India, Kerala Feb 14 to Mar 13

Me and Ana in front of the gorgeous lake outside the Sivananda Ashrum outside Trivandrum.

So from Malaysia I flew into Trichirepalli in south central India (Im butchering the spelling) and I waited about 5 hours at the tiny airport to get a connecting flight to the main airport on the south west coast of India, Trivandrum. From there I would take a short train ride to meet up with Ana and Jesse in Varkala Beach. While waiting in the airport I finally opened up my India guide book for the first time and read up on Indian history; I even took notes. Then got on my connecting flight and within two hours of arriving at Trivandrum airport, I already saw that India was not the third world disaster that everyone leads you to believe. There was some pushing in the airport, but things were easy to follow and people were helpful. I got to the Trivandrum train station and immediately met some British girls who said they loved India and this was their 2nd trip here. Europeans are amazing; they travel everywhere and have none of the hang ups about places like India the way some Americans seem to. The trains were easy to follow, comfortable and extremely cheap, although it pays to use the, "breathe through the mouth" method when using the Indian style squat toilets. So after a 30 min train ride and 2 min auto-rickshaw ride, I arrived at Varkala Beach and before I even started looking for the meetup point, I spotted Ana running up to me. The beach was beautiful with smooth sand and a cliff parallel to the beach, which is lined with shops and restaurants. I had an enormous grilled fish for about $4, which is a lot by Indian standards, and got a good nights rest. The next day Ana and I went to the Sivananda Yoga Center for a week long ashrum stay. The ride on the Indian bus to get there was so much fun; bouncing around, driving through bustling towns. It seemed that the driver used the horn more than the steering wheel so people and animals moved out of the way. We got to the Ashrum safe that evening and as soon as we got there, as I would realize is the norm in India, the electricity went out. So using my handy flashlight, one of the ashrum workers guided us to the kitchen to sneak in a late dinner, which was all small portions of a few vegetarian curries and big puffy rice with little to no spice and DELICIOUS. We blissfully ate in the darkness. Welcome to Keralan food. (I thought I was suppose to lose 50 pounds in Indian not develop a taste for a new cuisine!) We got two dorm beds in a charming, basic dorm style set up with a bunch of other girls of all ages from all over the world. I felt comfortable instantly even though I had walked through the place in darkness. For the next 7 days this was our strict schedule: 6am - 7:30am Satsung (Meditation and chanting), Tea time (awesome masala chai!) 8 - 10am Yoga Asana Class (30 min breathing and 90 min postures), 10-11am brunch (mild curries, fresh veggies, boiled water with herbs- all of us sat on the floor, ate with our hands and had to wash our own plates when done) 11 -12pm Karma Yoga (we were each given a duty to do while at the ashrum to help in the running of the place- my job was to clean the toilets of my dorm) 12- 2pm Coaching class if you wanted extra help or had questions or free time, tea time, 2pm - 4 Lecture by Swami (teacher) about how to reach enlightenment, 4pm- 6pm Yoga asana class again, 6pm dinner, 8pm Evening Satsung (meditation and chanting). I cant tell you how liberating it was to not have any freedom! I didn't have to think about anything; I just did it, and it felt great to be in a strict environment where I was guaranteed good food, good exercise positive, liberating advice on life. Smoking, drinking, meat eating and PDA were forbidden on the ashrum grounds. Anyone could leave and walk to town and do anything you wanted but the ashrum was an ultimate detox for body and mind. I had two major realizations during my stay; First is that Hinduism is not necessarily a polytheistic religion, but more a way of life centered on openness. Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses were all mentioned in the daily chants as if you can follow the yoga teachings under any religious belief system, and that many Hindu's don't take the multiple Gods as literal, but more manifestations of the one "God" or "Life Force". The second and more important realization was that prayer or mediation is suppose to be about NOT thinking; NOT letting useless mind chatter control life. And its true; when you remove the mind chatter you remove judgments, separation-ism, jealousy, anger and dwelling on things you cant change so that you can let in peace, contentment and love. But undoing 26 years of hardcore mind chatter is no easy task and definitely a skill that will take more than a week to master!! But I'm at least learning!
The facility was very clean and being a part of the running of the place really made it homey. Did I mention the dorm room, meals, classes and lectures were all inclusive for $6 a night!? Amazing. Oh and as an added bonus we were there during the opening of another Sivananda ashram in Trivandrum, where we would meet the Maharajah of Kerala State. It was a big to-do with saris, flower petals and musical performances. Then we saw the 5 foot, 100 pound Maharaja walk through to officially open the new center! It was a cool experience.

We stayed at the ashram for about 6 days and I didn't want to leave, but we had to press on. The lessons learned are very much still with me.

Jesse & I along the cliff in Varkala. The beautiful and untouched beach goes on for miles.

It was great to chill out for 2 days in easy, breezy Varkala Beach. Next on the agenda was the Keralan backwaters in Allepey. Backwaters are apparently rivers created by pockets of land close to the ocean and are a beautiful site. We opted to do a home stay at a families guest house along the backwaters. We had delicious home cooked meals, (at Western level comforts), and got 2 walking tours of the backwaters and canoe rides. I never realized how much coconut is used in the south Indian dishes. They live and die by the coconut, and use all parts of it. Most cushions are made of dried coconut fibers. It was beautiful and interesting, but the heat was rising with each passing day along with the humidity, so we were happy to head north after 2 nights.

The gorgeous, serene rock formations of Hampi - through rose colored glasses.

Then we had an overnight sleeper train to Bangalore, and that's when the first India- illness occurred for me. It happened in the middle of the night on the train to Bangalore. It was interesting seeing how my body felt, and after a pretty interesting train ride and a day of staring aimlessly at the TV in the hotel in Bangalore and eating crackers, I felt much better. I think the intoxicating heat was the true source of my illness; its something my body simply had to get used to. Bangalore was crowded and interesting city, surprisingly developed and organized with all the comforts of home, plus lots of heat and traffic, but nothing Im not used to from driving in NY, it was just with rickshaws instead of taxis! (Imagine how much more space we would have o the streets of NY if cabs were the size of rickshaws!) The next day was another sleeper train to Hampi and this time it was an AC sleeper and I slept like a baby. Hampi, the remote city of huge rock formations and hundreds of ruins and temples was very interesting, very hot, with lots of druggy tourists and beautiful scenery. Ill let the pics do the talking for Hampi. But again the heat and humidity demands beach! So after two days we were off to Goa.

There are probably 20 or more beaches along the coast in Goa so we decided to spend a few days in the less developed south beach of Patnem, and a few days in the very developed north beach, Arambol. Patnem was very charming and peaceful. I easily could have stayed there reading and daydreaming for a month, although it was a bit expensive for India, (bungalow on the beach for 800 rupees, $16 a night, dinners around $4). Arambol was much more developed with an eclectic crowd, but very cool to check out for a few days. Thats when we started seeing cows in the middle of the crowded beaches. (Little did we know that as we traveled north we would find cows in the strangest places.) So with a heavy heart, we had to say goodbye to the beautiful, beachy, easy, comfortable state of Kerala, and get our teeth into "real" India.

We had our AC sleep train booked for Mumbia on March 13, and we were ready to see what all the hype was about this developing city. (Just want to add here that the train system in India is amazing. Its extremely extensive; we have had minimal need for taking buses. Although sometimes confusing to book online, the trains are on time, on target, with designated seats that everyone seems to follow, comfortable to sleep on, you dont ever feel threatened about someone stealing, the people are friendly and helpful, and most of all its incredibly cheap! About $1 per 50 miles for an airconditioned car!) I dont want to ginx it, but again, I think a lot of people would be surprised with what India is like today. India will be a major player in the issues of economics and the environment in the years to come in a way that it never was before. Mumbai is a great place to gauge the speed of change in India...

Krabi, Thailand Feb 4 to Feb 13

At a lookout point on Railay Beach in Thailand giving a sense of the striking combination of beach, cliffs, and trees. (And my camera doesn't do it justice.)

Well it has been so long since I last wrote that I hardly know where to begin. So, I guess I left off that I was flying to Malaysia having no idea where I would go from there. Yes, with a heavy heart I abruptly left Cambodia to meet up with Ana and Jesse, (A & J), in Malaysia. Air Asia flights are so incredibly cheap that it is cheaper to fly to Malaysia and then to Bangkok, than to fly there directly from Cambodia. (If you look at a map it seems ridiculous, but that's money honey.) So it was an emotional journey to meet up with A&J at the McDonald's in Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur airport. As familiar as always despite 3 years of living on opposite sides of the globe, there stood my childhood friend that I know and love. I had that one night to figure out what I would do from that point on since the next day they had a flight to Trichy, India, and I had a flight to nowhere. And I didnt want to stay in Malaysia because it was monsoon season there. I needed A & J's 10 months of world travel experience to help me figure out what to do. I knew somehow that I just couldn't go directly to India; that I needed a beautiful, peaceful, easy, mindless week to myself. And so they recommended I go to Railay Beach in Krabi, Thailand, which Jesse ensured me is the most beautiful beach in the world; a seemingly ridiculous claim, but I only had a few hours to book a flight so I went for it. I literally booked the flight to Krabi before I looked on a map to see where it was in Thailand. Since A & J had spent so much time in Krabi they were able to draw me a map of exactly where to go and how to get there.



Going to Thailand was exactly what I needed; I have been thinking for so long about every move I make for years and planning and organizing; I cant tell you how liberating it was to just take the advice of people I trust and not care what happens and NOT THINK.

Railay Beach. No matter where you go you cant escape the sunshine, towering cliffs and crystal clear water.

Railay was indeed the most striking beauty in the form of a beach that I had ever seen in person. I literally just arrived at the airport and effortlessly via bus and longboat (Railay Beach is only accessible by boat) and I was escorted to Railay Beach in complete mindless bliss. I had no guidebook, no reservations and no preparation, yet I was in a comfortable bungalow in Railay Beach within 2 hours of arriving at Krabi airport. The complete sense of EASE that everything happens there is second only to its beauty, and coming from NJ/NY, that ease was appreciated every second. And the prices, although expensive for Thailand, were sooo cheap; room for $20 a night, meals for under $4, and again, some of the most beautiful beach views in the world. I will let the pictures do most of the talking since the beauty is so evident. As for my own personal experience, that is something just for me. All I will say is that striking natural beauty sometimes is enough to shake people out of the depths of their minds, and sometimes its not. In the ten days I spent in Thailand I did little more than read, eat, think and accept whatever happened each day. Well I did a bit more than that; I guess as a true New Jersian / New Yorker I cant help but keep busy. I got my Open Water certification for scuba diving which came with 5 dives on local islands, I did an island tour including the world famous Ko Pee Pee Beach, I did a bit of rock climbing to reach a gorgeous lagoon (and almost died in the process), and I rented a motor bike back on the main land in Ao Nang and explored the island for a few hours which was SUCH a liberating thrill although I was only comfortable driving straight; turning, stopping and starting the motorbike scared me to death. I made mostly left turns since when driving on the other side of the road left turns are easier! I survived one day of motorbiking, but that was enough. I could totally get into the motorbike thing. It was just what I needed.

Me on Ko Pee Pee Island... the longboats behind me are the main mode of transport between the different islands and the mainland. The visibility of the water there was incredible, at least 20 feet. Breathtaking. ( I took most photos myself so they are close ups!)

So I had a flight to Trichy, India and I was ready for whatever would come. I left Krabi on Feb 13th and got to Trichy by Feb 14th. ( I had an over night layover in Malaysia again, and this time I went into Kulua Lumpur for the evening. I cant form an opinion of a country based on one night, but I definitely want to see more of Malaysia some day).. but for now... its on to India! (Its weird writing this when Im already in India, but oh well! Im probably going to stay a few weeks behind!)

Cambodia Part II Jan 27 to Feb 3

Well, yet again, I am writing past the event Im suppose to be blogging about!
( I think I'm repeating some descriptions but oh well!)
But I guess as a summary, Phenom Penh was a really interesting city. Being the capital it was much more crowded, and overall I felt that it was a "dirty", "hard" city... much different than the small town charm of Siem Reap. There were beggars everywhere trying to sell things, and many commercialized tourist areas that really didn't fit the tiny window of what I saw as "Cambodia". But we had some important interviews which revealed how bureaucratic non-profit work can be. Even if most of the politicians are on the same page with you, one person with a power kick can cause a lot of problems. It was a testament to the persistence of the non-profits out there. Right on! So we did the tourist sights as well, going to the kings palace and the Killing Fields and Prison from the Khmer Rouge. The palace was beautiful and rather strange; it was almost a self contained village. The Khmer Rouge was a communist government in power in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 who attempted to create an agrarian, or "natural" society, by exterminating all intellectuals, capitalists and people with foreign connections. Nearly 1.5 million people were killed through forced labor, torture, or starvation. The killing fields are now just ditches where their bodies once were piled, and the prisons housed hundreds of beds with barbed wire handcuffs, most likely used for torture. It was an eerie thing to see, and to think it was nearly in our lifetime! Some of the members of the Khmer Rouge government are currently on trial. Heres more about it if your interested... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge. But the Cambodian people have persevered, and in my opinion triumphed, in that they are so welcoming to foreigners and seem to be developing their country as it heals from their terrible past.

So we stayed a few days in Phenom Penh then returned to Siem Reap, and I was anxious!
Upon returning, I started to notice that my nagging cough was getting worse, and as soon as I would wake up and take my first breath outside of my hotel room, I would start to cough. The air is just constantly smoky and dusty. I have never experienced anything like that. Maria luckily had a "cough scarf" that I could wear around my mouth and it provided some protection, but it was a real pain! This made running outside impossible for me. But I tried to drink the problem away with tea, lime juice, and lots of water. When it was really bothering me, I would go to De La Paix, this extremely ritzy hotel, 5 min walk from mine that had AIR FILTERS via air conditioning that really helped. The posh lounge area and amazing cafe didnt hurt either! Needless to say, I got very well acquainted with the local pharmacist and De La Paix!

So we had to go to the site to do some surveying and check out the cracks that were forming near the embankment. I had a crash course on surveying. That was the first time I used a "level" and "rod" with a GPS in order to create an elevation map of the area. It was really interesting. A day or two later we were all suppose to go back to the site to continue working on the monitoring wells, but my cough was getting out of control so I stayed behind. I spent the afternoon online trying to make sense of the survey measurements I had taken the other day. I learned a lot about GPS and its amazing the way it works using units of degrees, minutes and seconds to measure distance relative to the equator and prime meridian to tell you exactly where you are anywhere in the world at any time! I have a newfound appreciation for it!

After finally giving up trying to communicate on Skype, I quite randomly booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to meet up with Ana and finally get a handle on how and when I would get to India and where I would go in between. It was time to make decisions whether I liked it or not. As soon as I booked my flight for Feb 3rd from Siem Reap to Kuala Lumpur, I felt like there was so much more I wanted to do and see in Cambodia I knew it was time to go.

We went to the site one more time, (I will miss the 40 min drive to site in the back of the pick up truck waving to locals... ) and we had to complete 4 monitoring wells, which are installed at 25 and 50 meters on either side of the dam to measure the amount of seepage through the embankment. It was an interesting process. We used an agar (a metal stick with a cylindrical cutting edge on one side) to create a 4" diameter hole in the ground around 20 feet deep, or until we hit groundwater. Then a 2" PVC pipe with slits ever 4 inches and wrapped in filter fabric, was inserted into the hole. Then sand is packed in the hole, around the PVC pipe to keep it in place. Then we mixed cement, gravel, water and sand to create cement. We used "man-power", meaning four of us holding a tarp with all the ingredients on it, one by one yanking at the tarp to forcefully mix the ingredients until it was homogeneous. Basically, it was a human cement mixer and thanks to the guys, it came out great! We poured the concrete around the top of each well to secure it and added a cap to the pipe. Now to measure the water level we just insert something in the PVC pipe and measure how much is "wet". It was cool to see this process... and fun to do some manual labor in the sun and forget about my cold!

So then I only had two days left and I knew that I had to see Angkor Wat, one of the Travel Wonders of the World, before leaving. Its only a ten minute drive from Siem Reap. People come from all over the world to see this historic Hindu- Buddhist temple. By the recommendation of Chai, I went to the Angkor Museum in Siem Reap to give me a background on the monument. Well, it was a really good thing I did. I even did the audio tour, which I usually write off as a rip off, but it was really helpful and kept my mind focused on what I was seeing. Cambodia truly did flip flop during history from Hindu to Buddhist, but is now predominantly Buddhist. I learned that the main three deities in Hinduism are Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and the most powerful, Shiva the Destroyer. These deities are portrayed in statues with very specific characteristics. The Buddha statues are a bit different, but to my eye they often look the same.
With a friend of Chai's as my private tuk tuk chauffeur, I went to Ta Prohm temple first, from the mid-12 century and it was built as a Buddhist temple. It was amazing and that is where one of the Tomb Raider films was shot. The way the trees grew into the ancient stone was a like a dramatic reflection of the fight between nature and civilization. Just next to Ta Prohm is Bayon, an amazing Buddhist temple with giant faces of Buddha with a peaceful expression, in all four directions. Next was the famous Angkor Wat... The entranceway was full or tourists to an uncomfortable degree, but I tried to block that out and soak it all in! As expected, every entranceway had two "Naga's" or Serpent deities on each side which is suppose to be protect the temple along with Lions with their mouths ajar showing their teeth. The temple had a statue of each of the three main deities and then a courtyard with four prasat or towers surrounding a fifth tower which is the tallest in the center. There is a large mot surrounding the entire complex, and it was said that the temple is suppose to be a replica of Mount Meru, home of the Gods in Hinduism. The structure was started in 1100 and took over 3 centuries to complete, starting as a Vishnu temple and later being converted to a Buddhist temple. The evidence of these changes and political strife are clear by the missing limbs of many of the statues. Despite all the crowds of people the shear size of the temple, (over 500 acres), still allowed me to find a peaceful spot to have a snack and stare off in the distance. There was definitely an energy about the place.

So the next day I was off for Malaysia, not knowing what country I would be in the following day. Not a bad way to live!

Cambodia Part I (Jan 19 - Feb 3?)

The typical streets of Siem Reap, Cambodia

So, after three flights, (Dubai - Bangkok - Siem Reap), I made it to Siem Reap Cambodia, my first time in Asia! Just from the Bangkok airport I sensed that something was different; the people are more accommodating and nicer than in America or the middle east. I detected this almost immediately.
When I first got off the plane in Siem Reap I saw the lush vegetation all around and I shed a tear, thinking about how over 2 years ago I was introduced to this non-profit dam project in Cambodia and here I am... I feel so fortunate to be able to come and see it for myself.
Siem Reap is a charming quaint city. I was taken from the airport to the city center by a "tuk tuk", a metal framed carriage attached to a motor bike. It was a 20 minute drive that cost $2, and was a great intro to this charming place. (They accept American dollars here, but have their own currency, "Riel". 4,000 Riel = $1 US dollar.)
The main roads are paved, but a few blocks away all the roads are dirt and the air is perpetually dusty. I learned how dusty when I tried to go for a run one morning and was inhaling the dust!... its no wonder you see many locals with masks on their faces.
The city is developed enough for me to easily adjust, but there is a simplicity to the place that reminds you that you are hundereds of miles away from home, not to mention the constant warmth.
It was incredible watching the inauguration from a bar in Siem Reap, which was packed with Americans and travellers and locals, all packed in to see history unfold. I was a great experience.
We had some interviews in Phenom Penh which is the capital of the country. Phenom Penh has a completely different feel to it than Siem Reap. The quaintness is gone, and theres a general sense of coldness in this area. There are plenty of nice restaurants and hotels, but the people are harsher and there are many more pushy beggars... the Kings palace is here which is beautiful and full of Hindu / Buddhist temples. Its really hard to tell which temples are Hindu or Buddhist... Today we went to the killing fields from the Khmer Rouge regime only 20 years ago. Apparently from 1976 to 1980 the communist Khmer Rouge regime, head by Pol Pot, in an attempt to cleanse this country and create an agrarian society of farmers and laborers, he ordered the detention and execution of over 1.5 million intellectuals, politicians, monks, women and children. His regime killed over 20% of Cambodia's population and much of the cities were destroyed. It was a holocaust that took place during our lifetimes that no one seems to know about. The results of the genocide can be found in the hearts of the people here, many of whom lived through it. This is perhaps why Cambodia is a hot spot for non-profit organization intervention. I was already introduced to over 10 NGO's in the past few days. And there is still so much to do!

UAE - Jan 9th to Jan 18

Me at the lobby of the Atlantis Hotel on Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE

Hello! I made it to Dubai and I'm actually in the capitol of Cambodia right now, Phenom Penh... I have not really had a chance to update since I left on Jan 9th; its already been quite an adventure. Ill attempt to recap what I thought of United Arab Emirates...

First of all, upon arrival to the Dubai international airport, it was really interesting to see the men dressed in the traditional white robe and head scarf... (native Emirate women wear something similar in all black)...it was the first time seeing it up close, and considering what an issue it is in the states when women wear a head scarf, in UAE women do not have a strong case, since men too have that as part of their traditional dress. The big difference obviously is that in UAE, the dress is a status symbol more than anything else. Despite the way it looks, i think its widely understood that it is not a symbol of faith or religiousness in any way... its interesting..

So anyways, my brother picked me up from the airport, (he and my Dad were there a week before me, so they were staying at our cousins apartment in Sharjah, an emirate just outside Dubai)... and within minutes it was clear that the roads there were a complicated mess of detours and highway exits with no signs... it took him 15 minutes to get to the airport, and an hour to get back... the traffic is insane at times, rivaling even the most irritating traffic issues of New York City... but I guess considering that Dubai is probably 60%-70% under construction, they manage the detours rather well... anywhere you look you will see cranes in the background...

So it was great to be with my family in this rather bizarre country. As it turns out, the night I arrived we were invited to a cousins house in Abu Dhabi, which is the more wealthy and more conservative emirate, 2 hours south west of Dubai... it was a beautiful place, and it was great to have a home cooked meal and see my cousin Ranya and her beautiful family...

The next day was my brothers last day in Dubai so we went on a dessert safari and rode in 4 wheel drive Toyota's through the dunes... we got stuck sideways at one point!, but it was great... we also sand-boarded... then we had a delicious meal on the dessert... As a complete surprise later that night, we found out our cousin Husam and his family was in town... he lives in Saudi Arabia and was coming to Dubai for a 2 week vacation... crazy how things work out sometimes without plans...and in a few days his parents, also close cousins, would be joining us!

I almost saw as much of my family as I did when I went to Jordan two summers ago!

Here is a bunch of us in front of at Burj Dubai, which will be the tallest building in the world, over 2,200 feet!

The next day was my Dad's birthday so we stayed in a nice hotel in Dubai along Jumeriah beach... that was the first time I realized how westernized Dubai was. Everyone spoke English and they had Starbucks, Pizza Hut, even Le Pain Quotidian... it was America with an accent and alot more dust... Im still torn whether I like all the American influence there or not... well needless to say, it was not hard to adjust to Dubai... we had dinner with yet another cousin, Samer, who lives in Dubai with his wife... we had a ball. I got some beach time there, the beautiful crystal blue ocean was a awesome and the waves were huge!

We went to the Palm Jumeriah island that has the Atlantis hotel at the far end that so many people talk about... and its very surreal. Its hard to imagine when you are driving on the 6 lane highway that everything below you was ocean only a few short years ago... walking through the hotel was like reading out of a fictional tale of wonder...every ceiling, column and entrance way was detailed with vibrant colors to carry on the ocean theme, with the aquarium as a main feature. The most basic room is $1,000 per night... nothing I would EVER consider spending since I think walking through was more than enough of an experience. Oh and every hotel in UAE has to have a prayer room, so we checked out the prayer room at Atlantis and I thought, this is how I can stay here overnight for free! I can stay in the hotel mosque! (Seriously, I would do that if I was there alone... if they found me sleeping there over night I could say I fell asleep during prayer...!)

As a side note, it was great not worrying about pork, having everything halal, not having alcohol as a centerpoint of all things social, and having mosques so close by everywhere I went... it makes being muslim easier, and I think we all go through points where that would help... and of course, hearing the athan in the background all the time is great as well....

The next few days we went to Al Ain, a more "sub urban" town in Abu Dhabi where our cousin Ibtissam lives with her family. It was a beautiful, quiet town which has enough groundwater to sustain grass and trees with limited supplements... (in all the other areas I visited there was not grass, and the palm trees or flowers were watered by a narrow black hose which literally can be found at the base of EVERY tree, bush, or plant, basically anything green, its nuts! So although I love to see a road lined with palm trees, it comes at a high price)... so anyways, it was great to see our family in Al Ain.. we had great food and I yet again tried to brush up on my Arabic!

So it is a weird mix of cultures in Dubia... there are more Filipino's, Indians and Pakistanis than Emirate people... and all of them are "laborers", or at least the vast majority... I hate to see such a consistent class separation based on culture, but I suppose America was built up in a similar way; immigrant workers who are underpaid and under-appreciated build the foundation of the country... I just wish it didn't have to be like that. For the most part the Indians I encountered were rude, impatient and generally irritated, (not a great preview of my trip to India) but I dont blame them; that is not a good place to be if you are not American, European, or of course a native Emirate...Our cousin Ismail who has lived and worked in UAE for over 10 years is obviously Palestinian and told me that there is a lot of discrimination toward non-Emirate Arabs as well... the society is set up to cater to their own so expect no special treatment just because you are Arab. I will say that the Emirate people I encountered were very nice and helpful to us; one time we got our rental car stuck in the dessert and at least 5 natives in SUV's stopped to help bail us out but there is an underlying understanding that Emirate people stay with their own kind and a line is drawn... it was apparent to me almost immediately, and our cousins that live there confirm it....

At least UAE is one arab country that is turning heads in a positive way, and hopefully the class wars and disproportionality of development in the neighboring Emirates will even out...

It was a great visit and the perfect amount of time... Im so grateful for the opportunity to go.... but now onto Asia!

So I'm going on a trip...

Through a series of events which I could not have predicted even a month ago, I am apparently starting a 3 month Southeast Asia excursion on January 9th... WOO HOO!!

My current flight outline is: Newark - Dubai - Bangkok - Delhi - Newark

Basic Itinierary:
Jan 9 to Jan 17 - Dubai, UAE
Jan 17 fly into Bangkok, Thailand, go overland to Cambodia
Jan 18 to Feb 3 (?) Stay in Siem Reap Cambodia and work on Engineers without Borders agriculture assessment
Feb 3 to Feb 8 Return to Bangkok for some beach experience!
Feb 8 to Mar 30 Tour India with Ana & Jesse
Mar 30 - April 10 - Nepal Trek??
April 10 to 15 - Finish up northern India

My intense desire to travel is not the main motivation for this trip, since in truth the trip came to me. My current work situation, my desire to understand myself, the freedom I have, people who will be traveling at the same time, it all lead to this decision so of course it must be the right thing to do!! I find it increasingly more difficult to make changes as I get older, but life is calling... I must answer...

Leaving the people I love is painfully difficult for me since recently, more than ever, I have learned the incredible gift of a supportive family and friends, but I must remember that 3 months passes like a strong wind...

I hope that I will do some good on this trip and will try to be diligent about this blog so I can share it with whoever is so inclined to notice...

Till later...