Namaste India

Here we are sitting in Kuala Lumpur and its hard to believe that we're no longer in India!  Sure the city is completely different, the foods, the smells and everything else, but our bodies and minds still haven't caught up with the stamps in our passports!

Hello... Boat?

We've found ourselves back in the thick of India again, no more cow covered streets, dust covered everything or strange noises all through the night... Hang on a minute, yes there is!!  Varanasi, the ancient holy city of India has it all, including a similarity to village life!

Only in India

Only in India...

India By Train

Now that we've left the mountains and their bone shaking roads and bus trips behind, we find ourselves enjoying all that India's famous trains have to offer.

Its one of the biggest and busiest rail networks in the world moving millions of people every day which really is quite incredible when you think about how unorganised the rest of India seems.  Then when you see the operating system they rely on, consisting of bells and big knobs to turn, and is probably still the original equipment left behind from British rule, its actually unbelievable!

Only in India (Datom Version)

Village life in India certainly is a bit different from the hustle and bustle of the cities, but it's reassuring to know that those "Indian Moments" still happen! Like:

Waking the gods

Starting the day in India!

The inspiration behind this blog post came from all the early mornings that have been forced upon us on countless mornings.  Before the sun comes up the religous world comes to life, finds its voices, and the gods along with the rest of the city are woken up.

A Village Named Datom

Downtown Datom

Datom, a tiny village tucked away in an isolated corner of Jharkhand, India, is where we've found ourselves for the last few weeks.  The reason for being here is to help out some friends who are constructing a health clinic for the region because at the moment, there really isn't much available to the local people.

Fowl Weather On The Search For Sunshine!

Team Chook, ready for anything and covered in feathers... or down jackets

According to every book and travel company we read or spoke to clear skies and amazing snow capped mountain views were in order for our latest venture into the high Himalaya, this time on the eastern side of India in beautiful Sikkim.  However someone forgot to tell the weather gods and things didn't go to plan.  But our spirits remained high, and our hopes were pinned on every bit of clearing sky.

One tired Chook

Only in India

 Only in India....

High time for high tea

Loretta and Wally joined us in Darjeeling, and being in the chilly Mountains we decided to warm up with a little cup of Darjeeling tea. Normally high tea is a seriously classy affair, but not so in India... 

Looking through the Saree

Some of the regional Rajastan paintings and my new saree.

After an hour in the local saree shop, the choice of millions of brightly coloured fabrics, and a few measurements, a whole new perspective of India emerged.

"No hurry, no worry, no chicken, no curry"

"I don't ride the camel, because my bottom ran away to Pakistan, so I will search for it all year and maybe next year I will ride the camel".  The answer our very funny guide told us when I asked him why he walked in front of our camel, instead of riding his own. After two days and one night in the desert our bottoms had also run off to Pakistan and we walked like we were cross country skiing (skating!). 

Tackling the traffic!

 
After two weeks of touring the tourist beat through Rajasthan today we decided to take a detour.  It was time to step away from the tourist bazaars with stalls all competing for your rupee, German bakeries and tourist cafes all selling croisants and 'continental food'.  People trying to pull you into their shop to show you something special, and being just another white face in the crowd not venturing too far away.  The freedom machine came to the rescue again and we were set for some cycling!!

Our Two Rings

 

India is full of surprises, every corner we turn, every new place we visit, we are constantly surprised by what reveals itself, and you can be sure, we have no idea what's coming next!  Ordering lunch at a little snack shop the other day we were refused what we ordered because the guy behind the counter thought that another of his snacks was better, so we needed that instead (and he was right).  After lunch we ventured into the old fort in Jaisalmer not really knowing what was coming next.

Kuari pass... tick!

Another jaunt into the Himalaya, this time in Uttarkhand with a bit of luxury, and a trek like none other completed by us, very novel and I must say, very nice!  Once again the Himalaya showed us another face with some very different scenery.... green grass and forests!

The loo with a view :)

So, I know you have all been hanging out for this one, and after 2 months we have a good idea of how the loos work around here and lets just say things are much easier when you are a man!
In India it seems that the world is your toilet... and I thought you'd like to know about all the options... just in case you end up here one day!.. and don't worry there are no poo stories!

Who we met this morning: Tibetian grass grandmother

When you travel the people you meet mean so much to you, they add to each adventure something unique, challenge your views and change the way in which you see the world. They add the colour, the laughter, share your best and worst moments and become part of your experience.

So we have started this segment - Who we met this morning, which will be updated regularly as we meet locals and fellow travelers who help to create our experience of India.

Markha Valley

The Markha Valley was the location for our next trek in the Himalaya, and it didn't disappoint!  This one was to be a bit more challenging, both in distance and height, but we were ready.  this time we had 2 maps and a guide book with directions, a big step up from our last jaunt.  However, in typical Indian style, it made no difference what so ever!

Only in India

This post is about all the hilarious and sometimes almost annoying things that happen here, the way the country runs and why every day is a new adventure. It will be updated as time goes on, but for now this is 1 months worth of Only in India:

Seven words and a few questions

 

Seven words.  That's all the information we could milk out of the tour agencies about our first high altitude adventure.  They're not so forth coming if you you're not paying for something, but we got our seven words and were ready to take on the 'Baby Trek'!  

Nice Roads BRO!

On the road to the Himalaya

 Close your eyes (figuratively, or you won't be able to read this) and imagine an old beat up country road, one with pots holes, bumps and gravel everywhere.  Now put that road on a mountain pass that goes up to above 4000 metres, add a heavy load of trucks, buses, cars, motorbikes and even push bikes and you have a 'good' section of the Rohtang La pass on the Manali - Leh road.  The road we put our lives into the hands of a mini bus driver who promised to take us deep into the Himalaya.

Rain!!

 Yep, its raining.  Raining a lot.  Mcloud Ganj is perched up on one of the first ranges of the Himalaya and the monsoon seems to run smack bang into it.  Does it matter? No not really, we've escaped the heat, glimpsed some fantastic views, chilled out, wandered around and had a really great time.

Doing the Dishes

So we've spent the last week in India and all we have to write about is dishes?? Surely this can't be right? But yep, its true.  You may not believe it, but we're having a ball over here, everyday is an experience, and we never know what to expect next... like washing the dishes.

Ahhh (or Arrggh) Delhi

So we've touched down in Delhi, swapped our bagguettes for nan bread, cold summer days for hot sticky humid weather, clean streets for rubbish piles, trafffic lights for horn blaring, order for chaos, tourist info centres for scamming touts, and yes, a settled belly for authentic 'Dehli Belly!' Sophs out exploring, while I'm here mustering up the energy to do some thinking so that at least I've accomplished something for the day! 

A little bit different than Europe?

As we flicked through our guidebook months ago we noticed a few little words saying that it is advisable not to arrive in India on the 15th of August, Indian Independance Day, as the risk of unrest, terrorism attacks and general difficulties is higher.  August 15th? that sounds familiar  we both commented, and true to our thoughts thats when we arrived here, fearing the worst, and not having a clue what to expect, would we be swamped as soon as we left the airport? Would we see our bags again? We had no idea what to expect!

un baguette s'il vous plaît

It wouldn't be a trip to france without a bit of bread action now would it?  The French love their baguettes, and they really do have one every day.  You see them everywhere going about their daily business baguette in hand, ready for the munchies whenever they may appear, breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any time of the day.  Having been witness to this on a daily basis, Soph decided to take one for a test drive...

Happy Birthday!



So another August has rolled around and the world is celebrating another birthday season, or so i like think!  The month of August is traditionally celebrated by our family, or at least two people (Dad's also an August boy), even if they won't admit to it, and being on the other side of the world is no reason to change the tradition!

The Kiss? (and other good things)

1,2 or 3? I don't really know, and it keeps changing everywhere you go so that the awkward hesitation and second lean in are always present, I'm talking of the European kiss of course, the one you have to give when meeting a friend, and in our case a friends friend. 

Berlin By Bike

One of Berlins mighty bikes

We arrived in Berlin unscathed, delivered by our random ride share driver to our next temporary home, another good friend of Sophs (and another internationally filled house of fun!).  Ride sharing is definately the way to get around Europe, so much faster and cheaper than the trains!

After a night of meet and greets we were entrusted with two trusty bikes that would guide us around the city for the next 2 days!

A Fleeting Swedish Visit

 

So the last post was actually a bit delayed, and we've already been to Sweden and are now sitting in a very cold and wet Germany with some time up our sleeves before jumping in a car with a guy we don't know and have never met before (Its a ride share program, and he's hopefully taking us to Berlin!).  But back to Sweden....

Finnished with Finland!

Haha, puns aside its been an amazing couple of weeks in Finland.  We've felt right at home with the Morgensterns and it actually feels like we've been here a whole lot longer!  You've already read some of what we've been up to, so here's some photo's to add to the story.  We're off to Sweden tomorrow for a couple of dayz before reaching Germany so good bye blueberries, we'll miss you!

Finlands largest lake... in the middle of the night.

The land of the midnight sun, saunas and berries (Finland)

5 litres of blueberries... Yum!

Walking into Helsinki is like stepping into a fairytail. On every corner there is a castle like building, with turrets as balconies and the city is surrounded by water. The people are georgously friendly. The general vibe of the city is long and lazy, it smells of an endless summer day. Helsinki is a great place to roll into for two souls who have just spent 3 days traveling.

Disappointment and the Snoring Man!

Disappointment... Long haul flights are uncomfortable, there's no getting away from it.  Squashed up in your little section of plane for hours on end, the only time to get up is to move to the even more squashy toilet, and that's not exactly a positive move!  But i remember one positive from previous flights that is guaranteed to make you feel just a little better... the steaming hot face towels that get offered around... usually.  But not this time.  That warm refreshing feeling that brings you back to life sadly didn't eventuate...

The Final Countdown!

 Yep, its all coming to an end, the packing that is.  After an almighty effort by team Matt and Soph (with the odd bit of outside help) the little shack on Barker Ave is coming to a close.  The rooms are empty, the cupboards are bare, boxes packed, floors cleaned and a house full of echos. 

Good Morning Toolamba!

An early and bike free morning today, no words just a few photo's.... enjoy!

2's company, 3s.... a competition?

As I reached into the letter box the other day I was excited to see a mysterious package (who doesn't love getting a package in the mail) sitting there waiting for us to collect it.  What could it be? Who is it from? I flip over the parcel and see Barb's name scrawled on the back...... what's she up to?  Barb and Jase are 2 of those people who you can guarantee will be up to some sort of scheme, so the mind started to wander? What could it be? The list running through my head was pretty long and imaginative, I wouldn't put anything past them.

So inside I rush to rip open the parcel and what should i find..... more like who should I find?  We now have a new travel buddy with orders to be taken everywhere.  So with 3 weeks left to go, our group is now up to three!

He/ she/ it was accompanied by only the briefest of notes (see the above photo).  No introduction, no name, no background, no criminal background check, nothing!  So the search is on, who is this and what is their background?

So here lies the first 'Our Two Boots' competition!
Your job: to name and provide a background for our new travel buddy!  Leave your entries and your name in the comments section below!  Prizes not guaranteed, but respect given!

The Packing Begins!

Taking on the Kitchen, this battle continues...

There's officially only one month to go till take off day and let me tell you, the packing has really stepped up a notch this weekend!  The initial dred of having to somehow convince all that stuff to fit into bags and boxes quickly morphed into laughs a plenty as we were taken on a trip down memory lane.  As we tackled a new cupboard or shelf, we rediscovered lost little treasures, that weren't always that welcome.

One Long Run!

42km to go!

The epic journey began 6 months ago, when Jess Clark (inspiration) called it and I decided that I wanted to do a marathon before Matt (even though he technically did one as part of his ironman).

Run Run Running!

As the mornings get colder and colder, the doona gets heavier and heavier, can we get out of bed this morning??  Thankfully we've got a few reasons to spur us on.  One of these has just passed, the Great Train Race!  Yep, just us, our boots against a train!  (and another 3198 people).

The train winding its way through the Dandenongs

Easter Feaster!

The chocolate has been eaten, the hot cross buns cooked and burnt, and good times rolled! And so goes another Easter.
I don't know about everyone else, but Easter for us is usually spent in a tent in some amazing place in the mountains and this year had to have been one of the best!
This years edition found us and 12 good buddies up in the Victorian High Plains on a 4 day trek full of bad jokes, shit talking, all round good times, and someones forgotten boots!

A Pile of Good Friends

A weekend of bikes!!

Well this last weekend saw the Oceania Road & Mountain biking championships hit Shep Vegas.  A great chance to spend the weekend watching other people ride their bikes (I'm still not ready for much myself!!).  Had the camera slung over the shoulder all weekend and managed to capture a bit of the action so thought I'd share a bit.  Highlight of the weekend was definitely the mountain bike criterion!

The big drop on the crit race

The Mount Buffalo Feast!

The Labour Day holiday has rolled around again and it was off on the annual Mt Buffalo Glenrown Gang get together!  The ever reliable weekend was full of food, bush cafes and all round good times!

This years trip featured the youngens taking on dinner responsibilities and a monster pasta feast was promised!  The rest of the weekend involved not much else to be completely honest, everything seemed to revolve around food!!  There were a couple of walks (so we could make room for more food i'm guessing!) around the stunning Mt buffalo just to remind ourselves that we were at one of Australia's most stunning mountain areas!  There was even a cross country run for those energetic enough which saw more than a couple of us with tired legs and an excuse to jump into the freezing cold lake!! brrrr, a quick swim for sure!

Check out the photos below to see more of what we got up to!

Mt Buffalo Chalet, not a bad little mountain shack!

Ironman New Zealand Wrap Up

Well its all over!!! The months of training, long rides, long runs finding lakes to swim in has come to an end.  The Grand Finale was held over in sunny Taupo....... well almost sunny, but more on that later.

As mentioned in the last post the bags were packed (stuffed) and we headed off to Melbourne to start the adventure.  A great feed and comfy bed at Airport Aunty's place, saw us safely out to the airport at 4am... not wanting to make a habit of these let me tell you!  Long story short, we made it to NZ without a hitch, plenty of time at the airport to chill out (shock horror, no more missed flights this trip!).

Getting to our first motel proved to be another story however.  Following the instructions we got from Shirm and the net we cruised down the highway through some solid downpours (are they telling us something?) through to a quiet little town for lunch.  Back on the road to find that a fuel tanker had taken a tumble and the road was going to be closed for another few hours (is this trying to tell us something?).   Rightio, off on our detour tour.  Another hour into our trip, we find out that our directions were completely wrong and we had been heading to somewhere we shouldn't have been! Maybe the universe was trying to tell us something???

Shirm, Matty, Griffo (THM) and Miah pumped for the race!
Could have left the wetsuits on for the day!

Yep, we finally made it to Hamilton and the next day down to Taupo.  Find the house, check! (very comfy).  Get the bikes unpacked and put back together, check!  Check in and check out the pre races events, check!  Ready to go? Check!!

Ironman New Zealand!!

There's a bike in there, and a seat as well!

Well its finally here, time to head to NZ and hopefully come home as an Ironman!!  Its been a long journey with all the training and early mornings, but i'm sure it'll all come together.  We've got a great group of people heading over from Shep and i can't wait to actually get there and soak up some of the famous hot springs!

Anyway, for those who want to keep an eye on the day, you can keep track live on http://ironmanlive.com/  Race day is Saturday 5^th March.

 

The crew heading over and their race numbers:

 

Jo – 282

Anthony Rule – 228

Jo's friend Heidi – 277

Jon Griffin – 1312

Matt Lorback - 377

Chris Schirmer - 415

Anne Maclean - 771

Miah Franzmann – 1030

Ben Goodall - 349

 

 

With the time zone difference, we should all be safely on our bikes buy the time you're having breakfast (fingers crossed!)

Thanks everyone and we'll see you soon!!
Cheers
Matty

More Water Obstacles!

Annie & Jo 'riding'

The weather this year is getting ridiculous, yet another ride that presented a couple of "puddles".  This time we even had to de-shoe and throw the bike on our shoulders so we could get across!  Yep, i'm sure we looked pretty stupid, and i'm sure there's more than a couple of people thinking "why bother, stay in bed!"

 Another puddle, lucky not too deep, coz it was full of more worms than i have ever seen before! Way too squishy in the toes for my liking!

Sunrise when the rain clears!

Wet boots in the downpour!

When the rain comes down, what better thing to do than get out into it. The 'Sweet Ride' was ready and raring for a few laps up and down the street. It was all laughs and smiles until a car spotted Soph riding and decided to floor it, sending a wall of water flying her way! Then of course it was hilarious!