TravelStream™ news feed for member sonicbridges on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/sonicbridges en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:38:24 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1221188460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1221188460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1221188460/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:38:24 -0400 The Sonic Nomad Project: Travel > Music > Humanitarianism

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Burdett, New York, United States

<i>*Go to the bottom of the page to click the entries associated to the particular causes, organizations, and locations. The Sonic Nomad Project is an experiment in creative traveling through place and time using sound and music to engage my travel experience and to give back to the communities and environments I encountered. I sample sounds from the events and places I travel through and create music from them. For example, I've got water trickling under the Fox Glacier in New Zealand, Geckos geckoing in Thailand and an Urdu Poet Poeting in India. There's waves from Fiji and kids laughing in Cambodia and many many more. I make music (mostly beat driven dance music cause' that's my thing!) using and inspired by these sample. These songs will be promoted and made available to download to raise awareness and funds for the various humanitarian causes and organizations I witnessed throughout my travels. The places the samples were taken from will correlate with the places the causes and organizations are from. Currently I'm working with 4 causes (more will be added in the future): Fiji - Tui Tai Charitable Fund India - Lok Samiti India/Tibet - Tibetan Refugees Fund New Zealand - Auckland City Mission (Christmas Dinner) In at least one case already I've pushed the creative envelope a bit to make music using solely the sample manipulated through effects and looping but without any sounds or music introduced to the piece. And in many or most of the cases I will introduce the song by playing the raw sample first so you can experience the sounds as I experienced them in the moment. This way your more effectively introduced into the place and the travel experience as well as getting perspective on my creative process and how I manipulate the original sample to work with the music as it comes in. You can download these songs and make donations from sonicbridges.com. You can also donate by clicking above on the tab "Support My Travels" and I will give any funds I receive to the non-profits. If you want a donation allocated in a certain way or to a certain organization send me a message or email me (snp@sonicbridges.com). Otherwise I will spread the donations equally amongst the organizations. Each entry in this blog will be for a place and it's associated cause and the media (music and video) I made for the project. The beginning of the entry is the story of my travel experience and after it is info. about the particular causes and organizations. Some stories are short and some are longer. I'm still working on them so check back from time to time and you might see more as my time and memories come to me. If you want to experience more of the stories surrounding these places and causes you can go to the other blog about my travels and click on the entries associated to the corresponding location. (Links to the other blog will also be provided at the bottom of each of the entries.) The order of the entries do not relate to the order of my travels but to the order of the projects/music that I finish. Sometimes I was so inspired that I finished a song right where the sample came from and sometimes it was finished months later on the other side of the planet. Eventually I'd like to have at least one song for each of the 11 countries I was in (including America) and will probably compile and album from them. But this vision will expand to wherever I'm at and I'm not done traveling yet. So keep checking back and join me in it's evolution! <i>These are all amazing causes with amazing and dedicated people and if I can in even just some small way help them do their work than I've done my job. Actually I hope be a vehicle to inspire you to help them. There is so much great work in the world just as there is so much great need for it. It can all seem daunting and abstract. Through my art and my stories I hope to personalize some of this work to reveal something you can connect with to see the wonder of what the human heart is capable of and to help it to do more! <i>So...first up Fiji!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1223830920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1223830920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1223830920/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:35:16 -0400 The Sonic Nomad Project: Travel > Music > Humanitarianism

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Dharamsala, India

From my journal: In Mcleod Gang 9 or so kilometers from Darmasala. This region and in particular this town is famous for housing the Dalai Lama and his court while in exile. Not too mention inhabiting many refugees fleeing the Tibet from Chinese persecution. Everywhere you walk in this town you are reminded, through posters, and merchandise and conversations, about the cause of "Free Tibet." From my few interactions with the Tibetan people I sense from them a deeply rooted, ancestral, cultural, demeanor of calm and peace and compassion. It's genuine, there's something in there eyes that speaks about generations lived in quite majestic mountains with long dark seasons and endless vistas. There is a patience and a reverence that I've never seen in any ethnic people. Here there are also large populations of Hindu and Muslim Indians. So the food is almost as good and varied as in Delhi and very cheap. My accommodation is expansive clean and has a soft double mattress, computer desk, kitchen and large bathroom with hot shower. Then walk to the balcony let your eyes wonder into the valley below and they will naturally raise up over the sharp hills into the great white faced Himalayan peaks in the distance. All this for 200 Rupees or $5!. Mc Leod Gang: Hangin' with my buddy Hossi. Iranian born Belgium guy who lives in Goa. Cool cosmic yoga and mediation guy whose a spit fire with few boundaries or constraints. In his early 50s there's no sign of slowing, direct but kind and always fun, ready to make friends with anyone at any moment he can belly laugh all night at a party with people he just met that day and he can meditate, as he does every morning at sunrise, as deeply as the surrounding Himalayas are high.&nbsp; And Ness short for Vanessa who is a treasure. Tall graceful blondie, so full of rich wisdom and confidence...grounded and present, clear and guided, she speaks with assurance and listens with an open heart and eyes. A real gem, I rarely meet people that seem this worthy of complete trust. Other cast of players are my yoga instructor Lalit and his fiance' Ivana. Both incredible people. The yoga has been kicking my ass but also prepares me for the 300 old stone steps I have to go up and then down every time I go to town or my hotel. Beyond obviously improving my strength and balance the yoga has helped me to develop some much needed confidence. I've done some things with my body in a short time that I did not know I could ever do. The yoga studio is conveniently placed on the top floor of the hotel. Hossi's room is next to mine and at the corner is the room of Lalit and Ivana. -break- Last night, the12th, meal with 3 beautiful Russian sisters...up in Dharmakot. quite chill i played my music on a guys laptop and we a fantastic traditional russian meal prepaired by the sisters as some locals huddled in a dark corner smoking hash. The night extended filling with laughter and stories. Today the 13th I met and interviewed the director of International Relations for HH Dalai Lama and his administration in exile. I saw H.H. upon my arrival on the 9th or 10th. It was the last day of a 3 day teachers training he gave. Saw some monkeys, Eagles gliding everywhere, great merchandise and presents for family and mom. kind people, majestic views, cool nights, light rain, monks, cows, dogs and beggars abound. But it all kind of flows and none of it is jarring (except for obnixious car horns at all hours). great cheap food, dahl, side sauces, and 2 roti (a nice filling lunch, it's the ubiquitous meal known as Thali) for under $.50. Just as good and even cheaper than Thai street food. -break- On the 14th I had one of the best massages of my life. Recommended by Ness I went back to Dharamakot where she is staying to see Madu. Surely older than her zesty good looks give off, she's beautiful but wise, incredibly gentle but firm. Under her hands I both disappeared and was infinantly present to every sense of my body. If you ever need a massage come to India and find her. I might even go back one more time tomorrow before I leave. Cost is 700rs for around 2 hrs. That's less than $20! And oh yeah! The amazing Chocolate Balls at the street baker's! VIDEO: On May 13th I Interviewed Tukton Sample(sp?) the Information Secretary of The Department of Information and International Relations of the Central Tibetan Administration The video is his explanation of the mission of H.H Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration. The accompanying audio though longer is his summarization of the history of the occupation and repression of the Tibetan's by the Chinese Goverment. This song I made for the Sonic Nomad Project, "Meditation Glitch" is an experiment looping and manipulating the sound from a Tibetan Singing Bowl I purchased just outside of the Tibetan Monastery in Mcleod Gang (Dharamsala) shortly after seeing the Dalai Lama make his procession into the lecture hall. Donations received for this project (as requested by the Information Secretary following the Interview) will go to the Tibetan Children's Educational and Welfare Fund. To download the song in high quality 320kbps mp3 format and to make a donation go to: The Sonic Nomad ProjectGo to this blog to see the pictures and read about my time in Mcleod Ganj (Dharamsala) India. Other sites I've found that are good resources for up to date information and resources on the issues facing Tibet: International Campaign for Tibet TibetInfoNet
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1229011860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1229011860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1229011860/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:34:42 -0400 The Sonic Nomad Project: Travel > Music > Humanitarianism

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Auckland, North Island, New Zealand

Go to this blog to see more pictures from my time in Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland was pretty cool and mostly about Chris and the mad mad magical world he temporarily allowed me to visit. Another coushsurfing experience, he was the host with the most...of everything, hospitality, cooking ability, fantastic stories, and the kind of charisma and flamboyance that inspire novels. And I didn't stay on just any ol' couch No!...I had my own little cabin behind the house nestled in a thicket of garden delights, buzzing bees, and a friendly cat which Chris had refused to name to avoid becoming attached to it and giving it a home (which didn't stop the cat from coming in and sitting on one of the dinner table's chairs while we had our meals.) At the Airport in Fiji I was drawn to this fantastic and beautiful woman named Trudie. She was glowing after a conference with the self help guru Anthony Robins. We talked a bit about the stuff she'd learned, each others lives, and her home country and our next destination, New Zealand. (One interesting opinion she had that I've remembered is about New Zealand genders. She said that New Zealand women were really the power of the country and that the men were soft. The men had nice traits in their softness like generosity and kindness, but it almost seemed as though the genders had switched and the impression I was getting was that the men were more feminine and the women were more masculine.) The plane was full so we couldn't sit next to each other, but it didn't stop this angel from writing me out an entire itinerary for New Zealand. I planned on following it to the letter and aside from a few deviations I almost did. At some point I must have mentioned to her my desire to link up with a volunteer organization that was doing some charity work over the holidays, because it was through her that I got connected to The Auckland City Mission. It was Christmas after all, the time of giving, and the City Mission organizes a, now famous, dinner that feeds thousands of people in need (And in this case they don't define what this need may be. It could be financial or maybe someone who just doesn't have family or friends to join.) After eating an early dinner at Chris's I spent the rest of the day at the Mission dinner interviewing one the directors, talking to folks, and recording the sounds of the event for the Sonic Nomad Project. Christmas at Chris's was a delight and just nearly matched the character of the host. It involved an incredible feast and interesting company that Chris's rich life had involved like an expat family from West Africa, and a Maori woman that Chris had taken in when she was young and in trouble. Now happy and healthy she joined us with her fun and vibrant daughter and daughter's friend. Throw in a few neighbors going through some dramatic family events and wine to the brim, gifts, and a large Victorian throne like chair where sat Santa Clause (who was anyone who happened to be wearing the hat at any given time!) and a party was to be had! Chris had been so generous to me that I wanted to mark the occasion with something special for him. So in secret I enlisted each of the guests to come to my cabin and record a message of appreciation for Chris. I then made some graceful ambient music for the background to amplify the emotion and his Christmas gift was done. Staying with Christ in New Haven was a real eye-opener for me. You see in the US over the past few years due to the growing interest around Maori culture through movies and media like Whale Rider and then the hugely popular Lord Of the Rings Series New Zealand had become a hot topic. This coupled with living in the Bay Area of California where anything popular is distilled and blown up for it's esoteric and social importance such as the spirituality of the Maori and the left leaning progressive green feminist politics of the people gave NZ even more of a mystic. I even had a friend that told me New Zealand was the land of the next great spiritual revolution. That he was told that the spirits of the "Moriori" a peaceful tribe that settled NZ before the Maori and who were wiped out by the Maori were reincarnating and leading the rest of us in this revolution. Of course there's little evidence to this and the myth which has inspired such new age exaggerations has since been debunked. Nevertheless the true history of the Moriori and the Maori is a fascinating one ripe with invasions and war and cannibalism and also extended periods of peace (wikipedia about moriori and debunking the myth). The cultural museum in Christchurch has a nice but short exhibition of the Moriori. And despite the fact that the last remaining full blooded Moriori on record, Tommy Solomon, died in 1933 the descendants of the Moriori are creating a kind of cultural Renaissance today. The reason why Beach Haven was an eye opener was because it nearly completely contradicted the shangrila that the stories of New Zealand had been built up in my mind. Beach Haven once a real "beach haven" had become just another delapidated suburb of Auckland full of an increasingly marginalized population of maori and lower class whites. And though I wanted to believe that all the Maori in NZ lived culturally rich communal lives on the coasts my experience of colonization by modern western culture taught me better. But this still didn't lessen my surprise to see how amazingly similar the culture and look of urban Maori were like urban black's in America. In fact the urban Maori are refereed to as "Black." I know that hip hop culture has been one that has been easily translated and transported around the globe but I'd never seen an indigenous population take to it like this. It was so strange to see Polynesian faces in low riding cars with big rims blasting rap music and dressing like any kid I'd see in my old neighborhood in East Oakland, CA. Even stranger and quite disappointing was to see the parallels in racism between the "whites" and "blacks" in NZ and the US. Maybe I was sensitive to it because of the intriguing foreignness of being in another country and history and such, but it seemed that the racism I encountered was somehow even more palatable and apparent than what I was use to in a similar sized city in the states. I had done some research into the indigenous rights movement in NZ and had understood it to have inspired one of the most progressive and inclusive governments in the world. Many have considered the Treaty of Waitangi to be a great historical marker for peace and inclusiveness. Yet what I learned in NZ is that this perspective is usually from the whites, just as most history and information is written and distributed by the conquering and not the conquered. And although Chris had proposed several times, upon my requests, to take me to a Mori community and introduce me to one of his more culturally rooted Maori friends it never came to pass. His propositions usually came tainted with a sour face and descriptions of poverty and crime that revealed that despite his good intentions he'd do what he could to dissuade my prying on the subject. Other highlights were the walk up the volcano at Rangatoto, walking the entire West face of Waiheke Island, and hanging with Nicole, uber cool and creative chick from San Francisco. A few days before leaving New Zealand I returned to Auckland with some friends I'd made along the way to see Dj Axwell (one of my favorite producers/dj's) and others play at Groove In the Park on Waitangi Day (learn about Waitangi Day here). From my journal: NEW ZEALAND Prequel: Arrived in Auckland around 16th stayed in Auckland at Top floor Hostel for 2 nights (horrible place) before finding Chris who took me in and I stayed in his guest house in Beach Haven just outside Auckland for almost 6 days being pampered and awed and well, at one moment actually...frightened (let's just say it involved a clown outfit and gas mask and was literally my wake up call). Don't need to write much about my time with Chris now because it's all burned into memory. But&nbsp;with some more time&nbsp;I'll probably put some of the stories down for ya'. Retrospect: need to remember to reconnect with the amazing maori live wood sculptor that I met at a market near Auckland with Chris. We had a connected on a few levels and his girl was great too! Then there's Nigel (The First New Zealand Rodie- man! he had stories)&nbsp;and his beautiful family. He's created his life's ambition,&nbsp;an amazing outside venue for music concerts and festivals called&nbsp;Mountain Music http://www.musicmountainmatakana.co.nz/index.html The Auckland City Mission their own words: "The Auckland City Mission provides powerful advocacy, emergency assistance and social services to marginalized people in Auckland. This includes families and individuals living in poverty, isolated elderly, people living with addictions and people who are homeless. We provide support and services to ensure people's basic needs are met and work with individuals to improve their options for the future. Our services include an inner-city drop-in center, homeless program, drug &amp; alcohol services, crisis care, community services, community food program and redistribution warehouse. It costs the Mission $3.8 million to provide these services and only 9.1% of this is government funded." The video is of&nbsp; a short interview I did with one of the organizers as well as actual video of the famous Auckland City Mission Christmas Dinner that I attended on Christmas Day 2007. The fed and entertained over 1600 people and gave away some 30,000 gifts to children. The song posted here "Tongues of Fire" was inspired by the sample I took of a Maori Hakka Dance. The song is not finished but when it is it will be available for you to download in high quality 320kbps mp3 format where you can also donate to this organization at: Sonic Nomad ProjectGo to this blog to see more pictures from my time in Auckland, New Zealand.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1223620440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1223620440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1223620440/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:33:38 -0400 The Sonic Nomad Project: Travel > Music > Humanitarianism

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Go to this blog to see the photos and read about my time in Varanasi. Can't say I wasn't warned. It was so hot in Varanasi that I did not sleep for 4 nights. I couldn't bring myself to pay the huge extra charges for AC. Especially since I had lost my debit/atm card before leaving Rishikesh which really sucked. I had to have my folks wire me some cash. The only way I managed some rest was by soaking my towel and placing it over me as I blasted the fan. Of course it was practically dry and hot again in about 1/2 hr. Nevertheless Varanasi and the famous Ghats along the Ganga and cremation spots were a feast for the mind and eyes. I really loved it and made a great friend in Nandan a couchsurfing contact. I had hoped I could meet someone like him and although I would have preferred doing so at the beginning of my time in India I was grateful nonetheless. This is because he was a well spoken (spoke great English) intelligent purveyor of Indian history, myth, and culture. He helped me to develop an understanding of Indian life that far exceeded what I could draw from the the guide books or documentaries I'd seen. He was also involved with non-profit and humanitarian work. One particular effort he started is booti.org which exists to provide information about blood-borne diseases. India has now exceeded Africa as having the majority of Aids cases in the world! Nandan was also connected to an Lok Samiti (go here to learn more) an organization fighting Coca Cola from decimating the water tables of small villages surrounding it's plant outside Varanasi. It was a growing and severe problem and Nandan took me to one of these villages called Mehdiganj and the headquarters for Lok Samiti (doubled as a community center) to meet the people and see village life, while his beautiful wife Bunti taught some dance classes to the local girls for entertainment. A really great experience. Lok Samiti is sponsored by India Resource. The video is an interview with my friend Nandan Upadhyay who does work with Lok Samiti and tells about their story and their work fighting against the abusive practices of the Coca-Cola plant in the community of Mehdiganj (just outside Varanasi). The background music is from various samples taken from puja's and ashram's in Varanasi and Rishikesh. The accompanying photos are from my time in Mehdiganj and when I ran out of those photos I filled in the time with photos and video from neighboring Varanasi and my boat ride on the sacred Ganges. <i>(To clarify: the opening group shots are of women and girls from a dance class Nandan's wife was teaching at the community center that Lok Samiti started and has it's offices and maybe some of the female staff as well. At the time I think most of the staff was inside.) The other video is for one of the songs I will be making available to download on the Sonic Nomad Project website. The video is from footage I took of the amazing monkeys in Northern India. Most of it is from Dharamasala, Rishikesh, and Shimla. The song entitled, "Monkey March" is a piece I made inspired by these little guys (sometimes not so little actually). The sample used is of some tabla playing from my young guide and friend in Rishikesh named Vijay. He was so kind and helpful and never once asked me for money and on my last day there I gave him his wish of a tabla set. (His dream is to be a great tabla master and to make his family proud and financially stable.) So this sample is taken from the very first beats to come from this gift. The woman singing was from a cd of an old Indian folk record, from maybe around the 60's. I picked it up at some random stand and have since lost it. <i>If any Indians or anyone else might know who it is or what song it's from let me know. To download "Monkey March" in high quality 320kbps mp3 format and to make a donation to Lok Samiti go to: The Sonic Nomad Project<i>You can also visit India Resource Center which sponsors Lok Samiti and accepts donations on their behalf. On their site, as they say, "you'll find in-depth information on a wide range of issues involving corporate power, corporate globalization and grassroots resistance to it" in India. Go to this blog to see the photos and read about my time in Varanasi.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1223516880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1223516880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/2/1223516880/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:28:55 -0400 The Sonic Nomad Project: Travel > Music > Humanitarianism

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Savusavu, Vanua Levu, Fiji

Go to this blog&nbsp; to see more photos interlaced into the entry. Fiji was amazing and mostly about a fascinating adventurous cruise on the Tui Tai yacht en-route to the island of Cikobia to deliver supplies and water to the inhabitants there after being ravaged by a recent Hurricane. I arranged my first couch surfing experience for Fiji. I was looking for a person or people that would be associated to some humanitarian work I could help out with for the week that I was there. I found Suzie and Peter who work with Rotrary and they agreed to have me stay with them for a couple days in Savusavu. There are two main islands in Fiji the major tourist destination Viti Levu and the less developed Vanua Levu where Savusavu is the main town located to the South. After arriving in Nadi I then took a puddle jumper (see photos) to Vanua Levu. Then a taxi to Suzie and Peters. I was greeted by 3 or 4 barking dogs and then Suzie made her way to me in a lovely Sarong. Apprently she and Peter kind of take care of some of these neighborhood dogs and just have one of their own. Savusavu is a local town, quite rustic with a bustling farmers and fish market. There are a few touristy bars and such in and on the outskirts of town. I was instantly struck by the sincerity and genuine feeling of joy and welcome from nearly all the Fijians I made eye contact with. Suzie and Peter's place is simple and beautiful if nothing else for it's perfect location overlooking the expansive bay and Ocean. The dirt road travels just along the bay and their house is a steep hike about 30 meters up on the other side of the road. I could tell they were an interesting couple as well as individuals with a rich and dynamic history. Suzie is a Kiwi and Peter is a Russian, so before you even hear their stories their heavy differing accents fill a room with cultural richness. My "couch" was there spare bedroom...very nice. I was greeted with kindness and after an open air outside shower they made me some fresh banana smoothies picked just off their porch. Paradise!!! We went snorkeling the next day at some great reef a short hike from their house. I had arrived just a few days after a massive hurricane just missed Fiji. Or so I thought. It turned out, I learned later at the Rotary's meeting, that there was one island that was hit hard on the outskirts of the group of island called Cikobia. One of the board's members was the manager of a tourist adventure yacht called the Tui Tai that becuse of it's expansive itinerary, and also the generous ethos of the operators and staff, often delivers supplies to these far reaching islands when needed. As I learned later this kind of humanitarian work is actually a core value of the Tui Tai's mission and they have set up a fund for their patrons and others to provide money and labor for such emergency aid or planned projects for schools and other infrastructure. Rotary had agreed to make a substantial donation of Fiji water to the island of around a few hundred cases. They needed at least one representative of Rotary to take the journey and everyone had jobs or previous engagements that prevented them from going. including the manager. That is everyone but yours truly and the always adventurous Suzie and Peter, now retired. We happily volunteered to join the cruise a couple days into their itinerary. We would join them for about 4 days along with the patrons enjoying the island of Rabi before heading out to Cikobia. We could join them at this time because the ship would be anchored in the bay to the East of Vanua Levu and West of Rabi. From here they could take their dingy to pick up the water on the East of Vanua Levu. On the day we were scheduled to leave the transport truck that was suppose to bring the water from the shipping port in Labasa to Savusavu had broken down. Peter and Suzie went with some staff members to the boat. They'd get to enjoy the day on the island with dinner and customary dancing on Kioa and I went to work right away. I was instructed to hop in this big old truck with a beat up green canvas covered Trailer. Looked like a military vehicle out of the 70's. Inside was a big ol' rugged local who spoke some words of english and his two slender teenage hands who were bursting with vigor and anticipation at asking this yank some questions about American girls. They also didn't speak very much english which meant after the initial intro's we spent a lot of silence together on this long day covering nearly the entire expanse of Vanua Levu. I didn't mind...just being around the joyful vigorous energy of the Fijians more that makes up for anything words can do. After an hour or so on the highway we made it to the broken down truck. We were on a tight schedule to make the boat before dark so I was surprised to the see the two drivers making small talk before we started to move the water to our truck. Lesson one about fiji: There is no tight schedule. There is never a rush. If it happens it happens if it doesn't well...chill out and drink some more kava! I grew impatient and along with my teenage mates made a chain to pass the water. After a few minutes our driver joined us and we made fast work of it despite the heat and weight of a few hundred 2 liter Fiji water bottle cases. On the way back one of the boys motioned to the driver to stop at the top of the hill. The vistas here were amazing you could see in almost 180 degrees over jungle and sharp mountains and green and blue bays. I just breathed it all in before being handed a piece of freshly cut pineapple the boy had just purchased for us to cool down from the labor. Then he pointed to the other side of the road where a few kids were filling their canteens with mountain spring water coming through a rough piping system in the rocks. I got in line and filled my bottle with this wonderful clean refresshing nector. The children asked me to move to the front of the line seemingly to witness this fascinating anomly of a westerner engaging in their local daily practice and of course to be generous and kind (I was swiftly falling love with these people). We were at some kind of stop for the locals and travelers who come through here. I couldn't imagine where these children who were retrieving the water and selling pineapple could live. Accept for the road we were in dense mountainous jungle without any signs of inhabitants as far as the eye could see. I was so thankful for the boys kindness to ask for the break and I had no idea how much I would need this repreave for what was to come. For the next 4 hours, maybe more, we made our way over the roughest road I've ever been on. It was all dirt and in most places especially in the inclines and declines the, road now dry and hard, was mangled and bent out of shape from when trucks tried to make the pass when it was raining and muddy. The old military truck had a tough time of it but pulled through even without apparent shocks. There were several times when all 4 of us were in mid air after hitting a bump. And we were usually traveling around 15mph. The four of us were packed in shoulder to shoulder in the cab and the only way I could take anything but short breaths was when I could let the window down and get my arm and shoulder outside. But that wasn't often on this dusty road. What made this jarring trip more manageable was all the glowing happy people we saw along the way. I got the impression that this crew made this pass often and new most of the small villages and many of the inhabitants along the way. It was common for people to leave their shade structures and sometimes their homes and come jogging out to wave at us or yell some greeting. The young boys put on huge smiles and would energetically wave back.. I'd never seen anything like it. It was so wonderful! I felt like a movie star and to think that these guys might get this kind of reception on a regular basis made me think of offering my services as a third hand permanently. I had moved beyond love, to considering choices of living with these people. A couple of the villages had volleyball games going on next to the road. We'd pull over and the driver would make some friendly exchanges. Some paperwork might change hands for a job and we'd be off. It was getting dark and I was starting to get anxious but these guys were as cool as cucumbers. We finally made the pier for the delivery. But it as now after dusk. And the boat was no where in site. It started to sprinkle...... <i>OK... now at this point I'm going to have to wait a bit before finishing. You see I just wrote a wonderful conclusion to this story and was typing the very last word when something happened and I lost it all. It was long detailed and splendid and I'm really bummed! I've been waiting and anticipating months to revisit this memory and write this. So let me lick my wounds a bit before daring to rewrite it all again. The Mp3's I have posted, "Rabi Kids" and "Recovering Cikobia" are apart of my Sonic Nomad Project as stated in my profile page and the first entry. It is my hope that people will enjoy them and download them so that I can in turn give these financial gifts to The Tui Tai Charitable fund. To download the songs and to donate to the cause go to: http://sonicbridges.com/snp.htmlHere's what&nbsp;the Tui Tai staff&nbsp;say about&nbsp;their work: <i>Because Tui Tai regularly visits remote islands not frequented by any other ships, the company recognized that it could offer important assistance and contributions to the well-being of villagers living far from population centers. The Tui Tai Charitable Fund was established because our passengers wanted to make contributions to assist people they'd seen during their visits. In the last year, the Tui Tai Charitable Fund has provided medical support, advanced education, student housing, community development, building repair, new construction, delivery of important medicines, and emergency transportation. The first song, "Rabi Kids" (right) is just a&nbsp;uplifting funky island house song utilizing vocal samples from Banaban children who in a dance interpret their forced diaspora at the hands of the Japanese Navy and their relatively recent settlement on the Fijian Island of Rabi. "Recovering Cikobia" (below) is something different. It's an experiment in composition just using samples of the sounds from an environment or interviews.&nbsp;The first part of the song emerges from an interview with some locals talking about the effects of the hurricane. The second part is sounds of a Kava ceremony with some of the villages men relaxing after a day of fishing and rebuilding homes. As it's a fresh experiment for me it's probably not finished, but I hope you'll at least find it interesting and at most inspiring. Please enjoy them&nbsp;and if they inspire you at all,&nbsp;at least through their intentions, then&nbsp;go to the "Sonic Nomad Project" and give something (nothing is too small or too large) and tell others about it to raise awareness for the causes. You can make a difference 100% of your donation goes directly to the beneficiaries in the villages. www.sonicbridges.com On behalf of the island inhabitants, Tui Tai Staff, and me...Thank You, <i><i>In the last year, the Tui Tai Charitable Fund has provided medical support, advanced education, student housing, community development, building repair, new construction, delivery of important medicines, and emergency transportation. In addition to these on-going services, The Tui Tai Charitable Fund is currently collecting donations specifically for: Medical Supplies and renovation of clinicsA new classroom for the students of KioaSchool suppliesA new community building for the people of Koro IslandPurchase of critical equipment (generators, hardware supplies, agricultural tools)Scholarships for students in secondary school; technical, and vocational trainingEmergency medical careDelivery of supplies to areas not serviced by other ships *To download the Songs "Banaban" and "Recovering Cikobia" in high quality 320kbps mp3 format and to make a donation go to: The Sonic Nomad Project home page You can also go directly to their website if you want your contribution to be tax deductible (the foundation is a certified 501C3) If you choose to make a donation directly to them please let me know how much you've donated so I can assess how this project is helping and continue finding ways to make it better. Go to this blog&nbsp; to see more photos interlaced into the stories. <i>* Learn More about the tragic history of the Banaban People of Rabi Island
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1211967600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1211967600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1211967600/tpod.html Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:46:30 -0500 Astro's Around the world adventure circumnavigating the globe in 6 months

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Can't say I wasn't warned. It was so hot in Varanasi that I did not sleep for 4 nights. I couldn't bring myself to pay the huge extra charges for AC. Especially since I had lost my debit/atm card before leaving Rishikesh which really sucked. I had to have my folks wire me some cash. The only way I managed some rest was by soaking my towel and placing it over me as I blasted the fan. Of course it was practically dry and hot again in about 1/2 hr. Nevertheless Varanasi and the famous Ghats along the Ganga and cremation spots were a feast for the mind and eyes. I really loved it and made a great friend in Nandan a couchsurfing contact. I had hoped I could meet someone like him and although I would have preferred doing so at the beginning of my time in India I was grateful nonetheless. This is because he was a well spoken (spoke great English) intelligent purveyor of Indian history, myth, and culture. He helped me to develop an understanding of Indian life that far exceeded what I could draw from the the guide books of documentaries I'd seen. He was also involved with non-profit and humanitarian work. One particular effort he started is booti.org which exists to provide information about blood-borne diseases. India has now exceeded Africa as having the majority of Aids cases in the world! Nandan was also connected to an Lok Samiti (go here to learn more) an organization fighting Coca Cola from decimating the water tables of small villages surrounding it's plant outside Varanasi. It was a growing and severe problem and Nandan took me to one of these villages called Mehdiganj and the headquarters for Lok Samiti (doubled as a community center) to meet the people and see village life, while his beautiful wife Bunti taught some dance classes to the local girls for entertainment. A really great experience. Lok Samiti is sponsored by India Resource.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1198076700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1198076700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1198076700/tpod.html Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:13:58 -0500 Astro's Around the world adventure circumnavigating the globe in 6 months

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Auckland, North Island, New Zealand

Auckland was pretty cool and mostly about Chris and the mad mad magical world he temporarily allowed me to visit. Another coushsurfing experience, he was the host with the most...of everything, hospitality, cooking ability, fantastic stories, and the kind of charisma and flamboyance that inspire novels. And I didn't stay on just any ol' couch No!...I had my own little cabin behind the house nestled in a thicket of garden delights, buzzing bees, and a friendly cat which Chris had refused to name to avoid becoming attached to it and giving it a home (which didn't stop the cat from coming in and sitting on one of the dinner table's chairs while we had our meals.) At the Airport in Fiji I was drawn to this fantastic and beautiful woman named Trudie. She was glowing after a conference with the self help guru Anthony Robins. We talked a bit about the stuff she'd learned, each others lives, and her home country and our next destination, New Zealand. (One interesting opinion she had that I've remembered is about New Zealand genders. She said that New Zealand women were really the power of the country and that the men were soft. The men had nice traits in their softness like generosity and kindness, but it almost seemed as though the genders had switched and the impression I was getting was that the men were more feminine and the women were more masculine.) The plane was full so we couldn't sit next to each other, but it didn't stop this angel from writing me out an entire itinerary for New Zealand. I planned on following it to the letter and aside from a few deviations I almost did. At some point I must have mentioned to her my desire to link up with a volunteer organization that was doing some charity work over the holidays, because it was through her that I got connected to The Auckland City Mission. It was Christmas after all, the time of giving, and the City Mission organizes a, now famous, dinner that feeds thousands of people in need (And in this case they don't define what this need may be. It could be financial or maybe someone who just doesn't have family or friends to join.) After eating an early dinner at Chris's I spent the rest of the day at the Mission dinner interviewing one the directors, talking to folks, and recording the sounds of the event for the Sonic Nomad Project. Christmas at Chris's was a delight and just nearly matched the character of the host. It involved an incredible feast and interesting company that Chris's rich life had involved like an expat family from West Africa, and a Maori woman that Chris had taken in when she was young and in trouble. Now happy and healthy she joined us with her fun and vibrant daughter and daughter's friend. Throw in a few neighbors going through some dramatic family events and wine to the brim, gifts, and a large Victorian throne like chair where sat Santa Clause (who was anyone who happened to be wearing the hat at any given time!) and a party was to be had! Chris had been so generous to me that I wanted to mark the occasion with something special for him. So in secret I enlisted each of the guests to come to my cabin and record a message of appreciation for Chris. I then made some graceful ambient music for the background to amplify the emotion and his Christmas gift was done. Staying with Christ in New Haven was a real eye-opener for me. You see in the US over the past few years due to the growing interest around Maori culture through movies and media like Whale Rider and then the hugely popular Lord Of the Rings Series New Zealand had become a hot topic. This coupled with living in the Bay Area of California where anything popular is distilled and blown up for it's esoteric and social importance such as the spirituality of the Maori and the left leaning progressive green feminist politics of the people gave NZ even more of a mystic. I even had a friend that told me New Zealand was the land of the next great spiritual revolution. That he was told that the spirits of the "Moriori" a peaceful tribe that settled NZ before the Maori and who were wiped out by the Maori were reincarnating and leading the rest of us in this revolution. Of course there's little evidence to this and the myth which has inspired such new age exaggerations has since been debunked. Nevertheless the true history of the Moriori and the Maori is a fascinating one ripe with invasions and war and cannibalism and also extended periods of peace (wikipedia about moriori and debunking the myth). The cultural museum in Christchurch has a nice but short exhibition of the Moriori. And despite the fact that the last remaining full blooded Moriori on record, Tommy Solomon, died in 1933 the descendants of the Moriori are creating a kind of cultural Renaissance today. The reason why Beach Haven was an eye opener was because it nearly completely contradicted the shangrila that the stories of New Zealand had been built up in my mind. Beach Haven once a real "beach haven" had become just another delapidated suburb of Auckland full of an increasingly marginalized population of maori and lower class whites. And though I wanted to believe that all the Maori in NZ lived culturally rich communal lives on the coasts my experience of colonization by modern western culture taught me better. But this still didn't lessen my surprise to see how amazingly similar the culture and look of urban Maori were like urban black's in America. In fact the urban Maori are refereed to as "Black." I know that hip hop culture has been one that has been easily translated and transported around the globe but I'd never seen an indigenous population take to it like this. It was so strange to see Polynesian faces in low riding cars with big rims blasting rap music and dressing like any kid I'd see in my old neighborhood in East Oakland, CA. Even stranger and quite disappointing was to see the parallels in racism between the "whites" and "blacks" in NZ and the US. Maybe I was sensitive to it because of the intriguing foreignness of being in another country and history and such, but it seemed that the racism I encountered was somehow even more palatable and apparent than what I was use to in a similar sized city in the states. I had done some research into the indigenous rights movement in NZ and had understood it to have inspired one of the most progressive and inclusive governments in the world. Many have considered the Treaty of Waitangi to be a great historical marker for peace and inclusiveness. Yet what I learned in NZ is that this perspective is usually from the whites, just as most history and information is written and distributed by the conquering and not the conquered. And although Chris had proposed several times, upon my requests, to take me to a Mori community and introduce me to one of his more culturally rooted Maori friends it never came to pass. His propositions usually came tainted with a sour face and descriptions of poverty and crime that revealed that despite his good intentions he'd do what he could to dissuade my prying on the subject. Other highlights were the walk up the volcano at Rangatoto, walking the entire West face of Waiheke Island, and hanging with Nicole, uber cool and creative chick from San Francisco. A few days before leaving New Zealand I returned to Auckland with some friends I'd made along the way to see Dj Axwell (one of my favorite producers/dj's) and others play at Groove In the Park on Waitangi Day (learn about Waitangi Day here). From my journal: NEW ZEALAND Prequel: Arrived in Auckland around 16th stayed in Auckland at Top floor Hostel for 2 nights (horrible place) before finding Chris who took me in and I stayed in his guest house in Beach Haven just outside Auckland for almost 6 days being pampered and awed and well, at one moment actually...frightened (let's just say it involved a clown outfit and gas mask and was literally my wake up call). Don't need to write much about my time with Chris now because it's all burned into memory. But&nbsp;with some more time&nbsp;I'll probably put some of the stories down for ya'. Retrospect: need to remember to reconnect with the amazing maori live wood sculptor that I met at a market near Auckland with Chris. We had a connected on a few levels and his girl was great too! Then there's Nigel (The First New Zealand Rodie- man! he had stories)&nbsp;and his beautiful family. He's created his life's ambition,&nbsp;an amazing outside venue for music concerts and festivals called&nbsp;Mountain Music http://www.musicmountainmatakana.co.nz/index.html
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1209644760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1209644760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1209644760/tpod.html Mon, 22 Dec 2008 18:26:52 -0500 Astro's Around the world adventure circumnavigating the globe in 6 months

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Fiji, Fiji

Fiji was amazing and mostly about a fascinating adventurous cruise on the Tui Tai yacht en-route to the island of Cikobia to deliver supplies and water to the inhabitants there after being ravaged by a recent Hurricane. I arranged my first couch surfing experience for Fiji. I was looking for a person or people that would be associated to some humanitarian work I could help out with for the week that I was there. I found Suzie and Peter who work with Rotrary and they agreed to have me stay with them for a couple days in Savusavu. There are two main islands in Fiji the major tourist destination Viti Levu and the less developed Vanua Levu where Savusavu is the main town located to the South. After arriving in Nadi I then took a puddle jumper (see photos) to Vanua Levu. Then a taxi to Suzie and Peters. I was greeted by 3 or 4 barking dogs and then Suzie made her way to me in a lovely Sarong. Apprently she and Peter kind of take care of some of these neighborhood dogs and just have one of their own. Savusavu is a local town, quite rustic with a bustling farmers and fish market. There are a few touristy bars and such in and on the outskirts of town. I was instantly struck by the sincerity and genuine feeling of joy and welcome from nearly all the Fijians I made eye contact with. Suzie and Peter's place is simple and beautiful if nothing else for it's perfect location overlooking the expansive bay and Ocean. The dirt road travels just along the bay and their house is a steep hike about 30 meters up on the other side of the road. I could tell they were an interesting couple as well as individuals with a rich and dynamic history. Suzie is a Kiwi and Peter is a Russian, so before you even hear their stories their heavy differing accents fill a room with cultural richness. My "couch" was there spare bedroom...very nice. I was greeted with kindness and after an open air outside shower they made me some fresh banana smoothies picked just off their porch. Paradise!!! We went snorkeling the next day at some great reef a short hike from their house. I had arrived just a few days after a massive hurricane just missed Fiji. Or so I thought. It turned out, I learned later at the Rotary's meeting, that there was one island that was hit hard on the outskirts of the group of island called Cikobia. One of the board's members was the manager of a tourist adventure yacht called the Tui Tai that becuse of it's expansive itinerary, and also the generous ethos of the operators and staff, often delivers supplies to these far reaching islands when needed. As I learned later this kind of humanitarian work is actually a core value of the Tui Tai's mission and they have set up a fund for their patrons and others to provide money and labor for such emergency aid or planned projects for schools and other infrastructure. Rotary had agreed to make a substantial donation of Fiji water to the island of around a few hundred cases. The picture below of the water delivery is maybe only 1/5th of the total. They needed at least one representative of Rotary to take the journey and everyone had jobs or previous engagements that prevented them from going. including the manager. That is everyone but yours truly and the always adventurous Suzie and Peter now retired. We happily volunteered to join the cruise a couple days into their intinerary. We would join them for about 4 days along with the patrons enjoying the island of Rabi before heading out to Cikobia. We could join them at this time because the ship would be anchored in the bay to the East of Vanua Levu and West of Rabi. From here they could take their dingy to pick up the water on the East of Vanua Levu. On the day we were scheduled to leave the transport truck that was suppose to bring the water from the shipping port in Labasa to Savusavu had broken down. Peter and Suzie went with some staff members to the boat. They'd get to enjoy the day on the island with dinner and customary dancing on Kioa and I went to work right away. I was instructed to hop in this big old truck with a beat up green canvas covered Trailer. Looked like a military vehicle out of the 70's. Inside was a big ol' rugged local who spoke some words of english and his two slender teenage hands who were bursting with vigor and anticipation at asking this yank some questions about American girls. They also didn't speak very much english which meant after the initial intro's we spent a lot of silence together on this long day covering nearly the entire expanse of Vanua Levu. I didn't mind...just being around the joyful vigorous energy of the Fijians more that makes up for anything words can do. After an hour or so on the highway we made it to the broken down truck. We were on a tight schedule to make the boat before dark so I was surprised to the see the two drivers making small talk befroe we started to move the water to our truck. Lesson one about fiji: There is no tight schedule. There is never a rush. If it happens it happens if it doesn't well...chill out and drink some more kava! I grew impatient and along with my teenage mates made a chain to pass the water. After a few minutes our driver joined us and we made fast work of it despite the heat and weight of a few hundred 2 liter Fiji water bottle cases. On the way back one of the boys motioned to the driver to stop at the top of the hill. The vistas here were amazing you could see in almost 180 degrees over jungle and sharp mountains and green and blue bays. I just breathed it all in before being handed a piece of freshly cut pineapple the boy had just purchased for us to cool down from the labor. Then he pointed to the other side of the road where a few kids were filling their canteens with mountain spring water coming through a rough piping system in the rocks. I got in line and filled my bottle with this wonderful clean refresshing nector. The children asked me to move to the front of the line seemingly to witness this fascinating anomly of a westerner engaging in their local daily practice and of course to be generous and kind (I was swiftly falling love with these people). We were at some kind of stop for the locals and travelers who come through here. I couldn't imagine where these children who were retrieving the water and selling pineapple could live. Accept for the road we were in dense mountainous jungle without any signs of inhabitants as far as the eye could see. I was so thankful for the boys kindness to ask for the break and I had no idea how much I would need this repreave for what was to come. For the next 4 hours, maybe more, we made our way over the roughest road I've ever been on. It was all dirt and in most places especially in the inclines and declines the, road now dry and hard, was mangled and bent out of shape from when trucks tried to make the pass when it was raining and muddy. The old military truck had a tough time of it but pulled through even without apparent shocks. There were several times when all 4 of us were in mid air after hitting a bump. And we were usually traveling around 15mph. The four of us were packed in shoulder to shoulder in the cab and the only way I could take anything but short breaths was when I could let the window down and get my arm and shoulder outside. But that wasn't often on this dusty road. What made this jarring trip more manageable was all the glowing happy people we saw along the way. I got the impression that this crew made this pass often and new most of the small villages and many of the inhabitants along the way. It was common for people to leave their shade structures and sometimes their homes and come jogging out to wave at us or yell some greeting. You young boys put on glowing smiles and would vigorously wave back.. I'd never seen anything like it. It was so wonderful! I felt like a movie star and to think that these guys might get this kind of reception on a regular basis made me think of offering my services as a third hand permanently. I had moved beyond love, to considering choices of living with these people. A couple of the villages had volleyball games going on next to the road. We'd pull over and the driver would make some friendly exchanges. Some paperwork might change hands for a job and we'd be off. It was getting dark and I was starting to get anxious but these guys were as cool as cucumbers. We finally made the pier for the delivery. But it as now after dusk. And the boat was no where in site. It started to sprinkle...... <i> OK... now at this point I'm going to have to wait a bit before finishing. You see I just wrote a wonderful conclusion to this story and was typing the very last word when something happened and I lost it all. It was long detailed and splendid and I'm really bummed! I've been waiting and anticipating months to revisit this memory and write this. So let me lick my wounds a bit before daring to rewrite it all again.<i> The Mp3's I have posted, "Rabi Kids" and "Recovering Cikobia" are apart of my Sonic Nomad Project as stated in my profile page and the first entry. It is my hope that people will enjoy them and download them so that I can in turn give these financial gifts to The Tui Tai Charitable fund. The&nbsp;Tui Tai was the cruise boat that I was on that delivered needed supplies to the Island of Cikobia&nbsp;after a&nbsp;devastating hurricane hit it&nbsp;in&nbsp;December of 2007. To download the songs and to donate to the cause go to: sonicbridges.com/SNP.html Here's what&nbsp;the Tui Tai staff&nbsp;say about&nbsp;their work: <i>Because Tui Tai regularly visits remote islands not frequented by any other ships, the company recognized that it could offer important assistance and contributions to the well-being of villagers living far from population centers. The Tui Tai Charitable Fund was established because our passengers wanted to make contributions to assist people they'd seen during their visits. In the last year, the Tui Tai Charitable Fund has provided medical support, advanced education, student housing, community development, building repair, new construction, delivery of important medicines, and emergency transportation. The first song, "Rabi Kids" (right) is just a&nbsp;uplifting funky island house song utilizing vocal samples from Banaban children who in a dance interpret their forced diaspora at the hands of the Japanese Navy and their relatively recent settlement on the Fijian Island of Rabi. "Recovering Cikobia" (below) is something different. It's an experiment in composition just using samples of the sounds from an environment or interviews.&nbsp;The first part of the song emerges from an interview with some locals talking about the effects of the hurricane. The second part is sounds of a Kava ceremony with some of the villages men relaxing after a day of fishing and rebuilding homes. As it's a fresh experiment for me it's probably not finished, but I hope you'll at least find it interesting and at most inspiring. Please enjoy them&nbsp;and if they inspire you at all,&nbsp;at least through their intentions, then&nbsp;go to the "Sonic Nomad Project" and give something (nothing is too small or too large) or tell others about it to raise awareness for the causes. www.sonicbridges.com On behalf of the island inhabitants and me...Thank You,
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1196794800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1196794800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1196794800/tpod.html Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:17:01 -0500 Astro's Around the world adventure circumnavigating the globe in 6 months

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Burdett, New York, United States

And so it begins or since this in retrospect, "it began." I'm just so excited to be communicating in this invention of the blogsphere and I can only hope to&nbsp;honestly and honorably&nbsp;communicate the richness power and beauty that I've been so blessed to experience on this journey. I hope to bring&nbsp; you into these places to, taste, and smell, and laugh, and drink and, especially, listen your way into this divine flood of life I'm witness too. The entries you will see are mostly from my journal and unedited along with additional comments after the fact. And there's tons of photos for viewing pleasure. So, this is less of a travel blog and more of my current life as travel. I'm honest about what I experience and how I feel about it or myself as I go. &nbsp;Some of the entries are short and some are long. Some are just phrases,&nbsp;quick references and short lists of things I did, and some are well written&nbsp;in depth explanations of my days and my reactions when I had more time to write. All are subject to my moods and mental states so some may be deep and fluffy while others may be straight and gritty. Sometimes I'll add information or make an introduction for the entries, but mostly they're straight from the journal. Feel free to check back from time to time and check if I've updated ones you may have already read. There are&nbsp;often things I want to add and update as the memories and time come to me. I'm not on a vacation I'm living as I roam and roaming as I live and to edit&nbsp;parts out&nbsp;would&nbsp;make it&nbsp;a series&nbsp;of&nbsp;articles&nbsp;instead of what it is...Life! And since these are personal journal entries I also want to honor and be sensitive to those of you who are also&nbsp;in them.&nbsp;I've been honest&nbsp;about my journey but also discretionary and I hope I uphold your part&nbsp;of the story with integrity and respect (that might be taking it too far, but I should get points for good intention). If I haven't go ahead and give me an&nbsp;ear,&nbsp;or rather eye full. And I've also tried to stick to first names only.&nbsp; And then there's the&nbsp;"Sonic Nomad Project." I've created the other blog to focus directly on this work as it evolves, so keep checking on that if your interested in it and supporting some of the great causes and NGO's I encountered on this trip. <i>Engage with me. Feel free to respond, ask questions, or make or ask for recommendations, whatever! Dec 4th - Leaving the cottage on Seneca Lake Watkins Glen, N.Y. Had an amazing fall at the cottage with the folks, working on music and playing with some new DJ equipment and then of course planning for this trip. The plan was to fly first back to Oakland California, since I had to go through there anyway, and spend my birthday on the 7th closing up the chapter of my loving relationship with my ex Abra (aka Darjay). We decided to go to the hot springs in the Sierra's. It was magical and a great way to create closure for that time in our lives. There were some really great moments there like soaking in the outside pool in a virtual white out of snow! It was snowing too when I left the cottage on the 4th as you can see. My Aunt Mary Rita was kind enough to take me to the rental place in Ithaca from which I had a harrowing trip in the first snow storm of the season to the airport. All I could think of was how in a number of hours I'd be under a Palm tree on a Fijian beach.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1210066500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1210066500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sonicbridges/1/1210066500/tpod.html Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:14:16 -0500 Astro's Around the world adventure circumnavigating the globe in 6 months

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Delhi, India

Delhi: Glad I saw it, interesting to say the least. Bit like the first time I got to Bangkok only much more extreme in every way. Bangkok did help prepair me though. Had some interesting experiences and stories but mostly wanted to get away from the moment I entered. But it was really a powerful and important experience for me to see the Ghandi Smiriti (museum and location where ghandi was shot) as well as the memorial with his remains. For that I will always honor Delhi even if I never go back. I realize now that I was sucked into a tout ring that involved the tourist company that set up my accommodations from the airport, the taxi driver to the hotel, the hotel management, and finally, what a appeared to be the central motive for this elaborate business, to buy a trip package from a tourist office near my hotel, which I'm sure everyone would get a little kick back from. I learned weeks later from my friend Nandan in Varanasi how they are trained to manipulate westerners to get a sale and often set them up with sketchy travel packages that involve some kind of lie or extortion or scam. You can read in my journal entry below about the main trip they were pushing and what I read later in the Lonely Planet about this trip. The Lonely Planet does highly recommend just going to the government sanctioned tourist offices, and well it seemed a little late for me and besides I didnt' want any trips and wasn't planning on staying in Delhi for long anyway. From the moment I stepped into that first cab ride I new something was not right. And for the next three days I kept surpressing my instincts to leave this ring and get out on my own. But they were so determined and kept buying my trust with niceitese like breakfast, constant chai, big smiles, personal stories and invitations and an undercover ride to do some late night drinking in the Taxi (I would have been up for a bar but I was going along for the experience and they didn't want anything to do with the extremely high prices bars and hotels charged when compared to the pennies street brew came for). From the moment I stepped into the lobby of my hotel I was stopped by the manager. He'd directly and simply say sit down for one moment as if it was something important. Then a car would show up and I'd be taken to the tourist agency. They would ask me what I wanted to do and I would tell them how I'd just like to walk around on my own. They (when I say they I mean several men) would tell me the places I wanted to go were too dangerous, that there were recent terrorist threats there, that I'd be better off to take their taxi. Of course, I was skeptical but I so wanted to trust these men. I didn't want my first experiences of Delhi people to be based on what this all probably turned out to be...lies and coercion. Now I'm no elitest and as always in backpacker's hindsight I'm chalking this up to a pretty amazing experience. I did learn a lot and I wouldn't trade it, but not trading doesn't mean not disagreeing with or not disliking. And later as I gathered my wits I even learned to have a special kind of respect for things like this that I found distasteful. India has a tremendous ability to offer numerous opportunities for one to dismantle any judgements that might be held too firmly and even to sit inside contraciction from time to time. To give you one example of my suspicions: On my first day I hired one of their taxis to take me to a couple of the tourist sights in Old Delhi. I wanted to see the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid (big ol' beautiful Mosque). On our way to the Masjid we passed the Red Fort. I asked my driver why don't we go to the Fort first. He replied, "No Fort, No Fort...Terrorists! Fort closed." I looked closer and could see some pale skinned folks walking around and said, "Why does it look like there are tourists there then walking around." He just responed louder and stronger, "Terrorists!". They must have thought this was the line that would work best with us terrorist fearing Americans Now I don't really know if this was the drivers personal agenda to avoid the Fort or the agenda of the travel agency but either way I found it to be wrong. After coming down from the Masjid (I was also taken by a tout at the masjid as well. For anyone going, it is free...anyone who claims to be a guide followed up by a strongly suggested donation for their services is not to be trusted. There are no guides and the only donation should be to the man who watches your shoes at the entrance. And as I learned from the LP after going in this "guide" will just tell you the exact same thing you could read in the two paragraphs the LP has on the Masjid. <i>Note to self read the damn Guide books before entering the tourist sites.) On my way out I avoided the driver and hired my own rickshaw driver to take me to the Fort. And it was of course open and flourishing with tourists. But despite what I'd seen from the taxi it appeared I was the only westerner amongst the hundreds there. I point this out only because I eventually made quite a scene. At first I meandered around enjoying the vistas and the war museum. Even met a friendly college student who was eager to talk to a Westerner. It was so refreshing to finally talk to a sincere kind person. I wanted to latch on to him and make him my friend and guide for the rest of the time I was in India. I made my way to the main courtyard and bumped into 3 other young male college students. They approached me with wide glowing eyes. I'd never scene anything like it as if I were some amazing anomoly maybe like a famous actor or something. The ring leader of this small group just stared at me and took a couple unsolicited pictures of me with his camera phone. Then I took one of him. They laughed and we did some small talk. Only the one guy spoke a little english. Then each of them had their photos taken with me, thanked me graciously and as I moved on I heard them speaking excitedly to each other. Not too long after I was jumped by 3 young boys who spoke surprisingly clear english. They were quite agressive and woudn't stop asking me questions like, where are you from? What are you doing here? are you married? how much will you pay for these laser light pens? I could have put up with them if it weren't for the constant insesant use of a word directed at me that felt and sounded derogatory. It sounded like "Abraggon".&nbsp; At first they would just look at me and repeat it too each other under their breath and make giddy laughter. But as our time together grew and their confidence with it the word became louder and more frequent followed by bigger and more gregarious laughter. At this point I started to become more curt and picked up my pace or tried ignoring them or asking them if they had parents or didn't they have more interesting things to do or horass. Nothing worked. It all just seemed to egg them on more and people started looking at us. I tried to put on a smile with a slight questioning look and once or twice it sounded like an old women would hold a scolding tone to them in Hindi as we passed by. I started considering a much more loud and aggressive approach (or maybe running). I was not enjoying myself or the scenery after all this and wanted little more than to find my way out. Then I came across those 3 college kids again. They joined me and it seemed to dampen the little monsters a bit. They didn't leave but they got quieter when the college boys would also take a scolding tone to them in Hindi. I asked one of the college kids about the word they continued to toss at me, "Abraggon". He just shook his head and said something in broken english like, "Ohhh, not nice!" I took this to mean it was indeed derogatory in some way.These boys tried to ask me questions to practice their english. They were so excited and kept egging each other on to ask more. They kept their camera pics and videos rolling practically the whole time (might see this all on you tube some day soon). I only understood a couple of the questions but enjoyed their company and their attempts to be kind despite the harrassing boys. The younger boys grew agressive again and I decided to try to take a more direct approach and flip the script a bit. I stopped our little ontourage which seemed to be growing with onlookers and faced the main college boy I was speaking with. I was going to show him the American Buds hand shake that I use with my "buds." It's the arm wrestling grab with the finger grab with the snap followed by the fist knock. This is where I "made a scene". He seemed genuinely excited and grateful for this opportunity and his freinds looked on with jealous expectation. We tried a few times but couldn't quite get the snap down. Soon we had 15 or so onlookers stairing at our attempts at some strange ritual of culural exchange. I tried one last time and with determination and now our pride in the balance because of the growing circle of onlookers be finally got the snap. I cheered. the boys cheered and the little monsters cheered. And in the excitement the younger boys were temporarilty dettered so I quietly said goodbye to the college guys and made a slip for it behind the crowd and out the exit before the little ones knew what happened. From my journal: Delhi was insane. Insanely interesting and insanely disturbing.&nbsp;Something exciting and shocking to&nbsp;witness what&nbsp;kind of conditions humans make there homes in and from.&nbsp;It can&nbsp;only be described in extremes, kind and cruel, magical and disturbing, dirty and well...dirty,&nbsp;fast and slow, traditional and westerized,&nbsp;amazing cheap food and then Delhi Belly!&nbsp; Spent&nbsp;1300 Rs or about $35 US (most I've spent yet) nights in the Karol area taken in by travel agency, only spent time in there office eating, or in their cars drinking (bars are too expensive, so they buy bear and drink it illegally outside or in car, just like in high school) so time only spent&nbsp;either in hotel watching endless bollywood shows, or travel agency, or taxi, or tourist destinations, Ghandi memorial, burial, museum, Red Fort, Billa Temple and Jama Masjid. The Tour agents I got hoodwinked into seemed like nice guys but were hard salesman . Always hard to know how authentic someone is when there doing a hard sell. Only really liked and semi-trusted this one guy named Gopal, who took me around on my last day and dropped me off at Paharang district where i could finally get my good cheap guesthouse, food, and info. for next destination. Stayed at Major Den nice big room with 450Rs and finally greeted by people that simply wanted my guesthouse patranage and nothing else. They were also quite helpful to arrange my travels to McLeod Gang. Paharang was all the character and mess and maze and beauty that i had expected. It was sold to me by the travel agents as drugs, criminals, and prostitutes too dangerous to even drive through. They were lying...I didn't see any of what they'd told me though I'm sure it was there. They tried many scare tactics on me to try to stear me toward the places they wanted me to spend my money on such as various businesses and markets. They even tried to sell me a trip to the house boats in northern kashmir, which for the price they offered I almost considered. Then I read in the guidebook about these seedy agents and in a particular bordered section it said something like, "and above all never book a tour to the house boats in northern kashmire, they are ripe with scams." Well I got out of that by the skin of my teeth! Saleem was a cool bicycle rickshaw guide...through old delhi. Got his card and might have him&nbsp;take me on his full tour of old delhi.&nbsp;Red Fort was crazy and I even made a scene. Rude young boys wouldn't leave me along, real test in tough love,&nbsp;calling me bad words, then there were these&nbsp;cool and kind college kids who just kept shaking my hand and taking pictures and video of me with their cell phones. I got a little feeling of what it must be to be the subject of tourist's photos interests, like an old monk, or some tribal person. Then there was getting ripped off by fake tour guide at jama masjid. Hey 70Rs for a story. I've paid more for less before. After seeing places like the Alhambra in Spain the Masjid was nice but not as impressive.
]]>