:.( it was just a matter of time

Yep, actually I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, given that I eat and drink everything, even street food since the way and the time I am travelling for makes it unfeasible to do it differently. I'M SICK! Boohoo and I feel crappier with every minute... achy, nauseated, headache, belly sounding unreal: the stage is being set for a major uncomfortable to say the least, gastroenteritis. I recognize the symptoms and given my location it is probably bacterial rather than viral. So thank you Daddy: I headed for the Ciprofloxacin that you bought for me just before I left on my trip. Actually the Tamiflu saved my derriere once (and he got that for me too) since I was SURROUNDED by people with bad flu and I didn't get it. So thank you Daddy, again. I expect to feel alot better in a few hours, hopefully in time for my flight to Delhi. Right now I'm laid out and will stay this way until it's time for the taxi to take me to the airport, around 7 pm. Oh God, I HOPE it starts working: my ears are ringing, my skin is beginning to feel really irritated and my muscles and bones HURT. I hope I didn't get Dengue Fever which is very prevelant in all the countries I have travelled in and there is no vaccine for it. Let's just say I hope it's a regular E.coli based gastroenteritis... or even salmonella. Since I'm alone and a major fever would be a major bummer right now, although Everyone in the hotel, both here and at the Hostel in Delhi are very helpful and extremely nice. Where's my mommy?! Ouch. I'm open to any expressions of compassion, well wishes, blown kisses.

Amritsar and outlying village

I'm really starting to dig this place: You can feel it's a frontier city, growing so quickly, striving for wealth, struggling in poverty. The people are circumspect, but immediately friendly when you just smile at them. I wore my punjabi dress last night to visit the Golden Temple and had many compliments: they love that I am dressing in the local traditional way and don't find it awkward. I visited my rickshaw driver's village and family today, and was treated to lime soda and chips: they live in one room (a very small room) where they cook, eat and sleep. The 4 of them all together in one big bed which serves as a couch and table during the day. A beautiful shade tree in the small yard and what more could you want? Well, actually Kuldeep would love his own rickshaw (he rents his daily for about 125 ruppees) a new rickshaw costing 10,000 (about $200) and I am considering gifting him one. It would make it easier to make more money to send his kids to school. We went shopping for a few new clothes for him, his wife and kids and they were so happy: it was such a treat to see them so thrilled with such small things. We also went around the local temple and saw some large painted statues of different Hindu gods. a small donation earned me some rose petals and marigold petals to nibble on... delightful. Then I was back to Amritsar to the best Dhaba restaurant for a small Thali, any number of things but in this case a mixed dish of potato pancake, with bowls of yoghurt, chick peas in sauce and salad: all strictly veg. A hot milk tea to finish it off: as you can see, it agrees with me! Back to the hotel for a rest, some AC and TV and WiFi. Cheers! Tommorrow back to Delhi on a short plane ride for $80 and back to the Nirvana Hostel in South Delhi to plan my next move. Maybe Kerala.... I'll miss Amritsar though.

My rickshaw driver, his family and village

Amritsar, Punjab

Reporting from the crossroads of Muslim and Sikh faiths and cultures... wow. It's amazing here: chaos interlaced with oasis of peace, extreme poverty, gilded in gold and beautiful colors of the saris and tunics, turbans and veils, jeans, scooters, horse carts and bicycle rickshaws. This morning I got picked up from my little hotel by my favorite bicycle rickshaw driver, one of the few with a smattering of English and didn't look as if he was going to die of fatigue, and we headed for the goldem Temple, the maximum expression of Sikh devotion. A Golden Temple floating on an enormous pool of water, teeming with huge koi and catfish, where the men do daily ablutions and cleanse their children to bless them. Turbaned men clean constantly the marble walkways and stairs... it's beauty is beyond description so I have attached some photos. Some say it rivals the Taj Mahal. I returned this evening to see it in the night lights, thousands of people milling around, eating, sleeping, chatting, praying, strolling and singing. I bought a Punjabi tunic with pants and a head scarf so I wouldn't stand out so much since I seem to attract alot of attention, for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm a foreigner and there are not many here; 2) I'm a woman alone and there are NONE of them here. Tomorrow I will go with my rickshaw wallah to his village (10 km of cycling but he insists) to meet his wife and children.

Ko Surin then Ko Phayam - Thailand

After having investigated a number of alternatives, from Phuket to Phi Phi to Samui I settled on Ko Surin, also given it's proximity to Burma where I could get another visa for 15 days. If you overstay your visa it's expensive: I overstayed 4 days and it cost me 2000 Baht or about $70... I could stay 2 weeks in a guest house here for that. Anyway, with a friend of mine from Baja, Kate, visiting Bangkok with her husband Gordon (who stayed in Bangkok for some medical stuff), we came on the bus (VIP fantastic - we could all learn something from the buses here! We even stopped for a nice, warm chicken rice soup and veggies at 1 AM at a clean and efficient roadside restaurant on the way on the 12 hour bus ride from Bangkok to Ranong and all for about $20: including the ticket!). Then a two hour ferry ride, the "slow boat", to Ko Surin: the most spectacular snorkeling I have ever done in my life: hard and soft corals, fish of every dimension and color, warm water, great visibility. It is a National Park so we camped in our own tents on the beach and used their facilities, a very inexpensive and beautiful stay. We made our own coffee in the mornings on a little fire stove that we bought in Bangkok and watched the sunrise. Lemongrass tea in the evenings watching the stars before sleeping. And to digest the horrible park food.... be warned if you go there, bring your own food. The park staff was uncooperative, to say the least. We think it was because we were independents and not part of a "tour group". We were bucking the system and the Thais like to think that they are very organized... they didn't approve of our "wildness" but being two older women they didn't dare say anything to us about it. And we had a blast. Back to Ranong overnight in a seedy hotel, then Kate went on ahead and I got in a longtail boat and braved the wild seas in between Burma and Thailand, arriving in Burma and within 10 minutes had the needed entrance/exit proof to return and get a new visa in the Thai port, braving the high waves in the very sketchy longtail boat, with an engine that sounded as if it was going to explode any moment. Then on to Ko Phayam, which is a budding Goa sort of but still gorgeous, covered in palm trees and cashew trees and we zoom around on scooters (there are no other vehicles and the path crossing the island is only wide enough for 2 scooters to pass each other). We have a nice, basic little bungalow on a quiet beach which also comes with a great restaurant and provides us with mango shakes in the evening that we add rum to. Well, since I'm running the risk of causing some jealousy here I will desist and post in a few days again, with photos, from Bangkok. There seems to be some political unrest so I will keep you all posted on that too. The RED SHIRTS ARE COMING!
I'm looking at tickets to Milan to visit Euge and some friends.

Just a few last photos from Surin including the extremely large elephant "parked" under our little house (which the mahout and family vacated so that we could stay there in their two little rooms... bathroom is outside) There is also a cute photo of monks in a pickup truck, and a really cool tuk tuk or sort of motorcyle rickshaw. He didn't want to sell it... I'm now back in Bangkok at a very basic hotel or "guest house" (what do you want for $8 in Bangkok anyway!) and just went to see Avatar in 3D IMax at the mega mall, with some friends from Baja that I hooked up with. It was fantastic and I recommend it to all (although it could be a bit much for kids under 8 or 9 years old since there are a few scary creatures and 3D makes it seems as if they are landing in your lap). It's 1 AM and sweltering so I'm going to try to get some sleep in the big city. Ooops, I just ripped through the threadbare sheet but at least there aren't any blood spots from bedbugs, although the small bathroom smells like a promising place for all sorts of mutant bugs... After the gigantic jumping spiders (Huntsman) in the small bathroom of Surin however anything will look like smallfry in comparison, and luckily there is a screen on the window so no mosquitos, yay!