Chris Sends the best /Thanks Chris
Map of Hampi ruins (printable):

http://www.karnatakatourism.org/html/gethere/map_3.htm

_____________

Photo-tour of Hampi ruins and attractions - see page bottom link
reading:

"Lets now take a tour of Hampi..."

http://www.koramangala.com/travel/hampi/hampi.htm

_____________

- Chris

- posted by Andy @ 8:04 PM

 
FUNNY STUFF ON INTERNET
This internet cafe in Hampi has Proxiy, stops on upload, download and all sorts of ways to record my keystrokes. This is why I normally go to Hospet, and Hospet is cheaper. But Happy New Year from a pain in the B... Internet Cafe in India.

About 1 in 20 A drives work in India
I can almost never find a CD Rom Drive

They exist
- posted by Andy @ 7:30 PM

 
JEFF IN INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA
This is my friend I want to meet in India. He has put up information in South Africa.

http://jeff.westinfamily.com/South_Africa.html
- posted by Andy @ 7:11 PM

 
RICKSHAW TRIP GOOD - Thursday Morning
I did my tour of Hampi. I thought the Rickshaw driver would be more helpful, but he would never leave his Rickshaw and walk with me, so I was basically alone. A motorcycle would almost have been as good. I think if you go to the “Prince” restaurant the man that manages it is a guide. I saw him out explaining to the other tourist about the city. He is short and they have movies at this restaurant. There was a group of tourist in a van with him. Other than that I would suppose the best place to book a tour is really in Hospet and not in Hampi.

BIRD IN ROOM - Thursday Morning

Happy New Years

I was sitting typing on my computer. A bird sticks it head through the steel grate or wire mesh above my door for air circulation and then flies into the room. I had to open the doors and wait for it to leave. They say to expect the unexpected in India and in many ways this is absolutely true.

TOUR BY RICKSHAW TODAY
I have decided to give up the 300 Rupee or 6 Dollars US to see the site of Hampi by motorized Rickshaw. I cannot recommend this highly because most Rickshaw driver are manipulative jerks. It takes a lot of energy to fight of them being jerks. It is a “Taxi Driver” mentality. But I have been taking with this driver and he speaks the best English in Hampi, and has a Rickshaw. That is a good combination for a hack tour of the site. I have not met any guides, but I am sure there are some out and about, but for the most part this is a self-serve tourist archeology site. I am sure the Rickshaw driver will learn a lot about my form of American Culture today. I have a well thought out plan of attack on how to learn about this site, and he will have a well planned out though on how to gloss over it and drop me off at the hotel. I am 100 percent positive I know more about Hampi than 95 percent of the other tourist, so I will be a very unusual rider.

I have spend the last 10 days learning about Hampi and have not really looked at anything, so now when I look at things I will have a clue. Archeology sites are not for the druggies and Rasta, it is for the readers and historians. In fact it is obviously not for the Drinkers as so far they are all in Goa doing the Pome thing. Hampi is full of every culture and in balance presently, so this is very nice. I have met a lot of Americans, French, Italians, Holland, Japanese, and a few Germans. Of course a few scattering of other, but these are the dominant ones. I sometime think that to follow the Japanese around would be to discover the highlights of a country. You can follow the Brits around to find the party; you can follow the Germans and Scandinavians around to find the girls… (Prostitutes). The Americans are usually following the Japanese. Holland can be found anywhere. French are very difficult to stereotype, they can be anywhere, for any reason. There are very few French and Americans out traveling so they are scattered about. I have not seen any Australians here in Hampi. There are a lot of Israeli people.
This Brazilian girl I met wants to go to Mysore to take a Yoga class, it finally connected in my head she is a “Searching for God Traveler.” I told her,
“I do not argue with God, so I do not have to go look.”
I am sure she did not get it.

There is a Sadu here in Hampi that dresses like a Hobo, but is also one of the town drunks. I took a lot of photos. I am trying to learn about Sadus. I will go look it up in my computer…

Sadhu: I need to spell it right first.. Hehehe

SADHU OR SWAMIS: From Encyclopedia Britannica
also spelled saddhu and swamy, Sanskrit s(dhu and sv(min, in India, religious or holy men. Sadhu signifies any religious ascetic or holy man. The class of sadhus includes not only genuine saints of many faiths but also men (and occasionally women) who have left their homes in order to concentrate on physical and spiritual disciplines, as well as hermits, magicians, and fortune-tellers, some of dubious religious intent. Swami usually refers to an ascetic who has been initiated into a specific religious order and, in recent years, has come to be applied particularly to monks of the Ramakrishna Mission. A ‰aiva (follower of the god ‰iva) sadhu is generally referred to as a sannyasi (q.v.), or daˆn(mY sanny(sin, while a Vai—pava (follower of the god Vishnu) monk is often called a vair (gin (q.v.). An ascetic who practices yoga in order to achieve his spiritual goals is a yogin, or yogi. A Jaina ascetic is usually referred to as a muni, while a monk who follows the teachings of Buddha is a bhikku (q.v.).

Sadhus may live together in monasteries (ma¡has) that usually belong to a particular order, may wander throughout the country alone or in small groups, or may isolate themselves in small huts or caves. They generally take vows of poverty and celibacy and depend on the charity of householders for their food. Their dress and ornaments differ according to sectarian allegiances but they usually wear ochre-coloured (more rarely, white) robes. They shave their heads, or they allow their hair to lie matted on their shoulders or twist it in a knot on top of their heads. They usually retain only the few possessions they carry with them: a staff (dap;a), a waterpot (kamap;alu), an alms bowl, a rosary, perhaps an extra cloth or a fire tong.

S(dhus generally congregate on important religious occasions, such as lunar eclipses or mel(s (fairs), and throughout the year are found in large numbers in sacred cities such as V(r(nasi (Benares) and Haridw(r. STOP

THE OCHER VERSION
This guy has a red / yellow type clothing and drinks Arak. He has a bundle on a stick and looks like a Pumpkin Version of a Hobo.

WHERE TO GO?
I am trying to make up my mind on where to go after Hampi. My friend Jeff is coming into Delhi and then going to Nepal, so I am thinking about going up and connecting with him for reunion of two travelers. I met him in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Ecuador so we do run into each other along the path. I was going to go on the Siberian Railway with him, but he has decided to do that run in the winter and I decided to pass.

To travel to northern India is about the same as traveling by car all the way across the USA so this is not a light decision. It will only cost me about 14 dollars for the transportation, but I am not wanting to miss India. I went to the ticket vendor last night; he was smart and knowledgeable about India. He was telling me how I could go to Varanasi in the North and they can easily arrange a ticket to Katmandu, Nepal. This sounded really good, easy, and simple. I liked the idea a lot, and then he told me that he had book 3 French people on the same route. I remember that the Brazilian girl I met had just arrived from Varnasi. I was putting 2 and 2 together and realized this was a route, or tracking of the travelers. I came from Goa to Hampi and that is definitely a standard path of travelers, but I stopped in 4 cities on the way and did not take the sleeper. That is not the SOP. Standard Operating Procedure.

So I think and wonder what is best. Jeff is saying he will be in Rajastan for 3 weeks before he goes to Nepal. He enters on the 9th of January to Delhi and wanders around Rajastan for 3 weeks. That would give me about 3 weeks to get towards the border of Nepal.

I have met hundreds of people that have visited the USA. The go to New York, Miami, Chicago, Grand Canyon, Los Angeles, etc. and leave the country. They jump between the big locations in the country and say they have visited the USA. They have never said,
“I stopped in Indiana and went to Brown County National Park in the south. It is not on the world traveler’s radar. Too small, and who would want to go to nice, clean, and civilized India? They would rather see the fruits and nuts of New York and Los Angeles. This is the USA, but it is not the USA also, and they are going more for the bizarre and not the normal people.

Now, I tell them to get a car and roam around the small place of the USA. I do not think they take me up on my advice, and they would probably consider it boring. Normal people with normal lives are not what the world wants to see.

I have been complaining or commenting that the food in Hubli was better than the food in Hampi. I have also realized the food in Hospet is better than the food in Hampi. The normal city food of India is better than the Tourist food of Hampi. A city changes when it becomes a tourist center and it is not for the better. There is nothing normal about a tourist destination other than it is normally a very crazy and expensive place, that is normal.

So… The stupid trains need reservations. This is a real pain.
I am going to do the jump to go north right up the heart of India by small bus I am 90 percent sure. It will take 2-3 weeks to arrive in the north and I will see the most boring parts of the country, but I will see the heart of India.

The vendor was saying that full moon was coming and they would be people arriving or doing some religious whatever on the full moon in Varnasi. I am absolutely positive that religious events, temples, churches, shrines and any other crap are the biggest tourist attractions in the world. Hampi is full of Hindu temples and there are traveler walking around with RED dots in between their eyes. AAGH!

A bunch of atheist walking around pretending and being fashionable. The whole world is looking for God and no one will open his or her eyes.

IMMERSION HEATER FOR WATER
Chris from Idaho and me have been looking for a good dual voltage 220-110 immersion water heater for both making tea or coffee water and to heat water for washing clothes or sterilizing for drinking.

I have learned:

1. The immersions that sit on the edge do NOT heat the bottom of the water. I believe I need one that sits on bottom of glass or bucket. There is a depth problem also. If I do not have just exactly in the water they burn up.

2. WATTS - I would like a 100 or maybe a 200-300 Watt Maximum immersion heater. Anything more and I spend my time working on fuses and breaker boxes, plus the owners of hotels look at me with dirty looks.

I am not sure but the photo on the page of help Andy travel is still my best choice. I need to test the Watts, as I cannot remember what it was? I purchase that one in La Paz, Bolivia for about 1-dollar USA and it was made in China. It was a 220 one and could be used in110.

I was amazed that some of the people wanted 20-60 Dollars U.S. for these devices. I am having trouble with the tungsten ones and they burn up very easily, while the one from China is very durable. Plus the plastic around the heating coils protects from arcing inside the cup.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/helpandy.shtml
- posted by Andy @ 6:41 PM

 
HAMPI BIKE RIDE - Monday Morning
HAMPI BIKE RIDE - Monday Morning
I took off on my rented bike yesterday and quickly discovered that the direction I was traveling that bikes were not allowed. So the bike was of little use yesterday, but it was a nice ride anyway. I am sort of doing a North / South / East / West Tour of Hampi. I am going different directions and find all the possible places to visit. The small map sold to me by the boys in the street is very bad and the map is terrible. There is definitely a need for a better map with landmarks to help me know the road or turns. There is a small difference sometimes here between a path and a road.

I was lucky and ran into a guy that was selling books on Hampi. There were 4 very good books of reference and information. Mostly a somewhat ad hoc history of Hampi, but they had lots of photos and if I was going to the perfect job it would work to have these books. But they were being sold at USA price levels and I could live in India for a month on the money.

I did find out some information that may help me. I discovered that there is an archeology office or something with scaled down model of the Hampi site. The one book had a lot of photos of this model. If I could go take photos of this model it could really help to visit the locations.

I think the guides and rickshaw drivers interfere to stop travelers from knowing any good information so they must hire a guide. If I was here for 1 or 2 days only I think that would be the best way.

Note that someone has ripped the page on Hampi out of my Footprints guidebook so who know what it said on that page?
I do not drive myself crazy with this information and I am positive that 90 percent of the travelers see less than me. I am very good at researching and learning, and most just one the main attractions to say they was there. In the end it is important that a person do exactly what they do, and not worry, because the world is really big and the conversation at home about Hampi would probably be less than one minute. I do not hold to the belief that I must learn everything or there is value in learning trivial stuff. I learn for fun, and when it is not fun, I do not learn.

I do the same on books; I read for fun, if the book is not fun I will not read it. I am too old for reading books that are lots of work. I trade one of them intellectual books yesterday for a book that was recommended for me to read called,
“Are You Experienced?” by William Sutcliffe

This book is like a traveler inside view of the funny or maybe stupid things that happen in India. I have not read the book yet, so only the future will tell. I started a little and it looks go though.

INDIA TECHIE
Maybe some of you have looked that page made by the techie from Margoa and have some ideas, I have been thinking a lot about the page because I want improvements on HoboTraveler.com to take place, but the more I think about it I have to remember why I started to talking to him. I wanted some filters on the submission in PHP and not a new design for the page.

But I need some help with visitmosul.org and he is right on target for that site, plus I already have a 10 dollar donation for them and that would about pay for him to do the site or at least get a good start. I can see if I can convince him to coincide my goals with his goals… hehehe.

But what he designed is a perfect format of visitmosul.org so I think I will focus him on that and see if he can place a forum, chat, and submission on that site, plus that is the site he already is using to test. I did not allow him access to Hobo. That is like committing suicide with most Techies. They just love to reinvent the wheel and forget that my page is already on the right path. I do not need new wheels; I just want some of them polished.

Radical changes in anything big can be dramatic. This is the essence of why the American Constitution works, it is impossible to change quickly. But like the constitution I do not like to fix what is working, but I do like some of his ideas.

I tend to copy the big boys. I love the pull-down links, but Yahoo and not of the big sites use them, so why would I until I know why…
Flash is for the silly boys as best I can tell. I am thinking that some map sites can use this, but for the most part a FLASH in the pan.

So maybe I can harvest some good work from him and get further toward some other goals, and maybe I can steer him back towards my primary goal of filters on Hobo.

MISSED PHOTO
I left the room and went to the toilet. Upon closing the door, dumping a bucket down the toilet and looking around I spotted a dog on the grass roof or palm frond roof of a large building. Here is this dog on the very peak of the building. I am in my beach towel and do not have a camera. My brain slowly connects as the dog walks over to a pole that came out of the roof, raises its leg and urinates. Now lets see…?
Where does urine go that performed on the roof a grass hut?

I had a cat come through my ceiling in Peru and I have been careful every since on animals and ceiling of grass.

Why is a dog on the roof a house? People put dogs on roof or allow dogs to roam on roofs of house for protection. There was an adjoining concrete roof and I think the dog just jumped over to roam around. The rooftops are like Mary Poppins and you could jump from roof to roof to roof. I would skip the grass roofs though.

I have walked by many a roof where suddenly the dog came running by and scare me to death. It comes over to the edge and start barking right above your head. There are lots of dogs in India and windows with bars. That means to me there is sufficient crime to warrant these types of protections. Note that in Europe they all have bars on the windows also, but they just have a problem with the feces of dogs there.

I was not able to get the photo of the dog fast enough, and there was a Monkey rooting around in the trashcan also, so I took a photo the Monkey.

BIKE TOURS TODAY - Sunday morning.
26 Square Kilometers of ruins is a lot. A direct bike ride to the edge of my world is probably about 6 kilometers, so today I take off I hope on a 12 kilometer round trip bike ride. I will try to log in this site with photos. I was reading in the English papers here in India that UNESCO was going to visit Hampi soon. I suppose they will make it a site and try to protect it. I vacillate on this place, because it is very beautiful with the water, rocks, and mix of ruins and building, and a great place for rest and relaxation, but the site is really from the 1400’s to the present and not old. But a lot of UNESCO sites are not old, so that is in line with them.

I do not try to take comprehensive photos of places like “Buckingham Palace” and all the extremely visited destinations, but Hampi is noteworthy and there does not appear to be many good photos out there on the net so I will give an abundance I hope. I say I hope, because the world change and some days I lose interest. Hard to want to document by photos a place. It takes a lot of time and is not fun. But it does help the traffic on my site, especially when I do the obscure place that the historians and archeologist are researching.

TOP 10 -- WORKING - Sunday Morning
I have been putting out a top 10 webpage for the year X for I think 3 years now and this is becoming both easier and more difficult. In some ways I am totally connected, and in other ways I am lost. I know a lot about what the actual traveler are saying, but the researchers or compilers of information know a lot that I do not know.

For instance they could sit around at home and research Hampi a lot better than I could here in Hampi. They would have the Internet, the library, and multiple reference sources available, like say the old newspapers and such. I have a lot of kids trying to sell brochure and postcards extremely available. (They ask me to buy every 10th step.)

I am slowly getting more reader participation and this is very helpful. It is just wonderful how often readers I giving me the heads up on great sites or places to visit. Chris in Idaho is an incredible help, but the casual emails keep me on track when I am off track on very specific issues.

So working on this Top 10 page today has been taxing. I try to get gut level honest and say what page I use, and not what would sound good. I am always popping in on google.com and I put that in the top ten this year, as I had to be honest with myself. I still like newsletters a source of information, but they have become a pain as they constantly point me towards links or page and that is NOT in the letter. This is the reason my letters are large. I want the person to be able to download in some real expensive Internet country and have something to read besides links. How would you like a newspaper that sent you to the library? And did not give you the “News.”

This is a trend in Internet newsletter and is a bad assumption that the world has access 24/7. Only the USA, England, Australia, New Zealand and a very few others are that connected. The rest of the world is paying a lot. So downloading and reading offline is the best method. I have less and less newsletters to read because there is NO news in the letter and I unsubscribe. I have lots of people want me to go to HTML letter, but when I stop receiving scramble HTML letters in my downloaded Foxmail email client I will think about, but until then, I will stay with the text that works anywhere in the world.

I think my mirrors on Yahoogroups.com are HTML and they come in scramble to me. What a drag… But the majority of my readers are on Topica.com and this is better. I constantly try to answer to myself,
“Do I want to have the text wrapped?”

Not a big problem, and I have consistently ignored this checkbox in Yahoogroups for a year. They are asking me if I want them to wrap the text. I am not sure what they mean, so I just ignore. A default is always better than a stupid guess.
- posted by Andy @ 9:28 PM

 
INDIA Techie Page
Hello,
I have this guy in Margoa, India that is trying to help me update my Web Page. I am trying to put a lot of filters on submission. He wants to change the whole format. Here is an example of his work.

Happy and fun. This is good, and a big problem with Techies, they tend to make dreary. But the feel is good. Tell me thoughts if you wish. I am not saying I am changing my present home page

Example:
http://www.visitmosul.org/beta5/main.php

NORMAL OR EXISTING:
http://www.hobotraveler.com
COMMENTS SEND TO:
hoboontheroad DELETE at DELETE yahoo.com
All that to stop the harvesting of spammers.. hehehe

Thanks.. Happy New Year now!
- posted by Andy @ 10:26 PM

 
ADDED MORE SUBJECTS TO HOME PAGE OF HOBO
ADDED MORE SUBJECTS TO HOME PAGE OF HOBO
http://www.hobotraveler.com/electricity.php
http://www.hobotraveler.com/heatorwarmth.php
http://www.hobotraveler.com/packing.php
http://www.hobotraveler.com/toiletsandshowers.php

SPITTLE AND MUCUS or maybe Mucous - Saturday Morning
I went on one of them curiosity journeys in the recess of my Computer Encyclopedia and found some interesting trivial or possible clues to the loud hacking I must listen to from various cultures of the world that can be extremely irritating.

I will quote directly from Encyclopedia Britannica.

MUCUS -
“viscous fluid that moistens, lubricates, and protects many of the passages of the digestive and respiratory tracts in the body. Mucus is composed of water, epithelial (surface) cells, dead leukocytes, mucin, and inorganic salts. Mucus is produced by mucous cells, which are frequently clustered into small glands located on the mucous membrane that lines virtually the entire digestive tract. Large numbers of mucous cells occur in the mouth, where mucus is used both to moisten food and to keep the oral membranes moist while they are in direct contact with the air. Mucus in the nose helps to trap dust, bacteria, and other small inhaled particles. The stomach also has large numbers of mucous cells. Gastric mucus forms a layer about one millimetre thick that lines the stomach, protecting the organ from highly acidic gastric juice and preventing the juice from digesting the stomach itself.”

I am in a country that eats spicy food.
I am in a country that is full of DUST.

I am coughing and hacking also, and catch myself clearing my throat the same as the locals. I do this with a lot more manners and consideration for my fellow citizens of the planet though and take a better perspective on where to spit.

I can definitely say in the countries with very spicy food and dusty they spit, hack, and clear their throats. This would make sense if the mucus glands demand that it happen. Dust is a big pollution, and I remember reading that the first know deaths from pollution happened in London from the dust of carriages in the 1800’s.

Most countries with dirt roads or dirt floors for the inside of their homes spend lot of time watering in front of the home to make the ground hard, and to keep the dust down. In the morning though when they are using the semi-rake-broom made of stiff grass or broom fibers it makes a dust storm that can be very annoying.

I will go on a big bike ride today to clean my lungs. I am sure a good job around the park would make my lungs cleaners.

BIKE TOURS OF HAMPI - 30 Rupees per day.
I am becoming a big fan of the Bike Rental in India. It is a great way to travel. I

CALLED MY PARENTS - Saturday Morning
I called my parents to wish them Merry Christmas and hear the news on how they celebrated Christmas with the rest of the family. India is becoming one of my favorite countries to live and travel in because of the efficiency of their infrastructure.

I walked into a very small telephone center and called my parents. I paid 172 Rupees. I talked for 14.33 minutes. The cost was 12 Rupees per minute. I paid 3.82 U.S.A. Dollars for this telephone call and had a connection like I was in the other room. So I was very excited to it was just too easy, this made them and me very happy.

PACKAGE RECEIVED FROM INDIA
I sent a package from Margoa, in the State of Goa, India to Orland in the state of Indiana, of the USA on the 6th of January and it arrived I believe on the 24th of January.

I sent some special electrical devices that convert a light socket to a plug outlet and some very large fish hooks. I am not sure who was happier my parents or me. These 2 very strange cloth wrapped package from India arrives in a small rural town in Indiana and the postman, the neighbors, and the coffee clutch get to try to figure out what is inside and why I sent it to them. My father has already gave away 2 of the hooks to friends of his and that made me very happy. It was good to know that he knew I would not care and that this was good thing to do… give. Heaven forbid that my parents ever come to India they would spend their whole time giving out Rupees to the children and beggars asking for money.

No that is not true, they would learn like me that giving children money just makes them into to beggars and does not help them.

Well, I am very happy to know that is possible to send things I buy in India to the USA cheaply and pretty efficiently. I will soon have another 4-6 packages or parcels as they call them here to send. They do not understand the world package, but when I use the word parcel they do.

I made a page for labeling and inserted some advice and links from Chris of Idaho.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/im_labelsforcustoms.shtml

LIGHTS OUT - Saturday Morning.
I think the lights go out daily for a few minutes in the morning around 6 am. It is like clockwork in India. Everyday, and I have no clue why?

MAXIMUM WATTS - Friday Morning
I just blew another fuse or the wire inside the switch burnt through, I am not sure. I think I need to work on learning or making a guide to show what are the maximum wattages that can be used in the world. I know or think that maybe 3-5 one hundred watt light bulbs can be used for sure in most countries.

I hope this did not cause problems for some travelers. There is a noise, hustle-bustle outside from people talking. If by chance a person is up at 5 trying to prepare to leave and is on my same circuit, then this could be a problem for them.

What is the problem? Really the problem is that I never know how many people are on a circuit. The whole hotel could be on one circuit in places and in others maybe they have just one room. There is not rhyme or reason to know and extremely difficult to judge. I try to look over the electrical systems in hotels before I use the electricity, but often it may look great and be a problem. That is the situation here, I was betting that this new hotel the Shanti was better then the more scrubby Ganesh, and more family ran type. But this is often the opposite because the hotels are trying to add every possible outlet and light and the mom and pop places just are using normal amounts. So the Ganesh had a better electrical system… maybe.

I referenced the switch. There is a loose switch outside my room and it may have burned up. They have these switches that can turn off the whole room for the manager outside the rooms. This switch in the proper usage should be the breaker. But here it is just a normal switch. In Margao in the Greenview hotel they had it set up correctly.

I have found that they always run the plugs through a switch here. This can be a problem because when you connect the wires to the switch poles they often do them too loose and they burn when they arc across. I can often tell the switches are arcing inside the box. Not a big problem in India because the walls are concrete. In the USA they put them in plastic or steal boxes for protection. It is the same thing in the USA if you have a lazy electrician that does not make good connections. This is what happens when the cousin wires the house.

CHRIS on shower!
I have realized that the shower pipe and nozzle is of no accord. This is just a modern fixture that is convenient. I take lot of shower here in India with a large bucket and use a dipper to dump water on my head and body. There is no need to design a shower with a nozzle, only the bucket and a dipper is needed. It works a lot better also because you can put enough water on in strategic locations quickly and efficiently. The concept of shower is also a dip and dump over your head method and is easier when traveling.

HAMPI IS VERY CONFUSING
This place has about 26 square kilometers of ruins. That is a lot of things to look at and I am realizing that nothing makes sense and the information I have is fragmented. I am leaning towards getting a guide to help, but have not met anyone that I trust so far, and the India people are prone to saying what they think is needed to be heard by the western people, so that sort of devalues a guide.

I went with Lorina to a few places yesterday, and now I am going to reassert myself to learn or understand. The biggest problem about this site is the need to understand the extensive maps, and the distance between ruins is enough that you lose momentum.

I get the feeling these sites are similar to France, and England lot of construction from the 1500’s on and not ancient ruins. I am trying to learn or conceptualize the use of wall around the ruins. It is very long, but strangely not obvious why there is a wall. I think it may be around the high spot of land, but the site is full of large rocks and this disrupts the way I visualize the land, and the road I think meanders different than the way they originally used the site. There is the why and where they constructed the site originally and the way the site is used currently is different, therefore the logic of the living patterns is difficult to discern.

I am good with maps and very mechanical or logistical so I think I can put it together with time. I will probably stay here until after new years for the insurance I do not spend some depressing day with a bunch of spitting and hacking India people in some nowhere city. I am hedging my bets on enjoyment.

Plus Shackle is still working on a few models of new products and is finishing up my first order. I am going to have 2 types of backpack organizers. A 19-inch wide and a 12-inch wide one, but the same design. I am hoping to make about 7 more prototypes so I can have them copied in another location.

I send some things to the USA on the 6th of December and they have not arrived yet, so I am waiting for confirmation that it is possible to securely send things from India to the USA by normal post.

But I must be careful because I will have to carry all the things I make until I am sure, and this is a lot of weight, or more correctly a lot of bulk. I am probably just worried. I think I have about 4 pounds or 2 kilos of material products, which is not much.

Backpack Cover
3 Versions of secret pockets
Shampoo and bath holder.
Small bags for holding loose items in bag
Book bag to protect the books.
Water bottle holder
Valuables holder pouch.

My end goal of these products is a complete system for managing the things I carry in my bag. I hopefully should be able to walk in a room and hang up everything in my bag on the wall in about 2 minutes. I still have a few loose items hanging around. I could put them all in my backpack organizer, but the shower things need plastic or easily washable bags. The books I put in my pail section of my backpack, so I guess I will make an organizer to manage the stuff I store in the bottom of my backpack and the stuff I store in the side pockets.

I am realizing that all the pockets on my backpack are just an annoyance. I suppose some people take everything out of their backpack at each stop; other may live out of the bag, taking and returning things to and from the bag.

I take everything out of m bag, because the bag is awkward. A suitcase would be much better for working out of, while a backpack is flimsy and falls down, slides, and moves too easily.

CHRISTMAS EVE - Thursday Morning
I went to dinner with the American girl Lorina; she is leaving on the 26th for Bangalore by train. I thought about going along but have realized she is very nice, but very different than me by that she travels very fast. But the dinner was nice and great to talk with a person that likes the USA and talks English. I was laughing to when we discussed this because she started to say she was an anti-USA person, and I think in a fashionable way she takes that stance, but there in absolutely nothing in her actions or words.

I will probably avoid her today because she is constantly talking about here prospective boyfriends and I am starting to suffer from the fact that these are not boyfriends, but guys she wished to date, but it appears to be problems she is discussing. When I step back it is obsessive and she needs some balance, but she is a great girl and full of energy, and this is only me no wanting to listen to her boy situation which at her age of 32 I am considering co-dependant and sort of childish. Better to keep my new friends in balance and not be overwhelmed with their present mental deliberations.

I do the same, so I cannot say much, or understand, when you are traveling alone for a long time you can start to repeat the same story line in your head. She needs a project and right now that project or mission is the 2 guys she want to see or cull away from their present girl friends.

APPROACHING 3 MONTHS IN INDIA
I have been in India for maybe a month and one-half, but I am thinking I will start moving towards my jump point to Thailand of Calcutta or maybe Katmandu, Nepal. I must do this because I travel so slow and take my time or I will be in India longer than I wish.

I have made a resolution with myself that I will not stay in a country longer than I am happy. I think 3 months is about all I wish for this trip or any trip to India. It is sad too, because it is very easy to travel around this country and very cheap, but the people are socially at the lowest level I have encountered, except for maybe jungle people on the Amazon River. The normal citizen behaves closer to an animal than most countries.

To me there is some continuum between civilized like England and the USA with laws and rules to zero rules and closer to Animal behavior. For example an Animal will just stop and urinate or go for a tree anywhere.

MET AMERICAN GIRL - Wednesday Morning
There is an amazing American girl here in Hampi. I met her quite by obnoxious chance when I was making a joke if she wanted to buy some clothes from Shackle the lady that is sewing up some bags for me. I do this sometimes and sit with the local and touting at the western people. The western people are normally very much a pain in the butt and very rude. On the other hand the American culture has one of them Americanism that says we must comment or respond back. A European has no qualms about ignoring people.

But I met her and she has traveled to over 30 countries and is on her second trip. Her first trip was for one and one-half years and she will be gone that long this time. She would be classified for sure as a long-term traveler.

We were comparing note and we agree on a lot of things about travel. One very particular thing we both agree on is that we should be prepared and feel safe, she said,
“I do these things and when I leave my room I do not think about it!”

I am always earmarking or observing on the safety stuff, but I am always the safe one and the people that get robbed are the ones that will not admit they did something stupid. It is difficult in India to know who is robbed because the travelers are not a community that much. In Palolem beach they were a little, but most places they are not barely talking to each other. The community of Central and South America was 10 times more helpful and knowledgeable of things that happened to the travel community.

Note I just went outside and told the jerk that is clearing his throat that he is gross. He is too stupid to understand he is one of them religious guys walking around with a shave head and white skirt. He is also one of the people that were staking out my room to rob it.

I do not think he live here. It is obvious that the Vishnu and the Ganesh Hotels owned by the same family could care less if they provided western hospitality; they just have glossed it over to provide the first level, but are absolutely India after the fascia.

CONFIRMED INDIA THEFT TACTIC - Wednesday Morning
I am a very early riser and am often running around and empty world. That means that when I am in a hotel with a shared bathroom it is not problem for me because everyone else is sleeping. But I have gone to the toilet twice in the last 2 days as normal when I woke up at more or less 5:00 am. Today it was exactly 4:56 when I walked out of the toilet and back to my room.

This is small place and a person can hear about anything, so when I walked out of the toilet and a man is sitting there I am very suspicious. This is like an open toilet the door in an airport and there is no top to the entrance door. It would be same as being in an airport and someone comes in the toilet. You hear noises and just think to yourself that someone entered. But to not hear them is suspicious and makes me question why?

But I have walked out of the toilet when I was alone up stair now 3 times to catch a person twice walking down the step as I left the toilet and 1 time sitting. 2 times it was at 5 in the morning. Trust me the India people are not early risers other than to sit around and clear their throats and spit, that it dependable as a rooster.

So for me to walk out the toilet and see people 3 times is just beyond coincidence. They hear the door to the toilet locking and are running to see if they can rob my room. I have put the lock on the door and they cannot. But I will almost guarantee that they wait around in India for the western people to not lock their door when they go to the toilet
- posted by Andy @ 10:06 PM

 
MERRY CHRISTMAS
MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy New Year

From Andy HoboTraveler.com in Hampi, India
- posted by Andy @ 9:56 PM

 
GOOD MAKE YOUR OWN PAGE
Sent by Chris of Idaho.
Thanks Chris
http://online.sfsu.edu/~raquelrp/student/index.html
- posted by Andy @ 9:42 PM

 
TOOK PICTURE OF JERK IN INTERNET CAFE
Hello,
A man sits down and starts to stare at me in the Intenet Cafe. I ask him to leave, he ignore and acts like he has all the rights in the world... I may just be a lot bigger.

I take his photo and he does not like. I will make it the background on this computer tomorrow.

What fun.

- posted by Andy @ 9:29 PM

 
ARE WE 2 ANIMALS?
The one girl that lives in the room is from Indianapolis, Indiana and goes to Dartmouth. She is studying Economics and is very naïve as would be expected of a person from Indiana and only 18 years old.

I made a comment that the India people have impressed me with their genetically determined innate ability to perform math functions. I said this specific skill is much better than the Latinos. She fumbled around and I know she was obstructed mentally because of the need to be politically correct, as opposed to factually correct.

I said,
“Not all animals are the same.”
She said,
“Are we 2 animals?”

She had to leave and we were not able to finish at this point. But she is intellectually prejudice in her mind to the idea that the human is an animal and that there is differences or various breeds of the human animal. But this is the nature of the political correct view of the world, we must ignore and I agree from a legal point of view, we must for the most ignore different levels of ability, and all people are legally the same, but if people think that all people are the same they are nuts. There are people smarter than others as there are breeds of dogs that are better adapted to do certain functions better than other dogs.

I was thinking,
“Hmmm.. Dartmouth and even that very famous school and the distinction of animal versus human are still a problem.”

Intellectually or mentally I am always amazed at the low level of function of human intelligence. The logical ability of people is obstructed and stopped often by social belief structures that force them to override the proper logical deduction, induction, abstraction or any way you turn the mental coin.

To be clear…. We are animals. We have various breeds of animals within our class of animal. I am also positive that I am using the wrong terms or word because I do not know the jargon within this realm of study, and I probably do not care… hehehe

ROOM OK - Tuesday Morning
There has move maybe 10 people into the room next to me, I am surrounded by 5 on one side and 5 on the other and the noise level is 10 times louder. I asked them when they was leaving and they have said tomorrow, so being that they are quite educated I will remain in this hotel. If they were to stay here for more time I would move out and find another hotel. They are making more or less normal levels of noise for a group of 10 although this place is made for no more than 6 and there are now about 12. So the noise level is at least twice of what would be comfortable. Actually 6 would be crowded. These rooms are best for one person or love relationship.

START TO LOOK AT HAMPI - Tuesday Morning
I am going to start to look at Hampi today, I have read the books, I know the path and I can start to log in the photos and understand the place enough to record this site well.

ROOM PROBLEMS ALREADY - Tuesday Morning
I am in a wonderful room, but…. The owner of the place has rented a room next to me for 6 people. They make INDIA bodily noised all the time and have no respect for other people living in the place. This is common of all cultures in a group. But I do not believe the India culture has ever had a quiet moment in their lives and do not understand that type of custom to allow their neighbors a quiet moment. As I am typing they are screaming back and forth in the room adjacent.

I know some of you may think I just chose the wrong room. But in the end I must find the hotel that does not allow the India people to live in their hotel. This is by USA laws illegal. Hard for me to want to promote this idea, but in the end that could be my solution or choice in moving. This is the same problem in the USA when the retirement homes want to have a place where children are not allowed. There are some real problems in laws and can be abusive from both sides.

I would not possible to live in India without hear the clearing of throats and spitting. This is a worldwide problem, and as you walk down the street in India that is minor, the shitting in the street is common also, so the spitting is the minor thing. It is not as common though to be really obnoxious, more just an annoyance.

I am always looking for the highest level of paradise. So I try to make some rules in my head to help me evaluate and avoid problems. I do not really mind this that much, but in this situation I may be here for another 10 days so it may behoove me to move. I do know one really nice room in the Shanti Hotel for 80 rupees. It is more or less always full with travelers. It has about 20 Rooms and that scares away the locals from living with that many foreigners. I am in a hotel with 3 rooms and the owner lives below. When he gets a good offer from India people he rents the rooms and he should, but the idea of having 6 people in a one-room place is not my idea of paradise.

LAUNDRY PRICE RAISED MID-STREAM
A person has been cleaning my clothes for the last week. I have given her all my clothes more or less and have paid 5 Rupees per piece. She suddenly on the last 5 pieces after she was completed wanted 10 Rupees per piece. I paid her and told her no more clothes. This is so common in underdeveloped countries as there is little honor in a deal, and only held by force by the fact of who has the money. Although I did pay her the price and allowed her the money, I will withdraw all friendship and future business. Strangely as it seems, I see this person daily for a lot of reasons. There is a belief that the poorer people are treating people fairly and the rich are treating them unfair. The truth is both are doing the same in the underdeveloped countries. By the force of law and culture the developed countries had accepted for the most part to honor most deals, and a legal contract has force.
- posted by Andy @ 9:24 PM

 
COLD SHOWER
I thought I could wait until the afternoon when the black tank of water on the roof is hot and take shower, but I have realized that at this time of day they run out of water and wait for the municipality to turn on the water to fill all the tanks. They turn on the sweet or good water twice a day. I can see the locals that do not have water lines in their house and do not pay for water go to the distribution areas to fill up their bottles. This means or equates to a cold shower for me. This I do not like and am working on a few ideas to solve this problem. It has nothing to do with solar because that is not dependable, especially for travelers, but I will use electrify to heat the water, and if I wish I could use a back put of solar.

CHRISTMAS IS NOT IN THE AIR
I have almost no indication that Christmas is coming. I have only notice one indication from the people of India that Christmas is coming. I am sure if I were in Goa now there would be lots, because of the large numbers of Christians. There are no Christians in this area as best I can tell, only Hindu and Moslems. Sometime a nice wholesome family area like Hampi is more Christmas than a full on party and get stoned area like Goa.

I have saw very little party here. I think they had a huge party system a few years ago the police have stopped it. There is suppose to be big party across the river, but I am not sure. All tourists in Hampi must register with the police if they live here.

ELECTRICAL IN INDIA
I changed hotels. I have not lived in 9 different hotel rooms in India. Every one of them had the exact same electrical system or wiring system for the room. I have lived in 2 states both Goa and Karnataka. This is extremely unusual that the electrical wiring in a room would be the same. I normally would walk into a room and switch could be anywhere, it could be behind the door, up, low, outside the room or anywhere they put the switch, but here it is almost exactly the same configuration. There is a box immediately to the opening of the door. On the box are an electrical outlet, and 3 switches. One controls the electrical outlet, one controls the fan, and one controls the 4-foot florescent light on the wall. There may be more switches if there are more lights in the room. But the layout is the same.

I have a friend Shackle that lives in a private home. I am going to go look at her system and see if this is the same for private homes.

This is just excellent for the people of India. The infrastructure is one of the best in the world for poorer countries. This is in many ways a lot better than the USA or Europe. More systematic in the end, but now they got to get the people to stop stealing electricity. This is a corruption problem and not an electrical problem. Over usage of electricity though will make a brown out or the breakers pop on the main circuits in the power plants.

I am not positive on this, but they may regulate the money by saying if there is too much electricity used they shut off the electricity long enough to balance out the money. This sounds strange, but a country cannot afford to always give free electricity unless you are a country like Iraq that has mostly one source of money and that is oil.

The Post Office is an insane system, but corruption keeps these antiquated systems running so they can continue to suck cash out of the system. A fully computerized and accurate system would tell who was stealing. It is obvious that India has the technology to computerize their systems. Corruption is an interesting phenomena and fun to observe or try to observe. But normally a real corrupt country and the corruption go from top to bottom. Here it is only on the more top levels. That is the level that is the last to go. The normal person in India does not try to cheat you on a minute-by-minute basis. When I was in Mexico 6 years ago they tried to cheat your or nick you everywhere. It did not matter if you bought peanuts to eat or a telephone system they tried to extort money. Mexico is the worst corruption I have encountered.

MOVED HOTELS IN HAMPI - Sunday Afternoon.
I moved this morning from Vishnu to the Ganesh Hotel here in Hampi; I soon discovered the same family owned it, so there were not hard feelings. I made the perfect decision because I am surrounded by locals and by tourist now, and everyone if from every country of the world. I like a multi-cultured area best, but it is becoming more and more difficult to find, probably because there are some countries that all travel to the same place.

But I have a deck or rooftop veranda to eat breakfast or lie in the sun. I now pay 80 Rupees per night and thinking that India is a negotiating country on the price of rooms. I need to negotiate.

LONG TRAVELERS
I am going to make a special smaller bag for Kyle from the USA; it is time and needs to be done. I need a lot more variations of ideas I already have, but what brought it up is the size of his bag and a comment.
He said,
“I purposely bought a small bag so I would not be able to carry so much.”
Now… He is carrying also a bag with handle, the type that you would use to go to the grocery store. He says he sends it home when it is full, he must be buying a lot of stuff.

We were talking and he looked at the size of my bag. I have 3 times as much stuff and weight at him. But he also says,
“You need, you are living on the road.”

I sort of had that comment in my head when I woke up this morning. I keep thinking because he said,
“I am traveling now for a year, and maybe longer.”

I was trying to come up with one of my short questions that clarify.
I think to myself,
“If I was moving for one year from Indiana to Colorado would I take as little as possible or as much as possible?”

I would take as much as possible. If I was living for one year in a hotel room would I take as much as possible? No I would not.

WEIGHT AND WALKING
I suppose that is the question or problem. How do you walk with a lot of weight? I do not walk in India, Thailand, and South America; I take a taxi… heheheh. I only walk a lot in Europe. In Europe I will see the crazy travelers have 3 and 4 bags full of everything loaded to the gills here they are traveling with nothing and they are in a taxi.

The real crux of this problem is safety. The more bags or stuff the easier you are to be robbed. I would not carry more, I have enough and a lot, but I would like to keep the bags safer. I am devising some systems for quick connections between my bags. I have already connected a long piece of nylon strap to my big bag for India. I can use this strap to wrap around a rack in the train. But I just pull it out of the pocket and it is already connected on one end. It is very long or maybe 2 yards long so I can really wrap it up. Trains are dangerous in Europe for this because your bag is always in the open for everyone to grab and take off.

Oh yea, I think Kyle needs to have an overflow system bag. He needs a way for contents of bag to grow bigger or remain small at the same time. Pack it away when not needed, but when his stuff grows use it. I think a lot about the last week or two in a country. I am thinking about maxing out on things to carry back to sell on the page. So I would try to buy a lot of stuff the last week or month. It is the bag that is the consideration and the weight allowed on planes. I really wish the planes all had the same weight rules or number of bags rules. They change and this is annoying.

HAMPI - Sunday Morning
It is not what you would expect in life, but it is the reality. There is a guy in my hotel from the USA and we have talked briefly. I told him the name of my Website and he went and looked at it.

I meet a few people that have web sites in my travels and I talk with them, write down the address of their page and go look at it. Normally this is some real small page, or something they did for class, and is not an organized situation, so not so interesting. But I do try and go look at the page. I am not real excited and strangely most cannot tell me the address.

But I am in the business more or less, so might was well see what people are doing. But I have learned over time that telling a person I have a webpage and that I live from the earnings of the webpage is not going to cause me much trouble. Maybe 1 in 20 of the people that WRITE IT DOWN will go see it, and then this is maybe months later. Very few come back to me later and say,
“I looked at your webpage.”

I think maybe 1 per year.

But I hardly talked with this Yank about the page and he went and looked at it. But then again he wants to have a blog and post his pictures, so maybe that is the reason.

I am always bewildered at the number of people that are not interested in anything or anyone around them. I ask people who they are? Where they are from? And what they do? This makes people mad and I have to be careful. Some cultures like the Brits consider this bad manner to ask what they consider personal questions. But being that I am not going to see them for longer normally than two days, I ask the questions.

But getting personal is what life is about, trying to find friends and some intimacy in a world of people that are too afraid to talk to each other.

Today I am going to show him how to integrate a page, a newsletter, a Travel Log or Blog together.

ELECTRICITY IS SAME AS IRAQ / BUT WORSE
The electricity here in India is constantly going on and off. It does not normally stay off long, but either did the electricity in most of Iraq. Basra it did stay off for a long time. But here they do not have as many generators so here it is a bigger problem.

In Iraq they did not just pop out candles, but here they have candles always ready. I only used a candle of few time in Iraq. I have purchased a flashlight here.

CHRISTMAS IN HAMPI
I have decided to live in Hampi until after Christmas. I ran into a couple Brit friends from Palolem yesterday and they are returning for Christmas to Palolem. This is a perfect beach in many ways and if I had a girl friend I could live there for a long time. The girl situation in India is sort of bleak. 95 percent of the travelers came with a date and 5 percent left over not a good flavor. It is possible to date the local girls, but I will have to be very careful and slow. There are some very nice local girls in Hampi and quite educated, but most are very low educated. It is just a normal type of people.

HAMPI IS NICE BUT… Saturday Morning
I am having he Internet blues here in Hampi. The cost is the highest I have encountered and the worst for me. I cannot do any of my webpage work here or publish. I can do the blog. This is all complicated, to explain, so I will not.

Today I will go to Hospet and try to find an Internet Café there that will work. India has a lot of security, hardware, spam, virus, and sex site issue that I need to research also, there are some lurking Indian made dangers to my computer. I am having more and more problems finding functional 3.5 floppy drives that work. They purchase stripped down version of machines with the absolute minimal to access the Internet or more or less get on Hotmail.com
- posted by Andy @ 10:22 PM

 
SHOWING KYLE HOW TO BLOG
Hello,
I am showing Kyle how to blog.... he wants to learn.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/

- posted by Andy @ 8:58 PM

 
NEWSLETTER DAY WAS 4 DAYS AGO...hehehe
Hello,
I have visited about 12 Internet Cafe's here in the Hampi area. I finally gave up on Hampi and went to Hospet. I walked around to 3 places and found a machine that will publish pages and such. High Tech...? So today you get the letter...

Not the best internet in Hampi area of country of India. But there are Computer schools in the city... hehehe

MERRY CHRISTMAS

http://www.hobotraveler.com/newsletterhobo136insert.shtml
- posted by Andy @ 10:01 PM

 
MAYBE THIS AND MAYBE THAT - Thursday Morning
I am working on my newsletter. I am also working with a lady to make some bags to sell.

She commented last night,
“You not normal traveler.”
I asked,
“Why not?”
“You come Hampi, read book, walk around, but not look Hampi.”

She speaks a short version of English and I am adept at understanding, but she is saying that I came to Hampi and I want to read the brochure on Hampi before I go look at the sights. Plus I also read a regular book, talk with her, and do anything but run around looking at the archeology sites… Hmm Site or Sights?

There are 2 normal things to do in Hampi.
1. Sit around and eat, drink and smoke.
2. Walk around and look at the site.
The venders would like number 3 and that is to buy things.

This is 70 percent a wham, bam, thank you mam place. 70 percent of the travelers are here for 2 days. This is good for me, because the other 30 percent are sane or closer to sane. Some are just hippies looking for the spot where they can be hippies, so drugs, or hip out in the most unconventional way possible.

But Hampi is a wonderful place and very happy people. Lots of vendors that drive me a little crazy, but they respect me now, and do not bug me. If they start on the sales pitch I just walk away. I almost have all of them trained. This place is small and easy.

Note, I think the actual site may be better than Machu Picchu in Peru. Not Tikal in Guatemala. That is the king of sites so far for me. I want now to see Angkor Wat in Cambodia and there is one in Burma that is supposed to be good. I am sure China has the great wall and such.

To me the wonder comes by the age of the site. If built B.C. then it is very old. But it also for me has to do with engineering or art.

This is both engineering and an art exhibit.
Tikal is a feat of Engineering and very old.

Machu Picchu is mostly a lot of rocks. Smaller rock, while Tikal has mammoth rocks and up very high in the air on top of the temple. There is a difference between moving a big rock on a low level and getting that rock up to a high level.

But the carvings and 2 or 3 of the temples here are very tall, but lots of Buddhist and Hindu temples are very similar in height. I do suppose the setting in among these huge round rocks and the river makes the whole area wonderful. This is the same for Machu Picchu. The sensory thing is very beautiful and extraordinary, but the actual archeology site is pretty average.


A SAD SIGHT

I watched an older woman and maybe her son go behind a tree at the bus stop to urinate. The woman was very old and could barely walk, and her son was assisting and trying to help. Half the world must use this squat toilet and I consider it disgusting and a world health problem, but then what can I do, but the toilet lends itself to the question,
“How do really old people squat and use the toilet?”

I found one answer in a sad way. The do not, the man pulled up the ladies long beautiful skirt and the lady stood upright and started to urinate. I was too far away to see if it was also number 2, but when she was done he pulled the dress down and she walked away. I am positive she had urine all over her legs.

Every time I hear some Western person defend these toilets like they are some form of great idea I want to puke. I believe the young people do not want to and are very happy to not share a toilet seat with the locals or other travelers, and this has nothing to do with the toilet being good, but rather their desire to not share a toilet seat.

I am going to write the lady I know at Footprints guidebooks and give her my opinion that the guidebook would appeal to seniors better if they would indicate for the hotels which types of toilets. They do this sometime, but not on a regular basis, or obvious. A senior cannot just keep walking around the country looking for a hotel.

SADDAM IS CAPTURE - OSAMA SHOULD NEVER BE FOUND!

I felt positive that the coalition or the USA would capture Saddam. I always believe this and thought it was inevitable. I was hoping they would delay or keep this under wraps for a longer time until we had capture about 10 time more of his cronies. This will slow down the capture or terrorist operating in Iraq and a lot will probably go back home to Iran, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey or any other close and easy to visit Iraq country.

But for OSAMA… I hope they have him in a cell and torturing him. They cannot and must not ever let him exist on the planet again in the minds of the people. The whole Muslim world would start to commit suicides inside Pizza joints and schools if Usama was inside a prison. The Muslim religion is doing NOTHING to monitor their religion. I consider this religion a danger to the planet and will continue to be a danger to the planet until all the holy people stop being the terrorist and start acting like “Holy” people. I sense or feel that the Muslims think that all other religions should be destroyed. They will say one thing and do another. My bullshit meter is going crazy when they say it is a religion of peace. I see nothing that proves this.


OBNOXIOUS DOGS OF HAMPI OR INDIA - Wednesday morning.

I have found the dogs of India to be an annoyance. It is about 5:45 in the morning and they have started to howl. Last night I went to watch a movie in a restaurant. The owner’s dog actually jumped up on the table and tried to eat my food. If it wasn’t for the fact the 2 Beautiful French girls behind me may have been dog lovers’ I would have pounded the dog with a newspapers on the table. The Indian owner came up and talked with the dog. I thought Pavlov taught the world that dogs and animals do not understand language… This one thought it was a cat and when I left it was sleeping on top of a table.

I have totally given up on talking to other travelers about cleanliness inside restaurants. They really believe that the restaurant owner has a clue about cleaning. They will buy bottled water and then ignore the owners of restaurants. I have walked right inside the kitchen to look around and see if they are pigs that work there or humans.

I am very cynical on the use of bottle water. If you eat in a restaurant you are drinking or using the bottle water. I eat a lot of baked or packaged foods for this reason. The garbage disposal eaters are the ones that get the dysentery and all the fun food related disease.

BACKPACK ORGANIZER - Wednesday morning.

I have arranged with Shackle a woman from Hampi to create my new design for my backpack organizer. The new one will be a small bit lighter, I am getting rid of the Velcro on the whole bag because it did not function the way I wanted. I have never used the clothes hanger ability and have decide the rope hanger is better to use inside a closet, so there is not need to have a flap over a hanger. I am getting rid of a lot of weight. I have found that people thought or think the bag weighs a lot because it is long, but that is really an illusion, it was less than, or about the same as a T-shirt, maybe a little more.

I will have here make a bag, and then we can tear it apart or adjust for the next week while I go explore and take photos of the Hampi Archeology site. I think she moves very fast, and she made me commit to an appointment. If this is normal Indian behavior I am excited, because in poorer countries it is impossible to have things done with any time. So I have an appointment this morning at 10:30 to discuss further how to sew together the bag. She is supposed to have cut the pieces over night. I expect that really would only take one-half hour.

So now I have a project to think about and can go look the site while I am waiting or she is proceeding. I got this gut feeling she will be done with it today, and I am really not going to have to wait.

FOUND SOME BOOKS ON HAMPI - Wednesday Morning

I wanted to read small pamphlets or a book on Hampi before I started on my walk around the site, so I am very lucky and have found some of the small books to read. The ones the kids’ sell has a map that goes with it, and this would be very helpful.

ARCHEOLOGY SITE

Hampi is a wonderful site full of monument and rock formations. I have avoided going and looking at anything yet, because frankly I have no idea what this place is about or why. To appreciate an archeology site it helpful to have some background history. They are extremely lax on information. There is one book that all the children sell, and it appear I must buy it. I looked at before and was not impressed so I am trying to locate individuals or people to help explain. Everyone offers to take me in a Motorized Rickshaw to see the sites, and this may be a good idea because the site is huge and sprawls for about 5 kilometer I would guess.

But until I get an idea of why I am supposed to be here I will avoid roaming around. What happens is I will learn something later and want to return to see the point of interest. That means two trips. Better to be patient and learn before I go off looking, but I can tell you I do not think any of the other travelers have a clue. I have asked almost everyone for the last 3 week why people go to Hampi. They say,
“Beautiful Round Rocks on a river, and an Archeology site.”
This is true. But does not tell me much.

WENT TO HOSPET - Wednesday Afternoon

I just returned from a trip to Hospet, it is the accompanying or service city to Hampi. So if you want to buy something needed you go to Hospet, if you want to buy a souvenir or live like a tourist you stay only in Hampi. Hampi is much better standard of living and probably cheaper than Hospet. Room I believe start at 80 Rupees and they are catered or designed for the Western people.

I found a lady yesterday to sew or make my newer designed backpack organizer. She can speak acceptable English so I will be able to explain what I want to have sown. I went to Hampi to buy the cotton white unbleached cloth. I will start today on showing here what I want.

- posted by Andy @ 1:10 AM

 
DANGER OF HACKERS
I found a nasty piece of software on the computer here in Hampi.
http://www.spyarsenal.com/keylogger/index.html?keylogger-exe

IT LOGS IN EVERY TYPE OF THE KEYBOARD
It remember everything.
I will delete the log.
Seach for Keylog
- posted by Andy @ 7:24 PM

 
HAMPI IS PRETTY SPECTACULAR SO FAR - Tuesday Afternoon.
It seems to be an Asian version of Tikal in Guatemala, but I have a feeling the ruins are much newer. I will find out more. The used guidebook I have purchased has had the page on Hampi torn out.

TRIP BETWEEN GADAG AND HAMPI
There was large acreage of very organized farming between Hampi and Gadag. This is NOT a subsistence are of farming, the farmer here seem to have all the modern equipment, although they do grow heavy manual labor crops like peppers, watermelons, and vegetables. I see people working the smaller hand type crops. There was no rice in this area, but lots of Sunflowers and corn. This was very beautiful and I hope that some of my photos came out, although I had trouble depicting the actual way it looks. Each field is around 40 acres large, and has separate crops. They are not separated by fence, but more different levels. The closer I got to Hampi and the crops turned to Bananas and Rice. But the ground is very hilly and large river rocks are everywhere. There is lots of water and rice I believe can be harvested 3 times a year. Bananas can grow in rough terrain.

It would be very hard for me to say India is poor. There are so many modern government features. The water, the sewer systems, the roads, and small features are examples. For instance in every bus stop there is a toilet. This seems petty, but this is a big deal for poor countries. This is systematic, and obviously done by the government. The building design is often exactly the same.

Two other features that are signs of government are price tags on products in stores, and receipts given on the bus. This was unheard of in countries like Mexico where they always have the opportunity to gouge. The first time I realized about the price tags was in Bogotá Colombia where I learned that by law they must have price tags on things for sale. This is not universal in India, but for sure in the bigger stores. Oh yea, on the back of product here is a price also. So the owner of store will show you the price on the back of some packaged products. Negotiating for everything stops competition and leads to price gouging. Plus then the consumer will try to negotiate too hard, and every business is in a state of failure, better to have the price tags.

HAMPI - Tuesday afternoon.
I arrived in Hampi this morning after about two hours of bus travel. I was trying to determine if it was best to say in Hospet or Hampi, but I am for sure positive now that Hampi is better. The rooms are about 80 Rupees, although I am paying 150 because I was too lazy to walk around and first Hotel I was shown is extremely nice, I was tired. I may be paying the fee for a double room and the room I saw at the other Hotel was for a single. Right now though I am not looking for price as much as a place where I can meet and talk with people. I have noticed that there appears to be a lot less Brits here and the world seem culturally balanced. Although I do not think there probably is any Americans. But that is normal also. I guess anything under 150 is good, and it is extremely easy to find room here in India for 100-125 Rupees. That is between 2 and 3 U.S. Dollars. I am getting the impression though I am going to have to watch the Hotel owners a little closer. I will talk with other people and see if I need to negotiate for rooms all the time. I do not negotiate much; because I figure the harder I negotiate the less happy the owner is, and the less happy the owner is, the more likely I am to be robbed by the owner. I would bet a lot of money the first time I get robbed of everything it will be an owner of a hotel. Of course there is a huge chance of getting robbed by a Taxi driver.

HOT WATER SPONGE BATH - Tuesday Morning - Gadag, India
I made a real Hotel blunder and am in a Hotel for 1 Dollar a night. I think the drop from 2 Dollars to 1 Dollar was dramatic. I had the help of this local boy, and it was a pressure cooker social condition where if I told the boy it was a crappy place, I would be telling him he lived in crap because it was also his home or hotel. He is a guy that came to the city to sell products to the local venders. I am in Gadag and he is from the city I just left called Hubli. It is probably about twice to three times the size of Gadag.

I have learned a couple of ways to check out hotels that has not been normally needed though in most countries. I normally am looking for security or safety from theft. But here I am going to have to look for one step higher on the pig level. These places can be very dirty. But there are also hotels like or similar to the Iraq ones. They have like male boarding house, or all male places. This leads to pig behavior in any country. Just think of a Fraternity at a University.

But…

1. Places that only have men.
2. I need to check out the toilet.
3. I need to check out noise levels.

I am while I am typing this, trying to heat a 2.5 gallon bucket for hot water. The place is dirty enough that the only way I will feel comfortable with the water is if it also hot. I need a daily shower and this is my personal problem. I should be able to go 2 days, but just cannot. So I am going to heat a bucket of water and take a sponge type bath and see if it is enough water to clean my hair.

But I can tell you I am in a lowlife place I believe. It is low life even for India. It is like the India version of a New York City flophouse. There is a constant drone of men clearing their throats and spitting. I think of all the behaviors that I could live without; this would be the first on my list. That is why I need to check the noise in hotels. I want to know if I can get to the back or away from the bodily noised of the other guest. This is not just this hotel. It is all hotels in the whole world. In this hotel it is at an overly obnoxious level, but it is in any hotel anywhere. I can never understand anyone wanting to live in a dorm room in a Hostel. This is just taking the bodily function noise level to outstanding heights. Fortunately in those places I can just tell them to leave the room or shut up. A little violent induced or persuasion - coercion that normally works. A good ability to threaten is needed to travel everywhere in the world.

The hot water heater worked. I am going to go wash my hair. The water is good here; it is the toilet that makes me feel bad. But hot water is free of algae and fungus. I am paranoid now about fungus, but realize that hot water is needed in the world for good hygiene.

I purchased 2 coil type 220 one-cup heaters. It worked perfect and did a whole bucket of water almost too hot. The energy draw is perfect for the hotels with weak electrical or inadequate systems for my heavy-duty water heater. The only way to know the level though it to test it. If it does not work, I blow the fuses or breakers and have no lights, being that is still dark outside, this is a not a good test to perform. Only in the daylight, But the true solution is for me to only use low wattage heaters.

Oops, the water at the top of bucket was hot the bottom was cold. I need the type on my help Andy page.

WATER SYSTEM
It is very difficult to study a countries water and sewer system, but I have to say the fresh drinking water system in India is one of the best I have encountered in these developing countries of the world I have visited. So far… I have only been in 2 of the 28 states.

What I see or how it work here… I think? It is very difficult.
There are water lines strategically ran to areas. These are very good pipe systems and the quality of the line is way beyond normal for most underdeveloped countries.

Most countries have water or try to run water to every house. This is not always adequate so the locals supplement the water with well water, or they store lot of water in tanks either above ground or below ground. A tank on the building roof is good. Below ground is bad because the sewer water seeps into the water. Above ground in the tank is also bad because they do not clean the tanks. But here in India there appears to be an obvious separation between systems. They do not try to run water to every house. Just the richer house, but they then give free water to the locals at the pump station or the water tap station. They have strategically placed water taps around the neighborhoods for people to brink the plastic version of the old fashion well pots and fill up with drinking water. This makes showering difficult, and more toward the sponge bath method, but this make the drinking water cleaner. So if I can keep checking the water taps I can see where the water comes from and how they get it?

The sell bottled water here in India, but I never see a local drinking bottle water. I know they do, because it is sold, but this is probably just the wealthier. It is like people in the USA that drink bottled water. Who know why, but they do, and they must think it taste better.

The better the water in a country, the better the health of the country. India seems pretty healthy. A few too many bums, and beggars. But if you tripled the number of people of the USA you would see a lot more bums and beggars also. There are lot of bums and beggars in Europe also, so this is just a dirtier looking bum…. Hehehe

I am laughing to myself. The reason bums in tropical areas are dirty is because they live in tropical areas. People tend to be lazier and not work in tropical areas. If there is not a good freeze to make them get a job, the normal person just likes to sit around. Give them free water.. Which they have in India, and they have their water. I can eat here for about 50 cents USA per day. So for 20 Rupees a day you can live on the streets and not work.

I am thinking about the economics of being a bum in India. It is easy here, but not that many bums really for how easy it is to be a bum. They do seem to congregate around the areas of the cities where there is the most traffic. They need to get a handout. I have given a lot in this country because of the old age and the people with no legs or arms or whatnot.

What is bad about the beggar of India in comparison to the beggar of say Europe or South America and such is that they are persistent. I think they have about the same percentages in the end, but the ones here are on the obnoxious level. I have told a few to get lost and shoo them away. I have had little children follow me for a block. I sometime stop and buy them food. But the simple and easy thing to do is to give them a Rupee. A paid bribe to get rid of them. The guidebook keeps saying to carry around candies. This seems stupid and just gives them too much sugar. This will help rot the teeth and make their lives even more ugly. I buy them some form of bread product. I suppose I could give them a toothbrush.. Hehehe.

They are an obnoxious bunch though here in this country and I am sure this really puts the western world in a tizzy when they travel in India. This would be a tour operator’s nightmare. The local need to behave and stay away from the tourist or the tour company would be considered bad. To say the least, taking people on tours of India would be like saying to a person,
“Hello, come along with me to India, where you can have dirty and ugly looking people touch you.”
Does the Pope shake hands with bums?
I can see in the end, I am not prejudice against poor or dirty people. They are poor and dirty, not good competition in the world for them. They are not doing well. What is more disgusting to me is the wealthy that take advantage of their position and abuse or steal. I have a lot of middle class people steal from in the world. Cheat or nab free or easy money to nick from me, and this is disgusting. A poor person asking for money is pretty up front and honest. Obnoxious just the same, but easier to respect them, than the person in the hotel that cheats me on my bill.

MISSED THE BUS TO HAMPI
I could have taken a fancy air-conditioned bus to Hampi today, but it left at 5:30 am. That is early for me, and I am a very early riser. I was trying to make up my mind on whether to stop in Gadag or go straight for Hampi, which is about 3-4 hours away. The AC bus would be a little higher classed people, cleaner and probably a little faster. So more comfortable, but 5:30 is a complicated time. Probably for speed they want to be on the road when there are no cars. The trains and fancy buses here are so inconvenient so far. There is probably a bus every 15 minutes for Gadag by the local’s method of travel, but with the fancy bus I have to leave at 5:30. The guidebook just totally skips or I think it skips the local transportation and goes for the first class stuff. India is like Central and South America, just get on the bus and go. In countries where the language is different like Thailand or maybe China and communication is 20 times more difficult then the fancy buses are better. But I can find people anywhere here that speaks some level of English so life is really easy.

The bottom line is whether you want to associate with the local that is poorer or the locals that are a little richer. I see both of them spit, piss, or clear their throats and other disgusting behavior, but the richer do have better clothes. Their basic behavior is still India culture. In Thailand the people and especially the girls could take 2-4 showers a day in some places. This made me feel good. Everything in India is a little on the dirty side. Nothing is real real clean.

I could compare it to living on a farm. You walk out the door to the tramp shed and it has a problem. It is dusty, full of cow manure and just never real clean. You have to shower and have rooms separated in the house to be clean. A good farmer separates the room and how they work from the way they live. But really in about 60 percent of the USA farmer’s homes there is not a good separation. So the people of India sort of live in the mess more.

LEAVE FOR GADAG, INDIA
In between Goa and Hampi are a few cities. I have just hopped from one to the next. I will go to Gadag today and stay, and then I will go to Hospet where most people must stay for their visit to Hampi. I am still trying to figure out why I am going to Hampi? But everyone tells me to go and that is normally a good sign, but then again the guidebook said last night there are a lot of foreigners doing drugs there. I try to separate the good party from the good places. Lots of travelers search for the good party or havens of other foreigners.

The only clear reason to go to Hampi I can see it that there is a river that runs along or maybe a large lake. It is at a higher altitude and normally mountains with rivers make for a beautiful surrounding. Plus it makes it very difficult to farm so there are normally lots of trees. Most of the national or state parks are located in areas where it is difficult to farm. So it may be heaven to visit, but impossible to live there. The guide said that 80 percent of the citizens of the state of Karnataka make a living by farming. This is not subsistence farming here, but more of large-scale tractor farming, so this statistic is probably a little on the high side. I am sure that in one way or another it is related to farming. Cotton seems to be the big cash maker for the area.

THESE COCKROACHES ARE ANNOYING ME
I just woke up and when you turn on the lights a cockroach starts to look for a dark place to hide. They are walking around the room. What is sad is how easy it would be to kill them in this room. It is a solid concrete room on the 3 floor of concrete building. There is not place for them to hide really. Just behind a few pieces of furniture, but mostly behind the sink and the desk attached to the wall. One good spraying and this room would be free of cockroaches. In made with drywall or bamboo or such there are millions places to hide. Especially when it has a tile roof or some fancy roof. A good concrete ceiling makes me happy. If I wanted to live in this room for an extended period I would just go and buy some spray.

People think that this is because I live in a cheap hotel, but cockroaches are everywhere in hot or tropical areas. I was working as a waiter in a Holiday on the beach in Port Saint Lucie, Florida or maybe Jensen Beach. I cannot remember, it was 20 years ago. But we took the seat in 100 dollar a place restaurant up and below installed seat were swarms of cockroaches. It always seems to be where furniture or fixtures are installed loosely on walls, floors, or ceiling.

BLANKET PURCHASE - Monday Morning
I bought a blanket or a cover of some form yesterday. I will not call it a blanket and it is really not a sheet. It is between; maybe best to say it is like a think cotton curtain material. But probably perfect for what I want, a layer of more material for warmth. This makes it now so I have 3 - 5 possible layer if needed.
1. A duvet cover, which is a big pillowcase with 2 sides of sheet material.
2. A cotton cover blanket that is like a double thickness of sheet.
3. My poncho that is will not breath easily and would keep the heat of my body inside.
4. Mosquito net.
5. I suppose my clothes.

Why all this thought in a country so hot? I am going up in altitude and there are places on the map that could be cold. I got caught a couple of times in countries where I froze. Taxco Mexico, Quito, Ecuador. Plus on lots of buses it is freezing. The air-conditioned buses in countries like Thailand or South and Central American can make life very miserable. Sometimes on planes it is freezing and not possible to find a blanket worth a darn. With the perfect blanket (Which KLM lost) I can travel on any type of transportation in comfort and sleep in any type of room in comfort. Normally the biggest difference in the end between a 5 Star and a -1 Star Hotel is the regulating of air temperature.

I like air conditioning, but it is also a trap. It makes me not want to leave the building. I am now accustomed to the heat or climate, so I do not think about it much. But cold is a lot bigger problem than heat. To me when I drink too much water, or go in and out of air conditioning all the time the water levels in my body are always confused so I sweat too much. Getting very sweaty make me uncomfortable.

WALKING AT NIGHT IN INDIA
I was laying around in my room reading and I had enough, wanted a change so I went outside and walked around the city of Hubli. It was about 9:15 PM and the city was alive. It is always noisy, but the night shift had came out. Most of it was the same stuff, lots of noise, lots of motorized Rickshaws and big trucks. Oh yea, and there is always tons of buses passing a few tractors. But the people are everywhere and this is an overly full situation.

Standing on a corner and two girls in one of them open door motorized Rickshaw taxis waved at me. They wanted me to come talk. I looked at the traffic that was about to leave the stop light and knew they was crazy, and they hoped I was suicidal. Cars definitely have the right of way here in India, in fact anything has the right of way beyond a human walking, so it would be crazy for me to walk over and say hello.

They went around the block and go out of the Rickshaw. I have no idea what they were up to except the started to follow me, soon they ask my name. That was the 3 words they knew in English and it was obvious they did not want to talk to me in public. So I laughed and they laughed and we separated. A drunk walks up and shakes my hand. He is very happy and I give him a sign saying you upped the bottle and he nods his head. He is laughing. The sweet shop guy wants me to give him a job in the USA and help him go there. This is normal stuff. But the night is different than the day.

Oh yea. I killed 4 baby cockroaches when I returned to the room. I smashed them into the concrete floor. That is a lot of suicidal cockroaches walking around my room at one time. They were babies, but not they are flat.

EATING
The things I eat… aagh. I have not desire to try the foods of the world. This probably the lowest things on my list of reasons to travel, but inevitably people feel that tasting the local foods is necessary. This is the locals trying to convince me to try foods. There is a small restaurant below this hotel and I have eaten there a few times. I stay close to my favorite of fried rice, but I just left there and the young boys convinced me to try something. In the end it appears to be Gobi Masala or some words close to that, I believe that translates to a coated spice fried Cauliflower. I ate few and try to convince them I was delighted, but then made my exit… hehehe

- posted by Andy @ 7:14 PM

 
SADDAM CAPTURED - HEARD THE NEWS
I now wish I was in Iraq again. There will be huge parties all over the country. The people of Iraq are very happy I am positive.

Andy in Gadag, India
- posted by Andy @ 9:22 PM

 
HUBLI ONE MORE NIGHT
I have decided to stay one more night in Hubli. I suppose this is an Internet decision because I have found a combination of computer, Internet, and access speed that I need. Plus the Fried Rice is very good in the Hotel here for 10 Rupees.

INDIA HAS BROADBAND
That is true, but the effect is different then reality. India has in larger cities broadband or very fast access to the Internet. But this doe not mean a lot when they share it with 20 plus computers and by the time you are done it is the same speed as a normal dial up. What I do have is a window of 1 hour when the Internet café’s just open that I have the use of broadband. Especially when the Internet café opens at 9:00 and not 10:00. Indian people remind me in so many ways of Mexicans, they are sort of slower on the draw, but once they do draw their gun, they can shoot a lot during the day.

The Mexican culture does not get up very early, but move a lot during the morning from about 10-12. They take a siesta or do nothing from about 1-4:00 and then they are busy until about 9:00 at night. This is the same as the Indian culture. This includes the Siesta. I have no idea what they call it here, but they have a time between 1 and 4:00 in the afternoon where nothing happens, or the city business’s close and very little happens. Just not the time to do anything needed. But either is 9:00 the morning, because nothing has opened fully. If you wait until 10:00 most of the stores are open and you have a wind of time between 10 and 12 where you’re most likely to find or be able to accomplish something.

The Internet opens at 9:00 here.
What that mean is I have from 9:00 till 10:00 this morning where the average Joe Blow is sleeping, and the Internet should or may be empty. I have that broadband line to myself more or less. It is Sunday and normally that optimized my chances also.

I am going on my instinct that the owner or manager of the Internet Café shows up for work, this seems likely and my chances are good.

What is going on Andy? I have been working on cleaning up my web pages or sites. I have a few different domain names, and such and they are all relate. But I have one hoboguide.com that has a lot of photos on this site and is suppose to be an online guidebook. It is NOT an online guidebook presently, but it is full of lots of pictures and I have a lot of links in older newsletters that link to this site. This site has been down for about 8 months, and I have finally got it back up and almost fully repaired or functional.

So what is going on is that I want to finish my HoboGuide.com job here and get this page up to snuff. At least up to a level where I can just make small alterations. But what does this have with me staying in Hubli?

I get a lot of emails from people that act like India is some form of Internet Mecca. It so far for me is a cluster F@#$. I have nothing that function. There is always 80 percent of the pie and someone has stolen 2 pieces of the pie. That means that any system or operation or project is only 80 percent completed. I have learned that 80 percent is 0 percent. It is either done or not done. I do not fool around with working on my daily missions or projects. I like to finish them or not think about them. I nick a lot of small projects all the time, but some just need to be complete. I am pretty sure that all of India is like this, and USA companies or British Companies basically runs the Internet companies here. What I am saying is that the management of companies is Western and has the last 2 pieces of the pie and will force the culture to finish or put back the last to pieces of the pie.

The India culture is very good, but they need to wrap it a little tighter to compete with the USA or Europe. But this means a whole culture has to change and that will take 100 years. So they have started. I would suppose you would say they are developing… hehehe. I laugh at these words because they are in so many ways jokes. They want to label situations and all they do for most people is confuse them. It is too evident that readers or the world thinks that India has a developed computer industry. This is not true, but it is developing at a higher level then most underdeveloped countries, but mainly because their default language is English for business. I do think they have higher than normal levels of math skills also.

But a culture develops as a whole, or the average level slowly increases together and individuals who are way above average lead this. India has a lot of way above average individuals, but that does not exclude that they have lived in India all their lives and have the basic get to work at 10:00 mentality of leave out 2 pieces of the pie.

So why Hubli?
1. I need or want broadband because I am publishing 40 Megs of information.
2. I have this on a CD Rom disk.
3. I want a computer that is relatively free of viruses.

I have seen hundreds of computers in Internet cafes.
I have only seen 2 computers that have all this in one spot.
One in Margoa and one now in Hubli. I do not know when I will see the combination together again, so to I should make hay while the sun is shining. But the one in Margoa is not good, so in reality I have only seen one computer in all of India that has Broadband, a CD Rom player, and is free of Virus out of hundreds of computer.

ONLY FOR ONE HOUR IN HUBLI BETWEEN 9 AND 10 AM
So I have a window of time where I can do this quickly. I can get it done pretty slowly in other cafes. The trade off is I can spend another day in Hubli and publish and get this done, or I can nickel-dime it for the next 3 weeks and be frustrated. So I will try to finish this project today in one hour and be done.

Life is like this project in so many ways. I have started so many things in my life and I have really accomplished so little. Sometime I have made a lot of money, but I did not accomplish much for the money. There is no correlation between making lots of money and accomplishments. You can earn a lot of money and the person that is really finishing everything is the boss. He is the one that make is all come together and you may just be the high paid employee that is working on his or her pie. You are just working on a piece of the pie, and if you do not get it done then they send in more workers to help you.

I pay attention to people that write complete books. Not people that start books, which does not mean anything. Finishing a book is a project that takes a long time and lots of diligence. It is an accomplishment worthy of my admiration. Even if it is a crappy book, to have finish and publish a book is an accomplishment way beyond the normal human.

But in the end money is more important to a family than accomplishments. But an accomplishment is important to good self-esteem or self worth and makes a persons life worth the effort, and will give people a sense of pride. So if you can accomplish something and make a lot of money. Hey, now you got something going on!

I think most people think of me as on an endless vacation. This is true, but I am also on an endless journey to make my web page grow so I can be on this endless vacation forever. When I get it big enough and can sell enough, I will be able to relax and enjoy life at just one notch higher. What this means for me is when the waiter ask me if I would like a Coke yesterday, instead of saying no, I would have said yes. That is all the difference there will be. I can splurge on a 5 Rupee Coke and have no guilt.

I have guilt because I do not want the money to run out and the more I spend the faster it is gone.

WHAT IS A BUDGET TRAVELER?
This is a big phrase that really means very little to me. A budget traveler has X amount of money in their pocket and spends it all. I do not see many people on a budget that is real.

Good travelers will say to themselves,
“I am going to spend X amount per day and it will last for this many days.”

So I say to myself, I will spend 15 dollars a day and it will last for 365 days and I will spend 5475 dollars in a year. But the truth is this is not the case, I spend less than that on a daily basis. I am probably spending as best I can calculate about 6 dollars a day in India. But I may have been spending 15 dollars a day in England. All countries force me to spend money, but some extract more than others.

What I am looking for in travel is a comfort level, and when I get in a situation that is just a little too low for comfort, I pay a little more and raise the level a notch. My tips, research, or the studying I do on a daily basis is how to travel very cheap, but in lots of comfort. All my tips are about comfort that is achieve easily, by doing something effectively and easily. A tip is when you do it the easiest way.
- posted by Andy @ 8:34 PM

 
IN HUBLI - STATE OF KARNATAKA - INDIA 10:00 AM
In the hotel and have already walked around the city a little. The place is a dump for the most part so far, I have left a quaint city of Dharwad for a dumpy city of Hubli. I will leave tomorrow for another cotton town, and hope it has cotton. It could just be the hotel is not as nice, I had a pretty good room in Dharwad, and this one is sort of damp like or too much concrete. This one is cheaper at 100 Rupees here in Hubli. I am going to go look for an open internet café.

HUBLI - COTTON STREET

I am excited about going to Hubli today. I saw a large truck full of raw cotton in bags go by on the road last night and this got me thinking. I went and looked at or read my guidebook about Hubli. It is supposed to be a center for textiles industry. I have no idea what that means, does it mean they make or manufacture the goods there? Or does it mean this is a shipping point. It is also a point where two railway tracks cross so for sure it is a good place for shipping. On the small map in my Footprints guidebooks shows a street labeled “Cotton Street.”

I want to see raw cotton. The land of Dixie and all this talk about cotton all my life, and I have almost never seen cotton up close. I found a little, but not a lot. So hopefully they will have a street where they sell raw cotton. It looks like I am in luck, because to see a crop like cotton you must come or go when they are harvesting the cotton. I wanted to see the cashews being harvested, but it is the wrong time of year.

But the textile…?
I looked up the word.
1 : cloth 1a; especially : a woven or knit cloth
2 : a fiber, filament, or yarn used in making cloth
- Encyclopedia Britannica

I guess they are talking about cloth that is woven or the fiber in the yarns, threads, or lines used to weave materials. I saw yesterday here I Dharwad a store that sold Hand loom materials, a loom being the machine that weaves cloth. I have not seen any looms so far, but if I get close to looms then I am getting close to very cheap labor. Machines weave most cloth though even when they say “Hand Made.” That really is not correct, only special woven designed materials are hand woven. The ones with drawings on them and unique, the ones that are symmetrical or something are done on a machine I am pretty sure.

I found a really nice cotton blanket yesterday for 80 Rupees. It was an unbleached white soft cotton blanket and looked more like a shipping blanket then a sleeping blanket, but then again it may have been a shipping blanket for all I know. 80 Rupees are about 2 dollars USA or less, and I wanted to buy the blanket to help replace the blanket that KLM lost on the flight from the USA to Turkey. I have to think about it. It is a good, but white is not the best color to carry around. I have this Duvet cover that I bought in England that is working pretty good, but if I put the cotton blanket over the top it would be just enough on cold nights. A sleeping bag is always a pain, it is too much or too little, and difficult to adjust. I presently just have the Duvet cover. If I am lucky I have a blanket provided by the room, but in these hot countries they like to assume that you never need a blanket. It is cheaper and easier for them, and makes my life uncomfortable. I am amazed at the number of people that,
“Just deal with it.”

Why would anyone just deal with being cold? I had a girl traveler the other day talking to me about being cold in the night. They often just move rooms or leave because of a blanket. The room is uncomfortable, but they it does not click in their head, that the only reason is because of the need for a light blanket. I have a sleeping bag at home, but it is awkward and too heavy, difficult to pack and all sorts of other problems. It is one of them mummy bags, but hard to use for a blanket on a cold bus. It is really good if it is real cold, but anything other than really cold and it is too hot.

I presently use the Duvet Cover, which are 2 layers of sheet materials. Which in the tropics is plenty. The hotels provide a cover about 50 percent of the time. If I get really cold I will unfold my rain poncho and put over me, that and the Duvet cover would keep me nice and toasty.

If I took or bought that cotton blanket I could put it inside the Duvet cover and have a great blanket. I can remove when I am in hotter areas and used when needed. I am going to check to see if my poncho would fit inside the duvet cover. I would be an extremely warm cover that would be good down to almost below freezing. The poncho would hold in all the body heat. Something that does not breath like plastic is for real cold times. All the body heat is heal inside, but you then have to be careful about perspiration.

Layers is what I am looking for, but easy to carry and easy to separate, plus cheap and able to be purchased anywhere in the world so when I lose it I am not frustrated. I just buy a new one. A poncho is a little difficult to purchase. Not a cheap plastic one, but the really good materials is harder to find. I can almost always find a cheap poncho. I carry an umbrella for rain, but if I were really caught in the rain I would use the poncho to protect my computer and my backpack. I have had this one for about 2 years and never opened it, but like the mosquito net, when you need it, you need it and you cannot live without it. I suppose a lot of travelers need their poncho a lot, but I am pretty experienced and do not put myself in situations, or avoid types or travel that would lead me to need the stupid poncho. Nothing is more uncomfortable than walking with a poncho on in the rain. That to me is sign of bad planning or a desire to wear the poncho for fun. A small fold up umbrella, sold anywhere the world for 1 dollars… (Cheap countries) is what is best for rain.

SATURDAY MORNING

I was awoken by a lone dive-bombing mosquito. I must be alert to mosquitoes after reading about a couple of hammocks that are also tents on the Internet yesterday. Mosquito nets are so lame, they are irritating and difficult. I spend about 80 percent of my time in the tropics in areas where they have malaria or other diseases carried by mosquitoes. But the rooms are not designed for safety from Mosquitoes, about the only real protection I can be guaranteed is a fan. A good overhead fan will keep mosquitoes down to a minimum, but the problem last night is it was too cool for a fan and I would have froze, plus if possible I avoid the fan because the constant blowing dries my eyes and makes them hurt or red. So I had a diver bomber this morning. Just one, but enough to wake me… buzz in my ear.

I have a large double bed mosquito net I carry with me all the time, even in Europe and the USA. It has 4 corners with a loop for rope on each of the 4 corners. The idea is to tie a string or rope to each corner and hang up. In a thatched hut or cabana made of bamboo or other types of wood materials it is pretty easy to find something to tie the corners too, but the problem is I am in the 4 square concrete rooms 90 percent of the time, and there are no hooks. This is one reason to have the heavy-duty gaffer tape or something to hook on the walls, especially when I am staying over a couple of days.

You would think they would have screens on windows, but that seems to be a USA thing, and the rest of the world does without.

I have about 80 percent of the time 2 corners to connect, but I do not have all 4 corners. I suppose you think well what is the big deal, and just let it hang down on you while you sleep. The big deal is that mosquitoes can bite right through a mosquito net, a sheet, or a hammock. If you are really in a problem area the mosquitoes will come in any hole or bite through any cloth. So you must not have the net touching you. Plus a mosquito net is hot, and normally with the heat comes the mosquitoes. I normally tuck the net in on the edges of the bed and put my backpack or something large on the edges to hold the net away from the sides. But in the end it is best to have all 4 corners tied up. Then the mosquito net is wonderful.

TOMMORROW HUBLI - Friday night 7:25

I will leave Dharwad for Hubli tomorrow; it is about 20-27 kilometers away and should be a quick trip. So tomorrow shall be a leisure travel day, but probably not very interesting along the road. Dharwad has been interesting as I went further away from the hotel I discovered lots of fun and exciting stuff. There is a hoop maker, or a person that makes the steel hoops that go around a wood wheel like they would have on a Conestoga wagon. There are plenty of oxen pulled carts around here, mixed in with the noisy trucks and motorcycle.

I just returned from having Egg Fried Rice for 10 Rupees or about 25 cents USA. This is a very healthy and nutritious meal. Very spicy. I had watched the man cook and new he took great care in his methods, and that attracted me to this roadside diner.

The town is very modern in most ways, but the roadside food stands have only a gas lantern, and a gas pump stove for cooking. They have what looks like oversized woks for pans. For 2.5 Rupees I can have some Chai or Tea with milk. I had this my first night but decided tonight to pass on the Tea. He served water for free.

I have a rule of thumb on water. If the locals will not drink it, I won’t drink it. But if the local drink it, then I will drink it. There is a presumption that people are ignorant in the world and would drink water even if they got sick. Bottle water is very cheap where the water is bad and is not a big expense if you buy in the very large bottles like a 5-gallon jug. This makes the cost almost nothing.

But I am impressed with the water system of India so far; they are very far ahead of Thailand or South America so far. But this is a big country and not that easy to make such large sweeping statements.
I am sure each state is a little different.

It would be so easy to focus on one really nasty person drinking out of a river and call that the whole country, but this is not true. They have water taps for free located around the cities.

I did see a very ugly sight today, and almost took a photo, but decided that it was too disgusting. A man was lying on his side with his butt facing the road, he had his pants down and it looked like hundreds of ants or insects were attacking his rear. I won’t get more graphic, but I started to stop, and then just kept walking, it is possible he was dead, but I have no idea. I do not think so, but I was not going to go up close to check.

This memory is much more powerful then the very modern hotel and internet café across the street, so if I wished I could allow that memory to fill my brain, and exclude all the modern aspects of life her in India. I think the water and sewer system so far are better then Thailand by a long shot.

My room has 2 big mirrors. I cannot remember when I have been in a room with 2 wall mirrors and this is a treat. My table is covered with marble and all of this for 160 Rupees. I am staying at the Karnatak Bhavan Boarding, Lodging, and Restaurant on Poona-Bangalore, Road, Dharwad - 580-001. I could give you the telephone, but why would you want that. There are lots of nice hotels around.

I have a double room, the single room was 100 Rupees and I decided it was not secure enough. India has these extremely huge deadbolts on room and the double had these locks, while the single just had a skeleton key for the door, and I had to depend on the owner not having access or a worker not wanting to enter. With the double room I replaced their lock with my lock and I am good to go. India has the most secure rooms I have lived in so far compared to the rest of the world. The most insecure rooms are in places like Europe and the USA where the hotel always demands that I trust the clean lady, the manager and anyone they want to be able to enter the room as they wish. I love the lock system of the lower end hotels of India. I am pretty certain that if you pay more you can have less secure rooms…. Hehehe. Most 3-5 star hotels allow anyone to enter, of course they have more to steal there too.
- posted by Andy @ 9:13 PM

 
MY PLAN. ? Who knows for sure?
I am thinking I will stay around here for one more day to see if there is any textiles or clothes being manufactured here. I have not seen any, and the center of the city is not the place for this to occur, but normally people have road side stands or market areas where they sell the things they make, even if they do not sell well. There were assorted factories spread out inside the dense trees, or jungle as I rode from Goa to here. They looked pretty organized at a high level, but at a low level India are very underdeveloped. There appears to be a lot of factories and industrialization that employs workers that have very little or no education. Although I do think they educate the people very well, it appears that there are some really rich people in this country that have factories. It is amazing to see a factory inside a predominantly farm community and wonder why they chose the location. It is hard to see the factories, and there are very small signs that they exist. I notice the good carrier trucks on the road and wondered where they were coming from, and also the smoke stacks and the architecture of the factory buildings. There is a saw tooth construction, and a… I am not sure what you call it construction of factory roofs. They really high ones have a vent or roof vent system that is large. Like a ridge row on houses, but ten times larger and the vent is about 15-25 feet away from the peak.

Outside of this city were some smoke stacks where they dried clay bricks. I would like to visit one of the clay brick manufacturing places, but I would need a motorcycle to get there or take a taxi and the taxi driver would fight me the whole time trying to take me to the pretty stuff and not what I want to see. Don’t think for a minute that a taxi driver does not spend time steering the tourist. He makes his money by taking you to his uncle, aunt, brother or someone giving him some extra commission. That fare is just half the pay.

MORNING MUSLIM PRAYER CALL
I was not sure, but I am pretty sure now that I am in a very Muslim city. It is about 5:30-5:45 in the morning and they are having mass prayer calls around the city. This is normally done with the assistance of loudspeaker systems strategically located in the city. Plus in the larger cities they compete or are in opposition. It is very pleasant in some countries where there is only one Mosque in the city. The sound of the litany is pleasant here in India, but in Iraq it was a very obnoxious sound due to the harshness of the Arabic language. Thailand could be very nice to hear also.

There is an indoctrination or extreme ritual with the Muslim and Catholic, Buddhist faiths that to me causes a lot of people from fear, shame, or coercion to feel a need or compulsion bridging on obsession to obey.

The clothes in most countries indicated the religion and are like motorcycle clubs or gangs wearing their colors. If you are not a member of the correct club or gang it could be a problem.

I have left the State of Goa, which was influenced by the Portuguese to be Christian to the State of Karnataka that I am not sure. It is a lot larger and the Encyclopedia does not make it clear on the religion or religions of the region.

Bill Gates of Microsoft and Sun Systems have set up large computer industries in Bangalore and Hyberdad. This is probably one of the greatest ways or best ways in my opinion to fight terrorist and win in the long run. In the short run they will increase, but religions need to secularize or stop wearing their colors and fighting with each other. The business world creates a different style, fashion, or dress code and abolishes the obeying of dress codes of religions.

Some would say this is bad, but business people do not normally go round killing each their workers and their clients, or potential customers, while religions do kill anyone that does not agree. It would make sense that the opposite is true, but in reality the religions kill more people then the business. Now sometimes the business, especially a few hundred years ago utilized the religious to create profit. This was a lot of a reason for the crusades.

Terrorism to me is similar to the French not wanting to talk English. The French know they are in a losing battle and will eventually all speak English in a few hundred years. The Muslim religion is having compatibility problems with the modern world of televisions and in the end will probably become a dead religion. Both are fighting back to retain their control. I do NOT think that all religions should exist and I do not think that a language must exist. Cultures will change and that is guaranteed. I do hope that people stop using cigarettes; it is part of the cultures of the world and should end, not by force but by people slowly learning they are killing themselves.

DHARVAD INDIA - Friday Morning
Woke up this morning wishing the stereotypes about countries were closer to reality. They would portray India as being very hot, but this morning it is very cold. I am very happy I purchased a sweatshirt in England of good quality; it is really needed in the mornings or very late at night. But this is winter for the Northern Hemisphere and I am in the Northern Hemisphere.

ARRIVED IN DHARVAD, INDIA
I arrived about 1:30 in the afternoon. It seem to have taken me about 7 hours to go 75 miles. Now that is slow moving. This is about the same type of speed as Guatemala. But I had a lot of connections to make to arrive here.

I saw everything along the way. Rice, cows, water buffalos, goats, farmers, people living in teepees. The number of single axel dump trucks was astounding. There was very few cars or motorcycles after we cleared the city, but the trucks were everywhere.

The people on the bus were nice and polite and helpful. No problems at all, and I think that most traveler just take the normal tourist bus, so everyone is quite excited to see me. I am starting to learn the way that travelers move from place to place and it is very predictable and a track more or less.

I did not take many photos because there was a guy between the window and he and me did not help. But I am sure I will get a lot soon of the countryside.

I left Goa State and entered Karnataka. As you travel from Goa to Karnataka you climb the mountains, then after you cross the border between the two states it become level or you start to go down. At the border they checked the bus, and it was similar to leaving a country. They had something called excise police. They grabbed a couple of boys that looked like they were smuggling whiskey, but I am not sure, they also have water in Whiskey bottles. Plus upon arriving in Dharvad they also sell whiskey here, so I am not clear on the problem.

THURSDAY MORNING - LEAVE ON BUS
It is nice to decide to leave. I have been very indecisive and now I am comforted by the thought of leaving and finding new places. This is difficult to do sometimes because I get into a comfort zone where I am safe, secure and know the territory. That makes life easier on one side, but often boring on the other. It is a compromise between boredom and security. I am not talking about safety. I am in a very safe country for the most part, but the security of knowing what to expect on a day-to-day basis.

But in the security of know the routine is the boredom. I have better watch my complaints though on trains or the Hoboes of the world may go on an attack. There is a conceptual idea that trains only travel by train.

I will leave today by bus from Benaulium Beach to Margoa. This will take about 20 minutes, upon arriving I will go get some money from the ATM and then I am off to what I think is Ponda. I am going to go check that. Yep, I am going to Ponda.

How this will work? I will go to Margoa, which I already know how to do and understand. There is a small bus stop just off the garden. I will walk around in there with my backpack on, and all the touts or hawkers that want to sell bus ticket will descend on me. I will say the word,
“Ponda.”
That may or may not understand that word. The may mean nothing to them and if it is not the place they are selling a ticket for, they will just try to convince me that is the place I should go. They will not really be selling tickets, this is a local bus, and they just take the money on the bus.

But maybe I will find the right bus. There are 3 locations in the center of Margoa to catch a bus. There is suppose to be another one north of the city, but they will probably put me on a bus toward there if that is the way I should go to go to Ponda.

The big problem in this whole mess is that they may try to point me to a train or something. The also will think in terms of a specific city. They may think that “Londa” is the place that you go, and even though “Ponda” is on the way, they will not put 2 and 2 together and say that I need to get on the “Londa” bus. In the end if I can get their brain to connect, I will find the right bus. The ticket hawkers in the entire world are sort of brain dead, they only hear or can think about city they are saying, and I must say it correctly or they do not understand.

But the great part about this is one I start to go east out of Margoa by bus, and then east is the only way to go by road. The road leading to the state of Karnataka is a big road and I will be able to keep on that road easily… I hope.

I have just drawn a paper map. I would use my guidebook map, but that has too many cities and information on it, and that is too confusing for them, they would take hours to just look at the colors of the map. I have maybe what you would call a stick map, or a line and dot map. It is much better to show a ticket vendor then a full on color map with all the highways and such. They probably have never seen one and this just confuses them and gets them all excited. They have seen maps, but they really only know Margoa and they would like to look at the map of all the state and the country and everything. But their world only exists in terms of Margoa, so why would I confuse them and show them the rest of the country or world. Plus I am trying to get on a bus, and that is my goal, not to try to teach them Geography.

The key to travel is to find what word is their hot word.
The words that could be the hot word here are…
“Ponda” = the next bigger city I would go to…
Or maybe Karnataka = this is the state I am heading towards. The problem is I could go south and find the state also.
I could say “East” but I have never found the North - East - South or West directions to be of any help.

I need to find the correct word. So I will say them all. But first Ponda and maybe Londa. If I get really worried I will show them the map. But I will for sure show the map after the guy says I am on the right bus, this will be to reassert that he knows where I am going. If I can get him with the big plan he will maybe help me to get on the next bus.

So far the India people are as about as helpful as rocks in this type of thing. They do not connect their brains up fast. The think of money and this is a problem, because they also consider any or bad, or just talking to be worth money. The act of helping is worth money even if they took me to the wrong place. I do not pay people for talking. I will give a tip or bribe, or baksheesh or whatever you wish to call it if the person can turn on the brain switch and really think. This is not common in the world. Most people think about what they are thinking about and do not think about what I am thinking about, even though it would help them to sell a ticket to me.

So I am going to pack now and leave. Bye - It is 6:25 here in the morning, by the time I get done, the sun will be up and they may actually have buses to Margoa. It is difficult to be sure.

- posted by Andy @ 9:00 PM

 
I AM IN DHARVAD
Hello,
I am directly east of Margoa or Goa about 75 miles in a city called Dharvad. I probably am spelling it wrong. I do not think tourist come here and everyone is watching me, but it is very nice and the internet cafe is good.

My room has HOT water.... woopee.
Will write again. All is very good.
- posted by Andy @ 1:46 AM

 
NEWSLETTER TODAY FROM BENELIUM BEACH - STATE OF GOA INDIA
http://www.hobotraveler.com/newsletterhobo135insert.shtml

Tips is about what will break on your laptop.
- posted by Andy @ 12:44 AM

 
SNITCH FROM THE RESORT
I talked yesterday with a couple of snitches from a resort. They live in a very originally name resort here in Benalium Beach India.
“Ocean Palms.” I am being sarcastic.

But they snitched on the people in the resort. They said,
“They are afraid to leave.”
“They sit around the pool all day, and only leave maybe with a taxi, they are told that it is unsafe to leave the resort.”

A older and very nice British couple told me this, and was quite disgusted with the inhabitants of the resort. Why go to India if you never leave? Spain is much closer. Fear is a strange thing, and very powerful. But the desire to say you visited something or the fame and maybe fools prestige of saying you was there is more powerful then fear.

CHICKEN FRIED RICE - Wednesday Morning.
I went with the four boys last night to eat at a Chinese roadside food stand. What a funny experience.

We are walking down a highway that is dark and full of crazy cars going way to fast. The boys start to sing in English that stupid song called,
“My Dingaling” Something about playing with my dingaling.
I have no idea where the learn this stuff, but they knew a lot of words to the song.

The restaurant they called,
“Rough and Ready.”
I thought the restaurant was perfect. Three sets of the world renown sets of plastic chairs and tables that are everywhere I have ever visited. That had them set up next to portable kitchen, that was positioned along side the road. Nice and cozy, and open air. Yea that is it. It was an open air restaurant. The Chicken Fried Rice cost 30 Rupees or about 75 cents U.S. and they paid for me. Very delicious and I was content.

I would like to make an observation….
Outdoor restaurants are nice.
Outdoor restaurants are enjoyable.
But in most corners of the planet they are normal, and cheaper because the owner does not have to pay overhead on street space.

This applies most of the time in Europe, Paris, and all the places where they have sidewalk cafes. So when you walk into a sidewalk café think… Maybe the owner should be cheaper and not more expensive. They are using public property for nothing and doubling their business. It is NOT a benefit offered by the restaurant, it is a benefit taken from the public, and paid for by the public tax money. I like a roadside or sidewalk cafes, but do not feel like the owner is doing me a favor, he or she is doing themselves a favor.

So if you want to start a restaurant in some cheap country. You can often just set up some table. All you really need is one covered area for the kitchen and fresh vegetable and food. In most countries that is all they have anyway. Everything must be fresh because there is very little refrigeration. I tend to not eat at restaurants that have very little business. I know they do not turn the food over enough to keep it fresh. The more they sell the fresher the food.

BIKE RIDE AROUND BENALIUM - Tuesday Afternoon
I rented a bike for 30 Rupees for the day from the owner of my Guesthouse and went for a ride around the area. It is full of resorts, but for the life of me I can not see how they get to the resort or leave. They must come only in buses, because I have saw thousands of units in resorts and have only seen about 10 foreigners, and the ones I do see, I see over and over again. There are lots of resorts or hotels in the world though that live for the time from December 22 to January 6th more or less, this is when they make money. If you would ask the hotel or resort though they would say the are full from November until March, but this is crap. The only time there is every some trouble with rooms in a beach area is from December 20th until about the 6th of January.

So this place is ready for people and no people. It may be that the people that come here are from northern India and rich, and maybe my supposition that they are foreigners is incorrect..

But thank God for the 2 Calcutta girls and the 4 Calcutta boys in my guesthouse or I would be even lonelier then Margoa. At least in Margoa I did not sit around thinking I would meet somebody. I was just resigned to look at them, and them look at me.

INDIA COMPUTER SKILLS & EQUIPMENT
Just because you hear that India is very good with computers and they have their own Silicon Valley do not equate that this means they are good or have great Internet cafes. They are a little farther ahead because of the use of the English language, but the basic lack of communication, manners, and general view of people is still in the developing phase or underdeveloped. They do have people though that are on par as the fully developed countries, but on the average the country is still underdeveloped computer wise. You are not going to be able to buy, analyze, or maneuver in India very well. I believe everything is available in the country, but only in pockets. That is like saying you would have to travel from New York to Denver Colorado to find the equipment you want or the skills.

Ordering something or asking is still on the very underdeveloped sense of the world.

CLASSIC PACKING PROBLEM
I pride myself in packing efficiently. I write tips on ways to travel effectively and efficiently. I have just spent the last 15 minutes in the dark, luckily with the help of a flashlight looking for my candles. I have put them away too good. I did find my extra eyeglasses so that it even better or great. But what would I do if I really needed the candles? I would be out of luck. I try to keep candles and a lighter in a place where I always know how to find, even in the dark. But here I am looking and cannot find the candles.

Well, at least the sun will come up soon and I will hopefully be able to see. I was looking around for the electrical breaker earlier, it does look like there are some around the building, I did not recognize them at first because they are different in design, but they are very good and the some easily accessible.

CALCUTTA HOTEL UNIVERSITY
There is about 6 people living in the guesthouse besides me, they are all from the Calcutta area of India. They are all working at one of the expensive hotels. There must be a hotel Management University in Calcutta and all the 6 people have come here to work and train. They take it very serious and work very hard. Most of them are doing kitchen, or cleaning work, and seems very serious for what could be considered menial labor. The hotel are all supposed to be 5 star hotels and that must mean something in this part of India.

It is great to talk with them; they all speak very good English and even speak English between them. There are so many languages in India that they must. The official language is “Hindi” or something like that and most also speaks that, but the English language is more useful so it is dominant.

It is great to discuss the country with educated students. There are 2 girls and 4 boy students, all between 20 and 28 years of age.

PALMS OR NO PALMS
I chose a place that was shady and cool to live. I have noticed that a lot of the building and guesthouse here are directly in the sun and look very hot. Palolem was idyllic in this area because all of the Huts on the beach were under talk and shady palm trees. Colva and Benalium Beach are not very shady so far. There may be places that are, but I have not discovered them. The huge housing developments on this beach are in the sun, but are constructed to have shade and security. They have guards at the gates.

JULIES PLACE ON BENALIUM - Tuesday Morning
I am now located at a small guesthouse on Benalium Beach. It is just 8 kilometers directly west of Magao. It would be best to assume that all the towns, villages or cities are essentially beach cities or port cities. Although many are a few kilometers away from the ocean they are built from a strategy point of view to be close to the sea. I do no know of any river in Margao, but that doe not mean there is not one. Normally there will be a fresh water river somewhere along the city to provide drinking water.

I BLEW THE ELECTRICITY
I woke up this morning and started my normally get a coffee, turn on my computer, and start my day thing. This guesthouse is new, and I have not used the electricity to make coffee yet so when I turned on the switch it blew a fuse or breaker. I am not sure and have yet to see any breaker boxes in Goa. This is the first time in India that I have blown a fuse or breaker. I am hoping they have breakers that make life easier for me and for them.

My coffee cooker use a high amount of electricity for about 20 seconds then I am done, but in that 20 seconds it put a jolt on the lines. I am always very careful but it is impossible to know what will happen. Quality and type of construction will change from Hotel to Hotel although the same basic wiring has been in all of my rooms so far. This is good, because there does appear to be some building standards in India. In fact it is a very organized country so far.

I would have to say it is dirtier in an obvious way more then Thailand, but the infrastructure of electricity, water, and gas is better. I only know Goa and I could cross the state line and the whole world could change. Each state may be really a separate country in essence.

I am typing by battery and I am extremely happy for this. My last computer with the Nichol Cadmium battery was worthless. If there was not electricity, I had to stop, but now I have about 2 hours of typing before the battery on the laptop is dead.
- posted by Andy @ 12:36 AM

 
I AM ON BENALIUM BEACH OR CLOSE
Hello,
Lights went off in my room. It was my fault... hehehe.
So small blog today.

I am in a great Guesthouse near Benalium Beach Goa. I took the bus into Margao to use the internet. Very cheap and very fast. Plus I am publishing 50 megs of Hoboguide.com that was down for the last year.....aaagh.

But it is up now.

- posted by Andy @ 7:57 PM

 
I HAVE DECIDE - I go to Benalium Beach
Sitting here and working or typing on my computer I have finally got in touch with what I really want to do. I want to go see what is happening in Benalium Beach. I seem to in the back of my mind have some unfinished business or something I wish to do in Margao and do not want to jump too far away from this city.

I suppose you think I should go be a tourist and that is fine, but I am not a tourist. I am a traveler that goes to different places and stay around and lives, although I do a lot of tourist things, that is not my goal, my goal is to enjoy the day doing what is fun to me and to have a nice life. Looking at thing of beauty or history is fun, but not always that exciting. Sort of looking at home movies. After about a half hour you have had enough. The same is for tourist attractions, in can only look at things for a half hour and then I am kaput. But do realize that looking a culture is time consuming in itself. To just watch the people of India walk down the street is amusement park of thrills and chills. I am in a skuzzy part of the city and there are a lot of characters around. I have to be careful I keep my brain in balance and do not stupidly think this is the normal life. I am in living in an area that is maybe only 20 percent of the city. Not very normal in many ways, but it is normal for this part of the city. It is very easy to go see the skuzzy part of a life, but to find out how a good respectable person lives is extremely difficult. You cannot just walk down the street and look into their window. You have to be invited. They are respectable.

Note on the Hindu or temple thing. I have no understanding still of this Hindu religion or all the temples and archeology stuff of India. I am still researching and trying to learn. Not much fun looking at stuff when you have no idea why it is significant. In the end you go away saying,
“That was nice.”

COMPUTER WAGES
I was talking with a woman the other day next to a large India business. She is the executive secretary for the head of what appears to be a very large business here in India. I think she was transferred here from Bombay or Mumbai as they wish us to call it.

But I asked her,
“I want to be fair, and I am trying to pay a boy. Well, he is not a boy, he is 24 years old, but appears awfully young to me. But back to the point, I want to pay him to do computer work. What is a fair wage for helping on my page?”

She said,
“I cannot tell you per day or per hour, but I can tell you per month. A good worker of this type would get 3500 Bucks per month.”

She then changed the word to Rupees, because they call a Rupee a buck here also. I then went over this price about 5 more minutes to be positive she said this amount of money. I think this is for a 6-day workweek also, but I forgot to ask her about that, although she is working 6 days. I asked another guy how much a few weeks earlier and he said 200 Rupees per day.

So I would guess that a fair wage for a computer programmer is starting is between 3500 and 5160 Rupee per month.

The 200 Rupees represents the 5160 number I cam up with. The boy said he wanted 500 Rupees and this is fair to me providing he does the work.

Let put that in to perspective, I will convert this to U.S. Dollars. The Euro is almost the same, so just think of it as the same.


3500 = 80.45 Dollars USA
5160 = 118.62
200 = 4.59
140 = 3.21

So if I paid him 500 Rupees a day. I would be paying right around double the normal wages to triple.
11.49 Per DAY

Now that is what I had to pay a worker per hour in the USA to just get them to show up, and they did not show up good for that amount.

It is not hard to understand why they are exporting or sending business to India. I know these sounds cheap, and it is, but there are a lot of miscellaneous costs involved here that should be thought about. I cannot talk to him the same as I can a person from the USA. They also have a quality concept that is different. The cost of dealing with another culture will at least double the time it takes to do this job.

But a lot of brilliance is more about perspiration and not brains. So I am looking for time spent on this project thinking. I believe that mentally the India people are just or somewhat the same in innate mathematical powers as the USA person. There is a difference, because all breeds of animals are different and have different aptitudes. We are not all the same. But thinking, planning, and considering all the possible problems is a computer. I am making what they or I think they are calling a “Vortal.” A Portal is like Google.com where it is everything to everyone. I am making a “Vortal” of travel. This is similar to Google.com but only has to do with travel. Now in some ways it would be easier to have a Portal because I can include everything. In a Vortal I must somehow draw the lines or explain the relationships of ideas.

Like how does mobile or cellular phones relate to travel? Do I put them under communication or do I put them under gear? Is there a need? Yes there is a need, especially when we talk about Satellite telephones, but the lines all get fuzzy and the person doing the submitting has one goal and that it to convince that that company is special and provides some “World Class” service that really is needed by every travelers. The problem is 90 percent are lying. So how do I create a way to cull out the liars from the good pages quickly? How do I keep the serious and helpful people away from the spammers and slammers that wish to overwhelm with hyperbole and marketing slogans.

There is a way I believe and that is one of my projects here in India. To get the page up to third generation level.

I suppose I really do not know how many generations my webpage will have. I would think just a hotel webpage would be a first generation, and when the page is in someway interactive it would be second generation, and when I can by AUTOMATION not by manual labor delete, manage, and control the information it will be third generation.

Fourth would be when the categories grow independently of me.

I just went and put that into my collection of thoughts on my page. So here it is again maybe more clearly.

FIRST GENERATION - A business card type webpage.
SECOND GENERATION - Interactive a person looking at page can submit information.
THIRD GENERATION - I can by AUTOMATION not by manual labor delete, manage, and control the information.
FOURTH GENERATION - When the categories grow independently of me.

BENAULIUM OR GOKARNA? Monday Morning
I am leaving my room today. I am trying to decide on whether to go to Benaulium or Garkarna. I have even considered Anjuna one of the famous party beaches. It would be nice to be in the center of the state of Goa near Panjim or Old Goa so I could see more Portuguese architecture
- posted by Andy @ 8:31 PM

 
WENT TO BENALIUM BEACH
I cannot say the beach looks that interesting, sort of a long drawn out thing and with a lot of thatch restaurants. There appears to be 2 large sets of very nice house or resort development just off the beach. These are really nice houses and I expect they are expensive. The small village is quaint and very nice. I may go there for a couple of days. It is only 20 minutes from Margoa and only 5 Rupees by bus; I can live there and still come in and get some Internet work done for a few more days.

I also have my eye on a few more sample type packages to send home now that I know the system and also understand Margao.

The room at Benaulin is only 100 Rupees and I am paying 180. The room where I am in right now is real dodgy looking at night, and I do not like to walk around. Benaulin would allow me to roam around at night better.

SQUAT TOILETS
Sometime I just go to the restroom to take a break and think. I miss the normal type. This squat has nothing to do with “Rest.”

STILL IN MARGAO
I have so many little things to do, and Margao is very convenient to perform these tasks that I am having trouble leaving. I am still here doing all sorts of little items. I did go to a beach Colva just 8 kilometers away. It was very or extremely touristy and not a very interesting beach. I can almost tell how a town is constructed or laid out whether I will enjoy the situation. This place seemed to have resort type hotels more then Mom and Pop types. Palolem has the Mom and Pop type. All are small or say less then 50-meter or yards wide on the beach, or basically as wide as a large restaurant. This makes all the places close and cozy, but if they spread out then it is impossible to meet anyone and to know people. The social life comes down to only the bar scene and become boring. Koh Samui was the resort type in Thailand while Koh Pha Ngan was more the Mom and Pop type. The layout of Hotels is very important to my enjoyment of a place.

I want to talk and enjoy the place, and not just be there. The Hiltons, Sheratons and Holiday Inn type mentality is that you go to be in THAT hotel. Like the Hotel is the reason you go to a place, and in reality this is probably true for 90 percent of people. The visit a Hotel and not a place, or they visit a Resort and not a country. A resort is not the country, it is a resort where you get away from a countries problems. Where you are pampered, coddled and fed food. Oops and spend lots and lots of money.

Most of my great memories are about place where I have visited that groups of people sat around and had fun together. Like in La Paz in the Carretero Hostel, or Ecuador in the Grand Hotel Quito in the old part of Quito or in Pie De La Cuesta Mexico. I suppose I could say the same for the Barmy Badger in Earls Court of London. The fun was meeting a few people and the group going somewhere or sharing some laughs together.

Palolem beach could be a lot like that, but not good for me because I am not from England. Sort of a Brit thing.

LOST SOME PHOTOS
I was sitting in my room here in Margao trying to arrange some of the old photos and WebPages. I cannot find some photos on my computer. I am getting very annoyed, frustrated and angry about this situation. I do not want to think about it much, but it all comes down to me trusting another person with information. I have lost so many photos because I trusted a person or company. I have a friend Brett that has helped out a lot and has always done a good job, but I can tell you anyone else or company that I have ever entrusted digital information with has deleted, erased, or improperly managed information.

Fortunately the cost of backing up information has become cheaper, easier and quicker so no I can do all my own. In the past 50 Megs of information was a tremendous amount, but now it is nothing.

I am not sure where is safe?
I have lost tons of information backed up on the internet because a company has went out of business or just deleted it.
I have lots tons of information that I paid to have copied because the techies did a sloppy job.
I have lost information burning a CD Rom because the recorder in Cuczo did not record the data.
I have lost information I sent to the Internet because a satellite connection glitched the files.

I must have 4 locations for all information or I would never feel safe.
1. Internet
2. CD Rom (2-3 copies minimum in different locations - different houses)
3. My compute.
4. A friends, family, or second computer.

Note: Copying a hard drive is not done perfectly. If it stops for any reason there will be a problem. If you have a lot of information it will stop. A corrupt file will stop it. You must be there the whole time.
- posted by Andy @ 4:55 AM

 
WHY BLOG? WHY JOURNALIZE?
I am learning that writing in a journal is beneficial for writing skills, but I do not believe in the past it was as much as it is now, the computer grammar checker is teaching me grammar.

I think in the past it helped a person to create a style and a voice. But I truly believe that 90 percent of people that journalize all their lives are excellent writers and do not feel any shame on their abilities. If I had shame or felt guilty for being less then at writing I would probably not write this, but I really do not aspire to be the worlds greatest writer. That is not my bag. I just like to collect ideas. I am idea collector, and have realized yearly that it is truly possible that the worlds knowledge can be accessible to the average person. It will someday be easy to find information on anything. The internet is just a jumble of crap right now, but eventually they will suss it out and they will make a great indexing system that solves all the confusion.

I read the encyclopedia daily to learn.

I READ MY GUIDEBOOK?
I have been having problems with mailing this package back to the USA. I hate to mail things, and normally refuse to do so, but the idea of making money to travel is spurring me on, and making me continue. But yesterday it occurred to me to read my guidebook to see what it said, and it told me what has taken some frustration to learn. I normally have a guidebook and sit around and peruse the thing to learn idle facts. This guidebook has only been in my hands for a week and I have not sat around and looked at the things, although I am pretty much bored with reading guidebooks. Sort of an necessary annoyance. But I do need a guidebook and would not travel without one, just seems ridiculous to not have one, when inside I am provided with a guide through 50 percent of my problems. Why reinvent the wheel?

POLITICS VERSUS NORMAL CRAP
I wonder how many of my readers are now becoming bored with the normal travel problems? I started this blog before going to Iraq so that was a lot of political problems and current events. Now my life is more preoccupied with just normal travel problems and situations.

IT WOULD DRIVE PEOPLE CRAZY
I have discovered a small curious difference in 220 plugs in the world. 220 plugs have round prongs instead of flat, but the India ones seem to be shorter and fatter, but the problem or probably a good thing is they fit into the other size slot. So they appear to be interchangeable but in a very sloppy way.

I have notice this for maybe a year in different places the plug were loose, but just blamed it on being an old outlet and bad quality, but now I realize there is really a problem with the sizes.

All plugs and outlets in the world cause some problems, but I am learning all the time about the electricity of the world. They sell these universal adapters in some travel or baggage outlets. I look at them and think they would maybe work, but I am realizing that they would not work for long. They would do fine until one of these plugs welds or burns up the prongs inside the adapter and then what you have is a 25 Dollars Universal piece of trash.

I have never bought one because although it appears convenient, it also seemed way too expensive for the situation. It also misses the whole point. I better check and look at one of these adapters again, but I am 90 percent sure they do not have adapters that fit into light bulb sockets. This is where I need an adapter the most. There are lots of rooms in the world with no plugs. Maybe 20-30 percent have no plugs and I must put an adapter inside the light outlet. In the very worse situation they have a florescent light and I am totally in trouble. Almost, not completely and still know a way, but this gets to be ridiculous. I have only been in one Hotel or Hostel in 7 years where there was zero ways to connect. The El Lobo in La Paz Bolivia. They just had the place completed sealed off from allowing residents to monkey with the electricity in any way, but it was owned by an Israeli person and this would make sense. They are very smart and could think of every possible way a resident could use electricity.
I was just thinking to myself how they should change the laptops. I can often find an plug outside my room and could charge this newer computer and they use inside the room for a couple of hours.

But it is too dangerous to leave my computer outside the room charging. Someone would steal it. But if I could remove the battery and plug the battery only into an outlet, they would not steal the battery.

All the situations I encounter in living would drive a person crazy. I realize why people do not use or carry their computers, or so many have a computer and it gets stolen, broke, or they stop using it because of the hassles. I would venture to guess that less then 50 percent of the business travelers use their laptops when traveling. But a Hilton or one of the real nice hotels make the use of electronic devices easy. But the world does need a universal electrical outlet. I am pretty sure that 110 electricity is the best, because it does not weld the plugs or destroy them as fast. I am not positive on this point.

Most people that use a laptop a lot stay in either 5 star hotels or stay in the same locations a long time. They do not have to adapt on a weekly basis. Figuring out how to make your computer work once every 3 months is easier then trying to make your computer work once every week.

CD ROM PLAYERS AND MOBILE PHONES
The invention of the lithium battery has made the use of rechargeable batteries a great idea and not just usable The lithium battery is truly a rechargeable battery. I am now surrounded with travelers that are carrying cell or mobile telephones. They drive me crazy talking about these gadgets, because to me the last thing I need is a cell telephone, but they are getting closer and closer to being valuable. The use of CD Players is becoming rampant with the travelers as they need their music. The problem is batteries. It cost a small fortune for batteries for the CD players. The mobile phones are always rechargeable, but they are going to run into the plug problem. It is fortunate that people do not really travel around in a lot of countries like me, but really just in one area. Most tend to keep their adventures in the same general area. Say for example South America or South East Asia, but not all of them.

I FOUND A GREAT PRODUCT YESTERDAY
I bought this rechargeable flashlight yesterday. I has both a flashlight for pointing and another light on top for reading. It plugs into the wall and recharges, and it has a compass on the side. There is also an adapter to plug in your CD Rom player so you can use this as a battery. This all cost 2 Dollars or about 2 Euros. The cost was 90 Rupees. It is made in China and probably will fall apart quickly but for 90 Rupees it is worth the chance.

India electricity goes off about the same as Iraq. It is off and on, off and on, off and on, never a solid day. Not a big problem, but still annoying. Iraq was richer and everyone had a generator, but here the hotels are poorer so they do not have generators. So rechargeable flashlights or torches as the British call them is great. I do not want to pay a fortune for batteries. I am very good with gadgets, electronics, and all the devices of the world. Although the world believe they are good with these widgets I believe there is steadily becoming a gap between who is capable of understanding and using them and who is not. This is the real economic gap that is appearing to me. The people that have the innate ability to learn and those who do not. It is nothing to do with class that will separate the people. It is raw intelligence.

But there is hope for Bill Gates. If the computer industry invents a truly voice controlled world that understand human speech they will be rich and all these minor problem will be solved by the computer and the person will not have to learn.
- posted by Andy @ 1:15 AM

 
BEGGAR RULES
I normally only give to really old people, people with a body part missing, and to people that ask for food. I have found a few more people in India asking for food, so I am spending more money and time buying food.

RULES LINK
http://www.hobotraveler.com/newstips096.php

PHOTO ADVICE
I really love my creative camera that cost 35 dollars. I have started to carry with me my camera always. I did this in Iraq, but I am realizing that the best photos are when I do not expect them. This camera is very small and quick, plus it does not look like a camera so does not annoy or make people change their pose. Plus saves on all the questions that would arise if I had a normal large camera. The screen on my Sony Mavica gets way too much attention.

I am going to buy a backup Creative camera when I get a chance. I am worried thought they have changed the price and updated the models that in the end removes the value of the camera.

FRIDAY MORNING
Woke up early to the notion that I really do not want to leave Margao today. I was already to go, then I found the hooks, so I want to complete my mailings before I leave. So I will stay another day, but there are lots of things to do, and this is my first real taste of normal culture in India. So it is still fresh and interesting. I have this feeling that Gokarna is a totally mixed up city, and not so real. I have heard too many tourists saying they are going to Gokarna.

I am going to take a day trip to Colva beach, I just hope soon.

Changing my mind is probably one of the best things about travel, and I am always wary of myself trying to regiment my travels. I think it is natural to plan or prioritize, but I have learned that free flow travel and life is better and more interesting. Plus I do not miss the best opportunities and best places to visit, but sticking to the plan. Most of the greatest times or most interesting experiences were because someone mentioned a strange place to visit and I went.

EXTENSION CORD
I for some reason had 2 extension cords in my pack. I decide to lose a little weight, plus I was having problems. So I changed to a larger gauge wire cord that was already in my bag. The heating of my water to disinfect the clothes was making the cord and switch too hot. The world likes to sell these 18-24 gauge wire extension cords. The just put on more insulation if for heavy-duty use. This is not the proper way to do this. I am looking presently for a 14-gauge wire to make my own. I am tired of all the problems I am having. It needs to be that twisted type of stranded copper. The big problem with that is that it makes a connection more difficult inside the plug. But a solid copper wire would not be flexible. I do not want a huge insulation on the outside like a treble light or such, because it would take up too much space and weigh a lot. I have a 3-plug end on my extension cord. I have all sorts of connectors to convert from the 2 prongs to the slotted and all that crap.

Hello - THURSDAY AFTERNOON
Today I played on the Internet for about 4 hours. The cost is cheap so I surfed around and cleaned up my Internet world.

Later in the day I found some fish hooks. Sort of irritated at another store because they either lied to me, or just ignorant. I tend to think they lied because at the other store the man said the hooks were for catching the Kingfisher fish. This is a very popular fish in restaurants so the idea of them not knowing about this hook is a little on the obscure side, and not really believable. I had purchase 10 of a funky brand that does not have an eyelet. Now tomorrow morning I will buy 50 to send back to the USA. I use these hooks for my backpack organizer and have had a devil of a time buying them in the USA. The cost is about 50 Cents U.S. or about 20 Rupees.

I have had trouble buying this hook. A sharp hook can cut into a wood wall and allow me to hang my organizer up in some really difficult rooms. Strange as it sound there are lots of room that are just 4 walls of concrete and very little in the way of cracks, crevice or places to hang my organizer.

- posted by Andy @ 8:51 PM

 
YESTERDAY
Yesterday I worked too hard, and now I am thinking too much. I watch myself very carefully because I am an alcoholic. This is a habit that I have had for over 16 years. Nothing is wrong, but when I get too…

Hungry
Angry
Lonely
Tired

I HALT or slow the life down. Yesterday was a too much day, but then again India is a too much country. Every thing is too much, but when you have nothing to do it is too much also. So whenever I start to try to accomplish one of my little missions in a day. I know it will be too much of too much.

What happened yesterday was that I had a big mission and what I thought should have been a small mission to accomplish. Really the second mission was supposed to be so simple it was not a problem.

IMPORT - EXPORT
My big missions of the day were to finish my newsletter and send; mission accomplished. My second errand or baby mission was to mail my package of light-bulb-socket-plugs to the USA. I worked on this mission the day before, so I was 90 percent finished and this was just a straggler. But it turned into a real ordeal because of the lady at the post office.

The whole story is this.

I went to the post office a couple of days ago to find out the price to ship a kilo of anything to the USA. There was lot of very impolite, rude, and probably just normal Indian people inside the post office pushing and shoving for the stamp window. I tried to stand in line normally and in the end for fairness I became the line police and kept them at bay. They are very rude, but I am very big in comparison and if I wished, I can easily force myself to the front of the line, that is a no brainer, and in the back of their mind they know this also. So line strategies or a queue as the English calls them is always on my side. This line was a pain, but the bigger problem was the lady behind the desk. It was a dirty glass, with a hole. The noise level in the place was horrendous and impossible to understand here sloppy English.

The English of India is superb in comparison to other poorer countries but they are on the sloppy side of English. They speak too quietly, and the pronunciation is worse then the English. But they learned from the English so that “Stuff” does flow downhill, so it would make sense that their English is sloppier then the Brits.

So I am screaming at her that I want to know how much it cost to mail a kilo to the USA? She is not happy, and does not want to answer the question. I repeat the question and make her aware I was not leaving until I have an answer. I slowed down all the rude and bad mannered people in the line and this got them hollering for faster service. So I was the center of attention and holding up the line. I do not care, and am on the side of a just world. I stood in line, I waited my turn, and I asked my question. It was my turn for her to answer my questions and to provide service. She kept reaching around me to help the other. I reach around and stopped that after the first one go around me, but she was annoying and had a bad soul, not an evil soul, but just one of them that probably could be bribed.

I think she said it cost 375 Rupees for 1 kilo. I then asked about how much for 2 kilos? She said,
“You are wasting my time.”
I said,
“I am trying to export things out of your country so your people make money!”

She was a #%#hole.

I walked out and left. That number was in the ballpark, and ok. So I would proceed with my plan to send these light-plugs to the USA.

I went and packaged the box. I had to go buy tape. This cost me 55 rupees or about 1.25 dollars. I tape it up completely and return the next day, which was yesterday, or the 3rd of December. It was addressed and ready to go.

Note: I asked everyone that I could about what I had to do to mail a package. They just wiggle their heads and say nothing. I thing they are checking with the wiggle if something is inside.

I take the package back to the same ugly woman. She is not so ugly in looks, but ugly in spirit. She takes the package and tells me I have to wrap it in white paper. She is trying to point at a package. All they show me is paper, but there is something missing, but she does not speak English worth a hoot and she just cannot be bothered to do a good job. She does say something about it needing to be OK for stamps.

The white paper thing is OK, and I was already worried that the tape was not correct for shipping. I know they want special tapes in the USA sometimes, and they can be a large pain also. But like any bureaucracy you must learn the rules, and then repeat. So I am learning the rules of India.

I return at 6:00 pm to the office. The sign says it closes at 18:30 hours. This is 6:30 pm and I am calculating in my head. It looks closed, and she is sitting there by herself writing. She still cannot be bothered and I hand her the white package. She asked,
“What is in it?”
I say,
“Souvenirs.”

This is a lie. But I really do not care. I will have to think of a good truthful comment. Maybe I will say a sample. A sample of something I want to Export or Import to the USA. All those words will bring up red flags, bribes, and all sorts of red tape, and extra money. Better to just walk up to a window and send. Her asking question about what is inside was making me nervous. I felt like I was in Mexico. They are always on the lookout for a way to extort a bribe in Mexico. India seems on the same program. But Mexico for sure is a lot worse. It the worse I have encountered.

She says that I must put cloth around the bag. I am confused because cloth will not hold a stamp. I told her to write down in her language, or any language she pleased the instructions to the tailor to sew up this package inside a cloth bag.

She wrote them down, and I left without this errand accomplished.

I have made some real money in business transactions. I am constantly counting the minutes and the time to see if this is a good business deal. It is still a great business deal. But I still do not know the actual price to mail this to the USA. I think the cost of mailing will be twice the cost I paid for the items.

Everyone acts like exporting things is easy. I have only met one person that did this, and he probably spent weeks to make 2 dollars. I know he did not make real money. He just kept busy, and this is a good mission and a good reason. You need to have something to do while traveling.

I decided I need to add Import / Export to my page. Here is the new link:

http://www.hobotraveler.com/importexport.php

- posted by Andy @ 7:54 PM

 
PHOTOS








- posted by Andy @ 9:36 PM

 
WHAT TO DO?
I am sitting around today; Wednesday and completing my travel newsletter. I will e-mail it about 8-10 tonight here when the people in the USA are just waking up and/or at work, I a little confused on my travel plans because of reading my new (used) guidebook and learning different things of interest. There is a beach closed to Margao that is suppose to be very nice, and lots of fishermen by the name of Colva.

I want to go by bus for a day trip and look around. Beaches that are close to fishermen are interesting and fun because I can lay on the beach or walk around and look at thing. Looking at girls is fun, but actually more fun when there is some real distractions like fishermen, nets, and large boats.

I am also looking for some large fishing needles. I bought a couple last year in Thailand to sew up my bag. They seem to use them to repair nets or something like that, it is always hard to be sure in countries like Thailand because I do not speak Thai and their English is horrible. Here the English is excellent, but still they do not know why I ask silly questions, so are hesitant to answer.

What I did last year when my bag ripped along the seam is went into this fishermen supply store and bought really large needles and a fishing net cord. The cord was extremely cheap, but very strong so perfect to sew up my bag. It worked very well. Normal thread is not very good because it is weak.

I am thinking about putting together a backpack repair kit of the things I would recommend to carry.

Normally in cheap countries I use a shoe repair place and have my bag fixed. That works reasonably well here in India, but in East Asia where they do not where shoes it is very difficult to find a shoe repair person. In South America it is extremely easy.

In any real expensive place like the USA and Europe I would fix the bag myself, so in the end, I guess I would sell the repair kit mostly to people traveling to Eastern Asia, USA, or Europe. But not important, if they want it they want it.

This all started because I ripped my pocket on the large backpack pulling it off the bus. This is the second time a bus has cut or ripped my bag.

GLASSES
Hello,
I think I lost my extra pair of reading glasses. I am pretty sure I lost them in England at the Hostel. It is really the most logical place, but not really that important, it was time to buy some new ones. That is how I discovered that they was gone I went to look for them because after I visited the eye doctor, I realized it would be good to show them my old glasses before I proceeded.

I do not like to lose things. It means to me something in my travel system has a hole. I do not lose many things, and I believe most travelers if they was honest or smarter would realize the lose more things then are stolen. I started a list of places for a future tip on where I lose things and why as a place to collect ideas.

http://www.hobotraveler.com/placesilosethings.shtml

- posted by Andy @ 8:14 PM

 
WOW WHAT MY SITE IS BIG
I have been banging away at fixing and repairing some old newsletter and broken links. It is huge undertaking, but I can say for sure that I think my writing has improved. I am able to do a lot of these repairs because of larger ram memory in my new computer and the FrontPage 2000 program. But this site of mine is too big and I have no idea how to fix it all. It will take years to clean this up to a really nice level. But I am working slowly, steadily, and trying to clean up them spelling errors. I am a bad speller. That is not true, I cannot see when I type badly. My grammar is bad.

DELAY OR ANOTHER CHANGE
I have an appointment to meet with a techie to help on the PHP of my page tomorrow at 2:00 PM. He has something called or uses something called,
“PHP Nuke.”
The appointment a lot of loose strings will probably delay me until Thursday for leaving Margao.

I have not idea how the NUKE program would affect my page, or what it will do, but I have a test site that I will use it on, before I go crazy and use it on the main HoboTraveler.com

The whole idea is to make every page a little “Specific Forum” but not have to have all the password and such. But still be able to control, delete, and especially edit or stop people from submitting or spamming my search engine.

I am laughing a lot. I will pay a guy from India to stop the people from India from filling my pages up with useless information. I have been learning how to rapidly clean up a lot of messes. But it is still a lot of random stuff on my site. I have now had about 7000 submissions in the database. But I would expect may 20,000 more in the next year minimum so I got to get read of the mess it will cause, but more importantly to be efficient in processing the information.
- posted by Andy @ 8:03 PM