The littlest Hobo

Dear global family and friends

'Tis I, with words to the world and some new changes to my digital life.

I just spent a months salary on an all singing, all dancing, ultra sexy, ultra sleek, ultra unique laptop. Ah yes my jealous friends I am now the proud owner of a shiny apple macbook 'air'. Ok so I might be a little obsessed and have re-organised my life into a digital format so much so that I feel like I have become a series of usernames and passwords.

Here goes:

New email address: lornawinder@gmail.com please send me a quick mail (even a blank one) so that I can add you to my new address book.

I have at long last reluctantly given in to peer pressure and joined Facebook (yes I know...... no told you so's please - see you there Facebookers). You can also find me on MSN, AIM, Skype, couchsurfing, helpx and of course my recently neglected travel blog. I'm not hard to locate, there is only 1 other Lorna Winder on this planet (that I know of) and she's an American professor of neuroscience and probably far less interesting than me.

My current mobile number is +47 41526338 and for those of you who still own a pen and know the way to your local post office, my snail mail address is Rom 14, 3 etg, Strangehagen 2, 5011 Bergen, Norway. Postcards to decorate my wall please, it's an intense pleasure to a receive 3 dimensional surprise in this technological age.

So with that over with, where and what adventures have been been getting myself into since I last put finger to keyboard??

India is where I left most of you, hence the silence... It's really difficult to put the vastness of feelings, emotions and experiences into words. It's everything.... and it's extreme opposite. There's a crazy story, cultural encounter, moment of senseless beauty or infuriating insanity for almost everyday.

Everyones a doctor, everytime is chai time and everywhere is a toilet...(or a bed)

From the carnival of Goa, to the majestic palaces, magnificent forts, colourful turbaned tribesmen, bustling temple towns, holy stupas, pilgrims on spiritual journeys, sacred waters of the holy ganges and it's bathing devotees, timeless traditions and rituals of rural life, cool hill stations, tumble down ruins, contrasting landscapes, intricate handicrafts, historic sites, Bollywood movies, mountain vistas, congested cities, pink cities, blue cities, colonial cities, ancient ruined cities, hilltop temple sun-sets, Tibetan refugees, prayer flags, Dalai Lama energies, candlelit vigils, naked hots springs, simplicity of village life, tranquil Himalayas, bustling bazaars, placid lakes, working paddy fields, emerald tea plantations, spice gardens, scented pine forests, mountains treks, camel safari's and desert camping, motorbike excursions, bicycles, bullock carts, tuk-tuk,s, crammed busses, extensive train journeys, cheeky monkeys, mountain goats and of course the cows.....and the ear splintering beep beep squeal of the incessant horn in it's numerous irritating tones

all sipped slowly with a clay pot of chai, an open mind and zero

expectations.....

And then there was Nepal.... a distinct peacefulness after India with many

similar charms, it's unique culture and super friendly people.

It seems more like a lifetime ago than a month or so, I performed a triple a backward somersault feet first back into Europe. With a few days

re-acclimatisation in England I now find myself in Norway and have un-packed my backpack for a while in the delightful little tourist haven of Bergen, on the West coast.

Lady luck was shining on me once again and I soon found a good job and a nice place to stay. I'm living in a big share house very close to the harbour and I am working in the heart of the city in an international travelers hostel (wow that sounds so much fancier than 'backpackers').. and just as the village people sang, it really is "fun to work at the YMCA" we are an International crew from 11 different countries, you all know how I love to be multi-cultural. I'm serving breakfast, cleaning, feeling quite at home amongst the travellers and earning plenty of Kroner to save for future undetermined travel - it's all good, so I'm thinking of braving out the cold dark winter and staying a few more months.

So thats me, in a rather lengthy nutshell. Please share your news and views with this corner of the world, don't forget to email me to go into my address book.

Unless you are swinging by Norway in the next months I'll hopefully see you all in cyber space.

Lots of love and laughter

Lorna xxx