Delhi

So sadly I returned to Delhi and to the AIPTF office to pick up a suitcase and say my good-byes. I was surprised to see Suresh, one of my PDP students had shown up to surprise me and say good-bye. I was a little cught of guard, as were they. They said I went away Canadian, and I returned looking Indian. In other words I picked up some sunshine in Goa that gave me a tan. They took a picture and so that I could send it to them. My going away gift from Suresh was an unbelievable sari the is multi colored and jeweled and sequence..it really does turn me into a princess. I tried to dress myself with the instructions I had recieved from Meena but they informed me that I must have missed a step...haha. So I wouldn't let them take a picture. I am going to practice and get it right. I am taking off for Canada in less than 12 hours...

t

Last days in Goa

The pool, the ocean and of course the unbeleivable view.. I debated about posting the models but you have to understand that I don't normally sneak into five star resorts but the men were just tooooo beautiful to not enjoy the view. There were seven of the guys doing some work for Levi and Wrangler jeans.

I spent my last few days in Goa hanging out with them before returning to Delhi and the real world of India. I was offered a job in Mumbai doing some modeling work ( which made me want to scream with laughter..only in India would I be considered a beauty) I kept get asked for my hotel room number and I kept avoiding the answer simply because I wasn't staying there! As well, I was very clear about my unavailable status but I have to say getting adored by beautiful men was really just too much fun. I finally confessed that I was not staying at the hotel and I got the official invitation to return the following day and hang out with them...ummmm I didn't refuse. They didn't know how to swim and I spent my last day in Goa giving swimming instructions to two of them, and really not complaining about it. Lets face it, not even in my wildest dreams will I ever be in swimming pool with 7 top models from Mumbai all by myself ever again...and I truly soaked up every single minute of the attention.

where in the world....

Well I have decided to stay put. I was going to head to a beach for my last few days, but the people in the place I am staying are really sweet. So the solution has been to wander over to the five star resort and pray that no one catches on that I am not staying there....so far so good.

I managed to stay the whole day in the beautiful pool area and hang out with the fifteen to twenty models that are doing a shoot here. Very beautiful surroundings in every way. Dakksh and his manager have invited me out on the town with the rest of the gorgeous peoples but I have to say its a little unnerving. I feel like I am in some magazine with the pool overlooking the ocean and too pretty of people everywhere. I am thankful that the extremely white and sunburnt westerners are around to balance the world of beauty. Not only can I camouflage in, no one even questions what room I am staying in...which I should really figure out, just in case I do get asked...

enjoying the beauty of India for a few more days...
t

Balancing to Bouyancy

So getting into the Goa Resort to do a dive is quite a task. But the resort is stunning with manicured lawns and a sunken pool bar that has a waterfall..very nice! I am not staying here. I am staying at Pete's Hideaway. I think it is called this because it does not want to be seen by the high end Marriot people haha. Its just hidden in a little hole across the street.

What it does have is very hospitable people that went through a list of city options for food, travel and sight seeing which included them photocopying a map for me..very sweet people. I was told to say the word and Grandma would be happy to cook me supper..and I think she seriously means her Grandma!

Sheets are clean, the fan works and the showers are hot. The only cockroaches have been the two that I imported from Mandrem in my luggage..nasty little buggers. So I am content where I am at!

I am tucked in this little place because I headed out in the dawn to check out the dive situation in the Arabian Sea. As promised visibility was 2 metres which is not the greatest for a diver. But the water was warm. And there was still much to see..you just had to be very close up to see it!

The pictures are of Vikar and the boat guys. The one of me shows what 2 hour long dives does to a person: wipes you out and also gives you a nice little mask indentation.

So although part of the dive was like being in a Saskatchewan blizzard ( because of the plankton), there was some neat things to see: groupers, barracudas, moray eels, nudi branch, parrot fishies, huge angel fishies and a ship wreck...okay Suzy's wreck was there for a long time but it was like being in "Finding Nemo" and ducking through little holes peeking at the schools of fish and picking up little shell snails that crawl across your hands. I love being underwater. The second dive was not as interesting as the first, however there were a tonne of sea cucumbers. You can pick them up and play with them, but you have to be careful not squeeze tight otherwise they will throw-up their insides(all of their organs!) and literally explode in your hand..I have never done this... quite honestly because I know that if they go into defensive mode it will take them months to generate all of their organs back..which means that they don't eat and it is quite traumatic for them.

The dive masters were funny and tried to joke with two people doing intro dives about sharks..unfortunately they didn't find them very funny. The reality is that the only sharks to be seen are nurse sharks and they are pretty harmless.

The last thing that made me laugh was the description of the parrot fish..it eats coral and poops it into sand. I was told today that a large parrot fish will actually poop out a truck load of sand in one year...all my time on the beach and I never realized I was lying in coral poop, it is still making me giggle. it reminds me of the termite mounds in Australia made 100% out of snot...its the things you never think about that really get to you.

Checking out Boloma for tomorrow night..not sure I want to stay in the city much longer.

t

Anjuna Market

So sometimes hiring a taxi is easier than waiting for a non-existent bus. It costs more but it has perks..like they will wait for you while you shop and take you to the next spot. The bus is almost never on time and sometimes doesn't show at all...hence I opted for the taxi and I got stp at the Anjuna Wednesday market... it was crazy and colorful. It spread out for miles and the tax driver parked in the middle and I told him I would be back in a couple of hours..the downside to having a car wait for you is that when you get utterly lost you can't just grab a different taxi...argh.

I got so utterly lost because many of the vendors sell the exact same thing. The small area is packed with walking peddlars and these little girls that clasp onto you and say " Madam, madam..please don't forget about me and my shop madam"..as they lead you into the depths of the market never to see the light of day.
I really wanted the singing bowls, and someday when I am not carrying all of m worldly belongings on my back I will be able to purchase whatever I want. But because that is not the case I passed on the singing bowls and did look at some of the jewelery. This is always a mistake...once you stop you are prey that has stopped moving and the hands come out and grasp you around wrists and arms and sometimes ankles. They have a mighty grip that is sometimes painful and just when you think your senses are going to overload, the man with painted cow and musical flute comes wander by followed by women and children begging for money.

I told the taxi driver two hours, this did not include haggling time, nor did it include be strapped down by four Indian women wrapping things around my wrists and ankles. And so my time at the Anjuna market came to an end rather quickly..I bought something from one of the vendors so that he would show me the way back to the taxi and I exited the streaming market overwhelmed and with a smile..only in India could buying a ring actually be a three ring circus...and I never did buy the ring :)

Healing the soul

Before I start I have to post the pic I took of the little girl who sat next to me in Mandrem when was writing e-mails. It amazes me that sometimes the traditional goes high tech--this was a hole in the wall internet place with home separated by a curtain. Her Dad said I could take a picture of her b/c she was making me look at all of her doodles on the computer, jabbering to me without a care that I didn't understand...super cute.

Well, I have made my way to Miramer...which is not much of a place but it is the home of Barracuda Divers in the Goa Marriot Hotel..slightly stunning hotel with full on security..I had to pass through metal detectors and get my bag searched before I entered.

I made arrangements yesterday to stop in at the Anjuna Market and then head to Miramer. Here you hire a taxi and they wait on you while you shop and than take you to your next destination. It is high class next to taking the bus. Especially when you are unsure if the bus is going to be on time, or for that matter even show up.

The day before last we went to Patric the healer. He was a lot younger than what I thought..in fact I think I expected someone with white hair..not sure why but that is what I expected. I have been having a lot of problems with my lungs and sinuses so I thought I would check it out. We left at 6 in the morning so we could sign up in the book and actually be able to see him..we wer not the first in fact by 6:30 There were already 42 people signed up and there was another 50 that followed until they finally wrote closed. It was people of all sorts, disabled, Indian, Israeli, Brazillian... a whole czech family (10). We had breakfast and waited for our turn. I got to sit in a chair and he stood in front of me. I shared the things that I wanted to this young man and he smiled and asked "Is that everything?" I said "Yes" and he stood in front of me with his hands out and his eyes closed. In the response to breathing problems he said: you do not have enough cilia in my nose. He said that without it my upper sinuses open and try and cleanse which creates an overabundance and makes it difficult for me to hear and breathe! All this without even looking up my nose...and yet more information than I have recieved from any doctor..or healer. He was a very kind soul and said that he would help me with time..I am not sure how but somehow it did make me feel better.

Sooo for the cynics in the crowd, the special note is that he does not charge anything. There is a donation box and a sign requesting that all people become selfless...in fact the sign went so far as to request items for nearby orphanages in the area (clothing, soaps, towels) It was very interesting..especially because I just felt good after leaving him..just really really good.

However, not as good as I did after the Ayurvedic Shirodahara massage. It was to create balance in the body and balance the dosha's vatta and kapha. It was sureal. I felt like I had an out of body experience. Who knew that dropping hot oil on person's forehead could make you lose your mind? It was more than just the oil..there was also a scalp massage..back massage... and the oil treatment...it was very, very euphoric and I would reccomend it highly to anyone.

This finished my day with supper and music and a bunch of hippies on the beach singing rajas...quite a day

t

When a day was long...

Retreating to silence only to break it with supper

Well I have completed my retreat...in silence. Apparently this is what the retreat meant when I signed up for it. I really thought I would be finding "peace through meditation" The meditation and yoga was a part of it, but so was the complete silence for all members of the retreat for seven days. No internet, no phone calls, and no talking to people on the retreat. Eating, meditating, yoga, group activities in silence.

It was the first time, when approached by peddlars on the beach that I was sad to see them leave :) I am soaking up the sun and sweating in the unbelievable humidity but not really complaining...if there was a place to be silent in it would be here. It is very tropical and green with less garbage than I have seen in all of India. The beach is right behind the retreat centre and so if I feel the urge to scream or talk to myself I can easily duck to the ocean. We were supposed to go to a healer (India's Jesus), a couple of days ago but it has been postponed until tomorrow morning. He is supposed to be quite amazing. I haven't figured out what I want healed but I am sure I will think of something just to have the experience and then I am going fo some Ayurvedic Shirodhara. I am really not sure what the whole thing is except that they pour hot oil on your forehead for an hour and then give you some kind of massage. It is supposed to balance the vatta and soothe the kaffa in me. It is a naturalist healing. By the time I make it home I will be blessed, meditated and healed and be dying to talk.

It actually hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. The first couple of days were rough and then you softened into it and started to really erase some of the busyness of the mind.... and man is my mind busy :) I actually came to realize that it had been so long since I had talked to anyone Canadian that I had somehow picked up pidgin English with strange Brazilian, Cezch, British, German lilts ( we are a bit of a motley crew with homes all over the place). I am glad no one could hear me speak, my inner voice was all messed up. I had actually forgotten how to Canadian pronounce things and it made my mind spin a little. Now I have my voice back and it is a struggle to start speaking.....where to go from here?

I am heading down south to check out the dive situation before getting on a plane and returning to Delhi. And then back to Canada and a Canadian accent! I am only home for 1.5 days..long enough to get my Mom to cut my hair ( I hope) and give my dog a long cuddle and then Rufas and I are heading on the Mystery Tour 2007. He has been pretty good about not sharing the actually destination... although I have a few ideas. I really am still quite happy that I don't have to think about it or plan anything and I think he is happy that I am not involved in the planning!!

I missed some steps along the way with the speaking ban..so I what I forgot to share here, I may be able to fill in the holes upon my return. I hope all is well at home and spring is around the corner

xot