New Home - Kullu Valley

 our farm / orchard

 new home form back

 our doggies

 tea time at home

 teaching our maid some english

 cold walks to school

 house from the front

lunch


After leaving Delhi and splitting up from the other volunteers who were in different cities Winta, my volunteer partner and i embarked on a 12 hour bus ride from Delhi to the Kullu Valley (north India) where we were to live for the next four months and teach in a school. Little did we know we had hit the jack pot and received a lovely old wealthy couple as our Indian host parents. (Bala and Jimmy Johnson). Our new home as shown above in the pictures is a beautiful 30 acre colonial farm surrounded by fruit orchards and snowy mountains.

The Johnson's are a very prominent family here in the village, after setting up the school (Tara International) 9 years ago. They also own a hotel and restaurant in Manali (big tourist town 25kms away) that their Daughter Piya now runs. Despite Winta and i being the only ones living here currently with Bala and Jimmy the house is never empty. They have many staff whom work on the farm on a daily basis. Sunil the head chef is from Nepal and works in the kitchen with his wife Mamta. Jaiwanti and Tara-Mani also work in the kitchen, yet mainly do the cleaning and house work. There are about 10 other staff working outside, however we have formed a bond with the inside staff and dedicate time at night to teach them english. After being here only two days we already feel a part of this small community, getting waves and smiles from locals on our walks to school which is about 7 minutes down the road.

Yesterday we met our host parents grandson, Dhruv (23) who will become our tour guide. He is very outgoing and speaks english better than most Aussies. He is living at the hotel in Manali with his mother Piya and has promised to take us snow boarding next weekend with his college friends. Every alternate Saturday we have school so today Sunday is our rest day where we will plan our classes for the following week. Yesterday was our first day of school. We took an english class of five year olds who were the most beautiful well behaved children. The discipline in schools here is amazing. Every morning we are greeted with "Good morning Mam", "May i please go to the bathroom Mam" and "Can i re-enter the room please Mam" We were also fortunate enough to watch a Bollywood dance concert at the school which was a very special occasion for the children.

It is definitely hard to get home sick when you are living in a place as picturesque, clean and surreal as this!

New Delhi

As our orientation all 20 or so of us volunteers spent four days in Delhi. We stayed at The Don Bosco Institute which is predominantly a charity hub for street kids in India. Most of the four days was spent doing teaching skills courses and security briefings, however we were also fortunate enough to explore Delhi by visiting the Gandhi museum, India Gate, Qutab Minar and Dilli Haat.

Before leaving for India family members and friends would try and prepare you for the worst, sharing horror stories and experiences expressing the strong difference in culture and way of life. Delhi however erased such fears as the culture shock was not as confronting as i could have imagined. Yes one could draw parallels with the poverty, smells, noise and fear of death whilst in a Tuk Tuk in other Asian countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam, however the persona of the Indian people is unlike anything i have ever seen. This can be justified in the shopping side of things. Unlike Indonesia/Cambodia where once you start the bargaining game there is no getting out of it until the price is reduced so low your forced to buy it. People would grab on to you, or when you walk away disagreeing with a price they would potentially follow you in desperation. In Delhi however, i experienced the same level of poverty to that of those places, yet the nature of the people was bizarrely passive. For the most part they were unwilling to lower the price more than 200 rupees (roughly 4 dollars) and would hardly harass you into their shop as you pass by.

All in all our experience in Delhi was thoroughly enjoyable with the assistance and wisdom of our two amazing supervisors Mr Manoj Matthew and Mr Prabhudatt Tripathi whom would always smile even if something didn't go to plan. We met some amazing locals whom i am already keeping in contact with. The saddest part however was not leaving Delhi but leaving behind our fellow volunteers and supervisors, who after only four days have become some of my closest companions. It was so refreshing meeting a like minded group of people. I was the youngest volunteer of the group that ranged from 17-22 year olds from countries including Australia, New Zealand and England.

Next chapter - My placement.

xx

INDIA BOUND

Crunch time. I have played it calm, cool and collected for the last 3 months organising my India trip. People would ask "Aren't you scared to volunteer in India for 5 months by yourself, won't you get home sick?" my response being "Nah it will be fine" hmmmm well today i'm actually leaving and yes the thought of volunteering for 5 months in a random indian village somewhere in the mountains with complete strangers is rather terrifying come to think of it...Departing from the Western Suburbs (Wurbs) will be a bit of a change in every possible department however at the same time it is equally just as exciting!! Being the only Perth volunteer i will be flying han solo and i will meet my fellow Aussie volunteers at Singapore aiport tonight at 11pm looking extremely ravishing in hiking boots and long modest wear...

wish me luck!

xx

Sapa, Ha Long Bay and Hanoi - Vietnam

My three favourite places in Vietnam! Definitely do the overnight train trip to Sapa/Ha long bay! We went with Kangaroo café tours who were cheap and we spent the week with a bunch of amazing travellers! Hanoi the capital, was awesome with it's French colonial architecture and countless museums such as Ho Chi Minh's tomb. Personally i would skip the south (e.g Ho Chi Minh City) if it meant seeing these three amazing places!

Phu Quoc Island - South Vietnam

Phu Quoc is a small island south of Ho Chi Minh City, roughly 40 mins by plane. If you are up for a relaxing beach holiday in a hotel by the pool I would recommend Phu Quoc as there is not a large amount to explore on the island. There are food markets which are worth a look and a couple of waterfall walks. We spent 5 days here and it was definitely enough! I would save it for the end if you are starting in the north of Vietnam a relaxing way to round up the trip as the beaches were lovely.

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City would have to have been my least favourite out of all the places we went to in Vietnam. Although the weather was stunning, it was very crowded and quite commercial. It was very similar to Singapore, economically and industrially. It was filled with buses of Asian tourists and very big on commercial shopping centres and decorations. The markets however, were lovely, filled with colourful fruits and textiles. They sold a rather eclectic range of things, compared to the markets in Indonesia where everything was much the same. The jewellery, in particular was surprisingly incredible, most of it had come from India. (image 8)

All in all if you are heading to Vietnam and you had to choose between the north and south, i would definitely recommend skipping Ho Chi Minh to do Hanoi. The culture was lacking a bit in Ho Chi Minh and in my opinion the north definitely had more to offer in general. Yet if hot weather and large shopping malls is what your idea of a holiday than Ho Chi Minh would probably suit you. Another suggestion for the south instead of Ho Chi Minh is Phu Quoc Island.

Up next Phu Quoc Island.