Last night was the one night this month when we really needed to get a good night sleep. We needed to go to bed early and wake up early in order to try and adjust our bodies to our time clock as of tomorrow. It didn't work. It was like Christmas eve, or the night before a big job interview or first date. It was made worse by our packed bags sitting over there on the floor watching us sleep, waiting for their adventures to begin. We tried to go to sleep around 10 but ended up tossing and turning for an hour. Frustrated, we turned on Comedy Central to watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for some comic relief (it was a particularly good episode). Then a rereun of Saturday Night Live came on and we watched most of that. In the end, we didn't end up sleeping until after midnight. We slept in until 8.30 (Magi) and 9.30 (Krishna). So much for adjusting our schedule!
Anyway, our flight leaves tonight at 6. We have a 7 hour flight and arrive in Amsterdam tomorrow morning around 7.30. There are no emotions now except excitement. We're very anxious to get going!
See you back on this continent next year! Until then, take care of yourselves and your animals.
tothesea,
k&m
Thursday, July 25, 2002
Monday, July 22, 2002
amazing and lovely
It was so nice to have company last weekend! And the company consisted of two of our best friends- Rebecca and Tara- so it was extra nice. The best thing was just hanging out on the patio and catching up. We went to see a film called Lovely and Amazing. It was more lovely than amazing but we all enjoyed it very much. After that, we went out for the best all vegetarian chinese food (Yuan Fu in Rockville, MD) and filled our bellies on spring rolls, steamed dumplings, orange beef, cashew chicken, fried eggplant, and Kung Pao chicken. Though we expected to have leftovers, we managed to finish each and every morsel. Yum!
Over the course of those two short days, Rebecca, in particular, fell in love with Punkin and the two were inseparable. Punkin has been listless and depressed all day. I wouldn't doubt if the same is true for Rebecca. Meanwhile, Tara fell in love with the dish soap and wouldn't let a dish go dirty for more than a few minutes (we love you for that Tara!).
Our last few days in Washington are upon us. Tomorrow we head to the airport but we're not going anywhere, it's just time to pick up Magi's parents. We called today to reconfirm our flight to Amsterdam for Thursday night. We think it's weird to have to reconfirm a flight 72 hours in advance to ensure you don't lose your seat! Shouldn't paying big bucks for the ticket suffice?
Sleep tight.
tothesea,
k&m
Over the course of those two short days, Rebecca, in particular, fell in love with Punkin and the two were inseparable. Punkin has been listless and depressed all day. I wouldn't doubt if the same is true for Rebecca. Meanwhile, Tara fell in love with the dish soap and wouldn't let a dish go dirty for more than a few minutes (we love you for that Tara!).
Our last few days in Washington are upon us. Tomorrow we head to the airport but we're not going anywhere, it's just time to pick up Magi's parents. We called today to reconfirm our flight to Amsterdam for Thursday night. We think it's weird to have to reconfirm a flight 72 hours in advance to ensure you don't lose your seat! Shouldn't paying big bucks for the ticket suffice?
Sleep tight.
tothesea,
k&m
Thursday, July 18, 2002
seven days, seven nights
We leave in one week.
As it stands now, we have just about everything ready to go. We've packed and unpacked and repacked our backpacks a few times now (try saying that five times) and have discovered that we only have about 45 lbs. of stuff to cart around with us. That's probably about 1/2 of what we had when we travelled through Europe in 1998 so we're doing pretty good!
Since we have our travel guides read, our bags ready, our traveller's cheques and Euros bought, our crisp US dollar bills sorted from the worn ones (which we will leave behind), and our website ready, the biggest task we have left to do is to choose the music that will be, in essence, the soundtrack of our trip. We have four cards for our MP3 player and estimate that will give us room for approximately 135 songs. We have a lot of picking and choosing to do. It's very difficult, for a couple of music fanatics, to go through song lists and decide what songs you will want to listen to while travelling and those you will not have the opportunity to listen to for months and months.
But that's just something to keep our minds occupied while somehow covering up the excited feelings and anxiousness we have about leaving!
Some of you know what our first stop is and others have no idea. So we'll even out the playing field and keep everyone one step ahead.
Our first stop is Amsterdam. We arrive there early next Friday morning and spend the weekend there. We stayed in Amsterdam back in June of 1998 on our trip through Europe and it remains one of our favourite cities. Last time we were there, we arrived at night with hostel reservations that were not held for us and let's just say, Amsterdam is FULL in June and July. A man in the train station said he rented out rooms in his apartment to backpackers. Our only other option was to stay at a severely overpriced hotel which went way over our $50/day budget (Canadian dollars, I might add). So, against our better judgement, we took the stranger up on his offer and he drove us to his apartment. There were three American guys staying there too but we had our own room. It ended up being safe, quiet, and a great place to stay. We drank Heineken, ordered pizza, and watched the World Cup with our roommates.
Learning from this lesson, we booked a budget hotel in Amsterdam way in advance (with a credit card) this time around. The sad thing is we'll probably spend less money on accomodations the entire time we're in Asia than for these three night in Amsterdam! Such is the drawback to European travel.
One final note. Some people refer to the Netherlands as "Holland" because historically, this region of the Netherlands has been where the majority of people have settled and where the most economic activity has occurred. However, Zuid- (South) and Noord- (North) Holland are only two of the twelve provinces in the Netherlands! So, it's akin to calling Canada "Ontario" or the US "New York" which would, no doubt, annoy a lot of people. So, next time you think of the Netherlands, for goodness sakes, don't forget the other wonderful provinces like Zeeland and Flevopolder! :)
tothesea,
k&m
As it stands now, we have just about everything ready to go. We've packed and unpacked and repacked our backpacks a few times now (try saying that five times) and have discovered that we only have about 45 lbs. of stuff to cart around with us. That's probably about 1/2 of what we had when we travelled through Europe in 1998 so we're doing pretty good!
Since we have our travel guides read, our bags ready, our traveller's cheques and Euros bought, our crisp US dollar bills sorted from the worn ones (which we will leave behind), and our website ready, the biggest task we have left to do is to choose the music that will be, in essence, the soundtrack of our trip. We have four cards for our MP3 player and estimate that will give us room for approximately 135 songs. We have a lot of picking and choosing to do. It's very difficult, for a couple of music fanatics, to go through song lists and decide what songs you will want to listen to while travelling and those you will not have the opportunity to listen to for months and months.
But that's just something to keep our minds occupied while somehow covering up the excited feelings and anxiousness we have about leaving!
Some of you know what our first stop is and others have no idea. So we'll even out the playing field and keep everyone one step ahead.
Our first stop is Amsterdam. We arrive there early next Friday morning and spend the weekend there. We stayed in Amsterdam back in June of 1998 on our trip through Europe and it remains one of our favourite cities. Last time we were there, we arrived at night with hostel reservations that were not held for us and let's just say, Amsterdam is FULL in June and July. A man in the train station said he rented out rooms in his apartment to backpackers. Our only other option was to stay at a severely overpriced hotel which went way over our $50/day budget (Canadian dollars, I might add). So, against our better judgement, we took the stranger up on his offer and he drove us to his apartment. There were three American guys staying there too but we had our own room. It ended up being safe, quiet, and a great place to stay. We drank Heineken, ordered pizza, and watched the World Cup with our roommates.
Learning from this lesson, we booked a budget hotel in Amsterdam way in advance (with a credit card) this time around. The sad thing is we'll probably spend less money on accomodations the entire time we're in Asia than for these three night in Amsterdam! Such is the drawback to European travel.
One final note. Some people refer to the Netherlands as "Holland" because historically, this region of the Netherlands has been where the majority of people have settled and where the most economic activity has occurred. However, Zuid- (South) and Noord- (North) Holland are only two of the twelve provinces in the Netherlands! So, it's akin to calling Canada "Ontario" or the US "New York" which would, no doubt, annoy a lot of people. So, next time you think of the Netherlands, for goodness sakes, don't forget the other wonderful provinces like Zeeland and Flevopolder! :)
tothesea,
k&m
Friday, July 12, 2002
a week without a watch
Today we made some additions to our photos page. You haven't missed anything if you didn't look at the page before, but now there are much more than four pictures on there. After reading recently about the excruciatingly slow connections in Internet cafes overseas, we really don't expect to change that page until we get back. Maybe we'll all be surprised though.
Over the course of this week, we taught Punkin how to shake a paw and shake the other paw. She pretty much has it down pat now but will only oblige us when we are holding a treat in front of her nose. She much prefers that we throw the ball for her or chase her around the dining room table. We also watched Gandhi (for some historical insight on the relationship between Pakistan and India), and Brokedown Palace (for shameless entertainment about two American girls who wind up in a Thai prison). We walked for miles in appropriately steamy weather to pick up Magi's visa for India. We've also been doing some conditioning of our bodies for the trip by spending more time outside and more time on the treadmill. We do this knowing that once we meet Trish and Saf in Delhi we are going to have to be able to keep up with them!
We have also been taking it easy. Our days ususally begin around 10 or 11 a.m. and end at about 1 a.m. We have succumbed to watching Judge Judy and the incessantly repetitive programming on VH1 without shame, we indulge in our favourite delicious vegan foods like Soy Dream, Tofutti cheese slices, Better Than Cream Cheese, Yves sausages, and Boca burgers (just to name a few) while we still have them at our fingertips, and we revel in the joys of life without a schedule. Note: we do have a minor amount of intellectual capacity left and we will be going out to a performance tomorrow night called Glory Box.
We hope everyone gets to have at least one day without a schedule this week.
tothesea,
k&m
Over the course of this week, we taught Punkin how to shake a paw and shake the other paw. She pretty much has it down pat now but will only oblige us when we are holding a treat in front of her nose. She much prefers that we throw the ball for her or chase her around the dining room table. We also watched Gandhi (for some historical insight on the relationship between Pakistan and India), and Brokedown Palace (for shameless entertainment about two American girls who wind up in a Thai prison). We walked for miles in appropriately steamy weather to pick up Magi's visa for India. We've also been doing some conditioning of our bodies for the trip by spending more time outside and more time on the treadmill. We do this knowing that once we meet Trish and Saf in Delhi we are going to have to be able to keep up with them!
We have also been taking it easy. Our days ususally begin around 10 or 11 a.m. and end at about 1 a.m. We have succumbed to watching Judge Judy and the incessantly repetitive programming on VH1 without shame, we indulge in our favourite delicious vegan foods like Soy Dream, Tofutti cheese slices, Better Than Cream Cheese, Yves sausages, and Boca burgers (just to name a few) while we still have them at our fingertips, and we revel in the joys of life without a schedule. Note: we do have a minor amount of intellectual capacity left and we will be going out to a performance tomorrow night called Glory Box.
We hope everyone gets to have at least one day without a schedule this week.
tothesea,
k&m
Sunday, July 07, 2002
memories of new york city
It’s Sunday afternoon. Magi’s gone out shopping with her sister so it’s just Krishna writing today. I’m just catching up on emails and doing some channel surfing.
Magi’s parents have one of these massive televisions where everyone looks close to lifesize. I just turned the channel to HBO and am now watching a Bjork concert and this is what has inspired me to write this afternoon.
This concert took place on September 5th, 2001 in NYC at a tiny chapel on the upper west side right on the edge of Central Park. The crowd consisted of only 100 fans. You can’t imagine a more intimate setting.
Magi and I can because we were there.
When an edited version of the concert aired on HBO a few months later we had to wait to watch it later on a video because we didn't have HBO. We watched it on our crummy little television immediately after we got the tape. But now, to see it on this big television, with this stereo sound, and this quality of colour, well, it feels like we're there again. It is especially exciting to see Magi and myself on the big screen as the cameras show close-ups of the audience. We were in one of the first rows.
I wrote a review of the show for a friend’s zine. Here’s a much-edited tidbit:
The last time I was this enchanted was the day I climbed up the side of a waterfall on the southeast coast of Iceland. It was March. The sky was painted blue- the shade of blue that pierces your eyes and makes you squint. The only sounds were the wind and the waterfall working in harmony with one another. The landscape was vast, smooth, and crisp(…)
A man approached one of the music boxes on the stage and turned its crank. It was long and squat and read “Porter”. As he walked away, the soft, clear plucking sounds of Aurora began churning out from the seemingly unnecessary speakers. A silence fell over the crowd (…)
We spent the next half-hour waiting and looking at the stage, smiling at the pigeons playing outside in the rose window above, staring up at the tall nave, and making mental notes of the odd range of instruments on stage: a harp, two Mac computers, two music boxes- the Porter and a taller, more typical one with long and winding glass icicles dripping off it’s sides, a large shallow tray with small white rocks, a banjo, a guitar, a bell, and a keyboard. Many more instruments, including a deck of cards, an accordian, and a cymbal would appear later. “The Truth Shall Set You Free” was carved in the white stone above the altar. We listened to conversations, had a few brief ones of our own, but mostly just sat there with our hearts racing (…)
The sixteen choir girls from Greenland entered. All were clad in red or white long satin dresses with beadwork. Some wore headpieces… they were all barefoot. Their glowing skin and smiles were enchanting and their faces reflected varying stages of confidence (...)
Moments later, Bjork walked in from the left. She tiptoed down the aisle. Her small body was wrapped in a swan made of black and blue sequins ending with a crinoline skirt. She was barefoot though she wore striped tights. The makeup painted up to her eyebrow was a rich peacock blue. Her clammy hands and wide eyes reflected what I interpreted as nervousness. It was one of the first times she would be playing her new songs in front of strangers (…)
The remainder of the show is somewhat of a blur. I remember precise, precious moments but cannot form them into a logical sequence. Such are feelings, wilting and flowering without control (…)
Bjork’s voice, one word, can draw out tears. It is so powerful and feels like she is capable of harnessing all the energy and strength in her body and releasing it through these sounds. She is St. Theresa in ecstasy. And I wondered how she was able to stand after the release without wavering, collapsing into the side of the harp, through its strings (…)
If you’re still with me, thanks. I am completely wrapped up in that night, forgive me. But my emotions are about more than this one concert, it is all the memories of living in NYC and having opportunities to be a part of things like this. It makes me really miss the vibrant energy of NYC and our time there.
It also reminds me that six days later, NYC was hit by two airplanes.
And then, everything was different.
I guess that’s a big part of what makes that night so incredibly honest, innocent, and special.
cheers to NYC,
k~*
Magi’s parents have one of these massive televisions where everyone looks close to lifesize. I just turned the channel to HBO and am now watching a Bjork concert and this is what has inspired me to write this afternoon.
This concert took place on September 5th, 2001 in NYC at a tiny chapel on the upper west side right on the edge of Central Park. The crowd consisted of only 100 fans. You can’t imagine a more intimate setting.
Magi and I can because we were there.
When an edited version of the concert aired on HBO a few months later we had to wait to watch it later on a video because we didn't have HBO. We watched it on our crummy little television immediately after we got the tape. But now, to see it on this big television, with this stereo sound, and this quality of colour, well, it feels like we're there again. It is especially exciting to see Magi and myself on the big screen as the cameras show close-ups of the audience. We were in one of the first rows.
I wrote a review of the show for a friend’s zine. Here’s a much-edited tidbit:
The last time I was this enchanted was the day I climbed up the side of a waterfall on the southeast coast of Iceland. It was March. The sky was painted blue- the shade of blue that pierces your eyes and makes you squint. The only sounds were the wind and the waterfall working in harmony with one another. The landscape was vast, smooth, and crisp(…)
A man approached one of the music boxes on the stage and turned its crank. It was long and squat and read “Porter”. As he walked away, the soft, clear plucking sounds of Aurora began churning out from the seemingly unnecessary speakers. A silence fell over the crowd (…)
We spent the next half-hour waiting and looking at the stage, smiling at the pigeons playing outside in the rose window above, staring up at the tall nave, and making mental notes of the odd range of instruments on stage: a harp, two Mac computers, two music boxes- the Porter and a taller, more typical one with long and winding glass icicles dripping off it’s sides, a large shallow tray with small white rocks, a banjo, a guitar, a bell, and a keyboard. Many more instruments, including a deck of cards, an accordian, and a cymbal would appear later. “The Truth Shall Set You Free” was carved in the white stone above the altar. We listened to conversations, had a few brief ones of our own, but mostly just sat there with our hearts racing (…)
The sixteen choir girls from Greenland entered. All were clad in red or white long satin dresses with beadwork. Some wore headpieces… they were all barefoot. Their glowing skin and smiles were enchanting and their faces reflected varying stages of confidence (...)
Moments later, Bjork walked in from the left. She tiptoed down the aisle. Her small body was wrapped in a swan made of black and blue sequins ending with a crinoline skirt. She was barefoot though she wore striped tights. The makeup painted up to her eyebrow was a rich peacock blue. Her clammy hands and wide eyes reflected what I interpreted as nervousness. It was one of the first times she would be playing her new songs in front of strangers (…)
The remainder of the show is somewhat of a blur. I remember precise, precious moments but cannot form them into a logical sequence. Such are feelings, wilting and flowering without control (…)
Bjork’s voice, one word, can draw out tears. It is so powerful and feels like she is capable of harnessing all the energy and strength in her body and releasing it through these sounds. She is St. Theresa in ecstasy. And I wondered how she was able to stand after the release without wavering, collapsing into the side of the harp, through its strings (…)
If you’re still with me, thanks. I am completely wrapped up in that night, forgive me. But my emotions are about more than this one concert, it is all the memories of living in NYC and having opportunities to be a part of things like this. It makes me really miss the vibrant energy of NYC and our time there.
It also reminds me that six days later, NYC was hit by two airplanes.
And then, everything was different.
I guess that’s a big part of what makes that night so incredibly honest, innocent, and special.
cheers to NYC,
k~*
Friday, July 05, 2002
extra! extra! change of email is now official
Our email has now been officially changed to tothesea@asia.com.
If you send emails to our old addresses you'll receive an auto-reply asking you to forward the email to our new address.
That's it for today!
Thanks,
k&m
If you send emails to our old addresses you'll receive an auto-reply asking you to forward the email to our new address.
That's it for today!
Thanks,
k&m
Thursday, July 04, 2002
feels like mumbai
Happy Fourth of July!
Now that we are in D.C., we’ve been staying in the air-conditioned house and going out only as necessary. The heat is really oppressive here. Knowing that India is going to be the same or worse, we know we should go outside and get used to it. Maybe we’ll wait a little later in the month for that or maybe we’ll just enjoy the cool air while we have it.
That gives us a good segue to discuss India. We're still going since the problems there have not escalated and we're meeting two great friends there. Patricia, an old friend from McGill, is going to be in Delhi the same night as us. We're still waiting for details from Safeena (who lived in India for the last year) and who is also an old McGill friend. There have also been warnings about going to the Philippines. Krishna is going by what Magi and her family think about it (there are plenty of safe islands to travel to), and Magi is keeping her plans to lure Krishna there and then sell her a secret.
She wanted short hair for the trip overseas, so Magi took the scissors to Krishna’s head. Krishna doesn’t have much hair left now and it’s perfect.
We’ve added a photos page to our site and we’ll update you when we make further changes. The pictures up there now are from our latest trip to the east coast and we’re making no promises about when or how often we’ll be making additions.
Have a great holiday every(American)one! Being that we’re in D.C. amidst the current world climate, we’re going to stay home, watch a movie, eat canned peaches, and listen to the fireworks from the safety of the fallout shelter in the basement.
tothesea,
k&m
Now that we are in D.C., we’ve been staying in the air-conditioned house and going out only as necessary. The heat is really oppressive here. Knowing that India is going to be the same or worse, we know we should go outside and get used to it. Maybe we’ll wait a little later in the month for that or maybe we’ll just enjoy the cool air while we have it.
That gives us a good segue to discuss India. We're still going since the problems there have not escalated and we're meeting two great friends there. Patricia, an old friend from McGill, is going to be in Delhi the same night as us. We're still waiting for details from Safeena (who lived in India for the last year) and who is also an old McGill friend. There have also been warnings about going to the Philippines. Krishna is going by what Magi and her family think about it (there are plenty of safe islands to travel to), and Magi is keeping her plans to lure Krishna there and then sell her a secret.
She wanted short hair for the trip overseas, so Magi took the scissors to Krishna’s head. Krishna doesn’t have much hair left now and it’s perfect.
We’ve added a photos page to our site and we’ll update you when we make further changes. The pictures up there now are from our latest trip to the east coast and we’re making no promises about when or how often we’ll be making additions.
Have a great holiday every(American)one! Being that we’re in D.C. amidst the current world climate, we’re going to stay home, watch a movie, eat canned peaches, and listen to the fireworks from the safety of the fallout shelter in the basement.
tothesea,
k&m
Monday, July 01, 2002
chasing the horizon
Happy Canada Day!
Last night at 3 a.m. we ended our 32 day stint of chasing the horizon. During that time to the north and east and back we clocked 6,482 miles. We estimate that Magi drove about 482 of those (most of those being last night). Krishna won’t be sad if she doesn’t have to sit behind a steering wheel for a while.
We’re finally settled in D.C. We have about 24 days to enjoy being in one place. In these few upcoming weeks, we don’t need to travel to reach our next bed or wonder where our next meal is coming from. We’re going to revel in the comforts of having grocery stores full of food made just for our kind and the joy of napping on a whim.
Our month in Canada was really fun. We enjoyed some unusually clear weather. It never really reached a temperature where we could take off our sweaters but we didn’t mind that. We’ll have plenty of heat in the months ahead.
After we take a few days to relax and spending time with Magi’s family, we’re going to take care of all the last minute details of our trip overseas though we have yet to figure out what those are. Magi has to get her visa for India, we need to stock up on traveller’s cheques, and there must be a dozen other little things we need to take care of. We also have some good friends of ours coming down for a visit later this month and we’re really looking forward to that!
We continue to use our personal emails but will let you know when we switch to the tothesea address that you can link from this page. We also wanted to mention that the problem with seeing this text as green (on green) seems to be Netscape-specific. We recommend you view this site in Internet Explorer which is the browser it is designed for (sorry we can't be of more help).
tothesea,
k&m
Last night at 3 a.m. we ended our 32 day stint of chasing the horizon. During that time to the north and east and back we clocked 6,482 miles. We estimate that Magi drove about 482 of those (most of those being last night). Krishna won’t be sad if she doesn’t have to sit behind a steering wheel for a while.
We’re finally settled in D.C. We have about 24 days to enjoy being in one place. In these few upcoming weeks, we don’t need to travel to reach our next bed or wonder where our next meal is coming from. We’re going to revel in the comforts of having grocery stores full of food made just for our kind and the joy of napping on a whim.
Our month in Canada was really fun. We enjoyed some unusually clear weather. It never really reached a temperature where we could take off our sweaters but we didn’t mind that. We’ll have plenty of heat in the months ahead.
After we take a few days to relax and spending time with Magi’s family, we’re going to take care of all the last minute details of our trip overseas though we have yet to figure out what those are. Magi has to get her visa for India, we need to stock up on traveller’s cheques, and there must be a dozen other little things we need to take care of. We also have some good friends of ours coming down for a visit later this month and we’re really looking forward to that!
We continue to use our personal emails but will let you know when we switch to the tothesea address that you can link from this page. We also wanted to mention that the problem with seeing this text as green (on green) seems to be Netscape-specific. We recommend you view this site in Internet Explorer which is the browser it is designed for (sorry we can't be of more help).
tothesea,
k&m
Monday, June 24, 2002
minor technicality
Some of you have written to mention that the text on this page where I am leaving entries is green. This makes it hard for you to read because the background is also a shade of green. This is not a universal problem and we have not yet seen this problem first-hand on any computers we've been on so it's difficult to know if we have fixed it. Anyway, I've tinkered with the coding a little and the text you are reading now (and all the entries) should all be in black. Please leave me a note in my email or guestbook if you are having this problem and if it has been fixed.
Sorry for the technical entry but we want to get this fixed up before we leave so as to not create any eye strain on our loyal readers!
love,
k&m
Sorry for the technical entry but we want to get this fixed up before we leave so as to not create any eye strain on our loyal readers!
love,
k&m
Thursday, June 20, 2002
Addition to that last posting...
First off, I have to say that blogging is so much fun! I recommend that you all start your own blog. Basically, it works like an online journal which can be private or public- and it's so easy and fun to post. Best of all, it's free! Blogging with a guestbook is even better. We really love hearing from everyone, checking our guestbook reminds us how lucky we are to have you in our lives. Don't be shy- post once, post twice, post often!
A few things I forgot to add last time in our 30-minutes-of-free-internet-time-limit haste:
We did make it to Magnetic Hill. For those who have never heard of it, basically it's a small hill that is said to have magnetic strength so it pulls you backwards up it once you have descended it. It was pretty cool, though probably more so for those a tad younger than us. It's funner to do it if you haven't heard much about it, so we'll leave it at that.
We also took a trip to the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck which highlights the many crazy and amazing inventions this guy dabbled in throughout his lifetime. The first discovery of the science of the telephone was the most interesting to us, though that might seem like a rather normal reaction. Oh well, it's pretty amazing how Bell and Watson figured it out. We would have liked to have visited the mansion he called home for the last 37 years of his life, but it was tucked away in the wilderness and is still inhabited by a 97 year old descendant who is not interested in hordes of nosey visitors (what a party pooper!). Him and his wife Mabel are buried somewhere on the outskirts of town, though this is another site visitors aren't exactly directed to. The closest we got to either was seeing them on a large screen in the museum which showed a short bio of the inventor's life.
The last big adventure of Nova Scotia that I neglected to mention last time was Louisbourg. It's a 17th century French village that has been recreated for our modern day enjoyment (kind of like America's Colonial Williamsburg less the over-the-top consumerism aspect). The daily life of settlers is reenacted to give you a real sense of the history. The actors don't step out of character for a moment and if you let yourself forgive the little inconsistencies (like pop cans in the garbages and the fact that everyone is speaking in a rather modern, and English, tongue), you can feel like you've stepped back in time. The town, situated on the coast, is complete with soldiers, innkeepers, workers, and of course, the small crowd of drunks who walk around insulting whomever gets in their way. You'll get hassled if you're wearing red, the colour of the enemy (the English) as Magi found out upon reaching the first gate into town. She was accused by the drawbridge guard of being a spy and finally after believing that she wasn't involved in espionage, asked if we had any talents that would contribute to life in Louisbourg (why else would they let us in?). So, we changed our story about being tourists and pretended we were visiting family. That suited the guard and we were allowed in. They take their history seriously in Louisbourg!
One last thing before we go, we had a comment recently in our guestbook from our good friend Hillary who said that her husband Owen would never, EVER, try camping (silly Brooklyn boy!). Everyone really should give it a try at least once (and preferably for enjoyment, not work). It is very humbling and soothing for the soul.
That's it for now, time for bed.
tothesea,
k&m
A few things I forgot to add last time in our 30-minutes-of-free-internet-time-limit haste:
We did make it to Magnetic Hill. For those who have never heard of it, basically it's a small hill that is said to have magnetic strength so it pulls you backwards up it once you have descended it. It was pretty cool, though probably more so for those a tad younger than us. It's funner to do it if you haven't heard much about it, so we'll leave it at that.
We also took a trip to the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck which highlights the many crazy and amazing inventions this guy dabbled in throughout his lifetime. The first discovery of the science of the telephone was the most interesting to us, though that might seem like a rather normal reaction. Oh well, it's pretty amazing how Bell and Watson figured it out. We would have liked to have visited the mansion he called home for the last 37 years of his life, but it was tucked away in the wilderness and is still inhabited by a 97 year old descendant who is not interested in hordes of nosey visitors (what a party pooper!). Him and his wife Mabel are buried somewhere on the outskirts of town, though this is another site visitors aren't exactly directed to. The closest we got to either was seeing them on a large screen in the museum which showed a short bio of the inventor's life.
The last big adventure of Nova Scotia that I neglected to mention last time was Louisbourg. It's a 17th century French village that has been recreated for our modern day enjoyment (kind of like America's Colonial Williamsburg less the over-the-top consumerism aspect). The daily life of settlers is reenacted to give you a real sense of the history. The actors don't step out of character for a moment and if you let yourself forgive the little inconsistencies (like pop cans in the garbages and the fact that everyone is speaking in a rather modern, and English, tongue), you can feel like you've stepped back in time. The town, situated on the coast, is complete with soldiers, innkeepers, workers, and of course, the small crowd of drunks who walk around insulting whomever gets in their way. You'll get hassled if you're wearing red, the colour of the enemy (the English) as Magi found out upon reaching the first gate into town. She was accused by the drawbridge guard of being a spy and finally after believing that she wasn't involved in espionage, asked if we had any talents that would contribute to life in Louisbourg (why else would they let us in?). So, we changed our story about being tourists and pretended we were visiting family. That suited the guard and we were allowed in. They take their history seriously in Louisbourg!
One last thing before we go, we had a comment recently in our guestbook from our good friend Hillary who said that her husband Owen would never, EVER, try camping (silly Brooklyn boy!). Everyone really should give it a try at least once (and preferably for enjoyment, not work). It is very humbling and soothing for the soul.
That's it for now, time for bed.
tothesea,
k&m
Wednesday, June 19, 2002
Meat Cove... a great place for vegans
The sun is finally shining! The sky is a piercing deep blue and we are in a beautiful place to take it all in. We've been driving around Cape Breton in Nova Scotia for a few days now and last night we enjoyed the scenery at Meat Cove. Meat Cove is a little town on the very northern tip of Cape Breton and though the facilities were questionable, the view was spectacular and well worth the out-of-the-way trip. We haven't been making campfires at night since we have been keeping up with our usual 9.30pm bedtime but last night we decided to splurge for the $3 bundle of chopped wood and stay up late. Now we wish we had been doing this all along! It's so great to stay up and talk around a fire and it definitely keeps you warm. We can still smell the campfire in our hair since we passed on the showers this morning. It has been quite cold but we decided that we would much rather have cold than have flies.
Surprisingly, there are a lot of American tourists up here. We met a couple of guys from Pittsburgh at the Meat Cove campground last night and aside from Nova Scotia license plates, we see mostly American ones.
Our odometer has clocked us at driving over 3500 kilometres (about 2200 miles) since we left Ottawa. We're at a free internet access place right now (courtesy of Bill and Melinda Gates! - weird) and must be on our way. We'll write again when we can.
Hope everyone is having a great summer! Only a little over a month to go before we head overseas.... stay tuned.
tothesea,
k&m
Surprisingly, there are a lot of American tourists up here. We met a couple of guys from Pittsburgh at the Meat Cove campground last night and aside from Nova Scotia license plates, we see mostly American ones.
Our odometer has clocked us at driving over 3500 kilometres (about 2200 miles) since we left Ottawa. We're at a free internet access place right now (courtesy of Bill and Melinda Gates! - weird) and must be on our way. We'll write again when we can.
Hope everyone is having a great summer! Only a little over a month to go before we head overseas.... stay tuned.
tothesea,
k&m
Wednesday, June 12, 2002
Quebec in a Tent
It has been an incredible few days. We are writing this evening because we are not sure when we will be back online and we want to give you an inkling of how our week has been so far. On Monday afternoon we prepared ourselves for our first night of camping by making a trip to Canadian Tire and drove to Quebec City. Following the guidance of some East Coast travel experts (namely the Dunnings), we planned on camping the night outside of the city and taking the ferry into the city the next morning. We drove to the first camping site we found on the outskirts of town. It was about 6.30 pm. Coming from a background of camping in remote, secluded areas we were pretty shocked to see the campsite. It was basically a large clearing with some scattered trees, a mini-village of RVs, and a collection of buildings that each served a purpose- one had a laundromat, another had a restaurant, and in the center of the site was a large building with super clean facilities, warm showers, and flush toilets! It was a nice reintroduction to camping, if you can call it that.
We picked a site at the edge and to the back of the lot. The sky was overcast and we wanted some coverage from the rain and wind that seemed inevitable. A number of the local RV-ers walked by us, some several times, probably wondering why we chose not to set up camp next to them and join them in a game of Bridge.
We set up camp complete with our Coleman stove and our tent & tarp. We made a delicious meal of veggie dogs and tea. By the time we had that all figured out, it was time to wash up and get in the tent since the sun was about to go down. We both slept well and were surprised at how warm the night was. It was raining in the morning when we woke up, so we immediately packed up and drove off regrettably forfeiting our trip to Quebec City. It was 8 am. At some point in this venture, we were supposed to give someone $23. Since the camp office was closed when we entered and when we exited, we drove off with a car full of wet gear to our next destination.
Eleven hours later we reached the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula which is as far as you can go in Quebec without falling into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The views we had all day driving were spectacular and we drove through areas were we felt we could have been in Spain or the south of France. But, we grew tired of driving and really wanted to find a nice spot to camp. A National Park called Forillon was our destination and we had reached it at last. We drove in and were assigned a campsite. This was closer to real camping than the night before. Each site was separated by its neighbour with a wall of trees. We giggled with delight as we parked and began to set up camp. As our tent dried and after we had finished a meal of lentil soup and veggie dogs, we explored the area a little bit. There were no RVs here, just small tents like ours and young rugged-looking 20-something year olds huddling around their campfires.
There was a grassy, narrow trail leading us down to the water. We really were on the tip of the Gaspe and the views were overwhelming. Standing on the sandy beach, we had in front of us ocean for as far as you could see, to the right there were high mountains and steep cliffs blanketed with dense trees, to the left there was a grassy knoll and more water, and behind us was a pink grapefruit-coloured sunset that turned the clouds into cotton candy. Maya ran along the beach, playing with pieces of seaweed and old crab shells. Magi and I watched a seal watching us from the water. It was a crisp, cold windy night so there were no flies. It was perfect.
Our camp was on a small hill right above the ocean so we listened to waves crash and seagulls cry as we fell asleep.
Tonight we are in Miramichi visiting Jeremy, Jennifer, Emerson and the dogs, a couple of German Pinschers named Newt & Dara. It is amazing to see how much Emerson has grown since the last time we saw him only seven months ago (of course, he was only one month old last time). He is a real joyful baby and really damn cute. It is wonderful to be here tonight.
Tomorrow morning we head off again to explore more of the east coast. We plan on reaching Nova Scotia at long last. We will have to fill you in on all that later.
Goodnight!
tothesea,
k&m
We picked a site at the edge and to the back of the lot. The sky was overcast and we wanted some coverage from the rain and wind that seemed inevitable. A number of the local RV-ers walked by us, some several times, probably wondering why we chose not to set up camp next to them and join them in a game of Bridge.
We set up camp complete with our Coleman stove and our tent & tarp. We made a delicious meal of veggie dogs and tea. By the time we had that all figured out, it was time to wash up and get in the tent since the sun was about to go down. We both slept well and were surprised at how warm the night was. It was raining in the morning when we woke up, so we immediately packed up and drove off regrettably forfeiting our trip to Quebec City. It was 8 am. At some point in this venture, we were supposed to give someone $23. Since the camp office was closed when we entered and when we exited, we drove off with a car full of wet gear to our next destination.
Eleven hours later we reached the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula which is as far as you can go in Quebec without falling into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The views we had all day driving were spectacular and we drove through areas were we felt we could have been in Spain or the south of France. But, we grew tired of driving and really wanted to find a nice spot to camp. A National Park called Forillon was our destination and we had reached it at last. We drove in and were assigned a campsite. This was closer to real camping than the night before. Each site was separated by its neighbour with a wall of trees. We giggled with delight as we parked and began to set up camp. As our tent dried and after we had finished a meal of lentil soup and veggie dogs, we explored the area a little bit. There were no RVs here, just small tents like ours and young rugged-looking 20-something year olds huddling around their campfires.
There was a grassy, narrow trail leading us down to the water. We really were on the tip of the Gaspe and the views were overwhelming. Standing on the sandy beach, we had in front of us ocean for as far as you could see, to the right there were high mountains and steep cliffs blanketed with dense trees, to the left there was a grassy knoll and more water, and behind us was a pink grapefruit-coloured sunset that turned the clouds into cotton candy. Maya ran along the beach, playing with pieces of seaweed and old crab shells. Magi and I watched a seal watching us from the water. It was a crisp, cold windy night so there were no flies. It was perfect.
Our camp was on a small hill right above the ocean so we listened to waves crash and seagulls cry as we fell asleep.
Tonight we are in Miramichi visiting Jeremy, Jennifer, Emerson and the dogs, a couple of German Pinschers named Newt & Dara. It is amazing to see how much Emerson has grown since the last time we saw him only seven months ago (of course, he was only one month old last time). He is a real joyful baby and really damn cute. It is wonderful to be here tonight.
Tomorrow morning we head off again to explore more of the east coast. We plan on reaching Nova Scotia at long last. We will have to fill you in on all that later.
Goodnight!
tothesea,
k&m
Sunday, June 09, 2002
to ottawa and back
We spent the last week in Ottawa visiting Krishna's mom. Though it was mainly a week of relaxation, we did get to make our first visit to The National Gallery of Canada. It was really impressive. After learning so much about European and American art, I (Krishna) was really taken aback to see what was happening in Canada's art scene throughout the last few centuries. It had me somewhat ashamed of my ignorance when it comes to art from my own country. On the other hand, it also has me excited to know I have a whole spectrum of art so close at hand that I have not really explored yet.
We were both enthralled with the art of The Group of Seven and especially Lawren S. Harris whose paint application looks as thick and rich as icing. Another impressive section of the museum is the collection of Inuit art. The prints from Nunavut artists, most of all, are beautiful treasures.
Krishna got her 60 day tourist visa for India while we were in Ottawa. It was a painless process and one that makes the trip overseas feel even that much closer to reality.
Another important aspect of our time in Ottawa is that we picked up a third travelling buddy. Maya, mom's 6 lb. terrier, is joining us for the remainder of our travels in Canada. That trip begins tomorrow when we head to Quebec City en route to Halifax which we expect to reach on Friday the 14th. We're going to be camping all along the way. Magi will be introduced to blackflies for the first time! Wish us luck- we're both pretty rusty when it comes to roughing it! Thankfully, we'll have a brief respite from outhouses and meals from the Coleman stove when we visit baby Emerson and co. in Miramichi on Wednesday.
Have a great week everyone!
to the sea,
k&m
We were both enthralled with the art of The Group of Seven and especially Lawren S. Harris whose paint application looks as thick and rich as icing. Another impressive section of the museum is the collection of Inuit art. The prints from Nunavut artists, most of all, are beautiful treasures.
Krishna got her 60 day tourist visa for India while we were in Ottawa. It was a painless process and one that makes the trip overseas feel even that much closer to reality.
Another important aspect of our time in Ottawa is that we picked up a third travelling buddy. Maya, mom's 6 lb. terrier, is joining us for the remainder of our travels in Canada. That trip begins tomorrow when we head to Quebec City en route to Halifax which we expect to reach on Friday the 14th. We're going to be camping all along the way. Magi will be introduced to blackflies for the first time! Wish us luck- we're both pretty rusty when it comes to roughing it! Thankfully, we'll have a brief respite from outhouses and meals from the Coleman stove when we visit baby Emerson and co. in Miramichi on Wednesday.
Have a great week everyone!
to the sea,
k&m
Friday, May 31, 2002
the soreness of shots & what to do about india
Tonight we sit down to write to you with very sore bodies. We finished the move and have all our things stored safely and soundly until our return. That is part of why we are both sore... load upon heavy load of boxes mixed with stairs will do most people in. The real soreness has come from the vaccinations that were administered to us this afternoon. Flowing through our bodies right now are Polio, Typhoid, Hepatitus A, Measles/Mumps/Rubella, and for Magi, Tetanus as well. Each limb took a needle.
Today we also heard the latest news regarding the words of war between India and Pakistan. Both the American and Canadian governments are asking their citizens who are in India right now to return home. In addition, they have asked that people cancel upcoming trips to the region. This leaves us in a predicament. We have decided to wait and see what happens in the next month or so before we cancel anything. Right now, we are willing to go to India and concentrate our travels in the southern part of the country (which was what we were planning on anyway). Who knows what might change if the tensions escalate.
For now, we are enjoying the peace of the country and the joy of being in a warm house during a series of strong downpours. It feels good to be out of NYC though it was a difficult move for a lot of reasons.
Thank you to all who have left posts! It's exciting to receive them and don't feel shy to write more than a few lines.
to the sea,
k&m
Today we also heard the latest news regarding the words of war between India and Pakistan. Both the American and Canadian governments are asking their citizens who are in India right now to return home. In addition, they have asked that people cancel upcoming trips to the region. This leaves us in a predicament. We have decided to wait and see what happens in the next month or so before we cancel anything. Right now, we are willing to go to India and concentrate our travels in the southern part of the country (which was what we were planning on anyway). Who knows what might change if the tensions escalate.
For now, we are enjoying the peace of the country and the joy of being in a warm house during a series of strong downpours. It feels good to be out of NYC though it was a difficult move for a lot of reasons.
Thank you to all who have left posts! It's exciting to receive them and don't feel shy to write more than a few lines.
to the sea,
k&m
Monday, May 20, 2002
in the beginning
Welcome to the unveiling of our humble little website. We're keeping it minimal in order to simplify updating it when we are overseas. Plus, this makes it easy for everyone to navigate.
Now that we have satisfied ourselves with the design, we will begin charting our adventures and range of emotions that are involved not only with making such a voyage, but with the advanced planning stages and the aftermath of the return home.
Our goal is to capture the joy, wonderment, fury, and anxieties of a long and winding quest through India, Nepal, and South-east Asia (and some other surprise destinations prior to our overseas departure and along the way). Though this website is going to be mainly text, we hope to supplement your reading with a postcard or two and perhaps some other goodies. When we return and if you so desire, you can sit with us and a steaming pot of tea or coffee and we'll take you through our photos.
Big hugs go out to Patricia for wide-ranging inspiration and to Martin for helping us with the intricacies of HTML. We highly recommend Patricia's website charting her own travels across the region.
to the sea, k&m
p.s. sorry about the ads, we've done our best to limit them where possible. The one placed at the bottom of this page can be made smaller by using your mouse to drag the edge down. The one on the about us section can be closed.
Now that we have satisfied ourselves with the design, we will begin charting our adventures and range of emotions that are involved not only with making such a voyage, but with the advanced planning stages and the aftermath of the return home.
Our goal is to capture the joy, wonderment, fury, and anxieties of a long and winding quest through India, Nepal, and South-east Asia (and some other surprise destinations prior to our overseas departure and along the way). Though this website is going to be mainly text, we hope to supplement your reading with a postcard or two and perhaps some other goodies. When we return and if you so desire, you can sit with us and a steaming pot of tea or coffee and we'll take you through our photos.
Big hugs go out to Patricia for wide-ranging inspiration and to Martin for helping us with the intricacies of HTML. We highly recommend Patricia's website charting her own travels across the region.
to the sea, k&m
p.s. sorry about the ads, we've done our best to limit them where possible. The one placed at the bottom of this page can be made smaller by using your mouse to drag the edge down. The one on the about us section can be closed.