bikes

decided to stay put in pushkar and will head straight to udaipur from here. yesterday i rented a burly steed of a bicycle... must've weighed 40lbs, of course had no gears, was equipped with a very wide seat and made a charming clank with every rotation as the pedal crankarm wacked against the battered and bent chainguard. i was quite a sight and sound clanking down the highway, thru villages and eventually thru the busy pedestrian and motorbike/bicycle only market area. occasionally along the way, the chainguard would completely prevent any pedal action and i'd have to pull over, dismount and wack it with a rock a few times.

after riding for several hours thru the countryside with the hot sun beating down on me with no respite, i made it back to pushkar but decided to try to circumvent the busy market area. course i got lost, wound up on a rocky/sandy back road... my hands were sweaty and i gripped on for dear life as i was violently bounced up and down by the huge springs under the seat with every rock i hit. after some time bouncing and skidding down this road, i reached a tiny village where a group of kids came running out shouting excitedly and grabbing onto my bike nearly sending me hurtling to the ground. they all want to sit on the bike and bring me to their house for tea... i'm exhausted and simply eager to find my way back to town! finally, i return the bike completely smoked and happy (and thankful for no major mechanical issues... not sure how i would've worked that one out).
last night i told the owner of the guesthouse i wanted to hire a motorbike or moped but was hoping to hire a local guide or someone to take me around. he offered his brother's services so i hopped on the back of mahendra's scooter and off we went. after working our way thru the busy streets of pushkar center i took the driver's seat. i learned something about myself today! i'm a horrible scooter driver! i fishtailed horribly thru the sand, swerved all over with every obstacle and think i whirled majendra into a few thorny shrubs... kids ran at us shouting "hello pen" trying to grab at me as i shouted laughingly for them to run away, not towards the weaving bike. i shouted at cows to run in the other direction also but the darn kids and cows didnt' listen. i didn't last very long in the driver's seat :) think i'm meant for new road scooter driving only! anyway, rode thru some really pretty farmland (wheat, fields of drying rose petals, dal), small villages and out to a very tranquil area where there was a shiva temple. very beautiful and fun day! as we returned to town, majendra ran into a group of his rough and tumble appearing friends... they seemed rather riled up and soon i was told they had to go to the local election and i was invited - told it would take 3 hrs. i declined as i felt a white chic heading off with a large group of indian men to a potentially riotous election event was a bad idea... so, i was sent away with a young boy from the village to get me thru the busy alleys with the motor bike. first he was riding the back but then we both agreed it'd be safer if he navigated the chaotic narrow alleys!! back at the guesthouse i joined the wife for a chat on the rooftop as she sorted wheat for chapatis and admired the view of kites swooping thru the air from every rooftop against the hills... quite a magical setting.
tomorrow i'm off to udaipur, one of my final destinations! tonight i think there will be a special rajasthani dinner at the guesthouse unless i understood incorrectly which is highly possible. i'm hoping i heard correctly... maybe i'll be allowed to help in the kitchen too!
p.s. so, i definitely heard incorrectly but i came back to the guesthouse and asked if dinner was possible. they said, yes and then asked what i wanted. i never really know what my options are so i just said, "whatever you want to make me/whatever's easy". next thing i know, the wife is patting the bed in their room indicating for me to sit. they're watching an indian slapstick comedy type of movie and i sit and pretend to watch with them. a piece of newspaper is then laid on the bed followed by a train of pots, plates and servers. next thing i know, i'm enjoying a real typical rajasthani dinner of some mixture of dal and rice mashed together (tasted and looked like mashed potatoes) with a thin oily curry, dal with a bit of veg, chapatis and indian kofta?(fried balls filled with veg and spices... sweet and spicy). it was very tasty and i appreciate being treated as part of the family.

i'm somewhat sad to leave tomorrow but i'm also excited to visit the udaipur countryside, go for walks and bike rides thru surrounding villages. i say goodbye in the a.m. and off we go.

happy thanksgiving

guess i missed it... never do know what day it is but happy thanksgiving to all! hope you had a wonderful holiday. i am definitely giving thanks for everything/everyone i have. today i am thinking of you all and also the families of the loved ones killed in the latest bomb blast in mumbai. so much evil and beauty in this world... it's impossible to fathom. i'm finally feeling ready to come home with just a week and a half or so to go. see you all soon but will, of course, be checking in again before then.
jaisalmer camel trek was fun and i'm currently in pushkar after visiting jodhpur. pushkar's a cool city full of holy men and dreadlocked hippies. i'm hoping to rent a bike tomorrow and burn a few calories despite my behind still being sore from the camel safari. anyway, off for now.

culture shock

i'm currently in rajasthan, jaisalmer to be exact, and experiencing a bit of culture shock. i've somehow managed to blast myself out of chill, simple, free backpacker life and into tourbus style tour hell. i hired myself a private driver which most single women travelers i've talked to seem to recommend for this part of india, spent way too much money and feel like i've lost my freedom. i'm on a pretty set and tight schedule and feel as if i'm at the beck and call of my driver who's supposed to be at my beck and call. he tells me when we'll leave, which hotels i can stay at (i was told by the salesguy i could continue booking my own budget, small backpacker style guesthouses but now the driver's telling me it's not possible b/c of him and his car), tells me which restaurants i should eat at, where i should use internet (sure he gets commission) and he seems reluctant to take me out and around at night but also doesn't want me going out on my own. i'm hating it but it is nice not to have to be booking train tix every two days. anyway, i spent 2 nights at a lovely place of MY choosing in Nawalgarh named Apani Dani which was above my budget but sounded like a very special place so i decided to splurge. it was indeed very special and the owner a real gem of a guy who's very into community development, conservation, organic gardening and responsible tourism. i was very sad to not have learned more about programs he offers at his guesthouse and will have to return someday for a longer stay! Nawalgarh was a very cool, quiet town known for it's ancient havelis. http://apanidhani.com/

spent one night in bikaner and am now in jaisalmer famous for it's dreamy golden sandcastle-like fort which is basically now a walled city of markets, craft stalls, guesthouses and restaurants and will be departing on an overnight camel trek in a couple of hrs. can't believe i was talked into doing another overnight camel safari. i hurt just thinking about it.
the ancient forts, palaces and havelis of rajasthan ARE amazing and it's difficult to comprehend how things were in ancient times but also how much hasn't changed in sooo many years.
tomorrow i head to jodhpur, then onto pushkar, bundi and finally udaipur where i'm splurging again (an early xmas present to myself) at mountain ridge b/c the owner is very knowledgeable about the people, history and environment of the area, has mountain bikes and can hook me up with a local tribal leader for an overnight village trek (i hope). not sure where i'll spend my last week... tbd. off to ride a camel down the highway and then into the desert...

soul cleansing

after the hassling, hustle and bustle, and pollution of varanasi, i was in much need of fresh mountain air and some peace and tranquility. the 18 hr train ride in sleeper class was an experience i prefer to forget but will give a very brief summary: i escaped to my very dusty top berth and eventually fell asleep but i had a crazy dream during the night in which i was in a helicopter going to see a great temple with many stairs with a drunken pilot who was making horrendous moaning/shrieking sounds and slamming the chopper into the temple steps. anyway, the train stopped at least a million times over the night and more and more people kept cramming in, including some young guys who were making all sorts of insane sounds throughout the long night. when i awoke i realized these were the sounds from my nightmares. around the time i was supposed to be reaching my station, i got my things together and looked down to find the floor littered with bodies with no place to step down to even see what station we were at. no one spoke much english but finally, i was reassured that the stop was coming and i pushed and shoved my way to my backpack and off the train! i then decided on an expensive taxi ride to rishikesh vs bus as i just couldn't deal with being stared at any longer. i was then punished for not being more budget-conscious and taking the bus. my driver tried charging me more for traffic, we had a flat tire and stopped at his house for water for the dying piece of junk taxi. after all this, i finally arrived in rishikesh! i was exhausted but managed to find a really cute place to stay, took a short walk around town, visited the trek shop and met my trekking companion mia and then spent the rest of the day trying to find warm gloves at which i failed. anyway, the trek wound up being exactly what i needed! mia was very sweet and easy to be with, our guide dorje was great, bobe the assistant was a very smiley, fun/sweet guy and the cook very talented and friendly too. such a difference in trekking company's from the last!! after an 8 hr jeep ride, we hiked just an hr and found ourselves at an amazing campsite complete with sunset himalaya views and a glassy lake!! we arrived just in time to catch the last of the sun's painting on the peaks! the nights were cold but the sun warm during the days. our second camp offered great mountain views as well which we arrived at after around 6 hrs of hiking. the last day, we left camp at 5:30a.m., hiked 2.5 hrs and had almost 360 degrees of himalaya views! the peaks were far away but still stunning and we basked in the warm sun for a couple hrs just admiring the view and napping. the sacred nanda devi (3rd highest peak in india) stood out from the other peaks. i've wanted to do the nanda devi sanctuary trek for years so i was very excited to see the mountain even if from a distance.
mia had stayed at a yoga ashram for a few nights and recommended i try it. figured i was in the yoga capital of the world so i'd give it a whirl for the experience. the night we got back from the trek, i went for my first ashram dinner. i was given a plate, bowl and spoon that i would wash and keep in my room, bringing to all my meals. i quickly discovered the meals are started off with chanting and i didn't realize there was a going around the room of lead chanters. i had no idea what anyone was saying and when it came my turn, it was suddenly quiet... the yogi helped me out but haaaaaaaaa! how embarrassing! we all sat on the floor around the room at little tables and were served very pure, vegan food. there were two yoga sessions a day, both of which i went to and were quite an experience for me as well. i mean, i take a power yoga class here and there but these classes involve a lot of heavy breathing exercises some of which made me feel like i was going to pass out or throw up (some blocking one nostril to inhale and then the other to exhale holding your hands in a specific form which i never got) and a lot of chanting which i'm not accustomed to and had no idea what was being chanted (i made sounds just to participate which i'm sure distracted my neighbors but whatever). at the ashram, waste is to be kept to a minimum, all organic soaps and things used, you are to clean your own room, time spent out of yoga or meditation sessions should be used for quiet intraspection, meditation, journal writing or reading... basically trying to delve deeper into yourself. the first yoga class is at 6a.m. breakfast following at 8, lunch at 12, yoga at 4 with dinner following at 6 and quiet time at 9. for people on retreat or taking long courses, there are also additional meditation and other courses. anyway, i lasted a full 3 meals complete with chanting and two yoga sessions before checking out as i was hoping to find people to go to corbett tiger reserve with and everyone else at the ashram was on a retreat and not leaving anytime soon. so, i met some interesting people, witnessed a very foreign way of living and am now back to bandhari swiss cottage trying to figure out what to do next.
the highlight of today was the cow attack. yes, i was attacked by a cow! one with horns. i've passed cow upon cow in narrow alleys, on steps to this or that, along mtn trails, on city streets and have become quite accustomed to this. anyway, today i was walking up the street in rishikesh with a nice woman from france i had just met and we were chatting away and came upon a cow coming down the street. suddenly, out of nowhere the cow came over and rammed me with it's horns!!! i think my passport holder and passport itself saved me fr0m a visit to the local medical center! i sustained a roadrash style injury and suspect there may now be a bruise but thank goodness for the passport tucked into my pants!! this would only happen to ME!!! i still can't believe it!! the cow driver was horrified and explaining his cow's behavior in rapid hindi while i just laughed at the pure hilarity of the situation. at least i think he was the driver... maybe he was just a passerby but somehow i don't think he would've been as concerned if that was the case. unfortunately there will be no photos posted of this ridiculous event. however, i consider myself lucky as cows are considered sacred here so maybe i'll have good luck for the rest of my journey (though i've decided not to visit corbett tiger reserves... don't need a similar encounter with a large cat). heading to delhi on the night train tomorrow to try to plan my rajasthan trip and then will probably head same day to jaipur.

holy crap and i missed my train

o.k. so bodhgaya didn't quite afford the peace i was seeking. i thought i had a volunteer opportunity set up but those hopes were dashed overnight, i was scammed by street kids (yes i knew better but was so affected by the poverty in kolcata i was vulnerable... i know i know), dodging potentially shady people and going deaf from the sounds of loud angry horns honking right as whatever the honker was, be it rickshaw or motor bike, went by in the narrow streets... so i decided to bust out after 2 days. i booked an overnight train to varanasi. the only one with available seating departs gaya at 4:15a.m. which meant leaving bodhgaya at 3:00a.m. but i was ready. was a bit shady going out at that time but i held onto my bags in the rickshaw and made it to the station in relatively good order. the computerized screen sent me to platform 4 at which i stood amongst families who call this home, sleeping on the dirty floor, and waited patiently for quite some time. i'm on india time here so i was concerned but not panicked when it was getting a bit late. anyway, a turbaned man approached me as i stood out like a sore thumb, asked where i was headed and then made a shooshing sound with gesture informing me that i had missed my train. he helped me to the station manager who, after excitedly rambling on about the election of obama, wrote a note on my ticket to allow me on the next train. however, this manager didn't tell me which train or where it was going (was too busy going on about our new prez obama), just "wait 15 min and get on the train at platform 1". so, this is what i did. however, my original ticket was for sleeper class and on this train i could find no seat. i went to 3ac and found a space and managed to sleep for a half hr or so before getting kicked out and sent back to the crammed sleeper section (i was stuck betw cars with my heavy packs feeling like my neck would break forever). i crammed in with some other people and arrived in varanasi around 1:00p.m. (originally to arrive at 8:00a.m.). so, that was a whole ton of no fun but now i'm in varanasi and WOW !!! this city has energy like i've never experienced! how to describe varanasi?! i think you have to witness firsthand but i'll try to paint a picture. it's just reality: life, death, spirituality, joy and sadness played out before you on the great ganga; no walls, no rules, no limits. there are cows bathing in the water next to people doing laundry, people bathing themselves, dung patties being handformed and dried next to laundry being dried on the ghat steps, kids playing at kite-cutting or cricket near wood being stacked and fires stoked for cremations, spiritual cremation ceremonies with drunken "social workers" scamming tourists claiming their money will help pay for wood for poor families, people praying, meditating, doing yoga, orange turbaned sarduhs and of course the touts and boats ... so many colors, so many sites (and so many smells) and this colorful ancient city full of hidden temples perched on the river's edge with spires emerging from the murky waters... it's absolutely incredible! and if you read the stats on the bacteria levels in this water, it's amazing watching people frolic in it and drinking it as they do! and i won't step foot in the charles!!! jaime, you would not do well here! (my sis the microbiologist :) ). step away from the ghats and you can lose yourself seemingly forever in the maze of narrow alleys lined with silk and clothing shops, jewelry shops, temples, tailories, sweet shops where trays upon trays and bowls upon bowls of colorful indian sweets are being spread, rolled, stacked and patted, small shops where huge steaming pans roast on flaming hot coals and men work dough into all shapes and sizes, cow stalls, veg stands, endless cha stalls and have i mentioned the cows? it's really difficult to process all that is going on in these alleyways while trying to dodge cows and their fresh patties, motorbikes (which will fit down only some of the alleys but i'm always amazed they manage to squeeze thru any of them and haul at ridiculous speeds), bicycles and pedestrians. you name it, it's all happening here. i always have a list of things to do but my eyes constantly pull me in different directions and i never come back having done what i set out to do.

in the evenings there's a huge puja ceremoney where thousands of people gather to give blessings to the goddess ganga. this week is yet another divali festival with fireworks, music and dance performers on top of the regular ceremony. guess i'm heading out just before the big day but i'm somewhat happy to be avoiding that crowd! i can't even imagine! so many people gather here as it is!
this a.m. 11/11 i dragged myself out of bed at 5:30a.m. to take the dawn river boat ride. we witnessed a cremation ceremony, the sun glowing red over the boatfilled river and dusty beach on the other side, pilgrims coming to the river to give blessing and bath, yogi's in training and so many other things i don't have the imagination to paint a picture for at this moment. this place has me on stimulus overload... i need to go and decompress. altho i must confess to a decompression dinner at a very tranquil, comfy lounge with candlelight, low tables and cushions and soothing tribal tunes overlooking the river. then i had to walk home thru the sea of "madame?!" "madame?!" "boat madame?!" "which country you from?!" "what's your name?" "you want hashish?" "beautiful smile!" i'll leave the rest out. aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!! with that, i'm ready to leave but this place will hold as one of my favorite cities on earth regardless of the hassles and pollution!
tomorrow a.m. i go to hardiwar via an 18 hr train ride and then to rishikesh via a bus ride. ugh! hope i don't miss this one!!! i'm hoping to join a girl on a short, easy trek out of rishikesh, check out redchilliadventure.com, chandershila trek. she was supposed to leave on the 13th which isn't possible for me so the company was going to try to see if she could change to the 14th. i pray she can! o.k. hope to get photos of varanasi up before too long but internet's really slow here and then i'll hopefully be trekking so may be awhile. until next time :)

i am now in kolcata and trying to decide how i feel about this chaotic, polluted but historical city. the hindu myths state something like the god shiva found his wife's charred corpse, got really pissed off and decided to destroy the world. another god, vishnu, tried to stop him but, in doing so, wound up chopping her cadaver into 51 pieces. These pieces fell across india with a toe falling at kalikata, now a section of kolcata. sooo many great myths in the hindu religion which i find absolutely fascinating!

the day i arrived i spent wandering around getting myself very lost which is what i like to do upon arrival of most cities... not heading to any tourist destination in particular, just trying to get a sense of life here. i witnessed a lot of poverty with everything happening on the streets: families living in tiny lean-to's, chopping potatoes and what not - cooking family meals right on the sidewalk, bathing from hydrants or water spouts on the street, naked babies running around everywhere, men just laying on the streets looking dead and i wonder if any of them actually are. i've been told many people come here from other states and start out this way but are soon absorbed by the city, find jobs and more stable housing. i hope this is the case! as i walk down alleys and in some areas, i notice old ramshackle buildings in british style architecture... apparently landlords rent rather than own these properties and being a communist government, there are limits to what they can charge tenants and many of the rents are ridiculously low giving landlords no incentive to keep up the properties. i learned some of this on a guided walk i took yesterday led by an australian guy who lives half the year in kolcata. he sped a bit too quickly thru the colorful and chaotic bazarre where you can buy anything from spices to electrical supplies and witness paneer being made with slopping buckets of the cheesy stuff wrapped in cloth being passed around and the smell of rotten dairy making your nose crinkle, men carrying huge loads of anything and everything on their heads or in pedicarts... it's mayhem and all very interesting but i don't have much time to take it all in. might try to head back there on my own. also visited the flower market which is quite a site with piles upon piles, sacks upon sacks: on the ground, carried on heads, dangling in strands on shoulders or arms of marigolds and many other flowers of which i don't know the names. again, we were rushed thru but it was quite a site and all this flower mania on the side of the hooghly river (joined by the ganges and therefore considered sacred). we also passed thru a section where clay statues of gods and goddesses are created. apparently there's a group in a certain caste that makes these statues which are very specific, detailed works of art depicting hindu gods to be used in festivals and what not. straw frames are piled up in stalls along the alleyways and outside men are slapping clay onto the frames creating these fascinating works of art. we pass thru alley after alley of these statues at every stage of completion before again hitting the main streets and grabbing the metro for "home". anyway, enuff of my kolcata lesson which i apologize if i have any of my "facts" wrong but i'm trying... this short-term memory thing sometimes gets me tho. anyway, off to a cooking class with a local bengali woman this afternoon and hoping i can convince a girl i met here to join me tho she's feeling ill so not sure. if not, it's me and some other guy so we'll see how it goes but should be interesting and it being sunday, not much is open here so i can't do business anyway...

o.k. off to try to book a train ticket to gaya! cheers!

11/4
so the cooking class was a good escape from the chaos and the woman was very sweet and chatty. it was me, julie from new zealand and a man, christian, from france. we cooked a fabulous bengali chicken dish, a mixed veg dish with coconut milk, curry, fresh ginger, etc.. YUM!
last night julie and i went for dinner and then a drink at a place with a band. our autorickshaw driver ripped us off and dumped us away from the restaurant so we were lead there by some street kids out selling gum. we bought them pizza for their effort and had a great bengali meal. we then ventured off for live music. we were expecting indian stuff and wound up with la bamba, la isla bonita, etc... i suddenly felt like i had been zipped out of india and thrown onto a cruiseboat! too funny!
anyway, off to bodhgaya for some much needed peace and tranquility :) tomorrow a.m. i will be searching for a tv in hopes of seeing the end of the election! i'm sooooo scared!!!