News from Hampi, sorry for the delay!!!

Hello guys, sorry for the long time without "real" news.  All is more then good here, everything is actually perfect!

I am still in Hampi, should be here for another 2-3 days before making my way to Goa.  I have decided to take a scuba diving course there, should be really cool!

I enjoyed my few days playing, learning, exchanging about thai massage.  It was both fun to received and get some good massage.  I have met another girl that has studied in Thailand, with the teacher I was with for the past few days.  We are getting together tomorrow for an exchange, should be good and fun.  She has studied with the son of my teacher's teacher.  (Kam Tai from Lotus Palm)  She has recommended a few school and gave me hits and tips about Thailand.

I have made friend with the student who was studying with the teacher here, we got along very well, spent some good moments having deep and interesting conversation.  A real great soul!  We have talked about going to the north together, and maybe even go to Thailand together for the first few days at least, should we not choose the same school.

Yesterday we have rented a scooter together, Jeffrey and I, and have visited some great ruins, 500 years old, so impressive the work.  All done by hand, such great art, carving these huge stones.

I have met a lady yesterday that has an ayurvedic center here where she offers massage and teachings.  I expressed my interest of learning with her maybe while exchanging by giving her clients thai massage.  She said instead we will split 50/50 when you offer a massage, I will pay for the place and the publicity, you can use my kitchen for cooking and we will both teach each other.  She always wanted to learn thai massage but never gotten down to it.  This could take place in December when the tourist season is higher.  We exchanged our contact infos and promised to connect soon.  I'm certainly finding the idea interesting.  What a great opportunity to live in a small town for a while, get to know more local peoples and learn about Ayurveda massage for free (or without cost of my part!)  I love my life!

I have posted a few pics below, and some new videos on youtube.  Hope you will enjoy!

Again, feel free to comment, I love reading them!

Take care beautiful friends and family!
Happy Charles!
x
Metta!

Pictures of Hampi and me on an elephant in Bangalore zoo!

I took a ride on an elephant in the Bangalore Zoo!!!  It was amazing!!!  I was like a kid, totally!  Such a huge animal, yet so calm and gentile.

Sunset at the top of a mountain at a nice temple next to the zoo, it was a great view and a great moment!

In Hampi - don't feel like it shows the beauty of the place, yet I tried.  I have many more yet this computer is not to fast so I don't get to add many quickly.  I am in love with this little place!!!  Such a calm vibe, filled with amazing people.

Hampi, first morning, visiting on my little scooter.  Wow and Re-Wow!

View from a temple, found as I was driving around.  Over 500 steps to get there, accompanied by monkeys with whom I had to fight to keep my juice!  lol  I then of course put it in my bag so they didn't try to take it anymore.  Cute little things, yet a bit scary when they come at you for you juice bottle.  Loved the view, little temple that is way to touristic, didn't get a spiritual vibe but an amazing view!  Plus I got to say the walk up there was pretty cool!  I took my sandals of to go up the stairs and sang a mantra all the way!

Amazing sunset on a little mountain, not to far from my guest house.  I went there with the yoga teacher, Cyriac and his student, Jeffrey.  Met some interesting people there.  Loved the moment, especially opportunity to take great shots of the sunset with a bit of the temple (ruin).

Sunrise on the same mountain, the next morning, was cloudy so didn't get to much color.  No one was there so I made my way on top of the temple so I could have some statues in the foreground.  Not to spiritual I guess, yet I meditated there a bit after.  I was actually with Jeffrey with whom I connected very much.  We exchange great conversations, talked about visiting the north together later maybe, maybe found someone to go to Thailand with, and have certainly made a new friend.

Meditation pose on a beautiful rocky spot.  Got to admit it was a bit hard to get there but was worth the shot.  Not dangerous guys, no worries.  I keep it safe!  Jeffery took the shot!  Good job man!

Yoga pose on the same spot, not as arched as I could have been, yet didn't want to take the risk to loose balance.... long fall down!  I did loose some wait as you can see, yet I'm healthy as ever!

I love my little scooter, rented one on day one and one yesterday!

Hampi

I have found a thai yoga massage teacher, we are exchanging knowledge, so no cost to learn.  He was teaching to one student this week so I joined in to help teaching, and learn with them.  Today I am teaching them the ayurvedic aspect behind thai massage, so cool!!!

Hampi is an amazing little town, I have a beautiful little room, with a clean bathroom, a mini balcony with a hamac, it is just perfect!  Everyone here is pretty laid back, enjoying life slowly.

Next stop should be Goa, where I will most probably go learn scuba diving.

Life is treating me sooo well!

I didn't have time to put pics or vids up yet since I had to prepare for the class.  I will soon, no worries, it'll be worth the wait.

I have met the beautiful Helene again yesterday, she is in Hampi too with her boyfriend now.  Spent the night with them and a Spanish couple last night, had amazing pasta with a great sauce.  Felt good to have something different then Indian food.

Lots of metta your way!
Happy Charles wishing you an amazing day, and sending you calm vibes from Hampi.

Hampi - je suis au paradis!

Sorry for the long delay in posting new info, here is a quick note just to say all is amazingly well.  I am now in Hampi, I must have died and gone to haven, it is so beautiful here, a bit surreal, I don't know how I will be able to take pictures of this place so it represents its beauty.  Calm, quite, green with nature, river in the middle, lots of hug rocks from past volcanic activities (1000 of yrs ago), many temples...  hard to put into words.  Google search it, it should give you an idea.

More info on my past few days, pics and vids to come soon.

lots of love your way!
x

Charles, happy, excited, yet calm!

Oh yes, I was told there is a renowned thai yoga massage teacher here, it is my first mission of the day!

Metta!

Videos on youtube... (click here)

Since youtube allows me to upload up to 2G and I am limited on the blog, I will post my videos on youtube from now one.  I have created a channel so you can subscribe to automatic notification on youtube.

Click on the post's title or here

I'm not sure if the video from Paris was already posted on the blog, sorry if doubled!

And here are a few more pics of Pondicherry, the sky is announcing rain!!!

 In this mini shop/store we can buy leather shoes and sandals, made on the spot or ready made, or get our shoes and sandals repair.

 Sortie d'ecole - School is over

Hope you will enjoy!

Take care!

It has almost been a month that I am in India... there are so many things I haven't shared. 

There is something fascinating about the people here, almost as contrasting as the look and feel of the cities.  You can have a luxurious store, where they sell the most expensive jewelry that is right beside the smallest store, a bit dirty, where they sell all sorts of cheap stuff.  Between the two, on the street, a few mini "stand" to sell you again, a little of everything.  And if they don't have what you could want to buy, they will tell you to come back later and they will find it for you.

The same way, people are extra polite at times, yet, some of the behaviors we would find "impolite" are part of there everyday living.  For example, when you go to the restaurant, guess house, hotels, etc... you are treated with Sir here, and Sir there, extra care and politeness.  Yet, when in a lineup at the grocery store, you better not leave to much space between you and the person in front or they will squeeze in before you.  I guess that behavior comes with the way the traffic is in the street.

When driving, cars, trucks, motorcycles, bikes, etc...  Just hunk and pass, who ever goes first and dares the most has the priority.  No stop signs or street priority, everyone just goes. Driving here is like driving in a video game, except you only have one life!!  On a red light there is a count down for when it'll get back to green, 5-7 seconds before the red is over, everyone starts to hunk and go.  And for any other intersection, where there is no signals, all four directions meets and squeeze in at the same time.  A little crazy we would think, yet, it seams to work.  Oh, lets not forget that one way streets are just a suggestion, most traffic will follow the one way, yet some will come against traffic anyways.

One other thing that strikes me here is that when you send an email about a service, for example yoga or massage courses, you can expect them to answer half of your questions at most.  Then you answer back, with the same unanswered questions, and again get half answered.  It might not be every time or everywhere, yet it has happen to me 3-4 times already.  And over the phone is similar, because of the language barrier, of course, but also because you feel like you are getting on there nerves with the questions.  Which is not the case I'm sure, just an impression, not sure actually.

Ok, now lets touch upon the neatness or cleanliness of things.  I expected way worst, so it is not to bad.  Yet, it is not to our standard.  For example, the hotel rooms are being cleaned everyday, after the client goes, I know, I see them do it.  Yet, it is never thoroughly done.  The toilet seat doesn't seam to be wash under it, just over it, and the rest of the toilet is barely washed (I'm talking about low rang guess house, not hi class hotels).  It would take just a few minutes more if done everyday, yet it doesn't seam to be part of the things to do.  You can have a lamp that is hanging with wires from the wall, must of been that way for a while since lots of dust on the wire, yet, that also seams to not be a priority.  And that is ok, of course, at $8 for a room, and it doesn't bother me, yet I can understand why some people say it is dirty here.  It is all about perception, they don't worry to much about the details.  The floor is clean, the bed is clean, the water is running and the toilet functioning, the curtains are almost falling, but they are still covering the window, all is good!  : )

Yesterday and the night before I had a gecko in my room, ran away as I took something of the floor.  Small and cute, didn't really care, if anything they eat bugs so I like them!

Just a note to make sure there is no bad interpretation of what I just wrote.  My goal was to compare with back home, not to criticize what I see here. I embrace the differences, this is why i cam here, yet I now also understand why some people can't do India.  I personally love it!

Thanks for reading!
lots of love your way!

Don't hesitate to comment, I love it!

Here is a video of me getting shaved in Pondicherry, he first shaved my head, with a clipper, then my beard.  Also got a mini head massage.  I have more vids of this but the upload is so slow...

Hope you'll enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqp4hnUGPgs

Mini update just to let everyone know I'm alright.

Still in Pondicherry, leaving tomorrow if all goes well, destination Mangalore.  From there I will either go to Goa or start my way South in the Kerala state.

Two days ago I tried an interesting yoga, with a lady, fusion of yoga and ballet stretches, very good abs work out again, yesterday morning I didn't do yoga with Sumesh, it would of killed my abs, I wanted to but fell back to sleep after turning my alarm off.  Instead I had an amazing ayurvedic massage with him.  Today I did a 90 min class with him where we spent about 50 min on breathing techniques, it was really interesting.

Today has been slow, I have bought a longny (don't know how to write this), which is a traditional wear for men here.  Kind of a skirt.  Not sure still if I will wear it in public, yet it only cost me 100Rs plus 125Rs to get it tailored for me ($5ish).  If I wear it I promise a pic.

more to come soon... all is good here... reading yoga books and healing books on down times.  Have been by myself for 3 days now, feel quiet inside.

Love to all of you!
xxx

 

Video of me driving my mini scooter.  Look carefully, on the left of the road, in orange, I'm driving my scooter...  This is a quiet road, leading me to the beach, a few km away from Puducherry.  Trafic is a little crazy here, I didn't want to post a vid of me in real trafic so i don't make anyone nervours.  Dad, no worries, I will be ok, I promis I am being careful!

I will post many pictures, most of Puducherry (or Pondicherry same city), some of Mamallapurum.  I might not explain each one, but hope to share with you some of the beautiful moments I am living.

 Beautiful, right?  This is the sewer system in Pondicherry, flowing across from it.  The smell is sometimes intense, yet the beauty of the city and its people make up for it.

 The lovely Julie and Bernard, the parents of this beautiful family I was talking about in my last post.  Thanks for sharing some amazing moments and conversation with me, may you be bless on your journey!  (I now realize that I have not taken a good pic of their teens, Charlotte and Nicolas, thanks to facebook I'll be able to go see some pics of them anyway!  Take care guys!  Take this amazing opportunity your parents are offering you, and breath it all in.  It is easy to take it for granted, yet you are very lucky, remember that!  lots of love your way guys!

 Firefighter station in Pondicherry

 La magnifique Helene, such a beautiful soul.  We have enjoyed each other's company for a few days of travelling and teaching to one another.  I am thankful for meeting her, I will certainly see you again my friend.

It is with her that we have rented a motorcyle, 150HP, she drives it like any indian man!!!  Thanks again girl, take care on the rest your journey!

 Above, Sandeep, a friend I made in Bangalore.  He came to spend a few days in Pondicherry, it was fun to have a local person with me, got to experience some different stuff.

 Rice plantation.

 Me with my, of course, orange shirt.  Happy to travel, visit, meet incredible people, and teachers.  Somewhere between Pondicherry and the beach... Thanks for the hat Alvin, it keeps my heap protected from the sun!

I love my scooter!!!

Goats taking the morning sun in!  yoga is for everyone here!  lol

Beach in Pondicherry

Sunrise in Mamallapurum, yes, I was up that early!

 600-700 AC sculptures, in Mamallapurum, the home of the stone sculpting artists.  It takes them up to 7 years to learn this art today.  I visited a few shops, one of the student and his teacher explained how the whole process is done.  What patience, it can take up to a week, of full time work, to do a small simple piece.  You can all guess I wouldn't be good at this!  lol

Lovely lady in Mamallapurum, a bit dark, I'm used to have photoshop to brighten it up... sorry guys...

 Helen and this beautiful elephant!

 I'm giving it food, unfortunately, what you don't see here is that we give this elephant money, coins or paper, it takes it in his trunk, and then blesses you by touching the top of your head with its trunk, then drops the money to his owner, at its feet.  Fascinating!!!

 No, I wasn't hot!  lol

Me, really impressed, touching this beautiful creature.  So gentle, yet so strong!

 A part of my room in Mamallapurum

 Gandi's statue in Puducherry, people go up to touch, as it is good energy for them.

 Night time in Puducherry