Keep it real in Kerala

Good timers. Short story for you. I was in Kerala (India's God country) and hired a boat for an overnight tour into the state's famous backwaters. Back there people live on tiny strips of land on the water. There are no cars because there are no roads. Their highways are made of H20. My boat had a chef that made phenomenal South Indian meals while we toured around the backwaters (sort of like the backcountry) checking out the scene and stayed overnight. Here are few pics for your amusement:

Backwaters from the bow

My ride

Public transportation, backwater-style

Me punting. Check out the split-fingered grip of the lower hand. That is an advanced technique

Authentic South Indian meal

After a few more days in India, I will go to Nepal and the Himalayas, the greatest mountain range on the planet.

It's good to be King

Hello, my friends, from the beautiful beaches of Goa, India. Just wanted to make a quick post about the good times in Goa. I generally spend my days on the beach under the hot Goan sun. Yesterday I rented a motorcycle and toured the Indian country-side, cruising from village to village, past kids playing barefoot, on small roads I shared with cows. The biggest stress in my life is trying to decide where to explore next. I work on this in the warm, balmy evenings as I drink chai and watch the sun set on the Arabian Sea.


Now that's a good time.


Anyway, in India I have come to really enjoy Kingfisher beer. It is downright tasty. Glancing at the bottle I happened to notice the slogan for the beer. And what did it read? "The King of Good Times". No, shit! I couldn't believe my eyes. Could it have been more appropriate for me to be drinking this beer?? I think not.


Check you kids later
-Shawn "The King of Good Times" Martelock


My ride. 150ccs. In India this is badass

The Goan coastline




You know I am





Kingfisher, Arabian Sea, and I





PS: This Kingfisher beer definitely has my favourite slogan. A close second is that of Kilimanjaro Beer (a favourite of mine in Tanzania): "As refreshing as the people who drink it"

Ompah

Kim, Gambier looks like good fun. Wish I was there. But, I will see your cabin good times with some of my own.

My folks have this cottage in Ompah, Ontario, at the end of Martelock Road. Truth be told, my grandparents moved up there a years ago, so it is now their home. This is quite likely my favourite place on earth. This is where I learned to catch fish, clean fish, sail (Hobie Cats!), waterski (recreationally), kneeboard, ice fish, and drive all kinds of toys like snowmobiles, boast, and jetskis. Murray and our friends have had a big (30+ people) parties here.

Anyway, I got to spend 4 days here last week. A blast, as always. I waterskied, fished (caught dinner... the big bass is 2.25 pounds, not bad), ate my grandmothers cooking (When dinner is ready, my grandmother actually has a supper bell that she rings, and we come running up from the water), generally took it easy.

Good times. Bam :)

Good Times at Gambier Island

Shawny, I'm really sorry that you missed out on this weekend, because lots of good times were had!

With a crew of 10, we took a water taxi to my cabin at Gambier Island and caught up on some much needed chillaxing. We brought up tonnes of booze and good food, but as you can see, we also tried to supplement this by catching out own fish and crabs. Unfortunately, none were big enough to eat so we relied on our own culinary skills. Our days were spent soaking up the sun, partaking in bocce ball tournaments, fishing, playing monopoly by candlelight, picking fresh fruit from the orchards and eating more food than our stomachs could handle. GOOD TIMES!