odˇysˇsey ( d -s )
n. pl. odˇysˇseys

1. An extended adventurous voyage or trip.
2. An intellectual or spiritual quest: an odyssey of discovery.

Namaste Friends,
This trip just keeps getting better and better. Any 10 day portion of my trip is the trip of a year for most "working folk" or even the trip of a lifetime for some. I don't wish to make anyone unhappy by my sheer joy.........I am just truly grateful everyday for this experience.

London
My time in London was very special. I was staying in Tring (about 40 minutes outside of London) with some dear friends of my mothers. Lynda and John. Lynda is super cool lady and her and John are world wide mountain climbers. John is working his way through the seven summits of the world! Woah! . I arrived quite tired from Amsterdam needless to say. Actually, my train was delayed as it the train coming from London had tragically killed a worker on the tracks. I was delayed getting me into London at around 4am. I wouldn't complain as someone had lost their life. In fact, Eurostar delt with the situation very well giving people a hotel room in London or a taxi ride home and a free ticket. The Chunnel was cool. It felt nice to be in London...but it was a bit cold! My time in London was spent doing a bit of sightseeing. I went to the Tate Modern with a friend from New Zealand. Natalie. Great museum....although I struggle with some of the modern stuff. An award was just given to an artist for: "Empty Room with Blinking Light". How Brilliant. Genius. Pure Genius. An empty room with a light blinking on and off. Whew. That is really deep man.
Got my visa's for India and Nepal. actually, India required quite a bit of patience. They told me they would do it in 5 working days. I returned in five days and they said it would take 2 weeks. hmmm. that's a bit of a problem as I leave the next day for Delhi. I actually almost left the embassy figuring that I would have to change my ticket and go straight to Nepal. However, I went back in and told them I wasn't leaving until I spoke to someone. (always ask to see the manager so to speak)They brought out the supervisor and after much rig moral and pain and time, they went in the back and gave me the stamp! It pays to be persistent. I learned later that this was just a taste of India. When I got my Visa for Nepal I felt an intense feeling of elation walking out. I would learn later why? Had some drinks with John's niece Tamsin, a cool girl who works in the London film business. Another night my friend Jerry emailed me and recommended I catch up with a friend of his named Celina. Well, I meet Celina at a place called the Elbow room and who is there? Margie. Margie is from Newport Beach California. The last time I saw Margie was in Ibiza. I am super shocked of course. I figured that Margie had stayed in Europe since July so I ask her...."when did you get to London?" and she's like. 4 hours ago. She flew in with 2 girl friends from Cali! WOW. small world. We have a good night out and end up having a pretty chill session back at Celina's. I went nuts in some records stores and bought tons of new music. Yeah! Turns out it would come in handy in Thailand! Chilled out over the weekend then Monday I was Off!

India

http://www.mofo-records.com/worldtour/photos/india/
Wow! I am really glad that I have spent so much time in Mexico. Specifically Tijuana. (I only hope I don't get into as much trouble) ;-) India can be a bit of a shock to the system. I arrived at around 3am. You are instantly approached by hundreds of "touts" who want to sell you anything. It is quite amazing. I am told to ignore everyone and go straight to the "fixed price" taxi. It's 200 rupees into Delhi. At one point I have to go back into the terminal for a minute and someone actually tries to sell me a ticket. A ticket to re-enter the terminal! A soldier intervenes and says I don't have to. Hmmm. so this is how it's gonna be. Better be alert here! I get a taxi. I have 10 people trying to sell me a taxi as I ask for one of the fixed price cabs.
That'll be 250 rupees says the guy behind the desk.
Me: But, they told...... .
Desk Guy: 240 .
Me: they said it was 200 .
Desk Guy: 230! .
Me: I will pay 200 .
Desk Guy: 220? .
Me: 200 dude. .
Desk guy: That's right. 200. .
So that is how it is. A tout actually sat in my cab for 15 minutes @ 4am arguing with my driver about something in Indian. Too tired to care....I just waited it out..... Also, don't let them strap your pack to the roof. The cab driver had a piece of twine 7 inches long for a huge pack. "I don't think so Chief". Take it inside with you. My hotel was called the Alka. I picked it from a list and it was a four star hotel but very cheap. wow, I thought. Good price. When I arrived it was a dump. "oh, your thought it was a four star. no. we are a four asterisk hotel" **** huh. oh. there was even a "faux mini bar" that had 3 bottles of water with broken seals. didn't drink those. The next day I secured a car and driver to take me to Agra and Jaipur. It was a bit extravagant...but I only had 4 days and wanted to see as much as possible. plus in India, public transport is tough. It's actually quite cheap to get a driver. If you have only a short time I recommend it. We took off for the Taj. The Taj was simply amazing. I rose at 6am to catch the sunrise at the taj. The Taj was built by nearly 20,000 people and took 23 years.

This cat built this thing as a shrine to his wife who died giving birth to his 14th child! He was devastated. She must have been quite a lady. It is truly impressive. The marble is so pure that it conducts light very well and it changes color all day. I stayed for nearly 4 hours It's magnificent. Then it was off to Agra fort, and a couple of Mosques. Really awesome. One mosque we stopped at was the home of King Akba. This guy had 3 wives. one Christian, one Muslim, and one Hindu. Also he had 800 concubines. needless to say he was a busy dude. Traveling in India is really tiring. there is constant chaos on the streets and your car will have to navigate it's way around many bikes, trucks and cow's. The hardest thing for me was the poverty. It's really tough. There are many children begging and lot's of people sleeping on the streets in much less that tents. However, there is a strange sense of peace. Perhaps it's the caste system and religion. Most people simply accept their lifestyle as "pre destiny". I feel very lucky. Jaipur was great. My hotel in Jaipur had a Palmist and Astrologer in the lobby. That was interesting. He says things are looking up for me. duh. No kidding......
Also, one night there was a roof top party with dancing girls and some guys playing bongos and singing. In fact, I was mistaken for a famous New Zealand cricket player. it was pretty funny! I didn't want to disappoint them so did a few fake "bowling" pitches and they went nuts! Amber fort was very cool. The king has one room with thousands of tiny mirrors and he would light a candle while making love. Pretty romantic stuff. These days a spotlight and disco ball works pretty good.(ala 1504 India street) While in Jaipur I decided to have a massage. They are quite cheap in India. When I booked it I forgot to ask for a female masseuse. I got a guy. No biggie. I am ok with that. It was my fault for not specifying. However, they expect you to get naked and don't even give you a towel! So now I am face down on the table getting a massage with lots of oil and half way through the guy's like....ok....flip over. I was brave and I flipped over and thought about cricket. ;-( .
Arriving back in Delhi I finally got sick. This is inevitable. You will get sick. It felt terrible but made it to the airport to leave for Kathmandu. As I boarded the plane I overcame my illness......I don't know but think that it might be the mountains of Nepal. The flight was great and as I arrived I felt a huge sense of peace. India is great and there is much too see. Next time I intend to check out GOA and Bombay (the film capital of India). They call it "Bollywood". .

Nepal

http://www.mofo-records.com/worldtour/photos/nepal/ Wow. This is one place you should try to visit in your lifetime.
I loved it the moment I arrived. Kathmandu has bustling streets, rickshaws and lots of warm, kind people. Compared to India it is very clean and nice. And still mega cheap. A great room goes for about 6 bucks a night. Everyone greets you with "Namaste."
It means:" I honor that place in you where the whole Universe resides. And when I am in that place in me and you are in that place in you, there is only one of us." What a beautiful thought!!!
The next day I fly to Pokhara. Pokhara is in the mountains and is a small town sitting on a beautiful lake. If you can't be at peace here. you can't be at peace. it is really incredible. It's impossible to describe the effect the mountains and the beauty that surrounds you has on your soul. You just have to visit a place like Pokhara. Plus, killer little cheap restaurants and cool people just milling around. One morning I went to the top of a mountain at 6am for a majestic sunrise. Unreal. Then it was off to Lumbini. The birthplace of Buddha. It was a great drive. Quite tough as the road is little more than gravel and huge pot holes. Plus I was in a 1973 Datsun! It was fun though. Plus you get to see these cool little villages along the way. I was quite a sight. They don't see many people who look like me I guess. I have never seen so many smiling children in my life. It was great. Lumbini is interesting if you are into Buddhism, if not.......it's just another town. I liked it.
Then I headed back to the busy and exciting Kathmandu. While in Budapest One of my Mothers friends from Harvard named Helmet said " Go to Lhasa!". He has traveled all over the world.....why would he say this? So it is wed night and I decide to look into going to Tibet. I am so close geographically.....! Plus......still have plenty of time for Fun in the sun in Thailand. My big problem was that you need a full day to get a visa and Friday is a huge holiday. Miraculously I somehow managed to get a visa to Tibet during the holiday. I am going to TIBET! WOW! The festival was the festival of lights. 5 days of celebration It's awesome! Every house is decorated with flowers, candles and lights. The cows walk the street with necklaces of flowers! I saw a monkey eating trash one day! He stopped for a minute and was like, "what are you looking at?" The streets are alive with children singing and letting of firecrackers.
http://www.nepalhomepage.com/society/festivals/tihar.html

Each day a different celebration culminating on Day Five....... Day one: The Crow (incarnation of the devil)
Day two: The Dog
Day three The Cow
Day four: The OX
Day Five : Brothers. This day every brother goes home and his sister puts a "tika" on his forehead".
Really cool. Had a couple of fun nights out and rose @ 4:15am to meet my group going to Tibet. I could barely stand the excitement.
Saturday morning we all headed off for China. Its a five day drive through the mountains to Lhasa. Then you spend 3 days in Lhasa and then fly back to Kathmandu over Mt. Everest. You cannot get a visa unless you go with a group and apparently it's illegal to travel alone. Also If you are overheard by a soldier talking about the Dahli Lama you will be imprisoned.

Tibet, China

http://www.mofo-records.com/worldtour/photos/tibet/ Wow. this is one place you should try to visit in your lifetime. The first leg of the trip on the first morning was on a bus and I sat next to a Nepali student. His name was Yub and he is studying English so wanted to talk a lot! Which was really cool. It was 6am in the morning but he had a million questions. How big is your family? Where are you from?. How old are you? Do you have a girlfriend? Religion? Do I believe in god? How do I explain human existence? Who created the universe? When did I first have sex? Do I cry? What in life makes me truly happy? Wow. It was quite a lot to think about before 7am. He was really just fascinated to learn if someone different like me (red hair, fair skin, blue eyes) is exactly like him. Same stress? Similar thoughts. It was really great. I am just super happy I am going to Tibet. We get to the border and until we are all across no one wants to get to excited. People periodically get turned back if their "papers aren't in order". Yeah!!!!!! We all get across. We hop into 3 Land Cruisers waiting on the other side. I end up with a girl from Japan, Masami, a girl from Holland Alouisia, the guide who was nicknamed Jackie Chan Dundee, and our driver. Our driver is a cool guy who I liked to call "playboy" as each town we went through he seemed to have a way with the ladies.
We race off. What an adventure. The roads are hair-raising, bumpy, extreme and go through beautiful canyons. Turns out we have a killer group.
The Group:

• The Ruskies: Peter and Mark. couple of cool guys from Ukraine. A doctor and Rocket scientist!
• Masami and Alouisia- From Japan and Holland
• The Dot Com'ers from San Fran. Couple who were paid by Anderson consulting to take a year off.
• Brendan from Canada Eh, and Dave the Aussie.
• and a Nice German Couple

Lhasa is fantastic. It was certainly nice to arrive and have a hot shower. After they fisxed the shower and you let the brown water run out for about 15 minutes.We went to several excellent monastery's which are quite fascinating. I must admit I was a bit disappointed with the Buddhist focus on money. I have learned a little about Buddhism and have always felt it is a really compassionate religion. It is. However, the monasteries are full of cash. There are thousands of extremely poor people coming and leaving behind mountains of cash. Literally, the monks are sitting around counting money with calculators and have money in giant sacks at their feet. Really weird. The Budda's are made of gold. The Tombs of the Lamas are made out of thousand of kilograms of gold. One Monk I spoke with was sporting a Rolex and was checking out our camera's as he was in the market for one.
It confirms my belief that the best business in the world is Religion.
The second best business in the world? Gambling.
The third? Pay toilets.

One night we decide to all go out with Jackie Dundee our guide to check out the Nightlife in Lhasa. Not sure what to expect we all walk through this curtain and it opens up into a big Cabaret/Variety show. Two girls are singing on stage and there are 50, 10 person booths all full of Tibetans. The booths have tiger print velvet covers..... It was awesome. Kinda Vegas like. The hostess tries to put us in one booth in the very back and Jackie has a word with her. Next thing, 4 people come running out with table and chairs and set us up right in front. It was like a scene from Goodfellas! So now we are VIP in Lhasa, the only tourists in the place, watching a full on Tibetan Comedy and Dance show and 10 beers show up. But in Tibet, you all just get a shot glass and the beautiful waitresses just stand there and refill your glass. You take a sip and they wait and refill. (This is a legitimate establishment is that's what you are thinking). Later it turned into a crazy disco. Next thing there is a circle of 30 people dancing.....and before I knew what the hell I was doing and jump in the middle. I just started break dancing like a crazy white dood. Finally I busted out "the robot" and the crowd goes crazy. For one night I was a superstar! There is video of this somewhere on the Internet. The Ruskies have it.

The last night there we hooked up some serious Yak at the Lhasa Kitchen. Best restaurant in town. I had the Yak Sizzler and it was awesome!
Flew back to Kathmandu which was great. I got seriously hassled by the Chinese at the airport in Lhasa. They felt that my passport might have been fake and wanted to know why I was there....where I have been and who I was with. It was pretty weird.

Also while sitting in the Lhasa airport listening to a CD I bought in Zurich, I hear something I had never heard before on track 2. In the background behind some phat beats.....is a girl saying "who wants to go to Koh Phangnan with me?". It's tough to hear.....I check the song and it's actually called "going to Koh Phangnan". How is that for some crazy *$^@. That's where I am going. Surely, just a big coincidence. ;-)
It was awesome to arrive to the warm climate and comfortable surroundings in Kathmandu. Our crew reunited several nights at Everest Steak House (Which is da bomb!) for some great food and a couple of fun nights out at some clubs. Also, one night I went to a cool Japanese Hot spring and garden with Masami and Alouisia which was very relaxing. With goodbyes with new friends tt was with tremendous excitement that I left for Thailand. Man. Wait till you hear about the next few adventures!!! Yehaa!!! Do not pass go. Do Not collect 200 bucks. Go directly to Koh Phangnan, Thailand! Then Perth Australia and finally Wellington New Zealand. Or should I say, Middle Earth?
Coming in the next few days..........
Peace and love.
Maitland