Thursday, February 03, 2011

after all made it back!

Soooo I am in Goa! that took a while, ha? Well, I am happy to be here now. Finally, I made it. It was a long process and I don't think I would do it this way again, I mean I would not be travelling around India, waiting two months to be able to get back to India... but this was a good experience as well. I have seen places I have not been to before or been to but did not remember because it had been 19-20 years since I went to Bangkok... Now I know few places that I want to visit again and explore even further and some places to avoid... and then also learning to not do this two month out of India until I can go in thing. Next time, if I want to be back two months later, I would just go home and come back, and in the mean time, there are zillions of things I can do while at home. Well, this summer was tough for me and then I made this travel plan... but now I am gathering my confidence and organizing myself better... On the other hand, I say again that it was a good learning experience... I learned I cannot travel around this long, it is alright when I go somewhere to travel for 10 days or when I go places like Mysore, Goa and settle down for few months but from one place to another and then to another for couple of months is too ungrounding for me. I do not like it and I also start getting health problems such as dental ones :s It is kind of like my astro reading, "painless lessons", (well tooth ache is pretty painful but you get it, it is not the worst thing that can happen)I am learning about what is optimal and what is not for me, and what is worth and what is not worth doing, what is enjoyable and what is not and kind of why the hell I decided that...


The dental stuff as always creeping out... Just before I was going to leave Bangkok for India. The last two days which includes also the day I leave I had to get a root canal. Ok, I could have left it with the emergency care they would do but then I did not know any good dentist in Goa and I was planning to stay for few months... Therefore, I asked them if it was possible to do more treatment so I could last longer wherever I go... The dental hospital and the dentist seemed all good, so I felt safe. But after I got to India last Wednesday, a journey which had few challenges in it (I will tell those in a minute), my tooth began aching. I was not really expecting this since I was so confident with the treatment that was done in Bangkok. It was hard to sleep at night, and also I caught some cold while travelling, so on top of a tooth ache, I also had stuffy nose which would not let me breath at night :p Luckily, Rolf and Marci know a good dentist here who has her office very close to where we are! And Friday, after aching bum bum bum, I called this dentist and made an appointment for the next morning. And the same night, the ache began getting milder to my surprise because previous days, it was always getting more intense during the night. The next morning, it was again not so bad and then I went to see the dentist. She looked at the x-rays and then told me that the root canal was done properly but because it was done so intensely in two days and even the day I was going to fly and then flying without giving it a chance to heal, the area was probably inflamed. She told me that I am suppose to keep taking the medicines I was given by the dentist who has done the work and also anti-inflammatory medicines... I am very relieved with this news, because after all that, my whole mission was to get back to India to study with R&M and just as I get back, not feeling well was a doomer...

The journey from Bangkok to Goa was another thing. As I arrived to Bangalore in the middle of the night at 12 AM, I went form International to domestic flights terminal. After a cup of tea, I went over to the screen to check my flight which was suppose to be at 6:15 AM the same morning. I was planning to lounge at the airport until then; however, I could not see my flight even though all these other flights that were around the same time were listed. I asked a man who was working at the check in lines and he said "Madam it is too early that is why it is not listed, 3 hours before the flight it will be there" I told him how come all these other flights which were at 6AM - 7 AM were listed. At that point, he also got suspicious and told me to go over to the Kingfisher office and ask the lady there. So, I did and the lady also told me the same thing the man told me in the first hand and when I pointed out the obvious that other flights were listed she went inside to make a call and then came with the news "Madam that flight is cancelled, they tried to contact you but they could not reach you" I was devastated. I said "how did they contact me? I did not get any email or text message", she told me they tried to call me, they called 3 times. But I always get emails or text messages regarding the status of my flight, I might not be always available to pick up the phone. Of course I should have also made sure that the flight was on before hand which is something I usually do but neglected it this time, I guess I did not want to hear any bad news since I was so much wanting to reach Goa.... She told me that they will try to put me on another flight but then there were no morning flights even with other airlines due to something that was going on in Goa. The earliest was 4PM. Hearing that I kept asking "but what I do here so many hours, I did not arrange anything?" At the end, they decided to give me most of my money back so I would be compensated and also they gave me a boarding pass for the 4PM flight. That was really nice of them. Then I went and got a hotel room which had to be in Bangalore city because according to the man at the airport who had info regarding hotels, all the hotels by the airport were booked. The new Bangalore airport is a bit away from the city, and in a bad traffic day, it can take a long while so this made me a bit stressed out about getting back to the airport but I was too tired to stay in the airport and sleep on a chair. Therefore took the chance and went to Bangalore. Got to the hotel recommended by the man at the airport. The receptionist was a bit annoying at 3AM in the morning. I began filling the papers and then someone called and I guess yelled at him for something because he kept saying no sir you did not call me and then he turned to me and wanted my passport and I said here it is he said ok you can go to your room, I said I am not leaving my passport here, he said I will send it in 2 minutes I said no I am waiting here please do what you need to do. I did not want to wait for anything when I go up to the room, I wanted to crash and also I am not comfortable with leaving my passport to anyone. Ha! so, then he made a call and start ordering chicken tandoori, bla bla tandori, a very long list of food at 3AM in the morning! I was getting pissed that he was making me wait in the middle of the night, a customer comes to check in and he is busy ordering food for I guess that man who yelled at him on the phone... It was like Welcome India already, but it was ironic ya? dying to get back to India for two months, and I as soon as I arrive I had to deal with Indian ways that drive me crazy :p. But I had a decent room, I went to bed straight away, I was hang over from being up so late. I did not have a good sleep because I was kind of nervous about where I was, if it was safe, why there wasn't a chain on my door? so whenever I heard a noise from the hall way, I would jump... but it was fine after all. I did not sleep so long. I woke up around 8:30AM and took a shower which was nicest thing about staying there. They had breakfast so I went down, they had idli, coconut chutney, sambar, some of that fried things and then some fruits, and some western stuff. I could not pass idly and coconut chutney. After breakfast, I asked the lady at the reception "Coffee Day around here?" and she told me at the end of the road. SO I walled down and found the Coffee day, and had a decent cup of coffee. Walked back to the hotel and when it was time for me to leave I thought the driver who dropped me off last night would pick me up but he was nowhere around. He asked me if he should come and I said yes at 1PM. But he did not show up! so I panicked. I was at that point really getting anxious, as if everything was against me reaching  Goa, more I wanted to get there more things were going wrong, so I was also seeing that I had to relax a bit (if I could). But I had to push the hotel receptionist to get me a cap soon otherwise they were saying "45 minute later madam"! It is so weird, in any big city, as far as I know, you get a taxi in a minute unless it is super rainy, snowy, stormy... well I got a cap in 15 minutes and left for the airport and of course they charged me much more than the night before because it came in 15 minutes not 45minutes, India, well I managed to get it down 100 rupees.... They also called that driver who was suppose to pick me up to see why he did not come. He told them I did not want him to come which was not true. I told him to come but when he asked for my room number I said no need for room number you come I will be here downstairs... I felt nervous with giving such details  in the middle of the nigh at some place I did not know and did not necessarily feel safe... but he interpreted it as I do not want him to get me back to the airport.

Well, after all this, I arrived to Goa! I got my flight, it flew right away, got a cab and came to the familiar land, to my home! I walked to the guest house where I am staying. The late afternoon I arrived, I left my bags to the room and I immediately ran to the beach since I knew Rolf would be there for the sun set and for sure he was. I hugged him big and I was so , but so happy to see him! Thursday I practiced in my room and began practicing with everyone else with the led class on Friday. The shala they built is really nice, I like it a lot. The floor is a bit uneven at some places but it does not matter so much for me, after I begin practicing it feels just okey and then when I am with my teachers and other practitioners, it really does not matter where I practice, if the floor is uneven or not... it is very simple and beautiful just like himself!

This year I am staying at the guest house in front of the one I usually stayed... I have a nice room and a balcony kitchen! I am close to the shala. I am happy, I am so at home! I am so thankful! the tooth ache left me after the weekend... I know few people, some of whom I know are not staying around, I guess they are at Vagator, Arjuna... It is peaceful, nice.

The practice is epic again since Rolf does not split people until after Karandavasana. I am at Pincha; therefore, I have to do the whole primary and the intermediate until pincha. Rolf said, arms are stable but the core needs to be more stable... drawbacks of being so flexible at the back... but it will come, just practice and ease into where I am and be there, and I guess this is true with everything, everywhere...