My life as a SUP guide

When we first arrived in Kampot, Cambodia to lend a hand at our friend Anny Pizey's stand up paddleboard company, SUP Asia, I did not expect how much I would enjoy it.  Quite possibly the best job I have ever had!  My day was simple, wake up at 5 am to the Muslim call to prayer, fall back asleep and then get up at 7 am when you hear the fishing  boats coming home from a nights fishing.  Just up river from us is a Cham Muslim fishing village where an entire group of them go out fishing at 4:30 pm to return at 7 am after selling their catch in the town of Kampot.  A tough job but everyone always has a smile for me when I pass them on the water.  As the boats roll past the house I putter around and make some coffee, maybe something to eat and say good morning to Sal who arrives at 7 am to open the shop which is beneath the house.  The house is on stilts like all the traditional Khmer houses around the river in Kampot.  Sal lives in the Muslim village with his wife Sreymom and has quickly become a close friend to Kim and I.  Playing the roles of guide, handyman and interpreter Sal is integral to our day to day.  Around 8 am I change into my board clothes (swim shorts and a shirt that covers my shoulders as we will pass by the Muslim village) and wander downstairs in anticipation of our guests who have signed up or may walk in for an 8:30 - 11 am lesson and tour.

A typical tour gets the basics down for the peeps and we usually have a swim as its most likely already hot out.  After everyone is comfortable on the boards we head under the bridge and into the mangrove proper.  All the plant life has adapted to their salty environment and are able to filter the saline out of the water in their uptake of it.  The mangrove plants even have barnacles on them!  The height of the river changes with the tide which is pretty trippy.  We paddle through the narrow channels and enjoy the serennity.  Every now and then we can get attacked with a barrage of 'hellos' from children on the shoreline or kids actually playing in the water.  The channels open up into a wide open area where for a few weeks we could actually find jellyfish.  It's also a nice spot to sit and float for a bit whilst one has a well deserved drink of water.  The mangrove then narrows again and as we complete the loop we come out under another bridge on the other side of our original start point.  We've just paddled around an island.  Afterwards we paddle up river toward the Cham village and take a peek at all the fishing boats painted green and flying the Cambodian flag.  More smiles and waves abound.  Kim is waiting back at the dock at SUP Asia and helps pull all our gear in.  With bigger groups she accompanies me in the kayak and helps me keep track of everyone which is very helpful.

In the afternoon Sal heads off for lunch and prayer and is usually called back to guide a local group from Phnom Penh just down for the day.  These groups are hilarious and a riot to accompany as they have so much fun doing something they have never done before.  Often several cannot swim and yet have no fear.  Kim has had the pleasure of tagging along for many a group and always comes back with a smile.

At 3:30 pm I'm set up for another tour till 6 pm which is a favorite amongst the tourists as they get to see the spectacular sunset from a paddleboard after a tour of the mangrove.  After everyone is off the water Kim and I sit on the dock bathed in the pink sky for some drinks on the docks and sit with our feet dangling in the water until dark.  It's quite close to perfection.

Everyday something new, I love

Ever since we got to Kampot,  Cambodia I have learned or seen something new, for me its turned into a bit of a slogan.  Everyday something new, I love it.

The past few days its been about snakes on property, disturbing as they are poisonous. .. Kim is petrified and Sal, our Khmer jack of all trades,  slightly afraid.  The solution he tells us, 'lime'.

Yes, we must put lime around the house.  They don't like.  Hmm.  No, he can't mean limes,  that's ridiculous,  maybe he means like a lime carbonate powder or something?   Sal returns from town with limes.  Three for the kitchen, three for the bedroom, two for the bathroom and a bunch to scatter around the yard.  Cut open they smell like citronella.   "Everyday something new, I love," Sal says to me with a smile.  Haven't seen a snake since.

8 nights in Bangkok

The Vietnamese embassy in Delhi was closed during Tet and after kicking around Delhi for the second time we decided to head to Bangkok for a few nights instead while we awaited the embassy's reopening so we could aquire our visas and carry on to Phu Quoc.  All told we spent 8 days and 8 nights in Bangkok staying at a nice little guesthouse along the river away from the typical hustle and bustle of the tourist district.  It's not our scene anymore, prefer the grungier side of things and don't like being harrassed by tuktuk drivers constantly, hello tuktuk!  Once the Vietnamese embassy opened we arranged for our visas, having to wait a few days for them to be processed.  It's a tricky business as one can't really book the following leg of one's journey without passports in hand.  We mangaged our down time in Bangkok quite well, gorging on street foods and entertaining ourselves finding cheaper drinking establishments which is not that easy in this tourist over run city.  At one point the humidity reached such an overwhelming point we retreated to one of the biggest malls I have ever seen, seven floors, completely air conditioned.  Craziness.  So many stores with each floor specializing, one for electronics, one for furniture, clothing, etc.  With the final floor housing ten theatres.  Deadpool had just come out and I managed to convince Kim to watch it, heh.  Fortunately for us school had just let out and the entire back of the theatre was filled with school kids.  The movie is quite funny but not as funny as listening to the laughter and reactions from a large group of Thai teenagers.  We also ran into them later on in the largest anime/manga shop I had ever seen, they had life size cutouts and posters of one of my faves, One Piece.  One of my best mall experiences ever, the other being in Bangalore when we also retreated from the heat.  Great people watching and such a different outlook on the culture.

A close shave in Delhi

Killing time in Delhi while waiting for Tet, Vietnamese new year, to be over lead us to discover some parts we never would have had time for.  Like wandering amongst the mainy alleyways filled with curious things.  Sometimes we did an about face as people or dogs would gather in packs around us but for the most part enjoyed adventuring.  One turn brought us past a barbershop with a picture of a half shaved head with a cool design.  On impulse I went straight in pointing at the photo  and was told 'no problem'.  Making sure not to have anything else done besides the shaved bit I allowed the barber to proceed.  Little did I know the entire thing would be accomplished with scissors and a straight razor.   I'm not gonna lie, the straight razor made me nervous but he had one steady hand.  Upon completion of the initial shave he wanted to know my name and how to spell it.  Why does this matter?  I'm about to type it into his phone when he shows me photos of people with their names carved into their heads in the shaved part.  Hehe, no thanks, just a design will do.  And no I don't need my face massaged or bleached, phew, dodged that uncomfortable bullet.  Completed, I hand over 400 rupee, about $8 CAD, and head back out into the alleyways.  Moments later a compliment is thrown my direction concerning my new hair cut.
Why thankyou sir.
'Where did you get it done?'
Just down the alley actually, I say grinning ear to ear.
'No', he replied with a head bobble, 'Not possible.  Really?'

Monkey Kingdom

In the northern part of the province of Karnataka, India is the town of Hampi.  A Unesco World Heritage Site, it is surrounded by Hindu temples both in use and in ruins, ancient architecture that integrated the town and defence with the surrounding landscape.  Built alongside the Tungabhardra river amongst giant boulders by the Hindu princes of the Vijayanagarian empire, the Dravadian temples and palaces created the biggest city and capital of its time in the whole world inbetween the 14th and 16th centuries.  Dravadian architecture is characterized by massive dimensions, lofty towers and decorated pillars.  Easily compared to Angkor Wat built in the 12 century, I found the similarities amazing yet Hampi has won me over with its landscape and by the fact that I could scamper over boulders discovering hidden carvings in the rock without running into another soul.  Conquered by the Deccan Muslims in 1565, the great city was ransacked and abandoned.  Once at the peak of greatness, diminished into ruins.  The recognizable forts, temples and shrines show what once was huge economic wealth, kings, queens and princes with a well run society.

We entered the town after travelling two days by bus via Bangalore and are stunned by the giant boulders that litter the landscape perched as if by magic upon eachother.  We drive through palm groves, banana plantations, fields of sugar cane and mango farms.  Staying at the base of Virupakaha temple we are in Hampi bazaar surrounded by shops and restaurants on the temples side of the river.  There is so much to see and do we immediately sign up for three days and nights starting our stay off watching the sun rise over the temples of Hampi.  Beautiful.  We order some chai and wait for our room to be ready.  Luckily we have info from an old neighbour and friend, Lisa, from Canada who has directed us to an amazing guesthouse, Gopi.  We feel at home right away and after settling into our room arrange for some Ayruvedic massages to ease our bodies.  Three seperate rooms, three seperate massuses, one same experience.  Completely lubed up head to toe and massaged with a heavy hand, very much a deep tissue massage, none of that sissy make you feel good shit.  No we are correcting every wrong move your body has made in the last year even the ones you thought of doing!  Relaxed and slippery the girls get some henna done and I retire to the room for a nap.

The next few days are spent exploring the temples and ruins, taking a cooking class from our guesthouse manager's aunt (incredible creations!), getting blessed by Lakshmi, the elephant who resides at Virupaksha temple and running over to the other side of the river where beer and meat can be found.  Lakshmi is totes adorbes, taking 10 rupee in her trunk she passes it to her mahout and then brings her trunk back to bless the top of your head.  Walked down to the river twice a day to shower she is a special part of Hampi.

The boulders surrounding Hampi are described in two ways, geology and mythology.  Geology tells us that the boulders were once a huge mountains of rock, monoliths.  Erosion as a result of sun, storm, wind caused the monoliths to crack and crumble forming heaps of boulders that fell as gravity led them.  Now I find the mythology far more interesting, Hampi a mythical monkey kingdom.  Two brothers Sugreeva and Vali were in a constant fight for power.  One particular battle led to Vali defeating Sugreeva and chasing him out of the kingdom and up onto Matanga Hill.  Fortunately he is safe here as due to an earlier curse Vali cannot follow.  At the same time Rama, the king of Ayodhiya, is on the search for his kidnapped wife Sita.  The monkey general, Hanuman (whose birthplace is not far from Hampi and is hugely featured in the themes carved in the boulders), locates Sita in Lanka (Sri lanka) with the demon king Ravana.  Vali, desparate, offers his monkey army to help attack Lanka and free Sita in exchange for Sugreeva's head and the throne of the monkey kingdom.  During the battle, the intensity is extreme and the boulders the brothers throw at eachother pile up all around Hampi.   In another version the monkey army piles boulders to build a bridge to Sri lanka.  Highly unlikely, more plausible with the whole brother vs brother battle I say, Sri lanka's way to far for a bridge.

Tromping through tea estates

Upon finding some decent wifi finally, I suppose I have some back tracking to do for you all.  Sitting in a Korean restaurant that Kim has found us in Delhi.  Eating amazing kimchi and sipping on some Kingfisher light beers is particularly refreshing.  But before I can tell you about now I must take you back to  the mountains of Munnar which was our next stop of substance after Varkala.

We approached Munnar in a rented car with a driver who had no knowledge of how to drive properly, accelerating and braking at all the wrong times which was very tough to bear seeing as we were on a windy road ascending up to the mountains.  Luckily the scenery was amazing and we were enthralled with everything  and found our way to our guesthouse 22 km out of Munnar.  Nestled amongst a pepper and cardamon plantation on the edge of a village it was a serene little spot for us to relax in a cooler climate.

We adventure by rickshaw the next day on roads full of potholes winding up and around through one tea plantation after another.  The terrain reminds me of the Okanagon covered in vineyards except we keep going up and up until we are in the clouds and still the tea plantations continue.  Tea is the most widely drunk beverage in the world and in India it seems as if one would not survive without their chai several times a day.  The tea plant is Camellia sansis, the variety grown in Munnar being Assam.  Though the plants could grow up to 20 ft through regular pruning they are kept at 4-5 ft and labourers wait with their bags of leaves on the side of the road to be collected by big trucks.

The roads winding through the tea estates are lined with wild lantana and hibiscus with their pretty red and yellow flowers.  The forest is filled with eucalytus trees covered in blue flowered morning glory.  We drink tea and stop for snacks on our rickshaw tour as we drive through this enchanted land, one of the most beautiful spots I've been.  Taking a short break so our driver can enjoy some puri, puffed rice, peanuts, chili, cilantro, red onion, cucumber, lime juice and crispy noodles served in a newspaper cone, we sit on the side of the road.  Enjoying some conversation we pause as what seems like chanting in the distance is coming our way.  Our driver jumps up, almost losing his pants in the movement and runs to the back of the rickshaw.  Quickly he returns and fires up the engine, saying strike! as we flee from the mob that is approaching from behind us.  Traffic will come to a stand still he explains, many many men.  Seems our beautiful tea land doesn't come without its own problems.

Beach escape

The setting for my birthday couldn't have been better.  Perched cliffside on south beach at Varkala our bungalow was the perfect getaway.   We have travelled way down south India to the provice of Kerala cited as being God's own country.  Quite so on many levels, from the gorgeous scenery it has to offer to its friendly people to the fact that Catholicism is huge.  Many things have changed from north to south, beef is on the menu and as a result cows are off the streets.  There is seafood a plenty but beer is not as common.  It's not listed on any menus and when ordered appears on the bill as a pricey pop.  We have entered a communist province and the hammer and sickle is painted on every wall, many a taxi driver be in favor of prohibition.  The men are more relaxed and can appreciate a smile from myself for what it is, a smile.  And loveliest of all we see women out and about in all levels of society.  The perfect honest simplicity needed to enjoy the big 40.