Travelling through New Zealand - The Land of the Great White Cloud !

Travel Tales from New Zealand .

About 21 years ago , I first visited New Zealand .  It was around Sept , being spring season in the Southern Hemisphere . As I was coming from Malaysia , I thought it was a good time to go ! My earlier experience to Tasmania , Australia in winter made me realise that for us from a hot , sizzling country like Malaysia , winters can be challenging , though also exciting ! Seeing snow is like some magic and joy . We jump about or simply touch snow with a child-like pleasure.

Anyway , my decision to go in Sept was that spring season is the time of flowers , nature just awakening from the cold winter . It will be fun to see the lush beautiful countryside . 

We took a flight from Singapore from the famous Changi International Airport . I simply love the buzz and activity at this airport .

Air New Zealand brought us to Auckland International Airport . It was a 11 hour flight from Singapore . I had pre-arrange for a hired car to be picked from the airport . 

Wonderful , all excited and full of good feelings . I had read some tourist brochures . The Kiwis spoke English . Great. They are part of the great Commonwealth of Nations . So , with all the joy , excitement and drama , I rushed out of the airport to get my car . I was just wearing a simple T-shirt . It is spring season man , so let me enjoy the freshness of the season . 

I soon realized that spring is also cold for we Malaysians ! Just rushing about in a T-shirt was getting uncomfortably chill ! This brave Malaysian also felt no need to bring any warm clothes . Big mistake !

Getting my hired car , the first place I wanted to look for was a shop where we could buy some winter clothes ! After all we are in New Zealand , the wool country ! 

I was lucky to get the right shop for my woolens . Immediately as I wore the woolen pullover , it was so comfortable and I started feeling warm and good . Well , that was really good feeling and time to enjoy this wonderful country . I just fell in love the New Zealand ! Love at first sight ! The people were so friendly , kind and helpful ! Amazing ! You ask them for directions and were even willing to drive you to your place ! Anyway , I tell you they are good people .

All the basic sorted out . With clear road signs and not much of traffic , we were all geared to drive from Auckland to Wellington , at the tip of the north Island .

New Zealand is made of two islands . The North and South Islands . The population was about 4 million when I visited ! North Island had about nearly 3 million . Auckland alone making slightly over 1 million . South Island about another 1 million ! Now , do not ask me about the sheep ! The sheep out number people many many times ! 

South Korea is the size of North Island . South Korea that had about 40 million ! 

Japan is also about the size of NZ . Population is about 130 million !

Seeing those figures , you will feel or think that you are going to country where there are hardly any people! Yes , you are right ! 

We drove through scenic countrysides . Stayed in beautiful motels where milk was given frequently in the morning ! Friendly staff and comfortable stays. 

Good roads . Everything was soooo fresh and clean !! The waters in the rivers was pure mineral water that you can drink without a worry ! Rotorua was wonderful , as we were able to see more of the Maori culture . It's an amazing culture . Full of traditions , dance and rituals . Tattoos are an important aspect of their traditions . Sometimes the whole face is tabooed ! Their food is really tasty . Cooked underground in a dug out with warm rocks to slow cook ! I think it is called ' Hangi ' . 

I must say , that I enjoyed driving the car ! No need to worry about rush or traffic jams ! 

With so many wonderful experiences , we finally came to Wellington , the country's capital .

A very windy city and rains often . I have to again say , NZ is just out of this world ! I think National Geography calls NZ , a world in minature ! You get all the types of awesome beauty and truly remarkable contrast . Fiords, snow covered Alps , pristine lakes , glaciers , sub tropical forest and rolling farmlands !

I am already sounding like some tourist guide ! When

you write or talk about this land , you too will talk like one !

Anyway , from Wellington we took a ferry across to the South Island . Car kept well below and we enjoyed the blue ocean . We arrived in Picton , a small town that use to have a whaling industry in good old days. 

Kept driving over rolling farmlands with sheep and cattle . We were in the Canterbury Plains .

We passed Kaikoura , where you can see whales passing ! Had lunch and we were on our way towards Christchurch . The largest city in South Island .

ChristChurch is so English . Avon river , lazy way to see the city . Trams too ! Warm scones and strawberry jam . Hot Earl grey tea and I have felt part of the English lifestyle . Slow strolls in the many parks . Just sitting back and relaxing ! So peaceful and wonderful !

I wanted to push on towards the South towards Queenstown and the fiords .

My family had enough and were tired ! So I listened and agrees too. 

We rested for about 4 days in ChristChurch and flew back to hot sizzling Singapore !

I can tell you that I love New Zealand ! God's country !

That was one very good holiday that I will never forget !

Will write more about my experiences in New Zealand .

Will end now , my dear friends. Will meet soon . 

Take care .

Amar.

My visit to the ISHA centre in South India .

My Visit to the ISHA centre in South India .

Today , I am going to share with you my visit to ISHA centre in South India . ISHA centre is a 

place for spiritual development and growth . It is in the state of Tamil Nadu in the South of India .

The centre is in the outskirts of Coimbatore , near the Velliangiri Hills . Satguru Jigi guru is the founder and is actively expanding and developing it right now ! It is an amazing place to explore our inner world ! Satguru calls it the inner engineering !

I went there about 4 years ago to restore my inner peace and balance my body, mind and spirit. I will call it a spiritual retreat too . I went for 1 week  and joined a program at the Rejuvenation centre .

It was more to actual pamper myself ! Instead of going to any spa resort , I felt that going to ISHA centre was a total rejuvenation of myself ! 

The centre is located away from the hustle and bustle of city or crowded life that we are usually used to . At the foot hills of the Velliangiri Hills and in elephant country ! Yes, really wild elephant actually roam around the retreat/centre or ashram ! Thick wires ( maybe electrical too ) have to keep them out! Than , we are also surround by typical villages and small streams that flow from the hills .

The centre itself is just amazing . What I mean by that is the buildings and structures of the centre . The temples , school , hostels and all other buildings are built and designed by the personal supervision of the Master or Guru ! He is completely involved in all aspects of the centre .

There is a huge Lingam that is made of mercury and other elements that a solid structure in the main temple . It's called Dhyanlingam . ( if you are not sure what Lingam is please Google it ! I will simply tell you that it a phallic symbol of creativity ! )

Anyway , my program use to start at 5:00 AM . That is I use to get up at 5 AM , have a cold water bath and had to be in the meditation hall by 6 AM . We did Hatha Yoga and breathing or Paranoiac for 1 hour plus ! Then we had a light breakfast and relaxed for sometime . After that we were given appointments for various massage therapies ! This was the fun part! Really , it was so wonderful to be pampered with all the various styles of massages ! I really enjoyed all of them ! Maybe if you all are interested , I may join you or help you to go there ! It's really a great place to get  total rejuvenation .

Then , we had lunch at about 12:00 noon . Complete vegetarian meals that are so wonderfully prepared with love by the devotees . Everybody is helping and being helped ! All volunteers !

We rested In the afternoon or just went to the temples for a quiet time or read .

About 4 PM , we went for a walk out of the centre . We walked to the nearby villages or through the bush seeing the droppings of elephants ! We actually had guards and trackers looking after us ! It was adventures and scary too ! 

Evening tea and relaxing . Time for some simple talks or videos in the hall . Than dinner at about 7:30 PM . Were advised to go to bed early so that we could get up early .

On the final day , we went for a long walk to a waterfall near the hills .It was a picnic of sorts.

In short , we had an amazing time at a spiritual retreat ! 

Give me a fed back or comment on whatever you like ?

My idea of sharing is to let you know that such a wonderful place exist ! 

Google and find out more details ! ( Am I overdoing the Google stuff ! ) .

Till we meet again , take care .

Amar.

My First Trip to Tasmania , Australia !

My First Trip to Tasmania , Australia !

My first trip to this island just below Australia was really exciting and wonderful ! I had lived most of my life in Asian countries and was always wondering about countries that were beyond my Asian cultures . I grew up being educated in the western language and most of my knowledge was from Western perspective ! Born in , Malaya when the British ruled here was a very different country from the Malaysia of today ! As I spoke English and read and wrote English , I became more and more comfortable in it . I loved reading and read far and wide. 

Australia really fascinated me . This huge land mass is the smallest continent and that too an Island ! Being isolated from the big Asian land mass , it had some of the most unusual life form . Kangaroos , Koalas, Tasmanian Devil , Dingos and Platypus . Everything was so different and awesome . The natives or Aborigines too were fascinating people . They were the dream people . Their haunting music from this strange wooden pipe , the didgeridoo

!

With so muct to expect , my excitment was really high . I choose to go in mid August . Than I realised that I was going in mid winter ! I was going to the Southern Hemisphere . I looked at the map and saw that Tasmania was very close to the South Pole ! In fact , Hobart was one of the last port of call before ships went into the deep South ! In the days of whaling , alot was happening in Hobart .

All said and done , our flights were all set. We flew from Kuala Lumpur to Malbourne . Then from there we took an Australian flight to Launceston , Tasmania .

Oh yes , I must tell you another side to my packing ! As I thought I was going just short of the South Pole , I made sure I had taken enough of warm clothing just in case ! I think , I over did that .

As I landed in mid day , with the sun shining and a nice warm day with a cool to cold breeze off and on . I was really surprised to see how the people were quite relaxed and enjoying a beautiful day . Some were actually eating ice-cream ! 

That night , I made sure I was well prepared to keep myself warm as I was told that the nights can be cold . Tempertures can go to zero or below ! To me that was really scary . So , I slept with sufficient warm clothes and with an electric blanket . I felt secured and warm ! No chance of freezing in my sleep ! After a few hours , I jumped up and out of bed ! I thought I was in a sauna ! I was dripping in water ! Sweating profusely , I started taking of my clothes and dried myself . All around me had a good laugh . Now I went back to sleep with just a boxer ! We learn all the time !

We drove on one of the most beautiful and scenic roads towards Hobart . I felt so joyful and happy . Just watching the sheep like little white dots on the green pastures . The big huge Gum tress with their white trunk and pilling bark. The Pines all over the hills and mountains .

Clear blue skies , cold breeze , lush green pastures and fields . Quiant little villages and townships dotted as we drove past them . It was sheer fun and joy . I was just so excited being there. We could stop on the way and park our car at small picnic spots . BBQ plates were just waiting for us to heat our snacks and breads and much more . 

I also saw Black Swans ! What a wonder ! We are so used to thinking of swans as white ,  seeing black swans was a delight !

Oh , I must tell you that seeing the Kangaroos and their other smaller species was really a wonder ! 

What an amazing animal . Can you imagine that they carry their young in a pocket or pouch ! What an amazing sight .

My first trip was an eye opener to the wonders of our wonderful planet .

I realised that learning and education is another nmae for life ! We are here to learn and experience the mystery and magic of life and living .

I will end here. Til we meet again .

Enjoy. Namaste.

Amar.

Visiting one of the Oldest Rainforest in the World !

Visiting one of the Oldest Rain forest in the World !

Malaysia lies just above the equator . Being so close to the equator , simply means that we have a hot , sweaty and sizzling temperature throughout the year . It practically rains daily , known as conventional rains or also due to monsoons or winds just carrying water from the warm waters . With such heavy rain fall , we have one of the thickest growths of plant life . We call these thick growing areas jungles . Jungles are so overgrown with plants of all varieties, shapes and sizes that it is just amazing .

Above , I have shown you a typical rainforest's jungle . Just see the thick growth ! Just walking 10-15 feet into the jungles and you may get lost ! Did I read that they are about 200 million years old ! 

When you first see this thick jungles , it looks like utter chaos and madness ! The plants have just gone crazy ! However , as you watch carefully , you will start to see order in this chaotic scene .

The thick growth from the air looks like a typical shaggy rug !  

There are so many types of wild life that it is just amazing ! Insects , and all sorts of crawlies , mosquitoes , beetles , ants of so many varieties . Blood sucking leeches ! Snakes , beautiful butterflies . Animals that are just beautiful in hiding so well that you may think there is nothing around ! 

The varieties of green are mind blowing ! Yes , you may just see shades of dark green or light green . Ask the people of the jungle , also known as Orang Asli ( The original people ) and they can tell that there are many , many shades of green ! As they walk , they will know what is going on in this chaotic jungle ! They carry long bamboo blow pipes and hunt small animals , birds and fish . They use a poison dart to blow at the hunted and whatever is being hunted , becomes paralysed !

The above photo shows the shaggy rug appearance from the air !

A typical forest and river scene .

A baby Orang Utang ( jungle person )

The Malaysian rain forest  is an amazing  experience of nature . The wildness is so vibrant and alife !

There is an energy that can be felt all around you as you are walking or exploring this jungles ! They are literally alife and growing and dying and growing all at the same time !

This beautiful orchids are so natural in the rain forest ! There are probably hundreds of varietes  of the beautiful flower in all rain forests in the world .

Visiting the rain forest makes me aware of  wonderful and beautiful the forest is ! It also reminds me that our life actually depends on these forests ! They are our lungs ! They keep us alife as they give us the much needed oxygen and so much more . Medicinal plants are used daily and more such plants are being discovered every day !  

Visiting the rain forest awakens me to the scared nature and also my closest relative ! Without this close friend , I will not live long on this wonderful planet !

We , the people of this beautiful planet , Earth , have to awaken to the importnce of saving and keeping this rain forest , or we are going to face some harsh realities !

I can keep sharing more of this wonderful rain forest with you til so will get tired .

Till we meet again . Take care and lets be aware of our rain forest .

Dr Dhali /Amar.

A Night On An Ancient Fortress in The Deccan , India !

A Night On An Ancient Fortress in The Deccan , India !

A story from my life that goes back over 40 years ago ! Anyway , who is counting ! I was a medical student and studied in a city near Bombay ( now known as Mumbai ). Poona ( also now called Pune ) . Being a medical student was one of the best times of my life . Yes, I knew if I kept walking on the path of this college life , I will become a medical doctor ! I also wanted to grow in so many other ways too . Being a doctor was going to be great, but , greater still is being a person who will understand himself ,others and Life !

That  in mind and as my mission statement to living , I was going to have fun , and fun I did have !

My simply philosophy of Life was that I have come into life to experience  life . That's it .

So , I followed my bliss but it created alot of non-bliss or un-bliss for others ! 

Anyway , now coming to my story of spending a night on this ancient fortress . 

Was it planned or was there any agenda to this trip ? No , of course not ! My life was one of living in the now ! I lived for the moment and always in the presence of being ! I can tell you it is difficult to live with such an unpredictable person ! My professors were actually giving up on me ! Some how , I kept surprising them and the show went on ! 

So , out of the blue , I felt I had to do something . Two of my buddies were ever ready to explore life with me ! I had shared with them my thinking that we will not have this wonderful student days again ! We decided to just go with minimum of preparation to this ancient fortress on the Deccan . It was a fortress built bu a great warrior called Shivaji . He was a great Marathi warrior . He simply was fighting a life long battle with the conquering Mughals . You can easily read the details of the history by Googling !

We just went to the bus station and asked around for the bus that would take us to a small village at the foot of this hill where the fort was built . We found a bus and it appeared that all of India too had decided to go to that small village that day ! The bus was so crowded ! We literally were hanging from the bus and it was driving away ! It's unbelievable how we played with our life's . Never heard of risk management !

The bus went on and on stopping at all the villages on the way to the fort . It was a long ride and we were so high on the coming adventure that we had no concept of tiredness or hunger . Finally , after an eternal bus ride we arrived at a small village late in the night . It was pitch dark when the bus came into the village . The last of the passengers got off and walked away into the darkness ! We three heroes stood there looking at each other and wandering where to go ! Finally we saw a light in the darkness and realised that it came from the local Hindu Temple . So ,we walked over to the temple and were comforted that it appeared like a nice place to rest or maybe even sleep . As we started to get comfortable and took out our packed food , the temple priest came out from behind the temple . He saw 3 soldier type youngsters sitting and enjoying a simple meal . He was really very warm and welcoming . We really appreciated his warmth . Had a wonderful moment sharing about our life's . We were allowed to sleep there in the temple comfortably . 

The next morning we got up to the cock crowing in the village ! Cattle moving about in the dust and goats rushing about as they were being taken to the feeding countryside . We actually found the village very peaceful . Had a wonderful breakfast , all organic and plenty of fresh milk . Decided to fill our water bottles with milk instead of water as we found the milk so fresh and cheap ! At that moment we thought it was a great idea . Later during our walk we realised that water is what we needed when we are thirsty ! We had to walk up the hill or I would say semi-mountain ! 

The walk was tiring to say the least . It was also getting very hot . Slowly we kept going up and had to really climb the last  part of the hill holding on to a solid rock by an old rusting ladder .

Finally we were in the old fortress on top of the hill . We could now see the wisdom of the old warrior .The view was just great . We could see all the surrounding countryside  as far as the eye could see !

We went through the old ruined building and saw what the ancients  had to endure . It was really a great place . After our exploring around , we decided to sleep in an old ruined temple again ! Felt good to be near a temple on the remote and lonely fort ! Who knows what spirits were here ! 

As night came , we decided to really climb on the roof of the temple as the tall grass made us unhappy as to what could be in the grass .

When we were about to sleep , a sudden wind started to blow out of no where .The wind got stronger and it kept hollowing the whole night ! I can never forget that one night in my life ! The night of the hollowing wind . We 3 musketeers sitting the whole night and waiting for the sun to come out and rescue us ! 

Thank the great Whatever , the sun did come out and it was the most appreciated sun rise ever in my life !

We were not going to wait around to experience another night on this great fort that belonged to the brave Marathi Warrior , Shivaji !

We came back to college to share our adventure with our college mates and had many days of great fun talking about the hollowing winds of an ancient fortress on the Deccan in India .

Thank you and good bye till we meet again . Dr Dhali /Amar.