Words of Wisdom

This morning I woke up early (9am which is super early) came downstairs and wished both my grandparents a happy new year. It's tradition to bend down and touch their feet. This is the way they give you a blessing. My grandfather sat up and I asked him if he had any advice for me. He responded "Yes".

1) Be happy

2) Respect your elders

3) Enjoy Life

4) Be Brave

My grandfather has taught my many things over the years but these are four very simple teachings I personally do live by and will continue to live by. You may choose practice these teachings in your daily life. I think they are pretty simple.

Thanks Dada (grandfather)

Happy New Year

In with the new... out with the old

First off I would like to wish all my family and friends a very happy and safe Diwali (new year)! As traditions goes you're supposed clean your house from top to bottom and wear new clothes oh yes and eat as much as you can! Gotta love it. Yesterday we helped my Kaki (aunt) and Ba (grandmother) around the house. We also did some shopping as well. All the houses are lit up with divas (lights), it's like Christmas here without the cheesy commercials (well there are cheesy diwali commericals). The other night we ate at this amazing restaurant called Rajwadu. http://www.rajwadu.com/ It's all outdoor seating and serves some great Gujarati food. The ambiance and service is amazing. If you've been to Vishala in Ahmedabad you'll love this place. I think I may consider being a food critic upon my return to the states! Gotta run, we're headed to lunch with the family. (more food)

If you're interested to read more about Diwali check out this site: http://www.diwalifestival.org/diwali-in-gujarat.html

With love, Margee

Seva Cafe

Last night we visited Seva Cafe on CG road in Ahmedabad. If you are planning to come to A'bad anytime soon you must come to this cafe. It's not like any cafe you've been to where you spend $5 on a latte and get lousy service. This cafe not only has amazing food, the people who work there are all volunteers, including the cook. The definition of Seva is volunteer work; selfless service; work offered to God. That is exactly what they practice here. On top of providing a very humble atmosphere the food is of no charge. After you complete your meal an envelope is placed at your table and you can pay whatever you wish for your meal 100 rupees or five rupees, it's up to you. They also have a place for local artists to display their artwork and often have poetry nights. They also list the profits they make and all goto to local charities or families.

My cousins and I have volunteered tonight to either serve, wash dishes or help out whatever way we can. Today we visited Manav Sadhna where Rakhee is volunteering at and our dear friend Pinki was several years ago. They were cleaning the ashram for Diwali. Manav Sadhna is at the Gandhi Ashram (where Gandhi used to live and practice). We visited the largest slum in Gujarat and sat in on a preschool session. It such a delight to see these little three year olds sing and recite their ABC's. The organization is amazing in the work that is has done in Ahmedabad. We sat and met with the director Virenbhai who is truly an inpirational man.

Keeping cool. Thanks for reading!

~ Margee

http://www.sevacafe.org/

http://www.manavsadhna.org/

Fair and Lovely

Watching Bollywood films and TV commercials here is always amusing. Beauty is determined by your skin color. The "fairness" craze here is above and beyond. Every Bollywood actress and women in commercials are fair, however this population probably represents only a fraction of the Indian population. Yet, one would think all Indians look fair. Every other commercial has some air brushed women selling a fairness skin product and usually the darker people are the servants or rickshaw drivers. Coming here often gives me a complex.. is it wrong to be dark? When I got back from Thailand my whole family said "Oh my Margee you got so dark". It's like I caught some type of disease. Meanwhile, back in the states some pay to get tan. I tell them this and they shake their heads in disbelief. In the states, most commercials have relatively thin women in commericals and thin actresses as well. These commercials and movies are what most woman see as being the standard or the norm.

Dove recently launched a campaign for real beauty. The commercials they have show real women, tall, overweight, skinny, white, black, asian, everything. I think it's a great campaign to promote individuality. My hopes is that many women that do have the "darkness" complex realize it's what's on the inside that counts.

A cleaner Ahmedabad

Well we made it to Ahmedabad. This is where my grandparents and family live and where my parents grew up. I will be here for about 10 days and then head to Bharuch for my volunteer work. It's was great seeing my grandparents, my cousins, aunt and uncle. We all live under the same roof which is nice there's always something going on. In a couple of days we'll be celebrating Diwali (Festival of Lights/New Year). During that time we pretty much eat and visit family members, and fireworks. The tradition is also to buy new clothes. It's always interesting coming back home and seeing the changes that have taken place in Ahmedabad. The biggest change I've seen is the environmentally friendly rickshaws. The banned the "unfriendly" ones since Ahmedabad was probably had the most air pollution in all of India. On occasion you may see a friendly rickshaw exhausting kerosene but it's rare now. The locals are now conscious to limit the use of fireworks or use environmentally friendly fireworks (which I don't think are super friendly). At any rate the fact that Ahmdabadians are more aware of the environment is good to hear.

Cheers!

ps - Thank you Skins for beating the Browns (sorry Ekta and Mikey). Thank you Dallas for losing to the Rams. Mr. Jones any comments?

T I I (This is India).....

Got to Mumbai last night in one piece. We're staying at a friends place in downtown Mumbai. The drive from the airport to Sujals place took about an hour but it was an eyeopening combined with a burst of senses hour. I will try to paint a picture in your mind of what I saw and some of my thoughts.

We got into an old taxi (rickshaw) and headed south towards downtown. Instantly, the traffic was bumper to bumper with cars, bikes, scooters, rickshaws and people. When you arrive at a new place it's like an overload on your senses.. you smell different things, see different things, taste different things and hear different noises. I guess it all hit me at once... oh my god I'm in India.

Blink. Breathe (try not to choke from the smog).

We inched our way further into downtown. It was interesting to be in a nice neighborhood with tall skyscrapers, a Jimmy Choo store then the next turn see stacks and stacks of slum developments and kids running through the streets without shoes.

Blink. Breathe.

For me, I've been to India before I've seen the socioeconomic diversity. But every time I come here I just question it. How is there a Jimmy Choo store here but right outside of the store there's a kid running around without shoes? How does this country of 1.1 billion people function? The answer..... T I I (This is India as the expats here say).

Margee

Americans

Update.....

Number of American we've met: 2

Orlando, FL was representin' Thailand. We met Matt and John they were traveling SE Asia. They too were excited to meet Americans.

Off to Mumbai. Thank you Thailand for wonderful memories!

Recommendation if you come to Ko Samui go to the Jungle Club for dinner. You will not be let down. I promise. The views are amazing, the food is wonderful and the staff is very personable.

http://www.kohsamui.com/jungleclub/

~ ةشقلثث

Goodbye Thailand, Hello India

Today is our last day in Thailand. We've had an amazing time. I can't wait to post my pics. We just got massage #4 and a facial. I wish I could take one of the Thai women home with me just for massages, facials and pad thai's daily. Yesterday, we rented a scooter. I was the driver and Rakhee sat in the back. We kind of looked like Dumb and Dumber. Tomorrow we head off to Mumbai, India. I am so excited to see my family and hug my grandparents! I will leave you this list of things that have fascinated me about Thailand

Things that fascinate me about Thailand

1) Maya Bay especially the limestone structures in the ocean

2) How you can get the best massage of your life for about $5

3) The plethora of creepy European/Canadian men with young Thai women, very bizarre

4) The Thai Food and if you go to a Thai restaurant chances are you can order a cheese pizza too. They love Italian food here.

5) There are pharmacies at every block. Even better you can self treat yourself! You can basically walk in and treat your depression, menثىgitis, GI bleed, whatever! Very cool!

Off to the pool... :-)

- Margee

Ko Samui

4 hrs of sleep, 2 ferry rides, a long bus ride, a 45 min open truck ride we made it to the other side of Thailand... Ko Samui. We miss Ko Phi Phi already. We had traveling buddies and local friends we made. Last night it rained or poured I should say for hours. Luckily we found shelter at a bar and had very enlightening conversations with a Romanian guy named Ovie and a German man named Helmut. Great guys. They told us about their travels thoughout India. It's interesting to hear what travelers think about India. So many people have said it's their favorite place to travel.
The Full Moon Party is today at Ko Phagnan (which is an hr boat ride) but after all day of traveling we don't feel inclined to rave the night away (sorry Patel and Matt).

I have so much more to say but can't think right now. Just had a fabulous dinner...red snapper

Tomorrow relax and soak up our last days in Thailand. Leaving for Mumbai on Friday.

Number of Americans we've met: 0

- Margee

Blessed

Still in Ko Phi Phi, we can't get enough of it. Yesterday, we went rock climbing. I didn't realize southern Thailand was known for it's amazing rock climbing. The group we went with were great and the guides were amazing. It rained while we were climbing which cooled us down a bit. Pics to come.

It's been a week now since I've left home and so far I've been to Paris (the airport, still counts), Mumbai, Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi, Ao Nang, Railay, and Ko Phi Phi. I guess a part of me is still in awe of what I've seen and done in the last week. During our 2 hr longtail ride over to Ko Phi Phi I had time to reflect. For 2 hrs all I could think about was how lucky I am to have seen so much in my life. The reason I have seen so much in my life and experienced so much is because of my parents. I thought about all the sacrifices they have made for my brother and I. So Mommy and Daddy, thank you for allowing me to experience these pleasures. Thank you for the motivation, determination, packed lunches, birthday parties, college education... and many more.

Today, sunset tour of Maya Bay (where The Beach was filmed). Tomorrow long day travel to the eastern coast Ko Samui. Our trip is quickly coming to and end but we have much much more to explore!

~ Margee

ps Stupid Redskins..... how could you lose to St. Louis at home with a new coach?! Better note, Hook 'Em!!!! Texas beat Oklahoma... my bro was at the game.

26 December 2004

We arrived to Ko Phi Phi (prounced pee pee) yesterday at 5pm via longtail boat. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing and breathtaking the 1.5 hr ride was. We started in Ao Nang and took a ride over to Railay. Railay is only accessable via boat and is a rock climbing paradise. (see pic, I didn't take this but just to give you and idea of what we saw, by the way the pic does not to any justice to the real deal). Rakhee and I were just speechless as we arrived. We sat in the ocean for about 30 min just staring at the rock formations and soaking in the surroundings. Then we took a 1 hr ride to Ko Phi Phi.

Ko Phi Phi was pretty much wiped out during the tsunami that hit 26 Dec 2004. There is still contruction going on here. It's hard to see the bay and imagine it pulling back about 200 yards and then coming in. There are signs of evacuation routes and emergency boxes everywhere. It seems as though the community is pretty strong here and pulled together to rebuild.

We're staying at the Phi Phi View Point Resort in a little bungalow that overlooks the ocean.. here's the site. http://www.phiphiviewpoint.com/

All, is well. Going rock climbing at 2pm! Can't wait.

Go Skins! 5-1 ?!!!

Margee

"By golly you're American?!"

Let me backtrack a little and tell you my whereabouts. We're in Ao Nang (which is on the coast near Karabi). It was quite an adventure getting here. We flew from Bangkok to Phuket yesterday, then took a cab to the local bus station (after asking 10 people), got onto the local bus (no one spoke English), took a bus to Karabi (2.5 hrs). Thank god a local told us "go go you're stop here, go". Then took a taxi to Ao Nang. Sorry for the super run on sentence. It's gorgeous here, the limestone structures are amazing. It truely does look like "The Beach". Today, heading to Ko Phi Phi (google it if you've never seen pics)

Ok, so by golly you're American. Along our travels we've been meeting people from around the world like Australia, England, Chile, Germany, Israel, Canada but no Americans. This doesn't shock me the slightest bit. It does shock the people we meet though. "You're American?! But Americans don't travel". It's quite sad that we come from a country of so much freedom, resources however we limit ourselves. Don't get me wrong American is beautiful and there is tons to see. I highly recommend you renew your passports (or get one) and pick a destination and go! You're 401K will be there when you get back, or at least some it. So will your job and all the luxuries America has to offer. This is just a observation I had.

ps don't assume Canadians are American, they get pretty offended when you say that.
pps Who are the Skins playing on Sunday?

Margs

Lines from Bangkok

Day 2 here in Bangkok. There has been political unrest here near the Parliament however, we have no seen any signs of it. I guess it's far from the touristy stuff. Mission accomplished yesterday.... we took showers! We've had a busy day discovering Bangkok. Got up early and saw the Grand Palace and the reclining buddha. It was way too hot to stay out longer, so we took a dip in the pool. We were craving some greasy American food after that.. yum nachos! Pad Thai and fried rice is just way to hard to eat when it's 90 degrees (don't know the conversion to celsius).

I thought I'd share some interesting lines we've heard so far from locals:

Tuk Tuk driver (cabbies): You come, 10 Bhat only, I take you to Grand Palace
Street vendors: 5 Bhat only, you try, you eat
Street vendor: Pretty color, look nice, you want, you buy.. I make deal

Margee: Excuse me, what is this?
Street vendor: 10 bhat only
Margee: But what is it? Something to eat? Soap
Street vendor: Ok, you buy, 5 bhat only
Margee: (walks away)

I'll share more later....off to the Floating Market!

*Sorry, unable to upload pics but never fear I'm sure I'll be sending all 500 pics to you soon :-)

- Margee

Bangkok!!!

It's 930am and we made it to Bangkok. I seriously have a loss of time and what day of the week it is. We landed at 6am and took a public bus into town. Met a very neat Australian traveler. There has been some political unrest here for the past month or so.. but no signs of it yet. The city so far is neat and pretty clean. I can't wait to eat some pinapple fried rice!! There are street vendors everyone making some of my favorite Thai food. The plan for today is too shower... 4 days and a light "bucket bath" isn't cutting it. After that, seeing the reclining buddha and drink some Singha (pronouced sing) beer. Yumm!! Rakhee and I decided to call our trip, Eat, Sleep, Eat (instead of Eat, Pray, Love). Creative huh?

Side note, I am extremely excited the Skins beat the Eagles. I had the biggest smile as I boarded the plane. Thank you Jason, Jim, Clinton, Santana, Chris and friends :-)

xoxox Margee

Maximum City

20 hrs, 5mg of ambien, 2 bottles of wine, a funny french film later we made it to Mumbai! Of course, I didnt sleep. I pretty much watched in envy as Rakhee was peacefully sleeping. We got to my aunts and passed out. This morning I was suddenly awakened by a rooster. One would think how a rooster got here in a city of 17 million. We got up and started adventuring through the narrow streets of Santa Cruz West. There have been many offers made of "pretty nice tops" and "colourful skirts" made. I personally am not a big shopper especially in India. I'm pretty beat and have a long night ahead. We fly to Bangkok tonight. Computer is acting up. Gonna run!

With love, Margee

The Beach

Since we're going to be on that side of the earth, venturing to Thailand seems like a great idea. Rakhee and I were introduced to the hit film The Beach in 2000. Ever since then Leonardo DiCaprio has inspired us to discover Thailand. We land in Mumbai and fly to Bangkok the next night. We're planning to head south to Phuket, Ko Samui, Ko Phi Phi (Ko means island) and wherever fellow backpackers suggest. I'll leave you with two favorite quotes from the movie. If you haven't seen it, go rent it, Netflix it, whatever....

Trust me, it's paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. From mine it's a generation that's circles the globe and searches something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it.

Etienne: One kilometer.
Françoise: Two.
Etienne: Richard?
Richard: I dunno; I'm American.
Etienne: So?
Richard: I think in miles, not kilometers.
Etienne: Okay, so how many miles do you think it is?
Richard: I dunno, but it looks like a long way away.
(Leo, I feel you... I can't think metric)