Saturday, March 30, 2013

Surprises, expectations & lessons learned at 3am

My present as I arrived in Aurangabad
Warning this is a text heavy post, but you never know what gems of knowledge you might find in my writings. By the way I am writing this all at 3am. The malaria pills or something are screwing with me. I've woken up after 4 hours of sleep every night so far. I feel you insomniacs & writers. I literally knew it would not be possible to return to sleep without ridding my mind of these thoughts for my blog. So here they are....

India is full of surprises. My single bed overnight a/c bus with toilet reservation had a couple up its sleeve. The moment I walked on board to find my bed there is one. My single bed is now a shared bed with a very sweet mother & daughter. I attempt to attest explaining I booked a single bed where a man is now snoring, but give in quickly & end up truly enjoying the company of my bed mates. Bah a/c, funny. A simple fan would have provided more relief from the heat. But hey it's India it's kinda expected.With toilet turns out to be outside the bus. I don't think I've gone through the night without needing a toilet so I out I go to squat on the side of a highway. I relieve myself, hold up. I need to be fully honest here, i partially relieve myself. I definitely had to go #2 but there was no way I was ready to join the I've pooped on the sidewalk club. So thank you strong young bowels. I jump back on the bus and return to snuggle with my 3 year old sweet bed mate.

Now some of you might be a bit unnerved because we are all so used to our western amenities. I believe its better to embrace whats thrown your way. I came here to experience Indian life and learn more about its culture. The opportunities have been everywhere and I'm stepping into them with a smiling face.

Overall my biggest surprise of all is the warmth & completely unexpected generosity of the people. Much of this is to thank because of couch surfers! I've had people open up there homes, share meals with me, pick me up from the airport, run me around to do errands, come retrieve me from my home or greet me at the bus station when it's 30 min out of their way, spend the whole day showing me their city, graciously paying for rickshaws, train tickets, delicious food. All of this without a flinch of an eye, without any expectations of receiving anything in return but the hopes to make me happy.

What a humble and giving culture. To put this into perspective, I'd hoped a friend would offer me a ride to the airport, but that was an example of being single and having expectations bites you in the ass. When no offers came in, I went through a list of friends with cars or who could drive my manual car to find a 20 min ride to the airport in SF. Most were all occupied on that Saturday night and declined, yet all accepted the evening before for a night of drinking. Want to know how many offers to greet me and pick me up in Mumbai I had? At least 10, from complete strangers that are new friends. When friends I've known for years are too busy to send me off to the airport. Don't get me wrong I love my friends dearly and I know they love me too. I'm no
one to complain as I know my friends have been on the same end of it from me. I just thought it was a clear teaching around how sadly my culture has created "busy" selfish people where a small kind gesture to a loved one is a big thing loaded with expectations of receiving something in return. And wow was it smacked in my face the moment I stepped off the plane in India. The lessons traveling will teach you.

All my friends out there, please don't be offended. And  of course I am grateful Hillery for giving me a ride & Sarah for letting us borrow your car. Thank you thank you my fish tacos. With my new lesson, now you all have me to count on for rides to the airport :) & of course so much more!

My intentions here were not to bitch but to share a travelers perspective. I honestly at the moment would have just antied up and paid for a $50 cab without being irritated or upset. It really all just dawned on me now.

Being there my last moments in the US when I'm about to embark on a scary & exciting solo journey is more impactful on our friendship. Make sense? For example I'll  never forget my good friend Corine sending out meeting invites to send me off and pick me up for my 5
month trip last year. Or Sarah Holm you making a point to drive 2 hours to spend qt time together, help me pack & run last minute errands. Sarah Saul you're going to be my savior when you bring me a batch of new clothes to Croatia, gracias in advance. Beth, Coco, Chris & Ham for reaching out to grab dinner & catch up, although we need to do it more often rather than when I'm peacing out. And Julia for your sappy sweet secret message declaring your love for me on my GoPro. This Italian woman literally loves food & declared she loved me more
than many of her very favorites including pizza & meatballs. Ok I could go on and on, but I'll spare you.

I know I can be blunt at times so understand this writing was all from the heart. If you took the time to read this, I love you. I'm grateful for your presence in my life and since I know I don't say it enough, one more time - YOU ARE LOVED!

Sending lots of x's and o's from India!
Your bri bri

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Hasta Luego SF, Hello India.

Let's just say the days leading up to my departure were quite hectic - getting my room ready for Kelly (she's subleasing), spending time with friends, wrapping up work, Oh & packing. Here's where I started and clearly had to make some decisions. I swear packing can be the hardest task of all because it's so easy to want to bring everything. Of course I want to leave room for treasures I find along the way.


Luckily I had good friends to help me put things into perspective and leave a few items behind. It was so nice to spend QT with close friends leading up to my trip. I even recorded some short videos on my GoPro...I've been watching all my 'Words of Wisdom' videos. I couldn't quite figure out how to create a video to share with all, either way they've been making me smile.Thank you everyone who came to see me, I felt very loved. 
I love you guys. Sarah & Amy I know you're going to kill me but I couldn't resist haha.
Right before I was heading to the airport, I had Kelly snap a quick photo of my 2nd round with big green! How fun is this side by side.
Left - November 2011, Right - March 2013
After my first leg of this 20 hours of flying I signed up for, I headed into NYC to explore with Adrienne. Even though it was just for the day it was so nice to see Adrienne and break up the flights a bit. Oh definitely forgot to mention this one, guess who has poison oak? Lovely right. I had no idea a backpacking trip 2 weeks ago would have reprecussions for this trip. All in all it's still around and I'm trying to use the hydrocortisone I picked up in New York to stop me from in itching (written as I'm itching my leg). 

Adi and I roaming around the city.
After spending the day in NYC, I hopped on another 'red eye' to Bombay. This one although was 16 hours. I watched a couple moves, passed out and woke up just an hour before landing. Bombay has been a great place to start my India trip. All of the couch surfers I've been meeting up with or staying with been incredibly generous. I'll write more about what I've been up to in Bombay in my next post. Until then, I'll share with you a photo from playing Holi yesterday. Happy Holi!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

On The Road Again....

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." -Miriam Beard


I’m very excited, yet a bit nervous to be heading out on another solo trip. This time I’ll be on the road for about 9 weeks. It was all just an idea I had a few months ago and now my departure is in 16 days!!

The initial driving force behind this trip is Scottie & Em’s wedding in Drubrovnik, Croatia in May. Of course the scheming began....If I’m in Croatia then I should visit Tomo in Slovenia and OH Ami is still in India right? This all led to asking my work if I could take a leave for a couple months. I am blessed to work for a company who truly has a work/life balance. My leave was approved without any resistance. YAY & Thank You to Primitive Logic.

Once my flight was booked through vayama.com it all started to feel real. I highly recommend checking out vayama - they were about $200 less than anywhere else I looked. Only downfall is you don’t get to select your seats when you book your flight. You need to call all the airlines or go to their website to select your seat, but hey that effort was worth saving $200!

Here’s what my March 23rd to June 1st looks like:

NYC for 12 hrs - March 24th
Just enough time to catch up with Adrienne, one of my good friends & old SF roomie! Hoping to pick a good lunch spot and catch up with a few others - Erica, Jessica let me know if you’re around!!

INDIA - March 25th - May 3rd



Where to start. I’m really excited to see India through my own eyes. I’ve heard so many different things from so many people. Thank you to all who’ve given me amazing advice and spent time answering my questions. My brick of a guide book has already many fun notes & recs thanks to Laura! This video above that Sarah S. discovered truly lit me up. What an invigorating culture!

Where exactly I’m going is still up in the air. I know I’ll begin my trip in Bombay & fly out of Dehli, but beyond that here are all my ideas & recommendations I’ve been told: Ajanta/Ellora, Hampi, Goa, Kerala, Madurai, Varanasi, Hardiwar, Rishikesh, Manali, Amristar, Ladakh,  Agra (Taj Mahal), Rajasthan - Jaipur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer , Dehli.  DANG, I just rambled that all off by memory, all my research and chats with fellow travellers is helping.

Clearly that is not all possible in 6 weeks though. I do know...

  • From my couch surfing interactions, the people are wonderful! From the moment I step in India, I have a warm welcome awaiting me and I’m not even there yet!
  • I will wear Saris and embrace the culture
  • I’m excited to meet Ami, an ex-Deloitter too, and travel for a bit together
  • I will stay in an Ashram along the way and volunteer. Sarah Marino all of the work that you are doing is incredible. Sarah shared this video with me, what a beautiful story. It most definitely started my love affair with India:  


SWITZERLAND - May 3rd - 5th
Krispies you better meet me in Zurich!!!

CROATIA - May 6th - 20th
I’m looking to have at least 2 weeks to explore this beautiful country. EEEE I can’t wait to see the beautiful ocean and witness Scott & Em’s wedding!
Here’s what I have planned: Zagreb → Piltvice National Park → Krka National Park → Split/Hvar → Dubrovnik

BOSNIA &/or MONTENEGRO - May 20th - May 25th
I haven’t done much research yet, so any advice is definitely welcome even though I many not have time for these 2. I’ll be veryclose in Dubrovnik so at least a day trip will have to happen.

SLOVENIA - May 25th - May 31st
I’ll get to spend some time catching up with Tomo who is from here. Tomo and I met on a very very long bus ride from Guatemala to Nicaragua. Looking forward to seeing his country & his life there!

SWITZERLAND - May 31st - June 1st
I’ve heard you’re beautiful, but too pricey for me right now. I’ll probably be spending minimal time in Zurich. I just need to be there in time to catch my flight back to SFO!

I have a subleaser, Kelly, staying in my room - glad that we can help her start her new life in SF. Thank you Amy & Julia for being supportive! My checklist of pre-travel to do’s is getting shorter by the day - mend my tennis’s, get travel meds, find a sturdy day back yadda yadda. Ok maybe the list quite isn't getting shorter, but I’ll get there.

Everything is truly starting to align and fall in place once again. If you’re intentional in your desires you can make it happen. Of course with any desire there is still a lot of energy and work that must be sacrificed for your desire to manifest, but it’s all worth it!

In Love & Light,


Bri
From my trip to Hawaii a couple weeks ago with my mum & gma.