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Dealing with The Dilemma of Making Travel Destination Decisions
January 17, 2009
Making decisions about where to travel when on the road should be a spontaneous decision but when you throw visa regulations and bureaucracy into the mix it’s not that simple.
I found out the hard way in Delhi with a self-imposed no-fly policy, a soon to expire Indian visa and out of options for an onward route.
My options were:
- Nepal, Tibet, China. This was closed down because the Tibet border closed.
- Pakistan, Central Asia. Waiting until May to cross KHH and a whole bunch of (fairly easy to get) visas.
- Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Georgia. Going back the same way seems strangely sensible (in a lateral thinking ‘reversal’ kind of way) - e.g. more photos, filming, different routes, following up on my post-travel-pak-iran thoughts.
I was quite set on option 3 because I thought there was plenty more of discover. I wasn’t keen on option 2 because of the wait.
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A Route Through India and Why Not to Use A Guidebook
January 17, 2009
My route through India went from Amritsar, through Punjab to Bathinda, then Bikaner. Next was down to Nagour, Jodhpur, and Mt Abu. Following that was Gujarat to Amdavad, Surat, and down to Daman and then Bombay.
From Bombay, I left the bike and took the train with Fanny (my girlfriend from Georgia) to Goa. We continued on to Kannur in Kerala, Calicut, Sultan Bathery, the Muthanga Wildlife Santuary, Mysore, Hampi, Gokarna and back to Bombay.
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12 Months Lost Travel Photos Induced Nihilism
January 16, 2009
I was in an Internet cafe this morning, feeling crappy and depressed. I woke up with a head full of heavy thoughts about my future travel plans and I was worried.
To make matters worse, I connected my hard disk to the computer and I spent a good hour wrangling with it to try and view files. On newer computers it seems to work fine, whereas on older ones it just throws a wobbly.
Tags: StorageDiskErrorPhotographyTraveldigitalfilescomputerproblem
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My Bicycle Has Become More Than Just a Machine
January 16, 2009
I was cycling through Bombay traffic about 15 minutes ago and suddenly snap, there goes my front derailleur cable frayed into a throng of discombobulated threads. It made me think of the gradual process of wear and weakening that eventually leads to the point of breakage.
The bike, somewhere down in my instincts has begun to take on a life of it’s own. When it breaks it reminds me that we all erode and age and causes me to confront my own human frailty and mortality.
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Reflecting on my Indian Travel in Bombay
January 15, 2009
I intended to get up again at 5 am this morning like I did yesterday. However, unfortunately today there was no mosquito to bite me and make me feel a bit strange and thus feel like getting up. Only my alarm clock which I was able to ignore twice. Eventually at 8 am I naturally woke up. I jumped out of my tent which is pitched inside the flat to dodge the mosquitoes.
Tags: SpiritualityBombayIndiaMindfulnesswritingpresent-tensefirst-personDavid KleinRouteMumbai
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8 Days at an Ashram in India Changed My Life
January 12, 2009
I feel a bit like I haven’t been telling the full story through the blog. This is mainly because I’ve had to do everything from Internet cafes and time, expense and technical limitations (Internet connection) are a factor.
December involved a strategic decision to get off the main highway and spend some time exploring smaller villages and towns. Upon reaching the city of Bharoch I took a small road to find somewhere to camp. After pedalling through a banana plantation passing small farmsteads I realised I was next to a huge river. I propped up the bike and gazed in awe at the wide Nermada river and palm forest disappearing in the hazy distance.
Tags: AshramVagabondSpiritualityIndiaTravelSwamiReligionNermadaBharoch
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Getting a Massage With A Vibrating Dolphin in an Indian Temple
December 7, 2008
That evening I had an impulsion to cycle until it got dark to see if I would still find somewhere to sleep without really planning or searching for it or I would eventually be forced to cycle all night. I wanted to push the process to its limit.
This is India, you can’t just camp anywhere. Every field was worked by someone from nearby villages. People seemed to lurk everywhere; stray kids with cricket bats, rabid dogs and religious wanderers behind every bush.