Our scenic route to India

Hey friends. We will keep this a little brief otherwise it could be mammoth.

Since the last email Talitha and Tyson have participated in one enormous world and religious history lesson.

Firstly Egypt, a land of mind-blowing history. It was great to catch up with one of Ty’s uni lecturers, Sue Hartshorne, in Cairo for some local knowledge and tasty falafel. We spent time looking at pointy structures, climbing down tombs, climbing mountains of biblical proportions and relaxing on seaside cushions.

Jordan, a land of spectacular deserts and red ruins.

Israel, a confusing land of “chosen ones,” oppression, history, beards, hats, attitudes, tension, kids with guns and U.S. accents.  We had the privilege of staying with Devorah Sherman and her Israeli housemates in Jerusalem.

London. The motherland. Our social life is more hectic here than at home. We had the generous hospitality of our long lost mate, Simon Bills, and our “Prisoner of the motherland” friends, Neil and Kaye. We spent a night with Liz and James Lay in Coventry. A day at the cricket with Lucy and George and a few weekends and warm up curries with Josh Stewart and Leona.

Highlights:

• ·      The pyramids of Giza and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
  
• ·      The Valley of the Kings and old temples (although there were gastro issues literally “on” this 3000 year old history).
  
• ·      The red rock ruins of Petra.
  
• ·      Sleeping in the desert of Wadi Rum in Jordan.
  
• ·      Seeing many religious sites – climbing Mt Sinai, various locations of Jesus’ life and the Dome of the Rock (the most sort after piece of real estate in the world).
  
• ·      The occupied territory of the West Bank.  Seeing human faces to this tragic scenario. Walking the amazing streets of Hebron while people went about their day under the watch of 2000 soldiers protecting 400 Israeli “settlers.” Walking the “Security wall”, “apartheid barrier” or “separation wall”, depending on whom you speak to.
  
• ·      Floating effortlessly in the Dead Sea.
  
• ·      Pita, hummus, and felafel.
  
• ·      A day of cricket at Lord’s and a premier league football game.
  
• ·      Spending time with great friends.
  

Our travels have landed us in India for maybe six months. We are living in a town called Raxaul on the Nepal border helping out in a hospital. It averages between 42-45 degrees Celsius when the sun is out, with only the operating theatre and the computer server experiencing air-conditioned comfort.  Tyson watched the IPL final with the boys and we have put a poster of Gilchrist up in our office.

Love to you all. There are loads of photos on our blog and Tyson’s Facebook.

 http://tysonandtalitha.blogspot.com/

Love Tyson and Talitha

 

Feel free to read about our time in Peru:

http://www.peruschallenge.com/march09.htm

 

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Rambling from the confused……

 

Tipping cultures, the bane of the Aussie backpacker. The cause of much confusion, embarrassment, and discomfort. They are such a foreign concept to us.

Some countries have reasonably clear guidelines of tipping expectations, while others do not. Some countries appear to only jump on the tipping band wagon to trap unsuspecting tourists. At times restaurants add the tip automatically, but sometimes only for groups of six or more, or after eight pm. Without permission opportunistic men lift your bag into the boot of the car, seeking financial reward. Bell boys deliver a towel, that should have been there anyway, and request a tip. Do you tip at bars? What about fast food, transport or organised tours?

I have heard the line that tipping cultures promote good service. In New York this once meant an over zealous waiter pulled up a chair to our table for two. It ensures that your meal is forever interrupted, with “Is everything alright?” It means that you can never know exactly how much you will spend. It means you break local customs. It means a guide will indirectly ask for a tip by saying “Don’t forget to tip the driver for his hard work today.” It means that free tours are not free. It means that once you have paid your bill the service is rubbish.

The North American arrangement of under paying workers to allow for the generosity of others has never sat well with me. Lets say you work for a quiet little café or a poorly attended hotel. This must impact drastically on your wages. I do not understand why the “little guy” should be economically punished for a company they have no control over or vested interest in.  Our Miami taxi driver thought it awfully novel that Australian employees get a set wage that allows us enough money to live off.

But what about the service? I struggle to remember bad service in Australia. If there is, you do not return or complain to the manager. It doesn’t sit will with me to underpay someone.