Observations from this tour:

The 2nd Realise Queensland Tour went from Nov 3 - Nov 5. This time we travelled north along the coast. The environment is obviously not as rough & tough as the west (which is more inland). I missed the Maryborough & Gympie programs on Friday, but drove with Gavin, Leanne, Sachin and Aunty Pam after work to stay overnight at the Bundaberg ashram. The 5 of us practised bhajans in the car, then I snoozed for a while, and when I woke up we were at the carpark in front of McDonald's. We had some dessert and coffee, read a newspaper about a $50 coffee made from some kind of cat poops and continued our journey. In the car, Aunty Pam told us her story about how she came into Sahaj, and then the ladies started a discussion about the do's and don'ts in relationships as told in the book, "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus", while the men were quiet most of the time for some reason. After about 3.5 hours, we finally arrived at the ashram. We had our little tea ceremony and decided to do some "quiet" bhajan practice before bed. The bhajans of course didn't turn out to be so quiet afterall, and several yogis were waken up by the music. We went to bed at around midnight, but most people (well, the ladies anyway) had trouble sleeping. The air felt a bit stuffy but then it started to rain heavily in the middle of the night and it felt so much cooler. I heard that some men had trouble sleeping the following night due to certain snoring problems. But that's a different story.

Despite the lack of sleep, we got up feeling refreshed and enthusiastic. After morning meditation and breakfast, we headed off to Rockhampton at 7:30 a.m. because it takes about 3 hours to get there. I snoozed most of the way and when I woke up, we were once again making a stop for some snacks and everybody was eating pies. I couldn't resist the temptation so I had a Ned Kelly pie as well. Leanne told me that she's related to Ned Kelly. Probably a different Ned Kelly. We then continued our journey to Rocky. It was a nice little town and I really liked the peaceful feeling I got from it. The Walter Reed Cultural Ctr was amazing. Everywhere I turned I saw a piece of artwork. Even the toilet seats were made of wood with a very classic design that I couldn't resist but take a photo of it. There were many interesting arts & crafts classes taking place when we went upstairs. After touring the floor, we set up for the program in a nice spacious room and started practising some bhajans. A lot of people arrived early so we just kept playing music until 11:30 a.m when the program began. 25 people plus a dog got their self-realisation and everyone seemed to have really enjoyed the program. After some chitchats with the new people and several group photos, we immediately packed up and set off for the next program in Gladstone which was another 1.5 hour drive from Rocky. We decided that we should wait till we arrive Gladstone to get lunch. But since Sachin was so hungry, we (being caring brothers and sisters) made a stop for him at McDonald's (again) before we left Rocky. With a very satisfied nabhi, I snoozed all the way to Gladstone.

The room we booked was so different from Rockhampton. It's dark, small with a very low ceiling. We decided to open all the windows & curtains to let some sunlight and air in. And as we started singing, the faces in the audience glowed with joy and peace. The vibrations however felt a bit left-sided during the program because a lot of the seekers were healers who have been practising all kinds of stuff. 19 people came but 2 left before they got their self-realisation. After another group photo, we drove to the beach for a footsoak. Gavin was pointing out all the places where he used to hang out with Leanne along the way, their high school, the field where he used to watch Leanne play softball, the place where they got married, etc. It almost felt like one of those Hollywood tours where people trace the footsteps of some celebrities. After a nice footsoak, we returned to Bundaberg where Aunty Pam has cooked us a nice delicious dinner. We all gathered in the living room to enjoy our dinner, while Atul was busy playing musical chair (taking people's seats as they walked off to get their drink or dessert). We all slept like babies that night.

The Hervey Bay program didn't start until noon on Sunday so we had a very relaxing morning. After morning meditation and breakfast some yogi(ni)s started jewelery shopping. Others were packing or sitting around chatting. Before we left we thanked Alan and Pam for their hospitality and presented them with an anniversary gift and card (it was their wedding anniversary on Saturday). We joked that they would have to move to Brisbane because we need Alan to play the drums. We took a group photo together and started driving to Hervey Bay. It was 11:15 a.m. when we reached McDonald's. Some of us had really gotten sick of McDonald's and went to Subway instead. We finished our sandwiches in the car and hurried to the Urangan Community Centre. The people before us were still occupying the room, so we slowly set up the stage and the altar as the seekers gradually arrived. It was another successful program with 13 people getting their self-realisation. People must've been hungry as the program started at noon and went past 1 p.m. However a few of them really enjoyed the music and stayed till the very end. I was relieved that it's the last program of the tour because we were about to lose our voices from all the singing (more like yelling without the microphones) - not to mention the swelling fingers of Rebecca & Alan from the brilliant drum playing. We went to the beach again afterwards for a nice foot & hand soak. It was the perfect way to conclude our tour.

And before we drove back home, we decided to have fish & chips, which Sachin has never had before. We spent nearly an hour looking for a shop and some yogis decided to head home during the search. The fish & chips we got was a little bit disappointing - "the fish doesn't taste like fish and the lemon doesn't taste like lemon" as Sachin puts it. We later found that the yogis in Uncle Peter's car went to another fish & chips shop by the beach called "Hotlips" which they highly recommended (they even get free tartar sauce). I guess one can't judge a shop by its name. During the 2.5 hour drive to Wamuran, we enjoyed some very amusing Indian stories told by Sachin, involving the Brahman & Goldsmith castes, dowry, half-cremated bodies, and gold & wood particles on a stone (all unrelated to each other). And best of all, we all made it in time for Australian Idol.

8 Nov 200