the hills are alive…..

….with the sound of flute players following you along the Annapurna Circuit trails, beautiful children asking for “sweets?” thanks to travellers past, bells attached to donkeys’ necks as they carry goods up to the mountains to notify local children in the path, birds announcing the coming of spring, and Dipak (Julie and my guide on our Nepal trek) teaching us phrases in Nepali like bistari bistari (slowly slowly), ukalo (uphill), oralo (downhill), dhanyabad (thank you), dherai ramro (very nice), sundar himal (beautiful mountain), and a few journal pages worth of more…..

I guess it is a bit ironic to start this entry with the various sounds Julie and I heard on our peaceful trek, when in reality the Annapurna region provided the most silence we had encountered since New Zealand– I am writing this entry from a nice internet cafe in Chiang Mai, Thailand, just blown away by the lack of noisy traffic– because both India and Nepal constantly bombarded us with horns and salespitches and “rickshaw, madam?” and promises of friendship prices. While the noise added to the intensity of color and culture in those places, I think my back is instantly more relaxed here in Thailand, because I’m not constantly thinking I may be hit by a motorbike. Ha!

Julie and I attempted trekking in the Annapurna region, initially thinking that we would do a 6-day trek including a hike up to Poon Hill with a guide we had met at an agency in Kathmandu. We were excited to get out of the smog of the city, out of another tourist bubble like Goa (Kathmandu’s Thamel area), and to see some hilltop villagers’ farms and friendly smiles. Plans unfortunately changed a bit when Julie got ill on our second day hiking, which Dipak told us was actually more common than one would expect, especially with people coming from the low attitudes and tropical temperatures of India. I’ll let Julie expand upon the details of her symptoms, but we basically stayed up at the beautiful teahouse in the hilltop village of Jhinu for an extra day, sleeping and recuperating, before heading out along the same trail we trudged in on. Although it was slightly disappointing to not make it to Poon Hill, the variations in our journey taught me a lot about the importance of our health, of learning to be flexible for a good friend, and to just breath in the invigorating energy of that place bistari bistari. I was incredibly lucky to have my health and be able to watch the life along that trail–local people carrying chickens in metal cages, children, wood, greens, cloth, and even grandpa up the steep path in wicker baskets supported by a strip of cloth across their foreheads. Incredible. I was also lucky enough to enjoy incredible natural hot springs after meandering down beautiful moss-covered shiny stone steps to the river, only about 30 minutes from the location where we were “stranded” by sickness.

 We were also lucky to be paired up with such a compassionate, funny, and intelligent guide. Dipak was amazing. Very concerned and accomodating and full of ridiculous stories of his past 15 years as a porter and guide in Nepal…. When I return to Nepal in the future, I will definitely hire him again to accompany me in the Himalayan hills.

I shall return to my exploration of Chiang Mai. Tomorrow we head off to a Thai cooking school for 3 days of organic delicious food on a farm outside of the city–another thing I’ve been looking forward to since we started planning this trip!

Vrede,

Anne

Life is good.

So, I clearly haven’t written in a while, but I assure you that there have been infinite things to write about. The farm experience in New Zealand was surreal and amazing, filled with some of the most genuine and interesting and intelligent and compassionate people I have ever met. Luthien has written quite a bit about that as far as the day-to-day tasks went, so I’d like to add a bit about the people we met down-by-the-river. And yes, it does include a man with a van, down-by-the-river, but also a Kiwi self-proclaimed Deadhead with a great little place called the Magic Hut…

Many of the evenings at Pakaraka Farm were spent by me chatting about life down-by-the-river with two wonderful Kiwi men filled with all kinds of crazy stories of the things they have done over their past 40 years of friendship and inspirational travel ideas. It was a great environment that definitely reminded me of hanging out with my parents and Mark and Mary up north, drinking beer and listening to great music. After moving around so much on our Tour-de-NZ, the farm was a perfect peaceful solution to cure my frustration at being trapped inside a white Toyota Corolla for too long. Harry and Jeanette were wonderful and inspirational, I felt more connected with the world again after getting my hands in the garden soil and after milking the House Cow, and I was always surrounded by good conversation or a peaceful place to read. And the swimming hole. Probably one of my favorite places on the earth so far; it made me fall in love with rivers again and want to read the passage in Siddhartha again about rivers.

It was also great to WWOOF at the farm during the same time that the Young Greens workshop was going on. My 50+ year-old friends James and Dick moved out of the Magic Hut for the season and about 30 or so young progressive New Zealand environmentalists moved in, holding thought-talks and campaign-planning meetings, and singing and playing guitar at night. They reminded me of how there is still hope for change and inspired me with their dedicated towards a common goal. It was also incredible to see their respect and admiration for Jeanette and to feel so lucky to have been WWOOFing for such a great couple on such beautiful land in the Coromandel Peninsula….

And now I am in India, finally feeling completely at peace in the south in beautiful Fort Kochi, Kerala, after a whirlwind of craziness in Mumbai and hippie overload in Goa. It is a world completely opposite of New Zealand, but I still love it. The colors and smells and people are so vibrant, sometimes too much so. I think I’d love to come back for a longer period of time, because our two weeks here is a good preview, but not even close to enough time. The food is amazing, the locals’ smiles and waves are reassuring (except when they come from too many men in the street), and being able to stop in and have a chai with friendly folks has been great. Julie and I are definitely living spontaneously and oftentimes we just look at each other in amazement regarding the days events– filled with new friends, beautiful views, and sensory overload.

Namaste,

Anne

Australian Closure

So Lou and I are back at the Kienhuis’ in Canterbury today, soon to be catching a train to a bus to a plane to New Zealand. I am so excited to drive around that beautiful country listening to Paul Simon and whatever other music we unlock from the ipods we have been keeping to ourselves for so long… It is great to see the Kienhuis’ again, it brings some closure to our time here and time to say thanks again.

Our experience in Australia has been excellent, I’m a bit sad to leave all the great people we have stumbled upon along the way, but refreshed by life and its randomness. Yesterday as we were leaving our WWOOF location in Lorne, I just couldn’t wipe the smile off my face– Qdos was such a nice change from the urban sightseeing we had been doing so far, the Great Ocean Road was breathtaking, and the Lorne community was actually getting small enough that we ran into people we knew everywhere, ha! It was nice to actually feel apart of the cafe we worked at–able to recognize the coffee drinks we were serving and making some mean antipesto trays, pizzas, and toasties. I definitely wouldn’t mind visiting that beautiful place again and I wish good luck to all the characters we met while we were there!

Last night over dinner (which was burgers with all the normal vegetables, plus a fried egg and slices of beet root) I shared my photos of our treehouse accommodation, Great Ocean Road travels, and bush walks amongst the waterfalls of the Otway National Park in Lorne, and then my memory card cycled back to Tokyo and Korea and our first days here in Australia. I know it sounds sort of obvious, but I can’t believe have much we have already done! I really hope that all these amazing moments that we have shared with all of these great people will remain distinct in my mind as we pass the two month, three month, four month, etc, timepoints. I really think things will change pace as we enter India, Nepal, Thailand, and then Africa, but up until now things have been so easy… People have been so incredibly accommodating and open, I’m so curious to see what the future will bring…

Now we are off to the beauty of the Lord of the Rings, hired cars, couchsurfing.com, volcanoes, glaciers, and mountains galore!

Vrede,

Anne

Happy New Years from sweaty 40 C Melbourne!!

Hello all,

I just wanted to write and wish a very happy New Years to all our friends and family all over the place! While we will be some of the first bringing in 2008 from Federation Square in Melbourne tonight, we will definitely have other timezones and loved ones on our minds tomorrow!

We have just returned home from beautiful breezy Ocean Grove this afternoon, which is where we took a 3-day holiday with the Kienhuis family after our Christmas/Boxing Day festivities. This beautiful beach town reminded me of both Santa Barbara, California, and Door County, Wisconsin, and was a great look into Australian holidays– filled with wonderful days on the beach, gorgeous skyscapes, colorful coastlines, barbies and good times with Emily’s generous family!… And maybe a bit of sunburn…

The Kienhuis’ have been incredibly wonderful! Such amazing welcoming people! Everyday, I think about know lucky we are to be in the present moment and hope that we aren’t being much of a bother for them! Aussie life is great, especially when we have such thoughtful and fantastic tour guides!

Off to brave the Melb heat for some world music festivities tonight!

-Anne

Squeaky Clean and Content

We haven’t written a post for a while, which should be representative of how much fun we have been having since commencing this journey almost two weeks ago. We are currently lounging in a swanky love motel in Gyeongji, South Korea, after a fun night out on the town in oceanside Busan last night and some long bus rides through the beautiful mountains in the southern part of this country. South Korea thus far has been very colorful and friendly, filled with good food and peaceful experiences.

One of the highlights of this country that we have enjoyed thoroughly was the jimjilbang or traditional bathhouse in a northern suburb of Seoul. We entered this glorious place down an escalator from the street level around 11pm on a weekday and sort of entered into a parallel universe. The experience was quite awkward and intimidating at first because we couldn’t quite communicate the fact that we wanted to stay overnight to the non-English speaking receptionist. Once inside we knew we needed to shower off and then explore the vast array of spa options. The bath included many different pools at different temperatures and with different jetstreams– one that was even infused with green tea. We mistakenly entered the children’s bath at first and received a few awkward stares and finally a broken English explanation. While our evening spa experience was relaxing after a long and cold day, we definitely wanted to investigate the place further and at that point had absolutely no idea where we were supposed to sleep or enjoy the other amenities.

While bathing, a kind Korean woman sat next to Luthien and started speaking with her in English and was generous enough to later give us all a tour of the entire jimjilbang after we were cleaned up and dressed. The building was much larger and fancier than we were expecting from our just-over-$7 charge. She lead us through about 5 saunas, 3 sleeping rooms, and the ice room upstairs. There were places to use the internet, watch television, view films, play ping-pong, and exercise. We sat and chatted with the wonderful friendly woman in the ice room (her favorite) for quite a while, or at least until we were ready to fall asleep on the cold floor. She was curious to how we had heard of such a place (the answer was through a friend’s Korean friend) and explained that the reason she was so kind to us was because she was so impressed by the kindness of Americans she had met a few years back in Iowa in the states, knowing that someday she wanted to return the favor to Americans in Korea, and finally now having her chance. Her English was great, but even more impressive were her kind gestures, helpfulness, and curiosity about us. She just reconfirmed my philosophy about traveling with an open-mind and an accepting smile and receiving random kindness from strangers as a result. The Korean people we have met thus far have been extremely kind and sharing, but this woman really changed our spa experience to something comfortable out of a bit of awkwardness.

In the morning, the three our us sort of went different directions and utilized different areas of the jimjilbang. I fell in love with this ridiculous crystal sauna, a domed room covered in quartz crystals and huge cracked geodes. I also enjoyed the peaceful room with heightened levels of oxygen and the clay sauna infused with the smell of Korean tea and other herbs. The baths downstairs were great, especially when I rotated between hot and cold treatments and one that massaged my back with strong water jets. While I could go on and on about this affordable and wonderful spa experience, the point is that we had an amazing time attempting to integrate into this traditional Korean pasttime and much of that was because of the kind woman’s generous patience and explanations. We left the building before lunch to go off to the north to help teach in an all boy’s private middle school that Julie’s friend Christina Hanna works at; we rode the metro completely at peace with the world. Relaxed, refreshed, and inspired by someone’s kindness.

That’s it for now,

Anne 

a time after the farm

so today marks an interesting day as i can stay up late and not have to worry about being at the farm in the morn. it also marks a time when i need to crack down and realize i am leaving madison so soon. which makes me think about this amazing city and all the great things going on here at the moment. sure i don’t mind escaping the winter, but i will miss all the great people that have stumbled into my life lately and, of course, those that have been around all along. the co-op is great. my jobs have been great. the atmosphere of the city in the crisp late-november air is great. and life is pretty damn good.

as i ponder packing and think of the times to come, i can barely handle it. so many amazing sights and hikes and friends and farms ahead! the three of us are so lucky to have the connections we have and the lives we do!

i’m excited for these last weeks and all the warm family and friends that will be a part of it. it will make me excited to return in june.

with a tinge of nostalgia, anne