Chitless Foodie Overlands 2 Oz: Varanasi-Holy Ganges River

Friday, September 4, 2009

Varanasi-Holy Ganges River

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Dedicated to my Little Spicy Super Star, Pedro!

From the most charming story book scenery, nice cheese and crusty olive breads, good weather, Chimay and Zi Zi Coin Coin 4-Ever!, the nicest mechanics, and wayyy expensive tunnel tolls in Europe, flirting for fun like a mad woman in Greek cafes, to eating cow brains and Zippy's Mom fried fish, walking on Willie's Blvd, to blowing up bombs in Kosovo with the hottest de-miners, on to the Besiktas Pleasure Palace, where you are never alone, sexy belly dancing with Raki in one hand and a hot Muslim boy (or boys) in another, Love! Love! all-night'ing (or enjoying a Duty Free Tequila breakfast) and Sheref'ing in one of the best cities in the world, Istanbul! on to Indian cookery, inspiring conversations over the BEST mint tea, and drunken kareoke debauchery in Dubai, to a thousand Chicken Parathas IN-the-car, a million laughs, one messed up road trip and a farm house just for secret trysts, Sooo Hot! 5 daily power outages, (save-draft ur emails!), early! morning terrace gossiping after secretely bedroom-boozing all night and wayyy too many smokes make up for lifetime friendships in Lahore, to the joys and thrills and smells of rural India, "Where the hell is MOTIHARI?!" (can someone please teach me how to say this in Hindi?) a nice switch to Aloo Parathas, Biryani, and Thums Up, Yum!!!! visiting the majestic Taj and taking fantasy camel rides, oh Yeah!!! PR Princess in a Pakistani dress, Ayurveda and the holy water in the Ganges,'Please, God, make me soft & pure." to hunger pleasing long-noodle spicy thukpas, momos and monkeys and a charming guy (in a boyish kind of way) named Sonam in Kathmandu, and to a racist Tibetan hating Han Chinese compulsory guide who did his best to ruin my trip in Tibet, but the joke was ultimately on him, "Let your Haters be your Motivators!" ("Seriously, Do you keep your chopsticks up your *zz?") to the talented massages either by prostitutes or the blind, to the top of Mt Everest and colorful Tibetan villages, to feasting on some of the Best cuisine (spicy aubergine!) in the world and even 1 night capturing old memories in Beijing (oh, Peking Duck, where are you now?) Now, here I stand or shall I say, here I lay in bed in Kuala Lumpur (Yes, Cathay Pacific, for 60 USD a day you can keep Fab-Fatty for as long as you want. There is a Topshop across the street) deciding what food joint to hit up next (we have chosen Arabian food after loading up on Thai and Malay the last few nights) and purposely postponing booking my trip to Borneo, all because I am having a little moment 'down memory lane' just thinking how grateful I am to have met y'all! Wish everyone I have met during the Oz Rally (so far) all the very best! There is no such thing as Dreams, as we All must ultimately wake up, Make 'your own life' happen!!! HugS!

Oz Rally Route (Original & Updates) "Can't control Life!"

London, France, Belgium, Luxombourg, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Iran, *Dubai, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tibet, Mainland China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, *Borneo, *Brunei, *Singapore, Indonesia, Finally! East Timor, Australia, *Sri Lanka, *India, *Dubai, *Kuwait, and Houston!!!

July: And, we are off!!!

Sep 3rd: We are behind schedule due to car problems caused by rural road conditions, plateau driving, sickness, and circusmtances beyond our control. Only God knows why certain things happen. "We are currently in Malaysia doing fine and eating well! "

Sep 7th:Right now we are dependent on car shipping companies' schedules to AU and at the mercy of SE Asia's beauty. Borneo, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Phillipines, Laos....here we come! "In Sarawak, Borneo, enjoying the food and Barry's hospitality."

3rd July Day 1 - London - Goodwood

4th July Day 2 - Goodwood Festival of Speed

5th July Day 3 - Goodwood – Germany

6th July Day 4 - Salzburg, Austria

7th July Day 5 - Split, Croatia

8th July Day 6 - Montenegro

9th July Day 7 - Rest day, Montenegro

10th July Day 8 - through Albania and Macedonia to Greece

11th July Day 9 - Greece

12th July Day 10 - Istanbul, Turkey

13th July Day 11 - Rest Day – Istanbul

14th July Day 12 - head toward Goreme, Turkey

15th July Day 13 - Goreme

16th July Day 14 - Diyarbakir

17th July Day 15 - Dogubeyazit, Turkey

18th July Day 16 - Tabriz, Iran

19th July Day 17 - Hamadan

20th July Day 18 - Esfahan

21st July Day 19 - Rest day, Esfahan

22nd July Day 20 - Shiraz

23rd July Day 21 - Kerman

24th July Day 22 - Zahedan

25th July Day 23 - Taftan, Pakistan

26th July Day 24 - Dalbandin, Pakistan

27th July Day 25 - Quetta, Pakistan

28th July Day 26 - Multan, Pakistan

29th July Day 27 - Rest day

30th July Day 28 - Lahore, Pakistan

31st July Day 29 - Wahga, (border ceremony and cross into India)

1st Aug Day 30 - Amritsar

2nd Aug Day 31 - rest day Amritsar

3rd Aug Day 32 - Corbett tiger reserve

Lahore. We are late due to Fiona's gastro and she was hospitalized for 2 days in Quetta. Plus, major car trouble.

4th Aug Day 33 - Agra (Taj mahal then on towards Varanasi)*Still in Pakistan! We missed the border by 10 minutes when Pedro got stuck in cow poo!

5th Aug Day 34 - Varanasi

*Delhi,India!

6th Aug Day 35 - Rest day Varanasi

*Agra, India

7th Aug Day 36 - Lumbini, Nepal (Buddha’s birthplace)

*Varanasi, India

8th Aug Day 37 - Pokhara, Nepal (Himalayan Raptor Centre)

*Ballea, India

9th Aug Day 38 - Kathmandu

*Raxaul, India (missed Nepal border by 30 minutes)

10th Aug Day 39 - Rest day, Kathmandu

*Hetauda, Nepal! (Pedro breaks down 3 hours from Kathmandu)

11th Aug Day 40 - Chinese Border

*Kathmandu! Pedro spends 4 days with the VW specialist while we feast on gorgeous Nepali and Tibetan food.

12th Aug Day 41 - Tibet-Mt Everest

*Kathmandu!

13th Aug Day 42 - Mt Everest to Dingri

*Kathmandu!

14th Aug Day 43 - Lhasa

*Kathmandu!

15th Aug Day 44 - Rest day, Lhasa

*Kathmandu!

16th Aug Day 45 - Nyingchi, China

*Heading to China but we missed the border by 10 minutes due to a traffic jam caused by a landslide.

17th Aug Day 46 - Ranwu, China

*Finally, Tibet! Zhangmu

18th Aug Day 47 - Mangkang, China

*0500 start to Mt. Everest Base Camp, but have major problems driving at such high altitude. Took us 14 hours to arrive in Lhatse.

19th Aug Day 48 - Shang-gri La, China

*Lhatse- Pedro sees a mechanic for a plateau fine tuning.

20th Aug Day 49 - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Lijiang

*Lhatse: Fiona suffers from altitude sickness after vising EBC.

21st Aug Day 50 - Kunming, China

*Shigatse: Fiona gets a Chinese DL, Pedro gets Chinese plates, and I finally go to Bank of China!

22nd Aug Day 51 - Jianshui, china

*Lhasa! We were held for ransom in Tibet for 11 days until the last day of our visa.....Seriously!

23rd Aug Day 52 - Lao Border on to Luang Prabang

*Lhasa!

24th Aug Day 53 - Plain of Jars, Laos

*Lhasa!

25th Aug Day 54 - Vientianne, Laos

*Lhasa!

26th Aug Day 55 - Cope Laos, mine victim rehabilitation centre, Vientianne

*Lhasa

27th Aug Day 56 - Pakse, Laos

*Lhasa!

28th Aug Day 57 - Head for Cambodia

*Lhasa!

29th Aug Day 58 - Head for Angkor Watt

*Lhasa!

30th Aug Day 59 - Angkor Watt

*Lhasa!

31st Aug Day 60 - Rest day Angkor Watt

*Lhasa!

1st Sept Day 61 - Bangkok, Thailand

*Lhasa!

2nd Sept Day 62 - Chumphon

*Beijing! Emergency Peking Duck stop...

3rd Sept Day 63 - Kuala Lumpur

*Kuala Lumpur, but because we were held hostage for so long we shipped Pedro to Laos where we will visit our next charity project, COPE.

4th Sept Day 64 - Rest day Kuala Lumpur

5th Sept Day 65 - Ferry from Melaka to Indonesia

*Kuala Lumpur

6th Sept Day 66 - Jambi

*Taman Negara: Elephant Sanctuary!!!

7th Sept Day 67 - Ferry to Jakarta, Java

*Borneo, Kuching...Orang Utans!!!!

8th Sept Day 68 - Magelang, Java, Indonesia

*Kuching

9th Sept Day 69 - Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

*Kuching

10th Sept Day 70 - rest day Bali, Indonesia

*Kuching

11th Sept Day 71 - ferry to Mataram, cross island, ferry to Alas *Sibu

12th Sept Day 72 - Bajo *Sibu

13th Sept Day 73 - Ferry to Endeh, Flores, Indonesia *Sibu

14th Sept Day 74 - Ferry to Kupang, Indonesian Timor *Sibu

15th Sept Day 75- (Day 75 – 79) – Explore East Timor, Clean, repair and ship cars to Darwin *Sibu

16th Sep Day 76 *Miri

17th Sep Day 77 *Miri

18th Sep Day 78 *Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

19th Sep Day 79 *BSB

20th Sep Day ? *BSB

21st Sept Day 80 - Fly to Darwin*BSB

Happy Hari Raya! Pedro has left China!!!

22nd Sept Day 81 - Rest day, Darwin *Vientiane, Laos

Pedro & Fiona are on their way to Vientiane

23rd Sept Day 82 – Rest day, Darwin (kakadu) *Vientiane

24th Sept Day 83 - Newcastle Waters *Vientiane

Met up with Fiona and Pedro. We visited COPE together and hung out by the Mekong. Fiona and I said our Good-Byes and the Oz Rally is officially over for me. Fiona is driving Pedro to S'pore to ship him back to the UK. She will then fly to AU and visit her family and I will carry on to Indonesia and stop in India before heading home to Houston. So proud of Team Pedro and all the $$$ we raised for charity.

25th Sept Day 84 - Alice Springs *Vientiane

26th Sept Day 85 - Ayers Rock *Vientiane

27th Sept Day 86 - Coober Pedy*Kuala Lumpur

28th Sept Day 87 - Port Augusta *Singapore

29th Sept Day 88 - Adelaide *Singapore

30th Sept Day 89 - Melbourne *Bali, Indonesia

1st Oct Day 90 - rest day, Melbourne *Bali

2nd Oct Day 91 - Eden *Bali

3rd Oct Day 92 - Sydney *Bali

4th Oct Day 93 - Rest day, Sydney (or catch up) *Bali

5th Oct Day 94 - Katoomba and Blue Mountains *Bali

"Ready to relax and detoxify naturally in beautiful Ubud." http://www.UbudSari.com/

6th Oct Day 95 - en-route to Brisbane *Ubud, Bali

7th Oct Day 96 - Brisbane *Ubud, Bali

8th Oct Day 97 - Rest day Brisbane *Ubud, Bali

9th Oct Day 98 - Rest day Brisbane *Ubud, Bali

10th Oct Day 99 - Ship cars home from Brisbane *Ubud, Bali

11th Oct Day 100 - Fly home *Ubud, Bali

Today the Oz Rally officially ends and we are suppose to be in Australia. Obviously, something went horribly wrong, and I don't have all the details, yet. Waiting to hear from NAVO. Stay tune why we are not going to Australia. "Never, EVER! do business with a travel agency in Chengdu called NAVO.

12th Oct Day 101: *Ubud

13th Oct Day 102: *Colombo, Sri Lanka

14th Oct Day 103: *Colombo

15th- Oct- Nov 5 Day 104-126- *Kerala, India

A lifetime dream come true. I'm going to study Ayurveda cooking and experience Indian holistic healing therapies in the soothing backwaters of Kerala. Ayurvedic panchakarma, I'm ready!

http://www.VedaCure.com/

5th-8th Nov: *Dubai, Yippee, camels & the desert!

8th-14th Nov: *Kuwait, a familiar face, camels & the desert!

15th Nov: *Houston, Baby!!!!

Who's that Foodie?

While stationed in New Orleans with the United States Navy, Rica, became an instant foodie. "New Orleans has the BEST food in the world and it is just a really cool city!" After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy three years later, she moved just 90 minutes away to Baton Rouge to attend Louisania States University, though her heart was already set on a professional culinary path. Her passion was food and her only problem in the world was that she didn't know how to cook. She left her last year at LSU to attend the the Cordon Bleu Academy in Austin and never looked back. She enjoys working in the kitchen, and is talented, but her true passion in life is learning about food and cultures in their natural habitat. "I used to watched the Food Network channel and was obsessed with the Two Fat Ladies and found Sara Moulton recipes easy to follow." They were having fun and not cooking to order in a fast paced kitchen. "I craved that kind of freedom." After my first kitchen I left for Tokyo and Paris. I did not stay long instead I got a case of culinary wanderlust. For the last 5 years she has traveled the world, teaching English, learning foreign languages, getting involved in cultural volunteer projects, meeting beautiful selfless interesting people and tasting and cooking local dishes in over 95 countries in all 7 continents. She hopes to continue challenging herself and others to step away from their daily comfort zone and enjoy everything life has to offer!

My Favorite Local Eats

Everyone always asks... "What's your favorite food?' What's your favorite country?" Well, here Yah go! While on travels I love discovering and indulging.

1.Japan: sushi, udon/ramen noodle soup

2. Brazil: street churrascos, feijao, caipirinhas

3. Spain: tapas! papas aioli, paella, mussels, sardines, sangria

4. Vietnam: pho ga, spring rolls, and that fresh local seafood, crabmeat

5. China: peking duck, any dish with spicy aubergine

6. All the Muslim countries-E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g!

7. Thailand: green chicken curry, green papaya salad, sticky rice w/t mango

8. France: duck confit, crusty breads w/t cheese, French wines

9. Cuba: arroz con habichuelas, chuletas con ajo, Mojitos!!!

10. Tanzania: nyama choma, kuku na chipsi, biryani, and all that tropical matunda from the sokos

11. Puerto Rico: serenata, pasteles, mofongo, sopa de pollo, pernil, TODO!!!

12. Pakistan- chicken parathas, anything w/t gravy!

14. and, India- Love it! my fave for a while, curries, dal baht, byriani, raita, lassis, fresh coconut water. Thums Up!...HUGE into Ayurvedic cookery!

Chitless Foodie Overlands 2 Oz

Friday, September 4, 2009

Varanasi-Holy Ganges River

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