So I FINALLY make it to Cairo… Only 36 hours, three airports and 5 later. Man it has been quite the… um Day? So to recap a little. I woke up at 3:00am ish July 1st, and got to the Dubai international airport around 4:15/4:20 ish. After not making the 6:00am or 3:00pm flights to cairo I start trying to figure out where else I could fly to so to spend as little as possible on a real ticket from there to Cairo. I looked at flying into three different cities in Saudi Arabia, two in Pakistan, one in Sudan/Ethiopia/Jordan/Israel/Omen/Iran/Yeman. I tried all over the place, and the cheapest I found was from Tehran, Iran but that price quickly jumped an extra 0 within 30 min. So now it’s around 8:00pm and I’ve been in the staff ticketing section for 16 hours checking loads and calling my mom and trying to figure out the best route to take which was starting to look like skipping Egypt and just taking the wide open flight to Osaka, Japan at 3:10am July 2. After hours of more planning and failing, i decided to call it all off and just head to Japan right then and end my trip early. So now I’m talking with the ticket agents for Emirates airlines and they say they can’t issue me a ticket based off the ticket I had because it was a ticket under Qatar Airways and had the city Doha to Cairo… Anyways thats whole arguement is complicated to explain to people who dont already know about this stuff so lets just say Emirates let me enter their country using the first half of my ticket but now wont let me leave using the second half which is now inflicting me costs of probbably having to pay for another hotel… So now im flippin out on the ladies, and just want to go home but my mom says how about I get myself to Doha so that I can use my ticket without any questions or problems… This is where the 376 dollars comes in. I end up buying a ticket from Dubai to Doha which is only a 40 min flight JUST so I can try to standby out of that country. yay… It was 1:50am July 2nd when i bought that ticket… I’ve been at the airport for 22 hours. At 5:55am I depart to Doha, Qatar and get a nice 30 min nap in. The sun is out by now. Now in Doha there is a flight to Cairo at 1:oopm. I am now chilling out at the Doha International Airport for another seven and a half hours. Oh by the way, we left Dubai at 5:55am and arrived in Doha at 5:30 am lol. After much standing, napping, walking, and more napping the Qatar transfer guys got me on the flight to CAIRO! They were such a huge help and it was a really good change from the damn Emirates.
I land in Cair at 4:05pm.
I need a visa to vist Cairo which I am able to pay for on arrival at the airport but I soon find out I need cash to do so… so security at the passport check hold on to my passport and let me out to access an ATM. On my way back in, I guess you aren’t allowed back in the airport once you leave, I get bombarded by security asking me why im walking back in, or at least I think thats what they were saying since it was in arab… So anyways i pull out my notebook, which has all my info and receipts and phone numbers and maps and well stuff I need, to show the men my atm receipt and that i had to get cash to pay for my Egypt visa. THEN THEY SNATCH MY NOTEBOOT OUT OF MY HAND and wouldn’t give it back and were like trying to treat it as my passport and walking around talking to the other security men and im like “hey give that back, that’s not my passport I need that, the other guy has my passport, i was just getting money to pay for my visa” and im kinda freakin out. they start askin me where my passport is… omg I just told them… anyways i tell them again and say to follow me and i will show them. so the guy still has my notebook and were walking and i finally get my passport back and show him, he gives back my notebook then im off to get my visa and go through the customs check.
ok past the airport and out in the real world. great now come the flock of tourist helpers and all that fun stuff.
hmm anyways, after telling people to back off and leave me alone, i sit and figure things out. i catch a taxi and start checking if any hostels have any rooms, all the ones i wanted didn’t and all i wanted was one room for one night so i could relax and figure out my next plan in peace. so now im in the Hotel Indiana. Its but I really dont care, its a nice huge room with AC and so tonight i rest, eat and make reservations for a cheaper place for the rest of my time here in egypt. Man still can’t believe I made it. If you could have gone through all the shit i went through the past day and half… man.
ok well im out.
I plan on being in egypt through the 12th, and then go through all this again on my way to Japan. bah can’t wait to get home, kinda.
byee
So I FINALLY make it to Cairo… Only 36 hours, three airports and 5 later. Man it has been quite the… um Day? So to recap a little. I woke up at 3:00am ish July 1st, and got to the Dubai international airport around 4:15/4:20 ish. After not making the 6:00am or 3:00pm flights to cairo I start trying to figure out where else I could fly to so to spend as little as possible on a real ticket from there to Cairo. I looked at flying into three different cities in Saudi Arabia, two in Pakistan, one in Sudan/Ethiopia/Jordan/Israel/Omen/Iran/Yeman. I tried all over the place, and the cheapest I found was from Tehran, Iran but that price quickly jumped an extra 0 within 30 min. So now it’s around 8:00pm and I’ve been in the staff ticketing section for 16 hours checking loads and calling my mom and trying to figure out the best route to take which was starting to look like skipping Egypt and just taking the wide open flight to Osaka, Japan at 3:10am July 2. After hours of more planning and failing, i decided to call it all off and just head to Japan right then and end my trip early. So now I’m talking with the ticket agents for Emirates airlines and they say they can’t issue me a ticket based off the ticket I had because it was a ticket under Qatar Airways and had the city Doha to Cairo… Anyways thats whole arguement is complicated to explain to people who dont already know about this stuff so lets just say Emirates let me enter their country using the first half of my ticket but now wont let me leave using the second half which is now inflicting me costs of probbably having to pay for another hotel… So now im flippin out on the ladies, and just want to go home but my mom says how about I get myself to Doha so that I can use my ticket without any questions or problems… This is where the 376 dollars comes in. I end up buying a ticket from Dubai to Doha which is only a 40 min flight JUST so I can try to standby out of that country. yay… It was 1:50am July 2nd when i bought that ticket… I’ve been at the airport for 22 hours. At 5:55am I depart to Doha, Qatar and get a nice 30 min nap in. The sun is out by now. Now in Doha there is a flight to Cairo at 1:oopm. I am now chilling out at the Doha International Airport for another seven and a half hours. Oh by the way, we left Dubai at 5:55am and arrived in Doha at 5:30 am lol. After much standing, napping, walking, and more napping the Qatar transfer guys got me on the flight to CAIRO! They were such a huge help and it was a really good change from the damn Emirates.
I land in Cair at 4:05pm.
I need a visa to vist Cairo which I am able to pay for on arrival at the airport but I soon find out I need cash to do so… so security at the passport check hold on to my passport and let me out to access an ATM. On my way back in, I guess you aren’t allowed back in the airport once you leave, I get bombarded by security asking me why im walking back in, or at least I think thats what they were saying since it was in arab… So anyways i pull out my notebook, which has all my info and receipts and phone numbers and maps and well stuff I need, to show the men my atm receipt and that i had to get cash to pay for my Egypt visa. THEN THEY SNATCH MY NOTEBOOT OUT OF MY HAND and wouldn’t give it back and were like trying to treat it as my passport and walking around talking to the other security men and im like “hey give that back, that’s not my passport I need that, the other guy has my passport, i was just getting money to pay for my visa” and im kinda freakin out. they start askin me where my passport is… omg I just told them… anyways i tell them again and say to follow me and i will show them. so the guy still has my notebook and were walking and i finally get my passport back and show him, he gives back my notebook then im off to get my visa and go through the customs check.
ok past the airport and out in the real world. great now come the flock of tourist helpers and all that fun stuff.
hmm anyways, after telling people to back off and leave me alone, i sit and figure things out. i catch a taxi and start checking if any hostels have any rooms, all the ones i wanted didn’t and all i wanted was one room for one night so i could relax and figure out my next plan in peace. so now im in the Hotel Indiana. Its but I really dont care, its a nice huge room with AC and so tonight i rest, eat and make reservations for a cheaper place for the rest of my time here in egypt. Man still can’t believe I made it. If you could have gone through all the shit i went through the past day and half… man.
ok well im out.
I plan on being in egypt through the 12th, and then go through all this again on my way to Japan. bah can’t wait to get home, kinda.
byee
So I FINALLY make it to Cairo… Only 36 hours, three airports and 5 later. Man it has been quite the… um Day? So to recap a little. I woke up at 3:00am ish July 1st, and got to the Dubai international airport around 4:15/4:20 ish. After not making the 6:00am or 3:00pm flights to cairo I start trying to figure out where else I could fly to so to spend as little as possible on a real ticket from there to Cairo. I looked at flying into three different cities in Saudi Arabia, two in Pakistan, one in Sudan/Ethiopia/Jordan/Israel/Omen/Iran/Yeman. I tried all over the place, and the cheapest I found was from Tehran, Iran but that price quickly jumped an extra 0 within 30 min. So now it’s around 8:00pm and I’ve been in the staff ticketing section for 16 hours checking loads and calling my mom and trying to figure out the best route to take which was starting to look like skipping Egypt and just taking the wide open flight to Osaka, Japan at 3:10am July 2. After hours of more planning and failing, i decided to call it all off and just head to Japan right then and end my trip early. So now I’m talking with the ticket agents for Emirates airlines and they say they can’t issue me a ticket based off the ticket I had because it was a ticket under Qatar Airways and had the city Doha to Cairo… Anyways thats whole arguement is complicated to explain to people who dont already know about this stuff so lets just say Emirates let me enter their country using the first half of my ticket but now wont let me leave using the second half which is now inflicting me costs of probbably having to pay for another hotel… So now im flippin out on the ladies, and just want to go home but my mom says how about I get myself to Doha so that I can use my ticket without any questions or problems… This is where the 376 dollars comes in. I end up buying a ticket from Dubai to Doha which is only a 40 min flight JUST so I can try to standby out of that country. yay… It was 1:50am July 2nd when i bought that ticket… I’ve been at the airport for 22 hours. At 5:55am I depart to Doha, Qatar and get a nice 30 min nap in. The sun is out by now. Now in Doha there is a flight to Cairo at 1:oopm. I am now chilling out at the Doha International Airport for another seven and a half hours. Oh by the way, we left Dubai at 5:55am and arrived in Doha at 5:30 am lol. After much standing, napping, walking, and more napping the Qatar transfer guys got me on the flight to CAIRO! They were such a huge help and it was a really good change from the damn Emirates.
I land in Cair at 4:05pm.
I need a visa to vist Cairo which I am able to pay for on arrival at the airport but I soon find out I need cash to do so… so security at the passport check hold on to my passport and let me out to access an ATM. On my way back in, I guess you aren’t allowed back in the airport once you leave, I get bombarded by security asking me why im walking back in, or at least I think thats what they were saying since it was in arab… So anyways i pull out my notebook, which has all my info and receipts and phone numbers and maps and well stuff I need, to show the men my atm receipt and that i had to get cash to pay for my Egypt visa. THEN THEY SNATCH MY NOTEBOOT OUT OF MY HAND and wouldn’t give it back and were like trying to treat it as my passport and walking around talking to the other security men and im like “hey give that back, that’s not my passport I need that, the other guy has my passport, i was just getting money to pay for my visa” and im kinda freakin out. they start askin me where my passport is… omg I just told them… anyways i tell them again and say to follow me and i will show them. so the guy still has my notebook and were walking and i finally get my passport back and show him, he gives back my notebook then im off to get my visa and go through the customs check.
ok past the airport and out in the real world. great now come the flock of tourist helpers and all that fun stuff.
hmm anyways, after telling people to back off and leave me alone, i sit and figure things out. i catch a taxi and start checking if any hostels have any rooms, all the ones i wanted didn’t and all i wanted was one room for one night so i could relax and figure out my next plan in peace. so now im in the Hotel Indiana. Its but I really dont care, its a nice huge room with AC and so tonight i rest, eat and make reservations for a cheaper place for the rest of my time here in egypt. Man still can’t believe I made it. If you could have gone through all the shit i went through the past day and half… man.
ok well im out.
I plan on being in egypt through the 12th, and then go through all this again on my way to Japan. bah can’t wait to get home, kinda.
byee
The night was cold, but thanks to the extra sleeping bag we bought, we stayed warm. We packed up camp and headed up into Yosemite. Wow - it was so beautiful! I really wanted to stay and experience more of it. We got out in the “High Sierra” and let Ben climb around on some of The Boulders sticking out of the ground. He decided to take a nap when we returned to the truck, so we drove through the rest. I did get out to take pictures at “Olmsted Point”. Wow, what a view! The “High Sierra” was my favorite part, though the “Valley” was supposed to be quite beautiful as well and we did not get to see it. Hopefully we will get to return some day.
The brakes were over heating (we were going thousands of Miles down hill pretty quickly) so we stopped outside of Yosemite to let them cool, and decided to explore the area. We found a nice peaceful spot on the river and relaxed and played there for an hour and a half. It was a lot of fun! The river was beautiful - a lot of colorful rocks made up the river bed. I was trying to find the prettiest ones for Ben to play with. I took him out into the water and let him touch the water - he really liked that. We all got a lot wetter than we planned, but it sure felt good!
We stopped in Oakland and played in the park with Ben for a couple hours. He needed some time out of the car.Then we made our way to San Fransisco (Ben thankfully took another nap), but Kevin was nervous when we got there because the GPS was still not working. But he turned it on to look at the maps and it surprisingly got a signal! It helped us find our way, though it lost the signal a couple times and then we got lost for a bit.. but we eventually found a hotel, ordered some thai, and got some rest. Looking forward to getting out of this crazy city!
The night was cold, but thanks to the extra sleeping bag we bought, we stayed warm. We packed up camp and headed up into Yosemite. Wow - it was so beautiful! I really wanted to stay and experience more of it. We got out in the “High Sierra” and let Ben climb around on some of The Boulders sticking out of the ground. He decided to take a nap when we returned to the truck, so we drove through the rest. I did get out to take pictures at “Olmsted Point”. Wow, what a view! The “High Sierra” was my favorite part, though the “Valley” was supposed to be quite beautiful as well and we did not get to see it. Hopefully we will get to return some day.
The brakes were over heating (we were going thousands of Miles down hill pretty quickly) so we stopped outside of Yosemite to let them cool, and decided to explore the area. We found a nice peaceful spot on the river and relaxed and played there for an hour and a half. It was a lot of fun! The river was beautiful - a lot of colorful rocks made up the river bed. I was trying to find the prettiest ones for Ben to play with. I took him out into the water and let him touch the water - he really liked that. We all got a lot wetter than we planned, but it sure felt good!
We stopped in Oakland and played in the park with Ben for a couple hours. He needed some time out of the car.Then we made our way to San Fransisco (Ben thankfully took another nap), but Kevin was nervous when we got there because the GPS was still not working. But he turned it on to look at the maps and it surprisingly got a signal! It helped us find our way, though it lost the signal a couple times and then we got lost for a bit.. but we eventually found a hotel, ordered some thai, and got some rest. Looking forward to getting out of this crazy city!
The night was cold, but thanks to the extra sleeping bag we bought, we stayed warm. We packed up camp and headed up into Yosemite. Wow - it was so beautiful! I really wanted to stay and experience more of it. We got out in the “High Sierra” and let Ben climb around on some of The Boulders sticking out of the ground. He decided to take a nap when we returned to the truck, so we drove through the rest. I did get out to take pictures at “Olmsted Point”. Wow, what a view! The “High Sierra” was my favorite part, though the “Valley” was supposed to be quite beautiful as well and we did not get to see it. Hopefully we will get to return some day.
The brakes were over heating (we were going thousands of Miles down hill pretty quickly) so we stopped outside of Yosemite to let them cool, and decided to explore the area. We found a nice peaceful spot on the river and relaxed and played there for an hour and a half. It was a lot of fun! The river was beautiful - a lot of colorful rocks made up the river bed. I was trying to find the prettiest ones for Ben to play with. I took him out into the water and let him touch the water - he really liked that. We all got a lot wetter than we planned, but it sure felt good!
We stopped in Oakland and played in the park with Ben for a couple hours. He needed some time out of the car.Then we made our way to San Fransisco (Ben thankfully took another nap), but Kevin was nervous when we got there because the GPS was still not working. But he turned it on to look at the maps and it surprisingly got a signal! It helped us find our way, though it lost the signal a couple times and then we got lost for a bit.. but we eventually found a hotel, ordered some thai, and got some rest. Looking forward to getting out of this crazy city!
Today we woke in Reno, Nevada at a Motel 6. A hot shower and quiet room was exactly what we needed. Sylvia was pleased to find that “we’re still making money” as she went online and caught up with the business end of things. Ben and I were exploring the stairs of the hotel and re-organizing the Tahoe. The GPS unit is giving us guff and I struggled with that for a bit. I noted that we’d used about a pint of water so far in the HHO cell and that my adjustments to the vacuum relief valves were right on and now were operating perfectly. I don’t know if I would be so excited about the HHO unit if it were difficult to make or to maintain. People (including myself) have better things to do than worry about their cars all the time.
As I was checking out of the hotel I asked about “those drive-through wedding chapels you hear about” - yes, the clerk says - here, go to Silver Bells chapel and tell them we sent you. Silver Bells? I just put Ben’s silver bells from Christmas back into his toybox, hmmm. We go to investigate and find Richard and Sharon (BOTH our mother’s names and Sylvia’s step-father’s name is Richard as well) and that Sharon (who is deaf) would be marrying us. So far so good, then Ruth comes to drive us in the limo to get our license (Ben has two great grandma Ruths) our first limo ride (all three of us). Afterward, Ben falls asleep and we smile our way through a simple ceremony that brought a tear to my eye. Photos of the Heddwyn’s and we’re off again!
A good drive South to Lake Topaz where we say hello to a few seagulls and play by the water. The weather was perfect! After an hour of stretching we get back into the Tahoe and sing our way to SR 120 and, just before we get into Yosemite, we stop for the night at a campground where we pick out a site nestled in a copse of trees. I have to admit I was a little put-off by the Bear Boxes - one at each camp site to hold your food. Should a bear decide to come down for food it would supposedly be deterred by the box. I put our food into it but I had to ponder… if I were a bear, the box would irritate me so bad I would have to wake someone up so they could open it for me. Then I may notice that their car is a box too…
anyway… sleep tight…
Rishikesh is orange. Nearly everyone is wearing orange garmets, the cumin-spiced food is orange, the blazing afternoon sun is orange, and even causes the muddy Ganges river to take on a hue of orange. Many buildings are painted orange, the corn is not yellow, but orange, and even my pee is orange from the dehydrating heat of the orange sun.
——-
Every cell in my body is born, serves its function, and dies. During it’s lifetime, each cell remains unaware that it exists within a larger common entity, called “Mark”. LIkewise, every person is born, lives a life, and dies. Most of us remain completely unaware that each of us exists within a larger common entity, called “Earth” or “Nature”. Personal experience and continued awareness of this fact is the path to peace and freedom. We must remember, as Krishnamurti often liked to say, that “the observer is the observed”.
———-
I just had a chai and a smoke with an elderly Indian man who pulled me aside on a crowded street in the Rishikesh market. I recognized his intellect at once, and he explained about how he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and the myriad challenges he has encountered in life. I was struck by how fragile the balance is in our minds.
He ended up being the only Indian I have met thus far who agreed with my viewpoint that having one family more or less in power since the independence of the country isn’t particularly democratic. Like many others I’ve spoken with, he likened the situation to that of the Kennedy dynasty in the U.S. But, he then proceeded to point out the legitimate reasons why Caroline Kennedy wasn’t able to muster a run for the NY Senate seat, and I was flabbergasted. That’s the exact argument I’ve been using. This man looks like the quintessential “average” Indian, but proved to be much much more. It is unlikely encounters such as this one that has formed my very high opinion of the Indian people.
————-
I’m staying with a wonderful family here in Rishikesh. It is nice to sit on my front porch and watch the comings and goings of mom, dad, their three beautiful daughters and two sons, the dog, or one of the two cows (who also roam the nearby crowded streets). It has been very hot here, so the excitement was pointed yesterday when the first rains of this year’s monsoon arrived in the afternoon. When it rains during the Indian monsoon, it really rains. The moisture came down in slanted sheets, blown about by the strong accompanying winds. The cooling effect was most welcome after several days of constant sweating. Apparently the monsoon arrives into Rishikesh, like clockwork, just about this exact day every year. How will climate change alter this pattern? What will be the effect on the crops and the economy in this area? Like the mind of the schizophrenic man that I met, our Earth also hangs in a fragile and beautiful balance. We’re compromising that balance.
———-
The past couple of mornings, I’ve been attending meditation sessions at an Osho center. Osho was a very famous spiritual teacher who pioneered many new meditation techniques designed specifically for the modern/Western mind that is accustomed to a fast pace and lots of noise. So, it is very different from the silent sitting meditation I’ve been doing (Vipassana). This morning we did “laughing meditation”, which was, well, hilarious. This technique comes from the Japanese Buddhist tradition. Osho also incorporates techniques from Hinduism, Sufism, Gurdjieff, and others. Kundalini (chakra) yoga, sound therapy, and Tibetan Nadabrahma meditation are others I’ve sampled and enjoyed while here. It has been most helpful in helping me to BE more in my body, and not only in my mind. And, to further recognize the relationship between the two.
———–
In the afternoons, I’ve linked up with an awesome personal yoga teacher. His name is Ravi Yogi, and we practice for a couple of hours each day. On my final day here, we’ll travel together to meet Ravi’s “guru” or “master”. He describes his master has a “perfect Sadhu”, meaning he has attained full liberation/consciousness, complete alignment with the Creator. Needless to say, I’m very curious and excited. This will happen on the Fourth of July, and I definitely anticipate some fireworks. Ravi describes that his guru lives in a treehouse of sorts in the jungle, completely alone, and in complete harmony with the tigers, leopards, snakes, monkeys, insects, trees, plants, etc. He is 79 years old, and has spent the last fifteen years preparing to go into the high Himalayas where he will live in the snow with the most meagre provisions. He is a modern day ascetic.
It is funny how I stumbled into this situation, and we’ll see where the path leads from here. I’m both open and somewhat skeptical, but if this Sadhu actually happens to be God incarnate, I’m not sure I’ll be able to recognize the fact. A real life Buddha, perhaps the rarest of all creatures on this Earth. Would you even know if one passed you on the street?
———-
I’m beginning to see the same theme in what I’m reading in a number of different books from Jung, Brunton, Krishnamurti, Osho, and Trungpa. It can be called the “Conscious”, the “Overself”, the “Observer”, the “Mind”, the “Great Spirit”, among many other misleading names. They all contain the message that the ultimate answers lie within; that there is a higher Mind that, if we become aware of It, is perfectly aligned with all things in all of space and time. This is what I’ve been calling “Nature”, and could also be called “God”. It is fascinating that the very best in Western pschology (from Jung) only begins to approach discovering the secrets of the mind which have been revealed among yogis and sadhus and buddhas for millenia in the East. The books I’m reading by James George and Paul Brunton do a brilliant job of relating some of this Eastern wisdom to a Western frame of mind. It is all about knowing thyself. Self-mastery.
————
I read in the newspaper today that India has grown by 700 million people (roughly twice the entire U.S. population) in the last 35 years. That is what I read. If this is true, and we continue on this path of growth as humans, we’re sure to wipe ourselves out as a species. Perhaps this is our destined course, as Nature would have it, to restore Her health from this homo sapien cancer. If this isn’t our desired course as a species, it is time, now, to evolve to a higher Being.
Last week, when 221 members of the U.S. House of Rep. vote against putting a price mechanism on the emission of carbon into the atmosphere, I wonder if there is any hope at all. Most of these Congressmen are still finding ways to reason around the scientific fact that humans are changing the natural atmospheric process. They do this because their interests (and the interests of their constituencies) are not preserved or furthered in the prospect of an entirely different economic system that factors in the price of pollution into our market decisions. Indeed, most of industry (particularly big industry)today would not benefit from this potential market shift. Sooner or later, as we continue along our current course, we’ll hit a tipping point where enough people will demand a new system. It probably won’t all happen at once, and in fact, many people are effectively already living in this new economy that is ready to pay for pollution.
The reaction in India to the passage of the climate bill in the House was that it will harm the Indian economy because taxes/tarrifs would increase for everything that they ship to the U.S. This is because there is a clause in the House bill (which will hopefully be omitted from the Senate version) that sets an additional import tariff only on countries that have not signed an international treaty pledging to reduce their own carbon emissions. Of course, China and India have been arguing that only developed nations which have been contributing to the problem of climate change for many decades should bear the cost of fixing the problem. They view any international climate treaty as a ploy by the U.S. to prevent China and India from becoming the new world superpowers. Needless to say, if the U.S. were to take radical action to reduce emissions, and China and India stay on their current course of economic development, our efforts will be more than nullified. So, the big showdown will be in December in Copenhagen, regardless of what happens to the current version of the House climate bill. This is a global issue. That said, the U.S. must take the lead in bringing about a new era of climate responsibility. It just so happens that the largest and most powerful industries in India and China are some of the dirtiest. This is going to be a fight. Perhaps the biggest fight mankind has ever seen. The “freedom fighters” of our generation will have to warriors of simplicity, spirituality, and sustainability. I’ve met many Indians who are already living in accordance with this global movement. Now, we just need to find some leadership…
———-
How do you start an organization that helps people to consume less and better by finding contentment and satisfaction from within instead of constantly searching without? The economic proposition: Save money by spending less. The spiritual proposition: Instead of throwing money and consumption into the personal void within, seek peace and satisfaction thru simple living and connection to Nature/the Overself/Great Spirit/God. We’ll consume through every last resource on this planet and still not realize whatever it is we’re after. What we’re really after is beyond the consumptive ability of our body or our mind. We must rise above the desires of the body and the mind to a higher conciousness. You cannot consume your way to the satisfaction of the soul. What are we really after when we buy our third car? Happiness? Status? Who has more happiness or higher status than an enlightened person? We must recognize that our activity of profligate consumption has no endgame. That is exactly what makes it so unquenchable and so destructive. How do you start a business that sells to people’s soul? The soul is not for sale. No commodity can cater to it. This would require an entirely new type of economy. Putting a price on pollution would be a good start.
——————
A quote from James George: “Can we change ourselves? Can we wake up? Or is all this talk of ‘awakening’ a romantic dream? The answer depends in large part on your point of view. If you are stuck with the common view that ‘you can’t change human nature’, then you probably can’t, since you assume this to be true. If you think that such a change is easily within your grasp, you will also likely be disappointed in due course, because it is not easy. But if you take a look at the great leaps that have already occurred in human evolution and human consciousness, from the African savannah, through the hunter gatherers to the agricultural settlements and on to our own times, there seems to be no reason to doubt that we are an unfinished species, endowed with some degree of free-will, and therefore with contradictory capacities for both self-destructive behavior and for extraordinary breakthroughs of creative energy and intelligence. As the present expression of this contradiction, humanity seems to be at the most crucial crossroads of its long history: we have the power to make the planet uninhabitable, and we also have the potential for a New Renaissance that would be not only sustainable but would begin to use the 80 percent of our forebrain that we seem not yet able to use today…This means that, if we awaken to the realization that we have to change, we will find that we have the capacity to go beyond what we thought were our limits, as individuals and as a species. If we must, we can. And now, if we can, we must. It is not for us to know the Master Plan…but this just might be it.”
Bonjour tous!
Donc, la derniere fois qui nous avons ecrit sur le blog, nous etions dans la magnifique ville de Sapa au Vietnam! Je pense que, depuis le debut du voyage, c’est vraiment notre coup de coeur ! Le lendemain de notre excursion au marcher, nous nous sommes louer une moto (probablement pour la derniere fois car nous ne pensons pas en faire en Chine, ce n’est pas pareil ici) et nous avons donc pu voir d’autres paysages vraiment magnifiques ! Nous sommes egalement aller voir un village d’une minorite ethnique. C’etait tres plaisant aussi bien que la partie que nous ayons vu etait un peu touristique. Nous avons donc pris de belles photos que nous vous montrons ci-dessous. Ah et aussi, nous avons eut a Sapa une autre experience avec nos amies les coquerelles ! Une autre chasse spectaculaire, ou nous avons du revirer la chambre de bord pour trouver notre ennemie. Biensur, c’est Guillaume qui a passer a l’attaque. Puis, on en a vu une deuxieme mais celle la a ete plus facile a tuer. Et, encore une fois, c’est toujours moi qui les vois, j’ai un radar cest sur. (et moi qui les tue commentaire par Guillaume)
En sortant d’une rue, nous avons vu ce troupeaux de Buffle d’eau qui courrait dans les rue! Une vraie corrida!
Bon, cela dit, nous nous sommes ensuite rendus dans la ville de Lao Cai pour traverser a pieds la frontiere entre la Chine et le Vietnam. Au moment de passer en Chine, ils ont pris notre temperature sur le front et celle de Guillaume etait trop elever. Ils ont donc pris ensuite sa temperature sous le bras et cette fois c’etait ok. Nous etions contents parce que sinon, Guillaume aurait probablement ete en quarantaine !
Arriver a Hekou, nous nous sommes rendus a la station d’autobus. Nous avons pris un billet pour une sleeping bus qui partait a 17h50 pour Kunming. Duree du trajet : 10 heures. Ca l’a couter 21 dollars chacun, ce qui est tres cher comparativement a ce qu’on payait avant. Nous nous sommes acheter une provisions de cochonneries a l’epicerie qui etait a coter. La nourriture etait vraiment speciale d’ailleurs dans l’epicerie. Ici, il y a plein de viande emballee sous vide et non refrigeree et de viande sechee non refrigeree, ca me perturbe beaucoup.
En attendant notre autobus, nous avons rencontrer deux filles de la Grande-Bretagne qui voyageaient depuis deux mois et qui continuaient pour deux autres mois. Nous avons attendu l’autobus ensemble et sommes parties a la meme heure. L’autobus etait tres confortable bien qu’un peu chaude puisqu’on ne pouvait pas ouvrir les fenetres a cause de la puis intense qu’il y avait dehors.
Bon, vous savez deja la suite, nous avons eut un accident ! Papa l’a deja expliquer mais je vais vous le redire plus precisement. Il faut dire que la route etait tres tortueuse avec des ravins un peu partout, qu’il pleuvait a scieau et que le chauffeur roulait tres vite (ils roulent d’ailleurs toujours tres vite ici, c’est tres imprudent). Ce qui s’est passer c’est que moi et Guillaume avions tous les deux les yeux fermer (apres s’etre repu de petits gateaux et de noix) et nous avons soudainement constater une agitation dans l’autobus, puis l’autobus s’est mise a freiner sec et, finalement un tres gros boum !! C’etait tres intense. On a ensuite regarder si nous etions blesser et si l’autre l’etait. On a ete chanceux ! Guillaume s’est cogner les deux tibias assez dur et il y en a un sur lequel il y avait une grosse erafflure. Moi, j’ai eut de mini eraflure et quelque chose qui m’a rentrer sous le pied. Je savais que ce n’etait pas grave mais ca fesait mal et je bouettais car c’etait sous le pied. D’ailleurs je bouette encore un peu mais ca guerit.
Le chauffeur en rouge est coincer par son volant…ca a pris beaucoup de temps avant qu’il puissent en sortir.
Mon bandage au pied!
Le tibia de Guillaume… le rouge cest du produit et non du sang!
Ici on voit la bosse ou sont genou…il la remarquer juste avant de quitter l’hopital parce que ca a commencer a faire mal..
C’etait assez special comme situation. Il s’agirait d’un face a face avec un assez gros camion. Le camion a ensuite glisser et a fait presque un 180 degre. Je ne sais pas ce qui est advenu du chauffeur de camion mais le chauffeur d’autobus lui s’est retrouver coincer derriere son volant car le devant de l’autobus a renfoncer pas mal. Par contre, il n’y a pas de mort rassurez-vous. Suite a l’accident, Guillaume est rester calme et il essayait de me calmer parce que moi je suis partie a pleurer comme un enfant. Je trouvais ca fou parce qu’on aurait pu etre plus blessers que ca.. Je voyais les gens autour de moi qui se lamentaient et qui saignaient, quelques uns se sont cogner la tete, une fille s’est ouvert le front, plusieurs avaient du sang sur les jambes et la fille a cote de nous ( une des filles de Grande-Bretagne) avait le pied tres ouvert ! Son amie s’est occupee d’elle, elle ont descendues par la fenetre et elles ont trouver assez rapidement une voiture qui a bien voulu les ramener a Hekou pour aller a l’hopital.
Moi et Guillaume sommes egalement sortis. Il y avait deja plusieurs senteux dehors qui s’etait arreter et qui regardait la situation. Il faut dire qu’ils ne pouvaient plus passer car la route etait entierement bloquer. C’etait special pour nous car personne ne parlait anglais. Nous ne savions donc pas si les gens avaient appeler les secours, comment nous allion revenir a Hekou (parce que la bus n’etait plus en etat du tout). De plus, nos baggages ainsi que ceux de nos deux amies etait cadenacer en arriere de la bus et personne ne semblait pouvoir nous trouver la cle. Nous avons donc attendu au total 3 heures sous la pluie battante. Les secours sont arriver apres peut etre une heure ou une heure et demi (ca ete extremement long). Ils ont ramasser les plus blessers ( Il y en avait qui etait encore dans l’autobus). Nous, nous n’etions pas assez blessers et nous attendions apres nos sacs. Nous avons essayer d’appeler nos assurances mais sans succes. Finalement, peut-etre deux heures apres l’accident, nous avons rencontrer deux policieres qui parlaient anglais. Enfin ! Elles nous ont sauver, on ne sais pas ce qu’on aurait fait sans elles. Elles nous ont aider a recuperer les sacs et nous ont ensuite amener a l’hopital en voiture de police pour aller retrouver nos amies et leur porter leurs sacs. Les deux filles etaient effectivement tres heureuse de nous voir et de revoir leurs sacs. La blesse avait deja ete soigner (6 points de sutures au pied, mais rien de casser…oufff !) Nous leur avons demander si cela signifiait la fin de leur voyage, et malheureusement, cetait effectivement fini pour elles.
Ensuite, ils ont nettoyer ma plaie et ont mis un bandage. Ils nous ont ensuite fait remplir un rapport de police en nous posant des questions. Ils on ensuite nettoyer la plaie le Guillaume. Puis, voyant, sa bosse grossir sur le genou, on a demander au docteur de la regarder. Mais, ils ne semblent vouloir se debarasser car il lui a fait seulement un bandage sans meme regarder si la bosse etait normale. Ils m’ont aussi demander de revenir le lendemain pour me faire piquer pour le tetanos. Les soins ne nous ont rien couter car c’est la compagnie d’autobus qui a payer. Apres quelques pourparlers avec les policieres, la compagnie nous a aussi rembourser nos billets et nous a payer une belle chambre d’hotel pour la nuit. Le lendemain, nous sommes donc retourner a l’hopital pour mon vaccin mais la, il a fallu remplir encore dautre rapports. Ca nous a sembler un peu broche a foin comme systeme. De plus, il faut dire que le responsable des affaires etrangeaires parlait peu l’anglais et avait un gros accent, cetait dur a comprendre. On nous demandait de signer des documents ecrie en chinois et dont personne ne pouvait nous dire ce dont il etait question. Nous avons quand meme signer et apposer nos empreintes digitales avec une confiance aveugle pour nos deux policieres. Les deux filles de l’autobus non pas eu la meme chance : selon ce que nous arrivions a comprendre, elles ne pouvaient pas quitter l’hopital, ni la Chine tant que l’enquete ne sera pas terminer…ca pourrait etre encore tres long… Elles ont appeler leur ambassade, mais ne elle n’est d’aucune aide : il ne veule pas fournir de traducteur, ni les aider dans les procedures….on ce demande alors a quoi sert nos ambassades dans ces temps la.
L’hygiene a l’hopital etait vraiment mauvais. On nous traitait dans des salles ou le sol etait parsemer de sang, les infirmieres jettent les choses par terre apres utilisations, et sous la table se trouve un simple petit sceau ou elles jettent les seringues souillees… Cest vraiment pas genial.
Apres le vaccin de tetanos, nous sommes repartis a l’hotel pour prendre nos choses et quitter. Nous devions trouver autre chose car les chambres n’etaient pas du tout dans nos prix. Mais malheureusement, Hekou n’est vraiment pas une ville fait pour les voyageurs comme nous…aucune commoditer et aucun anglais parle. Nous avons donc marcher vers le seul endroit de la ville que nous connaissions : la station de bus. Rendu la, nous avons realiser que peut importe ce que nous allions faire (retour a la maison ou poursuite du voyage), avions a prendre tot ou tard un autobus pour Kunming. Une fois cette constatation faite, nous avons pris notre courage a deux mains, et nous avons acheter un autre billet de bus pour Kunming. Mais cette fois, depart a 13h et pas de pluie (au debut du moins). Nous avons donc pris la bus, a peine 20 heures apres notre accident de la veille. Nous avons bien choisist nos sieges cette fois (ce netait pas des lits mais des sieges dans ce bus), avec ceintures de securites, attacher du debut jusqua la fin. Le depart s ;est tres bien derouler, nous etions content de notre decision, mais plus loin dans le trajet, quand nous roulions sur une minuscule route sinueuse le long d’un enorme ravin ou coule une grosse riviere brune, nous etions disons, plus nerveux. Guillaume preferait ne pas regarder et penser a autre choses (a l’appartement surtout !), mais a chaque fois que la bus faisait un mouvement brusque, notre coeur s’emballait et on se crispait sur nos sieges. Et c’est durant ce trajet que nous avons pris la decision de poursuivre notre voyage. Les villes qui nous attendent nous on motiver a continuer.
Nous sommes arriver a Kunming vers 23h00. Nous avons pris un taxi et lui avons montrer le nom en chinois de l’auberge jeunesse ou nous voulions coucher. Malheureusement, il n’a pas reussit a trouver, mais ne nous a pas fait payer pour la course. Tres gentil le monsieur. Nous avons poursuivit les recherches a pied dans la rue ou devait se trouver l’auberge. Nous avons demander a des monsieurs dans la rue s’ils connaissaient (personnes ne parlent anglais, mais on montre le nom chinois) et ils nous ont fait signe de monter sur leur moto. Nous avons ensuite rouler, sans savoir ou nous allions, et meme chose pour eux je crois bien. Nous avons finalement abandonner cette adresse pour en choisir une autre. Cette fois-ci ils nous y on conduit dans probleme, mais quand ils ont demander de l’argent, la ca ete tres moche. Ils ont charger beaucoup trop cher, et ce malgrer notre mecontentement. Ca a couter au final 40 Yuan pour nous deux (7$) mais apres beaucoup de negociation.
L »auberge ici est vraiment geniale. L’ambiance est super et le dejeuner excellent. Nous avons dormit hier dans une chambre double, mais ce soir on dort dans un dortoir, question de vivre l’experience et d’economiser.
Aujourdhui, on va magasiner chez Wal Mart chinois ! et puis on va marcher dans la ville pour decouvrir un peu. On va prendre ca relax puisque nous ne sommes pas en superforme (douleur au pied).
Alors a bientot, on vous redonne des nouvelles.
Isa et Guillaume xxxxxxxxx
We just finished a great dinner sail with Leigh Ann, Lana, and Bruce. The new batteries arrived this afternoon and have been installed and all electrical systems seem to be working. We have decided to set sail in the morning for Pensacola, FL. We expect it will take @ 3 to 4 days. Therefore, I will not have any entries for several days. Keep watching and I will catch you up.
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