Hi. Google still hasn't restored my blogger access, so I'm going through the backdoor. There's not much to say -- I haven't been feeling well, so I laid low yesterday and took a very long walk to today to Patan. I'll post pictures as soon as my access is really back up. It looks like I'll be leaving Kathmandu tomorrow for a few days Let's keep our fingers crossed that there's decent internet access outside of the capitol.
And a big happy birthday to Mike! Barber, not Evans. I know it's not until the 1st, but this is just in case I can't access the internet for a few days.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
I found a way into my blog!
Hello everyone. Somehow after last night's post, I got locked out of this blog. I cannot log in to edit, nor can I log into my Google email that's associated with the account. I keep getting a locked out error. So, I selected a photo that I had uploaded to Flickr, selected the blog this button, and lo and behold, I can access this way. I have some messages into Google support, but my posts may be sketchy for a while. I'll write about this photo below, but first a quick update on the situation that I wrote about last night.
After logging off at the internet cafe last night, the man next to me asked about my photos of the protesters that he had seen and introduced himself as a journalist. He said that clashes between the Tibetans and the Chinese are pretty frequent, but never make the press here -- the Nepali are just too afraid of pissing off the Chinese government. He invited me to meet him and some other journalists today so that they can explain the situation to me and I think I'll go. In the meantime, my friend Beth (not Welliver) posted a good explanation in a comment on yesterday's post.
On to the photo. After doubling around to get by the demonstrators yesterday, I got a little lost and after some bad directions, ended up at the city bus station. There is no information desk there and all signs and writing on buses is in Nepali. There's not even a ticket window -- you pay cash on the bus. Usually tourists take "micro buses" (vans) out of another area. When I tried to ask a man to point me in the direction to walk to a certain temple, he took my arm, pulled me on a bus, said something to the driver and then hopped off as the bus started moving. There I was on a bus with no English speakers and no idea where I was going. Luckily, a college student boarded later and sat next to me. After circling the city, she got me off at the right stop and pointed me in the right direction. Experiences like these are all just part of the adventure, I guess.
I'm sorry that I don't have the name of this temple with me. It's Hindu in origin (but I'm finding that the Buddhist and Hindu religions here are greatly intertwined and somewhat meshed together here). What struck me most is that there's a house where people in their final days come to die. I guess it's sort of like a nursing home for folks at the bitter end. They also do cremations here for most Nepali in Kathmandu (unless you're a VIP or royalty, then you go somewhere else). I decided to take a seat and watch for a bit but ended up there for over an hour. I watched the workers build a stack of logs into a platform to place a body. I watched a body being carried in on a metal stretcher and placed on the platform. I watched a family say final prayers over their loved one and start the fire. And I saw the bodies burning. Each cremation takes several hours -- I just saw them each in different parts of the process and put the whole scenario together in my mind. I don't know why I was so fascinated, but I felt the need to sit there for quite some time.
Afterwards, I headed over to Bouddha. It's a very large Buddhist temple surrounded by many monastaries and businesses, mostly Tibetan. Because I had pissed off a guide at the previous temple by turning down his services, I got very bad directions. I ended up way off course and had to walk through some pretty big fields to get there. I had been told that Bouddha would be absolutely crowded with praying Tibetans, but it was nearly empty. Very few monks around and very few non tourists. I guess they were all at the Chinese embassy. Anyway, it was a beautiful place.
I'm laying a little low today and am meeting my guest house owner this afternoon to make my travel plans for the rest of my stay in Nepal. She's an incredibly helpful lady and has been very upfront in telling me about the political and economic problems here. I'll miss her while I travel around the country, but I'll be back for a couple of nights before I fly to Jordan.
After logging off at the internet cafe last night, the man next to me asked about my photos of the protesters that he had seen and introduced himself as a journalist. He said that clashes between the Tibetans and the Chinese are pretty frequent, but never make the press here -- the Nepali are just too afraid of pissing off the Chinese government. He invited me to meet him and some other journalists today so that they can explain the situation to me and I think I'll go. In the meantime, my friend Beth (not Welliver) posted a good explanation in a comment on yesterday's post.
On to the photo. After doubling around to get by the demonstrators yesterday, I got a little lost and after some bad directions, ended up at the city bus station. There is no information desk there and all signs and writing on buses is in Nepali. There's not even a ticket window -- you pay cash on the bus. Usually tourists take "micro buses" (vans) out of another area. When I tried to ask a man to point me in the direction to walk to a certain temple, he took my arm, pulled me on a bus, said something to the driver and then hopped off as the bus started moving. There I was on a bus with no English speakers and no idea where I was going. Luckily, a college student boarded later and sat next to me. After circling the city, she got me off at the right stop and pointed me in the right direction. Experiences like these are all just part of the adventure, I guess.
I'm sorry that I don't have the name of this temple with me. It's Hindu in origin (but I'm finding that the Buddhist and Hindu religions here are greatly intertwined and somewhat meshed together here). What struck me most is that there's a house where people in their final days come to die. I guess it's sort of like a nursing home for folks at the bitter end. They also do cremations here for most Nepali in Kathmandu (unless you're a VIP or royalty, then you go somewhere else). I decided to take a seat and watch for a bit but ended up there for over an hour. I watched the workers build a stack of logs into a platform to place a body. I watched a body being carried in on a metal stretcher and placed on the platform. I watched a family say final prayers over their loved one and start the fire. And I saw the bodies burning. Each cremation takes several hours -- I just saw them each in different parts of the process and put the whole scenario together in my mind. I don't know why I was so fascinated, but I felt the need to sit there for quite some time.
Afterwards, I headed over to Bouddha. It's a very large Buddhist temple surrounded by many monastaries and businesses, mostly Tibetan. Because I had pissed off a guide at the previous temple by turning down his services, I got very bad directions. I ended up way off course and had to walk through some pretty big fields to get there. I had been told that Bouddha would be absolutely crowded with praying Tibetans, but it was nearly empty. Very few monks around and very few non tourists. I guess they were all at the Chinese embassy. Anyway, it was a beautiful place.
I'm laying a little low today and am meeting my guest house owner this afternoon to make my travel plans for the rest of my stay in Nepal. She's an incredibly helpful lady and has been very upfront in telling me about the political and economic problems here. I'll miss her while I travel around the country, but I'll be back for a couple of nights before I fly to Jordan.
Violence in Kathmandu
This was written about 5 hours ago, just before a power outage. The power just came back on, but we have no new updates.
Today I set out across the city to visit a couple of temples, one Hindu and one Tibetan Buddhist. I'll write about them later, especially the cremations that I witnessed, but right now there's more important stuff.
I set off on foot to cross the city from west to east this morning after visiting an internet cafe. I wasn't hungry yet, so no need for food. Kathmandu is a little bit of a maze. Many streets are not marked and many are not on the maps that exist. But the first place I was visiting was exactly due east, so I figured I'd head in one direction and get there. It should take about 45 minutes, according to the folks at my guest house. As I got to one of the busy main roads through the city, traffic was stopped dead and there was no way to cross the street. There was a procession of people parading through the city. At the front was a band followed by some flag bearers. Then there was a truck with elderly men in the back who had a loud speaker and were talking in a language that I just can't understand. Then there were the women. Hundreds of women dressed in red saris walking with flowered pots on their heads chanting and singing. This procession was probably a kilometer long, so I got impatient and doubled back and crossed a pedestrian overcrossing to get over it. Once over, I came across the procession again, tried to find an alternate route and got lost. I eventually made it to my destination, but 2 hours later.
From there I had to go to the Buddhist temple, but a pissed off guide (mad because I didn't want him to accompany me through the temple) gave me very bad directions and I ended up adding 5 or 6 unecessary kilometers to my walk. By that time, I had a blister on one of my big toes and had no intention of walking back. After the second temple, I hired a taxi. I want to say that I was told that there'd be hundreds of Tibetan monks in that area, but I saw very few -- I soon found out why. What should have been a 20 minute cab ride took 1 hour and 40 minutes. Traffic was stopped dead everywhere. When the driver asked other taxis what was going on, no one knew -- we just knew it was everywhere in the city. At one point, a truck carrying soldiers came up with a siren screaming, a light flashing, and lots of guys in camo with very large guns. They were having trouble getting through as well, so the driver asked them what the deal was. We were told that there was serious fighting and some bloodshed at the Chinese embassy. The demonstrators I had seen that morning were Tibetans and they were heading to the embassy.
We weren't sure how bad things were until we got near Darbar Square. There was a makeshift blood donation center on the sidewalk just two blocks from the square. The cab driver told me that they only do that in emergencies. I still had not eaten, so I got out of the taxi and walked the rest of the way home. Even that was painstakingly slow -- pedestrian traffic was deadlocked. Nepali TV still has no coverage and so we have no idea how bad things are (the news is too busy with live coverage of the flooding down south -- what you see in India has now backed up into southern Nepal). My South African friend was heading to the Indian embassy to pick up his new visa, but he wanted me to eat and wait for him to return. I think we're going to donate blood and then walk and see what we can see. But I can honestly say that if those demonstrators were involved in the altercation, they were completely unarmed. They had nothing but flower pots, flags, signs and a megaphone.
If any of you hear anything, please email me or post a comment and let me know the score.
While I'm kind of on the subject of the Chinese, I'll fill you in on some things that I've learned here. Fact: the recently ousted king was ousted in part because he gave Chinese and Indian citizens the right to free unlimited visas in Nepal. In the last 6 months, Chinese have bought 5 hotels within a 5 minute walk of where I'm staying and have opened up 4 Chinese restaurants. The Chinese also walk the streets trying to give and sell flowers to Nepali people saying that they've come in friendship. The Nepali people have disbanded their monarchy and recently elected a parliament, president and prime minister. The problem? A majority of the newly elected officials are Maoist. The people are still hoping that the Chinese and Indian visa situation gets severely restricted. When I was told this I can't help but wonder if the Chinese are trying to annex Nepal the way it annexed Tibet, just in a much more peaceful way. I seriously hope not.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple)
So today I decided to climb some more stairs, not nearly as many as the Tiger Cave Temple in Thailand, but stairs nonetheless.
After waking up, watching Biden’s speech live (the vote was already over), and getting a visit from the local pharmacist who’s checking up on my cold, I headed out. I walked east, through Kathmandu neighborhoods hoping for the best. I found my way across the river and up toward the temple. At the bottom, there’s a large gateway flanked by prayer wheels and gold buddhas. There’s only 365 stairs and little gold shrines line the way. One the way up, you get your usual vendors hocking local goods, very few monkeys (I think I only saw 5) and a small calf.
At the top, I was a little surprised. There were very few tourists and many many people with offerings for the temples. Despite a slight wind, my eyes were burning from all of the incense and candles that had been lit. There were groups of people singing what sounded like hymns and many leaving trays of food. I was very surprised – I went up expecting a tourist trap and I saw almost nothing but very faithful people.
There are several temples at the top and a Buddhist “museum”. I went into several buildings, but didn’t take pictures because too many people were praying and I didn’t want the flash going off. The museum was nothing but an array of Buddhas and I was surprised that people were in there praying as well. It was really nice to see. There were spectacular views of Kathmandu and many prayer flags flying. I need to buy some of those before I leave.
I spent about an hour up there just watching everything that was going on. When I finally went down, I met a young Nepali boy who spoke English exceptionally well. We talked for a while and he asked if I’d give him money to buy a box of bisquits. I asked him why and he said that he wanted to hand it out to the poor people who were lining the stairs. Having come from India, I thought it was probably a scam of some sort, but he was so charming, I thought what the hell. I asked him if I could buy the box for him and he went for it. When we got to the bottom of the stairs, a man came up very quickly, put a bindi on my forehead and wanted money. I didn’t have small enough change so the boy told him that I’d be back. We crossed the street to a small café. I bought a little something for me, a juice for him, and the box of bisquits (basically crackers loaded with calcium). We talked for a while, he gave me his phone number at home and took my email address. I gave him 10 rupee to give the bindi man and he took off. I watched and sure enough, he paid the man the money and the man waved at me. Then I watched him go back up the stairs and hand out small stacks of the bisquits to the poor people until it was gone. What a good kid! And a good $1 spent. I’m sorry I kinda doubted him.
Afterwards, I wandered around town and got a little lost. I wandered for many Nepali neighborhoods and saw absolutely no westerners for about 45 minutes. No one even batted an eye – they would just smile at me and say “Namaste”. I love this place. Anyway, I ended up at a small man made lake with a temple in the middle. Saw a bazaar and kept walking in what I thought was the right general direction. I eventually found a street of stores for goods like Nikon, Citizen watches, etc. It was far more modern than what I had seen. Eventually, I made a right turn on a cobbled road hoping for the best. Then a man in a booth asked me for money. I asked for what and he said Durbar Square! I knew where I was. Luckily, I had paid yesterday and taken my ticket into a tourist office to get it extended for my entire stay. I got in for free and found my way back to the Happy Home Guest House (yes, that’s the name in case I hadn’t mentioned it before). It was all good fun.
The rest of the day has been lunch, exchanging money, and showing one of the boys who works here my photos from Thailand. He’s a Buddhist and was interested in seeing the temples there. Tomorrow, I’m going to explore some more areas of the city and start planning my trips out of Kathmandu after watching the convention. I’m 12 hours and 45 minutes ahead of you, so the convention is a very convenient thing to watch as I’m getting ready in the morning.
And to all of you cyclists out there, check out www.bikehimalayas.com. If I had only known, I would have brought some of my cycling gear. Perhaps we should do a Bella camp through this company …
Why do I love Nepal so Much?
There are so many reasons, but here are some:
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. The average annual income per capital is under $300 US. Yet as poor as they are, these people are so kind and welcoming. They all smile and greet you. Without exception. Everyone.
The place is clean with no visible garbage anywhere. The one time I saw a pile of garbage, I walked back by 30 minutes later and the pile was gone. It was only there for pickup. Sure, some streets aren't paved and therefore get muddy when it rains, but everything including bathrooms are clean. It wasn't that way in India.
I've had 3 different Nepali tell me that as poor as this country is, they take care of their own. They proudly explain how even the poorest person has shelter and is fed every day.
When a shop keeper asks you inside his/her store and you decline, they smile, say "namaste" (that means both hello and goodbye) and wish you a good day. They don't push and shove and get in your face. The one time a vendor got aggressive, an elderly Nepali man complete with cute little hat, ran up and yelled and waved his arms until the vendor went away. He then apologized to me and said that the man was Indian and that Nepali don't behave that way.
I have a head cold, so yesterday one of the workers at the guest house that I'm staying at walked me to a pharmacy. There was a chalkboard with the name of the doctor on duty. I'm not sure if I talked with a full-fleged doctor or a pharmacist, but he asked me all kinds of detailed questions, including where I had been the last couple of weeks and all about my symptoms. He rolled his eyes when I said that I had been in India and told me that it's very easy to get sick there. He pulled out one of those disposable thermometer strips and took my temperature. He then took a box of decongestants out and cut 12 pills away with scissors. Total cost? 35 Nepali rupee. It's currently 69.5 Nepali rupee to the dollar, so about 50 cents. On his way to the shop this morning, he stopped by the guest house to check on me and see how I was doing. My head is now clear and it's a bit in my chest and I have a cough. He had me come by to get some medication for the cough. How sweet is that?
Yesterday, I tipped a waiter 50 rupee for a 120 rupee lunch (and that's a splurge here). He chased me down on the street and told me that it was too much. We talked at length and he told me that I should never tip more than 10 rupee for a meal. That's like nothing. I didn't have a 10 rupee bill, but I talked him into 20 rupee, but he only agreed if he could share it with the cook and bus boy.
I met this very interesting South African at my guest house yesterday afternoon. He's been living in India for 6 months and came here to renew his visa. We started talking then went out for tea. After we went for a drink and then dinner. We talked for about 5 hours. Since I was sick, I decided to return to my room and go to sleep, but he wanted to stay and listed to a Nepali Bob Marley cover band. He offered to walk me back (the streets are very confusing here), but I said no. I walked down streets with everything closed up and a few Nepali men sitting on steps. Anywhere else I would have been a little afraid if not a lot afraid. Each man that I passed smiled, said Namaste and asked where I was heading. When I told them, they nodded and smiled and told me that I was going the right direction. Then they'd ask how long I was going to be in Nepal. When I said 18 days they'd smile and say "Good, we'll meet again then" and gave me a wave and another Namaste. It's just so completely safe here, even at 10:00 at night and deserted streets.
There's so much more, but those are some of my first day stories. I did visit the Monkey Temple this morning after watching Biden's speech (I'm 12 hours and 45 minutes ahead of all of you on the Pacific Coast). I've been walking around the city, but now I'm going to go back to my room, download the photos and burn them to CD and write something up. Oh yeah, and eat something. Until later ...
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. The average annual income per capital is under $300 US. Yet as poor as they are, these people are so kind and welcoming. They all smile and greet you. Without exception. Everyone.
The place is clean with no visible garbage anywhere. The one time I saw a pile of garbage, I walked back by 30 minutes later and the pile was gone. It was only there for pickup. Sure, some streets aren't paved and therefore get muddy when it rains, but everything including bathrooms are clean. It wasn't that way in India.
I've had 3 different Nepali tell me that as poor as this country is, they take care of their own. They proudly explain how even the poorest person has shelter and is fed every day.
When a shop keeper asks you inside his/her store and you decline, they smile, say "namaste" (that means both hello and goodbye) and wish you a good day. They don't push and shove and get in your face. The one time a vendor got aggressive, an elderly Nepali man complete with cute little hat, ran up and yelled and waved his arms until the vendor went away. He then apologized to me and said that the man was Indian and that Nepali don't behave that way.
I have a head cold, so yesterday one of the workers at the guest house that I'm staying at walked me to a pharmacy. There was a chalkboard with the name of the doctor on duty. I'm not sure if I talked with a full-fleged doctor or a pharmacist, but he asked me all kinds of detailed questions, including where I had been the last couple of weeks and all about my symptoms. He rolled his eyes when I said that I had been in India and told me that it's very easy to get sick there. He pulled out one of those disposable thermometer strips and took my temperature. He then took a box of decongestants out and cut 12 pills away with scissors. Total cost? 35 Nepali rupee. It's currently 69.5 Nepali rupee to the dollar, so about 50 cents. On his way to the shop this morning, he stopped by the guest house to check on me and see how I was doing. My head is now clear and it's a bit in my chest and I have a cough. He had me come by to get some medication for the cough. How sweet is that?
Yesterday, I tipped a waiter 50 rupee for a 120 rupee lunch (and that's a splurge here). He chased me down on the street and told me that it was too much. We talked at length and he told me that I should never tip more than 10 rupee for a meal. That's like nothing. I didn't have a 10 rupee bill, but I talked him into 20 rupee, but he only agreed if he could share it with the cook and bus boy.
I met this very interesting South African at my guest house yesterday afternoon. He's been living in India for 6 months and came here to renew his visa. We started talking then went out for tea. After we went for a drink and then dinner. We talked for about 5 hours. Since I was sick, I decided to return to my room and go to sleep, but he wanted to stay and listed to a Nepali Bob Marley cover band. He offered to walk me back (the streets are very confusing here), but I said no. I walked down streets with everything closed up and a few Nepali men sitting on steps. Anywhere else I would have been a little afraid if not a lot afraid. Each man that I passed smiled, said Namaste and asked where I was heading. When I told them, they nodded and smiled and told me that I was going the right direction. Then they'd ask how long I was going to be in Nepal. When I said 18 days they'd smile and say "Good, we'll meet again then" and gave me a wave and another Namaste. It's just so completely safe here, even at 10:00 at night and deserted streets.
There's so much more, but those are some of my first day stories. I did visit the Monkey Temple this morning after watching Biden's speech (I'm 12 hours and 45 minutes ahead of all of you on the Pacific Coast). I've been walking around the city, but now I'm going to go back to my room, download the photos and burn them to CD and write something up. Oh yeah, and eat something. Until later ...
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Top of the World
So today was my day to do the Everest flight. Apparently the weather has been so bad that they haven't had any mountain flights get off the ground in several days and the weather forecast wasn't good for later in the week. I decided to take my chances.
The taxi picked me up at 5:30am and took me back to Tribhuvan International Airport. The domestic flight part of the airport was still locked up, so we had to wait 20 minutes for some guy to come and remove the padlock to the front door. Once inside, I paid my airport tax (about $2) and got my boarding pass. Eventually, we boarded a shuttle which took us out on the tarmac to our plane. We sat and waited until the pilot came out and gave the thumbs up -- apparently the cloud cover had left the mountain tops and we'd have a view. We quickly boarded, took off and hoped for the best. We'd missed sunrise, but at least we got a clearing in the weather.
The plane itself has 12 rows, with 1 seat on each side so that everyone gets a window. They go up and fly alongside the Himalayas heading east toward Everest, turn and come back. The folks on the left side of the plane got the view going, and my side got it coming back. As we approached the mountains, the flight attendant told me that I was welcome to go up to the cockpit and look out the front of the plane. Jackpot!!! I love that stuff. While up there, the co-pilot pointed out all the mountains, told me their names, and then pointed at Everest. We were just about at eye level with the summit, but still pretty far away. I went back to my seat to let someone else get a chance up front. Eventually, we made the turn and there it was -- the tallest mountain in the world. Right outside my window. We were only allowed to go about 10 miles from the summit, but it's such a big mountain that it was pretty spectacular anyway. They all were. The Himalayas are pretty fantastic. I wish I could describe them and do them justice. I can't wait for the weather to clear so that I can see them from Kathmandu.
As we got off the plane, we were each handed a certificate from Buddha Airlines for us to put our name and the date on. It has a wonderful picture of the mountain and reads "I did not climb Mt. Everest, but touched it with my heart!". All together now: aaawww!
By the way, the Nepali name for Everest is Chumolungma. How did it get named Everest? I'm glad you asked. Some British dude back in the 1800's came and surveyed these mountains. He worked for some official British surveying office. When he realized that he'd surveyed the highest mountain in the world, he named it after the guy who was head of the British surveying agency. Talk about some serious ass kissing.
I got back just in time to watch Hillary's speech live. We don't get CNN or BBC here, but we get PBS. Jim Lehrer! Nice.
It's a drizzly day and pretty gray. I think the travel has caught up with me 'cause I got me a head cold. I'm going to lay low, maybe meander around, but basically take it easy. And find a way to upload photos in this town. And start using the new camera. Cheers!
Kathmandu is the Best!
So I arrived in Kathmandu and after a confusing time getting my visa (it wasn't clear which of 3 counters you go to in what order), I went over to the accommodations desk. They took me to this guest house in the heart of the city. The room is large, very plain, but exceptionally clean. It's all brand new. I have TV, but no AC. That doesn't matter because it's actually pretty nice here and it cools way down at night. Cost? $10/night. Seriously. The place is run by this wonderful Napali woman who is the nicest person ever. She walked me around the hood and introduced me around and dropped me off here at an internet cafe so that I could write to you all. Don't be expecting much for pictures, though. I haven't found a place to plug my laptop in and so far, all the computers (running Windows 2000 mind you) have floppy drives and no CDROM drives, so I can't burn a CD and upload photos. I'll keep working on that.
Everyone here smiles and is friendly. A rickshaw driver asked if I wanted a ride and when I said no, that I'd like to walk, he smiled and said that walking is good. What a contrast from India! I feel completely safe here and completely love the atmosphere. I can't wait to explore tomorrow after I get back from the airport.
Oh yeah -- why am I going to the airport? I'm splurging. The owner of my guest house helped me get signed up for a short sunrise flight over the Himalayas tomorrow morning. I have to get up early, but I should be able to see the sunrise over Everest and 30 other mountains. How cool is that?
I'll do my best find a way to upload photos for you all. Just know that for the first time since leaving Thailand, I'm feeling calm and at peace. And completely safe. And no one has asked me why I'm not married and a mother (I was asked that by EVERYONE I spoke to in India). I can't stop smiling.
Everyone here smiles and is friendly. A rickshaw driver asked if I wanted a ride and when I said no, that I'd like to walk, he smiled and said that walking is good. What a contrast from India! I feel completely safe here and completely love the atmosphere. I can't wait to explore tomorrow after I get back from the airport.
Oh yeah -- why am I going to the airport? I'm splurging. The owner of my guest house helped me get signed up for a short sunrise flight over the Himalayas tomorrow morning. I have to get up early, but I should be able to see the sunrise over Everest and 30 other mountains. How cool is that?
I'll do my best find a way to upload photos for you all. Just know that for the first time since leaving Thailand, I'm feeling calm and at peace. And completely safe. And no one has asked me why I'm not married and a mother (I was asked that by EVERYONE I spoke to in India). I can't stop smiling.
Monday, August 25, 2008
I'm at the Airport!
Today is a good day. After yesterday's fiasco with the camera (it did arrive and works great) I was ready to leave. I was truly worried about a cab ride to the airport. Delhi traffic is insane and if the driver was late, all bets were off. After not sleeping much last night (the same thing happened my last night in Thailand), I got up, took a shower and packed everything up. Lucky for me, BBC International is covering the entire Democratic National Convention, so I got to watch Michelle Obama's speech in full. She was good. Damned good.
Anyway, I went to the lobby to check out and sat waiting for my taxi and was pretty nervous. But who should walk up? Anand!!!! I breathed a deep sigh of relief and then jumped up and down clapping and smiling like a little girl. I knew everything would be OK and now I'd get one last ride with my friend.
He, as always, was amazing. Everytime we ran into traffic that was stopped dead, he turned the car around and drove us through neighborhoods, over sidewalks -- whatever it took. We arrived majorly early. It was so sad saying goodbye again. We've already been through this twice, not realizing that we'd see each other again. This time we knew it was it. As I was walking along the walkway toward the entrance, he drove along side me very slowly, waving as much as he could. I have to say, I was fighting back the tears. I'm so glad he asked to drive me this morning, eventhough it was his day off.
So I'm off to Kathmandu. I've been told by many travelers that it's so much easier than India -- much more like Thailand. I'm there until 9/13, so I can relax and recover. India was very difficult.
A few things to note: except for Delhi and Agra, I spent all of my time in Rajasthan. It is the poorest state in India. It has the lowest literacy rate and the lowest average income throughout this country of more than a billion people. Because of that, I saw some heartbreaking poverty. I've been in Central America, through some poor areas of Mexico and Belize. I've been in Eastern Europe just after the fall of communism. I thought I'd seen some pretty poor conditions, but this was worse. But don't get me wrong, Rajisthan is beautiful. Probably because the people are less educated, little changes. I only saw 4 Indian women in western clothes the entire time -- and they were tourists from other parts of India. (I'm not counting the security guard at the Taj Majal -- she was in uniform and was there to frisk the women who set off the metal detector.) The images we imagine of women walking in beautiful saris with pots on their heads is real. I saw it so many times a day that I couldn't even begin to count. Same with horse, donkey, buffalo, cow, camel and elephant pulled carts. And bad traffic. And men in turbans. I also saw thousands of people so devoted to their religion that they'd walk for days, some barefoot and some through the desert, to worship. I was offered food and tea so many times by people who I didn't even know and I spent the afternoon with Ranjee's family. There's many wonderful things about this country.
And speaking of Ranjee, there's something that I didn't write about before. I didn't want Mike to worry. Not Evans, Barber. While I spent two nights in towns less than 100km from the Pakistani border, Jaipur was really the dangerous spot. There was a bombing in the City Palace complex in May. This is the place with the stone observatory that Ranjee took me through. Ranjee was injured in the blast. He had some major injuries to his right leg and spent some time in the hospital. The blast was detonated by a cell phone, so in some places I was not allowed to take any electronics in with me. That included cameras, so there's some cool places I saw that I can't share with you. That's also why it took nearly an hour to get through the security line at the Taj Majal -- they had to thoroughly check each camera.
Knowing what I know now, I would have done India completely different. I'd not go alone, I would stay the hell out of Delhi, and I would call Anand and book him before ever getting to the country. I do have his cell number and he said that if any of my friends want to visit, I'm to call him directly and he will take care of you from beginning to end. The Taj, Jaipur and Jodhpur were my favorite places and I wish I had spent more time there.
So much for sentimentality, I'm off for new adventures. The Himalayas await.
Anyway, I went to the lobby to check out and sat waiting for my taxi and was pretty nervous. But who should walk up? Anand!!!! I breathed a deep sigh of relief and then jumped up and down clapping and smiling like a little girl. I knew everything would be OK and now I'd get one last ride with my friend.
He, as always, was amazing. Everytime we ran into traffic that was stopped dead, he turned the car around and drove us through neighborhoods, over sidewalks -- whatever it took. We arrived majorly early. It was so sad saying goodbye again. We've already been through this twice, not realizing that we'd see each other again. This time we knew it was it. As I was walking along the walkway toward the entrance, he drove along side me very slowly, waving as much as he could. I have to say, I was fighting back the tears. I'm so glad he asked to drive me this morning, eventhough it was his day off.
So I'm off to Kathmandu. I've been told by many travelers that it's so much easier than India -- much more like Thailand. I'm there until 9/13, so I can relax and recover. India was very difficult.
A few things to note: except for Delhi and Agra, I spent all of my time in Rajasthan. It is the poorest state in India. It has the lowest literacy rate and the lowest average income throughout this country of more than a billion people. Because of that, I saw some heartbreaking poverty. I've been in Central America, through some poor areas of Mexico and Belize. I've been in Eastern Europe just after the fall of communism. I thought I'd seen some pretty poor conditions, but this was worse. But don't get me wrong, Rajisthan is beautiful. Probably because the people are less educated, little changes. I only saw 4 Indian women in western clothes the entire time -- and they were tourists from other parts of India. (I'm not counting the security guard at the Taj Majal -- she was in uniform and was there to frisk the women who set off the metal detector.) The images we imagine of women walking in beautiful saris with pots on their heads is real. I saw it so many times a day that I couldn't even begin to count. Same with horse, donkey, buffalo, cow, camel and elephant pulled carts. And bad traffic. And men in turbans. I also saw thousands of people so devoted to their religion that they'd walk for days, some barefoot and some through the desert, to worship. I was offered food and tea so many times by people who I didn't even know and I spent the afternoon with Ranjee's family. There's many wonderful things about this country.
And speaking of Ranjee, there's something that I didn't write about before. I didn't want Mike to worry. Not Evans, Barber. While I spent two nights in towns less than 100km from the Pakistani border, Jaipur was really the dangerous spot. There was a bombing in the City Palace complex in May. This is the place with the stone observatory that Ranjee took me through. Ranjee was injured in the blast. He had some major injuries to his right leg and spent some time in the hospital. The blast was detonated by a cell phone, so in some places I was not allowed to take any electronics in with me. That included cameras, so there's some cool places I saw that I can't share with you. That's also why it took nearly an hour to get through the security line at the Taj Majal -- they had to thoroughly check each camera.
Knowing what I know now, I would have done India completely different. I'd not go alone, I would stay the hell out of Delhi, and I would call Anand and book him before ever getting to the country. I do have his cell number and he said that if any of my friends want to visit, I'm to call him directly and he will take care of you from beginning to end. The Taj, Jaipur and Jodhpur were my favorite places and I wish I had spent more time there.
So much for sentimentality, I'm off for new adventures. The Himalayas await.
Last Day in India
Well, like most, today has been a struggle. My whole intent for today was to buy a camera for Africa, mail some stuff home, and repack my bags for the plane tomorrow. Well, Anand's boss had told me to be ready at 10:30. At 9:00, he was knocking on my hotel room door ready for me to leave. Crap. I dressed quickly (no shower) and grabbed my stuff. We walk out front and there's his motorcycle and I'm expected to ride on the back. No helmets for either of us and did I tell you that the traffic here is INSANE? Normally, I love to ride on a motorcycle, but in Delhi? Well, I got on and away we went. Luckily, he was just taking me to his office to catch my taxi for the day. It was a very short ride mostly on alleys, though potholes and rickshaws were a problem.
The driver (a new guy -- Anand finally got a day off) took me to the place where all the camera stores were, but none were open. So off to the post office we went. It took me 1.5 hours to get the package paid for and off to the US. Why? Because the old man that was putting everything in boxes and wrapping them took his sweet time. He kept leaving to get tea, chatting with people, and running in back telling folks that I was out there. A crowd of men gathered to stand and stare at me while I waited in the chair. I finally got upset, ran up to a window, explained that I was in a hurry and the guy did his job. Nice.
We then went through several camera shops, but since I'm American, no one would show me anything that cost less than $2K US. I finally gave up and had the driver take me back to the office to see Sateesh (Anand's boss). He wasn't there. The driver left at my insistance and I asked for directions back to the hotel (it's only about a 5 minute walk). But they wouldn't give them to me. Instead, one of Sateesh's coworkers "had a friend" who he called about the camera. I had a Sony catalog by that time and knew what I wanted. They quoted me a price and the coworker and I took a bicycle rickshaw to the store. We talked, I paid, and go back to the store at 4:30 to test and pick up the camera. Don't worry -- I have a big receipt and can cancel the credit card transaction if something goes wrong. In the meantime, I needed to go back to Connaught Place to buy an adaptor so that I can plug the battery charger in in the US. I called Sateesh about a driver, he sent the morning's guy, but apparently chewed him out for leaving. So now I'm in the dog house with him. I've tried calling Sateesh twice to tell him that it wasn't the driver's fault, but he's not answering his cell phone.
In the meantime, I've had no shower nor food all day. It's after 3:00. I'd be at my hotel, but the power's out, so I'm down the street on the internet. Soon I go back, shower, pack, go get the camera and collapse until tomorrow. At 9:00am, a driver is coming to take me to the airport. I've been told that Nepal is easy to travel in -- just like Thailand. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
And Sabine and Beth W. -- I got a Sony alpha 200 package with 2 lenses. One is the 18-70mm that comes standard with the model and the other a 75-300mm. The whole thing's just under $800.
The driver (a new guy -- Anand finally got a day off) took me to the place where all the camera stores were, but none were open. So off to the post office we went. It took me 1.5 hours to get the package paid for and off to the US. Why? Because the old man that was putting everything in boxes and wrapping them took his sweet time. He kept leaving to get tea, chatting with people, and running in back telling folks that I was out there. A crowd of men gathered to stand and stare at me while I waited in the chair. I finally got upset, ran up to a window, explained that I was in a hurry and the guy did his job. Nice.
We then went through several camera shops, but since I'm American, no one would show me anything that cost less than $2K US. I finally gave up and had the driver take me back to the office to see Sateesh (Anand's boss). He wasn't there. The driver left at my insistance and I asked for directions back to the hotel (it's only about a 5 minute walk). But they wouldn't give them to me. Instead, one of Sateesh's coworkers "had a friend" who he called about the camera. I had a Sony catalog by that time and knew what I wanted. They quoted me a price and the coworker and I took a bicycle rickshaw to the store. We talked, I paid, and go back to the store at 4:30 to test and pick up the camera. Don't worry -- I have a big receipt and can cancel the credit card transaction if something goes wrong. In the meantime, I needed to go back to Connaught Place to buy an adaptor so that I can plug the battery charger in in the US. I called Sateesh about a driver, he sent the morning's guy, but apparently chewed him out for leaving. So now I'm in the dog house with him. I've tried calling Sateesh twice to tell him that it wasn't the driver's fault, but he's not answering his cell phone.
In the meantime, I've had no shower nor food all day. It's after 3:00. I'd be at my hotel, but the power's out, so I'm down the street on the internet. Soon I go back, shower, pack, go get the camera and collapse until tomorrow. At 9:00am, a driver is coming to take me to the airport. I've been told that Nepal is easy to travel in -- just like Thailand. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
And Sabine and Beth W. -- I got a Sony alpha 200 package with 2 lenses. One is the 18-70mm that comes standard with the model and the other a 75-300mm. The whole thing's just under $800.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Delhi
Sorry for the lack of update yesterday, but it was a bit of a horrible day. It did start out on a good note though – when we were loading the car in Bikaner, I looked across the street and saw the sign at the entry to the velodrome. It read “Ganga Golden Jubilee Club”. Seriously. Gotta love that. Oh, and I've managed to catch up with the photo uploads.
Anyway, we hit the road to Delhi. We were cruising along pretty well across the desert when the road went to one lane. That’s OK – traffic was light, so we’d just have to share it with oncoming cars. After about 3 hours, we hit a giant snag. There was a major traffic jam. Nothing was moving and we were told by folks going the other way that it went on for about 4 km. What was causing the jam? A temple. There were about 400 buses of folks going to and leaving the temple. Buses were either breaking down or being parked on the only lane and no one could get around. It was so bad that police were called in from some place or other. Of course, they just stood around laughing while we all tried to sort it out. It was so hot that many people abandoned their cars and buses, which made things worse. And in the middle of the mess, our car’s engine fan died. Yup, we had to turn off the AC. And, since the car was sitting in the hot sun, we were in an oven. I tried to get out, since it was much cooler outside, but I got accosted by kids jumping all over me trying to steal things out of my pockets. In fact, Anand heard a father tell his son to say hello and then take my bag. How nice. Did I mention this was at a temple? It took 2 hours to go 4 km, but we eventually made it out.
The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, but hot since we had no AC. We did manage to keep the engine temperature down though and make it back to Delhi. When we got to Delhi, we came across a closed road, so Anand took a short cut. I said, “Oh look – it’s a mosque” and before Anand could respond, the car got attacked. There was a Muslim guy at Anand’s window pounding away, yelling, and pointing at me. On my side, there was a Muslim woman dressed head to toe in black screaming and pointing at me. She kept pointing to her shirt sleeve. I was wearing khaki pants and a short sleeved t-shirt and was about as covered as most Indian women, but apparently not enough for these people’s taste. And others joined them, lucky us. Finally, the vehicle in front of us moved and Anand got us out of there leaving those people in our wake.
Next we stopped to call Anand’s boss. Anand’s cell phone had died on the way to Jaisalmer, so we couldn’t call ahead. While Anand was making the call, some guy tried to open the car door and grab me. I got the door closed and locked pretty quickly and Anand ran out and scared them away. The boss said to take me Hotel Doda which was just a few blocks away. I was so not happy to be staying in this neighborhood and really didn’t want to be left there. But it was late and Anand had been looking forward to seeing his family after 10 days with me. I couldn’t make too much of a fuss. We said our goodbyes in the lobby – Anand would be taking the next few days off – and I almost cried. But I only had 3 nights left in India and then I’d be in peaceful Nepal.
It got worse. The room was a nightmare. It was OK, except for the fact that there was water damage on the ceiling outside the bathroom and down the wall. It not only hadn’t been repaired, but it had mold all over it. I’m highly allergic to mold. I went downstairs to ask for a different room, but no one really spoke English. I was so tired that I decided to take some benedryl and ride it out for one night. I went to my room, ordered food, and then it all started: many, many knocks on my door. The guys wouldn’t leave me alone. First there was someone who put new wet sheets on my bed. Then someone who brought the towel. Then 3 guys to bring me dinner (it was one plate and a bottle of water). Then someone else to bring other sheets (and put them on over the wet ones). He brought 4 friends to help. Then there were the 2 guys who came by to make sure that I didn’t need anything. Oh, and after I was asleep with the lights out, another guy to see if I needed anything. If I wasn’t so tired, I probably would have cried.
So this morning, I called the boss man (the man who signed me up on this hotel/driver combo pack). I said that I needed a different room and a driver. He came over to the hotel and asked me to come with him (and the hotel manager promised to move my things to a different room). Next thing you know, I’m at the house that he shares with his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. They fed me and talked with me at length. Then he walked me to meet my driver. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see Anand! But I felt bad, this was going to be his first day off in two weeks and he really was looking forward to spending time with his family.
Since it was Sunday, the camera stores and post office branches were closed. I’m saving all of that for tomorrow. So today, he took me to the Indira Ghandi museum (which is in the house where she lived and was assassinated). There’s also a bit dedicated to her son Rajiv Nehru who was killed by a bomb in ’92. Lots of photos, personal belongings, etc. The creepy thing was that the clothes she was wearing when she was shot and the clothes Rajiv was wearing when he was blown up are on display. But I’m really glad I went .
We moved on to the house where Mahatma Ghandi lived in during his final days and where he was shot. Again, lots of stuff to see and read. After, we went to Raj Ghat, the place where he was cremated. There’s a beautiful black marble slab and an eternal flame there. There’s only two words on it: “Oh God”, which is what he said when he was hit by the bullets.
On the way, though, we had to stop at the Lotus Temple, because the boss man was insistent. I saw the enormous line to get in, took a picture to keep Anand out of trouble, and got the hell out.
I have a new, freshly painted room. Much better and I’m going to the internet café around the corner to post this. Tomorrow I buy a camera for Africa, send some stuff I no longer need home (saris and Rajasthani dress, etc.) and repack and just rest. 48 hours from now, I should be at my hotel in Kathmandu and I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to it!
Anyway, we hit the road to Delhi. We were cruising along pretty well across the desert when the road went to one lane. That’s OK – traffic was light, so we’d just have to share it with oncoming cars. After about 3 hours, we hit a giant snag. There was a major traffic jam. Nothing was moving and we were told by folks going the other way that it went on for about 4 km. What was causing the jam? A temple. There were about 400 buses of folks going to and leaving the temple. Buses were either breaking down or being parked on the only lane and no one could get around. It was so bad that police were called in from some place or other. Of course, they just stood around laughing while we all tried to sort it out. It was so hot that many people abandoned their cars and buses, which made things worse. And in the middle of the mess, our car’s engine fan died. Yup, we had to turn off the AC. And, since the car was sitting in the hot sun, we were in an oven. I tried to get out, since it was much cooler outside, but I got accosted by kids jumping all over me trying to steal things out of my pockets. In fact, Anand heard a father tell his son to say hello and then take my bag. How nice. Did I mention this was at a temple? It took 2 hours to go 4 km, but we eventually made it out.
The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, but hot since we had no AC. We did manage to keep the engine temperature down though and make it back to Delhi. When we got to Delhi, we came across a closed road, so Anand took a short cut. I said, “Oh look – it’s a mosque” and before Anand could respond, the car got attacked. There was a Muslim guy at Anand’s window pounding away, yelling, and pointing at me. On my side, there was a Muslim woman dressed head to toe in black screaming and pointing at me. She kept pointing to her shirt sleeve. I was wearing khaki pants and a short sleeved t-shirt and was about as covered as most Indian women, but apparently not enough for these people’s taste. And others joined them, lucky us. Finally, the vehicle in front of us moved and Anand got us out of there leaving those people in our wake.
Next we stopped to call Anand’s boss. Anand’s cell phone had died on the way to Jaisalmer, so we couldn’t call ahead. While Anand was making the call, some guy tried to open the car door and grab me. I got the door closed and locked pretty quickly and Anand ran out and scared them away. The boss said to take me Hotel Doda which was just a few blocks away. I was so not happy to be staying in this neighborhood and really didn’t want to be left there. But it was late and Anand had been looking forward to seeing his family after 10 days with me. I couldn’t make too much of a fuss. We said our goodbyes in the lobby – Anand would be taking the next few days off – and I almost cried. But I only had 3 nights left in India and then I’d be in peaceful Nepal.
It got worse. The room was a nightmare. It was OK, except for the fact that there was water damage on the ceiling outside the bathroom and down the wall. It not only hadn’t been repaired, but it had mold all over it. I’m highly allergic to mold. I went downstairs to ask for a different room, but no one really spoke English. I was so tired that I decided to take some benedryl and ride it out for one night. I went to my room, ordered food, and then it all started: many, many knocks on my door. The guys wouldn’t leave me alone. First there was someone who put new wet sheets on my bed. Then someone who brought the towel. Then 3 guys to bring me dinner (it was one plate and a bottle of water). Then someone else to bring other sheets (and put them on over the wet ones). He brought 4 friends to help. Then there were the 2 guys who came by to make sure that I didn’t need anything. Oh, and after I was asleep with the lights out, another guy to see if I needed anything. If I wasn’t so tired, I probably would have cried.
So this morning, I called the boss man (the man who signed me up on this hotel/driver combo pack). I said that I needed a different room and a driver. He came over to the hotel and asked me to come with him (and the hotel manager promised to move my things to a different room). Next thing you know, I’m at the house that he shares with his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. They fed me and talked with me at length. Then he walked me to meet my driver. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see Anand! But I felt bad, this was going to be his first day off in two weeks and he really was looking forward to spending time with his family.
Since it was Sunday, the camera stores and post office branches were closed. I’m saving all of that for tomorrow. So today, he took me to the Indira Ghandi museum (which is in the house where she lived and was assassinated). There’s also a bit dedicated to her son Rajiv Nehru who was killed by a bomb in ’92. Lots of photos, personal belongings, etc. The creepy thing was that the clothes she was wearing when she was shot and the clothes Rajiv was wearing when he was blown up are on display. But I’m really glad I went .
We moved on to the house where Mahatma Ghandi lived in during his final days and where he was shot. Again, lots of stuff to see and read. After, we went to Raj Ghat, the place where he was cremated. There’s a beautiful black marble slab and an eternal flame there. There’s only two words on it: “Oh God”, which is what he said when he was hit by the bullets.
On the way, though, we had to stop at the Lotus Temple, because the boss man was insistent. I saw the enormous line to get in, took a picture to keep Anand out of trouble, and got the hell out.
I have a new, freshly painted room. Much better and I’m going to the internet café around the corner to post this. Tomorrow I buy a camera for Africa, send some stuff I no longer need home (saris and Rajasthani dress, etc.) and repack and just rest. 48 hours from now, I should be at my hotel in Kathmandu and I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to it!
Friday, August 22, 2008
I couldn't believe my eyes!
So today we arrived in Bikaner. It's a city on the edge of the Thar Desert and is a stopping place for us on the way back to Delhi. Both Anand and I were exhausted, so he went to take a nap in his room while I decided to go down the street to the internet cafe to post my belated entry. When I was done, I crashed in my room for a few hours.
So just before sunset I woke up and decided to go to the rooftop restaurant at the hotel (since everything in India has flat roofs, every hotel has a rooftop restaurant) to eat and watch the sunset. So I get up there, order, and take a look around. There's the Fort (you know there has to be one) to the left, houses in front of me and to the right is a field with kids playing cricket. Then I look behind and see more houses and suddenly did a "Oh no they didn't!".
I turned back toward the kids and couldn't believe my eyes. There were two cricket games going on on some grass that was surrounded by an oval track. And the track was banked. And there was an apron and the sprinters line and the stayers line and two people on bicycles riding around. Holy shit, it's a velodrome! I got all excited and told the waiter that I ride on a velodrome in the US. He said, "this is a local velodrome only". Whatever.
But how cool is that? Besides the cyclists (on big clunky cruiser type bikes, not track bikes), there was a guy on a scooter cruising around and two women in saris doing laps around the apron. Oh, and two different cricket games in the infield.
By the time my food came and I ate, it was completely dark. I walked over to have a look, but felt the need to turn back rather quickly. The entrance was across the street from a mosque and the call to prayer was happening. Needless to say, the guys were looking at me kind of strangely.
So, now I'm back at the internet cafe for a few and will go and get some sleep. I'm so sorry I can't be there with you tonight, but at least I saw a track today. Hello to everyone!
So just before sunset I woke up and decided to go to the rooftop restaurant at the hotel (since everything in India has flat roofs, every hotel has a rooftop restaurant) to eat and watch the sunset. So I get up there, order, and take a look around. There's the Fort (you know there has to be one) to the left, houses in front of me and to the right is a field with kids playing cricket. Then I look behind and see more houses and suddenly did a "Oh no they didn't!".
I turned back toward the kids and couldn't believe my eyes. There were two cricket games going on on some grass that was surrounded by an oval track. And the track was banked. And there was an apron and the sprinters line and the stayers line and two people on bicycles riding around. Holy shit, it's a velodrome! I got all excited and told the waiter that I ride on a velodrome in the US. He said, "this is a local velodrome only". Whatever.
But how cool is that? Besides the cyclists (on big clunky cruiser type bikes, not track bikes), there was a guy on a scooter cruising around and two women in saris doing laps around the apron. Oh, and two different cricket games in the infield.
By the time my food came and I ate, it was completely dark. I walked over to have a look, but felt the need to turn back rather quickly. The entrance was across the street from a mosque and the call to prayer was happening. Needless to say, the guys were looking at me kind of strangely.
So, now I'm back at the internet cafe for a few and will go and get some sleep. I'm so sorry I can't be there with you tonight, but at least I saw a track today. Hello to everyone!
Jodhpur to Jaisalmer and on to Bikamer
Sorry for the lack of updates, but internet access is not good out here in the desert. This area is just starting to get hotels, etc. for tourists and internet cafes are pretty poor. I did find one in Jaisalmer, but they didn’t know how to connect their own computer up! Unfortunately, the network's too slow to upload photos, so I'll do it when I get to Delhi. So onto two days of updates.
Besides Jaipur, Jodhpur is my favorite place in India. The Majaraja and his family have done an amazing job of bringing industry and income into the area. It’s probably that I was just in the better areas, but I saw little poverty and a lot of parks, atheletic facilities, nicer cars and generally happier people. I was very sad to leave – I would love to have spent more time there.
So this morning we checked out of the hotel and I visited the a memorial to one of the Maharajas and the Fort in Jodhpur. It was absolutely beautiful and the view was stunning. From up there you could see why they call Jodhpur the blue city. The museums inside were stunning and the people were very interesting. I’ve posted many pictures of the fort on flicr, so have a look. There is a temple at the back of the fort that was the destination for many pilgrims. There was a rest stop set up for them just outside the gates and they came walking in waving their flags happy that they were almost at their destination.
Afterwards, Anand and I took off for Jaisalmer. We had to drive nearly 4 hours out into the Thar Desert to get there. Now when I think of desert, I think of sand dunes and not much else. This desert is very different. Much of is flat and there is some vegetation and a few trees around. But the only reason that there’s any green (and this is true of all of Rajisthan) is that we’re near the end of monsoon season. Within a month, everything will be dead and brown. Ranjee had told me that this is also true of Jaipur and that I am lucky to have come at this time when everything is in bloom.
We again passed many pilgrims – not nearly as many as yesterday, but definitely a few hundred. There was a point in the journey when the road and gutters were filled with sandals and shoes. Apparently, many shed their shoes as they march across the desert to show even greater sacrifice and devotion. I can’t imagine walking barefoot in this heat! I deleted many of yesterday’s pilgrim photos because they were “dri ve bys” and thus blurry. After, I realized that I hardly had any photos left. Today I took a lot and will post anything that looks remotely usable.
As we approached Jaisalmer, we saw many windmills and eventually the buildings. The fort looms over the town (of course you knew there had to be a fort), but it all looks so different here. Everything is made of sandstone and I’ve seen very little marble. Such a difference! We checked into the hotel, went for lunch (I finally persuaded Anand to have lunch with me) and went into the old city. We quickly found a havalli, which is an open air mansion with amazing detail in the architecture. They have a few open to the public and I went inside the biggest. The inside was immaculately preserved and I have photos of each of the main rooms of the home as well as a turban room and some others. We walked through the market (another instance of having to say no 30 times to each person) and then visited the lake in town.
I spent the evening talking with the hotel manager. He had many questions about life in the US. Everytime I mentioned that I needed to go to sleep, he’d say “just one more question”. I was up late and was yawning this morning when Anand came down to the lobby. They kept him up until after 1, so we were both pretty tired today.
I took a quick look at the Fort before we left. Unfortunately, it’s a little ghetto city up there with nothing much else, so I got accosted by nearly everyone trying to sell me something. I found one place with a view of the city, took a couple of pictures and then ran for the car. We then drove 5.5 hours through the desert to Bikamer. We’ve just arrived and I’ve eaten.
After posting this, I’m going to sleep for a while. I really just want to relax before tomorrow. We have a 9 hour drive back to Delhi – UGH! I’m not sure if the UGH is referring to the drive or to Delhi itself. Probably Delhi itself. Anand gets to see his family and I have a day or so to buy a camera for Africa and see the place where Ghandi was cremated. Let’s hope I make it out of that city in one piece!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The Road to Jodhpur
This morning at 9:00am we left Udaipur for Jodhpur. I thought “250 km, not bad”. Little did I know that the first half of the journey wound through the mountains, often on single laned road with no pavement. It was slow at best. And then there were the pilgrms. They were marching either to the Zen Temple, which we stopped at briefly, or from the temple toward Jodhpur. Even once we hit flat paved road, we couldn’t go very fast. There were so many pilgrims that cars, trucks, etc. were slowing down to pass them. Thousands. I couldn’t get over it. They were all walking (although a few were on bicycles or motorcycles) with their flags flying and carrying their luggage. I saw parents with babies strung between them hammock style in a sari, both men and women walking with luggage on their heads, people washing their laundry at stops on the side of the road, and some even taking a rest or napping. Truly unbelievable. Anand went on this type of pilgrimage with his family when he was a child. His trek was only 100km round trip and took 5 days. I know that some of these people are walking for much further.
We arrived at the hotel around 2pm. This is by far the nicest room I’ve had in India – not only is it beautifully decorated, but it’s clean! I’m posting some pictures. After a quick lunch we headed to the Umaid Bhawan Palace overlooking the city. It’s the residence for the Mahraja, so I only got to go into a small part and no photos were allowed. The bit that I was allowed into was a museum, with info on the building of the palace (in the 1940’s and 50’s), the history of the Maharaja’s family, a clock collection, and a glass vase collection.
Anand has a bit of a cold, so I decided that we’d come back to the hotel. He’s napping and tomorrow morning we’ll check out and go to the Mererangarh Fort on our way to Jaisalmer. We’ll have some time there before a long 2-day journey back to Delhi. I’m so not looking forward to going back there, but that’s the way to Nepal for me. And I’ll have a chance to send some stuff home, buy a camera for Africa, and go see the spot where Ghandi was cremated -- I hear it’s very special.
We arrived at the hotel around 2pm. This is by far the nicest room I’ve had in India – not only is it beautifully decorated, but it’s clean! I’m posting some pictures. After a quick lunch we headed to the Umaid Bhawan Palace overlooking the city. It’s the residence for the Mahraja, so I only got to go into a small part and no photos were allowed. The bit that I was allowed into was a museum, with info on the building of the palace (in the 1940’s and 50’s), the history of the Maharaja’s family, a clock collection, and a glass vase collection.
Anand has a bit of a cold, so I decided that we’d come back to the hotel. He’s napping and tomorrow morning we’ll check out and go to the Mererangarh Fort on our way to Jaisalmer. We’ll have some time there before a long 2-day journey back to Delhi. I’m so not looking forward to going back there, but that’s the way to Nepal for me. And I’ll have a chance to send some stuff home, buy a camera for Africa, and go see the spot where Ghandi was cremated -- I hear it’s very special.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The City of Lakes
So yesterday, I arrived in Udaipur, which is home to two major lakes and several smaller ones. It's a beautiful city down the in the south of Rajasthan. Unfortunately, they've had a couple of years of below average rain fall and lake levels are very low. It's a bit sad, because the photos I had seen show a much different city.
After arriving and a bit of a nap (I had a bad headache), Annan and I set out to watch the sunset over one of the lakes and strolled through a couple of parks. He was very amused to find that Indian kids come up to talk to me and several Indians ask to have their photos taken with me. He didn't believe me! He says it's because they are from areas of India that do not get western visitors, so it's very unusual for them to see blondes anywhere but on TV and movie screens.
Today, he dropped me off near the City Palace. I first visited a temple and then spent a couple of hours in the palace. There's plenty of photos on Flickr if you're interested. From the Palace, I got my first glimpse of the Lake Palace Hotel. This used to be the summer residence of the Majaresh, but has been converted to a swank hotel. I read in a couple of places that this was the inspiration for the Taj Majal. Personally, I don't see it. Whatever.
I did walk down to the lake and take a boat ride out to Jag Mandir island (another island in the lake). This was the Majarana's son's fortress when he was trying to overthrow his father many years ago. Not much was open to the public, but there was a very nice rose garden that all of you Portlanders should appreciate.
Back in town, I wandered around for a while before heading back to the hotel. Only one person tried to scam me and for the most part, I was left alone. It was refreshingly nice. I spent about 2 hours just meandering and looking!
I need to go back to my room now. The Olympic Madison race was happening when I came upstairs to get on the internet. They had cut away to soccer for a bit, but the race should be winding down now and I want to see the finish. I hate to rub it in, but I love watching the Olympics live.
In a bit, we're driving to the "Monsoon Palace" across the lakes. It's the tallest point around and has a wonderful sunset and light show. Tomorrow we leave for Jodhpur.
After arriving and a bit of a nap (I had a bad headache), Annan and I set out to watch the sunset over one of the lakes and strolled through a couple of parks. He was very amused to find that Indian kids come up to talk to me and several Indians ask to have their photos taken with me. He didn't believe me! He says it's because they are from areas of India that do not get western visitors, so it's very unusual for them to see blondes anywhere but on TV and movie screens.
Today, he dropped me off near the City Palace. I first visited a temple and then spent a couple of hours in the palace. There's plenty of photos on Flickr if you're interested. From the Palace, I got my first glimpse of the Lake Palace Hotel. This used to be the summer residence of the Majaresh, but has been converted to a swank hotel. I read in a couple of places that this was the inspiration for the Taj Majal. Personally, I don't see it. Whatever.
I did walk down to the lake and take a boat ride out to Jag Mandir island (another island in the lake). This was the Majarana's son's fortress when he was trying to overthrow his father many years ago. Not much was open to the public, but there was a very nice rose garden that all of you Portlanders should appreciate.
Back in town, I wandered around for a while before heading back to the hotel. Only one person tried to scam me and for the most part, I was left alone. It was refreshingly nice. I spent about 2 hours just meandering and looking!
I need to go back to my room now. The Olympic Madison race was happening when I came upstairs to get on the internet. They had cut away to soccer for a bit, but the race should be winding down now and I want to see the finish. I hate to rub it in, but I love watching the Olympics live.
In a bit, we're driving to the "Monsoon Palace" across the lakes. It's the tallest point around and has a wonderful sunset and light show. Tomorrow we leave for Jodhpur.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Out of Pushkar
So after writing yesterday's entry, I meandered around town some more and finally wound up back at my hotel. There was a young Italian couple there with a driver and the four of us drank beer, ate food, and joked around and laughed until very late. How did we get beer in a dry town? Not sure -- the driver brought it.
Today Anand and I left around 9am and drove for 6.5 hours. We're now in Udaipur, but I have a major headache (I think from dehydration), so I'm supposed to be napping until dinner time. He's going to take me to see the sunset over the lake and we'll check out the palace and everything tomorrow.
About the only interesting thing from today were pilgrims marching along the highway. Apparently, there's a major religious festival from Aug 15 - 30 and you are supposed to walk there. There are groups of people walking up to 300 kilometers to this thing. Each group has a flag bearer and there are many mass tents along the way for them to rest and get fed. It was quite a site. I have a couple of pictures on flickr. In the meantime, check out the pink cow.
More tomorrow.
Today Anand and I left around 9am and drove for 6.5 hours. We're now in Udaipur, but I have a major headache (I think from dehydration), so I'm supposed to be napping until dinner time. He's going to take me to see the sunset over the lake and we'll check out the palace and everything tomorrow.
About the only interesting thing from today were pilgrims marching along the highway. Apparently, there's a major religious festival from Aug 15 - 30 and you are supposed to walk there. There are groups of people walking up to 300 kilometers to this thing. Each group has a flag bearer and there are many mass tents along the way for them to rest and get fed. It was quite a site. I have a couple of pictures on flickr. In the meantime, check out the pink cow.
More tomorrow.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
In Pushkar
I've added a photo of part of my dress that I was given yesterday because I am unable to connect my computer to the internet here and thus cannot upload photos. I'll put some up as soon as I can.
This morning, Anand and I travelled to Puskar. It's a small town of about 22,000 people. That's really tiny for a country of more than a billion. The interesting thing about this town is that there are more than 500 temples. Most are Hindu, but there are some Buddhist temples and there is at least one mosque and one Christian church. So this is a town that hosts pilgrims more than anything else. They host religious festivals throughout the year and thus have a lot of hotels.
We drove down a major highway for part of the way to get here. It was the main highway to Mumbai, so was very modern with good pavement and fast. There were no bicycles, rickshaws, and very few animals, so we flew. Once we left the highway, it was a completely different story. We even got stopped by a major herd of sheep. Now that's a photo that I'll post tomorrow.
We arrived at the nicest hotel I've been in since arriving in India and then I walked around with a guide that Anand had hired. There really wasn't much to do but see some temples (and was unable to take pictures inside) and then go to the lake in the center of town. It's apparently a holy lake and attracts pilgrims and is the focal point of the many religious festivals here in town. I sat down on some steps for a few minutes at the insistance of my guide and a Hindu priest came over and gave me a blessing, another bindi on my forehead, and another string on my wrist. Before I knew it he demanded a donation of $100 for each member of my family. And he was pretty pushy. I got a little upset and put 200 rupee in the donation box (about $5). I then got surrounded by other "priests" who demanded that I look at every photo in a very large photo album of the festivals that the money sponsors and donate more money. I held my ground (Anand had warned me).
When I finally got out of there, gave my guide a tip, and got back to the hotel, I was told by the guy at the reception desk that the donations are actually distributed amongst the town people as income. Why they aren't honest, I don't know. I have to admit to feeling pretty harassed and ready to leave India by the time I got to the hotel. But then I looked at the dress that Ranjee's family gave me and remembered yesterday. It made me feel peaceful and happy again.
Anyway, we are on the edge of a big desert where they offer camel safaris and the like. Since I'll be doing that in Jordan, I'm going to pass. So now I'm simply meandering around town and taking in the atmosphere (and staying away from the lake). I'll have dinner in a bit and then tomorrow we head out. I have to look at the itinerary to find out where next ...
This morning, Anand and I travelled to Puskar. It's a small town of about 22,000 people. That's really tiny for a country of more than a billion. The interesting thing about this town is that there are more than 500 temples. Most are Hindu, but there are some Buddhist temples and there is at least one mosque and one Christian church. So this is a town that hosts pilgrims more than anything else. They host religious festivals throughout the year and thus have a lot of hotels.
We drove down a major highway for part of the way to get here. It was the main highway to Mumbai, so was very modern with good pavement and fast. There were no bicycles, rickshaws, and very few animals, so we flew. Once we left the highway, it was a completely different story. We even got stopped by a major herd of sheep. Now that's a photo that I'll post tomorrow.
We arrived at the nicest hotel I've been in since arriving in India and then I walked around with a guide that Anand had hired. There really wasn't much to do but see some temples (and was unable to take pictures inside) and then go to the lake in the center of town. It's apparently a holy lake and attracts pilgrims and is the focal point of the many religious festivals here in town. I sat down on some steps for a few minutes at the insistance of my guide and a Hindu priest came over and gave me a blessing, another bindi on my forehead, and another string on my wrist. Before I knew it he demanded a donation of $100 for each member of my family. And he was pretty pushy. I got a little upset and put 200 rupee in the donation box (about $5). I then got surrounded by other "priests" who demanded that I look at every photo in a very large photo album of the festivals that the money sponsors and donate more money. I held my ground (Anand had warned me).
When I finally got out of there, gave my guide a tip, and got back to the hotel, I was told by the guy at the reception desk that the donations are actually distributed amongst the town people as income. Why they aren't honest, I don't know. I have to admit to feeling pretty harassed and ready to leave India by the time I got to the hotel. But then I looked at the dress that Ranjee's family gave me and remembered yesterday. It made me feel peaceful and happy again.
Anyway, we are on the edge of a big desert where they offer camel safaris and the like. Since I'll be doing that in Jordan, I'm going to pass. So now I'm simply meandering around town and taking in the atmosphere (and staying away from the lake). I'll have dinner in a bit and then tomorrow we head out. I have to look at the itinerary to find out where next ...
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Today I Fell in Love with India
I have seen so much poverty since arriving on Tuesday and have had so many scam artists and pushy rickshaw drivers incessantly bugging me, that I really thought I would end up hating this country. But no -- today I fell in love.
Anand met me this morning to take me around the sites of Jaipur. He brought his friend Ranjee. Ranjee has a Ph.D. in history and knows everything there is to know about Rajasthan (which is the state we are in). We started out by driving into the walled part of the city and visiting the city palace and museum. Our first stop within the palace was the Jantar antar, which is the largest stone observatory in the world. In there, I saw two sundials. The smaller was accurate within 20 seconds and the larger within 2 seconds (it’s the largest sundial in the world). There was a GPS available and sure enough, they were accurate. There were also structures which showed which astrological sign we are in as well as the azimuth to the sun. It was pretty amazing considering that it was built in the 1700s.
Afterwards we walked around the city palace and went through the textile and weapons museums. I was not allowed to take pictures inside at all – sorry. But it was all very interesting. Afterwards, we went to the Amber Fort. This fort was the ancient capital of the Jaipur state and has some wonderful views and gardens. It is nestled at the beginning of the Aravalli Mountains and has some serious wall surrounding the area. It’s equal is height and width to the Great Wall of China, but is not nearly as long. There were lakes and reservoirs below and was pretty stunning. We then went on to the Jaigarn Fort, which after the Amber Fort wasn’t all that, but it had amazing views of all of Jaipur.
The three of us had lunch and then the guys indulged me. Yes, I went sari shopping! Totally fun. You go into a shop and they set you down in this beautifully apholstered chair. Every wall has saris on shelves from top to bottom. They are folded nicely and crammed in there. Literally hundreds of them in all color combinations and fabrics. They guys start pulling them out and showing them each to you in the colors that you ask. Many are embroidered or have sequined embellishments, but all are very beautiful. So, of course, I did a little bit of shopping.
Then the big surprise happened. Ranjee asked if I would like to drive out into the country and meet his family. Today was a Hindu holiday and all of his family was gathered at his house. So away we went. About 40 km outside of Jaipur. His family has a lot of land, so I got a tour of the farm. They grow corn and ground nuts (kinda like peanuts). He lives in the house with his wife and 9 month old daughter, his parents and grandparents. His brothers and sisters were there for the holiday as well. They were all so wonderful! No one spoke any English except Ranjee and Anand, but the women were so smiley and kept bringing me lemonade and foods they had made for the holiday. They had me particpate in a ceremony where they tie a string bracelet around your wrist and put a red dot on your forehead (as if the stupid mole between my eyes wasn’t enough!) and gave me a traditional Hindu welcome gift of a coconut. I’m trying to figure out how to get that one through customs.
I went with Ranjee’s mother while she milked a cow to make some chai and saw a 4 hour old new calf. I played with the two baby’s (6 and 9 months each), and I smiled and waved at every neighbor from the village who came to see the strange blonde woman. The girls played with my hair and the boys kept going to tell more neighbors that I was there. I sat on a porch and had a long conversation with the 82 year old grandfather. He only speaks Hindi and I really only speak English, but it was funny how one of us would speak and the other would respond. I think our conversation was something like this:
Grandpa – “So where are you from?”
Me – “It’s so beautiful here.”
Grandpa – “Are you married?”
Me – “Have you lived here all your life?”
You get the idea. But it was a fun conversation anyway. It was just so wonderful hanging out with the family and seeing how they live. There were all kinds of Hindu shrines in their house and they were al so much fun. After 2 hours, it was time to leave. Ranjee’s sister and mother make beautiful Rajasthan dresses that are sold in the stores in town. They gave me one as a gift. I never really liked orange, but now I love it. And India. I’m now in love with India.
Anand met me this morning to take me around the sites of Jaipur. He brought his friend Ranjee. Ranjee has a Ph.D. in history and knows everything there is to know about Rajasthan (which is the state we are in). We started out by driving into the walled part of the city and visiting the city palace and museum. Our first stop within the palace was the Jantar antar, which is the largest stone observatory in the world. In there, I saw two sundials. The smaller was accurate within 20 seconds and the larger within 2 seconds (it’s the largest sundial in the world). There was a GPS available and sure enough, they were accurate. There were also structures which showed which astrological sign we are in as well as the azimuth to the sun. It was pretty amazing considering that it was built in the 1700s.
Afterwards we walked around the city palace and went through the textile and weapons museums. I was not allowed to take pictures inside at all – sorry. But it was all very interesting. Afterwards, we went to the Amber Fort. This fort was the ancient capital of the Jaipur state and has some wonderful views and gardens. It is nestled at the beginning of the Aravalli Mountains and has some serious wall surrounding the area. It’s equal is height and width to the Great Wall of China, but is not nearly as long. There were lakes and reservoirs below and was pretty stunning. We then went on to the Jaigarn Fort, which after the Amber Fort wasn’t all that, but it had amazing views of all of Jaipur.
The three of us had lunch and then the guys indulged me. Yes, I went sari shopping! Totally fun. You go into a shop and they set you down in this beautifully apholstered chair. Every wall has saris on shelves from top to bottom. They are folded nicely and crammed in there. Literally hundreds of them in all color combinations and fabrics. They guys start pulling them out and showing them each to you in the colors that you ask. Many are embroidered or have sequined embellishments, but all are very beautiful. So, of course, I did a little bit of shopping.
Then the big surprise happened. Ranjee asked if I would like to drive out into the country and meet his family. Today was a Hindu holiday and all of his family was gathered at his house. So away we went. About 40 km outside of Jaipur. His family has a lot of land, so I got a tour of the farm. They grow corn and ground nuts (kinda like peanuts). He lives in the house with his wife and 9 month old daughter, his parents and grandparents. His brothers and sisters were there for the holiday as well. They were all so wonderful! No one spoke any English except Ranjee and Anand, but the women were so smiley and kept bringing me lemonade and foods they had made for the holiday. They had me particpate in a ceremony where they tie a string bracelet around your wrist and put a red dot on your forehead (as if the stupid mole between my eyes wasn’t enough!) and gave me a traditional Hindu welcome gift of a coconut. I’m trying to figure out how to get that one through customs.I went with Ranjee’s mother while she milked a cow to make some chai and saw a 4 hour old new calf. I played with the two baby’s (6 and 9 months each), and I smiled and waved at every neighbor from the village who came to see the strange blonde woman. The girls played with my hair and the boys kept going to tell more neighbors that I was there. I sat on a porch and had a long conversation with the 82 year old grandfather. He only speaks Hindi and I really only speak English, but it was funny how one of us would speak and the other would respond. I think our conversation was something like this:
Grandpa – “So where are you from?”
Me – “It’s so beautiful here.”
Grandpa – “Are you married?”
Me – “Have you lived here all your life?”
You get the idea. But it was a fun conversation anyway. It was just so wonderful hanging out with the family and seeing how they live. There were all kinds of Hindu shrines in their house and they were al so much fun. After 2 hours, it was time to leave. Ranjee’s sister and mother make beautiful Rajasthan dresses that are sold in the stores in town. They gave me one as a gift. I never really liked orange, but now I love it. And India. I’m now in love with India.
Friday, August 15, 2008
From Agra to Jaipur
Today was a little tiresome. Anand picked me up at 8:00am this morning and we decided to go ahead and leave Agra for Jaipur. Both Agra and Delhi are known for being the worst places for tourists -- lots of folks trying to scam you. So I packed up my stuff and we headed out. But first we stopped by the Agra Fort. Agra was the capitol of India until it was moved to Delhi some time ago, I believe by the son of the Shah who built the Taj Majal. In fact, the son deposed his father as ruler and kept him locked up at the Fort until his death. So he was only able to look at the Taj Majal from across the river. But don't fret -- the son also put 5,000 women in the Fort at his father's disposal and he did entomb his father in the Taj with his dead favorite wife. Good story, huh? There's plenty of pictures of the place on Flickr, so have at it.
Then we were off on our 5+ hour drive to Jaipur. Now I have to tell you about driving in India. It's total chaos. Believe it or not, a Bangkok tuk tuk driver doesn't stand a chance here. Everyone and everything shares the roads, including the highways. Trucks, buses, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, rickshaws (both motor and bicycle), carts (some being pushed by hand and some being pulled by various animals), they all share all of the lanes. Since all of these types of vehicles go at different speeds, it's quite a mess. Everyone tries to pass everything else, but that means speeding headfirst into oncoming traffic. Oh, and then there's the rest -- pedestrians, horses, camels, goats, cows, pigs and dogs take their share of the roads and highways, too. Sometimes they even walk down the highway in the wrong direction. But it's OK, the people don't obey the signs either. As we arrived in Jaipur, we were stuck in the worst traffic yet. What was causing it? An elephant meandering down the street. I didn't get to my camera fast enough for that one unfortunately.
It's really scary at times. Buses are all overcrowded, so you see them speeding down the highway at 100km/hour with people hanging out the windows and guys up on the roof. I talked to a couple of Canadian women yesterday that have been traveling through India for 3 weeks now. They say that all the buses and even the trains are like that. Now I'm really glad I have a driver.
Believe it or not, I haven't seen one accident or even bump. With all the honking (there's honking in my dreams now), speeding, and swerving into oncoming traffic, it's a wonder that anything survives.
I'm at my hotel in one piece (thankfully) and tomorrow Anand takes me around to see the sights of the "pink city". Cheers!
Then we were off on our 5+ hour drive to Jaipur. Now I have to tell you about driving in India. It's total chaos. Believe it or not, a Bangkok tuk tuk driver doesn't stand a chance here. Everyone and everything shares the roads, including the highways. Trucks, buses, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, rickshaws (both motor and bicycle), carts (some being pushed by hand and some being pulled by various animals), they all share all of the lanes. Since all of these types of vehicles go at different speeds, it's quite a mess. Everyone tries to pass everything else, but that means speeding headfirst into oncoming traffic. Oh, and then there's the rest -- pedestrians, horses, camels, goats, cows, pigs and dogs take their share of the roads and highways, too. Sometimes they even walk down the highway in the wrong direction. But it's OK, the people don't obey the signs either. As we arrived in Jaipur, we were stuck in the worst traffic yet. What was causing it? An elephant meandering down the street. I didn't get to my camera fast enough for that one unfortunately.
It's really scary at times. Buses are all overcrowded, so you see them speeding down the highway at 100km/hour with people hanging out the windows and guys up on the roof. I talked to a couple of Canadian women yesterday that have been traveling through India for 3 weeks now. They say that all the buses and even the trains are like that. Now I'm really glad I have a driver.
Believe it or not, I haven't seen one accident or even bump. With all the honking (there's honking in my dreams now), speeding, and swerving into oncoming traffic, it's a wonder that anything survives.
I'm at my hotel in one piece (thankfully) and tomorrow Anand takes me around to see the sights of the "pink city". Cheers!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Taj Majal
Probably the biggest reason I came to India (I hate to admit it) was to see the Taj Majal. My original plan was to visit on August 15th. Not only is it my birthday, but it’s India’s independence day.
Unfortunately, the Taj is closed on Fridays. Yes, my birthday plans are foiled. Instead, I went today and will visit the Agra Fort tomorrow.
While in Thailand, I was 14 hours head of you west coasters, but here I am 12.5 hours behind. Now I can understand the hour from Thailand, since some countries don’t observe daylight savings. What what’s with the half hour? No other country does this, so if any of you can offer an explanation, please let me know. My point? The sun comes up at about 5:15 here and sets just before 7pm. The Taj opens at 6, so I thougth I’d beat the crowds and the heat and go early. I left my hotel at 6 and took the 5 minute walk to the east gate. It took 15 minutes to get my ticket and nearly 45 to get through security to go inside. I quickly realized that this wasn’t going to be like the Tiger Cave Temple where I’d have the place to myself.
Much has been said about the Taj. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and has been called by many the most beautiful building in the world. I’ve seen the pictures all my life and thought “nice”, but is it really worth the hype? I have to say that words and pictures cannot do this place justice. It’s so absolutely spectacular that I actually had a tear come out of one of my eyes. It looks white in photos, but in person it’s so much more. There is so much intricate carving in the marble and so many gems inlaid into flower patterns, that it sparkles when the sun hits it just right. Everything is in perfect symmetry including the wall surrounding the complex and all of its gates. One of the two buildings directly to the side is a mosque and each of those buildings frame the Taj through it’s main openings just perfectly. Fantastic picture taking. If only I had a better camera.
No one is allowed to take photos inside the crypt, but how spectacular. Inside there is a marble lattice fencing carved with such detail and inlaid with gems from all over. The two coffins (one is the shah who built the place and the other is his favorite wife). Again, all in white marble with carvings and inlaid gemstones. There’s only natural light, so I came back in 3 times to see it as the sun got higher and higher. I feel like I saw 3 different places. The largest onion dome is above, many stories up. The acoustics are phenominal. At one point, the muslim call to prayer started and the sound just rumbled and echoed inside. It was spectacular, to say the least. I sat outside and hung out for over 3 hours. It’s just so beautiful. If I wasn’t getting hungry, I probably would have stayed another 3 hours.
The most interesting thing to me were the visitors. More than half were Indians. I was surprised and happy to see that us tourists were a minority. So refreshing! But something else surprised me – so many Indians asked if they could take a picture with me. Weird huh? From a family with a little boy to a dozen or so Sikh’s that all fought over who would get to stand next to me. I don’t understand the fascination, but I must have posed for pictures with Indians at least 8 times or so. I hope their cameras didn’t break.
This was the best birthday present I could have given myself.
Unfortunately, the Taj is closed on Fridays. Yes, my birthday plans are foiled. Instead, I went today and will visit the Agra Fort tomorrow.
While in Thailand, I was 14 hours head of you west coasters, but here I am 12.5 hours behind. Now I can understand the hour from Thailand, since some countries don’t observe daylight savings. What what’s with the half hour? No other country does this, so if any of you can offer an explanation, please let me know. My point? The sun comes up at about 5:15 here and sets just before 7pm. The Taj opens at 6, so I thougth I’d beat the crowds and the heat and go early. I left my hotel at 6 and took the 5 minute walk to the east gate. It took 15 minutes to get my ticket and nearly 45 to get through security to go inside. I quickly realized that this wasn’t going to be like the Tiger Cave Temple where I’d have the place to myself.
Much has been said about the Taj. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and has been called by many the most beautiful building in the world. I’ve seen the pictures all my life and thought “nice”, but is it really worth the hype? I have to say that words and pictures cannot do this place justice. It’s so absolutely spectacular that I actually had a tear come out of one of my eyes. It looks white in photos, but in person it’s so much more. There is so much intricate carving in the marble and so many gems inlaid into flower patterns, that it sparkles when the sun hits it just right. Everything is in perfect symmetry including the wall surrounding the complex and all of its gates. One of the two buildings directly to the side is a mosque and each of those buildings frame the Taj through it’s main openings just perfectly. Fantastic picture taking. If only I had a better camera.
No one is allowed to take photos inside the crypt, but how spectacular. Inside there is a marble lattice fencing carved with such detail and inlaid with gems from all over. The two coffins (one is the shah who built the place and the other is his favorite wife). Again, all in white marble with carvings and inlaid gemstones. There’s only natural light, so I came back in 3 times to see it as the sun got higher and higher. I feel like I saw 3 different places. The largest onion dome is above, many stories up. The acoustics are phenominal. At one point, the muslim call to prayer started and the sound just rumbled and echoed inside. It was spectacular, to say the least. I sat outside and hung out for over 3 hours. It’s just so beautiful. If I wasn’t getting hungry, I probably would have stayed another 3 hours.
The most interesting thing to me were the visitors. More than half were Indians. I was surprised and happy to see that us tourists were a minority. So refreshing! But something else surprised me – so many Indians asked if they could take a picture with me. Weird huh? From a family with a little boy to a dozen or so Sikh’s that all fought over who would get to stand next to me. I don’t understand the fascination, but I must have posed for pictures with Indians at least 8 times or so. I hope their cameras didn’t break.
This was the best birthday present I could have given myself.
Toto - We’re Not in Thailand Anymore
Sorry about the lack of updates, but internet access isn’t all that great. I kinda thought that with as much of our high tech that we outsource to this country, it would be better, but no. In fact, I tried using an internet café late yesterday, but the browser was so old, it wouldn’t let me check email or log into my blog. Live and learn.
The trip here was a real pain. After flying from Krabi to Bangkok, I had a 5.5 hour wait until my flight to Delhi. The Bangkok airport is beautiful and huge. Lots of shopping and lots of people watching. When they finally opened our gate, I went to have a sit. I very quickly realized that there were going to be very few women on this flight. At boarding, I counted about a dozen or so. What struck me most was how pushy the guys were. They kept hoarding around me, bothering me, and even touching me. When I couldn’t get them to leave me alone, I decided to move my butt over near an elderly Indian woman and rummaged through my bag for this plain silver band that I stuck on my wedding ring finger. Smart move. She wouldn’t let any of them near me. Between the ring and my sari-clad guardian, I got some peace. I love her! Luckily, I was seated next to a woman on the plane. I think that was by design.
Once I arrived at the Delhi airport, I kinda knew I was going to be challenged. The guys were pushing and shoving at baggage claim, the immigration guy was very unfriendly, and signs were nearly non-existent. I did find the “tourist” counter to ask about getting my train ticket to Agra and a room for the night but all they would do was write down the name of a section of the city and tell me to get a cab. Terrific. I found a pre-paid taxi counter and asked for one to take me to the neighborhood and the guy rolled his eyes. Once in the cab, I explained my predicament to the driver and he understood. It was too late to buy a train ticket (the ticket counter was closed), but he’d find me a hotel near the station.
Once at a hotel, they quoted me a price of 1000 rupee (about $20) and took me to see the room. The even offered to get me the train ticket. After my approval, they locked my bags in the room and asked me to come downstairs to pay. I told the cab driver that everything was fine and he left. Then as I went to pay, they told me that the price was 4000 rupee. I said no, but my bags were locked upstairs and the driver was gone. I was stuck. I decided to chalk it up to experience and not fight too much, cause I was damned tired.
They woke me up in the morning to take me to the station. It was supposed to be a 6:30am train to Agra. They gave me my ticket, I paid them cash for it and was dropped off at the train station by the hotel manager. Once I got my luggage on the curb, I turned to ask which way to go but he was already gone. I found my way to the big sign with train numbers and platforms. My train number was not there. One guy came up to “help” and I found out that my train had left at 5:30. Yes, they sold me a ticket for a train that had already left the station (40 minutes after it had left). Then as it became understood what had happened, I was surrounded by men that kept grabbing me and trying to pull me apart like a wishbone. Another elderly Indian woman came up, yelled and swatted them all and they left. She asked me what had happened and I explained. She then told me to let her son (probably around 25-30 years old or so) take my big bag and they marched me across the street to a tourist office run by the government. She went off on a tirade telling them what had happened and then said goodbye to me. I love her, too! And her son.
Well inside the office, the guy asked me to tell him my story and took down the name of the hotel. He also checked and all trains were fully booked for the next 8 hours. I was kinda stuck in Delhi. That sucks. But then he offered me an alternative. For $800 USD I could have my own private tourist taxi to take me whereever I want to go for my entire stay in India. This included all air-conditioned hotel rooms, road tolls, etc. I just needed to buy my food. He looked at my itinerary and suggested some additional places to visit that I could now do with my own private car. The driver speaks English and would arrange everything for me. He even deducted the cost of my train ticket and the overcharge on the hotel room (apparently, he was certain that he was going to get a refund from the hotel). This even includes all driving around Delhi when I need to get the shopping done and a ride to the airport at the end. 2 weeks with an escort and all my rooms and travel taken care of? I went for it. I kinda feel like a sell-out travelling this way. I wanted to prove that I could do it on my own, but coming from stress-free Thailand to this was a big culture shock and I just wanted some peace.
My driver (Anand) is fantastic. He speaks excellent English and is the nicest guy. He took care of everything yesterday. At one point he needed to get out of the car to deal with a toll guy. I got out of the car to stretch my legs and immediately was hounded by guys wanting to sell me stuff or have my picture taken with a cobra (no thank you). I had already managed to get a couple of hours sleep in the back seat and was in a much better mind set. I got rid of them all very quickly on my own without being overly rude.
When we got back on the road, Anand said, “You did very well back there. You would be okay traveling solo here, but you would leave hating India. This is better.” I think he’s right.
The trip here was a real pain. After flying from Krabi to Bangkok, I had a 5.5 hour wait until my flight to Delhi. The Bangkok airport is beautiful and huge. Lots of shopping and lots of people watching. When they finally opened our gate, I went to have a sit. I very quickly realized that there were going to be very few women on this flight. At boarding, I counted about a dozen or so. What struck me most was how pushy the guys were. They kept hoarding around me, bothering me, and even touching me. When I couldn’t get them to leave me alone, I decided to move my butt over near an elderly Indian woman and rummaged through my bag for this plain silver band that I stuck on my wedding ring finger. Smart move. She wouldn’t let any of them near me. Between the ring and my sari-clad guardian, I got some peace. I love her! Luckily, I was seated next to a woman on the plane. I think that was by design.
Once I arrived at the Delhi airport, I kinda knew I was going to be challenged. The guys were pushing and shoving at baggage claim, the immigration guy was very unfriendly, and signs were nearly non-existent. I did find the “tourist” counter to ask about getting my train ticket to Agra and a room for the night but all they would do was write down the name of a section of the city and tell me to get a cab. Terrific. I found a pre-paid taxi counter and asked for one to take me to the neighborhood and the guy rolled his eyes. Once in the cab, I explained my predicament to the driver and he understood. It was too late to buy a train ticket (the ticket counter was closed), but he’d find me a hotel near the station.
Once at a hotel, they quoted me a price of 1000 rupee (about $20) and took me to see the room. The even offered to get me the train ticket. After my approval, they locked my bags in the room and asked me to come downstairs to pay. I told the cab driver that everything was fine and he left. Then as I went to pay, they told me that the price was 4000 rupee. I said no, but my bags were locked upstairs and the driver was gone. I was stuck. I decided to chalk it up to experience and not fight too much, cause I was damned tired.
They woke me up in the morning to take me to the station. It was supposed to be a 6:30am train to Agra. They gave me my ticket, I paid them cash for it and was dropped off at the train station by the hotel manager. Once I got my luggage on the curb, I turned to ask which way to go but he was already gone. I found my way to the big sign with train numbers and platforms. My train number was not there. One guy came up to “help” and I found out that my train had left at 5:30. Yes, they sold me a ticket for a train that had already left the station (40 minutes after it had left). Then as it became understood what had happened, I was surrounded by men that kept grabbing me and trying to pull me apart like a wishbone. Another elderly Indian woman came up, yelled and swatted them all and they left. She asked me what had happened and I explained. She then told me to let her son (probably around 25-30 years old or so) take my big bag and they marched me across the street to a tourist office run by the government. She went off on a tirade telling them what had happened and then said goodbye to me. I love her, too! And her son.
Well inside the office, the guy asked me to tell him my story and took down the name of the hotel. He also checked and all trains were fully booked for the next 8 hours. I was kinda stuck in Delhi. That sucks. But then he offered me an alternative. For $800 USD I could have my own private tourist taxi to take me whereever I want to go for my entire stay in India. This included all air-conditioned hotel rooms, road tolls, etc. I just needed to buy my food. He looked at my itinerary and suggested some additional places to visit that I could now do with my own private car. The driver speaks English and would arrange everything for me. He even deducted the cost of my train ticket and the overcharge on the hotel room (apparently, he was certain that he was going to get a refund from the hotel). This even includes all driving around Delhi when I need to get the shopping done and a ride to the airport at the end. 2 weeks with an escort and all my rooms and travel taken care of? I went for it. I kinda feel like a sell-out travelling this way. I wanted to prove that I could do it on my own, but coming from stress-free Thailand to this was a big culture shock and I just wanted some peace.
My driver (Anand) is fantastic. He speaks excellent English and is the nicest guy. He took care of everything yesterday. At one point he needed to get out of the car to deal with a toll guy. I got out of the car to stretch my legs and immediately was hounded by guys wanting to sell me stuff or have my picture taken with a cobra (no thank you). I had already managed to get a couple of hours sleep in the back seat and was in a much better mind set. I got rid of them all very quickly on my own without being overly rude.
When we got back on the road, Anand said, “You did very well back there. You would be okay traveling solo here, but you would leave hating India. This is better.” I think he’s right.
Monday, August 11, 2008
My Last Thai Sunset
I took this tonight at sunset -- the last I'll see in Thailand. I'm pretty sad about it because I really love it here. At the same time, I'm excited about what's ahead.
Today was spent with "errands". I started the day by walking across town to the post office. I wanted to lighten my load for the rest of my trip and sent some books and purchases to my house. On the way back, I stopped for a light breakfast and then headed to the water for a swim. The afternoon was really a combo of paying the hotel (their credit card machine was on the fritz, so it took quite a bit of time), picking up my clean laundry, and packing. When I finished, it was nearly dinner time. I went for one last dip in the sea, showered, had my last Thai massage and then ate dinner on the deck at sunset.
Now I'm in my room looking for the Olympics on the tube. Thailand's queen is making a speech, so all channels are glued to that (except for BBC business news, ESPN, and the Discovery Channel -- none of which show the Olympics). Oh well, I should really get to bed early. The taxi is picking me up at 8:00am.
If you don't hear from me for a day or two, don't worry. I've had trouble making a train reservation online for India (their servers keep crashing) and I'm not sure where I'm lying my head tomorrow night. I should be in Agra sometime on Wednesday and have a hotel reservation confirmed there. I will have internet access then.
Maybe one more night time dip in the Adaman Sea ...
Today was spent with "errands". I started the day by walking across town to the post office. I wanted to lighten my load for the rest of my trip and sent some books and purchases to my house. On the way back, I stopped for a light breakfast and then headed to the water for a swim. The afternoon was really a combo of paying the hotel (their credit card machine was on the fritz, so it took quite a bit of time), picking up my clean laundry, and packing. When I finished, it was nearly dinner time. I went for one last dip in the sea, showered, had my last Thai massage and then ate dinner on the deck at sunset.
Now I'm in my room looking for the Olympics on the tube. Thailand's queen is making a speech, so all channels are glued to that (except for BBC business news, ESPN, and the Discovery Channel -- none of which show the Olympics). Oh well, I should really get to bed early. The taxi is picking me up at 8:00am.
If you don't hear from me for a day or two, don't worry. I've had trouble making a train reservation online for India (their servers keep crashing) and I'm not sure where I'm lying my head tomorrow night. I should be in Agra sometime on Wednesday and have a hotel reservation confirmed there. I will have internet access then.
Maybe one more night time dip in the Adaman Sea ...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Yes, I Did it Again
So today, I went back to see my elephants. When I arrived, Betsy was already out on a trek, so I had to settle for Somboom. Her name is the Thai word for perfect, but she so isn't. Both the driver and I had the hardest time getting her to move. It seems like we spent most of our time standing still. She was a big eater at the end, but whatever.
We then went for a walk along the river and saw a mother and daughter playing in the water. They gave me some cucumbers to feed them while they were in the river. There was a young Aussie boy there who was scared of them, but I managed to get him to feed one of them. And when the guides went to get them out, the daughter decided to block them and make a stand. She really wanted to stay. It was so funny -- everyone was laughing pretty hard.
Afterwards, they let me stay a couple of hours with the "off duty" elephants. I spent most of my time with Betsy. I found out that they suspect she's pregnant. They first tried breeding her in early July, but don't think it worked. From what I can tell, they leave her in field with a horny male. Anyway, the day after I rode her, they tried again. in the last 2 days she has sprouted elephant titties, so they're pretty sure it worked. She now has 20-24 months of pregnancy before she gives birth to a 60cm tall baby. Poor thing!
She and I hung out for nearly 2 hours. At one point, I hit the ruffage pile for her and found some with a pineapple still attached. When I fed her that, I think she became my friend for life. She kept leaning up against me and touching my cheek with her snout. Pretty cool. There was another elephant near by that would come up to me tap me on the shoulder and then point his nose to the ruffage pile. I was being ordered to drag some food over, so I did. It's funny how well they communicate.
There is one part of hanging out with elephants that isn't so cool -- elephant farts. They're loud, long, and extremely smelly. Elephants are probably the largest vegetarians on earth, so just use your imagination. And then it probably wouldn't come close to as bad as the real thing. Truly rancid and not recommended for the faint of heart.
I just left a pub where I got a late lunch. I got to watch Thailand get their first gold medal in women's weightlifting. Everyone here is very proud! I think I'll go back and rejoin the celebration.
We then went for a walk along the river and saw a mother and daughter playing in the water. They gave me some cucumbers to feed them while they were in the river. There was a young Aussie boy there who was scared of them, but I managed to get him to feed one of them. And when the guides went to get them out, the daughter decided to block them and make a stand. She really wanted to stay. It was so funny -- everyone was laughing pretty hard.
Afterwards, they let me stay a couple of hours with the "off duty" elephants. I spent most of my time with Betsy. I found out that they suspect she's pregnant. They first tried breeding her in early July, but don't think it worked. From what I can tell, they leave her in field with a horny male. Anyway, the day after I rode her, they tried again. in the last 2 days she has sprouted elephant titties, so they're pretty sure it worked. She now has 20-24 months of pregnancy before she gives birth to a 60cm tall baby. Poor thing!
She and I hung out for nearly 2 hours. At one point, I hit the ruffage pile for her and found some with a pineapple still attached. When I fed her that, I think she became my friend for life. She kept leaning up against me and touching my cheek with her snout. Pretty cool. There was another elephant near by that would come up to me tap me on the shoulder and then point his nose to the ruffage pile. I was being ordered to drag some food over, so I did. It's funny how well they communicate.
There is one part of hanging out with elephants that isn't so cool -- elephant farts. They're loud, long, and extremely smelly. Elephants are probably the largest vegetarians on earth, so just use your imagination. And then it probably wouldn't come close to as bad as the real thing. Truly rancid and not recommended for the faint of heart.
I just left a pub where I got a late lunch. I got to watch Thailand get their first gold medal in women's weightlifting. Everyone here is very proud! I think I'll go back and rejoin the celebration.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
This One's for Linda
So today was pretty non-eventful. I was up late last night due to the Olympics and didn't wake up until nearly 11:00. I tried desperately to find a way to watch the Olympic men's road race today, but was completely unsuccessful. I then read the live updates on cyclingnews.com. Afterwards, I walked north to the really nice seafood place on the beach for lunch. BEST LUNCH EVER! Then, I talked to my friendly travel agent and got something set up for tomorrow and pre-arranged for a cab to the airport for Tuesday morning. And, since my legs are hurting like a sonofabitch from yesterday's stairs, I had another Thai massage.
The highlight came at dinner. Since Linda so nicely asked a while back for me to have a mai tai for her, I obliged. I would have done it sooner, but the pina coladas are so good here. Anyway, this photo is what arrived at my dinner table as a mai tai. It was 150B, or just under $3. I didn't realize that they still had the 2 for 1 deals going, so I got a second for free. Which really brings the price of each one to under $1.50. Totally cheaper than the yacht club.
So I'm drunk now. I'm going to watch the Olympics from my bed rather than the bar and go to sleep early. I have to get up tomorrow. I'm going back to spend the day with my elephants.
The highlight came at dinner. Since Linda so nicely asked a while back for me to have a mai tai for her, I obliged. I would have done it sooner, but the pina coladas are so good here. Anyway, this photo is what arrived at my dinner table as a mai tai. It was 150B, or just under $3. I didn't realize that they still had the 2 for 1 deals going, so I got a second for free. Which really brings the price of each one to under $1.50. Totally cheaper than the yacht club.
So I'm drunk now. I'm going to watch the Olympics from my bed rather than the bar and go to sleep early. I have to get up tomorrow. I'm going back to spend the day with my elephants.
Friday, August 8, 2008
I Love the Olympics
There's just something about it that I get glued to whenever it's on. So tonight I decided to watch from one of the bars in town. O'Malley's has a projection TV with a ginormous screen, so I headed there. Grandma would have been proud (she was an O'Malley until she married my grandfather).
Anyway, there we all were: Ausies, Brits, Swedes, Romanians, French and the Thais. We all had to watch it with Thai commentary, but that's OK. When in Rome and all. We watched the whole thing live and with no commercial interruptions. We cheered for everyone, but the loudest was for the Thais. When we saw them coming, we grabbed the cook out of the kitchen, stopped the folks behind the bar and waiting tables and all cheered and toasted. It was all a ton of fun. Lots of food and drink was consumed by all.
The drawback: live coverage with no commercials and no editing means 4.5 hours of opening ceremony. They didn't finish until 12:20am Beijing time and 11:20pm our time. I understand why so many athletes skip this.
And for those of you who only want to watch a bit of it -- the best part was the drummers just before the start of the ceremony.
Now let's hope that I can watch the road race tomorrow!
The Top
Well I did it. I went back to the Tiger Cave Temple and climbed the stairs (all 1,237 of the) to the top. Let's just say that I'm out of shape. It's been about a month since I've been on a bike and I just have little to no fitness left.
As I started up, I realized that some pitches had extremely steep stairs. they were about 2.5 feet high each and very narrow. That led to some pretty high stepping, but that didn't bother me. Rather, it was my fitness level. There were times when I could hear my heart beating and it was going damned fast. I'm sure that the alarm on my heart rate monitor would have been going ballistic if I had it with me. At the half way up point, I damned near turned around, panting heavily. But then I realized that I had said that I would do this, so I kinda had to. Sort of the way that I made myself do the Maya Bay camping trip even though it was going to rain. Or how I did that first ride at Bella camp in January. I just couldn't lose face by backing out -- I'm stupid stubborn that way.
On the way up, I passed one Thai couple who were struggling. Other than that I saw no one. Not a sole. I know it was early (10:40 am when I started) by Thai standards, but I was shocked that there was no one else. In fact, there was no one else at the top and no one made it up before I left the top. I have to say, it was pretty wonderful having the top all to myself. And bless those monks -- they had cups and free drinkable water at the top for everyone. You just gotta love them.
The views were absolutely fantastic. You could see everything from plantations, to mountains, to the river deltas to the Adaman Sea. Absolutely phenomenal. I left a donation (there's no entry fee and donations are the only way that the monks get by), lit a candle, put my shoes back on and headed back down.
On the way down, I passed 9 people, only 3 of which were westerners. The rest were Thais doing a bit of a pilgrimage. I tried to be as encouraging as I could, but I was drenched in sweat at that point and probably looked like hell. But it was so much easier and for that I'm forever thankful. My heart rate was back to normal and I was feeling pretty OK. At the bottom, my cab driver took a picture of me -- my quads were trembling, but you can't tell in the photo.
All in all, I'm glad that I did it. But I'd rather do intervals up Jamieson Creek road any day. So much easier.
I've showered and am heading out for lunch. Then I'll take a nap and find a good bar to watch the Olympics at. We're only 1 hour ahead of Beijing, so we get to see everything live. If I could only get rid of my stupid stubborn streak!
As I started up, I realized that some pitches had extremely steep stairs. they were about 2.5 feet high each and very narrow. That led to some pretty high stepping, but that didn't bother me. Rather, it was my fitness level. There were times when I could hear my heart beating and it was going damned fast. I'm sure that the alarm on my heart rate monitor would have been going ballistic if I had it with me. At the half way up point, I damned near turned around, panting heavily. But then I realized that I had said that I would do this, so I kinda had to. Sort of the way that I made myself do the Maya Bay camping trip even though it was going to rain. Or how I did that first ride at Bella camp in January. I just couldn't lose face by backing out -- I'm stupid stubborn that way.
On the way up, I passed one Thai couple who were struggling. Other than that I saw no one. Not a sole. I know it was early (10:40 am when I started) by Thai standards, but I was shocked that there was no one else. In fact, there was no one else at the top and no one made it up before I left the top. I have to say, it was pretty wonderful having the top all to myself. And bless those monks -- they had cups and free drinkable water at the top for everyone. You just gotta love them.
The views were absolutely fantastic. You could see everything from plantations, to mountains, to the river deltas to the Adaman Sea. Absolutely phenomenal. I left a donation (there's no entry fee and donations are the only way that the monks get by), lit a candle, put my shoes back on and headed back down.
On the way down, I passed 9 people, only 3 of which were westerners. The rest were Thais doing a bit of a pilgrimage. I tried to be as encouraging as I could, but I was drenched in sweat at that point and probably looked like hell. But it was so much easier and for that I'm forever thankful. My heart rate was back to normal and I was feeling pretty OK. At the bottom, my cab driver took a picture of me -- my quads were trembling, but you can't tell in the photo.
All in all, I'm glad that I did it. But I'd rather do intervals up Jamieson Creek road any day. So much easier.
I've showered and am heading out for lunch. Then I'll take a nap and find a good bar to watch the Olympics at. We're only 1 hour ahead of Beijing, so we get to see everything live. If I could only get rid of my stupid stubborn streak!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
I Think I'm Drunk
So I had one of these with dinner, not realizing that it was happy hour and you get 2 for 1. I got buzzed and walked up my alley to the massage place for a Thai massage.
I feel great and I'm going to bed now.
I feel great and I'm going to bed now.
I'm Such a Dweeb
So today I booked another tour. It was OK, but stupid me -- I left my camera on the bed back in my room. There was, however, an Italian couple on the trip who took many, many pictures. If nothing got lost in translation, I should receive some photos via email that I will post later. And Ornella -- these folks are going to San Francisco soon and don't speak a word of English. I gave them both of our phone numbers, just in case.
Anyway, this was called the "rainforest" tour. We started out at a mineral hotspring waterfall, with plenty of pools to soak yourself in. The water was a little cooler than usual because of a major rainstorm last night, but it was about bathtub water warm. They say that there's healing powers in the water due to the mineral content, so I soaked as long as they would let me. I really need the scrapes and bug bites on my legs to heal.
Afterwards we drove to Sra Morakot to the "emerald pool". This was a beautiful pool about 1000 meters deep in the rainforest. As we hiked in, we passed lots of butterflies, chestnuts that had dropped on the ground, flowers, and very green pools with lots of moss growing on the bottom. The sounds were incredible -- I never knew the forest could be so loud. If I only had my camera, I would have taken a bit of video for you all to hear. We finally came across the pool, which is a fairly large pool with beautiful emerald colored water. It varies from 1-2 meters deep, so swimming was good. Water runs in at one end over some rocks and runs out over some rocks at the other end. About half of the people there were Thais families out for a day trip. Read this for more information as well as some photos (I just found it and it will have to do until I hear from my Italian friends). Back at the van, a family served us lunch while we chatted. Unfortunately, the group consisted of 2 Italians, 2 Germans, a Japanese family with 1 kid, and an Israeli family with 2 kids. Only the Israeli father spoke any English, so for the first time, I really didn't talk with anyone very much.
When we finished eating, the guide walked us over to the edge of a rubber tree plantation and quickly showed us how they tap the tree for rubber. I was surprised to hear that rubber production is the #1 industry in the Krabi province. Palm oil production is #2, followed by fishing and then tourism. Various food productions (rice, pineapple, banana, etc.) round out the top 10. I'm so glad it's not just tourism here!
We then went to Wat Tham Suea, or the Tiger Cave Temple. This was my entire reason for taking this trip. This place is a real working Buddhist monastery and a center for meditation. Monks were everywhere and there were several temples at the ground level. There's also a 1200 step climb to the top of a mountain, where there is another temple and a view overlooking Krabi. My knee has been holding up surprisingly well, so I really wanted to go up. Unfortunately, the guide wouldn't let me. Apparently, there wasn't enough time. He suggested that I stay and they'd come back for me later and charge me an extra 1000B. That's the cost of my room! Well, I refused and was very disappointed. But I did see the cave where he claimed the tiger used to be (but that is apparently just an old wives tale for tourists) as well as lots and lots of monks and monkeys. The monkeys there are far more aggressive than those I saw on Tuesday. The poor fools who bought bananas had monkeys climbing all over them. I also saw one try to steal a camera. Did I mention that I'm so over monkeys?
When I returned to Ao Nang, I went to talk to the travel desk that booked me on the tour. Weerawan (that's her name) wasn't too happy. She's offered to arrange a cab for me to go back out there and do the climb. Depending on the weather, I'll go either tomorrow or Saturday. I WON'T FORGET MY CAMERA! And of course, I'll go back to see my elephants again before I leave (don't you just love how I own them now?).
But here's the question: should I do a day at the Thai Cooking Academy? I might have to 'cause I just don't know how I'll get along without my pad thai ...
Anyway, this was called the "rainforest" tour. We started out at a mineral hotspring waterfall, with plenty of pools to soak yourself in. The water was a little cooler than usual because of a major rainstorm last night, but it was about bathtub water warm. They say that there's healing powers in the water due to the mineral content, so I soaked as long as they would let me. I really need the scrapes and bug bites on my legs to heal.
Afterwards we drove to Sra Morakot to the "emerald pool". This was a beautiful pool about 1000 meters deep in the rainforest. As we hiked in, we passed lots of butterflies, chestnuts that had dropped on the ground, flowers, and very green pools with lots of moss growing on the bottom. The sounds were incredible -- I never knew the forest could be so loud. If I only had my camera, I would have taken a bit of video for you all to hear. We finally came across the pool, which is a fairly large pool with beautiful emerald colored water. It varies from 1-2 meters deep, so swimming was good. Water runs in at one end over some rocks and runs out over some rocks at the other end. About half of the people there were Thais families out for a day trip. Read this for more information as well as some photos (I just found it and it will have to do until I hear from my Italian friends). Back at the van, a family served us lunch while we chatted. Unfortunately, the group consisted of 2 Italians, 2 Germans, a Japanese family with 1 kid, and an Israeli family with 2 kids. Only the Israeli father spoke any English, so for the first time, I really didn't talk with anyone very much.
When we finished eating, the guide walked us over to the edge of a rubber tree plantation and quickly showed us how they tap the tree for rubber. I was surprised to hear that rubber production is the #1 industry in the Krabi province. Palm oil production is #2, followed by fishing and then tourism. Various food productions (rice, pineapple, banana, etc.) round out the top 10. I'm so glad it's not just tourism here!
We then went to Wat Tham Suea, or the Tiger Cave Temple. This was my entire reason for taking this trip. This place is a real working Buddhist monastery and a center for meditation. Monks were everywhere and there were several temples at the ground level. There's also a 1200 step climb to the top of a mountain, where there is another temple and a view overlooking Krabi. My knee has been holding up surprisingly well, so I really wanted to go up. Unfortunately, the guide wouldn't let me. Apparently, there wasn't enough time. He suggested that I stay and they'd come back for me later and charge me an extra 1000B. That's the cost of my room! Well, I refused and was very disappointed. But I did see the cave where he claimed the tiger used to be (but that is apparently just an old wives tale for tourists) as well as lots and lots of monks and monkeys. The monkeys there are far more aggressive than those I saw on Tuesday. The poor fools who bought bananas had monkeys climbing all over them. I also saw one try to steal a camera. Did I mention that I'm so over monkeys?
When I returned to Ao Nang, I went to talk to the travel desk that booked me on the tour. Weerawan (that's her name) wasn't too happy. She's offered to arrange a cab for me to go back out there and do the climb. Depending on the weather, I'll go either tomorrow or Saturday. I WON'T FORGET MY CAMERA! And of course, I'll go back to see my elephants again before I leave (don't you just love how I own them now?).
But here's the question: should I do a day at the Thai Cooking Academy? I might have to 'cause I just don't know how I'll get along without my pad thai ...
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Transition Day
This morning I left Railay Beach. It was almost as much of an ordeal as my arrival. Tide was low (good), but I had to get my heavy bag across a lot of sand to get to the path across the peninsula so that I could catch the longtail back to Ao Nang. Once again, I had to wade out into the water with my bags and get them into the boat without getting anything wet. It's not an easy task. Worse yet is climbing into the boat when it's pitching in the waves. I have to admit that I have a few cuts and scrapes on my ankles from doing this so often over the past week. Oh, and arriving is almost worse. You jump into the water and then half climb back in to get your stuff. Anyway, I arrived.
So I decided to go back to Ao Nang Beach Home, which is the place that I stayed at when I first arrived in the Krabi area. While in town, it's down a long alley from the main street and very quiet. I literally go out my sliding door, step onto the path and in about 30 yards I'm walking down the stairs to the beach. The rooms are very big and beautiful, it only costs 1,000B/night, and I have free, unlimited wifi access from my room. This is not only the cheapest place that I've stayed, but the nicest and I'm not paying for internet access any more. Giant plus!
Basically, today was all about getting some things taken care of: laundry, planning the rest of my excursions, and working on itinerary, train tickets and hotel rooms for India. I had a wonderful dinner at the Beach Home's restaurant on the deck overlooking the beach. The sunset was gorgeous and the food, as always, was fantastic. They were so happy that I've come back (and sent some fellow travelers their way), that they brought me a free appetizer and beer. Gotta love that!
I've got some inland stuff planned for tomorrow, so stay tuned.
So I decided to go back to Ao Nang Beach Home, which is the place that I stayed at when I first arrived in the Krabi area. While in town, it's down a long alley from the main street and very quiet. I literally go out my sliding door, step onto the path and in about 30 yards I'm walking down the stairs to the beach. The rooms are very big and beautiful, it only costs 1,000B/night, and I have free, unlimited wifi access from my room. This is not only the cheapest place that I've stayed, but the nicest and I'm not paying for internet access any more. Giant plus!
Basically, today was all about getting some things taken care of: laundry, planning the rest of my excursions, and working on itinerary, train tickets and hotel rooms for India. I had a wonderful dinner at the Beach Home's restaurant on the deck overlooking the beach. The sunset was gorgeous and the food, as always, was fantastic. They were so happy that I've come back (and sent some fellow travelers their way), that they brought me a free appetizer and beer. Gotta love that!
I've got some inland stuff planned for tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
A Long Day
So today I did my big tour. At 8:00am, I caught a longtail to the Krabi Pier. From there I travelled in a van with 7 Brits to Phang Nga Bay National Park. It took us 2 hours to get there, driving north on inland roads. We travelled through many villages, a few small towns, and past many (and I mean many) plantations. We passed plantations growing bananas, pineapples, mangos, rubber trees and who knows what else. They went on forever and I couldn’t even begin to count the all.
We did make one stop along the way – it was a gas station with bathroom and Muslim women cooking food on the side of the road to sell. Think of it as a Thai truck stop. It was quite a site, it was pouring rain and I didn’t want to get the camera wet. But after about 2 hours of driving, we arrived at a Muslim village where we boarded our longtail and headed out to the islands. It was still raining, but only for about another 15 minutes. The rest of the day was gorgeous.
We started on a river lined by mangroves. It was about a mile wide and only got wider as we headed to sea. We passed a mountain that they call both Camel Mountain and Magoo Mountain, depending on who you talk to. As we opened up in to the bay, the view was breathtaking. Islands were everywhere and its just as beautiful as all the pictures I’ve seen.
Our first stop was Tam Lod limestone cave on Kho Majoo. Basically, we just passed through the cave from one side of the island to the other. Nothing all the spectacular, but there were self-proclaimed “ecotour” boats there with the tourists kayaking around.
We soon passed Kho Panyee. It is a floating village with about 2000 inhabitants. It was founded by Muslim immigrants from Indonesia bout 200 years ago and still going strong. The mosque rises up above the town and a few restaurants line the docks at one end of the island. The inhabitants are mostly fisherman who sell their catch on the mainland.
Then we arrived at Kho Tapoo. It’s more commonly known as “James Bond Island” because The Man with the Golden Gun” had some scenes filmed here a million or so years ago. Our guide also claims that some of the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie was filmed here as well – I’ll have to rewatch that movie to find out. I’m pretty sceptical. Anyway, it’s a pretty little island with too many people scampering about. And some women from Kho Panyee have set up shop hocking food, jewelry, t-shirts, and anything else they think people will buy. We had a half an hour to wander around, so I did. There’s pictures, but this really wasn’t the highlight of my day.
We then returned to Kho Panyee to have lunch in one of those restaurants. I covered up with a long sleeved shirt and zipped those pant legs onto my safari shorts because I didn’t want to offend anyone and I got some nice comments from the people in the restaurant. Funny how little things go a long way. Anyhoo, they were ready for us and served us a set family style fare. Everything was amazing, from the soup, to the shrimp, to the seafood stir fry to the veggies. I’d go back in a second, just to eat. Afterwards, I set off meandering the village. It really is mostly floating except for the end near the mosque. Everything is crambed together and you can see the water through the planks under your feet. I eventually found the cemetary and the mosque. The call to prayer was on the loudspeakers and the men were all heading my direction. I could look right inside the mosque and see them facing Mecca praying. I decided not to take a picture – it just didn’t seem right to invade their privacy that way. I walked on and got a little lost. I passed the school, many homes, the grocery store and finally found my way back. We then took the boat back to where we first boarded and got back on the bus.
Our next stop was Wat Suwankuha (also known as the Monkey Cave Temple). There are monkeys everywhere, I have to admit. But when you go inside, the thing that catches your eye is the giant reclining Budha. There’s Budha’s all over the place, but the giant reclinging one catches your eye. There’s also a tomb with the ashes of members of the family that built this temple 200 years ago, a monk accepting offerings, bats on the ceilings and yes, lots and lots of monkeys. I had gone up some stairs to another cave of the temple and was heading back down when a monkey stopped me at the top of the stairs. He walked right up to within a foot of me, looked me right in the eye, and kept motioning with his hand – he kept raising it to his mouth. The SOB was begging for food. I walked on by and back to the main entrance. More monkeys, including mothers with babies, were all looking at me as I went by. Sucker that I am, a bought 2 bunches of bananas from the lady with the food stand. I tucked one batch under my left elbow and started handing out bananas to the monkeys. They come right up and take them gently out of your hand. Of course, as I’m doing it the big SOB from upstairs had come down. He came from behind, jumped up, and stole the bunch from under my elbow. He then ran up a cliff, stashed them, and then came back and begged for more. No wonder he was the biggest monkey there. The Brits kept saying "cheeky monkey" which brought Mike Meyers on SNL flashbacks. Anyway, I think I’m monkeyed out now.
Our last stop of the day was Manora Waterfall. It’s a long fall that meanders down a hillside for 4 km. There’s a pool, then small drop, then another pool, etc. We walked up a ways to one of the nicer pools and started in. The pools were full or tiger fish. Though it doesn’t hurt, they come up and suck on your skin. Needless to say, no one stayed in the water for long.
After our 2 hour drive back, I caught another longtail back to Railay Beach. I’ve showered and am heading to dinner. I’ll be leaving Railay tomorrow, but I haven’t quite decided where I’m going next. If I don’t figure anything else, I’ll head back to Ao Nang and figure it out.
Only 1 more week left in Thailand. I’m already starting to get sad.
We did make one stop along the way – it was a gas station with bathroom and Muslim women cooking food on the side of the road to sell. Think of it as a Thai truck stop. It was quite a site, it was pouring rain and I didn’t want to get the camera wet. But after about 2 hours of driving, we arrived at a Muslim village where we boarded our longtail and headed out to the islands. It was still raining, but only for about another 15 minutes. The rest of the day was gorgeous.
We started on a river lined by mangroves. It was about a mile wide and only got wider as we headed to sea. We passed a mountain that they call both Camel Mountain and Magoo Mountain, depending on who you talk to. As we opened up in to the bay, the view was breathtaking. Islands were everywhere and its just as beautiful as all the pictures I’ve seen.
Our first stop was Tam Lod limestone cave on Kho Majoo. Basically, we just passed through the cave from one side of the island to the other. Nothing all the spectacular, but there were self-proclaimed “ecotour” boats there with the tourists kayaking around.
We soon passed Kho Panyee. It is a floating village with about 2000 inhabitants. It was founded by Muslim immigrants from Indonesia bout 200 years ago and still going strong. The mosque rises up above the town and a few restaurants line the docks at one end of the island. The inhabitants are mostly fisherman who sell their catch on the mainland.
Then we arrived at Kho Tapoo. It’s more commonly known as “James Bond Island” because The Man with the Golden Gun” had some scenes filmed here a million or so years ago. Our guide also claims that some of the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie was filmed here as well – I’ll have to rewatch that movie to find out. I’m pretty sceptical. Anyway, it’s a pretty little island with too many people scampering about. And some women from Kho Panyee have set up shop hocking food, jewelry, t-shirts, and anything else they think people will buy. We had a half an hour to wander around, so I did. There’s pictures, but this really wasn’t the highlight of my day.
We then returned to Kho Panyee to have lunch in one of those restaurants. I covered up with a long sleeved shirt and zipped those pant legs onto my safari shorts because I didn’t want to offend anyone and I got some nice comments from the people in the restaurant. Funny how little things go a long way. Anyhoo, they were ready for us and served us a set family style fare. Everything was amazing, from the soup, to the shrimp, to the seafood stir fry to the veggies. I’d go back in a second, just to eat. Afterwards, I set off meandering the village. It really is mostly floating except for the end near the mosque. Everything is crambed together and you can see the water through the planks under your feet. I eventually found the cemetary and the mosque. The call to prayer was on the loudspeakers and the men were all heading my direction. I could look right inside the mosque and see them facing Mecca praying. I decided not to take a picture – it just didn’t seem right to invade their privacy that way. I walked on and got a little lost. I passed the school, many homes, the grocery store and finally found my way back. We then took the boat back to where we first boarded and got back on the bus.
Our next stop was Wat Suwankuha (also known as the Monkey Cave Temple). There are monkeys everywhere, I have to admit. But when you go inside, the thing that catches your eye is the giant reclining Budha. There’s Budha’s all over the place, but the giant reclinging one catches your eye. There’s also a tomb with the ashes of members of the family that built this temple 200 years ago, a monk accepting offerings, bats on the ceilings and yes, lots and lots of monkeys. I had gone up some stairs to another cave of the temple and was heading back down when a monkey stopped me at the top of the stairs. He walked right up to within a foot of me, looked me right in the eye, and kept motioning with his hand – he kept raising it to his mouth. The SOB was begging for food. I walked on by and back to the main entrance. More monkeys, including mothers with babies, were all looking at me as I went by. Sucker that I am, a bought 2 bunches of bananas from the lady with the food stand. I tucked one batch under my left elbow and started handing out bananas to the monkeys. They come right up and take them gently out of your hand. Of course, as I’m doing it the big SOB from upstairs had come down. He came from behind, jumped up, and stole the bunch from under my elbow. He then ran up a cliff, stashed them, and then came back and begged for more. No wonder he was the biggest monkey there. The Brits kept saying "cheeky monkey" which brought Mike Meyers on SNL flashbacks. Anyway, I think I’m monkeyed out now.
Our last stop of the day was Manora Waterfall. It’s a long fall that meanders down a hillside for 4 km. There’s a pool, then small drop, then another pool, etc. We walked up a ways to one of the nicer pools and started in. The pools were full or tiger fish. Though it doesn’t hurt, they come up and suck on your skin. Needless to say, no one stayed in the water for long.
After our 2 hour drive back, I caught another longtail back to Railay Beach. I’ve showered and am heading to dinner. I’ll be leaving Railay tomorrow, but I haven’t quite decided where I’m going next. If I don’t figure anything else, I’ll head back to Ao Nang and figure it out.
Only 1 more week left in Thailand. I’m already starting to get sad.
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