Friday, July 29, 2011

What 7 months?


I have finally made it to a country where I don't have to do the "point-and-pray" in restaurants and can even find shoes that fit me. I'm in the Land Down Under to visit Jordan and Dave for 2 weeks and it feels like we've never been apart. It's the mark of true friends to be apart for 7 months and have experienced as much as we have and yet feel like we haven't skipped a beat.

And the wine is fabulous.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Guilt

I have 8 months off to travel the world and I have already been to Ethiopia, Argentina, Chile, Mongolia and Indonesia. The two months in Ethiopia allowed me to see one of the most magical and beautiful countries on the planet. And now they are suffering.

Of course Ethiopia is no stranger to drought and devastation, the famous drought of the 1980's resulted in millions dead and starving but these massive casualties were mostly the result of intentional mismanagement by the government. In 1984 an Amharic president was in power, Mengistu, who was also a dictator and a tyrant with a complete and sheer hatred for the two other major tribes making up Ethiopia - the Tigrinyans and Oromo. A long-standing separatist movement by both the Tigrinya in the North and Oromo in the South fuelled his tribe-centered views. When a massive drought hit the Tigrinya regions the government had already spent 46% of its GDP on military spending and government officers turned a blind eye to the suffering of their 'enemies' and countrymen.

The result? 1 million dead. Bob Geldof hitting the scene with LiveAid. Ethiopians becoming synonymous with bug-eyed, loose limbed children.
(Image courtesy of AFP)

And now it is happening again. In a country where I just ate injera every day with shiro or tibs or beiyanatu and enjoyed every single mouthfull. I didn't enjoy the food because it represented freedom from famine or the first meal I had had in weeks, I just really liked it. I spent thousands of dollars in a country where $300 is a yearly income. And now the worst meterological drought in 60 years threatens these beautiful people again.

Perhaps the political situation in Ethiopia proper will prevent the major disaster seen in the 1980s but the worst hit region is Somalia - a country in anarchy and 'run' by our 'enemy' - Fundamental Islamists.

Humans deserve food, water, shelter and access to medical care. Humans include fundamental islamists, Africans and those that live differently than 'us'....just in case you needed a reminder. But politics run the world and starving humans are chess pieces to governments and NGOs alike. We need money and food and water to get through the corrupt officials and the game-players to those that need it. An almost impossible task.

I wish my travels to the region gave me some insight on how to help or what to do to ease my traveler's guilt. But I have no ideas....short of jumping on a plane and getting back to a country I love so much and buying all the rice I can find and walking it to the camps and feeding children by hand. One small step? Maybe, but I feel as helpless as everyone else, maybe moreso because of my affection for the region. Should we all give a day's wage to the multitude of red-tape filled aid agencies with a religious or political motive?

Helping is one of the simplest things to want to do. And yet it's the most complicated to actually complete. I have no answers. Does anyone?

(Market in Lalibela, Northern Ethiopia, January 2011)

Friday, July 15, 2011

Amed, my Love


I have fallen in love with Bali. Not the Bali of drunk Aussies but the Bali of Amed, on the north-eastern coast. It is a place of scalloped black-sand beaches, lapping waves, tranquil breezes and mountain villages in the distance. It is paradise.

All for $12 a night (including breakfast) in a hotel with a private beachside pool, semi-private beach and wifi. Take that Hilton Waikiki.

I'm working on my tan lines, getting $7 poolside massages and going on walks in the lush mountainside behind the beach that is full of happy locals proudly displaying their fighting roosters and inviting me in for tea.

I'm happy.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Who's Talking

A simple and unfortunate rule of travelling:

Those who talk to you, you don't want to talk to.

These are the touts down Monkey Forest Road in Ubud that call after you for a taxi over and over and over again. Or ask if you need a room, or need to buy souvenirs, or...the list goes on. Then you walk two steps and it starts again and again and again. They are doing their job, I get that, but I can't possibly say or even acknowledge everyone that speaks to me in a day because I wouldn't move 2 feet.

Those you don't talk to you, you want to talk to.

These are the people going about their day and allowing you into their country with a warm smile and welcoming passivity. These are the people that go about their day despite the tourists and don't rely on the tourist dollar for their livelihood which usually means that they have much more interesting and 'real' lives to the multitudes of those that hassle tourists.

It is the people of any country that make it worth seeing and exploring and the Balinese live up their reputation for being kind and with a deep soul that resonates in everything that they do. If only I carried a sign that said "I don't want any. (And if I do...I'll find you)".

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Balinese Bliss

Bali is a cheap tropical paradise in the middle of Indonesia with smiling people, luxurious spas and a culture of relaxed efficiency. I came here after the epic trip in Mongolia to relax and to re-enter the world of Facebook, texting and English. I am still searching for my Balinese Bliss (BB).

I started at Villa Serenity - by donation yoga, pool, 100m from the beach and a full on chill vibe. Cool people, cheap food and away from the crowds. It was beautiful. But guilt got the better of me and I figured I couldn't just hang out at the same beautiful location for the entire time in Bali so I headed out, in search of more BB.



We got a group together to visit some temples where we found the Balinese people in the middle of their yearly celebration of Galungan. People were bringing offerings to their gods on their heads, praying for peace and happiness and smiling, always smiling. But I'm not a Balinese Hindu and I can see their religious calm, but my lack of understanding of their religion means that it cannot be my own inner peace.


This bliss is definitely not in the so-called cultural capital, Ubud. Made famous by the book Eat, Pray, Love you half expect wandering fortune tellers and yogis in the streets creating a calm and soothing city life. But Ubud is hectic, FULL of tourists and shops that cater exclusively to Western clientele. Not for me.

Tomorrow I'm heading of to Amed, a tiny village on the north-eastern coast that is supposed to have great snorkelling, cheap food and good yoga. The Balinese Bliss I've been searching for? I hope so.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Cookies

This is our dog:


She is probably Rottweiler, maybe Shepard and a lot of mutt and she is ours. We purchased her for a whopping sum of $22 from a local in Tariat and we have loved her ever since.

Her name was Simba but we decided that a much funnier name that we could never get away with at home is "Cookies". And it fits because she adores food, like passionately in love with anything that has ever smelt or dealt food.

We got her for our protection and to protect the horses but she sleeps like a rock, snores like a lumberjack and occasionally will try to bark at our own horses. But we love her anyways.

And it was inevitable that we had to give her away, we can't bring her to Edmonton and we searched across Mongolia for a loving home for her. Mongolians aren't known for their love of dogs, in fact, they are universally petrified of them, but we asked as many people as we could for somewhere that would love her as much as we did.

A tough goodbye and a few tears later, "Cookies" is now the new guardian and occasional trekking companion at Bonda Lake Guesthouse in Hatgal, Mongolia. If you are ever there, give her a kiss for us.