From the hot landscape of Mysore . . . home of fine silks, sandalwood and cloying incense, painting and yoga gurus. We arrived here last night after one night of bush camping sandwiched between two long days of driving, a few wrong turns, a stop at Jog Falls and a sprint through the aggressively tout-filled Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebid. The drives have been AMAZING, though, in terms of scenery. It is just lovely and green and tropical, the weather is awesome and the sunrises/sets have been pinky/golden/orangey fantasies.
People were ultra-cranky upon arrival despite early-evening cocktails/hors d'oeuvres on the truck (a.k.a. Kingfisher Beers and canned cheese on crackers, which I prepared on my lap with my pocketknife), a Christmas iPod mix filled with weird carols that no one knew the words to (not helped by the two blown speakers at the back) and a festively decorated interior thanks to Nic. I'd say, in fact, that the spirit of Christmas is more along the lines of the "I don't want to spend one more second with any of these people for at least a week" spirit right now.
The jury is still out on the new group, but fear not! There are several candidates vying to replace the 8th, 9th and 10th dwarfs from days past. We have Piggy, for example, who takes HUGE portions of limited camp food and then throws most of it away. We also have Uber-Irritatey, who is lazy and bossy and constantly talking about inane crap in a loud and whiny tone.
Everything is made just that little bit worse by the fact that it is Christmas. People are homesick and feel compelled to celebrate in some manner with the only familiar faces. Most people opted NOT to do Secret Santa, although I DO need to find something for at least my roomie. Most people ARE opting to just start drinking, with 3PM cocktails at a cool & funky place in the Parklane Hotel (had a delish dinner there last night) and a group dinner at 8PM. I have to admit that I wish I was home right now, if only for a couple of days. Holidays are hard no matter where you are . . . sending all my best and hope Santa is good to all.
MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY!!!!! hO hO HO......wE WISH YOU WERE HOME TOO!!!!
ReplyDeleteBelated Merry Christmas to you Stormi. I wish I could magically zap you home for a few days with family and fun quality friends and then zap you back with the "others". I am so happy you and your dad chose to experience together an adventurous traveling experience..Priceless..enriching... I'm sure it was a reality shock for him to be back home and have to deal with life issues like his dad that is not doing well mentally, physically and emotionally, not fun..At least there are a thousands of pictures that can bring him back to those experiences.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you enjoy this next bout of journeys, So far it sounds great landscape wise , Hope the people turn out to be very enriching and gracious...Pam
Belated Merry Christmas to you Stormi. I wish I could magically zap you home for a few days with family and fun quality friends and then zap you back with the "others". I am so happy you and your dad chose to experience together an adventurous traveling experience..Priceless..enriching... I'm sure it was a reality shock for him to be back home and have to deal with life issues like his dad that is not doing well mentally, physically and emotionally, not fun..At least there are a thousands of pictures that can bring him back to those experiences.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you enjoy this next bout of journeys, So far it sounds great landscape wise , Hope the people turn out to be very enriching and gracious...Pam
Dear Stormi
ReplyDeleteI really like your website and stories. I just wrote emails to keep in touch (which I have forwarded on just before) so I can tell your marketing background has given you a slicker presentation.
Glad you are liking India. Personally I thought it was more enriching to visit than Nepal. The people and children are just amazing.
Hope your fellow travellers are behaving themselves - just as well the travellers got refreshed a few times otherwise it sounds a bit mutinuous.
I look forward to reading more stories and take care of yourself.
Hope Joe is well and not missing you too much.
Regards
Loretta & Peter