Ten of the sixteen days in Vietnam have slipped by and I am back in Ho Chi Minh where I started. We opted not to try and rush up to Hanoi and back, although we were tempted since everyone says the North is better. Instead, we ventured in the opposite direction, into the Mekong Delta. First stop was Phu Quoc Island, a straight shot across the Mekong and clear offshore for three hours by speed boat. We arrived after a long mini-bus ride positioned in front of the most awful Russian couple I have ever encountered, arriving in Rach Gia at 4:30 am, sleeping like homeless people on benches at the boat station, and FINALLY getting the boat to the island. We found a hotel right on the beach and stumbled down to the water to collapse onto the amazing white sand and lounge for the rest of the day by the water. We spent three days at Phu Quoc snorkelling, lying on the beach, and riding around on a rented motorbike. I really enjoyed Phu Quoc since it is not vastly overdeveloped the way Thailand's beaches are. There are still plenty of small fishing villages along the water and the interior of the island is covered mostly in forest. This made it especially enjoyable to motorbike around. The island is known throughout Vietnam for making superior fish sauce, and this was evident from the frequent scent that accosted our nostrils whenever we passed a fish sauce factory. I chose not to dispute this claim and just believe them, I did not to try any.
We left the island to visit a few other locations in the Mekong Delta, Can Tho and Vin Long. We did your standard boat trip to the floating markets in Can Tho. We attempted to get an independent driver to take us to avoid the package tourist trips. We found Hung, boat driver down by the water who offered us a cheaper trip than the packaged tour the hotel owner pushed on us. At 5:30 am, when we met him for our trip to the "less touristy" of the markets Hung took us to get some coffee at a coffee shop. In Vietnam this means small stall on the sidewalk with tiny plastic tables no more than a foot of the ground with a cluster of bright plastic stools that even well dressed businessmen in Saigon can be seen squatting on as they share a cup of joe. At our table a travel agent who Hung works for plopped down. We had succeeded ini organizing a packaged tour with the boat driver instead of the travel agent! We were still taken on the standard trip complete with plenty of photo opps and a few free fruits that hung peeled and offered us as he drove us there and back. Well at least we tried, and the cluster of boats loaded with tropical fruit and veggies clogging the side of the river was still enjoyable... even if I felt like a huge tourist as I happily snapped photos of the people there trying to buy produce to take back to their stalls in town. The houseboats that bring goods from the multitude of orchards and farms in the waterways of the Mekong are pretty impressive. Laundry is strewn up on the back decks, cooking pots from that mornings breakfast are being cleaned inside, and the family dog and small garden are located on the roof of the boat. Meanwhile a brisk business is being done at the front of the boat as smaller vessels pull up and load up on jack fruit, pumpkin, dragon fruit, or whatever the family has for sale.
On the way back we took the long way through the smaller waterways that were lined by rural villages and farms before heading back to Can Tho. From here we got suckered into booking another boat and homestay through the same tour operator to Vinh Long to do a homestay on Anh Binh Island. Several families on the island offer up their homes for tourists to spend a night and enjoy two homecooked meals. Unfortunately the fact that we are vegetarian was not successfully communicated to the family... which meant I ate fish and had to akwardly infrom the mother of the family why I had not touced the beef. We did get very enetertaining Vietnamese lesson from their twelve year old son and I ate some of the best star fruit I have ever tasted that I smuggled from a tree growing ouside our room.
Then we were back in Saigon for a day before we made our second attempt at getting off the beaten track by taking a tour with the Easy Riders of Dalat. This is a very popular motorcycle tour group that was started in Da Lat and today has hundreds of copy cat operations running throughout Vietnam. The groups are made up of Vietnamese motorcycle drivers who speak relatively good English (depending on which group you find yourself using) who take you on single or multi-day tours through Vietnam. Kara and I wound up with Tuan and Lee on a four day trip from Saigon to Da Lat along the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Sidewalks full of hot charcoal and animal intestines
Going for a run on an evening in December brings to mind jogs through Rock Creek Park and a distinct evening chill as I try to get in a few miles before it gets dark. In SE Asia I feel as though I wandered outside and set off on my run and then remembered that I am on shrooms, causing my entire run to be one long overstimulated mess. Funky dried squids that are flattened and hanging from a rack wave their tentacles as me as I dodge around a woman grilling strange little cubes in banana leaves over a pile of hot embers by my feet. When I step off into a street an army of motorbikes bears down on me in both directions and crossing is a matter of trusting that people are paying attention enough, and not distracted by the nine family members or herd of geese propped on the moto with them, so they can steer around you. This trippy experience has become quite normal and enjoyable for me as these four months near their end and I find myself in Can Tho, the largest city in the Mekong Delta. I usually experience at a slower pace, but occasionally when I am in a slighlty calmer location like Can Tho I have attempted a short run.
Kara and I have journeyed from Battambong in Cambodia since I last wrote a blog post. We did a homestay with Sambath, a motorcycle guide who offers his Aunt and Uncles rural home for two nights. This included a motorbike tour around the village and surrounding areas to sample sticky rice smoked in bamboo, watch rice noodles being made, see the rice paper village, journey through amazing fields of rice that stretched for miles, and eat delicious food prepared by his wife with a side of... RICE. We also got to talk to Sambath about his experiences growing up in Cambodia, and hear his account of Cambodian history which was really insightful. Talking to Cambodians while at our two homestays has been an intense experience that usually leaves me feeling depressed and embarassed at how lucky my cushy middle class suburban childhood was in comparisson. It is no wonder Cambodia is flooded with foreign NGO workers desperately groping for some answer to how a country that is still psychologically recovering from horrible wartime attrocities can recover. Talking to Sambath gives a picture of just how far the country has to go since they have yet to be able to vote a leader into power who doesn't pocket as much aid money as he can and spend his time arranging sinecures for all his friends.
Feeling a little disillusioned I returned to Phnom Penh for Thanksgiving... which lacked both tofurkey and pumpkin pie so it wasn't quite the same. However, its hard to feel homesick when your surroundings remind you so little of what you are missing back home (this doesn't mean I wouldn't have killed to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but it just didn't work out). We spent a few more days in Phnom Penh getting in some amazing Cambodian meals to make up for the absense of all the eating we should have been doing on turkey day. We went to the Friends Restaraunt, which is a program for street kids that is doing an amazing job providing lodging, education, and training for kids with no other place to go. If they can successfully stick with Friends they leave with training to work in restauraunts as cooks, waiters, artists, and producing handicrafts. On top of that the food at the two restauraunts they run around town are delicious. I really loved Cambodian food. The only challenge was finding vegetarian since fish paste (nicknamed Cambodian cheese by Sambath) sneaks into just about every dish. I have just lowered my standards and try to at least ensure there are not chunks of dog meat in whatever I eat.
Five days in Vietnam have led me to draw a very similar conclusion about the food, although I am not as big a fan of it as I was with Kmer cuisine. Vietnamese seem to love fish past and fish sauce even more than Cambodians. The smell of fermented fish accosts my nostrils everywhere I go. Traditional Vietnames cuisine doesn't seem to lend itself that well to vegetarian dishes, but I can still find some street food favorites to fall back on if I get tired of spring rolls or vegetables and tofu with garlic. One of my favorite things to do is sample street food (although this ended horribly for Kara in Bangkok so she usually won't accompany me). My latest favorite is rice cakes that are bigger than your face and cooked with sesame, sprig onions, and garlice. MMMmm. Here I have been sampling the unbelievable amount of unusual fruit in season. I still can't bring myself to sample Durian, the famous fruit that is banned from the Bangkok subway system it smells so bad. I can usually spot it because it smells like fermented garbage, but some people love it. Ah well, to each his own.
We have a few homestays lined up in Vietnam which should offer more food commentary soon.
Kara and I have journeyed from Battambong in Cambodia since I last wrote a blog post. We did a homestay with Sambath, a motorcycle guide who offers his Aunt and Uncles rural home for two nights. This included a motorbike tour around the village and surrounding areas to sample sticky rice smoked in bamboo, watch rice noodles being made, see the rice paper village, journey through amazing fields of rice that stretched for miles, and eat delicious food prepared by his wife with a side of... RICE. We also got to talk to Sambath about his experiences growing up in Cambodia, and hear his account of Cambodian history which was really insightful. Talking to Cambodians while at our two homestays has been an intense experience that usually leaves me feeling depressed and embarassed at how lucky my cushy middle class suburban childhood was in comparisson. It is no wonder Cambodia is flooded with foreign NGO workers desperately groping for some answer to how a country that is still psychologically recovering from horrible wartime attrocities can recover. Talking to Sambath gives a picture of just how far the country has to go since they have yet to be able to vote a leader into power who doesn't pocket as much aid money as he can and spend his time arranging sinecures for all his friends.
Feeling a little disillusioned I returned to Phnom Penh for Thanksgiving... which lacked both tofurkey and pumpkin pie so it wasn't quite the same. However, its hard to feel homesick when your surroundings remind you so little of what you are missing back home (this doesn't mean I wouldn't have killed to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but it just didn't work out). We spent a few more days in Phnom Penh getting in some amazing Cambodian meals to make up for the absense of all the eating we should have been doing on turkey day. We went to the Friends Restaraunt, which is a program for street kids that is doing an amazing job providing lodging, education, and training for kids with no other place to go. If they can successfully stick with Friends they leave with training to work in restauraunts as cooks, waiters, artists, and producing handicrafts. On top of that the food at the two restauraunts they run around town are delicious. I really loved Cambodian food. The only challenge was finding vegetarian since fish paste (nicknamed Cambodian cheese by Sambath) sneaks into just about every dish. I have just lowered my standards and try to at least ensure there are not chunks of dog meat in whatever I eat.
Five days in Vietnam have led me to draw a very similar conclusion about the food, although I am not as big a fan of it as I was with Kmer cuisine. Vietnamese seem to love fish past and fish sauce even more than Cambodians. The smell of fermented fish accosts my nostrils everywhere I go. Traditional Vietnames cuisine doesn't seem to lend itself that well to vegetarian dishes, but I can still find some street food favorites to fall back on if I get tired of spring rolls or vegetables and tofu with garlic. One of my favorite things to do is sample street food (although this ended horribly for Kara in Bangkok so she usually won't accompany me). My latest favorite is rice cakes that are bigger than your face and cooked with sesame, sprig onions, and garlice. MMMmm. Here I have been sampling the unbelievable amount of unusual fruit in season. I still can't bring myself to sample Durian, the famous fruit that is banned from the Bangkok subway system it smells so bad. I can usually spot it because it smells like fermented garbage, but some people love it. Ah well, to each his own.
We have a few homestays lined up in Vietnam which should offer more food commentary soon.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Fine Khmer cooking and Angkor Wat
From our homestay we caught a bus to Siem Reap to see Cambodia's Taj Mahal and Great Wall combined, Angkor Wat. It is one of the man made wonders of the world, and the pride and joy of Cambodia. Every Cambodia is expected to visit Angkor at least once in their lifetime if they can (although few can afford it), much like Muslims are expected to travel to Mecca if it is in their means.
Siem Reep is definitely a tourist town, and is far more like one of the Thai Islands than other places in Cambodia we have been. It is also swarming with fair trade shops and NGO's attempting to redistribute some of the money flooding in from foreigners in a way that actually benefits locals. The temples themselves are about 20 km or less away from the town so every morning a flood of motodops, motorcycles, and huge tour buses rush down the road for a day of roaming around the main temples. Making their way through the exhaust and dirt kicked up by these vehicles are also the few tourists who opt for bikes, and Kara and I were members of this brave group.
The area around most of the temples is still jungle for the most part with areas around the temples themselves cleared. Many of the temples actually have trees growing out of the crumbling stone structures and lichen growing over carvings of gods and other creatures. It looks like something out of an Indiana Jones film, as long as you can mentally block out the group of twenty or so tourists filing past led by a Khmer guide speaking fluent German, French, Korean, English, or some other language.
After three days of biking around and climbing over crumbling temples we had had our fill of temples. Angkor is huge enough that given the time a week could be devoted to leisurely explore the hundreds of remains that dot the area. Rather than go to see more we instead spent our fourth day taking a cooking class and attending a really great photo festival. The cooking class was at a vegetarian restaurant which gave us a chance to see how to cook vegetarian versions of the generally meat heavy Khmei food.
Our next stop was Battambang and to get there we took a slow boat through the waterways that are created by the monsoons. The water engulfs trees and whole villages which have been built on stilts in preparation,. Many homes are simply boats or houses with enough tires attached to the edges that they are capable of floating above the rising monsoon rains. When we stopped for lunch at a floating restauraunt we noticed small children in about five different canoes paddling themselves through the water in their school uniforms. Most kids walk or bike to school around here but these eight year olds get themselves there with boat and paddle.
Battambang itself doesn't really offer much excitement. It is the second largest city in Cambodia but that is not saying much. We took another cooking class, but this time were able to prepare the dishes ourselves and of course visited the local market for ingredients. In Cambodia this is always an adventure because of that variety of creative protein options on display. I was happy to be cooking vegetarian versions of the dishes. We made amok, lok lak, and soup. I must say I make a pretty good Khmei cook.
Siem Reep is definitely a tourist town, and is far more like one of the Thai Islands than other places in Cambodia we have been. It is also swarming with fair trade shops and NGO's attempting to redistribute some of the money flooding in from foreigners in a way that actually benefits locals. The temples themselves are about 20 km or less away from the town so every morning a flood of motodops, motorcycles, and huge tour buses rush down the road for a day of roaming around the main temples. Making their way through the exhaust and dirt kicked up by these vehicles are also the few tourists who opt for bikes, and Kara and I were members of this brave group.
The area around most of the temples is still jungle for the most part with areas around the temples themselves cleared. Many of the temples actually have trees growing out of the crumbling stone structures and lichen growing over carvings of gods and other creatures. It looks like something out of an Indiana Jones film, as long as you can mentally block out the group of twenty or so tourists filing past led by a Khmer guide speaking fluent German, French, Korean, English, or some other language.
After three days of biking around and climbing over crumbling temples we had had our fill of temples. Angkor is huge enough that given the time a week could be devoted to leisurely explore the hundreds of remains that dot the area. Rather than go to see more we instead spent our fourth day taking a cooking class and attending a really great photo festival. The cooking class was at a vegetarian restaurant which gave us a chance to see how to cook vegetarian versions of the generally meat heavy Khmei food.
Our next stop was Battambang and to get there we took a slow boat through the waterways that are created by the monsoons. The water engulfs trees and whole villages which have been built on stilts in preparation,. Many homes are simply boats or houses with enough tires attached to the edges that they are capable of floating above the rising monsoon rains. When we stopped for lunch at a floating restauraunt we noticed small children in about five different canoes paddling themselves through the water in their school uniforms. Most kids walk or bike to school around here but these eight year olds get themselves there with boat and paddle.
Battambang itself doesn't really offer much excitement. It is the second largest city in Cambodia but that is not saying much. We took another cooking class, but this time were able to prepare the dishes ourselves and of course visited the local market for ingredients. In Cambodia this is always an adventure because of that variety of creative protein options on display. I was happy to be cooking vegetarian versions of the dishes. We made amok, lok lak, and soup. I must say I make a pretty good Khmei cook.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Running Amok in Cambodia
I heard horrible stories about Cambodia before I arrived from other travelers. They told me it was dirty and there were tons of touts. So far though, my only complaint has been the heat. Although the country does make it a little hard to stray far from the well travelled tourist routes because of the risk of land mines and the fact that many roads are no more than patches of pavement scattered between red dirt. This is what I would expect from a place that is still recovering from the Khmer Rouge and ongoing government corruption. I am still finding what I have seen of the country absolutely fascinating, and I really wish I had more time here.
Kara and I started out in Phnom Penh brushing up on all the genocide history you never learn in school. We went to the killing fields and Tuong Sleng prison... then as though that wasn't depressing enough we also watched The Killing Fields movie at our hotel. With the bleakest part of the countries past over, and my severe depression beginning to lift slightly we headed of to wander around the city. We visited the central market, your usual Asian market crammed with stalls selling everything from rubber band to dried fish to fine gold jewelry, but unlike other places Cambodia's markets boast a wide variety of apparel from American clothing chains. Gap, Izod, Abercrombie, Holister all seem to take advantage of cheap labor costs here in Cambodia and quite a few of last seasons fashions don't seem to have made their way to the stores they were intended for. Perhaps even more interesting, although somewhat disturbing, was wandering into the meat market that is located just a few rows past the clothing stalls. This was my first glimpse into the wide variety of meats Khmer cuisine covers. The market had dried fish cut open and strung up for display, as well as squid, and a variety of other unidentified hunks of flesh creating a rainbow of red, pink, and brown flesh at every stall. Yummy. Since then I have also seen fried grasshoppers, spider, whole doves (heads and all), frogs, and have also heard about the "special meat"you can order-dog. Yup, I will never hear dogs barking at night and think it is just a group of strays howling at each other, now I picture Cambodian men with nets chasing the poor mutts down the street for the next days Khmer Curry.
Surprisingly none of this tasty meat has convinced me to relinquish my vegetarianism so I instead sought out tastier tofu and vegetable options. Cambodian food is actually quite good. Less spicy than Thai but the same general dedication to curry and rice in a variety of delicious forms. My favorites are grilled eggplant and amok, a dish made in a grilled banana leaf. I did not have to search out vegetarian in Phnom Penh for long though because Kara and I hopped a bus to Komphong Cham after a few days to stay at Rana home stay for two days.
This home stay is run by an American ex-pat, Don, his wife, Kheang, who is Cambodian. They have two amazing, rambunctious kids who are 5 and 6. They provided ongoing entertainment throughout the entire visit with their quest for kite materials, attempted swims in any body of water we passed, adventures wading through muddy rice fields, and an uncanny ability to lose flip flops (this was Dara specifically). The family lives outside Komphong Cham in a small rural village where they have a fairly comfortable guest bungalow located beside their house. Kheong cooks all the food, and provides an amazing sample of a variety of the best Khmer dishes. She also uses her ability to speak both Cambodian and English to provide you with an opportunity to speak to local people in the village. We went for both a walk and bike ride in our two days and had multiple conversations with rice, cucumber, fish farmers, and other locals we met along the way. Kheong was also able to give us descriptions of the problems the people in the area are facing due to government corruption and a variety of other problems. At the time of our visit for example, there was no electricity because the service had been unexpectedly cut (insert government conspiracy theory here). This was one of many issues we learned about that keep the average Cambodian from living at a level of economic stability.
We also had evening, "guest speakers," whop were members of Kheong's family paid a small amount to come and let us grill them with questions for about an hour. We heard about the schools from Kheong's sister, and life under Pol Pot and in the village before and after from Kheong's mother. Overall it was an amazing experience that has given me so much more insight into the lives of the people I would otherwise simply whizz by in a bus or boat. It is amazing to feel like I was able to appreciate the beauty of Cambodia's rural landscape but also gain an appreciation of the hardships people face when they have to live there.
Kara and I started out in Phnom Penh brushing up on all the genocide history you never learn in school. We went to the killing fields and Tuong Sleng prison... then as though that wasn't depressing enough we also watched The Killing Fields movie at our hotel. With the bleakest part of the countries past over, and my severe depression beginning to lift slightly we headed of to wander around the city. We visited the central market, your usual Asian market crammed with stalls selling everything from rubber band to dried fish to fine gold jewelry, but unlike other places Cambodia's markets boast a wide variety of apparel from American clothing chains. Gap, Izod, Abercrombie, Holister all seem to take advantage of cheap labor costs here in Cambodia and quite a few of last seasons fashions don't seem to have made their way to the stores they were intended for. Perhaps even more interesting, although somewhat disturbing, was wandering into the meat market that is located just a few rows past the clothing stalls. This was my first glimpse into the wide variety of meats Khmer cuisine covers. The market had dried fish cut open and strung up for display, as well as squid, and a variety of other unidentified hunks of flesh creating a rainbow of red, pink, and brown flesh at every stall. Yummy. Since then I have also seen fried grasshoppers, spider, whole doves (heads and all), frogs, and have also heard about the "special meat"you can order-dog. Yup, I will never hear dogs barking at night and think it is just a group of strays howling at each other, now I picture Cambodian men with nets chasing the poor mutts down the street for the next days Khmer Curry.
Surprisingly none of this tasty meat has convinced me to relinquish my vegetarianism so I instead sought out tastier tofu and vegetable options. Cambodian food is actually quite good. Less spicy than Thai but the same general dedication to curry and rice in a variety of delicious forms. My favorites are grilled eggplant and amok, a dish made in a grilled banana leaf. I did not have to search out vegetarian in Phnom Penh for long though because Kara and I hopped a bus to Komphong Cham after a few days to stay at Rana home stay for two days.
This home stay is run by an American ex-pat, Don, his wife, Kheang, who is Cambodian. They have two amazing, rambunctious kids who are 5 and 6. They provided ongoing entertainment throughout the entire visit with their quest for kite materials, attempted swims in any body of water we passed, adventures wading through muddy rice fields, and an uncanny ability to lose flip flops (this was Dara specifically). The family lives outside Komphong Cham in a small rural village where they have a fairly comfortable guest bungalow located beside their house. Kheong cooks all the food, and provides an amazing sample of a variety of the best Khmer dishes. She also uses her ability to speak both Cambodian and English to provide you with an opportunity to speak to local people in the village. We went for both a walk and bike ride in our two days and had multiple conversations with rice, cucumber, fish farmers, and other locals we met along the way. Kheong was also able to give us descriptions of the problems the people in the area are facing due to government corruption and a variety of other problems. At the time of our visit for example, there was no electricity because the service had been unexpectedly cut (insert government conspiracy theory here). This was one of many issues we learned about that keep the average Cambodian from living at a level of economic stability.
We also had evening, "guest speakers," whop were members of Kheong's family paid a small amount to come and let us grill them with questions for about an hour. We heard about the schools from Kheong's sister, and life under Pol Pot and in the village before and after from Kheong's mother. Overall it was an amazing experience that has given me so much more insight into the lives of the people I would otherwise simply whizz by in a bus or boat. It is amazing to feel like I was able to appreciate the beauty of Cambodia's rural landscape but also gain an appreciation of the hardships people face when they have to live there.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Leaving Thailand
Kara and I sat contentedly snacking on our respective bags of snacks listening to the disgruntled passengers in the back of our mini-bus. They were raising hell because they seemed to find it absurd that our driver wanted to shove a fourth person into the three seats that took up the back of the van. We laughed at how inappropriate she was being, and also the requests shouted from the back of the bus for our driver to slow down and stop driving in the wrong lanes. Silly tourists. Traveling in SE Asia you should not yell (your losing face) and you should not find it absurd that your vehicle will have a disproportionate number of people to available seats. Just be thankful when no one has puked on you, and if you manage to snag a seat located near a window (however, if an elderly person, mother with small kids, or monk happens to board your required to offer them your seat). So rather than being appalled at the speed your driver chooses to go, or the fact that the person next to you is practically sitting in your lap, you'll have to suck it up and find ways to make your drive pleasant. In this case we were up next to the driver so we befriended him and got him to rock out with us to some local Thai-island reggae, "This one goes out to my brothers and sisters who we lost in Ko Phi Phiiiii!"
These are the things I have gotten used to since traveling, and it always strikes me as funny when I am surrounded by people who do not find these discomforts normal. In fact, Thailand has been incredibly comfortable, and I know that I will be giving up a few of the conveniences I have enjoyed here when we leave for Cambodia, our next destination.
We spent a few days in Krabi province Island hopping. We managed to make it to Ao Nang, Ton Sai, Ko Phi Phi, and then to the less touristy Hat Yao before our days of lounging on the beach and snorkelling were abruptly ended by stormy weather. Hoping this was just isolated to the regions further south we turned back north and arrived at Ko Lanta to discover that the crap weather was everywhere along the Andaman Coast. The Islands offer few things to do in torrential downpours so we gave up and hopped a bus back to Bangkok early.
We concluded out time in Thailand with a Thai massage, a couple trips to the movies, shopping, and alot of good food. We also celebrated Loi Krathong, a Thai festival where Krathongs, made of flowers and banana leaves with incense and a candle stuck in the top, are set afloat in whatever nearby body of water is available. It is an offering to the river goddess, and it is believed you can make a wish as you set the Krathong out onto the water. We went to Lumphini park (Bangkok's version of central park) and watched people send off their Krathongs. It was really beautiful to watch the small lake lit up by all the floating Krathongs.
The other major event in Bangkok was the Princess' funeral. Events and traditions focused on honoring the princess were taking place everywhere. During the official days of mourning the entire city was wearing only black and white. Thais are unbelievably loyal to the royal family. THere is a short anthem to the king before you see movies or start large events and everyone stands up and stops talking. THis even happened at the commencement of a huge outdoor night market we went to in Chiang Mai. It was impressive to see the sea of people streaming along past the stalls lining the road all freeze and fall silent as the anthem was played.
The devotion to the king is just as strong for all the royal family so everyone was in mouring over the death of the princess. The formal ceremonies had been going on for a week and a half by the time we left, with more still to come. Considering that we were expecting to have our time in Bangkok cut short by the political unrest it was a surprise that instead of red and yellow shirted protesters (the colors of the two rival political parties) we were instead witness to the people of Bangkok coming together over the one aspect of their government they all support, the royal family.
These are the things I have gotten used to since traveling, and it always strikes me as funny when I am surrounded by people who do not find these discomforts normal. In fact, Thailand has been incredibly comfortable, and I know that I will be giving up a few of the conveniences I have enjoyed here when we leave for Cambodia, our next destination.
We spent a few days in Krabi province Island hopping. We managed to make it to Ao Nang, Ton Sai, Ko Phi Phi, and then to the less touristy Hat Yao before our days of lounging on the beach and snorkelling were abruptly ended by stormy weather. Hoping this was just isolated to the regions further south we turned back north and arrived at Ko Lanta to discover that the crap weather was everywhere along the Andaman Coast. The Islands offer few things to do in torrential downpours so we gave up and hopped a bus back to Bangkok early.
We concluded out time in Thailand with a Thai massage, a couple trips to the movies, shopping, and alot of good food. We also celebrated Loi Krathong, a Thai festival where Krathongs, made of flowers and banana leaves with incense and a candle stuck in the top, are set afloat in whatever nearby body of water is available. It is an offering to the river goddess, and it is believed you can make a wish as you set the Krathong out onto the water. We went to Lumphini park (Bangkok's version of central park) and watched people send off their Krathongs. It was really beautiful to watch the small lake lit up by all the floating Krathongs.
The other major event in Bangkok was the Princess' funeral. Events and traditions focused on honoring the princess were taking place everywhere. During the official days of mourning the entire city was wearing only black and white. Thais are unbelievably loyal to the royal family. THere is a short anthem to the king before you see movies or start large events and everyone stands up and stops talking. THis even happened at the commencement of a huge outdoor night market we went to in Chiang Mai. It was impressive to see the sea of people streaming along past the stalls lining the road all freeze and fall silent as the anthem was played.
The devotion to the king is just as strong for all the royal family so everyone was in mouring over the death of the princess. The formal ceremonies had been going on for a week and a half by the time we left, with more still to come. Considering that we were expecting to have our time in Bangkok cut short by the political unrest it was a surprise that instead of red and yellow shirted protesters (the colors of the two rival political parties) we were instead witness to the people of Bangkok coming together over the one aspect of their government they all support, the royal family.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Thailand North to South
The first thing I have noticed about Thailand is how incredibly convenient and easy it has been to travel here than in the previous two countries I was in. When we arrived in Bangkok I was expecting to be overwhelmed since I have heard such horrible things about traffic and how crazy the city is. Everyone says to get out of Bangkok as soon as you can, but this not the reaction I had. It is definitely a bustling city with traffic comparable to Washington D.C. but cars here drive in their own lanes (most of the time) and there are actual highways, not potholed bits of pavement that are supposed to pass as roads. OK, so India and Nepal weren't that bad but compared to Thailand it seems like that at times. Bangkok also offers a lot of the typical urban comforts I am used to (including Starbucks which Kara was very very excited about after suffering from hot chocolate withdrawal for so long). It also has some incredible shopping and food at the outdoor markets and food stalls that seem to clutter every large Thanen (Road) and Soi (small alley or side street) of the city. We visited one of the largest outdoor markets, Chatuchowk Market which has everything from impressive paintings in actual galleries to housewares and knock-off pumas.
Mostly my time in Bangkok was spent taking in the main tourist attractions and wandering through the different neighborhoods. I also met up with the head of Democrats Abroad Thailand in the business district and filled out my election ballot. Go Obama!! So far I have managed to see two of the three presidential debates and I am hoping to hunt down a hotel with a TV that will cover the vote counts.
After three days we caught a train North to Chang Mai. The plan was to find a trek to do up north before returning to Bangkok. When we arrived in Chiang Mai we found a plethora of options for tours to visit various hill tribes and trek through the national parks in the area. We were interested in being able to stay with and learn more about the hill tribes in Thailand, which are minority groups of several different tribes living in the mountainous border areas of Thailand. Many of them lack Thai citizenship and suffer from being excluded from the government health care and education services most Thais get. Their culture is also traditionally vastly different from other groups in Thailand. However, the interest in them has generated some very exploitative tourist practices. Many of you may have seen the pictures of the women whose necks have been stretched by gold coils? This is one of the smaller hill tribes in Thailand. Most women had stopped being forced to do this, until interested tourists began flocking to see them, encouraging them to reintroduce the practice. Furthermore, many "long neck hill tribe villages" as their called by tours are actually created artificially for tourists. Despite this there ARE some culturally sensitive tours. Kara and I thought we had found one, after shopping around and asking a lot of questions. However, we were horribly mistaken. To make a long story short a visit to a snake farm, one cripsy dog, and a drunk horrible guide later we had returned to Chiang Mai a day early. We visited the Hill Tribe Museum and learned a lot more than we had on our trek.
We also took a cooking class in Chiang Mai and learned to make a lot of the delicious food we have been eating. The cooking school was located outside Chiang Mai on an organic farm and we made enough food for lunch and dinner. I made basil tofu, a red curry, mangoes and sticky rice, and a noodle dish. Kara did a green curry, spring rolls, and papaya salad. Between the two of us we can now attempt to make our favorite dishes at home.
After a week we were back in Bangkok in time for Halloween. I originally thought I would have to miss out on this holiday, but thanks to the large population of ex-pats there is Halloween in Bangkok too. We chose Silom Soi 4 as our destination, where the drag queens and gay men of Bangkok come for their Halloween bash. It was a little hard for us to get together our costumes but in the end Kara was a fairy, and I was a Starbucks cup. We scoured several markets and the malls to find our costumes. Bangkok is littered with street markets so there was no end to options of where to go. The streets of the city can literally transform over a couple of hours if there is a market that takes place their. Markets generally run really early in the morning, all day, or evening until late at night. You can find packs of street vendors to provide you with delicious street food, fresh fruits and veggies, flowers, crafts, clothes, or whatever else you can imagine. Wandering through these chaotic streets has been some of my favorite experiences in Thailand.
If the street stalls can't provide you with what you need than the Bangkok shopping complexes definitely can. We took the sky train to Sukhumvit to see a movie and look for Halloween supplies and were overwhelmed by the enormous and ridiculously upscale shopping complexes that line the road. With the busy traffic and two levels of sidewalk that run to all the malls (one along the sky train just above the street and one sidewalk along the road itself) I felt like I had stumbled into an episode of the Jetsons. The only difference being the sidewalks didn't shoot you through tubes. The inside of the malls are ridiculously crazy. I enjoyed the experience, but it was a bit overstimulating.
Halloween was the drag-tastic experience one would expect, although it wasn't quite as well attended as the high heel race in DC. Kara and I looked pretty ridiculous on the metro in our costumes in Bangkok but once we arrived to the bars at Silom Soi 4 we were definitely upstaged by the outfits there.
We have left Bangkok, and are now in Au Nang, a beach along the Andaman Sea. It is absolutely beautiful and after the craziness of Bangkok it is refreshing to be able to relax and enjoy being outdoors. We plan to island hop for the next two weeks before we have to be in Bangkok for a flight to Cambodia.
After three days we caught a train North to Chang Mai. The plan was to find a trek to do up north before returning to Bangkok. When we arrived in Chiang Mai we found a plethora of options for tours to visit various hill tribes and trek through the national parks in the area. We were interested in being able to stay with and learn more about the hill tribes in Thailand, which are minority groups of several different tribes living in the mountainous border areas of Thailand. Many of them lack Thai citizenship and suffer from being excluded from the government health care and education services most Thais get. Their culture is also traditionally vastly different from other groups in Thailand. However, the interest in them has generated some very exploitative tourist practices. Many of you may have seen the pictures of the women whose necks have been stretched by gold coils? This is one of the smaller hill tribes in Thailand. Most women had stopped being forced to do this, until interested tourists began flocking to see them, encouraging them to reintroduce the practice. Furthermore, many "long neck hill tribe villages" as their called by tours are actually created artificially for tourists. Despite this there ARE some culturally sensitive tours. Kara and I thought we had found one, after shopping around and asking a lot of questions. However, we were horribly mistaken. To make a long story short a visit to a snake farm, one cripsy dog, and a drunk horrible guide later we had returned to Chiang Mai a day early. We visited the Hill Tribe Museum and learned a lot more than we had on our trek.
We also took a cooking class in Chiang Mai and learned to make a lot of the delicious food we have been eating. The cooking school was located outside Chiang Mai on an organic farm and we made enough food for lunch and dinner. I made basil tofu, a red curry, mangoes and sticky rice, and a noodle dish. Kara did a green curry, spring rolls, and papaya salad. Between the two of us we can now attempt to make our favorite dishes at home.
After a week we were back in Bangkok in time for Halloween. I originally thought I would have to miss out on this holiday, but thanks to the large population of ex-pats there is Halloween in Bangkok too. We chose Silom Soi 4 as our destination, where the drag queens and gay men of Bangkok come for their Halloween bash. It was a little hard for us to get together our costumes but in the end Kara was a fairy, and I was a Starbucks cup. We scoured several markets and the malls to find our costumes. Bangkok is littered with street markets so there was no end to options of where to go. The streets of the city can literally transform over a couple of hours if there is a market that takes place their. Markets generally run really early in the morning, all day, or evening until late at night. You can find packs of street vendors to provide you with delicious street food, fresh fruits and veggies, flowers, crafts, clothes, or whatever else you can imagine. Wandering through these chaotic streets has been some of my favorite experiences in Thailand.
If the street stalls can't provide you with what you need than the Bangkok shopping complexes definitely can. We took the sky train to Sukhumvit to see a movie and look for Halloween supplies and were overwhelmed by the enormous and ridiculously upscale shopping complexes that line the road. With the busy traffic and two levels of sidewalk that run to all the malls (one along the sky train just above the street and one sidewalk along the road itself) I felt like I had stumbled into an episode of the Jetsons. The only difference being the sidewalks didn't shoot you through tubes. The inside of the malls are ridiculously crazy. I enjoyed the experience, but it was a bit overstimulating.
Halloween was the drag-tastic experience one would expect, although it wasn't quite as well attended as the high heel race in DC. Kara and I looked pretty ridiculous on the metro in our costumes in Bangkok but once we arrived to the bars at Silom Soi 4 we were definitely upstaged by the outfits there.
We have left Bangkok, and are now in Au Nang, a beach along the Andaman Sea. It is absolutely beautiful and after the craziness of Bangkok it is refreshing to be able to relax and enjoy being outdoors. We plan to island hop for the next two weeks before we have to be in Bangkok for a flight to Cambodia.
Monday, October 20, 2008
The monkey stole our channa and other animal adventures
Kara and I did not trek the Anapurna Circuit or climb to Everest Base Camp but we did still manage to do some of the adventure tourism Nepal is known for. In Pokhara there are several para gliding companies that advertise their services around town. I began asking around about prices, which initially concerned Kara, but after being convinced by multiple people that it was safe and we would not die she agreed to sign up with me. It was a tandem flight from one of the lookout points above the Phewa Tal Lake. The paragliders can be seen from Pokhara as they circle above the lake and we were able to watch them that morning as we had breakfast before our scheduled time (and after our yoga class of course!). We were driven up in a jeep with some of the pilots who would be taking our group. The pilots were exactly what you would expect of paragliders. They were all chugging energy drinks and hanging off the back of the jeep as we drove up. It was honestly like being sandwiched in that vehicle with overgrown ADHD children. I wasn't sure how I felt about them jumping of a steep hill with only a chute to save us.
Once we got to the top I was assigned my pilot, quickly strapped in, and told by him not to worry he would explain everything as we went along. All I had to do was run toward the edge of the hill toward the lake that lay just a couple hundred meters down! This did not comfort me. But I followed the instructions , chute inflated, and we were immediately whisked up into the air. The paraglider circled on thermals higher and higher above the lake. The day was incredibly clear and I could see the Himalayan range in the distance. It was absolutely beautiful, and although flying generally scares me to death this was incredibly relaxing. At the end we even attempted to do some stunts, spiraling down in what made me feel like I was on a roller coaster. Unfortunately we couldn't do much because I am not heavy enough. My pilot told me I should eat more pies.
A day later we hopped a bus to Chitwan National Park in the Terrai Plain. Unlike the cool comfortable weather in Kathmandu and Pokhara, this southern agriculture center of Nepal is hot as can be during October. Although uncomfortable it has created some amazing jungles that is perfect for watching wildlife. We booked a jungle safari on back of an elephant through a very environmentally conscious tour guide who went on for quite some time about the problems facing Nepal's environment. Quite informative.
Our trip atop the elephants allowed us to see alot of animals that would not be visible above the high grass. The elephants are also not considered a threat and we were able to get quite clost to several rhinos! It was amazing. They came thundering out of the jungle into the clearing we were in. It sounded like gunshots as branches cracked underfoot and then they burst out into the clearing and ran past our small herd. Later we also got right up beside one cooling itself off in a pool of water. We were also able to see crocodiles, birds, and deer. Earlier during the day we had been able to sit atop elephants also as they were washed in the river near the park entrance. The handlers let tourists climb on top as the elephants are lead into the water. We were soaked as the elephant we were on began filling it's trunk and shooting water onto it's back. Then it rolled over into the water and knocked us off. Quickly ending our ride.
After this quick tour we headed back to Kathamndu for a few more days of poking around the Kathmandu valley. We visited Swamambunath one afternoon, a temple that is perched above the valley on a nearby mountain top. As we were climbing the many stairs to the top of the buddhist temple, Kara's bag or popcorn and channa was grabbed from her hand suddenly. In front of us a large monkey jumped a few feet from us and sat down to greedily munch on our snacks. I was pretty annoyed, having spent the whole trip to the temple on the lookout for channa and other roasted crunchy snacks. I did not want to share with this monkey. I threw about half of my water at it before it gave up and made off with a smaller bag of our channa. I ran and grabbed the bag before another monkey could take it, but sadly the animal had slobbered all over our snacks and ripped open all the bags so none of it was any good. So sad. There were no other negative encounters with the other monkeys that swarm the temple steps. But I still can't forgive that monkey for taking all my delicious channa.
We flew out of Kathmandu and headed to Bangkok. On the flight We were able to see the entire Himalayan Mountain range. It was beautiful from that height. The snow capped mountains blended perfectly into the line of clouds in front of them. Absolutely incredible.
Once we got to the top I was assigned my pilot, quickly strapped in, and told by him not to worry he would explain everything as we went along. All I had to do was run toward the edge of the hill toward the lake that lay just a couple hundred meters down! This did not comfort me. But I followed the instructions , chute inflated, and we were immediately whisked up into the air. The paraglider circled on thermals higher and higher above the lake. The day was incredibly clear and I could see the Himalayan range in the distance. It was absolutely beautiful, and although flying generally scares me to death this was incredibly relaxing. At the end we even attempted to do some stunts, spiraling down in what made me feel like I was on a roller coaster. Unfortunately we couldn't do much because I am not heavy enough. My pilot told me I should eat more pies.
A day later we hopped a bus to Chitwan National Park in the Terrai Plain. Unlike the cool comfortable weather in Kathmandu and Pokhara, this southern agriculture center of Nepal is hot as can be during October. Although uncomfortable it has created some amazing jungles that is perfect for watching wildlife. We booked a jungle safari on back of an elephant through a very environmentally conscious tour guide who went on for quite some time about the problems facing Nepal's environment. Quite informative.
Our trip atop the elephants allowed us to see alot of animals that would not be visible above the high grass. The elephants are also not considered a threat and we were able to get quite clost to several rhinos! It was amazing. They came thundering out of the jungle into the clearing we were in. It sounded like gunshots as branches cracked underfoot and then they burst out into the clearing and ran past our small herd. Later we also got right up beside one cooling itself off in a pool of water. We were also able to see crocodiles, birds, and deer. Earlier during the day we had been able to sit atop elephants also as they were washed in the river near the park entrance. The handlers let tourists climb on top as the elephants are lead into the water. We were soaked as the elephant we were on began filling it's trunk and shooting water onto it's back. Then it rolled over into the water and knocked us off. Quickly ending our ride.
After this quick tour we headed back to Kathamndu for a few more days of poking around the Kathmandu valley. We visited Swamambunath one afternoon, a temple that is perched above the valley on a nearby mountain top. As we were climbing the many stairs to the top of the buddhist temple, Kara's bag or popcorn and channa was grabbed from her hand suddenly. In front of us a large monkey jumped a few feet from us and sat down to greedily munch on our snacks. I was pretty annoyed, having spent the whole trip to the temple on the lookout for channa and other roasted crunchy snacks. I did not want to share with this monkey. I threw about half of my water at it before it gave up and made off with a smaller bag of our channa. I ran and grabbed the bag before another monkey could take it, but sadly the animal had slobbered all over our snacks and ripped open all the bags so none of it was any good. So sad. There were no other negative encounters with the other monkeys that swarm the temple steps. But I still can't forgive that monkey for taking all my delicious channa.
We flew out of Kathmandu and headed to Bangkok. On the flight We were able to see the entire Himalayan Mountain range. It was beautiful from that height. The snow capped mountains blended perfectly into the line of clouds in front of them. Absolutely incredible.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Presidential debates, animal sacrifices, and political protests
You can tell as soon as you get to the customs line at the Kathmandu airport that the tourists in Nepal are a different breed than those in India. There were no flower children to be found in the group of NorthFace, hiking boot clad men and women we stood behind as we waited for our visas. This trend continued when our taxi dropped us off at the Kathmandu Guest House, where there were a group of people sitting around a table discussing rock climbing gear as we checked in. Most people have come to do the multi-day treks or extreme sports that Nepal has to offer. I feel a little out of place since we have a one day trek planned, but other than that we are spending most of our time exploring Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Chitwan National Park. This itinerary even seems a little ambitious for our ten day trip after two main obstacles have arisen - Dasain, and the unpredictability of road travel in Nepal. Dasain is one of the largest Hindu festivals in Nepal, and since the country is overwhelmingly Hindu, almost everything is shut down as people take off work and travel to their native villages. This has gotten in the way of booking buses but makes walking around Kathmandu a very interesting experience.
The first day we woke up early and watched the presidential debates in our swanky hotel that actually had a television. (Go Obama!). Then we headed out to try and visit the Kathmandu Durbar Square and the Patan Durbar square. These were the centers of two of the three Nawari Kingdoms so each one had a palace and several ornate temples for various gods set up by the rulers over the years. Because it was Dasain this is also where people were congregating to pay their respects to the various Hindu idols in each temple. In fact all through the city there are small temples and shrines where people were making the rounds with their family members to present their god of choice with rice, grass, papad, and color. Color is a brightly died chalk like substance that is splattered on the idol's statue and around. This color was also added to the papad (crispy flatbread) and bright pink food could be seen strewn in the streets and piled in front of the statues.
In Durbar Square there were more offerings taking place. People were waiting outside of the main temple in a line that stretched across the square to pay their respects and witness the sacrificing of two hundred water buffalo, or that's what we were told. I'm not sure this number is accurate but the headless water buffalo calf that rolled by us in a cycle rickshaw. Further down a blood strewn statue to a hindu god also proved that there were animals who had given there lives to make ganesh, parvati, pashpuhtanath, or whatever manifestation of god happy. After this appatizing site we decided to remove ourselves to a rooftop restaraunt for lunch. From there we were able to take in the other major event going on for Dasain, kite flying. Most of the roves in Kathmandu are flat and everyone takes advantage of this on their day off for kite fighting. Small children could be seen running down the street clutching kites everywhere. At the second Durbar Square that afternoon it was pretty much the same story but less traffic and more erotic woodcarvings. Kara and I hung around in the Palace courtyard to watch one of these water buffalo have its head lobbed off, although I chose to just sit to the side when everyone crowded around the doomed animal. It was interesting to people watch since everyone and there family was out for the day flying kites, visiting shrines, or watching animals have their heads removed. Honestly what better way to bond with the family?
The following day we visited Pushphathanath and Bodhnath, the largest Hindu and Buddhist temples respectively. Pushphatanath is the site of the cremation ghats and the funeral pires are clearly visible for everyone to see as they walk around the temples. It was really eerie knowing that the smoke I could smell was coming from burning bodies. Because of the religious significance of the temple the place is littered with Sadhus, Hindu holy men who have given up all worldly possessions in their quest for enlightenment. They are housed in temples and practice yoga and meditation, but their dreads and layers of prayer beads make them quite photogenic. However, these men charge a lot more than one would expect of someone who has given up worldly good, and the willingness of some to pose with their beards held in the air in comical positions for 50 Rupees leads me to think that some may have further to go to reach enlightenment than others.
After two days in Kathmandu we hopped a bus to Pokhara in the west. Our bus rides in India have generally been less than comfortable so we did not have high hopes for this ride. However, we were quite surprised to find our bus was actually clean and thanks to the cooler temperature and lack of choking exhaust fumes (well at least less than India) the journey was quite pleasant. We even stopped for a bathroom and snack break at a nice restaurant. In India the bathrooms on bus rides were dirty enough that i think I could have caught a flying mutant parasite just from squatting over the toilet. Anyways, Nepal buses are great, but we hit a slight rough patch at about 10:45. Our bus ground to a halt in a line of vehicles, and when we peered out the window we noticed that the line continued along the highway as far as we could see. Taking a cue from the passengers on other buses we hopped out and began to walk down toward the cause of the delay. all along the road people had gotten out of their buses and were playing cards or enjoying an early lunch. A few chat and ice cream wallahs had even set up shop along the road, indicating that we might be here for a while.We went for a good mile before we finally found the source of the delay. There was a large Lori parked across the road and large rocks positioned behind that. Further along the road ran through a town's central market, but all the shops were closed and any vehicles we saw were sitting idol in the center of the road. After asking a few people we found out that the town was protesting the death of a local boy who had been hit by a bus. The family wanted the police to return his body and wanted repatriation payments for his death. Until the demands were met the town was shutting down the main intersection that was the only route to Pokhara. In the center of town we found the bus that started the problem. It had its windows smashed in and riot police were sitting nearby idly waiting for instruction should things escalate. Deciding it might not be best to stick around we headed back to our bus after finding a stall down an alley way that would sell us bananas when no one was looking (technically all the businesses were closed but the owners would still supply you with food and water if you weren't too obvious). It was two more hours after we got back to the bus, four hours total, before the blocks were removed and we continued on our way.
The first day we woke up early and watched the presidential debates in our swanky hotel that actually had a television. (Go Obama!). Then we headed out to try and visit the Kathmandu Durbar Square and the Patan Durbar square. These were the centers of two of the three Nawari Kingdoms so each one had a palace and several ornate temples for various gods set up by the rulers over the years. Because it was Dasain this is also where people were congregating to pay their respects to the various Hindu idols in each temple. In fact all through the city there are small temples and shrines where people were making the rounds with their family members to present their god of choice with rice, grass, papad, and color. Color is a brightly died chalk like substance that is splattered on the idol's statue and around. This color was also added to the papad (crispy flatbread) and bright pink food could be seen strewn in the streets and piled in front of the statues.
In Durbar Square there were more offerings taking place. People were waiting outside of the main temple in a line that stretched across the square to pay their respects and witness the sacrificing of two hundred water buffalo, or that's what we were told. I'm not sure this number is accurate but the headless water buffalo calf that rolled by us in a cycle rickshaw. Further down a blood strewn statue to a hindu god also proved that there were animals who had given there lives to make ganesh, parvati, pashpuhtanath, or whatever manifestation of god happy. After this appatizing site we decided to remove ourselves to a rooftop restaraunt for lunch. From there we were able to take in the other major event going on for Dasain, kite flying. Most of the roves in Kathmandu are flat and everyone takes advantage of this on their day off for kite fighting. Small children could be seen running down the street clutching kites everywhere. At the second Durbar Square that afternoon it was pretty much the same story but less traffic and more erotic woodcarvings. Kara and I hung around in the Palace courtyard to watch one of these water buffalo have its head lobbed off, although I chose to just sit to the side when everyone crowded around the doomed animal. It was interesting to people watch since everyone and there family was out for the day flying kites, visiting shrines, or watching animals have their heads removed. Honestly what better way to bond with the family?
The following day we visited Pushphathanath and Bodhnath, the largest Hindu and Buddhist temples respectively. Pushphatanath is the site of the cremation ghats and the funeral pires are clearly visible for everyone to see as they walk around the temples. It was really eerie knowing that the smoke I could smell was coming from burning bodies. Because of the religious significance of the temple the place is littered with Sadhus, Hindu holy men who have given up all worldly possessions in their quest for enlightenment. They are housed in temples and practice yoga and meditation, but their dreads and layers of prayer beads make them quite photogenic. However, these men charge a lot more than one would expect of someone who has given up worldly good, and the willingness of some to pose with their beards held in the air in comical positions for 50 Rupees leads me to think that some may have further to go to reach enlightenment than others.
After two days in Kathmandu we hopped a bus to Pokhara in the west. Our bus rides in India have generally been less than comfortable so we did not have high hopes for this ride. However, we were quite surprised to find our bus was actually clean and thanks to the cooler temperature and lack of choking exhaust fumes (well at least less than India) the journey was quite pleasant. We even stopped for a bathroom and snack break at a nice restaurant. In India the bathrooms on bus rides were dirty enough that i think I could have caught a flying mutant parasite just from squatting over the toilet. Anyways, Nepal buses are great, but we hit a slight rough patch at about 10:45. Our bus ground to a halt in a line of vehicles, and when we peered out the window we noticed that the line continued along the highway as far as we could see. Taking a cue from the passengers on other buses we hopped out and began to walk down toward the cause of the delay. all along the road people had gotten out of their buses and were playing cards or enjoying an early lunch. A few chat and ice cream wallahs had even set up shop along the road, indicating that we might be here for a while.We went for a good mile before we finally found the source of the delay. There was a large Lori parked across the road and large rocks positioned behind that. Further along the road ran through a town's central market, but all the shops were closed and any vehicles we saw were sitting idol in the center of the road. After asking a few people we found out that the town was protesting the death of a local boy who had been hit by a bus. The family wanted the police to return his body and wanted repatriation payments for his death. Until the demands were met the town was shutting down the main intersection that was the only route to Pokhara. In the center of town we found the bus that started the problem. It had its windows smashed in and riot police were sitting nearby idly waiting for instruction should things escalate. Deciding it might not be best to stick around we headed back to our bus after finding a stall down an alley way that would sell us bananas when no one was looking (technically all the businesses were closed but the owners would still supply you with food and water if you weren't too obvious). It was two more hours after we got back to the bus, four hours total, before the blocks were removed and we continued on our way.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Trekking in Northern India
Today I have been struggling up and down the hills of Darjeeling. My very sore leg muscles make me look like a swerving drunk as I attempt to step gingerly between the crowds of shoppers and tourists in Chow Rastaa. I got back from Sikkim last night where I completed a six day trek that pushed my legs to their breaking point. I am taking today to recover.
We flew into Kolkata and spent only two days in the city before taking an overnight train out. The city is contains many picturesque buildings from when this was the capitol of the British Indian empire that are now rapidly detriorating. Sometimes the streets seem like they should be reconstructed scenes of a fourties movie excpet for the out of place people in saris, haphhazardly built chai stalls, and beggars lining the streets. Kolkata is a very large cosmopolitan city, with tons of things to do, but like all cities I have encountered in India it is congested and horribly polluted, so we did not feel the need to hang around very long before making our way to Darjeeling. In order to get there we took an overnight train to Siliguri and then boarded the toy train to Darjeeling. The toy train is left over from when Darjeeling was still a British hill station. It winds it's way up the hill at a snail's pace, and takes seven hours to reach the city. The train allows you to take in the landscape as you climb higher into the hills and it becomes increasingly cold. As we got towards the end teenagers in their school uniforms would run up and hop on the train as it crawled by to get a ride to the next town. We found out after the by jeep the ride takes two hours. We are getting back to Siliguri by jeep.
North of Siliguri until you reach the Sikkim border the population changes noticably. People here are mostly of Nepali descent and refer to themselves as Gurkas. Darjeeling and Siliguri recently experienced some intense protests because there is a large movement that supports the creation of a seperate state or Gorkhaland. This would allow them to seperate themselves from West Bengal and control decisions about education policy, tourism, and improve their ability to compete for jobs. As I was sitting at the computer today a large protest walked by outside of people chanting for the creation of Gorkhaland. This is taking place in the midst of a large assembly of school children celebrating Ghandi's birthday and the loud music and lights that have been put up around the city for Durga Puja. It makes Darjeeling feel rather busy, but even this is far more relaxing than the majority of places in India.
Since we are in Darjeeling we made sure to visit a tea estate and went to high tea at a hotel that is way out of our price range. I have drunk more cups of tea than I normally consume in a month. The tea bushes are planted into the sides of the steep hills and are spread out over a few acres making them a very distinct part of the Darjeeling landscape. I learned all about how they make the tea and was told about the differences in quality, but in all honesty I don't think I have improved my abilities to recognize the difference between the expensive tea and the cheaper chai I get most places. I would still rather have a good cup of coffee.
In Darjeeling we organized a trek for six days in Sikkim. The area of west Sikkim we went to required two permits and a guide to get to, plus none of us are experienced campers wo it seemed best to go with a group. The trek took us to Dzongri, West Sikkim which is 4,100 m up and consists of a few trekkers hut and some buildings used by Yak herders during the summer. Our group consisted of seven of us, a couple from France, a couple from Germany, Meredith, Kara, and I. The couple from Germany were the only ones with trekking experience and we had been told that we would not need extra trekking equipment. As a result when we set out from Yuksom the first day for our 16 km route, I was in my running shoes and jeans. After lunch it began to rain and our steep ascent for the last few hours quickly became quite miserable as we made our way to the first stop in Tshoka. My jeans were soaked and I did not have any other long pants to replace them. Our trekkers hut was in a village of seven people, yes seven. The building had a few rooms and most of the windows were missing window panes so it didn't provide much protection from the cold. The first stop was over 2,000 meters up so it got quite cold that night.
The next morning after breakfast we set out and it quickly started to rain again. The increased altitude made us significantly slower, we only had 8km to go the second day, but we moved really slowly so it took us a while. By the time we reached Dzongri it was two in the afternoon. The running pants I was wearing did not provide very much warmth so by the time we arrived I was having a bit of trouble moving my lips and fingers. We all immediately changed and crawled into our sleeping bags for warmth. For the next 16 hours we pretty much ate and lay in our sleeping bags while we waited for the weather to clear up. It rained all night and the next morning the rained turned to snow. We were in Dzongri for the first snow of the year. It only lasted a few hours and then turned to freezing rain. This left me wondering if I would ever be able to leave my sleeping bag and our tiny room for the rest of our trek. Finally in the beginning of the afternoon we looked outside to see it had cleared up. We all ran outside and started wandering around the hills surrounding our camp. The views of the mountains were incredible. We could see Darjeeling but it was the last hill visible behind many other large peaks. That night the sky was perfectly clear and we could see the Milky Way and every other star, I felt like I was at the planetarium. I have never seen the sky that clearly at night.
Early the next morning we hiked up to a tall peak at 4 am to see the sun rise and view Mt. Kachenjunga. Then we packed up after breakfast and headed back down the mountain. It took us two more days to get back to Yuksom. We got back mid day and hopped in a shared jeep back to Darjeeling. There were several places we wanted to go afterwards but Durga Puja has resulted in all the buses and trains being booked as people travel to see family for the holiday. We managed to find a bus back to Kolkata and are spending our last few days here before heading to Nepal.
Kolkata is where the largest celebration of Durga Puja is. Every neighborhood erects huge statues of the god and decorates this shrine in bombastic looking palaces made out of cloth, lights, and bamboo polls. Some have amusement park rides for children in them among other ridiculous attractions. The pandals, as their called are up for about a week before the images of Durga are carried to the river and submerged in water. Right now everyone is spending their days doing last minute Durga Puja shopping. There are huge sales advertised above every shop giving puja disounts. Traffic jams are everywher, consisting of bright yellow ambassador taxis, rickshaws crammed with people and shopping bags hanging out the side, men pulling carts of goods or well dressed Indians, motor bikes, and tons of people bustling around the city. There are even lines for the ATM's! Sadly we will have left for Nepal before the last day, but we are making sure to visit the pandals and enjoy the massive durga puja buffets and thali meals all the restaraunts offer.
We flew into Kolkata and spent only two days in the city before taking an overnight train out. The city is contains many picturesque buildings from when this was the capitol of the British Indian empire that are now rapidly detriorating. Sometimes the streets seem like they should be reconstructed scenes of a fourties movie excpet for the out of place people in saris, haphhazardly built chai stalls, and beggars lining the streets. Kolkata is a very large cosmopolitan city, with tons of things to do, but like all cities I have encountered in India it is congested and horribly polluted, so we did not feel the need to hang around very long before making our way to Darjeeling. In order to get there we took an overnight train to Siliguri and then boarded the toy train to Darjeeling. The toy train is left over from when Darjeeling was still a British hill station. It winds it's way up the hill at a snail's pace, and takes seven hours to reach the city. The train allows you to take in the landscape as you climb higher into the hills and it becomes increasingly cold. As we got towards the end teenagers in their school uniforms would run up and hop on the train as it crawled by to get a ride to the next town. We found out after the by jeep the ride takes two hours. We are getting back to Siliguri by jeep.
North of Siliguri until you reach the Sikkim border the population changes noticably. People here are mostly of Nepali descent and refer to themselves as Gurkas. Darjeeling and Siliguri recently experienced some intense protests because there is a large movement that supports the creation of a seperate state or Gorkhaland. This would allow them to seperate themselves from West Bengal and control decisions about education policy, tourism, and improve their ability to compete for jobs. As I was sitting at the computer today a large protest walked by outside of people chanting for the creation of Gorkhaland. This is taking place in the midst of a large assembly of school children celebrating Ghandi's birthday and the loud music and lights that have been put up around the city for Durga Puja. It makes Darjeeling feel rather busy, but even this is far more relaxing than the majority of places in India.
Since we are in Darjeeling we made sure to visit a tea estate and went to high tea at a hotel that is way out of our price range. I have drunk more cups of tea than I normally consume in a month. The tea bushes are planted into the sides of the steep hills and are spread out over a few acres making them a very distinct part of the Darjeeling landscape. I learned all about how they make the tea and was told about the differences in quality, but in all honesty I don't think I have improved my abilities to recognize the difference between the expensive tea and the cheaper chai I get most places. I would still rather have a good cup of coffee.
In Darjeeling we organized a trek for six days in Sikkim. The area of west Sikkim we went to required two permits and a guide to get to, plus none of us are experienced campers wo it seemed best to go with a group. The trek took us to Dzongri, West Sikkim which is 4,100 m up and consists of a few trekkers hut and some buildings used by Yak herders during the summer. Our group consisted of seven of us, a couple from France, a couple from Germany, Meredith, Kara, and I. The couple from Germany were the only ones with trekking experience and we had been told that we would not need extra trekking equipment. As a result when we set out from Yuksom the first day for our 16 km route, I was in my running shoes and jeans. After lunch it began to rain and our steep ascent for the last few hours quickly became quite miserable as we made our way to the first stop in Tshoka. My jeans were soaked and I did not have any other long pants to replace them. Our trekkers hut was in a village of seven people, yes seven. The building had a few rooms and most of the windows were missing window panes so it didn't provide much protection from the cold. The first stop was over 2,000 meters up so it got quite cold that night.
The next morning after breakfast we set out and it quickly started to rain again. The increased altitude made us significantly slower, we only had 8km to go the second day, but we moved really slowly so it took us a while. By the time we reached Dzongri it was two in the afternoon. The running pants I was wearing did not provide very much warmth so by the time we arrived I was having a bit of trouble moving my lips and fingers. We all immediately changed and crawled into our sleeping bags for warmth. For the next 16 hours we pretty much ate and lay in our sleeping bags while we waited for the weather to clear up. It rained all night and the next morning the rained turned to snow. We were in Dzongri for the first snow of the year. It only lasted a few hours and then turned to freezing rain. This left me wondering if I would ever be able to leave my sleeping bag and our tiny room for the rest of our trek. Finally in the beginning of the afternoon we looked outside to see it had cleared up. We all ran outside and started wandering around the hills surrounding our camp. The views of the mountains were incredible. We could see Darjeeling but it was the last hill visible behind many other large peaks. That night the sky was perfectly clear and we could see the Milky Way and every other star, I felt like I was at the planetarium. I have never seen the sky that clearly at night.
Early the next morning we hiked up to a tall peak at 4 am to see the sun rise and view Mt. Kachenjunga. Then we packed up after breakfast and headed back down the mountain. It took us two more days to get back to Yuksom. We got back mid day and hopped in a shared jeep back to Darjeeling. There were several places we wanted to go afterwards but Durga Puja has resulted in all the buses and trains being booked as people travel to see family for the holiday. We managed to find a bus back to Kolkata and are spending our last few days here before heading to Nepal.
Kolkata is where the largest celebration of Durga Puja is. Every neighborhood erects huge statues of the god and decorates this shrine in bombastic looking palaces made out of cloth, lights, and bamboo polls. Some have amusement park rides for children in them among other ridiculous attractions. The pandals, as their called are up for about a week before the images of Durga are carried to the river and submerged in water. Right now everyone is spending their days doing last minute Durga Puja shopping. There are huge sales advertised above every shop giving puja disounts. Traffic jams are everywher, consisting of bright yellow ambassador taxis, rickshaws crammed with people and shopping bags hanging out the side, men pulling carts of goods or well dressed Indians, motor bikes, and tons of people bustling around the city. There are even lines for the ATM's! Sadly we will have left for Nepal before the last day, but we are making sure to visit the pandals and enjoy the massive durga puja buffets and thali meals all the restaraunts offer.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
From hippies to hampi
The clapping stopped as the woman waited for one of the people in our berth to look up at her and hand her bills to add to those she had tucked between each of her manicured fingers. However, we were all averting our gaze and waiting for her to walk on down the aisle. Suddenly I felt her hand touch my head and I looked up to find her long nails stroking a strand of my hair. "Ohhh is this real??" the hijra asked as she continued to run her fingers lovingly along the strand. I replied with a huge grin that hes it was, and no I did not have to dye it to achieve my color. I thanked her and she walked off down the aisle. Hijra's are the third gender in India, they are men who dress as women or were born as hemaphrodites. They are believed to have the ability to curse or bless you and based on this superstition are payed off by Indians when they are encountered on trains or the street. They are also frequently forced to work as prostitutes and dancers in bars. This one we encountered on the train clearly has good taste in hair.
Most of our travel in India has been via train our bus. Although it can take up to two days to get somewhere the overnight trains have offered the best opportunities to see the country and meet other Indians who travel with us. It can also be very uncumfortable. My trip from Alwar to Delhi required me to curl up next to becky in the top bunk with our bags since their were people sitting in the aisles, crammed into all the other seats, and even riding atop the train. Luckily the sleepers I have taken with Kara and Meredith have all been relatively comfortable. The only annoyance being people who carry on loud converstations at 2 am and the chai wallahs who start walking through the train at 6 am screaming, "CHAAAIIIII, CHAAAAAIII, GHARAM CHAI!". I have quickly come to loathe these men for waking me up so many mornings.
Since my last post Meredith, Kara, and I have taken a train to Goa, a bus to Hampi, and trains to Mumbai and Darjeeling. We spent three days in Goa at Arambol, one of the towns on the ocean that is known for its ability to attract hippies ever since the 60's. As soon as we arrived and began walkingfrom the bus stop we noticed a distinct difference from the other places in India we had been to. Although most of the shops are still boarded up because of the monsoons, the ones that were open offered dreadlocking, flowing tunics in absurd patterns, and wonderfully artistic bongs. Arambol was great because of the opportunity it provided to lie on the beach between the frequent 20 minute bursts of rain (scandalously clad in a bikini, GASP!!), and it also provided some very entertaining people watching. One night we went to a restaraunt offering a jam session where we listened to one dude compose a song by repeating "Jah" at a variety of tones. Amazing. I think he has been living in Arambol probably since the 70's.
The best part of our time in Goa was definitely renting mopeheads for a day that allowed us to drive to the various beaches and explore the small roads through the Goa's countryside. I would never drive anywhere else in India, but the streets are relatively traffic free here and motor bikes offer an amazing way to exlore an area.
Next we hopped a HORRIBLE overnight sleeper bus to Hampi, a world heritage site where you can wander around the ruins of an ancient city from the 1300's. It is absolutely incredible to see the carvings of Hindu gods and religious stories that are still clearly visible in the stone temples, palaces, and markets that made up the city. We spent the entire day wandering around the ruins and by mid-afternnon we headed over to the Hanuman temple across the river. To do this we had to cross in a coracle. Imagine a woven fruit basket. Now enlarge this so that it is big enough to fit three motocycles and ten people very snuggly with a few men holding oars to paddle. Add a bit of tarp around the outside and this is what we looked like crossing the river. I did not think we would make it across, but Indian transport generally seems to exceed my expectations for what is safe and reasonable. We stopped at a small village restaraunt for some delicious idli and sambar before heading up the 570-some steps (we counted) that lead up to the hanuman temple. There are tons of monkeys (since Hanuman is the monkey god), plenty of entertaining sadus (Hindus who have given up all worldy possesions), and overly excited Hindu pilgrims. Plus the view from the top was incredible. Hampi is scrattered with enourmous boulders that are piled into large mountains and surrounded by rice patties and ancient ruins. It was incredible.
We hopped in a coracle back across the river and walked quickly to another temple to try and see it before dark. It was beautiful to see as the sun was setting but as we were leaving we realized we could not find our way back along the path with our one small flashlight. Thankfully, when we decided to return to the temple the guards were still there. We were walked home by four of them who all lived in Hampi.
After two days we were back on a train for a day and a half to make it back to Mumbai for a flight to Kolkata. We have two more weeks in India and are planning to see West Bengal and Sikkim before we leave.
We hopped in a coracle back across the river and walked quickly to another temple to try and see it before dark. It was beautiful to see as the sun was setting but as we were leaving we realized we could not find our way back along the path with our one small flashlight. Thankfully, when we decided to return to the temple the guards were still there. We were walked home by four of them who all lived in Hampi.
After two days we were back on a train for a day and a half to make it back to Mumbai for a flight to Kolkata. We have two more weeks in India and are planning to see West Bengal and Sikkim before we leave.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Welcome to India Miss McCormack
The train from Ernakulum in the south of India to New Delhi in the north takes two days. That is alot of time spent reading, contemplating whether you want the pao bhaji the random man walking down the aisle is hawking, and day dreaming about how much you wand to strangle the two year old of the family in the berth next door who keeps screaming. This also offers an opportunity to watch the landscape of India turn from bright green jungles packed with coconut trees, spreading to incorporate rice patties, and then finally melting into the flat dry landscape that surrounds Delhi.
We stepped of the train the same day that Meredith flew into Delhi on a late night flight. She arrived well prepared with only the bag she had carried onto the plane because her backpack did not make it with her on the connecting flight. However, she bravely wore the same outfit for the three days it took for her bag to arrive without complaint.
The three of us spent a day wandering around in the unbearable heat of New Delhi and then hopped onto the metro to visit Old Delhi for the famous Paratha Walli Gulli. This requires that you weave your way through the overwhelming and crowded streets of the old city. The street is more like a narrow winding alley that actually looks like it dead ends which is why we passed it several times. When you round the corner though it opens onto about six shops that are all crammed with large tawas, pans, and various other somewhat worn looking kitchen equipment used to make amazing parathas, chutney, and subzhee. Parathas were created in Delhi, they are bread stuffed with just about whatever spicy delicious filling you can think of, rolled flat, and then lightly fried. Amazing. Probably the best paratha I have ever eaten, and well worth the heat and confusion it took to find it.
Kara and Meredith made good use of their time in Delhi by visiting the Taj Mahal. I opted to meet my friend Becky in Alwar to witness her do her thing interviewing nurses at a sterilization camp... Bit of a long story but I basically missed going to visit the Taj again to learn about forced sterilization in Rajasthan and be offered the opportunity to watch a man get a vasechtomy. After that activity we hopped a VERy cramped train back to Delhi. There were twenty people or more riding on top of the train alone when it pulled in. I need to stop buying second class sleeper tickets even if it is cheaper.
Kara, Meredith, and I met up again on the train on the way to Aurungabad in Maharashtrah. From there we made train trips out to Nassik and Ajanta. Nassik is India's wine country and we went to Sula Vineyards and got to do a tasting and take a tour of the vineyard. Much better than I expected I have to admit. In Ajanta we visited the Buddhist caves that were carved into a mountaintside and have the most incredible paintings and scultpures in them. After that we were back on another overnight train back to Mumbai where we spent a few days before heading to Goa.
We stepped of the train the same day that Meredith flew into Delhi on a late night flight. She arrived well prepared with only the bag she had carried onto the plane because her backpack did not make it with her on the connecting flight. However, she bravely wore the same outfit for the three days it took for her bag to arrive without complaint.
The three of us spent a day wandering around in the unbearable heat of New Delhi and then hopped onto the metro to visit Old Delhi for the famous Paratha Walli Gulli. This requires that you weave your way through the overwhelming and crowded streets of the old city. The street is more like a narrow winding alley that actually looks like it dead ends which is why we passed it several times. When you round the corner though it opens onto about six shops that are all crammed with large tawas, pans, and various other somewhat worn looking kitchen equipment used to make amazing parathas, chutney, and subzhee. Parathas were created in Delhi, they are bread stuffed with just about whatever spicy delicious filling you can think of, rolled flat, and then lightly fried. Amazing. Probably the best paratha I have ever eaten, and well worth the heat and confusion it took to find it.
Kara and Meredith made good use of their time in Delhi by visiting the Taj Mahal. I opted to meet my friend Becky in Alwar to witness her do her thing interviewing nurses at a sterilization camp... Bit of a long story but I basically missed going to visit the Taj again to learn about forced sterilization in Rajasthan and be offered the opportunity to watch a man get a vasechtomy. After that activity we hopped a VERy cramped train back to Delhi. There were twenty people or more riding on top of the train alone when it pulled in. I need to stop buying second class sleeper tickets even if it is cheaper.
Kara, Meredith, and I met up again on the train on the way to Aurungabad in Maharashtrah. From there we made train trips out to Nassik and Ajanta. Nassik is India's wine country and we went to Sula Vineyards and got to do a tasting and take a tour of the vineyard. Much better than I expected I have to admit. In Ajanta we visited the Buddhist caves that were carved into a mountaintside and have the most incredible paintings and scultpures in them. After that we were back on another overnight train back to Mumbai where we spent a few days before heading to Goa.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
KARA-la: Land of the coconuts!
We have spent the past week or so (I haven't been keeping very close track of the days because it still feels nice not to have to know what day of the week it is) in Kerala. This is at the southern tip of India located on the western coast. We took a train for a day and a half down from Mumbai. Although it was a long time to be sitting the views out the window were incredible. I kept myself busy by getting up every so often to poke my head out the door of the train car to try and snap photos, but don't worry mom I was still bein really safe the whole time, I promise. Despite all my attempts nothing managed to capture the deep green coconut trees stuffed between rice patties, rivers, and florescent painted houses with red tiled rooves.
We got off the train in Kochi and stayed for three days. Kerala has an incredibly eclectic mix of cultures that have left their mark here because the tip of India has been a trading site for thousands of years. As a result the state is home to Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and even a small group of Jews, each group formed hundreds of years before through trading routes established in places like Kochi. I wanted to go see "Jew Town" so we rented bikes to ride over to the other side of Kochi. Kara's bike was rickety and a bit too big but she bravely wobbled her way through the congested streets anyways. We wandered around Jew Town to check out the spice stalls, which were the original form of trade that brought Jews to Kerala. Sadly, there are not many Jews left in Jew Town anymore, most of them have moved to Israel. One of the primary reasons given is a lack of suitable spouses. I guess it might get a little incestuous if your neighborhood has had the same families in it since 70 C.E.
The next day we did the classic tourist trip down the backwaters and took a tour through some of the villages to view, "traditional life in Kerala". Although it was beautiful and wonderfully relaxing I have trouble being shepherded around all day from one staged photo-op to the next, its a bit to much like treating people as zoo exhibits. The backwaters are also sadly not as pristine as they once were. India does not have the best waste management, only 30% of the country has access to proper sanitation and the rest goes into rivers. As a result the backwaters provide an opportunity to spot two types of Kingfishers, the bird, and also empty beer bottles with the same name.
Needing a break from the pollution and grime of the cities we took a bus up to Kumily and Periyar National Park. It was such a welcome relief when our bus had climbed far enough into the Ghats that the air cooled of and became considerably cleaner. We spent one day trekking through the park with a few of the park workers. We were given large cloth sacks to cover our legs since the most common wildlife in the rainy season tends to be leaches, ugh. It was worth it to be surrounded by mountains and jungle. We saw a cobra, monkeys, and a few other animals, but none of the tigers or elephants that are also found in the park.
The rest of the time we wandered around to the tea estates and spice gardens found all around Kumily. We were caught in our first extended monsoon rain walking up a road to a spice garden. T has been a dry year so we have been lucky that this was the first downpour that truly drenched us, although I am sure this is not very lucky for those who depend on the monsoon rains. The rain tends to last for about thirty minutes and starts quickly with a few fat drops and then a torrent that feels like the sky is pouring a bucket of water onto your head. By the time we reached the spice plantation my pants and even underwear were soaked.
After enjoying a few days of actively engaging in nature (to make Richard Louv of, Last Child in the Woods, proud) we headed back to Kochi to make it in time for our cooking class. This was taught by Leelu, who gave us recipes for four delicious vegetarian and one fish dish. Plus we got to eat the meal afterwards. That was the best part. Keralan food has tons of coconut oil, fresh coconut, fresh curry leaves, and delicious spices. Kerala to me has been defined by the delicious whiffs of frying coconut oil I get walking down the streets. I think it might be my favorite Indian food, although this is hard to say. After our spice garden tour I am actually able to identify some of the fresh spices. By the end of this trip I plan to compile a recipe book from cooking classes from each country.
Right now we are waiting for the rain to let up before we run some errands. It has poured all night and we head out on a two day train journey from the tip of India to Delhi in the north to meet Ms. Meredith McCormack!
We got off the train in Kochi and stayed for three days. Kerala has an incredibly eclectic mix of cultures that have left their mark here because the tip of India has been a trading site for thousands of years. As a result the state is home to Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and even a small group of Jews, each group formed hundreds of years before through trading routes established in places like Kochi. I wanted to go see "Jew Town" so we rented bikes to ride over to the other side of Kochi. Kara's bike was rickety and a bit too big but she bravely wobbled her way through the congested streets anyways. We wandered around Jew Town to check out the spice stalls, which were the original form of trade that brought Jews to Kerala. Sadly, there are not many Jews left in Jew Town anymore, most of them have moved to Israel. One of the primary reasons given is a lack of suitable spouses. I guess it might get a little incestuous if your neighborhood has had the same families in it since 70 C.E.
The next day we did the classic tourist trip down the backwaters and took a tour through some of the villages to view, "traditional life in Kerala". Although it was beautiful and wonderfully relaxing I have trouble being shepherded around all day from one staged photo-op to the next, its a bit to much like treating people as zoo exhibits. The backwaters are also sadly not as pristine as they once were. India does not have the best waste management, only 30% of the country has access to proper sanitation and the rest goes into rivers. As a result the backwaters provide an opportunity to spot two types of Kingfishers, the bird, and also empty beer bottles with the same name.
Needing a break from the pollution and grime of the cities we took a bus up to Kumily and Periyar National Park. It was such a welcome relief when our bus had climbed far enough into the Ghats that the air cooled of and became considerably cleaner. We spent one day trekking through the park with a few of the park workers. We were given large cloth sacks to cover our legs since the most common wildlife in the rainy season tends to be leaches, ugh. It was worth it to be surrounded by mountains and jungle. We saw a cobra, monkeys, and a few other animals, but none of the tigers or elephants that are also found in the park.
The rest of the time we wandered around to the tea estates and spice gardens found all around Kumily. We were caught in our first extended monsoon rain walking up a road to a spice garden. T has been a dry year so we have been lucky that this was the first downpour that truly drenched us, although I am sure this is not very lucky for those who depend on the monsoon rains. The rain tends to last for about thirty minutes and starts quickly with a few fat drops and then a torrent that feels like the sky is pouring a bucket of water onto your head. By the time we reached the spice plantation my pants and even underwear were soaked.
After enjoying a few days of actively engaging in nature (to make Richard Louv of, Last Child in the Woods, proud) we headed back to Kochi to make it in time for our cooking class. This was taught by Leelu, who gave us recipes for four delicious vegetarian and one fish dish. Plus we got to eat the meal afterwards. That was the best part. Keralan food has tons of coconut oil, fresh coconut, fresh curry leaves, and delicious spices. Kerala to me has been defined by the delicious whiffs of frying coconut oil I get walking down the streets. I think it might be my favorite Indian food, although this is hard to say. After our spice garden tour I am actually able to identify some of the fresh spices. By the end of this trip I plan to compile a recipe book from cooking classes from each country.
Right now we are waiting for the rain to let up before we run some errands. It has poured all night and we head out on a two day train journey from the tip of India to Delhi in the north to meet Ms. Meredith McCormack!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
A series of firsts...
As is expected with travel in another country, Kara and I will be thrown into many experiences for the first time. However, in this case I am getting the pleasure of watching Kara's reactions to alot of things I had to adjust to my first time in India. First squatty potty experience, first attempt to eat with her right hand only, and general shock at the masses of people that greet anyone who arrives in a large Indian city like Mumbai. This was also Kara's first shot in the bum and I held her hand and did not blubber at the sight of a needle. Instead I was more concerned with verifying that it was clean, which sort of offended the doctor.
Kara got a little ill her first day and we called a doctor just to be on the safe side. He came, prodded her stomach a bit, asked her about her bowel movements, and proceeded to perscribe her 3 types of drugs and an injection. We did not realize at first what this meant until he asked Kara to roll over. "Are you going to give it to me in my butt?" She asked with extreme concern coming over her face. This fear proved to be correct, as she then was instructed to drop trow and face down on the bed. I clasped her hand and with a quick stab and smack on the cheek it was over.
It seems to be somewhat common practice to over-prescribe medication here as a way to be on the safe side when confronting potential water born diseases. This has the bonus of ensuring that the patient is cured of whatever bacteria or parasite they have swimming aroudn int their system, but also breeds bacterial resistance. Cipero is no longer the pill to pop when you have the poops because the responsible parties who are using you as their host have grown too smart for it. Many travelers will be disappointed to hear that this pill we have all learned to consider a friend can no longer aid us, but this is what happens when it is used to douse every case of indigestion we get. Not to worry there are still many varieties that I am sure I will be picking up at some point or another on this trip...
So three stabs and many pills later Kara is feeling well enough to travel via train down to Kochi, Kerala. This was my second time in Mumbai and unfortunately due to illness there was not much that we did outside of hanging out at Chowpatty beach and scheduling doctor's visits. Mumbai was a helpful city to arrive in since I was there last time I was in India and could navigate Colaba (the area where we stayed) easily enough, finding that the stands selling fruit, used books piled on the street corner, and jewelry vendors are in the exact same place I remember. I am trying to use a bit of my Hindi, and thus far have generated alot of amusement from whoever I attempt to communicate with since my skills don't even rival that of a toddlers yet. It should be enough to help us navigate our way down to Kochi.
Kara got a little ill her first day and we called a doctor just to be on the safe side. He came, prodded her stomach a bit, asked her about her bowel movements, and proceeded to perscribe her 3 types of drugs and an injection. We did not realize at first what this meant until he asked Kara to roll over. "Are you going to give it to me in my butt?" She asked with extreme concern coming over her face. This fear proved to be correct, as she then was instructed to drop trow and face down on the bed. I clasped her hand and with a quick stab and smack on the cheek it was over.
It seems to be somewhat common practice to over-prescribe medication here as a way to be on the safe side when confronting potential water born diseases. This has the bonus of ensuring that the patient is cured of whatever bacteria or parasite they have swimming aroudn int their system, but also breeds bacterial resistance. Cipero is no longer the pill to pop when you have the poops because the responsible parties who are using you as their host have grown too smart for it. Many travelers will be disappointed to hear that this pill we have all learned to consider a friend can no longer aid us, but this is what happens when it is used to douse every case of indigestion we get. Not to worry there are still many varieties that I am sure I will be picking up at some point or another on this trip...
So three stabs and many pills later Kara is feeling well enough to travel via train down to Kochi, Kerala. This was my second time in Mumbai and unfortunately due to illness there was not much that we did outside of hanging out at Chowpatty beach and scheduling doctor's visits. Mumbai was a helpful city to arrive in since I was there last time I was in India and could navigate Colaba (the area where we stayed) easily enough, finding that the stands selling fruit, used books piled on the street corner, and jewelry vendors are in the exact same place I remember. I am trying to use a bit of my Hindi, and thus far have generated alot of amusement from whoever I attempt to communicate with since my skills don't even rival that of a toddlers yet. It should be enough to help us navigate our way down to Kochi.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Pre-Trip Planning
Here is the official trip schedule. All are welcome and highly encouraged to come join me next year. I am posting my flight schedule so that anyone who is playing with the idea of coming out to visit can begin looking into plane flights for themselves. Kara and I are traveling for the first half of the year in Asia, and Lucy will be joining me for the second half of the year in Bolivia.
August 18th: Leave Washington D.C. for Mumbai, India
September 20th: Leave Mumbai, India for Kolkata, India
October 7th: Leave Kolkata, India for Kathmandu, Nepal
October 17th: Leave Kathmandu, Nepal for Bangkok, Thailand
November 15th: Leave Bangkok, Thailand for Phnom Penh, Cambodia
November 30th: Leave Phnom Penh, Cambodia for Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
December 16th: Leave Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam for Washington D.C.
January 7th: Leave Washington D.C. for Lima, Peru
*We are taking a bus into La Paz, Bolivia
June 7th: Leave Lima, Peru for Washington D.C.
I'll fill in any planned trips or events as I think of them. For the most part we are deciding what we do when we are traveling. No day by day planned out itineraries for me.
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