TravelStream™ news feed for member markwilliams84 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/markwilliams84 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:40:12 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1233294720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1233294720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1233294720/tpod.html Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:40:12 -0400 Out Of The Valley & Over the Hills

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Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India

From Varkala we headed down on the train (which was a beautiful journey) to the southernmost point in India – Kanyakumari. The plan was to watch the sunset over and the moon rise where three Ocean meet, the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. Unfortunately as we approached Cape Comorinas where we saw windfarms to the lands end of the Indian subcontinent the weather wasnt looking so great for the idyllic sunset we were hoping for. So bad in fact that when we arrived at the station, we didn't even want to go out in it. After a minute of contemplating, and the weather getting a bit better, we laugh ed as Rob, from Scotland and me from England, we wouldn’t of even thought twice about walking out in this drizzle at home, its just we had not even seen rain for about two weeks and it really wasn’t that bad. It was quite a pleasant walk down to the tip from the station. The tip was very busy with Indian tourist and pilgrims heading over the island but we didn’t join the 'what looked like' a 3 hour queue to the Island, instead we stuck up to the top of a hotel roof for the view.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1232263260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1232263260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1232263260/tpod.html Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:08:19 -0400 Out Of The Valley & Over the Hills

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Varkala, Kerala, India

Varkala, in southern Kerala is a beautiful little town which has cliffs overlooking the Arabian Sea. On top of the cliffs, perched precariously but spectacularly along the side above the sandy beach, are a number is restaurants, ayurvedic spa's and hotels. My first day I went spear fishing and got some strange looks from the fishermen, they were saying to me that they would take me out on their canoes if I gave them some money but I decided to just swim. I hate the idea of having to pay to catch fish, it ruins the whole reason I carry the spear gun, free dinner : )After not long of being out at sea I had caught quite a few fish, some snapper and others which Im not sure of the names. I then heard a whistle blowing and the life guard at the end of the beach. I was swimming quite close to the rocky beach head and there was a strong current but I was fine, I swam back in anyway to find that he wasn’t in fact concerned about my safety but just wanted to see what I had caught. Clearly impressed as he then shouted for all of his friends to come and have a look. The ball was now in my court, as instead of asking me for money they were fighting who got to take me out tomorrow. The next day I went out with one of the fishermen, he towed me along on his canoe, so I could see underwater and dive down every time I saw a big fish. His friend who also followed, just to watch me would occasionally dive in a pull mussels of the rocks on the bottom, attracting more fish. We made a good team and the canoe was a perfect landing platform for the fish that were to big to handle underwater. By the time we headed back we had alot of fish and I shared them with the fisherman who seemed very pleased. In the evening as the sunset I normally headed back down to the beach to BBQ the fish. One day I even made a sand oven, something Iv always wanted to do. I made a fire in a hole in the sand, covered it with some banana leaves, put the fish on, some more banana leaves then buried it for an hour. When I uncovered it I was left with beautifully steamed fish and they were delicious!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1231571460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1231571460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1231571460/tpod.html Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:57:33 -0400 Out Of The Valley & Over the Hills

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Gokarna, Karnataka, India

The longer I stayed here the more I liked it, judging by the people Id met here it seems like what Goa was 20 years ago, some people had been here months, others even longer.There was not really much to do apart from relax and swim, some nice beaches both ways, one very nice one called Paradise which reminded me of something out of the film 'The Beach', very secluded, you could only get there by boat or walking though a jungle. I ended up staying there longer than expected because I could not get a train ticket due to a pilgrimage heading south, the train was packed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1231172400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1231172400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1231172400/tpod.html Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:01:48 -0400 Out Of The Valley & Over the Hills

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Hampi, Karnataka, India

I arrive in Hampi early in the morning after a 12 hours plus bus journey from hell, the sleeper bus was booked out so I ended up getting the worst seat on the bus which Im sure was designed for a midget or small Asian child, not a 6 foot western guy. To make matters worst I felt like our driver thought it would be a funny idea to abandon the road for 7 hours and see how good his bus was off road, I tell you now, the answer too that...very bumpy! I'm sure I spent more time out of my seat with my head touching the roof than with my bum touching to the chair, I didn’t get a wink of sleep as I was using my hands the whole night to absorb the impact from the bumps and protect my bad back. Luckily this was all soon forgotten due to the extraordinary landscape of Hampi. Giant granite boulders scattered around to create such an interesting view, this was complemented by lush rice paddies and banana plantations. I headed over the river on a small boat and checked into Mogli Guesthouse which had a great view of rice paddies which as they were saturated with water reflected the rising sun. The bus journey was worth it.Still a little tired but feeling better after breakfast and a shower, I decided to go for a wonder down the road, I didn’t plan to go for long but after about two hours I realized I had just kept walking, drawn in by the intriguing, changing beauty of the landscape, I didn’t even have my shoes with me. I crossed through rice paddies, banana plantations, through a beachy area covered in pebbles, over huge boulders and also endless fields. I finally came to a halt at the river after following its banks for a while and realizing I couldn’t get any further. It would have been quite a tough route back as I climbed up a couple of rocks which would be hard to go down. With in a minute an Indian guy had spotted my predicament form over the river and was rowing over in what looked like a giant basket It turned out it was a boat and he offered me a lift (for a small fee of coarse) over to the other side. I had a walk around some ancient ruins, upto monket teple for sunset and looped back to my guest house and sat down feeling shattered, ready for a beer. The next day after scanning the area, I decided to climb to the highest point in view, it was quite and easy route up, as I could wedge myself between rocks on the hard parts but not so easy on the way down. Once up here I chilled out for a while and just took in the amazing landscape, I planned to read my book but ended up just looking out for miles (as Darwin must have done nearly 200 years ago in South America from the Andes) trying to work out what force had created what I was seeing. Was it the wind and water that eroded these rocks over million of year into such interesting and strange formations, with rocks perched and balanced on the edge of others like it was not possible and they were defying the laws of gravity. (or maybe it was the Biblical flood? : ). It would of been so  interested into have a geologist explain.[  In the afternoon I walked out down the dust road through a small town to the dam and went for a swim in its cool refreshing waters.PHOTO_ID_L=67_hampi.jpg]
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228925400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228925400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228925400/tpod.html Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:15:04 -0400 Out Of The Valley & Over the Hills

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Arambol, Himachal Pradesh, India

After another two nights heading South on the train, this time I was sure my bike was loaded as I personally watched it. I arrived in Magoan in Goa and the sun was just coming up over the beautiful palm lined coast. I didn't waste anytime and went straight to the front of the train to unload my bike as I only had 10 minutes before the train departed the station. The carriage was locked so I desperately tried to find the attendant with the key but couldn't. It had now been 9 mins and I saw the driver walking back to the front of the train, I tried to explain but he just gave his watch an ostentatious look and ignored me. He then started to pull away, luckily I managed to get to the front of the  train before it gained any speed and to his surprise, jumped on and pulled the correct lever to stop the train (as I used to work on trains). I the rushed back and with the closed rock I could find, smashed of the lock of the wagon I knew my bike was in, unfortunately it was now burred under hundreds of boxes, I tried to move them but they were very heavy and wet, the aroma soon gave away there contents, they were boxes of fish. Using a piece of wood as a lever I managed to pull some off and then the driver saw that he wasn't going anywhere until I got my bike and asked (finally) some people to help me, it was crazy the stuff coming off, truck tires, beds, fish....ect finally there was a path big enough to pull my bike off. When finally got it off it stunk off fish and the seat was saturated in oil and would not start. After some hot work trying to kick start it, refilling it with petro l and a quick once over it still wouldn't start, I started pushing off the platform to find some shade and escape the heat, there was a slight slope so I gave it one last chance, a big push and managed to bump start it down the hill. I then very slowly and carefully avoiding bumps to protect my back cruised up the coast and it was a very scenic ride. I stopped for breakfast overlooking the sea, white sand and palm trees. I then called my friend Paul (the English guy I ride in Kashmir with) who had a house down here, it turned out he was just round the corner and I was actually in his local restaurant and with in minutes he was there. I rode down the last section of coast with Paul and he helped me find a nice little cheap bamboo hut on the beach, before I knew it I had been for a swim and was enjoying some grilled fish and a beer on the beach! The first week I spend chilling out, resting my back and exploring, found a very nice beach just around the cliff whi ch had a fresh water lake behind it which the locals called sweet lake. I also met a couple friends who had just arrived for Christmas and helped them find somewhere good to stay as Paul had done for me. - 4am, crashing through the waves in the pitch black - how did this happen? I had seen the fishing boats arriving in every morning about 8am on my morning swim and got talking and to know one of the guys, I used to help him get the fish out of his net and question his technique and I was interested and intrigued, his answer was to 'come out with me and find out', he told me that weather depending they were heading out a 3:30 tomorrow morning Yes 3:30am. So in the middle of the night I found myself in nothing but my shorts, camera and bottle of  water walking down the beach in the pitch black, Id expected to see more fishermen going out but could see any, after 10 minutes waiting I saw a torch coming down the beach, it was my man and he was surprised I made it ( he said he had a couple of people ask over the years but  no one had ever shown up). He explained they not many of the other boat were going out as the wind was in the wrong direction and it would be hard to get out passed the breaking waves but after a group prayer around the boat he and his men were. It was so dark I could not even see the waves but he assured he they were big but if we all pushed hard through the surf we'd get passed it. We pushed the boat along the sand using tree trunks to move it, the men racing around to put the last one in front of the boat before we lost momentum and dug into the sand . The next thing I knew I was pushing as hard as I could with waves breaking over my head nearly out of my depth, now not gaining any ground but just trying to keep it pointed into the waves to stop it getting rolled over, then one jumped on and started rowing but it was no use, the next guy then jumped on and I could just hear the sound of the 9.9 bhp Honda outboard kick into life over the roaring waves and every one struggled to throw themselves over the side on board. I grabbed the paddle and rowed as hard as I could (adrenaline forgetting about my back until I was reminded by pain) to try straighten up the boat before the next big wave came, we hit it at about 45degress but did not fully ride over it and the water crashed into the boat. Luckily the next one the guy had got the motor into the water and we straightened up and rode over the next one. Were soon heading out into the pitch black over the slow undulating waves. We cruised at full power for about an hour through the night South West and then the sun started to rise in the west and we dropped the nets. Before the sun made it over the horizon it lit the clouds to an great array of colors ranging from orange to red and pink. We then dropped the second net and marked it with a plastic bottle. For the next hour I watched the sun slowly light the sky and silhouette the pods of dolphins that were now jumping out of the water. Time passed quick as the other guys slept and I just enjoyed the silence ands serenity only broken by the sound of the dolphins hitting the water and clearing there blow holes. It was now starting to get warm and the driver woke and it was time to go and collect the nets...one problem the engine would not start! The man tried for over an hour using some interesting techniques involving a hammer but all is attempts were futile. I was now getting a bit worried as it was really hot and I only had about half a litre of water, we could not see any other boats and only just the shore. I was not the only one worried as the men had now gone from smiling to arguing between themselves. I have a bit of experience with outboards so I decided to give the engine a once over myself but with just a hammer and a screw driver to work with couldn't find ant obvious problems. Clearly we were not going to get it started so we rowed to all of the nets which we had now drifted quit far from a collected them in. We caught some interesting fish, mainly mackerel, prawns and shrimps. I got a couple of jumpy moments as I was pulling in the net and a huge crab, small sharks, and sea snakes dropped down by my feet, me panicking as the others laughed and as they skillfully picked up the huge crabs and snapped off their pinchers. A couple more hours passed and we could now only just make out the shore line but had spotted a boat in the distance so we all stood up, waving and shouting at he top of our voices. Eventually the boat turned in our direction and offered to tow us in until we were close enough to row. When we got close I offered the men (although they weren't expecting anything and were just happy that Id helped) a small amount of money for taking me out to have a couple of beers and put towards the petrol, they then kindly gave it to the fishermen who they didn't even know from another town that had towed us in, who also weren't expecting anything. Beach Bum - I am now happier than ever with my decision not to go home to recover from my injury as it would be British winter and Arambol (north Goa) couldn't of been a better place to hang out on the beach. Each day Id find a new beautiful restaurant tucked away on the beach set amid the palm trees to pass some hours reading my book and indulging on fresh sea food and the catch of the day seafood. It was also an interesting place to people watch as the were more hippies and weirdoes here than you could shake a stick at and possibly the highest per square mile than anywhere else in the world. The evening were also great, every night as I headed out for food next to the sea and would watch the Venus come out just before the sun set and then soon after Jupiter would appear in the South west. My biggest decision of the day was which fish to get BBQ'ed, hard life.Big Catch - Today the South African girl Id met in Rajasthan arrived to spend Christmas in Arambol and also a package that my mum and dad had sent from home. The package also included the best Christmas present I could of hoped for, my spear/harpoon gun and my diving mask. To excit ed to wait, I headed straight out to some rocks at the end of the beach, just before the cliff started. Within minutes I had caught a fair sized fish which looked like a mean pomfret with big spikes on its back. I put it on a rock island and headed back underwater to see what else I could find, the visibility was not great and it was hard to get close to the rocks as the waves were crashing overhead and pushing me into the sharp crustations. I then caught sight of a huge fish but the surge of the water would not let me get close enough (without flippers) for a shot, not long after I saw an even bigger one catch the light through the murky water and got close enough for a clean shot, I hit it just behind the head but it was huge and put up a real fight, it pulled me all over the place until I finally managed to grab onto a rock with my free hand and pull myself up. Once out of the water I had to climb up the speed rock which was not ideal. The fish put up even more of a fight and I thought he was going to wriggle loose and escape until I managed to grab it by the gills and pin it while I got my knife out. Even after I put my knife through the fishes brain it did not give up, I now had the task of trying to get off the sharp rock I was precariously perched on back to shore. I also wanted to try and get the fish Id caught earlier even though this was more than enough but Id would never kill something Im not going to eat but it was quite f ar out and I would struggle to swim their again, within seconds my decision was made a lot easier as an eagle swooped down from now where and grabbed to fish. I then noticed I was also being circled by some low flying sea eagles and it was time to move, I managed to swim in the strong current through the maze of channels that led to the shore relativity unscathed apart from a few minor scrapes. I walked along the beach and was questioned by a few surprised locals and then I saw Giles and Amelia who seemed impressed and couldn't help but laugh at my huge smile. I then walked down to my local restaurant: Dreamcatcher gutted the fish and spoke to the Regmond and Diago the owners who agreed I could use there BBQ as we would all be buying some beers and snacks there later. That evening as the sunset about 8 of us sat there with some beer, grilled potatoes/vegetables and shared the huge fish which we all agreed was one of the nicest fish we'd tasted. It was a great night. -A Christmas to remember As the days passed and the beach got busier we accumulated a bigger group of great people which soon turned into what felt like a small family rather than a group of people from all over the world who had only just met. In the evening we went to parties all over Goa as it is only a  small state (for India) at Hilltop, Cub Paradiso, Westend, Ajim, Asam although for Christmas Eve we stayed on good old Arambol beach and went to the local sports bar which turned out to be a great night. The was some live music and then when that finished a guy turned up just in time with his guitar who was really good and got everyone singing, then another man dressed in a Santa costume to add to the Christmas ambiance and great festive atmosphere. I couldn't of hoped for a better night with any better people being away from my family, friends and home. I woke up Christmas morning to the sound of the waves crashing into the shore with was only meters away from our bamboo hut on the white sandy beach, Amelia and I went for a swim and the walked down to Olive Garden to meet the others for breakfast. After we had all ate I went to find the fisherman who Id been out with during the week. It was now midday and the tide was out quite a long way and he was not so keen to push his boat out. I soon explained that we would all help (and we all chipped in what would be the price of a beer at home to give to him which soon accumulated) and before we knew it we were pushing the boat along the beach on the rollers as someone raced around the grab the back one and pull it to the front. Skye and I had also been on a quick mission into town to grab a create of cold beers. The fisherman had told me that we would not see any dolphins as over all his years he had not fishing in the day, he hadn't, he said they were only playful during the morning when the sun came up but w e all still hoped. We cracked some beers and cruised North along the coast, past the cliff and then to the next beach where we anchored up about a mile offshore. Then, as if on queue, to everyone’s excitement (and the fisherman’s shocked face) we saw a pod of dolphins in the distance and they were heading our way. I got my camera out and joked saying 'jump dolphin, jump' and almost the second I did to my and everyone else’s amazement a dolphin jumped fully out of the  water and we all just watch open mouthed. This may sound a bit far fetched I know, but I honestly couldn't make that up, unfortunately I only got a picture of the splash as it reentered the water but the moment was priceless and will stay in all our memories for far longer. The dolphin hadn't even come fully out of the water when there were hundreds of them in the morning, it really made our Christmas day! In the evening we had a delicious dinner which was prepared by most of the group as one of our friend s was a head chief and arranged to cook in a local restaurant, the food was great and so were the cocktails the girls prepared. From Christmas dinner until the sun came up on new years day was, if Im honest one big blur of drinking and partying  to much. As the locals say 24 hour, full power, no sleep, no shower!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228647120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228647120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228647120/tpod.html Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:21:21 -0400 Out Of The Valley & Over the Hills

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McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India

When I was recovering from my back, during the early stages my parents surprised me and said that for my birthday they had bought me a ticket to visit them as they were going on holiday in Thailand, my sister was also visiting China and also arranged to fly down to meet me. Whilst there I met a journalist who wanted to write an article about tourism in Thailand and that not all tourist just came to get pissed on the beach....ectHe wrote a great article and it was so nice to see my family again as it had now been nearly a year.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228569720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228569720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228569720/tpod.html Sat, 30 May 2009 02:38:27 -0400 Out Of The Valley & Over the Hills

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Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India

Id met alot of nice people on my travels in India and most seemed to be heading south to spend Christmas on the coast, so we all arranged to meet. From Rajasthan there was only one train a week which was extremely busy and overbooked but with alot of persistence I managed to get myself a cancellation. It was not ideal with back how it was as I did not have a bed for the overnight journey and with unreserved would be lucky to even get a seat but had no choice. There was only one train a week and that was in four days so I decided to check out the 'Golden City', an exotic trader route town set amid The Great Thar Desert near the Pakistan border. Jaisalmer was founded in 1156 because of its strategic position where the camel trains passed from India to Central Asia. The trade bought wealth and the towns people built magnificent houses and mansions, exquisitely carved from sandstone and wood. It would of been a beautiful ride across the desert on my bike but I did not want to do a nything to prevent the healing so I caught the train out there. On the way I could see just how remote  and important the town was for traders crossing the desert as it was surrounded for miles by nothing but sand and scrub. I met some cool South African girls who I chilled out with for a couple of days before they headed into the desert on a camel trek, I couldn't join because of my back but had done so in the Taklamakan Desert in China so was not to bothered. I spend most of my time exploring the interesting back streets and inside the fort where I would climb the steps to the highest restaurant and watch the sunset over the desert whilst enjoying a beer.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228223640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228223640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1228223640/tpod.html Wed, 27 May 2009 09:59:20 -0400 Out Of The Valley & Over the Hills

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Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

After my time in Mcleod I was still now where near better and not so debilitated, now walking around ok and felt I could move on and at least explore a new place. I decided that the worst thing for my back would be to ride the bike on the bumpy roads but didn't want to leave it behind as I decided I was going to continue riding once I was fully recovered. After all I had successfully traversed all the hardest roads in the snow and ice in the North of India and was just unlucky to get hit on one of the easier roads. I still had the dream of riding down the east coast and catching fish every day. I decide to put my bike on the train as luggage.........This seemed to be quite a straightforward process although with the language barrier turned out quite complicated. My bike was wrapped up in straw to protect the paint work I was assured that it would be loaded on my train. It was wheeled out and put on the platform ready, along with some other bikes and all sorts of packages to be loaded on so I went to go and find my seat as the train approached the platform. I found my bed and put my backpack down. After not long the train was off and a couple of nights later after the long journey I arrived at Jodhpur 6am in the morning.I headed to the back off the train to supervise my bike being unloaded (and now realized that I should of supervised it actually being loaded) as it was no where to be found. Call me cynical but I automatically assumed the worst and thought that someone must have stolen it in the ni ght and started to panic. I didn't have insurance and if this was the case it would just be a total loss, and even worst I may never see the bike again that Id now been through quite alot on. I had to hang around the station until 9am until the station master to showed up, he didn't seem much help and I had to get quite angry (which I didn't want to as I thought it  wouldn't help anyone, but apparently it did) to get any sort of response from him and mention the tourist police a couple of time, after not long he seemed to jump into action and started to make some calls and telling me things I didn't want to hear. After a whole day of tired inquire s and trips to meet various different people I had concluded that my bike had been wrongly taken off in the middle of he night but not stolen......I tried to arrange for it to be put on the next train and was told that it would be. The next day it did not arrive and I was again worried fearing the worst, although I was told this was because the train was too full??? I got the mans mobile number and hassled him all the next day, making him promise that he would ring the station and personally make sure they put my bike on, whilst he was now saying he didn't have a number to contact them on. After another stressful day of trying to contact the station where my bike 'apparently' was and then speaking to a guy who spoke very little English I went to bed thin king this could be a long night. I was woken the next day at 5:30am to a phone call from the guy who Id been hassling explaining and sounding quite happy himself that my bike has just arrived....it was very early but I couldn't get back to sleep after the news. I strolled down the empty streets of Jodhpur which have open sewers, are normally smelly and so hectic, hot and full of cow shit but somehow, this morning as the rest of the town was asleep and the world was waking up the streets did have a certain charm about them giving me the feeling that I was part of life in 1808 rather than 2008! I arrived at the station and the night workers had stayed an extra half hour to see me and that I got my bike. This is one of the things I love about India, is so hectic and to the western eye nothing seems to have an order or system but some how it does, a nd somehow it works...so I was happily reunited with me Enfield!I had a good wonder around the streets of Jodhpur and saw allot of interesting things but the most impressive was the Meherangarh fort set on a 125m hill. From the top of the hill its huge vertical walls rise over the city, it really was (and still is) a formidable feat of engineering, especially in 1806.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1224069300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1224069300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1224069300/tpod.html Sat, 16 May 2009 03:52:24 -0400 Out Of The Valley & Over the Hills

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McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India

I did indeed spend alot of time in bed as after sending the results of my Xrays home to a radiologist in England, via a digital photo and email I discovered that I needed at least 6 months rest. I could of gone home I guess but I decided I was young and fit and maybe I would recover quicker than this. Anyhow, if I had of gone home I would of been in bed all day probably watching TV and receiving unwanted sympathy. Where as here I could just take things very easy, enjoy the mountain view, the cheap prices and still meet new people every day so I decided to stay.Mcleod turned out to be a really nice place to stay for a month. I made alot of friends, founds lots of nice places to eat and sit, relax, study a bit of Spanish and read for hours on end. And very slowly but surely my back did improve, although it was more like from week to week, rather than from day to day.I ended up celebrating some Nepalese festivals with some of the restaurant owners, celebrating my own birthday there, where one of my Nepalese friends very kindly bought me a birthday cake and watched lots of live music....it defiantly could of been worst.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1222686480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1222686480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markwilliams84/3/1222686480/tpod.html Fri, 15 May 2009 03:00:09 -0400 Out Of The Valley & Over the Hills

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McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India

After Mcleod Ganj, I decided to head towards the western border of Nepal. A friend from Mcleod was also heading to Nepal and decided to join me on the back of the bike. Unfortunately after about 3hours of riding, I stopped at the edge of the road and after not long a bus came around the corner, forcing us and the bike off the road, leaving me nowhere to go but down a steep embankment. We, and the bike fell and landed quite a way down, the bike landed on me and the exhaust was burning my leg but I managed with the help of some Indian men who rushed down to help to get ii off before any real danged was done, I was still in shock and shacking with the adrenaline and went to stand up but soon realized that there was a problem with my back, but because of the initial shock it did not hurt that much. I went to my friend and she was ok apart from a cut on her head from hitting a rock. I got her to back to the road and a very kind Indian man offered to take us to the closest hospital, I managed to collect the bags before we left and off we went. As the situation began to get a bit calmer I began to feel the danged on my back. After a while in the hospital and seeing that my friend was ok  I tried telling the staff about my problem as I now could hardly even walk and was in great pain. They took me to the X-ray room but insisted on X-raying my chest although I told them it was the lumbar region of my spine but they did not understand (even after pointing), in the end as soon as they disappeared behind the screen I moved myself so the X-ray would be of my back. After seeing this, they at first looked confused but then the radiologist noticed that one of my disc's had been badly compressed and was slightly fractured at the side.Anyway, long story short, over the next 24 hours my back completely seized up as the muscled contacted to protect my spine and got progressively worst. I wasn't fed or really seen to (I assume because my injury was not very ostentatious, where as some people were coming in with blood all over them, for all kinds of accidents, one guy had been hit by a train and was not in a very good way).  I managed to get out of bed only a couple of times to see if my friend was ok and go to the toilet. I was in the orthopedic ward so saw all sorts of nasty injuries (alot worst, or at least looked worst than mine) which made me understand why I was getting no treatment. As soon as I was able to walk and bend a little to get into the car, we headed back to Mcleod Ganj, it was way to early to be getting in a car onto a bumpy road with my back but I needed to get out of that hospital and was craving vegetables and fruit to try and help my body heal. James (the guy I trekked with in Pakistan) now was here so I called him and he kindly helped me with my bag and also find a nice room, with some natural light, a warm shower and even a view (all luxuries for me normally as I try and find the cheapest room but in the state I was in I wanted somewhere nice as it looked like I would be spending some time in bed).
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