Viajera Curiosa- Around The World in 352 Days

Moving to Taiwan!!!

2012-02-02T21:09:00.001-05:00

So, I guess I couldn't stay put for long. A year and a half after 10 months of travel through Asia, I am heading back. To a new country. Not to travel, but to live and teach. To deeply learn about a new culture and its people. To learn about myself. To leave everything familiar to me and just explore and grow. To go alone. 2 years!

CAMPIONES!!!!

2011-08-01T11:47:00.004-04:00

I have spent the last two days in Barranquilla with Juanky (aka Papauchi), Cesar, Edgar and all their crazy and welcoming friends: William, Mario, Fabio, Yolima, Taty y mas!! I had to come back to Barranquilla to hang out with them-they are hysterical and so much fun!!

From South America

They had their championship soccer game on Saturday night and they put the other team to shame with a score of 4-0. I don`t know a lot about soccer but it was very fun to watch and there was very vocal and active participation from the fans. Papauchi`s mother kept screaming, "Tiralo el gordito" (take the fat player out of the game) to a player on the other team. Everyone was screaming at the players and carrying on.

From South America

The guys were all so excited after the game and we started drinking the liter of aguardiente, a belated birthday present for Papauchi, in the parking lot outside the stadium. The party continued on the guys` street. Cumbia, salsa, champeta, porro, vallenato y mas. Lots of dancing and laughing on the block until around 3AM, when it started to torrentially rain. We moved the party inside and I was up until 5:30 or so dancing with Papauchi, Cesar and Fabio.

From South America

When I woke up at 10:30 the next morning, all the guys were outside of Papauchi`s house starting round two. I got a huge round of applause from all the crazies as I came out of the house. We eventually had to move the party back to the street because of a noise complaint and a visit from the local police. We hung out all day outside laughing and joking around.

I am feeling pretty good today despite the two days of fiestas but the guys are hurting this morning (they dont know how to pace themselves). Papauchi and Cesar helped me arrange my bus ticket to Bogota this afternoon at 4PM. They will take me to the terminal later on in the day.

I have had such a great time with these guys. They have made me feel so welcome, have really taken care of me and have showed me a wonderful time. Even their families have been so kind and generous. They opened up their homes to me and I will be forever grateful. Cesar and Papauchi plan on coming to NYC at the end of this year and I have been insisting that my home is their home and they have to stay with me. However, in all honesty, I think some of the guys` friends who are ladies will be happy to see La Gringa go- they have been pretty cold with me and they just keep asking me when I am going to leave. But a few have been really friendly to me, like Taty, Laura and Yolima.

Well, the gringa takes off today for Bogota.

Besos
Barranquilla te quiero mucho!!

2 Free Nights in a Luxury Hotel. WTF?!?

2011-07-29T19:55:00.008-04:00

Isla Grande, Islas De Rosario, Colombia:

Free accomodations, drinks, food, kayaking, banana-boating...
Great company
Swimming in phosphorescent lagoons
Room Service
Sun
Fun
Tranquila

Some stories need to be told in person.

Going out dancing tonight in Cartagena with my new friends from Isla Grande

Besos,
Mamauchi

And did I mention I got another marriage proposal?

My Colombian name is Mamauchi

2011-07-25T10:55:00.005-04:00

Went to Tayrona National Park 2 days ago. I met a friendly family from Bogota on the micro (small public bus) that took us from the entrance of the park to the start of the hike. The National Park is a string of beautiful beaches that is accessible by hiking through the jungle. I walked through the jungle with Sonia Esperanza, the mother, and her 20 year old son Juan David. Juan David and I swam in the Caribbean Ocean and Sonia was very maternal with me.

From South America

I stupidly brought my hefty back pack so it was a strenuous and exhausting 3 hour hike to the pristine beach Cabo San Juan de La Guia. It was at the beachs camping site that a group of 4 Colombians invited me to join them to drink some agardiente, a popular anis-flavored spirit. We hung out on the beach and I learned how to dance vallenato. They are a funny group and really made me feel welcome. They gave me a spot in their tent so I did not have to sleep in my rented hammock, which is a mosquitos paradise. One of them drunkenly proposed to me before he passed out (he has since retracted the invitation).

From South America

Yesterday, they invited me to their hometown on Baranquilla, an industrial port city and the fourth largest in Colombia. The hike back to their car was much less difficult as the guys insisted on carrying my 10 kilo back pack for me. Ah chivalry! After stopping by one of their parents summer homes in Santa Marta to shower and have lunch after Tayrona, we arrived in Baranquilla around 6:30. I met Cesar and Edgars family, as well as Juan Carlos. We ate Colombian fast food then went to a salsa club. They gave me the nickname Mamauchi. We drank a lot of aguardiente and stayed up late, laughing, dancing and carrying on.

From South America

I stayed at Andres apartment last night, which is a typical bachelor pad- he does not like to clean. Today the guys are going to show me around the city before I head to Cartagena. They have been wonderful hosts. As I am writing, Andres is preparing a big breakfast.

I Love Colombia!!

From South America

Quito for 12 Hours

2011-07-22T22:16:00.005-04:00

Flor picked me up at the airport and gave me an unbelievably comfortable bed to sleep in. We stayed up late chatting and laughing before we both passed out, exhausted from our long day.

From South America

In the morning, I walked all over the Old Town. Quito is a beautiful city. Although, there is a noticeable amount of pollution. Surrounded by mountains with colorful homes scattered on the crests, it is the second highest city in the world. It took a lot out of me to climb up the hills. The Quitenos are also very friendly. Maybe the friendliest I have encountered so far in South America. I had a 20 minute conversation with the couple who owned the juice stand by the Iglesia de Santo Domingo. Looking forward to returning some day.

From South America

Living it Up in Lima

2011-07-21T00:54:00.005-04:00

After a 26-hour bus ride that was supposed to take 18 hours, I finally arrived in Lima, Peru at 9PM this evening. I was actually 35 hours in transit as I started my journey from Copacabana, Bolivia earlier that day at 1PM! Considering how long I was on the bus, the ride was pretty pleasant. There was an adorable 2 year old child that I played football with. Everytime he kicked the ball, he yelled GOAL!!! I sat next to a Colombian man who I at first abhorred because he snored through the night. But Edwin turned out to be quite pleasant and invited me to dinner with his friends when I visit Bogota. I read and wrote a lot and watched the film The Mechanic for the second time on this trip. I ate lunch with an Argentine named Javier who has lived all over South America, Europe and in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. I have a tentative plan to have lunch with him tomorrow. He lived in Lima for a few years and suggested we go to his favorite Chinese restaurant in Lima tomorrow afteroon.

From South America

As for my one evening in Peru, not on a bus that is, I have treated myself to a night at the Gran Hotel Bolivar, a colonial style luxury hotel in Plaza San Martin, right in the heart of Central Lima (Remember when we stayed there, Dad, and my eye puffed up and you almost made me leave South America early?). As they had no more single rooms available, I was upgraded to a matrimonial suite. I have a huge living room, an equally enormous bathroom, a comfortable queen sized bed, hot water and cable TV. Also- there is a balcony that overlooks the Plaza. Quite luxurious for $65. This is my hotel splurge of the trip. After I finish using the free internet in the lobby, I am going to take a long hot shower and fall asleep watching a movie. I can´t remember the last time I had a really hot shower. Or a TV. Or a quiet and clean room. Or stayed by myself.

Plan to walk around Central Lima tomorrow before I catch my flight to Quito tomorrow night at 9:46PM. Plan to see my sisters friend during my 13 hour layover in Quito.

From the drive into Lima, the city seems to have alreay made significant changes in the last four years, the last time I was here. It has a municipal bus system. The Plaza San Martin is much more developed with high-end chain stores, a more modern movie theatre and many more neon lights.

From South America

Challa Beach, Bolivia

2011-07-18T18:56:00.005-04:00

From South America

Chad and I just spent two amazing days at Challa Beach on La Isla Del Sol in Bolivia. We stayed in a quiet guesthouse that we heard about from a Brazilian guy named Daniel we met in Copacabana. We told him we would see him there the following day and ran into him on the ferry to the island. We all walked to the tranquil and beautiful beach that was away from the tourist trail. The owners, Jorge, Nelson and Maria were so friendly and helpful. I loved playing with Nelson and Maria´s precious 1 year old daughter named Cielo. Nelson was a great cook and I was well-fed each meal. We ended each evening playing cards, drinking wine and having amazing conversations until the wee hours of the morning.

We swam in the spiritually purifying Lago de Titicaca, the world´s highest lake.
We rented a row boat and explored the neighboring capes and coves.
We had lots of table quizzes- long story.
We hiked up to the nearest vantage point to watch the sunset.
I made a great new friend, Daniel.
I read, laughed, had my palm read and created wonderful memories.

Tomorrow I will cross the border into Peru and take a 24 hour bus to Lima so I can catch my flight to Santa Marta, Colombia.

The chapter of traveling with friends closes tonight. Having dinner with Chad and El Cactus and I begin the next chapter, traveling by myself, tomorrow. A little nervous but extremely excited!!

Besos

Biking Down The World´s Most Dangerous Road

2011-07-15T13:17:00.003-04:00

From South America

Yesterday I biked 65 km down the world´s most dangerous road. We started in La Cumbre at 8AM at 4,700 m. Over the next few hours, I descended over 3,600m to the town of Yolosa. The second half of the journey was on a narrow, one-lane gravel road that had some pretty sharp turns. Amazing ride. A real adrenaline rush and made it back in one piece.

Cooking Dinners and Falling Down Stairs

2011-07-10T19:01:00.002-04:00

From South America

Today I fell down an entire flight of stairs in the La Casa de La Libertad, a well preserved 17th Century colonial building where Bolivian independence was declared. Below is a photo of the lovely staircase. Fortunately, the only injuries I sustained were a bump on my head, which I have been icing diligently, and a cut on my right hip. I am so lucky that I was not more hurt!!
While I was icing in the kitchen today (see photo above), El Cactus prepared lunch for me.

From South America

Chad, El Cactus and I have been enjoying Sucre. We spent yesterday wandering around the city, visiting churches, dancing to marching bands practices, trying all the street food we see and trying to find the cheapest place to stay. Last night, Chad left for Cochabamba and I will join him tomorrow night.

I have been cooking a lot the last few days. It is great to be back in the kitchen and, if my mom saw me, she would say I was being a happy little homemaker.

Treating myself to a fancy dinner tonight as a result of my injury. Always good to have an excuse to treat yourself. Meeting El Menscho for dinner.

So Long Los Gauchos

2011-07-08T16:54:00.004-04:00

The original three have now gone their separate ways. We had a great final night by watching the Copa America match between Bolivia and Costa Rica. We viewed the match at Bolvian bar with several jars of ¨Limonada¨, lemonade with Bolivian fire water. We were joined by the fourth Gaucho, who arrived to Potosi yesterday morning.

Big hugs, some kisses too (none for Chad- he doesn´t like kisses from friends).

Tonight I am cooking a vegetarian feast. Will head to Sucre tomorrow morning and will have lunch with Chad and El Menscho Magico.

Potosi´s Working Mines

2011-07-06T17:14:00.003-04:00

From South America Random

Since the 16th Century, Bolivianos have been working in the Cerro Rico, ¨The Rich Mountian¨ in Potosi in search of precious metals, such as silver and tin. Today we took a tour of a cooperative mine and climbed through the narrow passageways to see the work of the miners, to understand the hardships of the work and to learn about the history of this city´s desire for economic prosperity. After just spending an hour and a half in the mine, climbing on all fours at around 4200m above sea level, seeing the backbreaking work of the laborers and hearing their stories, there are clear injustices within the mining communities that exist here. It paints a bleak picture of the mining industry around the world and sadly there do not seem to be any real potential solutions in sight. Geologists estimate that the Cerro Rico has about 80-100 years until it is tapped of its resources. Miners continue to probe the mountain with dynamite in search of a profitable rock while they are inhaling toxic fumes, working in extremely hot regions and lacking proper safety equipment and health insurance.

From South America Random

What planet are we on?

2011-07-04T15:51:00.012-04:00

In the last four days, I have seen some of the most beautiful sights located in a teeny, tiny corner of the world: red lagoons, green lagoons, cacti, geysers, volcanoes, ghost towns, petrified rock formations, llamas, vicuñas, desert, thermal baths, flamingos, snow-capped mountains, chincillas and THE SALT FLATS! A lot of time in the car and too much wind but it was definitely worth it! Our guide Fidel and cook Carmen were amazing and I will definitely miss them!!

From South America Random

We slept at 4800m, got altitude sickness, appreciated the night sky and I got my hair cut by an awesome Scottish backpacker last night before I went to sleep.

From South America Random

Today at the Salar de Uyuni, the world´s largest salt flats, I sat on top of our jeep as it drove through the seemingly endless white expanse. We took great pictures and have checked into the only hotel in Uyuni that has heat. We are cold and wet and ready to have a good night´s sleep at a normal altitude. We had a great addition to our group on the four-day trip: a cool Aussie named Tim (El Menscho Magico) who brought humor and rock-climbing knowledge to the group, among many other things.

From South America Random

We are celebrating the 4th of July in style by heading to the local pizza restaurant that is run by an Amherst alum- no joke!

From South America Random

Our plan is to head to Potosi but we are not sure if we are going to be able to leave this dingy, cold and run-down tourist town because it is snowing and the buses are not running. Hmmm....

From South America Random

ESTAMOS EN BOLIVIA

2011-06-29T18:39:00.008-04:00

Have just arrived in Tupiza, known as the American Wild West of Bolivia. This region was the setting for the final scene of ¨Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid¨. Home to the Cordilleras de Chichas (Chichas Mountains), this small dusty town is surrounded by a picturesque landscape of canyons, painted hills and cacti-filled valleys. The Bolivianos are more indigenous-looking, wear traditional altiplano dress and are more humble than the average Argentine. And it´s cheap, cheap, cheap. Tomorrow we are going on a 3-hour horseback riding trip through the region and set off on Friday morning for a 4-day tour of the southwest region.

From South America Random

Some highlights over the last few days:
-Saw the mummified body of an Incan child who was sacrificed to the gods at the museum MAAM in Salta, Argentina. Disturbing yet intriguing.
-Trekked through the Hills of Seven Colors in Purmamarca, Argentina and had a great 3-hour talk with El Cactus Bailarin on a hilltop about anything and everything.

From South America Random

-Tried llama meat in Tilcara, Argentina. Pretty delicious actually.
-Dealt with bureaucratic inefficiency today when we tried to cross the border into Bolivia. The Argentine side had an unnecessarily long line to receive our exit stamp (over an hour). The Bolivian side was more efficient but did not ask for any of the 8 ¨required¨ documents needed to cross the border.

El Cactus is gone- it was great to have his company but Los Gauchos don´t cross borders with strangers. Bolivia is very exciting and am looking forward to the last 2/3 of the trip.

Besos!!

Lazy Sunday in Salta

2011-06-26T18:43:00.006-04:00

Spent the day relaxing and taking care of errands. Needed a chill day after enjoying a real Argentine night out with the boys and the newest addition to our group, Fede, who will now be referred to on the blog by his nickname which is El Cactus Bailarin (the dancing cactus). He will be joining Los Gauchos until he gets sick and tired of us, which might be soon.

Also, FYI, El Gringo Loco will now be called by his newest, less generic and more appropriate nickname, El Pollito Sin Cabeza (The Chicken without a Head). Chad gets two thumbs up for for the two aformentioned names. One thumb up to me for translating the names into Castellano.

We had quite an evening last night. We went to a peña, a folkloric dance show, in the happening part of town. The performers danced different regional dances in traditional costumes and, true to form, Pollito was the star of the evening. He was selected out of the crowd to dance with one of the beautiful performers and had the entire audience eating out of his hand for the rest of the night. Very comical and he had Los Gauchos in hysterics the entire evening. Pollito and I tore up the dance floor-we got a standing ovation at the end of our dance. After the ovation, the MC told the audience that ¨we danced like we were on 600 mm of Rivotril¨(according to Wikipedia, it is a common prescription for epilepsy, anxiety disorders, panic disorders, mania and restless legs syndrome, among other things). Don´t think it was a compliment but we had fun!!! El Cactus received the adjective in his nickname (bailarin) after impressively dancing to some Cumbia. We had a great time dancing to his favorite songs. Chad eventually got on the dance floor after a few Salta beers and charmed a 60-plus woman with his fiery rhythm and moves. We ate an amazing parrilla but there is a severe lack of vegetables in this country.

Went to a live music show and enjoyed some Fernets with Coke. Fernet is a bitter and aromatic spirit made with herbs and spices. Pollito was the band´s most spirited groupie and we all chatted it up with the band after the show. Pollito and I split a choripan at the end of the night after we resolved a brief lover´s quarrel. We hugged it out!

Great fun had by all. One of the highlights of the trip so far.

Tomorrow morning at 6:30AM we will head to Pumamarca, farther north and on our way to Bolivia. It will probably be our last stop before we cross the border. Argentina is AMAZING!!

Besos,
La Princesa Magica

Hikes, Wine Country and Lots of Maté

2011-06-25T17:58:00.005-04:00

Tafi del Valle was so picturesque. A small rural mountain village inhabited by indigenous people. One day, we hired a 14 year-old boy named Pancho to guide us to the waterfalls, Cascada Rio de Los Alissos. We hiked up to about 3000 meters to see the 60 meter drop from two rock faces. It was covered in ice and when Chad climbed closer to get a look, a big sheet of ice fell from the top of the falls and shattered pretty close to his head. Terrifying but funny after we saw he was okay. The hike was certainly made more difficult by the altitude. It was in Tafí that we picked up an extra travel buddy, Fedé, a porteño (from Buenos Aires). He is chill, nice and funny, but his sense of humor is a little inappropriate for my taste. The guys seems to enjoy his potty humor, however. He is still traveling with us but I think we will part ways after Salta. We shall see.

Since Tafi, we have pased our time in Cafayate, Argentina´s second biggest wine town after Mendoza. Gringo went for a 50 km bike ride yesterday while Chad, Fedé and I walked through the hillside and visited a few bodegas. Being in wine country brought me joy and it was great to taste some wine and learn more about the wine-making process. Fedé cooked us dinner last night-delicioso.

Today we are in Salta- not much to do here but the main square is full of beautiful 19th Century buildings. I was Gringo´s arm candy today while he played the slots. We ate empanadas and tamales for lunch. We will probably go to a boliche (dance club) tonight after we eat at a parrilla (grill house). Not sure where we will head next but spontaneous nature of this trip is exhilirating.

The trip is awesome. We all travel really well together and we have nicknamed ourselves Los Gauchos (the cowboys).

Besos
Teeny

La Empresa Almirante Brown = Caca

2011-06-21T17:03:00.004-04:00

Chad and I had a mediocre bus ride last night with Almirate Brown. The bus was an hour late and I was running around like a crazy person trying to figure out when it was leaving. The bus terminal did not have any information and the bus company´s ticket office was closed. It was stressful. We finally got on and we were seated right in front of the bathroom, which was quite unpleasant. Äs Chad said on the ride, ¨That is a rich aroma¨.

Arrived in Tucuman at 2 and are staying in a beautiful 100-year old house in the center of the city. Tucuman was where Argentine independence was declared. The Plaza de Independencia is full of old colonial buildings and, of course, protestors. El gringo arrives this evening and we plan to go paragliding tomorrow. plan to watch the Copa de Libertador tonight. Then off to Tafi de Valle for some hiking in the mountains.

Besos,
Teeny

Ideas, Quotes and Happenings from La Rio de Plata

2011-06-19T18:15:00.010-04:00

Chad is concerned about the world-wide depletion of fisheries.
La vida es buena.

From a soft-spoken Texan-raised expat who currently lives in Colonia, Uruguay:¨If God saw fit to put cannabis on this earth, no man or government has the right to say that I cannot smoke it¨ His life´s dream is to start the ¨New Jerusalem¨ and he believes that the government is ¨the beast¨.

From Jhon, a Colombian I met at the hostel, who spoke to me about visiting his home country: ¨el unico riesgo es que te quieras quedar.¨ (The only risk is that you will want to stay)

Argentine slang: ¨Ay, Manzana¨ (Literal Translation: Oh, Apple. Slang Translation: DUH)

Fui a boliche hasta las 6 con tres porteños y un colombiano. Bailé, bailé, bailé. Ordenamós cervezas del litro alli y no usamos vasos. Muy divertido. Had to change rooms because of a hairy fifty-something year old snoring man in my dorm room. Took a ferry to Buenos Aires in the AM. Lunch, cafe and laughs with Julieta and Maruja. Tonight going to a dinner party at Laura´s house. She is a friend of Vero´s. Tomorrow is flag day, a national holiday- I will go to the feria in San Telmo with Julieta before we hop on a 18-hour bus ride to Tucuman to meet up with Gringo. Julieta said we will get off the bus with ¨really fat asses¨ because they serve so much food on the trip.

Los Montevideanos

2011-06-17T14:46:00.003-04:00

Perdón mi español. Estoy practicando. Hace 4 años desde que he practicado esta idioma. Si quieres corrigirme, apreciaré.

From Uruguay

Los Montevideanos son amables, humildes y tranquilos. Ayer una mujer que me encontré en el aeropuerto vino a mi hostel y nos tomo Chad y yo a desayunar. Tomamos cafe y cookies de avena. Anna nos mostró un parque grande y el estadio nacional antes que ella salió para la casa de su familia en Paysandu.

From Uruguay

Despues desyauno, Chad y yo caminamos por el ciudad para 7 horas. Caminamos cerca del mar, en el ciudad vieja y el los barrios adinerados. Mi piernas ahora estan cansadas y dolorosas. En la noche, cocinamos guiso de lentejas con Uruguaysos que nos encontramos en el hostal. Tomamos mucho vino mendocino, reímos y repulsé suavemente los insinuaciones de un chico de diez y ocho años que a mi me gusta. Ay dios mio!! No se que este chico estuvo pensando. No soy una puma. Haha. Pero dormí muy bien.

From Uruguay

Ahora no soy vegetariana porque no quiero solamente comer ensalada, pasta y pizza para dos meses. Me encanta las parrilladas mucho per hoy compré verduras en la verdureria porque echo de menos vegetales.

La vida es buena aqui. Mañana vamos por Colonia, un barrio historico.

Ciao y besitos!!

Safe!

2011-06-15T12:24:00.006-04:00

From Uruguay

Just arrived at my hostel in Montevideo. About to start a day of sightseeing. Chadś flight was rerouted to El Salvador due to the volcanic eruption that seemed to have disturbed everyoneś flight plans except for mine. So I am flying solo today until he arrives tomorrow morning. Have already met some really friendly and helpful Uruguayans. Life is good.

Besitos,
Teeny

Click on the photo above to see the pictures from my first day.

El Gringo Loco, Teeny S.Erickson and Chad Bloma do South America!!

2011-06-14T11:33:00.002-04:00

I leave for the airport in 45 minutes. Hopefully, my flight is not delayed due to the volcano eruption in Chile, where I have a layover. Traveling always brings new surprises!

My traveling companions and I have come up with code names for ourselves during this trip and that is how we will all be referred to on this blog. You can probably guess who is who. Chad gave El Gringo Loco his name yesterday on a 3-way conference call. Pretty appropriate. For all the non-Spanish speakers, it means the "Crazy White Man". Chad Bloma's name is an anagram of his own. And mine, Teeny S. Erickson, has a funny back story. This past Sunday morning when I was doing my best to try to fall asleep after staying up all night partying and enjoying my 5-year college reunion, I got 2 voicemails at 7 AM from Vinnie Guiadillo, this guy with a heavy Brooklyn accent saying, "Teeny Erickson, I's outside yo house ta doo the wurk tuday. 768 Fulton. Puleez come let me in." After I called the gentleman back explaining that he had the wrong number and that I did not live at that address, he keep asking, "Are you sure this ain't Teeny?" At which point I realized this guy had given me the best code name is history!! So that is the backs tory behind my code name. The middle initial S stands for Sassafras, my alter ego when I dressed up like an elf for SantaCon a few winters ago.

Well, this is Teeny S. Erickson signing off until I arrive in South America.
I will miss you all!!!

Packing List

2011-06-13T22:07:00.003-04:00

I pack light. The photo above is all I am bringing on my 52-day trip in South America.

Many people have asked me how I pack for lengthy trips (lengthy meaning one month plus). I try to bring as little as possible because I can get anything I need there and it is more fun to bring back clothing from abroad.

Not the most interesting post but just wanted to put my packing list out there. With this being my 5th backpacking trip, I feel pretty confident that I bring just as much as I need but am not lugging around anything that is unnecessary. With over 61 weeks of backpacking experience, I feel like a packing expert at this point. Hopefully this can be useful for people who are not sure how much or what to pack. Keep in mind that this list is all-weather appropriate as I will be traveling in Uruguay and Argentina during their winter and Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, which will be warmer because they are father north and closer to the equator. Also, it is worth noting that I mail back completed journals, read books, presents or clothing that is no longer weather appropriate throughout the trip to keep my bag as light and small as possible. Lastly, this list was pretty much the exact same for my 10-month trip except I had 3 pairs of pants instead of 1, no winter clothes and no drawing tablet.

CLOTHES

3 shirts: 2 shirts and 1 long sleeve shirt
1 pair of long pants
3 pairs of travel underwear (quick-dry and sweat resistant. dries in a few hours after you wash your clothes in the sink)
2 pairs of socks
1 pair of flip flops
1 pair of sneakers
2 bras and 1 sports bra
1 sweatshirt
1 light raincoat/windbreaker
1 set of pajamas
1 travel towel (another worthy investment. dries in a few hours)
1 shawl (to cover my shoulders in churches or use as a wrap)
1 belt
1 small day bag

FIRST AID

bandaids
sunscreen (with either zinc dioxide or titanium dioxide. i don't mess around)
insect repellent with deet
earplugs
pepto bismol
iodine tablets (to purify water)
neosporin
lip balm
2nd skin (for blisters from walking)
aleve

TOILETRIES
(everything is travel size. I can get everything I need there. Why bother with the extra weight?)

Dr. Bronner's (all-purpose soap to use as shampoo, body wash and laundry detergent. can even be used as toothpaste)
deodorant
razor
toothbrush
toothpaste
conditioner
comb

IN MY MONEY BELT

credit card/debit card
100 dollars in cash for an emergency
a $100 travelers check
passport
good luck charm from my grandmother
International Immunization Record

THE REST

Camera
Camera charger
camera memory card
thumb drive (to have a place to back-up my photos)
swiss army knife
book to read for pleasure (always set in the country I am traveling)
travel book
sunglasses
watch
flashlight (to read in the dorms at night)
journal and pens
drawing tablet and drawing pencil
plastic bag (to put wet articles of clothing)
a few ziploc baggies

South America, here I come!!

2011-06-06T19:16:00.003-04:00

About a year later, the travel bug has bitten me again. Just booked my tickets to South America and I could not be more excited!! It's going to be another fun adventure but with a different cast of characters this time. I am traveling with 2 of my close friends from college for about 4 weeks and then spending 3 weeks traveling by myself. This will be my first foray into solo traveling and I am looking forward to this new challenge.

There is a lot to do in the next week:

Tuesday: renew my passport, math department meeting, report writing, organizing a year's worth of self-created worksheets and materials

Wednesday: full faculty meeting, more report writing, packing for the trip and moving out of my apt

Thursday-Sunday: Williamstown!!

Monday: last minute errands before my trip

Tuesday: Sayonara USA!

The Last Day in the Big Durian

2010-05-23T04:56:00.000-04:00

How have 299 days gone by so fast? As I am sitting here typing my last blog in Asia, it is unbelievable how far we have traveled, how much we have seen, how many wonderful people we have met and what an amazing time we've had together. S and I remember when we were 2% done with the trip and now that feels like a lifetime ago. We have really had an amazing adventure together and have grown and learned so much. This afternoon we are having coffee with a college student from Jakarta that we have met through couchsurfing before we head to the airport. At 1AM on day 300, we will board our flight to Beijing where, after a 2 hour layover (enough time to enjoy some vegetable steamed buns), we will catch our 1PM flight to New York. Due to the time change, we will be arriving only an hour and forty minutes after we leave Beijing. Over the last few weeks, S and I have decided to try to play a game- recall every day of our trip. Amazingly, we are pretty easily able to remember many memories from every single day of the trip. I don't think there is any better proof of what an advernture we have been on. We are planning to finish the game on our flight out of Asia. As we close that chapter of our life, we are really looking forward to coming home, even though we will definitely miss Asia.

So excited to see all of you so soon.

Bali

2010-05-14T04:54:00.006-04:00

We spent the last week on a secluded beach in Bali. It was extremely relaxing. We've been so exhausted from the trip, that we really needed the 5 straight days of doing absolutely nothing. We read, swam and snorkeled- we didn't even leave the resort once, which is very unlike us. While Bali is very touristy, we stayed in a small village on the eastern coast that is surrounded by mountains which are covered by clouds. We had a very spacious bungalow with an attached balcony that overlooked the ocean. We fell asleep listening to the sound of the waves. The area was beautiful, and we met some other friendly travelers who had also taken a year off to tour the world. They gave us advice about adjusting back to the real world when we return home. We traveled all day yesterday, arriving in Jakarta late last night. We spent the morning sightseeing here. Jakarta is not the most tourist friendly place - it's big and ugly and built for cars, not people, but we still saw some interesting stuff in the old quarter, eating at a Dutch-Indonesian place for lunch. Tomorrow, we are treating ourselves to a night in Jakarta's most luxurious hotel- we apparently have our own butler. We have decided that we deserve it! We are very excited for the amazing buffet breakfast and the option of using its pool, tennis or squash courts.

Pontianak to Yogya

2010-05-14T04:04:00.002-04:00

Indonesia

Yogyakarta

2010-05-12T06:18:00.005-04:00

Five days ago, we got on a huge ship called the Marisa Nugerra for a 36-hour sea journey to Semarang on the island of Java. The last time we took a long boat ride was in Bangladesh and, while it was very relaxing, the 36-hour journey took 2 days longer than expected, the overpriced food options were limited to potato curry and rice and any crew member aboard the boat wanted "bahsheeh" (tip) before we got off in Dhaka. What made this new boat experience so pleasant is that it actually took an hour less than expected, the deliciously vegetarian food was included and we had a decently spacious private room with A/C, even though it occasionally shut down for a few hours. And no requests for baksheeh.
We spent our first day onland in the not particularly note-worthy city of Semarang before catching a bus to Yogyakarta, the cultural capital of the island. from this point on, we have decided that we can no longer take long bus rides so that has restructured our planning for the rest of the trip.
Architecturally, the city of Yogya is very quaint. The low level homes have clay tile roofs and the narrow alleyways have been fun to explore during the day. Yesterday we visited the kraton, a Javanese palace built in the 9th century, along with the water castle.
This afternoon, we headed to Borobudor, a magnificent Buddhist temple built in the 9th century as well. There were lots of school groups there, each group more excited than the next to take their photos with us. They were very sweet. We had a delicious buffet lunch overloooking rice paddies.
Tomorrow we will visit Prambanon, some Hindu temples often compared to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, but we will be the judge of that. We will spend the night climbing up the still active Mount Merapi before catching a flight the next day to Bali.
We have made reservations to stay at a very isolated beach bunglaow in a rural town on the east coast of the island. We hope to be able to use that time to unwind as we get closer to getting back. We are going to take a yet undetermined amount of time to have a real vacation from our very busy, at lightning speed travel over the last 9 months.

Kura Kura Beach

2010-05-07T03:20:00.004-04:00

By S:

Hello everyone - today we are back in pontianak. we spent the last week moving up the west coast of borneo and back. To start we had a long, bizarre day-long adventure getting up to sinkawang, which is theoretically only 3 hours away. sinkawang is a basically a small town in a forgotten province of a far outpost of indonesia, so it's really out there. we were back to zero english and tons of staring on the street. there's nothing really to do in the town so we just spent a
day there, before heading south to Tanjung Gundul, which is really just a village of a few hundred people. we were picked up at the road junction to the village by a guy on a motorbike who took us 3km on an unpaved road to beautiful patch of sand and to large wooden huts. here we stayed at kura kura beach, which is a little beach resort run by charlie, a retired, funny scottish guy. he runs the place with help from his local friend widi. the max capacity is only 7 people, and we were the only guests - so we basically had a kilometer long stretch of the most stunning beach
you've ever seen just to ourselves. we stayed for 3 days and got to know charlie and widi pretty well. the house we stayed in was very beautiful and, with windows facing the beach, we watched the sun rise from our bedroom window every morning. the food was incredible- everyday widi made an elaborate, delicious Indonesian meal from scratch, which was even better than the meal before. we each gained about 10 pounds each. we also visited the local school where vickie taught a lesson to some 8-10 year old girls. they were very sweet and were sad that we could not come back to their class the next day. we have some great pictures. we had a great time, and we are learning a lot about indonesian culture and its often
disturbing history.

we returned to pontianak yesterday. tonight we are heading by boat to semarang, which is on java, the country's main island. from there we expect to explore the rest of java before possibly moving on to the islands further east, time permitting.

Kalimantan

2010-05-01T01:57:00.002-04:00

By S:

Today we are in Pontianak, Indonesia on the west coast of Borneo. We are currently situated precisely on the equator. Our hotel is literally about 500m south of the actual line. I only just realized today that after all the miles we've done on this trip, this is our first time crossing the equator. It is brutally hot, so we're
switching our schedule to be out from 6am-noon and then stay indoors until dinner. Otherwise we just can't manage it.

We've been totally re-energized by Indonesia. I think we had kind of gotten bored with the rest of SE Asia and were starting to lose some enthusiasm - but Indonesia has changed everything. Almost as soon as we crossed the border we noticed the changes - it's a lot poorer, more crowded and more chaotic. It's almost India-like, but culturally the people aren't nearly as aggressive and in-your-face about everything. People have been very friendly to us so far and we get smiles and hellos from literally everyone we pass. the food is fantastic - it's a shame that this cuisine is so underrepresented in the West, but then again it's heavy on the peanut
sauce and chillies so i might not be an unbiased observer. our plans as of now are to check out some of the longhouses (occupied by headhunters), and the worlds largest flower (diameter over 3 ft and weighs 25 lbs). after that we'll hit the beach for a days before catching a 2 day boat to java. from there, we're not sure.

on Borneo

2010-04-28T05:22:00.010-04:00

Malaysia

We have just arrived in East Malaysia. We took a flight to Kuching, the capital of the Sarawak province. It is extremely beautiful here. It is calm and peaceful, unlike anywhere else in Asia. The sky also looks different- the sunsets are beautiful and the weather is warm yet not oppressive. It is very tropical here, with most of the island being a jungle. We have spent the last day walking around the city and tomorrow we are going to an orang utan recovery center to visit our ginger-haired friends. In a few days, we will head over to the Indonesian side of the island.

Singapore Eats

2010-04-26T05:18:00.000-04:00

Some of the culinary highlights of Singapore:

Singapore Eats

Short Stop in Singapore

2010-04-25T07:33:00.009-04:00

Singapore

Yesterday we arrived in Singapore around 2PM and, after having a drink with a Texan ex-pat named Marlon at the bar beneath our hotel, we headed to Orchard Road, where conspicuous consumption is the name of the game. The 2-km walk is lined with 4-storey mall after 4-storey mall, with movie theaters, food courts, Louis Vuitton and any other name brand designer stores you could think of. The crazy thing was every single mall was packed with people. We were definitely bumping shoulders with the glitterati of Singapore. It was pretty overwhelming, given that we have been wearing the same 3 sets of clothes for the last 9 months, but the Singaporeans are enjoying their new found wealth and they are not afraid to show it in everything they wear.
Today, we walked through Chinatown, which is home to not only Buddhist temples but mosques, Hindu temples and churches. Some of the oldest religious sites in the city are located in this area. We had a wonderful Sichuanese lunch spiced up with plenty of chilies and peppercorns, which made our mouths turn numb. We walked through the business district and picked up some DVDs to watch in our cheap yet huge double room with a DVD player (don't know how we lucked out with that).
Singapore is a very modern and orderly city. While this is not the only police state that we have been to, it is the first one where people seem to follow the rules, being that the consequences are so high. You can get heavy fines for jaywalking, gun chewing, feeding the birds or forgetting to flush the toilet. You get caned for vandalism and the death penalty for trafficking drugs. As a result, Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and is impeccably clean. I have not yet seen any litter or graffiti and everyone stands on the corner until the little green man tells them they are allowed to walk (like Germany). The latter rule is a little hard getting used to but I don't want the maximum penalty of 3 months in jail. It is the cleanest city I have been to, without a doubt.
We have one more day in Singapore before we fly to Kuching, the capital of East Malaysia.

Malaysian Eats

2010-04-23T05:30:00.001-04:00

Food highlights from Malaysia:

Malaysian Eats

KL

2010-04-21T21:22:00.006-04:00

We have spent the last two days in the very modern city of Kuala Lumpur. Like the rest of the country, KL is very diverse. The Chinatown and Little India take up substantial chunks of the center of town and we definitely enjoyed eating and walking in those areas on our first day here. We have also been enjoying the Malay's Nasi Kandar, a plate of rice topped with whatever meat or veg dishes you would like. It is quite filling, cheap and really delicious. It is also worth mentioning that almost every dinnner is followed with some durian, which smells bad but but tastes wonderful.
Yesterday, we visited the skyscraper section of town and visited the Petronas Towers, now the largest twin towers in the world. We walked through the extremely modern malls, which are much nicer than any malls in America. We saw the new Tim Burton movie after eating in one of the best food courts either one of us has ever been to.
Along with modernity comes more civilized atmosphere. When you don't want to buy something from a street hawker, they say, "That's fine" and smile. Cars obey traffic rules and are not trying to run you over while you are crossing the street. It's very clean and people are aware of the idea of personal space. KL is a nice city, but it has left me feeling a little bored. After a very over-stimulating 3 months in India, I have come to appreciate a certain degree of chaos, which is somewhat charming and without a doubt exciting once you get the place's rhythm. Yesterday, as our second day of touring this capital city was ending, I jokingly said to S that "I only want to love in a civilized place if our family and friends are there." I was joking but I kind of meant it. That being said, we are very excited to fly to East Malaysia on the 28th. After visiting Melaka and spending a few days in Singapore, we will fly to Kuching, the capital of the province of Sarawak. From there, we very much have an open-ended plan as the weather can make travel pretty unpredictable. We will eventually make our way to Indonesian side of the island and then see where we end up. I think it will be an exciting way to end the trip.

Selamat Datang di Malysia

2010-04-17T05:19:00.006-04:00

Welcome to Malaysia!
Family members and friends- we have left Bangkok. Yesterday morning we went back to the hospital to see an ENT specialist about my ear. We checked out of our hotel and brought our bags hoping for good news that we could leave town. After the doctor cleaned out my ear and prescribed new medication, we were in a taxi to the train station to get a train out of Bangkok to Hat Yai, a city on the southern tip of the country. We caught a 3PM train and arrived in Hat Yai at 8AM this morning. We crossed the Malaysian border around noon and arrived in Penang around 2PM. Penang is an island off the northwestern coast of Malaysia that is known for its multiethnicity, thus known as the food capital of Malaysia, and home to well-preserved heritage buildings. We are going to eat at Chinese vegetarian buffet restaurant this evening before we set out to see all the sights tomorrow.

Happy Thai New Year

2010-04-13T08:35:00.004-04:00

As my ear pain subsided last night, I decided that I was ready to leave the hotel room for the first time in three days. We decided to go out to dinner and, on our way back from a delicious meal at a street stall, a bucket of cold water was thrown into my right ear. In a fair amount of pain, I rushed back to the hotel room immediately and took some more Aleve. Fortunately, I felt completely fine today and was finally ready to take part in the revelry that is Thai New Year. The tradition during the holiday of Songkran is to arm yourself with a water gun or a water bucket and run around the streets throwing water at people. It is a very festive time and everyone, young and old, is involved. The restaurants and shops have a few employees outside with a huge tub of water bucketing passersby on foot or in a tuk-tuk with H20. If the kids or teenagers get close to you, they will rub white paste on your face, arms, back and neck. It was very fun. We had a great vegetarian meal tonight and are signed up for cooking classes tomorrow morning.

Bangkok

Very Safe in Bangkok

2010-04-11T06:30:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone. S and I just wanted to give you a heads up that we are quite safe in Bangkok. As I have come down with an ear infection, we have been hanging out in the hotel, which is far away from where the demonstrations are. We are not going anywhere near the center of town until we leave Bangkok. We will keep you posted on our whereabouts. Love you.

Besides that, not much to report about the city as I have been bedridden and on a course of antibiotics for the last 2 days. Hope to get better soon.

Angkor Wat

2010-04-08T08:32:00.001-04:00

The temples of Angkor were just as impressive as we have been led to believe. We hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day who picked up up from our hotel at 5AM. We watched the sun rise over Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious monument. We then spent the next few hours visiting the different temple complexes of Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm, as well as stopping at smaller temples along the way. Angkor Thom's highlight is Bayon- the temple has over 200 serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. Ta Prohm is amazing to walk through as the complex of temples has been overgrown by trees and plants.
According to recent research, Angkor was the largest pre-industrial city in the world, with the he closest rival being the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, which was between 100 and 150 square kilometers.

Phnom Penh

2010-04-06T01:30:00.005-04:00

It is our second day in Cambodia's capitol city and the weather is hot, hot hot. We arrived around noon yesterday, checked into a hotel and headed straight for Psar O Russei, a huge market where we ate from one of the busy food stalls. We had a fifty- cent plate of thin fried noodles with vegetables and then had some Cambodian sweets and dragonfruit for dessert. From there, we headed to the National Museum where we admired over a millenia's worth of Khmer sculpture. The museum was housed in a beautiful early 20th century terracotta building of traditional design. After having a look at the exhibits, we relaxed in the museum's courtyard where we both briefly passed out from heat exhaustion and dehydration. We vowed to always have a large bottle of water with us at all times from then on and then headed to the Royal Palace. The majority of the complex is home of the country's king, which is closed to the public, but we were able to wander around many of the pagodas and stupas. The most impressive of the sights there was the Silver Pagoda, whose floor is covered with 5000 1 kg silver tiles. We had dinner at a really popular local restaurant after a scheming monk at a wat (temple) asked us for money for his personal pursuits.
Today, in an effort to escape the brutal heat, we started our day early, taking a moto-taxi to the Russian market and hit up some more food stalls for breakfast. For an after breakfast snack, we got some durian. We wallked to the Tuol Sleng Museum, a very sad and depressing museum documenting the brutality of the Khmer Rouge during 1975-1979 at the S-21 Prison, which is where the museum is now located. At the museum, there are thousands of photographs of all the prisoners who were tortured and killed there, with all the photos and documents in the rooms where this brutality had taken place. It was very intense and sad how many atrocities like this have already happened in the past and how many like this continue to occur. Don't we ever learn?
We are now back at the hotel escaping the midday heat and will walk around when the temperature starts to cool down this afternoon. We plan to adopt this new strategy of sightseeing as it is going to continue to get hotter as the days pass. Tomorrow we head to Siem Reap and will spend a few days at Angkor Wat.

Now in Cambodia from Phu Quoc

2010-04-04T03:13:00.005-04:00

S and I have just arrived in the beach town of Kep in southern Cambodia. We sadly said goodbye to my dad, Heather and Jeremy this morning. We had such a great time traveling with them and are so happy that they came to visit us! We spent the last few days relaxing with them at the beach. Phu Quoc Island is very beautiful, with water that is calm and warm. Two days ago, we celebrated my father's birthday by finding an isolated strip of beach where we looked for crabs, ate lots of fresh fruit and swam without anyone else in sight. Yesterday, Heather, Jeremy, S and I rented motorbikes and rode all over the island. We visited the springs and waterfalls in the north, which were dried up as it has not rained in months then visited Bao Sai beach in the southwest. At first, I was a little nervous on the bike but was really enjoying it by the end.
This morning, we caught a ferry from Phu Quoc to Ha Tien, where we hired motorbike drivers to take us to the border, wait for us to cross and then take us to Kep. We started out the 35 km drive with each of us holding onto the shoulders of our motorbike driver but, once we crossed the border into Cambodia, my driver said he had to go home for an emergency so I hopped onto Steve's driver's bike. Three adults on a motorbike is not particularly comfortable but we arrived safely in Kep around noon. We have just checked into a hotel and are going to go explore the city once it cools down. So far, I have a wonderful feeling about Cambodia. All the border officials were very nice, did not cheat us and were very curious about our itinerary. The landscape along our drive was picturesque, with stretches of farmland as far as the eye could see dotted with small homes with thatched roofs. Kids ran out of their homes to say hello to us as their family's cows grazed in the front yard.
Kep, which was a colonial retreat for the French in the early 20th century, has a nice stretch of beach with lots of Cambodian families picnicking and swimming. This afternoon we will walk along the promenade to the Crab Market and watch the sun set on the beach. Tomorrow morning, we will make our way to Cambodia's capitol city, Phnom Penh.

Mekong Delta

2010-03-31T02:51:00.003-04:00

My dad, Heather, Jeremy, S and I have spent the last 3 days exploring the Mekong Delta in the south of Vietnam. After picking Heather and Jeremy up at their hotel in HCMC, we got on a public bus to My Tho, pronounced Me Toe. It was 3 hours, hot, packed and the bus was stopping every 20 minutes to pick up more passengers, who were shoving their cargo between the seats. Once we got in to town, we negotiated with a man at our hotel to take us on a 5 hour boat ride through the delta. My dad, S and I got on a put-put boat and, after having a delicious lunch, visited a coconut candy factory, took a row boat through the delta's narrow canals, and stopped by the coconut monk pagoda- a worshipping shrine for a monk who gave up his wordly possessions and supposedly only ate coconuts for the rest of his life. We watched the sun set and headed back to have dinner with Heather and Jeremy who were jetlagged and having a rest.
The next day we took a car to Can Tho, the most populous city in the Delta. Some highlights of our time there was this funny Aussie named Sean who seemed to pop up every time we sat down for a meal and our massages from blind people, which was quite enjoyable. Without question, the most memorable part of our time in Can Tho was our day-long boat tour with Ms. Ha and Thai-oye, our boat conductor. Ha and Thai-oye took us to visit the floating markets in the delta. Floating markets are boats that sell rice, produce or other goods in the middle of the river. We started our boat trip early so we could see the market at its most lively time. Thai-oye rowed us through the middle of the markets and she and Ha purchased many fruits and snacks for us to try. They also took us to a small rice noodle factory and made Heather and me jewelry from coconut tree fronds.
Tomorrow morning we will catch a ferry to Phu Quoc Island to spend a few days on the beach before my dad, Heather and Jeremy head back to NYC.

Theme Park and Cu Chi Tunnels

2010-03-28T21:52:00.007-04:00

We have had a great last two days, although truth be told it is not the same without Izzi and Dave. Trying to recover from our dear friends' departure, we consoled ourselves with a day trip to HCMC's nearby theme park Dai Nam. It was a seriously strange experience. A quarter of the park is a worshipping zone where the park holds Vietnam's largest temple and man-made mountain. You can walk through the "caves" of the mountain where there are many worshipping altars to pray to different dieties. Another quarter has a theme park where you need to pay for each ride, which is totally lame and explained why no Vietnamese people were on any of the rides. For every ride we went on, we were the only 3 people on it. The place was completely desolate and it took 5 minutes to walk from one ride to the next. The park felt very sterile. When we got on the log flume, which was the park's most popular ride because it was so hot, the operators tried to give us raincoats. We laughed at them but wound up being the only fools on the ride who were soaked from head to toe. It was a great way to cool off. We ended the day at their water park, which had 2 huge wave pools. We went in the fresh water pool and cooled off during the hottest part of the day.
Yesterday, S took the day to relax and my dad and I had some bonding time on a day trip to Cao Dai Temple and the Cu Chi Tunnels. Cao Daoism is practiced by 2 million people in Vietnam and is a mixture of Hinduism, Buddhism and Catholicism. The temple was quite ornate and we spent the afternoon watching a prayer ceremony at this temple. After lunch, we headed to the Cu Chi Tunnels, bunkers from where Cu Chi guerrillas fought the American and South Vietnamese armies during the war. Our guide showed us different Cu Chi guerrillas' booby traps, holes to hide in (I climbed in it) and we crawled through one of the tunnels, which was awesome. We ended the tour with a nice propaganda film about "evil enemy Americans" disturbing "peaceful and harmonious Cu Chi people". My dad walked out of the film after 30 seconds.
In 30 minutes, we are going to meet Heather and Jeremy at their hotel in town before we set off for the Mekong Delta. So excited to see them!!!

'Nam

2010-03-26T09:05:00.004-04:00

Written by S:

My friends from college, Dave and Izzi, joined me in Hanoi on the 16th. We were then joined by Vickie and her father Frank on the 19th. Vietnam so far has been pretty great. The natural scenery here is stunning, and the cities are an elegant fusion of asian and french influences. motorcycles are ubiquitous and the traffic is intense
(though nothing is quite like the traffic in india). vietnam is world famous for its distinctive cuisine, but unfortunately the one big disappointment here has been that the cuisine isn't particularly amenable to vegetarians. on the whole, the food has been disappointing, at least for me. food highlights have been limited to regional fruits like durian and rambutan, both of which i highly recommend if you ever get the chance to try them.

so far we've visited hanoi, ha long bay, hue, hoi an, nha trang and ho chi minh city (aka saigon). hanoi is the political capital of the country, but it still has a smaller town feel to it, and probably the heaviest french influence in terms of architecture. highlights included seeing ho chi minh's preserved body, and the lake in the city that john mccain parachuted into after his plane was shot down. hue
and hoi an are ancient capitols, where the heavy chinese influence is palpable. today these really are small towns, and we were able to bike out to some of the outlying areas to see the rice paddies and beautiful river/mountain scenery. nha trang is the huge beach resort here. we headed to what can only be described as a hippie commune guesthouse about an hour north or city. this had the nicest beach
we've seen in 8 months in asia. totally private and just stunning. saigon is the modern business capitol of the country, and here we can feel the energy, vibrancy and intense pace of economic growth most acutely. today we visited the war remnants museum (formerly named the 'museum of chinese and american war crimes'), where there was a predictably lopsided account of the vietnam war, but it was quite
moving nonetheless.

sadly, dave and izzi left for home early this morning. we had fantastic time together. they proved to be first-rate backpackers, energetic and resilient, and we're thrilled that they were able to make it. moving forward, vickie, frank and i will be heading to the mekong delta region for the next 10 days or so. after that vickie and i will head to cambodia, followed by thailand, malaysia, singapore and
indonesia.

i have a few more notes on vietnam i'd like to share but it's probably
best to save those until after we leave the country.

Back to Asia...

2010-03-17T19:25:00.003-04:00

After a very intense week and a half of interviews and demo lessons, my father and I are about to set off for Vietnam this evening. We are meeting Dave, Izzi and S Friday afternoon in Hanoi and will probably head south to Hue that evening or the following. It was great to be back in New York and see my friends and family. Happy to report that this afternoon I have received a few job offers, while the other schools are supposed to be contacting me in the next few days. I feel as though my visit home was very productive and I should have a decision about my job situation this Wednesday. Excited to see my best friend and travel with him again. I have really missed him.

Trinco environs and Old Sights

2010-03-03T22:14:00.003-05:00

By S:

From Sigiriya, we headed to Trincomalee, on the east coast. Just a few years ago Trinco was the center of the almost 30 year civil war here, but with the war's recent conclusion, it's now possible to visit. Still, there was a huge military presence around town, with fortified checkpoints every 500m on the road into town. We visited a stunning beach at Nilaveli, huge and with extremely fine white corral sand. The Indian Ocean here is ridiculously warm, and you can stay in the water
for hours. We snorkeled around some nearby corral islands, and saw some tremendous fish.

Next we headed to Anuradhapura, a place of pilgrimage and the heart of Buddhist Sri Lanka. We only had a short time here, but were able to visit a number of the major temples. Yesterday, we returned to Colombo, so Vickie could catch her flight out. I'll spend today and tomorrow here, before flying to Bangkok on the 5th.

Sri Lanka

2010-02-26T08:39:00.005-05:00

Sri Lanka has been a wonderful surprise! We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and tried to change our Indian money at the airport. But we had forgotten that it is illegal to take foreign currency out of the country. We were a little stressed but our worries were quickly put at ease when a taxi driver offered to change it for us on the black market. It's silly now to think that we were worried at all. Of course there would be a black market here that was alive and well. We paid our driver in Indian rupees and he took us to the home of the Seneviratnes, parents of S's co-worker, in Kandy. Kandy is the second largest city in the country and it is known as the cultural capital- it was the last city to fall to colonial rule. Kandy is amazingly beautiful and I might go so far as to say the nicest city in Asia- it is really clean, people are really friendly and it is very beautiful as the city is located in a valley surrounded by hills. In the center of the city is a big lake and it is so incredibly peaceful to stroll around.
The Seneviratnes were so kind to welcome us into their home even though they had not previously met either of us. They really made us feel comfortable and really helped us plan out our 8-day whirlwind trip. Daisy cooked delicious food for us that we will never forget. We were so full yesterday after breakfast from the hoppers, jam and multiple curries that we were not even hungry by dinner time.
This morning we headed out early for Dambulla, a town that has amazing temple caves that date back to 2nd Century BC. On our way to the cave temple entrance, we walked past a active monastery and the monks invited us to chat with them. They brought out a large tray of Sri Lankan sweets and bananas and we spent the morning chatting with them. One of the monks randomly asked S if he was a vegetarian and if he was into yoga. After the monk found out he was right, the monks jokingly told S to join them in the monastery and become a monk, but not before they asked me if it was okay. All the while, there were about 10 little monks-in-training standing in the doorway smiling at us and nervously running away when I tried to ask them questions in Sinhala, the official language of the country.
After Dambulla, we took the bus to Sigiriya, which has a 262 m hill that was turned into a palace in the 5th century. We climbed the 1500 steps up to the top, along the way admiring rock paintings of buxom mistresses that were the concubines of the king in the 5th century. We are now about to go enjoy some curry and rice before we head off to bed.

Tamil Nadu

2010-02-23T06:58:00.002-05:00

Written by S:

today we are in chennai, and it's our last day here in india. this is a huge, complex, confusing country, and we've covered a lot of ground in the last three months, which is an accomplishment of which to be proud. so far, india has had the best food, many of the best sights, and the craziest people. it's a little sad to be leaving. but on the other hand, this is a totally exhausting place to be a backpacker, and we are ready to move on to more relaxed sri lanka, and then southeast
asia.
since munnar, we've been to madurai, trichy, pondicherry, mamallapuram and now chennai, all in tamil nadu state. tamil nadu is one of the indian states that obstinately refuses to learn hindi, instead preferring tamil, a langauge that has been spoken here uninterruptedly for over 2000 years. apparently they still use the same slang that greek and roman traders heard here thousands of years ago. the
langauge is totally unrelated to the sanscrit-based hindi, which they view here as a form of northern cultural imperialism.

madurai and trichy have two of the largest hindu temples we've seen so far - tall, labyrinthine, and intricately decorated. pondicherry is the former heart of french india, today possessing a bizarre mix of french and indian culture. parts of the town look like you are in mediterranean france, or even martinique. french is still widely spoken here, and it can be somewhat surreal to see traditionally dressed indians jabbering back and forth to each other in perfect french.

mamallapuram is seaside temple town, that's kind of been overrun by backpackers. and today we are just relaxing in chennai, mentally preparing to leave to country. we will be in sri lanka for a week, then i will head to southeast asia while vickie heads home to interview for jobs.

Kerala

2010-02-15T09:41:00.003-05:00

Written by S:

In Mysore we saw the famous Mysore Palace. At this point we've seen more of these things than I can count, so they are starting to blend together, but this one, like the others, is a massive monument to luxury, ostentation and waste. The ubiquity of these sorts of palaces in a country where poverty and serious deprivation are so widespread is pretty disturbing and i'm starting to suspect they aren't unrelated. Every time I see one I start thinking about what would have happened had all of these man-hours and physical resources gone into building factories or anything at all productive, then maybe this country wouldn't be in state it is today.

We spent three days in Kochin, which is starting to gain a reputation on the ground as being a little too touristy. I loved it though. As we've found in other places, if you make the extra effort, like avoid the guidebook and walk 10 minutes out of the tourist center, you find totally normal indian life going on all around you. Kerala itself is stunning. All palm trees and lush tropical scenery. We did a daylong
tour of the extensive backwaters there, and I fell in love with the place. It's the most picture perfect tropical scenery you've ever imagined.

We also spent a day at the beach about an hour north of the city. This was our first beach excursion since korea. The beach was beautiful, and we enjoyed the sunset into the arabian sea over dinner. the swimming didn't go exactly as planned though. In case you weren't aware, Indians are extremely, extremely conservative about women's
dress, and the idea of seeing a woman in a bikini is something that is totally foreign and particularly exciting to the young men. Aware of this, we made a serious effort to find an empty spot on the beach so vickie could swim. but on the way we encountered twenty different guys inviting us to go swimming with them. after 30 minutes of walking and 10 minutes of waiting to be sure the coast was clear, we finally thought it was safe. but sure enough, within 30 seconds of vickie
getting into the water, one of the guys we had met 20 minutes ago, having clearly followed us, materialized out of the bushes and began immediately stripping down to his bathing suit. we beat an immediate retreat off the beach, and at least the guy was a little embarrassed, but gender relations still have a long way to go here.

Karnataka

2010-02-11T00:53:00.004-05:00

S and I have spent the last week exploring the state of Karnataka. From Hyderabad, we took a public overnight bus to Hampi, which is the site of some the most impressive Hindu ruins in the country. The town and ruins are located in a bizarre volcanic boulder landscape which gives the area a surrealistic feeling. We rented bikes today and toured the site, which is a vast capitol of a former southern empire that was completely abandoned hundreds of years ago. Ruined temples, palaces and old bazaars dot the 27 km landscape. As there are so many ruins covering such a large area, it was exciting to stumble upon an interesting ruin that we had not expected. We obviously only made a small dent in terms of what we were able to see in two days but it was full of delightful surprises. We decided to upgrade to a sleeper bus for our overnight journey to Bangalore. On sleeper buses, the bottom row has reclining chairs and the upper rows have double and single beds. S and I thought we were traveling in luxury and were very much looking forward to a good night's sleep but the bumpy road had us bouncing up and down all night long on our sleeper beds. We spent much of the next morning catching up on sleep in our hotel. Banagalore is the booming IT center of India and is also known as the City of Gardens. The gardens were quite beautiful and the city overall was clean by developed world standards and we enjoyed visiting old palaces ruled by the Wodeyars and the active temples in the area.
Yesterday we took a short bus (3 and a half hours) to Mysore, a city also ruled by the Wodeyars from the 16th century. In Mysore, however, the palaces left by the ruling family are much more ornate and bigger. After exploring the palace this afternoon, we will take our last overnight bus (yay to no more long buses or trains in India!!!) to Cochin in the stare of Kerala. Only 13 more days left in India- time has flown by so fast.

Visiting old friends in Hyderabad

2010-02-04T10:46:00.004-05:00

We just had an amazing time with fellow Williams alumna Elizabeth Sewell '06 in Hyderabad and Kalleda, located in the state of Andra Pradesh. She has moved there to volunteer for an NGO and run a youth empowerment program at a rural school in the village of Kalleda. She picked us up on the crazy streets of the capital city Hyderabad and as her host had a business meeting over dinner, he invited all of us to come along and have an amazing meal on his partner's dime. It was great to catch up with Elizabeth and the next day we got on a 6AM train to her village. Kalleda is a small rural town in the district of Warangal where the majority of the residents are farmers. We were greeted by the neatly uniformed school children as we entered the school being run by the NGO Elizabeth is working for. The school is highly focused on spurring student creativity and creating a culture of ownership in the school and education. Walking through the halls I was very impressed with the culture created within the school and how eager teachers were to get feedback from us. We had a great dinner with Elizabeth's boss in the evening and I truly enjoyed listening to this spirited woman's vision for the school in Kalleda. This afternoon Elizabeth gave us a tour of Waranagal where we visited some beautiful temples and old fort ruins.
It was great to catch up with her and we look forward to when our paths will cross again.

The Taj Mahal

2010-01-31T07:59:00.004-05:00

We are now in Agra, home to the Taj Mahal. In the last few days we have seen some of the most impressive sights of the trip. The Mughals, who invaded India in the 16th century, left amazingly impressive momuments in this region. Yesterday we visited the Fatehpur Sikri, a sandstone palace and mosque built in the 16th century as the 3rd Mughal ruler Akbar ruled from that area. We then ate lunch at our hotel, which had spectacular views of the Taj Mahal before heading to Agra Fort. In the early 16th century, Mughals captured this originally Rajput (Rajasthani warrior rulers) fort and built over it with red sandstone, enclosing this city capital with a 2.5 km long wall. It was here that Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal and 5th ruler of the Mughals, was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb, who also killed his two older brothers in order to take control of the throne.
In the evening, we watched the sun set at the Taj Mahal along with thousands of other tourists. The Taj Mahal is an amazing structure and it has been carefully maintained over the last 400 years. Built from white marble and inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones, this gigantic monument to love appears to float in the sky. In 1631 Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his 3rd wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died during the birth of their fourteenth child. To show his deep love for his favorite wife, he built this marble mausoleum to honor her. Shah Jahan said that "Should guilty seek asylum here, like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin. Should a sinner make his way to this mansion, all his past sins are to be washed away. The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs; and the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes. In this world this edifice has been made; to display thereby the creator's glory."
This morning we returned to the Taj Mahal at sun rise when it looked the most beautiful. Being only a a handful of tourists willing to get up so early, we had the whole Mahal to ourselves. After a visit to Akbar's tomb in the afternoon, we had a tearful goodbye with Andy and Leslie. Their visit has without a doubt been the best highlight of our trip so far and we were so happy to create amazing memories with them. We will definitely miss them and hope they have safe travels. As they drive off to Delhi to catch a plane to New York, we are getting on a 24-hour train to Hyderabad in the state of Andra Pradesh.

Delhi and Udaipur

2010-01-27T06:54:00.006-05:00

We are so unbelievably happy that Andy and Leslie have flown from NYC to spend 10 days with us here in India. Until the day we met them, India had been really cold and we often slept in several layers of clothing and blankets at night. From the day they arrived, we have been blessed with amazing weather. The sun is shining, the evenings are cool and, with the exception of Delhi (severe pollution problems), the sky has been bright blue. We met them at our hotel the afternoon after they arrived and spent the time catching up before we went to dinner at Connaught Place. Connaught Place is a very modern shopping area that surrounds peaceful gardens in New Delhi. The traffic was pretty brutal, which made it very difficult to cross the street- quite a welcome to India for Andy and Leslie. The masses of cars and the endless honking was certainly an overload of the senses but we all braved the traffic and made it to a restaurant that served delicious and unlimited Gujarati thalis.
The following day, we had a packed schedule of sightseeing in Delhi. We drove through New Delhi, passing many embassy buildings, the High Court, the president's house and headed towards Chandni Chowk, a section of Old Delhi full of narrow pathways, shopkeepers, cows and monkeys wandering/climbing freely and barbers giving cheap shaves on the corners. We took a cycle-rickshaw through this neighborhood, taking in all the sights before heading to Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque. This mosque can hold up to 25,000 people and Leslie and I looked quite festive in the neon colored polka-dotted smocks that the guards had us wear inside.
From there, we passed the memorials of Gandhi and Nehru and the Red Fort, which were all closed to the public as it was a few days before India's national holiday. We then went to Humayun's tomb. Humayun was the second Mughal ruler in India and this magnificent complex of marble and sandstone buildings and gardens was built by Humayun's wife at the middle of the 16th century. Our last stop was Qutab Minar, a Muslim tower that is 72.5 metres high, making it the tallest minaret in the world. Built in the late 12th century, this tower is surrounded by a nice park and ruins of Jain and Hindu temples that predated it. We ended the evening with a delicious dinner.
We have spent the last three days in Udaipur, the City of Lakes. Udaipur is known as the Venice of the East and, having been to another "Venice of the East" in Suzhou, China, this one definitely takes the cake. The city has 5 lakes and Lake Pichola is the largest one, with many of the city sights around this area. We took a private boat tour and stopped by two palaces built in the middle of the lake in the 16th century. We had relaxing afternoons at our incredibly beautiful hotel Oberoi Udaivilas after mornings spent visiting royal gardens, the City Palace, a crystal gallery collection and some old yet still active temples. We took a cooking lesson one afternoon and also had a yoga session on the balcony of a small palace located within our hotel. Throughout the whole trip, we have continued to pinch ourselves that we are with Andy and Leslie in India. We ate great Indian food every meal, tried some delicious Indian wines and spent the evenings watching the sun set on Lake Pichola or enjoying cocktails on our balconies. We are so excited for the days to come. Tomorrow, we will head to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan before driving to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.

Narinder Singh in Chandigarh

2010-01-21T10:04:00.005-05:00

Chandigarh and Amritsar

Contributions by S:
We spent the last two days in Chandigarh, the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. After Indian independence, Punjab lost half its land to Pakistan and its capital city Lahore. Prime Minister Nehru, along with other Punjab and Haryana leaders, decided that the new capital city for these two states would be a symbol for independent India. They hired a group of world famous architects Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Matthew Nowicki, and Albert Mayer to design India's first planned city. Le Corbusier, the main architect, had a very clear vision for this garden city:

The city plan is laid down in a grid pattern. The whole city has been divided into rectangular patterns, forming identical looking sectors, each sector measures 800 m x 1200 m. The sectors were to act as self-sufficient neighbourhoods, each with its own market, places of worship, schools and colleges - all within 10 minutes walking distance from within the sector. The original two phases of the plan delineated sectors from 1 to 47, with the exception of 13 (Number 13 is considered unlucky). The Assembly, the secretariat and the high court, all located in Sector - 1 are the three monumental buildings designed by Le Corbusier in which he showcased his architectural genius to the maximum. The city was to be surrounded by a 16 kilometer wide greenbelt that was to ensure that no development could take place in the immediate vicinity of the town, thus checking suburbs and urban sprawl; hence is famous for its greenness too. (Wikipedia)

On the morning of our second day of exploring, we met a friendly 73 year old Sikh man named Narinder Singh. Retired for the last 15 years after working in various government offices in Chandigarh, he has made it his hobby to show tourists around the city. He prides himself on being able to take you to restaurants where the food is delicious and cheap as well as places not open to the general public. He gave us a private tour of Nek Chand's Fantasy Rock Garden which is a 25 acre garden full of sculptures made from waste and trash collected in the months after Indian independence when millions of Indians moved from Chandiagarh to Pakistan. He also took us to meet the city's Minister of Health and took us to the gov't Publicity Office where he cut out several photos of himself in the newspapers that the employees had saved for him. He welcomed us into the Sikh Cultural Center where his friends arranged for us to stay at a guest room in Amritsar's Golden Temple, Sikhism's holiest temple. He was a really friendly man who practiced Hindi with us and encouraged us to speak it to strangers on the street. He carried around a canvas bag full of pamphlets and newspapers, which he collected more and more of throughout the day. His gold mine was at the publicity office where he looked through all of the packed shelves and took one copy of each of the pamphlets they had. He also had a bag of small gifts to give to foreigners that he stopped to talk to on the street. After he presented them with either a pamphlet, flower or a garland (S and I got all 3), he asked for a photo to be taken to remember the experience. He was very kind and continuously called me his granddaughter the whole day. Day after day, we are just constantly amazed by the generosity of the hundreds of incredibly friendly people we have met along the way.
We are now in Amritsar, the holiest city for the Sikh religion. There is the spectacular Golden Temple here.
In 2 days, we will head to Delhi and meet Andy and Leslie for an exciting adventure around N. India with them for a week. Can't wait!!!

The Forts of Rajasthan

2010-01-15T03:44:00.009-05:00

Since Ahmedabad, we have visited Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, two cities with tremendous forts and palaces sitting atop hills. Jodhpur is home to Meharangah Fort, built in the early 19th century by Maharaja Man Singh. It is surrounded by the blue city, thousands of small houses painted indigo-blue to indicate the homes of those of the Brahmin caste.

From there, we took a very noisy overnight train to Jaisalmer, a 12th century sandstone fort and palace. Due to excessive water use by the hotels, restaurants and residents, the desert Fort is slowly beginning to collapse. It is the oldest living fort in the world and there are many restoration groups working to fix the plumbing and overdevelopment problems in order to keep the fort in its original place- atop the hill. Yesterday evening, we packed into a jeep with 7 other Indian tourists to Sam Sand Dunes Park, a pretty isolated area of the Thar desert where we rode camels to the highest point of the dunes and watched the sun set. While I thought the camel ride through the desert was romantic, S found it to be unbearably uncomfortable.
We are in the most touristed state in India - Rajasthan. While is easy to understand why so many tourists come to Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, it does dramatically increase the hassle-factor and we have started telling all the touts that we hate shopping. They are usually stymied by this and leave us alone. Despite the overwhelming amount of tourist infrastructure, we have successfully been able to explore less visited parts of these areas, which has been very rewarding. While exploring some gardens in Jodhpur, we met two Nepali brothers who own one of the millions of tourist handicrafts shops in Thamel, Kathmandu. We shared chai with them while the older brother recounted to us how he met his wife through her accidentally dialing him as a wrong number.

Traveling through the desert has been extremely cold. We have been wearing our thermal underwear and wool socks everyday! Tonight we head to Bikaner where a 16th century fort and camel rides through the desert are the primary tourist attractions. I think we will be skipping out on the camel trek, given S's 45 minutes of pain last time.

Rajasthan- Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner

Ahmedabad

2010-01-11T08:11:00.006-05:00

We have spent the last two days exploring the largest city in the state of Gujarat, Ahmedabad. It is where Gandhi lived from 1915-1930 and from where he began the long struggle for Indian independence. We visited his ashram yesterday and saw several exhibits on his life and his simple living quarters that he shared with his wife Kasturba. We also had a great Gujarati thali yesterday for lunch- they are lighter and sweeter than your traditional Punbjabi thali.
We are coincidentally in town for the international kite festival. In the spirit, kids all over the city are flying their paper kites in the sky. We stopped by the event and, after a great pav bajie (grilled bread with spicy vegetables), watched as kitists from all over the world flew their huge colorful kites. While there is not too much to see outside of the ashram, we have met many nice people (this place does not get a lot of tourists), been invited to several homes and saw our second Bollywood movie. The great thing about these movies is that even though we can only understand about 5% of Hindi, the plots are so visual and unsubtle that we understand 100% of the story. We especially like the 3-4 music and dance numbers interspersed throughout the story- very entertaining!
We today will take a night train to Jodhpur after we have dinner at Ahmedabad's best restaurant- it's in a 1920's mansion and the menu changes daily!!!

Ahmedabad

Bhopal to Mumbai

2010-01-08T10:57:00.008-05:00

Mumbai

Today is day 164 of our trip and the last five days have been full of adventures and thought- provoking experiences: having lunch at a family's home, visiting Mumbai's biggest slum and being extras in a Bollywood TV show!!!

Before getting on a 4 hour-delayed train to Mumbai Monday night, we had lunch at the home of Raj Kumar, a very kind man whose family we met in Sanchi the previous day. We took a rickshaw out to their home and spent a few hours talking with them and getting to know each other better. Raj's daughter Umika and nephew Manish were both wonderful and, as they were both visiting their family in Bhopal, invited us to visit them in their respective homes if we visit their cities. Raj's wife Sima cooked a delicious Sindhi meal consisting of a vegetable stew/curry and Umika showed us how to make chai- India's most popular drink. They were so welcoming and generous and we hope to be able to visit Manish and Umika if time permits.

On Wednesday, we spent the morning on a tour of the Dharavi slum, Asia's second largest slum after Karachi in Pakistan. The slum covers about 1.7 sq. kilometers of land and is home to over one million residents. The organization that runs the tour uses 80% of its proceeds to run a kindergarten and job-training/personality development courses for adults. We visited several of the factories in Dharavi- plastic recycling,cloth dying, oil and paint can recycling, and clay pottery. We also visited some residents' homes. On average, there are 4-8 members living in a home and 43% of families have 10 sq. m of space in which to cook, eat and sleep. We visited an elementary school where the teacher was in the middle of a math lesson, which was quite exciting. When the students in the class found out I was a math teacher, they all wanted to show me their workbooks and what they had completed. This evening, I purchased a book about Dharavi and hope to learn more about the community that lives there.

It was on the same day of the tour that we met a really interesting and engaging couple Amy and Jeff. We met them for dinner at one of Mumbai's top restaurants that evening and had a fantastic time with them. We enjoyed sharing our travel experiences and hope to see them some time in the future!

Yesterday morning, shortly after I woke up, the hotel manager told us that a casting agent was looking for Western people to be extras in the Bollywood TV show Powder. I was on board right away and, after some serious thought, S decided to do it too. The casting agent picked us up at our hotel at 6PM where we took a hour and a half 10 km drive through some of Mumbai's worst traffic. While the first few hours we mostly just sat around the set with the other extras, we started filming around 10:30 PM. It was a two minute clip with the main character leaving a train station, bargaining with a taxi driver and then, after talking to a self-centered young motorcyclist, getting on the back of his motorcycle and driving off. S and I, hard to believe, were playing foreigners who just got off the train and were getting on a tour bus. They did about 8-10 takes from 5 different angles which lasted until 3AM. We were provided dinner, chai to keep us alert and 500 rupees (10 US dollars) for our work. It was a long night with lots of waiting around but it was certainly worthwhile!
We have really enjoyed our time in Mumbai- it is a beautiful city with lots of life and character. Definitely my favorite city so far. We catch a train to Ahmedabad tomorrow afteroon.

Ancient Ruins in Madya Pradesh

2010-01-01T10:25:00.008-05:00

Khajuraho, Orchha, Bhopal and Sanchi

We have been spending this week exploring ancient Hindu, Islamic and Buddhist ruins throughout the state of Madya Pradesh. We began in Khajuraho, whose 11th century Hindu are adorned with elaborate erotic carvings. We spent yesterday, New Years Eve, in Orchha, a small town of 8,500 people that has really impressive 17th century Islamic palaces and temples. We spent a few hours wandering around Jehangir Mahal and Raj Mahal, whose enormity and architectural detailing certainly holds one's eye. We climbed up the narrow staircases of each one admiring the projecting windows, domes and towers on each of the 4 floors. From the top, as far as the eye could see, we saw smaller temples and ruins dotting the landscape along the nearby Betwa river.
We spent our New Years Eve at a rooftop dinner-dance party at the Sheeh Mahal Hotel, which had amazing views as it was located between the Jehangir and Raj Mahal. A classical music performance with a dramatic transvestite dancer preceded a delicious Indian buffet. We ate dinner next to an '07 Wesleyan couple who have been cycling around the world for the last year and a half. Such a small world!
We have just arrived in Bhopal, in central Madya Pradesh. Tomorrow we will explore more Islamic ruins in the area and hopefully head to Sanchi the following day to see ancient Buddhist temples. We have been having a hard time getting train tickets as this is one of busiest travel times so our plans are subject to change. We'll find out tomorrow morning at the train station.
Happy New Year to everyone!!!

Making our Way West

2009-12-30T07:03:00.005-05:00

Since Varanasi, we have visited Allahabad (in Uttar Pradesh), one of the four holiest Hindu sites in India, where two of the holiest rivers, the Ganges and the Kumana, meet. It is the home of the Kumbh Mela celebation, where every twelve years on a very auspicious day millions of Hindu pilgrims bathe in the sacred confluence of the two rivers. The last celebration was recorded as having the largest number of pilgrims in one place ever in history- 70 million. Compared to Varanasi, Allahabad was somewhat of a retreat. While we truly enjoyed Varanasi, at the end of the week I was tired of the endless touts, the unclean streets and the wild roaming cows, dogs and goats everywhere. While Allahabad did have its share of stray dogs, it was pretty clean and calm for an Indian city. It is not a heavily visited place for Western tourists so we were able to wander the streets tout-free. We chatted with some friendly people and had lunch at an Indian cafe where Allahabad businessmen gather for a mid-morning chai tea.
After wandering around the city some more, we caught a 2-hour delayed train (quite typical in this country) to Satna, a stopover point for travelers heading to Khajuraho. As we got in a taxi to go to our over-priced hotel, after rejecting the driver's countless offers to drive us to Khajuraho, I eventually realized that paying the driver was one US dollar more than staying in the hotel for the night and we would save hours of travel the next day. So, at 10PM we paid the driver the equivalent of 21 dollars to drive us to Khajuraho, which was 2 hours away. He was safe, took us to a cheap restaurant for a late dinner and dropped us off at a decent hotel for the night.
We have spent our first day in Madya Pradesh and intend to explore more of this state over the next week. Khajuraho is a small town known for its millenium-old sandstone Hindu temples. The temples, while noted for their detailed medieval architecture, are best known for their erotic carvings. While the town built 80 temples a millenium ago, there are currently 24 in good condition over a 20 sq. km area, which is pretty impressive. We enjoyed our walk to many of the temples as we were frequently stopped to buy postcards or mineral water or sculptures or illegal drugs. After weeks of experimenting with different answers, we have found that the best way to ward off these vendors is to tell them we do not want it in Hindi, "Nahi Chahiye", or to say "Is it free? I will pay zero rupees." Both responses usually make us and the touts laugh and then they leave us alone.
I have been practicing Hindi whenever I can but my abilities are certainly limited. People really enjoy when we speak in their language and are eager to help us improve. Hope to pick up more of the language as the trip goes on.
Tomorrow morning, we head to Orchha, another town known for its erotic religious ruins. There we will greet the New Year before heading to Bhopal.

Learning Hindi in Varanasi

2009-12-26T03:29:00.004-05:00

Varanasi

Here are S's thoughts on our last week:

today we are in varanasi, in central India. varanasi is basically the center of Hinduism, which is an exceptionally tolerant religion, so in some ways it seems appropriate to have spent Christmas here.

we've spent the last week taking intensive hindi classes. for those interested, what follows are a few notes on some of the languages we've encountered so far:

according to wikipedia, hindi is actually the 3rd most spoken language in the world after mandarin chinese and english. for a native english speaker, it's definitely not easy to pick up - when trying to learn hindi you will come to appreciate how closely related are english and the romance languages. ultimately though, english and hindi come from the same language family, as opposed to say Chinese, which is entirely different. for an english speaker, chinese has some advantages in that there are no tenses or verb conjugations, or gendered nouns and adjectives, which makes things a little easier. on the other hand, having no shared past, in addition to the tones there are all kinds of sounds that are not only very difficult for us to reproduce, but they are almost impossible for us to hear in the first place. i can't tell you how many times we'd be in a situation in china where someone would say a word or a sentence to us, and we'd try to repeat it back to them and completely fail. to our ears, we'd think we were reproducing the exact same sound - but to their ears it was like we were trying to say 'tree' and it was coming out 'dog'. so even with a roman alphabet transliteration of the chinese word, we still couldn't really make ourselves understood. and this doesn't even begin to take into account the difficulties of learning the chinese writing system, which surpass description.

you don't really have too many of these problems with hindi. yes, the writing script is different, but it's still based on a learnable alphabet. and yes, there are different sounds that are difficult to reproduce, most obviously the aspirated consonants and the nasal vowels, but at least we can hear the things that we are getting wrong. and being distantly related, you still have the same basic structures of tenses and conjugations (i go, you go, i went, you went etc.), so it's somewhat familiar. it also has all the same confusing aspects of the european languages like gendered nouns and adjectives and confusing irregular conjugations over way too many tenses.

the biggest difference is that hindi is a subject-object-verb language (I you love), as opposed to english which is subject-verb-object (I love you). more confusing is that with intransitive verbs you conjugate the verb based on the subject (as in english) but with transitive verbs you conjugate the verb based on the object (which you don't do in english). it has no prepositions, instead employing a very confusing system of postpositions - there are more of them and they are much more specific than in english. the syntax of the sentences is also much more rigid and specific. whereas in english you can say either 'yesterday, i went to the beach' or 'i went to the beach yesterday' without changing the meaning of the sentence, you don't have the same freedom in hindi, which is actually very difficult for an english speaker. there are also other issues like there is no verb 'to have', which is instead replaced by 3 non-verb constructions based on whether the thing that is had is a person, an object or an abstract concept. the upshot is that you can basically never translate sentences directly from english to hindi. so whereas when learning french or spanish, it's possible to correctly guess a spanish phrase based on your knowledge of english, that really isn't possible in hindi. in some ways this is good, because it forces you to start thinking in hindi right away, but in other ways it's bad, in that it precludes any intuitive leaps while learning the new language.

the week was intensive, and i think we picked up a lot, though we definitely need to practice. hopefully we get better over the next two months as we travel around the country. vickie made much more progress than I did, due to a better memory for vocab and a far greater willingness to practice with strangers.

anyway, we'll spend a day or two more here in varanasi, then head to allahabad. after that we will make our way southwest towards bombay.

Varanasi

2009-12-20T03:35:00.005-05:00

S and I have just arrived in Varanasi, the holiest site for Hindus in the country. It is also a place of worship for Buddhists and Jains and it is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. It is a very spiritual place- many elderly or sick come here when they are dying because passing away in this place removes you from the future cycles of rebirth. While we have not seen it yet, Hindus are also burned on the banks of the rivers of the Ganges and their ashes are thrown into this holy river, which many pilgrims also use to cleanse themselves from evil spirits.
We took the non-AC sleeper last night from Kolkata to Varanasi and we both had restless sleeps, being awoken every hour by snoring, loud conversations on cell phones (even at 4AM) and chai-wallahs trying to sell tea and others selling snacks. Our train was 3 hours late and we pulled into Varanasi at 12:30. This evening at 6 we have our opening session for our one-week Hindi language course at Bhasa Bharati Language Institute.

Pinky and Mo

2009-12-15T08:54:00.005-05:00

The Rocket and Dhaka

Today we visited the home of Pinky and Mo, two very kind and friendly Bengali sisters who truly welcomed us to their city. We met them at a popular intersection near their home and we spent 5 hours at their home eating, laughing, sharing stories and experiences and even more eating. Their mother cooked for hours to prepare over 7 vegetable dishes for us and 4 of the best Bengali desserts that are eaten during their religious holiday Eid. They were all so lovely and they have invited us to spend the national holiday with them tomorrow. Tomorrow is the 38th anniversary of Bangladesh's independence and we can already see the people showing their pride- many people have attached Bangladesh flags to their rickshaws, cars or are just waving them as they walk through the street.

Short Stories from Bangladesh

2009-12-14T11:23:00.006-05:00

So much has happened to us over the last 7 days that it is difficult to know from where to continue.

Bangladesh is an incredibly beautiful country. As there are many lakes and rivers, the country is very tropical and green. There are palm trees and flowers in every direction and the slight humidity casts a haze over the country that makes it look somewhat magical. While the center of the towns are a little dirty, most of the country's land is very open, far-stretching beautiful farmland. As a new crop rotation for rice is beginning, many plots of land are flooded with water, a necessary step when cultivating rice. Despite being winter here, it is still quite warm and the evenings have a nice breeze that reminds me of the Caribbean.

On our second day in Bangladesh, S finally decided to get a haircut. We walked into a Bangla barber shop on Khulna's main avenue and S asked if he could get a haircut in English, also gesturing the cutting symbol with his fingers. They told us to sit and a man getting a shave in the shop told us in English that it would cost 100 takas, which was a dollar and fifty cents. The barber, without words, gestured his vision for S's new cut and, not knowing how to communicate anything otherwise, S shrugged and left his fate in the barber's hands. This haircut was the most elaborate I have ever seen- the man cut and styled for at least 40 minutes and then included a head massage, a full body massage, a shave and a beard trim. Since then, Steve has literally gotten 3 glowing compliments on his haircut every day.

All women here dress incredibly conservatively, with most women wearing head scarves and usually wearing a saree, which is 6 yards of fabric wrapped around the body several times and held with simple tucks in the fabric, or a salwar kameez, a loose fitting knee length tunic over baggy trousers. As not many tourists visit Bangladesh and the opinions of foreigners are still being formed, I purchased a bright pink and turuoise salwar kameez to fit right in here. While I still stick out like a sore thumb, many men and women have thanked me for wearing their clothing in their country.

Our day in the village with the BIWTC manager Firoz was absolutely amazing. We were the first Westerners in the village and we met all of his family, extended family and extended extended family. The village is 45 minutes outside of a town Gopalganj and a family of farmers on one plot of land generations ago has expanded to a whole village with hundred and hundreds of residents. As Firoz proudly paraded us around the town, he introduced us to every relative, explaining the web that connected them together. As we walked from house to house, we were followed by a group of about 15-20 children who continuously said hello to us, shook our hands, picked flowers for us and tried to jump into the foreground of every picture I tried to take. As immediate families normally have their homes built around a communal courtyard, when we walked in, the mothers ran to the kitchen while the grandparents smiled at us shyly and the children grabbed chairs for us to sit down. A minute of two later, the ladies emerged from the kitchen with a plate of snacks or a hot glass of milk and the family stood around us, commenting about us in Bengali. The women commented that I did not have a nose ring and asked if my dress was Bengali while the men played with S's hair and told him he looked great. At every house, our short-term hosts told us how happy they were that we came to their village and that we were enjoying their country. Firoz was also very happy that we were enjoying ourselves and his sister cooked us the best Bengali food we've had yet.

After we left the village that afternoon, Firoz arranged for us to take the 24- hour ferry ride from Khulna to Dhaka. We got on the ferry at 11PM and started moving around 11:30. When we woke up the next morning, we were back at the Khulna dock. The ferry manager explained that we were held back due to fog and that, as a certain part of the trip could not be done at night, there would be an additional 15-hour delay. That morning we were the only passengers in 1st class and Ashish, the 1st class supervisor, told us that passengers would not be getting on until the 2nd day. For the enitre first day, we had our own large private dining room, a spacious outdoor deck at the front of the boat and our own personal staff of 5, the last part being a little overwhelming at the end of the day. Ashish gave us a tour of the boat, took us to the control room to meet the captain, introduced us to the ship's engineers and called us from our rooms when there was great view.

Today, after a 55 hour ferry ride, we finally docked in Dhaka. We left with a pocketful of phone numbers and email addresses of people we had met on the boat that wanted to stay in touch and many more memories of incredibly kind, generous and welcoming people. A pair of sisters invited us to their home in Dhaka for lunch tomorrow and said they would also show us around the city. We are to call them in the morning tomorrow to make plans.

We got into Dhaka at 4PM and, as we were trying to get a rickshaw to our hotel, an English-speaking Bengali told us he would help, leading us through unfamiliar streets and finally bargaining with a rickshaw driver and telling him our desired destination in Bengali. The streets of Dhaka were very congested but not how you would think. There are not many personally owned vehicles so the streets of Dhaka and other Bengali cities are packed with rickshaws and 3-wheeled auto rickshaws. It is estimated that Dhaka has about 600,00 rickshaws on its city streets.

Today S also arranged a very nice belated birthday celebration for me. I am very lucky.

Khulna Division

Land of the Banglas

2009-12-10T09:31:00.004-05:00

Three days ago, S and I got on a bus headed towards the Bangladeshi border town of Benapole. On the Indian side, a kind bus operator escorted us through Indian immigration and customs and, when we crossed over into Bangla territory, there were kind men every 5 feet pointing us in the direction of the immigration office. As we walked by with a smile, they all stopped us and asked, "What country?" and when we responded America, they shook our hand, held their hand up to their heart, and said thank you as we walked away. This is representative of the kindness and curiosity that Banglas have been showing to us over the last 3 days. Tourists do not come to Bangladesh and so people are incredibly friendly, curious and eager to ask you or share whatever they know how to say in English, which ranges from a screaming hello as someone passes on a rickshaw to an extended discussion about America, Bangladesh, politics and wealth. If we are stopped for more than 10 seconds on the street, the crowd surrounding us literally multiplies by the second.
As Bangladesh is a country full of rivers and canals, sometimes the most direct or most picturesque route to your next destination is on a boat through the country's waterways. When we first headed to the Bangladesh Inter-Waterway Tranportation Company (BIWTC) yesterday morning to book a 24-hour boat ride from Khulna to Dhaka, our early frustrations with the manager Firoz's poor customer service skills as we waited for 30 mintues in his office quickly fizzled away as he excitedly offered us tea, talked to us about his country and ours and asked us for our mailing address so he could send us letters in America. He repeatedly asked us to confirm that we would write him back and told us he was happy to have new American friends. He also asked about our 'relation' to each other, and if S had 'given me any babies yet', which is the standard set of questions asked after 'what country'. He wrote out a receipt for us and told us to go to another office to pick up our boat tickets the following day. When we arrived at the other BIWTC office this morning, the manager told us that the boat was cancelled due to fog and that we should go back to see Firoz. Our 5 minute, 15 cent rickshaw ride took back to the center of town where we walked to Firoz's office. On the way there, we were creepily followed by a crazy person who, after trying to come with us into the BIWTC office, was shooed away by the office guard. We sat down in Firoz's office, where he told us that he had been thinking about us all morning and was sorry that he could not call us himself with the news about the cancellation. We chatted with him and had some tea as we waited for the crazy person to go away from the front of the building. During this time, which wound up being about an hour, he invited us to visit his hometown with him tomorrow during the day for lunch. He lives in Gopalganj, a small fishing village 2 hours from Khulna that is known for its farmers that fish with river otters. We accepted his invitation and stopped by his office this evening, after our trip to Bagerhat, to confirm all the travel details. As he was away from his office when we arrived, he had stationed a assistant to keep watch for us and to call him when we got there. He quickly came after the call, treating us to more tea, more interesting conversation and fueling greater excitement about the visit to his village tomorrow.
We experienced more of the same during our day trip to Bagerhat, where we were quickly adopted by two Bangdladeshi college students, who insisted on calling us 'auntie' and 'uncle', a sign of respect for elders. They turned out to be excellent tour guides, taking us around to all of the town's historical mosques. They were exceptionally friendly, and extremely persistent about exchanging email addresses, mail addresses, and cell phone numbers, insisting every 10 minutes that we promise to stay in touch with them. Shuvo kindly requested that we write down our day full of 'memories' with them, so that we'd never forget them, because they surely would never forget us. This seemed slightly less weird when we later discovered that we were the first foreigners they had ever met. There are already countless other, shorter stories like these, and the stack of email addresses and mobile numbers is growing by the minute. We've been touched by the friendliness and hospitality of the people we've met here.

7 Days of Indian Wedding

2009-12-04T00:54:00.009-05:00

Rukmini & Joseph's Wedding

We are currently at day 6 of the festivities for Rukmini and Joseph. While day 4 was the Hindu wedding, the other days have been filled with small ceremonies at the house of the bride's family. The house was beautifully decorated with marigolds wrapped around the staircases and hanging from outdoor patio. The floors were painted with red and white designs meant to symbolize blessings for the new couple and there were white lights everywhere, representing the couple entering the light together. On day 3, there was a dinner for the bride's last evening in the home. All of the bride's family and friends came over and many family members became very nostalgic about all the memories of Rukmini as a child. On the afternoon of day 5, there was a luncheon for Rukmini's last day in her parent's home before she moved in with her husband's family. There were private blessings given to the bride before she and her husband went off in a flower-decorated car towards the groom's home. Since then, the groom's side has been holding many parties for the couple in their home.
As the wedding on the evening of day 4 was being held at the army base Fort William, Rukmini's family had to go through all of this red-tape to get a security clearance for us foreigners to be able to attend. While they secured permits for us and we were supposed to travel in a specially marked car to the Fort, the security did not even check our permits or who was in the car and just waved us through. The wedding was held in a beautiful outdoor space decorated with dangling lights, colorful fabrics and more marigolds than one could count. The groom wore a dhoti, a rectangular piece of unstitched cloth, usually around 7 yards long, wrapped around the waist and the legs, and knotted at the waist, and a traditional scarf. Atop his head was a white-tiered hat that is traditionally worn at Hindu weddings. To begin the ceremony, the groom stood in the middle of the space on a pedestal and the bride's female family members circled the groom 7 times pouring water around him to purify the space. After the women blessed the groom, all of the bride's "brothers", brothers and male cousins, carried out the bride on a carpeted platform. As she was being brought towards the groom, her face was covered with two big leaves and, when she was brought before the groom, a white fabric was pulled over the two of them. S was given the honor of holding one of the corners. The bride was wearing a colorful red sari, was drenched in gold jewelry and had a large circular nose ring which was connected by a chain to her left earring. During this time, after the bride uncovered her face, the priest began giving blessings as the bride and groom exchanged floral garlands with each other several times. After these exchanges, the bride and groom were brought over to the mandap, a canopy where the ceremony was to take place. As the hour and a half ceremony was in Sanskrit, we clearly could not understand it but the ceremony was elaborate and full of tradition. Throughout the whole wedding, older women were blowing conch shells, meant to ward off evil spirits. The dinner was a non-veg, veg and Chinese buffet, complete with carts full of Indian sweets, and over 450 people came to celebrate this event. The wedding was dry but some male party attendees snuck into the parking lot for a glass or two of scotch.
Tomorrow is the last day of festivities and we will be attending their Christian wedding, held by the groom's side of the family. It will be at the Tollygunge Club, a very nice golf resort where S and I have been staying for the last few days with the Duttas. When we have not been attending the various different events for the wedding, we have taking golf lessons, playing some tennis and enjoying the calm of the club, which is in stark contrast to the loud and bustling streets of Kolkata.
We have had such a great time with the Dutta family and they have been so generous to us over the last few days. Many, many, many thanks to Rono, Shomik and Priam!!! They have also introduced us to all of their family, who have been as equally warm and kind. One of Shomik's aunt's is lending me a sari to wear for the second wedding.
After the wedding, the following morning Steve and I will be taking a bus to the Bangladeshi border of Benapole, where we will then head to Khulna to spend the night there. At this stage, we intend to spend around 10 days exploring Bangladesh.

Pre-Wedding Festivities

2009-12-01T01:39:00.007-05:00

From Rumkini & Joseph's Wedding

The last 2 days have been amazingly fun as we have been celebrating the love-marriage wedding of Shomik's cousin Rukmini and Joseph. The Indian wedding is officially tomorrow but we have been partaking in pre-wedding events for the last 2 days. The most fun day was definitely yesterday, which started with mehndi (henna) hand painting for all the lady friends of the bride, her family, family friends and me. The palms and other side of my hands were elaborately painted intricate designs which, after hours of drying, have stained my hands a dark brown color. According to Indian tradition, the darker your henna is the more you are loved by your man, so I guess that means I am very loved. They also had different color bangles for the ladies to pick out to wear that evening with their saris or salwar kameez. I got yellow ones to accent the yellow and blue border of my saree. In the evening, we went to the bride's sangt, where all the bride's friends sing and dance in honor of the special day to come. As the bride and her friends have all been incredibly kind to me and have really welcomed me into their group, I performed in a dance with the bride's two oldest friends and her Turkish college friends. It was really fun and I was glad that I did not trip over my saree during the dance and fall off stage. S took a video and photos. Many of the guests were happy to see that S and I dressed in traditional Indian clothing. Before the party, the bride's friends helped wrap me in the 6 yards of red fabric, pinning it to ensure that my saree did not fall off during the dance. The last few days have been great and it has been really fun catching up with Shomik and getting to meet his family.
Today is conveniently a day off from festivities, which works out nicely because it is my 25th birthday. S and I are spending the afternoon together as the Dutta men visit extended family. While my birthday is not the same without my family and friends around to celebrate with, I am so glad that I have S here with me.

Kolkata

2009-11-29T04:24:00.003-05:00

Kolkata is definitely a whirlwind of a city. The cars are always honking, the touts are out full force and the sidewalks and streets are completely overcrowded. Half of the time, people are walking in the street for one of two reasons: either the sidewalk is completely full of people and/or makeshift stalls or the sidewalk is full of rubble or loaded with trash. As homes around our hotel lack plumbung, there are wells every few blocks where the residents come out to cook, wash clothes, bathe and take care of other daily activities. When we get home after long days of exploring the city, we are covered in dust and enjoy the few hours of quiet in our small room where the paint is peeling. Despite the sensory overload, we are loving the chaos. The people are incredibly friendly, the food is delicious and we are bombarded with intense scenes of daily life here, which is quite exhilarating albeit exhausting. We have been to a cricket game, seen beautiful colonial architecture and walked through a narrow alleyway that was the neighborhood slaughterhouse! Last night we purchased a saree and a kurta for an Indian wedding that we are attending this afternoon. It will be day one of a five day affair and we are extremely excited, as Indian weddings are supposed to be amazingly festive and extravagant. The next blog will have many photos.

Additionally, I am happy to report that all of the photos from our trip are now uploaded on the web and are accessible through the blog. Once you get to the photo-sharing webpage you can see all of them!

All our love. We miss everyone at home!

Kolkata

Crossing the Indian Border

2009-11-26T03:35:00.007-05:00

Raxaul, India

On Tuesday morning, our hotel arranged for a horse cart to take us to the highway 40 minutes away where where we were to flag down a bus going to the border town Birganj. We fortunately got the last two seats in what turned out to be a very crowded bus for 3 hours down to the border. We made many stops along the way to pick up passengers. Sometimes, we would stop but saw no one get on or off. We later realized that people were climbing onto the roof to sit, which is very common for buses in Nepal. When we arrived in Biganj, we saw two guys unloading 6 goats from the roof of our bus and then lead them towards the town's main road. The town was quite a sight- full of colorful trucks heading to India, food being cooked in outdoor stalls while dust swirled all around us. The streets were full of horse carts and rickshaws taking people to the border, the town has no taxis. We stopped for lunch and took our first rickshaw 4 km to the border. There was a crazy back-up towards the end of the trip so we gave our tired-looking rickshaw driver, whose right arm was in a cast, a 100% tip and walked across. When we got our departure stamps, the Nepali border workers marvelled at our 5- and 7-year Indian visas, saying "Bravo sir" to S. We crossed over the border bridge into Raxaul with many Indians and Nepalis. All were walking with a purpose, some barefoot, some carrying naked children and many staring shyly at us and we walked passed. The man at the Indian border very critically looked at our visas, questioning why a section had been crossed out. He fortunately believed us when we said the Indian Embassy in NYC did it, told us to give him 100 rupees and asked us for any small American bills or coins.
Walking down main street, we were bombarded by touts trying to take us on their rickshaws or to their friend's hotel. As we went up to Hotel Decari, one of the touts followed us and told the man at the front desk he brought us there so he could get a commission. After checking in, we walked to the train station, which was a mad house. There were hundreds of people sitting outside resting, eating and sleeping and there was a mob in front of the ticket booths. As women in India are allowed to skip the lines, I pushed my way to the front where a man finally told me to go around the corner to the upper-class ticket office. The mob was waiting for general seating tickets. The upper-class office was empty and the man easily helped us book two tickets for the next morning's 18-hour train to Kolkata (or Calcutta).
Yesterday morning, we arrived early to the train station and saw what the general seating actually means- if the cars are packed to the brim, you climb up on the roof. We saw women carrying little babies and even old grandmas making their way up there. While S and I were previously excited about riding general class, we both agree that riding on the roof of a train is a little too much. We had a peaceful ride in our first-class car and savoured every moment as that is the nicest we will travel by train in India for a while. I dozed off to sleep with deep-throated Indian men wandering up and down the cars selling "Chai, Chai, chai, coffee, coffee, coffee".
As today is Thanksgiving, S and I have checked into a mid range hotel, a splurge for us. We are staying in an 18th century colonial home with a large outdoor garden and very friendly and helpful staff. Our room is huge and we get complimentary breakfast in the morning. We got the last room in the hotel after the doorman and the man behind the counter told us the hotel was full. It was after we asked for availability for the next evening that they somehow found the room for us tonight. We had a delicious Thanksgiving day lunch-- 2 orders of rice, dhaal (yellow lentils), chapatti and vegetable curry in a crowded local restaurant for $1.30 total. We ate Indian-style, with our right hands. The challenge in eating this way comes when you need to tear the chapatti into bits with only your right hand. There is added difficulty because we are both lefties. S and I watch the other diners for lessons in technique.
Tonight we are going to a nice Italian restaurant to celebrate our 6 year anniversary, which is in 3 days. We thought we had to try to have some Western food on Thanksgiving.

One-Horned Rhinos

2009-11-23T17:31:00.000-05:00

This afternoon, we took an elephant safari through the jungle. Riding atop an elephant is supposed to be one of the best ways to spot wildlife as the elephants hide the human scent. While the ride was quite bumpy because of the elphant's lumbering gait, we stumbled upon two one-horned rhinos drinking from a water hole. We followed them on the elephant for about 5 minutes. We also saw many deer, one which had just been killed by a tiger....fortunately missed that scene!

Chitwan Nat'l Park

2009-11-23T01:56:00.003-05:00

After two days of exploring Patan and Bhaktapur, the medieval city-states of the Kathmandu Valley, we took a six-hour bus yesterday morning to Chitwan National Park, which is in the southern region of the country. At our stop along the drive, we picked up some samosas, curried potato and peas in fried rice dough. These have become our favorite snacks here in Nepal and, as they were so good, S ran to get more while I made sure the bus did not leave without us. We arrived in Sauraha, the town just north of the National Park, around 1:30 PM and checked into our jungle-themed cottage on a small and quiet street in town. We spent the afternoon sitting on recliner chairs by the Rapti River and watched the sun set. We had some good curry for dinner and drank tea until we could see thousands of stars in the sky. Our room had hot water which, at this point, was a wonderfully pleasant surprise.
Today we got up at 6 AM for a full day of jungle activities. We Started with a 7:30 canoe trip on the Rapti River in a dugout cotton tree canoe as the mist was rising over the river. We saw many different birds and, towards the end of the canoe trip, spotted a gharial crocodile. As our hotel specializes in ornithology, our guide took us on a 4 hour jungle walk where he pointed out many beautiful birds. We were hoping to see some rhinos in the forest but settled for about 5-7 rhesus macaques jumping around in th trees near us. This afternoon we are heading on an elephant safari which we have heard is where you have better luck seeing wildlife. Excited to ride an elephant and hope to see some jungle animals.
Tomorrow we head to the Indian border town of Raxaul, where we hope to catch a train to Kolkata the following morning. Hopefully we can get train tickets!

Chitwan Nat'l Park

Kathmandu, Nepal

2009-11-18T23:34:00.005-05:00

S and I just arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal two days ago. It was very sad saying good bye to our wonderful guide at the Chinese border crossing and to also leave China. The border crossing is over the Friendship Bridge, a small path over a flowing river that divides the two countries. Despite the bridge name that represents kind relations between the two countries, we were hurried along the bridge by an army commander as several soldiers lined the bridge with big weapons. We changed our money on the black market, getting a pretty good exchange rate and hopped in a jeep with Brandon and Jill headed towards Kathmandu.
While just a river separates Tibet and Nepal at that border crossing, the regions feel quite different. As we crossed the bridge into Nepal, we came to a dilapidated customs office that is in stark contrast to the Chinese office on the other side, which is sparkling, shiny and new. Smells of curry wafted through the air and women walked around in colorful saris. Nepalis look much more like Indians and the local temple's blessing adorned the foreheads of all the local women as we walked through town. The drive to Kathmandu was also quite stunning. Our taxi wound through the mountains as the driver blasted America's most popular hip hop and R&B music from his radio. Since being in Nepal, we have surprisingly heard a lot of reggaeton. The villages along the drive were bustling with people, selling their produce, bright colored bubble coats, with the occasional cow roaming alongside us on the highway.
As we got closer to Kathmandu and left the mountains, the pollution haze became increasingly more noticeable and somewhat bothersome and the cars increasingly jammed the narrow streets, with rickshaws, bikes and motor carts whizzing by in all directions.
As the city streets are not named, it was quite difficult to find our hotel, as the address only indicated the neighborhood that our hotel was in. We are staying in Thamel, the town's tourist area, with many restaurants and shops selling anything you could possibly want. Despite being such a commercial hub, the buildings in the area are falling apart, electricity wires dominate one's eye view and power outages are frequent during the evening time. That evening, we dined at a very nice Newari restaurant with Brandon and Jill where colorfully dressed women performed traditional Nepali dances. During the last song, diners were in invited to dance with the performers and, after a tiny bit of nudging, I got up on stage, bouncing my shoulders and shaking my hips. The group got a kick of out it and the lead dancer dragged me into the middle of the stage to dance with her. Very fun!
Yesterday, we spent the whole day walking around central Kathmandu. We started the day at Swayambhunath Temple, one of the most important temples in the area. Monkeys surround the mini-temples and the long stairway leading up the hill to the holy area. A kind Nepali man attached himself to S and insisted on giving us a free tour of the temple in exchange for visiting his shop at the end. He blessed our foreheads with an orange vermilion paste and sprinkled marigolds in our hair in the complex's most important temple. I bought a very nice braided brass and copper ring for 50 rupees, or 65 cents.
We spent the rest of the day walking around Durbar Square, a complex of temples, squares, towers and shrines, built up during a competitive building boom in the 15th and 16th centuries between the three neighboring kingdoms in Nepal. The area is full of hawkers trying to sell you guided tours, Nepalis going about their everyday business and worshippers following carts carrying cows, Hinduism's sacred animal.
The food here is amazing and today we are going to get out of the tourist zone and wander through the backstreets of this capital city.

Border to Kathmandu Valley

The Friendship Highway

2009-11-18T10:23:00.006-05:00

Tibet

The last 5 days of our Tibet itinerary were packed with drives over 5,000 meter mountain passes, turquoise-colored lakes and Tibetan villages with yaks and sheep grazing the neighboring fields. The icing was our visit to Mount Everest Base Camp, the base of the world's tallest mountain.
Our drive on the first day started from Lhasa at an altitude of 3,200 meters. As we ascended the neighboring mountains, we reached our first high mountain pass at 4700m. From the top of the mountain, we looked down at Yamdrok-so Lake, the third largest lake in Tibet. It was a deep turquoise color and the sun's glimmer on the body of water made it look otherworldly. We stopped for lunch in Nagartse and had some Tibetan staples, such as vegetable momo (vegetable dumplings with a spicy sauce) and butter tea (Chinese brick tea with yak butter and salt)
We then visited Pelkhor Chorde Monastery in Gyantse, which is home to the largest chorten in the world. Within the chorten are 108 chapels, with each one dedicated to a different protector of Tibetan Buddhism's 3 religions. As foreigners must always be accompanied by their guide while in Tibet, we were taken to delicious Tibetan restaurant.
The following day led us to Shigatse, Tibet's second largest city. As the police station in town closed by noon, we needed to leave Gyantse early enough to ensure that our guide could register us at the Shigatse station. This is necessary protocol throughout Tibet and there were frequent checkpoints along the highway asking for the guide's license and our traveling visa papers. We visited Tashilhunpo Monastery where we saw the world's largest gilded statue. As we were waiting for the main temple to open, our guide spoke very frankly to us about his disdain for the Chinese government. He was understandably quite angry and upset.
The third day, we took a side trip off the Friendship Highway to Mount Everest Base Camp (EBC). The ride to EBC was a bumpy 120 km dirt road. On the drive, we stopped at the top of a mountain pass to admire the Himalayan mountain ranges and got our first look at Everest. When we arrived at Base Camp, we were at 5200 meters and stayed in a hotel run by the highest monastery in the world, Rongphu Monastery. As the rooms lacked heating, we spent the evening in the nearby resturant, which was heated with a yak-dung stove, very common in Tibet. We had tsampa for dinner- the meal most frequently eaten by Tibetans. Tsampa is barley flour hand-mixed with butter tea to make large dumpling-like balls that are then ingested. That night, we slept under 2 comforters and 4 layers of horse blankets and were still cold.
Even though Everest was covered in clouds the following day, we still had a beautiful drive to the Tibetan bordertown of Zhangmu, a town at much lower elevation of 2000 meters. We were relieved to no longer be light-headed or winded after walking up a flight of stairs and spent the day reminiscing with Brandon and Jill about all the amazing sights we had seen on our Tibetan adventure.
Yesterday, we crossed the border into Kodari, Nepal and sadly said goodbye after 2 and a half months of traveling in China. We really loved our time in the country with a quarter of the world's population.

Lhasa, Tibet

2009-11-17T07:25:00.003-05:00

It is an incredibly daunting task to try to summarize our 10-day trip in Tibet. As I was uploading photos yesterday, S started to write the blog and, after an hour of serious writing, the power went out on our block in Kathmandu and his work was lost. Here, I will try to capture the highlights of our trip but there will always be so much left unsaid or not fully explained.
On the night of the 8th, we boarded a 24-hour train to Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan region. We were part of a 4-person group and were so delighted to be put together with Brandon and Jill, an American and Scot who were the best possible couple for us. The train was a wonderful first glance into Tibetan life- Tibetan women were wandering into our train car offering us Tibetan treats, such as yak cheese, sheep cheese, biscuits, and candies. They were wearing sheep skin dresses and had colorful ribbons tied into their very long braided hair, which was wrapped around their head. Dozens of women came over throughout the course of the day and we were very appreciative of their kindness. Halfway through the ride, all of the women started dancing and singing to Tibetan music, fillng the car with laughter and smiles. We have never experienced such a spectacle on a Chinese train before.
In addition to the cultural immersion, the train provided us with some of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. 80% of the train ride was over 4000 meters and the train also crossed over 3 mountain passes over 5,000 meters, the highest S and I have ever been.
To most Tibetans, they think of their province as a separate country from China- they have a different language, food, culture and religion than the 96% of percent of those on mainland China, which are the Han majority. In addition to all of this, they look completely different, with darker features, wind-burned cheeks and a Tibetan style of dress. When we got off the world's highest altitude train, we knew we were in a different world as our guide placed white prayer scarves around our necks and greeted us with the Tibetan "Tashi Delek".
The Tibetans are very religious and it is their tradition to make an anuual pilgrimmage to either Lhasa in the east or Mount Kailash in the west. Throughout our 4 days in Lhasa, we were surrounded by Tibetans from all over the province, circumambulating religious sites (called a kora) while spinning their prayer wheels, bowing and praying before the monasteries and offering gifts of melted yak butter to the temples within. We visited very beautiful religious sites, such as the Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, Norbulingka Palace and the Ramoche Temple, but by far the best part was watching the intensity with which the Tibetans practiced their religion.
A stark contrast to the deeply spiritual pilgrims was the high police and army presence around the Tibetan quarter, especially around the religious sites. The army were posted in front of the Jokhang Temple and the other sites with their rifles cocked and were also patroling rooftops around the area. We were told that the number of armed forces strongly increased after the the riots in Tibet in March 2008. Beyond the intimidating presence of these officers of the law, there is also a strong control over what can be worshipped. Photos of the present or past Dalai Lamas are prohibited inside and outside the temples. All artifacts and artwork in the temples must be approved by the Chinese government before being installed. A Tibetan town's temple was recently burned because it was built without governemtn permission. Additionally, Tibetans worry for their safety when speaking about their struggles with the government. Most are strongly for their independence from China however, as the likelihood is close to zero, most hope for autonomy from the Chinese government. We met several English-speaking Tibetans who spoke of the Chinese government's desire to Han-ify the Tibetans. The government has offered financial incentives for the Han to migrate to the Tibetan region and open businesses. As a result, Tibetan businesses are pushed out for the Han to sell Tibetan wares to the pilgrims and tourists. Our guide told us that Lhasa was becoming very Chinese and told us he feared that his homeland would soon no longer be a place he and his community felt safe and comfortable. He told us that he wished to move to India but feared the consequences that the government would give to his family as punishment for his migration. Another woman we met told us that she felt "Tibet would no longer be Tibet anymore" as the Chinese are trying to squeeze out Tibetan culture and lifestyle. Our time in Lhasa was loaded with incredibly difficult and complicated conversations as we tried to understand the Tibetan perspective. It was very upsetting as we saw the tension and witnessed the suppression of Tibetan culture.

Chongqing

2009-11-05T08:53:00.004-05:00

With a metropolitan area of 32 million people, Chongqing is probably the largest city you've never heard of. It sits on the scenic peninsula at the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze rivers. The city is somewhat gritty, and certainly crowded, but we've been enjoying our time here. At this point we're pretty exhausted from our whirlwind tour of China so we've mostly been taking it easy here, walking around the downtown.

Tonight we are boarding a 24 hour train to Xining, capital of Qinghai province, basically in the physical dead center of China, although psychologically Qinghai is considered to be very deep into the wild west of the country. From there we will travel to south to Nepal, arriving in Kathmandu approximately on the 18th. In this part of the country the government requires foreigners to have a official guide, so we've found another couple to split costs with us on our guided tour. Our email access may or may not be restricted in this part of the country, so you may not hear from us until we reach Nepal.

Chengdu, Chongqing & Xining

Finally out of the Mountains

2009-10-30T10:04:00.005-04:00

After our last three days of very long bus trips, we have decided that we will NEVER do this again. The morning we left Xiangcheng (day 2 of bus travel), we again could not get on the bus without some other driver making a joke about us, again causing the whole bus to erupt into laughter. It was not much more pleasant when the bus got going either. The bus was really crowded, dirty as people were throwing their leftover food on the floor and there was constant spitting and smoking. The bus ride was 14 hours and the seats were horribly uncomfortable. To top it all off, I was nauseous for the first four and a half hours of the trip. S was very supportive and the orange juice he got me made me feel a lot better. When we finally arrived in Kanding at 8 PM, we were surrounded by 15-20 touts outside the bus station trying to get us to stay in their hotel or wanting to drive us another 7 hours to Chengdu. We were tired and frustrated and, even as we followed one tout to a hotel, the others kept following us and slapping our bags to get our attention. The icing on the cake was the tout gave us a freezing cold room with no hot water. We woke up yesterday morning deciding that we needed to get out of the mountains and close this exhausting chapter of the trip. We got a 10AM bus to Chengdu and we were so relieved when we arrived in the Sichuan capital, swearing off long bus rides forever!
The last few days of traveling have felt more difficult than any other part of the trip. We both felt like people had been going out of their way to be mean or unhelpful to us. It felt very strange because we have found that the Chinese often go out of their way to help and are incredibly gracious. We brushed it off the first day but felt something strange was going on as we continued to see and feel it happening. When we were in Qiatou after Tiger Leaping Gorge, we met a French couple that told us that they had experienced hostility from the Chinese while they were traveling in the Northwest. Like the southwestern part we were just in, the northwest is home to a large percentage of one of China's ethnic communities. In both areas, there is a history of tension between the minority community and the Han Chinese. We believe that it is this tension that has been causing people to be sometimes unhelpful or aggressive towards us.
We are happy to now be in Chengdu and plan to spend a few days recovering from the long and difficult journey. Today marks day 94 of our trip and have been to 35 different cities/towns in China and 50 places in total. This morning, we got up early to visit the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base. We arrived during feeding time and so we saw the pandas during their most active part of the day, feasting on bamboo shoots and leaves. There were giant pandas as well as red pandas, which kind of look like raccoons, and we visited the nursery where were saw very small and adorable baby pandas. As Sichuan is home to spicy food, we had a fiery hotpot for lunch. As of now, we plan on spending 2 more nights here before heading off to Chongqing.

Sichuan Mountains

Stuck in the Southwestern Mountains

2009-10-27T10:48:00.005-04:00

After Tiger Leaping Gorge (more on that later), S and I made the decision to travel overland via bus from northwestern Yunnan to Chendu in central Sichuan province. The book advertised this as a "5-6 day trip", involving several bus transfers, daily 10-hour bus rides and driving in the mountains at an average altitude at 3600 meters. It warned that sometimes the roads might be closed due to snow but we thought this journey would be a better way to see more of the country. The plan was to go from Shangri-La to Xiangcheng to Litang to Kanding to Chengdu. From our calcuations, we expected it to take no more than four days but we didn't really understand that this area is where you still see real examples of pure inefficiency.
We got on a bus yesterday morning at 7:30 AM from Shangri-La to Xiangcheng. The drive took the estimated 8 hours and we were surrounded by beautiful scenery the entire way- small ethnic villages and tremendous mountains covered in trees changing color along the winding dirt road we took. True to form, our driver was completely insane, chain-smoking the entire time and speeding around blind curves honking the car horn with all his might. It was legitimately scary as an accident would have sent the van tumbling down the side of a 3200-meter mountain. On top of that, we could not feel our toes as it was freezing cold until about noon. Even though we bought several more layers of clothes the night before, it still was not enough.
When we arrived in Xiangcheng, we tried to book tickets for the following morning to Litang but received conflicting information about whether or not the bus was still running to Litang and when the office opened. We decided to get up early the next day and try to get tickets for the 6AM bus. This morning, the driver kicked us off the bus after making a joke about us, making everyone erupt in laughter. He told us there were no buses to Litang, even though at least 5 people on the bus told us it was going to Litang. The nasty man told us to come back at 1PM to buy the ticket even though the ticket office was open. We went back to the "ticket office" at 12:30 and waited around with another 20 people for an hour and a half until the office finally opened at 2 o'clock. As the employee opened the gate, all the men rushed to the counter, shoving each other out of the way. They were waving money in her face and demanding tickets. I managed to squeeze my way through the mass of people as I knew the men would not shove me out of the way and was the second person to purchase tickets for the following morning. It did involve a fair amount of pushiness on my behalf but the idea of being stuck here for another day was painful. Tomorrow we head for Kanding, which was actually supposed to be the 3rd leg of our trip so we hope to get to Chengdu in two days and stay on schedule. By skipping Litang, we are avoiding what we have heard is the "most unhelpful bus station staff in the country". The bus ride should be at least 12 hours and we are driving at higher altitudes than before. Hopefully, our feet and bodies can endure the cold. We are very glad to have purchased all these warm clothes as we will be needing them over the next few weeks in China and Nepal.
Before this, we spent a day and half hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge, which definitely ranks as one of the best memories in China. It is 10-mile hike over a gorge that is sandwiched between two roughly 5,500-meter mountains. Over this part of the Yangtze River, there is a series of strong grapids that can be hiked down to. As tourist season is over, we basically had the entire hiking trail to ourselves. On our first day, we hiked up 900 meters on a winding trail known as "24 Bends" before arriving at a comfortable guesthouse with great food and where our room overlooked the mountains. On the second day, we hiked down to the middle gorge, which was swarmed with Chinese tourists, and then back up to Walnut Grove where the trail ends. The entire trail was picturesque. There were several waterfalls along the trail, locals tending to their mountain goats and the immensity of the mountains never stopped amazing me.
On another note, we were involved in minor car accident (no one was hurt) on our way to the gorge when our huge bus reared a small van cutting us off in the passing lane. It created quite a scene as all the locals came out of their houses and wanted to be eye witnesses for the police. S and I have already discussed numerous safety precautions to be taken should we be involved in future crashes. Hopefully, the drivers are less crazy in Nepal.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

China's Southwest

2009-10-21T09:17:00.006-04:00

Kunming, Dali and Lijiang

Yangshuo was really amazing. Our last day there we hiked for 4 hours by the Li River, which was very picturesque. In town, there is a very popular light show directed by the guy who choreographed the 2008 Beijing Games' Opening Ceremony. When we looked into getting tickets the day before our hike, once the travel agent told us it was 130 yuan a ticket, we politely declined and started to walk away. She called us back and told us that she knew about some cheaper tickets for 50 yuan each. She vaguely explained to us that we would not be sitting with the show's audience but would be watching from a nearby mountain. She said a bus would take us to the show from the ticket office the following evening. It was pretty unclear but I really wanted to see the show so we got the tickets. When we showed up later on at the travel agent's office, there was no bus in sight and she was standing outside with two dudes on motorcycles. She told us to hop on and, as my driver zipped in and out of car traffic, I clutched on tight for my dear life. We passed the big tour buses parking by the show's entrance and went down several back alleys until we came to a big group of people standing by a well-lit desk. Steve's biker stopped and handed the woman in charge 50 yuan and she let us pass. We were led to a gate where there were many seats on a mountainside overlooking the left side of the stage. In the main seating section, there were about 30 Chinese people watching the show. Using his cell phone light, my biker led me down a path left of the "main seating area" to a "left wing" where there were two foldable chairs. We had our own special section and, though we were far away from the main stage, we enjoyed the show and the hilarity of the entire situation. Steve's biker stayed with us the whole time and kept informing us when a special part was coming up and insisting that we take photos. Before the show was fully over but after the main finale, the biker told us we had to leave and and we followed as all the other attendees on our side of the mountain were leaving too.

After that, we headed back to Guilin where we thought we were getting on a 6 hour train to Kunming in Yunnan province. A few hours into the ride, we realized we were really behind schedule and a nearby passenger informed us that the ride was actually 18 hours. We adjusted pretty quickly by purchasing some instant noodles.
Kunming was very beautiful. It was the first day in China that we had really clear blue skies and we spent the afternoon walking around the city. As it was Sunday, the city's largest temple was packed with worshippers and the nearby park had many music bands performing. The bands were so close to each other that each band was drowning the other nearby groups out.

From Kunming, we headed to the old town of Dali, a quiet city sandwiched in between Cang Shan mountain and Erhai Lake. The area around Dali is home to China's Bai ethnic minority. The older women wear traditional clothing, which I think looks very similar to ethnic clothing of the Quechua people in Peru. We walked through Dali's outdoor market where farmers were selling fruits, vegetables, chilis, old tires made into baskets, and traditional and trendy clothing. We even saw some dentistry being performed next to the fruit sellers. There were several dentists working in the market and I had to turn away when I thought a guy's tooth was about to get pulled. After the market, we took an afternoon trip to Xizhou, a nearby small town that has retained much of its old Bai architecture. All the children said "hello" to us as we walked by and we saw many farmers working on their land. We spent the next day climbing 1 km up Cang Shan, which had some amazing views of the entire area.
This morning, we left Dali for Lijiang, a 400 year-old town that has preserved most of its architecture. We spent the day walking through its cobbled-stoned alleys and had a leisurely dinner by the Yu River. We have one more day here before we hike to Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Rice Terraces and Limestone Peaks

2009-10-15T09:03:00.007-04:00

Guilin and Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces

We are now in Guanxi province in the South and have spent the last few days enjoying the gorgeous natural sights here. Two days ago we visited Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces. They are high mountains about 2 hours away from the provincial capital, Guilin, that are covered in rice terraces. There are many paths through these mountains that connect the small villages where many minority Chinese groups reside. We stayed in the town Ping'an where the local women have very long hair that stretches to the floor. They tie it up using a combination of different wraps and buns that, from afar, look like a decorative hat. We spent our day there walking from Ping'an towards the next village, through the rice terraces, around lakes and over bridges. The sights were quite impressive and I am left feeling nothing but respect for the laborers who spent centuries constructing these terraces into the mountainside. Under one of the biggest bridges on our walk, we ran into a bunch of teenagers who were very friendly towards us. One guy proudly told us, "I am the Dong people" and invited us to a perfomance that evening in the village. The young girls were literally screaming "hello" to us at the top of their lungs and had black ash all over their faces. They were all smiling and laughing.
Yesterday, we spent 5 hours on three different buses to get to Yangshuo. It is very beautiful here and it is understandable why this is one of the biggest tourist spots in the south. The very small town, walkable in 5 minutes, runs by the Li River and is surrounded by breathtaking limestone peaks that jut out of the landscape. As it is low season, we are staying in a very nice Chinese business hotel for an affordable price.
The best part of Yangshuo is the surrounding area. Today, we rode our bikes 9 km to the Dragon Bridge, a 600 year old stone bridge over the Yulong River. As we were walking around the village, some woman approached us and asked, "Lunchie?" My first instinct was to say "no", as we had previously been continuously harassed to go for a bamboo boat ride and wanted to be left alone, but we were hungry and thought it was better than eating the unappetizing steamed corn offered by the vendors by the bridge. The woman led us down a few narrow alleys and through a straw storage room to a simple restaurant with a nice riverside view. We had an enjoyable lunch as we watched fisherman work in the river and heard the Chinese men on the bamboo rafts below us partake in a competitive card game. Trying to take a different path back, we rode through small rural villages on our way back to Yangshuo. Chickens and ducks crossed the path before us and little children poked their heads from their home to say "hello". Men and women carried bamboo satchels over their back filled with fruits and vegetables and bulls were led through the town by a rope strung through their nostrils. We were surrounded by rice farms and the amazing karst peaks in every direction. We were very lucky that today was such a gorgeous day as it has been raining for most of our time in China, making outdoor activities less desirable.
Tomorrow we are going for a 4-5 hour hike along a stretch of the Li River that is over a 1000 years old and supposed to be quite stunning. The following day, we will take an 8 hour train to Kunming in Yunnan province. We plan to spend a day or two there before heading to Dali Lijiang and Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Hong Kong and Macau

2009-10-12T12:18:00.003-04:00

Hong Kong and Macau

S and I are excellent. We spent the last 4 days in Hong Kong and Macau. We spent our first two days exploring Hong Kong Island, which is the first modern city that we have seen that has not demolished many of its older parts. On the first day, we took a tram up to Victoria Peak for beautiful sights of the city and ate in the trendy SoHo district (the Mexican was disappointing), riding the world's longest escalator to get there. On the second day, we explored the city's traditional markets: dried seafood, traditional medicine, ginseng root, bird's nests (used for soup), antiques and fabric. Hong Kong is a beautiful city that certainly has a very different feel from mainland China. It goes beyond the English-named streets- the city is clean, efficient and diverse. There seems to be a coexistence between the old and the new in Hong Kong that feels natural. In Shanghai, the old parts of town were torn down to make way for big skyscrapers and, in Seoul, the old parts of town felt as though they were hidden away down back alleys. On our 3rd day in Hong Kong, we went to Hong Kong Disney World, which was something else. While it is not as big as its American counterparts, they had some decent live shows and S and I had our photos taken with Belle and Sleeping Beauty. Sleeping Beauty asked us what kingdom we were from. We spent the entire day there, eating Mickey Mouse-shaped ice cream and pizza, watching the parades, nighttime fireworks show and going on all of the rides. We enjoyed analyzing the "It's a Small World" ride, swirling around really fast on the teacups and Space Mountain, which got faster as the day went on. During our three nights in Hong Kong, we stayed in Kowloon, a very diverse neighborhood of Indians, Chinese and Africans who are all trying to sell you tailored suits, fake watches and purses. We stayed in Chungking Mansions, a huge complex in the center of the city known for its low-cost accommodations. We stayed in a closet room with no windows. It was certainly an experience. While it had AC, it would make the room freezing in 2 minutes, so we opted for the blistering heat instead of freezing to death. Also, we were able to find several bookstores that had great books about China, which are impossible to find on the mainland. We made sure to stock up.
We spend yesterday in Macau, the former Portuguese concession. The small city is known as the "Vegas of the East", with loads of casinos along the waterfront. There was beautiful colonial architecture and we spent the day walking through the side streets and visiting old churches, temples and government buildings. We had Portuguese for dinner.
We are now back on the mainland and planning on taking a train to Guilin this evening at 7PM. Crossing the border into China was refreshing. While we loved Hong Kong and Macau, there is something more exciting about the chaos on the mainland. Looking forward to explore the South over the next few weeks.

Have Uploaded Photos

2009-10-07T13:51:00.003-04:00

Now that we are in Hong Kong, I have spent the last 6 hours uploading all of our China photos. They are all under previous blog entries. Hong Kong is great- too tired to write, as it is 2AM. Must get some sleep for a busy second day here.

The Joys of Golden Week

2009-10-04T11:40:00.005-04:00

We had a crazy last 3 days. October 1st was the Communist Party's 60th anniversary. There was an all-day long celebration in Beijing that was on every single TV channel. There was a military parade, followed by speeches, songs, dances and quite an elaborate fireworks display. We watched parts of it on TV and I videotaped part of the military parade for later viewing.
On the 2nd, we couldn't book another night at our hotel because it is Golden Week here and couldn't find anything on the internet. We decided to walk around and, after turning down a side street, I walked into what I thought was a hotel. When I asked for a double room, she asked me if I wanted to buy it. When I told her it was for one night, the real estate agent told me to wait a moment. She called up a friend and she then told me that she had a room for two in a nearby apartment building for 150 yuan (24 dollars), which was much better than the 308Y some guy wanted to charge us at a dingy hotel up the block. We decided to take a look at it at and it was a really nice, large one bedroom in a huge Chinese apartment complex. We had a kitchen and big living room with a DVD player. It was the most wonderful treat. We spent the day at a nearby temple, having literally about 15 different groups of people ask to have their photo taken with us and another 10 take photos of us as they walked by. After that, we found a very cheap DVD shop and bought two to take home. We ordered in dinner and after spending 30 minutes fiddling with the broken DVD player, we got it to work. We had a very relaxing night and it was nice to stay in a place that felt like a home.
As a side note, I have recently become obsessed with the bubble tea drinks here. Yesterday, the 3rd, we took the bus to Yongding to see the roundhouses, which are either round or square, and were designed as a fortress and apartment building in one. They are huge and some can house up to 100 people. On the bus ride there, this man from Fuzhou started talking to us and told us he could get us into the roundhouses for free if we followed him. He was traveling with his wife and daughter to his parents' home for the mooncake festival, which was that day. Summarized nicely by Wikipedia, the mooncake festival is one of the few most important holidays in the Chinese calendar and is a legal holiday. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomelos together. When we approached the entrance gate to the tulou town of Liulian, all the security guards were telling him that we needed to buy a ticket. He kept saying we were his friends but the security guards ignored him. After trying to sneak us in through back entrances and being caught everytime, we wound up buying the ticket and then he invited us to his home for the mooncake festival and said we could sleep in his family's tulou. His family was very generous to us. They gave us lots of fruit and snacks when we arrived. His daughter and her younger male cousin took us on a tour of the tulous. Keep in mind, they hardly spoke any English. We had a grand feast for dinner, with about 15 different vegetable and meat dishes on the table. The guy kept clanging my beer cup and saying,"Gan bei" and kept telling me to finish my cup. After I finished the not-so-cold glass, he would refill it and shout "Gan bei" again. After the 3rd glass, I covered my cup so he could not refill it but he poured through my fingers. The 4th time, I filled my empty cup with Sprite and he left me alone. After dinner, we played cards for hours and thanked them profusely for their generosity. We spent the night in one of their rooms in the tulou.
The next morning, we ate breakfast with them and they said they would take us to the bus station. Before the guy flagged down a bus for us to Longyan, he gave us an extensive tour of the tulous.
Now in Longyan, we are heading to Guangzhou this evening. As it is the national holiday, we could not book a seat on this evening's train. So, we have 9-hour standing tickets on the 11:45 PM train. S is excited about the train. I think it will be brutally painful but it will certainly be an adventure.

Xiamen and Liulian, Yongding

Heading to Xiamen

2009-09-29T08:56:00.005-04:00

S and I decided to spend an extra day in Hangzhou. It is a beautiful city that has the tremendous West Lake in the center. It is quite a sight and we spent the whole day walking around it yesterday. Today, we spent many hours looking through the guide book and figuring out what the next two months will look like. We had originally planned to head to rural towns just south of Hangzhou and take 3 days to get down to the southern coast but today we made the radical decision decision to change our plans and to just head straight down. We were warned this afternoon that finding a train would be impossible, as October 1st marks the 60th anniversary of Communist China and begins the national 7-day holiday. Luckily enough, tomorrow morning we will get on a 22- hour train to Xiamen in Fujian province. We have plenty of reading material, a deck of cards and intend to head to Carrefour tonight to stock up on water, noodles, fruit, bread and peanut butter. I am very excited for this train ride experience although I am sure there will be points of boredom. We plan to stay in Xiamen for a day, visit the roundhouses in rural Yongding county, then make our way to Guangzhou, Hong Kong, then Macau. As we are traveling during the busiest vacation time of the year, our plans might be subject to change but we are willing to roll with it. If this evening is any indication, it will take about an hour of research to find a hotel within our price range. Looking forward to the challenge!

Suzhou and Hangzhou

Venice of the East

2009-09-26T08:09:00.002-04:00

We are now is Suzhou, the "Venice of the East", which is a canal town about an hour outside of Shanghai. It is very beautiful and a nice break from the big city lights. Last night, we took a walk around the city and the canals and bridges were illuminated- very romantic. Also, in some of these public spaces along our walk, older women were performing these simple choreographed dances to music blasting from a boombox. A man rollerblading by us told us the women do this frequently "for healthy". Today we took a bus out to a smaller canal town Luzhi this morning and it was very picturesque with cobble-stoned streets, quiet alleyways and aging canal boats. We ate lunch in the modern part of town and, as I followed S out of the restaurant, he was stopped by 3 of the waitresses and they all posed for pictures with him. They kept giggling and showing him the pictures. Once they saw me, they took one with me but then went back and took several more with S. This evening we are having dinner with a girl ShuLu from Suzhou that we met through couchsurfing.
We had an excellent time in Shanghai and our hostesses Sarah and Becky were so wonderful . As a thank you for hosting us, we took them to this delicious vegetarian restaurant where they tried their first fake meat dishes. As we left their apartment, they gave us the little blue mascot for the Shanghai Expo 2010. The Shanghainese have a lot of pride about the upcoming expo- they say it is the 2nd most important world event after the Olympics. There are posters about the expo and pictures of blue man Hei Lu is everywhere. What they don't realize is that nobody cares or knows about the expo. Sarah and Becky say that all of their schools have countdowns to the event posted and the kids are working on projects about the expo.
Tomorrow we head to Hangzhou where we will visit the West Lake, a popular tourist destination for the Chinese, and meet some couchsurfers for coffee.

Shanghai

2009-09-22T09:30:00.004-04:00

Yesterday afternoon S and I arrived in Shanghai after taking the morning train from Nanjing. We quickly dropped our bags off at the left luggage counter and took the train into the city center. We had lunch at a delicious vegetarian restaurant where we ordered lots of fake meat. We checked out the free Shanghai Museum, which had great exhibits on painting and jade. I skipped the gallery with roof tiles- can't look at roof tiles anymore, so sick of them. It is refreshing to be in a really big, modern city where you can get any type of food you want. We are staying with two English ladies who we met through couchsurfing named Sarah and Becky. They are our age and have spent the last 8 months living in Shanghai teaching English and learning some Mandarin. They are really friendly and have opened their homes to us.

Today we left the house at 7AM when the girls left for work. We walked through Renmin (People) Square and the pedestrian commercial strip East Nanjing Road. We stopped into a McDonald's for some time to look through the Shanghai tour books our hosts lent to us during our stay. I never thought I would say this, but McD's is a great place to go when you need to kill time because it is really clean and quiet. As we were looking through the book, we saw cute, young Chinese girls getting trained as workers. They were lined up in a row next to the counter and, as the manager walked by them, they all said, "Good morning!" They really freaked out the first Westerners that walked through their line. After that, we walked through the Bund to see all of 1920-30 style buildings. It looks like NYC's downtown financial district. When we sat down for a rest, we met a nice Chinese man, whose English name is Fred Li. I was interested in talking to him because he was dressed and kind of looked like my grandfather Paco- thin frame, big glasses, high-waisted pants. He was also a gentle soul. He told us that he wanted to be an engineer but had to become an accountant. He was a vegetarian and told us he thought it was just common sense. At that point, S got really interested in the conversation.

We found a great Sichuanese restaurant (spicy) to get some noodles and, on our way to this internet cafe, we met this artist who tried to scam us. He asked us if we were Jewish and, when we said no, he said that Jewish people were very smart people. He perked up when S said he worked at a bank. He kept asking us if we liked art and said his art was on display just across the street. When we said we needed to meet a friend, he became very persistent and kept repeating, "Come with me. 5 Minutes! You like to buy art?" We are going to try to see an acrobatics show while here and will spend tomorrow wandering through the French Concession and checking out some modern art.

Shanghai

Kind Employees at McDonald's

2009-09-17T19:49:00.004-04:00

Last night, S and I got on the 9:30 overnight train from Kaifeng to Nanjing. Having spent the last 3 days in smaller cities and getting harmless constant stares and friendly "hellos" from everyone we walked by, I was excited to be in a big city again and not stick out as much. (It is exhausting to have people staring at you all the time and feel that you have to be friendly to all of them.) We arrived into Nanjing at 4:30 AM and jumped in a cab to the Fuzi Temple area, which is where a lot of hostels and hotels, according to Lonely Planet, are located. We normally don't like to stay places recommended in the guide book because they are more expensive and we want to see China ourselves, not through Lonely Planet's eyes. But it was too early and dark to be picky about accommodations. The cabbie dropped us off in front of some hotels, which were out of our price range so we started to use the guide book's recommendations. Of course, the directions and the map in the book were awful and we get lost and had no idea where the hostels were. The only thing open that early in the morning was a 24-hour McDonald's. We decided to go in and ask the employees for a particular street. Shortly after we asked the cashier, he called to his fellow employees in the back and, in a matter of moments, there are 4 guys looking at our guide book trying to help us. The manager sleeping in the corner also got up and started overseeing the matter. One of the guys, named Ming, asked us in English where we wanted to go. We pointed to a hostel in the book and he said he would call the hostel. After a several minute conversation on his cell phone, Ming told us to follow him. With the manager trailing behind us supervising the escort, the kind McDonald's employee led us on a 10-minute walk to our hostel and told us where we could get good veggie dumplings that S and I have become obsessed with. As we stopped in front of the hostel, Ming wrote down his phone number in my notepad and told us to call him if we had anymore questions. We can't see the rooms yet and so we are using their internet until 8AM.

Nanjing

Stories from Smaller Cities

2009-09-17T19:44:00.005-04:00

We have spent the last 3 days in Sanmenxia, Luoyang and Kaifeng, smaller Chinese cities in Henan province that are not as touristed as some of the other places we have been.

On the train from Xi'an to Sanmenxia, an older couple walked over to our empty side of the car and started talking to us in Chinese. When we said we did not understand, which is one of the 3 things I know how to confidently say, the man and his wife sat down next to us and, for the next 3 hours, talked with us and tried to teach us Mandarin.

When we arrived in Sanmenxia, a city not in the guide book, we first tried to find accommodations by the train station. We figured we could pay a lot less, around 60-80 yuan (9-11 dollars), because the area did not have any tourists, The first room we were showed in one hotel was 120 yuan. It had 2 twin beds and a private toilet and shower. There were cheaper rooms but the manager said we could not stay in them. We thought we could do better than 120. At the second hotel, the room we were shown was 40 yuan. We were told there was no shower and, when I asked where the toilet was, she led us to an alley that was full of bricks and pointed down the alley. There didn't seem to be anything on the other side and the alley did not smell pretty. That was a deal breaker. At the third hotel, the room was bigger even though it looked a little dirty. We were told the shower was on the third floor and, though the bathroom looked like it had not been cleaned in months, we just decided to take it for 50 yuan (7 US dollars). Using that bathroom was a traumatizing experience and it certainly made us realize that we do have certain standards and semi- clean toilets is one of them.

On the train from Sanmenxia to Luoyang, the guy sitting next to us traded seats with a girl who spoke some, but very little, English. Her name was Cao Pei Pei and she was 23 years old. After chatting for a few minutes, she recommended a cheap and clean hotel that was in our price range. When we learned it wasn't close to the city center, we declined the offer. A few minutes later, she told us to move our plans for the day to tomorrow and invited us to her house. She seemed to be saying that her mother would cook for us and we could spend the night. S and I were not so sure but she was really friendly and decided that it might be cool to get a home-cooked meal. We got on the bus with her and she said she was calling her mother. After she made a few phone calls, she pointed to some blue and red building up ahead. We got off the bus and she said it was the hotel. As we couldn't really communicate that well with her, I assumed there had been a change of plans and that we would drop our bags off at the hotel and then head to her house. But something seemed weird. She walked into the hotel like she owned the place and got us a nice room in this business hotel for 50% off the rack rate. After she walked us to our room, she gave me a hug and said " bye bye" and left. We were very confused and we could only assume that her parents completely rejected her plans to hang out and, due to her limited English and wanting to save face, she was too embarrassed to say anything. We imagined the conversation went something like this, "No, you cannot bring over two American strangers that you met on the train. And I will not come home after a long day of work and cook for them and they most certainly cannot stay at our house. We don't even know them. What are you crazy?"

At the Longmen Caves in Luoyang, which was quite a sight yet overpriced, S and I decided to take a break and sat down by the river. There was some commotion behind us and, when I looked over, a man was holding his baby close to the ground and the baby was going to the bathroom in the street. They cleaned his behind with baby wipes, and walked on. This is a common sight in China as babies here don't wear diapers. There are slits in their pants that open from below the belly button to the top of their behinds. These are very common until the children are potty trained. We have only seen one diaper on a baby in our 3 and a half weeks in China. The child is just taught to tell the parents when they need to go to the bathroom and it happens, sometimes in public.

Kaifeng had an amazing night market. There were hundreds of stalls on the street, selling kebabs, bread, dumplings, soups, dessert and other snacks that we did not recognize. Most of the stalls were run by Muslims and they were selling kebabs with every type of meat, meat parts, fish and veggies you could imagine. The grossest looking kebab was one with bugs that looked like cockroaches on it. S and I ate dinner there one night, paying about $2 for the two of us- $1.15 for a plate of 35 veggie gyoza, 45 cents for a loaf of bread, and 40 cents for block of peanut brittle. We befriended the people who sold us the bread and went back several times to get more the following day. They were always veyr happy to see us.

Sanmenxia, Luoyang, Kaifeng

Taking It Easy

2009-09-13T01:00:00.005-04:00

After a difficult overnight train from Pingyao on to Xi'an Thursday night, with the person in the bunk below me snoring and the music blasting from the train speakers from 6AM on, I have been feeling under the weather, with a stuffy nose and a slight sore throat. With the excitement of being in a new place, I ignored my sickness and S and I explored the city on our first day here, visiting the city's Great Mosque and eating in the Muslim Quarter. We have been eating lots of noodles, as they are the staple in this province. While we have been ordering spicy food, the taste here has been different from anywhere else we have been so far. It is more hot than spicy, with the heat leaving a numbing sensation in your mouth. The heat, I think, is closer to what you would get in a hot Indian curry. We are staying at a youth hostel and, at night, the restaurant area turns into a lively bar full of locals pounding down beers, smoking lots of cigarettes and playing drinking games. It also seems to be where some people from the immigrant African community come to play pool and drink also. It makes for an interesting scene and everyone here seems to know each other. Yesterday, we ventured outside the city and visited the Army of the Terracotta Soldiers, which is a 2200 year old tomb that houses over 8,000 terracotta soldiers, horses and chariots in army formation. It was built by the first unifier of China and is just about 2km from his tomb. The tomb took several decades to prepare by hundreds of laborers in 3rd Century BC and was built to protect the Chinese leader in his death. Interestingly enough, there were no historical documents of this tomb's construction or its existence so it was accidentally discovered by farmers building a well in the mid 1970's. There are 3 pits that have been excavated, with work still being done on the 2nd largest tomb. The largest tomb is quite remarkable, with rows and rows of soldiers in army stance protecting the tomb's entrance, followed by elaborate horse chariots. All the soldiers, horses and weapons are quite life-like and many of the soldiers have different facial expressions. Worth a look to check out images online. Today, I am enjoying doing absolutely nothing. I have spent considerable time on the internet and am thinking of renting a movie and doing some reading. I need to listen to my body and take it easy so I can get over this cold. I am sad not to be out exploring but I think this is what my body needs. S has been bringing me food in the room and being a good caretaker. This afternoon he is off to the Shaanxi History Museum, one of China's best museums, and then taking care of our train reservations for tomorrow. We continue to run into the same travelers at every place we stop and are getting a little tired of feeling like we are on the tourist trail. Tomorrow, en route to Luoyang, we will spend the day and night at a city that is not recommended in the guide book, Sanmexia. There aren't any sights there but we want to just check out a city that is not used to getting tourists and see what happens. If all goes well, we are going to try to do a lot more of this.

Xi'an

Pingyao's Ancient Walled City and Laura

2009-09-11T09:16:00.006-04:00

S and I had two lovely two days in Pingyao in the Shanxi province. In the center of the city proper, there is a walled city that has been around since the 16th century. All the houses within the wall were built in Qing-style architecture and, at night, all the houses' red lanterns cast a beautiful glow on the city streets. It is exactly what you would imagine of a traditional Chinese town. While it was painfully touristy and we tried to escape all the stalls selling chotchkes, we spent our two days there with a lovely Pingyao resident named Laura, her English name, who we met through couchsurfing. Before we arrived, she told us that she was in the middle of classes at her university but would try to make it into town to meet us. When we arrived to Pingyao off the night train from Datong, she emailed us saying that she planned to cut classes for two days and going to take an hour long bus ride that morning to meet us.

She showed up at our hotel at 6PM and we spent the evening chatting with her in our hotel and then headed to one of her favorite restaurants outside the city walls what was amazingly delicious and very cheap. The next morning, she met us at our hotel and we spent the next 8 hours talking, laughing, eating and sharing our lives with each other. She is a senior at university in Shanxi province studying English and, as she told us many times, her dream is to be a backpacker. She really enjoys meeting people from around the world through couchsurfing and learning about others' lives and their cultures, as well as practicing her English. She hopes that one day after she graduates she can travel to America and visit NYC, Ohio (because she thinks the name sounds happy) and California. However, a sad look came over her face when she told us that she did not think it would be possible- that China is too strict and she might not be able to get a visa.

She brought her notebook with her where she jots down English phrases she doesn't understand and where she writes down conversations between characters on TV shows so she can speak more like an American and not speak "Chinglish". She went over some of the phrases and this icebreaker activity led to really open conversations with her about her life, what she thinks of China and her hopes and dreams. After we ate dinner, she told me that she had purchased some small presents for us to welcome us to China and so we do not forget her. She gave us a shear red bag (red means good luck) with 6 (6 is good luck) pieces of Pingyao beef, a local specialty, and a statue of a baby dragon (dragons are also good luck). We all were so grateful to have spent all that time with each other and we told her we would send her postcards along our travels. As she left the restaurant, we hugged and told her she will always be one of our greatest memories of China.

Pingyao, Shanxi

Six- Hour Train Ride on Hard Seats

2009-09-07T12:58:00.007-04:00

We have just arrived in Datong, in the Shanxi province. S and I had a great time in Beijing. P and Senorita V were amazing people to spend time with. We got the inside scoop on what it is like to live in Beijing and ate a lot of amazing food! Before we left, P helped us reserve our tickets for our 6-hour train to Datong. S and I wanted to
go cheap and we wanted an experience. We got the cheapest tickets we could get. Most trains in Beijing seem to have a letter before it, signaling possibly some kind of rating system. We were booked on an unlettered train and we booked to hard seats which, according to the guide book, " have a bit of a cushion but can be hard on your sanity." We said, what the hell? This morning, we had to take a cab to the train station and the 15-minute cab ride was the same cost as our train ticket- 4 bucks. Our gate was the only one where the employees were not checking your tickets. I guess no one wanted to try to sneak onto our train. We were packed in a crowded line for about 45 minutes before we could get on and, when we got on, there was a lot of pushing and shoving from others around us.
As we boarded, we got many stares as we were definitely the only non-Chinese on the entire train (there were probably 500 people on the whole train). The car smelled like cigarettes and before we could sit, we needed to push cigarette butts and ash off the seats. No one really talked to us for most of the ride but the older couple across from us kept staring as we read our travel books and wrote in our notebooks. Throughout the whole trip, we could hear a constant sound of people getting ready to spit on the floor of the car. During the 5th hour of the trip, I was writing out some Chinese characters and the woman started slapping my left hand and pointing to my right, as others here have done when they see we are lefties.
The last hour of the trip, after the married couple left, a bunch of 20-30 year old dudes sat beside us and were really amused by our guidebook. They wanted to look through our phrasebook and were getting a huge kick out of it. We tried to ask them in Chinese how much longer until our stop and the youngest of the men responded in English. We spoke with him for a little while and, as we did, everyone within
earshot was listening even though they did not understand. As we got out at our stop and left the train station, there were many more stares. Apparently, Datong does not get a lot of Western visitors.
We are staying two days here and are planning on taking two day trips out of the city: one to the Hanging Monastery and the other to the Yungang Caves. After that, we will take an overnight train to Pingyao.

Datong

The Great Wall, P amd Senorita Vita

2009-09-04T06:26:00.005-04:00

Steve and I have spent the last 4 days in Bejing and are loving it. We have decided to extend our visit here by 2 more days. We have been hanging out with Cheddar Ben's brother, P and his lovely girlfriend Senorita V (they chose their code names) and they have been taking us to delicious restaurants across the city. Last night, we went to this amazing dumpling restaurant where, in addition to our veggie dumplings, we got pork and shrimp, crab leg meat and pork in hot oil. Unbelievable! We are obsessed with the dumplings here and we have been getting them almost every day.
One of our most memorable experiences has been our trip to the Great Wall, which would not have been possible without P. We all got on a public bus for an hour to transfer to another bus but, when we arrived at our transfer point, we were told the second bus not longer ran. P negotiated for a driver to take us to the wall, wait for us for 3 hours and take us back to the bus stop for the equivalent of 12 dollars. Although I have seen hundreds of pictures of the Great Wall, it is quite another thing to see it in person. It is huge and built on the ridges of the mountains so there are spectacular views from every direction. We hiked on a cloudy day so it felt very mystical. We walked through an overgrown section of the wall that has not been upkept and that many people don't walk through. We walked through parts of the wall where half of it had collapsed and where the whole walkway was covered in weeds and flowers. We were the only ones on this part of the wall and had to crawl under spiderwebs and got lots of little scratches on our legs from the weeds- but it was worth every second. A funny way to end our walking over a 400-year old wall was to take a toboggan down to the bottom of the mountain. It is raining today so we are not yet sure of our itinerary but we head to Datong in the Shanxi province in 2 days. We have booked the cheapest tickets on a local train- we have heard that the seats are hard, uncomfortable and we will be traveling with lots of locals who might offer us some rice wine along the journey.

Beijing

Time in Seoul Coming to An End

2009-08-26T21:11:00.005-04:00

Seoul

S and I have spent the last 5 nights in Seoul- the most consecutive nights we have stayed in one city and one motel. It has been really nice to not have to move around so much. While we have really enjoyed our time here, I think we both kind of question how much we just did not want to move and wanted to kind of be able to call someplace home for a while. And it was a good home- cheap, clean room, hot water, a TV with access to English shows, free breakfast and free internet. A backpacker could not ask for more. Our last two days in Seoul have been busy and fun. There are two accompanying photo albums in this blog.
Here's the highlight reel:
COEX Mall
Olympic Park
touristy Itaewon neighborhood- there were a lot of fellow whities there.
Met crazy American man on the street, who flagged us down because we were white-looking, and ranted for 20 minutes about how much he did not like living in Korea and how cruel Korean bosses were
DVD bang
Korean baseball game
10 hours at Lotte World amusement park

This afternoon, we are getting on a ferry from Incheon, Korea to Qingdao, China. Plenty of time to read the tour book, do some karaoke, go to the public bath, sleep and eat some kimchi. We arrive in Qingdao Friday at 9AM!

Korean Baseball

Our New Korean Friends

2009-08-25T09:39:00.005-04:00

In Nikko, Japan 3 weeks ago, a married couple began talking to us at a picnic bench. They were sitting down to eat lunch and, after a few minutes of talking, S and I decided we would order lunch as well to continue our conversation. They lived in Seoul and invited us to contact them when we arrived in their hometown. Just before we arrived, we emailed them and they suggested we meet for dinner. After telling them that S was a vegetarian but was flexible, they selected an all-veggie restaurant that was absolutely amazing! It was the first time the husband had tried fake meat before- he liked it, or maybe he was just being polite. We had great conversation all night and found out that Min-Chae was expecting twins. Very exciting. She said because she was 9 weeks pregnant, she no longer takes the subway to work and only take taxis. She also is making sure not to watch any scary movies- she only watches cartoons. They were very sweet. They bought us dinner and offered to take us on a night drive across the city. The took us to Jejudo Island in Seoul and we visited the 63 Building, one of the tallest building in Seoul overlooking the downtown area. We took the outdoor glass elevator to the top and saw some amazing views of the city. Seoul is huge! When we told them we were not sure of our plans the next day, the husband offered to take us to the Korean Folk Village in the afternoon. It was about an hour away but he said he would pick us up from our hotel and drive us there. Yesterday was really fun. We had a great ride in the car there where the topics ranged from Korean culture to tensions between Korea and Japan to golf. He told us his American name was "Houston" because that's what his real name sounds like to Americans. While the folk village was pretty touristy, it was really special to have Yu-Seung lead us from exhibit to exhibit explaining the significance of the artifacts and how they are important in Korean culture. He insisted we take photos at almost every other artifact- very Asian of him. It was particularly interesting to hear what traditions have remained alive within his and his wife's lives. At the end of a long afternoon, he drove us home and the wife called us before we got out of the car to wish us safe travels. We thanked them over and over again for their generosity and they constantly reminded us that it was their pleasure. We promised to return the favor when they came to New York. This was probably one of our most memorable experiences so far!

Min Chae and Yu-Seung

the DMZ

2009-08-24T08:15:00.004-04:00

the DMZ

Yesterday we took a tour of the demilitarized zone, the DMZ. We visited Imjingak, a bridge used to exchange prisoners of war after the Korean War ended. We looked through binoculars from Dora Observatory to get a view of North Korea. Just outside of the North's demilitarized zone, there is a propoganda village- houses and apartment complexes with no one living there. They have built several other ghost towns along the border. We could see Kesung City, North Korea's second largest city and a big industrial town. North Korea also holds a world record for the highest flagpole in the world. After the DMZ was established, the North and South competed to have the highest flagpole just outside of the 38th parallel, where the border separation exists. After that, we went to Dorasan Station. This station serves a railroad line that has been reconnected to run to North Korea but it is not yet in use. It serves currently as a symbol of hope for the future. Lastly, we walked through the 3rd tunnel, an infiltration tunnel built underground from the North to South. The North claims to have been coal mining yet S. Korea claims that is impossible as coal has never been found within their territory. We were able to walk as close as 170m from the N. Korean border and, at that point, there were three barrier gates. Four tunnels have been found but South Koreans do not know how many more exist.

Busan, Gyeon-ju, Daegu and Haeinsa

2009-08-23T10:44:00.003-04:00

Busan and Gyeon-ju:

Busan & Gyeon-Ju, Korea

Daegu and Haeinsa:

Daegu and Haeinsa

Hiking through Mount Namsan in Gyeon-ju

2009-08-20T04:02:00.010-04:00

S and I have spent the last 2 days in Gyeon-ju, where the Silla dynasty ruled over the country during the 5th through 10th century, with this town serving as its capital at that time. The whole area is full of old temples, forests, burial mounds (grassy hills under which Silla kings from over a century ago are buried), buddha statues built on hilltops to protect the community and even the oldest astronomical observatory in East Asia.
Above is the Bulgaksa Temple that S and I visited yesterday, The temple was first built in the mid-6th century, with reconstructions occurring up until 30 years ago to return it to its original state. It is a World Heritage Site.
Today I went on a 4 hour hike through Mount Namsan. I started at Samneung Royal Tombs and, as I climbed up the mountain to its 468m peak, I saw maginificent buddha sculptures carved into the mountainsides, pagodas, and buddha carvings in the rocks. The view from the peak was breathtaking and there were some really steep descents that required the assistance of a rope to get down the mountain. Along the way, I was offered a snack and water from a kind group of Koreans and picked up a buddy hiker named SeeSee from Hong Kong. She was a translator for a law firm there, so her English was great. She gave me tips about traveling in China and was nice company for the last third of the trip.
At the end of our hike, I was very parched, as I hardly had any water during my hike, and a woman in town offered SeeSee and me purified cold water from the nearby spring. It is kind gestures like this one I will never forget. Below are some photos from my hike.

DVD Bangs

2009-08-20T03:34:00.007-04:00

In Korea, there are stored that are referred to as "bangs". It seems to be a place where you can rent something (like a movie, a computer, video games, karaoke...) and use a private space for that rented object. So right now, I am in a PC bang with about 40 other stalls where people are using computers. In the 2 times I have used a PC bang since being in Korea, it has been filled with young teenagers and none of them are on the internet. They are playing video games in front of their big flat screen computer monitor. There are also really comfortable leather chairs, snacks available for purchase and a smoking section, if you want to puff away during your hours of video game play.
So, the more interesting "bang" shop I have visited in a DVD bang. They were all over the place in Busan, Korea's 2nd largest city, usually on the upper floors of a building. They are open until 4AM and have hundreds of DVDs that you can rent for around 8 dollars. I just went in and wrote the movie I wanted (Memoirs of A Geisha, as I had just finished the book) in English on a piece of paper. The clerk found the DVD and put it into a DVD player by his computer and led me to a private room. It was a polka dotted room with a black leather loveseat couch and two ottomans. The room was pretty bare expect for a trash can and a box of tissues (suspicious). Anyway, he put on the movie for me and I was able to control the volume and dim the lights. It was a huge flat screen and it was a very enjoyable experience! Note the tissues in the right corner of the first photo.

greetings from Korea

2009-08-17T21:44:00.014-04:00

Hello! Steve and I just arrived in Busan, South Korea yesterday afternoon. We took the slow ferry from Fukuoka, Japan into Busan. Our ferry had lots of amenities on it, such as 2 restaurants, several karaoke rooms, movie rooms and an onsen (public bath). I went to the onsen- it was really relaxing! As we ate our lunch in the common room, we met an older Japanese man who was 72 years old. He was a cab driver in Japan but his family lived in Korea and he was heading to visit them. With his very little English and with lots of hand gestures, he told us that he was living in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped. He showed us scars all over his arms and legs. He offered us raisin wine-it tasted like raisin-flavored moonshine. He already seemed to have drunk half the bottle. He filled my cup to the top and we talked for some time with him.
Today, we are checking out a temple built over a thousand years ago today and heading to the beach.
Even though we have only been here for less than 24 hours, we can already feel the differences between here and Japan. The drivers are disobeying traffic regulations, which did not happen in Japan. People are walking wherever they please. It reminds us of New York. There are food stalls everywhere and people talking really loudly in the street. Very different from Japan.
One similarity is that the people have been very friendly. They all laugh at me when I try to say thank you (gamsa hamnida).
We are in the post office, where they have free internet.
Below are photos of our 2nd economy room and our kind, drunk friend, followed by photoes from our time in Fukuoka.

Fukuoka, Japan

Check Out My Kimono

2009-08-14T07:43:00.007-04:00

My New Kimono

So, as S went to see a temple today in Matsuyama, I decided I needed a day of relaxation. For me, that involved window-shopping. I have decided to take up running while in Asia so I needed to buy a pair of running shorts. Refusing to pay $35-$80 at the running stores in the area, I continued looking. It was on the 2nd floor of a mall in the center of the city that I stumbled upon a second hand shop. I found a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt for 3 dollars each and then I realized they were selling used kimonos. I had read in my guide book that buying used kimonos is the way to go, as quality is high and the price is cheap. I also really wanted to find an affordable one before I left Japan in a few days and had been nervous I wouldn't find one. They did not have any kimono and obi (sash) sets, so I needed to create my own set. I really needed to sift through the 20 or so kimonos because, as they were used, most of them were stained. I finally found one that I liked and was stain-free and then set about finding an obi to go with it.
The kimono and obi cost me $10.50, which is a bargain as most prices for kimonos begin at $40.
That's not all.
After researching obis after I got home, I learned that I had purchased a Nagoya obi. That means the sash is shaped like a paddle and it is a more casual sash. The wider part of the obi is used to create the bow in the back. I then spent about 45 minutes watching videos and reading how-to web pages about how to tie a proper nagoya obi. It took me an additional 15 minutes to figure it out in my room. Here is the finished product. As S was out temple-viewing, I did my own photo shoot in the hotel room.
Enjoy!

Okonomiyaki- Hiroshima-Style

2009-08-13T07:56:00.004-04:00

From Okonomiyaki- Hiroshima Style

this is probably the most interesting dish we have had so far on the trip. this is one of Hiroshima's specialties. The dish is referred to as a pizza or a pancake. In the center of town, we went to a 3-storey building filled with counters serving up this special dish. We were definitely the only non-Japanese eating there. Check out the play-by-play photos to get a sense on how this "Japanese pancake" Hiroshima style is made. It tasted weird at the beginning but we loved it by the end.

Okonomiyaki- Hiroshima Style

Hiroshima Memorial and City

2009-08-13T07:29:00.008-04:00

It was very powerful to have spent the last 2 days in Hiroshima. One day, we visited Memorial Park, a site of remembrance of the A-Bomb drop on August 6th 1945. After walking through the park and seeing all the different memorials, we went to the Hiroshima Memorial Museum. The exhibit was very informative and gave a very detailed story of the history of Hiroshima, the war, and the aftereffects of the bombs. The last third of the tour focused on our need to end nuclear proliferation and gave museum-goers a rationale for this standpoint. It was a very well done and gave visitors a place to focus their emotions, if they so chose. At the end, there were video testimonials of survivors of the bombing. The one woman I watched had lost her whole family and her story was saddening and touching. It gave me a lot to think about.

Hiroshima

Peaceful Kyoto

2009-08-13T07:18:00.004-04:00

The 3 days that we spent in Kyoto were absolutely wonderful. We saw some amazing temples and gardens, walked through bamboo forests, ate some interesting food and meet kind people. The most memorable experience for me was our visit to Nanzen-ji, one of S's favorite temples from his previous visit to Japan. Behind the temple, there was a small wooden pathway that led us to a trail into the mountains. We hiked for about an hour and a half in the pouring rain. We got completely soaked and the rain made the path slippery but, along the way, we discovered some beautiful sites. As it is Golden Week in Japan and South Korea, meaning everyone is on vacation, all of Kyoto's sights were mobbed with people. However, on this hike, we were completely alone, which was a nice and new feeling. We found a thundering waterfall, a quiet lake and some old Japanese cemeteries along our hike. When we got to the top, we couldn't really see much but we felt a sense of accompishment. On the way down, I bathed in the waterfall.
Check out the photos:

Kyoto

Earthquake in Japan- We are Fine

2009-08-10T06:58:00.005-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we were unaffected by the earthquake that hit Tokyo and surrounding prefectures this morning, or last night for you. Steve and I are in Kyoto, which is quite far from the hit regions. Tomorrow, we head to Hiroshima, which is further south on the island.
Sayonara