I'm back in Darjeeling now, after a few days spent wandering around Gangtok. I enjoyed having time to myself and people watching and wandering so this post may be more rambly than usual.
I got up early to get a shared jeep out to the monastery community of Rumtek, thinking I would get there with lots of time to wander around the hills. Well as a wise friend coined it, it was a "hurry up and wait" scenario. At 0730h they said the jeep wouldn't leave until 0930h, so I went for a leisurely coffee and chatted with some South Africans working on a hydro project in North Sikkim...I have an open-ended invitation if I ever want to visit the project!
Upon getting back to the jeep, I waited...and waited...and waited...and we finally departed about 1130h! But we got to Rumtek and I spent the afternoon quietly wandering and watching people and animals. It was wonderful to just sit and listen and watch for a while. The monks moving about, some playing hacky-sack (!), moving the prayer wheels, watering plants, chatting on cell-phones. I'm slightly confused by this whole "monk" thing...are they living a life of devotion, giving up worldly possessions and such, or is it more like a faith-based boarding school/commune where they have this particular kind of uniform? Funniest image: a monk in red robes, with a shaved head, wearing Converse All-Stars on his feet. Surreal!
Wandering off the beaten path, seeing wild orchids, small children playing in the grass, chickens running through the dust, wind in the trees, ginormous stands of bamboo...I am truly blessed.
My journey back to Darjeeling took a bit longer than expected (6 hours instead of 3), and I arrived to the chill after dark last night. But after the long hike up, up, up I was warmed and found a lovely room at the Tranquility Hotel...truly tranquil it is. Cozied up under a mountain of blankets and a hot water bottle tucked in there as well I had a most excellent sleep. I enjoyed it so much I decided to stay one more night in the cold rather than heading down the valley as I had originally intended.
Today was another day filled with wandering...to Observatory Hill where I was nearly attacked by a monkey!...to the Himalayan Zoological Park where I got to see the Red Panda (and some other rather unfortunate animals)....to the Himalayan Mountaineering Museum where I saw the Alpine Club of Canada pins amongst many international pins and flags...to the Happy Valley Tea Plantation where I sat amongst the tea bushes in the sun and pondered...and finally to the Bazaar where I spent all my money!
Now it's time for some hot tea, warm curry and delicious roti to warm me up before I trek back up the hill to the hotel for one last chilly night in the fresh air of the Darjeeling hills.
Tomorrow I head south back to Kolkata, my "brothers", and a New Years Eve celebration of some kind (yet to be determined).
Much love to all of you and congratulations to those wonderful friends of mine who have gotten engaged recently...I'm thrilled for you!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
A Merry Christmas in Sikkim
Got all my entry permits for Sikkim, which is a northern state of India, stuck right in between Nepal and Bhutan, and headed there by jeep on Christmas Eve day. Wandered around the capitol city of Gangtok and had Sarsong Saag (mustard greens) and corn flour chapathi for Christmas Eve supper...a little different than at home! I had arranged a stay with a Couch-surfing host here in Gangtok, and I stayed their for Christmas Eve, but suffice it to say I felt uncomfortable and packed up first thing Christmas morning to stay somewhere else.
My Christmas breakfast was at this little cafe and I enjoyed my first cappuccino in India and a multigrain croissant...not very Indian, but it was comforting and filling nonetheless! I had been blessed with the good fortune of getting in on a trip to Tsomgo Lake for Christmas Day, so I met up with my fellow traveller Matt Murphy (from South Africa) and our tour guide Suresh and we headed up, up, up in a jeep (of course) towards the Tibetan border. The road was partly paved, but some sections were being worked on due to landslides. Our driver was ruthless...he would gun it on the paved sections, whipping past other jeeps and then going super slow when we would meet a big truck heading the opposite direction...even backing up in sections to a part of the road that was wide enough for two vehicles. Oh, and did I mention it was also SUPER foggy? There were moments we couldn't see the jeep in front of us.
Tsomgo (pronounced Changu) Lake is at 3780m and is only about 18 km from the Tibetan border. Tons of Indian tourists head up there as they can actually drive up the pass past the lake to the border. But for foreign tourists, the lake is as far as we can go. When we got up to the lake, we were blessed again by bluebird skies! The lake itself wasn't so impressive, surrounded by a dusty road and army barracks. But there was snow on the shaded side of the lake and even some ice...so I felt quite at home. We convinced Suresh to take us up the opposite side, past the army camp (where they didn't want any photos taken!), past some yaks, and up this big hill (they called it a mountain) to see the view from up there. Took it slow, hiking through scrub brush and dry vegetation and rock and when we got up to the top....WOW! We could see Khangchendzonga in the west, and to the east the hills of Tibet and Bhutan! We stretched out our time up there as long as we could (apparently the army doesn't like people being there after 1430h)...I felt so blessed to be up in the mountains, breathing in the fresh air for Christmas Day. We slowly made our way back down and when we reached the army camp, Suresh - who had descended much faster - was eating lunch with the Indian Army guys! They invited Matt and I to join them for a special Christmas lunch and they took out all the stops, offering their "Indian Army" biscuits and juice, some rum, almonds and cashews and cookies....they were such wonderful hosts and kept bringing out more and more! Then they wanted photos of us and with us...thus began an extended photo shoot with this one guy [we called him Rambo as he had a bandana tied around his head] who was a total ham...posing and then posing with us...it was awesome. They sent us off with extra "Indian Army" juice and cookies, hugs, handshakes and wishes of Merry Christmas. A Christmas day I will not soon forget...neither will Matt or Suresh! Suresh was totally surprised about their hospitality and kept talking about it on our drive back to Gangtok.
I got back to the city and got a room at the Modern Central Hotel, no heating still, but hot water heater for a shower. Had a quick hot shower and then headed out to find a little bite to eat for Christmas supper. Momos, a samosa and the best chai I've had so far a this little, super-busy, hole-in-the-wall snack joint...a very decent Christmas supper I have to say! Then I went to my little internet cafe and the guy agreed to stay open late for me so I could call home...so blessed!
Had a most excellent early morning chat with Al and then called the family and got them all out of bed at 0700h so I could talk to them! Probably a little earlier than they were planning but it was lovely to talk to my parents, my brother, my aunt and my cousin...a Merry Christmas from the other side of the world. I took a nice walk along the market street where they have piped Christmas music (think Boney M sings Christmas music and that's what's playing here!), lit up shrubs and lots of people...it actually felt quite familiar. Then I snuggled into my hotel room bed to watch some cheesy Christmas movies on the TV (!) in my room and to top it all off, the owner of the hotel came by my room with a hot water bottle for me....best invention EVER!
Merry Christmas to family and friends, near and far! My thoughts are with you and I just wanted to share some of the things I think I am blessed with this Christmas:
My Christmas breakfast was at this little cafe and I enjoyed my first cappuccino in India and a multigrain croissant...not very Indian, but it was comforting and filling nonetheless! I had been blessed with the good fortune of getting in on a trip to Tsomgo Lake for Christmas Day, so I met up with my fellow traveller Matt Murphy (from South Africa) and our tour guide Suresh and we headed up, up, up in a jeep (of course) towards the Tibetan border. The road was partly paved, but some sections were being worked on due to landslides. Our driver was ruthless...he would gun it on the paved sections, whipping past other jeeps and then going super slow when we would meet a big truck heading the opposite direction...even backing up in sections to a part of the road that was wide enough for two vehicles. Oh, and did I mention it was also SUPER foggy? There were moments we couldn't see the jeep in front of us.
Tsomgo (pronounced Changu) Lake is at 3780m and is only about 18 km from the Tibetan border. Tons of Indian tourists head up there as they can actually drive up the pass past the lake to the border. But for foreign tourists, the lake is as far as we can go. When we got up to the lake, we were blessed again by bluebird skies! The lake itself wasn't so impressive, surrounded by a dusty road and army barracks. But there was snow on the shaded side of the lake and even some ice...so I felt quite at home. We convinced Suresh to take us up the opposite side, past the army camp (where they didn't want any photos taken!), past some yaks, and up this big hill (they called it a mountain) to see the view from up there. Took it slow, hiking through scrub brush and dry vegetation and rock and when we got up to the top....WOW! We could see Khangchendzonga in the west, and to the east the hills of Tibet and Bhutan! We stretched out our time up there as long as we could (apparently the army doesn't like people being there after 1430h)...I felt so blessed to be up in the mountains, breathing in the fresh air for Christmas Day. We slowly made our way back down and when we reached the army camp, Suresh - who had descended much faster - was eating lunch with the Indian Army guys! They invited Matt and I to join them for a special Christmas lunch and they took out all the stops, offering their "Indian Army" biscuits and juice, some rum, almonds and cashews and cookies....they were such wonderful hosts and kept bringing out more and more! Then they wanted photos of us and with us...thus began an extended photo shoot with this one guy [we called him Rambo as he had a bandana tied around his head] who was a total ham...posing and then posing with us...it was awesome. They sent us off with extra "Indian Army" juice and cookies, hugs, handshakes and wishes of Merry Christmas. A Christmas day I will not soon forget...neither will Matt or Suresh! Suresh was totally surprised about their hospitality and kept talking about it on our drive back to Gangtok.
I got back to the city and got a room at the Modern Central Hotel, no heating still, but hot water heater for a shower. Had a quick hot shower and then headed out to find a little bite to eat for Christmas supper. Momos, a samosa and the best chai I've had so far a this little, super-busy, hole-in-the-wall snack joint...a very decent Christmas supper I have to say! Then I went to my little internet cafe and the guy agreed to stay open late for me so I could call home...so blessed!
Had a most excellent early morning chat with Al and then called the family and got them all out of bed at 0700h so I could talk to them! Probably a little earlier than they were planning but it was lovely to talk to my parents, my brother, my aunt and my cousin...a Merry Christmas from the other side of the world. I took a nice walk along the market street where they have piped Christmas music (think Boney M sings Christmas music and that's what's playing here!), lit up shrubs and lots of people...it actually felt quite familiar. Then I snuggled into my hotel room bed to watch some cheesy Christmas movies on the TV (!) in my room and to top it all off, the owner of the hotel came by my room with a hot water bottle for me....best invention EVER!
Merry Christmas to family and friends, near and far! My thoughts are with you and I just wanted to share some of the things I think I am blessed with this Christmas:
- good health
- strength of faith and values
- an open mind and accepting heart
- food on my table
- a roof over my head (and when I'm in Canada it even has central heating!)
- a close-knit family
- a loving community of beautiful friends (both local and global)
- the ability and means to travel around the world and meet new people
- to live in a place where the air is not polluted and the water is drinkable
- the ability to connect with friends and family from virtually anywhere in the world
Drinking tea and slivovitska in Darjeeling
After uploading the photos I posted, I hopped on a train to northern West Bengal - Siliguri. Met some lovely Czech girls - also heading to Darjeeling who are nature nerds like me (2 botanists and a forest ecology educator) who shared some stories and some of their home-made "medicinal" slivovitska (a home-brewed plum vodka) before bed...supposed to keep the stomach issues at bay! I was on sleeper class this time, so no fancy curtains, bedding and more open windows on this one...but I snuggled into my sleeping bag up in the top berth, with my backpack up there with me and promptly fell asleep to the rocking of the train. In the morning, we took a Jeep up to Darjeeling where we crammed 10 of us into a jeep and headed from 119m up to the town of Darjeeling at 2134m...super winding roads but we were blessed with bluebird skies on the way up so we were able to see views of the lush, verdant hills surrounding us. In the little towns we passed along the way, people were all outside sitting in the sun, soaking up the warmth, doing laundry, drinking chai. The people here are noticeably of Nepali origin, as their facial features are much more Asian/Mongol...such beautiful lines in the faces of the older people.
Arriving in Darjeeling, it's a maze of little roads that all seem to go uphill. And the building construction! -- it's all on steep hillsides, so everything is stacked and is just amazing to conceive that it won't all come tumbling down. I'll have to post some photos as it's hard to describe. We found a little hotel and ended up meeting another couple from Slovakia/Poland so they were all able to communicate with each other. I shared a room with Sdenka and it was pretty basic! The thing here is that indoor heating is not common...one household may have a space heater for their common room, but it's not something that most places have. Thus, it's just as cool inside as outside...so at 4-10 Degrees during their winter here, things are frosty at night! I slept in my longjohns, toque, wool sweater, sleeping bag, plus the 2 heavy blankets they had there. Brrrr! (The Czech slivovitska helped warm me up a little bit!) And here I was thinking that us Canadians were tough...sure we can handle -30 Degrees celsius -- when we have a warm house to come back to! But here, people are out in sandals/flip-flops and some guys were even in t-shirts and then they come back to a house that's just as cold as the outside temperature. Monks are running around in flip-flops and robes. They are tough! We saw people warming themselves by burning garbage or little piles of wood on the street, but I think space-heaters are only common for those that have a bit of money.
We were up at 3:30 to head out to see the sunrise from Tiger Hill...so very chilly so we waited in our jeep to stay warm until the sun began to rise about 0600h. The colours were beautiful and the view of Khangchendzonga (~ 6691m) in the distance was astounding! When the sun actually peaked out we could even see Everest!! We walked back down into Darjeeling along this beautiful path, past little houses and gardens, people doing laundry and dishes...little kids would smile and say hello, and then giggle when we responded.
The three Czech headed off for a trek, so Jana & Krzysztof and I took a jeep to Kalimpong...winding road down, down, down...in first gear with the engine roaring. We stopped half-way to cool off the engine and have a cup of chai. We got down to the bottom of the Teesta river valley...quite a wide river which I imagine swells up during the rainy season. Got to Kalimpong and realized we had just missed the Dalai Lama by four days! But we visited his monastery and got to see young monks playing in the yard, beautiful paintings inside, prayer flags flapping in the breeze...so peaceful.
Then we went off on a mission to find the house of the disputed 17th Karmappa (spiritual representative of the Buddhists). We finally found it after much misdirection, and turned out he wasn't home...but his monks invited us in for a tour and some "holy" biscuits and tea! A beautiful house with flowers surrounding the yard and lots of flowers inside as well...such a peaceful place.
Before this goes on too long, I'll wrap it up! Had some Tibetan momos...these delicious little dumplings filled with cabbage, carrot and onion! 8 for 20 Rupees...the equivalent of $0.50...I could live on these things! I got the lady in the kitchen to show me how to make them so I can make them at home. So look forward to some Indian cooking when I get back! More on Christmas in Sikkim soon.
Arriving in Darjeeling, it's a maze of little roads that all seem to go uphill. And the building construction! -- it's all on steep hillsides, so everything is stacked and is just amazing to conceive that it won't all come tumbling down. I'll have to post some photos as it's hard to describe. We found a little hotel and ended up meeting another couple from Slovakia/Poland so they were all able to communicate with each other. I shared a room with Sdenka and it was pretty basic! The thing here is that indoor heating is not common...one household may have a space heater for their common room, but it's not something that most places have. Thus, it's just as cool inside as outside...so at 4-10 Degrees during their winter here, things are frosty at night! I slept in my longjohns, toque, wool sweater, sleeping bag, plus the 2 heavy blankets they had there. Brrrr! (The Czech slivovitska helped warm me up a little bit!) And here I was thinking that us Canadians were tough...sure we can handle -30 Degrees celsius -- when we have a warm house to come back to! But here, people are out in sandals/flip-flops and some guys were even in t-shirts and then they come back to a house that's just as cold as the outside temperature. Monks are running around in flip-flops and robes. They are tough! We saw people warming themselves by burning garbage or little piles of wood on the street, but I think space-heaters are only common for those that have a bit of money.
We were up at 3:30 to head out to see the sunrise from Tiger Hill...so very chilly so we waited in our jeep to stay warm until the sun began to rise about 0600h. The colours were beautiful and the view of Khangchendzonga (~ 6691m) in the distance was astounding! When the sun actually peaked out we could even see Everest!! We walked back down into Darjeeling along this beautiful path, past little houses and gardens, people doing laundry and dishes...little kids would smile and say hello, and then giggle when we responded.
The three Czech headed off for a trek, so Jana & Krzysztof and I took a jeep to Kalimpong...winding road down, down, down...in first gear with the engine roaring. We stopped half-way to cool off the engine and have a cup of chai. We got down to the bottom of the Teesta river valley...quite a wide river which I imagine swells up during the rainy season. Got to Kalimpong and realized we had just missed the Dalai Lama by four days! But we visited his monastery and got to see young monks playing in the yard, beautiful paintings inside, prayer flags flapping in the breeze...so peaceful.
Then we went off on a mission to find the house of the disputed 17th Karmappa (spiritual representative of the Buddhists). We finally found it after much misdirection, and turned out he wasn't home...but his monks invited us in for a tour and some "holy" biscuits and tea! A beautiful house with flowers surrounding the yard and lots of flowers inside as well...such a peaceful place.
Before this goes on too long, I'll wrap it up! Had some Tibetan momos...these delicious little dumplings filled with cabbage, carrot and onion! 8 for 20 Rupees...the equivalent of $0.50...I could live on these things! I got the lady in the kitchen to show me how to make them so I can make them at home. So look forward to some Indian cooking when I get back! More on Christmas in Sikkim soon.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Some photos....
Self-portrait at the Kolkata apartment
Subjee (veggies for the week)
Lakshmi Dee making okra for supper
View from the train to Varanasi
The Varanasi Ghats as seen from the Ganga early in the morning
Bathing and puja on the Ghats
The Main Ghat, site of the terrorist bombing (closed for 3 days)
Rahul, our river guide and his uncle our rower
Kingfisher!
Lola and the many many cows of Varanasi
Buddha at the temple at Sarnath
Prayer flags near the Bodhi tree
My two little friends
Buddhist monks in prayer
Playing some cards on the Ganga
Sights of the ghats
Friday, December 17, 2010
Of Mice (and rats and cockroaches) and Men...
Trains and train stations in India are yet another part of the experience here. After my day of taking it pretty easy and sleeping in the hotel room to recover from some bout of something or other, it was time to head to the train station to head back to Kolkata. Aarti (from the internet cafe) and her family arranged for a rickshaw driver to pick me up at the hotel at 1730h to make my way to the station in case traffic was too crazy.
I made it to the station by 1800h, only to find out that my 1920h train, was at least 5 hours late. Hmm, now what?
So I sat in the Foreigner's Ticket Office until 2000h, when it closed, at which point I was directed to the "Ladies Waiting Room" at platform 5. Well the nice thing was, the room was well lit, and this little old lady seemed to be making sure there were no men loitering around in the room. Then the power went out. And while the little old lady was still doing a great job of keeping it a ladies-only area, this did not exclude numerous mice (big and small) and rats (big and small) from joining us. Ok…so I can deal with this, I thought. I just put my bag on the bench with me, got in my sleeping bag and decided to try and get some rest while I waited for my train. I dozed on and off and at a couple of points got up to ask the Superintendent of Trains about the Amritsar Express and its anticipated arrival time. Well first it was 2300h…..then 0000h…..then 0100h….and finally 0220h. In the midst of this, at some point more women showed up and I lost some of my bench space so I had to put my pack on the ground, leaning up against my bench. Well I woke up at one point staring at a rat sitting on the top of my pack! Yoiks! I scared him good and he took off…but after that, I brought my pack back on the bench with me.
The train finally arrived (only 8 hours late) and I ended up exchanging my lower bunk for an upper bunk with the family that I shared the berth with…I brought my pack up there with me, put in my earplugs and slept all cozied up with my pack.
I woke up and came down from my bunk to sit with the family who were headed to a small village along the way. They explained that the Amritsar Express to Kolkata is basically the milk run…stopping in EVERY little town and village along the way…and probably wouldn't arrive to Kolkata until 0200h in the morning. Well that got me a little unhinged…they let me borrow their cell-phone so I could call the guys and let them know how late I would be. So then I got a bit teary…and the man from the family asked me "Why are you weeping?" Hmmm…how to answer that one? "I'm tired, still feeling a little vulnerable, a bit hormonal and haven't eaten much food in the last 24 hours and maybe a little dehydrated to boot?"….I settled with "I'm tired." Bless that family, they took pity on a crazy Gora girl traveling solo and they shared their Aloo Mattar (potato and peas) and chapathi with me. I crawled back into my bunk and slept some more and when I woke up it was time for my friendly family to take their leave.
My next berth-mates were 4 train conductors (Sundeep, Mohammed Azim, ? and Sarkar) on their way to headquarters. I think I basically blew their mind…a woman, traveling alone, on a train, arriving late at night, and having left my "husband" (it's easier for people here to understand that concept rather than boyfriend, plus it tends to shut down unwanted attention from men at least a little bit) at home to fend for himself. I showed them pictures of my family and the park and then had them listen to some "Canadian" music….I busted out Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans. They laughed…guess it's not quite what they're used to. They asked many questions about Canada and then got curious about divorce in Canada…try explaining why people get divorced to a Muslim man and three Hindu men. I know it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it was definitely hard to explain.
My final companion for the journey was Amman, a young Sikh man who is doing his PhD in water management. We had some great conversations about water-table levels and water management solutions, Germany, mapping, GIS, arranged marriages, music, and India. He was also very impressed with my "braverism" of traveling alone, but very concerned about me arriving in Kolkata with no one to meet me. So he arranged for the train conductor to get me a taxi and then I called Jon from his cell-phone to arrange the meeting spot, and then Amman would call me in one hour to make sure I had arrived home safely.
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. However, when those plans go awry, it is the kindnesses of men (and women) that shine through. I am thankful for all those lovely people looking out for me on my journey!
I made it to the station by 1800h, only to find out that my 1920h train, was at least 5 hours late. Hmm, now what?
So I sat in the Foreigner's Ticket Office until 2000h, when it closed, at which point I was directed to the "Ladies Waiting Room" at platform 5. Well the nice thing was, the room was well lit, and this little old lady seemed to be making sure there were no men loitering around in the room. Then the power went out. And while the little old lady was still doing a great job of keeping it a ladies-only area, this did not exclude numerous mice (big and small) and rats (big and small) from joining us. Ok…so I can deal with this, I thought. I just put my bag on the bench with me, got in my sleeping bag and decided to try and get some rest while I waited for my train. I dozed on and off and at a couple of points got up to ask the Superintendent of Trains about the Amritsar Express and its anticipated arrival time. Well first it was 2300h…..then 0000h…..then 0100h….and finally 0220h. In the midst of this, at some point more women showed up and I lost some of my bench space so I had to put my pack on the ground, leaning up against my bench. Well I woke up at one point staring at a rat sitting on the top of my pack! Yoiks! I scared him good and he took off…but after that, I brought my pack back on the bench with me.
The train finally arrived (only 8 hours late) and I ended up exchanging my lower bunk for an upper bunk with the family that I shared the berth with…I brought my pack up there with me, put in my earplugs and slept all cozied up with my pack.
I woke up and came down from my bunk to sit with the family who were headed to a small village along the way. They explained that the Amritsar Express to Kolkata is basically the milk run…stopping in EVERY little town and village along the way…and probably wouldn't arrive to Kolkata until 0200h in the morning. Well that got me a little unhinged…they let me borrow their cell-phone so I could call the guys and let them know how late I would be. So then I got a bit teary…and the man from the family asked me "Why are you weeping?" Hmmm…how to answer that one? "I'm tired, still feeling a little vulnerable, a bit hormonal and haven't eaten much food in the last 24 hours and maybe a little dehydrated to boot?"….I settled with "I'm tired." Bless that family, they took pity on a crazy Gora girl traveling solo and they shared their Aloo Mattar (potato and peas) and chapathi with me. I crawled back into my bunk and slept some more and when I woke up it was time for my friendly family to take their leave.
My next berth-mates were 4 train conductors (Sundeep, Mohammed Azim, ? and Sarkar) on their way to headquarters. I think I basically blew their mind…a woman, traveling alone, on a train, arriving late at night, and having left my "husband" (it's easier for people here to understand that concept rather than boyfriend, plus it tends to shut down unwanted attention from men at least a little bit) at home to fend for himself. I showed them pictures of my family and the park and then had them listen to some "Canadian" music….I busted out Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans. They laughed…guess it's not quite what they're used to. They asked many questions about Canada and then got curious about divorce in Canada…try explaining why people get divorced to a Muslim man and three Hindu men. I know it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it was definitely hard to explain.
My final companion for the journey was Amman, a young Sikh man who is doing his PhD in water management. We had some great conversations about water-table levels and water management solutions, Germany, mapping, GIS, arranged marriages, music, and India. He was also very impressed with my "braverism" of traveling alone, but very concerned about me arriving in Kolkata with no one to meet me. So he arranged for the train conductor to get me a taxi and then I called Jon from his cell-phone to arrange the meeting spot, and then Amman would call me in one hour to make sure I had arrived home safely.
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. However, when those plans go awry, it is the kindnesses of men (and women) that shine through. I am thankful for all those lovely people looking out for me on my journey!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Puja, puja, puja...
Puja (sounds like Pooja): a religious ritual performed by Hindus as an offering to various deities, distinguished persons, or special guests. It is done on a variety of occasions and settings, from daily puja done in the home, to temple ceremonies and large festivals, or to begin a new venture. Puja is modeled on the idea of giving a gift or offering to a deity or important person and receiving their blessing.
Here in India it seems like religion is a full time job! People are constantly giving offerings, doing ceremonies, doing puja for everything: opening your shop in the morning, before driving their rickshaw, to start their day, if your musical instrument is giving you trouble, for weddings, to access the power of the Ganga, as you pass by a shrine on the street...
Lola and I visited several Hindu temples here, all beautifully made with marble flooring and some with elaborate pillars. You must take your shoes off before entering and the cool marble feels wonderful on your feet.
There are temples devoted to each different god...Shiva, Ganesh, Shanti, Hanuman, and the list goes on as many of them have different incarnations. So confusing!
Varanasi is regarded as a holy city by Buddhists and Jains, and is the holiest place in the world in Hinduism (and center of earth in Hindu cosmology). It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and probably the oldest of India. As such, there are many spiritual seekers here. The Sadhus are people who have given up their worldly possessions and now survive by begging. They generally wear orange and in other cities many of them live on the streets; here in Varanasi they seem to have some ashrams to stay at. Most of them also have crazy dreadlocked hair, and are seen wandering around in bare feet. However, there are some Sadhus who seem to have a harder time letting go of their worldly possessions as I saw one riding on a motorbike and talking on a cell phone.
Yesterday we went to the town of Sarnath which has huge significance to Buddhists as it is the place where Buddha gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment. Such a peaceful place in contrast to Varanasi! We spent some time sitting on the grass, writing, drawing and chilling out. Some beautiful little Nepalese boys came and played with me for a bit while their parents were doing their circles of ritual around this big stupa (huge round brick phallic-looking monument).
It's interesting to observe all of these rituals and rites...it definitely makes for more interesting people watching!
I think that's all for today...time to go find some supper!
Varanasi: A city of contrasts and extremes!
It is quite possible that India is the real world,
and that the white man lives in a madhouse of abstractions...
~ Carl Jung, 1939
Beautiful brightly coloured sarees and dust, smoke, spit and cow poop on the ground.
Temples, rituals, ceremonies, puja and honking, yelling, spitting, tobacco chewing.
Taking your shoes off before entering a house, yet throwing all garbage out the window to the street below.
A cow taking a nap in the middle of the road -- autorickshaws, bicycle rickshaws, motorbikes, cars and people zooming around it.
Food vendors and chai wallahs, with men peeing on the wall right next door....
I have really been enjoying getting to know this city, or at least a small corner of it. Each day I have been getting lost in the narrow alleyways and market areas...finding places I haven't seen before. I met Lola from Mexico on the early morning boat trip down the Ganges; she was also staying at my guest house and we have spent the last 4 days hanging out and exploring/getting lost together (she left this morning for Boddhgaya).
As the sun rose over the Ganga, we were rowed along by boat with little Rahul as our guide. The misty morning shrouded the ghats and made the burning ghats look even more eerie. [This is where they cremate people pretty much round the clock. It is not uncommon to be passed on the street by a group of men chanting, carrying a dead body shrouded in cloth and flowers towards the burning ghat.] We were able to light a little candle and send it off into the Ganga with our wishes.
After the boat ride Lola and I headed off to check out some of the temples. I think I'll save all my ponderings on temples and such for another post.
I'm sure glad I'm not in a rush to see this place as it allows me to have time to embrace the "indian-ness" of it all. Lola and I spent a whole afternoon searching for a bank to exchange traveller's cheques. Each bank declining, but sending us to the branch they were 100% sure would do it for us...I think we went to just about every bank in this city! But all I could do was laugh...
After my somewhat harried entrance to Varanasi I realized I was totally being scammed on the price of my room, so I managed to bargain it down from Rps 600/night to 400/night...yay for small victories! Also had my first yoga class here in India and it was about as chaotic as this city! The sun salutations and asanas went by so fast...the instructor would explain and then say "just do it! no thinking, just doing!" Hilarity!
[warning: next section contains maybe too much information!] We've been trying to get recommendations from locals of good clean indian restaurants and it worked out fairly well, with one exception. Had lunch at one place I think had never seen tourist before...we provided them with their
Went to a tailor today to have some clothing made for a concert I'll be going to in Kolkata (and for New Years)...amazing fabrics and scarves and shawls...I could spend all my money here!
Oh yeah! So the water buffaloes here get brought to the ghats every day and so there's a section of one of the ghats that just gets covered in poop! Well not for long...the other day we saw a man going around, scooping up the poop with his hands and putting it in bags...more fuel for stoves and incense!
We also hung out with some folks we met and one of them had filmed a documentary about Banares (Varanasi) which is absolutely amazing! Check out a little bit of it here:
http://elementarypenguinsingingharekrishna.blogspot.com/search/label/about%20varanasi
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Trains, autorickshaws and bomb blasts, oh my!
At an internet cafe, so I'm not sure how much time I'll have, but the update today is much more interesting!
I left the comfort of the apartment and took the train from Kolkata to Varanasi on Tuesday afternoon. Managed to use the squat toilets with my backpack still on! Thank goodness for long backcountry trips where I perfected my skills!
It's a 14 hour train ride so I got a seat with a bunk for sleeping. I got on, hoping that there might at least be a few more goras (foreigners) on my car, but alas...I was greeted -- well not really greeted as none of them would really look me in the eye -- by a car full of men. Great. Oh well, a chance to think, to journal, to draw and to sleep. I managed to get to one of the doors to check out the scenery and take a few shots. Trees and little villages, fields with people walking through, flying by from the door of this old train. Got into my bunk around 8 pm and every time I woke up I would check to see if my bag was still there -- this train is notorious for luggage theft.
I made it to Varanasi by 9 in the morning and once I found an autorickshaw driver to take me into town, I found out about the blast. On Tuesday at 6:30 pm, a bomb exploded at the old Deswasmamedh Ghat along the Ganges river during their regular evening ceremony. Many tourists (both Indian and foreign) were injured and at the moment they are only saying that one child was killed, but most locals here think that the government is covering up other local deaths. That area of Varanasi was pretty much shut down, most shops were closed on Wednesday, schools were closed and they suspended the evening ceremonies for 3 days...crazy time to arrive here! The newspapers are saying it is Muslim terrorists...and they have a few people in custody, but ongoing investigation will continue. It is so hard to believe that I am so close to something like this.
Needless to say I was quite overwhelmed at this news. I arrived at the guesthouse suggested by my driver and just took the room (clean and very simple). I had a little moment in my room, and then had some oatmeal, and after a nice cup of milk chai, I felt better.
The rest of the day was filled with some exploring along the Ghats -- the big giant steps that lead down into the Ganges -- and a very friendly yoga guru trying to make me a student of his (more on that story later!).
I've got so much more to add, but am running out of internet time so I will have to add more later. Love to all of you at home!
Until next time!
I left the comfort of the apartment and took the train from Kolkata to Varanasi on Tuesday afternoon. Managed to use the squat toilets with my backpack still on! Thank goodness for long backcountry trips where I perfected my skills!
It's a 14 hour train ride so I got a seat with a bunk for sleeping. I got on, hoping that there might at least be a few more goras (foreigners) on my car, but alas...I was greeted -- well not really greeted as none of them would really look me in the eye -- by a car full of men. Great. Oh well, a chance to think, to journal, to draw and to sleep. I managed to get to one of the doors to check out the scenery and take a few shots. Trees and little villages, fields with people walking through, flying by from the door of this old train. Got into my bunk around 8 pm and every time I woke up I would check to see if my bag was still there -- this train is notorious for luggage theft.
I made it to Varanasi by 9 in the morning and once I found an autorickshaw driver to take me into town, I found out about the blast. On Tuesday at 6:30 pm, a bomb exploded at the old Deswasmamedh Ghat along the Ganges river during their regular evening ceremony. Many tourists (both Indian and foreign) were injured and at the moment they are only saying that one child was killed, but most locals here think that the government is covering up other local deaths. That area of Varanasi was pretty much shut down, most shops were closed on Wednesday, schools were closed and they suspended the evening ceremonies for 3 days...crazy time to arrive here! The newspapers are saying it is Muslim terrorists...and they have a few people in custody, but ongoing investigation will continue. It is so hard to believe that I am so close to something like this.
Needless to say I was quite overwhelmed at this news. I arrived at the guesthouse suggested by my driver and just took the room (clean and very simple). I had a little moment in my room, and then had some oatmeal, and after a nice cup of milk chai, I felt better.
The rest of the day was filled with some exploring along the Ghats -- the big giant steps that lead down into the Ganges -- and a very friendly yoga guru trying to make me a student of his (more on that story later!).
I've got so much more to add, but am running out of internet time so I will have to add more later. Love to all of you at home!
Until next time!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Eat with your right hand!
Another morning in Kolkata!
Yesterday I ate my first meal with my hand...my right hand to be precise! You don't eat with your left hand as it is reserved for other uses...and if you're left-handed, it's time to learn to be ambidextrous! It was quite fun actually...and apparently will get me points with the locals if I'm attempting to use their customs. (Just make sure you wash and sanitize your hands well before hand.)
Lakshmi Dee (dee means sister) comes here twice a day to do some cleaning and to make chapatis for supper. She's a beautiful woman who looks to be no more than 30 years old, yet we think she must be in her 40's as she's already a grandmother! I watched her make chapatis last night...maybe I'll ask if she can teach me how to make them today. Apparently it's quite standard practice to have someone to clean and cook if you can afford it...Lokey D (as the guys call her) also works for Gurji's family.
The apartment is a ways out of the city part of Kolkata and is surrounded by quite a bit of vegetation and a lake nearby. There are so many birds and animal sounds around here to blend in with the music, the honking and the ladies calling from window to window.
The guys had some practicing to do in the evening so I just sat and listened...wow. What beautiful sounds -- even though they tell me they are nowhere near where they'd like to be -- I was lulled into a little nap by the sounds of saxophone, bass, tabla and the drone box.
This morning the guys are off to a concert in a village outside of Kolkata, so I've got the day to explore and have some adventures of my own. First I'll have my first "bucket shower" and freshen up...I look forward to rinsing off some of the travel grime. You use a coil heater to heat up a bucket of water, which seems crazy to have something that's plugged into the wall sit in a bucket of water...but that's how it's done. Then you take a cup and use it to pour the water over you.
Later I'll try my first bicycle rickshaw ride and check out some of the markets in town. Adventure time!
Namskaar!
Yesterday I ate my first meal with my hand...my right hand to be precise! You don't eat with your left hand as it is reserved for other uses...and if you're left-handed, it's time to learn to be ambidextrous! It was quite fun actually...and apparently will get me points with the locals if I'm attempting to use their customs. (Just make sure you wash and sanitize your hands well before hand.)
Lakshmi Dee (dee means sister) comes here twice a day to do some cleaning and to make chapatis for supper. She's a beautiful woman who looks to be no more than 30 years old, yet we think she must be in her 40's as she's already a grandmother! I watched her make chapatis last night...maybe I'll ask if she can teach me how to make them today. Apparently it's quite standard practice to have someone to clean and cook if you can afford it...Lokey D (as the guys call her) also works for Gurji's family.
The apartment is a ways out of the city part of Kolkata and is surrounded by quite a bit of vegetation and a lake nearby. There are so many birds and animal sounds around here to blend in with the music, the honking and the ladies calling from window to window.
The guys had some practicing to do in the evening so I just sat and listened...wow. What beautiful sounds -- even though they tell me they are nowhere near where they'd like to be -- I was lulled into a little nap by the sounds of saxophone, bass, tabla and the drone box.
This morning the guys are off to a concert in a village outside of Kolkata, so I've got the day to explore and have some adventures of my own. First I'll have my first "bucket shower" and freshen up...I look forward to rinsing off some of the travel grime. You use a coil heater to heat up a bucket of water, which seems crazy to have something that's plugged into the wall sit in a bucket of water...but that's how it's done. Then you take a cup and use it to pour the water over you.
Later I'll try my first bicycle rickshaw ride and check out some of the markets in town. Adventure time!
Namskaar!
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