Political incorrectness

There's something about being (or saying things) horribly wrong that just tickles me. I think the world would be a better place people learn to being politically incorrect for humour (Ricky Gervais, anyone? Or Jimmy Carr? warning: links are quite offensive!).

Like my French friends here. They routinely joke that I may have been already married when a kid. They make slurping sounds when eating beef, and praise the taste. Some know that I don't like the concept of eating snails. So they make sure to offer me some whenever I mention I'm hungry.

It's all done with the slight semblance of a smile and twinkle in the eye. Knowing that what they are saying is wrong. Or sometimes with a overly fake serious face.

I counter with their stubborn insistence on saying my name wrong. Or saying American movies are plain "ollywooood". Or asking me if I want to heat because I might be angry. And I joke about how looking gay is okay. And mention how they still think they should own the world, making a poor Asian like me do all the work.

I mentioned my upcoming trip home, and immediately one guy asks: "So, can we ask you to get something from India?" I answer, "Sure. What do you want?".
- "A young wife. Probably 13-14 year old."

October Saturday

Umm... 2 shirts, 2 jackets, 2 pants, gloves, muffler ... the Alps don't care. You freeze if you are on a motorcycle.

But then, your day includes 160 kms of half-frozen riding fun, over 500m "mountains" that lead you to 1000m mountains, across fields of frozen grass, through tiny towns that seem to only live off motorists and motorcyclists that pass by, through valleys cooled by the long shadows of mountains that surround them; over deep narrow gorges that make any climber's eyes sparkle, passing by hours of watching cars race across narrow mountain roads.

It's morning, 8 am. You grab a cuppa coffee from a small make-shift snack joint, exchange a few sentences about warm gear with the motorcycle riding cops who are there to block traffic for the car rally, and amble off into the spectator zones to find a good spot. A few hours later, after watching close to 50 cars roar into, and out of, the curve you prop open your backpack. Settle down into the now-unfrozen grass, and prepare your sandwiches. The sun has been good.

For the next leg of the rally, you head to a different section. You pass through 2 tiny villages, stopping by at various places on the way to take pictures. Frequently, the road is just a one way affair - you have to stop to let the car approaching from the opposite direction pass. Sometimes, even the motorcycle has to stop to let the car go safely. And those rally driver idiots are gonna vroom past these places.

Aiglun, nestled in the mountains

You reach the finish point of the stage, a small village perched in the mountains. Park the motorcycle and  hike along to find a good spot. Now, you are not on the plains as before. There are some sharp bends in the road, next to which run some tiny trails that lead you to a nice vantage point with an overhead view of the bend. You grab a spot along with 20 others. From here, you see all the cars mid-turn, in all their rubber-burning glory. The light is fading, so for the final few cars, you decided to go into the inside of the turn. Makes for great pics.

A few dozen pics later, you realize you are tired. You walk back to your motorcycle, gobble down a few more sandwiches and head back home. It's been a great day.

A list

A little list of things/seemingly crazy adventures I want to go on soon (5 years?), in not any particular order:

- Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB). And if I get really ambitious, the GR5.
- The Pandharpur Yatra. The approximately 250 km route. I have no interest in the religious significance, but am only intrigued by the idea of walking along with half a million people.
- On a similar note, the Road to Santiago. If one begins in Arles, it's a little more than 1300 km. Again, no interest in the religious significance. This one ranks with the GR5 in difficulty (mental, more than physical).
- A really random, backpacking kinda trip in India.
- Any of the trips on this website.
- A week/month long backpacking/hitchhiking trip across Europe... or just France.
- The GR20 in Corsica. This one seems most accessible to me right now. Just need to work on my fitness.

There are more things out there that tempt me. But right now, this list is what comes to mind.

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