Have I sold my soul...??!!

I just joined Facebook.

That's right kids. I'm not sure how I feel about it... I also am back to the 9-5 world come next week. Again, I've got a little butterfly friend growing in my gut.

gulp.
kw (determined not to let the adventures end...)

Back in the "Fax" with the fam!

Nothing like having a good'ol visit from family! I was lucky enough to have a great visit from Mom, Dad, Bry and my Grandparents!! :) What a treat!

We did some family tree research in Hubbards, NS; Montague, PEI and Truro, NS. We even got invited to a "family" barn wedding (I'm apparently related through my grandfather, though I couldn't trace it back for ya!). We were well received wherever we went and took lots of pictures of gravestones. We also checked out the Halifax scene, including Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg.

It was a great holiday and great to see everyone! Though tough to say goodbye... tear, tear! :)

Cycling on my own... yikes!

What happened to my cycling gang??!!
Cooking for one person, how does one do that??!
Tent buddy Kelly, where did you go? What?!
No planned accommodations for this evening?
Who's planning the route, making breakfast, packing up, calling the shots... hello?...Guess it's me then!!!

Wow, after 2 months of community living in close quarters, leaving my buddies in Moncton to cycle 9 days to Annapolis Royal and ending my solo journey in Kejimkujik National Park (central NS) was a bit of a shock at first. But soon, Zoom, T-dubs (my new flag pole maskot, generously given as a gift from Jocelyn, one of our inspiring tour leaders after Guy-dubs got lost in New Brunswick) and I were on a role and caught what I like to call the "open-road-syndrome".


Here's my buddy T-dubs (aka turtle and well, my last name has been reduced to "dubs")

Clocking in over 100kms/day and plenty of hills, I met some great folks, slept in some random places and even was lucky enough to visit Erica and Josh on the way, in Wolfville, a great town that has a great atmosphere and plenty of fair trade goodies. Ending it off in Keji park was also a treat. It's a beautiful spot with lots of lakes and rivers and friendly campers. It was a treat to catch a ride back with my campsite neighbours to Halifax... the legs appreciated it! :)

Goodtimes, goodtimes! :)

Ode to freedom...

kw


Some very friendly folks I met on the road, from Cleveland (with crazy cool rain gear!)




Bay of Fundy sunset... beauty





Keji, calm, cool and serene

O... tesha!

After a whirlwind of a summer with my fellow traveling theatre-troupers, I thought I'd add a post about my experience as part of the Otesha project's East Coast cycling and presenting tour.

The group of us all got a long really well and I feel like I have close conspirers in planet health-ifying all over the country. The collective contribution of talent, passion and ideas was truly beautiful. Our skit remained fresh despite our numerous presentations during the 2 months, and our team interactions were swell, even when everyone was tired, stinky and bug-bitten. A true family experience!

I must say, what an energetic pace these kids muster! My goodness, between planning and rehearsing our play (which focused environmental and social justice issues and the power each of us has in making positive choices everyday), team meetings (gotta love the hand signals when you're using consensus decision making), shopping for groceries and cooking and other day to day things... (oh yah, like cycling!) it was quite an energetic experience. I had plans to read, carve wood, do art, meditate everyday, journal, swap skills with my fellow presenting pals... yes, well I learned!!! Indeed, allocating time for laundry and the occasional chain cleaning was pretty much all I could squeeze in!!

It was a great way to see more of the Maritimes, my new home. There are so many fascinating communities scattered here and there and lots of really neat folks and initiatives. The diverse scenery was also pretty cool. From the "flower pot" rocks in the Bay of Fundy, serene rivers like the Miramichi, rough exposed coast line along Nova Scotia's Southern shore, rolling farmland throughout rural New Brunswick, it was pretty spectacular.

All in all, it seems pretty crazy to be back in Halifax, a big city, and without a traveling community. But the experience has been impactful (all about the "good action"!) and I'm excited to put what I learned into practise!

Pictures to come... hopefully shortly!

Many cheers and well chained gears! ;)
Kristy

Otesha-ing the Maritimes!

Summer time and the cycling wheels are turning...

Cheers friends and folks!

It's been a while, but I just wanted to update my adventures as part of the Otesha Project's East Coast bike tour team. 14 of us are cruising through the Southern shore of NS and are currently in Yarmouth. It is an energetic, fun-filled, and pretty intense experience but I am definitely loving seeing and learning more from the communities we are passing through.

Case in point: Pubnico. Last night we camped outside le Muse Acadien in the small village, which is the oldest Acadian settlement apparently. As we entered the town, there were signs EVERYWHERE supporting Dwight D'Eon who is currently competing on the Canadian Idol. One sign said: "I may be 93, but Dwight is my Idol"!!! :) So cute! We cheered for Dwight at the local Legion with some of the locals, many of whom have the same last names and are distantly related to their local hero!

Not only that, but it was really cool to chat with the lobster and haddock fishermen on the dock in French, well Acadian French, which was quite a treat to hear. It's a mix of both languages and comes across almost as a mumble. I found I really had to concentrate, but boy were they friendly! We got a tour of the boat and they described the fishing methods.

Finally, after a tour of the museum, we were presented with patches which the community members made with little Acadian flags on them, in addition to freshly baked bread for breakfast! :)

Anyways, quite enjoying the unique opportunity to travel in a mobile community who is passionate about environmental and social issues. We are having lots of fun, learning lots and are excited to see more of NS till Digby (and hopefully some local scallops) and off to New Brunswick!

Hope everyone is having a great summer thus far! Though it's tough to find time to fit in a blog entry, I look forward from hearing from you! :)

"Much peace and bicycle grease" (one of the many Otesha sayings),
Kristy

Watch out Maritimes... here comes Team Otesha!

That's right: drivers, clear the road,
Youth, get excited about environmental sustainability,
Pull out the recycling bins, open up minds, turn those frowns upside down...
As here comes Team Otesha on the Maritimes Tour!! :)

Hello loyal blog readers excited about a green future!

I've posted before a little bit about the Otesha Project and the bike tours that are occuring across Canada to promote the issues of environmental sustainability and social justice to youth. I am a member of the Maritimes team, one of 14 21-30 year olds who are passionate about the environment and encouraging others to consider their everyday choices in light of the health of our good'ol friend: Mother Earth!

We will be touring around the Maritimes on 2 wheels (well, 2x14 actually... plus bike trailers) for 2 months giving presentations and engaging others on how they can make a difference.

I'm super excited and looking forward to meeting the team this afternoon. I'd also like to thank all of you who supported me in this initiative through helping with my fundraising or providing encouragement along the way. We will have a team blog to update you of our travels and I will provide you with more information after our week long training week which begins... today! :)

All the best to everyone for a great summer filled with lots of smiles and of course, watermellons! :)

Cheerio,
Kristy

Oh Canada...

Namaste, Hello, Sosriakul (sp?!), As-salamu alaykum... HOWDY FOLKS!

Reporting live from good ol' Halifax, boy it's nice to be back in Canada. After great travels and many adventures, I was quite excited to see the maple leaf on our Air Canada aircraft in London Heathrow. My neighbour on the plane was a young German woman who is planning to stay here for 3 months, and I proudly recommended some good sights. It's reassuring after almost 4 months abroad to come feel good about coming home. Though it would be nicer if Canada was a little smaller and my Westcoast family and friends were a little more accessible...

Anyways, I'm still reflecting lots on lessons learned and memories of my travels and can't wait to share with all you folks, not to mention hear about all your news! Meanwhile, I'm now preparing for a 2 month cycling tour (that starts in a week!) around the Maritimes with the aim of empowering youth to make a difference regarding environmental sustainability and social justice issues... hope I remember how to cycle!!

I hope the beginning of summer finds everybody well! We are sure lucky to live in a country where by and large we all have the opportunities to pursue our interests and dreams...

Many smiles,
Kristy

Welcome to Doha...

As-salamu alaykum (A Muslim arabic greeting that translates as "peace be upon you") friends!!

I am now in Doha in the State of Qatar in the Persian Gulf for 4 days (to break up my long return journey). What a change from India and Nepal! It is a Muslim state and men wear white robes with head dresses (which look perfect for the heat) while women wear mostly black hijab and abbayah (viel and dress covering everything but their hands and faces) while some even wear nicab (face covering with slits for their eyes). EVERYTHING is divided for men and women. This morning I went to the cultural centre and had a personal lesson on Islam (they let me join the "Intro to Islam for New Muslims class). Man it's strict and also very very different than what I'm used to... but I was happy to learn a little bit, especially in light of our media's tendancy to link the Middle East and Islam with terrorism. The few Qatari's I've met have been hugely welcoming and very friendly (as I describe below, a minority of people in Doha are actually Qatari)!

Yup, the adjacent picture is indeed a skating rink (it's almost 50oC outside but in the mall there's a skating rink!)! And the image next is a renovated "souq" (bazaar or market) where you can find spices, clothes and all sorts of other household items. I would have loved to share more pictures of people, but that's a sensitive one. But hopefully the 2 men in "thobs" (I think- white robes and head dresses are visible).

The evidence of wealth (due to the abundance of oil and gas in the Gulf) is almost appauling (especially after spending time in India and Nepal)... nothing but new cars/SUV's everywhere, crazy expensive hotels and more to come with construction everywhere, and beautiful beige and white villas everywhere! Due to the amount of wealth up for grabs, the amount of globalization is insane... My taxi driver was Indian, we got directions from a Qatari, the owner of the hostel here is Egyptian and workers from India and Sri Lanka, my new friend/tourguide is Tunisian (sp?), I've met his friends from the Philipines and Canada, our waitress today in an American restaurant was from Romania, and we ate next to a couple British families!! It's nuts! And all their jokes are international in flavour (... though not suitable to post online).

Anyways, I hope to attach pics soon, but I'm off to meet a Canadian Muslim who is sure to join in my Tunisian friend's attempts to convince me to come work here for in the oil and gas industry for $50-60k USD - tax free!! Yup, nothing is taxed here and gas is about 20 cents/L (about 10 years ago, apparently it was free!). When asked about hybrid cars and their availability here, my friend simply responded: "Why?!". I haven't mentioned about my engagement with Otesha nor my previous employment with environment Canada, both of which are concerned about climate change...

Nways, most interesting. Leave tomorrow late night "inshallah" and will be looking forward to catching up with all you folks one way or another on Canadian soil (not to mention enjoying temps below 45oC!!!)!

Cheerios,
Kristy :)

Here is the most common sight in Doha... billion dollar condo's and office buildings are popping up like mushrooms. In the past 2 years virtually all the now existing highrises were built (as you can see if you look across the gulf in the picture above of Corniche, the road adjacent to the sea...). My goodness!!!

I've also included a few shots of "The Pearl" a new multi-billion dollar development project just offshore of Corniche. It is actually an articifial island!!

Chandigarh- am I still in India???!!

Namaste, but somehow I feel hello is more appropriate at the moment!

I'm in a place called Chandigarh, in the state just below Punjab. It is a modern city planned 50 years ago by Le Corbusier, a Swiss city planner. The city is organized in a grid pattern- I'm staying in "Sector 22"! Although it makes navigating pretty simple, the buildings are all quite similar in style- mostly concrete and low density so the city is quite spread out.

Here are some things that I find interesting, in contrast to the other cities in India I've visited:
- there are gardens and green spaces everywhere!
- the signs are mostly in english and the shopping area has Tommy Hillfiger, Addidas and Levis stores
- I haven't seen one Hindu (or any other religious) shrine which usually is always around the corner whever I've been
- there is relatively little garbage on the streets
- there are even continuous sidewalks (this I still can't get over!!)
- I haven't seen one cow on the roads!

Above is an example of one of the many green gardens... I don't know how the plants manage to stay alive as I'm going through 1L of water every hour here!!! ;)

However, to keep me confused but sane knowing I'm still in India, there are rickshaw wallahs everywhere that try to get your business and chai wallahs on every sidewalk... Phew! As much as it was nice this morning to go for a long walk through "Leisure Valley" and the rose garden, I kind of miss the chaos and the different cultural aspects of the rest of India (plus mid 40oC's just tire me out!!). But off to Delhi tomorrow as my time in India is running thin!

Cheerios and many greetings!
Kristy

Jumping into Sikh culture!

Namaste, or let's go with "Satsriakal" (the Punjabi greeting) from Punjab!

After spending a relaxing 4 days in a hill station after my Hindu pilgrimage trip where families enjoy the cool temperatures (I never thought I'd say that 30oC is refreshing!!) and go for horse rides around the mountain, fairgrounds as well as enjoy ice cream (yes, life's tough!!) I decided to catch the train to Punjab. There is a large Sikh population (the main religion in the Punjab) in Vancouver so hence my interest.

The main area of interest is the Golden Temple in Amritsar. What a truly fascinating place. The Gurdwara (temple) is a huge complex made out of marble with a large pool surrounded by a large walkway. In the center of the pool is the sanctuary which is plated with gold. The religious feel of the temple is accentuated by a continuous chant from the Sikh holy book- really neat. The men almost all wore traditional Indian dress (long white kurta top with white pants) in addition to the turban. In addition to the uncut hair, which is one of the 5 emblems of Sikh culture, they carry a comb (kangha), a sword (kirpan), a steel bangle (karra) and wear a form of loose underwear to symbolise modesty (kaccha). You must wash your feet and cover your head while entering the temple. I really felt like I was in a different word...

In addition to the temple itself, the founder of the religion stressed equality in the form of social service, family and hardwork. There are communal kitchens and free dormitories for all visitors, regardless of faith. They must feed about 10 000 people a day and they even have a chapati machine! It was humbling to sit on the floor among hundreds of others while enjoying chapati and daal. And the Sikh people I met were incredibly kind (though pointy elbows were quick to emerge while trying to get onto the free bus from the train station!!).


Above is a snap of a smaller langur (community kitchen) in Anandapur Sahib. Everyone sits on the floor and seconds are welcome... neat concept! ... and yummy food too! :)

I was thoroughly taken by Amritsar so decided to go to the holiest Sikh city, Anandapur Sahib to learn some more. The landscape of the village is doted with Gurdwaras everywhere! It was neat to experience the smaller scale temples, still beautiful with the chanting and white marble walls in contrast to the gold. Again it was dorm style accomodations and I met some Indian friends that helped me navigate the town (not much english and only a paragraph in the Lonely Planet- not even a map, my travel bible is letting me down!!!).

Anyways, I don't think I've explained this well as I'm still pretty amazed by the experience. So hopefully the pictures will help! :)




Much peace to home, I hope all is going well!
Phir melange (see you!),
Kristy

From the beginning...

Namaste again!

Anyways, arriving in Gangotri- where the pilgrims begin their trek to Gamukh (or "Cow's Mouth" glacier, the source of the Ganga) was cold (why do I find myself in extemes in this country)! Though my stomach was still a far cry from being healthy, I made the full day trek into the camp 4km below Gamukh passing sadhus with their orange robes and tin carriers and families also making the trek (most of whom opted to go on horseback). I camped alongside
about 30 other folks in a sea of blankets in a dabhas (a tea stand) which was quite an experience and was happy that another foreigner (German guy) and I had befriended a small Indian group that spoke english very well. Despite snow, leaks and a hopelessly late dinner at 9pm (hungry!), we awoke to a beautiful day and I continued to Gamukh. Passing several Hindu shrines, I came to the base of the glacier and the Cow's Mouth- pretty spectacular site, both in the symbolic sense and the natural beauty of the surounding sites.



And so this completes my journey to the source of the Ganga, and filled with much Hindu karma, I rest my angry stomach in Dehra Dun and find my thoughts drifting home...

I hope all is well with all of you and it's always good to receive notes and greetings! :)
Be well and much peace,
Kristy


The first "snap" is the Gamukh glacier. Note the small opening (Cow's Mouth). There she be... the beginning of the great Mother Ganga! The second is a line of Dabhas, where I slept... an interesting experience indeed! But can't beat the 15 rupee charge (the equivalent of less that 50 cents)!