I am usually very cautious when crossing roads, and I always follow the pedestrian crossing signals; but last evening I ignored it -- big mistake. ... read more
BogotaMy Colombian visa was only valid for 30 days, and I had spent way too many of those days in Cali. This meant that I would now have to rush through the other Colombian cities that I wanted to visit. The next one on that list was Bogota, the capital city. ... read more
Power adaptor reunionMy hostel in Popayan had found someone headed to Cali, and they had agreed to take what I really really hoped was my power adaptor with them. I had been given a name - Vanessa - along with the name of the hostel where she would be staying. ... read more
TattooThe next day I went back to where I'd seen the two tattoo studios. ... read more
The search for a power adaptorEveryday I would go on long walks looking for shops selling electronics. I was looking to buy a replacement adaptor for my laptop, which by now I was sure was lost. ... read more
Tin Tin DeoThe usurper of my bed the other night was an American girl of Peruvian descent called Kathy. Apparently, she had heard such good things about Colombia that when she was in Otavalo, she just couldn't resist the temptation to take a short 3 day detour north into Colombia, before heading back into Ecuador. ... read more
EmbarrassmentAll of us had had a good time yesterday, so we decided to head back to the same bar. ... read more
Cali, the salsa capital of the worldLike me, the Dutch couple - Cris & Kim - were also going from Popayan to Cali. Along the way, we met an American guy called Ben who was also headed to Cali. So the four of us got a bus for the short 3 hour journey, and later shared a taxi to Hostel Iguana. ... read more
San AgustinThe road from Popayan to San Agustin was scenic, but extremely bad. Imagine a rickety old bus with hard uncomfortable seats and poor suspensions going over a bumpy road for more than 6 hours. You wouldn't enjoy travelling in this bus. I didn't either. ... read more
PopayanFrom Ipiales, I went to Pasto; and then the next morning to Popayan. Popayan turned out to be a laid-back town and I spent the whole day just walking around. ... read more
Sanctuario de Las LajasI had stayed back in the nothing-much-to-do-in town of Ipiales just to visit the Sanctuario de Las Lajas, and when I saw the majestic church the next morning, I was glad that I had stayed. The church was constructed on the side of a mountain with a bridge over a deep gorge with a river flowing underneath. ... read more
Ecuador to Colombia border crossingThis post is a series of steps intended to help other travelers who may be doing the same over-land border crossing from Ecuador to Colombia that I did. ... read more
Colombia, oh yeah!Since I had no guidebook for Colombia, I asked other travelers in my hostel and gathered some information from those who had already been there. ... read more
Bookstore BuddiesBack in Quito, I went back to my regular hostel - the one that I kept coming back to. My usual bed in the dormitory was free, and I took it once again! ... read more
AtacamesI checked out of my hotel room early in the morning to get to Atacames and look for a place there. As luck would have it, the owners of the hotel at Sua were also going to Atacames, and they were happy to give me a lift in their car. ... read more
Moving up the coastAs I was having breakfast by the beach the next morning, a pudgy man came along, sat himself down on my table and started talking to me. My obvious deficiency in Spanish didn't seem to deter him, and he launched into telling me about the highlights of Muisne. ... read more
Football in EcuadorAs I was walking along the beach, I saw a group of guys playing football. Normally I would have asked them if I could join them, but for some reason I didn't. In a while, a police jeep came by carrying even more guys. ... read more
The Pacific OceanOnce I had successfully acquired the tourist visa to Colombia, there was no reason for me to stay in Quito any longer. So I gathered my bags and left for the bus terminal. My next destination was the coastal town of Esmeraldas to see the Pacific Ocean. ... read more
Colombia is going to happenBack in Quito the next day, I went straight to the Colombian consulate and handed them my passport, and they asked me to come back the next day to collect it. ... read more
San Pablo and CotacachiWhen I had had enough of Otavalo, I thought I'd head to nearby San Pablo, find a tree next to its large lake, sit under it and read a book all day long. With this in mind, I got to the bus stand in Otavalo where there were several stalls selling food. ... read more
OtavaloThe next morning I checked out of my hostel once again, this time hopefully for the last time. The nice lady at the reception asked me if I had some Indian money as she had never had the opportunity to see it yet. ... read more
El Panecillo & Mitad del MundoEl Panecillo is a small bread-shaped hill on which stands the gigantic statue of The Virgin Mary overlooking Quito, and supposedly protecting it from the volcanoes. Besides being an enormous structure, it is probably the only place where the Madonna is depicted in a dancing pose, and where she has wings. ... read more
Pick-pocketed in QuitoI was among the first people to show up at the Colombian consulate in the morning. The efficient lady behind the counter took my documents and said that they would need a few days to check if everything was in order. She also gave me a number to call on Friday morning to check whether I've been granted the visa or not. ... read more
Still hope for ColombiaMatt woke me up at 4 in the morning since he was flying back home to Canada. As I usually do when saying goodbye, I gave him a postcard (addressed both to him and his brother Colin, who'd also been a volunteer at Katitawa but had left earlier). ... read more
Peru is outNext morning, I thought I'll head to the Peruvian embassy and apply for a tourist visa. I knew where it was, but didn't know what was the best way to get there, so I went down to the hostel reception to ask. ... read more
Quito and meeting Matt againFor the past several weeks, I had been surrounded by people and had quite forgotten that I was actually on this trip all by myself. That realization struck suddenly when I disembarked in the bus terminal at Quito, and I felt momentarily confused and overwhelmed. ... read more
The time to say goodbye...Saying goodbye is never easy, but it has to be done. ... read more
One last partySunday, the 16th of May 2010 was going to be my last day in Salasaca, so preparations were underway (to be read as rum was bought) for a final party on Saturday night. It so happened that a big community celebration was going to happen in Salasaca centre on the same night. ... read more
Community DinnerPreparations were underway at the library for a large community dinner that had been planned for today evening. I was sitting in the library completely oblivious to the plans, until Nicolas came along and asked me if I could help in moving a pot in the kitchen. ... read more
The last day at KatitawaToday was my last working day as a volunteer at Escuela Katitawa, as I had decided to move on and continue my journey on Sunday. ... read more
Fixing IndiaSome past volunteers of Katitawa had painted a beautiful large map of the world on one of the walls of the foyer of the library. But India had not been drawn correctly. ... read more
Yet another wild nightMitchell & Amy were volunteering only for a week, and would be leaving on Saturday morning, so we planned a farewell party on Friday night. ... read more
Biking down the ChimborazoMatt had heard during his travels that it was possible to arrange for a biking tour down the Chimborazo, and that it was a great experience. He was going to Rio Bamba this weekend to do it, and I decided to join him. We reached Rio Bamba on Saturday evening, checked into a cheap room, and set off to arrange for the tour. ... read more
New volunteersThis week Katitawa has some new volunteers. Mitchell & Amy from New Zealand, Eddie & Megan also from New Zealand, and Marina & Bruna from Argentina. ... read more
The Presidential SuiteWith Emma & Damir having left Salasaca, the position of "House Manager of Hostel Pachamama" (which used to belong to Emma) was now empty, and I gladly stepped up to shoulder the responsibility. Part of my eagerness stemmed from the fact that the House Manager could move into the best room in the hostel, aptly named by the volunteers as The Presidential suite. ... read more
Googie Goes Bungee JumpingThe bus dropped us near the bridge in Baños from where one could jump off the edge suspended by bungee cords for a mere 10 USD. I had always wanted to do a bungee jump, and couldn't wait to try. Abraham had already jumped off this same bridge twice before, and he was ready for more. Nicolas & Pedro however didn't want to, so we put them in charge of capturing our jumps. ... read more
Farewell trip to TenaMany volunteers were leaving Katitawa to continue with their travels. As a sort of farewell trip, we all decided to travel to Tena at the edge of the Amazonian rainforest of Ecuador. ... read more
Un Patito FeoThat means "An ugly duckling". The 30th of April was going to be the last working day at Katitawa for Ed, Tanya, Lizzy, Emma, Damir, Dotahn & Emmily. On their last day, we were planning to act out the ugly duckling (in Spanish) as a skit for the kids. ... read more
Pig SlappingThis post is cruel, and will not go down well with animal lovers. Personally I am against the actions that I will proceed to describe in this post, but yes, I have been guilty of indulging in and encouraging it. ... read more
Travel weekI was going to take a week off to travel with Nicolas & Lizzy. But Nicolas had to stay back and finish the theatre show he had been working on at the library and Lizzy had been bitten by a dog a few days earlier. So it looked like I would be going on my own. ... read more
Lizzy's farewell partyThe school had got some new volunteers in the past two weeks. First there was Pedro from Brazil, who was riding his motorcycle all around South America, Che Guevara style. He was followed by the young Brits, Tom & Chris; and then the Canadian brothers, Colin & Matt. ... read more
QuilotoaI had worked really really hard the past week, on not only the pond but also various other construction related projects in the school. On Saturday, I was planning on sleeping in and just doing nothing all day long. But Lizzy & Nicolas had other plans for me. ... read more
Pond work beginsDotahn and I got to the school early, much before everyone else because we were eager to inspected our concrete poles from yesterday. One of them was going to be no good, but the other two were looking solid. Robert was keen for us to get started on the pond, and to me that sounded like a much more fun thing to do than making poles of concrete. ... read more
The first day of workEach work day begins early for all volunteers at Katitawa. Robert comes to the hostel every morning at 6 am loudly singing John Denver's famous Annie's Song, and the idea is that when you hear it, you get out of bed. ... read more
SalinasSome of the volunteers of Katitawa had made plans to visit Salinas, the town of cheese and chocolates. I obviously jumped at the opportunity to not only do some sightseeing but also get to know some of the people I would be spending the next few weeks with. ... read more
BañosI had some shopping to do, so I wanted to go to either Baños or Ambato - the two closest towns to Salasaca. Some of the volunteers were heading to Ambato to watch a football game, whereas Romel, the gardener at the school was going to Baños to meet his mother. ... read more
My first day in South AmericaWhen I woke up in the morning, I was eager to step out of the airport terminal to breathe some fresh South American air for the first time. But before that I needed to figure out where to go. ... read more
At last - EcuadorIf they made it so difficult to enter the United States, they made it equally simple to leave. This policy actually made a lot of sense. I can but merely wonder what the Vietnamese were thinking when they decided to make it quite simple to get into their country but gave me a pretty hard time when leaving. ... read more
Fort Pierce, Miami and another breakdownThe next morning I said goodbye to Nancy, along with my usual thank you postcard and went straight to the closest Avis centre. The staff here were really nice. I got a much better car - a Hyundai accent (with cruise control!) and for cheaper than the old car. ... read more
The drive continuesI packed my things, wrote a thank you note for Sara on a postcard and left very early in the morning, before any of the girls got up; and drove straight to Avis. The lady there was rather rude and unhelpful, and said that the cheapest option for me was to stick to my shitty car by paying an additional 160 USD. ... read more
Hit the road Jack!I wanted to rent a car at Avis car rental and drive it from Atlanta to Miami, returning it at the airport just before catching my flight to Ecuador. What I didn't know was that one has to pay through the nose if the locations of hire and return of the car fall in different states. ... read more
Almost ticketedAthens, where Divya's college was, turned out to be a nice university town full of students. I have always enjoyed being in such places, and Divya went out of her way to keep me from getting bored. ... read more
USAIt was not easy to leave Turkey. If I were not running out of time on my visa, I would've liked to stay longer for sure. But sadly, that was not an option right now. Jana and I bid each other an emotional farewell, and promised to meet again as soon as possible. ... read more
To Istanbul with loveI landed at Istanbul just after midnight and Jana was already waiting for me. We decided to hang around inside the airport and leave when the bus service starts in the morning. Vitek, the Polish guy, who had flown in on the same flight from Sharjah also joined us and we had dinner together. A police officer saw us eating chocolates, and came over to ask if he could have some. We were happy to share and soon there was a small army of cops around us. ... read more
Going global againFinally I can resume writing about what this blog is meant for, Googie going global. ... read more
MotaarsaaikeelThe planned route for the first day was - Delhi --> Gurgaon --> Dharu Heda --> Rewari --> Narnaul --> Chirawa --> Jhunjunu --> Mandawa ... read more
The best laid plans :)The entire next week I did practically nothing in Delhi. Every evening after he would finish work, OJ would take me to his favourite hangouts in Delhi (with Velocity Bar & Lounge being the preferred location). But during the day, I would just laze around the house or wander around the city on OJ's motorcycle. But after a week, I was fed up and just wanted to go somewhere... anywhere! ... read more
Random Delhi snapsRandom Delhi snaps ... read more
Back to IndiaPedro had booked a taxi that would pick me up at 6 am, and he was the one who woke me up at 5.50 am :) Thankfully I had packed my bags the night before, so I could just wear my clothes, say hasty thank yous and goodbyes and run to the waiting taxi. ... read more
Duong and the Hanoi CSersA Vietnamese couchsurfer called Duong had written to me to ask if I'd like to hang out in Hanoi. She was from Ho Chi Minh city, but was in Hanoi for a few days on a work-related trip. Her couchsurfing profile was mostly empty and there were no pictures, so I was a bit hesitant at first, but then agreed to meet for coffee. ... read more
How could America do this to me?I had been to the USA twice in the past on work assignments and lived there for a considerable amount of time. When I returned the first time, they detached the departure card (I-94) from my passport; but on my second return, they just left it there. ... read more
Back to HanoiThe next morning, however, was time to say goodbye to my new friends. They had bought tickets for the longer version of the cruise and were now off to somewhere else while I was on my way back to Hanoi. ... read more
How long to Halong?I had booked myself on a two days one night trip to Halong Bay on a junk boat for an outrageous 70 USD which I thought was a total rip-off. ... read more
Exploring HanoiI woke up early to try and hire a motorcycle for the day. The guesthouse was quoting 10 USD, but I knew I could get a better price. So I ventured out, and asked the driver of a random motorbike taxi. He asked for an outrageous 1 million Dong (which works out to around 52 USD). ... read more
Flight to HanoiAfter a long breakfast with Golan & Lisa, we said our goodbyes. I was lucky to have found such nice people to hang out with in HCMC, and I was going to miss them. ... read more
The Cu Chi tunnelsEarly next morning, Golan, the Australian couple & I boarded our tour bus to the Cu Chi tunnels. On the way there, we visited a small scale industry where handicrafts were being produced by handicapped people. The stuff on display was quite fantastic, but it was just another overpriced tourist trap, and nobody bought anything. ... read more
Good morning VietnamAfter firing the AK-47, I was done with Cambodia and ready for Vietnam. I purchased a bus ticket to Ho Chi Minh city (affectionately called HCMC), and while waiting for the bus, started talking to an Israeli guy called Golan. As it so happened, Golan's seat was the one right next to mine, and we continued talking about a whole lot of stuff during the journey. ... read more
Shooting an AK-47It was a cold, snowy night in Chicago (sometime in February 2008) when I went to watch an NBA game with my colleagues - Gowdish & Ramesh. After the game, I remember saying to them, "There are two kinds of people in the world - those who have watched an NBA game, and those who haven't". ... read more
The Tuol Sleng genocide museumToday was a very productive day blogging wise. I went to the Lazy Gecko cafe close to my guesthouse, and sat there for close to 4 hours. They offer free wi-fi to their customers (as long as your bill exceeds $3). This was the third time in 2 days that I was going there ... read more
Khmer weddingToday was the big day for which I had actually come to Phnom Penh. Mariam, a teacher in Phnom Penh and one of the local couchsurfers, had invited anyone who was interested to witness a Cambodian wedding to one of her students' marriage. ... read more
Phnom Penh and the art of motorcycle maintenanceOk, so this post has got nothing to do with motorcycle maintenance. Heck, it doesn't even have anything to do with motorcycles. It is just an uncreative, uninspired play on "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" ... read more
Wrapping up Siem ReapPaul and Juli had gone their own ways, Talita had gone on ahead to Phnom Penh, and Echo seemed to have totally disappeared from the scene; so I had to wrap up the last few temples on my list by myself. ... read more
Sunset at Phnom BakhenI don't get what it is with everyone in Siem Reap talking about sunrises and sunsets all the time. Juli is apparently a big fan of sunrises and sunsets, and after hearing people going on about how amazing the sunset at Phnom Bakhen is, she just had to go and check it out for herself. Since I had nothing better to do anyway, I agreed to go along. ... read more
The floating village on Tonle SapA major tourist attraction in the Siem Reap area besides the temples is the floating village on the Tonle Sap lake. Juli, Talita, Paul & I rented a tuk-tuk and set off to check it out. ... read more
The mystery of the missing bicycleOver dinner the previous evening, I had promised to accompany Juli to go and catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat, which was supposed to be a big deal. Ryan, a traveller from the US, who was also staying at the same guesthouse was keen to join us. ... read more
The other temples around Angkor WatThe Angkor Archaeological Park contains many old temples, of which Angkor Wat is the most famous. Echo, Juli & I wanted to dedicate one full day to only check out the other temples in the region. ... read more
Angkor WatEcho came back to the guesthouse early next morning, and said that she and her German friend - Juli - had found another guesthouse where a single bed cost only 1 USD per night. To be honest, I liked my current room and didn't want to leave, but it would be more practical to stay close to people I would be hanging out with, so I decided to move there. ... read more
Cambodia - the kingdom of wonderIn the evening, I picked up my bags from Tomi's place, thanked him for being such a gracious host and said goodbye. I hadn't managed to find anyone to host me for tonight and it was also too late to start my journey to Cambodia now ... read more
Mexico is outI had to leave Tomi's house today as he would be having a friend over, but he agreed to let me keep my backpack at his house during the day while I roamed the city. The first thing I did was to go the closest mall, called Times Square, to look for some free wifi. ... read more
Tet celebrations in ChinatownThe first day by myself couldn't have been more uneventful. I just went to various malls around Bangkok just looking for free wifi. The Bangkok city administration is quite progressive in this regard, and provides free wifi service in several locations spread throughout the city ... read more
Back in BangkokThe next morning we took the ferry out of Koh Samui, went to the Surat Thani airport and caught a flight to Bangkok. It was already evening by the time we landed, and not having any good ideas about what to do next, took a taxi to the one place we knew well - Khao San Road, only to have the greatest disappointment of our trip ... read more
How To Confuse A Taxi DriverIt was quite late when we finally got dropped off at Haad Lamai beach. We were quite sure that we'd never manage to catch the last ferry off the island, but we decided to give it a shot anyway. ... read more
Snorkelling at Angthong National Marine ParkThe snorkelling package tour at Koh Samui starts early in the morning, and we were picked up from our hotel at the crack of dawn. ... read more
Koh SamuiAfter 2 days of being in Bangkok without seeing much of Thailand besides its nightlife and blowing up more money than planned, we were beginning to get jittery. ... read more
Khao San RoadOur first stop in Bangkok was Khao San Road. Vinay had told me a lot about this backpacker friendly place packed with tourists, and it sure did not dissapoint. ... read more
Thailand - the land of smilesOJ & I landed in Mumbai at around 1 am. VMK and Kini had come to the domestic airport to meet us. From there, all of us got into a cab to go to the international airport. On the way, VMK suddenly remembered that we needed to stock up on Indian cigarettes and OJ suddenly remembered that we needed to stock up on Rajnigandha. Did you note how I said "we" needed to stock up? ... read more
New DelhiI knew that I always had a home in OJ’s place whenever I was in New Delhi, but this time it turned out to be even better. OJ’s parents had gone to Rajasthan to attend a wedding, so we had the entire house to ourselves. We also had OJ's motorcycle at our disposal ... read more
VaranasiThis was not the first time that I was in Varanasi. But my first trip doesn't really count as I had been a small kid back then. The first thing that struck me now was how filthy the city was. Everywhere you looked, there were piles of garbage. Cattle and dogs were feasting on these piles and doing a fine job of scattering them everywhere. Children were taking a dump by the side of the roads. People were littering, spitting or peeing in almost every direction one looked, and with seemingly zero compunction. ... read more
Meeting Jana after agesThe alarm rang a few hours later, and groggily we got to the Kurla station to catch my train to Varanasi. Prit also bought himself a ticket on the same train till Nashik. In the train, I traded my sleek new Blackberry for his basic Samsung phone because we thought it wouldn't be very wise to travel around in South America with an obviously expensive device. Nashik came in a few hours, and we parted with hope to meet again in Europe in a few months' time. ... read more
MumbaiPrit & I reached the railway station just in time to board our train to Mumbai. Having made the whirlwind trip to Tirupati, followed immediately by the all-night-long farewell party, the two of us were dead tired. I'm guessing we were both out like a light the moment our heads hit the pillows. ... read more
The farewell partyOn the way back from Tirupati, I sent SMSes to as many people as I could inviting them for my farewell party that evening. It was almost 9 pm by the time we got home, and some of the guests were there already. But not everyone could make it at such short notice, and moreover since it was a weekday. But nevertheless, we had a good time, and I said my goodbyes to all at around 3 am so that I could get at least an hour to pack. I was done packing by around 4 am, and by 5 am Prit & I were ready to leave. ... read more
Venky's call answeredThe religious would call this last minute trip to the Tirupati Venkateshwara Temple materialising out of nowhere just before I was to undertake the mega trip of my life nothing short of divine intervention; and this is how I justified going on it instead of attending to the other things I needed to take care of. ... read more
Venky callingMy cousin Prit who lives in Germany was on a brief visit to India, and had come to meet friends in Bangalore. Whenever Prit comes to India, he tries to make it to the famous Venkateshwara temple in Tirupati and this time was no exception. ... read more
Alvida BangaloreSince getting the US visa, I had become lazy and procrastination had set in. Before I knew it, almost an entire precious month had gone by and I hadn't really done much to further my travelling cause. ... read more
The US VisaThere is a page on wikipedia that lists visa requirements for Indian citizens. As is clearly evident, there are only a few countries where an Indian can happily go to without a visa. As you would expect, the USA is not one of them. ... read more
Ok... Now what?If someone ever tells you that a world trip is easier said than done, then trust me, it would be one of the biggest understatements you'll ever hear. ... read more
A germ of an ideaCould I really dare to dream? ... read more
Gimme a break now, will ya!So what do I want to do next? ... read more
How it all began...It was a warm summer morning in New Delhi when I got a call from my supervisor at work. He sounded grim when he said, "I have some bad news for you, the company has announced the next set of lay-offs, and your job is getting affected. You'll be with us for only 6 more months". ... read more