Delhi: 24 hours

The original plan was to spend all 10 days in Rishikesh, towards then end having left the confines of the mountain Ashram meant that the crowds were starting to kill my vibe. I decided to leave early and spend 24 hours in Delhi. The plan was to stay central and see as many sites and eat as much food without a) getting sick, and b) not being completely irritated with the locals. 

I'll expand somewhat on b, given the sheer levels of poverty in the country everybody is trying to take advantage of you (or me), misquoting prices, switching notes, trying to sell, trying to show, trying to do something to take more of your money. No, it's not a lot of money, but constantly having to be "on" being "on guard" makes for a heighten way of travel. Yes I did get scammed at the airport, but it was for only 5 USD, but still! India is dusty, it's hot, and there's always people grabbing you, asking for money, or indirectly trying to get money out of you. The rich culture, amazing food and gorgeous surroundings are enough to trump this, but it can be tiring both physically and mentally.

My 24 hours in Delhi looked like this. 

7 pm Evening stroll around Connaught Place

7 am Morning visit to Humayun's Tomb

8 am Morning visit to Delhi Gate

8:30 Chole Bhature for breakfast

9:30 Red Fort

10:00 Visit Chandni Chowk (only did a bit of this)

10:30 Jama Masjid

12:00 Butter chicken for lunch

14:00 National Museum

15:30 Agrasen Ki Baoli

16:00 Pack

18:00 Dinner

19:00 Airport

Gardening begins

I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited about starting my very first gardening period. There is something about being paid not to work just feels nice. Although it's not the entire 3 months, I still count the 10 weeks as as close to awesome as it gets. The downside is that I would have liked more time in the first destination, but grateful to have this opportunity. 

Leaving the office I head home and pack my bag only to head to the airport for my 8:30 pm flight. It's Wednesday evening and the flight is pretty empty, I'm probably the only non-Indian on this flight. I sleep most of the trip, and 5 hours later I've arrived in Delhi just before Midnight. My (now ex) colleagues recommended I get a cheap hotel room at the airport and sleep, I decide against it, more in the interests of cost and also I just don't trust myself to wake up in 4 hours. 

I have 6 hours to waste before a domestic flight onwards to the final destination. I exit the international airport, hot air and crowds greet me as I move to the domestic departure terminal. Here we go.

DNA Tour: Backstreet Boys

Third-wheeling in Hong Kong, what a fun, unexpected evening. Highlight include the diversity of the crowds, local aunties, school kids, domestic helpers, tourists, expats all jamming out to the Backstreet Boys.

John Legend

The year is 2004. It's the year that I hear about John Legend. The Get Lifted LP was on repeat. I had the Ordinary People sheet music and was trying to learn how to play it on keyboard. The first time I saw him perform live was at Metro Theatre on George Street. He performed to a small, intimate, 300 plus crowd. The crowd sang along to the majority of his songs. He was of course an up-and-comer at the time with a smaller discography.

Fourteen years later, he's performing in Hong Kong. I'm always apprehensive about Hong Kong concerts. Majority of the crowds (in my experience) are at these events to say that they were at the event versus being there for the music. Dilettantes of culture, as opposed to fans of the artist. Or perhaps things are just different in Hong Kong. The irony is, I had stopped listening to his music and wasn't familiar with his latest work. I am part of the problem.

My plus one had been hospitalised and an SOS was sent out by a friend to find me a last minute plus one. Mr Stephens still puts on a show, he belted out his big hits, dipped heavily into Get Lifted and the songs he collaborated on as well as the off cover. The last minute plus-one knew the lyrics and it was one of the better concerts I've been to in recent times. The man still knows how to put on a show!

"How can I blame you; For taking over my daydreams?" - John Legend

Mount Kinabalu

"It's not easy, but if you're relatively fit and healthy - you'll be fine" is what everybody said of Mount Kinabalu. How difficult would it be? I decided that I would climb the stairs from the platform of Quarry Bay to the entrance; that would be my preparation. I, like most of my friends had drastically underestimated the climb, it wasn't so much the ascent but the descent which would prove to be the most challenging.

Mount Kinabalu is a 7 stage climb, it's not so much of a climb but more of a hike. There were moments of hands on knees, hands on hips, hands on the ground but for the most part it was like being on a stair master for two days. Our biggest fear at the start was not so much the physical challenge but Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) or altitude sickness. Our sherpa was a middle aged lady, with rosy cheeks and a portly, low centre of gravity. She would be our guide up and down the mountain and had made a living escorting tourists up and down the mountain twice a week. Her stout appearance gave us encouragement as we set off in mid morning.

The first few stages were relatively straight forward, we were passing groups with relative ease and making quick work of the provisions of muesli bars and snacks. It was around stage 6 where things got a little challenging, the goal was to reach base camp before sunset otherwise the park would be closed. We arrived at base camp ahead of schedule. Unfortunately the temperature had dropped significantly and we were starting to feel cramps and niggles, a good night's sleep was critical. Unfortunately our dorm had no showers, and the the dorm that did have showers had no hot water. We cleaned up as best as we could and socialised with the other tourists (so. many. tourists) and no surprises here we were the group late to Ferrata training! The afternoon was spent chilling and mentally preparing ourselves for the morning start.

Nobody slept, the dorm creaked and of the person who slept, his snoring kept everybody else awake. We rose at 2 am, to some warm coffee and some biscuits. The point of the overnight stay was to start the day early to reach the summit before sunrise. It was bloody cold, we made it to the top and the view was breath taking. Our afternoon was spent ferrating around the mountain, a lot of fun and a challenging to the motor skills.

What people failed to mention was the challenge of coming down the mountain. The jagged, uneven steps were like jolts to the joints.. Each step like a test of the shock absorbing ability of the body. Still, our sherpa pushed on and as quickly as we scaled the mountain we had made it down. Our legs like jelly, our faces covered in sweat and rain. We had made it off the mountain, but only just. It's times like this you question your own fitness levels particularly living in Hong Kong.

Next stop Shangri La. I looked at our group, there was visible signs of stress and physical exhaustion. I turned to my friend and asked "Why would you climb this mountain twice?".

Southern Sri Lanka

Admittedly, Sri Lanka has never been high on my list of countries to visit. So when a last minute invitation came my way it roused interest without any real desire. The interest wasn't so much from the country, but more from the company and from whom the invite came from. After consulting a few friends, it turns out most people all shared the same sentiment that it was a very special place worth visiting.

Given the last minute notice, I luckily secured annual leave and book tickets with 50,000 miles and 400 HKD. The flight is perfectly timed after work on the 4th Friday and despite being in business class I don't really manage to sleep throughout the 4.5 hour flight. We arrive in Colombo and negotiate a driver to take us straight to Weligama for 10,000 LHK. Despite a horrible first night hotel we wake early on the Saturday and head to W15.

For two days, we become familiar with the art of haggling Tuk Tuk Drivers navigating our way between Weligama and Mirissa Beach. Enjoying fresh juices, plenty of seafood all whilst learning to surf. On the 7th we head to Galle, for an evening at the Sunhouse, a beautiful Colonial guest house serving delectable Egg Hoppers and Mahi mahi Roti wraps.

The highlight of this leg is the train from Galle to Colombo. The weather is sticky and angry, and despite our attempts to get first class tickets, we find ourselves at the train station 30 mins before departure trying to secure a spot in the non-air-conditioned carriages of second class. At 3:30, we realise the train is late and the heavens open up lashing the platform and surrounding Galle with a cleansing storm. Suddenly the platform rouses from the lethargy and people shuffle along the platform as the train pulls in. Second class is warm, the deep smell of spices and the trace sound of flute players. We find a seat in front of a group of nuns as head north with our back to our destination. Sometimes you can't see what's in front of you, but you know you're heading somewhere special and all you can do is just admire what's passed. Pause, reflect, absorb and then it's gone, part of the horizon.