Extra Baggage

They call it the Heathrow injection. The extra few kilograms that Australians tend to come back with around their mid sections after a working holiday in the UK and Europe.

Whether its the stodgy food, the copious amounts of ale or the cold weather comfort eating, its rare that an Antipodean returns home from his or her time abroad without a little more to love.

Fish & Chips in England

I'm far from immune. After over two years in the UK & Europe I returned home with around 15kgs (33lbs) extra baggage – and I'm not talking about souvenirs. Just to prove that Heathrow is not the culprit, I returned with a similar result after two years in North America.

One of my favourite things in Canada, Poutine

This has become an inevitable part of travel for me, and one that I'm willing to accept. Why? Because I love food. For me, trying all of the local food in each country is a huge part of the reason I travel. Sure I lovemeeting people, and obviously have an addiction to live sport, but on a day to day basis, its almost always the food that is most memorable.

The last two weeks in Mexico have been foodie heaven. There's been tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, chalupas, mole, quesadillas and many other types of food that I cant remember the names of. Everything seems to come with salsa, cheese, cream and chili – even at breakfast - and its becoming evident that my travel gut is well and truly back.

Tostadas

It didn't just start in Mexico though. After leaving Australia in pretty good shape, things were actually looking pretty good for the first month or so, travelling through Burma and India, where I ate a mostly vegetarian diet to avoid falling victim to any sketchy meat handling practices.

Vegetarian tali

And then I got to the UK. While I think British food is sometimes unfairly maligned for being boring and drab, there is really no doubting that the traditional fish and chips, pie and chips and increasingly these days, kebab and chips are anything but healthy. Throw in the aforementioned copious amounts of ale and the need for a “full fry up” to ease the inevitable hangover, and the beginnings of travel gut 3.0 were well established.

One of many fine ales consumed in England

The next leg of my trip saw me return to the US and Canada where I caught up with a lot of good friends, but also got reacquainted with some of the food I'd been missing. Poutine, chicken wings and visits to my favourite burger places were almost daily occurrences. By the time I'd finished in the US, I could start to feel my travelling diet catching up with me. I certainly wasn't the same person who completed the Tough Mudder event in February.

A Krusty Burger

All of that, though, was just a warm up. It's been Mexico that has given me some of the most delicious food I've ever had, but also the biggest contributor to the gut. It appears to be virtually impossible to eat out in this country in a healthy way. To be honest though, I'm loving it.

Enchiladas with mole (chocolate & chili)

Arriving in Mexico City after a long day of delayed and cancelled flights, to be greeted with enchiladas swimming in a delicious salsa verde, its hard to be too conscious about your body shape. You just have to enjoy.

Some of the best street food in the world

And if nothing else, when I arrive home and people ask if I bought back any souvenirs, I'll know I brought with me the best reminder of just how good a time I had.

As I move ever closer to Brazil for the World Cup starting in June, I'm looking forward to trying all the food that Central and South America can throw at me. And hey, its almost Christmas...

Who else loves eating as much as me when they travel? What are your favourite travel foods and what are you most looking forward to trying on your next trip? 

Peace and Quiet in the UK (Goodbye India)

Sometimes the best part of travel is the contrast between two different places. In the last week I've been relaxing in the English countryside, after spending a month travelling through India. The contract could scarcely be bigger.

This past week has seen me living with my sister and brother in law on their narrow boat, living the life of a “boatie”, travelling up and down the Kennett and Avon Canal and checking out the local beers and in bunch of local country pubs. Life has been pretty relaxed to say the least.

My home for the last week in England, the "Pirate Princess"

It has been that relaxed, in fact, that anyone paying attention will notice it has been two weeks since my last post. It seems I've fallen into “boatie” time, where things just get done, when they get done. It's been great.

India is anything but relaxing. Everything you do involves a lot of people wanting you to use their services, buy their products or just be part of their life. Try walking down a street trying to find somewhere to eat and you'll have at least one person from each restaurant almost dragging you into their business, stopping just short of kidnapping at times.

Walking through the busy streets at night in Varanasi is sure to get you many new "friends"

Normally it doesn't come to that and is just words. But oh so many words. “Hello my friend, where are you from?”. You'll hear this 20, 30 or 100 times a day. Wow...I've got a lot of friends!

What I found in my five weeks in the country was that Indians will try any form of connection to make you stop and talk to them. From talking about Ricky Ponting (or cricket in general) to the unfortunate rash of violence against Indian students in Melbourne several years ago, there was no line of conversation which didn't eventually turn into an invitation to a shop selling pashminas that their good friend ran and could give me a good deal.

“I don't want a pashmina”

“But it's very cheap”

“I don't care if its free, I don’t want one”

“Just come and have a look”

“Bye now...”

In some cities, there was a theme. In Jaipur, a beautiful city with at least three historic forts, a palace in the middle of a lake and numerous other great attractions the line of choice went as such, “Why don't tourists like to talk to Indians?” The first time I heard the line I explained that as it always turns into business, it can be tiresome talking to every single person who wants to sell you their goods. To his credit he made a case for treating every person you meet and to try not to stereotype people so much. He had a point. After making this point he invited me to join him for some chai at his friend's silver shop, who could also give me a great deal because we were now “good friends”.

Well played sir. Goodbye.

I then proceeded to hear this line three more times in the next hour and countless more times in my three days in town.

Tuk Tuk drivers were among the most persistent of the touts 

At some point I found myself doing anything I could to not engage the touts in conversation. From simply ignoring them, to pretending I don't speak any of the many languages they engage you with, to inventing a new country (Colac) or even answering every possible question with “Hodor!”

If Burmese are thefriendliest people on the planet, Indians are certainly the most persistent. It does, at times, make you feel bad to be shrugging off all of these locals – most of whom are just trying to make an honest buck – but when its all day every day and you only want to talk around and enjoy the city, it can get trying.

While it sounds like I didn't enjoy my time in India, nothing could be further from the truth. I loved the contrasts, the food, the historic sights and the many people I was able to meet who weren't trying to sell me things (and even some of those that were). I met many other travellers who were in India for months on end – far longer than my five weeks. I did really enjoy India, but the hectic pace of day to day life there was certainly beginning to catch up with me, and any more than a month may have been too long for this nomad.

But for now I'm enjoying the quiet life of the canal, sipping a cup of tea and relaxing before I get back on the tourist trail.