TravelStream™ news feed for member nenebene on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/nenebene en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:34:22 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nenebene/1/1251952193/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nenebene/1/1251952193/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nenebene/1/1251952193/tpod.html Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:34:22 -0400 "Not all who wander are lost".....

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Aoraki Mount Cook, New Zealand

Once all the usual plavas were over with trying to get away on holidays…..you know finding people to feed the chookies, packing, driving to Perth, collecting Glen from the airport then the last minute retail therapy required so everything is just right, dinner with friends and a drop off at the airport, drink with another friend finally we boarded what would have to be the most uncomfortable red eye flight I have ever been on …which says something!!...NOTE TO SELF – NEVER SIT IN FRONT OF THE EXIT EMERGANCY ROW AGAIN" the seats don't recline back and for an over night flight not so much fun!!! Lucky the carpet in the corner of terminal 3 at Melbournes Tullermarine Airport was the perfect place to claw back 3 hours sleep! :o)

Flying into Christchurch was beautiful the sun was shining and while it was a bit brisk everything looked green and gorgeous and the snow capped mountains our first sighting of snow.

We collected our luggage and our hire car, a cute little Mercedes A160 and map in hand headed south to Mt Cook or Aroki as they say in Maori… After 4.5 hours driving we arrived in darkness to the tall ghosts of the mountains towering in the light of a quarter moon their snow caps glowing and enough stars in the sky to make you think you could reach up and grab a handful…BEAUTIFUL!!

WOW what a huge 24 hours of travel truly we should be a lot further away from home that at the neighbours BUT I have to say the neighbours being our Kiwi Cousins certainly do have a pretty home!! We stayed at the Hermitage Hotel, which faces Mt Cook and sits on the side of Lake Pukaki. We were pretty excited to be getting some sleep and waking up to all there was to offer in this region so dinner and bed was pretty much the order of the night. The food at the restaurant was fine dining and yummy.

Hmmm Yep pretty much all we can see are clouds clouds rain and more clouds when we wake in the morning…No Mt Cook…guess the heli trip to the top off the glacier is off…oh well maybe I can con Glen into a little hiking!! :o)

Our fiest tough of snow was a landslide that had come down the mountain to the roads edge….I’m sure there wuld be warnings about getting out of your car and playing in this but hey we don’t see snow very often if ever so we are all over this…brrr that icey stuff sure is cold!! Grin

We hike thru the Tasman Valley and see a Blue Lake and also some beautiful glaciers floating in another lake…of course I make Glen hike overland to get closer so I can take better pictures so a 15 min hike turned into 2 hours but it was fun and adventourous and the glaciers were cool to see. Cheeks glowing a ton of photos and pretty damp from the drizzle…still not having seen Mt Cook we headed on further south to Queenstown.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nenebene/1/1226731860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nenebene/1/1226731860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nenebene/1/1226731860/tpod.html Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:50:08 -0500 "Not all who wander are lost".....

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Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India

Well my last week was filled with shopping, massages and other treatments that are delivered for the purpose of rejuvenation...so no complaints from me except I probably needed a little more time between elving the retreat and leaving India to see a little more...what I ahve been exposed to was fantastic and the people friendly and smiley. I will return to India and head further north and experience the beautiful Ganges etc next time.

Sayign goodbye to my friends here is a little sad having spent so much time with them...also Muhan-ji and Chaggan who made our mealtimes very special with their amazing cooking skills and their willing to impart all their recipes to me was great...so peeps at home look forward to a few curry nights in the future!!

It was with a great tickle that Abdul my tuk tuk driver revealed his other secret skills...and Kimi you will get a real giggle out of this one as you could see Abduls full potential from his gorgeous smile and gearstick so it seems...haha...but it turns out he is the Tamil Nadu bodybuilding champion for the past 7 years running...he showed me his picture of when he was competing and I in turn took a picture of it...not him barley naked...:o)...to share with you all....no wonder I am still single Kimi I was too intent on the shopping and hadnt noticed all his attributes you so kindly pointed out for me!!!! lol... Jonny will need to keep an eye on you!!!! *grin*

So with another break neck journey down the mountains with Krishna I was taken to the airport in Coimbatore and caught my evening flight to Chennai where I will wait for my plane to Singapore then onto Bali....phew there is alot of flying in my future...lets see how I go with all my excess luggage....double the allowable limit AND I have shipped 5 big boxes home via India Post so I will let you knwo if we see them again...of course that initself is a whole other story of time I will never get back in my life sorting that all out!!!! Abdul was of course a great help!!!

Thank you to the beautiful people of India and the retreat for all their kindness...I feel a million dollars and can't wait to get on home to my family and friends!!!

To sum up the Ayurveda Retreat Hospital, it's not what you think it would be , but it is probably all the things is should be!! The people doing the yoga advance teacher training thought their experience in learning yoga totally amazing so as a school they rated it very high and I think the price was reasonable. The price is high in $$ terms for detox.rejuv etc but think if you need treatments you have probably spent alot of $$ putting bad things into your body so at least this has a benefit...don't expect glamour and you wont be disappointed with the results...I went for weightloss and detox and I was very happy.
Namaste!! xx
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Irleand, Ireland

This time after the long taxi, train, bus, plane, car ride...thankfully including a left over lamb sarnie for the journey I arrive at knock Airport in the west of Ireland where Ciaran and the two boys collect me from the airport for the drive back to their home in Castlebar. Catherine is working today so we will see her this afternoon. Till then it's me Ciaran, Fionn (2) and Tighe 10months. :o) Babies babies everywhere!!!! :o) Fionn has grown soo much since leaving Cayman as a baby and now he is in full prattle showing me all his barnyard animals and building blocks. He is just lovely and very sociable and ready to hop on my knee at anytime for a chat and storytelling. Tadhag (said Tighe) is the sweetest most placid baby I have ever seen...he just gurgles and chats to himself boucning away in his bouncey chair!!

It was sooo good to see Catherine, another Cayman refugee, who mind you is quite tickled with her new Irish Countryside lifestyle and looks fantastic!! We spend a lot of time catching up on Cayman gossip and news on everyone else who is now living elsewhere from Cayman.

We had a lovely lunch in Castlebar where I was able to do a spot of shopping and we also went sightseeing to Turlough House - now a museum with its lovely gardens and pond. Jetlag has definitely found me know and its pretty much early to bed before I rudely fall asleep while we are all talking!!!
Next we do the country drive out to where they intend to build their new home in Rossmoney...the views are lovely and it will be exciting to come back and visit next time when they are all settled in. The little towns are gorgeous out this way with lots of brightly painted shop fronts and stone walls and hedgerows boarding the roads....ahhh so green the old Emerald Isle!!
Catherine and I ventured into town on Saturday night for a glass of wine and a movie...we saw the boy in the striped pajamas....while it is a sad story, unfortunately it doesn't really ever involve the watcher so much that you feel connected to the characters...since when did German soldiers have English accents is all I will say!!??
Our final day on Sunday and Catherine does the traditional Sunday roast which is delish... specially the apple and berry crumble with custard I gobble down just before hitting the road once more to travel into Dublin. I am going by train and Kev is going to collect me in Prosperous, Kildare Co. It is another teary eyed goodbye, brilliant to see them all and hope that it isn't too long between catch ups!! Thank you for having me!!! Xxx
Now I need to be in Dublin to organize my Indian Tourist Visa...of course this if going to be tricky as I need it my Thursday and it's Monday and they say it takes 10days to get. Bugger fingers crossed for me!
Kev doesn't meet me at the train as he is running late so he sends one of his mates to collect me and he does a hand over somewhere on the country road...typical Kevin style...anyway it is a good a time as any for a pint so we all go for one at the next pub. Great to see him again...once more a Cayman not so much refugee but his sister lives there so kind of...we have been mates for about 5 years. I am staying here at his until my visa is approved.
I spend most of my week orgainsing my visa which they think I can have by Friday so I change my flight till then from Thursday and keep my fingers crossed...I fly to India on Sunday!!!

Busy week shopping and seeing other friends....great to catch up with Fluer for coffee, also exCayman!!! They are everywhere!!!!! and then a great surprise Frey and her mum were in Dublin on the Monday so we caught up and had lunch together... that was just a lucky chance and good timing!! :o)..

Brilliant night on the town with Ellen a gf and fellow Aussie I met in Ecudaor, Bolivia, and Buenos Aries. 5 bottles of wine latter she doesn't remember her bus ride home and I get off at the wrong stop ...lol...no biggie I caught a taxi back after the very nice old men at the local pub organized me one!!! :o) We then caught up for lunch the following day so we could finish our conversations...or at least remember them!!! And a spot of shopping...for Ellen's nondate..yeah right!! :o)
Kev and I have gone out for a few pints in various different local pubs out where he lives in Kildare...it takes me and hour and half to catch the bus into Dublin from there but it has been great having a home for a week and kitchen to cook in. Anyway the last night is my turn to cook the roast so it is of course lamb again a firm fav which both he and Martin the guy that collected me form the train station devoured!! No lamb sarnie for my flight tomorrow then!!!
The Indian Embassy came good and granted me the visa at 4.15pm on Friday and I flew back to London at 8pm that night.

Bye bye all my Irish friends brilliant to see you all...come and visit me in Oz!!!!!
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Dunsborough, Australia

Well after all the packing on Thrusday, Friday was the big moving day......one truck, one ute and one little car...that's mine.. full to the brim with all of my things!!!

Mum and Dad were amazing and in no time the house looked like I had lived there for years!!! yay!! finally my new home full of my things in the town that is like an island town but connected to all of the rest of Australia!!! lol.

I have a veggie patch ...which I have fully planted with stuff that might grow.....tomatoes, leeks, corn, capsicum, carrots, strawberries and snow peas....also a herb garden, basil, mint, chocolate mint,corriander, parlsey, sage, rosemary & tyme. I seemed to have assimilated quiet quickly to country living....albeit I am about 200 metres from town and 500 metres from the beach!!! I even have chooks...yes Nene the chook owner....I am not going to grow old with stinky old cats in my house I am going to be the old woman with the chooks....yaehhhh!!! I inheritated 5 chooks from the previous tenants...so there was not much choice to be had about the matter ..chicken owner I am...the "girls" and I have had a quiet and threatening conversation about egg production and the soup pot...they know which side they need to choose...needless to say if you are coming to visit bring an empty egg carton with you...I can't eat this many eggs!!!!!!!

I also have koi fish...4-5 of them I think in the fish pond outside...which has lots of green frogs there too...my favorite!!! not....but the frogs and I have also hada quiet chat and they can stay so long as they eat the flies and stay in or around the pond...anywhere near the back door and it's all over!!!! Flat green frog!!

I have possums too in the trees and at night time in the roof...noisey little buggers!!!!

The old man at the Rural Feed shop laughs everytime I come in as I seem to be getting quite the assortment of critter food!!! Strange for a traveller who doesn't have pets so I can pick up and go at anytime...looks like I could be stuck here for a while now!!!!!!

The house is beautiful and the gardens amazing...I love everythign about it!!!! Even more than C4 which we all know we nearly had to pry me out of...but this beats all homes I have lived in so I am very happy!!!

My Cayman Island life is over but I see one just as good here in Dunsborough....it is strange not knowing anyone in the streets tho...or maybe I should be grateful for things like that while they last!!!

Photos today are only of the garden I will post seperate inside shots as the ones I have are all blurry.

Next update will be about work...urgh....who woulda thought I would want to write about that....well I do because it is exciting ...stay tuned!!! :o)...or switch off if your bored I wont be offened!!! xxx
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Toodyay, Australia

Nannie Go Get Your Gun, The Secret Garden & the Magic Faraway Tree...... :o)

The Farm is in Toodyay...about an hour and ten minutes from Perth, this is where Mum and Dad live, a place of magical childhood memories that get relived by each generation. Playing in the creek, picking wildflowers and mushrooms, going to the orchid and picking bags of oranges,...soon to be grapes as well when dads vineyard is fully grown!! yay!!... building cubbies in the chook pen, now the horses have been swapped out for quadbikes and the cubbies not so rustic but solid built raised platform forts...still in the chook pen!! :o)

The Magic Faraway Tree that you have to climb a log thats fallen over a fence to get to...it grew really really fat and knobley so that any kid big or small can easily climb up into it's huge branches and be taken to a magical world!!! Read Enid Blytons book and you will understand!!!...old rusty tractors that don't go but in your imagination are as fast as lightening when you bounce up and down on the squsihy seats and make brrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrr rrrr noises!!! haha...I didn't do that this time round!! Big old wraught iron and brass beds that we used to need step stools to climb up into and old ball and claw baths that took nearly a lake of water to fill when we were little and were great for soaking all that red dirt and dust off us at the end of a big day out!!!

Today all those things are still there including a magnificaent garden...Mum has just had her garden open for visitors and I think about 400 people came through to admire it...I could liken it to The Secret Garden everywhere you turn there is another path that leads you off to something new...or a wee nook with chairs and a quiet place to read a book under a plum tree...or a scarecrow or lemon tree...or just about anything...it is beautiful and tranquil and has been also likened to Claude Monets- Water Lillies paintings with a sea of larkspurs flowers like you ahev never seen before!!! more English than any English garden I have ever seen and also a common comment fo the guests that arrived to see this amazing display of colour and beauty. The old Peacock struts around making it all seem quit surreal and charming!!! Now if you could imagine tennis players on the old clay tennis court and pitchers of lemonade under the big old gum tree you could be taken back to the 1950's darhlings!! :o)

Mum has still proven to be deadly with a gun.....(which seems to be a female family trait as my Nan could shoot a duck through the head while it was flying- nice but we are talking farmers here not suburban weekend warriors...this is life in the counrty)....whilst causally sitting and having a cuppa she gets up, gets the 22 rifle strolls to the back door cracks it open, takes aim..,..all while still chatting lets off a round...casually says "got him"...and puts the gun down to finish the cuppa....haha.....she did this about 6 times...she is shooting at varmin that eat her plums and peaches....Dad says he doesn't whistle while picking fruit anymore...*giggle....I had a turn the next day and well lets just say it sorta runs in the family!!! *grin*...we don't like to waste bullets!!! oh boy!!! Welcome back to Australia!!! haha... So sweet Nannie is quiet dandy with a gun...be warned!!! haha.

I had a lovely stay and really enjoyed seeing the changes to the old hosue and the gardens etc ... so of my 7 days in Perth 5 were in the city and 2 at the farm and now its time to head on to my new world...Dunsborough about 3 hours south of Perth and on the coast!!!
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Perth, Australia

Well on landing at Perth Airport I managed to pick up my dutyfree and then scarper on out to meet and greet the family...Mum and Dad had come down from the farm, Jeff & Amy were there with Ashlei and Zachy...it was all very exciting to see everyone...the kids where all hugs and kisses and chatty telling me all about themselves whcih is alot to tell because I haven't seen them in 4 years and Zach is only 5... so he was a busy little chatterbox!!! haha!! So lovely that they took to me straight away like they know the connection!

Suitcases are lugged to the two awaiting cars and the kids pile in the back of mum and dads car to ride with me back to M & d's place in Perth. Dinner cahts and then bed...tired from traveling what feels like nonstop for 5 days!!!

So much to do so little time...luckily I have picked up a car in two seconds...."one little old lady owner" ...thats right...my great aunt can't drive anymore so I bought her little car off her and had wheels from day one which is lucky bcos I will need them...have one week to sort my workd out nad them move it south to Dunsborough still finding time to catch up with friends and get up to the farm to visit as well. M & D only stayed the one night in Perth and escaped before they could be allocated chores in the relocation of Nene to do job list!!!!! RUNNNNNNNN!!! :o)

So new car, new drivers licence, new white goods, new bedding, picking up shipping packages from Freo Port that I sent from Cayman...finding all my stuff and where it is and herding it all into M & D's Perth carport so we can pack the 3 tonnes truck next week and convoy it all south...some culling of things that should have been thrown away 12 years ago when I left!!!! Lots of shopping..phew..I think I am finally over shopping ...my addiction has been cured!!! Visit to my hosue to check things out...sadly lots of repairs need to be made there too so more things on the todo list than before....urgh...but by Thursday one weel later the truck was parked in the driveway and Mum Dad and I ...with the late inclusion of Jeff after woork set about stuffing all my treasures into just one truck...oh and my car and the back of the ute!!!! finally done and ready to go on Friday morning.

Had a few fun times out in the city before scarpering...Subi Hotel...nothing has changed accept I don't know anyones face anymore....great al lday and night lunch there with Claire....one thing I will say about Perth...service in shops is fine, service in the hospitaily industry doesn't rate in my eyes at all...maybe the tipping system does work to good service....gone are the days of walking in the door and having my drink poured and on the bar ready for me!! haha You just about could drink drive here as its soooo long between service you are sober already!!! Im sure I will become accustomed to the new ways!!!!!

Had a great lunch at the Queens an old local and trusty hang out from days gone by...dinner at a great Indian place in Mt Lawley whose name escapes me..the lamb was amazing!!! A wee jaunt down to Freo for a rather yummy lunch with my friend Kelvin...followed up by some cool digerydoo playing on his part...not bad for a kiwi boy!! :o) Fish and Chips at Swish and Chips in Mt Lawley...which weren't nearly as good as I remember!!! :o( Great dinner down in the new East Perth precinct at the Royal Hotel/Pub...not sure exactly of the name but that area has been fully redeveolped and is a great place for evening meals from lots of differnt restaurants along the inlet.

Never got to Cottesloe for a boozy lunch but would have liked to...just not enough time....but there will be more trips back to the city once the shop is up and running and the Christmas rush is over...then when the summer rush is over then the Easter rush...oh well I will get there one day!!! :o)

Big thanks to Claire and Kelvin for welcoming me back and being my good buddies for the week...haha...you were probably glad to see the back of me!!! *grin*

My other exciting adventure before heading south was a trip to the farm....so read on if your not bored yet!!!

PS no photos of Perth as I never thought to take any!!!
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Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

Well the irony has not escaped me on traveling to Bali after the executions of the Bali Bombers and the Australian Govt suggestion that travel to the island of Bali be only if deemed completely necessary for Australians due to the risk of retailation etc and then for the terrorist attacks to have taken place in India, nowhere is completely safe but you can't live your life in a cocoon worrying about what might happen and where either. Heart felt sympathy to all the families and friends of the poor people in the Indian masacare, a shocking display of exremist mentality and their lack of value for human life!!!!

Anywaaaaay...... Whilst I might have mentioned to my mum I wasn't going to Bali I was... just for a few days to pick up some more stuff for the shop and to get a tan....I know Bali has changed ALOT over the 20 years I have been going...BUT I still love it so a nice way to finish this journey...a return to a home close to home that I am as familiar with as the streets in Perth...or maybe more so!! I kinda wished I had stayed longer as I always do 3 days wasn't enough when i spent one full day running around looking for stuff and buying and then the next in the sunshine and the 3rd tryign to make everything fit in my already overstuffed luggage!!!

I took no photos here as this is really just like being in my own backyard but as usual the food was yum, the people lovely, the massages cheap and good on the beach and the shopping great! :o)

Hello Bali ...bye bye Bali till next time I pass you through!

Oh still managed to exceed luggage limit by 30 kilos and not pay!!!! Don't think I am a backpacker anymore...3 suitcases full and a daypacka nd laptop!!!! One more stop and I am there......

Selamat Jalan!
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Ooty, India

Ok so my last blog from Coonoor was 10 days ago just before I was undertaking the first purgation treatment on my Sunday Funday which wasn't so fun!!! hmmm... Anyway a general overview I will say I survived!!

Which was a good thing as Monday and Tuesday where festival days here in India to celebrate Dwali...said Dvali...it is like the Hindu New Year a time of gift giving , dancing , dressing in you best and asking the gods for a happy and prosperous new year to come for your family friends and finances.

They make a shrine and put all sorts of offerings there with incense and fruits etc...but also your cheque book your receipt books, your bank accounts so that in the future you will have even more good fortune...If I had known I might have bought my debit card down with me to chuck on the pile...just to see if any of the money I have spent this year would come back to me...*grin*

We all had to put on our saris that the owners had given to us and place a bindi on our foreheads and join in for the ritual of Dwali....Bena another guest who is English/Indian helped us all with our saris as they are tricky little buggers to get on!!!!...doing a bit of happy clappy stuff...eating beetle nuts wrapped in a leaf...different! and singing along to a song in Sanskrit....which I secretly believe was the Hindu version of Coobyahhhhhhhh ...haha...I have tuned into a happy clappy sari wearing Coombyahhh singer in the mountains of India...go figure!! The new me....hahahahahahaha!!!!! NOT!

Anyway it was a happy time for the people at the retreat and who were we to rain on their parade...so clapping and singing we did...no celebration is complete without at least a dangerous show of fireworks....why do men love blowing things up!!???...anyway enough was enough when wearing my nylon sari a stray firework came a little close and all I could envision was a molten melted Nene in the middle of nowhere coming to an end...OK did someone say dinner I'm all there!!!! That was the end of watching fireworks for me.

Meg another guest and fellow Aussie and I go feed the monkeys every morning...not that I like monkeys or anything but they are on the way that we walk and the kitchen always prepares bags of food for them...so monkey feeding after first yoga class and before breaky it is....we then preceedto walk up the mountain to the next village...it has taken a few days but now the school kids in the buses all wave and yell good morning to us...and the shy children on the side of the road speak enthusiastically asking where we are from and what our names are. It seems to be the way here...Small children are always running up randomly and asking where are you from and what is your name...and then getting the answers running off and hiding shyly in the folds of their mothers saris.

I have been shopping in Coonoor...finally my perfect job...personal shopper has been realised...*grin*...I am buying some stuff for my sisters shop so that is fun and even better getting my shopping fix but spending her money!!! yaya!! there is a god! :o) I have taken some random pictures in Coonoor a bustling village with markets and tuk tuk's tooting everywhere...I have now secured the services of Abdul a Tuk Tuk driver who will come when phoned to collect me from the retreat!!...my means of escape! Well done Abdul!!

I have also managed to make it to Ooty another village 18 miles away further up into the mountains...the have a miniature steam train making the journey there daily which is very beautiful scenery wise and very interesting traveling wise....there are two choices...76 rupees for first class....$1.50...or 4 rupees second class....about 8c...all of first class was sold out by the time we got on the train in Wellington..so second class and 8c it was...standing room only for 45 mins...squished in like sardines...the Indians love their Sunday outing train ride and the carriage was noisy with happy weekender's laughing and chatting away....every time we went thru a tunnel they would all start whoooooooooooooooooing...like ghosts...it was quite funny...oh and quite tiring after 45 mins!!! :o)

Meg and I were on a mission to go to the Tibetan Markets so we tuk tuked it there only to find that it was a fixed price market raising money for Tibet....which is fine but it didn't mean it was selling anything from Tibet....but we did manage to buy a few lovely wraps and also some throws so all was to lost and the Tibetans were a little better off for our shopping!...we managed to secure a few more purchases from the various markets and street shops...some for the shop and some just for me and then we were back down tot the train station to try and secure first class seats back....not that second class was bad...but today was also the first day of my ghee treatment...meaning no food other than a cup of melted ghee (purified butter ) for brekky urgh!!! and with the added altitude 2600ms, pollution and noise I was ready for a quite sit down in a private cabin and a blank stare at the scenery!!! We were lucky and secured the 1st class tickets in comfy seats and sat back and relaxed...we got home at 7pm in time for dinner and then bed...knackered!!!

The rest of this week has fared pretty much the same I am into full detox week...which means not fun times...I am half way thru and will be finished on Sunday... I have to drink ghee for breakfast everyday...which is disgusting as it has herbs in it too...just the smell now makes me gag....and then brown rice for lunch which I don't bother to eat...one because I am not hungry and two..if it has no flavor I'm not interested!!!! I get to sit in a steam bath for 20 mins at 4 pm every afternoon and liquefy my toxins so that they will be eliminated and then the bonus for the day a cup of ginger tea....dinner is at 7pm and I can eat normal stuff...but I just am not interested in food at all so it is a picking expedition and I eat the soup and then its bedtime again and we do it over...every three days this changes to purgation...so the fun times just keep getting better!! BUT on the other hand I have lost 5 inches off my waist alone thru yoga and these treatments so I am not complaining...just can't wait for next Sunday to be over and then I start on all the lovely rejuvenation treatments and can go back to full days of yoga.

Anyway thats where we are at in the land of Nene..it's all good and the watery is amazing....before Dwali it was the end of monsoon season and rained heavily everyday...which sucked!!!! and was miserable...I was wondering how I would stay here for 4 weeks if that kept up ...but they always said after Dwali is winter..which doesn't sound good but winter here is 25 degree blue sky and sunshine days...and cold nights...as soon as Dwali came and went so did the rain...hence my what a difference a Dwali makes.....:o)...so now I can sunbake during the day and snuggle up to my hottie at night...no that is NOT a gorgeous man...it is a hotwater bottle!!! *grin*

Till next update Namaste!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nenebene/1/1224487500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nenebene/1/1224487500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nenebene/1/1224487500/tpod.html Sun, 26 Oct 2008 10:21:25 -0400 "Not all who wander are lost".....

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Coonoor, India

After leaving Kimi and Jonny's home in London I make my way to Heathrow to become one of the thousands leaving to go somewhere on this sunny Sunday. My driver is from India and thus begins the culture lesson on the place I shall be flying to today. :o)

It always amazes me that unlike American airports, which seem to be chaos filled, the larger airports elsewhere in the world are far more serene. There are no long snaky cues, no congestion, no one yelling at everyone to take their shoes off and get their boarding passes out... everyone just manages to do the right thing and move in the right direction with no drama! Refreshing really!!

I am through in no time and my gate is easily located...now it's time to sit and wait for my plane to leave. I note that there are only 3 other non-Indian people on the plane, everyone else is either returning to visit family and friends or returning after visiting family, friends or business.

Seeing as I have chosen to book myself into an Ayurveda Retreat I have also chosen the vegetarian option on the plane.... first time for everything...a little lead into what lies in front of me...and also a major detour from what I have been eating and drinking whilst being back in Cayman, Ireland and the UK!!!!!!!..I see NO PINTS in my future NO WINE and definitely NO RUM!!!...and for all of this I am not sad...it will be refreshing to see how the other half live!!! Haha!!! The old stories of going to Asia and losing a kidney in some back street operation will be reversed here I will go to India and maybe get fresh liver and kidneys again!!! *grin*

After 10 hours in the air I am finally in India, Chennai to be exact a city of 10 million...I am glad that I don't have to venture out there at 3am ... I am catching another flight with Kingfisher Airlines to Coimbatore, a town in the southern part of India, from here I shall be collected and driven a further 2 hours to Coonoor, high in the mountains and my final resting place for one month at the Ayurveda Retreat Hospital...now don't read this and think I am sick, they call all Ayurveda Retreats hospitals but really they are places to go and learn yoga, healthy living and of course detoxing....purging the body of the years of toxins that build up.
I will also be taking in some of the local sites, am free to venture into local villages and will be having cooking lessons.... so look out for your invitation to dinner in the future!! :o) The yoga component is about 3-4 hours a day with another hour of meditation ...this will be interesting as my mind wanders after about 7mins of meditation so maybe I will learn to relax and stay in the zone for longer while here!!

Krishna, a lovely older man collected me from the airport and from here we drove to the retreat...hmmmm...more like rally car driving dodging in and out of everything and everyone on the roads... I was pretty sleepy and I think this drowsiness prevented me from being too fazed by it all...well that was until we started the climb up the windy road thru the mountains... must admit that Krishna could probably try out and win at Formula 1... there are great signs all the way up the mountain saying "don't overtake on corners" Sound Horn on Blind Corner" etc etc...we just did the complete opposite most of the time...especially tricky are the hair pin corners where we would take the outside lane...the right hand side and people coming down the mountain preferred to hug the inside turn - left...just your average swap sides of the road rules that you don't see anywhere in the world...all done as fast as possible whether you are a bus a truck a motorbike or tuk tuk!!!! Oh boy!!!!!
I did arrive safely and as Krishna said he had been driving up and down that road for 25 years so I should not be scared to be with him...he says watching me instead of the road....urgh!!!! *giggle* what can you do!!? :o)

I am pretty shattered from jetlag but the day is only just beginning here (9.30am) so I am to participate. First I met with my Dr...he takes my pulse and whilst holding my wrist starts telling me things about myself...which are true and not so much medical...all this from my pulse...very tricky!!!

And so the treatment begins...we discuss my program of treatments...Yoga first thing in the mornings at 6.30 after I have knocked back a shot of something that smells like Jaeger but tastes a lot different!!!..hmmm like not nice different, massages in the morning...some sort of beating in the afternoon...I will explain later when I understand more....lol ... some more yoga before lunch, lunch- which was really yummy .... Now if all vego food tasted like this I would leave the cow alone too!!

There is an optional class after lunch but by this point I choose to sleep for an hour as I am fading fast due to jetlag. Then I go to my beating...lol...which is a type of massage and not painful but therapeutic. I don't leave traumatized only still a bit sleepy so I don't do meditation on the first day and opt again for a little sleep before dinner.

Dinner is again another wonderful array of vego dishes that I hope to learn how to cook...with another shot of the yukky stuff....and a little dish of green powder I am to mix with hot water before bed and drink.... It could be supergreens or maybe wheatgrass powder it doesn't taste bad.... especially now I know what bad tastes like...the non Jaeger shot which I get 3 times a day...oh joy!!! :o( It's a pretty early night for me, a bit of reading and then lights out I'm done!!! Zzzzzzzzzzzzz......

Day 2
I have a sore throat...I sort of started getting one in London but now it's really sore...:o(...but I take my shot of yukky herbal stuff at 6.15am and then off to yoga I go. Easy now that I have had enough sleep. Brekky is after and I get some yummy cous cous stuff more like a porridge but with veggies in it...and a lot yummier than cous cous usually is...I also get some lentil soup which is fine and lots of green tea...there is heaps of fruit and other stuff but I think the tricky yukky shot has something in it that curbs my appetite as I only eat a small amount of the cous cous and half the lentil soup and I'm done!

The other Dr comes to meet me at my room for a second consultation and he is even more accurate than the previous one with the things he tells me by just reading my pulse.... he tells me all about my knee soreness and lower back pain...hmmm did he read my blog about the Inca trail???...:o) He then went on to explain why this happens etc etc.... extremely interesting stuff. He also gave me some powder for my sore throat which he also detected thru my pulse..clever bunny!!!..He said it would be gone in a day.... warm, not hot, ginger tea and honey will also help!

The rest of today will be a similar repeat of yesterday...massage at 11.30, yoga, lunch, the highlight being the cooking lesson- where we get to cook some of the foods we have already eaten...yummm.... more yoga, then another beating and meditation which I will attend today!
It was lovely doing yoga in a big round glass room overlooking the valleys of green tea fields the fire crackling away and the mist rolling over the mountains this morning....it is raining as it is the monsoon season but with all that is going on the weather will make no difference to this part of my journey! The journey is on the inside where the rain doesn't touch!! :o)

The people who run this place are all Indians and are happy smiley people...they have a great sense of humor and unlike me they manage to remember my name and I manage to forget all of theirs...but I think I will start writing them down so that I can get my tongue around them all.
As far as the other guests there are about 17 in all, majority of them are students taking the yoga teaching training course and are amazingly flexible.... hopefully I will get like that in the time I am here. Everyone is from everywhere...there is one other Aussie lady, 3 guys - US, Belgium and South African, and the rest of the girls are a mix of USA, Belgium, German, Dutch & English....all lovely and very chatty and helpful! So far I am enjoying the change of pace ..Ask me in two weeks time tho when I am in serious detox mode and not eating anything but ghee for a few days....hmmmmmmm. Week four is rejuvenation so everything will be lovely that week! Something to look forward to.
My room is a deluxe room...which I would say was a very fancy backpackers room and not in the league of hotels rooms...but I knew that coming here...the antiques are really old wooden furniture not so much prized possessions, the room is big, as you can see in the picture and has brilliant views over the mountains and valleys. My bed is a king size and there is plenty of warm donnas' and comfy pillows, a TV- which I don't intend to turn on, a fireplace & heater and my own bathroom with piping hot water. So all needs are met. I will be comfy and cozy here for the month.
The cooking lesson was fantastic and it is amazing how easy it is to make great tasting food using a few ingredients and lots of different spices. She also taught us a lot in terms of Ayurveda medicine what each herb does or can do for the body if used to treat ailments or prevention of various illnesses, including diabetes which is totally amazing.... if the medical world would take note there would be a lot less people having to inject themselves all the time.
Meditation was good although I am not able to concentrate on the one thing for the whole time...I drift.... I think I would be better with guided meditation as I can't be trusted to keep my own mind focused in the right direction...but hey I might get better at it!! :o)
Day 3
I have to say it is the morning of day 3 and I feel fantastic...today's line up that differs from previous days is that I will also have a reflexology consultation. Otherwise all is the same as the previous two days except I will do an extra yoga class...funny in two days I can see the improvements in my capabilities so it's all up from here. I can't say I am missing anything from the outside world, I am even going to take a week to go into town so that I might break my shopping addiction!!! ... although I fear that with lots of new things to see I will buy stuff anyway! :o)
The intermediate yoga class I did today was probably the hardest yoga class I have ever done!!!! OMG...even all the student teachers were huffing and puffing and afterwards said it was really hard!!! So it wasn't just me...I was pretty pleased with how I went and was pretty tired afterwards, not forgetting red faced and sweaty...nice!
I am getting slight headaches after yoga classes I have noticed...I spoke with the Dr about this and he assured me it is just from the yoga...a yoga headache...that's a new one! :o)
My sore throat has gone and I feel fine about everything else.
Slight tummy ache at bed time but otherwise a great day.
Day 4
Morning yoga was good ...my lower back is quite tight so I need to do more to loosen that up but otherwise a great class.
Today is the sandpapering and the pounding treatments...joy! I am also taking a trip out of the retreat to a temple and market...I see shopping in my future.
Yep there was shopping ...not much as it is only a small town but I managed to buy a dinner set...Indian style... for those dinner parties I will throw showing my Indian cooking techniques off with the friends I don't have in Dunsborough!!! Hmmmm..... hadn't thought that thru well had I ...oh well only one solution...make new friends!!!
I also bought some little nick knacks for the girls Christmas stockings...so that was fun too. I had thought I would venture off on a train trip on Sunday to Ooty...our free day...but no the Dr has scheduled me for my Purgation...sounds like purgatory and some how from what others have said I think it might be similar!!!!...and I paid for this!?? This treatment will take 5-7 days on and off and will mostly be unpleasant I believe...can't wait...this is the serious detox stage of the whole show...no more daily massages...no more yoga....just bed rest and well you don't need to know the details!!! Ewww!!

Today the owners gave us all a gift...as if the sun shining wasn't enough...it has been cloudy and rainy for the past 3 days and getting a bit miserable and cold...but today the gods are smiling and it is a beautiful spring type day...birds singing....me still doing morning 6.30 yoga, now with the sun beaming in my eye and blinding me into a wobbly sun salutation due west!! *grin*

Anyway back to the gifty because we all like those for no reason....On Monday and Tuesday is the festival of Dwali...now I would like to explain what this means but I don't know more than it's like our Christmas except for the Hindus. So my gift from the owners was a beautiful green sari, which I am very pleased with!! :o) I actually even know how to wear one as my girl friend Layla has bought me one before and showed us all how to wrap ourselves up gracefully!

I have taken sunshiney photos today of us eating our breaky in the garden and of my surroundings this will give you an idea of what my little slice of India is like!! :o)
Today and tomorrow that is all will be very different on Sunday...wish me luck!!!
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london, United Kingdom

London for a quickie stay at the Kim and Jonny B & B once again :o)... Kimi and I go for a lovely girlie lunch down in Kensington a French Restaurant on the river....Jonny is back from country ending in Stan and we managed to have one dinner together and then it is over and outtie from Nene in London... I am once again "leeeeaving on a jet plane don't know when I'll be back again..." I am glad that has sown up all the goodbyes as this is tough!! :o(

Ok It's India her I come...yoga, detox and meditation....and after all those pints and glasses of wine...roasts and crumbles I need it!!!!!! Tehe!
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