Alps + Cairo + Abu Dhabi + India Part I
A very belated happy Valentine's Day and thanks to n_isfor_neville, ohmiya_sg, angel_kink, harper47, kerrikins, rogueslayer452, anathema91, starlitshore, brihana25, and wook77 for all the glass hearts! They are very decorative and festive. ♥ I think at the time I was floating lazily about the backwaters of South India in a tiny boat.
Been traveling for almost a month now and had some crazy times.
Innsbruck, Austria
Annual snowboard trip was in the Austrian Alps! It was me, a Brazilian (yes, the same one that's in all my other travel stories), an Austrian, a German, and six Portuguese. One of the most hilarious weeks of my life, NONSTOP LAUGHTER. As you can see! I'm the one dying of lulz in the snow.
This particular pic was taken after a good number of shots/beers and the following conversation:
Me, to Brazilian, who is always always the last person everyone has to wait for: Will you hurry the fuck up, you've been strapping your boots in for the past two minutes now.
Brazilian, totally by accident: Come on, two minutes isn't such a long time to strap my dick to the board!
Proof that all guys ever think about is their dicks aside, there was a lot of drunk snowboarding (snowassing?) on this trip thanks to the lovely tradition of après-ski which isn't so much after skiing as it is toward the end of skiing but oh wait you still have to make it the rest of the way down the mountain in the dark after you've had all those drinks but don't worry it's not hazardous at all.
Speaking of hazardous, at one point (during the day, while sober) I lost everyone because we were snowboarding in the middle of a cloud and I couldn't see anything, so of course I ended up by myself in the middle of the woods on some abandoned toboggan run for several kilometers. Which I thought was fine, because it was a fun trail and in the US when you get lost all you have to do is get to the end of the run and there'll be some ski lift to take you back up, complete with maps and everything.
Well, in Austria when you get lost you end up in the backyard of somebody's private condo in a completely different village and their GIANT DOG almost kills you. Now, normally I love dogs, but I was the intruder here and it was growling menacingly and running toward me so I thought, omg I'm going to have to kill somebody's dog with my snowboard and possibly die in the process. D: But it stopped about half a meter away from me and we had a staring contest and then I managed to back away slowly. Ended up hitchhiking back to the ski area, and the woman who gave me a ride had the friendliest dog ever. Go figure.
There was also the time I fell backwards off a cliff, but anyway. It was only a few meters and the landing was very soft. In conclusion, I survived the trip.
Oh, and we got to go bobsledding too!
Cairo, Egypt
After Austria I had 1.5 days to pack up and move out of my place in Lisbon. Whittled all my stuff down to only what could fit in my backpack (half of which is taken up by my body pillow lolol), shipped a small box of personal things back home to my parents, and left the rest behind.
To go camel-riding around the pyramids in Cairo!
The owner of the little camel tour business also taught me how to ride horses in the desert which was incredibly fun but omg he was such a creep and kept hitting on me when we were in the middle of the desert by ourselves.
Guy: I take you horseback riding because I want to treat you like a friend.
Me: Great, thanks, it's very kind of you.
Guy: *TRIES TO KISS ME*
Me: Okay, whoa, this is not treating me like a friend. Friends don't kiss each other.
Guy: I want you to be my girlfriend.
Me: No thanks.
Guy: *TRIES TO KISS ME*
Me: *starts looking around for rocks I could use if necessary*
Guy: You want to stay for dinner? I have Arabian horses, we could ride them and cook fish or chicken over a fire in the desert.
Me: No thanks, I should get back...
Guy: Stay for dinner.
Me: No.
Guy: Stay for dinner.
Me: No thank you!
Guy: Well, maybe after you go home and think about it you'll change your mind. Give me your email so we can touch togethers.
Me: I think you mean "keep in touch".
Guy: I want to touch togethers.
Me: *facepalm*
Thankfully I remained largely unmolested and we eventually made it back. Met up with the friend I was in Cairo to see in the first place and he drove me around Tahrir square and the river, then took me out for dinner and shisha with his friends.
Egyptian drive-thrus are genius. You park your car, they come over to take your order, and then they put your food on a tray which they attach to your window. Meanwhile, some kid comes over and starts washing your car in hopes of a few cents. Why don't we have these in the US?
Abu Dhabi, UAE
I only had a 13 hour layover here but it was during the day so I left the airport, met up with a guy from CouchSurfing, and went to brunch with him and his friends because brunch is apparently the thing to do in the middle east. Got wasted (which is impressive, considering where we were). One of the guys jumped into the pool with all his clothes on. So, he's pretty much just like me. I would totally have joined him if I'd had a change of clothes with me but I didn't, and I didn't fancy being soaked on the plane to India, so I (just barely) refrained.
It's a miracle I got back to the airport on time. But not before taking some pictures from the CSer's flat:
Chennai, India
Friend's wedding! It was a very long and complicated process but quite beautiful. I was given a sari (which I had to ask the lady at my hotel's reception to help me put on, lol) and got hennas on my hands:
They served our meals on leaves.
And there was dancing in the street.
Fort Kochi, Kerala, India
Me: *walks around town*
Rickshaw driver: I'll give you a tour for 20 Rupees (which is like $0.40 USD, srsly).
Me: Sure, why not?
Rickshaw driver: Are you Japanese?
Me: Chinese.
Rickshaw driver: Do you have a boyfriend?
Me: No.
Rickshaw driver: If you ever want an Indian boyfriend, let me know.
Me: ...Okay.
Rickshaw driver: I also give massages, do you want one? A sexy massage!
Me: *facepalm*
This is what the traffic was like:
Nearby Cherai beach, where I met a local university student and talked to him, then sat writing postcards for a while and almost everyone who passed me stopped to ask if I was Japanese.
Other nice scenery:
Dubious trash can:
And last but not least, ♥.
Alappuzha, Kerala, India
Houseboats are the main thing here.
I did not fancy spending a fortune so instead opted for a day trip through the backwaters on a tiny boat.
Local villagers building a wall in preparation for monsoon season:
These things are everywhere in the water:
Drank coconut beer, dozed on and off, and was told by an Italian couple that I absolutely must visit Myanmar. So maybe I'll do that next month?
Anyway I also went to a beach, and of course the rickshaw driver who took me there asked if I was Japanese and if I had a boyfriend. These two questions are like hello here.
I thought it'd be nice to head off to the secluded part of the beach instead of joining all the tourists, but not so much.
Creeper: *jogs over* Are you Japanese?
Me: No.
Creeper: You want fucking?
Me: No! Please leave me alone.
Creeper: *unzips his fly and takes out his dick and does this gross thing with his tongue* You want?
Me: Jesus Christ will you go away.
Creeper: *finally leaves*
A few minutes later some other man comes over, asks me if I'm Japanese and whether I have a boyfriend, and waves his friend over because he wants to "introduce" him. I pretty much just walk away.
Then a group of teenagers approach and I think to myself, surely these kids are too young to sexually harass foreigners on the beach! So so so wrong. *facepalm*
Eventually I go and sit with all the other tourists. The End.
Goa, India
Goa was amazing! I stayed with a CouchSurfer; guy from Paris who's teaching French at Goa University. We passed the days riding 260+ kms on his motorbike from beach to beach, playing with stray puppies, and generally just chilling.
He let me ride his motorbike even though I told him the last time I tried it I crashed it twice. But he was a good teacher and I did well this time. \o/ Also he has gorgeous wrists and smelled delicious.
Anyway, shark on a plate:
And sunset!
I took an overnight train from Goa to Mumbai. This part is copied from Facebook so a few of you saw it already:
This is the view from the overhead luggage rack in the ladies' carriage where I stayed because I couldn't get a reservation. An old woman told me it's the only place no one occupies since it's too small, so of course that's where I headed when the train started to get crowded. They all thought I was crazy but then cheered when I managed to climb up there and settle in half on top of their bags. I ended up being the only one who could stretch out, get semi-comfortable, and sleep a bit (until screaming fights complete with hitting, slapping, and crying broke out every time the train stopped and more people got on). Crazy night.
Now in Mumbai, resting, ordering room service (which comes with four spoons and no fork, lolwhat), catching up on TV shows (UNICORN WITH RAINBOWS COMING OUT OF ITS ASS OMG) and other things, and generally pampering myself for a couple of days. I'll be around Mumbai for a while since I applied for my Chinese visa yesterday and it takes forever, so tomorrow I'll start going out and meeting people and actually exploring the city.
/longest update in forever
Off to watch Fringe! :D
Been traveling for almost a month now and had some crazy times.
Innsbruck, Austria
Annual snowboard trip was in the Austrian Alps! It was me, a Brazilian (yes, the same one that's in all my other travel stories), an Austrian, a German, and six Portuguese. One of the most hilarious weeks of my life, NONSTOP LAUGHTER. As you can see! I'm the one dying of lulz in the snow.
This particular pic was taken after a good number of shots/beers and the following conversation:
Me, to Brazilian, who is always always the last person everyone has to wait for: Will you hurry the fuck up, you've been strapping your boots in for the past two minutes now.
Brazilian, totally by accident: Come on, two minutes isn't such a long time to strap my dick to the board!
Proof that all guys ever think about is their dicks aside, there was a lot of drunk snowboarding (snowassing?) on this trip thanks to the lovely tradition of après-ski which isn't so much after skiing as it is toward the end of skiing but oh wait you still have to make it the rest of the way down the mountain in the dark after you've had all those drinks but don't worry it's not hazardous at all.
Speaking of hazardous, at one point (during the day, while sober) I lost everyone because we were snowboarding in the middle of a cloud and I couldn't see anything, so of course I ended up by myself in the middle of the woods on some abandoned toboggan run for several kilometers. Which I thought was fine, because it was a fun trail and in the US when you get lost all you have to do is get to the end of the run and there'll be some ski lift to take you back up, complete with maps and everything.
Well, in Austria when you get lost you end up in the backyard of somebody's private condo in a completely different village and their GIANT DOG almost kills you. Now, normally I love dogs, but I was the intruder here and it was growling menacingly and running toward me so I thought, omg I'm going to have to kill somebody's dog with my snowboard and possibly die in the process. D: But it stopped about half a meter away from me and we had a staring contest and then I managed to back away slowly. Ended up hitchhiking back to the ski area, and the woman who gave me a ride had the friendliest dog ever. Go figure.
There was also the time I fell backwards off a cliff, but anyway. It was only a few meters and the landing was very soft. In conclusion, I survived the trip.
Oh, and we got to go bobsledding too!
Cairo, Egypt
After Austria I had 1.5 days to pack up and move out of my place in Lisbon. Whittled all my stuff down to only what could fit in my backpack (half of which is taken up by my body pillow lolol), shipped a small box of personal things back home to my parents, and left the rest behind.
To go camel-riding around the pyramids in Cairo!
The owner of the little camel tour business also taught me how to ride horses in the desert which was incredibly fun but omg he was such a creep and kept hitting on me when we were in the middle of the desert by ourselves.
Guy: I take you horseback riding because I want to treat you like a friend.
Me: Great, thanks, it's very kind of you.
Guy: *TRIES TO KISS ME*
Me: Okay, whoa, this is not treating me like a friend. Friends don't kiss each other.
Guy: I want you to be my girlfriend.
Me: No thanks.
Guy: *TRIES TO KISS ME*
Me: *starts looking around for rocks I could use if necessary*
Guy: You want to stay for dinner? I have Arabian horses, we could ride them and cook fish or chicken over a fire in the desert.
Me: No thanks, I should get back...
Guy: Stay for dinner.
Me: No.
Guy: Stay for dinner.
Me: No thank you!
Guy: Well, maybe after you go home and think about it you'll change your mind. Give me your email so we can touch togethers.
Me: I think you mean "keep in touch".
Guy: I want to touch togethers.
Me: *facepalm*
Thankfully I remained largely unmolested and we eventually made it back. Met up with the friend I was in Cairo to see in the first place and he drove me around Tahrir square and the river, then took me out for dinner and shisha with his friends.
Egyptian drive-thrus are genius. You park your car, they come over to take your order, and then they put your food on a tray which they attach to your window. Meanwhile, some kid comes over and starts washing your car in hopes of a few cents. Why don't we have these in the US?
Abu Dhabi, UAE
I only had a 13 hour layover here but it was during the day so I left the airport, met up with a guy from CouchSurfing, and went to brunch with him and his friends because brunch is apparently the thing to do in the middle east. Got wasted (which is impressive, considering where we were). One of the guys jumped into the pool with all his clothes on. So, he's pretty much just like me. I would totally have joined him if I'd had a change of clothes with me but I didn't, and I didn't fancy being soaked on the plane to India, so I (just barely) refrained.
It's a miracle I got back to the airport on time. But not before taking some pictures from the CSer's flat:
Chennai, India
Friend's wedding! It was a very long and complicated process but quite beautiful. I was given a sari (which I had to ask the lady at my hotel's reception to help me put on, lol) and got hennas on my hands:
They served our meals on leaves.
And there was dancing in the street.
Fort Kochi, Kerala, India
Me: *walks around town*
Rickshaw driver: I'll give you a tour for 20 Rupees (which is like $0.40 USD, srsly).
Me: Sure, why not?
Rickshaw driver: Are you Japanese?
Me: Chinese.
Rickshaw driver: Do you have a boyfriend?
Me: No.
Rickshaw driver: If you ever want an Indian boyfriend, let me know.
Me: ...Okay.
Rickshaw driver: I also give massages, do you want one? A sexy massage!
Me: *facepalm*
This is what the traffic was like:
Nearby Cherai beach, where I met a local university student and talked to him, then sat writing postcards for a while and almost everyone who passed me stopped to ask if I was Japanese.
Other nice scenery:
Dubious trash can:
And last but not least, ♥.
Alappuzha, Kerala, India
Houseboats are the main thing here.
I did not fancy spending a fortune so instead opted for a day trip through the backwaters on a tiny boat.
Local villagers building a wall in preparation for monsoon season:
These things are everywhere in the water:
Drank coconut beer, dozed on and off, and was told by an Italian couple that I absolutely must visit Myanmar. So maybe I'll do that next month?
Anyway I also went to a beach, and of course the rickshaw driver who took me there asked if I was Japanese and if I had a boyfriend. These two questions are like hello here.
I thought it'd be nice to head off to the secluded part of the beach instead of joining all the tourists, but not so much.
Creeper: *jogs over* Are you Japanese?
Me: No.
Creeper: You want fucking?
Me: No! Please leave me alone.
Creeper: *unzips his fly and takes out his dick and does this gross thing with his tongue* You want?
Me: Jesus Christ will you go away.
Creeper: *finally leaves*
A few minutes later some other man comes over, asks me if I'm Japanese and whether I have a boyfriend, and waves his friend over because he wants to "introduce" him. I pretty much just walk away.
Then a group of teenagers approach and I think to myself, surely these kids are too young to sexually harass foreigners on the beach! So so so wrong. *facepalm*
Eventually I go and sit with all the other tourists. The End.
Goa, India
Goa was amazing! I stayed with a CouchSurfer; guy from Paris who's teaching French at Goa University. We passed the days riding 260+ kms on his motorbike from beach to beach, playing with stray puppies, and generally just chilling.
He let me ride his motorbike even though I told him the last time I tried it I crashed it twice. But he was a good teacher and I did well this time. \o/ Also he has gorgeous wrists and smelled delicious.
Anyway, shark on a plate:
And sunset!
I took an overnight train from Goa to Mumbai. This part is copied from Facebook so a few of you saw it already:
This is the view from the overhead luggage rack in the ladies' carriage where I stayed because I couldn't get a reservation. An old woman told me it's the only place no one occupies since it's too small, so of course that's where I headed when the train started to get crowded. They all thought I was crazy but then cheered when I managed to climb up there and settle in half on top of their bags. I ended up being the only one who could stretch out, get semi-comfortable, and sleep a bit (until screaming fights complete with hitting, slapping, and crying broke out every time the train stopped and more people got on). Crazy night.
Now in Mumbai, resting, ordering room service (which comes with four spoons and no fork, lolwhat), catching up on TV shows (UNICORN WITH RAINBOWS COMING OUT OF ITS ASS OMG) and other things, and generally pampering myself for a couple of days. I'll be around Mumbai for a while since I applied for my Chinese visa yesterday and it takes forever, so tomorrow I'll start going out and meeting people and actually exploring the city.
/longest update in forever
Off to watch Fringe! :D