Deep’s Lord of the Stings: Tattoos and other Wild Adventures

Hey y’all!

To catch you up on what’s happening: Sandeep, a small hairy woodland creature from the quaint countryside of Sugar Land, Texas and Mark, the ancient white wizard from the icy plains of New Hampshire, have began their perilous trek across Middle Earth in a rental car. It should be a lot of fun, especially after seeing the last Lord of the Rings a couple of days ago in the most amazing theatre (think iMAX) in Auckland. The screen and the sound were huge, and we got to see the movie gloriously earn all 11 of its Oscars. It seems fitting that I saw the first Lord of the Rings movie a month before I left for Tonga, and now after my own incredible Peace Corps journey is over I can witness Peter Jackson’s stunning conclusion to the story. I experienced a little bit of deja vu when we walked near the Auckland harbour… two years ago, fifteen group 62 people traveled out to the harbour for a visit to the Sky Tower during our 8 hour layover in Auckland before we left for Tonga (I put the cab ride on my credit card for us, and some of you chumps still owe me money!). It was so cool!

One thing about the final Lord of the Rings that troubled me was the ending. Frodo eventually decides that after his epic travels, he is longer able to live in the Shire as the journey has changed him too much. He leaves Middle Earth and his companions on an elven boat across the ocean never to return. After everything I’ve experienced in Tonga and the Peace Corps, am I going to need an elven boat away from Texas and everything I used to hold so dear? Perhaps!

Speaking of changes, I now sport a HUGE tattoo on my right arm. Think of a pathetic little armband tattoo and taper it eight times around your right bicep. There you go… you’re tattooed Sani style. Right before we left Tahiti, we went to a guy named Roo’nui who had a wicked laugh and a penchant for insulting other not-so-legendary Tahitian tattoo artists. Despite his frequent marijuana breaks, he had done an awesome job on Mark’s leg turtle tattoo the day before, and I had no doubt that he would do a great job on mine. He took three hours to sear the hardships and the celebrations of my Polynesian experience into my skin. The front of the biceps was not too painful… it was like a hundred molokov bites (I actually have a molokov in one of my tattoo bands!) firing off at the same time. The tattooing of the tricep area, which is one of the most sensitive areas of your body, was even worse and as close as I will ever get to experiencing the pain of childbirth. I knew something beautiful was being created in this process, but it was the most excruciating experience of my life. I think it’ll be a while before I do it again. It’s awesome to know that when I get back into the intense pace of life in the USA, I’ll be able to pull up my sleeves and remind myself of a place where work isn’t all that important. 

The food on this trip has been incredible. I’ve had a diverse assortment of steaks, salads, pitas, pasta, kebabs, hamburgers, and sandwiches. I’ve been to small little cafes and exotic one-of-a-kind restaurants. While I miss Akikos very much, the variety of foods that we’ve had in Tahiti and New Zealand and in the air (I admit that I love travelling mainly for airplane food!) are astounding. I feel like I have taste buds coming alive that have been dormant for the past two years. While I sometimes get the craving for some lu and ufi, I can usually get over it by consuming some pepper steak and a nice salad. Yesterday, we went to Wendy’s for a terrible hamburger combo, followed that up with a decent Burger Fuel Bastard Burger (massive!) for lunch, and then went to an amazing restaurant called Valentines for dinner. Imagine all of the top 5 dishes from every palangi restaurant in Tonga and stick them in a buffet for $10 US then toss in unlimited drinks (beer, wine etc.) for $5. Valentines was sweet, so check it out if you’re ever in Auckland. 

Before we left Tahiti, we went on a few more great tours. On our marine tour, we watched tons of dolphins beside our boat and we went out to a reef reserve where we fed the marine life. I actually fondled an enormous shark for a few seconds before I got in trouble for stepping on a huge sea turtle! We got to see the best surf spots in Tahiti where a surfer could spend five minutes on a wave before it broke. The view of Tahiti from the boat was unbelievable. The rugged mountain ranges have all been sites of several movies and even the houses and hotels (one was built right over the water) add to the beauty of the island. The next day we took a land tour that wasn’t quite as impressive, but we stopped off at a juice factory and I had 12 different liquors and wines! Ifo aupito! New Zealand hasn’t failed to disappoint us either. We were considering going on one of the big tours here, but we decided to form our own tour instead – the Keep Left tour. You may see some of our bumper stickers or road signs when you are in New Zealand someday. So far we’ve travelled through Auckland, the Coremandel peninsula, and Whitianga. They are stunning. The long stretches of road on which we travel dive through mountains and over bountiful farm land. Every few minutes we stop to take pictures and usually a dozen other cars stop behind us to do the same thing… we think people may be trying to join our Keep Left bandwagon. Even the bustling towns are stunning with such an awe-inspiring backdrop. This is my impression of New Zealand even before we’ve gone to the south islands of New Zealand where such classics as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Hercules, and Xena have been filmed. The best is yet to come. 

I’ve been spoiling myself shopping as well. Over the past year, my feet have suffered through shoes that have been too small, and shoes (from Fiji!) that have fallen apart in a week. I went to one of the best shoe dealers and purchased the most expensive running shoes I could find (New Balance 1221s… praise the lord!) and even the most expensive socks. Mark and I went digital camera shopping and I couldn’t wipe the big grin off my face as we walked into well stocked electronic stores. I’ve gone post card crazy and have sent out a ton of them to my friends and family. I’m aching to go back into a Borders book store and purchase a few dozen paperbacks. The one I went to in Auckland had five floors of novels, DVDs, and music! Walking into a gigantic Foodland store in New Zealand leaves me in a state of nirvana. Life is good!

I will toss up some pics up on my website at https://koorse.com/travels including tattoo pics if you’re curious. Tell me what you think of it! Let me know if you need anything from New Zealand and keep in touch. 

Take care!
Love, Sandeep (the RPCV formerly known as Sani)

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