Day 17 - Nasca (continued)

Saturday, 30 August 2014

In the afternoon I took a guided tour, where I met the same 2 people who were with me on the plane this morning, a cute mother and daughter, Laura and Siobhan from Chicago. We saw the aqueducts built by the first people to settle in Nasca, who were believed to have inhabited the area from 200-400 BC to 600 AD. They built underground canals so that water from the mountain could be used by them for irrigation as well as everyday use. What fascinated me the most was the wells that they built, it is circular of course but winding downwards, so that one could walk down to the water instead of using a bucket to bring water up. I thought that was ingenious. And under the wells are the underground canals which go in different directions so that water could be transported to different areas. The entire aqueducts are made of stones from the river, and it was never destroyed by any earthquakes. I do believe the ancient people were better engineers, architects and scientists than we are now, but there is always hope.

From here we went to a nearby mountain and from a high point, we could see the outline of a huge triangle which could be seen much clearer from the air. Unlike the Nasca lines, this triangle is shaped by the arrangement of stones. Like the Nasca lines, the lines are perfectly straight as if some one had a huge ruler. And as usual, it has not been disturbed by wind or earth quake. Rain could be dangerous but it hardly rains here, it is a desert area.

Lastly we went to the ruins of an Inca temple or an Inca palace, built nearby a mountain. The Incas believed the mountains to be gods, Appu. So many of their temples are built near mountains. Nasca is a really small town, even smaller than Ica, about 240,000 people. It is really a desert, an extension of the Atacama desert in Chile.

After this tour, I went to buy some souvenirs and had dinner, Quinota which is quinoa, rice, prawns, avocado and mango. It is delicious. After that I had no where to go because my bus to Arequipa was only at 10 pm., so I hung around and wrote this blog. I didn't sleep well last night I dunno why, so I am looking forward to sleeping on the bus later.

Day 17 - Nasca

Saturday, 30 August 2014

In the morning I went to the airport to overfly the Nasca lines! I sat in a Cessna 201 with 3 other people. It is really a small plane but just nice for the 30 minute trip. I did not eat breakfast after what my fellow travellers told me about the winding path of the flight, but it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I am more comfortable with land and air than I will ever be with water. My camera refused to work properly at that precise moment, so I did not have many good pictures of the lines. And as usual, as with the Great Pyramids of Giza, I thought the lines would be bigger, it looked small from the plane. This is caused by over dramatisation by the television. Because I am also a blind bat, I did not see all the figures. I managed to see the whale, monkey, dog, condor, spider and hummingbird only. But the important thing is that I got to see the lines with my own eyes! I am happy and can now really die in peace.

I am always intrigued by mystery, which is why I think I really loved going to see the Nasca lines. No one knows what it's for, who made it, and why it hasn't eroded after all these years, the lines being only 10 cm deep. A German scientist names Maria Reiche dedicated most of her life to studying the Nasca lines but till today, no one has absolute answers. Some scientists believed it to be some sort of calendar for the summer and winter solstice but I really don't know.

Day 16 - Paracas / Ica / Nasca (continued again)

Friday, 29 August 2014

Next, I went to the Regional Museum. Here I saw many artefacts of the ancient people of Peru. Artefacts discovered in Nasca had similar motifs to the motifs in the Nasca lines. Of all these motifs, the monkey is the most puzzling because there are no monkeys in Peru, so they do not know why the ancient people drew motifs of monkeys, or where they had seen monkeys before.

There were also mummies which are still in very good condition. There was also a practice to elongate the head, and I saw elongated skulls, according to the guide the elongated skull weighed 42% more than a normal skull and nobody knows why, they guess that the tissue mass grew to fill the elongated skull. It looked alien to me. They also practiced lobotomy or something like that, making a hole in one's skull, taking out whatever is bad and covering up the hole with pumpkin (of all things!) and other material. Imagine someone drilling your skull, most probably without proper anaesthetic! 

An interesting thing the guide told me was that the ancient people used pumpkin skin which they dried, as bowls or plates. It was 300 years later that they learned how to make ceramic bowls and plates, because they had to first discover fire, learn how to use it, create an oven, and then shape the clay. When I think about the technology we have today, it occurred to me that the human race will never stop developing, and who knows what will be discovered or invented or created tomorrow. Exciting times. 

After this there was nothing for me to do. The next activity was sand boarding at the sand dunes, there were plenty of sand dunes for miles around; it is after all a desert. Sand boarding did not interest me so I had something to eat. There I met an old lady from Ecuador, who was actually on the same boat as me to the Ballestas Islands. I sat with her for some time, she is from Ecuador, she is 66 years old (Amma's age!) and she has 2 daughters, and she is travelling alone. I told her she was very brave, and she said that I was even more brave, because at least she was in the same continent and she speaks Spanish. I told her what I told everyone, which is that everyone says I'm brave but the truth is, before embarking on this journey I was scared to death, and then even now, sometimes I panic or get worried so I don't feel brave at all. And she said, notwithstanding feeling all that I am still doing it, and that is courage.

When I meet all these nice people, I can't help but think that God put them there for me to meet, it is His way of telling me that I'm doing alright, and He is watching over me. Because being all alone so far away from home, all I have is God and myself to rely on.

After that I took the 6.50 pm bus (which arrived late) to Nasca. 

Day 16 - Paracas / Ica / Nasca (continued)

Friday, 29 August 2014

Then I took the 10.45 am bus to Ica, a small town of about 350,000 people. Ica is a desert, it almost never rains, and it is hot! While hot is always good, the change from chilly Paracas to hot Ica makes me feel like an amphibian, I don't think this is good. 

The primary industry for this town is producing wine and pisco. It is desert land, and for many years remained so until American and Peruvian companies, using technology from Israel, built irrigation channels to make the land fertile. Now it is a farming town, and apart from wine and pisco it also produces various fruits and vegetables such as artichokes. 

First I went to see the Oasis of Huacachina Lagoon, it was originally a natural oasis but is now aided by a reservoir, it is about 2 metres deep. Next, I went to see how wine and pisco is made. Pisco is basically wine which is distilled. Pure pisco is 42% alcohol. The famous drink in Peru (and I heard Chile as well) is pisco sour, and it is made with pisco, lemon, syrup, crushed ice and egg white. I had the opportunity to taste various different kinds of wine and piscos, and I wanted to buy a bottle but I was concerned about how I was going to carry it so in the end I didn't.

After this we did a city tour, Ica is really a very small town. Every town in both Ecuador and Peru have a main or central square known as the Plaza de Armas, and there was one in Ica as well. In 2007, an earthquake destroyed most of Ica so the city had to be rebuilt again. Ica is in the heart of the ring of fire, with seismic activity almost on a daily basis. Luckily I didn't feel any tremors today! I also saw what used to be 2 mansions owned by rich men in the past, and one was inhabited by Simon Bolivar, the liberator of South America. There are 3 main churches, but the most popular one is the Church of Lurin, unfortunately this was destroyed by the earthquake in 2007 and is now being reconstructed. The story of the church was that the Lord of Lurin was bringing a cross made of marble and something else to Lima on a ship, but the ship sank, never to be found. But the cross floated to shore, and they used a donkey to transport the cross to Lima. When the donkey passed an area in Ica, it stopped and refused to move. The people took it as a sign and built the church there.

Day 16 - Paracas / ica / Nasca

Friday, 29 August 2014

What a busy day!

Had to have breakfast at 7 am because we leave for Ballestas Islands at 8 am. Last night was very cold again with the result that I didn't sleep too well. I think I'm coming down with something too. But I digress.

At 8 am we left for the islands from the El Chaco Pier. On the way, we saw what they call a 'chandelier',  or 'El Candelabra' which is tree-pronged like a trident. It is a giant figure etched into the sandy hills, which is over 150m high and 50m wide. No one knows exactly who made the geoglyph, or when, or what it signifies, but theories abound. Some connect it to the Nazca Lines (although to me it looks nothing like that), some say it is the trident of Poseidon, some the trident of the devil, some that it served as a navigational guide for ancient sailors and was based on the constellation of the Southern Cross. Some even believe it to have been inspired by a local cactus species with hallucinogenic properties. Some (of course!) say it was aliens who did it. It was discovered about 150 years ago when there was an earthquake. Apparently it does not ever erode with time, it always stays the same.

At the islands we saw millions of guanay guano birds or cormorants, the guide told us there were at least 22 million, and they collect its guano for sale. We also saw sea lions, Peruvian boobies, pelicans, and Humbolt penguins! I didn't get to see penguins in the Galápagos Islands so this completes my trip! They are really small fellows. The entire trip to the island took about 2 hours. 

Day 15 - Lima / Paracas

Thursday, 28 August 2014

In the morning I went to another archaeological site named Huaca Pucllana, it is a temple built by the Lima people about 1,500 years ago. It is a temple built for the sea and the moon, which are feminine representations. The sun is masculine, that was Pachacamac yesterday.  This temple served as an important administrative and ceremonial centre for the Lima society. 

The temple is made from small, handmade, sun dried bricks and was built in such a way to withstand earthquakes. The structure is surrounded by a plaza that borders the outer limits, and by a large structured wall dividing it into 2 separate sections. In one section there were evidence of deep pits where offerings were made to the gods. The other section is the administrative area, where bricks were made and plants were grown in the garden. At the brick making area, there is a footprint which the guide told us was an original footprint of a Lima person, most probably a man! So exciting! It is small because apparently they were small sized people. I find the people of Ecuador and Peru small in stature, maybe even smaller than Asians.

In those days, the Lima society grew potatoes, chillies, beans, tomatoes and various other vegetables for consumption, cotton for clothes, and they also reared alpacas and llamas for clothes as well as for meat. They also kept dogs as pets, it is a Peruvian hairless dog. It's temperature is quite high, about 41 degrees Celcius and it is believed that if you touch it can heal you. So I touched one. So odd, without fur. But it didn't work, I actually feel a flu coming on due to the constant cold weather.

Then goodbye Lima! I took the 2.00 pm bus to Paracas and reached here about 6.30 pm. 

My life - Part 20

I did not enjoy my teenage years at home, mainly because of my mother. For some reason or other, she would not let me go out of the house with the result that I felt like a prisoner at home. 15, 16 and 17 were ages when my friends and I were the most adventurous, we wanted to try alcohol and cigarettes and such like but my mother just wouldn't let me go out. Even when I wanted to watch a movie in the middle of the afternoon, she would throw a tantrum and be in a bad mood even after I came home. It was always a struggle for me trying to get out of the house, but for my brothers it was the opposite. She was always telling them to go out with friends and explore and all that but me, she made me feel like a person of loose morals just because I wanted to go out.

Needless to say, I had to come up with all sorts of lies in order to go out, such as I'm going to the library to study, I'm going to so and so's house (my mother loved most of my studious friends and I did not hesitate to use their names although I was meeting my naughty friends). But unfortunately Kuantan is a small town with a very small Indian community so sometimes I did get caught. I remember once I told my parents I was going to the library, but instead I hung out with a boy and we drank alcohol which he poured into Coke bottles to make it seem as if we were innocently drinking Coke. Unfortunately one of my father's many spies (usually Indian men, I think generally men are worse than women in carrying tales) saw us and promptly reported to my father that I was hanging out with a boy, and a Chinese boy at that (oh, the scandal!) so when I came home I was barred from going out altogether for a few weeks thereafter. 

My life - Part 19

When I was 12 I scored straight As for my public exam. Of course my parents were happy but my brother before me had already scored straight As as well, so when it came to my turn it wasn't that big of a deal anymore. I secretly thought, and still do, that I am cleverer than my brother because he was a bookworm who studied all the time, whereas I was an all rounder, I had piano and sports and I would go out with friends more often than he did, and yet I managed to get straight As. With the little effort that I put into my studies, my grades were just as good as his, so I must be smarter.

The only time when I did better than my brother at public exams was the STPM exams in Form 6. For some odd reason, I felt the need to inform my mother of this fact, but she took away my glee by saying that well of course I would do better, because I was in the Arts stream and my brother was in the Science stream and of course Science is always harder than Arts. Of course. Nothing from me is ever good enough for my mother.

Then I started secondary school. This was a much better time for me than primary school because I had established myself as one of the smart ones. But I did not abandon my naughty side. So I still got into all sorts of trouble in school and my father had to come and talk with the teachers many times, and when I think about it now, I'm sure the teachers had no idea what to make of me because I was so naughty but my grades were good at the same time. But that was who I was.

My life - Part 18

Growing up, I never had a good relationship with my mother. She had a temper and so did I. But I could never win against my mother. She was always right. And what always hurt me the most was that my father, who I was extremely close to, would always take her side. When I asked him about this years later, he would tell me it's because he wanted to keep the peace, and it's easier for everyone if he let my mother win. This was disappointing because surely it's about right and wrong, justice and equality and not about 'keeping the peace'! Later on when I practiced as a lawyer, I would think that here I am, fighting for my client's rights, but at home, I would never be equal and I was too tired by then to fight anymore. I fought for others but not for myself. This made me sad.

I tried to run away from home twice in my life. Once when I was 5 and I got into a fight with my mother, she told me to get out so I did - all the way to the end of the street outside my house in Raub and I sat on the swing there until my father came and got me. I remember him laughing and telling me this is not running away from home, my house was just there, and I told him that he said I was not allowed to cross the street on my own, so this was the extent of my running away. When I was 13 I tried to run away from home again, I packed some clothes and some food and I went off on my bicycle. Unfortunately I was born with no sense of directions so I got horribly lost at the outskirts of Kuantan, and then I had to abandon my plans, ask for directions and cycle back home. When I got home my parents asked me where I was, and I said I was at a friend's house and they were none the wiser.

My life - Part 17

I inherited nobody's good looks and my mother's temper. When I was younger I used to get angry all the time and get into all sorts of fights. When I was 8 a girl in school caught a grasshopper and plucked out its hind legs so that it couldn't hop. I was so angry I slapped her and we got into a physical fight but she was no match for me because I was big for my age. Of course, I got into trouble with the teachers but I believed I was doing the right thing.

When I get angry I just see red. It is difficult to explain. It's like all the blood in my body rushes to my head, and all I can see is red and someone or something has to pay for it. Sometimes this feeling can last for days. I am also very stubborn by nature, so usually when I get angry at someone I stay angry until I've exacted my revenge. 

Because I used to get into all sorts of trouble in school, the teachers would contact my father and he had to come and talk to them and get me. But the one thing I am thankful for is that he never scolded me for my actions, I think he just put it off as a phase that I was going through, trying to find my place in the world. Or maybe he was just preoccupied with other more important things and didn't have the time to talk to me about my behaviour.

But he did tell me, many times, that it was a good thing I was not born a boy because if I had been a boy, I would have ended up in jail at some point. I think this is true. When I was in an all girls school until the age of 17, losing my temper wasn't really a problem. But later, when boys came into the picture, the only thing stopping me from getting into physical fights with boys was the knowledge that I could never win because they are physically stronger. If I had been a boy, of course, there would be no stopping me and I would most probably have joined a gang. 

Because I am a girl and therefore had limitations, my brain became my best weapon. I would  execute all sorts of plans, sometimes I would plan for months, and then, when they least expected it, revenge would be mine.

My life - Part 16

At 10 when I discovered I could be clever, I still had pretty low self esteem because I was fat and dark. Fat I didn't really care too much about because I could change that if I wanted too, but I didn't at that time because I loved food and Milo too much. Being dark was a problem. 

So I pushed myself to be active in all sorts of activities, I played piano, I joined all sorts of sports clubs and societies in school, and I ensured that no one would be better than me in English. I did all these to protect myself, so that if anyone teased me about my weight or my skin colour, I could make myself feel better by telling myself at least I can play piano and they can't or at least I'm in the choir club and they are not. This made me feel better on most days, but not all the time. There was always the underlying feeling that I will never be considered beautiful, and that's not a good thing for a girl. So I did everything else to compensate for my lack of beauty.

If God gave me a choice between beauty and brains in my next life, I would choose beauty without any hesitation. It makes life that much more easier. In this life I have brains but not beauty and where has that got me? Jobless, half way around the world, all alone, writing this blog. 

My life - Part 15

Asian society is a society that worships fair skin. Strangely, this only seems to apply to girls and not boys. I guess because traditionally, a man is the breadwinner, so he is judged by how much money he makes. A woman is the homemaker, so she is judged by her beauty, the fairer she is the more chances she has of marrying well.

I was born a girl with dark skin in an Asian society. Not the best thing to happen. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that my brothers are fair and good looking. If it was the other way around life would be much fairer (no pun intended) but you don't get to choose these things. So I always had comments like, "oh your brothers are so fair" or "your father is so fair" and the words not said were, "how come you are so dark?" But unfortunately I wasn't stupid anymore and therefore knew what they meant with their (unspoken) comments.

It is worse among Indians. I remember my room mate in university was a mature student who was pregnant. When she delivered and showed me pictures of her baby, her first question to me was, "she is fair, right?" Really? Never mind that she was a normal, healthy baby with 10 fingers and 10 toes, what really matters was that she was fair? But sadly, that is the way Indians think. 

Family is the same. When I left for university, my aunt said the usual things like study hard etc. When my cousins went to university (they are Chindians) I heard my aunt telling them to be wary of boys, don't walk alone at night etc. I thought at the time and still do, that she did not give me the same advice because which boy is going to disturb me? I'm too ugly to be harassed or raped.

As long as one is fair skinned, even without an eye or a nose or an ear, one is beautiful. And as long as one is dark skinned, even with attractive features, one is ugly. As it turns out, I remain single to date and I have no doubts that many people, including my relatives, must think that I'm too ugly for anyone to love.

I know this is wrong. I am more than a skin colour. I am worthy of being loved. But when people tell you you're ugly since the age of 3, and that comment is repeated throughout your life, and when you live in a society that worships fair skin, you will inevitably believe what you know is wrong.

And that is why, even after all these years, when I look in the mirror, all I can see is ugliness.

Day 14 - Lima

Wednesday, 27 August 2014

I started the day with a tour to Pachacamac, a sacred site built around 1470 in the valley of Lurin. At the highest point stands the Temple of the Sun, because the ancient people of Peru worshipped the sun and believed it to be all powerful. Pachacamac was inhabited since the year 200 to 1533 when the Spanish came to Peru. There were 4 main societies or empires in Peru, the earliest being Lima, which existed from the year 200, followed by Wari from the year 500, Ichma from the year 700 and Inca from the year 900 until the arrival of the Spanish in 1533. Pachacamac was believed to be built by the Ishma society. They used to sacrifice animals such as alpacas, as well as young women, who are chosen to be sacrificed from young, and it is apparently an honour. Some are strangled, some are beaten on the head. There is a compound, aligned directly with the Temple of the Sun, only for women known as the Mamacuna.

During this tour I met a girl from Brazil named Renata, and after the tour we went to the Inca market together. This is a market selling all sorts of souvenirs at reasonable prices. I bought 2 t-shirts. Then we took a cab to Larco Mar shopping centre where there were also many souvenirs, but more expensive.

Then we went to eat! I had a dish which is rice with vegetables and fried fish and prawns. It was delicious! I also tried the local alcoholic beverage, pisco sour. Pisco is a Peruvian brandy, and the drink is mixed with lemon and egg white on top. It is nice, but potent! One drink and I was flying! After spending the whole afternoon with Renata, it was time to say goodbye (so sad!) and then I went to the tour agency to get my itinerary. Tomorrow afternoon I will go to Paracas, but in the morning I want to visit one more place before I leave the beautiful city of Lima.

I should also add that it is probably not a good idea to drive in Ecuador or Peru. Apart from the fact that they drive on the right side of the road, their driving is quite scary, they will squeeze in wherever they can and I see most cars here with dents somewhere. That said, they follow the traffic lights to a tee. In comparison, Malaysian drivers are not that scary but somehow they seem to be colour blind when it comes to traffic lights.

Lima is also very clean, and I like the people here too. Although most of them don't speak English, they try and help you as best they can. But it is very cold here now, 15 degrees Celcius! 

Day 13 - Lima

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

In the morning I went to see a tour agent recommended by the hostel, which is just across the street. There the agent and I planned my next 20 days in Peru. I wanted to do the Inca trail but it is all sold out! Bloody hell. So now I have to do the less adventurous thing of going by train to Macchu Picchu. But I still get to go, and that is the whole point! The price I feel is reasonable but it's a lot considering I'm out of a job. The agent is a funny old man, he said he will book single rooms for me wherever I stay, but he thinks I won't sleep alone all the time. Funny old man.

In the afternoon I took a taxi to downtown Lima. There I walked around Plaza San Martin and Plaza de Armas, where the city of Lima was founded and independence declared. Here I saw the Archbishop's Palace, the Government Palace, the Cathedral and the Torre Tagle Palace. The architecture is fantastic. Then I went to the San Francisco Church which had catacombs underneath the church! There was a guided tour within the church, and it was informative and pleasant. They have only opened the catacombs to the public 7 years ago, but there are apparently more underneath the one open to the public. Bones are still there yikes! And apparently when there were earthquakes in Lima parts of the church were destroyed and had to be restored, but the catacombs have withstood all earthquakes since it was built in the 16th century. It is a Catholic church dedicated to Franciscan monks. 

For dinner I had a rice dish with chicken. Some of the food here is similar to Malaysian food ie rice and dishes, but it tastes different of course. And the vegetables are mostly salads. It is very cold in Lima! I'm not used to this weather at all, I am going to take a hot, hot shower and then straight under the blanket!

My life - Part 14

When I was 11, my parents took me to the clinic to get Hepatitis shots. I have a natural, almost primitive dislike of all things medical, I am terrified of pain, and now I had to be injected in the arm! 

As I was sitting there waiting for the doctor, I became more and more apprehensive as the seconds ticked away, and then the doctor appeared. He was a Chinese man with spectacles, but I forget his name. The first thing he said to me was, "I think you're obese". And he made me stand on the weighing scale and said, "yes, you are definitely overweight." 

I was so taken aback and angry with his comment that I forgot all about my shot with the result that I don't remember feeling any pain at all. Sure, I was big sized but obese? I don't think I was ever obese in my life. Fat maybe, obese no way!

This incident would trigger my lifelong hatred of all doctors, hospitals, clinics and medication. I vowed to stay as healthy as I possibly could, fat or otherwise, because I never wanted to see another doctor again for as long as I lived. And I am proud to say that my visits to the doctor have been few and far between over the years, I either self medicate or just wait it out, eventually the body will heal itself. I should know my own body, not some doctor who I've met for 5 minutes. 

I have no patience for people who go to the clinic for every small injury or sickness. People should have more faith in their own bodies. 

My life - Part 13

After realising that I had a brain, there was no stopping me! From a nobody I became a somebody, a force to be reckoned with! 

However, when I was stupid and useless, I had become friends with my fellow outcasts, and I liked the carefree life that they led, not giving a damn about teachers and exams and the future, but always living in the moment, looking for our next adventure. I was drawn to that lifestyle. And yet, I was also drawn to this new lifestyle among the 'elite' where everyone was intellectual and close to the teachers and became prefects and class monitors and what nots. So I led a double life. I maintained my grades, but I also hung out with the 'naughty' girls and continued with my tricks. Life, after all, is a balance, right?

When I think about it now, I was just looking for a sense of belonging, I wanted to be liked and to be loved by all. It was difficult because the nerds didn't like the naughty girls and vice versa. Many of them couldn't understand why I would hang out with the other group. I had to defend my friends and myself all the time, but for the most part, I managed to stay in both groups all the way through secondary school.

My life - Part 12

Ever since I can remember, my parents were always pre-occupied with family name and honour. We children were brought up to always behave ourselves, and not do anything embarrassing or shameful because "what will people think?" Our actions, according to my parents, had a direct bearing on their ability to raise good, proper children. Growing up, I was probably the most well behaved child next to my older brother. No tantrums, no fuss. Of course, I did a lot of naughty things behind my parents' backs. What they didn't know won't hurt them. 

I remember when I left home to go to university, my mother's parting advice to me was to always behave myself, because my father is a good and respectable man, and I shouldn't bring shame to his name. By that, I gather she was telling me not to get pregnant or socialise with undesirable characters. And then again, when I was going out with Philip, my mother was not very enthusiastic about our relationship because he comes from a family that is not as well to do as ours, and what will people think?

This overwhelming need not to bring shame upon my family was so ingrained in me that until today, I often hesitate before doing anything. When I think about it now, I think it has affected my confidence. I'm afraid of speaking out in public, afraid to socialise, afraid to make decisions, afraid to take risks, afraid to chart my own path, because what if I made a mistake? What will people think?

Day 12 - On the road / Lima

Monday, 25 August 2014

At about 11 pm last night I fell asleep, and it was pretty good sleep too. I woke up at about 8.00 am and luckily the bus was at another stop, so I washed up a little bit. Life on the road is tough I tell you!  More movies! I would read, but then I was getting a head ache so I just watched movies or admired the scenery outside the window.

At about 6 pm we reached Lima! It is cold here, about 18 degrees Celcius. After a shower I walked around the hostel area for a bit, and I tried ceviche for the first time! It is raw fish cooked in lemon or lime juice. It is actually quite nice. I saw some nice architecture on the way but I didn't have my camera with me, so tomorrow it is!

Day 11 - Guayaquil / on the road

Sunday, 24 August 2014

I had a lazy morning, late breakfast, long hot shower (I'm not sure when I get to shower next), and then off I went to the bus station to take a bus to Lima, Peru. The journey would be 26 hours. 

At the bus station everything was in Spanish, and luckily a few kind souls helped me out and told me where to go and what to do. The bus is actually not bad, very spacious, and you can recline your seat pretty low and they have a leg rest so it can feel like a bed. I watched so many movies it's not even funny. About 4 hours into the journey we stopped at the border of Ecuador and Peru for immigration purposes. I can't believe I've spent about 10 1/2 days in Ecuador and now I'm already moving on to the next country. At the rate things are going, I will be back in reality in no time! No, no, no I refuse to think about that just yet.

There is a guy on the bus who comes and talks to me every time the bus stops, he is from California but has been living in Ecuador for 2 years now doing missionary work. He was in the army for 20 years, and was in Vietnam for 23 months! How cool is that. I've never met a war veteran before - and now I have! He's going with his wife to Peru for a holliday.

From what little I have seen thus far of the people of Peru, they appear to be a lot less welcoming than the people of Ecuador, but maybe I've just met all the wrong people thus far. I promised everyone, including myself, that I will keep an open mind during this trip and that is what I will do.

My life - Part 11

When I was stuck in the airport in Singapore, one of my oldest and good friend, Tee (I've known her since I was 7 and she is a good girl whom I really like) messaged me on whatsapp to ask how it's going and I told her all the problems. She said things don't always go smoothly when one is travelling, and she asked me to take it easy and to always use my secret weapon - my mouth. That made me laugh, and it made me feel better too. It reminds me of a saying I read on Facebook (who says Facebook is frivolous?) - "the answers are within you, think."

My mouth may be my secret weapon but I actually have an even better arsenal - my brain. I didn't discover my brain until I was 10, and it was quite by accident.

When I was 10 and in Standard 4, we had a lovely teacher named Ms. Ma from Malacca. When we sat for exams, what happens is that our cumulative grades are added up to see who gets first in class, second, third etc. By 10, I had already learned how to write and how to converse in Malay. I also had a good grasp of general knowledge and current events thanks to my reading habit, and my habit of reading the newspapers everyday which I inherited from my father. But in school I was ignorant of any type of grading system, and all the teachers (who of course were out to get me) had already written me off as stupid and useless, and I believed it and didn't care.

Enter Ms. Ma. She wasn't a racist to begin with, God bless her soul, and she was fair and kind and she introduced me to my brain. She announced in class one day that for the first term exams, I emerged last in class, and then for the second term exams, I came in second in class. She said this is a tremendous achievement and she asked the class to clap for me. Never before had I been given any form of recognition in school. Suddenly I was celebrated. And funnily enough, it was only then that I became aware of the grading system in school.

I am thankful to Ms. Ma to this very day. I've always told this story with pride. However, now that I think about it, this may have been the beginning of my downfall because with the discovery of my brain, I could never go back to being blissfully ignorant. Imagine if Ms. Ma never opened my eyes, I would continue to believe that I am stupid, and I would never have achieved what I have achieved thus far. And who knows? Maybe I would've been happier.

Day 10 - Guayaquil

Saturday, 23 August 2014

I had the best sleep in 9 days, safe and stable on dry land. I went for a guided walking tour in the afternoon around the city of Guayaquil. 

Guayaquil obtained its independence on 9 October 1820 almost without bloodshed when group of civilians, supported by soldiers from the "Granaderos de Reserva", a battalion quartered in Guayaquil and led by Jose Joaquin de Olmedo, a poet, overwhelmed the resistance of the Royalist guards and arrested the Spanish authorities. Guayaquil declared independence from Spain, becoming Provincia Libre de Guayaquil, and  Jose Joaquin de Olmedo was named Jefe Civil (Civilian Chief) of Guayaquil. There is a square portraying sculptures of Jose Joaquin de Olmedo and his conspirators. The Guayaquil airport is named after him.

On July 26, 1822, Jose de San Martin and Simon Bolivar held a famous conference in Guayaquil to plan for the independence of Spanish South America. There is a sculpture of this too. 

We also visited the Independence Park, there is a statue of lady liberty holding a torch, apparently the light of independence will never go off, even if there is a black out that torch is attached to a generator and it will light throughout the night, because the light of independence never go off! Also a park known as Iguana Park because it's full of iguanas. These are the green land iguanas which are apparently the ancestors of the marine and land iguanas in the Galápagos Islands. They certainly look alike.

We also saw the River Guayas where the city of Guayaquil was first built around. There is also a statue of Antonio Jose de Sucre, one of the independence conspirators, and the Ecuador currency was named after him before it changed to the Dollar in 1999. Lastly we went to a place called Santa Ana, which used to be a place where drug addicts and prostitutes lived, and it was in a bad part of the neighbourhood. Then the mayor decided to  clean up the whole place, and the best part was that the people who owned houses there were forced to stay in them and were forbidden to sell them. Some have turned it into shops and bars, and it looks like a nice cultural hub. We climbed 444 steps where a picturesque view of the city of Guayaquil could be seen.

There are filthy rich people living in Ecuador, in houses worth USD 22 million, and all of this is beyond the River Guayas. The guide told us the story about a very rich lady named Isabella something who owns numerous lands which she has built into condominiums, hospitals, hotels and office blocks, and it appears that all she touches turns to gold. Anyway, the story is that her husband cheated on her and they divorced and all that. Then her daughter married a tennis player, and he was cheating on her with a famous Ecuadorian model, and the mother found out about this and one day told her son-in-law, "I am a chuleta (woman who was cheated on - not sure of spelling) but my daughter will not be a chuleta, she will be a widow. Do you understand?" Power to the rich, yay.

Today it is a city of about 2.75 million people. It gets cold at night. This city is much bigger than Quito, although Quito is the capital of Ecuador. I liked Quito better. 

My life - Part 10

When I was 7 we moved from Raub to Kuantan. I was already in Standard 1, but couldn't write a word and couldn't speak Malay at all. In Raub I remember school to be fun and games. In Kuantan it was the opposite. When I started school in Kuantan, it was exam time and I think I failed everything gloriously, almost 0 for everything including English because I couldn't write. I also had great difficulty communicating because everyone spoke Malay and I could only speak English.

There was one incident in particular that stands out in my mind. We had Moral Studies class, where only the Chinese and Indian girls would remain, the Malay girls would go for Islamic classes. I was new to the school and this was my first Moral Studies class. The teacher asked all of us to stand, and then she called out the pupils' names one by one and they got to sit down. After a while she stopped, and those who remained standing, including me, she announced to the class were the 'bad girls' in school. The first thing that crossed my mind was, how the hell did she even know who I was, I just got to this school! Then I looked around and saw that all the Chinese girls had sat down, whilst all the Indian girls were still standing up. At that time, I thought the teacher was unfair for branding all Indian girls as bad girls without even knowing who we are, but now I know it was racism.  I was too young to protest then, but it heightened my instinctual sense of equality or the lack thereof so that even after this many years, I remember this incident with singular clarity.

There were many other similar incidents that happened in primary school after that first incident, some subtle, some not so subtle. In addition to being an outcast due to my race, I was a slow learner, not because I couldn't learn anything fast, but because I didn't want to. I didn't like the fact that my life was being controlled by teachers and classes when before, I could do pretty much whatever I wanted to do. School was like a prison to me, I was forced to do things I didn't like to do, when all I wanted to do was play. 

I was an outcast and I was stupid but I didn't care at all.

Regrets

I either read or heard somewhere that more often than not, one regrets what one did not do rather than what one did. I think this is true. When you do something, even if it's something unplanned like losing your temper, it is done and there is nothing you can do about it, you just have to live with the consequences. But if you don't do something that you want to do or thought about doing, you will forever be wondering, what if? And the not knowing, I think, makes the regret that much more worse.

So from now on, I've decided to just go ahead and do it, no matter the consequences, because for me it is better to know what happens than what if. 

Day 9 - Galápagos Islands / Guayaquil

Friday, 22 August 2014

I didn't sleep well at all. My stomach was churning, the boat was swaying, my head was full of dreams that I cannot remember - when I finally woke up I felt horrible! In the morning we went to the deck for a boat ride around Daphne Island, the final destination on the itinerary! Then breakfast, I had to eat very slowly as I was still feeling ill, then pack up to go to the airport in Baltra. The good thing is, I have lost some weight due to the sea sickness. The bad thing is, I have become even darker than I originally am due to the exposure to the sun.

It was a sad goodbye for me. I became quite close to all of them, especially Du Yun and we made glorious plans to go travelling together in the future, to Cuba and Iran and Australia and Bolivia - I think it was our way of saying "see you later" instead of goodbye. We all shared the same experiences for a while, and now we will all go our separate ways. I am sad and happy at the same time. Also, I am as usual a bit nervous to be alone again. 

The plane landed in Guayaquil at about 3.30 pm, and I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel for USD10. I've given some clothes to be washed, and I decided to take it easy for the rest of the day because of my sensitive stomach, the lack of sleep and the fact that I am still feeling wobbly as if I am on a boat when I am safe and sound on dry land. I am going to research Peru and see what ideas I come up with. Sophia told me that it is better to get to Peru and book tours, you always get it cheaper. I'm inclined to do that, I just hope I get to Peru in one piece.

Tomorrow I will explore Guayaquil.

Day 8 - Galápagos Islands

Thursday, 21 August 2014

It's funny how with the other group, I couldn't wait for this trip to end, but now in the company of better people, I am sad that tomorrow will be the last day and we have to say goodbye. Plus the 2nd captain who drives the dinghy is quite cute. There was another driver before this so I never knew him before. His name is Ignacio. My properly brought up self is chiding me for this observation, but my naughty self (who sometimes gets lost when depression sets in) tells me I am a hot-blooded girl on holiday, and I can certainly admire a man if I want to!

Last night we sailed about 10 hours back to Santa Cruz. I don't think I will ever get used to being on a boat. I had many dreams during the night, most of which involved sea monsters attacking the boat. When I was young I wanted to become, among others, a pirate when I grew up. Luckily I didn't follow that dream.

This morning we went to a small island at the west of Santa Cruz, called the South Plaza Island. There was a short trek around the island where I saw another species of land iguanas (there are only 2 species of land iguanas on the Galápagos Islands; the common ancestor of all iguanas, land and marine on the Galápagos Islands is the green land iguana), sea lions, lava lizards, swallow tail gulls, yellow warbler, and finches (there are 19 species of finches on the Galápagos Islands, 13 of which are known as Darwin's finches).

Baby and juvenile sea lions are very curious creatures. They will come up to you and sometimes try to touch you, but we are told never to touch babies of 3 months and less because we will inevitably transfer some form of chemical to them, and they will then be abandoned by their mothers because they are very sensitive to any extraneous smell, and the young pup who is still suckling and cannot fish on his own yet, will inevitably starve to death. I saw one that was dying, but nobody does anything about it, they just let it die. This is really sad, I wish I could pack him and bring him with me and take care of him and release him in Teluk Chempedak but I know that is simply not possible.

In the afternoon there was snorkeling at Punta Mosquera, about 40 minutes boat ride from the South Plaza Island, and then to the white sand beach for more snorkeling. This white sand beach is between North Seymour Island and Baltra Island (also known as South Seymour Island). According to the guide, a long time ago North Seymour Island and Baltra Island were one island, and then most probably earth quakes and shifting of tectonic plates occurred, and now they are separated, with a white sand beach in between. Fascinating stuff!

I was feeling off all day, and it worsened during the night, I had to vomit during dinner and didn't eat my dinner. Later, since it was the last day for most of us, we all danced on the deck with the crew, all Latin music such as salsa, maracha, merengge and reggaethon (not sure of spelling). In between I had to go vomit again. I was really feeling off but I managed to dance with Ignacio (ahem!) and we also talked a lot in broken English and Spanish, he has been sailing for 15 years now, he can tell which way is North and South just by looking at the stars! Ok I know all sailors can do that but I do have a crush on him, so everything appears impressive to me. I could've kissed him but I didn't, being the idiot that I am. And then it was too late.

My life - Part 9

Growing up was not easy for me. I was a clumsy child - big for my age both in height and in weight, and not at all attractive. When I was 6 and had to go to kindergarten, I couldn't stop crying the whole week that I was there, because I couldn't understand why my parents who were my whole world at that time, would abandon me with strangers, random people that I don't know and I don't like. One of the teachers told my parents that I was crying all the time and not learning anything. I heard my mother tell my father that it was very shameful, for such a big bull to be crying all the time (the big bull was in reference to my size, I was big for my age) and I remember thinking, I may be big in size but I am still only just 6, like everyone else at school.

Anyway, I resolved never to cry again in kindergarten and I never did. This was the beginning of 2 episodes in my life - I hated teachers; I was convinced that all teachers were out to get me, and whilst I had already learned how to hide my actions from my parents (for eg, at one time I was fascinated with soap and I used to steal soap for my collection without my parents ever knowing - Johnson & Johnson was, and still is my favorite brand of soap, and stealing Milo every so often then feigning ignorance when my mother complained to my father about how fast the Milo finishes) I also learned how to hide my thoughts and feelings from my parents, and later, from everyone, including myself.

I became the master of my own deception. 

Day 7 - Galápagos Islands

Wednesday, 20 August 2014

Breakfast at 7.00 am then off to San Christobal Island (Cerro Brojo) for snorkeling. I walked along the beach and saw sea lions, an iguana, crabs (the crabs here are cannibalistic, they have no natural enemies, they are their own enemy). Before snorkeling we saw what the guide called 'chimneys', which are magma chambers where lava flowed out from millions of years ago to form the Galápagos Islands. There is a famous formation known as the 'Cathedral', because the rocks are formed in such a way that it looks a bit like a natural church. Then back to the boat for a 3 hour ride to Punta Pitt, another place to the north east of San Christobal Island.

Last night we travelled for about 7 hours at night from Porta Aroyo to San Christobal Island, and I didn't sleep well because at times the boat was shaking too much, at times I thought I was going to fall off the bed, at times I thought we were going to sink. I took a sea sickness pill that Sophia gave me, and I also took 3 piritons yesterday because I had a very bad cold. I have to stagger my medication otherwise I will run out before my trip is up.

Lunch. Then to Punta Pitt for snorkeling. Then we landed at another beach where I saw more sea lions, finches, lava lizards and red footed boobies.

The entire Galápagos Islands were formed by volcanoes, about 4 million years ago. The last volcanic activity was about 10,000 years ago, and there are some younger islands which are about 700,000 and 400,000 years old.

This group is definitely much more fun and interesting than the previous one. My consolation is that Laura is not getting along with this group as well as she did with the other group. I know it is bad for me to think so but I think it is karma. I don't feel sorry for her at all. I was wondering whether it was an age thing, because most of the people in this group are in their 30s, but then Florian is 19 and I can talk to him fine. My conclusion is that fools will be fools, no matter where they come from and what age they are.

My life - Part 8

I was always very attached to my parents, from when I was a wee kid until now at this very moment. When I was 6 and had to go to kindergarten, I cried and cried and cried when my parents left me there, a combination of extreme loneliness and panic that I was all alone in the world. This feeling would repeat itself throughout my life; when I left home for university, whenever I left my house in Kuantan to come back to Kuala Lumpur, and when I left for this trip.

And no matter where I am, or who I am with, I constantly feel like I'm all alone in this world. 

Day 6 - Galápagos Islands

Tuesday, 19 August 2014

Breakfast at 5.45 am! This is because some of them had to leave for the airport this morning so we had to start really early. First we went to the Charles Darwin Research Centre in Porta Ayora, where we saw the Galapagos Tortoises in captivity. There are 14 species of tortoises altogether in the Galápagos Islands, 4 are extinct. There is only 1 other species of land tortoise, and they are in the Seychelles. The number of tortoises on the Galápagos Islands are declining, hence the need to breed them in captivity. The most famous tortoise is Lonesome George, he was the last surviving species of one of the 4 extinct species, and he just would not mate, hence his name. He died 2 years ago, and his species died with him. There is also another famous one called Super Diego, because he has fathered many tortoises. Females reach sexual maturity around the age of 30, and they stop growing. Males reach sexual maturity around the age of 50, and they continue to grow until they die. Adults can reach up 300 kgs, and live up to 150 years.

After this, my worst nightmare came true. The group that was flying off went off, including Sophia. We exchanged emails last night and I hope to keep in touch with her because she is really a good friend. Like minded people are hard to find. Then the people who remain in Porta Ayora, including Laura and I who will continue the cruise, were told to roam around Porta Ayora until 12.30 pm. That was another 5 hours, and the people I was stuck with were the ones I hated the most, I simply cannot talk to them. I tried. But whenever I say something, either something important or something silly (in order to get to their level), they just ignore me, or brush me off as if I can't know anything. But whenever they say something, even something like, "oh look at my bruise", everyone comments or discusses the issue. Seriously? And Laura I think is the worst. She is such a hypocrite it's not even funny. When we left the research centre, they were staring forever at a tortoise so I walked on ahead, and they were still staring and talking among themselves so I went to the loo. When I came out, they had disappeared. So I just walked and walked until I reached town, and was approaching the pier where we catch our ride back to the boat, when I saw them sitting in a restaurant. So I went there, and they asked me where I was, and I said I went to the loo and when I came out they were gone, and Laura said, "but you didn't tell us where you were going".

I had to follow these bunch of losers around for about 4 hours, and when it was 12.00 noon, they wanted to go and eat and I said I would wait for Laura near the pier. They only emerged at 1.00 pm, and when I went to them, Laura said, "but why would you wait for me?" And I was properly pissed, I didn't say goodbye to the rest, I just walked to the dinghy and I told Laura that when I said I would wait for her, I would wait for her and she said whatever. It's like everything I do is wrong, if I don't tell them where I'm going it's wrong, if I tell them where I'm going or what I'm going to do, it's also wrong. I refused to talk to Laura thereafter but being the hypocrite that she is, she talked to me as if nothing was wrong. I gave her the cold shoulder.

Lunch, then the new people came. There are 2 couples, and the rest are all single people. After lunch we went to the highlands to see the tortoises in the wild. These were much larger, and looked happier than their brethren in captivity. We also saw how the lava river of years ago made lava tunnels underground, and we walked in one for about 150 meters.

During and after dinner, I had the chance to get to know the new people, Hannah from Australia, Muriel from Canada, Florian from Austria and Du Yun from China, but who lives in New York and is a composer! How cool is that! They seem really nice, much better than the earlier group!

Oh and the two-faced Laura pissed me off further because she came and told me that they all thought Sophia slept with the captain of the boat because earlier, they had gone snorkeling together and appeared to be very close, and in the night Sophia was missing. In fact, Sophia told me this morning that she ate too much for dinner last night, was feeling sick and slept on the deck for a while. This is the kind of close minded, gossipy, bad hearted people they are.

I was actually wondering whether it was me, whether I was so bad at making friends that they all hated me. But now I know it's not me. It's them. Inferior beings who look down on others without realizing what fools they are themselves. I should never have doubted myself.

My life - Part 7

My older brother was the scientist, I was the dreamer. I used to follow him on his 'expeditions' where he would collect 'specimens' such as spiders, frogs, fishes and lizards one at a time to put in aquariums and study them, their eating habits, their movements, their reaction to being in an enclosed environment. After about a week we would let them go and hunt for another 'specimen'. Thus began my lifelong interest in, and love for, animals (except insects, the 6 legged variety).

My older brother was also an avid reader. When he went to kindergarten, he would come home and read comic books, and because I was at an age where I thought my older brother was such a cool dude and I wanted to do everything he did, I started reading some of his books, and this is odd because although I could read by the time I was 3, I could not write alphabets. Nevertheless, thus began my lifelong interest in, and love for, books.

I used to play quite a lot with my older brother, and although I can't remember exactly when or why, we started to grow apart around the time of the arrival of my younger brother. And things never quite went back to the way it was. We used to hold hands all the time when we were small, and now I cannot bring myself to even hug him goodbye because I had never hugged him before in my life. Not that we don't talk to each other or anything, but somehow we just couldn't go back to the way things had been when we were children.

Day 5 - Galápagos Islands

Monday, 18 August 2014

Breakfast at 7 am, fruits, cereal and omelette, then to Dragon Hill on Santa Cruz Island for a short trek. Here I saw land iguanas, the males are apparently confused, it is not the mating season but because of changes in the weather, they become colorful anyway, yellow underbellies and red skin. This is to attract females but none will come because it is not the mating season. Also lizards and finches. The island is the most populated in the entire Galápagos Islands, a population of about 24,000 people who are mostly farmers. It is the third largest island. The largest is Isabella, followed by James, Santa Cruz and San Christobal. The guide told us that the sharks we saw last night were the Galapagos sharks, they are fierce!

Then snorkeling, I saw a ray and a turtle but no photos. We have to tip the crew and the guide and I'm trying to find out from the rest what they are tipping but everyone seems to be so tight lipped, the selfish bastards. I have an added problem, most of the people here are on a cruise for only 5 days so they leave tomorrow, and Laura and I will continue staying here with a new guide and new crew. So I asked our guide, Alphonse, whether I have to tip twice and he said it is really up to me. So confusing! I think for this crew I'm inclined to tip USD20 and the guide USD10. I'll see when it comes to the next crew.

Snorkeling again at 1.30 pm. At the Isle of Eden. From the dinghy, I saw sea lions, turtles, blue footed boobies, a blue heron, and a ray. Now back on the boat to Porta Ayora, where there will be a change of crew as well as guide. They said we can get off at Porta Ayora, a small town, and walk around, and there is free wi fi! I'm charging my phone now so that I can answer all my messages, I'm sure all at home must be worried sick! I would be, too if the roles were reversed. Like the time Amma went to Australia on her own.

After dinner we went to town. I walked with Sophia, away from the group. She really doesn't like them and neither do I. She wanted to buy a t-shirt but it was too expensive. I bought 3 souvenirs costing USD 9 in total. Because it's a tourist area, the prices are ridiculous. I wanted to look for wifi but you had to go into a restaurant and get the password. The others were having beers, Sophia told me to join them and she just refused to sit down with them even for a while! I sat down with them out of necessity, and sent a few hurried whatsapp messages and emails. Apparently my tenant wants to move out this month, this is ridiculous, I paid the agent a months' rent as his agency fees, and the tenant is moving out after only 5 months! I told Philip to check the tenancy agreement and to try and sort it out, I'll get in touch with him again after I get back on dry land.

It's so sad, I have become really close to Sophia and I will miss her when she leaves tomorrow. I hope the new people on the boat turn out to be better than these people. Gah!

My life - Part 6

My parents in their infinite wisdom thought that we children would have a better life if we could speak English fluently. So they spoke English at home, with the result that we children became very fluent in English, and not so fluent in Tamil, my mother tongue.

This would prove to be bad in the end. Throughout my life, I felt that I was neither here nor there. I am Indian but not quite because I don't watch Tamil movies or listen to Tamil songs. I tried talking in Tamil and keeping up with Tamil movies but it's just not me. I grew up listening to English songs, watching English cartoons, programs and movies, and reading English books. But I am not English, I am Indian. Try fitting in!

I never had many Indian friends. We just didn't think alike. I had more Malay and Chinese friends in school, but somehow I never really fit in with them, either. This will continue to be a theme throughout my life - neither here nor there. Can, but not quite. Maybe, but maybe not. 

Day 4 - Galápagos Islands

Sunday, 17 August 2014

Right now it's about 8 pm in Galapagos, we just had dinner (chicken, rice and beet root, and a delicious lemon mousse which tasted milky and fresh), and I am sitting at the top most part of the boat under a star full of skies, and at the side of the boat, I can see flying fishes, sea lions and sharks swimming. It doesn't get any better than this.

This morning we had eggs and sausages for breakfast, but for some odd reason although I enjoyed it, it didn't go down well with me with the result that I felt sea sick again for most of the day. After breakfast we went to North Seymour Island for a short trek. There I saw swallow tail gulls (they mate for life, when one dies, the other waits a year before looking for a mate, but the Galápagos penguins which are not in this island, mate for life, when one dies the other dies after a few days out of loneliness or hunger), lava lizards, land iguanas (they have yellow underbellies and brown skin), 2 kinds of frigate birds, magnificent and minor, but only the male magnificent frigate bird (the male has a red air pouch to attract females, the bigger the better, and purple to black feathers, the chick is white on top, the minor male frigate bird which I didn't see also has red pouch, with greenish feathers), blue footed boobies (the males are smaller, makes a whistling whooshing sound during mating), various birds and lizards.

I think I was stung by something on my finger and it was damn painful but I'm not sure what it was. I don't seem to be suffering from any consequences so I guess it's fine. Then snorkeling, I saw a fur sea lion! But only one. There were supposed to be hammerhead sharks but since I don't swim I didn't see any.

Then lunch, which I ate extremely carefully as I was feeling ill, although again it was delicious, fried shrimp and vegetables. Then we travelled for 2 hours to our next destination, the Black Turtle Cove in Santa Cruz Island (one of the islands that Charles Darwin was not on). Here we took a dinghy ride and I saw mangroves (red and white), seagulls and brown nuddies (a type of bird, not sure of spelling - these birds follow pelicans around with the hope of stealing their fish when the pelican tries to let water out of its beak/pouch), white tipped sharks, black turtles, hawksbill turtles, golden rays, eagle rays, yellow warbler and other birds and fishes.

Then back to the boat, I had a shower and washed my hair after more than a week!!! Dinner and here I am under the stars watching sharks and sea lions swimming by. 

My life - Part 5

I've always had a wild imagination, and I was always very playful and got into all sorts of trouble. I remember watching a Superman cartoon once on TV and I decided to be Superman so I 'borrowed' my mother's red dress or table cloth or whatever it was I can't remember now, and I attempted to jump from the hill behind my house in Raub. Except this was a stupid thing to do because it was a hill, with a slope. So instead of flying, I rolled down the slope and was in a right mess. Needless to say my mother chased me with a lidi broom when she saw my condition and I think I got beaten for it. Another time I climbed up a tree and was too afraid to come down, and was also too afraid to call out to my mother so I waited until my father came home from work and he had to bring me down from the tree.

When I look back on my life, excluding kindergarten, I think the first 6 years of my life were the happiest. I was always up to all sorts of mischief and experimenting with anything I can find (among others, I made a kite that wouldn't fly, a boomerang which didn't work and a sling shot which did) and for the most part, I was careful enough not to get caught by my parents. I was always in search of another adventure.

I learned from my observational skills that my older brother would never get into trouble, and that if I played with him, I would be the one who got beaten or scolded, never him. So I learned to play on my own, and to find ways of hiding what I'd been up to. I learned that the less my parents knew about what I was doing, the less trouble I got into. When my younger brother came along, he was the naughtiest boy ever, but he never bothered to hide anything from my parents, with the result that he was constantly getting into trouble with my parents. The difference was, he got into trouble for his own wrongdoing. I got into trouble not only for my own wrongdoing (which was seldom because I learnt to hide well), but for others' wrongdoing, or because my mother was in a bad mood, or just because.

So again, I learned to play on my own, far far away from my brothers - one because he could never get into any trouble, and one because he was constantly getting into trouble and dragging me into it. On hindsight, that was probably the start of my anti-social behavior.

Day 3 - Galápagos Islands

Saturday, 16 August 2014

I didn't sleep well during the night. The boat started moving sometime in the night to go to Santa Fe Island, our next destination and it was rough travel! The current was so strong that Laura's (my cabin mate) stuff that she kept on the shelf fell off, but we couldn't pick it up because the boat was moving too much.

At 7 am breakfast was served. I mandi kerbau and had breakfast, then we went on the dinghy to Santa Fe Island. On the way, I saw blue footed boobies, a Galapagos hawk, frigate birds (the males have a red chest which they blow out to attract females, it takes 6 hours for it to deflate) and on the island itself I saw plenty of sea lions, lizards and land iguanas. Then snorkeling, I stayed in the dinghy.

Then back to the boat for lunch. They served beef and I told the guide I don't eat beef and the other people on the boat heard this and appeared to be in disbelief. I don't really like the people on the boat except for this one woman named Sophia who is from Belgium but has lived in Bolivia for about a year. She and I appear to have been cast out by the rest, she because she cannot speak English well, me because I think to them I am weird - I don't swim, snorkel or dive, I was sea sick yesterday and missed dinner, and I don't eat beef. Well, I am Asian, and I know more about the Galápagos Islands and about their respective countries than they will ever know about Asia, and that's certainly their loss, not mine. Laura is ok, but I think she tries too hard to fit in, plus she's naturally talkative because she is American. So she's mostly with them. I am mostly on my own or with Sophia, and that's fine with me.

After lunch we had to travel about 3 hours to Punta Carrion, and I was starting to feel sick again so I lay down and I think dozed off. I find laying down the best solution to sea sickness, but it's not very good for digestion. Then snorkeling again, I stayed in the dinghy. Staying in the dinghy also has its benefits, because I get to ask the guide all sorts of questions about the animals and the islands, for example San Christobal Island (the one I went to yesterday) is the oldest island about 4 million years old, Charles Darwin did not go to all the islands in Galapagos and his research centre is on an island called Santa Cruz, which is not one of the islands he was on, the Galápagos Islands were uninhabited until about 80 years ago when some people from Ecuador moved to the islands, and the Galápagos Islands have been under Ecuador's reign for about 150 years.

During the afternoon trip I saw white tipped sharks, fishes, pelicans and various other birds. The Galápagos Islands is 14 hours behind Malaysia.

My life - Part 4

I can be observant if I choose to be. Most of the time I choose not to be. I do this on purpose, it's a self defense mechanism. The more I observe, the more ugliness I see, and the more I get hurt. If I choose to be blind, nothing can hurt me. I realize this is choosing to be ignorant. But ignorance has always made me happy, so why not?

When I was young I used to observe my mother giving just a little bit more love, attention and care to my elder brother. The small things like always giving him what he wants whereas I only get anything out of necessity. The big things like if she was in a bad mood, she would inevitably take it out on me, even when it's clearly my brother who has broken something or not done what he has been told. At that age, I couldn't begin to understand the concept of equality but my observations told me something was not quite right. 

The problem heightened after my younger brother came along. My older brother would get all the attention, followed by my younger brother, and last came me. My only consolation was that my father would pay some attention to me, with the result that I became extremely close to my father. How could I not, when he was the only one I could turn to at that time?

I tried to understand why my own mother didn't love me, or didn't love me as much as my brothers. The only difference I could think of was that I was a girl and they were boys. So when I was about 5, I used to pray to God and wish and wish and wish that when I woke up in the morning I would become a boy, and hence be just as much loved as my brothers. 

It never happened. Little did I realize that God was also cruel sometimes, because I never seem to get anything I wished or prayed for. There would come a time when I stopped praying.

Day 2 - Quito / Galápagos Islands

Friday, 15 August 2014

I write this whilst on board Flight EQ 195 to San Christobal, where I will embark on a cruise ship known as the New Flamingo, which will take me to the Galápagos Islands! This is surely one of the highlights of my trip. Nature and animals - what more can anyone ask for?

I almost got a heart attack when the plane landed after an hour. My itinerary said that I was due to arrive in about 2 hours and 10 minutes. And all announcements were in Spanish. Finally it was announced that the plane was stopping in Guayaquil, and will go on to San Christobal and please be remain seated. Thank God!

The flight was delayed (what else is new?) and I arrived more than 2 hours after my scheduled arrival. I hoped and prayed that the tour guide would wait for me, what if he thinks I'm not showing up? The airport was more like a shack. There was a notice board saying this was a temporary airport. We had to go get our own luggages which were spread out on the floor. The tour guide waited. Thank God!

Everyone had a back pack. Of course, we'll be on a boat. I had a suitcase. I could've died of embarrassment except I felt an overwhelming urge to laugh. I did neither. We arrived at our boat. To describe the cabin as small would be an understatement. I am sharing the room with a woman named Laura from New York. She seems nice except she's American so non-stop with the stories. She has travelled a lot on her own. I should be more like her. There are 8 other people on the boat.

After having lunch, the first thing to do was snorkeling at Kicker Rocks. Ha ha! No, thanks. I stayed on the boat whilst everyone else went snorkeling to see turtles, sea lions, corals and fishes. Later I found out from the captain that there is snorkeling everyday! Looks like I booked the wrong cruise. But otherwise, how am I to see all the islands? This is the cheapest cruise I can find.

I also found out that there is no hot water and no wifi. The shower is more like a hose. I have warned people about the no wifi and I hope they are not unduly worried but I'm sure they are.

Because I stayed on the boat the whole time, I developed sea sickness and felt nauseous all the time. I didn't eat dinner because I am still feeling a bit woozy. 

My life - Part 3

As I have mentioned before, my father told me that I was a happy baby. That, looking back, was largely due to the fact that I was ignorant as to how cruel the world can be.

My first encounter with reality was when I was 3 (my younger brother wasn't born yet and I was 4 when he was born so I must've been 3). My paternal grandmother and two aunties were staying with us at that time in Raub and as both my parents were working to make ends meet, I was quite attached to my paternal grandmother and my aunties.

One day, I remember either drawing or writing something and showing it to my grandmother, and she said inTamil that I was a perfect child except for the colour of my skin; if I had been born fairer I would be perfect.

And thus began my lifelong low self esteem problem with the way I looked, especially the skin colour I was born in. I shouldn't blame my grandmother for that, but somehow I feel that if she was not the first person to tell me that, it wouldn't be so bad if it came from any other third party. I was close to her and her words not only stung but left a permanent mark in my heart. From then on, everything that went wrong I told myself if only I was beautiful this wouldn't have happened, people would be nicer to me etc

This continues until today.

Day 1 - Quito (continued)

Would you believe it, I made 2 friends! Since I now only have 1 day in Quito thanks to my flight problems, I had to decide what to do in 1 day. I decided to go to the historical centre of Quito which is a World Heritage site, most of the architecture there dates back to the 17th century with cobble stoned pathways and a glimpse into the past. I am a sucker for history, the more ancient the better. So Central Historical it was!

The receptionist at the hostel (God bless his soul) tried his best to explain how to get there in Spanish to me. After a while, just to be polite I said ok and 'si' because I didn't understand a single word he was saying. But I wanted to walk around town anyway, I find that it's the best way to get to know a place.

And also as usual, I was horribly lost after about 15 minutes of walking and had to ask people where this place is, and I think I was in the right direction because everyone pointed me in one direction. Then I was in a park and I accosted 2 boys who were walking along their merry way and asked them for directions. David could not speak English at all, Duver could speak a few words and instead of giving me directions, they volunteered to show me around, and they paid for my bus and train tickets. In return, I bought them lunch at a Colombian restaurant because they are Colombians and they are working as chefs in Quito.

So I managed to see the Basilica, a Gothic style church, the Garcia Moreno street (the seven crosses street), the Plaza Grande which houses the Presidential and Archbishop palaces, the City Hall and the Cathedral, and the Jesuits' Church (La Campagnia de Jesus), a building built in the 17th century. 

They taught me a few Spanish words and I taught them a few English words. They are very young, 25 and 23 and they thought I was their age. If only they knew what an old hag I am I don't think they would've hung out with me. Thank God for Amma's genes!

I always think that I am anti-social and don't get along well with people, at least in Malaysia I always think like that, but when I'm travelling I almost become someone else, I've always managed to make friends wherever I go. I should get to the bottom of this but that's another story.

Day 1 - Quito

The most exciting thing that has happened to me thus far is that on the flight from Bogota to Quito, I sat beside a Franciscan Friar, complete with brown robes and peculiar haircut! Unfortunately he couldn't speak English so I couldn't ask him Friar-ly questions but I find it really exciting to sit beside a real live Friar Tuck!

I read about altitude sickness, but so far the only time I felt a bit sick was when I landed in Bogota, and I'm not even sure about the altitude there because I did not research Bogota at all. Felt a bit nauseous, and a bit light headed, but after a while it went away. And once I reached Quito, I didn't feel sick at all. It was about 6 degrees Celcius at night, my feet almost froze! Now it's about 18 degrees Celcius but at it's sunny. Quito is mountainous region, part of the Andes (how exciting!) and it's about 2,800 metres above sea level. Population about 2.5 million.

I just had breakfast, bought water so I'm ready to explore the city! I will get lost for sure, but as long as I'm back safe, even if it's early, I am happy.

I have arrived!

After what feels like forever, I have finally arrived in Quito, in one piece, with my luggage! Praise The Lord! There's a few lessons to be learnt from this:

1.   Never give up. Although, if you really think  about it, sometimes it's better to give up and start all over again. But one must always try. It may work out in the end, and the end is always worth the try.

2.    Never transit in Singapore so help you God! After all the hullabaloo about not having a return ticket, none was asked of me by the immigration at Ecuador. I still disagree with Singapore's interpretation of having a return ticket, as long as I can show that I am exiting a country at a certain point in time, I don't see what the big fuss is.

The weather is Quito is really cold. The hotel people was supposed to pick me up from the airport but due the numerous changes in schedule, they didn't show and I don't blame them. I took a cab to the hotel, had a shower after 3 days (who knew I could go 3 days without bathing!), washed some clothes and now I'm ready for bed!

Except that I'm not at all sleepy because it's about 2.00 pm Malaysian time. And I forgot to ask for the wifi password and for some strange reason although I have roaming, I can't send any sms-es. So I'm incognito for a while and I'm sure people are worrying about me but there's nothing I can do about that now. 

The locals here that I've met thus far are really nice. Language is going to be a problem but that's the least of my worries. They look a bit like Red Indians, and although they all speak Spanish, there are 23 different local dialects in Ecuador used by different tribes here, the most famous being Quecha (not sure of spelling).

We'll see what happens tomorrow!