I just could'nt resist...Jeff....sweet Jeff... 

Somwhere in the Himalayas

(continued from Road to Pokhara)

Wed, Dec 22/04

I've been on the other side of the world for almost a week now, and I still don't know where the f*ck we are, but at the same time..I almost feel at home in this town. Our first two days here we made friends with some of the locals and consumed endless amounts of warm Nepali beer.
We jumped from one cockroach hotel to the next, and found our spot at the one closest to the lakeside. It cost $25.00 Cad for 10 days, and the groaning Water Buffalo alarm clock goes off every morning at 5:00am. The family that ownes the hotel have 5 kids, and three Water buffalo that live in a small barn below our window. They use the milk from these animals every day, but something tells me that the little baby buff will either be sold or eaten for the main course on New years eve. hard to say.,,

We went for a 7 hour hike around the lake and through the foothills the other day. On our way out of town we passed by 30 some heavily armed guards pacing the streets. At first it made me nervous... they love to stare at the blonde tourist that sticks out of the group though..I just wink & smile. they're just doing thier jobs.
The whole political banter in these parts has so far made little sense to me, but we do heed warning to what they say about the unassuming traveller being caught between the crossfire of contending armies, advised not to venture into the areas where active fighting is going on, even though it is always unpredictable. Travellers are welcome into the revolutionary base areas, wich are 'said' to be under control. I was told that a cease fire has been reached between the Maoists and the government, but warnings should always be taken seriously.

When we where in our 7th hour of the hike we made it down to the bottom of the lake where we stopped at a tea house for drinks and talked about how we would get back to town. we had a choice to either walk for another hour...or try and pursuade someone to give us a lift across the lake in a boat. Ian used his charm and talked one of the tea house workers to lend us his boat until tomorrow.. It took him an hour to get it, but we told the guy we would return it the next day with a fee...of course.
So there we where in the middle of the lake in this tattered old wooden boat with 1 and a half paddle... and Heather and I where bailing the shit water out while the boys where paddling. We didn't expect there to be a huge fucking hole in the boat.....what can I say. The passing locals had a good laugh at us...... looking like dumb tourists. We made it to shore, just bareley...and then IAN..lost the padlock for the boat. we looked for it for a few minutes and decided to buy a new one in the morning. Screw it....time for a Beeeeer!

Julie

Hey Bubbles.....I found your Dad! 

meat on a rock, mmmm! 

chugga chugga chugga...coockooo

May loooooooong f*cken weekend. I had to work. What a surprise... and there I was last week, saying how much I preffered physical labour to sitting on my ass...doing paperwork, well...excuse me. I still do...preffer it. I just don't think I can handle the mixture of dumb turds that come through the building whining about simple shit, the damn sweat, and working weekends at the same time. Take me away....

I did get to go to Waiparous Sat night for a few hours though. We cooked meat on a rock and hotdogs on a stick. I found a twig and berries for my sister...and then we went home.
ps: my pic is better...

Twig & no berries

I think I'm a Tea head....so here's one more of Mr. Burrows (in the Backround). Jeff + Jeff= doublestuffed.

Travel pics

• Nepal

This is dedicated to my sister, and her only wish is to be that towel....maybe in another life biotch. xoxo Braaaaaaandon!

Road to Pokhara

People only see what they are prepared to see -R.W Emerson

Sat Dec 18/04
More Journal entries from SE Asia,

( continued from Pigs Uterus in Kathmandu)

We managed to get out of bed at 5am to catch our bus this morning....still drunk with less than a few hours of sleep, and stumbled down the streets in the dark...while dodging other drunk locals and vicious mangie dogs in the streets (those poor dogs need a mamma). Jamie and Ian are still sick from the bad curry they ate the day before, and I'm just trying to keep my f*cking dry eyes open.

We made it just bareley..to the bus stop which was located smack in front of the kings palace?? The little Nepali men with thier "strap on convenience stores" had assortments of goodies (for long ass bus ride) and asked if we wanted to buy some snacks for the road. We ablidged and settled for some stail crackers and yak milk tea. Yumyughh!!

When our bus arrived, we gave the driver our backpacks and he threw them on top of the bus. He then informed us that due to traffic jams, we would'nt be leaving for another hour or so. F*CK!! So we sat there drinking our yak milk tea and I decided I needed to get the puke pills out of my bag that was already on top of the bus. Screw it, I climbed up the ladder to the top. I came back down and WHAT did I smell on my hands that touched the ladder........? SHIT! human shit, from the shoes that touch the dirty squat toilets...onto the bus ladders, that i touched with my hands. F*ck..shit.. fuck! and YUK! luckely I brought my trusty hand sanitizer that I bought at Walmart before the trip. That did'nt take the damn smell away though!! I knew the trip was gonna be a down dirty adventure....but I did'nt think that I would have HUMAN SHIT on my hands in the process!!

So finally we started the drive to Pokhara just squeezing out of town through the massive traffic jams and such, and found out how damn crazy our bus driver was. He was pushing 70 through sharp switchbacks while we where gripping onto our seats. On our right hand side we had a view of the river, AND THE 200m DROP BELOW!! We passed a few busses that had literally been flipped on thier side...and some just the old rusty frames from explosion. That was comforting!
And then the inevitable happened....The driver slowed down a bit, and a motorcycle slammed into the back left side of the bus (where we where sitting). Oh god! my heart jumped out of my chest! The guy driving the motorbike fell down into the three foot gutter where people take dumps during traffic jams. He came out uninjured....just a bit dirty. Oh..was he pissed! The bike was a bit shattered and our bus was fine. The two drivers settled the matter in a 'pay cash or die' matter, and then we hit the road again. After a few hours of chaotic driving, I got used to it, and went along with it. It was kind of fun...like knowing you where going to die but had to make the best of it.
The views where spectacular though, and all worth the ride!

The bus made two stops on the way, one for lunch and one for dindin. The food served was curried rice, surprise surprise. The food was ok...don't get me wrong, it was just our experience with curry and food poisoning we recently had that turned me off. A little barfing out the bus window never hurt anyone...It just made them feel better (I wont say who).
After 9 or so hours of highway hell, we made it to town, had our first semi hot shower in two days, and passed out like three drunken loonies on new years. What more can I say?

Julie

milkbone please?!

That's my dawg! This one's for you Jada. I ruv u sooo much! ps: don't tell auntie Kandy where I hid the beer.

Oh mon dieu!!

hmm...

Jeff Burrows, mmmmm....I'm not obsessed...really, just some eye candy for me. 

Pigs uterus in Kathmandu

Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted. ~ A Huxley. (1894 - 1963)

Fri, Dec 14/04 Katmandu, Nepal

I didn't sleep much last night...It's going to be awhile before I get used to the strong foul smells, fighting stray dogs, car & rickshaw horns, and the weird noises going on in the streets at night.
it's a beautiful city...If you're looking at it from a distance. When you're right in the middle of it, it is a different story altogether. You can't walk down the streets of Katmandu and not be harassed to buy something, or the cabbies for a lift. I really don't think the word NO is in their vocab here. But always be polite in Nepal they say, because most of them are very sensitive to the slightest bit of rudeness, and most of them are just trying to make a living.

It is our first day in Nepal, and we went for a stroll through the medieval like streets of thamel this morning. I've never seen anything like it, there are shops filled with different artwork, glass pipes, carvings, anything under the sun, you name it! Women selling bread and produce around every corner of the streets. And then there is the street that features live goat slaughtering, fish, mmmm..pigs uterus, u name it...They sell it!

Most of the doors look like they where made for midgets, it's weird, like walking into some kind of movie set. When we arrived last night, we didn't see any of this...All of the shops where closed, and there where massive piles of garbage in the streets. Walking out of our hotel this morning was completely different. They don't use garbage bags here, they just throw it all into the streets at the end of the day. There are women who sweep the streets before sunrise, so you don't see any garbage in the morning at all, and I think the stray dogs and monkeys eat most of the scraps.

We took a cab to the monkey temple later in the afternoon, and the drive was crazy! First of all, the drive not only on the opposite side of the road but ...Well...All over it. We where constantly dodging animals, small children and huge busses at all times.
We passed by the river on the way, and my friend Ian had warned us that it wasn't a pretty sight. And ho...Was he right, to put it briefly, there was more garbage and human waste than river water, and the pigs where eating most of it.

When we got to the temple, we had to look waaay up, and there it was...On the top of this huge hill, with a staircase so steep that I could barely bring myself to look back down.
On the way up we made friends with 40 some monkeys that followed our every step...Hence the title 'the monkey temple'. It was worth the sweat when we made it to the top,where the huge ancient golden stupa stood. The view of the city below was nice, well....Somewhat, much of it was covered by the thick black layer of traffic pollution. Other that that we caught a nice glimpse of Himalaya poking through the clouds, and the sunset was amazing!

We ate at this tiny east indian restaurant situated in central Thamel amongst the kaoss of the streets surrounding us, where the three of us decided to eat 5 different types of curry. I actual didn't eat any... Just rice. I didn't think my stomach could handle it yet.
While we where sitting at our table drinking our warm Nepali beer, waiting for our food, a small frail east indian man came up to us and asked if we wanted a shoe shine. Ian was the only one wearing leather boots so he said ok.
The man took Ian's boots and squatted down with his bag of brushes and polishes away from the table and started on the shoes. When the food was finally served we Invited the man to eat with us as there was plenty to go around. This tiny man ate four heaping plates in less than 5 minutes it seemed. He said it was his first meal in awhile. His English was suprisingly good and he told us about his family and that he had been living next to the 'rubbish river' for some years. This was my second day here and I had gotten my first huge kick in the ass realizing how good I have it back home. Ian asked how much he wanted for the shoe shine, and he said 150 rupees, (not much). So he gave him 500rs ($11.00cad) I think... Which would probably help the guy and his fam for a few weeks.

The only real downside to it was Jamie and Ian got food poisoning from the sanitation, or...lack there of I should say... With the food preparation, and ended up being bed ridden up until this afternoon.
So here's hoping they recover fully recover by 5 am, because that is when we catch our bus to the town of Pokhara.
BRING IT ON!!
JP
Ps. I'll post some travel pics soon as I can

The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. -H Keller

50 things that piss me off

1. no beer in the fridge
2. Kelly Clarkson
3. work
4. my boss
5. red necks
6. piss on the toilet seat
7. stupid people
8. Sean Desman
9. PMS (because men don't have to put up with that shit!)
10. when my dog farts in bed
    
11. rich snobs
    
12. people who ask too many damn questions
13. hairy men
14. people who have bloggs that feature thier ugly naked selves. ( cmon..i don't want to see your big hairy...
    
15. onions...on my burger, in my salad, just keep them the hell away from me!
16. people who interrupt when your in the middle of a f*cken sentance
17. when my house is messy
18. clean freaks
    
19. missing a good concert
20. animal abusers
21. x-mas shopping
22. when I dont get what I want
23. people who stare (what the HELL is your problem?!)
24. that I dont live on a tropical island
25. excuses (including my own)
26. over arrogance
27. cheezy horror flicks
    
28. the C-train in the morning
29. evil lies
30. ass kissers
31. forgetting a good dream
32. people who wake me up when i'm having a good dream
33. hangovers
34. that i can't have Jeff Burrows
35. monday
36. plastic people
37. stupid drivers
38. whaiting for payday
39. that i'm stubborn
40. that you are stubborn
41. split ends
    
42. crackheads
43. taxes
44. welfare bums
45. not getting laid for more than a week
46. when other peoples bad mood rubs off on me
47. that Spears chick
    
48. light beer
49. the government
50. thinking of 50 things that piss me off. I'm a nice girl...really, I've just had a shitty day
    

MMM Jeff... 

Back to reality...

It's been over two months since my trip to SE Asia, I'm back in cow town (Calgary) and the travel bug is crawling all over me, telling me to get my ass back on the road. I'll have to put up with the bullshit work routine before i get to go again. After two months of backpacking in Nepal, Thailand and Cambodia, i've seen things that I could handle and almost couldn't, but experiencing places that are completeley alien and unexpected, is what keeps me going, blah blah... I'm in my early twenties, so i figure the best opportune time is now.
I plan on writing a series of stories from a journal I kept on my travels to keep it interesting enough for now.

The Tea Party played at Cowboys last week, and i was there, in the front row, staring at Jeff Burrows (drummer). I think I'm in love. I'ts not like me to have a strange infatuation like this, but F*ck is he HOT! My friend Tyler caught the drumstick that he threw into the crowd after the show. Good job Ty! This was my first Tea Party show, and it wont be the last. I went to the Banff show with my sister and Tyler the night after, and they did pretty much the same play list, which was a wee bit of a dissapointment, but hey... I have faith that their next show will rock. They've been around for10 something years, so you'd think their doing something right!