John & Sylvie’s blog

India 2

2007-01-16T02:23:02Z

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India. Holy Cow!

2006-12-21T06:28:32Z

Greetings from Goa, India.

Depending on who you talk to, India is either the best place in the world or the worst. People either love it or hate it. Fortunately for us, we absolutely love it here (which is good since we're here for over a month). No question, India is a land of extreme and fascinating contradictions. In Varanasi (India's holiest city), the streets are gridlocked by taxis, pedal rickshaws and the ever-present cows. And yet, watching the sun rise over the Ganges with it's ritual bathers (yuck!) and burning funeral pyres was one of the most beautiful and serene experiences we've ever had. Travelling through Rajasthan state, we saw how the rural people live in humble huts with no electricty or running water. Yet, just down the road, there are the marble palaces of the Maharajas - perhaps the most extravagent rulers the world has ever known. We've had to fend off a never-ending stream of touts and hawkers trying to either swindle or sell you something. And yet, we've also met a Jain high-priest who invited us to attend the service at his temple and friendly people who have invited us into their homes. I guess that's the beauty of the place - a swirling mass of humanity that defies definition.

Here are a few other highlights. We visited the absolutely incredible Taj Mahal at dawn. We visited Ranthanbore National Park in search of the elusive Indian tiger. We were thrilled to find a female tiger in heat and followed her for 40 minutes while she roared and marked territory in search of a mate. We did a sundown camel safari in the mystical town of Pushkar (which is Hindi for "Damn, my ass hurts"). And we stayed in a guest house overlooking lake Pichola and the fabulous floating Lake Palace Hotel. And most importantly... the food! We've been eating yummy Indian food day and night. It's incredible and incredibly cheap. A fantastic meal of chicken tikka, panner butter masala and garlic naan for two will set you back a whopping 250 Rupees. Yep, 5 whole dollars. So, eat up. They'll make more!

Sylvie and I will be celebrating Christmas on the beach in Goa and then will be moving on to Kerala further south for New Years. We hope all of you have a Merry Chrisma-Hannu-Kwanza-kah and a Happy New Year!

Namaste

John & Sylvie

More photos are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johngarner

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Walking Like Egyptians

2006-11-30T15:33:30Z

Egypt

Nile Cruise. Check. Pyramids. Check.   Cops on Camels. Check???    It’s easy to imagine coming to Egypt simply to “Check the box” on all of those famous sights we learned about as children, but the real Egypt is so much more amazing and beguiling than any school bock or Discovery channel program can convey.   The Egyptians were building pyramids, performing surgery and creating beautiful art 4,500 years ago... when our European ancestors were still hunting with spears and long before the Greeks or Romans came of age (Sorry Steph).   Visiting the temples and learning about the Egyptian gods and the meaning of the hieroglyphics, ancient Egypt comes alive and is so much more impressive than we had imagined. One of the highlights of our trip was watching the sunrise over Abu Simbel, a huge temple built into a rock mountain by Ramses II. (The 2:30AM wake-up for the 4AM flight was arguably the “lowlight” of the trip ☺).

After our Nile Cruise, Sylvie and I spent 3 days in Hurghada on the Red Sea scuba diving, swimming and just lazing on the beach.   We were the only Americans in a sea of Russians and Germans.    Of course, when asked, we would just say we’re from Canada, eh? It sucks that we can’t feel safe saying we’re American anymore. (Reason #137 why we hate Bush) Oddest moment of the trip was when I realized I was playing volleyball with 11 Russians. Good news is now I know how to say mine, yours, hit and “roof” in Russian.

Cairo is crazy cacophony of horns, hawkers and calls to prayer with over 17 million people and 5 million cars.    The streets are pure anarchy where the drivers ignore the lane lines and the pedestrians cross en masse into oncoming traffic. That said, there are oases of beauty and calm here (including the former Palace that is our hotel) and the people have been warm and welcoming. Especially, our guide “Magic Maged” (cousin of my friend from work Emil) who has planned our whole trip and taken care of us since the moment we arrived.

I’ve uploaded a whole raft of new photos from the Safari, Nile Cruise and Cairo. You can either see the “best” of each of just do the “mini” sites if you’re pressed for time. We leave tonight for our flight to Delhi and the next leg of our adventure. Thanks to everyone for your warm emails and posts of support.   It’s been fun for us to have you along with us on our trip.

Love

John & Sylvie

All the photo albums are here: Flickr.
Each of the photos albums are below:
Cairo Mini
Cairo Best
Nile Mini
Nile Best
Safari Best
Safari Mini

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Predators Ball

2006-11-21T07:36:41Z

Safari 2

Ah Spring time in Africa. We’re here at the perfect time to see the grasses turn green, the flowers bloom, the animals give birth to cute cuddly babies… and then watch predators DEVOUR them! It’s been a gruesome and awe-inspiring experience. Over just two days during our trip, we witnessed 6 kills by cheetahs, lions and a pack of endangered wild dogs. The impala (the “Big Mac of the Kalahari” according to our guide) is the preferred dinner “guest” but no one is safe: warthogs, zebras and even . . . us. There are no fences around any of the camps and the animals wander freely. There have been persistent rumors of staff members being eaten around nearby camps so you take it seriously when your guide requires you to be walked to your room after dark.

While we came for the animals, one of the best parts of the trip has been the people. The local African guides are, without exception, some of the most friendly and warmest people we’ve met. Despite hard work and long hours (up at 4AM and to bed at 10PM), they love the wilderness, are quite happy and laugh more easily than most people with far more material wealth. A good message as Thanksgiving approaches.

We’ve created a slide show movie featuring the best photos from the safari accompanied by some African music by artists we saw in Johannesburg. We’re off to Egypt now and will be spending Thanksgiving cruising the Nile. We love you and hope you have a wonderful time with family and friends.

Love,

John & Sylvie

PS: Check out Flickr for more Safari Photos in addition to the ones below:

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Capetown Rules

2006-11-07T06:48:13Z

CapeTown

Hi everyone -

Hope all of you are well and happy. We've been having a spectacular time in Cape Town. South Africa has far exceeded our expectations. When we first arrived, we were fearful because of all the stories of crime here, but it's not at all like that. South Africans have been absolutely lovely people. And the place itself is a natural wonderland. Our adventure has included wine tasting in the "Winelands" (makes Napa look shabby), hiking the botanical gardens of Table Mountain and a trip to the Cape of Good Hope where we saw whales playing in the water just 20 meters off the coast. If you look closely at the video, you can see the whale's eyes and mouth clearly.

Our trip to Robben Island was perhaps the most moving experience. It's only been 12 years since Apartheid ended so the experience is still fresh in their collective experience. During the tour, we met Benjamin (pictured below) who was imprisoned on Robben Island for 11 years. He had taken up arms against the regime when he witnessed his pregnant girlfriend get shot during a student revolution. He's proud of his participation in the movement brought true democracy to his country, but worries that the children today are not following in their footsteps. There was a very touching moment we witnessed where an Afrikaaner (a descendent of the Dutch settlers) gave Benjamin a warm handshake and said that he sees a bright future for "our children in South Africa".

Sylvie and I are off for our Safari starting today. More pictures and videos coming when we return in about 10 days. More photos from capetown can be found on our Flickr site here: Capetown Photos

Much love

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Our itinerary

2006-10-29T06:11:47Z

Hi everyone -

It's midnight the night before our big trip and we're still madly getting ready. We're very excited about the trip and looking forward to sharing it with you. Here's the itinerary

San Francisco, CA (SFO) to London, United Kingdom (LHR)
Sun, Oct 29, 2006
United Airlines 0954
Oct 29 06:12 PM depart SFO
Oct 30 12:40 PM arrival LHR

London, United Kingdom (LHR) to Cape Town, South Africa (CPT)
Mon, Oct 30, 2006
SA 0221
Oct 30 08:15 PM depart LHR
Oct 31 10:20 AM arrival CPT

Cape Town, South Africa (CPT) to Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB)
Mon, Nov 6, 2006
SA 0326
Nov 06 10:40 AM depart CPT
Nov 06 12:40 PM arrival JNB

Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB) to Cairo, Egypt (CAI)
Mon, Nov 20, 2006
Lufthansa Airlines 0573
Nov 20 08:15 PM depart JNB
Nov 21 05:30 AM arrival FRA

Lufthansa Airlines 0582
Nov 21 09:25 AM depart FRA
Nov 21 02:30 PM arrival CAI

Cairo, Egypt (CAI) to New Delhi, India (DEL)
Fri, Dec 1, 2006
Lufthansa Airlines 0653
Dec 01 03:50 AM depart CAI
Dec 01 07:20 AM arrival FRA

Lufthansa Airlines 0760
Dec 01 01:35 PM depart FRA
Dec 02 01:15 AM arrival DEL

Bangalore, India (BLR) to Singapore, Singapore (SIN)
Sun, Jan 7, 2007
SingaporeAirlines 0503
Jan 07 11:10 PM depart BLR
Jan 08 06:05 AM arrival SIN

Singapore, Singapore (SIN) to Narita, Japan (NRT)
Mon, Jan 8, 2007
SingaporeAirlines 0632
Jan 08 08:35 PM depart SIN
Jan 09 07:00 AM arrival NRT

Narita, Japan (NRT) to San Francisco, CA (SFO)
Wed, Jan 10, 2007
United Airlines 0852
Jan 10 07:00 PM depart NRT
Jan 10 11:19 AM arrival SFO

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