Yesterday was the best day yet. We started fishing at our normal time 8:00 am and we head out to different location. Within about 30 minutes there is a fish on my line. I was very excited. So we have the first fish in the boat and this fishing is a lot of fun. So instead of waiting until after 10:30 to catch my first fish, this day is looking a lot better. By 9:30 I had already caught more fish on Tuesday than I had any of the previous three. It was a lot of fun. I was really starting to get the hang of it and catching all types of walleyes. There were a few of the fish that I had caught that we so little, that my guess is that this was the first time they had ever been caught. Our guide Bob and I on a couple of occasions both had fish on our line at the same time. It was really fun. I catch about 8 fish before lunch which feels much better than only catching a couple.
During shore lunch I go for a swim which was really nice because it was so very hot. The water was colder than I thought it was going to be, but no so cold. Being that far North, the sun is out most of the day so it really keeps the water temperature up. The shore lunch was very good. We had fried fish again, but it was a different kind that used corn meal and the main breading component. We did not catch as many fish in the afternoon but we still had a lot of fun. The sun was very hot but not so intense because of how far north we were.
While at dinner we spoke with the dock guy Bobby, and he said that they have a really big bear problem there. He said that they feed one black bear every day at 2 pm. They call this bear chuck. They go to a place far away from the camp to feed him but he just sits there and enjoys his lunch. They have had a lot of bear problems in the past but they seem to have it under control. Bears are creatures of habit so if they find food at a certain place or certain time they will go back there and look for it again. That is why if you see a bear once, and you feed them you will probably see them again. No pictures today, because the internet is too patchy but there will be more next time. I promise. It was a great trip and a lot of fun. I am on my way to be as good of an angler as Ted Williams. More to come.
Peace out.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Birthday Present
To My sister who rocks on her Birthday. She said she wanted some pictures with me and the fish. Here you go.
Ten Minutes Faster
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The 2nd fish of the day. I forgot to take a photo of the 1st one.
So today was a lot of fun. Another amazing weather day. Nice and warm / borderline hot with few clouds in the sky. Not so much breeze but we still caught some fish. It took me ten minutes less today to catch my first fish than yesterday. Who says I am not improving. Donna was the big winner catching a lot of fish and a couple big ones. One of the reasons why the fish were not jumping in our boat is because there was a high pressure front right near us. I guess when that happens; it pushes the water down and condenses the water which makes it harder to swim for the fish so they do not want to eat as much. They kind of just save their energy for another day. Now you know when there is a high pressure over you, the fish will not bit as much. I still caught 4 fish but should have had a couple more because there were a few that just took the bait and one time I thought I tied my jig the right way, but I did not and that is now at the bottom of the lake.
The shore lunch today was good and bad. The good part was the baked fish. It was very good with some mustard and orange and dill. It was very tender and very flakey. The bad part was that I got bit/stung (I do not know what it was because I did not get a chance to ask him) by a white-faced hornet. That was not that awesome. There is still a little pain on the top of my foot. So that is a bummer. I just hope that I killed it and that is the last person he gets. But the shore lunch was very good.
Some other cool stuff that happened today, I saw a bald eagle for the first time. It was sitting in a tree and just took off and flow over the lake. It was too bad I did not have a fish to throw at him so we could see him catch it and fly away. That would have been awesome. We also learned a lot of fun facts about loons. They have solid bones and can stay underwater for 3 minutes. They fly to the coast for the winter because the lakes up here freeze. Their feet are really far back on their body so when they land on the water they cannot land on their feet (like a goose or a duck) but they just sort of crash land on their stomach. It is pretty cool to see when you know what you understand what they are doing.
To address the comments about me being in some pictures, I am always caring the camera and I never think to give it to someone else. Just Like Sir Edmund Hillary. I will work on getting in some photos and we have one day left. I hope I can catch the big one and a lot of them tomorrow. We shall see. More to come. Happy Birthday Casey.
Peace out.
The 2nd fish of the day. I forgot to take a photo of the 1st one.
So today was a lot of fun. Another amazing weather day. Nice and warm / borderline hot with few clouds in the sky. Not so much breeze but we still caught some fish. It took me ten minutes less today to catch my first fish than yesterday. Who says I am not improving. Donna was the big winner catching a lot of fish and a couple big ones. One of the reasons why the fish were not jumping in our boat is because there was a high pressure front right near us. I guess when that happens; it pushes the water down and condenses the water which makes it harder to swim for the fish so they do not want to eat as much. They kind of just save their energy for another day. Now you know when there is a high pressure over you, the fish will not bit as much. I still caught 4 fish but should have had a couple more because there were a few that just took the bait and one time I thought I tied my jig the right way, but I did not and that is now at the bottom of the lake.
The shore lunch today was good and bad. The good part was the baked fish. It was very good with some mustard and orange and dill. It was very tender and very flakey. The bad part was that I got bit/stung (I do not know what it was because I did not get a chance to ask him) by a white-faced hornet. That was not that awesome. There is still a little pain on the top of my foot. So that is a bummer. I just hope that I killed it and that is the last person he gets. But the shore lunch was very good.
Some other cool stuff that happened today, I saw a bald eagle for the first time. It was sitting in a tree and just took off and flow over the lake. It was too bad I did not have a fish to throw at him so we could see him catch it and fly away. That would have been awesome. We also learned a lot of fun facts about loons. They have solid bones and can stay underwater for 3 minutes. They fly to the coast for the winter because the lakes up here freeze. Their feet are really far back on their body so when they land on the water they cannot land on their feet (like a goose or a duck) but they just sort of crash land on their stomach. It is pretty cool to see when you know what you understand what they are doing.
To address the comments about me being in some pictures, I am always caring the camera and I never think to give it to someone else. Just Like Sir Edmund Hillary. I will work on getting in some photos and we have one day left. I hope I can catch the big one and a lot of them tomorrow. We shall see. More to come. Happy Birthday Casey.
Peace out.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Fish on!
Today was a chamber of commerce day. If this place had a chamber of commerce, there are so few things around here that who knows what town are we in. Not too much wind, very pretty skies and just a great temperature. It started slow in the fish department, and it took me almost 3 hours to get my first fish. It was a good thing the weather was so nice because if not it really would not have been fun waiting 3 hours to catch a fish.
the first fish -- Lunch.
The coolest part about today was the “shore lunch.” This morning we were spending all of our time catching walleye for our lunch. We caught four nice walleye that we saved for lunch. The others we just threw back for the next time we needed them. Around noon we found a spot on the lake for lunch. We docked our boats and got out and made some lunch. It was camp potatoes, beans, corn and fired fish. It was very good and very relaxing. I am glad that I caught one of the fish that we ate because I would have felt bad eating had I not caught any fish. Bob, our guide said that tomorrow’s shore lunch is going to be even better because of what he is planning on making. Bob is the guy that is holding all of the fish in the pictures. Once lunch was over we fished for about 4 more hours and only caught a couple more fish. It was a very pleasant day and we had a good time. Sitting in a boat for 8 hours can be exhausting though. I am going to try and stay up a little later tonight. Hopefully get some ready done and listen to some more podcasts. I will let you know how it all shakes out. More to come.
That is shore lunch.
Peace out.
the first fish -- Lunch.
The coolest part about today was the “shore lunch.” This morning we were spending all of our time catching walleye for our lunch. We caught four nice walleye that we saved for lunch. The others we just threw back for the next time we needed them. Around noon we found a spot on the lake for lunch. We docked our boats and got out and made some lunch. It was camp potatoes, beans, corn and fired fish. It was very good and very relaxing. I am glad that I caught one of the fish that we ate because I would have felt bad eating had I not caught any fish. Bob, our guide said that tomorrow’s shore lunch is going to be even better because of what he is planning on making. Bob is the guy that is holding all of the fish in the pictures. Once lunch was over we fished for about 4 more hours and only caught a couple more fish. It was a very pleasant day and we had a good time. Sitting in a boat for 8 hours can be exhausting though. I am going to try and stay up a little later tonight. Hopefully get some ready done and listen to some more podcasts. I will let you know how it all shakes out. More to come.
That is shore lunch.
Peace out.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Change of plans
Well I am back and there have been some changes since the last time I wrote. I have moved out of the sales department and I am now working in production. I really like it a lot and I am learning a lot more than I thought I was going to. It is a good time. The best part is getting finished with work at 2:30 pm each day. The worst part is that I have to start work at 6:00 am, which for those who do not know, it is early. I tell you this because now I am on a fishing trip with Dad and Donna in Northern Ontario. We are staying at this place called Pine Portage Lodge. We will be here for 4 days.
Getting here was a lot of fun. It was the first time I have ever been on a seaplane. In case you are wondering yes, all of us fit into this plane that is at the top of the post. Taking off was pretty neat. We were flying pretty low because the pilot thought we were going to see a moose, but we did not, which was too bad. The flight was pretty bumpy but we landed in the water safely. I would not have done very well if the flight was about 20 minutes longer but everyone made it safe and sound. Once we landed we went to our cabin (cabin #5) and then back down to the main lodge for lunch. The lunch was really good. The only way that they get stuff here is by seaplane or by truck on logging roads. This place is out there.
The cabins are pretty basic. Just 3 rooms and a bathroom. There is no TV, no Radio, and no phones. But they do have a wood burning stove. Who thought I was going to be using a wood burning stove in August. That is pretty crazy but we are pretty far North.
Once we finished lunch we got out gear and went fishing. I was with the guide Bob and Dad and Donna were in the other boat. I caught 3 fish. All 3 of the fish were northern pike. It has been very windy so the fishing has not been so awesome, but they are out there. Hopefully tomorrow when we go out in the morning we will catch enough fish so that we can have fish for lunch during a shore lunch. That would be great. We are going to need more than 3 little fish to have food for lunch.
It is pretty crazy here because there is no cell phone reception but there is wifi which is how you are getting these updates. I will try and keep you all in the loop as best I can, but we are hoping to catch a lot of fish and do a lot of fishing. I know we will be staying in touch. More to come.
Peace out.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
The Final thoughts
Well yesterday was a great last day. It was very relaxing and we had a great time. I met one of my friend's for the states MAMA (her mother's brother) and he is awesome. He has lived in Kolkata his whole life and really know everything that is going on. He helped us so much get all of the last minute things done that we needed to get done. Just a very nice man and very happy that we could make it to India more. I have a great time and the Indian people are wonderful. Their biggest downfall is that they do not smile enough. Everyone looks bummed out. If more people smiled here everyone would feel a lot better. I am off to go on an airplane for about 2000 hours so I will see you in a little bit. The airport always has good stories. Let's hope that we do not have any international incidents. Also Happy Birthday Sarah.
More to come,
Tommy
More to come,
Tommy
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Truckin'
First let me start off with a correction from a previous post. The lady in Canada did hold true to her word because people have received the postcards. So all is well with that. I am sorry that I spoke ill will of them, but it is a little odd that it took so long to get the postcards to the states. I now have faith in our northern neighbor and I will trust them to look after my house the next time I go out of town. In other news.
So yesterday we traveled to Durgapur. We had some very good meetings there and it was a good trip. We traveled by car which was nice and the road was a toll road so it was very nice to drive one. The one issue is that there are a lot of trucks and that means that everyone uses their horn. A LOT. It is unreal. We thought it would be close to about 4 times every kilometer. It is just insane. Also they love to lay on the horn and really get into it. You think this would make the person in front of you upset. Not in the slightest. They just look ahead and do not say a thing. It is quite odd. I wanted to throw an egg at the cars that did not understand that the horn was for them but I was talked out of it. It sure would have been fun though.
As for the trucks, they are way cool. All of the trucks are built from the ground up. When they are ordered, they are driven down the road with just a chair and a steering wheel. It is a site to see. I am sorry I have no pictures of this but just picture a 10’ high truck that went under an eight foot bridge. That is what it looks like. Once the owner gets the truck, then he outfits it himself. Let me tell you they spare now expense. They go all out. Paint, inside, outside, things that hang from the roof, and the truck bed is painted. The back of the mud flaps always say Good Luck (which is what you need to get through india quickly) and the back bumper says “obey traffic rules.” Which no one does but it is good to say anyway. It is really too bad that people in America do not do this because it would be awesome. So that is the story with the trucks, pretty cool site to see when you are driving.
One of our meetings yesterday was at a Steel plant. The security that is there is much different than the security in America. The security guards have automatic weapons there. Pretty intense. The security is just as lax, but the weapons are cool. Because security is high you never drive a car in, so you always walk through the gate and then get picked up by the guy who you are meeting with. Well yesterday it was a little different. Every car we have gotten into here in India, never has the radio on. I guess they think Americans do not like music. The thing is that everyone has a nice radio. To be honest I do not think the cars are sold with radios because all of them are nice aftermarket radios. Sorry for the tangent back to the story. So we get in the car and I am sitting in the front (on the left side, looking for the steering wheel) and this guy has the radio on. I am pumped. Because I am in a foreign country, I have keep my jokes and things to a minimum. Not today. We get in his car and after hearing about 15 seconds of the song, I just grab the volume and crank it. Our guy is stoked. He is so happy that we like the music. He asks if I know the song, I do not. The rest of the 5 minute ride was with the radio loud and everyone having a good time. Well we see him later that night, and he was so excited that he made me a copy of the cd in the car and gave it to me. I told him that I would send him some discs as well. Music crossing boarders. Life is good.
So our days are winding down here both in India and out trip. I am really glad that I got to see India during the development. They are working on a lot of things and who knows when it is going to get done but they are committed to catching up with the rest of the world. I look forward to come back. Hopefully I will get to see a cricket match the next time. All in all it was a good trip and I think everyone had fun.
Kids playing cricket on the side of the hotel the other morning. This picture was taken at about 6:30 in the morning.
More to come.
So yesterday we traveled to Durgapur. We had some very good meetings there and it was a good trip. We traveled by car which was nice and the road was a toll road so it was very nice to drive one. The one issue is that there are a lot of trucks and that means that everyone uses their horn. A LOT. It is unreal. We thought it would be close to about 4 times every kilometer. It is just insane. Also they love to lay on the horn and really get into it. You think this would make the person in front of you upset. Not in the slightest. They just look ahead and do not say a thing. It is quite odd. I wanted to throw an egg at the cars that did not understand that the horn was for them but I was talked out of it. It sure would have been fun though.
As for the trucks, they are way cool. All of the trucks are built from the ground up. When they are ordered, they are driven down the road with just a chair and a steering wheel. It is a site to see. I am sorry I have no pictures of this but just picture a 10’ high truck that went under an eight foot bridge. That is what it looks like. Once the owner gets the truck, then he outfits it himself. Let me tell you they spare now expense. They go all out. Paint, inside, outside, things that hang from the roof, and the truck bed is painted. The back of the mud flaps always say Good Luck (which is what you need to get through india quickly) and the back bumper says “obey traffic rules.” Which no one does but it is good to say anyway. It is really too bad that people in America do not do this because it would be awesome. So that is the story with the trucks, pretty cool site to see when you are driving.
One of our meetings yesterday was at a Steel plant. The security that is there is much different than the security in America. The security guards have automatic weapons there. Pretty intense. The security is just as lax, but the weapons are cool. Because security is high you never drive a car in, so you always walk through the gate and then get picked up by the guy who you are meeting with. Well yesterday it was a little different. Every car we have gotten into here in India, never has the radio on. I guess they think Americans do not like music. The thing is that everyone has a nice radio. To be honest I do not think the cars are sold with radios because all of them are nice aftermarket radios. Sorry for the tangent back to the story. So we get in the car and I am sitting in the front (on the left side, looking for the steering wheel) and this guy has the radio on. I am pumped. Because I am in a foreign country, I have keep my jokes and things to a minimum. Not today. We get in his car and after hearing about 15 seconds of the song, I just grab the volume and crank it. Our guy is stoked. He is so happy that we like the music. He asks if I know the song, I do not. The rest of the 5 minute ride was with the radio loud and everyone having a good time. Well we see him later that night, and he was so excited that he made me a copy of the cd in the car and gave it to me. I told him that I would send him some discs as well. Music crossing boarders. Life is good.
So our days are winding down here both in India and out trip. I am really glad that I got to see India during the development. They are working on a lot of things and who knows when it is going to get done but they are committed to catching up with the rest of the world. I look forward to come back. Hopefully I will get to see a cricket match the next time. All in all it was a good trip and I think everyone had fun.
Kids playing cricket on the side of the hotel the other morning. This picture was taken at about 6:30 in the morning.
More to come.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Kolkata
Today was the first day that we got to see Kolkata during the daytime. Wow what a different site it is. It is even more crazy than it is at night. One difference is that the traffic is a little worse at night than it is during the day. It is unreal to see the sea of humanity that is a major city in India. Most people have a driver which is nice because they are good at what they do (they have to be) and they are not distracted. I have seen maybe 5 street signs. I have seen no GPSs in peoples’ car, so I have no idea how people get around. The most amazing thing about the traffic is that everyone is going bonkers on their horns and no one gets mad. I started to get mad yesterday and I am not even driving. I was about to give people bad finger but I choose not to. The other astonishing part about Kolkata is the amount of diversity that is there. There are a lot of homeless people, even more poor people that do not have a complete domicile, middle class, rich and then stupid rich. It is pretty awesome to see how all of these people interact. Everywhere you go there are thousands of stands selling things. They are just small huts and but that is where I think most of India gets stuff done. Here is just a short list of things that are sold. Phone cards, veggies, chickens, thrashed sugar cane drink, mints, gum, and meals just to name a few. My guess is that if I ate the food from one of the street vendors, things would not turn out well for anyone.
I think this might be just an Indian phenomenon, but I could be wrong. India has this deal that when the first city gets to big and full, they just make a new one and call it “new whatever.” There is Deli and New Deli. Well Kolkata is the last major town to get this “new” town and the marketing wizards over here in India have decided to call it…New Town. Wow just amazing. I wonder where they came up with the name. Why would they do that? If they picked up all of the litter and all of the rubble there would be plenty of room in Kolkata to expand. They could take all of the rubble and make more city. It is just crazy. I cannot think of any other place that does that. Also when the new town is introduced, does the old town get jealous?
On our way to the meeting today, we drove into the New Town section and our local knowledge guy said that this is where a lot of the call centers are. I have seen a few billboards that advertize call center training but I had not see it in action. Well today I did. We drove past a bunch of the buildings and they look like any call center in the world. There are a lot of these call centers. I can’t wait until I get to call one of these and I can say to “Brian from Indianapolis,” “Come on Brian, I know you are in New Town Kolkata, why, because I have been there and seen where you work” Do you think he will come clean then?
Now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, here is what I have been thinking about since I left. I have gone through a couple of cravings that I want, so here is the list:
A haircut – I knew that if I got one before I left it was not time but if I waited it would be too late. I choose too late.
Pizza – I really wanted some good slices of Pizza early but that has cooled down.
Ribs – Something you do not see or get here and I have been wanting them for a few days now. I want the kind of ribs where you eat all of them before you pick up your napkin because wiping your mouth would be a waste.
Seared Rib-eye Steak with Caesar Salad and good veggies – Why, because it is so good and I have not found too many steaks on the menu here. Plus would you eat a steak that was cooked by someone who did not eat meat? I would not.
Not having to pack and carry my things everyday.
Now you can see that cows are everywhere. This one was standing outside of a major office building in a new section of Kolkata.
I think this might be just an Indian phenomenon, but I could be wrong. India has this deal that when the first city gets to big and full, they just make a new one and call it “new whatever.” There is Deli and New Deli. Well Kolkata is the last major town to get this “new” town and the marketing wizards over here in India have decided to call it…New Town. Wow just amazing. I wonder where they came up with the name. Why would they do that? If they picked up all of the litter and all of the rubble there would be plenty of room in Kolkata to expand. They could take all of the rubble and make more city. It is just crazy. I cannot think of any other place that does that. Also when the new town is introduced, does the old town get jealous?
On our way to the meeting today, we drove into the New Town section and our local knowledge guy said that this is where a lot of the call centers are. I have seen a few billboards that advertize call center training but I had not see it in action. Well today I did. We drove past a bunch of the buildings and they look like any call center in the world. There are a lot of these call centers. I can’t wait until I get to call one of these and I can say to “Brian from Indianapolis,” “Come on Brian, I know you are in New Town Kolkata, why, because I have been there and seen where you work” Do you think he will come clean then?
Now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, here is what I have been thinking about since I left. I have gone through a couple of cravings that I want, so here is the list:
A haircut – I knew that if I got one before I left it was not time but if I waited it would be too late. I choose too late.
Pizza – I really wanted some good slices of Pizza early but that has cooled down.
Ribs – Something you do not see or get here and I have been wanting them for a few days now. I want the kind of ribs where you eat all of them before you pick up your napkin because wiping your mouth would be a waste.
Seared Rib-eye Steak with Caesar Salad and good veggies – Why, because it is so good and I have not found too many steaks on the menu here. Plus would you eat a steak that was cooked by someone who did not eat meat? I would not.
Not having to pack and carry my things everyday.
Now you can see that cows are everywhere. This one was standing outside of a major office building in a new section of Kolkata.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Post cards
As many of you know sending postcards are my thing. I enjoy sending them. I keep every postcard that I get from someone. It is just a cool thing. None of the postcards have any real information on them. Would you ever say anything real serious in a postcard? Everyone reads them. They are a cool way to keep in touch with people. The best part about them is that they arrive totally unexpected. Well the people that get them from me know they are coming, because I am out of town but usually it all works.
While I was in Canada we were in an area that does not really have postcards, so I had to wait. It was a total bummer. I waited until I got to the Toronto airport and they had lots of postcards. So I bought a bunch of them. Canada has this really cool postcard that has the postage already on it, so you can send them any where in the world. It is very easy and very nice to use. The issue was that I was already through security and I needed to find a mail box. I asked the woman behind the counter if there were any post boxes, she said “no, but I will take them for you.” This is not an uncommon response. Everyone I have asked to do this has been very helpful and really great. While I am waiting for my flight, I speed through all of the postcards and I give them back to the lady. I am stoked because two of the postcards had birthday messages on them and everyone will be happy.
It has now been 2 weeks since I have left Canada and no one has received their postcards. People have received their postcards from Germany but not Canada. I have never had that happen where someone says they will help you out and then just doesn’t. It really sucks. The money is not the issue, it is that the woman said she would do something and then didn’t. If she did not want to do it that is fine, I would have found someone else to do it. Don’t say you will do something and then don’t. So the moral of the story is: 1) send more postcards – everyone loves them and 2) Do not trust Canada.
While I was in Canada we were in an area that does not really have postcards, so I had to wait. It was a total bummer. I waited until I got to the Toronto airport and they had lots of postcards. So I bought a bunch of them. Canada has this really cool postcard that has the postage already on it, so you can send them any where in the world. It is very easy and very nice to use. The issue was that I was already through security and I needed to find a mail box. I asked the woman behind the counter if there were any post boxes, she said “no, but I will take them for you.” This is not an uncommon response. Everyone I have asked to do this has been very helpful and really great. While I am waiting for my flight, I speed through all of the postcards and I give them back to the lady. I am stoked because two of the postcards had birthday messages on them and everyone will be happy.
It has now been 2 weeks since I have left Canada and no one has received their postcards. People have received their postcards from Germany but not Canada. I have never had that happen where someone says they will help you out and then just doesn’t. It really sucks. The money is not the issue, it is that the woman said she would do something and then didn’t. If she did not want to do it that is fine, I would have found someone else to do it. Don’t say you will do something and then don’t. So the moral of the story is: 1) send more postcards – everyone loves them and 2) Do not trust Canada.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Half way
I am sorry for the slow posts but not a ton has happened and I have not had a ton of time to write my thoughts. Hopefully this is a long post that will make up for it. As you well know India, is nuts. It is always just a laugh a minute. Things are great here. At this point there is only a week to go in my trip so that is very nice. It has been a long time since I have been home and I can’t wait to get back to America and see everyone.
We have left Bhilai and we are no in Jamshedpur for a couple of days. It only took 10 hours on the train but it went smoothly. During the night I opened the door and to watch the as the world goes by and it is a pretty crazy site. It is really just darkness where you can make out only a few things. Just thinking that if something happened and you slipped you would be in the middle of nowhere in India (which is really deep nowhere) and have no idea what to do or even where to go. So that was a little scary and I did not open the door again, but we made it so there were no problems. The trains are very nice now and you can relax and enjoy yourself. The best part is that they have electrical outlets in them so you can use all of your electrical gear.
Some people have asked about the cows, before I arrived, I thought it was a lot of talk about cows in the street and things like that. Let me tell you, it is 100% true. There are cows everywhere. It is nuts. Two days ago I saw one cross a busy intersection at about 9:30 pm and yesterday at about 10 am there was one in lying down in the middle of a pretty busy street. I saw one in a steel mill, on the side of the road, in the woods everywhere and one at the train station (picture below). It is crazy how common they are. These cows do not belong to anyone so I do not see this problem being solved anytime soon. They just walk down the street like people.
The traffic here is unreal. They do not merge, they just blend. In Bhilai there is a train crossing right by the hotel where we stayed. There were at least 6 lanes of traffic where there normally would be just 2 (picture below). On any given street you will see any combination of bikes (push and motor), rickshaws (pedal and motor) carts, cars, trucks and cows that everyone is going everywhere. They are always on their horn. It is unreal. They love to use it even when it is not necessary or useful. The only time they use the horn properly is when they are passing someone. Also everyone is going somewhere with something. They just make it work (picture below).
The service here is unreal. They have so many people working but so few that do anything, or even know what to do. When you ask for something it usually takes forever and you have to ask several times. No one seems to know what is going on. Also the waiters just look at you and when you tell them something it seems like they are just zoned out. Now I know how parents feel when they are talking to teenagers. The other big thing is that the people serving have very limited knowledge about things and the people being waited on have a vast knowledge on things. The other day I heard a man ask for an egg-white omelet. Do you think the chef has any idea what that is? The man had to explain it to him several times and I do not know if it was made correctly. Everyone just needs to understand who they are working with and go from there. If it is too hard to explain, then you probably should not order it.
We also went to the Bhilai zoo. The zoo was run down but cool. They did take care of the what few animals that were there. Not the best cages but they were clean. It cost us 5rp each to go it. The three people that went paid less than $.50 (total for all 3 of us) to go in and see the animals. We got to see both a white tiger and a Bengal tiger which was awesome. You forget how big and powerful they are. They are truly an impressive animal. I hope we can save them. The other cool animal that we saw was the Himalayan black bear. They are great. Just like most other bears, they sleep a lot, have a good time and eat a lot. They were just trying to stay out of the sun. I had never seen one before and it was good to see. The white “V” on their chest was very neat.
So now we are in Jamshedpur for the weekend and then it is back to Kolkata. I am sure there will be some stories from Jamshedpur. When we arrived (1:30 am) there were at least 1000 people sleeping in the train station. I do not know if they did not have a house or if they were waiting for their train but it is pretty crazy to see so many people sleeping with such bright lights on. More adventures to come.
We have left Bhilai and we are no in Jamshedpur for a couple of days. It only took 10 hours on the train but it went smoothly. During the night I opened the door and to watch the as the world goes by and it is a pretty crazy site. It is really just darkness where you can make out only a few things. Just thinking that if something happened and you slipped you would be in the middle of nowhere in India (which is really deep nowhere) and have no idea what to do or even where to go. So that was a little scary and I did not open the door again, but we made it so there were no problems. The trains are very nice now and you can relax and enjoy yourself. The best part is that they have electrical outlets in them so you can use all of your electrical gear.
Some people have asked about the cows, before I arrived, I thought it was a lot of talk about cows in the street and things like that. Let me tell you, it is 100% true. There are cows everywhere. It is nuts. Two days ago I saw one cross a busy intersection at about 9:30 pm and yesterday at about 10 am there was one in lying down in the middle of a pretty busy street. I saw one in a steel mill, on the side of the road, in the woods everywhere and one at the train station (picture below). It is crazy how common they are. These cows do not belong to anyone so I do not see this problem being solved anytime soon. They just walk down the street like people.
The traffic here is unreal. They do not merge, they just blend. In Bhilai there is a train crossing right by the hotel where we stayed. There were at least 6 lanes of traffic where there normally would be just 2 (picture below). On any given street you will see any combination of bikes (push and motor), rickshaws (pedal and motor) carts, cars, trucks and cows that everyone is going everywhere. They are always on their horn. It is unreal. They love to use it even when it is not necessary or useful. The only time they use the horn properly is when they are passing someone. Also everyone is going somewhere with something. They just make it work (picture below).
The service here is unreal. They have so many people working but so few that do anything, or even know what to do. When you ask for something it usually takes forever and you have to ask several times. No one seems to know what is going on. Also the waiters just look at you and when you tell them something it seems like they are just zoned out. Now I know how parents feel when they are talking to teenagers. The other big thing is that the people serving have very limited knowledge about things and the people being waited on have a vast knowledge on things. The other day I heard a man ask for an egg-white omelet. Do you think the chef has any idea what that is? The man had to explain it to him several times and I do not know if it was made correctly. Everyone just needs to understand who they are working with and go from there. If it is too hard to explain, then you probably should not order it.
We also went to the Bhilai zoo. The zoo was run down but cool. They did take care of the what few animals that were there. Not the best cages but they were clean. It cost us 5rp each to go it. The three people that went paid less than $.50 (total for all 3 of us) to go in and see the animals. We got to see both a white tiger and a Bengal tiger which was awesome. You forget how big and powerful they are. They are truly an impressive animal. I hope we can save them. The other cool animal that we saw was the Himalayan black bear. They are great. Just like most other bears, they sleep a lot, have a good time and eat a lot. They were just trying to stay out of the sun. I had never seen one before and it was good to see. The white “V” on their chest was very neat.
So now we are in Jamshedpur for the weekend and then it is back to Kolkata. I am sure there will be some stories from Jamshedpur. When we arrived (1:30 am) there were at least 1000 people sleeping in the train station. I do not know if they did not have a house or if they were waiting for their train but it is pretty crazy to see so many people sleeping with such bright lights on. More adventures to come.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Indian Express
Here Click this first.
I am now really in India. Yesterday I left the friendly confines of the hotel to enter into the real India. We were off to our first meeting that is 14 hours away by train. First we needed to get to the train station. There was “no” traffic because of the Holi Holiday that was on Sunday. It is really a 2 day festival. The roads still seemed very crowded and everyone loved to use their horn. The way to fix this problem is to make the horn really expensive so that if they want to use it they will have to pay. We get to the train station and it is crazy. There is one woman with no legs (below her knees) and is walking around asking for money. There are a few beggers but not too many to really be a problem. Lots of dogs that are carrying various diseases. Also everyone still has the face paint on from the festival so it looks like a crazy dream.
There are three classes of train cars. There is 1st class which is what we are in with beds and your own private area. There is 2nd class which is seats and there is 3rd class which is first come first serve benches. Some people even stand. It is crazy the amount of people they fit in 3rd class. For the 3rd class, there is a line and everyone is holding on to the person in front of them. My guess is so that they do not loose their spot and no one cuts in front of them. If someone does try and cut, there is an officer to yell at them and hit them with a stick. I could only imagine what goes on in 3rd class. Because of the 3 classes of train, it is the most popular form of travel in India. Over 70% of the population uses the trains.
The trains are the same trains type of train from The Darjeeling Limited, and I feel like Owen Wilson. So that is how I feel a little bit. Small but very comfortable. Our train car is very new (built 2 years ago) so it has a lot of creature comforts like, it does not smell, no cockroaches, and it even has toilet paper in the bathroom. The 1st class cars even have power outlets for your computer or your cell phone which is totally awesome. Because there are 6 of us traveling we got 2 cabins; a 4 person cabin and a 2 person cabin. Sleeping was very easy because I am so used to sleeping on a boat, the repeating motion is no problem for me. I slept great and had a great night. I am sorry that I did not get any pictures of the train station but I did not want to stick out more than I already do. The countryside is vast and is very sparsely populated. Here is where we ended at the Grand Dhillon Hotel in Nerhu Nagar, Bhilai. We are off to our first meeting so we shall see how that shakes out. More adventures to come soon and pictures below.
I am now really in India. Yesterday I left the friendly confines of the hotel to enter into the real India. We were off to our first meeting that is 14 hours away by train. First we needed to get to the train station. There was “no” traffic because of the Holi Holiday that was on Sunday. It is really a 2 day festival. The roads still seemed very crowded and everyone loved to use their horn. The way to fix this problem is to make the horn really expensive so that if they want to use it they will have to pay. We get to the train station and it is crazy. There is one woman with no legs (below her knees) and is walking around asking for money. There are a few beggers but not too many to really be a problem. Lots of dogs that are carrying various diseases. Also everyone still has the face paint on from the festival so it looks like a crazy dream.
There are three classes of train cars. There is 1st class which is what we are in with beds and your own private area. There is 2nd class which is seats and there is 3rd class which is first come first serve benches. Some people even stand. It is crazy the amount of people they fit in 3rd class. For the 3rd class, there is a line and everyone is holding on to the person in front of them. My guess is so that they do not loose their spot and no one cuts in front of them. If someone does try and cut, there is an officer to yell at them and hit them with a stick. I could only imagine what goes on in 3rd class. Because of the 3 classes of train, it is the most popular form of travel in India. Over 70% of the population uses the trains.
The trains are the same trains type of train from The Darjeeling Limited, and I feel like Owen Wilson. So that is how I feel a little bit. Small but very comfortable. Our train car is very new (built 2 years ago) so it has a lot of creature comforts like, it does not smell, no cockroaches, and it even has toilet paper in the bathroom. The 1st class cars even have power outlets for your computer or your cell phone which is totally awesome. Because there are 6 of us traveling we got 2 cabins; a 4 person cabin and a 2 person cabin. Sleeping was very easy because I am so used to sleeping on a boat, the repeating motion is no problem for me. I slept great and had a great night. I am sorry that I did not get any pictures of the train station but I did not want to stick out more than I already do. The countryside is vast and is very sparsely populated. Here is where we ended at the Grand Dhillon Hotel in Nerhu Nagar, Bhilai. We are off to our first meeting so we shall see how that shakes out. More adventures to come soon and pictures below.
Pictures from the train
The countryside of India.
One of Many of the Indian Villages we passed. If we could get the plastic bottles out of this world everything would look so much better.
This is a Hindu temple.
View looking back
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Welcome to India
Well I am now in India. Things are good so far. The airport is crazy. We arrive and there are no jet ways; it is down the stairs, get onto a bus and get a ride to the terminal. Once we get to the terminal there are 3 people standing at the door before you get to customs. They are handing out these forms about H1N1 flu. These 3 men are wearing surgical masks. A very welcoming site. These forms need to be filled out; the problem is that there is no place to complete this task. No tables, no chairs, no counter no nada. They do not even supply something to fill the forms out with. Just nuts. So I fill this form out and get in line. A man borrows my pen so he can fill out his form (he did find me in baggage claim and return my pen). A quick aside, I needed to get shots to prevent me getting diseases when I came to India, don’t you think they should be worried about those diseases instead of H1N1? Just a thought. They have these heat cameras that are checking everyone out and I passed so that was good. I have no idea how they could tell because there was not so much a line as a bunch of people standing there. It took forever to get my bag but it was there and all is well. The other awesome thing is that India sells duty free stuff before you leave. How great is that, just get it at your end destination and you will not have to worry about forgetting it on the plane.
Oh did I forget to tell you, India is on a half hour time difference. Who does that? That should be outlawed. The streets were very quiet when I got here because it was 2:30 in the morning. On our way to the hotel we did not abide by one traffic law. We kept the speed down but went through every stop sign and every red light. The other reason for the streets being so quiet is because there is a festival on Sunday. This is the Holi festival. You are not supposed to drive from 6:00 am until 2:00 pm. So that is great fun. When I woke up this morning there were really no cars on the road. I guess they can control 1 billion people.
I am doomed here because it is just like Brittan where they drive on “the other side” of the road. I will forget to look the correct way or go the correct side of the car, something stupid. I would do ok here because I am left-handing, so shifting would not be a problem, but getting around is a different issue.. No photos just yet, but there will be some I promise. Also, it is very nice and sunny here. Probably about 25 or so. I am going to enjoy the day. From what I have seen so far (the drive to the hotel and out my hotel window), India is one crazy 3rd world country. I did see 4 people on a scooter already and there are a lot of stray (or wild (what is the term if they never had an owner?) dogs. India is really growing and doing a lot of projects. It looks like the whole place is under construction. At this point it reminds me of Venezuela. I will let you know if my feelings change. More to come.
Oh did I forget to tell you, India is on a half hour time difference. Who does that? That should be outlawed. The streets were very quiet when I got here because it was 2:30 in the morning. On our way to the hotel we did not abide by one traffic law. We kept the speed down but went through every stop sign and every red light. The other reason for the streets being so quiet is because there is a festival on Sunday. This is the Holi festival. You are not supposed to drive from 6:00 am until 2:00 pm. So that is great fun. When I woke up this morning there were really no cars on the road. I guess they can control 1 billion people.
I am doomed here because it is just like Brittan where they drive on “the other side” of the road. I will forget to look the correct way or go the correct side of the car, something stupid. I would do ok here because I am left-handing, so shifting would not be a problem, but getting around is a different issue.. No photos just yet, but there will be some I promise. Also, it is very nice and sunny here. Probably about 25 or so. I am going to enjoy the day. From what I have seen so far (the drive to the hotel and out my hotel window), India is one crazy 3rd world country. I did see 4 people on a scooter already and there are a lot of stray (or wild (what is the term if they never had an owner?) dogs. India is really growing and doing a lot of projects. It looks like the whole place is under construction. At this point it reminds me of Venezuela. I will let you know if my feelings change. More to come.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Trains
On Friday I took the train from Salzburg to Frankfort. I really love taking the train in Europe. It s a great way to see everything and it is very relaxing. The train stations are so awesome and huge as well. They are all old buildings with great architecture. It is good that all of them did not get destroyed in WWII. I think there is something more romantic at a train station than an airport. Recently I was in the Munich train station and it is massive. It is right up there with the Paris train station. The first thing that is great about train stations are that they are usually in the center of the city so that is nice and easy to get to and get around. The other thing is that there is so much hustle and bustle going on. The trains are very fast; they reach a top speed of about 220 kmh (135+ MPH). The train I was on was 17 minutes late. I thought German trains were not late. Oh well. I really wish that America would do more trains so I could spend less time in airports and on airplanes and more time on crossing the country on a train. I think after riding the trains in India I might have a different opinion. We shall see. More to come.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Southern Germany
The town of Inzell Germany was great. I think every ski town in North America is a rip off of the towns in the mountains of Europe. Inzell is a great town that reminds me a lot of Colorado. Or is it Colorado reminds me of Inzell? The way the trees look the way the houses look. It is also the place for the 2011 speed skating world championships. They also have the world championship for Biathlon near by. There are nice rolling hills that would be a beautiful place to go for a Cross Country ski. The house is amazing and it was very nice place to stay after a week of travel. Anita & Hans were so welcoming it was a real pleasure to be there.
Hans is a huge fan of all things Olympics. It was great to speak with someone who loves the Olympics as much as I do. We were chatting about Austria and how great a winter Olympic country it is. They usually win at least one medal for every million people that live there. If America did that we would need to win 300 medals. A huge haul of medals is anything over 30 in the Winter Olympics. America now you have a goal to achieve, one medal for every million people in 3 (2 Summers and 1 Winter) Olympics.
The other thing is the medal count. Hans and I had a good laugh on how the medal count is displayed. In America it is displayed so that the country with the most medals is on top. That way America is on top almost all of the time. In Europe it is the country with the most gold medals that is on top. So for a while Germany was on top. As Hans says, “what does it matter if you win a lot of medals, you want gold ones, correct?” He does have a point and maybe we should get on the same page so that there is no dispute on who is the winning the Olympics. More to come.
#14
Once we were finished with our meetings and our long driver we arrived in Inzell, Germany. The next day we went to Austria for the day. It was a lot of fun and country number fourteen on my list of countries visited around the world. At the start of this trip I thought I was going to only go to one new country and it turns out I will be in two new ones. That is way cool. When we left Germany we were headed to Wagrain Austria. It is a town that is very popular in our circle so it was good to see what everyone was talking about. It is a great little ski town where the atomic headquarters are.
Austria is a great place. It is very steep. When you enter the country it is about 500 meters above sea level. It stays that way for a while and then gets steep quickly. It is very rocky. Very different than any place I have been. One of the places we went was to Hans’s mother’s house. She has lived in Wagrian for almost her whole life. She is in her 80s and she still rents rooms to people. That is a big deal in Austria, to rent some of your rooms out so that you do not have to pay the full amount of the taxes on your house. She knows no English and I know no German so needless to say we solved a lot of problems. She is a great lady and very fun.
We did not go skiing/snowboarding but we did have fun. We drove up to the middle of the mountain and had some lunch. While we were at lunch there is a very fun game that everyone plays. The game goes like this; you hammer a nail into a stump using the small end of the hammer. It is very hard. The game is used to determine all kinds of things like, who pays the bill, who gets the next round or even who is better at bar games. The game was a lot harder than it looked but it was played by all.
We took the scenic way home and it was only about 15 minutes longer than the highway. It is crazy to think that even with all of the tunnels through the mountains it is just as face to drive around them. Plus there are no trucks which makes the drive a lot nicer. It was one of the best days to spend a day off in Europe. More to Come.
Austria is a great place. It is very steep. When you enter the country it is about 500 meters above sea level. It stays that way for a while and then gets steep quickly. It is very rocky. Very different than any place I have been. One of the places we went was to Hans’s mother’s house. She has lived in Wagrian for almost her whole life. She is in her 80s and she still rents rooms to people. That is a big deal in Austria, to rent some of your rooms out so that you do not have to pay the full amount of the taxes on your house. She knows no English and I know no German so needless to say we solved a lot of problems. She is a great lady and very fun.
We did not go skiing/snowboarding but we did have fun. We drove up to the middle of the mountain and had some lunch. While we were at lunch there is a very fun game that everyone plays. The game goes like this; you hammer a nail into a stump using the small end of the hammer. It is very hard. The game is used to determine all kinds of things like, who pays the bill, who gets the next round or even who is better at bar games. The game was a lot harder than it looked but it was played by all.
We took the scenic way home and it was only about 15 minutes longer than the highway. It is crazy to think that even with all of the tunnels through the mountains it is just as face to drive around them. Plus there are no trucks which makes the drive a lot nicer. It was one of the best days to spend a day off in Europe. More to Come.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
McRib is back
On our drive yesterday we stopped at McDonald's. It was the same just like they want you to believe. I could not get the ice machine to work but the coke was cold enough. The best part about our experience, it was 2 things. One that they sell beer there right off the highway. 2) They still sell the McRib. How great is that? Enjoy this sandwich of boneless ribs.
seeing the country
Well in the last 2 days we have traveled over 2000 kms. It was a lot of driving for a few meetings. The meetings went well. One of the places we stopped was Bitburg. It was a very cute town and it was really great. The food was really good and cheap. So good. Hans and I had 2 beers each and a dinner each and it was about 22 Euros. So good. While we were there we had some Bitburg beer. Hans told me that it takes 7 minutes for them to pour the beer. We were the only 2 people in the restaurant so that was good. I have no idea what the do when it gets busy. The Beer was pretty good. I do not know if it was worth 7 minutes but it was good. Just crazy.
While we were there We are the World came on and it is just brilliant. It still makes me think about all of those starving kids in Ethiopia when I hear it. I used to watch the beta tape (not VHS we were one of 5 people that had beta) of it. We recorded off HBO when it was on. I know that they remade it with new stars this year, but if it does not have Dan Aykroyd than it is no good.
The hotel we stayed in was very nice but the internet was really crazy. The internet worked but only for google sites and a couple others. I could not figure out what worked and what did not. So that is why there was no post yesterday. Al Gore if you could look into this and get back to me that would be great.
For the whole drive we saw one Porsche and one Bentley. We saw them within 5 minutes of each other. Yes, it is crazy driving in Germany and everyone follows the rules. No passing on the right, drive the speed limit (when there is one). It is the reason why the roads are safe. People follow the rules. Off to country #14 tomorrow at Austria which should be a great time. There will be pictures. I promise. More to come.
While we were there We are the World came on and it is just brilliant. It still makes me think about all of those starving kids in Ethiopia when I hear it. I used to watch the beta tape (not VHS we were one of 5 people that had beta) of it. We recorded off HBO when it was on. I know that they remade it with new stars this year, but if it does not have Dan Aykroyd than it is no good.
The hotel we stayed in was very nice but the internet was really crazy. The internet worked but only for google sites and a couple others. I could not figure out what worked and what did not. So that is why there was no post yesterday. Al Gore if you could look into this and get back to me that would be great.
For the whole drive we saw one Porsche and one Bentley. We saw them within 5 minutes of each other. Yes, it is crazy driving in Germany and everyone follows the rules. No passing on the right, drive the speed limit (when there is one). It is the reason why the roads are safe. People follow the rules. Off to country #14 tomorrow at Austria which should be a great time. There will be pictures. I promise. More to come.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Neil Page, meet Del Griffith
To get to Europe I need to the trifecta of planes trains and automobiles so I do feel like Neil Page and Del Griffith right now. The good news is that the dogs are not barking so everyone can rest easy.
Well I am now in Germany and life is good. The flights went smoothly. I started in Sault Ste. Marie and it is a great small airport (3 gates). Also you did not need to take your shoes off to go through security. That was really nice especially because I was wearing boots. The view from Sault Ste. Marie to Toronto was really spectacular. It was a really sunny day so you could see all of Canada.
The Toronto airport is way oversexed. They sell condoms at the magazine shops as well as in the bathroom. Who knew that the airport was such an awesome place to pick up chicks? Once they started boarding I looked around and it did not look like there were a lot of people waiting to fly. Once they closed the door I looked around and the flight was about 30% full. I am totally spoiled now because I think that every flight will be like this. When the flights are full I am going to be really upset. This is all I really hope for when I am flying a seat next to me that is empty. It makes your life so much nicer. You do not have to be nice you can flop around as much as you would like trying to fall asleep. So that was very pleasant.
The nicest part of the airplane other than empty seat was the movies. Everyone had a screen on the seat in front of them, but here is where it gets cool. It is a touch screen. Very high-tech and it worked really well. I saw the Invention of Lying which was pretty funny, and good.
Once we arrived to Germany we get off the plane and we see nothing but rows and rows of cots. It is odd until I figure out that the pilots are on strike and this them preparing for the overflow of people that have no where to go. I guess they have put the strike on hold now so it was only a one day strike but it is pretty crazy to think that we were the last flight before the strike. The one day has already created a huge mess. Something like 4000 flights were canceled. It is a good thing that I did not have any more flights. I took the train to Würzburg, and one of the stewardesses was on the train as well and we said hello. It was really nice that she noticed me. So Germany is good and the jet-lag is not too bad. More meetings with the big one tomorrow, so we shall see how it shakes out. More to come.
Well I am now in Germany and life is good. The flights went smoothly. I started in Sault Ste. Marie and it is a great small airport (3 gates). Also you did not need to take your shoes off to go through security. That was really nice especially because I was wearing boots. The view from Sault Ste. Marie to Toronto was really spectacular. It was a really sunny day so you could see all of Canada.
The Toronto airport is way oversexed. They sell condoms at the magazine shops as well as in the bathroom. Who knew that the airport was such an awesome place to pick up chicks? Once they started boarding I looked around and it did not look like there were a lot of people waiting to fly. Once they closed the door I looked around and the flight was about 30% full. I am totally spoiled now because I think that every flight will be like this. When the flights are full I am going to be really upset. This is all I really hope for when I am flying a seat next to me that is empty. It makes your life so much nicer. You do not have to be nice you can flop around as much as you would like trying to fall asleep. So that was very pleasant.
The nicest part of the airplane other than empty seat was the movies. Everyone had a screen on the seat in front of them, but here is where it gets cool. It is a touch screen. Very high-tech and it worked really well. I saw the Invention of Lying which was pretty funny, and good.
Once we arrived to Germany we get off the plane and we see nothing but rows and rows of cots. It is odd until I figure out that the pilots are on strike and this them preparing for the overflow of people that have no where to go. I guess they have put the strike on hold now so it was only a one day strike but it is pretty crazy to think that we were the last flight before the strike. The one day has already created a huge mess. Something like 4000 flights were canceled. It is a good thing that I did not have any more flights. I took the train to Würzburg, and one of the stewardesses was on the train as well and we said hello. It was really nice that she noticed me. So Germany is good and the jet-lag is not too bad. More meetings with the big one tomorrow, so we shall see how it shakes out. More to come.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The first stop -- The land of the north
So let me bring you up to speed on what is happening. We left Thursday morning on our way to Canada (country number 1). We had to pick up one of our customers (Tony) at the airport in Sault Ste. Marie (SSM). And that is where the problem started. There are 2 SSMs. One of them is in Canada and one is in America. Tony was in America and we were already in Canada. Not such a good plan to cross customs 3 times in an hour. So we waited across the border for Tony to grab a taxi and meet us over in the land of the north. That was about an hour and half delay. Other than the time it was as painless as could be. The trip went well and everyone made it safely. You just feel like a bonehead when you read the flight plans wrong.
When I was up here I found out the biggest bummer. I logged on to the Internet (thanks Al Gore) I went to Netflix to check it out and I found out some bad news. You are not allowed to watch movies instantly outside of the US. I was planning on watching a bunch of movies at night in my hotels but I guess that will not happen. I will just have to settle for shows that I have no idea about because they are in a different language.
On Saturday, We decided to go a different route and head to Drummond Island. For those who do know that is back in the USA. Once we got to the states we had to call customs and let them know we were here. Because there were 20 of us, it was a long process that took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Once we had cleared customs we got fuel and had lunch. The lunch was good but long. Because of the large pressure cracks in the ice we decided that it would be better to cross the ice back with the most sunlight so after lunch we rode back. Yes we went to a different country for gas and lunch. I do not know if it was worth it, but the cheeseburger was good. So now I have sailed to Canada, Driven to Canada and Snowmobiled across the ice to Canada. Next I think I want to try something different.
So I leave today and I am leaving Canada during the Canada vs. USA hockey match. I hope the pilots are not Canadian because if they are I do not think we will be leaving. It is the talk of the Olympics and everyone here is getting excited. Let’s hope for some German Pilots. Snowmobiling was a lot of fun. When finished I did a little over 100 miles which was a good amount. There was not a lot of snow so the trails were pretty bare but a great time was had by all. The days were very nice with the sun out not too cold. Now onto the next continent. The next post will have pictures, I promise. More to come.
When I was up here I found out the biggest bummer. I logged on to the Internet (thanks Al Gore) I went to Netflix to check it out and I found out some bad news. You are not allowed to watch movies instantly outside of the US. I was planning on watching a bunch of movies at night in my hotels but I guess that will not happen. I will just have to settle for shows that I have no idea about because they are in a different language.
On Saturday, We decided to go a different route and head to Drummond Island. For those who do know that is back in the USA. Once we got to the states we had to call customs and let them know we were here. Because there were 20 of us, it was a long process that took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Once we had cleared customs we got fuel and had lunch. The lunch was good but long. Because of the large pressure cracks in the ice we decided that it would be better to cross the ice back with the most sunlight so after lunch we rode back. Yes we went to a different country for gas and lunch. I do not know if it was worth it, but the cheeseburger was good. So now I have sailed to Canada, Driven to Canada and Snowmobiled across the ice to Canada. Next I think I want to try something different.
So I leave today and I am leaving Canada during the Canada vs. USA hockey match. I hope the pilots are not Canadian because if they are I do not think we will be leaving. It is the talk of the Olympics and everyone here is getting excited. Let’s hope for some German Pilots. Snowmobiling was a lot of fun. When finished I did a little over 100 miles which was a good amount. There was not a lot of snow so the trails were pretty bare but a great time was had by all. The days were very nice with the sun out not too cold. Now onto the next continent. The next post will have pictures, I promise. More to come.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
What did I forget
I am one day away from departing on my journey and I am really nervous that I am forgetting something or I will forget something. I know the one item I forget is going to be a big item. It is a long journey and I am not coming back to any place to leave stuff or pick anything up. It is going to be pretty crazy. The things that I am most excited about is seeing how many miles I will have flown when I get back. I really hope I do not get sick because getting sick sucks ass. I have all of my medicine so things are good with that but I just hope I do not forget anything. This is going to be the first trip that I have been on where I have had to do laundry in a hotel or something like that. I hope I like the clothes that I brought because I will be wearing them for 3 weeks. Let’s pray for no stains because that would be a problem. The weather is going to be so different in each place that it is going to be hard to bring the right clothes. I hope it goes well and everyone is along for the ride so enjoy.
More to Come.
More to Come.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Shots
Well today I recieved all of my shots that I needed for my trip to India. It is so crazy to think that America is so far ahead of places and you live safely not having to worry about Typhoid and Diphtheria . Well now I will not get them so that is good. The shots were not that bad. One was a little painful and she said it was because of a square needle. How does that work? Why would you make a square needle? That is crazy. The total bummer about the shots is that they only had regular band-aids and not the Scooby-Doo kind. I would have even settled for Penny Lane. She traveled a lot.
Monday, February 1, 2010
We can do this
SO it has been a long time since you have seen me but I am here and all is well. I have a big trip coming up so I wanted to get back into this before i started the trip so it would not be such a hard transition. So here is the deal, the Census is coming up and if we can get everyone to do this, it would be awesome. SO when they ask what religion you are, please write in Jedi. If we can get enough people to do it, it will make the next census. They have been doing this in other speaking countries as well. so it is worth a shot. The force is with you.
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