Leaving Agra

Agra, India; January 12, 2007
This story is from my recent Journey in India
Exploring Agra has been a very satisfying and tiring experience. After seeing the Taj, Mannie, our auto rickshaw driver, wants to take us to some more places but we say no. Now comes the part I have been dreading. This morning when he begged us to let him be our guide in Agra, he said: "You are my guests" and "As you like". Well, he was okay but we found we had to reign him in a lot during the adventure. Mannie kept trying to take us to tourist emporiums and we kept saying no. And when we insisted he stop heading to the next one, he would give us an aggravated look of disappointment to show us that his 'guests' were not doing 'as he liked'. At the end of the day we think his services are worth 400 rupees and the trip from the train station to the hotel, another hundred. I pay him 500 rupees ($15 CAD). He argues that it is not enough but I hold my ground. When he realizes I'm not going to budge, he finally pastes the happy-go-lucky face back on and bids us a fond 'Namaste'.

It's early morning now. Our next stop is Rajasthan and our train is scheduled to leave at 6pm. But now at 8am there is still no sign of it. There are many people sleeping on the concrete floor around us. These children and their mother are waiting for the same train. Notice the snow suits. This is as cold as it gets in India. Aw thinks 20 degrees Celsius is cold enough but this ain't Thailand. Children always gravitate to Aw where ever we go. And she blends right in. People assume she is Indian. We wait for the train on this cold platform for 3 hours before we finally give up. The deal is that after three hours you can get a full refund on your tickets, so we do. We get on a bus to Jaipur instead. This is one bumpy ride though. The roads in this part of India are full of potholes. But at least we are on our way again.

How To Stay Warm In Delhi

Delhi India, January 6,2007

This is a story from my recent Journey in India
It's great to have a place to stay here in the Tibetan Settlement. Lonely Planet says wongdhen house is one of the best for the price; 450 rupees ($13 CAD) per night. The only problem is that the temperature here in Delhi is around freezing at night and there are no heaters in this hotel. I'm from Canada so I figure that doesn't matter cause I'm used to the cold right? The difference is that where I'm from, it's only cold outside. If you're cold in my country, you just go inside and warm up. Here in Delhi if you're cold, you just try not to think about it. You don't really appreciate heat until you try living without it. We realize we have to just suck it up and deal with the situation, so Joan Marie, our Buddhist Nun friend, gives us a pomegranate as a welcome gift and we settle into our room. This guesthouse was probably built around 1900 and the plumbing is pretty basic but at least the water in the shower is hot. We have TV. We have a remote control, and we do have a few warm clothes. If it wasn't for the little sleeping bag I got at the last minute before leaving Canada (thanks mom) we would be having a much rougher night tonight. So we put on all our clothes and we huddle under the blankets. Aw sends me a conspiratorial glance and asks the question: "Stevie, how come you never check weather in Day-lee before come?"
Now let me tell you something in my defence, about the video you're about to see; I am very cold at this moment, and there is an Indian program on TV that has dance music on it with a very catchy rhythm. Think of this as an instructional video on how to stay warm in Delhi.

Sexy 'Songkran' Girls

Continued from [Bangkok 'Songkran!']

Khao San Road is nuts today with thousands of warm, energetic people celebrating the Thai Lunar New Year.

We stumble upon a great street party where lovely young dancers are selling beer (three cans for 100 baht, or a dollar a can. The party is great but when we see it is Filipino beer, we know we have to have some, in honor of Ivan. Just after we got our beer, this girl got doused with water. I love this shot because I got captured her just at the moment before she reacts to it. But no worries; she gives as good as she gets.
Right in the middle of our fun, we have a line of police vehicles pass through with lights flashing. The police are great. This officer's car is smeared all over with powder but he just quietly carries on with his job. The one chilling event was when a series of Bomb squad vehicles came through the crowd. Some parts of Thailand have experienced bomb scares and even a couple of actual bombs since the Ex-Prime Minister was thrown out. But so far it's all just fun and no problem here. If there was a bomb, there's really not much the police could do to move us. So we might as well keep partying.
We fight our way through this combat zone to get a better look at the stage with the dancers. Songkran is WILD!!!

...and sexy. The girl on the right can really dance. They're holding up signs to sell the beer while they groove to the music. Thailand's Songkran is the World's largest Wet T-shirt Party.Aw is so much fun to party with. She is so bold and has a killer smile as she smears strangers with powder and pours water over them. Ivan and I just hang on for the ride.

Aw snapped this just as the Restaurant owner snagged this Farang with the hose. Look at that evil look of glee on his face.
Songkran reminds me of Halloween. It's the one time in the year when a culture who never touches in public, suddenly is touching everyone. And it's the one time when transsexuals (called 'Lady-Boys' in Thailand) are able to flaunt their stuff on the streets. Aw swears this is a lady-boy. All I know is, everyone is welcome here and we're all having a blast. HAPPY SONGKRAN 2050!
Bangkok, Thailand, April 13, 2007

Bangkok 'Songkran!

Thailand celebrated the Lunar New Year and they call it 'Songkran'. It's a huge water festival and while it's happening, the whole city shuts down to party. This is Bangkok's Khao San Road areas. There must be fifty thousand people here.This is Aw after the first ten minutes. We all slather each other with white powder mixed with mud to form a mud for smearing on each other's face as we wish everyone 'Happy New Year'.
I"m wearing the 'Drunk' shirt that Aw gave me to get me in the mood for this crazy event.
This is what my camera sees as I hold it over the crowd on Khao San Road.

That's Ivan on the left. We met him a few days ago at Angkor Wat Cambodia. He's a television producer from the Philippines. He's supposed to be back at work right now but he just couldn't resist the show here.

Ivan started out by saying that he just wanted to stay dry and safe inside somewhere. Then the next thing we knew, he had bought a Commando sized squirt gun and has now become Rambo.
The people of Thailand are so 'Jai dee' (sweet heart). Look at the expression on her face as she douses me.
Songkran is insane; so much fun. We kept walking around and rubbing 'white powder' on the smiling faces around us. Then we came upon a street party led by a group of sexy young women on stage. [See 'Sexy Songkran Girls']
Bangkok, Thailand, April 13, 2007

Erbsville World Reunion

Okay, you've seen [Erbsville Fan Club] but what about that Garage Sale? I'm glad you asked.

It's 'Garage Sale' day and the phone rings. Squiddy patters down the stairs and makes an announcement: 'Melbah, your dear sister, has ordered that we be ready for the Garage Sale at 9:52am. I have a look of shock and horror on my face. I'm doing important things here. It's Saturday; I have blogs to write. I don't have time for 'GARAGE SALES'. "Well, you can write your sister about it if you like" mom says. (Which translates into: 'Don't even bother to try to get out of it. Be ready." )
So I haul my sorry butt into Squiddy's car and off we go. We take a country drive down Erbsville Road and Mom announces: 'Stevie, it's just over that rise. When we get there, I am counting on you to do the talking." I have no idea what I am going to do.
But then I see a woman frantically waving cars into the parking lot. "Oh My God, that's her.

That's the accordion player." Melissa parks the car a discreet distance from the event and we get out. At first I'm thinking I will just look around before saying hello but then I see those arms waving and realize there is only one way to proceed. I head straight for the crazy woman with the flailing arms. As Elaine sees me, I start to say: "Hi Elaine. Remember me? We met the other day at Home Depot." I got as far as: "Helloooo..." and suddenly she shrieks.
"Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeve! Hey everybody, it's Steve! This is the guy I was talking about from the other day" and suddenly it seems that the whole parking lot of people stop what they are doing to witness this event. I come up to her and we hug like long lost friends. Elaine starts introducing me to everyone and telling them: "He just got back from India and Thailand" and he showed the movie of us playing the accordion, all over the World" (which is technically true).

"Hey Steve, you need to meet my brother. He plays the guitar." So off we go
The next thing I know, Elaine is introducing me to her brother, Elmer, and Olaf Olson; Pastor of Saint Paul's Lutheran Church here in Erbsville. Then a guitar comes out and a crowd is forming. I didn't dare look around but my sister and Mom both have their cameras out and this is suddenly turning into a World Event. Elaine (who I think should be running the Home Shopping Network) is ready for her cue. I point to her and say: "We're rolling Elaine" and here's what happens.

Elaine cracks me up. She starts by saying: "Steve is here at the Garage Sale as he is every year" even though I only met her for the first time the other day. She has single-handedly made this visit into an anual event. She's a wonderful promoter. I think CTV is missing out.

After the round of applause, Elmer starts showing us his Car. He tells me he has been restoring it for twenty years and it is a beaut'.

Everything is so surrealistic and these people make us feel welcome as if we're part of the family.We walk around the tables looking at the stuff for sale and find Elmer with a purchase in his hands.This is a quilt that Elaine made for the raffle here at the Church Sale. My sister and Mom bought tickets for it. (In case you're interested Elaine, my sister has a website showing the work she does in this area. See here site [Quilts And Handiwork]

As we're leaving, I ask Elaine to take her photo and she grabs Kelsey (far right) to Squiddy and Melbah in the picture. I hope I hear from my new friends in Erbsville. You guys are a blast and you make me feel very welcome here in Ontario.And for my friends in Alberta, I just want you to see the fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror on Elmer's Classic Car. When I first moved to Alberta in the late 'Seventies, I saw these all over the place in Calgary and Medicine Hat. So now I really feel at home here in Ontario too.

Thanks Elaine and Rudy for leading us to this incredible Erbsville World Reunion.

Monkey Wow!

Sonkhla, Thailand, February 2, 2006

I have become friends with the Major of the Military base between Malaysia and Thailand in the South. He takes me for a tour of the Sonkhla Zoo. This is so different from what I'm used to in Canada. There are not glass enclosures or security walls. You can just walk right up to the animals and touch them.

The Thais here have been feeding this camel bananas right over the fence. I keep thinking someone is going to get his head bitten off, but it's no problem.

This elephant is leisurely scratching his butt on that post. He's like everyone else here; relaxed and just doing his thing.

This zoo is well laid out and I love look of the lush vegetation and sculptures together. My favorite is the monkeys though. They are just a great photo subjects as you'll see here. The question is: What happens when you try to film a monkey through a chain link fence?

Erbsville Fan Club

My sister, the infamous Melbah Toasty; minor Blog celebrity
[Pioneer Woman With A Cell Phone] has been trying to convince me for a long time that it is her and not me who is Mom's favorite child. I would think that the evidence is overwhelmingly in my favor. [See The Evidence]
But last year a spontaneous event occurred that I think puts this matter to rest once and for all. Watch this video. You be the judge of my greatness.

Click To Play

But it gets better.A couple of days ago, Melbah and I are at the local Home Depot getting some materials to build her a utility room. We are paying for our purchases when I suddenly hear a voice that seems so familiar to me. I look over just as the couple ahead of us are leaving. Then I turn to Melbah and we both have the same puzzled look on our faces.I say to her: "Isn't that the couple who played the accordion for me last year. She says: "I thought they looked like the people but I wasn't sure."So we follow them out and find them looking at garden sheds in the parking lot. It's so funny because I say: "Excuse me but do you play the accordion. The man looks at me with a shocked face as if I am from the Accordion police and I am making an arrest. His wife hesitantly answers yes-ssss. So I say: "You sang a song for me." And she replies: "oh yeah. You're Steve." (They look visibly relieved now that they see there will probably be no jail time involved here.)Melbah gets out the camera and here's what happens:

Click To Play

Oh My God, there's more. See [Erbsville World Reunion]

Dinner and a Movie

I finally had a chance to visit with my brother Mike and his family. They came over to my Mom's for a delicious dinner of glazed baked ham with all the trimmings. We even had baked Alaska for desert. Mom really knows how to make a meal!
When we were finished dinner, we sat down to watch a new Christmas video that Melbah, Mom and I just finished producing. We've been working on the video technology of Windows Moviemaker for the last three years. I think we nailed it this time. The movie's fast-paced, funny, and most of all it doesn't bore.

It was wonderful to have a chance to talk with my brother. I find that with my family, we love each other but we tend to not talk very much on the phone. We have the best time when we get together.

Melbah, you were asking how Mike's family enjoyed the video. Did they find it exciting? Did it enthrall them? Well...

Cheers for Humour

My dear friend Kathy invited me join her on Sunday for an hour of Comedy at the Blackfoot Inn. All the Comics are students of 'The Cheers Project'; a program for men and women with disabilities. The program is sponsored by the 'Calgary Foundation' and another organization I have never heard of called 'Scope'. The Program on this night was called: 'Activate Your Sense of Humour' There were twelve performers in all and this was their first time performing on stage. We especially came to see Bruce and Audrey. I met this couple a week ago when I came with Kathy to their home to pick up the tickets for this show. They travel all over the World and they especially enjoy sailing.
Bruce has a dry wit and great timing. He has MS and has been Visually impaired for several years. As he did his one-liners he was relaxed and enjoying himself. When he would forget a joke he would just call out to one of his friends to remind him. Bruce told us he really doesn't mind not being able to look at beautiful women any more. He says it's more fun in braille anyway.

This is Bruce's wife, Audrey. She has been blind all her life. She's the first comic I ever saw who read her cue cards in braille. Her guide dog took a nap while she did her act. (What a critic). Audrey told us she was born with her eye condition. She said: "I have never been able to see more than five percent...so reading at night is not a problem."

There were a hundred people in the audience cheering on the performers and we all really had a great time. It wasn't just that the Comics were able to laugh at their disabilities; it's that they were able to make some poignant remarks that helped remind us of their struggles. Pat said: "My condition makes it very dangerous if I get aroused. I never thought I would actually take medication to kill my sex life. Let's face it, I wouldn't mind getting wounded once in a while."

The performers included a schizophrenic, a few survivors of brain surgery, the visually impaired Couple I just mentioned, a man who can't remember things he just did, and even a man who can't remember things he just did.

Vietnam Children Mob Me

Hue, Vietnam, March 26 2006

Okay, this is what I'm trying to say about Vietnam. It's the people. They are so alive. Today I'm on a motor bike tour of the Ancient Capital of this Country. Our guides let us off at the site of one the the Royal Tombs. This place is a large green area with buildings and statues.

I'm taking photos as usual when I see a bunch of young school children smiling at me. I point my camera at them when suddenly...
they come rushing to me like I'm a Rock star. I don't know what to do so I just keep taking pictures.
Now they're all around me giving me 'Peace' signs and yelling for me to take more pictures of them.
Every time I take another photo I hear shrieks of delight and even more children come rushing to me.

I turn my camera around so you can see what I'm experiencing at this moment. This is Vietnam. This is the magic and the power of this Land.

Hoi An to Da Nang

Da Nang, Vietnam, March 25 2006

After my experience at 'Marble Mountain' I am feeling very mellow. Bonsoon takes me to Da Nang, which is the city very near the DMZ ; the boarder that separated North from South Vietnam. Now this is a thriving place.


I noticed the old and the new here. Beautiful new buildings going up everywhere and old trucks from the Seventies right next to modern vehicles on new paved roads.

I don't know what this tower is but it reflects what I'm seeing everywhere in Vietnam. This is an up and coming Country with a lot of talented people doing the building.
My guide takes me for a spin around the city for half an hour while we wait for my Tour bus to arrive. Now this is a site I keep trying to capture on film for you to see. These four people are trying to balance a large white chest on the back of that motorcycle. I see amazing things loaded on the bikes for transport in heavy traffic. Earlier today I actually saw a man transporting a large piece of plate glass on his bike. He was balancing it in his knees, sideways so that he was looking through it like you would look through a window. If he slips, he cuts himself to ribbons. I also have seen people carrying ten foot poles on their motor bikes. They look like jousters. I don't even like to think about it.
There is the old right beside the new here. This guy is pulling his large cart like a rickshaw. A minute after I took this photo, the man with the motorbike put this guy on the back and he pulled his cart by the handles, at twenty kilometres an hour, on the bike. I don't know how he kept from falling off backwards. Bonsoon sees me cringing and saying things to myself as we pass these scenes and he just gives me a whimsical smile and keeps driving.
The good news about Vietnam is that they use an English alphabet. I still don't know what these billboards say most of the time, but at least I can read the letters.

Time's up. I'm at my destination. I give Bonsoon twice the amount of money I promised him in our agreement, and we shake hands in fond farewell. When I travel I feel very safe most of the time because I seem to always meet someone to take me on the next step of my journey and to watch my back. And you were that for me Bonsoon. 'Coum on' and all the best to your family.

Mystical Marble Mountain

Da nang, Vietnam, March 25 2006
I had a VERY full day exploring Hoi An. When the day was done, my faithful guide, Bonsoon, took me to a Karaoke bar where we met some very lovely women who turned out to want more out of the evening than be had bargained for (literally) so we left. When I got to my guest house, Bonsoon told me he would come by in the morning to take me to Da Nang. I assured him I did not need a ride from him because I already had a Tour bus booked. But I was so tired that I ended up sleeping in the next morning. Bonsoon was waiting on his motor bike as if I had never told him about the Bus. So off we went for the hour long ride to Da Nang. He offered to take me to Marble Mountain on the way. It turned out to be one of the great experiences of my Journey in Asia. Marble Mountain is a sacred site in Vietnam where marble is mined and sculpted for art enthusiasts all over the World. As we arrive at the foot of the Mountain we see shops everywhere creating and selling marble statues.
I felt inspired to do this pose for the camera. I don't know why...
Or how about this erotic piece. As we walked from shop to shop, I enjoyed touching the marble and experiencing the texture and energy from each creation.
The most powerful recurring symbol from my journey in Thailand and in Vietnam this time, is Quan Yim (pronounced Quan EEm) I always think of that porcelain figure my Mom had on the coffee table when we were growing up in Richmond Hill Ontario. This statue is three metres tall. The lions were standing near her, so I took this shot to include all three.
This woman was a great help to me. I needed to reserve a seat on a bus in Da Nang and it was thanks to her and her Marble shop that I managed to finally get my call through. 'Cau Maun' my dear friend! (Thank you!)
After walking through the town it was time to approach the Marble Mountain Temple. There are six hundred steps, carved in rock, to the top of this beautiful retreat.
The view mid way up is spectacular. What you see here is a view of China Beach. Remember the TV show? This is that beach. It was believed to be the first place the American troops landed when they came to this country.

Finally we see the clearing at the top of the carved staircase. I feel such a calm as I climb these stairs and a great feeling, as if coming home. I started to realize that it was meant to happen that I would miss my bus this morning, so that I could have this incredible experience. As it turns out this will be the most mystical experience of my whole trip.