Archive for delhi

Almost done..

April 21, 2008 at 6:03 am · Filed under bhutan, delhi, travel

We had a wonderful, relaxing week in Bhutan.  We’re now eagerly (and I mean *really* eagerly) awaiting our flight back home.  In fact, Brian is currently checking if we can return a day early. 

Yesterday we spent almost 3 hours in the baggage claim offices of Jet Airways and Air France.  Dennis’ luggage was still stuck in the Delhi airport (after 6 days) and we were on a mission to free his luggage.  Incidentally his lost luggage also included all of our trekking gear and souveniers as well.. so there was added incentive to get these bags back.  After a failed attempt to free the bags from customs, we discovered that the entire process of getting the bags from Jet Airways to Air France was blocked due to 2 little pieces of paper needed by Air France from Jet.  Brian ended up physically walking the papers from the Jet Airways office to the Air France office (about 200 yards away).  The bags are supposedly now on a flight back to Boston, our fingers are crossed.  Lessons learned:  (1) Any time you cross customs, your bags need to cross with you; (2) It’s MUCH faster solving these sort of problems in person.  Now we just have to hope that no one stole anything out of our bags.. fun!

After the baggage claim incident, we met up with Ric in Defence Colony where he’s currently living.  We experienced Delhi in 40 degree weather (that’s about 100F) and it was HOT!!!  I hear that it’s snowing back in Seattle.. we’re not sure what’s worse.. snow, or extreme heat.  Right now we’re leaning towards snow :)

I suppose I should write a little about Bhutan as well.  We spent 7 days there total and wandered through many many dzongs, monasteries and temples.  Dzongs are giant fortresses that were used in the wars with Tibet and have now been turned into part government administration office and part monestary.  There are classrooms and large halls for the monks along with goverment officials – a strange combination.  The size of these structures is mind blowing, each containing a huge watch tower, courtyards, residences and rooms for various functions.  My favourite moments:
Tiger’s Nest:  On our first day in Bhutan we hiked up to the Tiger’s Nest Monastary at about 10,000 feet (that’s the picture on our blog).  For the majority of the hike we were the only people on the trail and it felt magical.  As we approached the monestary we had some breathtaking views.  It felt as if you could just reach out and touch it.  For me, this was the pinnacle of our adventure. 
Kyichu Lhakhang:  Near the end of our week in Bhutan we visited the Kyichu Lhakhang in Paro.  On first look it seems like any temple.  Even inside, it had the usual statues, scrolls, butter lamps and thangkas (large paintings of the Buddha and his teachings).  A monk then opened a gigantic vault and inside were rows and rows of ancient statues of the Buddha and various Bhutanese deities.  I felt as though we had stumbled upon a secret treasure.  It was a scene our of National Geographic. 
Celebrating my birthday:  Brian surprised me on my birthday with a special Bhutanese dinner and cake (yum!!).  I can’t imagine a better way to have spent my 29th bday :)

Looking forward.. we’re itching to get back home.  We miss our friends, family, good food and being in a familiar place.  Brian’s been craving a burrito while I’ve been dreaming about sushi… :)  See you all soon!!!

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The trek has begun!

March 27, 2008 at 11:57 am · Filed under delhi, everest base camp, holi, nepal

We’re baaaack!!!!!!  Sorry we disappeared for the last couple days.  Internet access has been spotty at best.  We’re currently at 11,300 feet on our Everest base camp trek.. and it’s costing us 10 NRS / minute, so please excuse the brevity.  Here’s a quick rundown of the past couple days.

Holi
Holi is a big holiday in India celebrating equality of people.  It’s celebrated by throwing color and water at each other and just having fun.  We were lucky to be around to witness and partake in this holiday.  The neighbourhood near the hotel we stayed at managed to cover all of us from head to toe in color.   Seemed like the foreigners were fair game so long as you showed some sort of interest, ie taking out a camera, watching, or making eye contact.  It was a LOT of fun.. especially when we retaliated by filling a bucket with water balloons and throwing them back!  Dennis got ambushed and was dancing with the kids in a nearby alleyway.  We have a video.  Expect it on youtube in the near future.. hehe :)   We also met up with our friend, Ric, from Seattle and soaked him color too.  All in all, it was a truly fun and spontaneous day.

The trek
We have 5 people in our group:  Brian, Dennis, Mira, Mike (from North Carolina), and John (from Lousiana).  We’re supported by a guide, an assistant guide, and three porters.  In total, the trek is 20 days, starting from Kathmandu to Everest Base Camp.  Our final altitude will be ~18,000 feet.  The trek is difficult, but we’re optimistic.

Kathmandu (~5,000 feet)
We spent 2 days in Kathmandu, did some sight seeing and shopping.  This was primarily meant for aclimitization before the trek began.

Kathmandu to Lukla (~9,300 feet)
We flew into Lukla in the tiniest plane I’ve ever been on.. basically it held 12 people and everyone had a window seat.  We had some breathtaking views of the Himalayas and caught our first glimpse of Everest.  We had heard a lot about the dramatic landing at Lukla.  It turns out that it’s extremely difficult to find a long flat spot for a runway.  So we landed on a shortened, sloped runway.  When we landed it looked like we were about to hit the mountains.. but the upward slope of the runway helped slow the plan down so we landed safely.  From Lukla we hiked down a few hours to Phakding were we stayed the night.  We’ve had a lot of fun teasing Dennis over his fear of heights.. particularly when traversing the various high suspension bridges.  Brian and I have tried to shake the bridge a few times.. just to give the old man something to talk about :)

Today: Phakding to Namche (~11,300 feet)
Today was a tough day.  It started with a fairly easy hike from Phakding to Monjo (about 2 hours) but Monjo to Namche was a killer.  Imagine 3.5 hrs of steep incline similar to Mt Si, but at 11,000 feet.  In total we covered 3000 feet and are extremely tired.  Tomorrow is a rest day which means that we hike 1,200 feet which will help us deal with the altitude. 

We have 14 more days to go and it’s unlikely  that you’ll hear from us over those days.  Hopefully the next post will be one of success!  On a side note, this hike means a lot to Brian and I.  We wanted to do something “tough” together.. something that would have good and bad times and challenge us physically.  As we spend 5-6 hrs a day hiking, it’s giving us an opportunity to meditate and turn inwards.  It’s amazing how much more in tune you become with your body as you watch each breath and monitor your body/mind for signs of weakness.  And the occasional farting (due to altitude of course) makes it all the more fun.. as long as you’re not walking behind Brian.  Wish us luck!

Mom Lane - thank you so much for the muffins!  We’ve been eating them every morning and it’s the one thing we can count on for food.  We’re trying to ration them so we don’t go through them too quickly :)

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Off to Delhi

March 20, 2008 at 5:37 am · Filed under delhi, travel

Yay!!  We’re off to Delhi today.  We had talked to Dennis a few days ago and put in a request for cheese.. I can’t wait.  I’ve been eating this miserable yak-cheese for the past 17 days and am looking forward to something less gooey and more tastey.  As Brian mentioned yesterday we haven’t been doing a lot here.. I’ve been joking that we live from meal to meal.  Yesterday we sat in a restaurant for 3 hours playing rummy, drinking Fantas and killing time until dinner.  We paid one last visit to Brian’s sadhu (sadhu = holy man) last night.  The sadhus have renounced all possessions (including their names) and live as nomads from one city to another.  In the US we’d call them homeless, but here they’re holy and treated with respect.  They were very intrigued by us and wanted to know where we were from, what we thought of India, where we were going, etc etc.. They also liked Hilary better than Obama.. lol.. I wouldn’t be surprised if we came back in a few years and saw them sitting in the same spot next to the chai stall.

We found out yesterday that we’ll be in Delhi for Holi (a huge festival of colors) so we’re hoping to partake in the color throwing.  On the 23rd we depart for Kathmandu.  I’m looking forward to a change in scenary.  As fun as India has been over the past 6 weeks, we’re ready to move onto our next adventure. 

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Alive and well

February 16, 2008 at 4:33 am · Filed under Project Why, delhi, rajasthan

Ok – so apparently we’re writing dueling posts.  Some quick updates:
- Brian is MUCH better – though we’re not sure if the meds are actually doing anything.  I’m suspicious of any medication that comes so cheap. 
- We visited Agra yesterday and are now in Jaipur
- We’re heading to Mumbai in 2 days to hang out with my Ashit-mama (mom’s brother).. apparently his driver is picking us up from the airport (yay for not having to take a rickshaw!) and he’s hooking us up with a cell phone.  I’m hoping to get some laundry done as well.  I’ve been wearing the same 2 shirts for the past 2 weeks…

More details on the past couple days..

Okhla Phase I and the water truck
While Brian was sick at the Project Why house, I was able to go and visit some of the other classes.  Project Why has another classroom in an area called “Okhla Phase I” – another slum on Delhi.  On the way to the class we saw a water truck – these are government-run trucks that bring water to the slums.  The trucks arrive every 2 days, sometimes every 3.  Watching people running out of their homes with gigantic buckets and fighting over water hit me really hard.  There’s no guarantee that they’re get water, no guarantee that the truck will return in 2 days, and it’s every man for himself.  India is very Darwinian in that sense.. it’s a constant struggle for everything and you have to fight or you won’t survive.  That image of children, women and men from the slums fighting for water is unforgettable. 

Govind Puri
My next stop was the Govind Puri slums where there was another classroom.  Again, you see the struggle to survive and create a better life for yourself.  Shamika was telling me that originally the people in the area were very against opening a classroom there.  Having their children in class meant that they weren’t able to work and help the families. 

The Women’s Center – Nicola’s story
Perhaps the most heart-wrenching story I’ve heard so far has been from a conversation I had with a woman named Nicola who worked at the Women’s center.  Nicola told us about her life, how she grew up in the slums, was sexually abused by her step-father, forced into prostitution by her mother to support the family, battled drug and alcohol abuse, was forced to marry a man 3x her age, raped on multiple occasions, discovered she was HIV positive, and then managed to pull herself out of that lifestyle, raise a family and help other women.  She was strangely at peace with herself and everything that had happened to her.  We received the abbreviated version, I don’t think I would have been able to handle hearing more.. I’ve never met someone who has been through so much. 

English conversational
From 12:30-1:30 everyday Project Why has an English conversational class.  I taught the class one day.  The format is very open – you just talk about topics.  Not sure where to start I asked the 3 students to describe the rules of Cricket and chess to me.  Somehow our conversation turned to bigger topics.. the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, India and Pakistan, their opinions of the US.  I was surprised at how much they respected the US.  At one point I thought a fight would break out between the 3.. it was during a discussion about how to improve India.  One guy suggested throwing money at the problem.. another talked about education being the solution and another talked about needing that drive to be better as a starting point.  It was definitely a struggle for them to voice all of this in English.  I think it made it easier for them to be able to say words to me in Hindi and have me teach them the words in English.  For me, it was extremely satisfying to be able to have that conversation.

Agra
I didn’t particularly enjoy visiting Agra.  Maybe it was the seat in 3rd class.. or the millions of tourists.. or the aggressive touts and hawkers.  I had already seen the Taj Mahal years ago and yes, it’s impressive.. but it’s also a little sad to see such a structure alongside so much poverty.  I was really really happy to leave tor Jaipur.. even though our train was 3 hours late.

Next in our plans
We met a fellow Seattleite yesterday and are going to visit some of the attractions around Jaipur with her.  I’m looking forward to having a girl to shop the bazaars with!!  On the 18th, we’ll take the overnight train to Mumbai and stay a couple nights at my uncle’s place.  Hopefully we’ll also get a chance to see my cousin, Milan, who also lives in Mumbai.

Ciao! 

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Pictures!!

February 13, 2008 at 4:48 pm · Filed under Project Why, delhi, travel

Finally.. some pictures.. enjoy :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71863072@N00/sets/72157603901762171/

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It’s Brian’s Turn to be Sick

February 12, 2008 at 5:00 am · Filed under Project Why, delhi

Brian’s got the “Delhi belly” now.. it’s the same symptoms that I had.. vomiting, pooping, the chills.. we took him to a doctor today and got some meds.  Similar tagline as last time.. we’re not sure what caused it.  Maybe it was the palak paneer at the craft fair, or the egg roll from yesterday, or maybe it was the water.  Apparently there’s a big scam over here where bottled water is filled up from the tap and resealed.  I hope it wasn’t the water because I had it also!   So, I’ve wrapped Brian up and am going to head back to the project.  I’m hoping to tour the rest of the centers today and attend a Kirtan this afternoon at Matha’s house.  We were planning on leaving for Agra tomorrow morning but have decided to wait an extra day for Brian to get better.

I also tried to upload some pictures yesterday but it took a really long time and my connection timed out.  Will try again later today.

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Safe and sound in the slums

February 11, 2008 at 3:37 am · Filed under Project Why, delhi

I promise pictures sometime very soon, we’re having a bit of trouble locating a computer with an SD reader… in the meantime, more ramblings!

Today’s topic: Indian slums versus American slums.

To be sure, Indian slums are not a very nice place to hang out.  They’re dirty, smelly, and amazingly overcrowded.  The poverty on display is simply overwhelming. However, I can’t help but notice that despite the crushing poverty, Indian slums appear to be quite safe.  I’m able to roam around freely, with the distinct impression that I will not be harmed.  Never have I recieved a threatening glance, nor been concerned for Mira’s or my own safety.

This got me thinking.  The American equivalent is probably Roxbury in Boston, or Bronx in New York, or maybe inner city Baltimore.  Would I dare roam the streets of these places, with a pocket full of money and a slightly lost appearance?  Hell no!  I wouldn’t even DRIVE through those neighborhoods by choice.  Why, then, are America’s slums so much more dangerous than Indian slums?  Mira and I spent some time yesterday considering the topic, and have some ideas:

  1. Drugs – To my mind, this is the single most important distinction.  Indian slums are remarkably devoid of drugs and alcohol.  This sobriety provides a welcome level-headedness and predictability.  By contrast, I would assume that most of the violent crime taking place in very poor American locations has a chemical aspect, either as purpose or accelerant.
  2. Religion / Culture -  This is Mira’s primary cause of choice.  Religion  and  spirituality are  very deeply woven into the fabric of Indian society.  The influence is so deep as to pervade the daily existence of these people.   A deeply religious person is obviously far less likely to commit a violent crime.  (Religion will be a continuing topic on this blog, especially as we venture to “holier” locales than Delhi.)
  3. Marketing – Americans are consantly bombarded with marketing.  The less than subtle message: stuff makes you happy.  And stuff provides status, which is the most important thing on earth.  This provides for a volatile situation: I must have stuff, yet I have no money for stuff and no prospects for obtaining this money legally, therefore I must tke stuff from others who already have it.  The poor in India do not have access to the chief marketing medium, the television. The poor in America spend vasts amounts of time in front of the tube.
  4. American culture of violence – Just look at the (arguably) defining moments in both cultures.  America gained independence from England through violent uprising.  India gained independence from England through the efforts of Mahatma Gandhi and his movement of nonviolent resistance.
  5. Entitlement – Perhaps the most controversial point, but an important one nonetheless.  Americans have developed a keen sense of entitlement, perhaps (?) as an unwanted byproduct of welfare programs.  For better or worse, the lack of such programs in India means that the attitude of entitlement is non-existent.

Any other thoughts on the topic are quite welcome, please post a comment.

I hope I haven’t jinxed myself….

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