LIVE UPDATE: the journey to the bus stop

First off I would like to mention that this post is being written as I am sitting on the bus heading to Hampi. Crystal and I had a great dinner at my house before we needed to head to the bus stop. The bus was to leave Pune at 930pm and arrive in Hampi at 7am. The bus stop wasn't too far from where I stay so we decided to it. Thinking we had plenty of time we weren't worried at all. We put the address in Crystal gps on her phone and headed off. The GPS said we had arrived...we hadn't. we continue walking thinking it shouldn't be too far ahead. I stop in and ask another bus stop where ours was. They said it was 5 minutes ahead. Okay were not worried. It's now 925 and we start running. Asking people as we pass how much further. Same answer everytime 5 minutes straight ahead. Finally I arrive at the bus stop. Crystal fell further behind. While I was talking to the people who work there she past it. Now it was time to find Crystal. We are reunited at last!

Talking to people we learned that the bus company we were with no longer stops at this stand. Our ticket however was booked for this stand. An awesome guy helped us out by calling our bus drivers phone (it was given to us) The bus driver doesn't speak english so he translated for us. He almost missed his bus. He took Crystals number and confirmed that the bus will wait. Now we had the challenge to get to the right bus stop. The same guy had to talk to the rickshaw driver to tell him where we needed to go. It was 170 INR to get to the stop and he had to pull over several times to get directions, talk with the guys, and talk with the bus driver, but, WE MADE IT! On the bus to Hampi now.
Goodnight everyone...when I wake up I'll be in Hampi.
Where will you be?

MuSe IcK (I got really creative with the title)

Love this song and video!

Moar White People...

On Tuesday January 10th we had out orientation at the university where we met the other exchange students from Ontario. There are 7 new exchange students and 3 students who have been here since the summer. Everyone seem pretty chill and down to travel and have a good time. I feel like we will all get along. 

A presentation was given by the coordinator, then we had lunch. After lunch we took a bus to see some sites around Pune. This was great because we went to parts of the city that I have yet to explore. We saw a fort, an incredibly ornate temple, and these gardens where it appeared everyone went for walks and family fun. Talking with the other students we have already made plans to go to Hampi next weekend and then to Goa the weekend after. Let the traveling begin!

Today after studio a group of us decided to check out Osho (http://www.osho.com/). Since our project is a rejuvenation centre, it was sought to be fit to check out a world famous centre here in Pune. Due to security we weren’t allowed to walk around the ground. You need to do a formal registration before entering and it is quite a process. I really want to check it out and give it a try so I am planning to go on Sunday and spend the day. After that we went to lunch. One of the girls let me drive her 2 wheeler to the restaurant and I SURVIVED Pune traffic. It was great! I thought riding on the back of one is fun, but driving it is so much better. Lunch today was this thing called Sizzlers. I had a steak one (in India I know right!?) So there was a steak on the bottom, veggies on top, french fries on top of that, and all covered in an oyster sauce still sizzling on a metal skillet straight from the oven. Delicious! It reminded us and tasted very similar to poutine!! There were so many different combos of this! Awesome! 

This evening I am going to the opening of the Pune International Film Festival which will be on going for the next weekend. I am hoping to check out as many films as possible. This is my first time attending a film festival so I am quite excited. 

Good bye for now 

Muse ick

Can't help but to smile when listening to this song. 

Guhagar, India

This past weekend was spent on the West coast of Maharashtra in a small village called Guhagar. We went there with college to do a Settlement Study. Beautiful untouched beach. Quaint little village. Friendly locals. Warm water. Sun. Sunrise runs down the beach. Sunset swims and walks. Bond fires. Great weekend! However this made me miss certain people. You know who you are.

Love you guys!

Photo of the Day 07/01/12

Photo of the Day 06/01/12

Photo of the Day 05/01/12

New Year Muse ick

A song that played at the first bar we went to

Happy New Year from INDIA!

This post is LONG overdue and I apologize for that. This year I was lucky enough to celebrate New Years in a fashion I never thought I would. It’s not that it was an amazing party or the best DJ ever, it was the fact that it was a new experience. This is what made it so good. 

… Along I was waiting for Crystal and Marnie to arrive in India before I decided what I was going to do. Before I received the message from Marnie stating that they were in Mumbai and I should meet them by 6pm (This was the morning of the 31st that I received this) I was going to go check out this fort that I was recommended to go see. However, when I read the message my plans changed. An hour later I was sitting on a bus headed for Mumbai. Mumbai took me by surprise! Wasn’t expecting it to this beautiful! It had the feeling of Barcelona. Just an incredible city. 

I met with Crystal and Marnie and we had a quick dinner then tried to figure out what we were going to do. Originally we were going to go to the beach for an Electro party...that plan fell through. We decided to check out this bar opposite of the hotel. Very chill bar/lounge with a little bit older crowd. It looked like it was going to be a chill New Year until we went to Leopolds, a bar down the street. We tried to get in the side entrance (by accident) so then the security guard sent us to the front entrance. One minute later we had another security come up to us and escort us back to the side entrance where we got in right away and headed upstairs. Great music and great people! Lots of foreigners like ourselves. Around 2am we headed to this roof top bar on the waterfront. We met some new friends, one from France and the other two from Australia. I’ve been told this before, when traveling you will meet people and they will feel like your best friends for the night. This statement is very true. Lots of laughs and good times had. Finally crashed at 530am. 

Hangover Day

January 1st marks the day of a new year and our first train experience in India! Incredible! If you’ve ever seen “Slumdog Millionaire,” the part where they’re on the train is legitely accurate. Just smiles all day even with such incredible hangovers. Best Hangover Day EVER! Great time had in Mumbai!

Hangover Day

Just after New Years!

Rooftop Bar

Happy New Year to ALL and all the best! 

Imagine this...

Imagine this...
A drunk Tyler celebrating new years at a club in Mumbai...
Now imagine a drunk Tyler jamming out to this song with all the Indians...
Bollywood is definitely in my future! 

Photo of the Day 03/01/12

Ferguson College, Pune

Muse ick

A song I recently found on my itunes. Very chill beat. I just feel it's an appropriate song at the moment.
-Enjoy!

Christmas to NYE

So it’s been a week since my last post. I apologize for the delay. A lot has happened since Christmas, but first I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! 

This past week at the college was something called “Gatherings.” For people in Building 22, these gatherings are similar to our spirit week, a little more intense though. I manage to participate in some of the smaller events by testing out my dance moves. It was a great time! Bollywood is in my future! The night of the 27th I got the keys to my flat here. It’s a great place and good location. Very close to school and fairly close to everything else. I moved in on the 28th. The place is unfurnished, however, the landlord is getting me some chairs for the living room so it won’t be too empty. My bed consist of 6 fleece blankets and 4 pillows on the ground in the corner of the room. It’s not bad, comfortable enough. I might eventually get a mattress. We’ll see. The night of the 28th was a performance from the school bands followed by a fashion show and dinner. The night of the 29th was the main cultural event where each class makes up a dance routine and compete it. The dances were great. At the end of night they announced the winning class which was THIRD YEAR B.ARCH GENERAL!!!! That’s the class I’m in!! It was great being on stage celebrating. The air was filled with awesome energy, you couldn’t help yourself but to smile. 

The next day I wanted to go for a “hike” through this park. I get dropped off at the top of the hill only to find out it was closed. Some locals told me about Katraj (which is a zoo more or less) that was near by. They pointed me in the right direction so I started walking. It the road was turning into a residential zone, now in Pune (and I assuming most other cities in India) residential zones are a maze of alley ways and are very easy to get lost in. I turned around and was going to walk back down the hill to the main road. Some boys started talking to me and said they would bring me to Katraj. I decided what the hell follow them. They brought me through the neighbourhood and one of the boys introduced me to his family. At one point I was surrounded by school children who were just laughing and grabbing at me and wanting to shake my hand. It was hilarious! Loved it! Later it got to the point though where the boys didn’t even know where we were. An older guy (around my age) stop and pointed us in the right direction again. I decided to pull out my camera to document this. I was quickly told by the boys to put it away or else I would get robbed. By this point I was feeling a little nervous. Eventually two guys (maybe 17) pull up on a 2 wheeler. One of the boys said it was their friends and they would take me to the main road. I said fuck it, and got on the bike with them, still nervous though with the situation. After driving through the twisting alley ways for about 10 minutes, we made it to the main road. I got off 2 wheeler and they pointed me in the right direction. I spent the next few hours in the “zoo.” It was an interesting situation that just reminded me I am in a very foreign country and can’t let my guard down. Good lesson learned. 

I will post about NYE and New Year Day tomorrow! 

Peace!

Photo of the DAY 01/01/12

First day of 2012. Central station Mumbai. Best hangover ever!

Photo of the Day 31/12/11

Last day of 2012 spent in Mumbai. Beautiful city! Was not expecting this!

Photo of the Day 30/12/11

This is in Pune. Katraj 

Photo of the Day 29/12/11

Traditional Indian outfit. 

Photo of the Day 27/12/11