puttaparthy to see Sai Baba. I felt the need to stop looking at things and start looking at me.

The flight was great and Three people Sunny had befriended in his Textile Shop were told to look out for me as we were all headed to Bangalore. New Zealanders: very nice. They spotted me right away.

Departing the plane and entering the airport, was the first time I hadn't had some help with my bags. The shoulders were in for a rude awakening. You can't leave your stuff anywhere and try going to the the toilet with that bag on your back. It's a circus act, cause you don't want that thing touching the ground!

I inquired as to how much it might cost to extend my flight back to T.O. a week later
$330.............OUCH!
Maybe not then. Sigh.

The Princess in me caught the airport taxi to the train station, an hour into Bangalore.
RS600, about $15 CN, as apposed to the shuttle bus (Super cheap).
Then once at the train station it was time to unleash Warrior Mckenzi.

Yes I should have booked the train in advance but I thought...
"How hard can this really be"
Darrin's voice in my head saying:
"You never want to book a ticket at the train staion, always book it in advance"
Fine.

I line up with all my stuff for a good while and for some reason I am invisible to the locals, getting pushed and shoved and cut infront of. I can feel the pot boiling. I get to the counter and the advance bookings for the next two trains are closed. The women tells me to go next door to the current reservations counter and see if anything is available. So on goes the pack again (I need a chair or someone to hold it up in order to put it on without falling over like a straw needle in a faint breeze) and I walk over to the station.

Firstly, it can't have been legal for that many people to have been in that building, at that time. Secondly, the current reservations counter was closed
Thirdly, the line up for the inquiries was like a betting counter at the race track 30 seconds before a sure win was about to leave the gate.
Finally I get to the counter and the guy says:

"Go around corner and get ticket for train 3254: Puttaparthy"
Finally something...

and... nope.

5 lines all about 20 mins long. Now we are really at the horse races.
Get to the counter and it's all general seating which means that you may not get a seat and may even have to stand for 3 hours in the swelting heat!!!! AHHHHHH!

The back pack is not my friend, and by now I hate Bangalore and India just because I can. I go back to the women next door to see if there is a later train avaliable and start checking out my options for staying in Bangalore for the night. She tells me the Current reservations counter will open in Half an hour and to go back there and wait. By this time my bladder is starting to behave like a bratty 2 year old, and I'm speaking to myself like no other would ever dare.

Back to the current reservations counter and I throw my bag on the dirty floor and park my butt on it, right in front of the window. There are lots of other people sitting on the floor near by and I am the main attraction...not because of my skin, but because of the fire of rage radiating off my body in this already overheated station.

Half an hour later, woohoo!!! A women with a cash register appears. She is very interesting to watch as she methodically sets up her counter, ignoring the rush of people suddenly shouting her way. It was a good lession in focus for me and it snapped me into another place.

Just then, a women out of nowhere completely dressed in black with only her eyes showing, elbowed me in the ribs and jumped infront with her arms flailing about like tree branches in an Aussie cyclone.

Women I'm sorry but you just unleashed the beast!
Anyone who's seen my boney elbows will agree that they are weapons of mass destruction.
My retaliation was cheetah like: Precise and with no mercy. Hip and elbow check to the body accompanied with the dirty version of:

"Step away from the counter"

She gathered herself and looked me straight in the eye...A death stare...but the force was with me...

R.I.P Obi-WanKenobi.

Lets just say I got the ticket, almost sprained a thigh muscle peeing with my back pack on and managed to eat a good meal before getting on the train an hour later in 2nd class AC.

The train:
1) stinking hot, even in AC
2) They crammed 10 people in to a 6 seater section, 3 of which were overactive kids
3)The food wreaks of 5 days in Hospital, and ...
4) The blankets are carrying ancient eco-systems worthy of Papal studies.

3 hours later I'm at my destination, a very short ride considering my co-cabiners were doing 30 hours on that train.

More Lunacy:

I'm practically Jumped by a ricksaw driver to take me to Sai Baba's Ashram, but the Travel Guide says there are free shuttle busses... The Ricksaw drivers tells me this is not the case at all. "No Free Shuttles!"
"Yes" I say..."Sorry but I don't need a Ricksaw".
"You need Ricksaw...no Free shuttles!!!"

Back and forth...I love this game.
I'm tired and hungry...

He walks almost on top of me and as I leave the station and then it's a Mckenzi Onslaught!!!
6 Ricksaw drivers yelling at me for their service.
That's it...I yell,

"Everybody Back away!!! Go Away!!!"

They all laugh and mock me

"Ohhhhhhh....go awayyyyy.....ohhhhhh"

It seems there is a conspiracy happening because everyone I ask says I have to take a Ricksaw...even the women at the ticket counter. Then when I find the bus, the Ricksaw drivers run up to him and convince him to tell me I can't get on the shuttle. So He denies me.

"Why are you doing this?"

I say and then I see another shuttle with 2 old people in it. The driver motions to me and I run to get in....It's actually RS10..about .25c CN...ok so it's not free!! Ahhhh!

Safely in the shuttle, I look back to the Ricksaw drivers all in a line shooting daggers my way, and I give a little "Thanks for everything " wave goodbye.

The old women in the shuttle grabs my hand and says:

"Don't worry you are safe with us. I show you Ashram."
Where had she been all day was my thought. Lucky me! Big sigh of relief.

This safari style truck is meant for 8 people and by the time we get to the Asram 7 mins later there are 16people inside and that amount of bags and veggies and textiles. Now that's efficient!
I had to laugh.

So what has Sai Baba in stall for me... it have a feeling that it's only the beginning.

Good bye Mr Singh.

Mr Singh drove so quickly from Pushkar to Jaipur That I couldn't help have the thought

"Can he be this much in a hurry to see me leave?"

I was a sad parting actually. Yes I cried, and he laughed and squeezed me tightly like his new White Gora Daughter. He sad he would call me in 5 days to see how I was. I gave him a very good tip, and he came back the next morning to give me his address for any possible future visits. We'll miss you Mister Singh!

Next stop Amer, with my new friends Sunny and Tarun and their families. Amazing few days in this little fort town to say the least. This family welcomed me as their own. Sunny's mother thought I was very "Puttilli", which ofcourse means "Skinny" so it was her mission to make me "Muta"...Fat. Her cooking was like no other.

Sunny and Tarun doubled me everywhere on their motorbikes and organised a room in the nearby hotel for practically nothing since sunny's father had done the owners a previous favour. I had photo's taken with everyone several times and there were fun night walks and talks and kite flying on the roof of the house with views you couldn't buy anywhere else.

Tarun took me to 2 temples, one of which, a shiva temple, housed a nearby Guru just visiting from Varanasi. We walked across the road and behind a building into an open space where the Guru was sitting calmly in the sun. He was a lovely man, beaming with a smile from ear to ear and radiating light and love. we briefly communicated through Tarun after which point he asked me to go back to the Temple to pick up a special bead necklace as a gift from him and to have some Chai.
Back at the temple I was getting some strange looks as locals and foreigners usually have to pay $40 CN and up for this bead. On taking it back to the guru he then put it together and blessed it while I fed the birds and then told me it was to wear it around my neck to calm my mind. Just what I'd been looking for!!! He also confirmed some info given to me by the gem store guy about my family!!! The plot thickens!!!

Tarun said that this was like a magical event for me. I believe him. A string of dreams have come since wearing the bead and I'm sure much more will unfold as this journey continues. Riding back to the family I had never felt so connected to life, so happy.

That night Sunny's father, a man of many talents...politician, astrologer, astronomer, social worker and much more read my palm for me. The one thing of many that stood out in the reading was the focus on expression and creativity, and that although my career has been "on and off", the next five years were very good. I was glad to hear that.

Another sad departure and at 3am Sunny and Tarun put me into a taxi bound for the airport.
I was on my way to Bangalore.

I had bird crap pushed into my face with a vibrating object!

Pushkar is a pretty cool little hang around a dried up lake and a fun maze of markets to say no thank you in. Actually I do like it here.

Mr Singh and I Meditated at the only Brahma Temple in India today and also in the Sihk Temple. We wandered the ghats in bare feet as no shoes are allowed. There is bird crap, cow poo and Krishna only knows what else everywhere and dodging it all was creating furrows in my newly relaxed brow. I finally put my shoes on at the last turn only to be reprimanded by a local. Fine!

At lunch I decided to get a Reiki session for $6 CN, but the Reiki Master said I would be better off with refexology for the same price. He was recommended in Lonely Planet with the description "Toe Challenging". Understatement!!!!

Lets just say if I'd had a chain saw I would have used it! The pain was insane. Not only that but he didn't wash my feet and after he was done torturing them he took the same vibrating machine he used and put it right on my face where I have a patch of zitz right now. "This will move the problem" He says, and I'm thinking if this doesn't then the flesh eating disease bacteria now on my face will surely get rid of it!

Funny I feel great now. 1/2 hour shower and a bottle of disinfectant and I'm ready to go eat again!
Last day with Mr singh tomorrow...

Dining with a monkey

This is for all my acting friends and anyone who wants to experience instant fame. I stopped at a fort in Chittorgarh. I was the only white person there I'm sure. I was approached to have my picture taken several times and dragged off into a market by a very young girl to meet and eat with her family. She spoke no english and I may not have been the first, but her family was quite amused. I used the old rub of the stomach with accompanying uncomfortable look on my face that every Indian understands to get out of eating.

Next a young women approached for yet another photo and asked that I join her family with their guide for the day. She talked of her family and her passion to be an actress despite their lack of belief in her. She was currently studying to be a doctor. She asked me to come and stay with her family in the middle of India and just about fainted when I told her that I was an actress. Unfotunately we got separated from eachother between temples and drivers. I had hoped to see her in the next city...no luck. She was a lovely soul.

4 hours later

Bundi was recommended to me by a couple of french travellers and I can see why. It's quiet, very small and beautifully decorated with one sprawling ruin of a palace melting down the mountain side.

That night I wandered through the skinny streets and lanes and stumbled across the most magnificent wall/door/mural combo and asked the 2 ladies near by if I could take a picture. Lets just say there is no picture to share with anyone cause she freaked out about my presence and whisked me quickly away like a maingy Koota! (Dog) Sigh.

When in doubt feed the belly.

Up on a gorgeous roof top again...
Minding my own bussiness when a monkey jumps off the nearby wall and into my bowl of rice. He took the bowl and savoured it's contents right infront of me. Cheeky bugger! Bundi may be small and not so familiar with the ways of the lone white female but it now knows the intricacies of a white womens scream!

Mr Singh bought me a bottle of water the next morning off the street. It was "Fosters" water. Yes like the Aussie beer water with the same label as the can. I laughed about it and thanked him but emptied the whole thing down the sink in my room. "Don't call me stupid!"

Pushkar is next:
"Don't buy gold here! Everything Fake, all painted on. Understand??!!"
More sound advice from Mr Singh.

Octopussy!

Ok so I'm starting a hair count!
This is a tab of how many hairs I find in my food. So far the lucky number is 4. It helps that they are thick and black as the night, so they're easy to see! :) Moving on...

Jodhpur is a City I don't care to say too much about except that I met a couple of French guys and had dinner with them at our hotel. They gave me the ins and outs of where I should go next and it was awesome just to hang with people other than my driver.

The next morning, however, Mr Singh (who has become very protective of me) gave me the silent treatment for a good 15mins. I couldn't figure it out! Was it the shitty tip I just left? (The Hotel gave me a shitty room and told me there were no others...a blatant lie and it's always a battle to get an awesome room when you've pre-paid)...But that wasn't it. Then I remembered having a 10 sec conversation with the concierge about how I was joining the 2 French guys for dinner and wouldn't that be nice because I've been mostly with my driver and haven't met that many people... YEP! that was it.

Mr singhs words:
"Why you not happy with your hotels and why you angry with me??!!!"
After careful explanation Mr Singh squeezed me and said:
"Ahhh Mckenshi, you are very Sunder Kuri!" My Mckenshi! Achaaaa!"
Translation:
Ah, Mckenzi, you are a very smart girl! My Mckenzi is Good good!"

Mr Singh gives me gifts every day...from buying me lunch to giving me little trinkets or showing me things that are not included in the tour. When his pen ran out one morning I gave him 10 different coloured ones of a bunch that I had brought over for the kids and I thought he was going to spontaneously ascend he was so happy. It really is the small things. If you're not happy in this country, things just arent right and the people around you will go to the ends of the earth to make it right. That's just the way it is.

Pulling into Udaipur, I am slightly worried cause it says in the "Lonely Plannet guide" that my hotel pretty much sucks. Imagine my surprise when I find myself in the princess of all princess suites overlooking the water, it's palaces and the City Palace!!! (Yes it did take 3 shuffles of rooms to get this one). The whole room is Marble, with 3 bay windows that I have to keep shut when I'm out cause the monkeys will come in. It's like I'm living a dream, and this town is so captivating.. and the shower is hotter than an erotic dream! I must have been in it for atleast 1/2 and hour.

I make my way to the roof top restuarant and I'm the only person up there. With a sudden lift of my heart, it takes my breath away. I can't help thinking about little Caper and how if I had his ashes with me I would let him free right over this knee high balcony and into the magical night. The tears come and I say a prayer. It's the first time since he left in April that I've felt like I've been there for him without guilt or pain. Just pure love.

I digress:
The toilet rolls here have enough paper for exactly 1 1/2 number 2's. That's it! No more no less! Just saying...

I am greeted on the roof top by my waiter, who is instantly awe-struck by me and after ordering my food he does not leave. He stands uncomfortably waiting for me to say something else, anything else and he stares at the ground trying to figure out what he can say. I wonder if he will ever leave. I take out my book...yup still there. I say thank you...still there. It must have been a good 2 mins before he backed away. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately when my food came, he stood right next to me as I ate. It was very uncomfotable and psycho Mac was about to have a Mac-attack!!! 10 bites in he got a call from the kitchen. Thank you Krishna. Lets just say I ventured out of the hotel to eat from then on.

Enter Cal from Alabama:
A 25 year old home grown living in London and navigating part of the world before settling into a new job. Great company and even Mr singh didn't mind him coming on a couple of sight seeing adventures. On first meeting Cal in a hideaway kind of lunch spot I thought he was sick. His eyes were entirely blood shot...deep red and not much white left. All on account of a diving expodition where he went down too fast and didn't release his mask.

2 days break from the car and a whole lot of fun. We ate on the tallest roof top in Udaipur. This is the city where Octopussy was made, and they are not shy about advertising that fact. During dinner we could here that movie playing in atleast 3 nearby hotel roof tops.

The last day in Udaipur and it was Mr Singhs 10 year wedding aniversary! He is so in Love it's rediculous! We took him for a kingfisher beer and a sunset view.
That night in my Princess bedroom, a street dog, of which there are millions was nicely purched under my window howling to the dogs across the water. He was miked better that Mik Jagger and at around 2 am I was fuming. I stomped over to the window with a small bowl of sugar cubes, and pelted them as hard as I could down onto the lower deck. Futile of course!
Only thing it did do was excite the monkeys and what the hell! It's ficken dinner time at Noah's arc! Address: The Princess Mckenzi room. 2am til fer ever!

Awesomenesses:
2 full body massages=$20
2 beautifully taylored princess Mckenzi tops=$30
new pants(didn't want to pay for laundry)=$5
insanely good food=$3 to $4 a go
Traditional Indian performance under the stars .50c
Early morning chanting to wake up to.

then,

Good bye to Udaipur, to Princess Suites and to 2 day friends.
hello to another long drive to Bundi.

PS: Cal said he was going to win the lottery this march and that he would sent me 200 pounds of it so I'm putting this in writing for future reference.

What just happened? Jan 20th

Remember when I said I wanted to tear it all apart and then reconstruct it? That voice in my head is saying; "Be careful what you ask for Mckenzi"

There I was minding my own business...actually I was feeling grumpy that Mr Singh was taking me to a gem store to look at some more stuff I didn't want to buy. (It's part of his job-and he tells me to "Just look no buy!") This was through a friend of his so it was both our first times in this place. I walked in the door to be greeted by Ajay, a short, understated 50 something man.
Do you think he said:

A) Hello and welcome to my store! What kind of jewelry do you like?
OR
B) Your throat Chakra is completely blocked and I am worried about you. You are so stressed, You are in panic mode. (It's true I've been having panic attacks since I got here)

It's not A)

While typing munbers into a calculator he politely asks me how old I am. I say 37. He pushes the calculator toward me with the number 37 on it. I thinkhuh? and try to remember if I've told my age to Mr Singh...Nope.
He asks me how my relationship is with my sister. Did I mention my sister? ... Nope.
Infact, he knows the personalities of everyone in my family including myself, and that i've been in a relationship for the last 2 and a bit years.
Without my having spoken, this man begins to cronologically go through my life in terms of events and emotions and relationships and does not stop there. ( some things are so graphic that I can't mention them here, but they are all true)
He makes a list of things that my family and I are to look out for... illnesses etc, and lets not forget all the existing ailments I carry:

1)My weak right Knee and Right shoulder
2) My grinding
3) my Thyroid

....the list goes on and on...

Oh did I mention that less than 1 min in to his observations I was in a puddle of my own tears and unable to get it together. He tells me to take a break and look at some jewels and leaves the room.
The much younger 2 shop assistants seem not to be phased by this at all. Infact they are sending me much love from their eyes. One says: "Don't worry, the first time I met him the same thing happened to me. He has a book and travels around the world healing people" "Ahha, I say like a sobbing, heaving 5 year old.

After a couple of mins they tell me to go into the other room where Ajay was waiting with some very expensive Jewels. He sits me down and says that he sees people every day and doesn't usually bring this stuff up, but with me...It was so obvious that he had to.
He takes my palms, and tells me to close my eyes. It's not Reiki, but I fell him giving me energy.
These are the words I remember:

"You are blocking off life with your fear. You are carrying massive amounts of anxiety, but you are meant to be a healer. You have the most beautiful energy, especially in your crown Chakra".

The Crown Chakra
Sahasrara is generally considered to be the chakra of pure consciousness. It is a tool that helps us communicate with our spiritual nature.

"You are meant to be creative and express yourself as you are and stop caring so much about what other people think. You are a writer and you have healing powers beyond belief. Your heart and mind are at odds but when you figure this out and open your Chakra a life of unending happiness and prosperity awaits you. You do not belong in Canada or Australia..there is another place for you and it is warm and with happy people. Here you will thrive."

And on and on...

So I'm like...Ahha...and about half an hour has passed. I've said a total of 2 sentences in this time and the anxiety I've been feeling since this trip began...infact for most of my life is dissipating rapidly. He receives a call from Canada, a client of his who visits him regularly. He was born in Victoria BC.

He takes my hands again and I can feel immense heat. My heart rate slows to a relaxing stroll. And the crying stops.

Here's the slightly dodgy part:

Ajay shows me an expensive Emerald that I should wear around my neck to help open my Chakra. I ask him why it is so much and then he shows me a much smaller one still out of my price range. He says he has a foundation for homeless children in Pushkar and most of the money goes to providing food, shelter, and schooling. He gave me his card and asked me to check it out when I get to that town. He also said the gems were cleansed and activated with special properties and mantras for healing. I wanted that gem stone so bad... but I left the store with my money in hand.

surrendipidously...

Just an hour before this I had been visiting a textile factory and met "Sunny". He was a fantastic person right off the bat and someone I knew I could trust and feel comfortable with. There was no pressure to make a sale and at the end of our time we swapped phone numbers. Not long after the gemstone experience I got a call from Sunny asking if I wanted to come to dinner at his parents place in Amer. Being the cautious person that I am, I ask him if he would like to come to my hotel for dinner. So 2 hours later Sunny and his other friend from the store (who tried to sell me a pashmina) turned up at my hotel. We chatted for a while and they were so lovely. They even brought me a gift...A PINK PASHMINA..to represent the Pink City of Jaipur.

The best part is:

I tell Sunny about my experince at the gem store and he tells me that it's something to believe. He also said he can get me an Emerald for very little money...if not for free...and his father is a healer/Palmist who can cleanse and put a mantra in the stone for me. He showed me his garnet ring which his father had endowed for him and says it has brought great "Magic to his life". He learned to speak excellent English in a very short time and this is one of the things he thanks his ring for.

All in all a very mind bending and heart opening day.

Driver of momentally awesome proportions

My Drivers name is Mr Singh, and if anyone has ever read Shantaram, he is a classy version of Praubaker. A man who has only my best interests at heart and is slowly teaching me Hindi. He navigates the streets like on a hydroplane and that's really saying something. He is a wise 44 year old Sihk who loves to sing and make me watch bollywood music videos in the car. He says the funniest things which will now be going in my book. ( He wants me to write a book about him). Honestly I don't know how I would have done this without him...well yes I do but that's beside the point.

Agra...more like...AGRRRRRRRRR! Yup not my favourite place. Yes home of the Taj, but as Mr Singh says: "Trust nobody from Agra! EVER!"
He was right cause my hotel tried to give me a crap room until I Quietly snapped "Mckenzi Style" and got bumped up to the delux Suite! Yeah! ...
No..they froze me to death in that suite and then made me pay 200RS (About $6) for a heater.
GRRRRRRRR!

Walking on the street was the best:
A little boy came up to me begging fopr me to buy pens and boxes. It was a fairly decent performance actually, maybe half a tear there, but as my last acting teacher would say: "Really???!!!" So the more I said no, the more things he tried, the best of which was. "Give me a kiss, just one kiss, the lips the cheek...the tongue!" WAS HE EVEN 10yrs! They start em young here.

So the Taj Mahal, is the most awesome thing I've ever seen....all 20 mins of it!!
I was one of the lucky ones actually. This is the month of fog apparently and it rolled in so fast that the entire massive wonder was invisible not 5 meters away from it. Luckily I have pre-fog pics.
QUESTION:
why did the cows cross the road?
ANSWER:
They didn't. They just sat in the middle of it watching the traffic go by like a bunch of spectators at a game of lawn bowls. I have pics for proof!

Lunch time:
This is on the road to Rajasthan, in a rather dodgy place. I asked Mr Singh if Tourists go here and he says "Sure Sure!" like this is a rite of passage or something. I go to the bathroom and have an automatic gag relfex and try to touch everything with my left hand...there was no soap and my hand sanitiser was not available.
Mr Singh orders lunch for me because I couldn't decide which food I wanted to be my last on this earth. It's everything I'm not supposed to eat. Wheat and probably unpastuerised yoghurt. The pots and pans I saw being washed by water I wouldn't wash my own butt with. Mr Singh is waiting for me to eat. I take my right hand and pray to anything worth praying to, and eat the food. I avoid the yoghurt but it was offensive not to eat some.
Lets just say that everything in my back pack I had to counteract bacteria I TOOK!!! and waited. Thank you lord for the Dukerol. 5 hours later I had stomach cramps and Thor-like rumblings. REIKI, REIKI, REIKI!!!

Then nothing...and here I am writing to you by the grace of life....big sigh.

Forgot to mention that after lunch we went to a national park and bird sanctuary. Driven around on a 3 wheeled bycicle and saw wild animals up the wazoo! Incredible! I was even 2 feet from 2 Pythons!!! Best afternoon ever! Pics for later.
I asked to drive the trycicle with Mr Singh and the driver in the back for a bit. Bad idea. I veered off the path and as the driver jumped off to stop us i put on the brake and his fingers were caught in the clasp. oops. He was fine but I felt bad. 300RS bad.

All in all an eventful day, and my hotel that night was just beautiful.

Day 3

After about 36 hours in bed, with what I though was a relapse of mono, I am finally out and about and feeling much better. The people at the Ajanta Hotel have really looked after me. Thank you god! I'm starting to get a taste of the Indian Heart in people here. It's already brought me to tears once...ok I know it doesn't take much.

I have booked a 14 day tour of Rajasthan which starts today with my own driver and hotels set up along the way. A little more money but i feel much more comfortable about it as I make my way to feeling 100% again.

Had a free tour through Delhi yesturday! This city is like no other. The traffic and lack of any rules makes me laugh so hard, and the driver was cacking himself just as hard as I was. They run red lights, constantly honk horns, cut eachother off, get through cracks not even a mouse would consider...and on and on. My driver turned around on a 3 laned highway and went straight into oncoming traffic to get out of a jam!!! Better than Canada's wonderland!

Bought a phone for $30 canadian, and incoming calls are free. Lets just say my boyfriend Sean is a happy camper now.

Can't wait to be able to post some pics...

breakfast time, 6;30am. Does anyone ever get used to curry for breakfast? The answer is a resounding NO!!!

First day

It's been an interesting ride so far, and I'm a little dazed after sleeping for about 20 hours in my Delhi hotel room.
List of awesomeness:
-Got seat 23H on the plane which = emergency exit and lots of leg room.
-Sat next to Deepa from toronto who invited me to her Punjabi wedding as a part of the wedding party!
-Was collecting my luggage when the enitire Delhi airport went black! Deepa was clearly upset but I thought it was a riot. 3 mins later the generators came on. "Only in India" she says.
-My driver from the airport to the hotel was so great. Suprising that he really took his time, and explained alot of stuff to me (30 percent of which i understood). He did stick to riding right over the center line in the middle of the road and managed to dodge the tuk tuks swerving in and around us. It was fun actually.
-My stomach is a little mad with me but my hotel has Western food so I'm easing my way into it.

I'm off to bed again. This is your last chance to beat it jet lag!!!

5 Freak outs

4 rooibos teas,

3 hot showers,

2 repacking sessions,

1 one brunch with friends,

...and a 20 hour airplane ride for me.

Welcome to my Blog.

Let the adventure begin... Feb 11th 2010!