Assorted Weekly Happenings

As our trip enters its final month, the schedule is beginning to slow down. Consequently, this week has had less unique experiences... but I'm sure I'll be able to tell a few good stories. :)

We left Dharamsala on Tuesday morning, but not before making a stop at the Tibetan Children's Village. TCVs are essentially boarding schools for TCs in various Northern India cities. It was fun to disrupt classes and spend a little time interacting with the children, and, well, some of them also had a good time. Others, well.... didn't receive me quite as exuberantly. I promise not all of the kids' reactions looked like this. I can only be so charming... moving on....




Amritsar is located in the state of Punjab. Punjab is home to India's largest Sikh population and the accent of The Simpsons character Apu. The Golden Temple, in Amritsar, is a famous religious monument for Sikhs. The picture I took of a picture of the Golden Temple at night doesn't exactly portray it the way we saw it during the day. The temple was overly crowded with semi-clothed individuals bathing in the inner pool, walking through a stagnant foot pool was required before granted entry, various smells were overwhelming, and the free meal that was provided didn't seem exactly sanitary. It didn't help that I was already feeling sick, but needless to say, all of my OCD buttons were pushed. I felt bad not eating the meal, as I was essentially refusing a daily method of Sikh community service. I just wasn't feeling it. :/

In the evening, we traveled 20 km. to the Pakistan border to watch a nightly ceremony. Both Hindi and Pakistani guards put on an elaborate show that represents both rivalry and respect between the two countries. I was surprised at the rather large size of the primarily Indian crowd. It was a fun night of Hindu patriotism, but it's interesting to think that a similar American-oriented spectacle would have disgusted me.


Our time back in Delhi before heading to Udaipur was full of the usual bumming around and refueling. Once again, I made my way to (my favorite) Palika Bazaar, this time with Bryce as reiforcement, to get some more bootleg DVDs. I returned to the same place where I had obtained the movies the last time, but I was informed by the owner that there had been a police problem and the DVDs were no longer available. When I showed disappointment, he looked around over his shoulders before telling me quietly that the DVDs were still in his car, parked in the Palika Bazaar parking garage. I weighed the risk of being abducted against the prospect of getting new movies, but I decided the man was legitimately afraid of getting busted. Having been a previous customer and made it out alive, I figured we had established an amicable "don't kidnap me" relationship. I followed the man through the Bazaar and down in the to the very bottom floor of the parking garage. We arrived at his SUV, where he told me to get in and we could drive around while I looked so he wouldn't get caught. Don't worry Mom, I refused, and he agreed to have me look at the movies with the engine lid open as though we were doing automotive maintenance. As before, I made my selections, currency was exchanged, and I was sent on my way. I'm expecting by next time I'll be eligible for a Black Market Membership card.

The journey continues next week with stories from Udaipur and... some other place. I guess we'll both find out then. Peace.

Dharamsala: Little Tibet

Greetings from North India! Despite being a week with little structure, my time in Dharamsala is full of stories. I'll do my best to fill you in...

Before leaving Delhi last Tuesday, we spent the evening at a massive (and unique) temple on the city's outskirts. Unlike all other temples we have visited so far, this one was heavily Americanized, complete with educational boat ride (a la Disney World), IMAX movie, and food court. According to the boat ride, Indians invented everything before anyone else thought of inventing anything. Nationally biased are we??

We arrived in Dharamsala the next morning by car, following an overnight train ride. Dharamsala is situated in the South of the Himalayan Mountains, a lighthouse of civilization amongst seas of nearly unpopulated peaks. Dharamsala is a hotbed of Buddhism and serves as a refuge for Tibetans who are no longer safe in their own country.
Occuring all over India on this very day was the "festival of color" known as Holi. There may be more to it, but all I've gathered is that people spend the morning walking the streets and throwing paint at each other. Maybe it was the seeking of a new experience or simply a poor decision on little sleep, but I chose to take a walk. Witness the very purple Holi aftermath...
The most exhausting of the week's activities was a strenuous hike up a 10,000ft. "foothill" (as the Tibetans call it. The excursion took from breakfast to dinner and resulted in aching bones, but the incredible view from the top was well worth it. And for me, that's saying something!


Another highlight of my time in Dharamsala was getting to interact with the locals through one of our only common factors: basketball. In terms of height, we definitely dominated, but overall it was a good challenge. I've never been exactly suave at basketball, but my unique way of playing fit in well to the very different Tibetan rules and methods. To save myself embarrassment, I'll post a picture where I'm just standing still.

Dharamsala is so far one of my favorite places on the trip. I don't know if the chill aura of the city comes from the peaceful setting or the plethora of buddhist hippies that sing bizarre songs at coffee houses (see below), but it definitely serves as a nice change of pace/scenery.











In my opinion, the city itself was worth the trip despite not being able to see his holiness the Dalai Lama (Buddhism's posterboy).



Tomorrow we leave for Amritsar, the second and last stop on our journey through the North. It's bittersweet to be 2/3rds of the way through the trip; I'm eager to get back to all of you, but still loving every minute of it! :) Until next week...

Desert Wanderings

Hello again! The past two weeks I've been galavanting around Rajasthan, from Jaipur, to Ranthambore, to Jodhpur, to Ajmer.

We arrived in Ranthambore on 2/26, and were pleasantly surprised to be staying at a nice safari lodge (with a pool!). Free time was spent relaxing, playing rook, and playing 500 with a water bottle in the pool. Our main reason for visiting Ranthambore was the prospect of seeing the nature reserve's elusive tiger on a safari. It was fun bouncing around through the forest in large jeeps and seeing some animals, but unfortunately the tiger lived up to its reputation and remained hidden.
The next stop on our Rajasthan journey was the Blue City of Jodhpur. The city is not entirely blue, but from the right angle can legitimately hold the title. Our time in Jodhpur included tours of hillside forts and the Maharaja's palace that had been mostly converted into a 7-star (*******) hotel. We didn't get to walk through all of the palace, but we saw enough to make us jealous.
Out of Jodphur we embarked on a weekendesque trip to Manvar resort. The first night at the resort was spent a ways into the desert at a tented camp. The setting of the camp in the middle of the desert was pretty spectacular. For the evening's cultural night festivities the group got dressed up in traditional Rajasthani garb. Being in such a unique place made this one of my favorite nights of the trip. The following morning began early with a 6:00 AM wakeup call to begin boarding camels. The morning brought enough excitement that getting up was easy. The short camel safari that took place before breakfast led the group up to a distant dune to watch the sunset and back around to the camp. The limited time we spent on the camels was actually okay with me (camels aren't the most comfortable creatures to ride on). In other camel news, the bizarre things I didn't realize they did before this trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeC5u8ot6Us. Picture that video, but with the camels mouth full of froth. I have to wonder why they don't try do something pretty, like a peacock, as a means of attracting mates. Whatever works...
In the evening, we went on a desert safari, which is much cooler than it sounds. The group split up into several jeeps and basically went offroading all through the desert. Careening over dunes was as exhilirating as an amusement park, in the "Oh no. I might die!" sort of way. Fortunately, we all had very skilled jeep drivers. Along the way we had time for "we look awesome in turbans" photoshoot.

From Manvar we returned to Jodhpur. The next morning we drove to Ajmer, which was essentially a layover location on our trip back to Delhi. After a day of rest and seeing several temples, we completed the journey to our India headquarters. I realize I'm leaving out details from the several days mentioned above, but they simply seemed mostly eventless and paled in comparison to the time we spent in the desert.

It feels good to be back in Delhi. It might seem strange, but it's almost become my home away from home, since we've been here several times before. We'll be here for another couple of days and then will be back on the road. Next stop, Dharmsala and the Dalai Lama!