Welcome back to Israel

We arrived in India on 30th May.

Apparently we then left and arrived in Little Israel on 31st.

Or so it felt for a couple of weeks.

We were in Dharamkot, a mountain village in the Himachal Pradesh District of northern India, along-with what seems to be most of the population of Israel.

For the kids, that's quite a plus as there are plenty of children to play with.

For Shoshi, well, she's pretty ambivalent.

For me, it's definitely a reason to leave.

There's Ivrit writing everywhere, Ivrit in the air at every turn.  Our guesthouse ('Anil's') had 7 or 8 Israeli families, pretty much 100% Israeli occupancy.  Some nice guys but it did feel a bit too much like a Tel Aviv 'Shikun' for my liking.

Restaurants serving Israeli food.  Jewellery shops.  Coffee shops.  Yoga.  Meditation.  Craft courses. Music classes.  And of course Charas.

Seen through the haze of Charas, I reckon Dharamkot is the best place in the world.  Cheap, relaxing, plenty of munchies on hand.

Little Israel.

But take that away, then in the cold light of day, I don't think the place has much to offer at all.  Certainly not for me.

I've written before about not wanting the familiar when travelling, I want to experience the different.  But despite this being my first time in India, Dharamkot doesn't feel different at all.  All too familiar.

There were some highlights.

We got very close (10m or so actually) to the Dalai Lama at his temple in McLeod Ganj, that was definitely a great experience to see someone so revered by so many people.  He certainly had a special aura around him and seemed to spread calmness just by his very presence.  Unfortunately no photography allowed but this seemed to add to his magical presence.

Eyal had guitar lessons, booking his lessons under the pseudonym Jimi Hendrix.  Guy did some woodwork classes while Mili and Shoshi took Indian cooking classes and are now proficient in momo, samosa and curry making.

Eyal and I went out on a 2 day trek, to Triund and the Snowline, where we got to do some amazing glacier walking.

We took a day trip to Amritsar in the Punjab, visiting the Golden Temple, the holiest of hollies for Sikhs, and then had a brilliant afternoon at the Indian-Pakistan border, for the wonderfully unique 'Changing of the Guards' ceremony.  This is a cross between a local derby football match, set on the border crossing between these two nuclear enemies, and a Broadway musical.  Think Rangers v Celtic with costumes by Elton John and music by Andrew Lloyd Weber!

There were over 15,000 Indians and 3,000 Pakistanis on either side of the border, going absolutely bonkers, music, military symbolism, dancing, high-stepping soldiers, ice-cream sellers...all under the 45 degree afternoon sun.

Absolutely bonkers, absolutely brilliant, definitely something not to be missed for anyone in the north of India.

That was definitely the highlight of our first 2 weeks.  It took place in Amritsar, around 200km from Dharamkot, I guess that says it all about our feelings for this little piece of Israel in the Indian mountains.

8 months and counting...

Today, 19^th June, marks 8 months since we left Israel.

In 8 months, we’ve visited 8 countries.

From the highs of 5216m on the Annapurna Circuit to the lows of illness and injury.

From the deliciousness of Pad Thai, mango shakes and lamb chops to the stomach-churning Vietnamese Hot Pot.

From Day 1 and Mili breaking her retainer, to Day 240 (today!) and Mili breaking her glasses!

From the stresses and strains of our 1^st month in Thailand to the shanti haze of month 8 in India.

From the bright lights of Hong Kong to the darkness of Kathmandu blackouts.

From the quiet roads of New Zealand to the manic ‘roads’ of India.

From the wonderful nan bread and chapatti of India to the terrible white bread of New Zealand.

From the high-speed broadband of Vietnam to the non-existent wifi in New Zealand.

From the ‘everything is possible’ attitude in India to the ‘nothing is possible’ attitude in Israel (says Mili).

From the golden sands of the Philippines to the polluted rivers of India.

From driving ourselves crazy in Thailand to loving life on the road in New Zealand.

From Vietnamese Sleeper Buses to Nepali local buses.

From the darkness of Cambodian history to the lightness of Vietnamese optimism.

From the rice terraces of Batad to the insanely strong rice wine of Nepal.

From $0.50 beers in Vietnam to $13 beers in New Zealand.

From missing family and friends at home to making new friends along the way.

From having 9, 8 and 5 year olds to having 10, 9 and 6 year olds.

From the blue skies of the Philippines to the monsoons of India.

From forgetting about work to having to start thinking about going back to work (sorry Shoshi!).

From running a company to coming back unemployed.

From the unspoiled beauty of New Zealand to the concrete jungle that is Bangkok.

From the speedboats of Wanaka to the fishing boats of El Nido.

From the Chiang Mai sleeper train to the Kangra Valley Toy Train.

From making life-changing decisions in minutes to spending hours deciding in which restaurant to eat.

From trying to homeschool to realizing that kids learn everywhere and from everything.

From the elephants of Thailand to the cows of India.

From the volcanoes of New Zealand to the glaciers of Nepal.

From the enormousness of Angkor Wat to the world’s smallest penguin in New Zealand.

From Hogmanay in a Philippines hospital to Chinese New Year on a rooftop bar in Ho Chi Minh City.

From a house full of stuff to 5 backpacks and nothing more.

From the excitement of that first day to the realization that we only have 2 months left.

From Thailand to Philippines to Cambodia to Vietnam to Hong Kong to New Zealand to Nepal to India, it’s been a hell of a ride so far.

Maybe just time to squeeze in one last country…

To Australia and Back, then a Week with Kevin Rohan

After finishing our Annapurna Trek, we  had around 2 weeks left in Nepal before our visas expired.

The first week or so we split between relaxing in Pokhara for a few days (pretty boring, reminded Shoshi and I of the same pretty boring time we spent there 13 years ago after EBC) and heading out for 3 days trek from Australian Camp-to-Astam with Liat and Omer, who we had met on Annapurna.  It is a low level trek through the valley, around 2000m at its highest point, but with stunning views of the Annapurna Range, it was definitely worth getting up at 5am each day for the views!

It also provided us with two more 'only when travelling' experiences!  First, in our Astam guesthouse, we stumbled onto the birthday party of a Nepalese Government Minister (something to do with the Army but we weren't sure exactly what) who invited us to join the celebrations.  We helped them sing 'Happy Birthday' in broken English and then watched as they downed a couple of bottles of dodgy Nepalese whiskey and cake.

The following morning we got the bus back to Pokhara, officially the most overcrowded bus in history. Shoshi also made a livelong friend, who can be seen in the photo below, who for the last 3 weeks has been sending Shoshi daily messages of "I miss you so much".  I kid you not, Shoshi is officially being stalked!

For our last week in Nepal, we spent a special week volunteering at the Kevin Rohan Memorial Eco Foundation.  Kevin Rohan Gurung died aged 7 in 2008 after a tragic accident.  His parents, Krishna and Leela set up the KRMEF in 2010 to make a real difference in the lives of impoverished people in their local village in the Kathmandu valley.  9 years later, they have built an amazing Foundation which delivers life-changing opportunities for families affected by poverty, illiteracy, earthquakes and more.  A special couple who have taken a terrible tragedy and turned it into something that will be making a difference for generations.

Eyal with Krishna

We got involved by painting the library building, making children's toys in the carpentry workshop,  jewellery designing, working in the eco-garden and more.  We were lucky enough to share our time there with another Israeli family, also with 3 kids, and it added more to the whole experience.

The icing on the cake of our stay was a day in the village of Pharping, where Krishna had arranged for all of the volunteers to visit the village as part of their tourism drive.  Pharping is a very under-developed village and they are just at the start of their journey to attract tourists but they put on a brilliant day for us, we were immersed in the local culture, food, song and dance.

Me and the Village Mayor

A memorable day to end a fantastic month in Nepal, one that will live long in the memory.

We woke on 30th May and headed to the airport, ready to catch our flight to Delhi.

Bring on India, you've got a lot to live up to...