Saturday, January 31, 20042 out of 5 Parties...Just came from a fun time at John's birthday bash and am now on my way to see the amazing Jake (who I haven't seen in over a year since he moved away!).
Friday, January 30, 2004Briefly...Yesterday I felt acknowledged as a Program Director, valued as a peer, disappointed by an employee, and misunderstood as a boss. (Many thanks to Dieter for listening and to Jens for cheering me up). Today I felt proud, busy, and entertained at work. (Many thanks to my fabulous team!) Tonight I'm heading to an art show gala at Consolidated Works with Rod. (Yeah Black Tie Affair!) Gotta run... just got home from work and need to be at the opening by 8pm! :)
Thursday, January 29, 2004Crazy, Scary World News"Suicide blast in Jerusalem kills at least 10 / Explosion goes off near Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's residence" That's today's top headline in the news. Coincidentally, my college buddy Jonas is hanging out in Jerulasem for a few months getting in touch with his roots. Apparently he was at that very spot this morning where the bomb went off... but was there two hours before it went off. He's a bit shaken and saddened, but otherwise safe. Crazy, scary world we live in some days...
In other crazy, scary news... one of my young cousins is getting shipped out to Iraq this month. They've already moved his unit to California, and now within a week or two they'll be sending him out. :(
If you have free time in your day, please think safe thoughts for these two boys... I know they'll be in my thoughts.
National Bird of BangladeshSo when Rajat took us to the Bird sanctuary in Bharatpur, he was telling us a funny story. Apparently, Indian families sometimes aren't as impressed with all of the animals and birds since it's common in India to see so much wildlife (monkeys, camels, cows, peacocks, dancing bears, etc). So, some "guides" are now giving fake bird names and facts to the locals to make the birds sound more exotic. The Painted Storks pictured above looked pretty amazing to me, but apparently are pretty common in India... leading some guides to make up stuff about it being the "National Bird of Bangladesh" just so it will seem fancier. Note: This picture was taken with my camera lens held up to a pair of binoculars. I think it looks kind of like a 1950s science movie. :)
Wednesday, January 28, 2004How Did I Not Realize This During My First Visit?
Tuesday, January 27, 2004Ego-mania (aka High Schoolers Wanted Me)Sometimes I'd feel goofy taking pictures of (what I'd consider) exotic looking Indian women, kids, or men. Of course, I didn't feel too goofy once I realized I was as much an oddity for them as they were for me. I had many requests to be in photos with teenage boys (like the photo above holding hands at the Amber Fort), with school groups, and even with families who'd pose me with their parents, kids, and grandparents. Yes... it's good to feel wanted. :)
Monday, January 26, 2004Bundi
Bundi City PalaceBundi was a great little town in Rajasthan that has a very medieval feel. Crazy enough, I just got two emails from a member of the royal family of Bundi. (We stayed at a hotel owned by the royals and met the nephew of the maharaja). Apparently he has a long distance girl friend in Seattle and he wants me to help surprise her for her birthday. How cute! His email English isn't too great, so I'm not sure what the surprise entails, but it sounds kind of fun so I'm in. :)
Sunday, January 25, 2004Buddhist HolidayWhen I stayed in the New Tibetan Camp outside of Delhi, I made many new friends including Rinchen, above, a Tibetan refugee who fled to India for a better life. He went to college in Dharamsala and is now living in the Tibetan Camp in Delhi where he showed me around, led me through the temples, took me to his home, bought me tons of chai and lemon tea, and took me to light candles on the evening of a Buddhist holiday. He was just one of the many amazingly nice people we kept meeting on our trip. [Note: let me know if you're bored with India pics yet, or if you want me to keep posting. I have tons more... which could be good or bad.]
What's beautiful in your world this week?We all know our five senses... but I think the most overlooked, underappreaciated sense might well be the sense of smell. It seems like all too often it's only brought up if something is bad (like the sandwich we found rotting in Timmy's bag today.... eww). But right now I'd like to take a moment to appreciate the gift of scent. Know what rocks? Coming home into an apartment that smells like fresh baked goods. :) My roomie never bakes. I've baked quite infrequently since finding out about my allergy to wheat (rules out 99% of cookies, cakes, breads, muffins, pizzas, pretzels, bagels, etc). However, today Erin D. came over and we had our big gluten free baking extravaganza. We chose 3 new recipes and decided on one bread (potato bread with potato starch and xanthum gum), one dessert (lemon bars with almond flour and gf mix), and one snack (granola bars made with almond, corn, amaranth, and rice flours). Amazingly, all three turned out great! They not only tasted good, but they smelled heavenly! Later in the evening I was chatting with Jens on IM and I got a sudden Indian food craving. So, I headed out to Marketime to get some coriander for my kaju paneer (cashew cheese curry). Upon return to the apartment, I was enthralled by the lingering scent of our bake fest that took place many hours earlier. The apartment smelled amazing and I'm still inhaling deeply. Ah. Now that's good stuff!Oh, and speaking of good stuff... the amazing Jens received multiple job offers this week and starts his new job tomorrow (something about biology and analytical chemistry, and enzyme and yeast fermentation in corn?). I'm not sure what all it entails, but he sounds very excited and that's a good thing. :) And speaking of very excited friends, Miss Beal was a fountain of energy this week as she gushed about her new boy. I haven't met the young man yet, but if Beal likes him, he's got to be great. I'm very excited for her - she deserves a nice boy! And, of course, we can't leave out everyone's favorite nice boy Dieter. He might start feeling left out if he doesn't get more mentions in this blog and that'd be a shame because god knows we love Dieter... even if we have a hard time showing it sometimes. Dieter's doing well, is busy with his last six months of classes, and is dating a nice new girl. I've very happy for him too... he's got a girlfriend and he's finishing school soon... two very cool things! And finally, many congrats to me and Erin for our amazing scientific feat: creating three gluten free baked goods that actually taste good. What a beautiful world we live in! What's beautiful in your world this week? Do tell!
Proud DayI'm proud to announce I bowled 100+ recently when we took a team outing to Sunset Bowl (home of pull tabs, karaoke, automatic scoring, and free wireless internet). Yep, it's true, my score broke 100 points for the first time in probably 10-15 years. That might not be impressive to most of you, but I was pretty stoked! I wouldn't attribute it to skill, but instead to the pressure put on me by having lots of good bowlers in my lane. I didn't want to look too bad in front of the team... ya know? :)
Saturday, January 24, 2004Celebrate!Today is the Chinese New Year celebration in the International District. I'm actually quite excited about the event and all of the great free entertainment! Some of the highlights I'm most excited about: a Lion and Dragon Dance at noon, Indian and Sikh dancing at 2:30, Taiko from 3:30-4:30, and Fraggle Rock (break dancing!) at 5pm. Who could ask for more? I was going to just drop by for an hour or two... but with the schedule as it is, I think I'm going to be there all afternoon!
Friday, January 23, 2004Can you feel the love?One of the nice things about working for a faith based organization: When I doing something really, really good or when people are really happy with me, they will occasionally bless me. I was blessed yesterdat by both the accounting department (a very rare blessing!) and by one of our church partners (who showed a very unexpected generosity and kindness!). A month or two ago I was even blessed for some tech work I was helping with in my spare time. Maybe it's novelty for me because I didn't grow up in a super religious family, but it always seems really sweet when someone gives me blessings. :)And speaking of, can I just say I'm feeling a bit blessed to be surrounded by so many lovely friends? The past two weeks have had daily outings every single night with friends I haven't seen in a while. Did I mention this week's events of a party at Mo's, a fun dinner with June, a birthday celebration with Erin, and an enlightening dinner with Vlad? So much fun!
Thursday, January 22, 2004An older friend once told me......in high school that I was "wise beyond my years." I think she meant that I was mature and handled stress and death pretty well for a confused teenager, but she never did explain. The phrase stuck with me though, and when I saw this young, elementary-aged school girl in Benares, I was struck by how she looked wise beyond her years. The had a certainty, or a maturity, in the way she carried herself and her eyes spoke volumes. I think many kids in India tend to grow up before their time. Many children from poor families are sold into child labor and many leave their parents house to start working at a young age (10 year olds can work as servants, textile workers, etc).
Wednesday, January 21, 2004Do we have any Springsteen fans in the house?The EMP has a new exhibit opening this week about the Boss and Phil and I are going to the opening night gala on Friday. Should be fun!And speaking of music fans... everyone's favorite Austin band, the Asylum Street Spankers, will be passing through Seattle on Sat Feb 7th to play 2 shows at the Tractor Tavern . I'll be at the 10pm show and would love company if anyone's up for a fun night of live music! If you've never seen them live, now's the time! Dieter, Jacob, Moses, Laura, and Sundi have all been introduced to the Spankers at the Tractor and can vouch for a fun night's entertainment. :)
Monday, January 19, 2004The WeddingSo, a few folks have emailed and asked how a clothing optional, outdoors wedding works in January when it's in the 40s outside. Well, the wedding yesterday was outside (chilly, but no rain) and everyone ended up dressed for the ceremony as a practical matter of warmth. The ceremony was sweet, there was more laughing than in any wedding I've seen, and the vows they wrote were so touching they made me cry! The reception afterwards was indoors and that's where many people opted to disrobe for cake, snacks, speeches/toasts, and such. The long house facilities also included an indoor pool, so folks were able to enjoy that nice amenity. :) Pics will follow soon. Many congratulations to Kat and Jon!
Sunday, January 18, 2004I can respect that...
God Bless AndrewThe Annie Leibovitz "American Music" photo exhibit at the EMP was excellent and it was a great start to my day. (There's been too much drama since getting back and, as silly as it may sound, it was good to have a good day). :) After leaving the photo exhibit, I got a yummy dosa downtown, read my yummy book for a little while ("Interpreter of Maladies"), and then left to work at the benefit show happening tonight. Imagine my surprise (and delight!) when I arrived and found that the show was yesterday, not today! I probably showed too much glee about not having to work, but the team seemed content to have their Saturday night free when they found out. Happily, I got to go home in time to make rice crispy treats and head to Andrew's party (which was good since I left Mo's early yesterday but still ended up missing the White Party at Lis & Lace's house). Tonight I was feeling the need to be social and this party was lovely. There was a great blend of students, random folks, singles, couples, neighbors, bike boys, Texans, and foreign exchange kids to chat with throughout the evening. And Wouter moved from Holland back to the US last week so he was there too! And there were even a few people taking turns DJing (scratching? spinning records?) so we had good music all night for dancing. And there were excellent gay men who stroke your back or touch your neck when talking (which is always nice... more people should start that practice). And the best part: there were tons of folks from miscellaneous past parties (like at John & Nathan's, or Clark & Dave's, or Mike & Val's) who I'd met before but until tonight I hadn't actually shared real conversations. Real conversation is pretty fun stuff. Not sure if I was extra social, or if the crowd was extra social, but either way it worked out well. So, in closing, God Bless Andrew.
Saturday, January 17, 2004Still trying to put up a picture a day...
Public Health ad in DelhiToday I'm heading to the Experience Music Project for the closing of a photography exhibit. Then I'll be heading to the Vera Project for a Hip Hop show tonight in honor of MLK. Hope everyone's well!
Friday, January 16, 2004Any ideas?So this weekend I'm going to a "clothing optional" outdoor wedding. :) I'll probably opt to wear clothes as it's COLD here in the winter time, but I'm not sure what'd be best/most fun for the day. I'm guessing there will be a fair share of people in fetish gear. Others will probably wear "normal" clothes. Others will probably wear birthday suits. Any creative suggestions good for a wedding? Do share!
World's second longest wallThe fort at Kumbhalgarh (near Udaipur in Rajasthan) is the largest in India and their wall is second in length only to the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall was great fun when I went to China... lots of snow and craziness with the amazing John Dunn. Of course, Kumbhalgarh was great fun too! It's a totally different experience traveling when it's sunny and warm... you get to wander for hours through palaces, temples, along the walls, around the dogs, past the camels, etc. And, while I didn't have John with me on this wall, I did have the amazing Hegg siblings pictured above. :) I'd travel again with them anyday!
Thursday, January 15, 2004Exciting discoveries of the night1. The food court at Westlake Mall has an Indian food stall that serves dosas!
2. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a very funny book! (Tonight Rod and I saw the Book-It Theatre's production of it. I was pleasantly surprised and do recommend it). :)
3. Last night I was posting about what it means to quit a job, move (quit a city), etc. Oddly, today NPR had an hour long segment on what it means to quit and why it can be a good thing. Only winners know when to quit. Losers tend to stay in dead end jobs, relationships, bad situations, etc because they can't get out or don't think they're capable of something better. Only the strong are willing to quit and take the energy to find something better... or at least that's what their expert Marty Nemko said. Ah... validation. ;) Apparently I'm not alone and am among the masses that crave excitement of new jobs, cities, etc and really love the first year. The second year, as we well know, is when we perhaps start feeling a bit routine. Not to say the second year is bad, it's just more routine, that's all. Anyway, it was funny timing to hear the topic on the radio today not 12 hours after I was blogging about the same thing last night.
And with that, I'm off to bed... but not before sending my respects for MLK's birthday. G'night...
Snapshot from Shilpgram Village
Am I the only one who gets the itch to move?I love to travel, and tend to enjoy moving. What better way to experience a cool new town than to move there? It's fun meeting new people, finding new cafes, discovering new festivals, and learning about new neighborhoods. It's fun and exciting to move someplace new. Of course, it's not always practical to move every few years, and you might lack things like houses, stable jobs, and circles of friends. And moving trucks do suck. That I know. It's not like I plan to move anytime soon. It's just fun to think about sometimes... ya know? There are always surveys and lists and articles proclaiming one city cooler, slimmer, hipper, less stressful, etc. It's fun to read about.Like today. This afternoon I saw an interesting study of America's 100 Most (and Least) Stressful Cities. Apparently the Most Stressful City in the country is none other than stinky Tacoma, WA. They ranked Albany, NY as the Least-Stressful City. Hmmm. Out of the 100 cities listed, I've lived in 2 good cities and 3 of the 15 worst cities for stressful living:
1. BEST <---> 5. St. Paul <---> 40. Austin <---> 88. Houston <---> 90. Seattle <---> 91. Dallas <---> 100. WORSTPersonally, I don't think life in Dallas or Houston was really that stressful. At least, it wasn't for me. I had cushy tech jobs in both cities and got perks like fancy lunches and free ball games and sailing and parties. Gee what a stressful life. I had fun circles of friends. We went out lots, and in big cities there was always a lot going on. Great apartments. Great memories. Low cost of living, even. Nothing really stressful to speak of b/c of the cities. Seattle, well, life's been mildly stressful at times, but generally only when I make it so. Like work: it's my choice to work too much, and it's my choice to cut back on my hours. Doesn't mean it's a stressful city though.
I dunno. Even if Seattle is rated the #11 most stressful city, I've been in Seattle for 3 years now... which is pretty amazing to me! I moved here for a year long work contract and I didn't know if I'd stay for more than the year. I even kept my stuff in a storage place in Texas after I moved since I figured I'd probably move back after my year was up. Lo and behold: I've been in my current job for exactly 2 years and I'll hit my 3 year anniversary in Seattle in another 2 weeks! Stress-ranked city or not, I've stayed in Seattle longer than I stayed in Dallas or Houston. And, at 2 full years, this is the longest I've ever stayed at any job too! Sure, when the rains start, I tend to think about what city might be sunnier/more fun/more hip than Seattle, but it's been 3 years and I've yet to come up with anywhere. Seattle's got lakes, hills, music, hiking, people watching, public transit, and punks (always amusing to me). I've got lovely friends and a lovely neighborhood and a lovely job and all is well. All things considered, despite my initial tendency to want to move and travel and see new places, I'm doing pretty good for staying in one place for a while. How very grown up of me, eh?
How to move things in India
Wednesday, January 14, 2004Statistics are funIn the last 2 days, I've had at least 10 people tell me how long my hair suddenly appeared to be. Odd.Update: While I've never measured body parts and/or hair, I've decided to measure my hair to answer the question in the comments. Currently, my hair is about 16 to 17 inches long. Now we know.
Cow How ToIf cows are sacred in India and allowed the freedom to roam the streets, how do you tell your cow from your neighbor's? Easy: you paint the horns. :) Pretty fun, eh?
Tuesday, January 13, 2004Jaipur's Amber FortMost of the "sights" we saw in India revolved around palaces and forts... often they were one and the same since most maharajas with palaces wanted to protect them and built them inside forts. My first fort in India was the Amber Fort (in Jaipur, Rajasthan), and it was quite fun to wander through palace after palace, great hall after great hall. This room was apparently used for offices. I think I'd be willing to give up my big office for a cubicle in a fort anyday. :)
Side note on my state of continued/progressing sickness: Apparently half the people I know are also sick right now. That means I'm not the only one who is tired, restless, hacking, puking (as of today), and putting up with all of this sickness nonsense. Apparently after the trip, 4/5 of us got sick once we got home (me in Seattle, Jens in MN, Lea Anne in India, and Mark in Eastern WA). My roomie Erin is also sick. Dieter's new friend is sick. Team mates are sick. Bloggers are sick. Photo friends are sick. My boss in Baltimore is sick. It's everywhere! What's the world coming to?
On a brighter note: I did hit John's little birthday celebration yesterday and had fun catching up with Noel and Dena. Tonight I went out too and saw a movie with Matthew. We saw the new Tim Burton flick Big Fish and it was quite good! Hopefully tomorrow I'll be in a suitable state for the photo meetup, and that's about all of the updates you'll get from me tonight. G'night!
Arg.Just remembered that we have a work event this Saturday night from 5-midnight. Sad! So much for movies or parties...
Monday, January 12, 2004Gathering WaterAll over India we saw people pumping water from wells, carrying it down city streets or country roads in pots balanced on top of their head. This man had a long walk up the stairs from the river before even hitting the city streets.
Personal Update: Last night I slept through the night for the first time since my return. It was about time... I think I was so tired/sick/incoherent on Friday during our staff meeting that I was actually worrying my team. I seriously got 6 emails from people checking on my sleep status... one even letting me know they were praying for me. I must have been totally out of it. Friday night I hit a Sonics game (we beat the Grizzlies) and fell asleep during the slow first quarter. I was still tired on Sunday and foolishly tried to go snow shoeing at Mt. Rainier. I had to skip out on Dieter, Laura, and Andrew after an hour and head back... was too exhausted. (Happily I ran into Wing, Kava, Mike and Amanda who were snowboarding nearby, so even though I ditched my crowd, I still had nice folks to hang with. Small world!).
Regardless, I'm feeling better today and might even head out to John's birthday party tonight for a brief appearance. By this weekend I hope to be completely back to normal... no cold, no more jetlag, no more restlessness. I hope to be able to go to Kat's wedding (so sudden!), Andrew's party, Lis & Lace's party, and maybe even Matthew's movie night (hopefully timing will permit!).
And in a side note to everyone I talked to this weekend in my super restless state: I'm doing much better today (thanks for your patience). I'm content with my job. Love my team. Even had a great half hour talk with my boss on the phone today... VERY RARE! We laughed and joked and giggled... and she's a serious nun so you can imagine how bizarre it was. It should be fun to see her next month at our middle of the year meeting. Anyway, please sleep soundly knowing I'm mostly back to normal and content with life. :) Take care!
Sunday, January 11, 2004Fun Facts: World's Greatest Monument to LoveDid you know that the Taj Mahal isn't a palace, castle, temple, or fort? Located in Agra (in Uttar Pradesh, India), the Taj is the world's greatest monument to love, built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife who died after delivering their 14th child. Further fun trivia: Shah Jahan's son eventually locked his dad in a prison to keep stop him from spending money on what he considered frivolous things. The Taj is inlaid with precious stones and took 20,000 workers over 22 years to build. Guess that could be considered frivolous. There's also a large garden, a mosque, and a rest house of equally grand stature.
It was pretty foggy the morning that we were there, but that didn't stop us from taking lots of pics and Jens and I even posed for a Phoon... which you can now see proudly posted on Phoons.com. Enjoy! :)
I tried...Tried to go snowshoeing today with Andrew, Laura, and Dieter. It was beautiful, snowy, and sunny out at Mt. Rainier, but I only made it a mile (maybe?) before I was too tired. My cold is still sucking my energy, and my jetlag is still keeping me up late at night and waking me up early in the morning. Alas. When I wandered down the hill, I was pleasantly surprised to run into Wing, Kava, Mike, and Amanda at Crystal Mountain. Did lunch with them, hit the bar, and then met up with the crew after they came down from the mountain. (Apparently they never found the trail we were going to do anyway, though I'm told I did miss some great views). I think that's a fair trade... miss some views and run into friends instead. :)
Saturday, January 10, 2004Birthday Wishes (before I forget!)Happy birthday this week to Miss Beal, Captain Mike, Mitcharf, and Boston Chris. Next time we happen to be in the same city, you'll have a birthday drink waiting from me! Happy late bday to Austin Chris and early bday wishes to Erin for next week!
Random India Trivia: The Evil EyeIn India, we saw many adorable children with black eyeliner highlighting their already wide eyed child look. This is a very popular practice used to block the evil eye. "It is believed that all kinds of illnesses, pains, and handicaps are caused by the 'evil eye', or because one is possessed by an evil spirit Bhuta, Preta, Pishacha. Unless this is nullified, the effects are said to stay. Good-looking children, young boys and girls, brides and grooms, are considered most susceptible to the eye. Small children are generally made to wear special, protective charms and lockets. Eyeliner is applied to their eyes and a small black dot (kala tika) to their foreheads. This is believed to mar their beauty and make them unappealing to the evil eye."
Many other rites also protect from the evil eye and are super common to see. A lemon with four or five chilies tied together, or a piece of stale unleavened bread (roti), are used for the purpose. These lemons and chilies on a string can be seen all over India... hanging from rearview mirrors, hanging from the front grills on big trucks, front doors of houses, railings from businesses, etc.
Friday, January 09, 2004Let the India Musings Begin...Know what Seattle needs? More food vendors on the streets. Not just espresso stands, or the occasional hot dog street vendor like in Capital Hill, but true food vendors lining the streets. You don't always need a meal, just a snack. India had banana vendors on every corner (only 4 cents each, or 2 for 6 cents!). They also had people selling chai (closer to 8-20 cents), samosas, vada, sweets, rice, fried whatevers, dal/lentils, chips (Lay's makes a great "Masala Madness" flavor), and so much more. Vendors selling food every few feet - that's the life for me! Talk about quality fast food... you don't even need a drive in or a building... just a wooden cart or a tarp on the corner and you'd be set! My walk from the bus to work would be so much more enjoyable if I was able to get breakfast along the way!
Pictured here is a street vendor in Bundi (a small town in the state of Rajasthan, India). The food was excellent... truly amazing! It was this great saffron rice dish with spicy chilies and sweet sugar, topped with some pomegranate kernels... tastefully served in a delicate sheet of old newspaper. Oh. My. God. It was really, really good!
Thursday, January 08, 2004Let the photos beginWell... I was going to start with India photos but there are so many to go through I've skipped all of them and went straight for the "arrival in Seattle, take a picture from the airplane" shot. Yes, it's SNOW! That's right... snow is here in our sleepy mountain hamlet... how quaint, how cute, how slushy. :) Well, it's not slushy today like it was yesterday. Today it's already melted. Alas. It was quite pretty... and I definitely think cold snow is better than rain any day! I'd say I'm content to be home!
Sleep deprivedThree days ago I had an overnight 18 hour train ride from Benares to Delhi. Then I booked it to the airport for another overnight trip - this time a plane trip to Seoul. In Seoul we had an 11 hour dull layover before a third evening of overnight travel... this time my final plane trip home from Seoul to Seattle arriving this morning at 11am. For some reason, I couldn't sleep last night for the life of me. Wanted to sleep on the plane. Tried the silly looking mask. Drank no caffeine for days. Pillows. Blankets. Head on window. Chair reclined. Watched dull movies. Made "To Do" lists for work. No dice... still no sleep. So, I stayed awake the entire overnight 10 hour flight and now I'm exhausted. I'm sleep deprived and tired and hungry (late lunch/early dinner at 4pm). And while I'm tired and hungry, am I rushing to bed? No. I'm refusing to go to bed. No good reason. I have nothing to do. No deadlines. I have nothing to stay up for. No projects in the works. No one on IM tonight (not that I've actively added many folks to my Yahoo IM since I rarely get on). No neighbors at home to harass. No one I think will appreciate a 2am wake up call on a Wednesday night/Thursday morning. No pressing emails to return. I already paid my bills this afternoon. My bag is unpacked. My trash is taken out. I watched half a movie (yes... VCDs do indeed work in my DVD players). I wore a hat for a few hours. And even with all that excitement, I can't bring myself to go to bed. Talk to me people...
Sunday, January 04, 2004I'm better now!Okay... I got a good night's sleep and retract all of the snippy things about Benares. It's really quite a lovely city. :) I got up at sunrise and took a long 3 hour walk along the holy ghats. I saw people bathing, kids playing cricket with sticks and rocks, saw Sadhus praying, saw women collecting holy water, and stumbled up the main ghat where they do the cremations. I wandered through the fires, stepping past a foot here and then a limb there. I looked into the dead eyes of a burning body and I can already tell that's an experience that's going to stick with me for a long time to come. Random river trivia: Did you know that 60,000 people come to the Benares ghats every single day? Did you also know that 30 city sewers empty into the same river? Wow.I'm now wandering in Lea Anne's old neighborhood near Assi Ghat. Found a great bookstore, and am now ready for lunch. (It's 2pm in India, despite whatever time Blogger opts to post my blog at). Hope everyone's well! (Hope the city power comes on again soon too... I could really use a nice, hot shower!). Take care!
Saturday, January 03, 2004Whew!Yesterday I did some shopping in Delhi and discovered that new CDs here are only about 99-150 Rs ($2-3 USD). I bought a few sound tracks (including Monsoon Wedding) and look forward to listening once I get home. They had tons of VCDs on sale too... but I'm not sure if my DVD player will play them or not. Anyone know? I think it's Pioneer brand, maybe 3 yrs old?Anyway, after shopping I caught my "express" train... which departed last night over 4 hours late and arrived in Varanasi 11 hours late tonight. Who knew you could get that tired just sitting around all day on a cramped train? Anyway, I'm now in Varanasi... aka Benares to the locals. Mark Twain visited here once and said "Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together." So true! This is a holy city... believed to be one of the oldest living cities in the world (since about 1400 BC). You'd believe it if you saw how old and run down the town looks. Even the cows here seem bitter, restless, and angry. Maybe I'm reading into it since I'm tired, hungry, and cold (the weather temp dropped quite a bit this last week).
Tomorrow when I'm rested, I plan to visit the ghats (river steps) where I'll see bathing, smoking, holy rituals, cremations, and bodies floating down the river. Thousands of people come here to die near the holy Ganges river... though I suspect the town itself is enough to make some keel over. (Again, ignore me, I'm probably just low on blood sugar). I also plan to eat some sweets, check out a Chucky Cheese style temple, and maybe go visit the spot where Buddha made his famous first speech. Lea Anne used to live here and since she highly recommends it, I'm sure it'll be fabulous once I settle in tonight. :) Hope y'all are well. Take care!
Thursday, January 01, 2004Happy New Years!Udaipur was great... spent Christmas Eve with the Sun God... how unreal! Jens and I survived two different angry mommy monkey near-attacks at Chittorgard. After that, we went to Bundi and the medieval ambiance was still strong. No tourists there... was neat to get smiles and handshakes instead of "come see my shop." :) Took a great hike to the top of the fort, saw another beautiful city palace, ate fabulously, and stayed at another hotel owned by a royal family member related to the maharaja. (More tiger stories... in addition to stories of meeting Gandhi, Queen Elizabeth, etc. After Bundi was small town Bharatpur... wonderful bird sanctuary (led by the fabulous Rajat), wonderful tour of organic farm in the country, great illegal hooch for new years, and another holiday bonfire! I could get used to this life!Today, however, was a sad day of goodbyes. Lea and I left Bharatpur and took Jens, Mark, and Nancy to the airport to fly home to the States. :( They're an amazing family and while I'm excited to travel India for another week, I'd have loved to have them continue on for a third week! I was able to convince Jens to extend his ticket, but sadly when he called the airlines, they were booked solid for the next few weeks. Alas. I'd also invited Lea Anne to continue on with me, but she's got to get back to Jaipur for school in a few days.
So, tomorrow I'm off to Varanasi or Manali... not sure which. Guess that means I should get on the IndianRailways website and do some research. Take care! Happy new years!! Drop me a comment and let me know how your celebration went!
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