This is it

The poet Amir Khusrau once wrote, inscribed on the walls of the Red Fort in Delhi,
"If there is a paradise on earth,
this is it, this is it, this is it!"
(Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,
Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast.)
Now he may have have been talking about the breathtaking marble wonderland in the country's capital, but the same can be said for where we are at right now.
Yes me, cassandra and now nick, have not been keeping up with our posts lately, but surely not because there has been nothing to talk about. We have travervsed the northern half of the country now, having been to Delhi, Rishikesh, Chandigargh and Udaipur these past few weeks only now to find ourselves in the picturesque paradise, heaven on earth, of Goa.
We spent our time in Rishikesh with Gary and Marika (cass' parents who joined us for a week long holiday) meditating on the peaceful surroundings, doing yoga, tuning in and tuning out at classical sitar shows and a rafting adventure in the Ganga with Gary. We had such a blast with them and it was truly sad to see them go. I cant tell you how nice it is to see a familiar face after such a long time.
And being here with one of our best friends, the incomparable Nicholas Luchak, has been a dream for me and cass. We've been doing a pretty good job in my opinion in not driving ourselves nuts, but having Nick around has kind of brought us back to real life. And its truly great just having another set of wide eyes and an open mind to see all the wonderfully crazy things we have the past few weeks.
And seeing the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram in Rishikesh, where The Beatles visited in 1969, was the perfect way to start it off.
We spent the following weeks introducing nick to the indian railway system and general way of life. The Nek Chand Rock Garden in Chandigargh was like being able to walk through ones weirdest dreams and taking in the serene surrounding of Udaipur, the setting of the 1983 Bond-flick, Octopussy. Mixing with locals, taking art classes and being invited over for dinner,it was really just a swell time.
But now we are in Goa and have been for the past week or so. Its paradise. We've become friends with an unreal indian jam band, truly the most legit cool dudes in the entire country, who love 12 minute full out jams on classics and hate bollywood and typical mainstream india. nick even got the chance to jump on stage with em and pound out a couple zeppelin staples.
i also got treated to lobster dinner for my birthday which was pretty excellent.
We'll tell you more about Goa soon enough though, today we've embarking on a trans Goa scooty adventure. We'll show you what life looks like next time, the cameras already packed up. till then
love love love
this is it, this is it, this is it

escaping the delhi belly

I am currently writing this from atop a rooftop restaurant enjoying a beer and some fries at the Moonlight Palace Hotel in Jaipur. We have now spent roughly over a week in fabled India and are now finally battling our first bouts with "Delhi belly". It looks like we are going to spend the day not sightseeing (not only cause we have seen everything in Jaipur) but instead in the hotel. Which isn't a bad thing. It will be a nice break from the chaos that is India. Our hotel is so fresh and so clean, compared to our grungy digs in Sikar.
So while Cassandra is keeled over in our room, I have to make my own fun (hence the beer and fries). Two of our volunteer friends (a South African named Beanie and an Aussie name Shoni, both of Indian backgrounds) are meeting us in Jaipur for dinner so we'll relax till then. We are at the moment in a state of reflection and reassessment. The trip is amazing thus far and going well, but our time at the camp, although nice, is a tad frustrating. The kids are so nice, but we dont always get a translator for our classes which simply makes some days spent teaching a waste. We are looking at maybe going WWOOFing or trekking for the next couple of weeks.
The food here (roadside and restaurants) generally doesn't make us sick and is actually really good. The food at the camp however is a little less tasty and has had a more adverse effect on our systems. But we'd rather spend our times being sick in the clean, beautiful and surprisingly cheap (500 rupees/$12 canadian a night) confines of the hotel. Rather than the cozy-yet-dingy atmosphere of Bajaj Trust in Sikar.
Uploading videos has proved to be tricky but I'm working on it. We will try to keep up our blogging as much as we can (the power does cut off in Sikar like 5 times a day unfortunately). But we will spend these next few days in rest and out of the hot sun. We're not due back at camp till monday night. Monday is the islamic festival of Eid, so schools are closed. But we will be back on our feet soon enough. Watch Out India!
Oh PS, the tourist friendly Jaipur is also a nice change from the constant stares we get in Sikar. Its as if the locals have seen an alien and don't mind standing looking at us wide eyed, mouth open or snickering or pulling our their cellphone cameras for a few not so impromtu shots. Sometimes 5 or 6 people huddling around the rickshaw we are in. But I'll let Cass tell you more about that.
Cass at the moment is halfway through Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums while I picked up the alternative theory book called Jesus Lived in India for like 2 bucks.
--elephant on the way to Amber Fort

--snake charmer on the way to the Monkey Temple in Jaipur

--this is Cass with our good friends, Jackit and Ali (the rickshaw driver) in Jaipur. We still hope to see him again.