Heading towards INDIA...

I may experience some life changing situations soon...have you ever seen 25,000 people living on a piece of land the size of a football field? Slums like this, and many more not so happy situations are what I am soon to witness, along with tons of love, warmth and compassion.

Leaving Kathmandu tonight on a 8hour night bus to the border of India, then a 3 hour bus ride from border to India's first train station, then a 8hour ride to Delhi, India. I don't know much what I am doing in India besides being there and beign present to the moments experiences, eating the fruit and vegan food, yoga, meditation, experiencing the day to day life in the crazy hug Cities and the smaller villages. I am very excited to get back to surfing, so my India visit may be short...I do have a 6month, multiple entry visa to India.
I have been chatting with many other backpackers recently about their Indian experiences. MOst all say it is a love/hate experience and a powerful culture shock. Very Dirty. Very overwhelming culture of people constantly touching, looking, asking you questions, staring, etc... No privacy, unless locked in your room. I got one referral on a Guest house in Delhi, so I'll go there for a couple days then head to Rishikesh area, apparently a more quiet place with lots of vegan food and yoga and meditation.

I was considering visiting Tibet and Bhutan while I am so close, but these countries seem to require that you travel in groups by tourist vans, and are much more expensive then other parts of Asia. As you may know about me, I prefer to be free from groups and vans if possible.

Nepal has been Extraordinary!!
The highlight was staying with a hospitibal local village family in their home at 11,000feet elevation, eating their fresh organic vegan fooods, absorbing the slow paced village lifestyle, experiencing the nature and the surrounding Himalayan massive mountains.

Nepal: I finished 13 days of Treking, Altitude sickness

Glad to be back to low elevation, but a life changing experience is what I just finished. The Annapurna HImalayans....very high mountains I passed about 7000meters high.
I experienced many things: treking for days in flip-flops because shoes hurt to much, traditional villages, diversity in landscapes, endless scenic views, strong Nepalese men that weigh 140lbs and Carry 200lbs on their backs for 8 hours/day up huge rocky hills, no fruit, no traffic, animals, birds, cows, Yak, sheep, goats, other wonderfulworld travelors to bond with, infected foot wounds, altitude sickness, cold relentless weather, snow/ice, sunshine, happy local people living off the land, children playing freely, dirty clothes worn by all, Seabuckthorn juice, Pumpkin soup, cooked Dal Baht twice a day (rice, curries, dahl, pickled veggies), cinnamin rolls, apple pie, chocolate, little boys carrying their sisters up massive hill climbs, negativity, doubt, hatred of treking in cold, love, compassion, understanding, rollercoasters of emotion, Endless endless endless breathtaking views for miles, hundreds of waterfalls, hundreds of plants and flowers, no internet, peace and serenity, etc....

I am back in the warmlands, Pocara.....looking for a yoga/meditation/cleansing place to go relax and let my scrapes and bruises heal.

My healthy clean diet went to a fried, greasy, lack of fruit diet for several days.....not feeling very happy about this. I do find that I am truly happy in anticipation of some cooked greasy salty food, and during the feasting I am very comforted and High from its effects. Soon to be back to what is best for me...I had several yummy bananas today, papaya, pomegranet juice......but feeling like some more cooked food tonight...its yelling my name...maybe some hummous/tahini/ ....indian food... or more Nepalese Dahl Baht.

no excercise today..
averaged 5hours/day of treking for two weeks...no running....some stretching/yoga/pushups some days.

Treking the Annapurna, Nepal......cooked diet

Hello all,
I am leaving on a treking adventure in Nepal. I may go for a few days or much longer, I'll decide on the way. NO internet for 3weeks if I choose to go the whole Annapurna Circuit.
Over 100miles of steep treking at high elevations.
Lots of lodges and places to eat on the way. Very poplular trek. Many backpackers come from all around the world for this.
I will start Alone but may join other trekers on the route.
I am at the last city before I began my trek in a few minutes.

the complete Annapurna circuit takes between 15 to 22 days, depending on fitness, adaptability to altitude and desire to linger along the way. While the trail has gained a reputation for being overrun with tourists, it had quietened with the rise of a Maoist insurgency in Nepal, post 9/11 travel jitters and the massacre of Nepal's royal family in 2000.

I have a link below....................


My diet has been junkfood cooked vegan lately. I havent felt very good about my eating decisions lately. Most of the time bad eating decisions are due to emotional issues...maybe lonliness is something I must admit I have been feeling more lately. I do meet other travelors and hang out with them. A peer group of other Rawvegan/environmentalist friends is soooo powerful for, and makes it easier to succeed on 100%RAW vegan diet. Cooked Vegan Diet is soooo easy for me and I doubt anything could Ever sway me away from this. It is soooo simple to eat cooked vegan, now that I have been 100% raw vegan. Maybe that is a huge take away in itself? Even if my transition to 100% raw takes more weeks, months, years than i ever anticipated, at least I am learning how to be a lifetime success at not contributing to animal suffering and risking myself with heart diseases, cholesterol, diabtes, obesity, cancer, etc...

Yesterday diet:
2 asian pears snack
meal #1
India vegan food: Dahl, spicey cucumber salad, white rice, potato dish, chutney
Meal #2
1/4cup of pumpkin seeds and peanuts
Nepalis food: Dahl, corn flour noodles with tomato sauce, potato dish, cucumbers
1/2cup of dates

exercise yesterday:
NONE

our bus got held up by a 7HOUR Strike!! we were in the middle of nowhere waiting for some mediation...on the way from Kathmandu to Pocara.


here are some links:

http://www.virtourist.com/asia/annapurna/

Nepal is Fascinating!

Kathmandu is the capital city here and it is largely populated, but no KFC or Mcdonalds is here....still not a well developed city, which I absolutely LOVE. Lots of green grass and green plants here too....outside of the center you see all the Nepalese homes surrounded by lots of green grass and open fields, not many trees. Mountains surrounding Kathmandu.
The people are very kind hearted from what I have experienced....they are not shocked to see tourists here at all. I walked around the city for a couple hours and only had a couple people say anything to me. This is far different than INdonesia and Thailand Cities.

I am seeing different fruits for sale here too.
Lots of Apples, Pomegranates, Banannas, and papaya and pineaple mainly....also some oranges, jackfruit, Pomelos....
Many men on bicycles are selling fresh squeezed Pineapple or orange juice for 20 rupiahs (25cents approx).....fresh pressed Pomegranate juice is everywhere too... for about 70rupiahs($1)...sugar cane juice is easy to find for 20rupiahs(30cents)..

Yesterday I had two meals:
#1 meal was
30ounces of fresh squeezed pomogranite juice

#2meal was
6.5 lbs of ripe, juicy, sweet Papaya
(i found a papaya seller at a small market outside and sat by them for my meal. A mom and dad and one son. I bought one papaya and the man peeled if for me, I ate that and two more..they were shocked at how much fruit I ate...Most people eat fruit as a small snack here.....It was different for the Nepalese people to see a foreigner sitting on the dirty street by the sellers eating fruit...I got tons of looks...I think they may think i am a Mentally retarded person or some sort of mental problem to eat on the dirty street...Many times I like to sit down and absorb the market and busy culture of a place while eating my fruit..Other times I like to take my fruit in my Hemp Bag to a quite natural location to eat.)

Lots of homeless poverty here in Nepal....young boys in groups that are begging and stay together with each other and sleep on the dirty sidewalks....some defigured people begging for money..women with children begging for money...This is pretty intense to see and many people may not be able to emotionally handle it. I believe we are all here on the earth together, but many are less fortunate than others, but we cannot Save everybody. We have to find a way to help people and focus on this and not let other negative things get us down or make us dramatic....if we are helping and serving or contributing in some way we are most likely helping more then most of the world is helping.

I found a local Nepalese work out gym in the middle of a village away from city center...I stopped in for one hour work out...did some weights and enjoyed exercising with other Nepalese (cost was 50cents!).

Do you think about food too much??

I want people to share about their relations with food and eating. Sometimes it seems that I think about eating most of the day.
After I am done consciously eating a meal, I think about how long until I will be hungry again and what my next meal will be. From the time I just finished eating until I am eating my next meal, I catch myself planning, visualizing, and fantasizing about what it may be.

I really admire the people that are active/fit/healthy/lean and only think about the food when they are truly hungry and then they are done thinking about food all together until they are truly hungry again.....I would love advice on how I can change into this type of thinking.

I believe that most people who are truly living their passions and purposes in life are more likely to not think about food much....maybe I must be patient to this process more.
Currently, I am traveling SE Asia, surfing, treking, eating tropical fruits, exploring new cultures, and spreading the vegan message, But I still find time to obsess on food.

any thoughts on this subject and personal shares would be wonderful to read!
Darrick

Leaving Malaysia

This has been a fun place for me, Penang in particular. I spent about 5weeks here, then left to Indo for about 4 weeks, then returned here to Penang for a few more days. Returning here was amazing after having so many Indonesian experiences. I really like how I can witness so much culture and not have many people approaching me with questions and comments all day long. Bless their hearts, as they all have loving intention......its just I need more practice with patience and unlimited smiling happy responses no matter what.

Heading to Katmandu, Nepal in the morning...flying from Penang to Bangkok to Katmandu....I plan to get my India visa there which may take one week. I suggest anybody that plans to come to India to plan ahead and get it early, I didnt.
While my visa is being prepared I will enjoy some Treking around Nepal...I believe they have 8 of the 10 Highest elevated Mountains in the World!
Mt. Everest is not on my list, but some safer distances are surely.

EATING
20 ounces of fresh pressed sugar cane juice
Vegan Laksa (noodle soup)
Vegan Tom Yum soup
1/2cup of rice
small salad
1cup of stirfryed veggies
(felt majorly dissatisfied and wanted more salt after this, so I went to the movie theater to eat popcorn and maybe see a movie, but they didnt have salty popcorn only sweet, so I left thankfully)

about to eat 2lbs of durian chunks

excercise today:
walked up penang hill briskly 5km, 2300feet elevation, 1hour
100 pushups
10minutes of muscle flexing

The Sumatra Bus driver did not let me bring Durian on!

Several people were loading on a shuttle bus from Medan to the ferry port to head to Penang, Malaysia....I had my small backpack and my bicycle. I had a durian straped to the rack on my bicycle. The bus driver told me i could not bring my durian on cause of the smell, so I pulled out my 'trusty' fruit knife and opened the durian up, squatted on the street and devoured it while they waited, ehehehh...it was awesome......
We Can't bring durian on the bus, but we can bring a smelly bag of grilled dead cow burgers and potatoes fried in cancer oil that smells up the whole bus, supports deforestation, global warming, animal cruelty and death, human suffering, etc.......
I crave a world where the bus driver says, "If you don't have a durian, then you cannot come onto my bus!"....
Today I am loving the RAW life....come join anytime for the journey..currently in Malaysia..maybe India next.......

I rested yesterday, with very little body movement...lots of traveling....Bus, Ferry.
Today I got some movement in:
cycled slowly one hour
hiking barefoot one hour
100 pushups
100 lunges
10 pullups


I found delicous mangosteens here in Penang (way better in Malaysia than sumatra)
ate 4lbs for lunch.

snack
8ounce of sugar cane juice
snack 2
one coconut water

I plan to eat
2lbs of durian chunks soon then maybe some Rice and veggies(I hope not)
The durian is very good here in Malaysia....I would have to say that Sumatera and Malaysia are pretty similar in taste and quality. The price for Durian in Sumatera is about $1/2lbs....the price in Malaysia $2/2lbs (double the price!!).....HOWEVER, if you get to try some of the 'name brand' durians in Malaysia like "ang Hair", "D2", "D11", "D24", "Capri KING", "Horlor", etc.....these are all Exceptional and much tastier than Sumatera in my opinion....Even more than Thailand Durians like "monThong', "Chanee", "Pomanee".