Sat Nam and Welcome to the “Journey To Infinity”!
This blog is about our “Journey To Infinity”.
We are travelling around the world to find different recipes for a fulfilled life. Here we want to share pictures, videos and stories about our experiences with you. And we also want you to share your recipes with all of us (link)!
While we are travelling we are producing a documentary (link) about life:
What is the recipe for a fulfilled life?
What is the meaning of life?
Where are we now, and where are we going?
Life is like a dish: The quality of a dish always depends on the right amount of ingredients and the balance between them. There are many different ways of creating a balanced “dish”, so on this journey we want to find out about the various recipes and practices that lead to a balanced and fulfilled life.
Be a part of our journey! Join us by sharing your personal recipes (link) and tell us about special places or people you know (link) we should interview or visit.
Have a great time exploring our site! And thank you for being part of the “Journey To Infinity”!
Downtime
Journey To Infinity will be down for a few days (or less), because we move to a new server.
Hopefully it all goes well and we can come back online fast with all functions.
Community Life in Kuala Lumpur – At Home in Guru Ram Das’ House!
The arrival in Kuala Lumpur feels like coming home. Not so much because of the city, but more because of the overly warm welcome of Anil and Jasdev and their family! We are so lucky that we have met Anil’s mother in India who told us to come and stay – in the “Guru Ram Das House”, our home for now.
Staying with the family, being fed with delicious vegetarian food, surrounded by a Sikh and Yoga community is a lesson in open-heartedness. We feel so much at home and are so grateful to join the family activities, play with the kids, explore a little bit of Kuala Lumpur and its shopping malls, hang out at the Chayo Yoga Studio and Café, and have fun with Balwant and Gurinder, musicians from Chile who also stay here at the same time and soon become our good friends. The highlight of our evenings is the recitation of “reeras”, the evening prayer of the Sikhs accompanied by beautiful Kirtan music from the “Chiles” and the musically talented kids. Have a look at our pictures (here)!
Bachittar is more than happy to spend his birthday in the middle of this large family, with a huge cake, lots of presents, playing with his Kendama (finally found one in a skateshop!), and practicing to play his guitar. It is so hard for us to leave that we decide to come back “home” after our “holiday” in Bali!
Thailand Reloaded: Flied Lice with “I T”, Lots of Sunshine, and Beautiful Beaches
After our short visit in Singapore we are ready to spend another month in Thailand and explore Bangkok and the islands a little further. Have a look at our pictures here (link)! My sister Scarlett travels with us and we really enjoy her company (still miss you!!!).
Our first mission in Bangkok was to do some serious shopping as a lot of our clothes said “goodbye” after four months in India. Then, Paramjot Singh and his wife introduce us to the most delicious desert in Thailand: Sticky rice with mango (it’s a MUST, you have to try it!). Bachittar also bought a guitar in Bangkok and has been practicing ever since … soon to become a star 
! After a shaky and hot train and ferry ride we arrive safely on Ko Samui in “our house” where we adjust to the slow island life. Only a few days later though, we decide to hit the road (water) again and head off to Ko Phangan!
Our friend Siri Anand recommended us to stay at beautiful Than Sadet and we will never forget the stunning scenery, the luxurious bungalows in the cliffs, the relaxed atmosphere, and the amazing people we meet there. Sean, a magician from Scotland, decides to keep us company, and we are more than happy to take him along to explore first the craziness of the Full Moon Party and then some more of Thailand’s Islands. So we take a boat to Bottle Beach for a fews more days and then to Ko Tao, the divers’ and snorkelers’ paradise.
Ko Tao waits for us with more FLied Lice (Thai pronunciation) and stunning underwater corals and fishes. We are up for some adventures, so we spend our days with (sea-sick) sea-kayaking, snorkeling, and playing Kendama – our new travel mate from Japan … (check it out here). We also find some new pets in our little bungalow, namely a massive spider, and a HUGE lizard (no, you can definitely not call this creature a gecko anymore!).
In Bangkok we sadly say goodbye to the craziness of Khaosan Road and finally to Scarlett, our Ligretto queen, beauty and clothing specialist, and chillout master! Thank you for the wonderful time!
Upgrade Number Two: Singapore – the City of Malls, Meat, and Millionaires!
Thailand was already a major change for us after having spent almost four months in India. But Singapore is even more of an upgrade! Wow! What a city: Huge skyscrapers, the cleanest streets, malls and malls and malls, lots of meat to eat, and every sixth person is a millionaire!
Our ten days experience in Singapore starts with the Marina Bay Sands (link), an amazing building overlooking the whole island (have a look at our pictures here). We decide to explore the city and its highlights mostly by foot and walk quite a lot of kilometers within the next days. Our strolls through the city take us to its different quarters: Chinatown, Arab Street, and (we were sure not to miss that!) Little India – where we finally found very good vegetarian food.
The food in Singapore actually makes us miss India more than ever because it seems that Singaporeans like to eat meat with meat with meat … Especially pork is on the menu more than we consider it to be necessary, and we are having a hard time as vegetarians.
The second thing that truly amazes us in the city of millionaires is the amount of malls that can possibly exist in one city. We have never, ever seen so many malls in our lives! Sometimes they are quite pleasant, especially if you want to escape the heat, but there are just way too many!
Thanks to Miriam we also have a great place to stay and relax and experience some “insider” activities like a walk through the Singaporean jungle and the Night Safari at the zoo – where Bachittar makes a very close encounter with a python .
All in all, we are amazed, impressed, and also enjoy the very “Western” atmosphere in this truly multicultural city. Maybe we will come back some time but for now we want to enjoy more of Thailand’s islands! Read more soon …
A Real Upgrade: From India to Thailand
Coming from India, we are absolutely amazed by the quietness and cleanliness of Bangkok and quickly fall in love with the city and the whole country (have a look at our pictures here)!
Staying at the Lamphu Tree Hotel (link) is a real treat and from there we explore Bangkok together with my brother (and our webmaster!) Johannes. It is his first time to Asia, so wandering around the city, taking fancy rikshaws and exploring the huge and cheap malls and street markets is even more fun!
After one day and one night in Bangkok we take the overnight train to Ko Samui where a friend’s house is waiting for us! Wow!!! We are so blessed to live in an amazing villa right at the beach with a beautiful view on the turquoise sea, surrounding islands, and a huge outside area to relax and be creative. We all love it! Thank you, Wilhelm . We enjoy it so much just to hang out, cook our own meals (there are actually real supermarkets with very western food!), do lots of yoga, and explore the island on scooters.
Especially our adventurous ride to the famous “tartain waterfalls” should be mentioned: We drive up the hills of Ko Samui looking for a waterfall. As we are so “independent” in our mode of travelling we obviously don’t stop at the very first – and very touristy – waterfall sign but instead keep driving. And keep driving. And keep driving. On roads that become rougher and stonier and more and more difficult to drive on. Until we finally find the waterfall, or better: the nine waterfalls! At least that is what the signs say. We patiently pay the entrance money and take the walk up the river …. only to find out that there is no REAL waterfall but only a very small river flowing down some minor rocks. What a disappointment. The drive was worth it though. So if you ever go to Samui, check it out (but only if you like an adventurous cross-country ride).
After two weeks of recovering from India, and some more shopping in Bangkok, and finding out that Thai cuisine can even be spicier than Indian, we are ready for a new adventure: Singapore! Read more very soon …
“Opposites Attract”: India, A Country of Extremes
Summing up the Journey to Infinity’s travel experiences in India is quite a difficult task. What can be said for sure is that India is a country of such extreme opposites! We would like to share some of these with you to give you an idea and a feeling about one of the most controversial places on earth …
Auroville – an Inspiring Vision of a Living Project
Auroville is a “town” just north of Pondicherry that is not “just” a town but a very special place. Many people told us to go there, experience this unique project, and meet the “Aurovillians”. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to interview anyone as we originally planned but we still want to share our experiences with you.
Auroville, based on the teachings of Sri Aurobindo (link) and founded by “the Mother” (link) in 1968, has the vision to bring people from all over the world together and unite them in a new society within India:
“Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity.” (read more about Auroville here)
In the theory this vision is truly amazing! And in many ways you can see that it actuallyalready works. People from all around the world live here, together in one place, without any religion, without a political system. The shelter, food, and basic needs are covered and everybody works to serve the community, not for money.
As always in life, in theory many ideas sound wonderful but when it comes to bringing them into action there are always many challenges. The same applies to Auroville. We don’t want to make this vision anything less than what it is, we just want to share our experiences as honestly as possible.
We know that it is really, really hard to realize this vision – especially after the Mother died, who had the capability and the power to hold the vision. We can see the same thing in every religion, in every belief system: When the Master / the Guru / the Teacher dies, it is really hard to maintain the same spirit and the same vision. The Master / the Guru / the Teacher is the one who holds everything together, and who challenges the people to break the cocoon of their ego. The Master is like the “glue” holding the community together. When he or she is gone, the real challenge starts. We have seen this all around the world in many different traditions – for example when Jesus or Buddha died. It was always very difficult for the next generation not to get back into the “ego”-mode of life.
So altogether our experience was: Auroville is a great place with an even greater vision. Still, it felt to us that the “glue” was sometimes missing and it was not as “open” to humanity as it is said: Auroville belongs to humanity and strives towards human unity. We felt a little more like strangers, interrupting their daily life …
Still, we wish Auroville all the best for the realization of this amazing vision! Let it become more and more true and face the challenges!
Escaping From the Monsoon To Busy Madurai and Relaxed Pondicherry
After a lot of rain in Kumily we decide to head to Tamil Nadu where the monsoon only starts in October! Madurai is said to be the place to visit as there is another very famous Hindu temple surrounded by many colorful towers that give the town a very special atmosphere.
Apart from the temple itself it is another busy, very hot and dusty Indian town. It reminds us a little bit of Amritsar and the Golden Temple – of course with Hindu and not Sikh “pilgrims” – so we call it the “Amritsar of the South” …
We are very happy to catch an – emergency quota – train ticket and head further up north to Pondicherry. This former French colony is really worth visiting: It is a unique mixture between “Western” (French) and Indian architecture, food, lifestyle etc. We love it! Especially because of the good iced coffee (by now it is so hot that there is no other way to stay awake and remain “cool”), the delicious Indian food, and finally, because we meet Daniel and Martina, a lovely couple from Italy! We explore Pondicherry and especially Auroville (read more about our experiences with Auroville here), the “universal city in the making”, and the famous Matrimandir together (have a look at our pictures here!).
The countdown has started – only a few days until we leave India! Sad and happy, we decide to skip Chennai and have a quick look at Mamallapuram and more Hindu temples before we head to the airport and take an overnight flight to Bangkok! Read more about our experiences in Thailand very soon …
Interview with Sri T.C. Rajan Gurukkal
In Kumily, Kerala, our friend Sanish tells us about Kalari and Siddha Marma Therapy master Sri T.C. Rajan Gurukkal (link).
Kalari is a martial art from Kerala, one of the oldest fighting systems (link). It is based on attacking so called “marma points” – vital and sensitive energy points in the human body.
These points are also being pressed in Siddha Marma Therapy, a specific kind of Ayurvedic massage which we also experience!
T.C. Rajan Gurukkal has learned both of these amazing, more than 5000 years old techniques by his ancestors. He calls it “God’s gift” that he is able to cure people with his magic hands. Listen to his enthusiastic words about Marma Massage and how he likes to see his costumers being happy :
Going with the Flow of Life in the Backwaters of Kerala – “God’s Own Country”
A little sad we finally leave Goa to explore Kerala in Southern India (have a look at our pictures here). But we don’t go as far south as we had originally planned just yet …
A little uncomfortable with the arrival time at 2 am in Kochi, also not really happy about another long journey on an Indian train (yes, it can be quite an experience but sometimes it is just exhausting, uncomfortable, and in this particular case also very, very dirty), and with two hours delay, we change our minds once again, let go of our plans, and just go with the flow!
We get off in Kannur, a small and not very touristic city in Northern Kerala, together with our new friends Emma from Sweden and Keeran from Mumbai where Emma is going to attend a course in Ayurvedic Massage and Panchakarma. But before that we decide to spend some more time travelling together.
In Fort Cochin we enjoy the quiet and relaxed side of India once more, and explore the famous Backwaters of Kerala, God’s Own Country as it is rightly called. The Backwaters are a huge area of canals, lagoons, and lakes parallel to the Arabian Sea. Cruising through the jungle on a small boat and on a ferry is like diving into a totally different world at a totally different point of time …
In Varkala, we enjoy the beach and “backpackers’ atmosphere” with Emma, and then decide to escape the heat and head off to Kumily and the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary in the Western Ghats. After a long and cramped bus drive through foggy mountains, huge tea and cardamom plantations, and some drops of the upcoming monsoon, we arrive at the Green View Guesthouse (link) in Kumily where we enjoy the stunning scenery, ride on an elephant, explore the area with our friend Sanish on a scooter, visit an Ayurvedic pharmacy, eat home-made chocolate and delicious Kerala-style thali (link), and finally interview Kalari and Marma Therapy master Rajan Gurukkal (watch the interview here).
Our journey through Kerala can best be summarized as going with the flow, driven by the smooth current of the Backwaters …
