Hi Shadow.,wondered where you went--WoW.,what a wonderfull journey--and in the thick of it--drones be buzzing by--Zoom
wish you the very best luck and say hello to the dalai lama.,.
,Stay Bright young man--Peace

awesome randy. wishing you the very best on your quest. i hope we hear from you periodically. stay as safe and centered as you can. blissfilled blessings on your journey! <3sK

You better "enjoy" the food there because is cost too much to eat Indian food here... Go for an elephant ride also while you are there(grin)

Wow Randy,

I remember you always wanted to travel, but had no passport or money, and I'm delighted to read you've found a way to make it happen... hats off to you brother! Not to mention you headed straight for India, that's the Holy Grail in backpacking, and such a culture shock that many decide to "work their way up to it."

Me and my wife have done quite a bit of traveling, but have never made it to India (yet), so I can't give you any advice on destinations there, but I'll try to give you a few pointers that might help you on your journey, even though I know you have the brains and heart to do just fine.

Little Flower has already given some excellent food advice, and all I'll add to that is that it's always safer to drink from an unopened can or bottle than from a jug or so. It's great you have been invited to stay with some people, and I'm sure it'll happen more often as you travel along. However, even though many people think it's bad to be judgmental, you really HAVE to trust your people skills and first impressions, or vibes you get from people as you go along, because not everyone with a warm smile and invitation will be true friends. Me and my wife have on many occasions been too eager for a free ride or meal, and one time have been close to being robbed/raped/whatever etc. etc.
We literally ran away from the guy, and have been more careful ever since. Of course, this is the exception to the rule, but these people actually prey and look for travelers so I thought it'd be good to mention.

As for pickpocketing, we always use a moneybelt, worn underneath your clothes, even in bed. Keep your passport, documents and excess money on you at all times, and alway tie or connect your backpack to bedposts, - or better yet - use your backpack as your pillow.

When you go for hikes or excursions, always ask some locals about advice, critters and ways to protect yourself from them. In Malaysia, we were told to buy some local tabacco to put in our shoes to kill leeches. They also told us to wear long socks and tuck our pants into them to prevent the leeches from reaching skin. Every 30 minutes or so we had to stop and pull off all the leeches that were traveling up our pants to get to our faces! Even though we looked rather silly, we were fine, and the "cool" tourist couple that wore nikes and shorts (that laughed at the way we had dressed) got back from the hike with bloody wounds all over their legs. :)
Respect the experience and wisdom of the locals, and of course respect Mother Nature!!! ( when we were in Thailand, 3 Swedish girls died because they went swimming in a storm!!!)

Also, stay away from any drugs unless a fellow traveler has tried it, since sometimes travelers get drugged and then robbed. Drug laws and punishments can be very severe in many countries, but from what I gathered you're not really into the drug thing anyway so you're probably cool.

If you can, try to learn some basics of the local language (kinda hard when there's 90 ;) because your efforts are often very humurous for the locals, and they appreciate your attempts at learning about their culture. You can also look up where the anarchists hang out, and in my experience they always provide food and shelter if you knock on their door or contact them.

Anyway, whatever, you'll do fine.

How long are you staying and are you going to go to other countries as well? Whatever the case may be, I wish you all the best of luck, health, love and adventure on your journey! With common sense you can avoid a lot of trouble, and if you ever feel a bit 'too lost' just go to some tourist spot and order some western food in a sportscafé! :)

If you can, please keep blogging about your journey because there are many people here who consider themselves your friend and would love to hear what's going down!!!!

Thanks for this thread, and I can't wait to see it have more posts than the Obama one!!!!!!! ;)

Cheers,

Ramon

WOW....that is the dream.

much love to you on your travels. make you find what you seek.

love and light!!

Ay Shadow:
Ya picked an interesting? time for a walk about over there,...
Dalai Lama caught in the middle as China-India border dispute comes to the boil
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...6997.ece

Ay an while yu'r over there,there's this Babe ya gotta see,... Kashmiri girl Rukhsana Kausar,

images.google.com/imgres

Kashmire,...Ay that's your/she's your neighbor!