kerouac

Well, Delhi is quite far north, so it might be worthwhile to look for another option so that he could pick the card up somewhere in the south. I'm sure that some of the India experts will have some ideas.

artsnletters

He wants to be in Varanasi for Holi, so I'm thinking he might fly from Kochi to Delhi ($65) to get himself more in the vicinity - otherwise he's got a very long trek from south to north after Kerala and Kanyakumari. Also, it's going to take a couple weeks to get the new card, plus however long it takes for it to get to India.

Definitely interested in the best way to mail to India - anyone know how long regular mail takes?

Amy

I am so enjoying reading Scruffman's travels. He seems to have such a lovely approach to life (and be blessed in his choice of mom. )

magical

I am so glad you are posting this...for scruffman.

Scruffman has a lovely approach to life...and travel. Well done, Mom & Dad too.

Brings back memories when I was younger and travelled on the spur of the moment, and enjoyed it thoroughly. No great pre-plans, Needs were small, and rewards were great.

artsnletters

magical, there is no Dad in this story. The Scruffman's father essentially checked out of his life when Greg was 8 and finished the job of checking out when Greg was 13, so I have to take all the credit (and all the blame) for the Scruffman.

Amy and magical both, I'm glad y'all appreciate his mission and thanks for the kudos. But really, the Scruffman is very different from me, and nothing like his father (except in appearance), so I think we must all really give him the credit for being who he is.

Bokhara2

I came across this yesterday, and it seems to fit here ...

" I want to love you without clutching,
appreciate you without judging,
join you without invading,
invite you without demanding,
leave you without guilt,
criticise you without blaming,
and help you without insulting.

If I can have the same from you,
then we can truly meet
and enrich each other ..."

ileen

Really enjoying reading this thread. He is doing well with his travels. The little ups and down are all part of the game.

Regular mail to Delhi takes about 8-10 days from any large US city. Since you will have an ATM card in it, a good idea would be send it registered mail, so it reaches safely and a signature is obtained from the person to whom it will be addressed. Make sure you have the right postal code (like zip code).

I think you can also send it by Fed Ex, but will be more expensive as it will be also quicker.

Remind him that Holi festival is a colorful celebration but often the locals play pranks, so he should be extra, extra careful with his belongings.

Do keep posting regularly as we are enjoying the adventure.

dutyfree

My son always said to be VERY careful with regular Indian mail as alot of it never gets to the person it should.

artsnletters

ileen, by "pranks" do you mean pickpocketing?

Thanks for the warning, dutyfree. I'm thinking of sending FedEx for both speed and I hope reliability. If the card doesn't get there (or gets pilfered), Schwab will refund any unauthorized withdrawals, and Greg does have another card to use if he never gets the new Schwab card, if worst comes to worst.

I have a bit to add to the story (some of it is pretty fun) but am hoping to hear a little more in the next day or so to put with it.

WillTravel

I'm not quite sure how it works, but my understanding is that you can get mail (and presumably FedEx deliveries) at an American Express office. Maybe someone knows more about that.

LoveItaly

Dear artsnletters, thanks to "our" Gregg and your threads I am on the Asia thread for the first time in over a year.

First of all I am so sorry about your losing your job, may you find another suitable and well paying job ASAP and in the meantime "something" that will tide you over for now.

I am not absolutely certain but I believe quite some time ago Amex required a traveller to have an Amex card in order to receive mail at any of their offices but a call to Amex would certainly answer that question.

My very best to you and of course to your son!

artsnletters

<b>Peter Pan at the Monkey Wars</b>

After two weeks in the country, poor Scruffman reported that his stomach still hadn’t forgiven him for taking it to India. He finally gave in and took the antibiotics he’s brought from home and his misery ended almost immediately, so he’s now back to 100%. Of greater concern than a case of Delhi Belly is that he isn’t taking his malaria meds. He’s apparently pretty sunburned, and a few people who have the same medications he does told him that the medication will make his skin even more sensitive, to the point of finger and toe sunburns. He feels comforted by the recommendation of other westerners he’s met who have been living there for a while that he should just risk it, claiming that “malaria is almost never deadly, as long as you have access to a hospital within a few days." Somehow, this doesn’t make mom feel any better.

Life still isn’t dull for the Scruffman, who can’t even relax on the beaches of Goa without encountering some unusual event. One day his treehouse was attacked by a band of monkeys. <i>As it turns out, monkeys are some mean and dirty bastards. They peed all over the roof and threw shit around and bared their teeth, causing all kinds of ruckus, so we chased them off with slingshots. It’s been some Peter Pan sht around here.”</i> I feel safe saying that this is an adventure most of us will never have.

He’s spent most of his time in Goa hanging out at the Magic Cinema. He has purchased a good guitar (for the equivalent of about $65), so he’s musically equipped again. He ended up jamming with some <i>”older folks”</i> (hate to think what that means) who tried to get him to play at an open mic at Palolem for a couple hundred people, which terrified him. However, the authorities have been shutting down all the music venues in south Goa, so it never came to pass, to his great relief.

According to his last message, he stayed put long enough to see his favorite DJ play on the 14th, but has since left most of his stuff with his friends in Patnam and headed off on an excursion north to Anjuna, Morjim and Arambol. The plan is to head back to Patnam, pick up his stuff, and then go to Karnataka. He’s now unsure he’ll make it to Kanyakumari – he is still hoping to make it north for Holi, but feels that since it’s celebrated almost everywhere it’s not a big deal if he doesn’t get to Varanasi in time. I’d suggested taking a flight from Kochi to Delhi to expedite his voyage north (going then to Jaipur and Varanasi) – I found a flight for $65 – but in typical Scruffman fashion he is loathe to commit. Plus, he says he doesn’t know where Kochi is and is struggling with the train system - <i>”India is not terribly organized and it is very hard to get a train exactly when you want it.”</i> So he will let me know, which means he probably won’t.

To the best of my knowledge, he still hasn’t canceled his ATM card, although it still hasn’t been used so apparently isn’t in sinister hands. He’s not keen on my sending it to Delhi because he doesn’t really want to go there, but I hope he’s going to realize that it’s going to run into serious money over the duration of this trip if he has to use the card with the $5 charge. However, in the end this is his problem, not mine.

I haven’t heard from him for almost a week, and he hasn’t logged onto his couchsurfing page for three days, which always worries me a bit – probably for no reason. If I don’t get an e-mail, a log-on at least lets me know he’s OK and approximately where he is. I hope I will hear from him soon, for my own peace of mind.

thursdaysd

The train goes to Ernakulam, not Kochi. He should probably get it at Madgaon. See http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/tag...oute%20map.pdf

KTtravel

I finally wandered over to this forum to follow Scruffy's adventures and am so glad I did. I hope Greg checks in soon and is continuing to enjoy his fascinating journey. Artsnletters, I'm so sorry to learn of your job loss and hopes your new prospect looks encouraging. Thank you for continuing to update us about your wonderful son.

taconictraveler

Fingers crossed and candles lit for all good things for you, Artsnletters, and for the dear boy in India. I'm sure things will go well - and thanks for letting us armchair travelers tag along.

kerouac

I confirm that the monkeys are mean in Asia. When you see several of them heading in your direction --- RUN!

artsnletters

According to today's one-line e-mail, the Scruffman is on hiw way to Gokarna and will then be heading to Hampi.

Mathieu

I've a feeling he may like Anjuna beach, though from what I've recently heard, its changed a lot from when I was last there many years ago. Everyones discovered the magic of the place and descended in hoardes.
Thanks for the interesting updates and continued good wishes to you both.

M.

BKP

Thanks for topping the thread in the Europe forum so that I could come over here and get caught up on the adventure.

I've been reading pieces of it to my strait laced, plan ahead, always have a plan B, plan C husband and even he is a bit jealous! We're torn between wanting this type of adventure for our son and wanting it for ourselves!

Fingers crossed for you about the job situation too!

nukesafe

I will have you know that artnletters had absolutely nothing to do with the creation of the "SCRUFFMAN ADVENTURE CONTINUATION FUND". None-the-less, such a fund was started by Fodorites identified with Scruffy, and the problems he was having with funding, credit cards, and a loving Mom who had just lost her job.

She was surprised and a bit weirded out when enterprising Fodorites wrote her at her email address, and then looked up her address on line and began sending small amounts, "Just in case the Scruffman got stranded some place, or had to come home prematurely just for the want of a few bucks". As I understand it, a PayPal account has been established.

I will say no more ---