Aqaba and more

We spent another 3 days in Aqaba, snorkeling and relaxing. We went to the reefs every day. I saw about 10 scorpion fish, they are white and red striped with huge spikes and are very poisonous. I also saw Moray eels (very poisonous as well), cornet fish, rays, and many, many more species. The coral was so beautiful. Near our hotel was a shop with what looked like assorted chocolates. We bought a bag of them in all different shapes and colours. When we tried them that evening we learnt that they were all exactly the same, low quality chocolate with peanuts.

We took a bus to Wadi Rum and managed to get a couple of tents in the backyard of a restaurant. Wadi Rum is very much aimed to package tours, it is hard to do economically. In case you're wondering what Wadi Rum is, it's a desert with sandstone mountains coming out of the sand.  It is where "Lawrence Of Arabia" was filmed. Anyway, the scenery was amazing, and the mountains were humbling. We went for a short hike that evening and had a picnic supper of bread, cheese, peanut butter and our peanut chocolates.

Today we took a bus to Petra. The ticket man tried to charge us extra for our luggage but after so long in India we knew how to deal with him. We are planning to spend 3 days in Petra and I can't wait. It is supposed to rain tomorrow although it looks like it will be nice after that.

The beach from where we snorkelled

Local handicraft made using coloured sand.

Wadi Rum

Lunch. Notice the sheep hanging in the background

Jordan - Amman to Aqaba

Well, India is finished, now we are in Jordan. We spent a few days in Amman, the capital, and did a day trip to a few places including the Dead Sea. You can read about all this on my parents blog. We took a 4 hour bus ride to Aqaba, a coastal town popular with Jordanian and Saudi tourists. It would have been a great bus ride if it were not for the way people would smoke on the bus without even opening the window. At one point we stopped for a smoke break and the man in front of us light a cigarette and smoked it on the bus! It was disgusting.

Aqaba is famous for it's coral reefs, and today we rented snorkels and went to check it out. The reefs were beautiful, in all sorts of shapes and colours and easy to access from the shore. We saw all sorts of marine life, including, jellyfish, clownfish, stonefish, sea cucumbers, and many other very colourful types of fish. We also saw the wreck of a ship that has been turned into an artificial reef. The water was a nice temperature although the beach was nice too when you were ready for a break. There was also a shallow reef plateau and when you swam over it the coral and the fish were just inches away from your face, it was amazing.

Last few days in India

Our next couple of days in Varanasi were uneventful and we spent most of the time wandering along the ghats. There were lots of hawkers along the ghats, including a man who tried to sell us a parrot in a tiny cage so that we could release and get good karma. It was probably trained to return to him. I also got a massage. The masseur told me 10 rupees for a shoulder massage, of course he kept going and it was impossible to get away, before I knew it I was pinned to the ground getting a back massage. I did eventually get away at which point he demanded 50 rupees, we laughed and gave him 20. Another thing we did was go on a row boat along the Ganges at 6 am to see the sunrise.

We left Varanasi early in the morning and went to Lucknow on the train. We had mutton kebab at a very famous restaurant and saw the Residency, where the siege of Lucknow took place in 1857. The ruins were in a nice park and it was a relaxing place to be.

We left Lucknow that same afternoon and took a sleeper train to Rishikesh. Rishikesh is in the Himalayan foothills and is the global yoga capital. I was sick the whole time so I mostly stayed in bed, but the hills were lovely even though the whole town stunk of incense. There was also a pedestrian suspension bridge but everybody with a motorbike just drove across really fast honking their horns to warn you to get out of their way, it was really obnoxious.

From Rishikesh we took a sleeper train to Amritsar, home to the Golden Temple.

The Golden Temple is the holiest place for Sikhs and attracts huge numbers of pilgrims from around the globe. The Temple itself is not very big. You could just about fit a basketball court inside. It is in the middle of a holy pool with a bridge leading to it. The walkway surrounding the pool, and the substantial buildings around the walkway are made of marble, and combined with the gold on the temple, the effect is blinding. The entire upper half of the Temple is plated in pure gold. I read that the very small central dome alone has 750 kilos of gold! One feature in Sikh temples is the communal kitchen, where everyone sits together on the floor and are served a free meal by volunteers. The kitchens are not for feeding the poor but to bring people together, a man I met said he comes once a month. The kitchen at the Golden Temple can serve up to 100,000 people on weekends. We went on a weekend and the place was crammed, there were people chopping, washing, cooking and serving everywhere. Not only was it a good experience, but the food was delicious too! There were two very spicy curries and a sweet warm rice pudding with coconut.

The inside of the temple is very gold, even the ceiling fans! There was a group of men chanting, and the focal point of the whole thing was the original copy of the Sikh holy book, kept shrouded and guarded over by the head priest. It is a very beautiful place and is not to be missed.

Agra and Varanasi

Well, we did it, we've seen the Taj Mahal.

Our train to Agra arrived at 10:30 pm and we had a room and were falling asleep by midnight. The next morning we woke up at 5 am to see the Taj at sunrise. It turns out that it does not open until 6:30am and the sun does not rise until 7:00 this time of year (how was I supposed to know that its winter when its 25 degrees Celsius) so we sat and had breakfast at a nearby restaurant waiting for the Taj to open. When it was finally open we bought our tickets (750 rupees for foreign tourists and 20 rupees for Indians, under 15 years, free no matter what nationality.) We went inside through the tight security behind a tough looking Russian guy wearing his matching patterned “Om” pyjamas. On my first glimpse of the Taj, I have to say, I was awestruck. It is bigger than you'd think and it really is one of, if not the most beautiful building in the world. The marble is surprisingly still white and the marble inlay with pictures of flowers and verses from the Qu'ran is just icing on the cake. It was especially nice at sunrise. It is incredibly symmetrical; in fact when they built the mosque beside it they built another identical building on the other side that serves no purpose other than symmetry. On the Taj platform everyone was wearing these funny little red booties, including my parents. I saw the ugliest bird ever, sitting on the most beautiful building. The bird was huge and when I took its picture it hooped off and swooped down right over my head, it was quite frightening. The Taj was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his favourite wife, Mumtaz, Shah Jahan is buried inside as well. The Taj is definitely one of my highlights of India.

Right now I am eating a late breakfast and a cow just walked into the restaurant, it is sniffing the bags of the people beside us, just a note.

When we left the Taj we were immediately accosted by swarms of hawkers telling us all the benefits of owning a Taj snow globe and wondering why on earth we would not want to buy a magnet for the low price of 50 rupees. With one guy I tried the polite method, I said that I knew he was doing his job but we just wanted to be alone and if he could leave then that would be wonderful. He just kind of stood there not knowing what the heck just happened and then said bye and kind of wandered away confused.

That afternoon we went to Agra Fort. The fort was used by the Mughals and today is still mostly used by the army, however the impressive palace complex is open for all (who are willing to pay) to see. There was some really impressive sandstone carving and marble inlay and the historical significance was huge as well. One of the most interesting things to see was the tower where Shah Jahan was imprisoned in by his son for the last years of his life. It has a great view of the Taj.

On our second day in Agra we went on a day trip to Fatephur Sikri, an abandoned Mughal city. The palace complex is kind of eerie because of all the restoration work. It is as if the royals left last week and took all the furnishings, doors, widows, etc and left all the stone work and terraces as they were. It is not at all overgrown. There was also a huge mosque which was full of hawkers and there was a guy who would touch your head with a feather if you gave him 10 rupees. The whole place was very beautiful and worth the trip.

Varanasi

We are now in Varanasi, one of the holiest places in Hinduism and the holiest place to die. To die here is to achieve “Moksha” liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The old town is an insane tangle of “galis” tiny lanes and alleys too small for cars or rickshaws. The city’s focal points are the “ghats” steps leading down to the holy river Ganges. Varanasi` is very indiscreet, the rituals of life and death take place before your eyes. This is most obvious at Manikarnika ghat, the main burning ghat and the holiest place for a Hindu to be cremated. The ghat is surrounded by huge stacks of wood and on the ghat itself there are numerous fires where you can see people being cremated. Occasional you get a glimpse of a blackened leg or head and when they bring the bodies down and place them in the fire you get a whiff of burning flesh. It is an eerie place yet you still get the sense that it is a holy place and it was very spiritually enlightening and humbling.

Jaipur to Bundi

Well, I've fallen behind a bit on this blogging thing so I'll just kinda skim over the past few days. We spent a day and half in Jaipur, it's known as the “Pink City”, although it's only pink on the main streets of the old town. It's noisy and congested and at times you have swarms of 7 or 8 people asking, sometimes demanding, that you look in their shop, take their rickshaw etc. At one time there was a guy with his eyes bulging yelling desperately that we look in his shop, he was not just telling us about how good his products were but instead he was pretty much begging us to look. I would not have been surprised if he got down on his knees and begged us. Another trick they always used was to say “hey remember me?” I usually don't respond. Occasionally I thought “Oh yeah, you're that jerk from yesterday who wouldn't leave me alone”. Anyways the sights in Jaipur were interesting. My favourite was Janter Manter, a collection of giant astrological devices built for the Maharaja to determine calenders and horoscopes. The guides were a bit expensive so I just “coincidentally” stood next to groups of people with guides whenever I was wondering how things worked. That way we saved money and I only had to listen to guides droning on about boring things when I wanted to. My favourite restaurant in Jaipur was the Thali House, the thalis (literally “plate” ) are spicy and tasty and they keep refilling your plate, whether you ask them or not. In fact it became a running joke with the waiters and they would keep coming back to me with more and I would usually have to decline, although they often gave it to me anyways, I was always stuffed after a meal at the Thali House.

After Jaipur we went to Pushkar, I won't write about Pushkar because I have got lots o write about now but my parents did so check their blog.

From Pushkar we headed to Bundi, a very beutiful and historic city with few tourists, The palace was really cool with all sorts of very old murals and the fort on the top of the hill was great. The fort was abandoned and really overgrown, you felt like Indiana Jones hiking through the vines to another ancient palace where you could climb up the crumbling staircase to the top for magnificient views of the old city and palace down below. It was also fun to watch the monkeys living inside. The old city was fun to wander through and had lots of narrow lanes, bramhin blue houses and cows. Our hotel was in an old Haveli, had running hot water in the morning and the garden restaurant had a table right outside our door, it was nice to order as soon as you wake up and go have a shower while they're cooking it. The owner of the restaurant was really nice and his two year old twin boys where fun. Some other things we saw in Bundi were a large lake outside of town the “84 Pllared Cenotaph” which only had 80 pillars. After 2 and a half day in Bundi we headed off to Agra.

More Jodhpur

Well today was a very tiring day, my dad and I headed out at 8:30 to send a parcel, have breakfast and make train reservations. We took a rickshaw to the post office, weighed our parcel inside to make sure it was not over 20 kilos, (thanks Rey, it was only 8), then went to find a tailor to make a bag for our parcel. We found one quite quickly and sat in his shop for 30 minutes while he put the stuff in a box, covered the box with cloth and put wax on the seams. It was a nice wait, with an endless supply of chai and a good view of the street. From our seat, we could see 2 men bathing on the sidewalk, 3 cooks cooking breakfast, numerous people washing dishes, 3 guys peeling potatoes on red plastic chairs in the middle of the road, one kid squeegying the floor of a restaurant, then the benches, then the tables and 2 guys with a pile of re-bar breaking each one in half with a sledge hammer and a makeshift anvil. Back to the story, I forgot to mention that we had tried to ask the price, but the parcel packer had to mesure it in the box first. He never did give us a quote and by the time we noticed he was putting on the cloth and there was no going back. He charged 500 rupees, that's 12 dollars, or one night in a hotel room. There was little we could do and we didn't want a hassle so we just gave up and paid him, after all 12 bucks isn't exactly going to put us in debt. Dad was quite annoyed and using all sorts of words that may not be appropriate for some readers, I was hoping that no rickshaw drivers approached us because Dad may have strangled them. He said that 500 rupees didn't bother him he just didn't want to tell Mom. We went back to the post office, got a form to fill out and were then told to go down the street and get it photo-copied, anyways, long story short, we walked for a mile, eat breakfast, walked 500m more then found a photo-copy place, walked back, learnt that there was one across the street, made the post office guy accidentaly pull out his keyboard drawer and drop it on the floor looking for a sharpie, got a sharpie from some American behind us, and sent the parcel. We went to train station and then walked down an alley/garbage dump/toilet to the reservation office which was right beside the post office, waited in line for 30 minutes and got 4 wait list tickets to Jaipur.

Later that afternoon, we went to Vaswant Thada, a marble mauseleum for some Maharaja. The location was suberb and the views to Mehrangarh and the rest of the city were great. The building itself was cool and the gardens were very tranquil, in some places the sun was glowing through the marble walls and we had fun putting our hands on it and then the people inside could see our handprint in the wall.

That evening we had supper on the street. We started by going to the Omlette Man, a famous Jodhpur restaurant with a floor space of about 1.5 square metres. He cooks on a tiny kerosene stove and has a stack of eggs beside him. He has two benches and a table made out of an egg crate and there is always a line up of people. He has a stack of books full of testimonials and a newspaper article to boot. The masala cheese omlette was superb and I'm afraid I will never again be satisfied with an omlette. Because an omlette was not quite enough food for supper, we walked down the road to a cart with a guy cooking up a variety of different things. I told him we wanted something spicy for 20 rupees, he asked how spicy, so we decided just to have fun and go all the way. We told him to make “Indian Spicy”. While he was shaking the chili on I saw him turn to his friend and grin and then turn back and shake a bit more on before stopping. It turns out it was some sort of potato and deep fried spinach in sweet yoghurt, it was very spicy but due to the sweet yoghurt it was still edible, in fact we ordered another.

Camel Safari and Mehrangarh

In Jaisalmer, camel safaris are very popular. There are plenty of people trying to book one for you because they get a substantial cut or commission. We went to Trotters, a recommended agency, who pride themselves on taking you off the beaten path. We went to enquire at their office and it looked good. The owner, who the drivers called Del boy (he was given the nickname from a British fan of “Only Fools and Horses”), was very nice and didn't pressure us so we went for it. We booked a two night, three day trip that came with everything we would need: food, water, blankets, camels, guides/camel drivers/cooks and lots of toilets with a view.

We woke at 5:30 the next morning and got in a jeep for an hours ride before meeting our guides and our camels for breakfast. One of our guides, Rammis, had to leave after lunch to compete in the camel race at The Desert Festival. We were left in the good hands of our other guide, Punja. That night when we arrived at the sand dunes where we were to sleep, it started to rain! A very rare occurrence in The Great Thar Desert. Years can go by without rain. We got back on our camels and rode for another 30 minutes to a small stone hut with cow dung mortar. It stopped raining so we spent the night outside under stars that we could barely see because of the bright full moon. When Rammis returned late that night on camel, we learned that he had made it to the final but that his blanket had fallen during the race and he had had to stop.

The Great Thar Desert is not a sea of dunes like the Sahara. It is mostly flat and sandy with thorn bushes and the occasional tree where eat lunch and rested for a few hours during the midday heat.

Our guides were great cooks! They taught me how to make chapatis. Their masala chai with fresh spices was delicious.

On our second day we went to some very big sand dunes which were very fun to play on. Later, we met a shepherd, (the only human we met that day). In the evening, while we were sitting around a camp fire singing camp songs, Rammis joined in by playing Bollywood music on his cell phone. He explained that both he and Punja had been in a Bollywood movie a few years back. Apparently it wasn't a great one, but they were dressed in their Rajasthani outfits and had their camels while special effect colour bombs were set off and they were sprayed with red paint.

The following morning we woke at 5:30 to the sound and feel of falling rain. We got up in a hurry and headed off to a nearby hut where we had breakfast. As we arrived at the hut, the rain stopped. We ate a delicious breakfast of wheat porridge and headed out on our camels. We rode a lot that morning and had lunch at an oasis. Later we were picked up by a jeep and taken back to Jaisalmer.

On our last day in Jaisalmer, I bought a pair of pointy-toed leather Rajasthani shoes called jootis. In case you are wondering the handmade embroidered pair cost me 250 Indian rupees, about 6.00$ Canadian dollars or 3-4 British pounds. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

Our train ride to Jodhpur was very enjoyable because the guys sitting near us were very friendly. One was from Jodhpur, another from the Punjab and another from Kerala. They were all reading what our guidebook said about where they lived. In the next carriage, there was a group of foreign women who were smoking. The man from the Punjab was shocked and horrified by this. He said that he had never seen women smoke before. He said it was ugly. My mom tired to explain to him that in Canada it was no more ugly for a woman to smoke than a man. He didn't get it, but Vineeth from Kerala understood, I think.

I am sitting in our hotel room and it is 4 pm. We just got back from a morning and an afternoon in Jodhpur and I can't wait to see more. We started the day by climbing up to Mehrangarh, the spectacular fort whose tall, steep walls loom over the city. It really is a sight to behold. The fort seems to grow straight out of the rock and it has yet to be conquered. The fort, and palaces inside, are all very well preserved and they are still run by the descendants of the old Maharaja. Like in Jaisalmer it is very professionally run and as much as I hate to say it, the audio guide was actually really good. The palace was really neat, and I loved all of the stained glass, gilded rooves, tiled walls and the amazing collections of armour, artwork, miniatures and weapons. It was interesting to hear about “purdah” system in which the royal women were not allowed to be seen by any men other than their husbands and the eunuchs who guarded the women's courtyard. The audio guide talked about a royal visit to London, and said that the London tabloids were going crazy trying to get a photo of her majesty. They managed to get one of her ankles while she stepped out of the car. The royals were so outraged that they bought every copy of the newspaper before the picture found its way to India. All of the windows of the palace have carved screens that make it impossible to see in, but easy to look out. We looked around the palace shop before heading to walk around on the ramparts. The ramparts were lined with huge cannons from around the world and the sheer drop to the ground is breath-taking. From up there, you can see why Jodhpur is called the blue city; it really is blue! All of the Brahmins (top of the ladder in the Hindu caste system) in the town painted their houses light blue and the effect is immediate from up there. Jaisalmer was the golden city, Jodhpur is the blue city and are hoping to head to Jaipur, the pink city, next.

Later that afternoon, while Mom and Mhari were shopping, my Dad and I got terribly lost in the insane tangle of lanes and I discovered how amazing the city is, the alleys are endless and only once were we bothered by someone wanting to sell us something, batteries to be exact. Luckily, we actually had been looking for batteries so we went in to have a look. He showed us a pair of 2AA for 340 rupees (two batteries for 340 rupees!, That's around 7 dollars!) He assured us that they were superior quality and would take 150 pictures each on our camera! (150? Doesn't seem like a lot) I peeled off his price tag and saw that it said “For use in Brazil only” because we were desperate for batteries for our camera, we bought them for 300 and we hope they will work.

Another thing I noticed today was that while we were walking down a large road, we noticed that they had built wide clean sidewalks! Although the people here were smart enough to realise that it could be put to much better use if the let their shops spill out /dump their garbage/ put tables from their restaurant/sleep/sit/put a stall on them.

Rajasthan is very colourful, especially the womens' saris and the mens' turbans. It is World Cup time for Cricket and India has gone cricket crazy, especially since they are co-hosting. The India team is very strong and has a good chance at the title. The Cricket India jersey I bought in Kaniyakumari has gotten a lot of good vibes and it helps to soften people up when haggling.   

Gokarna to Jaisalmer

After 4 nights on Kudle Beach we moved to Gokarna town. It is a small town, but due to its importance on the Hindu pilgrim circuit it is bustling. There are cows everywhere and often traffic will be slowed to a halt because of a cow sleeping on the road. During our two or three days there we spent most of our time shopping, walking through town and along the beach and drinking sweet lassis and eating sheeras with curd. Sheera or shira is a semolina and pineapple cake that we discovered at the Pai Hotel. On the 9th of February we left Gokarna and went to Panaji or Panjim, the capital of Goa. On the train ride there we met Enriquez, from Spain who we first met in Kaniyakumari. We spent two nights in Panaji admiring the colonial buildings and the cathedrals of Old Goa. On the 11^th, we flew to Delhi. When we arrived, the 24 degree Celsius weather was incredibly refreshing. After we got our bags, we went to the prepaid taxi stand and booked a taxi to the Canadian high commission where we are staying with friends. We spent our first night playing with their kids and the following morning we went out to Old Delhi. We walked down Chandi Chowk, the jam-packed back-bone of Old Delhi, to the Red Fort. We were planning to go in, but the queue was so long that we thought better of it, we got lost in the bazaars instead. After being spun around a bit in the maze of streets we found ourselves at Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. Mhari and Dad were tired and the man at the gate was hassling us about money because we had a camera, and all sorts of other reasons that I can't remember, so they stayed outside and held our bags while we went in. The mosque was made of red stone and had lots of intricate Islamic carvings. We bought tickets to climb up the minaret because I had read that it was a great view. The view did not disappoint, but the walk up was not for the claustrophobic. The tiny spiral staircase was dark and the stairs were not much wider than my fore-arm. Whenever someone was coming down you had to hug the wall to make room. The top of the minaret was also tiny, although it was bright and airy. When we left the mosque we wandered back through the insane smells, sights and sounds of the old bazaars. I stopped at a paratha (flatbread) place for lunch. When I was halfway through my first plate a cook came up and said something to me in Hindi, I sort of shrugged my shoulders and a minute later he came back with more food! I ate most of it but I had to pay double.

Today we started the day by going to Lodi Gardens, a landscaped garden with centuries old tombs scattered around. It is a very beautiful place and although the tombs aren't huge, they're still very beautiful. We also stopped at another, much bigger tomb called “Safardangs Tomb”on our way to the Metro stop. It was more impressive but we were starting to tire of ancient tomb's by then. We took the Metro to India Gate, an Indian Arc De Triomph. The Metro here is very modern, although it is the first time I've seen signs in a metro station cautioning you not to ride on the roof of the train, and there is as much security as in an airport. At a few major stations the train practically empties, and then fills up again in the 30 seconds that the train stops for. This should be easy, except it fills and empties at the same time creating a crush of people. The India Gate was very impressive but we didn't see much of it because we were being bombarded by hawkers and school children wanting a photo. In a desperate attempt to escape the hawkers, we started walking towards Connaught Place. It was a pleasant walk and we had a (long) break at the “Central Cottage Industries Emporium” the 6 storey government handicraft store. My mom and sister bought several things, I was tempted by the amazing marble inlay work but it was a bit too much money for me. We finished off our day at Connaught place, the commercial heart of Delhi. It looked a lot like the Parade in Leamington Spa (the name of a street, not an actual parade) except more Indian (more garbage, more traffic, more beggars, more hawkers etc.).

On our last day in Delhi me and my Dad went to the Lotus Temple. When we got off the Metro into the cold and rainy weather we spotted a street stall whipping up dahl with fresh chapati, we couldn't resist and it really hit the spot. With our stomachs full we started walking towards the Temple. The Lotus Temple is Baha'i, a religion whose philosophies revolve around peace and understanding (don't they all). The temple is very modern, pearl white and shaped like a lotus flower. Inside the temple there were people reading from the Bible, The Qur’an and various other holy books, and everyone was praying according to their own religion. We did not have much time but it was quite a cool place.

That evening we took the night train to Jaisalmer, way out near the Pakistani border in the westernmost reaches of India. After we found a hotel and a meal we went to Jaisalmer fort, because Jaisalmer is in the desert the fort is made with yellow sandstone making the fort appear to be a giant sandcastle. When you head through the main gates and start walking up to the looming fort it really is awe-inspiring. The Maharajas Palace is very good, not as amazing as the one in Mysore, but because it is so well organized, they have done a lot of restoration work and the audio tour was fantastic (for a change). It was a really good experience. The best parts were the views from up top and the intricately carved screens on the windows. Inside the fort, the streets are very winding and narrow and full of people who want to sell things to you. For lunch one day I had a special treat, Masala Dosa. I had been wondering what I would do without it now that we are in the north but I saw a street vendor making south Indian food so I went for it. Another special thing about Jaisalmer is that we came during the Desert Festival, They have got all sorts of things going on around town, some of the best things we have seen are, Rajasthani (we are in the state of Rajasthan) folk music (very energetic with a good beat), lots of Rajasthani dancing, including one little boy doing what seemed to be Rajasthani break dancing, camel dressing competition, air force drill team, water jug on head carrying competition and (only in Jaisalmer!) camel polo. After a few days in Jaisalmer and the desert festival coming to a draw we decided to tackle a camel safari.

Lodi Gardens - Delhi

Safardangs Tomb - Delhi

Sleeper compartment to Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer Fort

Jaisalmer - A room with a view

Shops in the Fort

View from the Fort

Desert Festival

Local Truck

Fancy Footwork from Air Force Drill Team

Camel Polo 

Fancy Camel

Fancy Masonry

Camel Safari - Coming up next time on Sam A  Away